Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Fun Tunes to Play



More Jeanie Robertson

Editor's Note: The videos embedded below are not solely by Jeanie Robertson. This is actually a collection of various videos that create a smile.

My nephew Danny drove down from Key West, IA, to our house to return some tables that had been borrowed from us for his graduation party in June. We went to the Tin Roost for supper - I love their mac & cheese and last night's was excellent! - and after we got back to the house, we started talking. Something triggered my memory of the "Driving with Women" video below.

Danny, Alex, and I sat and watched all of the videos below before he left to return to Key West. Last night has now prompted me to create this post as a follow-up to https://prhmusic.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-future.html from nearly a decade ago.


https://youtu.be/ YXop-pMPqWQ














ENCORE!


Get out the Bubble Wrap

https://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Boy-10-charged-with-assault-after-classmate-suffers-dodgeball-injury-513429121.html

Inspired me to get up and Walk

https://www.kcrg.com/content/sports/Cedar-Rapids-Man-Loses-Over-than-200-pounds--513418081.html

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

NJ Congressman Sneaks METALLICA Song References Into Ticket Resale Act Testimony

NJ Congressman Sneaks METALLICA Song References Into Ticket Resale Act Testimony


Just Under 5 Years Ago, This was Done



The Fast and the Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw - Their Story So Far



Interesting Opportunities for NOT Me

Not for me, but interesting. This site appears to be a good resource for writing-related jobs so here is the home page for searching for positions for the company: ttps://www.randstadusa.com/

Today, July 30, 2019, I found the three jobs below. I noticed a gap between the hourly rates ($60 - $117) which made me wonder, "What do these jobs pay?"

Because I love math so much (NOT!!), I decided to use this simple formula:
(Top of the listed salary range x 40 hours a week) x 52 = Yearly Gross Pay
This is what I determined:
  • Newport Beach, California - ($60 x 40) x 52 = $124800
  • North Chicago, Illinois  -     ($83.30 x 40) x 52 = $173264
  • San Francisco, California -  ($117 x 40) x 52 = $243360
Of course, no, I'm not leaving North Liberty for California or Illinois. 

Technical Writer for Disaster Recovery Documentation


job summary:
  • 5+ years of Disaster Recovery or Business Continuity experience, does not have to be industry specific however we need someone with excellent writing skills
  • BS/BA in English or related technical field
  • Experience in Healthcare desired
  • Certificate in technical writing or additional job-related course work are preferred
  • Knowledge of HITRUST, HITECH & HIPAA certification requirements a plus

location: Newport Beach, California
job type: Contract
salary: $55 - 60 per hour
work hours: 8am to 5pm
education: Bachelors

responsibilities:
  • 5+ years of Disaster Recovery or Business Continuity experience, does not have to be industry specific however we need someone with excellent writing skills
  • BS/BA in English or related technical field
  • Experience in Healthcare desired
  • Certificate in technical writing or additional job-related course work are preferred
  • Knowledge of HITRUST, HITECH & HIPAA certification requirements a plus

qualifications:
  • 5+ years of Disaster Recovery or Business Continuity experience, does not have to be industry specific however we need someone with excellent writing skills
  • BS/BA in English or related technical field
  • Experience in Healthcare desired
  • Certificate in technical writing or additional job-related course work are preferred
  • Knowledge of HITRUST, HITECH & HIPAA certification requirements a plus

skills:
  • 5+ years of Disaster Recovery or Business Continuity experience, does not have to be industry specific however we need someone with excellent writing skills
  • BS/BA in English or related technical field
  • Experience in Healthcare desired
  • Certificate in technical writing or additional job-related course work are preferred
  • Knowledge of HITRUST, HITECH & HIPAA certification requirements a plus

Equal Opportunity Employer: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, National Origin, Age, Genetic Information, Disability, Protected Veteran Status, or any other legally protected group status.

