iTunes "Get Info" Window Loses Focus [Solved]

So for quite a while I was having this problem with my iTunes.
I am running iTunes 11 (not sure on the exact version) and every time I right click a song, or group of songs to edit the information, after a few seconds the window loses focus. So this means you can be staring at your keyboard typing the song name and the window will lose focus causing your typing to stop.
I ended up having to wait until it happened and then clicking back on the window so it would go back into focus.
It was driving me bloody insane for ages until I decided to sit down and fix it. A few Google searches proved unhelpful, so I tried a few different things.

I opened up Task Manager and opened the Performance tab. I noticed that when I opened the "Get Info" window, my CPU usage would suddenly spike to 10/11% and then go back to 0/1/2% that my CPU normally runs on. I thought maybe a background application was stealing focus.
I set the priority of iTunes to High but it didn't solve anything.
So I conducted a quick Google search querying X11 and iTunes which brought me to a strange forum who were explaining that MSN and one of its clients Mercury interact with iTunes to send and receive song information. If you are an MSN user then you probably know about the "Show information about the song I am listening to" feature. So iTunes, MSN and Mercury communicate with each other regarding song information which seems to be the reason my CPU spikes.

So basically, to solve this problem, turn the "Show information about the song I am listening to" feature off. Yes, that's it!

A very strange bug that Apple hasn't seemed to pick up on but it turns out to be a simple fix.
Remember, you can leave the aforementioned feature turned on if you want people to see what you are listening to as it doesn't disrupt iTunes' performance in any other way. Just turn it off if you are going to edit a song(s)' information.

My Musical Life

Music

Probably the only thing holding me together these days.

I recently joined a Deathcore band as guitarist. We are called MISERY DILATION. You can check us out on Facebook. [ Click here man! ]
Hopefully soon we will get some shows then you can come and check us out!

And also, I have recently started writing ambient and emotional songs for something a little bit different. You can check these out at any one of these: (It would really mean alot to me if you would go and like the Facebook pages for Misery and Tear.

-Facebook-
-Soundcloud-
-Triple J Unearthed- (Awaiting moderation)

All my songs are available for download if you're keen.

CHEERS!

No Happy Endings

Last year I went into a slumber.
Today, I woke up.

The most beautiful moment of perfection

Today, I think I witnessed "a perfect scene."
I was sitting in the gardens of Leed Castle in the province of Kent and it was perfect. It was beautiful.

What made it so perfect? You may ask.
Well, the greatest part of sitting in the garden of a castle that is 800 years old is that there was no noise.
And by noise I mean man-made noises. There were no cars, no planes, no roads nearby, no suburbs... Nothing. Aside from the occasional group of quiet chat from passer by's, the only sounds to be heard were that of nature. The creek nearby was swishing through the rocks and there was a plethora of different birds chirping in the trees and by the lake. And these birds were not loud and annoying like crows or galahs, it was really pretty.

I was sitting on a patch of a grass by the lake under a tree with thick foliage so there was plenty of shade. It was so incredible. It was so relaxing and peaceful. I could have sat there for hours upon hours enjoying the peace and quiet. The clean fresh country air was also a very refreshing sensation. And also, considering it's in England, it was actually really nice weather! Pretty sunny and there wasn't a drop of rain all day and the breeze was only light and wasn't cold. It was incredible. It was perfect.

Only my girlfriend's smile could top it.

English chocolate

I just thought I'd throw it out there:

English chocolate is about a million times better than Australian chocolate.

I bought some Cadbury Dairy Milk milk chocolate today for £1, just the plain chocolate, and it is far nicer than the chocolate of the same type sold in Australia. It tastes so much smoother and has a much richer flavour. So goot.

London journal entry 2

Today I had to vacate the hotel room that I was given by 10 am.
It was definitely the worst hotel room I have ever stayed in so I was glad to leave.

After packing up my stuff and leaving at the hotel for the people to move when my proper was ready, I grabbed some breakfast.
I found a little cafe thing that did a huge breakfast, so I had that.
From there I went to a big stadium called O2. In there, I went to a museum.
This museum showed the history of popular music in Britain.
It went from old rock in the 50s through early heavy metal, to punk and to the modern pop rock bands. It was actually really sweet. I spent alot of time in there. It had heaps of items that were actually owned by the musicians, such as Ozzy Osbourne's stage coat and one of Brian May's guitars. Absolutely fascinating.
Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the exhibit. But I did get a good photo of me with a huge statue of Eddie the Head (Iron Maiden's mascot) outside the museum which was sweet.

