I’m pretty excited to try out the couple little upgrades I’ve got for mountain biking this spring. For starters, I just ordered a 2008 CamelBak H.A.W.G, which is CamelBak’s largest biking style pack. The thing that’s great about it is that it can easily double as a day-hiking pack, since it’s got plenty of room for a day’s worth of gear, but it synches up nice and tight when you don’t need to carry any extra baggage, and just need water and a few small things.

Next up are scary clipless pedals Jenn got me as a birthday present. All the guys I ride with use shimano style, and we found a great deal on them at Tree Fort Bikes when it was time to order, so she ended up getting herself a pair as well.

I was also lucky enough to stumble into REI a couple weeks ago when they had a pair of Shimano M121G’s in my size on clearance. Turned out they are a perfect fit and are much more comfortable than the Specialized shoes I was originally looking at.

It’s going to be interesting getting used to the clipless pedals, but I can’t wait for the extra power on my uphill climbs. We should be able to start getting out there in just a couple of weeks when the clocks spring forward!

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FXpansion have released the awaited new version of their highly successful and insanely authentic drum plug-in.

FXpansion call it “The most powerful acoustic drum production workstation ever.” and they have every right. I’ve been using BFD1 for a few years now and reccomend it to anyone looking for the most authentic acoustic drum set plug-in available. The combination of unheard of levels of velocity layers combined with impulse responce reverberation were a match that gave BFD a level of realism that just hadn’t been touched upon yet when it was released. Since then FXpansion has been working hard to release some amazing drum kit add-on packs such as XFL, Deluxe, Percussion, and Jazz & Funk.

I don’t think it’s too much to say that BFD is directly responsible for changing the way we look at acoustic drumset plug-ins and their ability to sounds convincing, but it hasn’t gone without some stiff competition in the last couple years. There have been some other really big libraries released that have definitely given BFD a run for it’s money, but it looks like BFD2 is about to raise the bar again. And by raise, I mean launch the damn thing into space.

FXpansion have recorded an all new set of samples for BFD2 as well, so there are plenty of new pieces of kit to bang on. I can’t wait to check it out.

112db have released their new Ensoniq Mirage inspired sampler plug-in Morgana!

It’s pretty interesting. It’s got a few nice patches in it’s factory set and it’s capable of loading up your wavs and giving them an interesting old school lo-fi feel to ‘em. I’m having a lot of fun with it over here.

It also comes with Samplink which lets you record directly into Morgana. Check it all out here.

Is anyone out out there using Songbird?

It’s a pretty neat music app for browing music on the net and playing music libraries. Worth checking out if you listen to a lot of music while your are working on your puter.

“It’s been a personal passion of mine to develop a beer glass that elevates the craft beer drinking experience” said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams. “We wanted to create a glass that offers beer lovers a full sensory drinking experience by fully showcasing Samuel Adams Boston Lager’s complex balance of malt and hop flavors. This glass achieves that mission.”

Sounds good to me! At $30 for a set of 4 it’s a bit expensive, but they sure are cool. Sign me up.