Qualified applicants in San Francisco with criminal histories will be considered for employment in accordance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

We will consider for employment all qualified Applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

job description

Senior Manager, Word Processing and Standards Medical Writing
job summary:
  • This individual will have the primary responsibility (potentially shared responsibility with current Senior Manager of Word Processing & Standards) for the management and oversight of Word Processing personnel (11 non-exempt direct reports and contractors), including: providing leadership and direction; implementing the development and maintenance of standardized training materials/tools; the development of personnel; and, scheduling work and managing workload for the Word Processing personnel.

location: North Chicago, Illinois
job type: Contract
salary: $75.00 - 83.30 per hour
work hours: 8 to 4
education: Bachelors

responsibilities:
  • This individual will also have shared responsibility with the current Senior Manager of Word Processing & Standards for implementing the development and maintenance of global clinical standards (including business processes, new systems, standards, templates, related initiatives) related to the submission process in support of the production of high quality, submission-ready documents.

qualifications:
  • Bachelor's degree required -- in Science with relevant writing experience or in English or Communications with relevant science experience.
  • 8+ years relevant industry experience in medical writing or a related area such as quality, regulatory, clinical research, or product support/R&D. NOTE: Higher education may compensate for years of experience. Years of experience may also compensate for lower education.
  • Experience directly managing employees is required
  • Experience in scheduling work and managing workload (anticipated/unanticipated requests, time/resource management). Experience implementing the development and/or maintenance of standardized training materials/tools, and the development of personnel.
  • Experience in developing/instituting standard procedures, guidelines, and templates. Expert level of knowledge and experience with CTD (common technical documents) content templates in Pharma. Thorough understanding/working knowledge of MS Word.
  • Assessment, completion, and, reporting of metrics to management on a routine basis.
  • Knowledge of international regulations, requirements and guidance associated with document preparation and submissions.
  • Knowledge of current electronic document management systems and information technology (e.g. DocXTools, eDocs, SharePoint). Proficient experience in use of MS Office (e.g., Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, Word), and, Adobe Acrobat.
  • Developing strength in technical leadership and personal leadership; ability to influence current thinking.
  • Collaborative teamwork and leadership track record. Excellent business communication/presentation skills with aptitude for summarization as well as detail orientation. Ability to influence without direct authority. Ability to build and maintain positive relationships internally and externally.

job description

Creative Strategist Lead
job summary:
We're looking for a collaborative, data-driven, creative thought leader with great human and business instincts to lead Brand Strategy. As Brand Strategy Lead, you will apply strategic, analytical and creative thinking to solve challenging brand issues across a broad portfolio and ecosystem on a daily basis. This position is built to expand the strength of the Creative, Brand, and Media organization, pushing beyond traditional approaches to uncover critical competitive information, distill unique insights and synthesize them to create inspiration for our business partners and creative teams.

You'll work with a range of internal stakeholders and external partners to define the strategy, develop scalable systems, criteria, and processes to support brand growth. You're a strategic thinker, collaborative doer with a solid grasp of cloud technology space and passion for brand excellence.


location: San Francisco, California
job type: Contract
salary: $110 - 117 per hour
work hours: 8am to 5pm
education: Bachelors

responsibilities:
  • Collaborate to develop brand and communications strategies that bring stories to life and drive brand-led thinking across the organization.
  • Lead insight development process to inform brand campaigns development, messaging, and creative, including conducting primary and secondary research to understand customer needs, motivations and behaviors.
  • Drive synthesis of industry trends, competitive data, and market insights to help inform brand-led communications, creative, messaging, and go-to-market activities.
  • Craft compelling product and organizational brand strategies for new and existing products and solutions.
  • Strategically apply branding to create structure and definition around complex and/or ambiguous business problems
  • Oversee development of creative briefs, helping to develop and evangelize brief-writing best practices to inspire breakthrough creative.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional leads (product marketing, industry marketing, sales, media) and external partners (creative agencies) to take ideas from conception to realization.
  • Build and refine our brand strategy, including defining our brand voice, personality, and brand principles to guide marketing and communications with global Marketing team and agency partners
  • Act as a brand advocate, providing thought-leadership, inspiration and best practices, contributing to the success of brand strategy and marketing communications.

