Disqus - Latest Comments for BrentBillock

Re: Why You Should Read 'Stories Of Ohio' By William Dean Howells

BrentBillock — Tue, 28 May 2019 06:53:58 -0000

It's also well out of copyright protection and available to read free at Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org/eb...

Re: Apple hopes big discounts will boost slowing iPhone sales

BrentBillock — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 14:33:44 -0000

Same. On a mid-2010 Mac Pro with the memory maxed out praying that my clients don't start demanding 4K video before Apple comes out with a truly pro-oriented tower again. For that matter, Apple itself may soon make this machine obsolete- it already doesn't meet the hardware requirements for Mojave, so lack of updated browsers and apps are usually soon to come after that.

Really hoping I don't have to learn how to work on Windows, but I can't say I'm optimistic.

Re: Apple hopes big discounts will boost slowing iPhone sales

BrentBillock — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 14:26:56 -0000

For me, it's not the price. I'd love to have a faster processor and a better camera, but I really like the convenience of the headphone port. I don't want to use another device or dongle to connect to my 10-year-old car stereo, countertop radio speaker or wired headphones. And the ridiculous counterintuitive gestures they came up with to replace the perfectly functional thumbprint-detecting home button are even more laughably inconvenient.

Stop being hostile to the user for no good reason, and perhaps they'll stop seeing your 4-year-old products as superior devices.

Re: 4 of the Best Earplugs for Musicians

BrentBillock — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 13:25:12 -0000

I swear by the Radians custom mold earplugs. No doctor's appointment, no boiling. Just mix SillyPutty-like material from each container, shove it in your ears, wait 10 minutes and take them out. They harden overnight and you have custom plugs for about 10 bucks.

http://amzn.to/2mXipkv

I generally get at least two pair from each package, and at that price you can do a lot of experimenting. Use more material per pair for more protection, put a small hole in them before they harden to let in higher frequencies, etc.

Re: Being Bilingual Changes the Architecture of Your Brain

BrentBillock — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 11:11:58 -0000

It's not just word choice. Grammatical structure becomes a lot more deliberate after using more than one language. After a few weeks in Italy, I said to my American friends "She doesn't like us, the waitress." 100% English words, with a very Italianate verb-then-subject structure.

Re: The Ultimate Guide to Transforming your Old iPhone into a Kid’s Dream iPod Touch

BrentBillock — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 16:06:59 -0000

You're not going to be able to get your kids cellular data without adding a line to your cellular plan for them. If it's just a matter of keeping them connected for gaming and messaging on a road trip, Why not turn on personal hotspot on YOUR phone, then connect the kids' device to it over wifi?

Re: Sound Advice: Gang of Four with The New Regime and Evening Redness

BrentBillock — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 14:57:56 -0000

Thanks for calling attention to this show! Gang Of Four would be reason enough for anyone to stay out on a school night. But wait, there's more.

The New Regime is also very much worth checking out. Ilan Rubin, best known for his work as a drummer for Nine Inch Nails and Paramore, is making really great music as a frontman.

And of course, I'm hoping Cincinnati turns out for the opening act at 8:00 sharp. My band Evening Redness is super excited to be opening for Gang Of Four!

Re: How to Use Facebook to Get People to Shows – Without Using Events

BrentBillock — Mon, 04 May 2015 14:34:54 -0000

You can't boost an image if it's more than 30% text.

Re: 4 Ways Even the Shyest Artists Can Develop Their Onstage Persona

BrentBillock — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 15:37:53 -0000

It's so much easier to put energy into your stage presence when you have a crowd. You've done a nice job of outlining many of the reasons why finding a groove in your stage persona is difficult. But the one you may have missed is that most bands can't pack a club with three-digit attendance when they're just getting started. Ideally, you want to build a persona on stage that's wildly confident, a little larger than life. That feels a little silly in front of 20 people politely clapping.

