z100 vs. 92.3 Now: Fight!

Like many people I’m a long time listener to FM Radio. But as time progressed music on radio took a sharp turn some where that has lead us into today’s current state of music being played on the radio on what seems to be every single channel which in my opinion is hurting radio and the music industry. But that’s a whole completely different issue and might be covered in another post. Instead I’m going to talk about two radio stations in the NY/NJ Tri-State area z100 New York and 92.3 Now (formerly K-Rock).

This is simply a review of both stations, winner is noted at the bottom, there are 6 categories covered and suggestions are made. I know people from 92.3 Now are reading this. So I hope you guys consider my suggestions, as for z100 I haven’t heard anything from them on twitter. Hopefully they read this and also take my suggestions. Please feel free to leave comments good or bad.

::The Good and The Bad::

Morning Show:

One of the great things about z100 is The Morning Show. I honestly haven’t found a station in our area that has a Morning Show as funny or interesting theirs. They also seem to have a very down to earth team (at least based on what I hear on the radio) all though they can be quite crazy (in a good way!). The phone taps are executed really well and it’s always interesting to hear the different ways people respond. Plus when they take calls they never seem to just hang up on people like some other stations do and also do seem to care about their listeners.

My biggest issue though with The Morning Show is Mr. Moviefone who comes on at least every Friday. Whenever I hear him talk about new releases it always appears that he does nothing but trash highly anticipated movies. Perfect example would be Fast & Furious, Mr. Moviefone claims that the movie is a turd. Now I can’t help but feel (and many others) but to disagree with him. Yes the movie in it’s self is not a “OMG YOU MUST GO AND SEE THIS!!!1!!!11!!!1111″ kind of film, but it definitely is a movie you go to see and have fun. The action sequence’s aren’t top notch but it is pretty damn good for what it is. Also his complaint was the story, I’m not sure if he realizes this or not but The Fast and The Furious series was never about the story because guess what the story was never really any good. It has always been about the cars, girls, and the actors in the film nothing more. So some slack really need’s to be cut on this film because it’s not terrible.

Score: +1

Interviews:

They also have the artist, advertising, music label and fan support which contributes to their success. When I do hear interviews on the station, I generally think they are organized but they can be quite uninteresting sometimes. However this is just my opinion and I’m sure the interviews help them out but I do find myself changing the channel if they can’t grab my attention with in 15 – 20 seconds.Also Ryan Seacrest is not the best when it comes to interviews he sounds fake, and uninterested. How am I suppose to be interested when the interviewer doesn’t sound the slightest bit interested? I’m not counting The Morning Show interviews this only has to do with the general interviews through out the day.

Some work needs to be done in this area, but I think they can pull it off.

Score: 0

Contests:

Your contests are great, and I like the fact that if you ask people to call in on something (more specifically during The Morning Show) you guys give them the opportunity to win something. Sometimes you guys just even give out money when there is no contest. Your contest’s are a hit, keep them up. Keep paying peoples bills, asking for caller experiences and they win something.

Score: +1

DJ’s and Guest’s:

The DJ’s are clear (no trouble hearing them) when they speak though Chunky Radio disagrees (more on this in 92.3 Now)  and can be quite funny when taking calls. I really have no quarrels with them, but I do have issue’s with one specific person that is on for majority of the day. Yep Ryan Seacrest.

I’m sorry but his voice in my opinion is annoying. He doesn’t sound natural or comfortable when on the air, and when he starts talking I change stations because it’s that bad. He needs to stick to doing American Idol, there’s a huge difference in the way he sounds on TV then he does on the radio. z100 needs to get rid of him and put a real DJ behind the wheel of the station during those hours.

Also guest’s aren’t too bad. However they need to learn to tell them what to say and what not to say. For example the whole Lindsay Lohan eHarmony video. They had some one come on and just blabber about how funny the video was, about how she makes fun of herself and in all honesty hearing that just made me not want to check it out because he ruined it. Also the guest really did not need to explain what funnyordie.com is. I think everyone can figure out on their own that it is a site for comedic videos similar to youtube were not idiots. Simply put guest’s need to keep what they say as short as possible and say something along the lines

“On funnyordie.com there is a eHarmony Parody video that Lindsay Lohan has put together. Check it out it’s hysterical.”

Was that too hard?!

Ryan Seacrest and the Guest’s is what really hurt them in this Category.

Score: 0

Commercials:

Way too long guys! I can turn to 103.5 and 92.3, and experience less commercials on both of these stations. Start introducing more commercial free hours. Keep them relevant and keep them short! I know you guys need to pay the bills (no relation to the contest) but you’ll get less of a bad rap if you were to seriously cut down on the amount/length.

Score: 0

Music:

Ok so the music isn’t terrible. There are quite a few songs that I enjoy hearing, but after hearing “Please Don’t Stop The Music” for the 20th time every single day for a year straight and now more recently “Poker Face” and “Gives You Hell” I want to throw my Scions head unit out the window. I really am sick and tired of hearing the same song every 5 – 10 minutes, come on let’s mix it up a bit.

