It’s easy…

1. Make a short MP3 file by ’snipping’ out the section that you want to use as your ringtone. I use an old copy of TotalRecorder
2. Convert the short MP3 to to AAC. You can do this in iTunes if you set your Preferences | Advanced | Importing to AAC Encoder, add the short MP3 to your iTunes library, and then right-click on the MP3 and select Convert to AAC
3. Use Get Info to find the .m4a file that iTunes creates (it puts them in silly places) and change the extension from .m4a to .m4r
4. Copy the .m4r file into /Library/Ringtones on your iPhone using ssh/scp.
5. If it’s not loud enough, you can use mpTrim to pump up the volume of the MP3 a bit and then re-encode, etc…

I found these basic instructions very helpful in figuring this out.

Using iTunes to convert to AAC is a bit of a pain — does anyone know of a good standalone MP3->AAC converter?

I’ve only just now learned that one of my favorite Motorhead songs, “Emergency,” with the chorus of “nine nine nine Emergency” must be a reference to the UK’s emergency telephone number. There’s another song of the same name by British pop-punk group 999…

I think I just figured out what happened to Pearl Jam. After their career fell flat in the US, they realized that since the Italians love cheesy pop rock, their best strategy was simply to learn Italian and attempt to become the next Zucchero. Unfortunately for us the void they had occupied was quickly filled by whatshisname, Dan Robinson? Right, Dave Matthews. And what a void it is. I can’t wait for him to learn Italian too. Please.

…but it’s darn useful. “iConcertCal is a free iTunes plug-in that monitors your music library and generates a personalized calendar of upcoming concerts in your city.” And it is. And it works! Instantly! Amazing! There are a couple of other tools out there that I’ve come across recently, like TourFilter and SonicLiving, but iConcertCal is integrates directly with iTunes and presents matching shows in simple calendar format… it rocks!

I never did like James Brown. I just really do not want to hear “Get on up” on more ^*@#% time! I never liked The Who or The Doors either. Don’t you people ever get bored of hearing the *same damn song, over and over*? Basta!