j a m e s a t t a r d

Happy Birthday - 6 years old!

2011-11-12T22:25:00.000+01:00

This blog, one of the first ones in the Maltese islands, computes its 6th year today. One can browse through old blogposts in the archives menu on the right - me for one enjoyed reading a couple of posts! As they say, time really flies and I try to capture those interesting moments on this blog...

Risis at the Rock the Fest Malta

2011-06-11T14:11:00.002+02:00

Maltese rock band Risis are to participate at the Rock the Fest battle of the bands inside the Hard Rock Cafe` St. Julians. Join the fun and vote! If they are among the winners, they will participate at the Farson's Beer Festival this summer...

This will happen on the 23rd June 2011 at around 9pm, and after Ira Losco will be performing as the main guest. More info at their official facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/RisisMusic

Rush concert (Timemachine tour)

2011-06-03T12:20:00.002+02:00

Last week I went to London with my friend to see Rush at the O2 arena for their Timemachine tour. It was awesome and look forward to see them again in the future. Our hotel was located in Euston, walking distance from Camden. Since pictures speak louder then words, I leave this blog post with some photos:

A period of transition

2011-06-03T10:06:00.003+02:00

At the moment I am transitioning between one job and another - this means I have more time for myself...more time to read, study, play the bass, riding the motorcycle, going to the beach, and of course blogging. I love the summer transitions...

Divorce Referendum

2011-06-03T10:01:00.001+02:00

As the entire world or at least Europe knows, last week Malta held a referendum on the legislation for the introduction of divorce. I intentionally did not blog about this for the past months, despite the heavy media and continuous bombardments from peers.

To cut the story short, the outcome was a YES to divorce - although it is not official yet from the parliarment, that would of course leave Philippines as the only country in the world without a legal divorce.

Without taking a stand in favour or against divorce, my next question clearly would be this: Would the Maltese people who fervently voted in favor of divorce still consider to be married by the Church institution?

I will leave the interpretation for that answer to you.

Risis - upcoming Maltese rock band

2011-06-03T09:53:00.001+02:00

While being immersed in a busy life, I almost forgot to blog about one of the most important elements to which I dedicate my life - my rock band, Risis. Instead of ranting about it, I will just copy/paste the biography which I had drafted a couple of weeks ago:

Risis are a Maltese rock band formed in 2008. The band was born from a myriad of different names and line-ups, however it all started with drummer Chris Galea who met ex-guitarist of So Chronic and ex Stone Joker, Stefan Farrugia. They auditioned for a number of bassists until they met James Attard whom they knew through his former band White Crimson. Together they covered powerful bands like Muse, Skunk Anansie and Rage Against the Machine until they decided to start working on original material. While looking for a singer, James stumbled across Jodi's profile on Facebook. After a successful audition, Jodi joined Risis and provided the strong voice they were looking for.

The name 'Risis' derives from their former "identity cRisis" syndrome where they used to change their band name before every gig.

All the four members show amazing technical and musical skills, with their songs being personal and powerful as can be felt in their live performances. Risis are currently producing their first single with renowned producer Niki Gravino.

Being a bassist and the appointed PR, as my band mates dubbed, is a juggle between my other elements in life! Yet I cannot complain as it is a very rewarding venture. More info on our facebook page: www.facebook.com/RisisMusic.

6 Simple Rules for Productivty

2011-06-02T02:16:00.000+02:00

Stumbled across some rules which I will try to follow in the upcoming days to boost my productivity!

1) Check your email twice a day MAX (good luck with this one)
2) Check stats only twice a day.
3) Work on ONLY 1 thing at a time.
4) Close all open Windows (including AIM, Skype, Gmail, etc) except the specific project you are working on.
5) Write a to-do list in the morning which you follow.
6) Spend your time working on the thing that will potentially give you the most benefit (profit, rewards, etc)

The day I got my first superbike

2011-04-15T09:31:00.003+02:00

...Was some day last week, and my smile was from ear to ear. Fell immediately in love with a 1994 Kawasaki ZXR 750 superbike racer and got it at a very good price! The poor bike (which was coined as the 'lean mean middle aged green machine' by a friend of mine) was garaged for the last 5 years...I took care of that - 200km in just two days. I also upgraded brake pads to Ferodo as the old ones were all oily!

Pictures speak louder than words, so here is the happy me:

I found a way how to dine at great Maltese restaurants at 50% discounts!

2011-04-15T09:22:00.007+02:00

I think you might find this personal rant a bit interesting...So read on!

I like eating a lot...and so does my fiancee`. And we like to choose those nice romantic expensive restaurants...So every week we end up forking tens of euros to satisfy our palate at these restaurants! And keeping up this 'vice' together with the ever increasing cost of living was becoming a bit difficult.

That's until I discovered the now famous Gusto card (www.gusto.com.mt) which allowed both me and a guest to get a 50% discount on every restaurant which is listed on their website...and they got literally more than 100! I think I discovered it a bit late cos it has been existent for a while, but I am sure most of you have never heard of it..

If you haven't already purchased the Gusto card, do so now! But wait...one last important thing...I can share with you a special promo code which you can use while you enter your details at the Gusto site, to get a EUR 5 discount on your card! Yep that's right..more discount :p

The promo code is: 1866

Just enter that code when you purchase the card from www.gusto.com.mt.
More details: http://www.costansin.com/content/gusto-promo-code-1866.

Nice sunday ride!

2011-02-14T01:04:00.004+01:00

Fitted new GPR exhaust on my CBF 500, and tested it this morning with my brothers! Awesome rumbling sound!! teheheh..

Another r00tb0x article hitting the jackpot

2011-01-27T14:55:00.000+01:00

This article has been SEO'd successfully :)

.... first page among 65 million+ other results.

Home doorway pullup bar

2011-01-17T14:47:00.003+01:00

I recently invested in a doorway pullup bar which costed me EUR9 from Lidl. Quite a bargain. At the moment I am doing 5 pullups in a row - my target - 10 pullups in a row by end of February!

Tom Sawyer - Rush Bass cover

2011-01-09T20:38:00.003+01:00

This is the first of a series of Rush songs which I'll be covering as a warmup before I go see them live next May 2011 :)

Apologies for all the mistakes but it has been a long time since my last bass cover on youtube so got all eggs-ited.

How I gained 35 pounds in 1 year...

