Wow, lots of things have happened since the last time I posted here so I will start with camp and add a few more new posts in the near future.
I thought camp went really well this year. For the past few years Curt has sort of been running behind us with his hand still on the bicycle seat but this was the first year that he let go and we pedaled away on our own. I thought that Danny and DK did a great job this year! I know they were busy because it seemed as if I didn't see them much. We tried some new things this year that I thought went reasonably well, dinner theater talent show being one of them. I want to give a big round of applause to Stephen for designing and building the wooden structure that protected our audio table. It was great to be able to mix from a more appropriate location within the Ark. I have to admit that I was hesitant when he first approached me with the idea, but it turned out great! I look forward to using it for many years to come.
I think the best part of the week was the campers! I was really impressed with them. I think we had a really great group of kids this year. They all seemed to be really active and involved in whatever was going on. The Ark was always full of kids playing basketball or four square (a game I played in middle school). I am really looking forward to our next meeting so I can read all the camper surveys.
We already have some working ideas for 2009 and I think it's going to be really cool! I took one of the stones that we wrote the word Pursue on and placed it on my desk at the office. It is a great memento from our week but better yet it really does help me to focus on pursuing the way of Christ (thanks Mike D). Speaking of Mike Darling, the worship rocked! Worship at camp is always excellent, but Mike Darling did a great job leading us into His presence.
Oh yeah, and Robin's cookouts were very excellent as well. Thanks for sharing your gift of hospitality!
I really am looking forward to 2009 already although I admit it's nice to have a break from that feeling of "I really need to be working on camp!".
More posts to come...
- My trip to New Orleans with CNN
- Wrecking a 26' truck loaded with gear on the way back from my trip to New Orleans with CNN
- Maybe I'll buy a motorcycle
See you soon!
TB
Monday, July 14, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The Right To Arm Bears
This came up the other night between Becky and myself. We were talking about gun laws and concealed weapons permits and the like and I came up with this question...
"We have the right to bear arms; but does that also mean that we have the right to arm bears?"
Imagine all those grizzlies sporting Glock semi-auto pistols or polar bears with sawed-off shotguns to use against the environmentalists. Quite honestly most bears are already armed to the teeth; or should I say armed with teeth. Anyway; that was the introduction to my latest topic of interest...guns.
I used to shoot shotguns and rifles with my Dad when I was younger. We would hunt squirrels and doves (the ugly brown/gray doves; not the pretty white "peace" doves). I never wanted to hunt deer since they were quite bigger and would have way more messy guts to deal with after you shot them. Let me also say at this point that everything I ever shot was then used as a food source. I do not condone the killing of wild animals if all you are going to do is leave it on the ground to rot. If you kill it, it should be on your wall or in your stomach.
So I have some background with firearms of the rifle/shotgun type but not handguns. A month or so ago I went on an Appalachian Trail hiking trip with a friend from work who brought along a small semi-auto pistol. Carrying guns on the trail is a pretty hot topic in the trail community; some people for it; some people very much against it. The best way to carry a firearm on the trail is very much concealed. It is not illegal to carry a firearm on the Appalachian Trail unless you are in a National Park (Great Smokey Mountains National Park is a good example). My rule of thumb is that the only person on the trail who should ever see your gun is the person on the trail trying to kill you. I wish the world were a safer place, but alas it is not. A young woman was abducted from near the trail in Georgia and then murdered not too long ago. But I digress; this is not a post about the safety of the world or carrying guns on the AT, I'm just trying to explain what has prompted my new found interest in firearms.
So after our trip my buddy offers to let me borrow his Smith and Wesson .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. I said, "heck yeah!" and took it to a gun shop/indoor firing range that is near our dwelling. I had a blast (no pun intended) as I fired 50 rounds through it. It was a great gun to shoot and recoiled enough to let you know if was a .45 and that you didn't want to be on the receiving end but not enough to warrant two hands recoiling over the head; hand cannon type of force.
