This is a band that used to be based out of Iowa City. The lead singer, Ari, graduated from Iowa City West and has been "Destrophy" since then. Now, finally, after years of hard work, their song "Reconnect" is the theme song for a TNA wrestler. TNA, in case you don't know, is a competitor of the WWE or what used to be the WWF, the promotion that you are probably the most familiar with even if you never watch (or admit to watching) pro wrestling. So anyways, this is Destrophy. I like it. I like the energy in the tempo.
Destrophy - Reconnect
DESTROPHY | MySpace Music Videos
In other news, didn't do so hot @ the casino last night. Could never set foot in Riverside's casino in my life.
Finally, played drums last night @ 5:15 Mass. Sounded good. I took some more liberties with the songs that were in 3/4 time and just played around the electronic drums with less rigid timekeeping. The tempo was solid but I avoided a lot of standard parts (boom-chick-chick / boom-chick-chick) that you normally hear in a 3/4 song.
This week is busy - lots of after work committments and things going on. I counted up the days and we are going to spend 24 nights in our camper this summer. I cannot wait!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Ozzy!
I read Ozzy Osbourne's autobiography and wrote about it: http://www.dailyvault.com/article.php5?id=247
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Groundhog pokes his head up
Just read about a tour with the following dates:
|
Aug. 10 - Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
Aug. 11 - Indianapolis, IN - Emerson Theatre
|
That would have to be the *worst* sequence of tour dates I've ever seen! This is for a ten band tour called "Summer Slaughter." These bands have to travel 16 hours 38 minutes / 1083.93 miles between these two gigs.
It doesn't make sense.
|
Aug. 10 - Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
Aug. 11 - Indianapolis, IN - Emerson Theatre
|
That would have to be the *worst* sequence of tour dates I've ever seen! This is for a ten band tour called "Summer Slaughter." These bands have to travel 16 hours 38 minutes / 1083.93 miles between these two gigs.
It doesn't make sense.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Change is in the Air...
I went for a walk yesterday morning. It was starting to drizzle but I had my Five Finger Death Punch blasting through Megan's pink earphones. It's good to be me these days. There are changes everywhere. As I walked outside, I saw change. Flowers are blooming, rain is making a gray world green. And the world is getting nicer. There are subtle changes in the people around me. Smiles and forgiveness replacing tears and resentment. There is a lot to be thankful for and it seems like there is no end in sight.
That said, I am not going to be writing a lot, probably, between now and May 16th. Call it a mini-break, if you will. Nothing to be concerned about to my 3 followers. Schedules are getting hectic and focus must remain on the ultimate goal.
Be back in 3 weeks...
That said, I am not going to be writing a lot, probably, between now and May 16th. Call it a mini-break, if you will. Nothing to be concerned about to my 3 followers. Schedules are getting hectic and focus must remain on the ultimate goal.
Be back in 3 weeks...
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Weird Al
Oh my... this is funny! My son said he had seen this so he asked me to watch it. It's long - 10 minutes - but it is funny!
Ketching up...
Thanks to Rick W's Facebook post, here's a good melodic band that is playing @ the Hard Rock Melodic Festival in Elgin, IL (by Chicago) but it is on the weekend of when we are picking up the camper in Davenport. Otherwise, it would be a good festival to check out. Winger is headlining one of the nights and seeing Rod Morgenstein (drummer) in person would be amazing and probably worth the ticket.
One of the bands I have always thought did not get their fair shake in the hard rock world is Saraya. This is a band that released their debut in 1989 and wow... I don't know how many times I listened to it. Sandi Saraya is the lead vocalist. This is a live video of my favorite song on this release called "Get U Ready" which really captures Saraya's style.
This is the lead-off track (studio version) and I am still captivated by the vocals. I really don't remember the first time I listened to this band. But I am glad I did. I wore out a cassette and found the CD in a video/CD store in Chicagoland years ago. Great purchase for $2.99!
Another great track on this CD is called "Back to the Bullet." It is track 8.
Why do I think I am going to take this to work tomorrow and listen to it?
Work. Ah, yes. I am still plugging away. There is still always things to keep me busy. Back on 2/28/2010, I wrote about five major projects. Here's what I wrote with updated information in bold, italic, interspersed where appropriate.
Project A is a huge change that has to do with how our clients process something. We have to be certified by someone and then, after we deliver the software to our clients, the clients need to be audited and certified. The way this has to work is that it has to arrive on 3/12 (that Friday). Selfishly, that week (3/15) is going to be a very busy week at work. The timeline for testing and documenting the changes to the system have a two week window. There are consultants involved so it will be very important that everyone stays on-time. This project was late getting to us. It should have been done by now but it is not. This project has a larger impact than I originally thought because the scope of the project has changed multiple times. I hope to finish the documentation for it by the end of Wednesday.
Project B means a lot of work for me. It involves buckling down and writing some content that I have been procrastinating. It is not that the content is difficult to write - I think I could bang it out in a day - it's that I think it's overview material, about something stupid that no one is going to read. It's content that should be covered in a training class but since we don't really do training classes like we used to - clients seem to magically end up with a new system on their PCs - I understand I need to write the content. There is also a lot of project B that I need to write in other areas, besides the aforementioned overview. I am comfortable with where I am, but there are holes I need to fill in. This project is still not done. Project A has taken over as being the number one priority. In fact, this project is not being released until later, after Project A, so I have some breathing room.
Project C involves doing the user interface work I do and making records that display in pink display, well, in pink. If you imagine a floor with a carpet. The programmers code the floor and I design the carpet that everyone sees. I don't know if that really makes sense or not. I had to submit a call report to the software vendor that makes the "carpet" because the obvious ways to make the records display in pink did not work. This project is done. It turned out being easier to do than I thought. I worked with the vendor of the tool for a bit and got it resolved.