After that, I had some Starbuck's coffee and caught the train back to the hotel. I got the key to my proper room and it is much much nicer. I unpacked and now I sit here typing up this blog.

Tomorrow I will be taking it easy because I am really exhausted.

London Calling

It is currently 5:30 local time here in London and I am sitting on my bed in the hotel.
As you may know already, I caught a bullet train to London from France. The train trip took 2 and a half hours.
The London train station is pretty huge, and it took ages to get out of the station and grab a taxi.

When we finally got to the hotel, there was a slight problem.
The woman that was staying in the room I had booked before me had a medical emergency and can't check out until tomorrow.
The only spare room is a very small room and they managed to cram to single beds in. Albeit they are both sitting right next to each other.
There is virtually no space now in the room. It is REALLY small, but at least it is only for tonight.
What a great start to my 2 weeks in England.

Because of this woman's unfortunate incident, both this room and my actual room that the woman is still in have to be cleared for the cleaners.
This means I have to spend all of tomorrow in the city out of the hotel. I was planning on spending tomorrow lazing and catching up on some energy after a week of running around 2 different cities looking at all the sites.
Not that I have any idea what I will be doing tomorrow, but London is huge and has plenty to do so I won't get stuck.

I will be London for the next week so it's going to be fun.
After that, I catch a train to Bolton via Manchester.
Bolton is a small town that my father grew up in so that could be interesting.
I will spend that following week traveling around some local areas and seeing what goes down.

Internet is not free at this hotel so don't expect to hear from me often, but keep checking this blog or my facebook if you are interesting in keeping up with what's happening. :)

I believe that's all for now. I need to buy some internet and upload this. I am currently writing this in Notepad haha.
But first, I want to eat and have a drink.

My time in Paris

I've only been in Paris for the last 3 and a half days, but I have done and seen so many great things.
Of course, I saw the Eiffel Tower.
Among others are:
The Arc De Triomph,
Notre Damn Cathedral,
Montparnasse
Palais Garnier,
The Pantheon,
Place De Vosgos,
Flame of Liberty,
And various other buildings. Majority of which were seen as part of a bus-refined tour around the city.

I didn't get up to alot aside from seeing all these landmarks.
I ate heaps of food including some croissants and french fries, had a few lazy drinks at a local pub and lazed about in the city in general.

But seeing all of those buildings was definitely the best part about Paris.
There are so many beautiful buildings here and so many of them are so old it's incredible.
The Notre Damn Cathedral was probably my personal favourite with its aesthetic pleasure. Absolutely beautiful architecture.

The first night I was here, I visited an area across the river from the Eiffel Tower which provided the best viewing spot.
Behind it there was an electric storm and I took some videos as it closed in on us. Looked amazing.
This storm eventually caught up to us and I ran to the nearest metro, getting soaked in the process. When the rain died down a little bit, I walked back to the hotel.
The rain and lightning didn't stop all night.
The weather on the 8th was the worst: Cold and wet all day.

I went up a tower called Montparnasse but because of the weather, the visibility was reduced. But so was the price of going up.
The view was still remarkable despite the heavy fog. The tower allowed a complete 360 degree view of the surrounding city, with half of the Eiffel Tower visible underneath the fog.
The rainy weather meant the windows were wet so the photos didn't come out the greatest.
Next to the Montparnasse was a shopping mall. I looked around there a little bit but didn't see anything interesting.

Today (9th June) I had a lazy day, but I bought myself a bottle of French Rum. I can't wait to crack it open when I get back home!
Also today, well tonight, I will be attending a System of A Down Concert. SO KEEN FOR THAT.

And I believe that is all I really have to talk about. Check my facebook for photos!

I have had a great time in Paris and I think that this country is absolutely beautiful.
Tomorrow I catch a train to London where I will be traveling around England for 2 weeks.

Until next time, bye! :)

A day in Dubai

This place is the city of skyscrapers.

There are seriously a buttload of skyscrapers.
The city expands along one highway, called the Sheikh Zayed Road, with some random and organised expansion outwards, so it is just one long thin city.

First off, my dad and I caught a taxi to a spot along the river where we hopped on a ferry that went down the river about 200 hundred meters and then across. The ferry was just a piece of wood with an engine basically.
The market place was just beside the jetty we got off at so we went there, which was called Souk Dubai. I learned, firsthand, the meaning of "running the gauntlet." As you walk through the markets, the owner of every single shop walks up to you nagging the hell out of you to walk into their shop and buy stuff and they just don't give up! It was absolutely nuts.
There were bulk shops selling spices, gold, watches, clothes and jewelry.