Now ever since the demise of K-Rock a void has been left behind. There are no stations that play the same kind of music like the true old K-Rock format did. Right here is an opportunity for z100 to swipe in and gain new listeners. Start throwing in a mix of pop/rap and alternative/modern rock songs and your listener base will increase more. I’m surprised no one has done this by now.

So does z100 get a point in this category? Yes simply because there are a few times where I hear something new and I’ll keep hearing one good song after another.

Score: +1

Suggestions:

So z100 here is my suggestions for you guys.

1. Do away with Mr. Moviefone or inform him that the reviews need to be more on target and fair.

2. Interviews are organized but need to be more interesting. If you can’t get my interest with in 20 seconds ok let’s make that 30 to be more fair, then I’m sure I’m not the only one.

3. Get rid of Ryan Seacrest and get a real DJ in there.  Also keep your guest’s from rambling on and on for long periods of time. Enough said.

4. Cut back on Commercials and the length of them. This really hurts the station a lot and it’s no wonder why many people are jumping ship.

5. Mix it up more, stop playing the same song every 5 – 10 minutes for a year straight. Throw some rock in and your gold!

z100: 3 Points out of 6

::The Good and The Bad::

Morning Show:

None existent from what I can tell. Grant it you guys just started the new format, but still this should have been thought of! If you guys can come up with something to directly compete against The Morning Show then do it! You’ll get many people to switch that way.

Score: 0

Interviews:

I’ve been listening for a few weeks now and I haven’t heard any. So I’m going out on a limb and saying they haven’t happened, again I know you guys just started the new format a month ago. But still this could really help you guys out.  Get artist’s that we the listeners care about, make the interviews interesting and organized. I already mentioned that z100 struggles a bit with this, so fix their mistakes and make 92.3 Now known for the best interviews.

Score: 0

Contests:

So you guys are lacking a bit here. BUT that’s not to say you aren’t doing it. You guys went out and gave away Yankee Tickets in person, that says a lot about reaching out to your audience. Keep it up and you’ll do fine. One piece of advice though when asking people to call in about certain things offer to give stuff away. For example the girl who has a guy with the worst temper. Ok well why are you guys looking for them? What do they get for calling in? Give these callers a reward for coming forward and being upfront cause I’m sure it’s got to be a bit of a struggle.

Score: +1

DJ’s and Guest’s:

I haven’t heard guest’s yet so I’ll cut some slack there, but definitely get them! As for the DJ’s, Lisa Paige and TicTak are awesome no quarrels with them at all. They keep everything interesting, and sound enthusiastic about their job. So this to me is a big plus and helps them out a lot in this category.

However I do have an issue with Chunky Radio.

Honestly he’s annoying. I’m sure he’s a nice guy but he doesn’t do the station justice at all. He always talks with an echo on the mic which is what makes him annoying as hell. I purposely switch to another station and check back every minute or two to see when a song is starting to play. Now my opinion on him would certainly change a  bit if you guys got rid of the echo on the mic’s all together. I even heard the echo on during the day some times. Please just do away with the echo it doesn’t sound good at all.

He is also a bit of a hypocrite on the 92.3 Now website it says the following.

Well let’s take a step back and address his dislike for Rock music. Ok fine I can respect you for not liking Rock music. But I’d rather have a DJ and listen to a DJ who is open to all types of music. I remember when I personally refused to listen to pop/rap. Then one year I chose to open up and give it a shot. What I realized was that I was missing out on some good music and that there are some decent pop/rap artists. It’s a small personal gripe I have with him because it is what I grew up listening to.  But I can deal with it.

Ok now the hypocritical part. Chunky you make me laugh, you claim and I quote “Their music sucks”. If I’m not mistaken you are playing the SAME EXACT music that z100 plays. So how can you say that their music sucks when your playing the same stuff? You in the end are essentially saying that your own stations music sucks because it’s the same stuff.  Seriously just delete that portion off your profile, your making yourself and 92.3 Now look bad.

Also the whole talking to fast thing, personally I disagree but to each his own. Hey you got one thing right though they are an old station.

+1 for this category simply because of the other two DJ’s.

Score: +1

Commercials:

Plenty of Commercial Free hours and your commercials seem to be short. I don’t really listen to them as I do switch back and forth between the station. But I’ve found the commercials to be much shorter than z100. However I did find it a little immature with the personal attacks against z100. I was actually really turned off  by this and against it, but hey if it worked then maybe I’m just the outcast on this one. Also I question the Chris Brown ad saying z100 supports him. Do you guys have proof of this? I haven’t heard them play Chris Brown in a long time.

+1 because of the Commercial Free hours and because the commercials are shorter than z100

Score: +1

Music:

Alright so first before I judge I just want the 92.3 Now crew to know that this is not a “BRING BACK K-ROCK” kind of thing at all. While I am disappointed I am impressed with the station so far. So here it goes.

