Archive for the 'Music' Category

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inaction and indecision

Published on April 15, 2006 in Family & Friends, Music, Photo, Web and Work. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , .

The Spotmatic that my cousin gave me has a sticky shutter… I did get the battery for the light meter and that part does work, but the sticky shutter would probably cost about as much to fix as replacing the camera with another one like it. So it might not be worth it, I haven’t decided yet.

I’ve got a three part plan of attack for my career. Step one is to approach someone about Andy’s old position, even if they’re only willing to offer some sort of assistant director position. If that fails, step two is to contact Charlie from the ropes course training/inspection/construction company about working for him or any other ropes courses that have steadier work than my Y is offering me. If that doesn’t work out, step three is a school in Arizona which offers a degree program in Outdoor/Adventure education. I haven’t been able to bring myself to accomplish step one, yet. The brand new Executive Director was a legitimate reason to delay, but I don’t think I can justify it any more.

With all the time off I’ve had lately, I’ve been itching to get out and go somewhere. Instead of taking the road trip I desired, though, I convinced myself that it was financially irresponsible. It was a total cop-out, but I’m kinda glad I did it, because I did get to catch up with a few kinda local friends that I had been ignoring a lot for the last few months. I’m still longing for the long roadtrip, but haven’t determined if I’ll have the time off that I need to do it yet. It’s hard when I barely get my schedule a month in advance and with Ropes in the state it’s in.

The new band only had that one practice, and various things, however little they’ve been explained, have prevented us from getting together again. I do really want to try playing again, but I don’t know if prying into the reasons it hasn’t been happening is something I really want to do. There’s a break-up and some other touchy stuff involved, i think. There may be another offer on the horizon, though, we’ll see, I guess.

I’ve had some new webspace all lined up for almost a month now, but haven’t decided what to move first or how to do it. Whether I should attempt the CPanel back-up idea, tweaking all the settings once the sites are in place, so that they work again… or if I should just do fresh installs and import the databases.

I don’t seem to have the motivation to get beyond the planning/contemplation stages of any of these things.

recovery and possible improvement in web, work and music stuff

Published on March 23, 2006 in Music, Web and Work. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

One of the other Teen Directors from the Y came into the Teen Center while I was working and suggested that I go for Andy’s old position. Being the Adventure Director would put me in charge of Ropes, Ski Club, Earth Service Corps and probably LITs (next summer, since she’s been given that responsibility for this summer). I might be able to handle that. The consant hours and possibility of Benefits are really enticing. She’s gonna put some feelers out for me, and have the guy who’s covering most of Andy’s ropes stuff call me. I also found out that the sports director doesn’t have a college degree, so that makes me a little more hopeful about getting a position like that.

iPod died; Called the AppleCare number and went through some attempts to recover it by pushing certain button combinations… none of them worked. So I went to the Apple store in Braintree and they hooked it up to their machine and officially declared it dead. Then they gave me a new one. I’m cleaning up my iTunes library a bit, in preparation for loading the new iPod from scratch. While I’d like to blame the failure on the iGrip sticky pad in my car failing to hold the iPod and it flying off the dash to its doom… that simply isn’t the case. The sticky pad actually works really well.

I decided, today, that I probably will move over to the new web host, at least with most of the sites. I might as well leave something here… since it’s paid for as a “Lifetime” account. The price seems more than reasonable and I think I can pull it off with very little downtime, if I use some of my alternate domains to set up temporary mirror sites. Hopefully, you won’t even notice the difference… unless the upgrades add some new features, or force me to lose old ones.

On Monday, we had our first practice for the new band and I had a good time. The people are really nice, it should be a lot of fun. The writing part is always kind of tedious for me, especially in a really loud, full band, situation. Hopefully we can get together in a slightly more quiet setting soon, so I can actually start writing parts and remembering them.

beware the ides of March

Published on March 15, 2006 in Music and Random Thoughts. Closed Tags: , .

I’m gonna try playing music again. I dunno how it’s gonna go, but practices are on Monday nights. I think it’s sort of a side project for everyone, so there isn’t going to be any huge pressure or anything. I went to Mom’s and got my bass and amp and pedals. I really don’t know much else about it yet, but I’ll post all the details here when I know them. I hope my amp doesn’t give me problems. I hope my brain doesn’t give me problems, either.