I was back at the range this week and was ready to try something different. The range offers weapons that you can rent in order to shoot many different calibers and try out weapons from different manufacturers. This time I went with a Glock 9mm with a longer, ported barrel. The longer barrel and the ports cut into the end of it enable the shooter to achieve more accuracy. I fired 100 rounds and was able to deliver multiple shots to the target while keeping them in a tighter cluster. With the .45 my shots were more spread out (out of 50 rounds, 46 of them went into the target, 4 went elsewhere). As far as recoil goes; I was expecting the Glock 9mm to be considerably easier to handle than the Smith and Wesson .45, it was not. Don't get me wrong, I experienced less perceived recoil with the Glock; just not that much. It is either a testament to the good design of the Smith and Wesson or the poor design of the Glock. It's hard to say and I am so new at this that I probably shouldn't make too many judgements. What I can say is that I am happy to be able to shoot a .45 caliber handgun without it recoiling back into my face and breaking my nose or causing me to drop it on the ground and being shot by the resulting round that fires upon impact.
So let me show you two firearms I am interested in owning...
The Walther P22 .22 caliber semi-auto pistol
"We have the right to bear arms; but does that also mean that we have the right to arm bears?"
Imagine all those grizzlies sporting Glock semi-auto pistols or polar bears with sawed-off shotguns to use against the environmentalists. Quite honestly most bears are already armed to the teeth; or should I say armed with teeth. Anyway; that was the introduction to my latest topic of interest...guns.
I used to shoot shotguns and rifles with my Dad when I was younger. We would hunt squirrels and doves (the ugly brown/gray doves; not the pretty white "peace" doves). I never wanted to hunt deer since they were quite bigger and would have way more messy guts to deal with after you shot them. Let me also say at this point that everything I ever shot was then used as a food source. I do not condone the killing of wild animals if all you are going to do is leave it on the ground to rot. If you kill it, it should be on your wall or in your stomach.
So I have some background with firearms of the rifle/shotgun type but not handguns. A month or so ago I went on an Appalachian Trail hiking trip with a friend from work who brought along a small semi-auto pistol. Carrying guns on the trail is a pretty hot topic in the trail community; some people for it; some people very much against it. The best way to carry a firearm on the trail is very much concealed. It is not illegal to carry a firearm on the Appalachian Trail unless you are in a National Park (Great Smokey Mountains National Park is a good example). My rule of thumb is that the only person on the trail who should ever see your gun is the person on the trail trying to kill you. I wish the world were a safer place, but alas it is not. A young woman was abducted from near the trail in Georgia and then murdered not too long ago. But I digress; this is not a post about the safety of the world or carrying guns on the AT, I'm just trying to explain what has prompted my new found interest in firearms.
So after our trip my buddy offers to let me borrow his Smith and Wesson .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. I said, "heck yeah!" and took it to a gun shop/indoor firing range that is near our dwelling. I had a blast (no pun intended) as I fired 50 rounds through it. It was a great gun to shoot and recoiled enough to let you know if was a .45 and that you didn't want to be on the receiving end but not enough to warrant two hands recoiling over the head; hand cannon type of force.
I was back at the range this week and was ready to try something different. The range offers weapons that you can rent in order to shoot many different calibers and try out weapons from different manufacturers. This time I went with a Glock 9mm with a longer, ported barrel. The longer barrel and the ports cut into the end of it enable the shooter to achieve more accuracy. I fired 100 rounds and was able to deliver multiple shots to the target while keeping them in a tighter cluster. With the .45 my shots were more spread out (out of 50 rounds, 46 of them went into the target, 4 went elsewhere). As far as recoil goes; I was expecting the Glock 9mm to be considerably easier to handle than the Smith and Wesson .45, it was not. Don't get me wrong, I experienced less perceived recoil with the Glock; just not that much. It is either a testament to the good design of the Smith and Wesson or the poor design of the Glock. It's hard to say and I am so new at this that I probably shouldn't make too many judgements. What I can say is that I am happy to be able to shoot a .45 caliber handgun without it recoiling back into my face and breaking my nose or causing me to drop it on the ground and being shot by the resulting round that fires upon impact.
So let me show you two firearms I am interested in owning...
The Walther P22 .22 caliber semi-auto pistol
This would be a great pistol to "plink" with (shoot targets, tin cans etc.). The ammunition for .22 caliber weapons is pretty cheap compared to the larger calibers. .22 caliber makes it affordable to go to the range and expend 500 rounds or more. However; .22 caliber is not at all an ideal sized round for home defense or concealed carry. I read that the best way to end a hostile situation with a .22 is to fire it up the nose of the person trying to take your life or cause you severe bodily injury. So far I've been reasonably accurate at the range; but I don't think I would ever be able to place a round that well.
