Idiotic

The date in RED is when the Foo Fighters play Memphis, TN, at the Fed Ex Forum; the dates in PURPLE are the dates for Memphis in May 2018. The Foo Fighters play 5/4 in Nashville, TN, @ Bridgestone Arena, but WHY OH WHY didn't they get the Foo Fighters to headline either night 2 or night 3 of Memphis in May 2018 when they are SO DANG CLOSE to Memphis anyways?!? I know they've been the headline act for one of the nights for Memphis in May so there is a precedent.

Hedge the Bet!

From Saturday Night

Front row: Danny, Tyler, Lou, Jean, Emily, Chris
Second row: Megan, Barb, Karen, Rachel, Dave
Third row: Mark, Susie, Alex, Adam, Me, Jonathan

Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer!

Stumbled Upon This

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I am captivated by the lyrics:

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[Verse 1]
When I chip through your candy coating
You're stuffed with insulation
Just strawberry ice cream floating
With a sprinkle of indignation
Cherry under knot of shoestring
Conflate and agitate

[Pre-Chorus]
You're a plimsoll punk
You're a plimsoll punk

[Chorus]
And you're gettin' me down
Gettin' me down
Gettin' me down
Gettin' me down, down, down
You're gettin' me down
Gettin' me down
Gettin' me down
Gettin' me down
Plimsoll punk

[Bridge]
Your posture's blocking out any possible light
I can hardly see
This conversation spirals into a fight
I can barely breathe

[Verse 2]
Who ran from roman candles
Underneath a willow weeping?
Do the tealights on your mantel
Illuminate that summer feeling?
You're the seashell in my sandal
That's slicing up my heel

[Pre-Chorus]
You're a plimsoll punk
You're a plimsoll punk

[Chorus]
And you're getting me down
Gettin' me down
Gettin' me down
Gettin' me down, down, down
You're gettin' me down
R-r-r-racking my brain, trying to escape, getting me down
Plimsoll punk
Plimsoll punk

[Bridge]
Your posture's blocking out any possible light
I can no longer see
This conversation spirals into a fight
I can barely breathe

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Carlin's Wisdom

From https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200249249058431&id=1369042819&set=a.1108155588630.54317.1369042819&ref=bookmarks

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George Carlin's wife died early in 2008 and George followed her, dying in July 2008. It is ironic George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent and so very appropriate. An observation by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away.

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If the House is A Knockin' Don't Bother Rockin' Come On In! - Part II

Here's a playlist of that Davenport band:

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Time to get practicing!

Editor's Note: A tentative audition date has been set for 2/11 (Sunday) @ 3 PM in the band's studio in Davenport. There are already drums there , as shown below:

Editor's Note: The band's former drummer moved to Texas around Christmas and has moved back to Iowa. The audition date that was set for 2/11 (Sunday) @ 3 PM in the band's studio in Davenport was postponed due to weather. Then the news about the band's former drummer came to my attention. Maybe, someday, I will connect with that group of musicians, but nothing is planned.

If the House is A Knockin' Don't Bother Rockin' Come On In!

I had contact with a band based in Davenport who are looking for a drummer. Per an email thread I've been having, here is some info:

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• They have a fill-in drummer for our next gig
• After that they will need a full time drummer for the band
• They meet Sundays in Davenport at their Studio
• They have a full PA Amps and Drums.
• Most likely looking Feb 11th 3 pmish for our first time to get together.
• If they play outside the QC they would be talking more money as it would need to cover gas.
• The leader believes everyone would be down [to play other places] as the places they have been playing have been manly Davenport Iowa, Moline, and East Moline Illinois.

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I asked for a setlist and this is what they are playing at their gig on Saturday, February 3, in Davenport.

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1. Pride & Joy/SRV [E7, A7, B7]
2. Sweet Home Chicago/ Blues Bros [E] [T. Sax F#]
3. Missing You/ Rolling Stones [A] [T. Sax B] [Todd Vox]
4. Roadhouse Blues/ Doors [E] [T. Sax F#] [Bret Vox]
5. House of The Rising Sun/ Animals[Am] [T. Sax Bm] [Bret Vox]
6. Can’t you See/ Marshall Tucker [D, C, G, D] [Bret Vox]
7. Gimme 3 Steps/Skynyrd [D]
8. Sunshine of Your Love/ Cream [D]
9. Folsom Prison Blues/Jonny Cash [E]
10. Mary Jane’s Last Dance/Tom Petty [Am]
11. Jenny Jenny (867-5309) [F#]

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1. Brown Eyed Girl/Van Morrison [G]
2. Feel Like Making Live/Bad Company [D G [C D]  
3. Pink Cadillac Song/Bruce Springsteen/ Jerry Lee L [E] [T. Sax F#]
4. House Is a Rockin/SRV [B, F#] [T. Sax C]
5. All Along the Watchtower/Dylan Hendrix [Bm] [Todd Vox]
6. Red House/Hendrix [B E F# I IV V] [Bret Vox]
7. Knocking On Heavens Door/Bob Dylan [G D C] [T. Sax A]
8. Born to Be Wild/ Stepping Wolf [E]
9. Stand by Me [A] [A .Sax F#] [Bret Vox]
10. Cross Roads/ Cream [A, D, E]
11. Drive Time [Fm] [T. Sax G] - This is a funk jazzy Jam by me Alex Slack.