In other news, I’m sick of this up and down weather. Someone tell me where the weather is like the fall or spring of New England, all year long, and I will gladly sell them my soul for a house there. I like New England, and I love my apartment, especially since I finally moved into my own room and stuff. We’re even treating ourselves to a new toy at the apartment… a countertop dishwasher. Oh yeah, four-place-setting capacity, and hook-ups to the sink. I don’t remember the last time we did the dishes, or the last time I dirtied a dish there, but I’m very excited. Counter space is limited, but who needs a drying rack when you have a dishwasher, right? But I would give up the dishwasher and the green room and the feeling of absolute home-ness that I have there, for a shack with a pillow and a toilet in a place with nice weather all year. I used to crave that sort of weather for the chance to work my ropes course stuff all year, now I’m just looking for more comfort.

good tunes and a sweet ride, together at last

Published on March 3, 2006 in Music. Closed Tags: , , .

It took a couple days, but I now have my Sirius and my iPod in my new car… through the stereo. I’m still sort of undecided on what kind of mount to use for the iPod, but I’ve got two pretty good options. One costs me a cupholder and the other just looks a little weird. It only feels a little ghetto to be using a tape adapter after the cool little auxiliary input I had going on in the wagon. The Sirius interface isn’t too bad. Luckily I’m into it for the quality of music and not the ability to browse the channels or time-shift or see the artist and track at the same time, the way the plug & play units let me, in the past. I’ve got my favorite channels, and they’re already mapped to my presets. It wouldn’t be a great introduction to Sirius, but it’s great for me.

Still feeling the super tired-ness that started this weekend. Still worried about work. Still slowly going broke. Still fumbling around and feeling inadequate in various ways. But at least my ride is rockin’ now.

Everything works now!

Published on February 16, 2006 in moBlog and Music. Closed Tags: , , .

0216061705.jpg
mission accomplished. made small holes in front of ashtray with a hot nail. bought a second lighter extension to reach the sirius power that happened to have the right size screws to attach the power strip. Radio Shack audio switch attached to bottom of power strip with Velcro. bam.

need a project, I think

Published on February 11, 2006 in Music and Random Thoughts. Closed Tags: , .

I decided that I’m still not happy with the music situation in my car and need to do something about it. The main issue is that I wan’t to be able to easily switch between iPod and Sirius. I can achieve this, but I’m not entirely happy with the set-up. Both the Sirius and the iPod are going through the Aux-in of my car stereo, and I have an external switchbox from Radio Shack that can easily toggle between them. Problem #1, no matter how I set it up, is that the switchbox is sitting on the passenger side floor and needs to be mounted somewhere near the radio. Problem #2 is the only way I can switch between them now is by having the iPod loose on the seat next to me (which makes me constantly worried about it flying to the floor on a short stop) or in the armrest/console thing (which makes changing songs tedious). Both of those situations are no good at all when there are passengers in the car. I do own a cool little dock for the iPod which charges it and holds it up on a flexible arm… unfortunately, this requires a nice stable cigarette lighter outlet. My main outlet is in a broken ashtray, which would fall to the floor if I put too much pressure on it, and the “power strip” is in the glove compartment, which would be a little far to reach, just to change the song on the iPod, and it is just loose in there, not mounted. I would mount it closer to the middle of the car, but the power cable for the Sirius is tucked into the trim of the car and just reaches the strip where it is now. I was thinking that I might be able to mount the “power strip” on the front of the ashtray, since it doesn’t fall to the ground if it’s mostly closed. if I could find some way to extend the power cable of the Sirius, this seems like the best idea… I would need to find a way to extend the power if I went with my original Mod idea and replaced the ashtray with a shelf someday. That seems like the only way I’ll get the audio switch off the ground anyway… and obviously, securing the “power strip” and the switch to a metal shelf welded onto the existing ashtray frame would be way more secure than trying to mount the thing on the plastic ashtray with the broken rails.