2011-01-06T12:24:00.005+01:00

I know the title looks a bit cheesy, reminiscent of some spammy weight gainer/weight loss/viagra product marketing article...But I am not going to promote any products in this article - just some health and fitness tips from a newbie person who used to be a skinny, rockstar hippy to a 'normal' built individual who enjoys a healthier lifestyle...

So about 12 months ago, I looked like this:

Weighing a mere 125 pounds with no particular healthy lifestyle other than the occasional soccer match with work colleagues. No matter how hard I tried gaining weight by eating bigger portions or trying the occasional weight training, I always failed miserably, ending giving up to all sorts of training.

However one fine day I stumbled across an interesting article which revealed the secret to gain weight for us people who find it extremely hard to gain a pound or two!! The secret lies within these three paradigms:

EATING WELL - TRAINING WELL - SLEEPING WELL

Eating well: Eating like a pig..eating for pleasure..and most of all, think nothing other than eating! In scientific terms, you need to eat 20g of protein every 3 hours for 4 times (i.e. in a span of 12 hours you need to consume around 80g of protein everyday).

Sleeping well: Don't sleep less than 8 hours a day!

Training well: Go to a gym and lift the heaviest weights you can to increase muscle weight. Don't do any cardio and don't lift light weights - just raw heavy weights till you feel your body breaking.

By following these 'laws' I managed to gain 35 pounds in about one year. Apart from that I feel much much stronger and I am taking weight training as a hobby which allows me to vent off much of the stress I accumulate during the day. Check out some pics I recently took and see the difference. Of course this is just the beginning and by no way feel like a bodybuilder - however it is just enough for me to keep myself motivated in this quest.

Most importantly I hope that these little words motivate young people who shared my same experience!

Enough with the duck face

2011-01-05T07:57:00.003+01:00

What do I remember of last year?

2011-01-03T07:55:00.007+01:00

If I had to look back at last year and think for a moment, these are probably the things I remember (in no particular order):

Got engaged with Petramay
Started the wedding plans
Bought a terraced house
Left my old workplace
Started a new job
Working with shifts for the first time
Went for a cruise for the first time
Made new friends
Left old friends
Named the band to UNDER3KINGDOMS
Founded r00tb0x.com and Costansin
Became the motorcycle club's (Raw Bikers) secretary
Managed to successfully gain 15kg
Started weight training

Happy new year 2011

2010-12-31T19:42:00.000+01:00

I wish my sincere greetings for a start of a new year 2011 to all my family, friends, and especially you faithful readers of this blog.

I will draft some thoughts and resolutions in another post as I am in a hurry to prepare myself for the celebrities.

My Last "RAW" ride for 2010

2010-12-30T08:54:00.007+01:00

Last night I enjoyed riding with my club, Raw Bikers, and I have probably enjoyed it even more due to the fact that it was the last club ride of the year. The weather was clear but quite chilly, with temperatures even reaching 9°c.

We took advantage of the clear streets which was quite strange that there was no particular traffic in the road at this time of the year. We headed towards Coast Road and Mellieha while stopping at interims for a snack.

For the first time I had managed to hit the 180kmph mark on my Honda CBF500 on a particular stretch of the road - eventually I rejoiced my trust and love again with this bike.

Unfortunately as I was reading the newspapers this morning, I found out that a fellow motorcyclist was injured in Coast Road at about 6am this morning. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

Wonderful Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T07:57:00.001+01:00

My Christmas festivities were spent mostly with my family. Yesterday's Christian teachings were coincidentally related to the values of the Family and it is a sheer pleasure to be surrounded by people who really love you. Although I have not slept for 24 hours due to the previous night work shift, I still managed to have that occasional glass of wine and have fun conversations while eating turkey.

Later that evening I noticed that I managed to gain an extra two kilos and tried to burn them while being involved in a traditional family tug-of-war and an arm-wrestling competition.

If you have some interesting story to share about this Christmas, why don't you post it here?

First Christmas eve at work

2010-12-25T03:25:00.001+01:00

This is the first Christmas eve I'm spending at work. By Christmas eve I mean 24/12 19:00 - 25/12 07:00. Luckily my office is situated in a rural area so I am not jarred by celebrations and drunkards. As atrocious as it may sound, I still managed to participate in a family celebration before heading to work...And will intend to resume the festivities by skipping my sleep after work and hear the 8:00 Mass followed by a good lunch.

Off to make some coffee..

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T19:14:00.009+01:00

Digging a delicious reddit twit!

2010-12-24T12:38:00.000+01:00

Lately I have immersed myself in the wonderful world of social bookmarking, namely, Digg, Del.ico.us, Reddit, and Twitter. It's a whole new Internet and experience and I am using it not only to bookmark and share r00tb0x.com articles but also to discover what is hype in the Internet community.

I know these have existed already for a while, but only got to appreciate them now, by myself...

Exceeded Internet threshold

2010-12-23T19:01:00.003+01:00

Oh well, looks like I have to give up my home Internet connection for the rest of the month as I've exceeded the maximum download threshold. So will either burrow Internet from my neighbors or social engineer my provider to allow me some graceful connection... *grin*

After all, it's Christmas time!

Wohoo, Top 10 ranking in Google!

2010-12-22T09:22:00.006+01:00

One of my r00tb0x.com articles, called Syntax Highlighting + CKEditor in Drupal, ranks 8 in Google! Considering that the article is only one month old, my SEO is working quite well...

What does it mean in layman terms? Well, that among 31,000 results which geeks search for in Google, my geek-counterpart website ranks 8th in Google!

Christmas Pantomime

2010-12-21T18:19:00.000+01:00

This evening I'm off to enjoy the Christmas Panto themed around Scrooge at the MFCC. The panto is produced by MADC with Alan Montanaro as the Dame. This will be the perfect evening to spend in Christmas time with my fiancee` and her family after a very busy week at work!

Flights to Malta still delayed

2010-12-19T08:25:00.008+01:00

Looks like the bad weather is still affecting local and international airlines, although London seems to be recuperating a bit:

In Malta the situation looks quite stagnated and can be confirmed by today's news reports:

Looks like an ideal day for a picnic

2010-12-18T10:28:00.003+01:00

After a couple of heavy raining and cold days here in Malta, this afternoon I will take the opportunity to organize a little picnic with my fiancee`. We will probably head to somewhere in the north with the motorcycle and settle a little tent while enjoying the clear weather. I enjoy these days as they normally clear up my mind and brings me closer to my other half while at the same time finding the perfect excuse to eat good food and drink tasty wine!

