H.I.T.S.
At this point, it appears that I have to start taking this global- warming thing a bit more seriously — because, lately, I’ve felt like I’m melting. Maybe it’s just old age, but it certainly feels a lot warmer this summer than it has in recent years.
You can read an incredible amount about the growing conjecture over global-warming online, of course, at sites like a href=”http://www.globalwarmingisreal.com http://www.globalwarmingisreal.com end
and a href=”http://www.dailydigests.com/global_warming/index.shtml http://www.dailydigests.com/global_warming/index.shtml end
.
One of my students was telling me about running track every other day for three miles in this heat, which really made me cringe.
On the subject of running, I saw this really cool gizmo from Apple and Nike that installs a sensor on your shoe.
The sensor sends information like time, distance and calories burned wirelessly to a receiver on your iPod Nano, which logs all the data the sensor picks up.
How high-tech is that?
It should be available soon, and will sell for about $29.
You can read more about it at a href=”http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/may/23nike.html http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/may/23nike.html end
.
I also saw another very nice item at a href=”http://www.roadmasterusa.com/backupcamera_vr3.php http://www.roadmasterusa.com/backupcamera_vr3.php end
.
Among other things, they sell a wireless camera that installs easily on your license plate and sends images to a small screen that fits on your dash so you can see everything that’s behind you while you’re backing up.
Really, this kind of idea should have been integrated into cars a long time ago — many lives could have been saved if it had been.
It’s only about $149 and is easily installed (so they say).
Check it out.
Speaking of cameras, one of my favorite Webcam sites has added two more cameras so that you can see even more sites in Liverpool, near the famous Cavern Club, where the Beatles got their start.
Take a look the site located at a href=”http://www.mathew.st/webcam.php http://www.mathew.st/webcam.php end
.
I think it’s great to be able to see another part of the world from the comfort of your chair, via your computer and the internet.
Last week, our band Bad Mojo, played another gig at Summers on the Mon, with the help of our ailing singer, Mrs. Schulze, who soldiered on despite conjunctivitis and a sore throat.
Part way through the night, she briefly lost her voice.
Luckily, our friend, Diane Dayton (a great singer) was there, and we dragged her up to sing along with us for a while — and she did an awesome job.
Thankfully, my wife’s voice returned for just long enough to finish the night, and we really had a fun evening of the blues.
We’re hoping that we can drag Doren out to our next gig there on Aug. 18, since he’s promised to take some digital pics for the Web site at bloodylimey.com.
You can also visit the archive of past H.I.T.S. columns there, and we’re also looking into getting some video footage of us playing up on the site.
This is amazingly easy to do via Apple’s iWeb software.
It seems that uploading video is the new craze online and you can see clips of great music for all tastes at sites like a href=”http://www.youtube.com/ http://www.youtube.com/ end
or Yahoo.
Of course, you can also see silly people with inappropriate behavior, from time to time, but, by and large, there are more positives than negatives.
Another thing I was thinking about recently that’s changed greatly is the sheer amount of information you can get online about any subject under the sun.
Sometimes, it can also be very touching.
As a case in point, one of my guitar heroes was an Irish player called Rory Gallagher, whom I really admired and had seen play live on various occasions in England.
Sadly, he died of complications after a liver transplant in 1995.
I had this mental image of him, based on memories from years ago, but online, I see pictures and even video footage of him looking drastically different from my memories.
But I guess that’s life.
Although he was somewhat of a cult figure, there is a host of information now about him online
It really paints a sad picture of a brilliant artist whose life went on a decline, although he has left a legacy of music to all his many fans around the world.
The Internet also helps to keep it going for new fans.
It’s really strange to think what life would be at this point without the Internet, high-tech and gadgety goodies (some of which you’ll be soon be seeing on the latest H.I.T.S. show).
You can also read about them each week in this column and — hopefully — get a chuckle or two, as well.
Have a great week and happy surfing.