It’s Saturday, and you know what that means: Time to see what sort of a tasty stew we can make of the articles that I’ve saved over the week. Let’s see how flavorful this one is:
- Changes In Music. Here are a couple of articles on changes in music. The first, naturally, has to do with the iPod Classic. Popmatters had a nice requiem for the iPod Classic: As Apple couldn’t improve on perfection, they had to kill it. It talked about what the iPod Classic meant to obsessive-compulsives, especially OCs about music. I know the feeling; with iTunes 11 I’ve been finding myself fixing composers on songs, and cursing iCloud because it keeps the Apple versions of the metadata, which I no longer want. Another article I found explores the death of the fade-out at the end of the song. It used to be very popular in music, but nowadays is gone. This reflects a lot of things: the fade-out no longer represents technical excellence, and bands want to have something they can replicate on tour. Fade-outs also used to be the place to hide lyrics you didn’t want on the radio.
- Restaurant News. Two articles of interest to Southern California folk: Hamburger Hamlet is back in Van Nuys with much of the original menu intact. I must go try it. On the other hand, Roll N’ Rye in Culver City has closed. Yet another Jewish deli goes by the wayside. It is getting to be a disappearing type of cuisine.
- There is a Connection Here. Yes, there is a connection between these three articles, although most folks won’t know it. First, an interesting article on the secret Yiddish connection to Scotland. Next, an article about a fellow bringing high fashion to knitting. Lastly, an article with some facts that anyone taking “the pill” should know.
- A Work Connection. Here are two articles that have a work connection. I’m not sure if I should be scared. First, it appears that SAP has purchased Concur, and on-line travel management software portal. Secondly, Concur now has a connection to Airbnb for business travel.
- Finding Hidden Things. Two articles on being able to find hidden things. The first is about a connection between male pattern baldness and prostate cancer. Luckily, I”ve shown no signs of male pattern baldness. The second article is about the development of a gluten sensor for food.
- Abandoning It All. And lastly, an article about 10 abandoned International airports. I particularly like the mention of Stapleton, and how there are a few signs of it left. Speaking of abandonment, it looks like Toshiba is slashing its consumer PC division. That’s too bad; I’ve liked Toshiba PC products since my indestructable Toshiba T1600 with a 286. With the exception of my daughter’s ASUS and an early Sager 486 system, all of our portables have been Toshibas. I hope they keep a few lines around.