Importing a vehicle in Malta

2010-12-17T20:15:00.000+01:00

Importing an automobile or a motorcycle in Malta is pretty straightforward albeit expensive! Around thirty minutes ago I was looking around online for a Honda Transalp 650cc (2005 model) and managed to find one just under EUR2000. Fair deal!

But then the shock came when I estimated the registration taxes (excluding admin fees of course!) - another EUR1070.

For those who are wondering, you can calculate the registration tax from http://www.valuation.vehicleregistration.gov.mt/ .

Awesome debut UNDER3KINGDOMS

2010-12-16T09:00:00.000+01:00

Yesterday's gig was awesome. The crowd was not just 'warm'. It went mad (no pun intended MCH guys!) by the middle of the set list. And our girls were supporting us all the way. An hour and a half of music orgasm (at least we had all those faces while playing).

Will upload some photos as soon as we get them...

Barefooted in the office

2010-12-15T09:07:00.001+01:00

Another wet morning for a bike ride to work. Had to take off the boots and let them dry in the terrace while sitting barefooted sipping coffee and monitoring servers. The joy of not working in a corporate environment!

Who likes wet rides?

2010-12-14T23:12:00.001+01:00

Definitely myself. When I put on the jacket, strap on the gloves, and secure the helmet, riding the motorcycle in the rain is something which only a few people have the luck to experience. Rain drops hitting your face at high speeds, the rear wheel starts wobbling on each thrust of the throttle and a feeling that you are just by yourself hitting the roads, are just a few things I experience every time I decide to go for a night bike run when it rains in the streets of Malta.

Tomorrow debut of UNDER3KINGDOMS

2010-12-14T19:19:00.001+01:00

Emerging Maltese rock band UNDER3KINGDOMS will play live for the first time at Rookies tomorrow @ 22:00...I play the bass with the band and I can tell you it's really fun playing with these guys - they are all seasoned musicians and friends of mine. So if you want to taste our music make sure to be there!

Singer - Suzanne

Bass - Myself

Guitar - Fofi

Drums - Chris

Facebook latest upgrade

2010-12-14T14:38:00.003+01:00

I must thank Mark Zuckerberg and the entire Facebook development team for upgrading its look and feel. Now ex-bloggers like me can take their course back to their glorious blogging days.

That was sarcasm of course. With Facebook becoming more like a MySpace profile, it gave us a valid reason to go back and do some proper blogging on a real blogging framework.

That said, like many bloggers around, I still use facebook to leave comments and advertise any content of interest (known as retweeting in Twitter jargon). In fact I am going to retweet this post and others from r00tb0x.com. More on r00tb0x.com later...

Back to blogging here!

2010-12-14T12:45:00.001+01:00

For the past couple of years I have had this on-again-off-again relationship with this blog. Lots of things have changed, not only in my life, but also in this blog (if you take a look at it you'll notice that I have cleaned it up a bit and revamped its design).

So fire up your RSS readers and subscribe again as I will be posting here in no time! ;)

One sweet girl

2009-07-06T17:20:00.003+02:00

I never forget her smile, her smell and her eyes.
got enough of living a life of lies.
I don't feel weak when she's away from me,
but much stronger when she's besides me.

Life goes on

2009-07-04T18:30:00.001+02:00

I was almost going to remove this blog till a couple of months ago as I had lost the me in myself to stop and think and write. Life was going too fast under my eyes and sometimes I couldn't really give a damn of what happened around me. I had lost not only the muse to write, but also motivation to experience certain things.

If you had to ask me why this has happened, I would have just stared in oblivious and look for the real answer. Now this conquest to understand the why is not important, and here I am again, sharing a bit of my experiences to my virtual friends.

Life goes on.

Google Maltese site prank

2009-04-08T00:15:00.006+02:00

Like the incident which happened nearly four years ago, Google Malta fall victim of another prank, probably devised on April's Fool.

The prank is very simple - since Google Language Translation web services rely solely on volunteers, which can be you and me, and not on trusted translators, people can give their own translation. This leads to vandalism - much to what happens on a regular basis on Wikipedia.

As an ethical * heq him * individual, I decided to revert the translation to its original form and explaining the reason of the change, thus removing the 'cool factor' which the prankster thought to have achieved.

The changes will probably take a couple of days to come into effect..

Pea - RHCP (Vocal + Bass Cover)

2009-03-25T02:37:00.001+01:00

I am singing and playing this fantastic cover which was made by Flea of the RHCP (find original video here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JGF2UfBJUw ). Please forgive my voice as I am just recovering from a throat infection, however I tried to imitate also the voice of Flea here. Unfortunately the audio is not in sync with the video :/

I dedicate this song to all the 'little' PEAple i know ;) If you know any friends of mine which should be tagged here, please tag them ;) Power to the PEAple!

Here are the lyrics:

Im a little pea
I love the sky the trees
Im a teeny tiny little ant
Checking out this and that
I am nothing
So you have nothing to hide
And Im a pacifist
So I can fuck your shit up
Oh yeah Im small

Fuck you asshole
You homophobic redneck dick
Youre big and tough and macho
You can kick my ass
So fucking what

My 1st baby of the week - Asus eee Pc 901

2008-09-27T15:21:00.002+02:00

It only took 3 days for my little netbook to arrive from Latvia to Malta. I'm so happy I finally got my hands on this nifty toy that words cannot describe it :) Weighing only 1kg, this netbook will be my perfect gadget to use anywhere I go...

Corfu` here we come :)

2008-09-03T19:58:00.002+02:00

Dear readers, in a couple of hours I shall be departing to the magnificent islands of Corfu` - the land of love, chicks, booze and many other fun stuff! See you again in ten days :)

Happy bday Linux

2008-08-25T10:01:00.001+02:00

Today is the 17th birthday of Linux...

On the 25th August 1991 the following message appeared on the newsgroup comp.os.minix:

Hello everybody out there using minix-

I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big
and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has
been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like
any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix; as my OS
resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-sytem
due to practical reasons)among other things.

I've currently ported bash (1.08) an gcc (1.40), and things seem to work.
This implies that i'll get something practical within a few months, and I'd
like to know what features most people want. Any suggestions are welcome,
but I won't promise I'll implement them :-)

Linus Torvalds torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi

Happy Birthday Linux!!!

