Now that I've moved into the new place, I've realized I've forgotten something big.

Music.

In my old apartment, my computer was right smack in the middle of the living area, and close enough to the bedroom that I could blast it and it worked fine.

Now my computer is in an office way on the other side of the apartment away from the bedroom.  Plus, its going on 4 1/2 years old and I'm running out of disk space.

So, I think an upgrade is in order and I'm reaching out for some advice.  I'm willing to go pretty geeky here, especially if it means getting something on the cheap and learning something in the process.

Here's what I want:

I want something fast, with a ton of storage, that I can capture video on and play music.  The music needs to be streamed into 3-4 rooms, but I'd like to be able to choose which rooms.  So, if I'm cooking, no need for it to be on in the bedroom.  I don't need two different streams in two different rooms.  This isn't Webster Hall.

So, advice on a PC (minus a screen... I have a flat screen already) and a wireless speaker setup, as well as a good TV capture card...   Anyone either have ideas, sites to go to, or advice on how to approach my search?

Again...  let me reiterate that I don't want to/can't speak 10K on this.  We're looking to do this on the cheap.

ooops...   Somehow when I did the new format, I forgot to put my Feedblitz box back.  So, now, if you type in your e-mail address on the right, you can get this e-mailed to you.  This is good for people who aren't into RSS and my dad. 

Joshua from del.icio.us often says that lots of people are good at coming up with more ideas but very few people are good with less.  Less ideas?  Yes...   Narrowing down your service to its most basic features and elements.  Getting rid of the chafe.

When I wrote papers in college, I tended to be a bit wordy.  (I know, I know... right?   Me, wordy?)  I'd write a paper and then my first edit was to just cut the word count by 20% and say the same thing.  I'd go sentence by sentence replacing four words with three, just to squeeze under the target count.  It made my writing so much better, though.  More words don't always get your point across better.

With web services, more clicks and even sometimes more features, can confuse the hell out of a user.  When you develop a service, how about trying the following exercise:

1. List all of the ideas for functions of your service.
2. Rank them in terms of value to the user.
3. Kill off the most useless 20% of the features.
4. Take the remaining 80% and map how many clicks it takes for someone to actually complete them.
5. Even with the most simple, try and kill off 20% of the clicks... or if its really simple to begin with, just shave a click off of everything.

Seems that I missed some people at the NYSIA Web 2.0 meeting last Monday.  Fred mentioned that a couple of people, including a Fordham grad, asked for me.  Funny enough, I also cracked 600 today on my RSS subs.  I feel like my recent Chuck Norris association is really driving some of this popularity.  Blogging Chuck Norris=popularity.

Anyway, if anyone is going to be at the Digital Hollywood Media Summit, look me up.  I'll be the bald guy with the tablet.

If Yahoo doesn't want to be #1 in search, and they buy Digg after buying Delicious, what, then, do they want to be?

Have you been wondering about the tabs that appeared recently on my banner at the top--especially the peculiar "Pimp My Web" tab?  Well, wonder no more, because the Pimp My Web section of this blog is now functional, at least in Beta, anyway.  (We've wondered at Union Square Ventures why anyone would ever remove the "Beta" tag from a product.  Why would you ever say anything is done?  There's always room for improvement.  Shouldn't you always be working on something to make it better and soliciting audience feedback?)

The point of Pimp My Web is simple.  I'll be posting screencasts here on how to get the most out of your online experience... mostly for more novice users.  It will be the kind of site you e-mail to your mom to show her how to set up del.icio.us or maybe to view yourself before you set up del.icio.us on your girlfriend's computer and make her think you're smarter than you really are.  Starting a new blog?  Send folks here so they can learn how to use your RSS feed in Lesson One. 

These screencasts are just a start.  Two other things I use are the universal IM client, Trillian, and Linkedin.  Got other suggestions for future screencasts?  How about podcasting?  Drop a comment and let me know what every webhead needs to know at a minimum.

Losing 17-11 to the STV Scrappers wasn't exactly the way the Fordham Young Alumni softball team wanted to open their season, but the guys and gals in maroon made enough of a showing to give fans something to look forward to this season.

Crafty pitching from Brian "Strikes" Cuthbert (FCLC '01) and solid defense kept Fordham in the game through the first three frames.  Alexis "The Cannon" Kramer (FCRH '01) led the glovework, getting four of the team's first six outs in the field, including an unassisted double play in the second.  The outfield of Jason "Wheels" Giannitti (FCRH '02), Kevin "I'm not a small" Rodricks (FCRH '99, GSAS '04) and Larry "Young at Heart" Porco (GSAS '80) turned in some key plays to keep things close.  STV lead after three 3-0.

David "I live on the same block as Charlie" Murphy (FCRH '04) finally put Fordham on the board with a bases loaded two run single, scoring Christine "Nickname to be named later" Schildknecht (CBA '99) and Giannitti.  Charlie "Its my blog, so I make the nicknames" O'Donnell (CBA '01) singled home another run to knot it at three. Kramer than followed with a laser over the left fielder for a two run homer that put Fordham ahead 5-3.