Which brings me to my second weapon of choice...
The Taurus PT-145 Millennium Pro
This is a compact .45 caliber semi-auto pistol. It is ideal for home defense or concealed carry since it packs the stopping power of the .45 caliber round. If you can't end a hostile situation with two .45 caliber rounds properly placed into the target; then your target is on some pretty scary narcotics and you will probably need to empty the whole gun into said target and then proceed to beat the target in the head with the empty weapon in order to neutralize the threat.
Let me end this post by saying that guns are not toys and are extremely dangerous when not used with knowledge and respect. Anyone using a firearm should be familiar with how that firearm operates and with all applicable safety procedures and all local, state and federal laws that apply to the ownership and use of firearms.
So what are your thoughts? Guns are good, guns are bad, guns are scary? I would be interested to know.
This post was brought to you by Michael Polutta, Pete Goode (thanks for the encouragement there guys) and the letter LMNO. Not familiar with that letter? Sing the alphabet song and you'll find it.
See ya next time!
Let me end this post by saying that guns are not toys and are extremely dangerous when not used with knowledge and respect. Anyone using a firearm should be familiar with how that firearm operates and with all applicable safety procedures and all local, state and federal laws that apply to the ownership and use of firearms.
So what are your thoughts? Guns are good, guns are bad, guns are scary? I would be interested to know.
This post was brought to you by Michael Polutta, Pete Goode (thanks for the encouragement there guys) and the letter LMNO. Not familiar with that letter? Sing the alphabet song and you'll find it.
See ya next time!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Drum Roll Please....
Wow! A record setting 17 comments! It started out kind of slow but you folks really came through in the end! Here's the rest of the story...
So I got dressed in the dark the other day; no problem right?
I went to work and started doing my thing and about mid-morning realized that I needed to use the restroom (#1). So I pulled up the large jug that I keep under my desk just for such an occurrence...
Just kidding...sorry....
I left my office and walked down the hall to the men's restroom which at our company is marked only by the "male sign". You know, a circle with an arrow coming out from it. I can't tell you how many times I have had to instruct bewildered visitors as to which door they should go through to use the room that is for their particular gender. I'm amazed at how many people don't know what those signs mean.
Anyway....
I walked up to my favorite urinal (there's only one), unzipped my pants and started searching for my...you know...
I couldn't find it!
The fact that I would even say that speaks volumes to the security that I have in my own masculinity but I guess what I really mean is that I couldn't get to it. It was still there but I couldn't find the fly in my boxer shorts (Ah Ha! now you all know what kind of underwear I wear). I kept digging around in my shorts trying to find the opening but it wasn't there; it was very surreal! I figured for sure it was there and my shorts had just gotten twisted around a bit but no, I couldn't find my fly!
After a few really weird minutes I realized what had happened...
I put my underwear on backwards that morning when I got dressed in the dark!
I felt very silly but I have to admit that I was too lazy to worry about fixing the problem. I bought this new pair of hiking boots and I have been wearing them to work everyday in order to break them in for an Appalachian Trail hike that I am going on this weekend. The laces are kind of a pain to do and un-do so I decided to just leave my underwear the way it was. Besides, with my fly on the other end of things, if I needed to go #2....never mind....sorry....
So the winner is...
Shelia!
Congratulations! I will have to figure out what you're prize is and deliver it to you ASAP!
Pete buddy...you really need to get off the pipe...
Until next time...
So I got dressed in the dark the other day; no problem right?
I went to work and started doing my thing and about mid-morning realized that I needed to use the restroom (#1). So I pulled up the large jug that I keep under my desk just for such an occurrence...
Just kidding...sorry....
I left my office and walked down the hall to the men's restroom which at our company is marked only by the "male sign". You know, a circle with an arrow coming out from it. I can't tell you how many times I have had to instruct bewildered visitors as to which door they should go through to use the room that is for their particular gender. I'm amazed at how many people don't know what those signs mean.
Anyway....
I walked up to my favorite urinal (there's only one), unzipped my pants and started searching for my...you know...
I couldn't find it!
The fact that I would even say that speaks volumes to the security that I have in my own masculinity but I guess what I really mean is that I couldn't get to it. It was still there but I couldn't find the fly in my boxer shorts (Ah Ha! now you all know what kind of underwear I wear). I kept digging around in my shorts trying to find the opening but it wasn't there; it was very surreal! I figured for sure it was there and my shorts had just gotten twisted around a bit but no, I couldn't find my fly!