Project D is also a user interface project. When you are in Add mode, F16 should never be enabled. However, if I set it up where F16 is disabled in Add mode, it is disabled in Change mode as well. I tried all the obvious, and not so obvious, things I know how to do but it didn't seem to work. I asked for a call from the vendor and I need to get that resolved. Same type of comment. I worked with the vendor of the tool for a bit and got it resolved.
Project E is a huge change to one of our systems. Not only are there going to be UI changes - the carpet - but there will also be a lot of documentation changes. I've come to the conclusion that while it is not scheduled for release until the April/May timeframe, I cannot delay working on it until then. This area of the system continually has smaller changes but this is a larger one. I am hoping my co-worker is available to take some of the documentation work off my plate. However, I know that she is busy too so that's kind of an on-going storyline. This project has been delayed from the April/May timeframe to a later date. There is likely I will be spending a lot of time on this project. I do not know if my aforementioned co-worker will be able to help me as she will be working a lot on Project A.
So there you have it. Work is busy. There are always a zillion things to do. I still enjoy my job. I sometimes feel like I can't get anything done at work, though. It's like I have competing #1 priorties and time spent on Project A, for example, means I can't work on another hot priority. I am doing the best I can. I need to continue to dedicate myself to my work in order to meet the deadlines that have been set. I think there is going to be a big push for me to get a lot of my doc changes done this week. The target release date for Project A is 4/23 so a lot of work has to happen before then in my little world. I basically need to have everything done by this Friday. If that means extra hours, then that is what must be done.
One of the bands I have always thought did not get their fair shake in the hard rock world is Saraya. This is a band that released their debut in 1989 and wow... I don't know how many times I listened to it. Sandi Saraya is the lead vocalist. This is a live video of my favorite song on this release called "Get U Ready" which really captures Saraya's style.
This is the lead-off track (studio version) and I am still captivated by the vocals. I really don't remember the first time I listened to this band. But I am glad I did. I wore out a cassette and found the CD in a video/CD store in Chicagoland years ago. Great purchase for $2.99!
Another great track on this CD is called "Back to the Bullet." It is track 8.
Why do I think I am going to take this to work tomorrow and listen to it?
Work. Ah, yes. I am still plugging away. There is still always things to keep me busy. Back on 2/28/2010, I wrote about five major projects. Here's what I wrote with updated information in bold, italic, interspersed where appropriate.
Project A is a huge change that has to do with how our clients process something. We have to be certified by someone and then, after we deliver the software to our clients, the clients need to be audited and certified. The way this has to work is that it has to arrive on 3/12 (that Friday). Selfishly, that week (3/15) is going to be a very busy week at work. The timeline for testing and documenting the changes to the system have a two week window. There are consultants involved so it will be very important that everyone stays on-time. This project was late getting to us. It should have been done by now but it is not. This project has a larger impact than I originally thought because the scope of the project has changed multiple times. I hope to finish the documentation for it by the end of Wednesday.
Project B means a lot of work for me. It involves buckling down and writing some content that I have been procrastinating. It is not that the content is difficult to write - I think I could bang it out in a day - it's that I think it's overview material, about something stupid that no one is going to read. It's content that should be covered in a training class but since we don't really do training classes like we used to - clients seem to magically end up with a new system on their PCs - I understand I need to write the content. There is also a lot of project B that I need to write in other areas, besides the aforementioned overview. I am comfortable with where I am, but there are holes I need to fill in. This project is still not done. Project A has taken over as being the number one priority. In fact, this project is not being released until later, after Project A, so I have some breathing room.
Project C involves doing the user interface work I do and making records that display in pink display, well, in pink. If you imagine a floor with a carpet. The programmers code the floor and I design the carpet that everyone sees. I don't know if that really makes sense or not. I had to submit a call report to the software vendor that makes the "carpet" because the obvious ways to make the records display in pink did not work. This project is done. It turned out being easier to do than I thought. I worked with the vendor of the tool for a bit and got it resolved.
Project D is also a user interface project. When you are in Add mode, F16 should never be enabled. However, if I set it up where F16 is disabled in Add mode, it is disabled in Change mode as well. I tried all the obvious, and not so obvious, things I know how to do but it didn't seem to work. I asked for a call from the vendor and I need to get that resolved. Same type of comment. I worked with the vendor of the tool for a bit and got it resolved.
Project E is a huge change to one of our systems. Not only are there going to be UI changes - the carpet - but there will also be a lot of documentation changes. I've come to the conclusion that while it is not scheduled for release until the April/May timeframe, I cannot delay working on it until then. This area of the system continually has smaller changes but this is a larger one. I am hoping my co-worker is available to take some of the documentation work off my plate. However, I know that she is busy too so that's kind of an on-going storyline. This project has been delayed from the April/May timeframe to a later date. There is likely I will be spending a lot of time on this project. I do not know if my aforementioned co-worker will be able to help me as she will be working a lot on Project A.
So there you have it. Work is busy. There are always a zillion things to do. I still enjoy my job. I sometimes feel like I can't get anything done at work, though. It's like I have competing #1 priorties and time spent on Project A, for example, means I can't work on another hot priority. I am doing the best I can. I need to continue to dedicate myself to my work in order to meet the deadlines that have been set. I think there is going to be a big push for me to get a lot of my doc changes done this week. The target release date for Project A is 4/23 so a lot of work has to happen before then in my little world. I basically need to have everything done by this Friday. If that means extra hours, then that is what must be done.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Music Festivals I'm Not Going to attend...
