Archive for November, 2006

Nokia 60 Series Windows XP Media Center

No one doesn’t like windows xp eye candy blue and green theme! and it was also improved with the release of Windows XP Media Center 2005. One of the best themes I found for my Nokia 6630 was this WinXP Media Center theme… It’s really amazing! I wish I know the owner to mention his name and give him credits (thank you).

Check out the following screenshots:

Main Tracks
Callendar Menu

download it here: Nokia 60 Series Windows XP Media Center Theme

Stay Tuned!

The Very First Blues Song

Let’s thank Mr. George W. Johnson for recording the 1st blues song ever. It was recorded in 1896! “The Laughing Song”. Well, you can imagine the recording quality by that time, it was quite noisy…

Here it is: The Laughing Song

Enjoy it! :D

The 7th Truth

Hello friends,

Have you ever wondered why most people find the Jazz tunes kinda weird or dissonant? Have you ever been listening to a jazz tune and felt like the player is improvising out of tune or scale? Actually, nop! they’re not dissonant, it’s just how your ears percept them. Since you were born, you’ve been listening to some kind of simple music (classics, rock, oriental…) where the artists focus on a limited set of harmonies (1-3-5). Let’s get to the point directly!

What are the 1-3-5?
Pat Metheny WorkshopLet’s say we’re playing a C major scale (Do) which contains these notes: C D E F G A B C. The 1-3-5 would be C E and G and they form the C Major chord! But why the hell 99% of the chord we hear nowadays are built over the 1-3-5? didn’t we miss the 2nd (aka 9th = 7+2), the 4th (aka 11th = 7+4), the 6th (aka 13th = 7+6) and the 7th note which is the most used harmony in jazz! So my friends, it’s a matter of perception. Your ears are not used, yet, to those harmonies because you have not been hearing them enough on radio stations. Jazz has no limits. Jazz artists focus a lot on these unused harmonies and once you get used to them, you’ll notice how void the other styles of music are! Get your guitar or piano and play: 1-3-5-7 (aka C E G B) and you’ll get the C major 7th! Kinda cool… isn’t it? Same thing for minor and dominant chords! I hope you find this post useful in case you’ve ever wondered “what is jazz?“.

Stay tuned…

United Colors Of Fusion

These are my favorite colors… and yes, If you’re wondering, I’m so bored! :) hehe

fusion favorite colors

No Comments ;)

DPMagnifier Alpha Released

DPMagnifier Alpha version was released few weeks ago, but I did not have time to blog it until now.

DPMagnifier is another Java Applet coded by me. With this applet you can open a picture and manipulate it. You can change it from colored to black and while, sepia, inverted colors, gradient effect. You can add strikes, smooth border, glass effect and you can add text to it. “It is a very cool applet to get rid of the boring looking display pictures” said Elias El Hajj ( too bad you blogged it before me Elias ;) ). This applet is still under alpha release which means many things are still to be changed but you can enjoy it for the time being with its cool features.

DPMagnifier Alpha Screen shot

Click here to visit this applet!

Comments and suggestions are more than welcome! Stay in touch

Fight Insomnia

Here’s what I’ve been trying to sleep early not to miss my early classes in the university :D

  • Wind down prior to bedtime
  • Do not smoke (nicotine is a stimulant) or consume caffeine
  • Try warm milk or a light snack before bed (if this doesn’t interfere with another treatment you are using)
  • Exercise daily, but not right before bedtime
  • Take a warm bath, but not right before bedtime
  • Keep a regular bedtime and rising time
  • Get in the habit of going to bed when you are sleepy and sleeping where you sleep best
  • Reserve your bed for sleeping only
  • Don’t have any clocks visible to you
  • Reduce the amount of time you allow yourself to sleep until you fall asleep easily (your health care provider can help with this form of “sleep restriction therapy”
  • Schedule worry time during the day and put worries out of your head when it is time to sleep; you can write them down on 3×5 cards, and then let go of them
  • Get up if you have not fallen asleep in 15 minutes and practice a relaxing activity (e.g. handwork, reading a boring book) until you feel sleepy

Very Useful!!!!

Cya