qualifications:
  • BA/BS degree or equivalent practical experience.
  • 15+ years of experience in consumer marketing, brand strategy, or brand planning via an agency or consumer/brand-driven company..
  • Experience in developing original and breakthrough work, along with experience in the technology category.
  • A passion for problem solving, creative expression and improving the way our brand strategy can drive the business and customer preference
  • Creative Agency Experience (advertising, branding etc.).
  • Senior Level Leadership Experience.
  • Technology Experience Client-Side Experience (In-house creative or marketing team).

skills:
  • Ability to influence creatives and agencies.
  • Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously.
  • Ability to work as part of a fast-paced team with excellent communication skills.
  • Excellent business intuition, ability to connect the dots and understand business implications
  • Fundamental design skills and creative mindset grounded in strategic thinking and user insights
  • Ability to make sophisticated technology accessible and understandable to a wide audience.
  • Ability to thrive in team situations, actively contributing thinking that enhances and/or challenges key assumptions, and understanding how to successfully leverage junior & senior team members.
  • Understanding of design thinking process and design research, and how to apply it to business and brand situations and challenges.
  • Strong project & agency management skills and experience, including managing external branding & creative agencies across a wide range of assets and formats.
  • Experience developing briefs for breakthrough campaigns that drove tangible business and brand results.

Great Setlist from an Ideal Band

There may be more to this in the near future, but, today, this is all I can reveal. Youtube playlist coming soon...

Set 1

  1. Chicken Fried - Zac Brown Band
  2. Fishin in the Dark - Nitti Gritty Dirt Band
  3. Footloose - Blake Shelton
  4. Gone - Montgomery Gentry
  5. Kinda Don't Care - Justin Moore
  6. Copperhead Road - Steve Earl
  7. Night Shift - Jon Pardi
  8. Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd
  9. Cherry Cherry - Neil Diamond
  10. Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
  11. Killin Time - Clint Black
  12. Church on Cumberland Road - Shenandoah
  13. TROUBLE - Travis Tritt
  14. Watermelon Crawl - Tracy Byrd
  15. Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top
  16. All Right Now - Free
  17. Second One to Know (std +3) - Chris Stapleton
  18. Purple Haze - Jimmi Hendrix
  19. Today - Smashing Pumpkins

Set 2

  1. International Harverster - Jake Craig Morgan
  2. I Love Rock n Roll - Joan Jett
  3. Hell Yeah - Montgomery Gentry
  4. Once Bitten Twice Shy - Great White
  5. Paradise City - GnR
  6. Kickstart my Heart - Motley Crue
  7. I Like it I Love It - Tim McGraw
  8. On a Good Night - Wade Hayes
  9. If Bubba Can Dance - Shenandoah
  10. Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice
  11. TNT - AC/DC
  12. One More Last Chance - Vince Gill
  13. Tush - ZZ Top
  14. Your Mamma Don't Dance - Poison
  15. Feel Like Makin Love Joe - Bad Company
  16. Angel Eyes Joe - Jeff Healy
  17. Old Enough to Know Better - Wade Hayes
  18. Save a Horse - Big n Rich
  19. River Bank - Brad Paisley
  20. Six Days on the Road - Sawyer Brown
  21. Lithium - Nirvana
  22. Sunshine of Your Love - Cream
  23. Kick the Dust Up - Luke Bryan
  24. Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue
  25. Shine - Collective Soul

