• EPK
  • Blog: ideas and updates.
  • Music services.
    • Live.
    • Video.
  • Photography services.
  • EPK Spark
JEFFREY NORDSTROM

Driving.

10/25/2014

0 Comments

 
Over at the Sociological Images Tumblr, there's a little interview with Matt Richtel who asserts that "The #1 cause of traffic fatalities isn't texting, it's driving." This is a kind-of nuts way of looking at things, but it certainly caught my attention. A few students I've taught have been killed in texting-related accidents and I do my best not to check my phone while driving. And fines for handheld use in BC have recently increased. From all accounts, texting's a big deal.

Whenever there's something evidence-based that goes against my intuition, I try to learn a bit about it. And this one certainly works against my intuition. I mean, what's worse for driving than taking your eyes off the road to do something else? How could texting not have a significant affect on driving? Isn't the evidence clear?

Well, according to this guy, the evidence actually points in a different direction.
Picture
From Sociological Images.
Only the miles and drive-to-work rates were correlated with vehicle deaths. Mobile phone subscriptions had no effect at all.
So we're driving more, and that's ultimately what's causing the accidents. Distracted driving is certainly a problem, but the fact that we're driving more than we have before is what correlates with vehicle deaths. Here a visualization of the data from the article.
Picture
What does this mean for me? Nothing, really. What it means is that I don't need to feel so bad if I change songs on my phone while it's playing through the Bluetooth speakers in the car. If I behave in a safe manner, my distracted driving on my phone should cause an equivalent amount of distraction as eating a breakfast sandwich while driving.

The other thing I take from this is that I'm not the only person who's spending too much time in the car. I often feel some guilt about the amount of time I spend driving; however, it appears I'm not alone in my iniquity.

Read More
0 Comments

Angela Steffan's "Lebensader."

10/17/2014

0 Comments

 
Gorgeous little metamorphosis film.
Picture
0 Comments

LSU's "Pound of Flesh."

10/15/2014

0 Comments

 
For the last month or so, I've been trying to slowly put together a recorded version of LSU's "Pound of Flesh" for some upcoming Michael Knott tribute album. I doubt I'll be able to get it to top notch quality in time, but it would be pretty cool if I did. Here's what it's looking like right now:
Picture
My "Pound of Flesh" file in n-track.
Here's a confession: I stole a cassette copy of LSU's Cash in Chaos World Tour from a cassette clearance bin years and years ago, like back in 1993 or so. (I've since bought a legitimate CD version of the album). I'm pleased so see that you can order Cash in Chaos World Tour on Bandcamp. And you should order it. It's one of the most enduring albums in my CD collection; I've been listening to it consistently for the last 20 years or so.

"Pound of Flesh" was the first song I really connected with on the album. The groovy bassline and echo-box vocals really jived with me and I enjoyed the way it was a long song that had enough melodic variety in it that it kept my interest while it also maintained a consistent tone. Its lyrics meshed perfectly with the music. I'd often listen to it over and over again; it truly inspired me to think about the way bass guitar can drive a song.

I doubt that I'll be able to do it justice. I've replaced all the digital chorus-y guitars with wah-wahs, and replaced all the flange-y guitars in the chorus with some straight Marshall distortion; the bass is a clean Jazz Bass doubled with the Rhodes; there's a touch of high-end synthesizer helping to release the recording from the classic "mud" that usually permeates my recordings. But it still sounds like me, doubtless.

I wouldn't be surprised if I don't get to record the vocals before the due date, but it's worth a shot. It's sounding OK right now.

The most frightening thing about it is the following part of the instructions that Joshua Lory posted on Facebook:
Picture
You see, I've never sent anything sorta' professional to a stranger. I don't know if my mixes sound real or if they sound absultely, completely amateur. I'm a little freaked out that, if I get it finished on time, I'll send the mix to the guy and he'll laugh at its utter ineptitude. I mean, Joshua Lory's mixes sound pretty good:
So we'll see. Here's to hoping I get it done.
0 Comments

iStuff and the Blackberry Passport.

10/2/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Photo courtesy Aple via YouTube.
I've never had any interest in investing in an iPad, but I'd learned about a bunch of 21st Century Education tools this summer in a Master's course at UVic. When the school offered me an iPad for educational use, I decided to set aside my biases and give it a shot. I recognize that numerous apps can help in the classroom and with enrichment, so it wouldn't be a bad thing to learn about how they work.
I've had it for a month. I'm not very impressed. It hasn't converted me. It's just another screen. I don't like tapping screens; I don't like the small scale of apps; I dislike the need to constantly revisit the App Store.

Now, to be honest, I've never cared much for Apple. I preferred PCs at University through my bachelor's degree and very much prefer using Windows-based laptops and computers. I've worked through two iBooks in my teaching career and now I'm using this iPad. My wife bought an iPhone 4 a few years ago and now has an iPhone 5, and I use them now and then. But the OS doesn't connect to me. I imagine part of it is my bias-by-upbringing, but I nonetheless would never choose to use an Apple at this point.

