Noah's Blog

I don't normally do music reviews, or much talk about the music I even listen to, for that matter. However, one of my favorite artists released a collaboration EP with the yMusic Ensemble. That artist would be The Tallest Man on Earth (TTMoE). Obviously, he is not literally the tallest man on earth, but that is the pseudonym he goes by. When I first starting listening to his music around 2010, it was a fresh sound for me. His style is very...raw. Many of the people I've introduced him to could not get past his voice. He sings in a very raw, scratchy style in what I would describe as modern folk music; this is not to be confused with indie folk. Almost all of his albums are him with an acoustic guitar, recording wherever he sees fit, often outside so you can hear birds and bugs in the background.

The Tallest Man on Earth with yMusic

The EP that came out in late July is fantastic. It combines the pastoral qualities I love about TTMoE, and adding in classical chamber ensemble music mixed in. Having that most the songs on the EP are available on one of his other albums helps make a nice comparison. If you're new to TTMoE, this EP might be a nice way to ease into his style.

As the weather begins to cool down here in Cleveland, I have a feeling I'll be listening to a lot more TTMoE as my autumn artist of choice.

Listen Now

You can buy a digital copy or preorder a vinyl from the TTMoE website. You can also stream it from a variety of services.

Stream Now

You can also stream it right from soundcloud below.

I recent found my copy of MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.11 for Workgroups. I've finally (with the help of this addition package) got it running stable on VirtualBox. While I plan on doing some more detailed posts about this I thought I'd share this wonderful installation screen for Borland C++ 4.5. This represents everything I both loved and now dislike about the early 1990s era of GUI computing. More to come.

Installation Screen

In a previous blog post, I commented about swtiching from Windows Phone to Android vis-à-vis a Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Since the phone's release, there have been a plague of issues surrounding the phone. It made national and international news several times, and the final nail in the coffin was when the FAA banned the phone from carry-on and checked luggage on all US domestic flights.

I absolutely loved the phone, I thought it was a marvel of technology and an overall beautiful device; unfortunately the love didn't last. As soon as Samsung announced a worldwide recall of the device, I quickly returned it for a refund and went back to Windows phone for the time being.

After deliberating for a while about my next new phone, I ended up deciding it would be best to get a mid-range device. At the time of the Note 7's release, there really wasn't any other flagship phone on the market that really grabbed my attention. I ended up deciding on an unlikely option.

Moto Z Play

From Lenovo comes the Moto Z Play, a mid-range smartphone with a few unique features that set it apart from other phones. As the name might imply, the Z Play is a model in Lenovo's family of Moto Z devices, of which some are flagship devices. I settled on the Play for a few specific reasons:

1. Price
2. Batter Life
3. 3.5mm Headphone Jack

On the price standpoint, the MSRP of the Z Play (at time of this post) is $449 USD. When I bought the device it came with a free "Premium" moto mod, as either the true zoom camera or the projector; I chose the camera.

The Mods idea is quite interesting, and although I like the camera, I don't use it very often, however it is nice to have the option. I also have the JBL sound boost mod, which I use almost daily. It's great to play podcasts at a reasonable volume and timbre without the hassle of using bluetooth; when wandering about my house, it's great to take the sound with me without headphones.

The Future

Will I stick with Android (or Motorola for that matter)? That is a question I cannot answer. The world of smartphones changes day-to-day and there is a chance I jump back to Windows phone (unlikely) or move to an iPhone (more likely). For now, Google's Android offers me the best options and I do like the variety of services available for the platform over what Apple's iOS has to offer.