Groovy weekend

2008-08-24T22:30:00.002+02:00

My weekend started Friday evening with the acquisition of my brand spanking new 6 string Stenmore bass - as a followup I was requested to review this bass, and decided to play Baker Street.

The morning after, me and my work mates went to Gozo for the Gozo music fest and decided to spend the whole Saturday and Sunday by the beautiful beaches of this small island, 'Hondoq ir-Rummien' being my favorite. One of the best weekends to conclude the now approaching end of summer :)

New life

2008-08-21T20:53:00.002+02:00

I apologize to my readers for not blogging for a while ;) I've been thriving really hard to get back on my feet at many levels in my life. However it's now official - I'm again a happy man - I love my job, i love my friends, and I have removed the old phantoms of the past which kept me on hold for a whole year...yep that's right...since 21st august 2007...It was hard to get over it, but life preserves us many nice gifts at the end of the day...

Please remember to check out my alter-ego blog on MADVIP.net. Catch you very soon..

Skydiving [Cieli Blu 2008]

2008-07-07T00:47:00.002+02:00

Me and my friend decided to make a little vacation in Siracusa (Sicily) to try out skydiving - I confess I like adrenaline :) Thanks to all the guys at the Avio Club Sicilia aka Blue Skies aka Cieli Blu. You made our dream a reality!

If you want to know how it feels...well...it's like 'I got my powers back' ;)

The return of Xtruppaw!

2008-07-03T17:01:00.001+02:00

Xtruppaw are coming back...Check out this hilarious movie!

Walking by myself

2008-06-09T22:23:00.001+02:00

I had nothing better to do so I just went on rocking over this blues rock classic. I learned it just now, and as you can see it's not complex once you get the groove going. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)

The New World

2008-05-21T17:36:00.004+02:00

In an attempt to escape much of the stressful life I'm currently undergoing, I was invited to be part of The New World. This virtual place on the cyberspace is really addictive. I joined on day 183 of the creation of this world in attempt to make a better society. I started working at a new company and already joined a political party. In a few moment I will also be involved in military. My current aim is to get influence on the society and perhaps gain much citizens to have power over other countries. Ask me for more details...

Rebel Riders Charity Ride

2008-05-17T09:11:00.007+02:00

Tomorrow is a great event for us riders, and also for my band, White Crimson. Rebel Riders Brotherhood are organizing their 13th annual charity ride which gathers hundreds of bikers from around Malta and Gozo (and perhaps even from outside Malta) where we cruise around the whole island. The afterparty will be at 2.30pm at Coconut Grove where White Crimson will be playing. Invitation is open to all public!

Metrokueen

2008-04-24T21:26:00.002+02:00

Extracts from one of our gigs (April 2008)

Valletta Waterfront invaded again..

2008-04-18T15:12:00.004+02:00

I'm sure it wasn't the first time this site was hacked:

Waiting till summer to clean your sinus?

2008-04-14T08:48:00.002+02:00

No way I'm gonna wait the spring season to pass or to wait till I can dive in the sea to clean my sinus! I also got fed up of spraying stuff in my nosey or swallowing 'panadols sinus' pills. Recently I discovered a home based remedy for us sinus victims and it really works. It makes use of the 'Netti Pot'. Google it..now!

Basically it consists of putting salinated water from one nostril and letting it flow out through the other nostril. Then you repeat the process with the other nostril. I know it sounds gross, but this is very effective and is becoming very common worldwide.

Trapping at Bidnija

2008-04-13T15:28:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I went to try out trapping at the Bidnija shooting center with my comrade. It was my first experience and I confess I really enjoyed it. We might take this as a hobby very regularly. Ah if you were to ask, yes we managed to hit quite a number of targets for a beginner :)

Sky Diving, Bungie Jumping anyone?

2008-04-10T11:32:00.002+02:00

For this coming summer I have reserved a couple of days off from work to be able to go somewhere in Europe to practice sky diving and bungie jumping. If anyone is interested (not necessarily Maltese, but preferably European) you can drop a comment here so can we can plan something together...

Banana Weighers

2008-03-18T11:59:00.004+01:00

Is this a joke? :)

Thierry Fremont similarity

2008-03-17T11:21:00.010+01:00

Someone on youtube who is from France and who happened to view some of my videos commented about the fact that I looked like some famous French actor called Thierry Fremont. I took it with a pinch of salt until I googled his name and the similarity was amazing. I mean, I was like scared seeing my face there!

Calm like a bomb

2008-02-24T22:04:00.002+01:00

This is a very powerful song by the masters of funk themselves, Rage Against The Machine. I played it for the first time exclusively on youtube and I would like to dedicate it to all those fuckers who made fun of my dreams and hopes. I want you to know that I'm still kicking ass.

My first dive!

2008-02-23T15:47:00.009+01:00

As I was saying in the previous post, this morning I had a very interesting activity - I went scuba diving with my friend through the Scubashark diving school. Although it was a 30 minute trial dive, it was simply amazing and instructive. We dived in Qui si Sana at a depth of around 5 metres and a temperature of 15 degrees. I had to perform three skills - putting water on purpose in the goggles at that depth and removing it with my breath; removing the regulator from my mouth and holding the breath underwater; and finally, simulating an emergency scenario where my cylinder is out of oxygen and I have to use the regulator of my buddy diver.

Looking forward for a full diving course in spring/summer!

More white hair!

2008-02-23T15:33:00.002+01:00

Last Monday when I looked at myself in the mirror while shaving, I found 3 more white hairs...That's when I realized that although I feel very very young, I am getting older. And that's when I realized that time passes by really quickly so I just had to get off the routine of waking up, going to work, getting back home exhausted, and sleeping. I just had to do something.

Well from this week, I managed to transform my schedule into a very busy one yet still sleeping those 8 hours. I am now coping with three rock bands, music lessons, studying for certifications in Oracle, gym weight training, and I am even open to other activities like the one I had this morning.

Maltese Facebook application a success

2008-02-22T13:10:00.002+01:00

I would like to thank Martin Debattista for writing an article on the Times of Malta concerning my efforts to build a Facebook application. More information here. I would also like to thank Toni Sant for inspiring this initiative in me.

Ubuntu Hoody

2008-02-20T18:05:00.006+01:00

It was really fast - my Ubuntu hoodie arrived from the USA in less than 3 days! I'm gonna wear it for my next gig for sure - I think it's the best tribute I can give to this marvelous linux distro ^_^

Ideal remote control for us

2008-02-18T21:29:00.005+01:00

Feeling cool here in Malta!!