The music is pretty decent but I feel like the station is suffering from the same thing z100 is which is playing the same song every so often during the day. Now you guys haven’t played the same song every 5 – 10 minutes, but try introducing more new music. I’ve heard some great new songs first hand because of you guys. Kick it up a notch by mixing it up with new stuff. Now I’m going to suggest the same thing as I did to the z100 crew earlier in this post. Throw in some Alternative/Modern rock music with that playlist. You guys will end up filling that void that was left behind while keeping the Top 40 format. In fact even dedicating an hour to Top 40 and an hour to Rock isn’t such a bad idea either.

Again this is NOT  a call for K-Rock to come back, I’m simply looking at how this could benefit your listeners. It couldn’t hurt to try it out, if enough people don’t like it then go back to just being only Top 40.

Score: +1

Suggestions:

So 92.3 Now here is my suggestions for you guys.

1. A morning show is needed. If you guys implement one, I’ll certainly take a listen as long as it’s good and is on par with The Morning Show.

2. Interviews are needed. But again you guys are still new a bit.

3. No more echoing on the mic’s. It really is annoying, just use the standard settings it’s more enjoyable.

4. Fix Chunky Radio’s page. He’s being a bit of a hypocrite and making the station look bad with the “their music sucks” thing. Oh and Chunky open up to rock music there are some great bands like the Chili Peppers.

5. Contest’s need some work. But in a few months I think you’ll be on par with z100.

6. This is just a personal gripe. But who designed your logo? I kinda feel like it was designed back in the 90’s or something.

92.3 Now: 4 Points out of 6

The winner is:

And I am Stronger Now

The Spring Semester had begun about 3 weeks ago, in that time frame I’ve already dropped my Pre-Calc class. I needed to though as I couldn’t understand what was going on. The professor seemed nice but the way he was teaching just wasn’t working out for me. I’ve been doing ok on the New Years list I posted in my previous entry. I unfortunately am still struggling with the saving money and losing weight part but I’ll get there! In other news my problem with Zune got solved. I’ll post an update on that tomorrow.

So on to the topic at hand! People have asked me if I am ever going to go back to Liquid. I always fell silent at this questions because I didn’t want to talk about it. But more and more this question is being asked and I figured I’d clear it up.

The truth is I have no intentions of returning to Liquid Church at the moment period. I did the whole Jesus thing through HS and in all honesty I wasn’t happy. I was more so stressed then anything and some of my friends could see it. I continued through part of my freshman year of College but I eventually decided to stop going because I clearly wasn’t happy. I then picked up going every now and then again but still wasn’t happy. Eventually I met some people there who I at the time considered my friends, I’m not saying names simply out of respect. Anyways long story short I was so called “burned” by these people, I would wait and try to talk to them after the service but only to either be ignored or talked over and them running inside to an encore of the band and leaving me hanging out by myself. This resulted in me struggling to putting on a fake smile (though one could clearly see tears swelling if they looked close enough) as I passed people heading down stairs and just going to my car to head home, I didn’t even bother hanging around anymore or even saying bye to anyone I was with there because I knew what might happen.

Even people I would talk to who weren’t part of that group about what was going on in my life seemed to just rush the the conversation. Another indication to me that they were to busy to talk to me or simply didn’t care. The last time this happened, I left for good. I had experienced these things in a similar way before at my old church and I wasn’t going to go through it again. So I now no longer consider these people friends but just acquaintances and some of them I don’t even talk to for reason I’m not even sure of.  Plus when you don’t even hear from people in months asking how you’ve been and that they haven’t seen you around it makes one really wonder if one should even return. One person I will mention though has from time to time invited me to come and that’s Jeff, but I’ve been denying to go because of the reasons mentioned. So Jeff thank you for taking time to reach out even though I keep saying no, it truly does mean a lot.

Anyways don’t get me wrong it’s a great place but I just didn’t feel at home because of the above, again this is a brief explanation and I’m not going into names or extreme details. But with that said I took time to myself to just do my own thing. With that I learned to how to be myself and to not feel quilty for whether it be cursing or anything. I always felt like I was on a guilt trip in HS and part of College no matter what. I forget how long it’s been since I’ve been there (at Liquid) but over that time period I’ve changed into a better person and a lot of things about me so much that I’m  much more happier.  Which is something my really close friends haven’t seen in a long time. Does this mean I don’t believe in God? Of course not but it simply means I’ve decided to just do my own thing. Does it mean I’m completely done with Liquid? No,  in fact to both of those questions I’m leaving my options open. I’m not closed off to anything just right now I want to just do my own thing as previously stated.

Many people will probably be upset with me with this decision, I say this as two friends I have told this to got upset with me. One of them has respected my decision in time while the other hasn’t spoken to me in months. But I’m ok with that! My true friends are the ones who will respect the decision I made no matter what. Originally this title for this entry had no meaning behind it, it’s simply a line from a TrustCompany song but I look at what I’ve written and it’s shown that the title appropriately fits this entry. As  it is said in that one song by T.I. ft Rihanna “Just Live Your Life” and that’s what I’m doing.

