Songbird

Just use it!

Go to http://www.songbirdnest.com for the developer release or to www.qtrax.com to get the normal release.

Why you ask?

Because its plain good concept. Mix in one of the Web favourite's browser enginge: Mozilla with a mediaplayer like iTunes and you end up with Songbird. Two great aplications in just one package. Not convinced yet? How about its internal search engine of MP3? You hit a webpage, skreemr.com for instance, search for some music: Piazolla, RATM, Mariah Carey, you name it! and the Songbird will imediatly try and lookup what media is avaiable in its peer to peer netword that matches the media displayed on the page. You can listen to music, download it, search for more all free of charge. They claimed to have settled some kind of deal with the record labels so they can compensate the artists(and keep the money flow i guess). Its my number one media application right now, because its just so sweet to listen to new music, download a few singles of the band that was playing yesterday's morning in the radio, etc.

Try it and see if you don't fall in love with the bird too ;)

Path to (In)Perfection...

Hello boys and girls its time for ..FOOOOOTBAAALL!!
As someone of you might know last Sunday Superbowl XLII was held in Phoenix Arizona, US. Contenders were the perfect team: New England Patriots featuring weapons as such as Wesker, Brady, Maroney and mr.Cool - Randy Moss. On the other side of the pitch the defiant wild card New York Giants lining up with the younger Manning - Eli, Burroughs and a mean gritty defense!



Game was aired in Portugal nearby 11h30m and ended nearby 3, 3,30m am..that was late in the night to finnally get some shuteye...

I was hoping for a Patriot Win and thus settling a new record in NFL: 19-0 but the Giants Defense, with a capital D, was Huge that night and simply smoke away the NE offense. I'm somewhat sad to see the majority of media stating that 18-1 means nothing if they didn't ended up with shinny superbowl rings...Ah well, the way i see it they had a terrific campaign and managed to get to the Superbowl undefeated and that IS something.

Of course I don't follow all the scandals that surrounded their walk trough, all the imperfections, flaws, lack of running plays, etc. that so many pointed out already. How should I? I'm an European and this was the first season that i picked up of NFL. Here in the old Continent we don't know what a sack, a down, a guard, a quarterback, interception is, much alone an offside, pass interference, down by contact, fumble or shotgun formation is. We just don't! We're bombed with football innuendo in Hollywood movies that simply goes to waste in our soccer, as you call European football, minds. For the majority NFL is a variety of Rugby with the difference that players sport shoulder pads, helmet, body armor and, most likely, a complete lack of respect for the opponents physical integrity. Thats the message that is convoyed! The majority of sports channels were just air the Superbowl and that alone. We're treated with a rough summary of the NFL prior to the SuperSunday and we tune in later for a 60 minutes of action sport! A mere minority around here gets NASN and with that the full pack of NFL games, replays, tidbits of trivia and timed debates of NFL,NHL, Baseball, College Football and College Basketball. Not bad, eh?

Still some complains can be filed! NASN should do a better work of explaining the game, tactics, penalties, timeouts, challenges, special teams, formations, positions, etc etc. It sure can be cryptic to follow a live commented game for the typical continental. It really is honest. NFL is so badly marketed around here so there's no way the majority of the audience will stay and watch a full game that they dont know nothing about and worse, there's not much effort unto explaining it. Why should average joe should watch a show where they discuss more stats and do more number crunching than actually talk about the game?? They're broadcasting with an american type of viewer in mind and they're prime target should be the average viewer.. Nevertheless: better to have some grasp of American sports than not at all. Im not bowing for content change, im just pleading for a better package!!

I own, and play, NFL 08 - Wii version, and although I'm generally pleased with a broad offer in game modes, players, teams, happy to see beautifully animated players in motion, addicting game play with the Wii-mote and settled for low-res graphics that EA gifted this version, i'm really not happy with the tutorials and learning to play the game. It fails to deliver information on the fouls existing in the game, formations, etc. Its a really old franchise that is lacking effort in the localization of the European, and Asian?, version of the game..It's somewhat sad all of this...

I wonder how soccer is faring up in the States. Is it understandable? No? Yes? Better than NFL on Europe? Worse?

Looking forward to see some replies. I'm off to beat up NYG with the Patriots offense. Cya around

The Curse of Garfield!

There's no shortcut for saying this: After more than seven years away from the devil, I've fallen to to His temptations as a starving rabbit attacks a carrot, Garfield devours pizza and japanese people shoot photo snapshots everywhere. I kinda started playing Magic again...


When Lorwyn came out in October Truz managed, somehow, to tag me to be his twin head for a Two-Headed Giant pre-release tournament. Since he was sponsoring the fees, and keeping the cards the goblin! , I found myself without excuses for not showing up at...10 am...in a Saturday...a sunny one..well that was a major one, but i tagged along and, since i didn't played for so long, learned to play, feebly i might add, a new CCG: Legend of the Five Rings, it didnt strike me odd to find my team in the very last spot at the end of the tournament.


This last Saturday, however, same format, new teammate - Truz ruthlessly dumped after we scored rock bottom on the previous attempt, so i got a new invite from a another old time friend and, in my humble opinion, the face of Magic in Porto, Helder! New expansion is named Morningtide and it sure brought new luck with it. We both managed to snake our way to the top of tournament with a final score of 4 wins, 1 tie and 0 defeats. Go us! Go green decks allied with black and red disrupt annoyance(my deck!). Show Stopper of the Afternoon was definitely the Black Planeswalker that we got lucky enough to pop out in three games in a row: Liliana Vess. Her hypnotic eyes managed to focus the opposition entirely on her, leaving a clear field for the big green trees swat the rest away. Perfect! Truz managed to wriggle his way up to the second place which granted him a hefty amount of boosters as prize since he was, once again, my sponsor.


Its being good to play magic without pay and play the occasional games with nice colored proxies...I'm making a vow not to pay to mtg as yet...maybe when the future sight template hits the house and the actual cards don't look as lame as my old proxies i can re-start thinking about Standard Format again!
As another vow to remake my old NecroDeck in type I format, creme de la creme, vintage, I'v rbought two neat Drain Life, one from alpha and one from beta. One must start somewhere don't ya think?