After a few really weird minutes I realized what had happened...
I put my underwear on backwards that morning when I got dressed in the dark!
I felt very silly but I have to admit that I was too lazy to worry about fixing the problem. I bought this new pair of hiking boots and I have been wearing them to work everyday in order to break them in for an Appalachian Trail hike that I am going on this weekend. The laces are kind of a pain to do and un-do so I decided to just leave my underwear the way it was. Besides, with my fly on the other end of things, if I needed to go #2....never mind....sorry....
So the winner is...
Shelia!
Congratulations! I will have to figure out what you're prize is and deliver it to you ASAP!
Pete buddy...you really need to get off the pipe...
Until next time...
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Orchestral Movements in the Dark
So I got dressed in the dark the other day...
OK; that's all you get on this one. Everyone now gets the chance to finish my story with what you think happened. The opening line here is a true story; I want to see how the rest of you finish it. I will give a prize to whomever gets closest to the real deal. I will update later with the remainder of the story after I see what the rest of you come up with. Becky and anyone else whom I might have told this story to already are ineligible to play. Good luck!
OK; that's all you get on this one. Everyone now gets the chance to finish my story with what you think happened. The opening line here is a true story; I want to see how the rest of you finish it. I will give a prize to whomever gets closest to the real deal. I will update later with the remainder of the story after I see what the rest of you come up with. Becky and anyone else whom I might have told this story to already are ineligible to play. Good luck!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Clients
I would get so much more done at work if clients would stop calling me and wanting our company to come and do things for them in exchange for money. Even better would be if the crazy, confusing, don't know what they want clients would forget that our company even exists all together. I know, I know, it's because of these people that I have a job....
Today was busy and stressful and I had to deal with people who made me cra-z (that's my DJ name; not that I am a DJ mind you; but if I was that would be my name, DJ CRA-Z). I am taking on some new responsibilities at work and am now learning to operate in a slightly different circle that I was previously. Mainly it means that I have more direct contact with clients. This is a little bit of a stretch for me since I don't really like people (just kidding). I have some learning and stretching to do, but I'm sure it will all work out.
I finally got a Wii the other day! It is really cool! So far we have had a lot of fun playing it. You can create these little people on your Wii; they are called "Miis". You can make the Miis look like whoever you want. So, we currently have a Mii that looks like Me, Becky, Ann, Larry, Jacob, David, Mary and two guys that I work with. Whenever you play Wii Sports; the game populates the game with your Miis. So if you look in the background when I bowl you will see Ann, Becky, Larry or whatever assortment of Miis that the computer decides to have sitting in the booths behind me. We took the Wii to the company SuperBowl party the other night and hooked it up to a projector that was showing on a 10.5' x 14' screen. IT WAS HUGE!!!! We had a really great time; although I hated to miss the party at the Hunters' house at the same time. Another guy brought his Xbox 360 and we hooked it up to a projector and a massive sound system and played Guitar Hero. I am spoiled now, playing it at home on my tv just isn't doing it for me anymore. I guess I will have to get a projector, huge screen, line array audio system and 8 subwoofers for my living room.
Today was busy and stressful and I had to deal with people who made me cra-z (that's my DJ name; not that I am a DJ mind you; but if I was that would be my name, DJ CRA-Z). I am taking on some new responsibilities at work and am now learning to operate in a slightly different circle that I was previously. Mainly it means that I have more direct contact with clients. This is a little bit of a stretch for me since I don't really like people (just kidding). I have some learning and stretching to do, but I'm sure it will all work out.