It’s Been a Long Time

It’s been a long time since I’ve written on here and so much has happened that it resulted in me shutting down my blog for a few weeks. My blog stats were showing limited amount of visitors and the times that I did get a lot of hits, I got no comments. I mean one would think that because your getting high hits on your site that at least some people would be inclined to comment right? Anyways it became too much on my plate to be checking my stats, and to write about different things. Well now I’m finally at a mental state where I can write about what has occured over the past few weeks.

On October 24th I woke up as I did any other ordinary day. The day went on fine and I had looked forward to getting out of work to go to Six Flags with Jeff and anyone else that was coming along. Unfortunately that never happened as on my way home I had gotten into a car accident. I was in the Jug Handle/U-Turn and I had saw the car in front of me start to move in to traffic. I looked behind me to see who was going to let me in, after I saw traffic slow up I began to merge. Unfortunately the car that I had saw begin to merge had hit their brakes and my passenger side bumper went into their bumper before I could even react.

I sat there trying to figure out what happened for a few seconds, shortly after the driver got out of the car and yelled “What are you doing?!”. I didn’t know what to say and my words kind of just stumbled and everything I was saying didn’t make sense. She called the police and they told us to pull off to the side. When I saw her I thought she was Hispanic (just a heads up I don’t mean to sound racist or anything but the typical things I’ve heard started to pop in my head) and thinking that they were going to pretend to speak little English. Well it turned out that she was Indian (I think) and did just that pretended to no little English and called up 10 different people while glaring at me speaking in another language. However once the police show up she starts speaking perfect English!

So the police take down both sides of the story, and then give back our information. I ended up getting a ticket for Careless Driving and the moment she see’s that she goes back to speaking little English and asking “What’s going to ah umm happen?”, and a bunch of other stuff in broken English. I literally wanted to say to her “What else do you want him to do arrest me?!”. She also explain to the police that she heard a noise from her car. It didn’t click in my head at first but then I realized what she heard wasn’t her car but mine. My wheel was scratching against the plastic in the wheel well.

Then shortly after I explained to her that my mom wanted me to take a picture of her bumper just for our records. She get’s all hyper and says that she doesn’t think I can and what not. Now I know the laws about photography and how you can take a picture of anything in public with out consent but I didn’t say this. I respectfully went and asked the police at her request and they looked at me or maybe even her more so like “You’re kidding us?!”. They explained to her that they were done and we can take pictures if we want for our records. We then exchanged our insurance information and we both drove off.

The whole thing for the past 2 weeks was extremely stressful. I had my car towed to Spray City and Staten Island who was recommended by my friend Kristina. We didn’t want to take a risk of anything that might be loose flying out and hitting another car. My court date came and the prosecutor dropped it down from Careless Driving to Obstruction of Traffic which came with no points and a $50 fine along with the court fee which totaled to $84. Thanks to everyone who prayed for me on this! More specifically those who comment my note on facebook and for those who spoke to me directly about the whole thing.

Currently my car is still in Staten Island and I’m suppose to get it back by the end of this week. I’m hoping I do as I really miss driving my own car. Also after so many people have said “I can’t believe you named your car that!” (apparently it’s an odd name) I’m going to be renaming her but I’m not sure what that will be just yet.

So that’s what has taken place over the past two weeks, well now three counting this one and should now also make it more clear for I shutdown my blog for that time frame.

How can I be Satisified, When Everything Is Overrated?

The title of my entry comes from a Song by Less Than Jake. Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of they’re music. More specifically they’re previous album which is titled “In With The Out Crowd”. This album get’s hit by a lot of negative feed back by other fans but I for one like this album because it was different.

There were about two tracks I listened to on repeat , they were “Soundtrack Of My Life” and “Overrated (Everything Is)”. Along with some other songs in there that were just fitting my mood at the time. But out of the two I really listened to Overrated (Everything Is) the most. Lately I’ve been feeling like that everything I do or a Service I use, etc is indeed “Overrated”. Everything from Facebook to MySpace, from Digg to Mixx (Yes even Mixx), from Pownce to Twitter, and even the kind of car I drive (Scion tC) as it seems in my area more and more people drive this kind of car now.

I know the song is kind of Cliche considering that the chorus goes

“I think sex is overrated
So is always getting wasted
Designer drugs and dead end jobs
And classic rock is so outdated
I’m so sick of therapy
And all the things it’s done to me
How can I be satisfied?
When everything is overrated”

But I really do feel like this about a lot the stuff said in the song. Because of this song I’ve been asking myself that question of “How can I be satisfied?”, actually how can any of us be satisfied in a world of materialistic things? When is it time to just step back, unplug yourself and just smell the roses? The first two lines of the bridge in the song even speaks about what I can’t stand which goes “Can’t stand the normal, Can’t stand the ordinary”. Again these lyrics are complete Cliche, in fact the entire song is Cliche. But for me I’m so wrapped up in technology and everything else that I just can’t stand this typical day in and day out life style. I need change and I’m sure many others can relate as well.

So what is it that you are fed up with? Do you need some sort of break from the typical everyday, average thing? Need to try something new? Better yet where do we start?

