Thursday, June 30, 2016

And This Is It

I will make sure to change the previous posts with a hyperlink simply pasted into with an actual hyperlink. The takeaway is that I reached my goal. This is post 567 in 2016 - I posted 567 posts total in 2015.

How does it sound

No problem

Husband of presidential candidate under federal investigation met privately with US Attorney General, but no big deal http://michellemalkin.com/2016/06/29/husband-of-presidential-candidate-under-federal-investigation-met-privately-with-us-attorney-general-but-no-big-deal/

CRA CRA

http://constitution.com/american-college-bans-christians-speaking-faith/

10 Catches

Because I Mentioned the Series...

A very young Burgess Meredith enters the Twilight Zone...

The NYT Resides in The Twilight Zone

http://twitchy.com/sd-3133/2016/06/28/not-only-is-nyt-covering-for-hillary-but-theyre-still-peddling-this-benghazi-lie/

But Wha

http://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2016/06/23/curb-your-enthusiasm-before-reading-this-comics-sick-burn-of-the-gop/

Trust

http://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2016/06/30/snicker-david-axelrod-takes-a-clinton-at-their-word/

Original Tune

TWD and Skillet?

Proof

What?!?

Two Interests in One

Hopefully I Will Be At this Concert

STFU?!? Reaction

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/06/benghazi-ambassadors-sister-would

Seriously - 27 Month Delay

The US Justice Department is basically joining the Democrats when they say, "Move along, there's nothing to see regarding HRC's email server and if you don't trust our opinion? Fine. Wait 27 months before you can find out for yourself."

That feels like a giant middle finger directed at me. Let me draw my own conclusions.

Quote of the Day

How does someone playing in what they call a "blues band" not know "The Ocean" by Led Zeppelin? Or play in a blues rock band and make the statement "I'm not well-versed in Led Zeppelin"?

Most Influential Music Community

I'd never heard of Cymbal until I received a press release with this opening:
June 29, 2016 -- Cymbal, the internet's most influential music community
Glad that's cleared up although, frankly, I do want a list of those traits that were used to determine "Cymbal" deserves to be called that tagline. Sure, it's catchy, but what earned Cymbal that distinction?

Editor's Note: Spellcheck wanted to correct "internet's" to "Internet's"...

Sides of the Coin Equals Two

Listen to the Democrats and they'll point out the cost of the Benghazi hearings, but see if they bring up the fact that Michelle Obama’s One Night Stay in Morocco Cost Taxpayers $612,322.

Listen to the Republicans and they'll say things like what was said here:

Host Brian Kilmeade first played a montage of mainstream reporters parroting the same talking point that nothing new about then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton was uncovered in the Benghazi investigation.

“Congressman Jordan, is that true?” Kilmeade asked.

“No, Brian, we learned that no military assets had even taken off before the attack was over,” Jordan said. “What did start before the attack was over was the political spin, because at 10:08 that night, when Tyrone Woods is still on the roof of the annex fighting for his life and his fellow citizens’ lives, [Secretary Clinton]’s making a statement that points to the video as the catalyst for the attack, which we all know was false.”



Part of me really REALLY wants to believe that HRC did break the law in one of all these "scandals" and such that Republicans use as talking points. Another part of me thinks that the Republicans need to stop criticizing her. Simply, spend more time explaining how their proposed policies are different. Spending less time criticizing Democrats might actually make the vast majority of Americans who don't like Donald Trump come around to the Republican side of the ballot in November. I can only hope the Republicans really have a platform, really have a clear-cut, "If you vote for the Republican party, this is what you are supporting" message. If they do not or if that message is muddied by Trump's flamboyant style, the Republicans will be trounced.

Super Athletic

Torturous Policy

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/06/donald-trumps-response-istanbul-airport

Two? Negan Kills Two?!?

Perspectives

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Bailing

The Senate Is About To Anger Vulture Funds And Help Puerto Rico

Speculation

Sometime over the last year, I started watching the videos on Trev's youtube.com channel to get more insight about The Walking Dead. There are so many that I've watched that I'm positive I could get up to my "number of posts" goal simply by embedding the videos I watched. I think that'd be defeating the purpose for striving for the goal I set so I do not plan to do that. Anyways, this video illuminates that there will be 2 new characters in season 7.

No Sign of the Want

Why did White House fabricated a story about how the attack on the embassy was caused by the reaction to a video? That is the question no liberal answers.

Bad Apples make Bad Applesauce

http://townhall.com/columnists/michaelbrown/2016/06/29/renouncing-christian-homohatred-n2185126

If the Media Did Not . . .

... Lean Left, This Would Be The Lead Story Today

And this: Five key things to watch as Clinton email investigation grows

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Regurgitating LOG to the Forefront of My Mind

This was the first tune I ever heard by Lamb of God and I was HOOKED!!



I viewed this film in the movie theater. It was very good.



Problem

Superhero movies are facing one big new problem

Sad

4 grim statistics from 'Independence Day: Resurgence's' box office belly flop

Kind of the same Thing as What I Said This AM

F*ck it. Let's Just Put All the Superheroes Into One Movie http://flip.it/fh502

My suggested was for DC & Marvel to combine - this is talking about Marvel.

Praises for LOG

1 Week Ago and I missed It

Like I do

Seth Rollins Is Filling CM Punk's Void in WWE

Fair... Balanced.... NOT!