Re: Ask a Music Journalist: 4 Things We Never Want to Read in Bios Ever Again

BrentBillock — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 15:29:20 -0000

These seem like useful guidelines, but examples would help an awful lot. Do any great bios come to mind?

Re: Fantastical Tips for February 24, 2014

BrentBillock — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 06:18:16 -0000

I wish there was a shortcut like the / for which calendar related to when you want the alert set on a calendar event. Far as I can tell so far, you're either stuck with the default, or digging into the pulldown menu.

Re: Bob Saget speaks his mind in America’s Filthiest Home Videos

BrentBillock — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 14:38:48 -0000

When did Paul F. Tompkins become Placido Domingo? I couldn't listen to anything he said because I was waiting for him to break into "Non ti scordar di me."

Re: Game Of Thrones (newbies): “The Lion And The Rose”

BrentBillock — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 16:58:32 -0000

I can't believe the author of this post and the multiple commenters on the thread are still so in the dark about who actually orchestrated the regicide. Tumblr has it all figured out, from clues that happened within the episode itself. This isn't a book-fueled spoiler. I haven't read the books and from what I understand it isn't spelled out in the books who did it.

But when Oleanna comes in to take her place at the head table, she stops by to talk to Sansa. Apparently, the necklace Sansa received from the Fool is full of poison crystals, and Oleanna swipes one while purportedly fondling her braids. Oleanna expresses her regrets for what happened to Sansa's brother, wondering "what kind of monster would murder someone at a wedding?" In a shot of Sansa after the exchange, you can see that a crystal is missing from the upper left of her necklace.

Her angle here isn't entirely clear, since the previews from next week show Margaery bemoaning that she "would have been queen." So evidently, absent an heir or an actual coronation, she won't be in power. But clearly, Oleanna didn't want her granddaughter to be shackled to the psychotic train-wreck on the throne

We don't actually see Oleanna plant the crystal in Joffrey's goblet, but Margaery sets it down near her when the pie is brought in.

I assume that the Fool recognizes the workings of his poison in the manner of Joffrey's death, and he assumes Sansa did it, after seeing her handle his cup. So he promptly tells her to get the hell out of there.

Re: Starz orders a ballet drama from Breaking Bad writer

BrentBillock — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 15:09:24 -0000

I'd watch the hell out of some ballerinas doing battle theater.

Re: Could Forrest Gump have possibly survived his epic run? - The Week

BrentBillock — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 09:24:07 -0000

What? No mention anywhere of Eddie Izzard?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/...

Re: Could having kids lower your salary? - The Week

BrentBillock — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 09:06:49 -0000

So much false causality. The way this research is cited suggests that all workers are homogenous automatons who behave exactly the same in the workplace. That parenthood has no effect on their attitudes or strategies toward their jobs.

If a woman with minor children at home has a greater need for home-work balance, it stands to reason that she is not going to be her workplace's most aggressive pursuer of promotions, bonuses and pay raises. If a man has children depending on him, he may be more motivated to do what he can to earn more at his job.

Now, is it worth asking if those are outdated gender roles? Should we examine the pressures that influence women to give up on their career ambitions while raising children? Is it worthwhile to question whether the men and their children would benefit from having Daddy home more? Absolutely.

But to frame this as purely a matter of bias on the part of employers is facile and ridiculous.

Re: Labor Day | Coming Distractions | Trailer | The A.V. Club

BrentBillock — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:29:15 -0000

The best part of this trailer was soundtrack by Other Lives. Not sure if I should be happy for them getting more exposure for their crazy talented song-making, or sad that it's attached to what looks like it might be a debacle of a movie.

Re: Why We Have Our Best Ideas in the Shower: The Science of Creativity

BrentBillock — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 14:29:17 -0000

I LOVE Evernote for songwriting. It's so easy to capture a snippet of lyrics, and since you can attach a recording, it's also excellent for recording melodic ideas.

Re: On The Record: Doug Boles President, Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

BrentBillock — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 15:41:58 -0000

I hope they succeed in making the Speedway a place where the MotoGP riders don't hate racing. It really is a great experience.