Sometimes it’s best to start with a list of new things you want to try/do. This will help you with figuring out where to beginning. I know it’s hard for me to start something because I don’t know where to begin so I’m assuming that I can’t be the only one. So I think a list is a good place to start. If listing things isn’t your cup of tea. Then try free writing or anything that will get your ideas, and what not down on paper for what you’ve always wanted to try to mix up your day to day routine.

So here are some of the things I came up with. I hope this all encourages everyone to break out of the “norm” and to be different in there own way.

No more facebook/myspace for the semester
No more twitter/pownce for the semester
No more AIM/GTalk or Windows Live for semester
No more planning for modifying my car
No more laptop, will be locked up entirely
Studying outside, most likely at a park
Taking a Walk
Actually read a book, outside in a park or at borders
Learning how to dance (yes sadly I never learned how to do so. But my friends are teaching me!)
Keeping my room clean, doing laundry every day.
Do my homework/study every day

I know the last two are no brainers but I felt I should add them on. These are some small steps I’ve chosen to take but it’s a start. If you want to reach me, you can send me an email, or ask some one for my # and just text or give me a call.

But I would like to ask this question from the song. To see what kind of advice everyone else would give for not only myself but for others out there as well. How can I be Satisfied When Everything is Overrated?

Lyrics and Video to the song I’m talking about.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lessthanjake/overratedeverythingis.html

I have Blogger’s Block

I’m not going to lie I find it really hard to write on here lately. I find myself backspacing every single time I start a post and then when I finally do have something, I usually end up deleting it or I just stare at the blank page. In general I’m not quite sure what to write about when I start a post.

I have “Blogger’s Block” according to Reem Abeidoh in her post “6 Ways to Break Out of Blogger’s Block“. For those of you who don’t know who she is, she is a fellow mixxer and a co-host on the popular Audio Podcast Social Blend. The six things she recommended are great. In fact I’m even using one of them right now to write this and another I almost used last week!

If any of you who are friends with me on facebook you’ll remember that I had updated my status saying I was going to free write and then post about what I wrote down. Unfortunately as you all know I never got a chance to do that because I delayed and didn’t make time to do so. After reading Reem’s post on “Blogger’s Block” I saw how much easier it would have been  if I just took the time to write things down, instead of keeping it in my mind. It’s also rather even more ironic really because my Game Development Professor last year encouraged us to buy a small pocket notepad to write down any Game Design Ideas that come to us so we don’t forget. Look’s like I’ll be going back to doing just that and making the time for it!

The rest of the recommendations she made like reading other blogs and sharing my own opinion on the topic at hand, or writing my thoughts on a particular book that is outside of my expertise, conversations with other people, etc are other great suggestion. These certainly will help with becoming a better writer, it also allows your readers to get involved.

I would totally do the interviewing thing, but my mic on my laptop is semi broken. You can barely hear me or anything for that matter. It’s almost as if it’s muffled. The second thing is I don’t know anyone that is worth interviewing. Ok that’s a lie, I could very well interview the people at mixx. But that’s been done how many times already? If I want more viewers and more comments I need quality content and something new. Not the traditional humbug  stuff.

With that said I shall be ending this here. Blogger’s Block is starting to kick in again and I don’t have much to say anymore. Check out Reems blog post if your having trouble with blogging.

Zune Support is Awful

I’ve noticed that my blog is starting to get less hits and no comments which is now making me rethink about the content I post, and what I talk about. I’m not sure what direction I’m going to go with my blog. It’s to early to tell so until then. Here’s what I’ve been dealing with the past 24 hrs.

I accidentally deleted my Windows Live ID that was associated with my
zune tag. I quickly went and re-registered my email account so it was
a Window Live ID again, but unfortunately the zune.net website prompts
me with the registration form. Which has now shown me that my zune tag
is no longer associated with it.

I called up technical support because there was nothing about this on
the zune website. After explaining to her  two or three times there
was no credit card associated with the account, I finally suggested
looking up my zune tag to find it. They pulled the account up, gave
them the email address I was using again as they asked for it and then
was put on hold for a good 10 – 15 minutes while they continued
looking information up on my issue.

When they came back they explained to me that they escalated it to
Level 2 Technicians and they had told her to tell me to wait for 24
hrs and if I still couldn’t log in to call back.

So let’s break this down a bit.

1. Accidentally deleted my Windows Live ID Association that my gmail
account was using.

2. Can no longer access my zune social card or anything even though my
profile still exists.

3. Logging in prompts me with the registration form.

4. Tech Support told me to wait 24 hrs and try again. If I still had
issues to call back.

This didn’t sound right to me so I decided to call back later on. I
call back later in the evening and explain everything to the 2nd
technician. The technician put’s me on hold and looks up the
information. He then comes back to tell me that they can’t make any
changes to my account because they don’t have authorization or the
tools to do it and that the work around is to create a new account. I
told him that I had no problems with creating a new one as long as
they can delete my old one because I don’t want my zune social profile
to be lingering around on the net. He told me that they can’t do that
either as they don’t have authorization or the tools to do so. After
hanging up I decided to call back 5 minutes later to ask for a
Supervisor. The third technician told me the same exact thing the
other tech told me and after requesting again if a Supervisor or
higher up could do it she told me that they only have the same tools
and have no authorization to do what I’m requesting either. After
thanking them I hung up, sent some one I know an email who used to
work as a Level 2 technician for them last year to see if they could
give me some advice on what I could do.