After STV got one back, Fordham tacked on even more runs in the next frame.   The team had eight consecutive hits in the fifth, plating six more runs.  Fordham's females set things up in the inning with Christine "Christine" Guerrero (FCRH '99), Sofia "Steamroller" Won (CBA '03), and Schildknecht all reaching base and scoring.  Jim "The Wright Stuff" Gallagher (CBA '99) drove in a run with his second hit and also scored a run.  Murphy, O'Donnell, and Cuthbert all took part in the barrage, each hitting run scoring singles. 

All the hitting seemed to wear down the Fordham team, though, as the wheels came off the train in the sixth and seventh.  Despite flashy glovework from Nicole "Full Coverage"* Horsford (FCRH '99) at first, the defense didn't keep up, leaving opportunities open for STV to climb back and take a sizable lead with some timely hitting.  When it was finally over, STV would score five in the six and a painful eight in the seventh--13 unanswered runs.  Still, Fordham left the field in good spirits, looking forward to its April 21st practice and next game on Friday the 29th. 

All Fordham alumni are welcome to join us at our practice and afterwards at our regular "Third Thursday" Happy Hour.  T. G. Whitney's on 53rd between 2nd and 3rd.  Practice first, drink after.  Players will be signing autographs at the bar.

* See, the "Full Coverage" nickname is funny only if you know that Nicole works for HIP, the health plan.  She works for a health plan and she plays a great first base.  Clever, no?

AOL trying to make a social network out of AIM reminds me of when the A-Team used to make tanks out of junkyard parts at the end of every episode...it might look messy at first, but whatever they build, it just might work. 

All the pieces are definitely there... more AIM users than people tied to any particular social network.  I love it when a plan comes together.

Link: AOL: MySpace Invader.

...  Or at least let me CTRL+D or something.   

Link: Official Google Blog: It's in the mail....

Google replaced the "trash" like in their Gmail drop down with a delete button.  Fine for people who like buttons, but I was used to the drop down and now I keep going to it and finding nothing.  Its very frustrating.

I saw 24 Hours on Craigslist last night and it was pretty damn funny.

I was surprised the theater wasn't packed, given that is the 18th most popular site on the web.  Perhaps if they had put a Craiglist ad up, more people would have showed. 

Basically, they took something like 80 ads from one single day and filmed the stories around them...  everything from crossdressing rockers to moms selling strollers.  Some of the people score really high on the Unintentional Comedy Scale. 

Having met Craig Newmark in person, it was especially hilarious to hear people's comments on whether there even really is a Craig and what he's like. 

The thing is, Craigslist is really a reflection of ourselves in a lot of ways, and so I feel like I learned a few things in this movie:

1. No matter how creepy you are, there's always someone creepier out there.
2. There is a really thin line between hilarious and creepy.
3. There's no fat end of the curve...   In the end, its all long tail.
4. Its unclear whether anonymity breeds more or less honesty.
5. Free is good.  People love free.
6. Homemade cookies are the universal currency.  If someone has 50 pairs of surplus women's army pants, you can trade a bag of homemade cookies for them.
7. Flash mobs are cool... NYC should have some of them.

The next time someone jokes about you...  turn it into a sales pitch.

Way to go, Chuck.

*gives thumbs up*

If you haven't seen the Random Chuck Norris Fact Generator yet, go here.

For those of you not living in a cave that has no broadband, Supr.c.ilio.us has some great web 2.0 related additions:

Link: Supr.c.ilio.us: The Blog � Chuck Norris 2.0.

My favorite:  Chuck Norris doesn’t search Google. He just stares at the screen until Google pops the website he needs.

This blog is hilarious...    There's no reason why it should have half the RSS subs I do.  You should go subscribe to their blog now, or Chuck Norris will roundhouse kick you in the face.

Last Friday night, my Fordham Global Outreach team spent the night contributing to the local New Orleans economy on Bourbon Street.  It turned out that Anderson Cooper was broadcasting live from one of the balconies above.  After shouting to him for about a half hour, he came down after his show for a quick photo op.  Here's the video of the Fordham group calling out to him and him snapping a few pictures with us:

I'm finding myself glued to Indian music videos on Channel 73 this morning.  This isn't the first time I've flipped through and stopped to listen and watch. 

I have no idea what they're singing about and a lot of the dancing looks like its a fight between the Jets and the Sharks from West Side Story.  What's with the dancing in big groups?  There also seems to be a lot of rising overhead shots of guys singing with outstretched arms and shouting towards the sky... sort of like Kirk yelling "Khaaaan!" in Star Trek II. 

But yet, I can't stop from bopping along.  This is great stuff.

Music truly is the international language.  Attractive female Indian dancers don't hurt either, admittedly.

So, if anyone has any recommendations as to some of this stuff I should be listening to, let me know. 

Repainted hallway, originally uploaded by ceonyc.

We just finished repainting this hallway...  These ceilings are like 20ft!

FEMA Trailers  Arrive, originally uploaded by ceonyc.

Now the personal care attendants have somewhere to stay, after months.