Three music festivals in different geographic areas caught my attention.
First, there's a heavy metal festival in New Jersey that has been happening for 11 years. This is its 12th year. I've never been to New Jersey. A two day ticket for this concert is $80, which is not a bad price if you like this type of music. I am a heavy metal fan but Cookie Monster vocals don't impress me. I have no desire whatsoever to go see more than one or two of these bands. Most of them, I've never heard of. I'm not as involved in the heavy metal/hardcore scene as I thought I used to be. I still write music reviews (http://www.dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=6492 is my latest review) for Dailyvault.com, but I'm finding my interests take me other places.
I digress. Here are the bands and their time slots. Look at Friday. A band starts @ noon and the second band starts a 1/2 hour later @ 12:30. So, they are actually going to play 20 minutes to allow 10 minutes to change the equipment?!? Bands with a <== indicate someone I've actually heard of. Second Stage Friday 12 noon MONSTERS 12:30 p.m. XTHEWARX 1 p.m. GRAVE MAKER 1:30 p.m. FORFEIT 2 p.m. DONNYBROOK! 2:30 p.m. BURNING EMPIRES 3 p.m. THICK AS BLOOD 3:30 p.m. C.O.A. 4 p.m. MONGOLOIDS 4:30 p.m. DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 5 p.m. DEATH THREAT 5:30 p.m. EARTH CRISIS <== 6:15 p.m. CRO MAGS <== Main Stage Friday 3:10 p.m. HOWL 3:40 p.m. ARCHITECT UK 4:10 p.m. AFTER THE BURIAL 4:40 p.m. NACHTMYSTIUM 5:25 p.m. DOOMRIDERS 6:10 p.m. FALL OF TROY 6:55 p.m. VALIANT THOR 7:40 p.m. BARONESS 8:35 p.m. BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME <== 10 p.m. MASTODON <== Second Stage Saturday 12 noon ACROSS THE SUN 12:30 p.m. SWASHBUCKLE 1 p.m. ROSE FUNERAL 1:30 p.m. ARSONISTS GET ALL THE GIRLS 2 p.m. XTYRANTX 2:30 p.m. GAZA 3 p.m. TONY DANZA 3:30 p.m. ALPHA OMEGA 4 p.m. SOUL CONTROL 4:30 p.m. REIGN SUPREME 5 p.m. CRUEL HAND 5 p.m. DISEMBODIED 6:15 p.m. MUNICIPAL WASTE <== don't know if I've actually heard their music Main Stage Saturday 12:15 p.m. ACARO 12:45 p.m. LECHEROUS NOCTURNE 1:15 p.m. MALEFICE 1:45 p.m. PERIPHERY 2:15 p.m. CHELSEA GRIN 2:45 p.m. ABACABB 3:15 p.m. TTEOTD 3:45 p.m. HOLY GRAIL 4:15 p.m. CATTLE DECAPITATION <== these guys SUCK!!! 4:45 p.m. IMPENDING DOOM 5:25 p.m. SKELETON WITCH 6:10 p.m. 1349 7 p.m. ELUVEITIE 7:50 p.m. WHITE CHAPEL 8:40 p.m. JOB FOR A COWBOY <== wasn't impressed with this band 9:45 p.m. AMON AMARTH <== this wouldn't be a bad band to see - very good power metal 11:30 p.m. CANNIBAL CORPSE <== are you kidding me?!? these guys suck! So... yeah, not going. My assumption is the music is a lot like this.
The second festival is Rocklahoma. It is about 7 hours from my house. It looks like a good show. However, my experience with the Memphis in May concerts is that sometimes the bands you really want to see are playing at the same time on two different stages. That has happened to me before. You as a concert audience member have to choose. That is why I am holding out on my opinion on this show until they announce the times for the bands to play. If I really wanted to see ZZ Top and they are playing at the same time as Godsmack, how do you choose? The third festival is the aforementioned Memphis in May. I'm getting older. I really am. I don't really think I could go through this concert again. It always rains. There's always a lot of walking - I mean A LOT of walking - and in the crowds, it's not all that much fun. I've never had a bad time in Memphis. It's just that I'm getting older and spending nearly $700 on myself (figuring $100/day x 5, plus hotel) is just not in the cards for me. More info about it here
First, there's a heavy metal festival in New Jersey that has been happening for 11 years. This is its 12th year. I've never been to New Jersey. A two day ticket for this concert is $80, which is not a bad price if you like this type of music. I am a heavy metal fan but Cookie Monster vocals don't impress me. I have no desire whatsoever to go see more than one or two of these bands. Most of them, I've never heard of. I'm not as involved in the heavy metal/hardcore scene as I thought I used to be. I still write music reviews (http://www.dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=6492 is my latest review) for Dailyvault.com, but I'm finding my interests take me other places.
