A few months ago I blogged about how Phoenix was such an overlooked area for theme parks and how a new idea for a music-based theme park called Decades USA was looking to start up what I thought would be a growing trend for the state.  Well I'm here to tell you...it's time to Rock n Roll.  Yes, Governor Janet Napolitano signed Senate Bill 1450 into law on June 27, 2008 thus making Decades a reality at this point. 

As I have noted in my previous blogs and to countless numbers of contacts in the area, this is a true turning point in history for the state of Arizona.   One I am happy to have been a very very very very very very small part of just bugging so many people to sign up and spread the word of this great idea.  So everyone....you can rest easy...no more requests to encourage the state legislature to sign this bill.  Instead, I'm going to be annoying everyone to keep the buzz going and make Decades USA's launch so prosperous and exciting that my own relatives still in Orlando will be looking to travel here for their family vacations for many many years to come.

I encourage you to continue to visit their website at http://www.decadesusa.com and keep the buzz going.  It will be a few years before it's ready to open, but these things take time and generating anticipation is just the beginning.

Now for my monthly giveaway.  This month I'm giving away a $50 Outback Steakhouse gift certificate for the person who gives me the best (in my opinion...not yours...ha!!) idea for a music themed ride/attraction/show that doesn't already exist on the http://www.decadesusa.com/conceptual-overview/index.php web page. 

You can post them here or email me at doug@justicesolutionsllc.com I'll only accept the first idea sent per person...so make it a good one.  I'll submit all the ideas to the Decades Principals...who knows....maybe they'll like one or two of them. 

And just from my days of going to law school....remember...by submitting your ideas you are doing so  freely to possibly win my monthly giveaway of a $50 Outback Steakhouse Gift Certificate only and without any hope, thought, promise, possibility, or agreement to receive anything from me or the Decades park if your idea happens to become a ride someday.  Ok my interior law school demons are now satisfied.

Now have fun submitting your ideas.  You have all the way until July 31st...so let's see what you come up with.

Doug.

If you're a programmer like me....I find it's almost a necessity to have a steady stream of tunes going to keep the creative juices and energy flowing during those coding marathons we always seem to be faced with.  However, sometimes putting together a playlist takes a lot of time that we don't have.  So your alternatives are taking a chance and listening to one of Napster's preloaded lists, or finding a few radio stations that you like and flip back and forth between them when the music starts to go off the beaten path a bit.  Oh and let's not even get into how annoying commercials are.

Enter Pandora's Box
Those of you familiar with Greek Mythology's accounting of Pandora will recall she was created by Hephaestus and molded out of the earth and given a jar (box) which she unfortunately opened and released all of the evil and stuff into the world.  Yep....woman gets blamed again....but did I mention I have the WE network on right now? 

Why I'm not quite sure of how they came up with the name, Pandora.com (Pandora Radio) is anything but a collection of evil.  It actually is quite the opposite which is maybe why they chose the name?  Picture a collection of tens of thousands of songs all at your beckon call?  Yeah...I know iTunes and Napster does that too.  However what if I told you these folks have been analyzing these songs to break down rhythms, lyrics, artists, albums, decades, etc. and then put them into a clever music finding algorithm which would make the guy on CBS Television's "Numbers" a proud man.

Pick a Song any Song
When you first get to the website...you'll find it quite plain...you almost think you're on the wrong site.  But trust me....just enter in any song, artist, etc. and let the magic begin.  I went ahead and typed in "Men at Work" since I'm such a slave to the 80's music. 

Within seconds I had a custom radio station on my list called "Men at Work Radio" and literally over a 100 songs from not only men at work, but also many other artists and songs having similar beats, styles, etc.  I

Thumbs up....Thumbs Down
Now, while it's not an exact science, I have to admit with the few requests I've put into the system, I've been pretty happy with the lineup of songs Pandora.com came back with.  If there's one that kind of makes your head go "Huh?!?"...just give it a quick thumbs down...Pandora moves on to the next song automatically.

Oh...and when you log back in the next day and click on that station...the songs are both different and/or shuffled automatically...pretty damn cool if you ask me.

Give it a Try!
So if you're stuck in front of a computer, or your computer is also a media center for your home and want a nice steady stream of songs instantly....give Pandora a try.  Let me know what you think.

Until next time...

Doug.