And then I think to myself, “I need to replace the driver’s seat if I’m going to keep driving this car, maybe I should be shopping for a new car a little more seriously.” Which leads me to wonder whether any of this work would be worth it at all. And then I start thinking about the work I’d have to put into cleaning the car up to make it sellable and it seems like even more work. And while the car runs pretty well, I don’t think it owes me much of anything, so I’d probably sell it for the cost of the radio I put in it… which I actually put into the first wagon I owned, so it doesn’t owe me much either. Maybe I should donate it back to the place I bought it… not that my itemized deductions would ever add up to more than the “standard” deductions when I do my taxes.

getting better… or maybe worse, I dunno

Published on January 27, 2006 in Family & Friends, Music and Random Thoughts. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

I’m feeling better. The onset of new symptoms, yesterday, made me feel like I could beat this thing and that it wasn’t some mystery headache. There was dizziness, congestion and a cough… now there’s a runny nose and a hint of a sore throat. I can’t tell if the sore throat is still developing or if it’s just a little something that’ll go away.

I drove around providence for a half an hour tonight, lost as usual. There was a time, when I was in a band that played down there quite frequently, that I could get almost anywhere in that city… but the mall fucked all that up. Anyway, I was able to find my way to where I was going without getting all pissy or pulling over and giving up… which I certainly would’ve done if I had attempted it any of the past three or four days.

Saw a really fun band called OK Go with Drew and Jacqui. We’ve been fans of this group ever since we saw them open for They Might Be Giants a few years ago… Since then they’ve put out two albums and been through the area a few times, but I kept missing them. Drew called me while I was at work and convinced me that I should go. I was worried that it would adversely affect my health, but I went for it anyway. So far I feel fine… just really, really tired. The band was tight, but just a little disappointing… I thought that it was a lack of bright-eyed. bushy-tailed shtick that they put on when we saw them last. They got into it a little as the night went on, though… pulled out some funny banter and their encore was a live performance of the dance that I think you can still see at OKGo.net. Definitely worth the price of admission… I hope Damian’s voice holds up for the rest of the tour, he sounded like he was getting a little hoarse.

Putting in the earplugs was weird… hadn’t done that in a long time. Not playing two or three times a week, I think I’ve actually forgotten the last time i wore them. Going to a concert was definitely something I had been itching to do… I used to spend so much time around live music. While I was standing there, watching the bopping crew in front of us, I had this funny thought about how I felt more comfortable at concerts because no one could tell that I had restless leg syndrome. Not that I’m ever actually uncomfortable about RLS … I didn’t even know it was a condition until I saw the ad on TV for relief from it. They’ll make anything a condition if they think they can make money selling you meds for it. I remember when UMASS gave me the free ADHD testing, they included my fidgeting legs as one of the 16 symptoms (16 were necessary for a diagnosis)… so which condition is it a result of? Oh god! What meds should I take?

I like being broken. Thank you very much.

Something else I’ve been avoiding

Published on December 30, 2005 in Family & Friends, Music, Random Thoughts and Work. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

The year is ending. This has been sort of a disaster of a year for me and I’ve been reluctant to try to sum it all up. I guess now is as good a time as any though, so I can’t be accused of waiting until the absolute last minute.

From the girls moving out… to the guys moving in… to the guys moving out… it has been a revolving door down in Woonsocket. It’s never really been a stable place, but this is a lot of people in and out, around me, in one year. It’s been quite difficult, especially financially. But Sara has proven to be a great roommate, and hopefully the revolving door has stopped spinning for a while.

Early in the year, I felt some general dissatisfaction with my job, at least parts of it, and left the after-school day care, probably for good. Again, probably not a good financial move, as the position had pretty steady hours. It also put me in a weird position with some of the people I enjoyed working for (i just wasn’t enjoying the work). But the teen center is a good position, too, and I definitely enjoy it as much or more than the asdc. And I still have the team building/ropes and Andy to look forward to in the good weather.

These changes and general dissatisfaction with things in the winter led to a change in my overall lifestyle… by the spring, I was totally immersed in hanging out with friends as much as possible and “living.” Seriously, I cut my hair… this was drastic. I even rekindled an old love… but that didn’t really end up going so well. And what I thought was the logical course of action, going back to my old kind of lifestyle, didn’t go so well, either. So I found myself stuck in this foreign mindset and unable to focus very well. It was pretty depressing. I’ve started to be OK with where my head is at now, though, and have, at least, stopped agonizing and trying to figure it all out all day.