"House Republicans Spent Millions Of Dollars On Benghazi Committee To Exonerate Clinton" - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/benghazi-report-clinton_us_57727ed2e4b017b379f74880

Reaction

The Latest: Clinton says nothing new in Benghazi report: http://bigstory.ap.org/e77c4d58ff814c4a8c528f9f0d94f296&utm_source=android_app&utm_medium=blogger&utm_campaign=share Shared via AP Mobile. Download the app now: iOS - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ap-mobile/id284901416?mt=8 Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mnn.Android&referrer=utm_source=share_item&utm_medium=blogger

Resisting the Urge

In 2016, I have posted 527 times. In 2015, I posted 567 times and simple math (567 - 527 = 40) tells me If I want to post the same number of times in the first 1/2 of 2016 that I did in all of 2015, I have to post 40 more times over Tuesday, 6/28, Wednesday, 6/29, and Thursday, 6/30. It was tempting to succumb to the urge to create 9 separate posts - one for each of the links in the list below - just to take my number of posts down to 31, but I did not.

Thus, the following videos analyze all that is wrong with all of the Star Wars movies. I want to find the time to sit down and watch them all...
I
Part I
I
part II
II
part II
III
part I
III
part II
IV
Part I
V
Part I
VI
Part I
VII
Part 1

Pasted Verbatim - Awesome

To be clear, NO, I'm not looking for another job. Today is my 3 month anniversary - YAY ME!!! - and I'm 100% percent content to retire from this position. Seriously.

Besides, what the heck is in Beaverton, OR, that would compel me to leave Iowa?

Technical Writer -- Intermediate to Advanced (Hillsboro, OR)

compensation: competitive
employment type: part-time


Company Description

PTIGlobal is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon and provides translation, localization, and managed services for world-wide customers. With its mission to help clients turn globalization strategy into tangible revenues, PTIGlobal manages the conversion of software, web content, documentation, and mobile apps into targeted languages, offering end users a seamless experience and transparent functionality.



Job Description

We're looking for Intermediate to Advanced level Technical Writers. Ability to gather content through networking, interviewing or other means, and enjoys working close with peers and stakeholders to generate new topics, maps, and documents from 'scratch', and apply edits to source files to ensure content freshness and accuracy.You may be the single point of contact to ensure your project is planned and developed per schedule, and maintain that plan over program lifecycle. You may use scripting languages to create scripts to automate data processing. For any given project (documents, DITA topics etc) you may work with other contributors including authors, editors, or publishers to assist and drive delivery.
As an Intermediate or Advanced Technical Writer in our team, you will use authoring tools to edit for grammar, technical, usability, legal and production purposes. Use Adobe Acrobat Pro to initiate PDF Shared Reviews. You will need strong experience with Reposit processes, for both structured and unstructured document generation, and file management system(s) such as Sharepoint, Documentum and others. FrameMaker expertise is a must.


Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Team players with a strong results orientation spirit and mentality, who can effectively communicate and work with business requirements, evaluate 'as-is' business processes and define efficient 'to-be' processes as related to product technical information planning, development, review, reposit, reuse, deliver and publish. Assist in training others when necessary (formally and informally) on tools, processes and content best methods.

These positions require strong technical authoring, editing, and reviewing skills. To be considered for these positions you must have strong, to expert level understanding and experience with:

· Reposit processes -- Structured and Unstructured.

· Document generation and file management system(s) such as Sharepoint and Documentum.

· Component Content Management Systems (CCMS) such as SDL Trisoft or others.

· Creating folders, templates, topics, and maps per industry specification.

· Working with datasheet, developer manual, reference manual, errata.

· Learning and applying style guides, templates.

· Editing for format, grammar, legal, corporate branding.

· Using authoring tools such as MS Word, Adobe FrameMaker to generate information sets such as PDF Books and Volumes or converting from one tool to another.

· Using manual and automated methods to convert text/tables/graphics content from applications such as MS Word and Adobe FrameMaker.

· Converting content from Word to FM.

· Using illustration tools such as MS Visio and others to create and/or modify technical illustrations.

· Generating outputs such as XML, HTML, CHM or other, and use rendering engines such as Antenna House.


Qualifications

A degree in Technical Communications, Journalism, and or English is preferred - with emphasis on Electrical Engineering or Computer Science. The successful candidate will have 5 or more years of relevant Technical Writing and project lead role experience. Special consideration will be given to those with semiconductor product development and associated specifications experience:

· Must have

o Microsoft Office, with emphasis on Visio, Word, Excel, PowerPoint

o Adobe Acrobat Pro, Adobe FrameMaker preferably 10, 11,or 12

o PDF, XML, HTML, CHM

o Sharepoint, Documentum

o DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture)

o SDL Trisoft, Antenna House

· Preferred to have

o JustSystems XMetal

o FrameScript, Perl, Visual Basic

o Familiarity with semiconductor products or document types is a plus


Additional Information

Interested?

SEND A COVER LETTER AND RESUME.

• Location: Hillsboro OR
• This is a part-time position
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.


Please APPLY ONLINE at: http://tnij.com/qyyCy

Not Good

For months, the narrative about Benghazi has been a steady stream of statements, all indicating people needed to move along because there's nothing to the Benghazi hearings or testimony. Democrats & liberals have continued this message for months.

Not true, per this article!