2008-02-17T19:15:00.005+01:00

I don't know whether this is an unofficial record at 7pm, but at the moment the temperature in Malta is 7 centigrades! It's the time where geeks move from a desktop pc to a laptop inside the bed sheets, and lovers squeeze themselves with each other, and elderly preparing the traditional warm maltese soup. Or better still, wait for the election heat up :)

Skype on Linux with webcam

2008-02-17T16:51:00.002+01:00

Today I managed to install Linux's beta version of skype with webcam support on my work's laptop running on Ubuntu 64 bit. I can now enjoy video conversations with my buddies all over the world. The only stumbling block at the installation stage was making the 32 bit version of skype working on my 64 bit architecture - a software called 'getlibs' did the trick!

Partit tal-isponoz

2008-02-16T09:02:00.001+01:00

Elections here in Malta are very close, and I must say that a lot of people take it with a pinch of salt. Take a look at this Maltese written satire:

L-ahwa, Ghaqqadna partit gdid bl-isem il-Partit ta l-isponoz. Fost il-mizuri li ha niehdu dawn huma ftit mil-hafna:

1) Il-familja naghtuwha valura aktar. 3 day week xoghol ghal kulhadd u jithallas ta 7 day week halli il-familja ikollha katar hin flimkien.

2) kull hadd intitolat ghal 50 gurnata leave k ull sitt xhur

3) Innehhu l-Burokrazija fuq il-post tax-xoghol....jigifieri min jiehu sick jinqataw ic-cerimonji tat-tobba u certifikati.

4) Il-prodott lokali dejjem kien ghal qalbna. Jinghataw permessi anke fl-ispizeriji biex tinbiegh il-birra maltija u ovvjament tkun issusidjata.

5) Il-Mepa, mhux nirrangawha imma innehhuwha darba ghal-dejjem halli zgur hadd ma jgerger.

6) Nillegalizzaw il-haxixa ghax biha u minghajrha, skond l-istudju li ghamilna, nofs il-poplu fl-ispazju qieghed.

7) Bhala Gvern, nintrabtu biex nohorgu allowances ghall kull min isiefer fuq vaganza, specjalment fejn l-individwi jonfqu aktar minn elfejn euro.

8) Il-valur ta L-euro nghamluh daqs dak tal-maltija u indahhlu id-dollar u l-isterlina biex nikkompetu ma l-inglizi u l-Amerikani.

9) Naghtu garanzija, li jekk anke niehdu tkaxkira ta kristu fil-Eurovison, dan xorta isir Malta

10) Jitwahhlu tabelli Kbar fil-bahar jippuntaw lejn l-italja u jinghataw mapep ta navigazzjoni ghall-italja lill kull klandestin li jkun gej lejn Malta.

11) Il-programm "dejjem tieghek Becky" jieqaf mal-ewwel mix-xandir

12) Tinfetah bajja topless u jinghataw trombi b'xejn lil kulhadd

13) Johorgu permessi specjali ghall dawk kollha li biex jiccelebraw ir-rebha tal-partit taghna, jiddeciedu li jifqaw xi kazin, jixhtu xi landa zebgha jew jorbtu xi Billboard ma wara tal-karozza taghhom.

14) Inzidu it-turizmu f-pajjizna - Kemmuna nibdluwha f'post aqwa minn IBIZA. Ahna turisti zghazagh ingibu li jgawdu u jonfqu, mhux bhall partiti l-ohra, balla xjuh jaraw xi tempju - (borg gebel mitfuh addocc). Dawk flixkun ilma bejn 5 biss jixtru. Sakemm ma ttijhomx xi taqliba u nispiccaw induru bihom il-Materdei!!

15) Naqtaw ghal-kollox, dik it-tikka, u nerga nghid, vera tikka, korruzjoni li hemm fil-football malti. B'hekk biss nistaw xi darba nikkompetu fit-tazza tad-dinja!

16) Xoghol - B'harsien u dinjita. Jigifieri aktar minn 4 sieghat kuljum kollu zejjed.

17) Peress li nafu li F'malta hawn iz-zejt (avolja hadd ma fadallu zejt f'wiccu), is-surcharge tispicca darba ghal dejjem u nrohhsu id-dawl fuq pjan ta 3 snin sakemm ingibuh b'xejn.

18) Nifthu skola gdida ghal dawk il-bdabad kollha li ghandhom bzonn tikka edukazzjoni specjali, biex hadd ma jibqa lura!

19) Innehhu L-VRT minn pajjizna halli nergaw naraw karozzi klassici (tipo xi triumph, Anglia, Capri etc etc) jiccirkulaw f'pajjizna.

20) Biex inheggu lin-nies juzaw it-trasport pubbliku, ha naghtu borza imqaret b'xejn hekk kif tasal il-belt u tipprezenta il-biljett tal-linja

Iva, Flimkien kollox possibli anke xi Pjan ghall-bidu gdid. Ivvutalna u tara!!

Great weekend in Gozo

2008-02-04T08:59:00.000+01:00

I'm sorry I couldn't immortalize some memories from this weekend by means of photos, but all I can say is that I spent some quality time with my best buddies in Gozo, during the Carnival festives. Great way to start a new week!

Squeezing the Zippo

2008-02-02T19:06:00.000+01:00

A friend of mine just gave me this Zippo lighter as a gift and it was like giving a toy to a little kid, because I immediately began fooling around with it and trying my first trick...

Another late post from work

2008-01-31T18:52:00.000+01:00

Trying to kill some time waiting for my last tablespace to recover after the database got some corrupt blocks...well...my luck! Anyways, this proves again why a DBA is important in a company :P Looking forward to finish this, drive back home on my motorcycle, have a nice hot shower and play my bass guitar till I fall asleep. Missed rehearsal another time...I think I have to get used to it now!

2 + 2 = 5

2008-01-30T21:22:00.000+01:00

Today I sat for a brief course entitled 'Basic Skills in Management and Leadership' and something which struck me was the infamous 2 + 2 = 5 which basically means that a good team of 4 people can deliver results as much (or maybe more) as 5 people working individually. Since at the moment I have a supervisory role in the company, I have to seriously keep in mind and make myself remember everyday the importance of team work and make my team feel motivated.