I was told to ask for Level 2 Support when I called in and that they
would file a ticket (if they couldn’t solve it) which would escalate
it to Level 3 at headquarters where research is done to solve any
issues. If they found a solution they would let Level 2 Support know
and have them contact me. If not they would point me in the right
direction to some one who possibly could. I did everything he said in
the message back to me when calling in for the fourth time. The
technician told me what I already knew from yesterday and I asked for
Level 2 support again. They went on to tell me they couldn’t just pass
me on to Level 2 and that they needed approval. I tell them that is
fine and I’m put on hold. After waiting for at least 5 – 10 minutes  I
hear two dial tones followed by “Please wait” being repeated for 3
minutes with short pauses between them. I start thinking that I’m
being passed on and things are moving forward. I couldn’t have been
more wrong. The technician who put me on hold picks up, tells me they
were denied authorization to pass me on to Level 2 because they would
just tell me the same thing and then went on to repeat what I already
knew about creating a new account.

So here I am unable to get access to an account that is still active,
which is still showing my zune social profile with my picture, first
name, last name, city and state. And yet zune support can’t delete my
account or even give me access back to it. How is it that XBOX 360 and
XBOX Live Support can provide top notch service, modify accounts and
delete them but yet at zune they can’t? This is something that should
have been thought about a long time ago. At this point I don’t even
want the account anymore, I want it deleted. What is it going to take
to get this done?

It shouldn’t be such a hassle to recover an account that is
still active, yet even delete one.

Ironic Isn’t It?

I think I’m going to continue going to the 6pm service after last night. It’s a great way to end the night, and plus like I said in my last entry. There are some people I know who go during that service, and there are some people I just met last night who do as well. Making connections or new friends I should say is important.

I find it really ironic how my last blog post was about letting go of something your holding on to and yet last night, Tim’s message was essentially on the same thing but covered more on the topic of relationships, past hurts, living in the past etc. Now there was so much to take in last night (at least for me) that I can’t quite pin or more specifically actually relay back the entire thing. So when the video/audio of it get’s put online I’ll watch/listen to it again to get a better understanding.

Last night though really did make me ask myself “What is there in my life that I’m holding on to, that’s preventing me from starting new or moving forward?”. In all honesty I still have no clue what that is. I’d say I have an idea of what one of them is after talking to Tom Kang last night, but I feel as there is something else. Hopefully that will be revield to me some time soon. When something is on my mind it really affects me in the most negative ways. Today I woke up in a bad mood, and on my way to the college I listened to David Crowders “Deliver Me” on repeat. The song really reaches to anywhere you currently are, but can also be encouraging. Though today it really didn’t do any of that. Sure it lifted me a bit, I didn’t feel so tense anymore. But my actions towards a driver who was riding my bumper on a 35MPH road said otherwise on how I felt, and that I had something bugging me.

It was shortly after the way I responded to them (brake checking for example) that I also realized that I’m not the best driver nor a good one if I’m doing those things. Plus I also felt really guilty for letting my emotions getting to me. I even felt guilty cause I did all that while listening to a Christian song. I know I know were human and it happens, but it’s one of those things where I think “Ah crap!”. Which also shortly after got me thinking, “What am I getting so upset about? Why do I get so angry?”. Again I’m not quite sure and  this is why I hope it will be revieled to me shortly. I’ve gotten better though at not doing the brake checking thing, that was actually the first time I’ve done it in months I believe. I’m hoping I can cut it out completely in time.

Again a perfect example of one of the most negative things that comes out of something that is on my mind but yet doesn’t know what it is. However last night was such a great eye opener and I’m really looking forward to the “Warrior” series starting next week. I can’t wait to see what is in store for not only myself but for my friends as well.

Do You Hear Me Mixx?!

Mixx and company I really want to start off and tell you guys how much I love everything you do to make Mixx possible. Your work is astounding and greatly appreciated, but I have just one little problem.

For the past 7 -8 months I and many others have been reporting this one specific member. We’ve reported him for revenge voting, hateful comments, spam submissions and spam comments. Yep I think you guys know who I’m talking about.

CyberPhoenix

http://www.mixx.com/users/cyberphoenix/

What happened?!

Now I’m not quite sure what’s going on here. Months ago, we reported this guy and he eventually got banned. It took some time because we understand everyone deserve some time to shape up. After having him banned for about 2 days all of a sudden he was let back on to the site. I’d like to quote the Joker from The Dark Knight. “What happened?! Did your balls drop off?! ” It’s like one day you have no problem with getting rid of him. Now you guys wont even touch him.

I say this all in a comical way of course. But still there is truth behind this. You had no problems with doing so in the past and now you won’t.

So my question to you guys is why?! Mixx did just fine with out him for those two days and I’m sure Mixx would still be functioning and having the same quality content today from others. I really wish I didn’t miss the night Kerry was on Social Blend because I really want to know what the hell is going on.