I finally got a Wii the other day! It is really cool! So far we have had a lot of fun playing it. You can create these little people on your Wii; they are called "Miis". You can make the Miis look like whoever you want. So, we currently have a Mii that looks like Me, Becky, Ann, Larry, Jacob, David, Mary and two guys that I work with. Whenever you play Wii Sports; the game populates the game with your Miis. So if you look in the background when I bowl you will see Ann, Becky, Larry or whatever assortment of Miis that the computer decides to have sitting in the booths behind me. We took the Wii to the company SuperBowl party the other night and hooked it up to a projector that was showing on a 10.5' x 14' screen. IT WAS HUGE!!!! We had a really great time; although I hated to miss the party at the Hunters' house at the same time. Another guy brought his Xbox 360 and we hooked it up to a projector and a massive sound system and played Guitar Hero. I am spoiled now, playing it at home on my tv just isn't doing it for me anymore. I guess I will have to get a projector, huge screen, line array audio system and 8 subwoofers for my living room.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sick
Hey there folks! Becky and I are both sick right now; please pray for both of us to be well again soon. Nothing serious, cold/flu symptoms but it really sucks. Not only do I feel physically sick, but my whole world seems out of whack. Pray that I can get back on better footing physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. I guess the sickness just makes everything feel kind off kilter.
I'm fortunate enough to be able to access our company system remotely from home on my laptop so I can stay home tomorrow and still get some work done. I'm never really "off" from work; even when I'm home at night and on the weekends. I keep my phone with me pretty much at all times and I have to answer it if it rings. If I have a crew out somewhere doing a show and they have a problem I get a call and I have to try to do whatever I can to fix the problem.
Just a few minutes ago I got a call from my friend Keith who is our Senior Project Manager. The Clinton campaign was calling him trying to put a few shows together for tomorrow in SC. I had first contact with Hillary's people late last year and then handed them off to Keith since he handles President Bush and all of our political clients. So he and I were talking about personnel and trucking, trying to figure out how to make these events work.
I always have access to our Production schedule so I can see who is going where and when ( I could never memorize it each week, it's just too much). A lot of times I have to move people, gear and trucks around to accommodate the ever changing demands of our clients and also to facilitate taking on new business that comes up from week to week.
Anybody else have an "always on" kind of job?
The only time I get away from it is when I take real vacation time. Lately that has been multi day Appalachian Trail hiking trips. I'll see if I can dig up some photos from a previous AT hike.
Well, I meant to post about being sick and ended up talking about work and hiking; oh well.
Take care everybody!
I'm fortunate enough to be able to access our company system remotely from home on my laptop so I can stay home tomorrow and still get some work done. I'm never really "off" from work; even when I'm home at night and on the weekends. I keep my phone with me pretty much at all times and I have to answer it if it rings. If I have a crew out somewhere doing a show and they have a problem I get a call and I have to try to do whatever I can to fix the problem.
Just a few minutes ago I got a call from my friend Keith who is our Senior Project Manager. The Clinton campaign was calling him trying to put a few shows together for tomorrow in SC. I had first contact with Hillary's people late last year and then handed them off to Keith since he handles President Bush and all of our political clients. So he and I were talking about personnel and trucking, trying to figure out how to make these events work.
I always have access to our Production schedule so I can see who is going where and when ( I could never memorize it each week, it's just too much). A lot of times I have to move people, gear and trucks around to accommodate the ever changing demands of our clients and also to facilitate taking on new business that comes up from week to week.
Anybody else have an "always on" kind of job?
The only time I get away from it is when I take real vacation time. Lately that has been multi day Appalachian Trail hiking trips. I'll see if I can dig up some photos from a previous AT hike.
Well, I meant to post about being sick and ended up talking about work and hiking; oh well.
Take care everybody!
Monday, January 21, 2008
My Random Thoughts For Free...
I really wanted to post tonight but I couldn't think of one particular thing that I had anything really profound to say anything about. So tonight I serve up a heaping healthy portion of whatever is on my mind at the moment; and all of this won't cost you a dime!
Don't say I never did anything for you....
NUMBER 1 My New Blog
I am very grateful for the warm welcome that many of you here in the blog community have given me. I feel like this new blog has been a success so far and I really do appreciate you all reading my posts and commenting (remember, NO LURKERS!) It has been a lot of fun so far and I hope to keep the whole thing going for quite awhile.
NUMBER 2 Guitar Hero
Anybody else out there playing this fine game? I LOVE GUITAR HERO!!!!! I bought it for my PC because I can't find anyone anywhere who has a Nintendo Wii console in stock. This game is really a blast, I highly recommend it. I probably enjoy it so much because it gives me the chance to rock out like I can really play guitar! Don't let the expensive guitar references fool you; I don't play nearly well enough to warrant owning a $2500 guitar. If you haven't tried Guitar Hero yet then I think you really should; six string fun for the whole family! That is if you're idea of "family" time includes riffing on a small plastic guitar to tunes from bands like Poison, Black Sabbath, Fog Hat, Heart, Pearl Jam, Slayer and others. Oh yeah, you also get to watch your "character" rock out on stage wearing a bikini top and a g-string visible from the top of her low rise leather pants, and then there are the pentagrams, depiction of Hell and the final guitar battle fought between yourself and the Devil. Wow, did I type out loud that I really love this game? Just don't tell anybody that knows me from Church or Camp...