Editor's Note: Democrats have released "their version" of the cited report linked to above - read an article about it here.
Another article with this lead paragraph:
A long-awaited report on the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi details an array of bureaucratic miscues and inter-agency blunders but does not specifically blame former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for events that led to the deaths of four Americans. .

DC & Marvel Co-Existing

I so wish that there would be a movie made where the DC & Marvel heroes in this picture came together to fight not each other but some "ENORMOUS" villain or, perhaps, from DC - Darkseid, Lex Luthor, The Joker - and from Marvel - Thanos, Doctor Octupus, and Red Skull - get thrown into the same room and realize that they are totally able to join together to wipe out their enemies forever. Maybe it would be a written contract from DC & Marvel that there would be no movies from either studio for, oh, 5 years after the release of this gargantuan movie. Something really awesome, something to be released when the Marvel Movie Universe Phase 20 is finished - and yes, they are in Phase 3 now so this would have to be probably when I am older and grayer than I am now. There are some loose ends that would need to be tied up as I realize that there are no women heroes representing the better 1/2 of all of these heroes. If it were up to me, I'd replace Deadpool with Scarlett Witch and The Hulk with Wonder Woman. There would still be a higher number of Marvel heroes (6) compared to DC (3) so I'm sure there would need to be some negotiations to be hammered through with a concerted effort to make this movie happen. The heroes depicted in the picture below from left to right are:
  1. Spider-Man
  2. Captain America
  3. Iron Man
  4. Batman
  5. Wolverine
  6. Deadpool
  7. The Hulk
  8. The Flash
  9. Superman


I Just Learned a NEW Word

The word "biennial" means "taking place every other year." That's according to Google.

I can't recall knowing that until reading about a murder-for-hire plot in North Liberty.

Didn't Go

Glad they raised a lot of money.

Awful

Could do without the shouting of "Hey! Hey! Hey!"

Show The Roots

I remember when "Roots" was released. I borrowed either the CD or the cassette - I don't remember which - from a co-worker - I don't remember the name of that co-worker - and I immersed myself into the rhythms and the throaty vocals which were new to me in 1996. I vaguely remember writing a music review for ICON for the album and praising its intensity. I don't have that album or Sepultura in my regular rotation of bands I listen to, but sometimes I don't have the capacity to accept more stimuli. The 20th anniversary of that album is 2016 and here's an article about it.

Stop It

I adore the Barney animated GIF in this post...

Monday, June 27, 2016

Mesmerizing

Nasty

14 Years Ago on June 27th, THIS Happened

Arisen

Brexit

I am not "up-to-date" with all that happens in some aspects of the world. For example, the Middle East and why those countries are fighting... I don't have the mental capacity to store that and the other things I need to remember, though mentioning something like how many albums Metallica has released seems like I should be less self-centered and more attentive to the daily agony I now only skim articles about online. Another area is this whole Brexit thing that happened. According to EE, it has "nothing to do with me."

Why do windows always display in documentation?

I dug up this essay from 11 years ago and lightly edited it.
The word "display" is a transitive verb that requires an object. Not having an object is technically ungrammatical. I do not shy away from breaking a rule.
The following format is used in the documentation I maintain:
"Click Add. The [Name of the Window] displays."
Grammatically, it should be "The [Name of the Window] displays on your screen."
However, I object. I have two issues with this wording. First of all, in the context of documentation that describes PC-based software, "on your screen" is implied. Where else is it going to display? I think it invites the user to say "Where else is it going to display you moron." Secondly, I personally object to the word "screen." This is a tidbit I gleaned from my first Technical Writing 'gig’. My mentor at the time told me that your "screen" is a piece of hardware. What you see on your screen is a window. Therefore, in that light, I'd have to say "The [Name of the Window] displays on your window" which is stupid. I admit I was very impressionable when I started Technical Writing and now consider myself very stubborn in the idiosyncrasies I've adopted.
I could take the easy way out and write "The XYZ window *appears*. That's as equally gross as using "on your screen." Using the word "appears" betrays the spirit of software, which is not magic. While I have no programming training, over 20 years in software documentation has taught me that "events" happen because the user inputs information or performs some action, which causes another action. In my macro coding, it is known as an "If-Then" macro. If the user press F9=Add, then the program will toggle to Add mode." It's very cause/effect. The word "appears" has a connotation of magic as in "I will make a rabbit appear in this hat." Software is the anti-magician vocation. There is no magic. Nothing happens automatically.
Other ways to say this include "The ABC system displays the XYZ window." That one is so gross, I won't touch it.
So yes, while "display" is a transitive verb and yes, it does require an object, I don't see it as being an evil. Rather, it's a necessary evil. When documenting PC-based software, I view "the [Name of the Window] displays" as acceptable.

Picking on Bill

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/06/got-irony-bill-oreilly-attacks-huffington

Tool Fan

If you are a Tool fan, you will understand the two references to them in this screen capture:

Yes! This!

I just perused an article that summarizes very nicely the way I am working on the DRM at work where I have a single set of data (content) and generate multiple outputs from it. Unlike the article, though, I am using RoboHelp and not "DITA" per se. Still the concept is identical, as outlined in this article. Work smarter, not harder!

Free Them from Their Promised Intent

http://theresurgent.com/we-must-stop-hillary-clinton-at-all-costs-that-means-we-must-stop-trump-freethedelegates/

60 in 3? No.... or YES! YES! YES!