He’s been reported non-stop since that day and for whatever reason he is still not being banned for pure violation TOS and the Agreements he accepted to signing up. How come when other users are blatantly doing the same thing and we report them,  they are removed immediately? But with CyberPhoenix he sticks around? I know I’ve just started to report him again recently. But come on I know he’s been reported non-stop by Brian and other people as well.

A Super Mixxer Still?!

Also why the hell is he a Super Mixxer?! If I’m not mistaken but if you violate any of the TOS, abuse your Super Mixxer Powers, etc isn’t this ability suppose to be revoked?! He’s clearly proved he should not have this ability. He marks unrelated topics as related and he marks his stories as “Breaking News” when they clearly aren’t. It’s sickening to see this continue.

One Spam Comment Removed. Are you listening?!

I know you guys are listening to us. Today some one on your side removed his spam comment after myself and many others reported it and asked for it to be removed. Please don’t stop there. Delete his other comments as well. He leaves spam comments on unrelated topics as proven below

“He does that ALL the time. He posted like a 200 line comment spamming one of my submissions that had nothing to do with my post. My post was an article criticizing KDE4, Mixx seems to ignore his comments and reports against them…same goes for his stories“

Source: http://mixxingbowl.com/forums/index.php/topic,749.msg12695.html

Do You Hear Me Mixx?! This user needs to go! Do You Hear DarkNemesis and everyone else?! They are sick of him! We know you listen, now let’s take it up a notch and get rid of another user that does not belong here.

Spam on Mixx is a No No

Remember my helpful article on spam?

Yeah this one right here

http://standardsdt.wordpress.com/2008/02/12/dealing-with-spam-on-mixx-spam-is-a-no-no/

Remember it?! If not take a good read for why this community cannot tolerate anyone like him. We can only do so much with reporting. But us the community need you guys to take action against people like him.

This user used to be on digg. Do a google search for CyberPhoenix and you’ll find his profile from digg will show up as a cache on either the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd page. Now if you try visiting http://digg.com/users/cyberphoenix his account no longer exists. If digg banned him, you guys should be doing so as well as he is not contributing in any way and I’m sure he was banned for the same reasons for what he’s doing over here.

I’ve Declared War against CyberPhoenix

In the end I’m declaring war against this user if you guys aren’t removing him. I’m reporting every single piece of crap he submits, every comment he leaves, down vote every submission he makes till my fingers are bleeding. And even still then I will be clicking away and typing away. I’ve reached my limit with this user. So I ask Brian, Greg, Joe, Julie, Honest_Ape, DarkNemesis618, gbarberi and all fellow mixxers to start reporting the hell out of this user if he is not removed. I also ask for other mixx users to stand up and inform the staff and everyone if he has revenge voted you, left you spam comments, has been hateful, etc.

CyberPhoenix you better watch out cause I’m about to make your life a living hell.

Mixx I love you, but…

Mixx I love you dearly, but it’s time something is done. And I’m doing something about it since our requests for him to be banned aren’t being listened to. I will no longer stay quiet and I will make this guys life a living hell if I have to. I know the rules and TOS of mixx and I will stay with in them. But this has gone on far enough and I’m starting to feel like our requests for reporting him and requesting him to be banned are going ignored like digg ignores it’s users. Please for mine, yours and everyone else’s sake just hit the ban button and be done with him.

If Chris, Kerry or some one wants to talk to me about this please feel free to contact me. But I’m done with this BS, and I will do whatever is possible in my power to make this user go away, even if it means I have to be vocal about it.

Sincerely,

Dave Tarantula
http://mixx.com/users/standardsdt

::Edit::

If you agree with any of this at all vote it up here at mixx. Many thanks go out to loup.dargent for submitting this!

http://www.mixx.com/stories/1875450/do_you_hear_me_mixx_standardsdt

Check Out DarkNemesis681’s post on this issue and more at

http://blog.darkernemesis.com/archives/2008/08/Come-On-Mixx/

If you also agree with what he has to say, vote it up here at mixx. Again many thanks go out to loup.dargent for submitting this!

http://www.mixx.com/stories/1875570/darker_nemesis_come_on_mixx

It’s Monday and I’m happy?

It’s Monday and for once I’m actually happy to wake up today. I was dreading Monday this whole weekend but for some reason I’m not today. I had little trouble waking up, I actually woke up at 6am cause I turned on my TV by accident while sleeping. But after that my alarm went off, I popped right up looked at the time, knew I had enough to time to sleep in just a bit more. But of course my alarm clock didn’t wake me up for 20 minutes later. I didn’t have any trouble though even though I didn’t wake up at the time I wanted to I had no trouble.

I missed LQD (Liquid) yesterday, mainly due to the weather. But of course when it was about 6:50pm it cleared up and there was no more rain! Looks like I’ll have to watch this past Sunday’s message online which if fine by me. Jeff I hope you got home ok last night! Your brother called me asking if you were at my house, which really confused me but then he explained. Let me know bro!