NUMBER 3 Tonight's CNN Democratic Debate
Becky and I watched pretty much the whole thing since it was streaming for free on my laptop from CNN.com. I also watched it because my company helped produce the extravaganza. You probably didn't notice it, but all the lights and the truss hanging from the ceiling were provided by Production Design Associates (affectionately known as PDA). If you thought that the candidates were particularly well lit, (not that you thought they were drunk or high or something like that) then you can thank my company. I am the Logistics Manager and I make the production schedule and handle trucking and gear movements, answer my cell phone a lot and help other people solve problems I didn't create.
But I digress...
It was an interesting debate between Hillary, Barak and some lame sounding, phony looking, $400 hair cut getting dude that was sort of off to the side...
Oh wait, that was John Edwards!
Is he running for President or was he the winner of Burger King's latest promotional contest entitled, "Get To Be The Person Who Sits On Stage With The People Who Are Really Running For President Contest"? He really seemed out of place, sort of the token candidate because the stage would look lopsided on TV with only two people up there this early in the game.
The two candidates and John Edwards spent a fair amount of time heralding how they would be able to beat John McCain in the general election. I found it interesting that they felt so strongly about McCain winning the Republican nomination.
The two candidates spent a lot of time bickering with each other and then John Edwards reminded everybody that he was there and that part of the award for winning the Burger King promotion was that he would get to say something, then the two candidates obliged him for a moment or two.
Becky thinks that it would be good for Hillary to get the nomination because she would be easier to defeat in a general election than Obama who seems to have support from lots of different camps where as Hillary is despised not only by Republicans and Conservatives but also by some Democrats and Liberals. I say this because I have personally spoken with several Democrat/Liberal folks who have very strong anti-Hillary feelings.
Who knows, we'll see....
Ok, that about wraps it up for tonight. Sorry for such a random, somewhat lame post.
Until next time...
Don't say I never did anything for you....
NUMBER 1 My New Blog
I am very grateful for the warm welcome that many of you here in the blog community have given me. I feel like this new blog has been a success so far and I really do appreciate you all reading my posts and commenting (remember, NO LURKERS!) It has been a lot of fun so far and I hope to keep the whole thing going for quite awhile.
NUMBER 2 Guitar Hero
Anybody else out there playing this fine game? I LOVE GUITAR HERO!!!!! I bought it for my PC because I can't find anyone anywhere who has a Nintendo Wii console in stock. This game is really a blast, I highly recommend it. I probably enjoy it so much because it gives me the chance to rock out like I can really play guitar! Don't let the expensive guitar references fool you; I don't play nearly well enough to warrant owning a $2500 guitar. If you haven't tried Guitar Hero yet then I think you really should; six string fun for the whole family! That is if you're idea of "family" time includes riffing on a small plastic guitar to tunes from bands like Poison, Black Sabbath, Fog Hat, Heart, Pearl Jam, Slayer and others. Oh yeah, you also get to watch your "character" rock out on stage wearing a bikini top and a g-string visible from the top of her low rise leather pants, and then there are the pentagrams, depiction of Hell and the final guitar battle fought between yourself and the Devil. Wow, did I type out loud that I really love this game? Just don't tell anybody that knows me from Church or Camp...
NUMBER 3 Tonight's CNN Democratic Debate
Becky and I watched pretty much the whole thing since it was streaming for free on my laptop from CNN.com. I also watched it because my company helped produce the extravaganza. You probably didn't notice it, but all the lights and the truss hanging from the ceiling were provided by Production Design Associates (affectionately known as PDA). If you thought that the candidates were particularly well lit, (not that you thought they were drunk or high or something like that) then you can thank my company. I am the Logistics Manager and I make the production schedule and handle trucking and gear movements, answer my cell phone a lot and help other people solve problems I didn't create.
But I digress...