I digress. Here are the bands and their time slots. Look at Friday. A band starts @ noon and the second band starts a 1/2 hour later @ 12:30. So, they are actually going to play 20 minutes to allow 10 minutes to change the equipment?!? Bands with a <== indicate someone I've actually heard of. Second Stage Friday 12 noon MONSTERS 12:30 p.m. XTHEWARX 1 p.m. GRAVE MAKER 1:30 p.m. FORFEIT 2 p.m. DONNYBROOK! 2:30 p.m. BURNING EMPIRES 3 p.m. THICK AS BLOOD 3:30 p.m. C.O.A. 4 p.m. MONGOLOIDS 4:30 p.m. DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 5 p.m. DEATH THREAT 5:30 p.m. EARTH CRISIS <== 6:15 p.m. CRO MAGS <== Main Stage Friday 3:10 p.m. HOWL 3:40 p.m. ARCHITECT UK 4:10 p.m. AFTER THE BURIAL 4:40 p.m. NACHTMYSTIUM 5:25 p.m. DOOMRIDERS 6:10 p.m. FALL OF TROY 6:55 p.m. VALIANT THOR 7:40 p.m. BARONESS 8:35 p.m. BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME <== 10 p.m. MASTODON <== Second Stage Saturday 12 noon ACROSS THE SUN 12:30 p.m. SWASHBUCKLE 1 p.m. ROSE FUNERAL 1:30 p.m. ARSONISTS GET ALL THE GIRLS 2 p.m. XTYRANTX 2:30 p.m. GAZA 3 p.m. TONY DANZA 3:30 p.m. ALPHA OMEGA 4 p.m. SOUL CONTROL 4:30 p.m. REIGN SUPREME 5 p.m. CRUEL HAND 5 p.m. DISEMBODIED 6:15 p.m. MUNICIPAL WASTE <== don't know if I've actually heard their music Main Stage Saturday 12:15 p.m. ACARO 12:45 p.m. LECHEROUS NOCTURNE 1:15 p.m. MALEFICE 1:45 p.m. PERIPHERY 2:15 p.m. CHELSEA GRIN 2:45 p.m. ABACABB 3:15 p.m. TTEOTD 3:45 p.m. HOLY GRAIL 4:15 p.m. CATTLE DECAPITATION <== these guys SUCK!!! 4:45 p.m. IMPENDING DOOM 5:25 p.m. SKELETON WITCH 6:10 p.m. 1349 7 p.m. ELUVEITIE 7:50 p.m. WHITE CHAPEL 8:40 p.m. JOB FOR A COWBOY <== wasn't impressed with this band 9:45 p.m. AMON AMARTH <== this wouldn't be a bad band to see - very good power metal 11:30 p.m. CANNIBAL CORPSE <== are you kidding me?!? these guys suck! So... yeah, not going. My assumption is the music is a lot like this.
The second festival is Rocklahoma. It is about 7 hours from my house. It looks like a good show. However, my experience with the Memphis in May concerts is that sometimes the bands you really want to see are playing at the same time on two different stages. That has happened to me before. You as a concert audience member have to choose. That is why I am holding out on my opinion on this show until they announce the times for the bands to play. If I really wanted to see ZZ Top and they are playing at the same time as Godsmack, how do you choose? The third festival is the aforementioned Memphis in May. I'm getting older. I really am. I don't really think I could go through this concert again. It always rains. There's always a lot of walking - I mean A LOT of walking - and in the crowds, it's not all that much fun. I've never had a bad time in Memphis. It's just that I'm getting older and spending nearly $700 on myself (figuring $100/day x 5, plus hotel) is just not in the cards for me. More info about it here
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Conchita Campos
This is a review of an excellent jazz/pop female vocalist: http://www.dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=6492
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
More Metallica and V on S
In 1992, in Woodbury, MN, Poophammer was going strong . . .
and, no date or location given, Silence on Violence works out @ practice. I would like to have heard a little more syncopation in the double bass work during the guitar solo and what seems to be the verse.
And this is really cool:
and, no date or location given, Silence on Violence works out @ practice. I would like to have heard a little more syncopation in the double bass work during the guitar solo and what seems to be the verse.
And this is really cool:
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Lazerfest Update
Stage 1:
1 p.m.: TBD,
2:05 p.m.: Hail the Villain.
3:15 p.m.: Halestorm.
4:25 p.m.: Drowning Pool.
5:35 p.m.: Five Finger Death Punch.
7 p.m. Hell Yea.
8:25 p.m. Rob Zombie.
10:25 p.m. Godsmack.
Stage 2:
12:30 p.m.: TBD.
2:40 p.m. Red.
3:50 p.m. Skillet.
5 p.m. Papa Roach.
6:10 p.m.: Seether.
7:35 p.m. Alice Cooper.
9:25 p.m.: Three Days Grace
1 p.m.: TBD,
2:05 p.m.: Hail the Villain.
3:15 p.m.: Halestorm.
4:25 p.m.: Drowning Pool.
5:35 p.m.: Five Finger Death Punch.
7 p.m. Hell Yea.
8:25 p.m. Rob Zombie.
10:25 p.m. Godsmack.
Stage 2:
12:30 p.m.: TBD.
2:40 p.m. Red.
3:50 p.m. Skillet.
5 p.m. Papa Roach.
6:10 p.m.: Seether.
7:35 p.m. Alice Cooper.
9:25 p.m.: Three Days Grace
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
LazerFest 2010, Drum Battles, and System of a Down
Bands: Godsmack, Rob Zombie, Three Days Grace, Seether, Hell Yeah!, PaPa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch, Skillet.
Doors 12:00pm. Ticket price includes $2.00 parking fee.
$37 a ticket
Indianola, Iowa.
More info here: http://desmoines.metromix.com/music/blog_post/godsmack-and-three-days/1778382/content
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Oooh man... Five Finger Death Punch? LIVE?!? I need to figure a way to make this work...
Plus a drum battle?!?
which put me in the mood for drum battles:
and then I got into System of a Down's "Toxicity":
Doors 12:00pm. Ticket price includes $2.00 parking fee.
$37 a ticket
Indianola, Iowa.
More info here: http://desmoines.metromix.com/music/blog_post/godsmack-and-three-days/1778382/content
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Oooh man... Five Finger Death Punch? LIVE?!? I need to figure a way to make this work...