Set 3

  1. Sad but True - Metallica
  2. Dirt on My Boots - Jon Pardi
  3. You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
  4. Talk Dirty to Me - Poison
  5. Takin Care of Business - BTO
  6. You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi
  7. Enter Sandman - Metallica
  8. Honky Tonk Woman - Rolling Stones
  9. Rebel Yell Joe - Billy Idol
  10. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
  11. Who's Cheatin Who Alan Jackson - Alan Jackson
  12. Family Tradition - Hank Williams Jr.
  13. Friends in Low Places Garth Brooks - Garth Brooks
  14. Country Girl Shake it for Me - Luke Bryan
  15. Smoke a Little Smoke - Eric Church
  16. Buy Me a Boat - Chris Janson
  17. The Joker - Steve Miller Band
  18. Wagon Wheel - Old Crow/Darius
  19. Tulsa Time - Jason Boland Band

Killer Double Bass!




Just Because Trump Said It Doesn’t Make It Racist

I think Ben Shapiro's delivery is spot-on in this video.


Disclaimer: I did not vote for Donald Trump in the last election.

From the Past

I happened to come upon this post - Not really worth 4.5 hours in the car... right? - and noticed I mentioned a band called Freaklabel from Cedar Rapids, but I didn't include a link to their information. I did include a link to a band called "Far From Falling" but when I went to that link - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=4450286 - I got a general "My Space" page. Feeling adventurous, I searched for "Freaklabel" and ended up here - https://myspace.com/freaklabel - and from there, I ended up here - https://myspace.com/freaklabel/music/albums. I randomly selected the "Slaughter Machine" tune and liked what I heard. Then, I ended up here:

Warning! Adult language in this video!



Do I Need to Walk 10K a Day?

Do we need to walk 10,000 steps a day?

I Have Pain Radiating



Bayside was 6 Months Ago Today



Monday, July 29, 2019

Met in Finland

As the Metallica world tour continues in support of "Hardwired to Self-Destruct", I am always curious which of the tunes on that album continue to be in the setlist. It appears that the band enjoys playing "Moth Into Flame" while "Atlas Rise!" appears to have been cut from the normal setlist. I do like the way the concert ends as I think putting "One" and "Master" and "Bells" and "Creep" and "Seek" in a row gives the concert a suitable conclusion. I still like the way "Atlas Rise!" used to follow "Hardwired" in the setlist, but my guess is that there is not enough time to add in that tune and still have Kirk & Rob's solo, which is ~7 minutes and, roughly, the same length as "Atlas Rise!" if I recall correctly. I do really like the inclusion of "Frantic" and "The God that Failed" as they are atypical Metallica tunes (to my ears).

00:12 Hardwired
03:46 The Memory Remains
09:56 Disposable Heroes
17:55 The God that Failed
23:14 The Unforgiven
31:55 Here Comes Revenge
40:15 Moth Into Flame
48:12 Sad but True
54:29 No Leaf Clover
1:01:05 Kirk & Rob's
1:08:04 Frantic
1:14:06 One
1:22:43 Master of Puppets
1:33:36 For Whom the Bell Tolls
1:38:35 Creeping Death
1:46:31 Seek & Destroy
1:57:55 Spit Out the Bone
2:05:37 Nothing Else Matters
2:12:07 Enter Sandman
2:18:27 'The Frayed Ends of Sanity' outro

Here's the video:


At a Time When People Wer

My editorial eye caught this typo:

Dokken Gets Heat

Per this article, Fans Are Disappointed Over DOKKEN's Performance At Iowa Speedway. I think I remember reading / hearing that Dokken was going to play in Newton, but since I knew I was going to be on vacation, I blocked it out of my mind. I listened to some of the two videos embedded within the article and I suppose I understand why fans might be mad, especially with the way the vocals are handled during "Breaking the Chains." What I think is happening is that Don Dokken cannot hit the high notes he used to be able to hit and so, to compensate for that, he sings the lyrics with different phrasings which also happen to be in a lower register.

What Was Spent

There is a slant in this article - Court Docs Show State Paid over $12,000 to Interpreter for Accused Killer of Mollie Tibbetts - that indicates I should be angry about the amount of money spent for translation in this case.

I'm not angry.