From there we caught a taxi to the Metro train station.
From there we went to the Mall Of the Emirates. We bought Gold class tickets which is a comfortable little room at the front of the train, and the trains here are automated so the view was awesome. Behind the Gold class train cabin was the Women and Children only section, and behind that was just the normal.

The Mall Of the Emirates is just a bloody big shopping mall. It was like 5 stories high at least and covered huge area. The stuff there is so cheap. There is a ski slope section inside the shopping mall which is obviously full of snow, but I wasn't there long enough to go inside.

After the mall we caught a taxi to a place called Palm Jumeirah. the Palm Jumeirah is a giant man made island with a huge highway and monorail running down the middle. It is still under construction so there are large sections of just sand. The completed sections are fancy houses with heaps of greenery.

At the end was the Dubai aquarium, which was huge! It was called Atlantis and is fairly self explanatory but I loved it.

We hopped on the monorail from there and traveled down the Palm and the view was incredible. We then caught a taxi to a 7 Star hotel and had a look around. My god it was SO fancy. Walking in there made me feel like dirt.

After that we jumped on a train back to the hotel which is now where I sit, typing this blog. I am yet to go out for dinner and I'm not sure what we'll be having.
But, I must say that I'm really not a fan of 21 being the drinking age, sigh.

Tomorrow I travel to France. I'm looking forward to Paris very much!

On the plane to Dubai

"I am currently on the plane from Perth to Dubai. I have been sitting on this plane for 5 hours and still have 6 hours to go. It doesn't help that I have a killer throat and a throbbing headache that just won't go away. This plane flight has been constant turbulence with the seat belt sign going on and off, on and off...
The plane left at 6am Perth time and is scheduled to arrive at 5 pm Perth time, which is 1 pm Dubai time. So at least I get to travel through time to the past.
Oh and the weather report for Dubai states that it will be between 40 and 50 degrees C.
..
The plane is now experiencing some epic turbulence and I am feeling kind of sick and my hands are shaking. Is it too late to say that I'm not a good flier?
The pleasures of holidays, right?

*update*
It's now 12:30 Dubai time and the captain predicts 30 minutes until boarding so we are right on schedule. The temperature on the ground is 42 degrees Celsius. Gotta love the summer desert at midday. Nice and warm for sure."

---

I am now sitting comfortably at the hotel in Dubai at local time, 2:37 pm. Perth time is 6:37 pm. Did someone just say jetlag?
I had about 4 hours sleep last night at the most and didn't sleep a wink on the plane.
But anyway, now to talk about this incredible city.

First off, it's a giant city in the middle of the desert. There is sand just, everywhere. As you would expect. But despite it's boring, plain, sandy, rocky, dusty, humid, boiling, smoked filled appearance, it really is quite beautiful.

The airport was absolutely massive. So ridiculous. I was walking for ages just to grab my suitcase.
I met dad outside the airport and we jumped in a taxi. The cars here are left hand drive so I sat in the front on the right hand side and it was weird!
Driving down the 6 lane highway, I got to have a good look at the city. It looks incredible.
There are huge skyscrapers that make Perth look like a babies sandcastle and then there are small hovels just around the corner that make me feel like I'm playing Battlefield.
The sky cannot be seen at all because of all the smoke. It's just constant haze.
And the humidity levels are so fricken high!

But enough of this sitting in a hotel room. It's time to explore!

Repent your sins!

"Earthquakes will begin to tear the world apart next Saturday and will continue to destroy the planet until October of this year. All of the faithful will be sent to heaven, and the rest of us will languish for an eternity."
- Harold Camping

Supposedly, the world is going to end this Saturday, May 21, at approximately 6:00 pm.
Why?
It has been calculated by Harold Camping, an Engineer and Biblical Scholar, that Judgement day will be this Saturday. Mark it in your diaries: Lord Jesus Christ is returning!
I think I'll put this in my diary (If I had one): "Old fool dies of mass embarrassment when world doesn't end."

This predicted date will mark exactly 7,000 years since Noah's Flood: The first destruction of the Earth.
Camping believes this marks the second and permanent destruction of the Earth.
Camping has indeed made predictions in the past marking the end of the world that did not turn out correctly calculated. He believed that in 1994, Christ would return.