This is my 508th post in 2016. In order to equal the number of posts I had in 2015 by July 1, 2016, I need to churn out 59 posts (after this one) before midnight on Thursday, June 30th. Is it possible? Is it something I should even try? A part of me thought about publishing selected songs I wrote in my 19 spiral notebooks. It would work out fairly decently as if I selected 3 from each volume, I would be up to 57 posts and needing two more. It seems like I'd be cheating the intent of reaching this mind-numbing goal, but... I'll think about it. If it comes down to Thursday @ 11 PM and I still need some posts to reach my goal, maybe I'll go that route.

The Real Way to Hear Meghan

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Wrong One

I was shocked by what I saw at Wal-Mart yesterday. It may be a little difficult to see, but in the top picture, Metallica's "And Justice for All" & "Master of Puppets" and, between them is their debut release "Kill 'Em All," all in the $5 bin next to Cinderella's Greatest Hits (not shown, but I saw it). In the bottom picture, Metallica's "ReLoad" and "Black" releases are in the $5 bin. I admit it was very tempting to purchase those CDs just so I could have a permanent copy of them in the Ford F-150, which has 1) a CD player and 2) is the vehicle I drive to work each day now that I work 5 minutes from my house.



Instead of buying any of those releases, I purchased Billy Joel's "The Stranger" which I have a dubbed cassette copy of in my boxes of 1000 cassettes.

Not my Party

George Will Jumps From Sinking Ship That Is The GOP

President HRC....

Cracks deepen inside troubled marriage of Trump and Republican party

Energy

This was the first video I came across by the Washington, DC-based band called "Party Like It's." I hate the way the camera spotlights certain area - it's very annoying. What I did like - and what made me curious about their other tunes - is their energy. A band that plays on ANY stage should have some sort of energy that the audience can react to, whether it's the pure musicianship of the members or the way the members interact with each other ... there needs to be something to hook me, as an audience member, to the band.



Energy seems to be this band's VERY strong point. I was mesmerized by how much fun is being portrayed in the video below. They have a handful of videos released on their channel. The main reason for including the one below is that between this one, which is older, and the one above, they have a different drummer. That shouldn't happen - the drummer should never be replaced in a band [WINK, WINK] because the drummer is the foundation upon which the band is built. You can't just give a house a new basement, right?



10 Riffs

I would love to play this medley of G-n-R tunes in my Ideal Band. Any of these tunes would be fun.

Jar of Fat

Probably the BEST

Pretty sure I have embedded previously - still AWESOMELY HILARIOUS!


Yes

I Want to Join the PTA

Fee for This

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Child

This Band Should be called Death... Now look at the label

Tremendous



Terrible Trend

From Iowa City Press Citizen One Iowan: Why I kept driving drunk http://dmreg.co/28XujFD WATERLOO, Ia. — Debi Nelson is 43 and lives in a two-bedroom apartment on the second floor of a building that has seen better days.She doesn’t own a vehicle, typically walking the seven-tenths of a mile to work and back. She also walks to the store when she needs groceries.If the weather is bad or she needs to go farther, she tries to get a ride with a relative or friend — or she just doesn't go.Over the past 15 years, much of the money Nelson has earned has gone toward paying off expenses tied to her three arrests for drunken driving. Her first conviction cost her nearly $27,000 — including the SUV she lost when she flipped it on its side on a snowy road.

First Steps

From Iowa City Press Citizen Jarrod Uthoff finds destination for NBA summer league http://dmreg.co/28ZAUQ2 Jarrod Uthoff's first step toward what he hopes is an NBA future will be as a member of the Sacramento Kings' summer league team, his agent said in a text message Saturday.Adam Pensack said Uthoff, the former Iowa forward who went undrafted Thursday, will suit up for Sacramento's entry in the 24-team tournament that begins July 8 in Las Vegas. Sacramento opens play at 9 p.m. CDT that night against Toronto in a game broadcast on NBA-TV. The 67-game event concludes July 18.Summer league teams consist of first- and second-year pros and free agents such as Uthoff, who hope to showcase their skills to NBA personnel and get invited to a training camp. Any NBA team can sign free agents once the league concludes.

Not in my Yard

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016/06/22/italians-not-lovin-it-mcdonald-location-proposed-for-piazza-del-duomo/

Enough

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/06/25/top-it-official-disabling-security-for-clinton-server-laid-out-welcome-mat-for-hackers.html

Encouragement

Scary Drummer

Slickerly Style

Friday, June 24, 2016

Rolling

Reversing

I am very curious if I could code a macro that would do each of the manual steps in this article. My initial thought is that you'd select the "original" list and then run the macro. In my spare time, I'll devote some time to this idea....

TS saved DG

The story Dave Grohl tells is documented in this article. This performance is not his best I've ever heard.

Nope

Damnit! Jarood Uthoff didn't get drafted in the first round of the NBA draft! That s u c k s!!!

NOT GUILTY of Ripping Off Stairway

According to this article, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page did not copy the introductory riff of "Stairway to Heaven."

I'm relieved.

More Justice

I happened to come across this. It made me realize I remember NOTHING about this concert from when I was 19 years, 6 months, 2 weeks, 2 days old. The only reason I remember that I was there that night is is because I saw a friend of mine, Steve Devereaux, who asked me if I could give his friend, Scott, a ride home. It had been a couple of years, hell, maybe a decade, since I had seen Steve. He was a year older than me and lived in the house across the street from me on Red Bud Road. He had gone to a different elementary school and then we ended up at the same high school. I recall seeing him in the hallways in high school, we were not buddies.