It was an interesting debate between Hillary, Barak and some lame sounding, phony looking, $400 hair cut getting dude that was sort of off to the side...
Oh wait, that was John Edwards!
Is he running for President or was he the winner of Burger King's latest promotional contest entitled, "Get To Be The Person Who Sits On Stage With The People Who Are Really Running For President Contest"? He really seemed out of place, sort of the token candidate because the stage would look lopsided on TV with only two people up there this early in the game.
The two candidates and John Edwards spent a fair amount of time heralding how they would be able to beat John McCain in the general election. I found it interesting that they felt so strongly about McCain winning the Republican nomination.
The two candidates spent a lot of time bickering with each other and then John Edwards reminded everybody that he was there and that part of the award for winning the Burger King promotion was that he would get to say something, then the two candidates obliged him for a moment or two.
Becky thinks that it would be good for Hillary to get the nomination because she would be easier to defeat in a general election than Obama who seems to have support from lots of different camps where as Hillary is despised not only by Republicans and Conservatives but also by some Democrats and Liberals. I say this because I have personally spoken with several Democrat/Liberal folks who have very strong anti-Hillary feelings.
Who knows, we'll see....
Ok, that about wraps it up for tonight. Sorry for such a random, somewhat lame post.
Until next time...
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Lurkers Beware!
I was told the other day that I am a "lurker". Becky said that's when someone reads a lot of other people's blogs but never comments on them. I had to admit that I was in deed doing that but I thought that was just called being lazy or maybe nosy, but certainly not "lurking". That makes it sound like I am hiding in the shadows of the internet waiting to garrot someone with a CAT 5 cable.
The first blog that I officially "lurked" at was Michael Polutta's Soundtrack blog. I don't remember how I found it in the first place but I was quickly hooked. I still owe my boss a paycheck for all the time that I spent at work reading Soundtrack. Maybe that's why blogs are blocked at our company now....hmmmm......did I write that out loud?
It was great reading and I told my wife Becky about it. So what did she do? She quickly went and read all of the posts herself. Not only that but she COMMENTED!!!!! Which was something I had not done up to that point because I am a "lurker".
So.....
She got all the recognition from Michael for reading his entire blog from the very beginning, while in reality it was me who accomplished that feat first.
So what's the moral of the story?
Never leave home in the morning without eating breakfast and look both ways before picking your nose in public (you want to make sure that no one misses it)...
Oh yeah, and also...DON'T BE A LURKER!!!!
Some of you will notice that I commented on your blogs tonight, no more lurking for me! Hey who's that over in the corner with the CAT 5 cable?
The first blog that I officially "lurked" at was Michael Polutta's Soundtrack blog. I don't remember how I found it in the first place but I was quickly hooked. I still owe my boss a paycheck for all the time that I spent at work reading Soundtrack. Maybe that's why blogs are blocked at our company now....hmmmm......did I write that out loud?
It was great reading and I told my wife Becky about it. So what did she do? She quickly went and read all of the posts herself. Not only that but she COMMENTED!!!!! Which was something I had not done up to that point because I am a "lurker".
So.....
She got all the recognition from Michael for reading his entire blog from the very beginning, while in reality it was me who accomplished that feat first.
So what's the moral of the story?
Never leave home in the morning without eating breakfast and look both ways before picking your nose in public (you want to make sure that no one misses it)...
Oh yeah, and also...DON'T BE A LURKER!!!!
Some of you will notice that I commented on your blogs tonight, no more lurking for me! Hey who's that over in the corner with the CAT 5 cable?
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Where's The Wii?
Anybody know where to buy a Nintendo Wii console in Charelston, SC? I called everywhere I could think of this afternoon and nobody had them in stock. Becky and I really want to play Wii Sports and Guitar Hero! This is becoming a moral imperative! (Well, not really...but you know what I mean...). Seriously, if you know where I can get one leave me a comment and let me know. Thanks!
In The Big Inning
Ok, ok, I have my own blog now; are you happy? Seems like everybody and their dog has a blog these days. I kept telling myself that I really didn't want my own blog, that I didn't have time for a blog (busy, busy, busy) and that it wasn't that cool anyway...