I'm not sure on the evidence in the Bible that would back this up, but I personally do not believe the world is going to end this Saturday.
And besides, isn't the world supposed to end December 21, 2012?
And let's not forget all the other times the world ended:

• Y2K
  January 1, 2000. The 2 date year system in computers was to end at 99 and rollover to 00. Speculation insisted that all computers would fail, planes would fall from the sky and the world will end.
  I found a rather interesting thread dating from August, 1999. It's only short, but I thought it was pretty cool.
• SARS
  In 2002, the SARS outbreak in China was declared a pandemic and was potentially very lethal on a massive worldwide scale.
• The Large Hadron Collider
  In 2008, a huge machine was scheduled to be switched on to send atoms around in a circle at intense speeds in an attempt to physically split atoms apart when collided, for research purposes. Scientists working on the machine declared that there was a small chance that a small black hole could be created that would suck up the earth, inevitably destroying it. September 10, 2008 marked the end of the world.
  
• Swine Flu
  Another influenza pandemic, this time in 2009.

Just a few examples I remember dying. Okay okay, I didn't die and neither did you.

So, I guess the morale of this Blog is: This world is not going to end this Saturday. At least, that is what I believe.
But just in case it does; On Friday, I will party like there is no tomorrow!


**EDIT** (21 May, 2011)

I did some quick googling and the world is set to end at 6pm New York time.
This means for us in Perth it is going to be 6am Sunday 22nd May.
Time zones are a bitch.

Get partying!

Ya Fooking Planker

What do I think about Planking?

I don't think anything about Planking.
I think that fads catch on and are spread around far too quickly on the internet these days.

Planking could have been a pretty humorous way to entertain others on a trivial scale, especially when alcohol is involved. Such as your face on a chair, your chest on a dog's back and your feet on a music stand. But after only knowing about planking for 3 days, I am already waiting for the time when everyone moves on. Sort of like the moment where you think; "Well, that was fun, but it is certainly enough." But then again, I can't bear to think of what stupid idea someone will think of next and the plethora of Facebook pages that follow by this mind-less assimilating society.

On the note of Planking, I must talk about 20 year old Acton Beale who died whilst "planking".
I don't agree with everyone blaming the inventor of planking for Beale's death. It is his own fault for planking on a balcony rail 7 stories high.
When you lie face down on a balcony rail, surely you have to realise the dangers. Common sense, anyone?

People die in car crashes. Would you blame Ferdinand Verbiest?
People die in plane crashes. Would you blame The Wright Brothers?
Everyone is always so fast to point fingers and blame everyone else without actually shutting up for just one second and actually thinking about the situation.

I really have no idea how an idea such as this has become such a huge craze.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 30

Day 30

Your favourite song at this time last year
Coward's Throne - Thy Art Is Murder

I'm not sure exactly when this album was released but it was one of my favourite releases of 2010 and this is my favourite track on the album, The Adversary. Brutal as FUCK.

And that's this challenge finished!

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 29

Day 29

A song from your childhood
Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus

Man, this takes me back.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 28

Day 28

A song that makes you feel guilty
Symphonies - Dan Black ft. Kid Cudi

I actually really like this song.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 27

Day 27

A song that you wish you could play
Track 1 - The Helix Nebula

Awesome up and coming band!

The Helix Nebula [Facebook Page]

This video is of their guitarist playing trough Track 1, which is currently untitled.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 26

Day 26

A song that you can play on an instrument
For Stevie Wonder's Eyes Only (Braille) - Bring Me The Horizon

Ch'Yeah!

See the evidence...

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 25

Day 25

A song that makes you laugh
Freestyle Chinese Rap - CKY

HILARIOUS!

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 24

Day 24

A song that you want to play at your funeral
All These Things I hate (Revolve Around Me) - Bullet For My Valentine

I love this song. It's so emotional and really describes how I feel.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 23

Day 23

A song that you want to play at your wedding
Warmness On The Soul - Avenged Sevenfold

This song would explain my undying love for the woman I marry. Not that I'm likely to ever get married.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 22

Day 22

A song that you listen to when you're sad
Danger - Keep Away (Full Version) - Slipknot

I don't really need to explain this.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 21

Day 21

A song that you listen to when you're happy
Don't Close Your Eyes - Parkway Drive

'Tis a happy song if you listen to the words.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 20

Day 20

A song that you listen to when you're angry
Exhaust - I Shot The Sheriff

Old school Deathcore from back in the day, and pretty damn angry.

"But if that isn't enough, which it isn't.
Then you can burn in hell you motherfucking cunt."

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 19

Day 19

A song from your favourite album
And All Things Will End - Avenged Sevenfold

Waking The Fallen.

