Topher Cyll

Holy Album Recording Month, Batman!

This blog post is oh-so late, but my server crashed taking down both this blog and the National Album Recording Month webite. What a mess!

(Let me sing you a little song, it's about National Album Recording Month...)

But we're back up, and National Album Recording Month is ready to go. Last year's participants are re-signing up and we're looking for new blood. Here are the rules:

• Record 31 minutes in the 31 days in May.
• Pick a title and make some cover art.
• Anything goes. Original songs, covers, spoke word, comedy, or essay. Just make an album!

It's time to put aside our fears, ranging from "I don't know anything about music" to "I don't have the time to do it right." Wouldn't you rather have recorded an album by May 31st than made excuses?

(Putting aside your fear means willingness to look like a total idiot.)

The greatest thing about NARMo you can actually do it! You could finish in just 36 minutes (a straight 31 minute recording session and 5 minutes to draw a cover on a cocktail napkin). Of course, the best albums will take a little longer. ;-) But seriously, over 20 people finished last year and we recorded hundreds of minutes all together.

Hope to see you on the NARMO sign up page! Spread the word.

posted on: 04/26/2007 | path: /life

After years of talking about it, I made my first batch of beer last night (with a ton of help from Anna).

(Unpacking my kit.)

The process was a little more intense than I anticipated, but I don't think we messed up to badly. It reminded me of high school chemistry, where you spent half the time just trying to remember which step you were on and re-scanning the directions for what you were supposed to do next.

(You wouldn't believe how good this smells.)

Oh yeah, and I need to collect enough bottles to hold 5 gallons of beer in the next week or so, so if you've got any empty 12 ounces left over, let me know!

posted on: 04/15/2007 | path: /life

After one day, the H1-B Visa cap has already been reached.

What is an H1-B?

It's a special kind of visa that lets foreign workers with specific knowledge and eduction work in the United States. This year, in one single day, over 150,000 applicants applied for just 65,000 visas. Compare that to last year when the applications took a little under two months to cap out.

And what's crazy is we're turning away these smart, educated individuals that want to come contribute to the American economy and telling them to go work for competitors in other countries.

(A tag two blocks from my apartment.)

Admittedly, there are serious moral questions surrounding the brain drain of developing nations. But that's not why the H1-B visa limit wasn't increased last year. Instead, there's a growing perception that these workers are "stealing" American jobs, and that's resulted in a backlash of public opinion.

Which just doesn't jive with my economic intuition. It reminds me of the antiquated view that wealth is constant (every gain must have a corresponding loss), instead of created. These people aren't job stealers, they're job creators.

(The rest of it.)

Or at least, that's what it looks like to me. Luckily, it's possible to study this sort of thing (although, potentially difficult to experiment with), so hopefully we'll have some answers someday soon.

Unfortunately, in the meantime, there are also some real problems with the current H1-B program. Particularly disconcerting is the way workers are bound to their company in an asymetrical power relationship. The law specifies that "H-1B aliens may only work for the petitioning U.S. employer and only in the H-1B activities described in the petition."

This gives companies extra leverage, since the worker's residency depends on his or her company. Interestingly, the law prevents companies from paying H1-B workers less than the prevaling wage, thus protecting American workers from being undercut (although there have been some cases where this provision was violated).

But despite that, an H1-B removes a worker's power to "vote with their feet" (well, unless they want to leave the country). It's a right we sometimes take for granted, but the ability to leave a bad job not only protects us as individuals, but forces companies across the economy to have higher work place standards.

Anyways, if these individuals actually help grow our economy, the way I suspect they do, it makes more sense to me to just grant them citizenship. Then we not only free them from the one company lock, but we also make them a permanent part of the American economy. A smarter, stronger economy.

Which does finally bring us to the moral questions about brain drain. I'm not sure what's right here. On one hand, it's easy to see how bringing these workers to America prevents them from developing the economies of their own countries. But if they want to come to America and we want to hire them... well, it's a hard call.