Looking back on the situation, I really had no reason to help him. There was no compelling reason to do so, but I did. Scott lived in Marion and having never met Scott before, I agreed to give him a ride home. I am 99% sure I went to the concert with Serbi, but he lived in Palo, which was on the opposite side of the world, compared to Marion. Maybe I drove him home first and then went to Marion (it would be less of a "go around your elbow to get to your ass" itinerary going that route). I really just do not remember. More about Scott in a moment.

I can say that I don't think I had a drop of booze that night, which makes me even more disgusted that I can't recall details of that concert. I mean, this is Metallica, M E T A L L I C A and this was my first time seeing them in concert! I vaguely remember the Cult opened for them and that I found out later that Matt Sorum, who went on to play with Guns-n-Roses & Velvet Revolver, was the Cult's drummer when I saw them that night.

The funny thing about Scott is that he eventually became the lead singer for Assume, the first band I was in. The crazy thing is that I never heard him sing. EVER. He worked at Menard's and would say at band practice that he needed to buy a microphone. Fast forward to 1998, when I worked at QDS, I met Gail, his dad. I mentioned to Gail that his son had been the lead singer in the first band I was ever in. The look on Gail's face was priceless - I chuckle when I see it in my mind. "He sang? I never knew that."

So, while I don't know what tunes Metallica played on that night, I have to believe I liked the concert. After all, "And Justice for All" has never wavered in being my all-time favorite Metallica album. It's so odd to me that this year - November 5, 2016 - will mark 10,000 days since I saw Metallica in concert for the first time. Since then, of course, I've seen them 3 additional times:
  • November 1991 at the Five Seasons Center (the same venue I saw them play in 1989) in Cedar Rapids
  • January 1993 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City
  • August 2003 at the Mark in Moline, IL

I did find out that they played these songs the next night in Bonner Springs, KS:

  1. Blackened
  2. For Whom the Bell Tolls
  3. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
  4. Harvester of Sorrow
  5. The Four Horsemen
  6. The Thing That Should Not Be
  7. Bass Solo
  8. Master of Puppets
  9. Fade to Black
  10. Seek & Destroy
  11. ...And Justice for All

Encore:

  1. Creeping Death
  2. One
  3. Guitar Solo
  4. Battery

Encore 2:

  1. Last Caress (Misfits cover)
  2. Am I Evil? (Diamond Head cover)
  3. Whiplash

Encore 3:

  1. Breadfan (Budgie cover)


Clean Up in Lord of War Bio

Who writes like this?

The world took notice of their pervasive efforts after the band had landed shows and small tours with larger national touring acts, on their own.

In context (my emphasis)

LORD OF WAR has been inflicting its unique brand of thematically driven death metal on the world since 2011. Coming from their hometown of San Diego, California, the band draws inspiration from all across the world's extreme metal spectrum. Always maintaining an uncompromising level of dedication to musicianship, LORD OF WAR constantly pushes their collective skill sets to the next level in order to deliver increasingly imaginative aggression to their fan base. The world took notice of their pervasive efforts after the band had landed shows and small tours with larger national touring acts, on their own. In the Fall of 2011, the band announced signing an album deal with Unique Leader Records, and in January 2012 released their debut album Celestial Pestilence.

This is what Lord of War sound like:


From the press release for Lord of War, I learned about this website.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

AWESOME! I'm IN

AP reporter takes terrifying trip on 1,000-foot glass slide - Tickets to reach the deck are $25. It costs $8 more to ride the slide.

I would so enjoy going down this slide - I just need to clear a schedule. There's too much going on with Alex and Europe to hop on a plane and go to LA. It also occurred to me that if I fear sky diving because I'm afraid of landing and screwing up one or both of my knees - I had a meniscus repair a few years ago - going down a 1,000 foot glass slide is a way to live on the edge.

As I Wander... Pay Me

Five months after retiring from wrestling, Bryan Danielson is doing fine | The Daily World (via http://ble.ac/teamstream-) http://teamstre.am/28QtHwS

Do It Slower

First, Rodney Holmes is an amazing drummer. Second, I watched this video first:



It wasn't until I watched the video below that I understood that the video above is from the Q & A session after he played the drum solo below.



Then I watched this very brief clip and my jaw is on the floor from watching her play it.

17%

I consider myself a fan of heavy music so when I came across this video of 100 metal riffs, I was initially enthusiastic. Then I started looking at the 100 bands listed and I began to feel uneasy. I wanted to validate or invalidate my uneasiness so I did a quick test. I went through the list and if I could hum the tune, I tallied it. Tunes with which I was familiar with (Anthrax's "A.I.R.") did not get a tally mark because, if I were walking down the street, and someone said, "Hum Anthrax's "A.I.R." and I will give you $1000 in cash," I would walk away without $1000.

I had 17 tally marks.

Sad, I know. I am probably going to create a playlist with these 100 tunes and embed it on this blog in the future.