I don't think I've ever listened to an album just as much as this one.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 18

Day 18

A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Inertia - The Partisan Turbine

The radio needs more grindcore.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 17

Day 17

A song that you heard often on the radio
Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet

So fucking sick of this shit song.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 16

Day 16

A song that you used to love but how hate
Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses

Courtesy of Darren de Mello. Cheers for that.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 15

Day 15

A song that describes you
The Least Wanted - Embers Arise

The lyrics to this song are written in a 1st Person Point of View and express the protagonist's feelings of being in a sociopathic state who rejects the world's people as a whole due to it's arrogant and distrustful nature.
The character is not talking about being weak or wallowing in self-pity, it is about conquering his fears and being a stronger person because he knows what he is and is not.

"I reject this world to a level where I won't even die on judgement day."

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 14

Day 14

A song that no one would expect you to love
The View From The Afternoon - Arctic Monkeys

Judge all you will, I like this song.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 13

Day 13

A song that is a guilty pleasure
Take U To Da Movies - BANGS

YEA! S'MAH BOI BANGS!

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 12

Day 12

A song from a band you hate
Issues - Escape The Fate

I hate this band and I hate the people in it, with a passion.
Here is a shit song that they called Issues.
WARNING: It's a shit song.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 11

Day 11

A song from your favourite artist
Coma - Buckethead

Buckethead is my favourite artist because I find him absolutely incredible.
He has mastered so many different styles of music, instruments and has so much amazing music.
I chose this song because I find the music beautifully put together. There is such a powerful sense of emotion from this music. The guitar is extremely simple but it sounds amazing.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 10

Day 10

A song that you can fall asleep to
Planet Caravan - Black Sabbath

This is such a calm and relaxing song. I have actually left my computer on with this song on loop playing quietly and it's just an incredible song. I can easily sit and enjoy this song for hours upon hours without falling asleep, but when I want to sleep, it sure can help.

I'm not going to talk about weed and listening to this song because, well, we all know...

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 9

Day 9

A song that you can dance to
Schlaf Kindlein Schlaf (Electro Version) - We Butter The Bread With Butter

LONG TITLE IS LONG.
But anyway, I could totally dance to this song! ;)

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 8

Day 8

A song that you know all the words to
Vermillion - Slipknot

well, I know the words to so many songs it's ridiculous. I chose this song because I like the lyrics.
I like both parts of Vermillion, so I am embedding a video of both in one.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 7

Day 7

A song that reminds you of a certain event
Ride The Lightning - Metallica

This song reminds me of playing LEGO with my brothers when I was only really young.
Even now, hearing the chorus reminds me of this.
Good times.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 6

Day 6

A song that reminds you of somewhere
Americana - The Offspring

The album Americana as a whole reminds me of the lounge room in my house because I used to rock out to this album when I was a little kid! I chose this song for this challenge because it's my favourite track from the album and by The Offspring in general for that matter.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 5

Day 5

A song that reminds you of someone
Avalon - Chaos Divine

This song reminds of my good friend Aly. She means alot to me for everything she has helped me with.
And yea, we go way back.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 4

Day 4

A song that makes you sad
I Was Only 19 - Redgum

This song is amazing. It is so emotional both lyrically and musically.
I do not like war and my grandparents and great grandparents fought in World War I And II. Although I never met them, they were still family.

This song is about the ANZACs fighting in the Vietnam war and although none of my family fought in Vietnam, it doesn't matter: I am Australian, so it is part of my history.

Although it is simple, this is an incredibly powerful song.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 3

Day 3

A song that makes you happy
Guardian Angel - Abandon All Ships!

This song makes me happy because of the lyrics.
Although the mass auto-tune really got to me when I started listening to this band, I have got myself over it.
But I digress... I think the lyrics are nice. Apart from one section that is screamed that seems to contradict the rest of the song, but oh well.

I'd like to dedicate this one to Ella, who I hope stumbles across this and gives it a quick read.
I'll be your Guardian Angel.

Sorry about being cheesy.

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 2

Day 2
Your least favourite song
Little Lion Man - Mumford And Sons

I HATE THIS SONG!

"I tried to write a good song this time.
And it was my career on the line.
I really fucked it up this time.
This time I did.
This time I did."

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 1

I thought I would take part in the 30 Day Song Challenge, because: Why not?

Day 1
Your favourite song
The Chosen Pessimist - In Flames

I put some serious thought into this and it took me a long time to think of this. No wonder it's called a challenge haha.

Anyway, I chose this song because it is an amazing piece of music and has helped me through some tough times. It has earned my most played song on iTunes and I have had my computer near around 18 months.
It is an extremely unusual song for In Flames, but I seriously love it.