i was kind of surprised to receive an email the other day from MP3.com stating that, since they'd just been purchased by CNET Networks, Inc., they'd be shutting down their service on Dec. 2nd. now, it'll be replaced by a new service of some kind, though what that entails remains to be seen.

the reason this surprises and shocks me is because it seems that so many independent artists used MP3.com as their primary "website", or at least as a hosting server/controller for their online MP3 tracks. from what i can tell from the email, none of the existing information will be transferred to the new mp3.com, forcing thousands and thousands of artists to completely re-create their web presences and to track down and ensure that anyone linking to their former mp3.com pages updates to the new links.

my first thought when i read the email was "whoa, it's going to be a firestorm!" subsequent searches for info indicate that the storm hasn't been as big as i thought so far, but it's only been a couple days. we'll see what happens.

sticking to the music theme, WinAmp 5 has slithered out of the dark hole of the pseudo-public beta (AOL users only) with beta version 2. WinAmp 5 is small and resource conservative like WinAmp 2.x was, but incorporates some of the better features of the (largely) failed WinAmp 3. unfortunately, one of the things 5 has dropped is the WinAmp 3 plugin APIs, so i've had to switch back to DoSomething as my plugin of choice for the "MP3 of the moment" feature that closes the most recent post (and which is also viewable in the "remote" webcam windows).

finally, you might remember me mentioning way way back when about the SyncIT utility i'd found. it was and always remained the single most awesome tool i've yet used on a computer. it fulfills its purpose without compromise or extra unnecessary crap. well, unfortunately, this tool also ended up switching from being a freeware thing to a subscription based thing, and i was just kind of morally opposed to it. especially considering that when they started charging for it, they'd not updated the client in over a year. so, i had to quit using this awesome piece of software. well, now, as it turns out, after struggling with their economic model and hardware problems for a while, they've decided to release it into the wild world of open source. the new bookmarksync project has updated the client and the server software, and is providing a version that can be run on php/mysql setups. i managed to get it set up on x13design.com in about 30 minutes, and am now, once again, quite a happy camper. a happy camper with impeccably synch'ed bookmarks.

this morning, i and around 485,000 other Kentuckians will wake up to accept begrudgingly that, after 32 years, the highest seat in the state government will now be occupied by a Republican. around 594,000 will rise with grins and self-congratulatory glances as they bask in the reality of their improbable victory. The other 73 percent of this state's citizens will… well, they'll… well, who knows what the fuck they'll think, because they couldn't be bothered to GET UP OFF THEIR LAZY ASSES AND VOTE!

honestly though, i just say that because i finally can after having been one of those lazy asses for almost 10 years.

still, Fletcher has won, and yet another layer of the government that directly affects my life has been peeled away and replaced with something i don't agree with.

at this point, i will refrain from making any direct comments about the circumstances of his victory, but rest assured, it'll be eating at my craw for a while so i'll probably throw some crap out there at you from time to time. despite my total opposition to Fletcher, i think that he has the ability to be a fine governor, as long as he can accomplish the goals he's set out for himself and also get a damned budget approved. i fear for some of the conservative agendas he'll push, i fear for some of the agendas he won't push because of his indebtedness to special interests, and i fear for his ability to fight for the betterment of kentucky outside the state–against the policies of an administration to which he has proved so blindly loyal.

i hope that he can pass his medical malpractice damage cap agenda, and that he can actually do something to shore up medicaid and reduce prescription prices in the state as he's promised. i hope that he can work to protect the individual liberties of kentucky's citizens, and that he can improve the state of the educational system.

i hope that he understands that, especially in light of the platform he campaigned on ("democrats are dirty filthy amoral people" — paraphrased) that he will endeavor to keep himself and every member of his administration scandal free; because i know that if the Democratic Party gets even one whiff of scandal off him, they will be on him like a pack of dogs. and even more so, they will be digging for it. hopefully though, they will be gracious enough to not actually hinder his efforts. the last thing this state needs right now is political gridlock.

there's also an interesting/amusing/ironic/sort-of-sad anecdote from election day relating to yours truly, but in the interest of drama and me getting to sleep, i'll postpone the actually fairly short tale until later.