I have really enjoyed online Pandora Radio. For a free service (or at least very cheap), it has provided a very respectable product: ad-free, personalized, on-demand music channels - exactly what I am looking for.

But it looks like its days may be numbered. The issue comes down to the fact that the recording industry doesn’t feel that they are being fairly compensated for the artists’ music. I’m all for fairly compensating artists. Now, whether or not it’s fair for an oligarchy to pay a select few hand-picked performers millions of dollars while systematically limiting the not-pretty-enough artists to can-i-pay-my-rent wages - well, that’s another question entirely!

You can research the main scoop and the major players here.

My opinion as a consumer, which apparently doesn’t matter, is that I WOULD like to fairly compensate the artists AND the online providers. I’ll volunteer to pay the 2.6 cents per hour royalty charge that SoundExchange is clamoring for. But, and it’s a firm BUT, I want that 2.6 cents to be evenly divided between the artists who’s songs I listened to (and if I skip it or give it a thumbs down it doesn’t count). Are we all clear?!!

w00t! So I arrived home safely from spending my vacation on a week-long Alaskan cruise with my best friend Chad.

We left from Seattle. Hmm, I’d like to come back and visit this city.	My buddy Chad and I. (Will they still be friends after a week couped up on a ship?!)	Far removed from anything that reminds us of our midwestern hometowns.
Heading north and, er, west on the Westerdam.	Days = Long talks over coffee. Nights = Cribbage games over a beer.	God bless the Brits for inventing cribbage. God bless the Dutch for inventing Heineken.
God bless Himself for inventing beauty…	…and glaciers …and icebergs	…mountains, sea passages, and friendship!
I pretty-much ruled the ship: that’s why they call me ‘Captain’	So we ate like kings. And ate, and ate!	Until we were stuffed and food was simply art.
although there’s always	room for icecream from	a 24-hr. icecream bar!
So, we had to work that off by channel surfing? No, silly!	How about visiting port cities?	And hiking above the clouds (the cable car helped).
This is my element. Peace.	…and rejuvenation.	the world behind me; the cross before me; no turning baa-a… what! the ship’s leaving (oh shit)!
Chad is smiling because that is what he does. The dude abides.	I’ve got a ridiculous grin because I won $400 at the casino and a raffle for a deep-tissue massage.	what, it’s 4:00 am EST and the sun’s still up (and I am too)? this will mess with my sleep cycles!
I’m in love with Victoria! She’s a city, not a woman - too bad.	Last stop before home, er Seattle	sleepless in Seattle. what a trip!!!

Special thanks to Vanessa Lengyel for purposing and planning this trip. If I marry a woman half as thoughtful, capable, and resourceful as you I will consider myself doubly blessed. Thanks for loving your husband by sending him out with his friend.

For the last week I made a conscious effort to “unplug” my life from extraneous activities. I don’t really have a definition for extraneous activity and I am horrible at making judgments on comparative value (e.g. is activity ‘A’ better than activity ‘B’?). So, what I ended up doing is reserving my schedule for only pre-planned activities. Then I purposed to use the remaining time to take joy in my life. Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, so all the experts are saying that this will be a close, tough game… hmm, I just don’t feel it. I had more reservations before the Tennessee game last week than I do about this game. I think the Colts are going to come back from Texas with a 28-17 win. Wow! We’ll see… go horse.