Here's the video:



Here's the list of 100 bands in the video order (verbatim, including typos from the video's description):
  1. megadeth - holy wars
  2. cacophony - savage
  3. rammstein - asche zu asche
  4. burzum - war
  5. iron Maiden - 2 minutes to midnight
  6. metal church - badlands
  7. opeth - moonlapse vertigo
  8. eternal silence - dreambook
  9. virgin steele - through the ring of fire
  10. death angel - voracious souls
  11. avantasia - reach out for the light
  12. gli atroci - voglio vederti morire
  13. helloween - if I could fly
  14. pantera - cemetery gates
  15. ozzy osbourne - bark at the moon
  16. riot - thundersteel
  17. judas priest - painkiller
  18. moonspell - breathe
  19. anthrax - A.I.R.
  20. testament - the hew order
  21. pagan’s mind - through osiris eyes
  22. twisted sister - burn in hell
  23. rhapsody of fire - dawn of victory
  24. masterplan - crawling from hell
  25. suicidal tendencies - trip at the brain
  26. queensryche - eyes of a stranger
  27. sanctuary - future tense
  28. sepultura - lobotomy
  29. overkill - elimination
  30. sonata arctica - don’t say a word
  31. king diamond - give me your soul
  32. dio - stand up and shout
  33. fear factory - replica
  34. arch enemy - we will rise
  35. xentrix - for whose advantage
  36. accept - balls to the wall
  37. black Sabbath - black Sabbath
  38. saxon - metalhead
  39. voivod - into my hypercube
  40. watchtower - the fall of reason
  41. manowar - kings of metal
  42. angra - nothing to say
  43. death - spirit crusher
  44. axel rudi pell - mystica
  45. edguy - The piper never dies
  46. kamelot - march of mephisto
  47. gamma ray - strange world
  48. dokken - mr scary
  49. anvil - metal on metal
  50. stratovarius - destiny
  51. katatonia - brave
  52. blind guardian - imaginations from the other side
  53. impellitteri - stand in line
  54. racer x - Scarified
  55. steel panther - death to all but metal (chorus)
  56. hidden memories - over the edge
  57. nevermore - we disintegrate
  58. yngwie malmsteen - caught in the middle
  59. grave digger - Valhalla
  60. hammerfall - renegade
  61. slayer - war ensemble
  62. evile - thrasher
  63. sodom - napalm in the morning
  64. exodus - a good day to die
  65. savatage - edge of thorns
  66. nanowar of steel - giorgio mastrota
  67. symphony x - serpents kiss
  68. kreator - Phobia
  69. meshuggah - bleed
  70. tool - the pot
  71. metallica - the thing that should not be
  72. cradle of filth - nymphetamine fix
  73. annihilator - king of the kill
  74. pain of salvation - fandango
  75. mayhem - chimera
  76. gothminister - monsters
  77. nightwish - I wish I had an angel
  78. nocturnal rites - awakening
  79. rage - soundchaser
  80. lamb of god - hourglass
  81. firewind - breaking the silence
  82. finntroll - trollhammaren
  83. dying fetus - your treachery will die with you
  84. children of bodom - downfall
  85. destrage - my green neighbour
  86. funeral - the architecture of loss
  87. celtic frost - a dying god coming into human flesh
  88. strapping young lad - love?
  89. behemoth - ov fire and the void
  90. dream theater - as I am
  91. freak kitchen - snap
  92. zimmers hole - alright
  93. temperance - save me
  94. toxic holocaust - acid fuzz
  95. system of a down - byob
  96. devin townsend - hyperdrive
  97. november’s doom - harvest scythe
  98. mastodon - the motherload
  99. my dyng bride - the cry of manking
  100. dream evil - the book of heavy metal

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Guess Who's Coming to Clive?!?

Skillet with Thousand Foot Krutch & Devour the Day on Thursday, September 22, 2016, in Clive, IA!!



What a List

The Adrenaline band, based in Memphis, TN, has these songs in their set list. What a great balance in their list of 97 songs! Within the first 8 listed, there are three types of tunes:
  1. Unfamiliar to me - I couldn't hum "Can't See You" by Marshall Tucker
  2. Familiar to me as I actually played them in a band - "Sunshine of Your Love"
There's also a lot of tunes I'd like to play, such as "All Right Now". When (not if) the opportunity to join my Ideal Band occurs, I want to have this list available. This is the band's website.

Rock

60’s

  1. All Right Now - Free
  2. Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf
  3. Crossroads – Cream
  4. Sunshine of Your Love – Cream
  5. The Wind Cries Marry – Jimi Hendrix

70’s

  1. Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love – Van Halen
  2. Another Brick In The Wall – Pink Floyd
  3. Can’t You See – Marshall Tucker
  4. Cat Scratch Fever – Ted Nugent
  5. Cheap Sunglasses – ZZ Top
  6. Gimme Three Steps – Lynyrd Skynyrd
  7. Girls Got Rhythm - AC/DC
  8. Highway to Hell - AC/DC
  9. Honky Tonk Woman – Rolling Stones
  10. I Love Rock N’ Roll – Joan Jet
  11. La Grange – ZZ Top
  12. Long Train Runnin’ – Doobie Brothers
  13. Old Time Rock N’ Roll – Bob Segar
  14. Ramble On - Led Zeppelin
  15. Rock N’ Roll All Night - KISS
  16. Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith
  17. Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
  18. Takin’ Care of Business – BTO
  19. Take the Money and Run – Steve Miller
  20. The Joker – Steve Miller
  21. You Really Got Me – Van Halen

