Guitar Pro 6 RSE sucks

For the case someone googles for “guitar pro 6 rse”. Those in GP5 were MUCH better sounding, and the biggest problem with the new ones is the unevenness of sound. For instance, a bass on one note may sound twice as louder as on another one. This makes GP6 almost unusable.

Wish they’d just made a GP5 with more keyboard shortcuts and without the annoying “Access violation” crash.

As for GP6, I’m not buying, literally.

Bush wants QIP :-)

Developers of QIP Internet Messenger invite to test their new site. What I like most about it is this picture:

Тэги: qip, Буш

Russian media report death of Amir Aslanbek Vadalov

Russian media report death of Aslanbek Vadalov, one of “Amirs of Caucasian Mujahideen”. It is interesting that, just as in case with the death of Abu Hafs, there is no reaction on the KavkazCenter website yet. As you can see, an Amir named “Aslanbek” is still on the picture (first from the right):

PS By the way, there are still eleven Mujahideens displayed, the killed Abu Hafs been replaced by “Muhannad”.

Kids are allright

Thanks God it’s Friday (), time for some good relaxing music  . For instance, like Sepultura – Refuse(Resist) with slightly altered lyrics by these kids:

The kids (called “Gauchos”) also do other rock covers, check out here.

PS I want a Pikachu t-shirt too!

Now playing: Sepultura – Refuse(Resist)

My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade (2006)

It all started when I came home from a shooty day at work. I was about to drop myself onto the couch and turn on the TV when I heard sounds from the FM radio that was accidentally turned on (I never listen to FM, but it was left turned on by Liza) and it made me forget about both the TV and the couch.

“Give me a shot to remember, and you can take all the pain away from me”. I jumped up and kept standing until the very end of the song. I physically felt the music pouring energy into me from the loudspeakers. The moment the music stopped I felt totally renewed. The only question I had was, “what was that?”

I downloaded the whole album, not expecting much (lately I got used to one-hit albums, especially from guys who are heavily rotated on FM). But the outcome was above all my expectations. For those of you who have never listened to the album (wonder if there are any), here are short descriptions of each song, to know what to start with. The best ones are highlighted in red.

1. The End
   I’m sure Pink Floyd (The Wall period) fans will either love it for overtly resembling “In The Flesh?”, or hate it (for the same reason).
   Intelligent and intriguing.
   (Hereinafter I write “intelligent”, “aggressive”, “cheerful”, and so on, about the music, not the lyrics, unless otherwise stated).
2. Dead!
   For early Sum 41 fans (half hour of power).
   Fast and furious.
3. This Is How I Disappear
   One of the best and the heaviest from the album, resembles late Sum 41 but good for everyone with appropriate ears.
   Heavy and very energy-charging.
4. The Sharpest Lives
   Most heavily rotated on FM (at least in Russia). In spite of this, still one of the best from the album. Also has some similarity with Sum 41 (late). Straight-forward ass-kicking Am-F-Dm-E (well ok, it’s C#m-A-F#m-G#) in the chorus.
   Straightforward and very energy-charging.
5. Welcome To The Black Parade
   Well, it might be not that good as a stand-alone song (I didn’t like it at first), but if you consider the whole album as a rock oepra (btw, wikipedia says the guys are thinking about making a broadway musical), it’s in the right place in the right time.
   Intelligent and mood-setting.
6. I Don’t Love You
   Sounds like Green Day, maybe, don’t know. Good music for good mood.
   Slow but cheerful (consider: “Handle This” by Sum 41).
7. House of Wolves
   Hot rodder’s song for sure. Fills with energy that you can outlet only through the accelerator and the steering wheel.
   Fast, aggresive, adrenaline-crushing (consider: “Summer” by Sum 41).
8. Cancer
   Some say it’s very alike Queen. Unfortunately, I’ve never been a fan or even a frequent listener of Queen, so I would rather compare it with the latest (american idiot) Green Day.
   Sad tending to lazy.
9. Mama
   Starting like a hooligans’ tune, and getting into hard-ass Pink Floyd The Wall-like soul scream. The most aggresive song of the album for me.
   Heavy, aggressive and nihilistic (don’t be befooled by the beginning).
10. Sleep
    I call this a one-goosebumber song. That is when you listen and think “well, ok, ok, not bad, good solid song”, and then, at some momnet, for just several seconds, there is a tune or a sound or a combination of words and music which gives you goose bumps (in a positive way I mean).
    Heavy and straightforward with a goosebumber at 1:10.
11. Teenagers
    Definitely the most cheerful song on the album. Totally great for screwing neighbours at 3am (i guess, not tried this myself yet). And, makes you feel a teenager really.
    Hooliganish and teenagy. WHAZZAAAAAA?
    … hm, yep, well, now back to the review
12. Disenchanted
    A traveller’s song. Imagine yourself driving steadily through an endless highway to places you’ve never been before, you put your hand out of the window and tap with your fingers on the car’s roof in time with the music, and the whole world is a book in your hands which you are about to read.. Ah.. I feel I need to get on a vacation…
    Soft and optimistic.
13.  Famous Last Words
    Solid ending for a solid album. “I am not afraid to keep on living” – the lyrics say just the same the music does. That’s what I call synergy. For the album listener, it also says so long, and see you in the next season. So don’t think to start with it, it must be the last song from the album you’ll listen.
    Optimistic and completing the whole music story.

