Shazam and the Future of Semantic Searches

Because it isn't anywhere else on the interwebs, let me first say that the music track used for the Doctor Who Season 5 DVD set disk 3 extra feature "Monster Files: Weeping Angels" is the song "Angel" from Massive Attack.

(deep inhale after a long sentence)

And the only reason I could possible know that is by either:

1. Being a trip-hop fan in the late nineties
2. Having Shazam on my phone

Shazam is the progenitor of music identification services - just as Massive Attack is the progenitor of trip-hop (thank you Wikipedia).  It is a brilliant app that allows you to hold up your phone, capture live audio, and have the miracle of cloud technology tell you details about the song that you are listening to.

This is a saving grace for music noobs like me who only get the urge to buy a song when I'm at a bar and have to exclaim out loud "this song is awesome - I wonder who makes it".

While the internet is a seemingly endless font of knowledge, there are gaps in getting to information.  There is a strong future in services (like Shazam) that fill in the semantic gap between what you are looking for and the search query that will get you there.

A Year to Build Change

It has been said that we overestimate what we can do in a day, and woefully underestimate what we can do in a year.

This year is a wonderful year to bring about what really matters to you.  And today is a wonderful day to codify what exactly that is.  Over the holidays I've been putting thought into the areas that are meaningful to me - human powered transportation, information organization technology, and communication.

I have goals for this year and beyond - and I look forward to sharing my adventures on the way.  In the mean time... what is important to you?  What do you want to go into 2012 having accomplished?  One day is short, but a year's worth of days can change your life. :)

Blind Tiger Stand-up (all new)

You know how boring it is hearing the same joke the third time?  Well  I hate telling the same joke over and over. That's why I tend to create a lot of new material for my standup.  Some day I will find the balance between creating new stuff and refining the old, but I'll always error on the former.

With that, I give you another open mic night video - same place, same shirt, all new jokes. And no, while the video is dark, it is not "solarized" as YouTube's thumbnail implies.

The Turducken Affair

As you can see below, I like posting videos of my Toastmasters performances but alas, I have no video of the speech that started it all - my 2008 Humorous Speech Competition entry (and winner).  I don't even have audio of it.  You can imagine how devastating that is for someone who appears to love hearing himself speak as much as me.

What was there to do, but record the speech in a studio (thanks Joshua)... and hand illustrate the video.  This was a labor of love for three days.  I now know how James Cameron must feel pouring his passion into an epic film that, while amazing, does not reflect the amount of energy that it took to create.

I'm most proud of the yak. Enjoy!

Standup Show at Mad Moose 8/28

What's better than an open-mic night?  A comedy show.  Like the one I'm in at the Mad Moose Saloon in Binghamton, NY on Sat, Aug 28th.  The show starts at 9pm and should run until 10:30 or so, depending on how verbose the MC / barker feels.

Tickets are $8 each and there are only 50 seats, so RSVP early if you are coming - because it would be great to have you!

Stand-up Debut

One thing that has always been on my bucket list is stand-up.  I knew it was only a matter of time.  Well, Tuesday was that time.  Your first time is always tough - even without stage fright - but it was an easy crowd because most of them were friends that were kind enough to come out to support me!

Toastmasters humorous speech competitions are one thing - but I knew going into it that stand-up is a whole other beast.  It went well - and I look forward to next time.  Things will only improve with practice.

Stand-up should be on everyone's bucket list to try... it's like skydiving without the comfort of the backup parachute.  Behold - I invoke the power of YouTube to make it as if you were there! The video is dark because the Blind Tiger is an environmentally friendly bar that eschews indoor lighting on principal.

WARNING:  In the video a few profanities are used in the name of humor - but I was one of the cleanest acts of the night.  Trust me.

Shazaam! Toastmasters Regional Competition Speech

There are certain places who's names are inseparable from conflict - Sparta, home of warriors - Armageddon, locale for the coming of the end times - and Cleveland Ohio, host city of the 2009 Region VI Toastmasters International Speech competition. Well, maybe Cleveland is known for a few other things. Like this Irish singer I know - he's huge out of town.

Having clawed my way over the competition at the district level (read: "after I had a spirited but amicable competition with friends") I advanced as the standard bearer for district 65 in the regional arena of competition.  Enough battle visuals?  Good because I'm running out of imagery without invoking jousting.

The below speech - "Shazaam" - earned me a hard won 3rd place at Regional.  BTW, it is Toastmasters International for a reason - some of the toughest competition came from Canadians.  It is humbling to be bested by someone for whom English is their second language.  Although 28% of our vocabulary comes from French anyway, n'est-ce pas?