Silence!

After about five months of listening to my computer sound like a blender or weed eater, I finally mustered up the balls to replace the video card fan -- the source of the problem. Damn near had to break the video card to get the crappy old fan off. But I was going to either replace the fan or break the card and buy a new one. The noise became that extreme.

The new fan is from Arctic Cooling. It is so huge that I had to take out the modem next to the video card, but I wasn't using that anyway (I have not used a modem in 6 years, and doing so would probably drive me to alcoholism).

As you might guess (because I'm able to write this), it all worked out. The difference is huge. Now I notice all sorts of noises that never even existed before.

Anyway, this is a huge quality of life increase. We use the computer for all our music and TV, in addition to the standard internet stuff, such as porn. Let the good times roll!

More Christian Music

As the below post indicates, I'm not exactly in a Christian music nostalgia trip sort of mood. But I pretty much had these particular songs lined up and ready to go. With the exception of one song (the second), these are more obscure than the previous Christian podcast. So here it is. A special prize to whomever can identify each of the artists.

Maybe I'm just not in a Christian mood because my icon for this blog (a picture of Jesus with guns and blood) has disappeared from the web. It was from some "Jesus Freaking" website. I kept meaning to save a copy for myself, but never did. Jesus left me.

I previously pointed out the irony that most of my Christian music was stolen. Also ironic are all the many unholy--even unnatural--acts perfomed with this holy music as a soundtrack. A lot of the Christian music sounds like pop music (most of it bad pop music). We just sort of ignored the lyrics. Or pretended that the "precious love" that they were singing about was of a more terrestrial sort. Some of the songs and artists -- Amy Grant, Margaret Becker, for example -- even sounded sexual when they sang to the Lord.

A suggestion to the local Christian radio station: take a black light through the studio. The carpet may need to be replaced before the next Shareathon.

Hot New Look

Unwilted has a hot new look. But what will I do when I'm not feeling goth?

Christian Nostalgia

Those of you old timers may enjoy this post, but the rest of you will be scratching your heads. In any case, I was driving home yesterday with the ipod on shuffle and a Keith Green song came up. Which set me down a road of nostalgia which continued when I got home. I dusted off some old Christian CDs (all of which were stolen -- an irony that brought me some pleasure at the time and even now). This is the first of what will probably be three Christian podcasts. Enjoy! And if there are requests for specific songs, I can try to do a fourth (assuming I have the songs).

The Big Lie

The below article was simply too good, so I'm copying all of it. It is from salon.com and the orignal link is here.

Who tells the truth to a man -- or perhaps a nation -- driving into the setting sun, convinced he's heading due east?

By Garrison Keillor

Jan. 18, 2006 | It's good to know how to lie, and lie effectively, so you can go backstage after the high school production of "The Crucible" in which your friend's daughter mumbled her lines and stood like a fencepost, trying to look horrified and looking drugged instead, and now here she is, fluttery, ashen-faced, perspiring, and you say, "It was fascinating to watch. You were so in the moment, Lindsey. So believable. It really resonated with that audience, there was so much intensity." The truth is that she has no more talent than the average cocker spaniel -- but so what? There's no need to face the truth all at once.

People ask you how you are, you say fine, even if you have a grinding headache. People congratulate you on having done a fine job raising your children, you say thank you, even though you know the truth.

On the other hand, one should not lie to oneself. If the book you've been working on for two years is a leaking boat that needs to be scuttled, this is not to be denied. You look in the mirror and it's clear: The zero-dessert policy must now go into effect. Your wife says your drinking is a problem. That means it's a problem.

On the third hand, self-deception is useful. Some things are better endured by ignoring them. Old age, for one. The whining sound under your seat on the 727 flying over Lake Michigan, for another. And when you're feeling overwhelmed by your obligations, it's better just to put on your blinders and haul the beer wagon forward.

But everyone needs a few friends with whom one can be honest. I quit smoking 20-some years ago because my friend Butch Thompson and I promised each other that we'd try to quit, and that before smoking another cigarette, we would call up the other one and tell him. This worked like a charm. I dreaded having to make that call, so did he, and we each trusted the other to be honest. This is what friends are for. If you go and do a shameful thing, such as shoot your parents so you can inherit their estate, you should have at least one friend to whom you could confide the cheesy details. You'd say, "I couldn't believe that was me, aiming the pistol at the back of Mom's head as she stood at the Mixmaster. I am feeling, like, totally remorseful right now. And I'm wondering if, like, it might've been a sugar rush from, like, the Twinkies." And the friend would say, "Well, you were having some big mood swings. And the job market is tight, so naturally you were anxious about money. But those bright orange coveralls look rather striking on you. And this Plexiglas partition between us doesn't bother me as much as I had thought it would. And I don't think you would've been a good parent anyway, so it's lucky that you won't have to face that question."

I have not been that sort of close confidant to my friends, alas. They don't reveal the seamy underside of their lives to me, perhaps because I am a writer who might exploit their shameful story, or perhaps because they have no shameful secrets to share. Or because they believe you're supposed to say "Fine" when someone asks how you are.