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1. Keep Your Hands to Your Self /Georgia Satellites [A]
2. Rocky Mountain Way/ Joe Walsh [E] [Bret Vox]
3. Maybe Babe/ Buddy Holly [A] [T. Sax B] [Bret Vox]
4. Evil Ways/ Santana [A]
5. R.O.C.K in The U.S.A/ Mellencamp [E A D A] [Bret Vox]
6. Chantily Lace/ Big Bopper [B7 E A] [T. Sax C]
7. Tell ME/ SRV [B I IV V]
8. Burning Love/ Elvis [D] [T. Sax E]
9. Turn the Page/ Bob Seeger [Em] [A. Sax]
10. Two Tickets/ Eddie Money [G A/D G A] [Bret Vox]
11. Sweet Caroline/ Neil Diamond [A]
12. Simple Man/ Lynyrd Skynyrd [C G Am] [T. Sax D]

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Other song they have if needed

1. The Wind Cries Mary/Hendrix [Eb E F] [C B Bb F]
2. Hound Dog/ Elvis [A]
3. Can’t Help Falling in Love/ Elvis [C] [T. Sax D]
4. It’s Now or Never/ Elvis [E] [T. Sax F]
5. Have You Ever Seen the Rain/ CCR [Am]
6. The Break Up Song/ Greg Kihn Band [Am]

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I know many of the tunes and have started a draft of how I would move tunes around.

What does ** Mean?

On http://www.metalinsider.net/touring/journey-def-leppard-announces-massive-co-headlining-north-american-tour-def-leppards-original-masters-now-streaming, there are 10 tour dates with ** next to the city, but there's no explanation as to what ** means:

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More RSR

This is It

This is what happens when an author of a manual doesn't look at the work they are doing or, alternatively, allows MS Word to not do what is expected.

I happened upon this PDF, which was published on 1/11/2018:

Notice how the "Introduction to Test Security" section is called 2.1 and yet, in the very next section, "Introduction to Before Testing" isn't numbered. I question it was intentionally left un-numbered because, it's obvious because of where the headings line up in the TOC, which is based upon bookmarks which, I'm guessing is automagically generated by headings, that it has the same heading style applied. Or it did, at some point. It's quirky.

If I were the technical writer in charge of this PDF, I would edit the Word document that generated the PDF and re-apply Heading 2 to the "Introduction to Before Testing"...

Flipping for Buddy Rich

Wanted

Uh-Oh

This is why I don't like writing exact times within my technical writing output. It's 11:02 AM and the text says the site will be unavailable until 11 AM. Someone missed something somewhere...

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Be as specific as necessary and not a morsel beyond.

Editor's Note: It's after 11 AM on Thursday, January 18, 2018, and logging in to the site was successful. Yet, there's a message that says the website is not available.

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3 Minutes. That's All I could Tolerate. Kudos if You can Do 29:56!

Where Did I Lose You?

It's in the Language We Choose

From https://www.minitool.com/backup/backup.html#backup-options, a backup software I was reading about:

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Verify

By checking Verify Backup after Creation option, you can check the integrity of the backup immediately after the backup completes.

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I would have wrote the following instead:

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Verify Backup Integrity

Select the Verify Backup after Creation check box if you want to check the integrity of the backup immediately after the backup completes.

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Here's my logic. First, the heading becomes the name of a task that starts with a verb. Second, I specify the name of the check box in the UI. Third, I don't use the same verb - check - to describe both the physical action of selecting a check box as well as what the program does when you select that check box. Fourth, I make it clear that this is an option to the user and not a required field by using the "if you want to" construction.

At work, i don't write text like this as I'm writing disaster recovery documentation, not software documentation. For all the reasons I loved writing software documentation, I love writing disaster recovery documentation more because I don't have to think about the many ways to write the text. I am merely assembling documentation that other teams write into a cohesive RoboHelp output.

Clicking Her Heels - Nowhere Like Hell

I sought out the band "Escape the Fate" because they are opening for Papa Roach in Clive, IA, on April 26 (98 days from today). This was the first video I watched and I have to say, I ADORE the opening lyrics:

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Clicking her heels / Says there's no place like Hell

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It's a clever rework of the classic line from "The Wizard of Oz" when Dorothy says there's no place like home.

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I haven't decided whether I want to see the band in concert.

Language Lesson for a Thursday

Are you using the word "ironic" correctly? This page about irony shows how the word often is used to describe something as ironic incorrectly. Within the page, I saw the following:

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Of course, that prompted me to find this video:

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And then I wanted to read all of the lyrics so I listened to the tune while watching this:

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All that said, go read this page about irony.

Editor's Note: Added the "Alanis Morissette" label because of this post.

Whisper in My Ear

I don't read the comic book version of "The Walking Dead" so I can't say, first-hand, whether Trev's theory in this video makes sense. I can say that from what I've heard, introducing the Whisperers to the TV show version of "The Walking Dead" sounds intriguing.