I think it is well-spent money.

Here's my take. If this guy murdered Mollie Tibbetts, he should be locked up forever and never be a free man. In order to do that, I'm guessing that every t needs to be crossed and every i needs to have a dot above it. Thus, if $12,000 is going to ensure he is never free, it is money well-spent.

It Didn't Fit

I wanted to see the new version of "The Lion King" while I was on vacation, but it just didn't seem to fit into our schedule. I skimmed through this article - In 1994, 'The Lion King' Was A Surprise Smash. Today, It's Just Another Product - and thought it was interesting to revisit.

Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner

All of a sudden, I had this tune in my head. I worked with Megan to try and discover the name of the tune and the artist. Megan thought I was singing Fall Out Boy's "Centuries" and I knew it wasn't that tune. I found an app on the Google Play Store that said I could "sing" and the app would identify the tune. I cannot carry a tune in a bucket but, miraculously, the app had two hits: the aforementioned Fall Out Boy tune and the tune I was seeking:


There is also a "long" version!


The First of 70

Today is my first day back at work after a much-needed and well-deserved vacation. We were in Elkader from Friday, 7/19, through Sunday, 7/21. On Monday, 7/22, Karen, Megan, Alex, and I headed north to Wisconsin Dells, WI, where we stayed at the Wilderness Resort. We did a lot of fun things up there including, but not limited to:
  • the "Original Ducks" tour
  • the Tommy Bartlett show
  • lots of good food at:
    • Honker's
    • Denny's
    • Moosejaw
    • Monk's
  • lots of water slides and lazy rivers and a wave pool
As might be expected, I sent a lot of emails to myself with ideas for posts to create on this blog. I have a specific folder into which all of these emails are automatically moved to and, as of this morning, there are 70. Sometimes, with that large of a backlog, I will create a single post with a whole bunch of links - I did that after our vacation in June. This time, though, I am thinking I am going to create 70 posts (starting with this one) with a brief explanation as to why I thought it was worth creating a post about it. The exception will be links or graphics related to politics, which I will add to my designated political page: Get Your Political Opinions Here 5.5. As of right this moment, there are 175 links & graphics & embedded videos on that page and I mention that because I am curious, out of the 70 emails I sent to myself, how many are related to politics.

So, to begin, this is the preview of an email that was in my inbox. I thought it would be a good post on this blog because CSS is an area of interest to me because of my work with the Disaster Recovery documentation and Knowledge Management projects. I am not proficient with CSS - I borrow, beg, and retrofit more than I write fresh original CSS rules so any opportunity to learn is one I will embrace. The problem with the screen capture below is that, somehow, the actually CSS code displays in the email preview, which should not happen.



Thursday, July 25, 2019

Orange is the New Black Season 7 Happens TOMORROW!

Guess what? When you watch a video about Orange Is The New Black, you are going to hear adult words. That's your warning.





Wednesday, July 24, 2019

What is the SOLUTION to GW?

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/climate-scientists-drive-stake-through-heart-skeptics-argument-ncna1033646

SR is Wrong

https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakeoestriecher/2019/07/23/seth-rollins-is-dead-wrong-about-why-fans-hate-wwe/amp/

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Friday, July 19, 2019

This Looks Good!



As a Tease, Here's Something

Today, at 4 PM, the trailer for Season 10 of "The Walking Dead" will premier on youtube.com.


Sum Metallica



Honor Fans

Godsmack Honor Fans in Video for Lady Gaga-Inspired ‘Under Your Scars’


F & M in ELR




Just Found This Article

Apparently, on June 2, 2019, I created the following 5 screen captures:





Dad Rock - Home

I envision myself becoming a fan of this band.




Whitesnake and Eddie Kendricks - "Still of the Boogie"



TG2:M

Time will tell whether "Top Gun 2: Maverick" needed to be made...


