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Despite the awful name, AudioGalaxy is just about exactly what I’ve been looking for. It’s a free and simple way to access your entire music library when away from home. You do this by downloading a small helper application that connects your iTunes library XML file (or any other shared folders you choose) to the AudioGalaxy.com web site. The initial scan can take a while depending on the size of your library (I think mine took about 16 hours, but I’m not sure about that) but once it’s completed, your tunes are accessible on the go.

The Browser Interface

When at work, I primarily use the web browser interface to browse music, add songs/albums to a playlist and listen to my music. The user interface is pretty bare-bones, but it does what it needs to do. There are a few quirks, like I have artists such as “01″, which I don’t actually have in my library. But it allows me to listen to Tom Waits when I didn’t think to put any on my iPhone, so I have no complaints.

The iPhone App

In addition to the service being free, their companion iPhone app is free as well. The app is reasonably similar to the native iPod app on the iPhone, but same as the web interface — you have to add your music to a playlist before you can listen to it. It sounds like it might be downsampling the music a bit to keep things streaming smoothly over 3G — but that’s acceptable to me, since a day of 320k streaming would likely kill my data plan.

I had a feeling that having a second kid was going to take a bite out of my personal time, but I had no idea it meant I was going to post a single blog post in 2011 (so far). Well, it’s only the end of October — so maybe I can catch up a bit in the last few months of the year.

Parenting Update

Totally enjoying being a parent more the second time around. But I suspect that I’m going to need to read a parenting blog, or get a parenting podcast or something soon because going on instinct is only getting me so far. Anyone know a foolproof method to potty train a kid over the duration of a week?

We Moved

While my city friends thought I sold out and moved to the suburbs years ago (when we moved to Oak Park), now we really have. I dreaded this day for years, fearing that it would mean that I wouldn’t go to concerts any longer. Turns out it’s not that big a deal, I’m seeing just as many shows as I did in Oak Park. I guess when a person will fly to Australia or Amsterdam for a concert, a 40-minute drive to Chicago isn’t that substantial a drive.

I’m Going to Sell My CDs

Just typing those words horrifies me, but honestly — I haven’t listened to a CD in a CD player in over a year. Everything is on the computer, backed up to a hard drive and then I’m going to start backing that up to the cloud. I figure I might as well sell the CDs while they’re worth a (very) little something, before they’re worth nothing at all. I’m keeping the Eno CDs though — I’ve scoured the Earth for those.

Concerts

I’ve seen Veronica Falls, The Horrors, Wye Oak, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Death Cab for Cutie, The Cults, Best Coast, Lykke Li, Coldplay, OK GO, The Kills, The Vaccines, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Vivian Girls and a few others. Hoping to see The Cure in L.A. soon (fingers crossed!), Fitz and the Tantrums and Still Corners.

iPad 2

I got an iPad 2 (thanks Gerard Design!) and it’s true — it’s twice as badass as the first iPad. It’s faster, wicked thin and the video camera makes Facetime chat as easy as on the iPhone. I like the Smart Cover too (in orange of course), but every now and then I have a heck of a time getting it to act properly as a stand. But then again, I have a hard time with Transformers too.

iPhone 4S

The 4S is certainly quicker, the camera really is much better and Siri is pretty interesting — though other voice apps are actually a bit more helpful (like Dragon Go!). For example, I asked Dragon Go! who was playing at the Empty Bottle in Chicago tonight and it gave me a list of upcoming acts. Siri just said it didn’t understand the question, offered to search Google for me, and then game me some lip when I told it that it “sucked”. But being able to read and send text messages by voice is great and iOS 5 is a terrific upgrade.

For the first post of the year, I thought I’d mention that Faith and I had June, our second child, over the holidays. We thought she’d be coming a bit closer to new year’s eve, but June had other plans, and she arrived closer to Christmas. Since you’re probably thinking it, yes — her name is June and she was born in December. There’s nothing particularly significant about that, but people seem compelled to comment on it anyway. Faith and I were talking about, and we really don’t think “month” when we think “June”. I guess that’s the difference between us and the rest of the world.

Second Time’s a Charm

Here’s something significant though — I’m way less freaked out with a newborn this time around. With Cooper, I just didn’t know what to do with him. I didn’t grow up around other children, so the whole idea of changing diapers and making baby talk just didn’t connect with me. I think I spent the first two weeks of Cooper’s life mostly running errands, because that was something I could do to contribute and it was something I knew how to do. But June is a different story. I talk to her all the time, we listen to music together and we make faces at one another.

Another thing — we’re significantly less overwhelmed this time around. With Cooper, we couldn’t seem to get through a meal without reheating it three times and we pretty much gave up on watching a full TV program or movie. The first year was pretty much a sustained fire drill and I remember being a zombie most of the time, from a total lack of sleep. But not this time around. June goes to bed around 11pm and she sleeps through until 6am. The only troublesome bit has been that she’s been sick lately and that’s made her a bit more irritable. Not terribly, but just a bit.

Patience is a Virtue (in Demand)

However, while June is pretty smooth sailing — Cooper is a bit of another story. He’s an awesome kid and we have a riot together, but he’s also nearly three, which means he’s developing a bit of sassy attitude. I’m gonna say that comes from his mother. Our interactions lately have confirmed that I have exactly as much patience as I thought I did, which is a bit of a point of concern. But I better find the patience quick for two kids, because I think Cooper is long past the point where we could return him for a refund at the hospital, and I think June is getting close too. I need to check her receipt.