Anyways, the issue is closer to home this year since I know two applicants who may not get their visas. Luckily, one of them has completed his PhD which opens up an additional 20,000 slots for workers with advanced degrees.

Fingers crossed.

posted on: 04/04/2007 | path: /life

I found this old list of Things I Wanted from back when I first moved to Oregon.

• Ninja Sword
• Digital Camera
• LCD Monitor
• Accoustic Guitar
• MIDI Keyboard
• Red Leather Sneakers
• Audio Recording Device
• Yellow Waffle Shower Curtain
• Window Curtains

Don't you love how Ninja Sword is at the top? I ended up getting a surprising number of them.

• Ninja Sword
• Digital Camera
• LCD Monitor
• Accoustic Guitar
• MIDI Keyboard
• Red Leather Sneakers
• Audio Recording Device
• Yellow Waffle Shower Curtain
• Window Curtains

My list is much shorter these days.

• Banjo
• MIDI Foot Pedals
• Shirts

Identity through consumption!

posted on: 03/09/2007 | path: /life

The tiolet is fixed. Let's start with that. Despite a multi-day repair process, a dethawing of the pipes, and, finally, replacement parts the problem was never really that bad. The tiolet just kept running sometimes. And now it doesn't.

More interesting, is the fact that we've lost power in the middle of the night twice this week. The first time happened while I was reading Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot in bed just as the vampires cut the power in the book. I survived the night, only for us to lose power again in the middle of the next one. Anyways, the more frustrating thing about power outages is reseting my alarm clocks (probably time to put the battery backup in). Luckily with two of us, Sarah and I have managed to make it out of the house mostly on time.

Well, at least until this morning that is.

"Sarah, I'm stuck in my room."
"Stuck?"
"Yeah, the door knob won't turn."
"Are you sure it's not locked?"
"Yeah, I'm sure..."

This door's been tricky ever since I moved in, but usually a few wiggles get the thing open. Not anymore. Finally with both Sarah and I turning it from both sides, it let me out. Hallelujah!

Sarah was late to class.

posted on: 02/09/2007 | path: /life

As if to make this even funnier...

In a news conference, Rich told reporters he had advised his clients not to discuss the incident. Stevens and Berdovsky took the podium and said they were taking questions only about haircuts in the 1970s.

When a reporter accused them of not taking the situation seriously, Stevens responded, "We're taking it very seriously." Asked another question about the case, Stevens reiterated they were answering questions only about hair and accused the reporter of not taking him and Berdovsky seriously. [CNN]

posted on: 02/01/2007 | path: /life

Glad to see someone has some sense:

Judge Paul K. Leary seemed skeptical of the state's case, telling Grossman that the law requires that people must intend to create a panic to be charged with placing hoax devices. This case, the judge said, seemed to involve two men who relatives say were paid to place unorthodox advertisements throughout the city. [Boston Globe]

posted on: 02/01/2007 | path: /life

So, uh, what the hell just happened?

The "suspicious packages" that shut down part of Boston yesterday turned out to be glowing LED ads for Aqua Teen Hunger Force (a truly excellent cartoon), and in fact weren't packages at all.

Here are some pictures of what the signs looked like: being taken down and lighted up.

My take is: "Oh well, they don't look at all like bombs to me, but I'm sure the cops did what they thought was best. These things happen."

What's crazy is how the city officials are responding. No one seems willing to admit that it was just bad luck and a little over reaction on their part.

Instead the mayor is screaming for blood and the police arrested two of the guys who put the signs up and are threatening them with 5 years in prison for "hoax devices that caused a panic" or something like that.

Hoax devices? It's not like Turner Broadcasting wanted these to be mistaken for bombs (as far as I know). Choosing bridge supports to hang your signs is kind of dumb... but five years in jail? The ads had been up for weeks already, not to mention posted in nine other cities and no one else reacted like this.

Advice to the world? Deep breaths.

posted on: 02/01/2007 | path: /life