[8/27/2010 SteppersUSA Daily News]
Free Calls, Camera's, and Loud Music
By Markie Bee
National Chicago Style Steppers Day
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With the economy in the dumper it's always good to hear about something that's for free... Well here's one more reason to get Google's Gmail. The latest new feature added to the online service is free phone service right in your email.
You can now make free calls anywhere in the United States and Canada from your computer and this includes video calls.
I've had Google Voice since they started the beta and that's a cool free feature by itself because you can make and receive calls with your own personal phone number for life and it has so many features it's unbelievable.
Now that my carrier has smart phones I know I'll be making the switch pretty soon so I can take full advantage of the Google system from the smart phone. In either case it's a great way for steppers to keep in touch for free considering the experts are saying we're about to dip back into recession (if you listen to the experts and the news).
Just when I resigned myself to the fact that the camera I want cost's too much for me to afford... Canon came out with a new EOS camera that's much more affordable than the $4900 camera I wanted. The new 60D will come out at the end of September and have HD video and 18 Megapixel resolution for around $1100. The dream lives again! Uh anyone have $1100 to loan?
I'm going to make a blanket statement based on my experiences. I'm sure there are exceptions to the statement but it is what it is right?
 

More Below

Continued

Most DJ's seem to equate loudness with sound quality. Why is it I can tune a system so you can feel the music without having your eardrums shattered by sound over 80 decibels? Bass can be tuned so it can rock your very soul while being played at a level where you can hear the ambience of a song including the highs and the mid-range sounds.
I know every quality sound guy will agree with me that has ever had to replace a horn or a driver because a DJ has to push the system to play at a level over 100 decibels (as loud as or louder than a jet engine).
How many times have you been on the dance floor and you couldn't hear the person right next to you because the music was so loud? That's the DJ's fault. There's no reason that two people who are embracing each other in a dance can only say "huh!?" when they attempt to talk to each other. It sort of takes the social equation out of the dance doesn't it? Many of the DJ's out there have worked as sound set-up people and do know how to tune a system for great sound but for some reason they don't bother figuring if they turn up the sound they will get away without making the effort. It's like one DJ said to me (notice I'm not calling him out here) "Well you just don't like bass Markie." I told him that's so untrue... I like good sounding bass not loud un-tuned bass. I videotape lots of steppers contests and one thing they all have in common the audio sounds terrible because the music system is un-tuned (or improperly tuned) and is too loud. You should be able to walk in front of a speaker and hear clear sound and not be blown away like the guy in that commercial a few years ago.
Does anyone agree? Hit the comments and let me know.
WLSC Poll
Also don't forget to answer the poll about the contest this week.  (poll below)
NCSSD 2011
When asked if there will be a 2011 National Chicago Style Steppers Day Event, The short answer is yes it will be an annual event held on the weekend of the second Saturday in August. Overall, the event was a smashing success in that we managed to pull the whole thing off. Once we've had some time to digest and machinate what happened over the weekend we will have a teleconference (probably after the WLSC) to discuss what went right and what went wrong and to entertain ideas for next year.

The J.E.P. Productions Hotter than July steppers contest is now on sale and can be ordered online here. Or Right Here!

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