Plus a drum battle?!?
which put me in the mood for drum battles:
and then I got into System of a Down's "Toxicity":
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
More Skins being Slayed
Buddy Rich died when I was in high school. I remember not really understanding who he was as a drummer. I purchased some of his recordings and was in awe. Our band instructor dismissed Rich. I vividly remember him telling me that he must have died from a drug overdose. I don't think I've heard as insensitive of a remark about a person's death since that day. What an ass. I've seen a now-deleted video of Buddy Rich playing a drum duet with Louie Bellson. Buddy Rich played a Slingerland set and Louie Bellson played a double kick set.
I met Louie Bellson. My friend Serbi and I went to go see him. He played at Kirkwood Community College with their jazz band and man, the guy had chops. I don't know where modern drummers fit in with these old cats.
I met Louie Bellson. My friend Serbi and I went to go see him. He played at Kirkwood Community College with their jazz band and man, the guy had chops. I don't know where modern drummers fit in with these old cats.
Dateline Cresco, IA: Day 2 of 2
I really had a fun time last night. We went to dinner. I had a bacon cheeseburger and fries, washing it down with a couple of Blue Moon drafts. I suggested finding a pool table because, well, I like playing pool. We went to the bar next door. I scratched on the 8 ball on my first game, lost the second game as well as my third game. I had a couple of streaks where I thought I was going to do better than I did, but in all, it took until I challenged Denise before I actually won a game. The whole time this was happening, the music was playing great music and the beer flowed. I really enjoyed the night. It was a lot of fun.
Today, though, is another story. We pack up to go home and return to responsibility. I probably won't type again on this sweet Toshiba laptop for a long time. We need to get back home so we can go to Mass. Regina is producing "The Sound of Music" and depending upon the timing, Alex and I may go to the Newman Center for 4 PM Mass while Megan and Karen may go to the Newman Center 6 PM Mass. It all kind of depends upon when Alex gets home from the gun club with Bill, who is watching our kids this weekend with his wife Debbie.
Tomorrow begins the routine again. Megan has religious education class and Alex has drum lessons. Tuesday is Alex's next-to-final basketball game. Wednesday is Alex's tutor. Thursday, I would like to take Megan to a jazz band concert @ West High School. Friday is the men's CEW in Riverside and I need to go down after work and do some stuff. Saturday, it sounds like we will go down to Riverside and do some stuff with the CEW and go to Mass. Sunday, we will probably make another trip to Riverside to do some stuff, plus Alex has basketball practice. For a year where I am not really involved, it seems like I am involved.
Then the week starts over. Alex has a band concert on 3/8, a basketball game (final of the season) on Tuesday, tutor on Wed, and I think, going by memory, there is another band concert on Thursday. I think on that Friday, we may head up to Balltown for the weekend and then leave the kids there for Spring Break. That leads up to the week of 3/15 which I wrote about in yesterday's post.
I sometimes think that life is too damn busy. There is something happening every night and while it is all things that we have to do or need to do, I can't help feel like it's going way too fast. There are no spare moments in life. I'm not really doing more than observing life, it seems, because I don't feel like I can really enjoy life. That seems odd, in a way, because all the things I do or need to do are things that I had a role in planning, in some way. It's not like someone else is dictating, "you need to do this and that and this." I don't know if I can really explain it.
I do think that Megan is going to be in 8th grade next year and Alex in 6th. I think the next 7 years are going to fly by tremendously quick. In our college group, the oldest child is a sophomore in high school, the youngest is 4. That means the oldest child would be a freshman in college in 3 years. Where does the time go? Alex will graduate from high school in 7 years. Then he will be out of the house. I only have 7 more years to spend with my son where he is living in our house, then he will be on his own. My biggest hope for him is that my daily reminder to him to "make good choices" has 'stuck' to his brain and that he does make good choices. Megan, I have five years before my little girl graduates and moves on in the world.
I just want my life to continue as it is, with good health and good times. I am glad we purchased a camper because, hopefully, camping can continue to play a major role in what we do as a family. We have booked a month in Elkader and will spend seven weekends in Elkader. The first is June 12 for the Sigwarth campout. Then Father's Day. Then a little break until the 4th of July weekend. I hope we go to Balltown again for the fireworks at Breitbach's as they were really good last year. Then 3 more weekends in Elkader. Then a small break where we actually may be home for a weekend on August 7 (our wedding anniversary) then to Sugar Bottom for our college campout with the same group I spent this weekend with, except the kids will be with us. The following Thursday, 8/19, is when school starts. Then the ritual of all this nightly stuff happens will start up again, with religious education, drum lessons, basketball, tutor, and whatever else creeps in between now and then.
It's now 8 AM. I already used logmein.com to access my work PC to check for emergencies of which there were none. I think we are going to be getting on the road by 9 AM. Karen and everyone else in the house are still sleeping.
Today, though, is another story. We pack up to go home and return to responsibility. I probably won't type again on this sweet Toshiba laptop for a long time. We need to get back home so we can go to Mass. Regina is producing "The Sound of Music" and depending upon the timing, Alex and I may go to the Newman Center for 4 PM Mass while Megan and Karen may go to the Newman Center 6 PM Mass. It all kind of depends upon when Alex gets home from the gun club with Bill, who is watching our kids this weekend with his wife Debbie.
Tomorrow begins the routine again. Megan has religious education class and Alex has drum lessons. Tuesday is Alex's next-to-final basketball game. Wednesday is Alex's tutor. Thursday, I would like to take Megan to a jazz band concert @ West High School. Friday is the men's CEW in Riverside and I need to go down after work and do some stuff. Saturday, it sounds like we will go down to Riverside and do some stuff with the CEW and go to Mass. Sunday, we will probably make another trip to Riverside to do some stuff, plus Alex has basketball practice. For a year where I am not really involved, it seems like I am involved.