I have also concluded that communication skills are one of the most important things in life - whether at work or in the general society. I will try to take advantage of every opportunity to practice my communication skills so that when important occasions arise, I will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.

Did you forget your local postcode?

2008-01-30T12:25:00.000+01:00

If you are like me, who hasn't sent a snail-mail for ages, you have probably forgot the current Maltese post code (which I believe was changed early last year). By pure luck I have discovered this site which is the official Maltapost post code enquiry service.

She says hello to you!

2008-01-22T22:50:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to find an excuse to introduce you again to my new brunette. She's the sweetest girl I've ever held in my hands. When she speaks she's really sweet. When I want to play with her, she doesn't say no. And when I am tired of her, and put her back, she doesn't complain. She's British and comes from a village where they call her Status Energy because she's indeed full of energy. Well...she just wanted to sing this sweet song for you :]

W810i Flash Menus

2008-01-20T14:04:00.000+01:00

Inspired by the guy in this video, this morning I decided to flash the menus on my SE W810i phone and customize a unique theme. Steps are very simple. First you need to install a software called XS++ to be able to access the phone's firmware, then get .swf flash menu files and finally upload them in the phone using XS++ (in FXS mode) - the trick part is knowing in which folder you need to upload them (/tpa/preset/system/desktop/flash). Finally you need to modify the themes (which are basically POSIX tar files) to use the desired flash menu. Simple as that, really!

LRRG

2008-01-13T13:39:00.000+01:00

A new word has been defined for the fellows like me who posts vids on youtube playing a musical instrument - LRRG. What is a Living Room Rock God (LRRG)? Anyone who takes their rockin' seriously, but does so at home. There are thousands of us all over the world, and the best place to watch a collection of LRRG specimens is on youtube. Now there is an LRRG website: www.freewebs.com/lrrgs and a message board where the youtube LRRGs hang out http://lrrgs.21.forumer.com.

Aqtaghha! Dejjaqtna Tistona!!!

2008-01-13T13:27:00.001+01:00

My first week on the job

2008-01-11T18:23:00.000+01:00

Working for a bank is a very nice experience and I am actually a bit surprised that I immediately felt part of the team. My responsibilities in the job are very high, as I expected, and you may probably find me a more mature individual as time goes by :)

My first thoughts after my first five days working on this new job, are that I am a very lucky individual working with great people, all willing to help me adapt as quickly as possible, and also about the fact that I am exposed to some great technology like SAN, NAS, DAS, Oracle, MS SQL replication, and the core banking system. Although my working hours have increased, depriving me from the indepedence I used to enjoy in my other job, I will soon adapt and still find time for myself.

And now I am counting the days to put my hands on one of the biggest tasks I have been assigned - replicate the live bank database to another site :) Ok that sounded really geeky..actually I am counting the hours to have some SERIOUS fun this weekend ^_^

Say hello to my Status

2008-01-09T19:45:00.001+01:00

The christmas present I gave to myself arrived a bit late due to some delay in the music shop. But here she is - this girl is sixteen years old - it was manufactured in 1992 in UK by Rob Green in persona. Her name is Status Energy and it has 24 frets, a status graphite neck, two single coil hyper active pickups and is very light. I am a very proud father.

Sony Ericsson W810i with Linux

2008-01-05T14:11:00.000+01:00

I just got a new mobile phone, after I sweared that I will never touch a PDA phone again as their screens will eventually screw up. I got a Sony Ericsson W810i for just EUR 125 - it was a catch! This mobile phone is termed as the 'Walkman' phone - it makes playing music easier with respect to other phones and the battery life is simply amazing.

To my surprise it was very easy to connect it to my Linux box and transfer files. I just connected the W810i to my PC through a USB cable and my operating system will just see it as a mass USB storage device :) In my case, using Debian GNU/Linux, the phone memory can be accessed through /dev/sda1 and the memory stick pro duo is accessed through /dev/sdb1.

Engineering this year's resolution

2008-01-01T20:20:00.000+01:00

It's a known fact according to the NY Times that four out of five people who make New Year resolutions will eventually break them. Last year's resolution was to keep my hair long and I managed to do that, although I had to cut it shorter again last week due to my new job at a local bank.

But this served me a lesson that if I come up with a good resolution, I might keep up with it. So after some thinking, I devised this year's resolution - *drum rolls* - to keep fit, workout at the gym on a regular basis and eventually build muscle weight. I am quite sure that if I keep this resolution, by the end of the year I might see a very evident improvement in my body. By next week, once I settle at the new job in terms of time, etc, I will write a time table and stick with that.

Bye Bye '07 may you never return

2007-12-31T12:06:00.000+01:00

In around 12 hrs time I say bye bye to this year. It was a year full of cold and striking emotions - broken relationships, untamed promises and uncharted feelings. But it was also a year where I experienced new things, made new friends, and I'm also getting a new job. All in all, there were too much things to handle for one single year. I am really looking forward for my next challenge, '08. Not all that begins bad ends bad after all!

Having said all this, I wish all my new friends a very happy new year, full of peace and luck.

SMS prices in Malta

2007-12-21T13:00:00.001+01:00

If one views Vodafone and Go Mobile's websites, one finds that after January 1, 2008 SMS messages will be charged at €0.05. These are currently charged at 2c.

If Lm1 is equivalent to €2.33, then it stands that 50 SMS should also cost €2.33. Yet, one finds that as from January 1, these will cost €2.50. This is an increase in price of seven per cent just because of the euro changeover. With about 40 million SMS being sent on a monthly basis, this adds up to an extra €1.6 million in revenue to the two mobile providers.

Is this FAIR?

Bass Lesson: Playing the G Major scale across whole neck

2007-12-17T00:31:00.000+01:00

In this lesson I will describe how to play the G major scale across the whole neck of a bass guitar. This is useful for improvisational skills and more - you will find out yourself. The trick is to begin with the G Ionian ascending, then A Dorian descending, B Phrygian ascending, D Mixolydian descending, E Aeolian ascending, G Ionian descending, and finally A Dorian ascending...

I hope you enjoyed it. I did, although i had a cold!!

