Archive for November, 2007

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Get The Balance Right

November 30, 2007

No, I’m not referring to my bank account balance (which after checking this morning is, unfortunately, right). I’m talking about the song I woke up with in my head today. FINALLY, A GOOD SONG!!! By Depeche Mode, it’s a song I really liked back in the 80’s. I remember sitting on Bravo 5 one Sunday afternoon listening to KROQ on my tiny radio and listening to an entire day of Depeche Mode. That day, I think three cars went through my checkpoint, and I sat there as bored as could be. I had forgotten to take a book with me (I used to tear through novels back then to combat the boredom of flightline duty), and there was nothing to read on post. I’d done my best to sweep and straighten (the things you do to stay awake…), but I finally reached the point where I could do no more. And then this song came on. I sat there just enjoying the music, the sun, and the serenity of my checkpoint.

Theres more besides joyrides
Little house in the countryside
Understand, learn to demand,
Compromise, sometimes lie

Get the balance right, get the balance right

Be responsible, respectable,
Stable but gullible
Concerned and caring, help the helpless
But always remain ultimately selfish

Get the balance right, get the balance right

You think youve got a hold of it all
You havent got a hold at all
When you reach the top, get ready to drop
Prepare yourself for the fall, youre gonna fall
Its almost predictable

Dont take this way, dont take that way
Straight down the middle until next thursday
Push to the left, back to the right
Twist and turn til youve got it right

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Three Simple Words

November 29, 2007

Need more eggnog.

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Gelli’s First “Opening” Performance

November 28, 2007

Gelli was asked earlier this week to open for local Houston bands Pale and Push Water, and she gladly accepted. She will be the opening act starting at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night. She’s even written a new song and will debut it publicly! Here is the “flyer” that she and I designed tonight. It’s a photo of her I took at night in Florida while we were visiting my grandparents. It is a long-exposure shot which is why her fingers are a bit blurred; there was a strong wind that night making it hard for her to stay perfectly still. I also softened the image a bit so it would make a better “background” image.

This time around, there will be a cover since the two other bands playing normally play much larger venues, and they do this music thing for a living. As for the fliers, she normally takes around 40 of them (printed on 4×6″ photo paper) to school and passes them out to friends and classmates. Most of her teachers post them in their classrooms as well, and have been very supportive of Gelli’s burgeoning music career.

Gelli is super-excited to have this opportunity, and is looking forward to some studio time to record her songs professionally and to get them online.

Posted in family, music | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

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My eeePC

November 28, 2007

Yes, it’s a silly name. Yes, it’s tiny. Yes, it’s only $400 for a full-featured truly portable notebook with 802.11b/g networking, a webcam, full audio, 512MB RAM, and a 4GB Flash drive (all solid state; boots in 12 seconds). It runs Xandros Linux, and comes with drivers for WinXP. I’m leaving mine as a Linux machine, however, since it works so well, and the OS was optimized for the hardware anyway. Why fix something that aint broke?

Here are some pictures of my eeePC. This first picture shows it on my desk.

This next photo shows it on top of one of the many Dell Latitude notebooks we have laying around the house (so many of them, in fact, that I’m going to turn one or more of them into digital photo frames). You can get a decent appreciation for the small size of these little eeePC’s. The Latitude is the normal 15″ screen version.

Finally, this image shows it as compared to my wife’s HP 17″ widescreen notebook computer. It truly dwarfs the eeePC.

Typing on it is surprisingly easy once you take a minute or two to get used to the diminutive size of the keyboard. The reaction I had to going to a regular sized notebook was more noticeable than typing on the eeePC. I thought to myself, “Wow, this keyboard is HUGE” when I typed on the Dell after working with the eeePC for a while.

It’s been a great little notebook so far, and I plan on using it in meetings and at coffee shops soon!

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Hungarian Radio

November 28, 2007

I’m listening to Hungarian radio online right now (Juventus) to help me keep my language skills up, and obviously, they play lots of music. What strikes me as funny is how they like old songs in Hungary. The majority I’ve heard so far are either old songs from the 80’s and 90’s or re-made or re-recorded songs from the 80’s or 90’s. There is the odd “new” song, but lots are like the song playing right now, “Everlasting Love” by some band with girl singing. What’s worse, it’s not exceptionally fresh. To the contrary, it’s just sort of boring and sugary. At least to my taste.

What I’d really like to hear would be some Hungarian re-recordings of songs by The Replacements, The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Clash, etc. Now THAT would be some good stuff!!!

UPDATE: Oh fuck no. I had to turn if off. Hungarian refresher by radio be damned! I’m not listening to “Thriller.” Back to Sirius satellite radio.

UPDATE 2: Ahhh… so much better. The first song played when I turned on Sirius “First Wave?” “Close to Me” by The Cure. So sweet….

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So Tired

November 27, 2007

I am so tired. I’ve not been able to catch up on my sleep yet since getting home. Tonight we had band practice, and I just got home a while ago. It was fun and we did well, but here I am again, up late.

I really should go to sleep right now, and I think I’m going to. I have a lot of work to do in the morning, so I should probably get some rest.

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Lost to Sleep

November 26, 2007

What I hate more than anything is when I have a great idea for a book or story and then I forget it when I wake up. Nothing is more annoying to a writer. I have this happen often enough; you’d think I’d have learned by now. But no. I’ve been told more than a few times by other writer friends of mine that I should keep a notebook or tape recorder next to my bed for when this happens. I think I’m probably going to begin to take this advice, because some of my most creative moments are just as I’m about to fall asleep and my brain is working in some weird post-sleep free-thinking mind-warp of sorts.