I hope these notes will help people who have not got the time or the patience to get the whole album at once. However, for those who have I without doubt recommend to listen it all from the beginning to the end. This album grabbed me, jungled in the air all the way through and dropped down thinking “I don’t know what it was, but I want this again”.

Now playing: My Chemical Romance – Mama

Tags: my+chemical+romance, rock, black+parade, emo

Google disclosing user data (?)

First check out this:

(…) A hacker taping into wireless internet connections and disrupting service has been sentenced to 15 months in prison, nearly $20,000 in restitution, and 3 years of supervised released. (…) What helped to convict him? While hacked into the system Schuster had used Google to query a number of incriminating phrases such as “how to broadcast interference over wifi 2.4 GHZ”, “wireless networks 2.4 interference” and “interference over wifi 2.4 GHZ”. These Google searches were brought to life by the FBI and seriously hurt Schuster’s case. How did these searches surface? The court documents are ambiguous, but there are a number of ways this could have occurred. The searches may have been noted in Schuster’s browser history and cache, the monitoring of the connection by an Alpha employee, or by a subpoena to Google for searches tided to his IP or cookies. (…)

What’s even more interesting about this interesting story: if you try to search Google news with the “Schuster google” query, you get mere four results about the case. All this I think is something to think about. I really hope that the information was taken from browser cache or something rather than from Google themselves. PS Just in case, here are links to the articles describing the matter: One, Two, Three, Four.

Korean troubleshooting

A quote from a troubleshooting guide for a notebook from one big and known computer company:

9. I cannot hear sound through the headphones.

– Check if the sound is muted in Windows.
– Turn the volume up.
– Replace the main board.

Reminds on the best medicine against headache (i.e. guillotine).

“And Then There Were None”

Image of Abu Hafs removed from the list of “Amirs of Caucasian Mujahideen”. Ten more left.

Update:
Image of Abu Hafs was replaced with “Muhannad”. Probably “one-by-one” hunt will not give much success to the Russian forces, if the separatists have a well-developped “HR turnover” system.

Abu Hafs dead – Separatists confused?

On the screenshot above (made on Mon, Nov 27) , you can see the list of “Amirs of Caucasian Mujahideen” still including Abu Hafs, reportedly killed by police on Sun, Nov 26.

It is interesting that Kavkaz Center website, known for its pro-separatists position, has yet not published any commentary on the event – neither from the editorial staff of the website, nor from the ministry of information of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (which I tend to believe is the same). Worth noting is the fact that in the case with Shamil Basaev’s death, the reaction came much quicker (though one might note that Mr. Basaev was a larger person among the “Caucasian Mujahideens”).

Also worth noticing is the lower-left corner of the screenshot, where you can see a link to an interview with Abu Hafs. It would be interesting to see whether the article was there prior to Sun, Nov 26. If someone can trace back to, e.g. Sat, Nov 25, it would be appreciated.

As for now, it seems that the separatists are confused to a sufficient degree. Let us monitor how the situation resolves in the nearest future.

Updated on Thu, Nov 30 :

On Wed, Nov 29 (Tue, Nov 28 for Russian website version) KavkazCenter informed:
Martyrdom of Abu Hafs Confirmed By Chechen Military Command