In Need of an Extreme Makeover

Liv Morgan and 7 WWE Superstars Who Need Complete Character Overhauls

German-Chinese Electronic Music

This is a promo email from my Inbox today. I embedded the video for the single below. Before you watch it, WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE!





C.O.W.  Release 'Shang Dang (feat. Jake Masca)' Single

via Compost Records 

Editor's Note: the picture below is linked from another website - its width cannot be controlled by me!




Youtube: 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbTbQmaC6ic

Soundcloud:
www.soundcloud.com/cowregards/cow-feat-jake-masca-shang-dang

Images & Download: 
www.dropbox.com/sh/qjtb8u6avu17bo2/AABCOQPilF0rEJBLWW5DzqzPa?dl=0

Stream / Buy:
https://CompostRecords.lnk.to/COW_ShangDang

C.O.W.
are back. In fact they were never gone. The German-Chinese electronic act and digital art project release their new single ‘Shang Dang (feat. Jake Masca)’ on July 19th via Compost Records.

‘Shang Dang (feat. Jake Masca)’ is the first single from the forthcoming ‘EPIC’ EP, which will be the first of the four elements to be released into the world. The tracks embrace the powerful moments, the grandness and limitless nature but also the great failures of our digital lives and rules.

The internet is wonderful. EPIC so to speak, since it makes encounters happen unthinkable without it. Reaching out as a fan from the Philippines, rapper and producer Jake Masca didn’t think twice when he got the chance to see the producer collective live at a gig in Germany. He booked his flights from the Philippines and visited C.O.W.
in their studios. What started out as a meet-and-greet quickly turned into a full-blown session when the producers discovered his rap-talent. Not only did they take Jake with them on stage that night, where he was pleasing the crowd with his freestyles, they also agreed on the spot to produce a track together: Shang Dang - an EPIC encounter.

“The lyrics were inspired by two parts; the first being the phenomenon of global populism beginning in 2016 and how it has affected the Philippines which resulted in the “war on drugs” campaign in the Philippines and the second has to do with the idea of raw capitalism in relation to ones strive for equality and societal value. Both of these topics were organically discussed when Jake Masca and C.O.W.
met for the first time. The result is this track.” C.O.W. 

‘Shang Dang (feat. Jake Masca)’ is available from July 19th via Compost Records.

www.cowcowcowcow.com
www.twitter.com/cowregards
www.facebook.com/cowregards
www.instagram.com/cowregards
www.soundcloud.com/cowregards
www.youtube.com/channel/cowregards
www.giphy.com/channel/c-o-w

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Another Tour Commentary

CATTLE DECAPITATION - Summer Slaughter Tour w/ Carnifex, The Faceless, Rivers Of Nihil, Nekrogoblikon, Lorna Shore, Brand Of Sacrifice + More:

7/19/2019 The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT
7/20/2019 Summit Music Hall - Denver, CO
7/21/2019 Royal Grove - Lincoln, NE

Sorry, I don't really care if this tour DOES stop in Iowa City... I ain't gonna be there as I will be on vacation 7/19 - 7/28

7/22/2019 Wildwood - Iowa City, IA
7/23/2019 Cabooze - Minneapolis, MN
7/24/2019 The Forge - Joliet, IL
7/25/2019 Crofoot Ballroom - Pontiac, MI
7/26/2019 Westcott Theater - Syracuse, NY
7/27/2019 Heavy MTL Festival - Montreal, QC
7/28/2019 Opera House - Toronto, ON
7/29/2019 The Odeon - Cleveland, OH
7/30/2019 Oddbody's - Dayton, OH
7/31/2019 Rex Theater - Pittsburgh, PA
8/01/2019 Le Poisson Rouge - New York, NY
8/02/2019 Fete Ballroom - Providence, RI
8/03/2019 One Centre Square - Easton, PA
8/04/2019 SoundStage - Baltimore, MD
8/05/2019 Orange Peel - Asheville, NC
8/06/2019 Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
8/07/2019 The Firmament - Greenville, SC

HOLY CRAP!! 19 Days Straight of Gigs! before they get a day off.