This has been a little bone of contention between my wife and I. She'd like me to get an Apple phone of some sort so we can take advantage of all the "features" of paired devices. I don't like paired features; I prefer to manually load devices without having to consider any other devices. And, as I mentioned, I really could care less for the interface and whatnot; if I haven't reached for her iPhone for the last three+ years, I don't see why I would want to have one in my pocket at all times.

And I would like to upgrade my phone as well. I need to replace my Blackberry Torch 9800. It's old. It's all scratched up. It works fine, but it's backwards and archaic. I'd like to have a post-iPhone styled phone that works a little more effectively.
I'm quite tempted to pick up a Blackberry Passport, but first I'd like to hold one. I know they lack apps and that they're weird, but I like the wide screen, the keyboard, and the in-keys touchpad. It seems super cool to me in a totally dorky way. I'd gladly be the loser with the weird-ass phone in a lineup, and I like how the wide screen would make it easy to read the news and whatnot.
Picture
http://www.opptrends.com/
But I also understand that it's a pricey thing to get when it's so weird. I mean, If I'm gonna' fork out the cash, even on a contract, for a fancy-dancy new phone, shouldn't I get something more accessible, something that everybody recommends? Like an HTC One M8? Or at least I could wait for the upcoming Blackberry Classic so I can keep my keyboard and trackpad on a much, much-improved phone?

Or I could just get an iPhone?

The thing is that I could care less for apps. I use my phone for phoning, for Internet access, and for notes and a calendar. I don't have any desire to go through the annoyance of Apple updates, iTunes, the App Store, or any of that stuff when I won't be using it to its full potential. The hang-ups of an iPhone severely beat out my desire to have one. Hell, I could probably handle using a Windows phone, considering the ways I use my device. 

Crazy as it seems, I might end-up just holding on to my trusty Blackberry Torch. I don't know if I can handle the stress of these constant upgrades, of always knowing that the new, better phone is just around the corner, that my newfangled device will be obsolete in a couple years. 


Then again, all that might change when I finally get to hold a Blackberry Passport in my hands.
0 Comments
    Musician.
    Teacher.
    ​Photographer.

     jeffnords ONLINE:
    Bandcamp
    Facebook
    Instagram
    ​SoundCloud
    YouTube: Music+

    jeffnords PLACEHOLDERS:
    (infrequent haunts)
    Amazon | DailyMotion
    DeviantArt | Duolingo | Flickr | FVRL | Kik
    LinkedIn | MeetUp | MySpace | Pinterest |
    ​
    Playstation | Reddit | ​Snapchat
    Spotify | The Internet Archive
    ​Tinder | Tumblr | Twitter | Vimeo | VK | WattPad
    WeChat 

    Archives

    January 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    June 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013

    Categories

    All
    Academics
    Acting
    Activism
    Adulthood
    Agency
    Albums
    Animals
    Animated Films
    Atheism
    Books
    Camping
    Canadiana
    Christian Culture
    Comics
    Community
    Community Theatre
    Concerts
    Covers
    Creativity
    Critical Thinking
    Current Events
    Daily Grind
    Demos
    Depression
    Digital Life
    Dogs
    Driving
    Education
    Effect Pedals
    Effects
    Empathy
    Energy
    Environment
    Events
    Exploring
    Family
    Feminism
    Film Photography
    Fitness
    Food
    Friendship
    Frivolous
    Gadgets
    Games
    Gigs
    Guitar
    Guitar Effects
    Hexanon
    Hockey
    Home
    Ideas
    Ideology
    Influence
    Jam Session
    Langauge
    Leadership
    Lectures
    Lenses
    Links
    Literature
    Live Action Films
    Live Music
    Long Term Planning
    Magnetic Poetry
    Mental Health
    Mobile Phone
    Money
    Music
    Musicians
    Music Videos
    Networking
    Nostalgia
    Objectification
    Once And Over Again
    Parenting
    Performance
    Photography
    Photos
    Podcasts
    Poetry
    Policy
    Politics
    Pop Culture
    Puppets
    Quirks
    Rants
    Recording
    Reflections
    Relationships
    Religion
    Reviews
    Rhodes
    Ruins
    Running
    Science
    Self Help
    Selfies
    Serendipity
    Sexuality
    Shakespeare
    Short Films
    Skeptihumanism
    Social Media
    Songwriting
    Spirituality
    Stage
    Stories
    Studio Recordings
    Subcultures
    Teaching
    Technology
    Theatre
    Travel
    University
    Updates
    Urban Life
    Video
    Visual
    Wildlife
    Workshops
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Contact Jeffrey

Photos used under Creative Commons from Brett Jordan, b r e n t
  • EPK
  • Blog: ideas and updates.
  • Music services.
    • Live.
    • Video.
  • Photography services.
  • EPK Spark