MP3Gain

If you’re a music junkie like me and have amassed hundreds of gigabytes of music files, you’ve probably encountered inconsistencies in sound volumes. In a world where mp3 players are as ubiquitous as a cellphone, having your music on the go seems to be the norm. What isn’t the norm is having to manually re-adjust sound volumes from track to track. One minute the volume is all kosher, the next minute you’re scrabbling to adjust the volume because the next track almost blew off your ear drums….lol, did somebody say naija music ?. I bumped into this great tool that analyzes your music files and modifies them so that your music plays at a consistent volume. The tool in question is called MP3Gain. It’s a freeware and pretty intuitive to use. Downloading and installation takes minutes and the best part is that memory footprint is low - It’s not going to hug up on resources on your machine.

What I really like about this tool is it’s flexibility to analyze single file or folder (album). Below is a screen shot of MP3Gain –

By default, MP3Gain volume level is set to 89db, but you can certainly change this if you like in the Target “Normal” Volume box. Click on the Track Analysis tab to analyze your music file and then click on Track Gain tab to save volume changes to file….Voila!, you’re done. Another great worth mentioning is that this tool won’t make any changes to the mp3 encoding …meaning the quality of your audio won’t be compromised. Also, as the name implies, you’d need to convert your audio files to mp3 format first otherwise, the tool won’t recognize it

New Year Same Resolution

I’m never the type that jumps on the bandwagon. I try as much as possible to carve a niche for myself, so this new year I opted for no new resolution. Perennial resolutions are for the weaklings. Real men set goals – lofty ones if I may also add. My goals are the same from last year – work hard to free myself of life’s conundrums, continue in my life-long quest for intellectual advancement and lastly but certainly not the least – reconnect with my families and friends. The latter seems to be of most concern to me as I’ve literally ‘lost touch’ with the world. My introverted persona has somewhat isolated me from reality. I’ve lost precious friends, families have relegated me to the leagues of the unknown. This new year, I’m hell bent on changing all that. I got a calling card and called my childhood friends dispersed around the globe. I called my parents and my siblings and I spent quality time on the phone with them. I felt lighter, happier and very fulfilled. I’m definitely going to continue on that good note.

2006 was definitely a landmark year for me. I accomplished so much and I’m very grateful to God for his eternal mercies. 2006 saw me raking in tens of thousands of frequent flier air miles, ’06 made me realize my potentials in all areas of my life. I grew emotionally, financially and intellectually. In 2006, I lost my precious grandmother but found solace in immortality of the saints. I expanded my horizons in ’06, I found new music genre, read books that aren’t only IT inclined and I became an ardent blogger. I hope I continue on the same path this new year.

Hasshole-Packards (HP) Computers

Nothing leaves a bad corporate impression as a bad customer service. Infact, it leaves a bitter impression that lingers almost forever. It's amazing how some corporations spend millions of dollars to build their brand over the years and let "cost cutting" measures (a.k.a corporate greed) like outsourcing to destroy the reputation they've built over the years. Such was my experience with Hassole-Packards (HP) computer. I made a conscious effort to avoid a prominent competitor (Dell computers) simply because of the same reason. I've heard/read too many nasty experience from disgruntled customers and decided not to make that my portion. So I opted for a HP computer since I wasn't aware of any such customer experience. I ordered a customized notebook that would suit my geekry taste but to my dismay I didn't get what I ordered. Few functionalities were missing and I had to call their customer service line to complain and that was how my entire life came to a screeching halt in November (thank God for work computer). My call was routed to a representative in India who I'm sure knews little or nothing about customer service or should I say U.S customer service. I think it's important I make that distinction because a good customer service is relative and varies with culture. I was bounced around from one associate to the other, communication was extremely painful because like Chris Tucker "I DON'T UNDERSTAND A WORD THAT IS COMING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH". I'm not trying to ridicle these Indian reps because I speak with a decent amount of accent myself. What actually made me flipped was the fact that no one was able to confirm my initial order. I paid becoup d'argent (lol..flossing the little French i'm left with) for this laptop and I'm not about to be ripped off by these imbeciles. From one rep to another no one seemed to corroborate my claim. It seemed as if I'm fighting a battle I can't win, suddenly I felt cheated and almost bursted into tears.

Fortunately after countless calls and days to rectify the problem, I was given a U.S number to call and Alas! it was an American representative on the phone. This representative handled the call with utmost respect and courtesy and above all he verified my initial order. When I asked him how come his colleagues in India weren't able to retrieve my order, he simply stated that most of them weren't well trained. That left me dumbfounded (to say the least). Right after this scenario, I read about how sales plummeted for Dell and a couple other U.S corporations that outsourced their front line due to customer service complaints. Dell and these other corporations has since revamped it's customer service practice and relocated their front line back to the U.S. My experience with Hasshole-Packards (HP) has prompted me to launch a smear campaign on them and to warn you of what awaits you if you decide to deal with Hassole-Packards (HP) computers. To be forwarned is to be forarmed.

Ankara Makes A Comeback

Gone are the days when expensive Lace fabrics ruled Naija parties. These days, Ankara is the fabric of choice. Once regarded as the fabric for the poor and the less privileged that cannot afford the pricy European Lace, Ankara is now "de facto" ruler of Lagos parties. From the upper echelon to the poor and not so well-off Lagosians, Ankara is the number one Aso-ebi of all occasion. I was recently in Lagos for my grandma's burial and you can guess the Aso-ebi of choice - Ankara. Two things that sets Ankara apart from other fabrics are the array of designs and vibrant colors. It's amazing how these two unique features were once it's biggest drawback but now seem to be reason behind the recent clamor. All thanks to government ban on the importation of foreign textiles few years ago (By the way, the ban was recently lifted). Ankara was predominately manufactured in the western sub-saharan region of Africa. From Guinea/Senegal all the way down to Cameroon, Ankara was the staple fabric of the region. With advent of globalization, free trade and poor government control. Local manufacturers lost the textile market to the wealthy Europeans which invariably led to the demise of the textile industry all over the region.

These days, Ankara is enjoying all sort of attention from Lagos fashionistas. The cut, the style, the integration with other textile materials will leave you spellbound. I'm totally amazed at what they're doing with Ankara these days. Gone are the days when some boring 'Iro and Buba' was all women can sew with Ankara. These days, Lagosians are making fashion statements that would rival the coutures of Italy and France. Fashion statements are not limited to women alone, various men styles are a thing of beauty to behold. I even got one pant sewn in boot cut style (can't wait to nack it! lol ).

Not to be mistaken for a cheap piece (Don't get it twisted), Ankara comes in grade. The higher the grade the more expensive. I've seen Ankara priced as much as the best of the best European Lace in the market. Like my people would say "You cut your coat according to your size". Such remarkable comeback reminds of the that biblical saying " the rejected stone which has now become the corner stone" -- That is Ankara for you.

Love at first blog

Hey, I finally did it. I'm now a blogger.