I signed up for the Water Walk after much thinking. For a while I’ve had an urge to volunteer for it and I’m glad I did. I can’t wait to see what it will be like this up coming weekend!

For those that didn’t hear, I had to get my Voyager replaced for the 3rd time. Worst part about it is Verizon didn’t transfer my numbers over. But the way I see it is those who give me their number are the ones that I want to stay in contact with. I know I’ve messed up a lot of friendships in the past but I’m looking forward and seeing how those friendships could have messed up my life in some way or another. I’m not perfect and I never will be and the important part is to just press forward.

Anyways back to about today. I’m working out of my uncles house today so I don’t get to deal with the horrible traffic in to Union until about 12:00pm so that may be contributing to my happiness. Ah well I need to head out! I’ll post more on this later. There’s so many things running through my mind right now that I need time to sift through everything that I want to post!

::Edit::

I’m back and ready to finish this thing up. I think what my happiness has to do with is the weather, the fact that I slept better and because I didn’t have to deal with the rush hour morning traffic. Oh and maybe also because I finally got around to cleanning my room! Anyways I have another small announcement to make, this week I’m scheduling to get my hair cut but along with that I’m getting my hair dyed. What color? Well everyone will just have to wait and see! It probably will shock all of you, but it should look really good.

I’ve also come to notice that no one has been commenting lately. I know many of you read my blog because my stats on my admin page are showing plenty of visitors. Feel free to speak up! Don’t be shy! It’s the user comments that help keep this blog running! Thanks!

GNV FLA, Family and Friends Woah!

Less Than Jake’s new album GNV FLA (Gainesville Florida) is in stores now as of yesterday. I picked up a copy and it’s ten times better then the leaked version. It sounds complete and fine tuned, those who are LTJ fans should definitely pick this album up.

The lyrics on this album have a lot of insight and meaning behind them. For example the beginning line for the track “Settling Son” is

“Son, take it from it’s in the little victory’s that keep you from shaking hands with defeat“

This is so true as it’s when we succeed in something it makes us want to keep moving forward and keeps you away from defeat, even with the little things. So for those that are reading this just remember that it’s in the little victory’s that keep you from defeat. I’m not saying were perfect and that we’ll never fall cause life’s a journey no doubt, and of course we will hit road blocks, fall and feel like we failed. The thing is don’t give up! Pick yourself backup and get back out there and keep pushing forward no matter how many times you fall. My point though is as long you keep going after falling and you finally succeed in something small your that much closer in no longer being defeated and discouraged whether it be in any kind of addiction, to a project!

It really amazes me how just one line from a song can have so much meaning and to think that LTJ has been together for 16 years. It’s really awesome that they can still be relevant with their music, even though the times have changed. The album is fast paced, lots of horns, and a return to form so to speak on previous albums. Stay tuned for a full review when I have time to just collect my thoughts, and write it in my own timing. But I will say that I give this album a 10/10 rating.

This past weekend was a stressful one. As many of you know I went down to Marlyand to visit my older and my dad tagged along. The whole weekend he was very distant, quiet, and more. If my brother, his girlfriend and I stopped walking to look at something he stood far away from us, the only time he was close when we were making decisions on where to go. The best part about that? He didn’t help at all! He kept saying “Doesn’t matter I follow” and that wasn’t the worst of it.

For breakfast/brunch he ordered a Bloody Mary for a drink. Now from what I remember he never drank, and I wasn’t the only one to find this odd. When we made our way back to my brothers place after walking around for a bit, we decided to talk about dinner and where were going to eat and what to do there. My dad simply just stated he wanted to go to a hotel and take a nap.  So he gets a hotel room, I stay with my brother and then we pick him up for dinner 4 – 5 hrs later.

We ask how is nap was or how he slept and he tells us that he actually went to the bar and drank vodka and then took a short nap. Again we found this even more odd and got concerned cause this is not like him at all. After dinner we decide to go play mini golf and he doesn’t want to take part in it and just wants to go to the hotel. So again we drop him off and off we go to play mini golf and then bowling afterwards.  This whole weekend he spent almost no time with us at all. The times he did was for brunch, dinner and then breakfast  Sunday morning. There’s more to it then this but still it gives an idea how the weekend was.

Remember that one friend I told you about who was dating that jerk, and she kept switching her mind about going back with him or not? Well because her and her most recent bf broke up she’s now talking to him again. She’s telling me and everyone that she’s getting sick of him calling all the time so she’s now talking to him again and is trying to prove to him things won’t work. However myself, my friend Sandy and some other people know that this is not a good thing and that he will try to get her back even though she says she wont back to him. I beg to differ, I can already see it in a few weeks or even a month or two that they will be back together and she’ll be justifying it. So I’ve come to the decision that I’m going to have to tell her that it’s either our friendship or him. I can already see that she’s starting to feel depressed and stressed again and unfortunately it seems that tough love is the only option now as I’ve tried being kind and all and it hasn’t done anything.

So with that said pray for me, ask God to keep me strong as it sucks that I have to do something like this. But it’s my last resort and I don’t see any other way.