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Honey Roasted Peanuts

November 26, 2007

They are good. Really good. I usually don’t eat snack (actually, I don’t EVER eat snacks), but I have some left over “driving aids” from our trip, one of which is a full jar of honey roasted peanuts. I forgot how much I like these damned things!

Also, I designed some t-shirts/stuff. If you’re a TRUE geek, you’ll get it. D&D playing experience is a must to get the humor, as is the love of gadgets, gear, and games. Go HERE to check it out. HERE is Stevie and Sherry’s favorite product. Coming soon: mugs and other “stuff” to go with the design (maybe a new font?).

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Back at Home

November 26, 2007

I have mixed feelings. While the drive home was hellish (a three-hour delay due to a traffic detour in Louisiana makes me not want to go to Louisiana for a LONG time), the time we had in Florida was a blast. We had a chance to spend a lot of time with my grandparents, mostly with my grandmother as my grandfather sleeps a lot. I may have unlocked a bit of the mystery about why he sleeps so much; his migraines are back. He would rather sleep than medicate and deal with the pain. As their neighbor, a spunky 88 year old lady put it, better to have to deal with sleeping than emphysema, cancer, Parkinson’s, etc. I agree.

My grandmother had a list of things for me to do around their condo for them while I was there, and on Friday, I tackled the list and finished it all in about two hours or so and then tackled a new project: getting her classical music 24/7. As unbelievable as this may sound, there is no dedicated classical music radio station in West Palm Beach. There is a channel that plays classical music from 10am to 3pm, but not earlier or later. The solution to the problem turned out to be Sirius satellite radio. Now, she has three channels of classical radio 24/7 including some other channels she may listen to like talk radio. She was very excited to have such clear and nice classical music back in her home at night, and even happier that when a song she didn’t like came on, she could change it to one of the other two classical stations.

The rest of the time we spent talking, looking through photos, helping her understand her health and medical coverage, and on the beach getting sun burnt. We went out onto the beach every night and it was really very nice to just watch the waves come in and to feel the cool breeze coming off the ocean before going to sleep. I could easily retire that way, too; I can see the allure.

The drive home, to me, is broken up into two memories: the fun non-detour part, and the detour. The non-detour trip was pleasant and fast with the Santa Fe getting great gas mileage. The  detour was a hellish trip of about 40 miles that took nearly four hours to traverse in the driving rain with cars literally as far as the eye can see. In the grand scheme of things, however, it was totally worth it to be able to spend time with my grandparents, and more importantly, for my kids to be able to spend time with them. The kids had a wonderful time, and they look forward to going back to visit them already.

Last night we arrived into a very cold house. I turned on the fireplace, and Gelli and I went to sleep in the livingroom as the rest of the house is STILL taking time to warm up. I woke up with a very sore neck a few hours after falling asleep on the couch and transplanted myself to my bed which felt like sleeping on a cloud. I got VERY good rest last night, and I awoke at home, in my bedroom, with Sherry in the shower. It’s good to be home.

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Florida

November 23, 2007

I’ve been remiss in keeping this place up-to-date over the past six days because of the flurry of activity that had befallen our household. To sum things up:

  • Saturday morning we took my car in for its 90k service and then went to Spec’s to pick up some goodies to take to my grandparents in Florida. Sherry and I had a wonderful crepe breakfast at Coco in mid-town. Most of the day was spent doing this or that.
  • Saturday night, Gelli was asked to come on stage by the band playing. She sang her songs and received great feedback from the audience.
  • Sunday during the day we went out to Sealy to visit with my mom after which I watched the last NASCAR race of the season. I also had to deal with Sprint in replacing my phone (it went tits-up earlier in the day).
  • Sunday night I met with a new band and will be playing bass for them on a regular basis.
  • Monday night Gelli performed her songs again on stage. It was unscheduled and unanticipated, but it was a lot of fun.
  • Tuesday was spent working and then the evening was spent packing up the car and getting ready to depart on our trip to Florida. After packing was complete, we dropped our dog Cookie off at Steve and Anita’s and then took off.
  • 3:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, we stopped at a Red Roof Inn outside of Mobile Alabama for some rest. We then woke up at around 9:00 a.m., filled up the tank, and continued on towards West Palm Beach.
  • Wednesday evening, I dodged no fewer than three accidents. Two of these were very close calls, all due to people braking incredibly hard in front of me. We saw two accidents, one minor and one major. The major accident had bodies and body parts strewn all over the place. It was sobering.
  • Wednesday night we arrived at my grandparents’ place where a wonderful Hungarian dinner was waiting for us.
  • Thursday was spent on the beach and around the dinner table with my grandmother. My grandfather sleeps a lot, but he’s allowed; he’s 93 and in great health otherwise. He’s sort of forgetful (early Alzheimers), but he’s clear as a bell every once in a while. I can see in his eyes when he’s “there.”
  • Today has been a day of helping out and doing little things here and there for the grandparents. We’re about to head out to Best Buy to pick up a satellite radio for my grandmother so that she can listen to all the classical radio she wants to. She’s really excited about the prospect of choices in classical radio.

So, that’s where we are. It’s afternoon, and I have to get going so that I can maintain the pace of the day. I will try to update more tonight if I get a chance. I love the broadband I get using my phone! PDANet rocks!!!

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