A bunch of stuff happened musically. I started getting into new music and rediscovering old music with the help of my Sirius radio. It’s been fun to really dig into artists’ catalogs and soak it all in. I did a lot of playing this year, too. Snakes was pretty active and when the guys moved in, I was involved in the beginnings of a new musical project with them, called Das Happening. Playing was fun and was really fun when I injected that does of “live a little” into my life. One of the reasons I wanted to do that was to try to recapture how fun it used to be when I played in Just For Sundae, back in the day. Unfortunately, with that breakdown and the lack of focus afterwards, playing was really difficult and not fun, because I couldn’t devote enough focus to it to do it as well as I wanted to… so I stopped playing. I dunno if, or when, I’ll be able to enjoy playing again.

The bands were not the only thing that was difficult to deal with because of my weird state of mind… I was definitely not in the best mental state when my Dad’s condition sent him into a coma and eventually took his life. Fortunately, there was a lot of family around, but I don’t feel like I was very helpful to any of them, the way that they were for me.

Those are the major events. Throw in the usual car troubles, computer breakdowns & hard drive failures, web host problems & web site moves/rebuilds, financial woes, blog-hopping, making a couple new friends & reconnecting with some old ones and you have my 2005. I’ve never really thought of the new year as a time to start over, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a year with so much stuff I’d rather just put behind me and forget about, either. Bring on 2006.

good news and really, really bad news

Published on December 3, 2005 in Computers, Music, Photo and Random Thoughts. Closed Tags: , , , .

the good stuff:
XACT sent a replacement radio for the broken one I sent them. I dunno what I’m gonna do with it. Maybe I could sell it? Maybe I could give it to someone as a christmas present? I don’t know if I want to add it to my Sirius subscription… I dunno where I’d use it myself and I don’t know of anyone who wants a Sirius subscription and would split the $20/month with me ($13 for initial radio + $7 for additional). I love it, and I deal with the fact that I’m paying for it because it really is quality entertainment. I’ve discovered a bunch of new music and rediscovered some great old favorites because of it. Sure, I have to deal with some crap along with the good stuff, but it’s a little easier than loading up an iPod or burning CD or burning a mini CD full of MP3s for that little philips MP3 player I have. Changing channels is easy and there’s always something good on one of the channels.

I got that printer for a frickin’ steal. I found a power supply for it on eBay and it’s on its way via priority mail. Now I can give that older photo printer to my mom or the teen center… and the scanner, too. It’s wireless, too, so I can set it up anywhere… like on the desk in the Living room. Which is really not being used effectively… maybe this’ll motivate me to find homes for the crappy old PC and monitor that’s taking up half of that desk.

The reinstall on my computer went well. I think I managed to do it without forgetting to back up anything… and it’s working fairly well, but I haven’t had a chance to really test all the multimedia stuff… haven’t really done any video, and I’ve had mixed results with playing music while surfing around and such. unfortunately I’ve run into a snag…

the really, really bad stuff:
The firewire drive I backed everything up on for the past few years fell off its perch and hit the ground this morning. It still powers up and is still recognized by the system as a drive, but I can’t access any of the data. I definitely heard a clicking noise when it tried, at least once. So I can add this drive to my collection of failed hard drives with years and years of important backups. I think I have one or maybe two of them in my closet. They need clean-room style recovery, which costs big money. Every time this happens, I lose a few years worth of all my photography, at least all the straight from the camera shots. I also lost all my MP3s and other music. And any program installation files that I didn’t just use to install on this machine are also gone. I need to make new backups of the websites. I probably need to replace that drive, too, if I start taking more photos and rebuilding my music collection. This is really depressing and I’m in a bad mood now.

Java Hut Worcester – be there tonight

Published on October 7, 2005 in Music. Closed Tags: , , .

tonight, I will play my last show with Das Happening and possibly my last show in a long while. It’ll probably be louder than hell, but there are some nice quiet spots out back to hang out if i recall correctly. It’ll be a beautiful, rainy night. The admission should be free and the food should be yummy. I’d love to see you all there.

woot