8/09/2019 Gas Monkey Live - Dallas, TX + Born Of Osiris, Bad Omens, Spite, Kingdom Of Giants
8/10/2019 White Oak Music Hall - Houston, TX
8/11/2019 Come And Take It Live - Austin, TX
8/13/2019 Club Red - Mesa, AZ
8/14/2019 1720 - Los Angeles, CA

S-M: FFH Writers Have Ideas

Interesting concepts explored below: The writer for Spider-Man: Far From Home talk about how Tony Stark and the loss of him has acted as a replacement for Uncle Ben within the MCU. and Mysterio Was Originally A Skrull According To Spider-Man: Far From Home Writers.



NOPE! I'm Not Paying $49 for a Hiring Kit for a TWer

Hiring kit: Technical writer

Agree!

From LAMB OF GOD Frontman: 'The Most Important Thing To Me Is The Clarity That Comes With Sobriety' :


"Overall, the most important thing to me, and it's shaped the way I am, it's come at a pretty high price, is the clarity that comes with sobriety, and that didn't happen overnight. I drank and partied for a long, long time. But it's been a hot minute since I've had any sort of mind-altering substance outside of coffee or e-cigarettes even. I even quit regular cigarettes. And that just has provided a great deal of clarity, to me, about what's important in my life, what's really truly important, and I'm super grateful for that. I'm super grateful that I came to that clarity before all my shenanigans killed me, because every year I lose friends, particularly in this business, in the music industry, I lose friends to drugs and alcohol. It's needless and it's foolish and [there's] nothing romantic about it.

"I hear about people that die young from drug overdoses or alcoholism or whatever and then they enter this sort of romantic mythos, and it's a sad, sad way to die," he continued. "And those people would be a lot better off if they had lived, 'cause who knows what else amazing art they would have created. And that very easily could have been me. It should have been me many, many, many times, but somehow fate decided it was not my time yet.

"So now here I am. I'm just grateful that I'm still alive and able to do a few different things in an artistic way and it puts a roof over my head and provides me a pretty satisfying life. So I'm grateful."

Mount it the Right Way

This picture of my friend Serbi would make Alex happy as Alex has wanted me to get a tom mount for my tom that I have always mounted on my bass drum. Serbi mounts his tom on his cymbal stand.


Wireless System Gives Guitarist Freedom to Suck All Over Stage

Wireless System Gives Guitarist Freedom to Suck All Over Stage

Skipping IA to play in Ringle, WI?!?

Maybe this will become a thing I do where I insert "headings" in-between tour dates with my thoughts about what I see. I got these tour dates from this page: COLD Announces First U.S. Tour In Over Eight Years

Start on the East Coast

Aug. 29 - Teaneck, NJ @ Debonair Music Hall
Aug. 30 - Stafford Springs, CT @ Palace Theater
Aug. 31 - New Bedford, MA @ The Vault at Greasy Luck
Sep. 01 - Scranton, PA @ Levels
Sep. 04 - Buffalo, NY @ Iron Works
Sep. 06 - Warrendale, PA @ Jergels
Sep. 07 - Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club

Head South

Sep. 08 - Concord, VA @ DeVault Vineyards - Blue Ridge Rock Festival
Sep. 10 - Greensboro, NC @ Blind Tiger

Not sure why "Georgia" is spelled out in the next line, instead of using "GA"... I digress...

Sep. 11 - Atlanta, Georgia @ The Masquerade @ Hell

More dates in the South...

Sep. 13 - Greenville, SC @ The Firmament
Sep. 14 - Winchester, VA @ Blue Fox Billiards

Backtrack to the North ...

Sep. 15 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
Sep. 17 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bazaar
Sep. 19 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Sound Stage

Heading to the Midwest!!

