yahoo's 25 essential #punk album list is mostly ok

I gots opinion. Disclaimer: The No's are all great albums, their just not among my personal elite albums.

25) The Angry Samoans -- Back From Samoa: YES
24) The Dictators -- Go Girl Crazy!: NO
23) The Germs -- GI: YES
22) The Damned -- Machine Gun Eitiquette: NO
21) Avengers -- The Avengers: HMMM, MAYBE?
20) Circle Jerks -- Group Sex: ABSOLUTELY. TOP 5.
19) Descendents -- Milo Goes To College: YUP. Top 5.
18) Black Flag -- Damaged: YES, TOP 5
17) Suicide -- Suicide: NOPE
16) Dead Kennedys -- Plastic Surgery Disasters: OH YES 
15) Bad Brains -- Bad Brains: FUCK YEAH
14) The Clash -- London Calling: I'M PARTIAL TO THE S/T, BUT OKAY
13) Gang of Four -- Entertainment!: NO
12) Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers -- L.A.M.F.: NO
11) X-Ray Spex -- Germ Free Adolescents: BORDERLINE, BUT NO
10) Bedlam -- Bedlam: NO
9) Richard Hell and the Voidoids -- Blank Generation: NO
8) Minor Threat -- Out of Step: DEFINITELY TOP 5
7) Wire -- Pink Flag: NO  6) Misfits -- Walk Among Us: YES
5) Buzzcocks -- Singles Going Steady: YES
4) Dead Boys -- Young, Loud and Snotty: I'M SUPPOSED TO SAY YES BUT NO
3) X -- Los Angeles: KIND OF OVERRATED BUT YES
2) The Ramones -- Leave Home: S/T FTW BUT OF COURSE
1) The Sex Pistols -- Never Mind the Bollocks: YES, BUT NOT #1

So choosing jist from this list, top 5 should be

1. CIRCLE JERKS
2. RAMONES
3. DESCENDENTS
4. BLACK FLAG
5. MINOR THREAT

with BAD BRAINS replacing 3-5 depending on mood. DK just misses the cut as well.

You agree, right?

looking a gift horse in the mouth

"Google Has Forgotten Why We Love It".

Actually, it hasn't.

It's well known that I despise the cult of Apple. So, this is going to seem hypocritical, as I'm an unabashed  member of the cult of Google. These kinds of stories piss me off. I generally like and agree with Boing Boing and the EFF-type crowd, but sometimes they need to tone it the fuck down.

I mean, Google has only given me, for free*:

the ability to upload 20 gigabytes of my own music and listen to it anywhere I get a phone signal; access to the best email service around; the ability to create almost any kind of document and store it online; the ability to (sporadically) express my thoughts to the entire world in this here blog; turn by turn navigation on my phone; an aerial map of the entire world; access to all the cat videos I can handle; the ability to completely control my voicemail and have a second number if I want; the best RSS reader around; storage for every photo I have ever taken; the best web browser, the list goes on and on. Did I mention searching the entire web better than any engine ever invented?

Oh, but fuck 'em for having the gall to actually make money on the venture.

And the whole, "Oh noes, Google is changing their privacy policies!" freakout a few weeks ago? C'mon. Google has a hundred products with a hundred different privacy policies. It would be stupid NOT to consolidate them into a single policy.

You don't like what Google does? Don't use their products. I don't use a single Apple product, and my life has been just fine. You'll live, trust me.



*I know, I know, the "price" is that I'm being packaged and sold to advertisers (which, by the way, I can opt out of.). It's 2012, that ship has sailed my friend.

r.i.p. pudwacker

Pudwacker was the name I gave to my Zune (the Zune software allows you to name your Zune). I know there's at least one reader out there who will agree with me when I say that the for playing music, the Zune dominated the iPod in every way. Laugh if you want, but it's true. So anyways, last week I was cruising around with my Zune playing and the sunroof open, enjoying another beautiful San Diego day. I come home, park in the driveway, and forget to close the sunroof. Wouldn't you know it, the worst storm of the season blows in a few hours later, and dumps all sorts of rain right in to my car, where both my Zune and Kindle Fire are. The Kindle Fire survived, but it looks like the Zune did not. So what do I do now? Ever since Microsoft announced they would no longer make the Zune, the price has risen, and I don't feel comfortable paying the prices people are asking, no matter how great it is. I am NOT going the iPod route, because the only punk rock thing I have going anymore is my refusal to join the Apple cult (don't worry though, I've sold out in every other conceivable way). I see the make 64GB microSD cards that I could put in my EVO 4G, which would work since I only had about 40gb filled on the Zune, Those are about $120n though, so I'd like to see the price drop before buying. So, faithful readers (or more accurately reader), give me some advice. Is there another high capacity (64gb +) player on the market I should look into? Should I spring for the SD card? Should I join the Apple cult (only if there's a way to avoid iTunes of course)? Or should I just by another Zune? What would you do?