But who tells the truth to the man who is driving straight into the setting sun and thinks he's heading due east? His wife murmurs that, uh, maybe we should look at a map, and he accuses her of being a defeatist who tries to tear him down any way she can in order to conceal her own lack of ideas. The man is heading the wrong way and speeding and the idiot light is flashing -- low oil pressure -- and the idiot is trying to be manly and authoritative but everyone can see he's faking it, hoping for God to rearrange the landscape for his convenience. Someone ought to speak up, and yet he is fascinating. As the administration is these days, so resonant and believable. The Arctic icecap melts and the Chinese finance our tax cuts and someday we will have spent six years and trillions of dollars to bring democracy to Iraq, whatever that may mean, and the SUV of state turns toward the setting sun, driven by cocker spaniels. And there is so much intensity there, and they are so much in the moment.

Butt Rock

Just enjoying the MLK day in my own special way. Listening to some butt rock and having a Hurricane High Gravity or two or three. The swill is piss but it will get you there, if you know what I mean. So for those of you with a similar disposition, here are some kick ass jams to get you through the night. The rest of you can fuck off.

Tunes

Tunes here.

Christmas Podcast

Here is the much anticipated Unwilted Christmas Podcast. My regret is that the last song is not the original John Denver version. I used to have that version, but somehow I no longer do. Almost without exception, I hate modern versions of Christmas songs. So this is heavy on the traditional (and edited to have a traditional sound).

I actually have a political post in me -- I just watched the Power of Nightmares series from BBC 2 by Adam Curtis. But nobody wants politics right now. But if you do, or if you read this after Christmas, then I'd recommend the download (legal even) at the internet archive.

Pump You Up!

Some patriotic country music along with inspirational quotes from our President on today's podcast.

Guilty Pleasures from the 1980s

This podcast started with a theme of the worst songs from the 1980s. The truth is that these songs are not the worst. They are hits, and they are catchy. But they are embarassing. They are guilty pleasures. Featured in this podcast are the likes of Lionel Ritchie and Michael Bolton. Listen on your headphones, and if anybody asks, tell them you are listening to Young Jeezy. But wait, that is also an embarassment (unless you are really from the hood).

VOIP

[2009 Edit:  Company went belly up and left a bunch of people in a bad situation with very little notice.  Have since moved on to Vonage and am happy enough with them.]

I've been using Sunrocket now for about a month, and have been almost completely happy. Sound quality is consistently good. One or two occasions where there was a lost packet or something and the voice was garbled. Another occasion where I sounded fine but the other party sounded a bit like he was in a large auditorium (he was not). But overall fine. Worth the minor problems with the low price and abundant features.

There are no setup charges, and they even send you a cordless phone system (if you click on the phone under the bird on the homepage). They promise to refund any of the unused yearly fee ($199) if you cancel, and they even sent a pre-paid return label if I wanted to return the equipment after first trying it out. Overall, a good, clean, no BS service.

I had one experience with customer service, which was good. I had not signed up for the free additional phone number at first. Then I couldn't see how to do it on the website. Instead of calling, I opted to chat with a customer service representative. Other than the fact that he seemed to be an amazingly slow typer, he was helpful and it all worked out fine with no problems.

One other strange thing that I discovered. When I call a number (I was calling our current home phone) and hang up, the ringing continues for a long time. This could be annoying if I ever call somebody, and they see it is me and decide not to pick it up. It would keep ringingn and ringingn for them.

So, I'm going to cancel our normal land line. Will save around $40 a month by doing that (including long distance charges, fees, taxes, etc.). We are lucky enough to have broadband without DSL, so we don't need the phone line (or need to pay extra for naked DSL).

I make no money by writing this -- just a good product, and I hope the company does well. If you are a reader who knows my email address, let me know if you want to sign up and I can get some sort of credit for doing a referral.

Corruption

A break from the podcasts for a moment. I'm shocked that almost nobody has heard about the Republican Congressman (Randy "Duke" Cunningham) who just resigned and admitted to taking $2.4 million in bribes. Shouldn't this be a big deal? The Washington Post seems to be reporting it on the front page, and also gave a good analysis of corruption generally also on the front page. However, I've been listening to Fox for the last hour, and no mention of it. CNN has not been much better. Bottom line is that most Americans who pay only a little attention to the news will have no idea that an important Congressman took millions in bribes and just resigned. What do they hear about instead? The Fox website is currently headlining a new panda bear at the National Zoo, and does not even mention the bribery resignation in its current headlines. Media Matters has a more detailed analysis of the lack of coverage.

Podcast for Satan

This podcast is dedicated to Satan. You're doing a heck of a job. For those of you listening, don't bother unless you plan on turning up the volume.

Country Podcast

A continuing subject of interest to me are the changes in country music through the years. Essentially, it is transforming into family-friendly fare for Republicans. Not always, but little by little. The theme of this podcast is religion in country music. Religion was an important part of country music for a long time. Then there came the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Kris Kristofferson, one of my favorite artists of all genres, is included with his "Sunday Morning Coming Down." Then on to the modern, retro religious cool with Allison Krauss, whose voice almost makes me wish I were still religious.

Podcast by Popular Demand

The demand for another podcast has been overwhelming. If you consider one request overwhelming. Maybe not overwhelming, but sufficient. So here you go!