Sep. 20 - Lakewood, OH @ Winchester Music Tavern
Sep. 21 - Flint, MI @ The Machine Shop
Sep. 22 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverfront Live

Take a leisurely 5 days to get from OH to TX for 4 concerts

Sep. 27 - Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
Sep. 28 - San Antonio, TX @ The Rock Box
Sep. 29 - Dallas, TX @ Trees
Oct. 01 - Austin, TX @ Come And Take It Live

Head north to CO for 3 dates

Oct. 04 - Denver, CO @ Herman's Hideaway

Grand Junction is a 3 h 51 min (243.4 mi) drive from Denver

Oct. 05 - Grand Junction, CO @ Mesa Theater

Backtrack through Denver to Colorado Springs during a 4 h 50 min (308.6 mi) drive from Denver, which is 1 h 32 min (70.9 mi) from Denver

Oct. 06 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Sunshine Studios Live

Now that the backtracking and idiotic routing is over in CO, head East to NE

Oct. 08 - Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre

Drive 10 h 24 min (673.4 mi) through Iowa to IN

Oct 10 - Angola, IN @ The Eclectic Room

Backtrack to WI for 2 dates

Oct. 11 - Ringle, WI @ Q and Z Expo Center
Oct. 12 - Kansasville, WI @ 1175

Hop down to IL

Oct. 13 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
Oct. 16 - Belvidere, IL @ The Apollo Theater

Backtrack to IN for 1 date

Oct. 18 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue

Backtrack to IL for 1 date

Oct. 19 - Champaign, IL @ The City Center

End the tour in KY

Oct. 20 - Lexington, KY @ Manchester Music Hall

Drive I is Now Fixed! Good Deal!!

My EHD (assigned drive letter "I") had been complaining that I had corrupt files so I ran CHKDSK on it and now, this AM, I saw this which, because the print is small, I'll paraphrase for my future reference: there were problems, they weren't as serious as you might have thought, the problems are fixed, thank you!

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

LG Promotion Expiration - 7/19/2019

I guess I need to do something . . .


Editor's Note: Updated on July 17, 2019, with a revealing screenshot:


HCR



Getting Some Ls


This is my Ideal Band . . . in 1989!

This is a band that is looking for a drummer. When I watched it, I thought, "No, this is not my Ideal Band in 2019." That's because it's my Ideal Band in 1989. Why? Look at how much damn fun they are having!


Great Question

From Why Would Teachers Promote the Killing of Human Children?:

“The NEA will include an assertion of our defense of a person’s right to control their own body, especially for women, youth, and sexually marginalized people. The NEA vigorously opposes all attacks on the right to choose and stands on the fundamental right to abortion under Roe v. Wade.”

The nation’s largest association of professional educators – individuals who have given their professional lives in service to the power and potential of young people – “stands on the fundamental right to” kill young people. It’s such a glaring and alarming inconsistency, it shocks the conscience.

Monday, July 15, 2019

Jake One-Liners



Missed

WWE Blows It by Having Brock Lesnar Cash in on Seth Rollins, Not Kofi Kingston

Cena vs. Orton vs. Triple H vs. Big Show — Fatal 4-Way WWE Championship Match: Raw, June 15, 2009

This is from 3699 days (10 years, 1 month, 2 weeks, 3 days) ago.


Hopefully KB has a Great Senior Season

With a Fresh Start at Mizzou, It's Now or Never for Snakebitten QB Kelly Bryant

A Collection of Links

Drums

Music

News

Pro wrestling

The Walking Dead

Get Your Halos Put Out





Shinedown in the Early Days



Loads of Talent on the Same Stage

The talent on this stage is abundant. When this was recorded in 1990, Guns-n-Roses, Skid Row, and Metallica were the hottest bands around. That said, this video is immensely difficult to watch because of the poor quality. I wish there would be an actual "official" release of it with an improved sound mix.


Be *THAT* Excel Pro

22 Excel Tips for Becoming a Spreadsheet Pro

What if Software Were Designed to Make You Happy?

What if work software were designed to make you happy?