Dodge Ball

2007-12-14T22:18:00.000+01:00

I spent the bunch of Republic Day playing at my first Dodge Ball tournament. It was really fun, and I never played and laughed so hard at the same time. Then I spent the evening at Ta' Qali MFCC to watch Zoo goes Fairyland, a very hilarious comedy show by Zoo. These two events signed the beginning of my 14 day leave off from work (i.e. till 4th of January). I know you're jealous, ain't you? :)

How not to get bored on a Friday evening

2007-12-08T00:00:00.001+01:00

This is a quasi-perfect recipe:

1) Bike ride with fellow bikers - done...
Tonio of Paqpaq organized a bike ride where we exposed our bikes in Republic Street, Valletta...it was quite fun indeed! (ok i know the pics suck)

2) Play some naaaasty groove and feel the music - done...

It would have been super if I spent the rest of the night drinking beer with friends and fooling around till late...but it's damn cold outside and I admit I preferred the warmth of home this time...

Ouch my mouth!! Let's play with Facebook

2007-11-27T19:13:00.000+01:00

After a year contemplating whether to do it or not, I finally got my wisdom tooth surgically removed. It really hurts and I can feel every stitch in my gum getting tighter with every gulp I make. I am quite sure that I will lose a couple of kilos as I can barely open my mouth to eat. Oh well, the positive thing about this is that I've finally stayed quitely in front of my computer and completed my first Facebook application - Toni Sant's Muzika Mod Iehor Online Poll for 2007. If you are a Facebook user, you can participate by simply clicking here.

In the meantime stay tuned with the sister site of this blog, madvip.net, for I will very soon mention how I developed my application on Facebook's platform.

The food fight

2007-11-17T09:33:00.000+01:00

Actually I was contemplating whether to title this post The Food Fight or The Bachelor's party of my best friend because I don't know which was more important :P Haha joking. So basically yesterday I was at the bachelor's party of my best friend, Keith. I honestly wish him the best of luck with his future wife; I'm sure they are one of the best couples around.

This party was a bit particular and makes it difficult to forget - first of all I have seen all of my old friends, and secondly we met at this knight-era styled place in Sliema were we were served chicken and lamb to eat with no forks or knives, and there were loads of wine and beer. After an hour of eating and drinking, the owner rang the bell to start a food fight - and this was a chaotic moment. We threw all the leftovers to each other in the form of a projectile (excluding the big bones of course - we didn't want to have any casualties lol). Needless to say, in a few moments there was a complete mess - I was prepared and went to this place with the worst clothes I could find. Everyone had his personal target, although the purpose of this was originally to assault the bachelor. At the end, after a quarter of an hour, the bell rang again and we had to stop. I had nearly lost my ring during the fight, and luckily it was found later on. My friend nearly risked his life as he too lost his ring, but his was the wedding ring. Like mine, it was find later on as well.

As we left we had a particular smell on us - Eau de Poulet - the latest fragrance.

I know you are probably scrolling down to see any photos of the event. I will post them as soon as I get them.

EU starts NicoMarket

2007-11-13T12:05:00.001+01:00

I happened to stumble a curious website, NicoMarket.com, which at first I thought was a weird joke. Then I realized it was a reverse psychology campaign against tobacco. This campaign is initiated by EU - I found that out when I continued to play their 'joke' and tried to buy the Nico-Breeze :)

Wicked eh? :)

MADVIP.NET is now online

2007-11-09T08:26:00.000+01:00

It is official - my new content management system hosted on my personal Linux server, can be accessed through madvip.net. Here you will find all of my techie stuff - infact the old r00tb0x will be also migrated to madvip.net. If you are a geek I suggest you to check it out.

PS: Why madvip.net? Madvip used to be my handle, way back when (i'm talking about 12 years ago). There are still some cyberfreaks who remember me by that name. It is nice to commemorate my old school hacking era by hosting such a system under this name :]

Major Scale Deluxe

2007-11-06T12:37:00.000+01:00

After several weeks contemplating and scratching my head how the hell those monster bass players manage to play a simple major scale all over the whole neck and make it sound so wicked, I finally managed to work it out. The trick is to basically split the major scale in 5 forms (modes) - ionian, dorian, phrygian, mixolydian, aeolian. I am compiling a doc found here. Check it out. Notice that the order of the modes is always the same. So if I begin on a mixolydian, the next form will always be an aeolian. If I begin on an ionian, the next form will always be a dorian. For any given key, you need to find which is the lowest form and start with it. Example, for the C major scale, the lowest form is G mixolydian.

I will soon post a video of me playing these scales in ascending and descending orders through the entire neck. Needless to say, this is a key exercise for improvisation skills.

Need some sleep

2007-10-31T09:06:00.000+01:00

Seriously, this week is being so intense with me, so far, that I am barely sleeping. This morning I just arrived from Italy after being at one of my clients in Rome to provide them with some consultancy service. Due to the bad weather and Rome's airport inefficiency the flight was delayed by 3 hours. Waiting that amount of time crunched in an aeroplane is no joke and I seriously need a nice massage :) Thinking about it, today is halloween, and considering that this morning I looked like a zombie in front of the mirror, I might as well fit in the event.

In a few minutes I will get back to my office and after that, I am looking forward to meet a fellow musician to jam with. In the meantime I am trying to find some time to study for my new certification, learn new songs, commit myself to the gym programme, and many other stuff.

Dirty Drowning Man - Bass Lesson

2007-10-28T14:09:00.000+01:00

My Motorcycle Diary - Chapter 2 (28/10/07)

2007-10-28T10:06:00.000+01:00

My second motorcycle vlog. Time: 00:30, and I am heading to St. Julians to have some beer with friends and basically getting wasted (taking advantage that we have to move 1hr back). I rant about my week, how injust are competitions, unsupportive team-mates, and work tasks cropping up at bad times! The consolation is that it is weekend and we can get wasted no matter what.

"Riders on the fog"

2007-10-27T10:11:00.000+02:00

Yesterday night, on my way to St.Julians, I found myself suddenly closed in by a bank of fog - a rare phenomenon in Malta, especially considering that it covered approximately the whole island. What appeared to be a little bit of a scary moment, for several reasons, eventually turned into a very interesting and unique experience on two wheels. Needless to say, I was careful about it - not seeing 5 seconds ahead of me is no joke. Driving slowly (to avoid skidding) and tailgating behind the cars (to be easily spotted by other drivers), did the trick. I admit that this experience has boosted my self confidence in biking in non-optimal weather!

