aaron c beals

what’s your go-to music for productivity?

if you’re like me, it depends heavily on the task at hand. the appropriate music seems to enhance my focus on the task and my ability to accomplish it more quickly. (N.B. observance of this effect is purely anecdotal and has not been scientifically proven.)

misc: jam (e.g. Phish)
coding: ambient / chiptunes (e.g. Orbital, Groove Salad, Anamanaguchi)
lifting: prog / metal (e.g. DT, Opeth)
cardio: punk (e.g. NOFX)
driving: jam or classic rock (e.g. Zep)

occasionally, there can be some crossover. for instance, right now i’m writing code with the help of some live Dead.

so i’ll ask again: what genre of music enhances your work?

most people know or have a strong idea of whom they’re going to vote for on November 4th, but even if you’re 100% certain, i believe it’s important to go back to basics and make sure you understand where you stand on the issues in comparison to each candidate. there’s a non-partisan online tool that asks you to assign points to your top issues and then asks questions from each of those issues, lining you up with four candidates (Democrat, Green, Independent, Republican). the approach is refreshing in a time when we’ve been inundated with character assassination and tired rhetoric. the issues are why we’re voting for a president, not the warm feelings they fill you with.

check it out at glassbooth.org.

the exercise didn’t change my mind, but it certainly made me more sure of my decision by reinforcing that decision with facts.

the story has been covered pretty thoroughly by the major news outlets (link, link), but i wanted to voice my excitement about and encouragement to the world’s newest nation! certainly unrest is still strong in that area of the world, and a lot more change lies ahead if peace is to be achieved, but i was elated to see the people of Kosovo complete their fight against adversity and finally declare their independence.

of course, i am partial to the history of the Albanians living in Kosovo (being 50% Albanian by blood), but i truly hope that all of the new citizens of Kosovo — Albanian, Serbian, or otherwise — can set an example for the rest of the region by learning how to weave their cultural differences into a strong nation.

some thoughts as i watch game 1 of the 2007 World Series:

* i can’t believe the Sox are back in it. 2004 feels like forever ago and just yesterday, all at the same time. i’m giddy.

* what a start by Beckett — sure, he’s given up 1 run, but 5 strikeouts over two innings? nasty. just nasty.

* and how about Pedroia?!? the kid’s awesome. have you ever seen him stand next to Ortiz? the size differential is comical. there’s a sitcom brewing there.

* i listen to and watch a lot of comedy, but i’m apparently the only person who has never listened to Dane Cook. and after his playoff commercials, i aim to keep it that way. words that come to mind include “grating” and “jackass”.

* i spent the entire ALCS watching the game on FOX but listening to WRKO, because i couldn’t stand hearing Buck blatantly root against the Sox and McCarver’s idiotic musings. it worked out well — the sound wasn’t as rich as the TV, but i got to hear Joe Castiglione, and the sound was synced up almost exactly with the TV. but tonight, WEEI’s “we own Wednesday and weekend day games” clause kicked in, so i had to switch over. they’ve got a 3-4 second delay going. it’s painful. i tried for an inning and a half, but i just can’t do it. tomorrow, we go back to WRKO.

* given the choice of paying $300 to sit at Fenway in the cold rain and paying $0 to sit here on my couch and watch the game in HD? warm and relaxing, i choose you. of course, i say this having gotten my Fenway playoff fix at game 1 of the ALDS, watching Beckett’s complete-game shutout gem. go ahead, hate me. i’m shielded by my 2004 World Series hoodie.

* it’s not so much that i hate the Chevy commercial as much as i have now resolved to avoid purchasing a Chevy truck at all costs.

* i forgot how much listening to Phish calms me down.

* today’s sign that my priorities are out of whack: the Sox’ current slump (and devastating loss of a dominating lead over the Yanks) is starting to affect my emotional well-being. i can’t believe they lost again tonight.

* the Facebook news feed seems arbitrary in which news items it skips (and the ordering seems only roughly chronological). there are settings to increase the frequency of various types of news items, but you don’t have control to the level of being able to say “yeah, this is interesting, more of this” and the feed adapting. or even “for this user, give me all news items”.

* music mashups are a weakness of mine, probably stemming from the days i dabbled in mixing. i’m a huge fan of Danger Mouse’s Grey Album, for example. so tonight, i stumbled across a mashup of Jimi’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and Jay-Z’s “99 Problems”. solid mix. the mp3 is floating around the net and there’s even a YouTube video out there… though since it’s underground and only half-legal (Jay-Z released the vocal tracks for remixing, but the Jimi half is under copyright protection), i’m not going to link to the files or videos. but i’m sure you can figure it out.