Then the week starts over. Alex has a band concert on 3/8, a basketball game (final of the season) on Tuesday, tutor on Wed, and I think, going by memory, there is another band concert on Thursday. I think on that Friday, we may head up to Balltown for the weekend and then leave the kids there for Spring Break. That leads up to the week of 3/15 which I wrote about in yesterday's post.
I sometimes think that life is too damn busy. There is something happening every night and while it is all things that we have to do or need to do, I can't help feel like it's going way too fast. There are no spare moments in life. I'm not really doing more than observing life, it seems, because I don't feel like I can really enjoy life. That seems odd, in a way, because all the things I do or need to do are things that I had a role in planning, in some way. It's not like someone else is dictating, "you need to do this and that and this." I don't know if I can really explain it.
I do think that Megan is going to be in 8th grade next year and Alex in 6th. I think the next 7 years are going to fly by tremendously quick. In our college group, the oldest child is a sophomore in high school, the youngest is 4. That means the oldest child would be a freshman in college in 3 years. Where does the time go? Alex will graduate from high school in 7 years. Then he will be out of the house. I only have 7 more years to spend with my son where he is living in our house, then he will be on his own. My biggest hope for him is that my daily reminder to him to "make good choices" has 'stuck' to his brain and that he does make good choices. Megan, I have five years before my little girl graduates and moves on in the world.
I just want my life to continue as it is, with good health and good times. I am glad we purchased a camper because, hopefully, camping can continue to play a major role in what we do as a family. We have booked a month in Elkader and will spend seven weekends in Elkader. The first is June 12 for the Sigwarth campout. Then Father's Day. Then a little break until the 4th of July weekend. I hope we go to Balltown again for the fireworks at Breitbach's as they were really good last year. Then 3 more weekends in Elkader. Then a small break where we actually may be home for a weekend on August 7 (our wedding anniversary) then to Sugar Bottom for our college campout with the same group I spent this weekend with, except the kids will be with us. The following Thursday, 8/19, is when school starts. Then the ritual of all this nightly stuff happens will start up again, with religious education, drum lessons, basketball, tutor, and whatever else creeps in between now and then.
It's now 8 AM. I already used logmein.com to access my work PC to check for emergencies of which there were none. I think we are going to be getting on the road by 9 AM. Karen and everyone else in the house are still sleeping.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Dateline: Cresco, Iowa
I've written about the college weekend away previously and that's what is happening this weekend. I'm sitting in a living room in Cresco, IA, typing on a very sweet Toshiba laptop. The idea to get a laptop for Christmas has been floated and, if it was as cool as this one, it might be something I would be interested in.
Last night, the men sat in the basement and we watched "The Hangover" while the women stayed upstairs. It was a good night. We all cashed in @ 2 AM.
The drive up was good. I think it's good to spend quality time with Karen, talking. It sometimes seems like we don't have all that much time during a regular week to do so. I miss sharing that quality time with her and discussing things that are happening. Like, last night, we fleshed out more of the kids' schedule for Spring Break. They are going to spend at least part of it in Balltown. I think we will go up the weekend before and leave them there on Sunday when we come back to work. Both of us have to work all week.
Project A is a huge change that has to do with how our clients process something. We have to be certified by someone and then, after we deliver the software to our clients, the clients need to be audited and certified. The way this has to work is that it has to arrive on 3/12 (that Friday). Selfishly, that week (3/15) is going to be a very busy week at work. The timeline for testing and documenting the changes to the system have a two week window. There are consultants involved so it will be very important that everyone stays on-time.
Project B means a lot of work for me. It involves buckling down and writing some content that I have been procrastinating. It is not that the content is difficult to write - I think I could bang it out in a day - it's that I think it's overview material, about something stupid that no one is going to read. It's content that should be covered in a training class but since we don't really do training classes like we used to - clients seem to magically end up with a new system on their PCs - I understand I need to write the content. There is also a lot of project B that I need to write in other areas, besides the aforementioned overview. I am comfortable with where I am, but there are holes I need to fill in.
Project C involves doing the user interface work I do and making records that display in pink display, well, in pink. If you imagine a floor with a carpet. The programmers code the floor and I design the carpet that everyone sees. I don't know if that really makes sense or not. I had to submit a call report to the software vendor that makes the "carpet" because the obvious ways to make the records display in pink did not work.
Project D is also a user interface project. When you are in Add mode, F16 should never be enabled. However, if I set it up where F16 is disabled in Add mode, it is disabled in Change mode as well. I tried all the obvious, and not so obvious, things I know how to do but it didn't seem to work. I asked for a call from the vendor and I need to get that resolved.
Project E is a huge change to one of our systems. Not only are there going to be UI changes - the carpet - but there will also be a lot of documentation changes. I've come to the conclusion that while it is not scheduled for release until the April/May timeframe, I cannot delay working on it until then. This area of the system continually has smaller changes but this is a larger one. I am hoping my co-worker is available to take some of the documentation work off my plate. However, I know that she is busy too so that's kind of an on-going storyline.
So that's five projects that would normally weigh anybody down. It is common to be 'under' that much at work and have multiple priority #1 projects. I don't know, really, how much I will keep up with this blog as the weeks go on. Life at home is equally busy with religious ed, drum lessons, tutor, basketball game, and, of course, homework.
I did take my grandma's cactus to work this week. It was looking sickly in the den at home and I think it was because of not getting a lot of light. So I'm hoping between the artificial light in the building and some TLC, I can bring it back to health.
I think I don't have much more to say.
