I’ve been using Twitter actively for about 18 months now and find micro-blogging is much easier to fit into the flow of my day. I’m not closing my blog down here at all — I’ll continue to post to it with the same frequency I have — just wanted you all aware there was another place I was posting my thoughts.

You can read (and, if you choose, follow) me on Twitter at @davehamilton

The results of the latest University of New Hampshire Survey Center’s Granite State Poll seem to indicate that folks in New Hampshire get their news from television and newspapers. In fact, they show that a whopping 43% get their news from one source: WMUR (a local New Hampshire network). This fact alone lead me to dig deeper and I find the (interpreted) results suspect, at best.

First of all, they only phoned respondents. I know in our household (a very Internet-based one, admittedly) we never take survey calls on the phone. I would venture to say that we’re not in the minority here. In fact, I’d say that people rooted in the “old ways” are more likely to take these types of telephone surveys than the rest of us are, but of course I have no data to back that up, just my gut.

Second — and far more important — the survey asked, “From what source would you say you get most of your news and information about news in New Hampshire?” The UNH Survey Center then *interpreted* that data to mean anyone stating a television station or newspaper name meant they get it from the TV or print editions — they failed to clarify whether or not the people were getting their news from the TV stations’ or newspapers’ websites!

I hope the UNH Survey Center takes these viewpoints into account when they do the next round of this survey so we can get some valuable results about news sources and consumption in our state.

Update: I heard back from Dr. Andrew Smith, Director of the UNH Survey Center, who stated:

I do stand by the interpretation that most people get their news and information about New Hampshire from more traditional news sources. And while we did not probe their responses, I suspect that the majority of people who report getting local news online do so from traditional sources such as TV and newspaper web sites.

Seems there’s some confusion of “source” and “medium” here. I agree with Dr. Smith that most people get their news from WMUR or the New York Times instead of blogs and Twitter, but reading the print edition of the New York Times is quite different than getting the online edition. Different advertising models are used and consumption patterns are (or can be) radically different. We must all be careful in our surveys (and interpretations) not to continue to confuse source with medium.

Thankfully I’m blessed with a metabolism strong enough to keep me relatively svelte without having to kill myself with exercise. My Italian wife’s excellent cooking definitely keeps me honest in that department, though, and I guess playing the drums regularly works to stem the tide a bit. The net is I don’t have to exercise in order to keep from buying larger clothing every 6 months.

But I’m not getting any younger, and my body occasionally reminds me of this. I’m no dumb-dumb, and I’m at least aware that regular exercise will be good for me as I age. It may not guarantee that I live any longer than I otherwise would, but there’s good evidence to point to regular exercise maintaining my quality of life quite a bit longer, so I’ve been endeavoring to do it more… regularly.

The problem is that standing on a treadmill watching my iPod bores me to death. Inevitable as it is, death’s not really the goal we’re racing towards here, is it?

I have another issue: I’m a homeowner with a house that’s nestled nicely amongst the trees, so there’s a lot of crap to get done in the yard. Constantly. Occasionally we’ll do marathon sessions on the weekends that kill us all, and then we spend the next few weeks feeling guilty about neglecting this, that or the other until we do it again. I guess this would happen even if we had a home with no trees in sight. Homeownership is a laborious joy for all of us, isn’t it?

Thankfully, I stumbled onto a solution. I’ve recently traded in my not-quite-as-regular-as-I’d-like morning exercise routine (i.e. twice annually!) for a much more productive, kill-two-birds-with-one-stone concept of just working in the yard for 30-45 minutes a few mornings a week. It’s amazing, really, how much different yardwork feels when I’m doing it to kill time as opposed to doing it to actually accomplish something. The results are the same, but I don’t have that feeling of “oh crap I’ll never finish all of this,” because the reality is, I’m not doing it with the intention of finishing anything at all during any particular session. There’s more to do than I’ll *ever* complete, and the work regenerates, so really I think I’ve found the perfect solution. After 30-45 minutes, my heart rate’s up, I feel like I’ve used my body for more than just sitting in a chair, and I’ve actually accomplished *something* tangible around the house/yard.

We’ll see how it lasts but… so far, so good.

Skype for the iPhone came out last night, and I spent a little time with it, and wrote a lot about it. Don’t worry, I’ve been using Skype regularly for years, so most of what I wrote is actually real stuff I didn’t make up!

The article’s posted over at iPodObserver today, and even includes some tips on making your experience with the iPhone app even better.

Amazon released the Kindle app for the iPhone last night, and this morning I released my thoughts on it over at iPodObserver. There’s already an interesting stream happening in the comments over there. Enjoy!

At the risk of sounding even more egotistical than I have been recently (difficult, I know… but I’m going to try!), I’ll quote myself from an article we published over on iPodObserver regarding the iPhone App Store today:

I would love to be able to download an app and have a 24-hour trial period. If I like it, I’ll buy it. If I don’t, it magically disappears from my device, never to return unless I fork over the cashola.

Post your comments over at iPO, if you please — there’s already a good trail happening there and we should keep the conversation in one place.