I *really* hope some of that $100 million goes toward toilet facilities. My seven-year-old and I sat in the grandstand at turn 9, and found out just how fun a quarter-mile hike can be with an elementary schooler's bladder.

Re: The Last Mystery of the Financial Crisis | Politics News | Rolling Stone

BrentBillock — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:55:12 -0000

Maybe I should take a closer look at the prospectus.

Re: The Last Mystery of the Financial Crisis | Politics News | Rolling Stone

BrentBillock — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:02:46 -0000

I wonder if Matt was able to look over the walls of his cubicle and ask Peter Travers about the irresistible temptation to provide blatantly misleading ratings for steaming piles of excrement. At least Pete can sleep at night knowing he only cost moviegoers $10 instead of their entire pensions.

Re: AdWords Billing Tab Unavailable For Some

BrentBillock — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:32:04 -0000

Nearly two years later, it's still missing in Safari. Shows up in Firefox, though. I guess the Google-Apple Cold War is escalating.

Re: Obama: Romney Now 'Severely Kidding'

BrentBillock — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 17:21:23 -0000

How do you get away with just stealing this video and slapping your watermark and URL on it? I'm glad I got to see it, but that seems sleazy and possibly illegal.

Re: Why You Should Unfriend Facebook Friends

BrentBillock — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:43:41 -0000

I'm a big fan of Facebook's "unsubscribe" functionality. That way I can ignore my crazy aunts' recitation of Fox News rhetoric, but still maintain a friendly connection where they can contact me via direct message, and comment on pictures of my kids.

In fact, I think "unsubscribe" addresses all of your reasons for unfriending while still leaving lines of communication open. From a professional standpoint, it's always beneficial to have a large list of casual friends who you know how to reach if the reason arises.

You could try to direct message those professional contacts you "subscribe" to, but without the "friend" relationship, your message is likely to wind up in their neglected "other" folder without their knowledge.

Re: Too Hot for TED: Income Inequality - Jim Tankersley - NationalJournal.com

BrentBillock — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:02:22 -0000

It only comes down on the side of one party because the other party has an adversarial relationship with facts.

Disqus - Latest Comments for BrentBillock

Re: Why You Should Read 'Stories Of Ohio' By William Dean Howells

Re: Apple hopes big discounts will boost slowing iPhone sales

Re: Apple hopes big discounts will boost slowing iPhone sales

Re: 4 of the Best Earplugs for Musicians

Re: Being Bilingual Changes the Architecture of Your Brain

Re: The Ultimate Guide to Transforming your Old iPhone into a Kid’s Dream iPod Touch

Re: Sound Advice: Gang of Four with The New Regime and Evening Redness

Re: How to Use Facebook to Get People to Shows – Without Using Events

Re: 4 Ways Even the Shyest Artists Can Develop Their Onstage Persona

Re: Ask a Music Journalist: 4 Things We Never Want to Read in Bios Ever Again

Re: Fantastical Tips for February 24, 2014

Re: Bob Saget speaks his mind in <i>America’s Filthiest Home Videos</i>

Re: <i>Game Of Thrones</i> (newbies): “The Lion And The Rose”

Re: Starz orders a ballet drama from <em>Breaking Bad </em>writer

Re: Could Forrest Gump have possibly survived his epic run? - The Week

Re: Could having kids lower your salary? - The Week

Re: Labor Day | Coming Distractions | Trailer | The A.V. Club

Re: Why We Have Our Best Ideas in the Shower: The Science of Creativity

Re: On The Record: Doug Boles President, Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Re: The Last Mystery of the Financial Crisis | Politics News | Rolling Stone

Re: The Last Mystery of the Financial Crisis | Politics News | Rolling Stone

Re: AdWords Billing Tab Unavailable For Some

Re: Obama: Romney Now 'Severely Kidding'

Re: Why You Should Unfriend Facebook Friends

Re: Too Hot for TED: Income Inequality - Jim Tankersley - NationalJournal.com