Last night, the men sat in the basement and we watched "The Hangover" while the women stayed upstairs. It was a good night. We all cashed in @ 2 AM.
The drive up was good. I think it's good to spend quality time with Karen, talking. It sometimes seems like we don't have all that much time during a regular week to do so. I miss sharing that quality time with her and discussing things that are happening. Like, last night, we fleshed out more of the kids' schedule for Spring Break. They are going to spend at least part of it in Balltown. I think we will go up the weekend before and leave them there on Sunday when we come back to work. Both of us have to work all week.
Project A is a huge change that has to do with how our clients process something. We have to be certified by someone and then, after we deliver the software to our clients, the clients need to be audited and certified. The way this has to work is that it has to arrive on 3/12 (that Friday). Selfishly, that week (3/15) is going to be a very busy week at work. The timeline for testing and documenting the changes to the system have a two week window. There are consultants involved so it will be very important that everyone stays on-time.
Project B means a lot of work for me. It involves buckling down and writing some content that I have been procrastinating. It is not that the content is difficult to write - I think I could bang it out in a day - it's that I think it's overview material, about something stupid that no one is going to read. It's content that should be covered in a training class but since we don't really do training classes like we used to - clients seem to magically end up with a new system on their PCs - I understand I need to write the content. There is also a lot of project B that I need to write in other areas, besides the aforementioned overview. I am comfortable with where I am, but there are holes I need to fill in.
Project C involves doing the user interface work I do and making records that display in pink display, well, in pink. If you imagine a floor with a carpet. The programmers code the floor and I design the carpet that everyone sees. I don't know if that really makes sense or not. I had to submit a call report to the software vendor that makes the "carpet" because the obvious ways to make the records display in pink did not work.
Project D is also a user interface project. When you are in Add mode, F16 should never be enabled. However, if I set it up where F16 is disabled in Add mode, it is disabled in Change mode as well. I tried all the obvious, and not so obvious, things I know how to do but it didn't seem to work. I asked for a call from the vendor and I need to get that resolved.
Project E is a huge change to one of our systems. Not only are there going to be UI changes - the carpet - but there will also be a lot of documentation changes. I've come to the conclusion that while it is not scheduled for release until the April/May timeframe, I cannot delay working on it until then. This area of the system continually has smaller changes but this is a larger one. I am hoping my co-worker is available to take some of the documentation work off my plate. However, I know that she is busy too so that's kind of an on-going storyline.
So that's five projects that would normally weigh anybody down. It is common to be 'under' that much at work and have multiple priority #1 projects. I don't know, really, how much I will keep up with this blog as the weeks go on. Life at home is equally busy with religious ed, drum lessons, tutor, basketball game, and, of course, homework.
I did take my grandma's cactus to work this week. It was looking sickly in the den at home and I think it was because of not getting a lot of light. So I'm hoping between the artificial light in the building and some TLC, I can bring it back to health.
I think I don't have much more to say.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Google Searches
This site reports that Google has added Facebook pages to real-time searches. That's awesome.
A TWing job asked for "Knowledge of DITA, Epic Editor, RoboHelp X5, and FrameMaker". It seems really an odd combination. RH X5 and FM didn't really go together. Curiousity didn't get the best of me. I didn't apply. :>)
A TWing job asked for "Knowledge of DITA, Epic Editor, RoboHelp X5, and FrameMaker". It seems really an odd combination. RH X5 and FM didn't really go together. Curiousity didn't get the best of me. I didn't apply. :>)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
It's only Going to Get Worse...
This month, I have been hit hard by the requirements of life. I have found myself tired at the end of the day and not having any desire to sit in front of a PC. It's a different style of living. I would never have thought I would be content to fall asleep on the couch, watching TV, instead of writing or surfing the Internet. I seriously question whether this hobby is something that I will continue. I know part of me enjoys being busy. Every night this month, except for the other nights in Feb I have posted, there has been things going on. We've had band concerts, in-laws visit, and basketball games. There is always something going on. And I expect it to only get worse in the next few weeks. March is already filling up, though after the first week, Alex's basketball season will end. Then there will be a short break from sports until the North Liberty Baseball season begins. I expect Spring Field Clean-Up day to be the weekend after Easter and then to continue with weekly games and practices until June. It makes a lot of busy families have even more on their plate. This is Megan's next-to-final year of playing softball. She will be entering 8th grade in 2011 and then West as a freshman in 2012. Then sophomore in 2013, junior in 2014 and graduating in 2015. Crazy.
At least I'm not a bird in Washington DC:
At least I'm not a bird in Washington DC:
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Ketchin' Up Vol. I
In my daily routine, I am always on the lookout for interesting things to add to this blog. Serious. I self-edit a lot. I also was stuck in a rut of watching too much television last week. This week, though, I have a busy week and need to use my time wisely. I even skipped out of the last 1/2 hour of WWE Raw. It was going to be John Cena v. Ted Dibiase and then Randy Orton v. Cody Rhodes. If I thought for even a milli-second that the WWE would allow Dibiase and Rhodes to win against the two largest stars on Monday night (Cena and Orton), I would have watched.
That paragraph, though, has nothing to do with the hideous layout of this site. Shielf your eyes.
That paragraph, though, has nothing to do with the hideous layout of this site. Shielf your eyes.
Sexstone Forever..
Without a doubt, this is my new favorite band. I listened to this CD a lot prior to writing http://www.dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=6431, which is the album this song is from. The video here is an acoustic version.
SEXSTONE: Wait For Me (Soldier's Song)
Sexstone MySpace Music Videos
SEXSTONE: Wait For Me (Soldier's Song)
Sexstone MySpace Music Videos
Monday, February 1, 2010
YEAH TOAST!!!