* * * * *

Anyways, from the last time I spoke about my riding experiences, I have improved my riding stance. Some points one may need to consider if he rides a cruiser bike:

* Never lock the elbows (this can be achieved by relaxing the shoulders and keeping them low) - after all, ideally the bike is kept in balance with your body weight and not with your arms
* Use a centred riding stance - this will most probably put your knees automatically in a correct position
* Lean with the bike - if you turn left, shift the body to the left, and vice-versa
* Tuck your knees firmly against the fuel tank
* The arms should be parallel to the ground
* Lean your back a little bit to the front as if you're gonna take a sports bike stance - in reality what you are doing is straightening the back - you get the sensation of leaning forward because of the bike's layback seat :)

I will try to take a photo of my riding stance. I'm quite sure this will help a lot of beginners.

Fight like a brave

2007-10-26T08:54:00.000+02:00

Is it just me or are we living in a society dominated by spineless individuals who are afraid to express their own opinion - cowards who regardless what they have been through, still want to forget and live as if nothing happened?

People who are afraid to voice their opinion, do not deserve to be rewarded with 'free speech' (remember Metallica's good old lyrics 'Free Speech For the Dumb' ?). Not only they won't be grateful towards you for taking their defence, but most probably, they will stand against you because now you made their opposition know that he's not gonna take it anymore. The spineless prefers to succumb and to go with the current, and you brave people need to just fight for *your* right. Ergo, not to fight for the benefit of individuals or communities, but purely for your own.

Bass Guitar Modes 1

2007-10-13T22:12:00.000+02:00

I have just compiled a document which serves as an exercise for us bass players to play the modes on the entire neck of the bass guitar. It is available on google docs. Hopefully I will try to find the time and compile a similar document for five string bass guitars.

Got the LPI level 1 certification

2007-10-12T15:27:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I did two exams to obtain the Linux Professional Institute certification, level 1. I got 81% and I'm quite happy about it. My advice for those who would like to take this exam, is to *use* Linux, and not just study for the exam...Good luck for other LPI takers!

Servi della Gleba

2007-10-10T13:08:00.000+02:00

This is one of my favorite songs by 'Elio e Le Storie Tese'...Guess what Elio is talking about :)

Happy 9th Birthday, Google

2007-09-27T11:10:00.000+02:00

Google is my friend, so it deserves a space on my page :)

2007-09-26T11:29:00.000+02:00

As you can see, I added a LinkedIn button on the right hand side of the website which will redirect you to my LinkedIn profile. I recommend professionals to register their profile with LinkedIn. Check it out to see why.

Malta commemorates the Independence Day

2007-09-21T20:28:00.000+02:00

...and I officially commemorate my 1 year length of hair :)

Nearly scammed by Ertishop.com!

2007-09-21T18:03:00.000+02:00

I was just about to get scammed from what seems a bogus online company Erti Shop (aka Ertis Shop) and lose $720. Fortunately I always use Paypal for all of my online transactions, and I recommend everyone to stay away from other payment methods (especially e-Gold and Western Union since they pose certain risks for customers if you read well their FAQ).

So what's the story about? Recently I've been interested in acquiring a 13" macbook so I've been lurking through ebay a lot. It's been through ebay that I stumbled across the Erti Shop 'sponsored' link, and I am very unhappy about it...Well I visited this website, and wohoo..Unbelievable prices! I was going to get this macbook brand new, 12 months warranty parts and labor, free shipping for just $720! I read all the terms and agreements and ordered this product and paid it through Paypal. So far all was good and I was already dreaming about this macbook and happy about the bargain - so I returned back to the website to add it to my bookmarks to show it to my friends...however I noticed that the macbook was still in the shopping cart and didn't clear out, so I sent an email to Erti Shop. I got the below reply after a couple of hours:

Dear James Attard,

We accept payment by direct Bank Transfer, Paypal, Western Union and E-gold. Bank Transfer and PayPal is available for returning customers,
and for new customers at this time we can accept only Western Union and E-gold. That's the reason we cannot move forward with your order.
Your order has been cancelled but you can visit our website and resubmit anytime a new order.
We do send both order confirmation (You will receive further information on processing the transaction) and shipment confirmation emails automatically to the email address you provided. Occasionally these emails get mistaken for junk mail by email filters and firewalls (because these emails are generated by a computer). Check your junk email folder and set your email filters to allow emails from ertishop.com.

PayPal probably charged your credit card, but we didn't receive the funds. However in case they charged you, the full amount will be refunded to you. Most orders will be shipped within 48 hours of the payment clearing. Once payment has been received you will be notified of your personal tracking number.

If there is anything else we can do to assist you, please contact us at customerservice@ertishop.com. We are always happy to help.

Sincerely,
Quinlan

Customer Service Department
http://ertishop.com

I read that email quite a couple of times to make sure I really understood what I've been thinking to be as a scam. So I began my research on this company by doing an enquiry about their domain name, and guess what:

Domain Name: ertishop.com
Created on .............Fri Sep 07 19:42:15 2007
Expires on .............Sun Sep 07 19:42:15 2008
Record last updated on .Fri Sep 07 19:42:23 2007
Status .................LOCK,

Administrative Contact:
Brent Daily
Brent Daily
3730 Tecumseh Dr
Domain Name: ertishop.com
Created on .............Fri Sep 07 19:42:15 2007
Expires on .............Sun Sep 07 19:42:15 2008
Record last updated on .Fri Sep 07 19:42:23 2007
Status .................LOCK,

Administrative Contact:
Brent Daily
Brent Daily
3730 Tecumseh Dr

Well well well...what does this mean? In a nutshell 'Erti Shop' was created two weeks ago..on the 7th September 2007. This contradicted the footer of the website which stated a copyright on this website since 2004:

Further research led me to discover that Mr. Brent Daily appeared to work for a construction company in Arizona. This ticked an alarm inside my head and rushed to Paypal to cancel the payment...As stated before I was lucky enough to have always chosen Paypal for my online transactions - Paypal has a feature which protects customers from frauds by not letting them pay recipients with an unconfirmed Paypal account (and therefore fraudulent accounts, which most of them are untraceable). The cancellation was successful and I resumed my research about this seemingly bogus company. Apparently other people were bitten. Check out this link.

I hope this article opened your eyes and veered you from ErtiShop. If you had a similar experience with this company, leave a comment below.

Scat Singing

2007-09-19T12:24:00.000+02:00

Recently I discovered the potential of Jazz scat singing, like in the below video clip where we see Ella Fitzgerald scatting on an impromptu Jazz tune.

Imagine if I replicate her melody on a bass guitar...super!