80’s

  1. American Girl – Tom Petty
  2. Breakdown – Tom Petty
  3. Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne
  4. Hurts So Good – John Cougar
  5. Jessie’s Girl – Rick Springfield
  6. Keep Your Hands to Yourself – Georgia Satellites
  7. Mary Jane’s Last Dance – Tom Petty
  8. Panama – Van Halen
  9. Pink Houses – John Cougar
  10. Pour Some Sugar on Me – Def Leppard
  11. Shook Me all Night Long - AC/DC
  12. Summer of 69 – Brian Adams
  13. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns And Roses
  14. The House Is Rockin’ – SRV
  15. Walk This Way – Aerosmith
  16. Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi

90’s

  1. 3 AM – Matchbox 20
  2. Cumbersome – 7 Marry 3
  3. Champagne Super Nova - Oasis
  4. Drive - Incubus
  5. Gel – Collective Soul
  6. Hard To Handle – Black Crows
  7. Heavy – Collective Soul
  8. If You Could Only See - Tonic
  9. Interstate Love Song – STP
  10. Machine Head – Bush
  11. Man in the Box - Alice In Chains
  12. Plush – STP
  13. Shimmer – Fuel
  14. Wonderwall – Oasis

00’s

  1. Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet
  2. Everlong – Foo Fighters
  3. Figured you Out – Nickelback
  4. Kryptonite – Three Doors Down
  5. Use Somebody – Kings of Leon
  6. Sex On Fire – Kings of Leon

Blues

  1. Cold Shot – SRV
  2. Couldn’t Stand The Weather – SRV
  3. Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman
  4. Hey Joe – Jimi Hendrix
  5. Hoochie Coochie Man – Muddy Waters
  6. Jesus Just Left Chicago – ZZ Top
  7. Mary Had A Little Lamb – SRV
  8. Pride & Joy – SRV
  9. Red House – Jimi Hendrix
  10. Tightrope – SRV

R & B

  1. Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding
  2. Every Time I Roll The Dice – Delbert McClinton
  3. Leave Your Hat On – Joe Cocker
  4. Soul Man – The Blues Brothers
  5. Superstitious – Stevie Wonder
  6. Knock On Wood – Eddie Floyd

Ballads

  1. Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers
  2. Angel Eyes – Jeff Healey
  3. Blue On Black – Kenny Wayne Shepard
  4. Drift Away – Dobie Gray
  5. Every Rose Has Its Thorn – Poison
  6. Main Street – Bob Segar
  7. Night Moves – Bob Segar
  8. Purple Rain – Prince
  9. Simple Man – Lynyrd Skynyrd
  10. Turn the Page – Bob Segar
  11. Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton

Dance & Pop

  1. Brick House – The Commodores
  2. Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison
  3. Funky Music – Wild Cherry
  4. Kiss – Prince
  5. Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffett
  6. Mustang Sally – Wilson Picket
  7. Proud Mary – CCR/Tina Turner
  8. Santaria – Sublime

Chills

I think this is the maximum amount of evidence I need to confirm my belief that Black Sabbath should have done more to reunite with drummer Bill Ward during their final world tour. This is from 42 years ago and watching it gives me chills.



Grow New Skin

Divert to Win

There was a big shakeup in Donald Trump's presidential campaign on Monday (which I didn't mention on this blog). His campaign manager was fired. As Trump tries to put the focus back on HRC, there are new polls that show it's really not a definite path for HRC to the White House. Per Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points memo, the race is tight:

Both candidates understand that right now the race is fairly close ....
A new CNN poll has Clinton ahead of Trump 47 - 42 among registered voters.
However, in Ohio a Quinnipiac poll shows the race is tied 40-40.
In Pennsylvania it's just about tied as well -- Clinton 42, Trump 41.
In Florida Clinton leads trump 47-39.
Donald Trump needs to win all three of those states, and his polling has been going south for the last three weeks.

And yet, with all that negative energy in the Trump campaign, there is this article about how Trump is a nice and good guy without a camera in front of him. So, frankly, just who is Donald Trump?!?

And if our country only had to deal with Donald Trump's campaign, maybe I'd feel better about our country's future. I'd think, "This is a fad and it will pass." However, there are other important issues that continue to divide our country - guns and abortion. Erick Erickson's article called "We Actually Need More Guns, Not Less Guns" highlights this divide and, from that article, I really REALLY like this part of EE's column:

If the Senate is serious about saving Americans, they should really first defund Planned Parenthood, which chops up thousands of Americans a year and sells their body parts. Then, the Senate should pass national concealed carry reciprocity legislation and make it way the heck easier to buy guns.

That is inline with what I think and with what I have opined on this blog.

In conclusion, do I have the answer to all of these issues? Nope. I really don't.

There It Is!

Today, it feels very appropriate for me to recall this post from December 31, 2012. That was the 2 year anniversary of being sober and today is the 2000th day of being sober.


I am still proud of myself for sticking with what I had determined was what I wanted to do with my life. I do not regret my choice and I plan to make that choice because it is my choice to do so until I am no longer able to make that choice.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Stop with the HATE!

LEAVE MY DEAN AMBROSE ALONE!!
  1. http://www.thesportster.com/wrestling/15-reasons-why-dean-ambrose-will-fail-as-wwe-champion/
  2. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2647508-pros-and-cons-of-dean-ambrose-as-wwe-world-heavyweight-champion
In other news, I wish I had JUST ONE of the salaries on this list...

Fascinating

While I will always TOTALLY geek out when it comes to manipulating text in an application, when it's a way to do so within Microsoft Word, I am definitely listening. Thus, for future reference, here is how to  How to Convert a Row to a Column in a Microsoft Word Table.