I got this guitar in July of 2007. It was expensive (read: $1500) and Rickenbacker just raised the price on all their models (if you want one now it will cost you $2500). I have my benevolent and caring (dare I say benevolently caring?) wife to thank for this righteous acquisition. It was my birthday and since she doesn't work (outside the home) I thought it was a bit odd that she would go and spend my money ( I know, I know, in marriage it is always "our money" but just roll with me on this thought) to buy me a birthday present. So she agreed to let me buy the Rick. I found it at Annie's Guitars and Drums in Savannah, Georgia. I was going to order one from a local dealer until I read the Rick forum on the Rick website (http://www.rickenbacker.com/; this is a great site by the way if you want to learn more about these guitars) and learned that some people who had put in orders had been waiting for one or two YEARS and still hadn't gotten their guitars yet. There is currently a huge demand for these instruments and since they are all handmade in Santa Clara, California (no overseas manufacturing) they ain't exactly cranking 'em out by the truckload. So I decided to go grab the one in Savannah before Becky changed her mind about the whole thing. It turned into a wonderful day trip. We bought the Rick then walked around downtown Savannah, visiting the Cathedral of St.John the Baptist, Lafayette Park (did I spell that correctly?) and the Riverfront.
Denial...not just a river in Egypt... (now there's a country/western song just waiting to be written...)
So here I am writing my first post. I would like to thank my beautiful and creative (dare I say beautifully creative?) wife Becky for helping me set this up and taking the pictures and cropping the pictures and using Photo Shop to improve my skin color, cover up my zits and place a different head on my body.
That's right! That's not my head in the Profile photograph!
Well; it is my head but it is not the head that I was using when she took the photo of the rest of my body. Becky took several photos of me and then combined the best body shot with the best head shot; pretty cool huh? Bet you never would have known if I hadn't told ya...
And by the way I don't have multiple heads that I take off and switch around depending on my mood or the weather or what I happen to be doing at the time; I just meant that the head/body combination that you see in my photo never actually existed together at the same time.
Well actually they did; it was just the look on my face coupled with that particular body that was... oh never mind...
In case you are wondering; my blog is named in part for my most prized earthly possession; my Rickenbacker model 360 - 6 string electric guitar! I have been playing guitar since I was 12 and the Rick 360/6 in Jetglo (read: black) has always been my dream guitar. It is the guitar played by Peter Buck of REM on almost every single REM record ever made. It is an essential piece of the early REM sound (Chronic Town album thru Document). I have carefully modified mine by adding an additional pick-up (vintage style; what Rickenbacker calls a "Toaster Top") in the middle of the guitar between the two original "pups" (that's guitar lingo for pick-up). This gives me access to even more wonderful combinations of sweet, sweet Rickenbacker tone.
I got this guitar in July of 2007. It was expensive (read: $1500) and Rickenbacker just raised the price on all their models (if you want one now it will cost you $2500). I have my benevolent and caring (dare I say benevolently caring?) wife to thank for this righteous acquisition. It was my birthday and since she doesn't work (outside the home) I thought it was a bit odd that she would go and spend my money ( I know, I know, in marriage it is always "our money" but just roll with me on this thought) to buy me a birthday present. So she agreed to let me buy the Rick. I found it at Annie's Guitars and Drums in Savannah, Georgia. I was going to order one from a local dealer until I read the Rick forum on the Rick website (http://www.rickenbacker.com/; this is a great site by the way if you want to learn more about these guitars) and learned that some people who had put in orders had been waiting for one or two YEARS and still hadn't gotten their guitars yet. There is currently a huge demand for these instruments and since they are all handmade in Santa Clara, California (no overseas manufacturing) they ain't exactly cranking 'em out by the truckload. So I decided to go grab the one in Savannah before Becky changed her mind about the whole thing. It turned into a wonderful day trip. We bought the Rick then walked around downtown Savannah, visiting the Cathedral of St.John the Baptist, Lafayette Park (did I spell that correctly?) and the Riverfront.So now I play my Rick every chance I get! And even if I don't really have time to play I will open the case and just stare at it for a few moments (really I do, just ask Becky). It has been immensely satisfying to own such a wonderful guitar. When you spend that much money you figure it better be worth it. Well if you are a guitar player and have been thinking about buying your very own Rick....
I highly recommend it.
Well there you go; my first post. Hopefully it won't be my last. I will do my best to post as often as I can (as long as I am not busy staring at my Rickenbacker). Thanks for stopping by; feel free to visit and leave comments anytime you are in the cyberhood.
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