shiv.me

Fathers and Sons

Father & Son #1

Father & Son #2

20 years is a long time .. lest we forget

This post is a little late, but that has never stopped me from doing it anyway.

There are some things that we need to regret …

And then there are some others, we continue to ignore …

Hope we don’t add more such pictures to that list in another 20 years.

Thanks to WilW @ WWdN: In Exile for inspiring me (as always)

Dealing with electronic waste

I can’t claim to be someone is really into environment protection, and I’m not crazy paranoid about the junk I produce, but I do care about me, my family, and the future of mankind (mostly in that order). I recycle as much as I can, I try to avoid plastic bags, I don’t throw garbage on the streets (I’m shaking my fist at you, Shivanand-in-India-who-doesn’t-live-there-anymore) etc.

I own a Macbook, and I wouldn’t say that I’m a big fan of Apple “the company”. However, I really like their products. The latest version of the macbook — that I’m not going to upgrade to — has given me reason to like it even more! Apple has made a huge stride, in making computer more environment friendly. Here’s the laundry-list of things they have eliminated from the Macbook (you read it right, ELIMINATED)

• Arsenic
• BFR (Brominated Flame Retardant)
• Mercury
• PVC

The packaging is smaller by30-40% (on what was already a very small package). Ohhh.. I fail to mention the unibody Aluminium construction, which is not only durable, but also, completely recyclable!

“Oh, but the Apples cost so much more than the average-Joe PC! Why should I pay for eliminating stuff I don’t care about?”, you ask.

“Oh well, let me tell you something”, person-that-I-just-made-up-and-bashed-your-face-in-for-asking-such-a-stupid-question (That’s from reading Wil Wheaton, btw).

“This is what happens to your average-Joe PC, once you are done with it in 6-months”.

It gets dumped in third-world developing countries. Well, it is technically called “exporting used goods”. Used goods aren’t much use when they don’t work, are they? Of course, as it happens the people who are dealing with scrap, do so, because they have to find a way to eat the next day.

Anyway, I digress. Back to Apple now.

I think it is super that they have decided to invest engineering effort in make the products we use more environment friendly. Ofcourse, this doesn’t mean that you need to run out and get that spanking new Macbook that you don’t need. However, the next time you decide to buy a computer, think about this video, and see if you can wait a little longer to save up a little more to be able to buy the Macbook.

You can find more details about the environment friendliness of the macs at the following links

Macbook - http://www.apple.com/macbook/environment.html

Macbook pro -http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/environment.html

Computer Recording Equipment

I’m a bit of a stickler, when it comes to audio recording. I hate using the mics that come with laptops or the standard desktop mic. Recently, a co-worker asked me about my setup (I record a piano, strictly for my listening pleasure, and NO, MIDI doesn’t count).

I couldn’t find the links for my version of the mic, but here are some equivalents.

USB Mics

MXL .006 USB Mic
MXL .007 USB Mic

Mixers

Berhinger 502
Berhinger 802
Berhinger 1202

Once you start using a condenser mic, and hear the richness of the output, you’ll never want to go back to the crappy on-board mics.