I noticed today that Penquin's Comedy Club in Cedar Rapids is hosting Heywood Banks this weekend!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Let me Understand this...
You are being paid a lot of money, you have the authority to make the laws that decide the daily activities and well-being of the entire country... and working together is a challenge? This story talks about Obama and the Republicans getting together and talking about how the other is to blame for the nation's issues. It's really stupid that these powerful people can't find a common ground. They are, after all, humans. Don't we all have a baseline in common?
You'd think terrorism would pull us together. Instead, Obama and his party think it is okay to give terrorists a civilian trial, where the accused is allowed access to a lawyer. What does that mean? Basically, it means he can invoke his right to remain silent and not tell the USA anything about other terrorists. It's insane.
I'm sitting in Mount Vernon @ the Lynch Ford dealership, waiting for an oil change on the truck.
You'd think terrorism would pull us together. Instead, Obama and his party think it is okay to give terrorists a civilian trial, where the accused is allowed access to a lawyer. What does that mean? Basically, it means he can invoke his right to remain silent and not tell the USA anything about other terrorists. It's insane.
I'm sitting in Mount Vernon @ the Lynch Ford dealership, waiting for an oil change on the truck.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Videos as Documentation and Other Information
This link talks about using videos to explain to users how to do things. It is not a new concept - many online Help systems use videos - and I think it has its place.
My one major concern is knowing your audience. I would not want a video of a couple of the procedures I routinely do at work. I like the paper. I jot notes on it, like the password when it changes. Another place is where I unzip a file and keep track of how many files were unzipped because the procedure will add more files. Then I do the math to make sure that the number of files in my new .zip file is equal to the new files I created, plus the previous number of files. Numbers and I do not really get along because my brain - I admit this - does not work that way. I am better at manipulating words and bending them to my will than I am at math. That's the way my brain is.
Work has been extremely busy. There is a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. I did not spend more than a few brief moments working on my number one priority today because my perception was that the 'little' changes I wanted to make would not take long. They took longer and were more involved than what I could have guessed. An example was a programmer talking me through a trainer's question and explaining why his question really didn't make sense and why my initial answer to him was totally wrong. There were other things I have decided I need to do to make my help system more user-friendly and that took some of my day.
Tomorrow, being Friday and all, I'm hoping for a clean slate of nothing but working on a new end-user document (EUD) that can be included on our next cut of the software. I know the cut is coming. The subject of the EUD is new functionality and I'd like to get, at the very least, a draft included on the cut. It is just going to take time to do it.
Megan checked out 4 CDs from the NL Library. One of them was the soundtrack to the Wizard of Oz. Turns out, whoever had it last put in the wrong CD - it was a CD of Christmas songs! I called the library and told whomever I talked to about it so that they wouldn't think it was Megan.
We are playing a song at Mass called "Sing of the Lord's Goodness." Here's an awful version of it (not me on drums!)
If you listen carefully, the rhythm is similar to Dave Brubeck's "Take Five." There used to be a video here but it was removed from youtube.com.
From our Development Manager:
Something that caught my eye in one of my daily industry e-letters, thought it might give you a chuckle to start your day:
* Stop oppressing lazy people, says job center
A British recruitment agent has been barred from posting an ad for a "reliable and hard-working" domestic cleaner, on the grounds that the listing discriminates against lazy and unreliable people. A job center official said that they refused to post the listing for fear of being sued by an unreliable but angry applicant. Telegraph (London) (1/26)
http://www.smartbrief.com/index.jsp
My one major concern is knowing your audience. I would not want a video of a couple of the procedures I routinely do at work. I like the paper. I jot notes on it, like the password when it changes. Another place is where I unzip a file and keep track of how many files were unzipped because the procedure will add more files. Then I do the math to make sure that the number of files in my new .zip file is equal to the new files I created, plus the previous number of files. Numbers and I do not really get along because my brain - I admit this - does not work that way. I am better at manipulating words and bending them to my will than I am at math. That's the way my brain is.
Work has been extremely busy. There is a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. I did not spend more than a few brief moments working on my number one priority today because my perception was that the 'little' changes I wanted to make would not take long. They took longer and were more involved than what I could have guessed. An example was a programmer talking me through a trainer's question and explaining why his question really didn't make sense and why my initial answer to him was totally wrong. There were other things I have decided I need to do to make my help system more user-friendly and that took some of my day.
Tomorrow, being Friday and all, I'm hoping for a clean slate of nothing but working on a new end-user document (EUD) that can be included on our next cut of the software. I know the cut is coming. The subject of the EUD is new functionality and I'd like to get, at the very least, a draft included on the cut. It is just going to take time to do it.
Megan checked out 4 CDs from the NL Library. One of them was the soundtrack to the Wizard of Oz. Turns out, whoever had it last put in the wrong CD - it was a CD of Christmas songs! I called the library and told whomever I talked to about it so that they wouldn't think it was Megan.
We are playing a song at Mass called "Sing of the Lord's Goodness." Here's an awful version of it (not me on drums!)
If you listen carefully, the rhythm is similar to Dave Brubeck's "Take Five." There used to be a video here but it was removed from youtube.com.
From our Development Manager:
Something that caught my eye in one of my daily industry e-letters, thought it might give you a chuckle to start your day:
* Stop oppressing lazy people, says job center
A British recruitment agent has been barred from posting an ad for a "reliable and hard-working" domestic cleaner, on the grounds that the listing discriminates against lazy and unreliable people. A job center official said that they refused to post the listing for fear of being sued by an unreliable but angry applicant. Telegraph (London) (1/26)
http://www.smartbrief.com/index.jsp
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