Done Drone


Favorite Subject in the Lyrics I Wrote

Years ago, I transcribed 19 spiral notebooks into a RoboHelp project - I think I've described that on this blog elsewhere - and recently, I started poking around the lyrics I wrote. I came across this article - about forgiveness - shortly after I came across these lyrics.

Unable to Think

Authored on 06/16/1993

Two thoughts pounding
Pointing at I . . .
There's no way I can
Forgive this feeling
For visiting me twice
In a short lifetime,
No explanation found.
I return to the Burn, a
Sensation in my stomach,
The kind that festers
With Ignorance as they
Laugh together, joyful
And pleasantly planning
My fall. They'll wait
Until the festering
Increases, too immense
For words or for a
Poet to dominate into words,
Do you understand where
I'm going? The end is . . .
Unable to think.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Twenty-three in Years

Authored on 02/15/1993

I never can say what I feel
Neither can you

I never can open up to what is real
I can't talk to you
The words fight my instinct
Keep your mouth shut
This is for your own good
Lies I've learned to live with
Reflecting until the sun rises
Thinking about failures
Remembering when I've cried
Knowing why dreams have died . . .
Twenty-three in spineless years.

Note

Saturday 08 05 2006 Unable To Think 19A 06/16/1993 189 About Parents During Engagement
Saturday 08 05 2006 Twenty-three in Years 19A 02/15/1993 189 Twenty-three in spineless years
Transcribed into the RoboHelp project on Saturday, August 05, 2006

Not Overwhelmed

Don't Insult Coke Like This

http://theresurgent.com/donald-trump-is-new-coke/

Choking on the Illogical Part 2

I know an Iowa State Trooper. He doesn't tell me many stories about what he does on a daily basis, but he did tell me this. There is a staggering number of police officers that are killed doing their job across the country and there is no outrage about it. He heard a speaker propose this scenario. Let's say there are 1000 police officers killed each year. What if there were 1000 teachers killed each year? What if there were 1000 government officials each year because they were simply doing their job? Would there be outrage? For my argument, let's assume "yes, there'd be outrage." Where is the outrage regarding the number of police officers killed each year?

On the way home from Elkader, I'm told a driver cut off this Iowa State Trooper as he was pulling his camper home in a no passing zone. When he got to town, he saw the car that had done it parked in a Casey's. I'm told the Iowa State Trooper stopped and issued her a ticket to the tune of ~$400. I can only imagine the look on the driver's face when she realized that she had been caught doing what she had done and thought there would be zero repercussions for doing it.

Let's be careful out there people. Don't get dead!

Choking on the Illogical

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/06/sotomayors-blistering-dissent-against

Soon... Very Soon...


Monday, June 20, 2016

Gr8 Album

http://loudwire.com/faith-no-more-the-real-thing-album-anniversary/

Oh C'mon was Wasted on Previous Post

Senate blocks 4 gun-control measures in wake of Orlando shooting

Can we not all agree that guns in the wrong hands are bad?!?

Oh C'mon

Damnit, let him be a face!!! Ambrose on commentary last night sounded no different from when Rollins was on commentary and blathering about how the belt was "his" belt and that no one would take it from him. To end last night's episode, he put his Dirty Deeds move on Roman Reigns and told Shane McMahon he would fight Rollins and Reigns any time. McMahon made the main event at Battleground (in 5 weeks) Rollins v. Ambrose v. Reigns. This article tries to make the case Ambrose should be the heel - I say no, he gained my respect as a crazy guy willing to do what he takes. Now all he is going to do is blather on like every other heel. The "crazy" all-out character made him compelling - those thumbtacks he endured against Chris Jericho at their Extreme Rules match is just one example. Having him be all smug is a slap in the face.
Dean Ambrose Heel Turn Makes Him More Effective WWE Champ Following Cash-in

Wait for It

Russian hackers break into DNC network; White House assigns blame to... (wait for it...) http://michellemalkin.com/2016/06/14/russian-hackers-break-into-dnc-network-white-house-assigns-blame-to-wait-for-it/

Saying What It Is

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/20/fbi-doj-release-new-full-transcript-orlando-shooters-911-call.html

Presidential Graduation Speech

Father's Day 2016 Present

Alex called me up last Wednesday as I was mowing the grass in 90 degree heat and asked me what size shirt I wear. He has a history of wanting to buy t-shirts for me at Hot Topic, a store in the Coral Ridge Mall, that I wouldn't wear. With that in mind and sweat dripping (literally) out of every pore on my body, I answered his question with "Don't buy me anything at Hot Topic." He said okay and hung up.

Later that night, I apologized for being short with him, explaining that I was out mowing and wasn't really in the mood for talking. He said that he had found a Metallica t-shirt at Hot Topic for $4 and proceeded to tell me that it was an "And Justice for All" t-shirt. I think he saw my face droop as he told me that. "And Justice for All" is only my all-time favorite Metallica album, outranking all others.

I didn't think any more about it until the kids and Karen gave me my Father's Day presents early on Friday night. I received a wood rack and a cover for it, which we will use at the campsite in Elkader. Then Alex gave me a plastic bag and inside was a Metallica "And Justice for All" t-shirt like the one I'm wearing below:
From L-R, Louis (father-in-law), Mark (brother-in-law), Dave (brother-in-law), me with my Metallica t-shirt
Why am I the only one showing teeth?!?