Since we’re on the subject of grammar and language, I wanted to point out what is perhaps my biggest pet peeve in everyday conversation: the phrase, “all the sudden” being used incorrectly in place of “all of a sudden.” The former is grossly incorrect, and even the latter is better stated by simply saying, “suddenly.”

Rarely a day goes by where I don’t hear someone say this, and I often just ignore it in an effort not to offend the speaker. I’m assuming most people that say “all the sudden” simply mis-heard “all of a sudden” and integrated the incorrect result into their vernacular. So I try to be kind and let it pass… but it does grate at my soul.

On Twitter last night I posted a correction to an email blast from President Barack Obama where he said, “this is a historic step.” The correction of course, is that it was “an historic step.” This is based on everything I ever learned in English class and read in any grammar books through my schooling years.

I should have known that there would be many who would respond and defend our beloved President simply because of their feelings for him, but there were just as many valid responses challenging the “an” vs. “a” preceding “h” words rule.

It was certainly entertaining reading. But know this: I know I’m right. I don’t need any additional reading or instruction on this particular point. You can show it to me, and I’ll happily play along, but it’s never going to change what I know to be right. If you want to show me your links in hopes of changing my mind, I’ll simply show you mine.

Here’s the deal, folks: there are some who feel that “a historic” is now acceptable, but there are none (with any clout, anyway) that say “an historic” is wrong. If I’m writing something to the entire populace (as I am with every post I make here, I assure you), I’ll choose the one that is universally correct. Sure, some might read “an historic” and think, “oh — that’s the old usage,” or perhaps, “well, he’s being quite formal now, isn’t he?” They might even think I’m being an old fuddy-duddy. But they won’t believe me to be wrong, at least not after a minimal education on the subject. However, if you write, “a historic,” there will be many who think you’re wrong simply because they’ve never heard of the “new allowances.” Many of those won’t even bother to research it one bit, they’ll just know you’re wrong and be done with you. Like me. Why risk it?

They’re teaching it wrong. I mean, they have to be for every sound engineer I’ve met to get it wrong the first time.

Oh… hi. Let me catch you up on this rant that’s been going on in my head for about 4 years now. It seems any time I work with a new sound engineer, they insist on assuming they’ll know how to mix the vocals better than the band. Last week’s Cirque du Mac party was no exception (yeah, I know, I didn’t blog about where or what I was going to be doing at Macworld Expo and, yeah, I’ve been ignoring my blog in general for a while. I’ve been busy but I’m doing fine, thanks for asking. I’m here now!).

At Cirque, the Macworld All-Star Band had 5 vocal mics on stage: 3 across the front, one with Chris at the keys, and one at the drumkit for me. With that many live mics on stage potentially allowing other sounds to bleed in when someone isn’t singing into each, a sound engineer tends to get antsy that they won’t have full control over all the sound. The oft-perceived (and ill-conceived!) solution is to bring vocal mics up and down only when they’re needed. On the surface, this sounds very reasonable. The issue is the dangerous assumption by the sound engineer that they will somehow magically know when each mic needs to be on. Of course, it’s impossible for them to know this if it’s the first time they’re doing sound for the band. Hell, it’s hard for an engineer to know this even if it’s his/her 100th time doing sound for the band. If you have a band that liberally employs harmonies, you simply don’t know when one is going to crop up. And by the time you notice someone singing into a microphone, you’ve missed it. If you’re lucky, you’ll see it during the first verse/chorus and maybe get it right for the second one. But with 5 mics on stage, you’ve got to watch each and every one 100% of the time to even get it right the second time around, and I posit those chances to be slim, at best.

The solution is simple: leave the damned vocal levels alone and let the band mix on stage just like they’re used to doing in a rehearsal room. Most bands are better at this than most engineers give them credit for (bad English, good statement!). Of all the bands I play in, all the musicians I know are smart enough to back off the mic when blending a harmony and get up close when singing a lead. Mic technique is just one of those things you learn. Trust the musicians. Hell, it’s their gig and their reputation on the line if they sing harmonies too loud or out of tune. Let them fail and take the blame, if you wish, but in most cases they’ll sound better than you think.

So if you’re a soundman reading this, please — for the love of all that is good and pure, PLEASE — when mixing a band for the first time, set the vocal levels in the monitors (all the monitors!) the same as the mains and simply leave it alone unless one mic is much louder or softer than the others. Then adjust it in both places and get out of the band’s way!

Last night, Chuck Joiner delivered something that has never* previously been accomplished other than gigs and rehearsals: He assembled the entire (existing) Macworld All-Star Band into one (virtual) room, leaned heavily on the Skype button, and recorded the entire conversation.

And we let him release it. Crazy, huh?

Well, it’s out there, and it’s alive. You can check it out as it appears as MacVoices #8144.

I know I say it all the time, but I’ll say it again: I am *so* honored to be a part of this band and the friendships we have developed together. Definitely a highlight of Macworld Expo each year and a highlight of my experience in the Mac community and beyond

*Technically, we did get the band into an AIM-style “private, band-only” chat room in the very beginning to “chat out” the setlist prior to rehearsal. For all of the following gigs we found that having a (benevolent?) dictator assigned to manage the list was far more productive. Or at least it was easier, and we’re all for that.