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Over It Know We As Processing Word Is?

I read the title of this post (reversed) here: Is Word Processing As We Know It Over? This Startup Says Yes - Hot New Enterprise Collaboration Platform Zillable Introduces Templates for Online Document Collaboration, which introduced me to the product "Zillable" and eventually, led me to this video:

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I'd have to see more to determine if it would be useful to me either at work or as a technical writer.

Ain't that the Loose Stool

New Found Glory, Bayside, The Movielife Announce Sick Tour

I don't see any Iowa dates, unfortunately. All I see are two dates in Chicago on a Monday & Tuesday, and one date in St. Louis on a Wednesday - none are feasible.

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5/17 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues
5/18 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade (Heaven)
5/19 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
5/20 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
5/22 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore
5/23 - Philadelphia, PA - The Electric Factory
5/25 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
5/26 - Toronto, ON - The Phoenix Concert Theatre
5/27 - Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony Summer Stage
5/29 - New York, NY - Playstation Theater
5/30 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
6/1  - Pontiac, MI - The Crofoot
6/2  - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart's
6/4  - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
6/5  - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
6/6  - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant6/8  - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
6/9  - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
6/11 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
6/12 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
6/14 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom
6/15 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl
6/16 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
6/17 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
6/19 - Tempe, AZ - The Marquee
6/21 - Austin, TX - Emo's Austin
6/22 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues

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Damn! I wanted to hear "The Ghost" live!

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So POINTLESS!!!

Washington State QB Tyler Hilinski Dies at Age 21

No Answer = Impossible

I had the same goal as this forum thread - How to add mp3 tags to an explorer's window - from August 2014. See how the Composer column is displayed but is not available in the lower part? I want the "Genre" field to be the same value as the "Composer" field. The "Composer" field is how I store the spindle on which the CD is stored. I can use Windows Media Player to append the "Genre" value to the file name, but not the value in the "Composer" field. By having files named with this naming convention -   01_SongTitle_ArtistName_AlbumName_Genre.mp3 - I would be able to know exactly where the file should be stored. It would be very beneficial as the cleanup of my audio files continues.

The Grunge Gold Rush Followed the Hair Metal Gold Rush Part II

This post is a continuation of Part I.
The point is, that when the author of this article about the "Grunge Gold Rush" wrote "Mike Gitter, a punk-rock specialist who was starting out as an A&R man for major label Atlantic Records, home of hair-metal veterans White Lion, Ratt and Mr. Big", he is too dismissive of an entire movement. White Lion, Ratt, and Mr. Big came out in different parts of the 'hair-metal' movement. Ratt came first, then White Lion, then Mr. Big. In fact, with Mr. Big, I can't call that band "hair-metal" with a straight face. Read the WikiPedia article here.

Maybe I should have sat down and formulated an outline to my arguments in this post because I've rambled quite a bit, all because I read this article: The Grunge Gold Rush Is there a lesson here? January 12, 20186:38 AM ET Steve Knopper

Editor's Note: An article relevant to this post lists the Top 10 Metal Albums of 1988.

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10. Metallica, '...And Justice For All'
9. Napalm Death, 'From Enslavement to Obliteration'
8. Testament, 'The New Oder'
7. King Diamond, 'Them'
6. Danzig, 'Danzig'
5. Death, 'Leprosy'
4. Helloween, 'Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II'
3. Iron Maiden, 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'
2. Slayer, 'South of Heaven'
1. Queensryche, 'Operation: Mindcrime'

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In general, #10, #2, and #1 belong on the list, but unable to make a credible judgement about the other 7. Unlike other Internet music writers, this blog's editor has self-control! Read the entire article here. Also worth noting is the fact that the following labels were created for this post:

• Napalm Death
• King Diamond
• Danzig
• Death

which means these 6 bands have been mentioned elsewhere on this blog:

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1. Metallica
2. Testament
3. Helloween
4. Iron Maiden
5. Slayer
6. Queensryche

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60% is a passing score!

The Grunge Gold Rush Followed the Hair Metal Gold Rush Part I

I had to smirk when I read this article about how once Nirvana exploded with tons of sales, the record labels went scouring for similar bands. At the time, many people seemed to treat that action like it had never been done before, but it had. I lived through the record companies doing it the previous time - I call it "the Los Angeles hair metal explosion" that followed the success of Quiet Riot's "Cum On Feel the Noize" in 1983ish. Soon after that, Dokken, Ratt, Poison, LA Guns, BulletBoys, and other CA bands emerged. Not to be outdone, Bon Jovi, Cinderella, and Britny Fox emerged from the East coast.

Nowadays, there is an authentic disdain for many of those bands. What irks me is when people grumble about how those bands were not talented. I never agree with those statements. Granted, Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me" is not Chopin, but neither is AC/DC's "Back in Black" or Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love." The point is that those aforementioned bands that grew to popularity in the 80s metal movement were musicians. White Lion's Vito Bratta constructed awesome guitar riffs; Ratt's Warren DeMartini did as well.

Usually what happens is that fans who make generalized statements about an entire genre of music didn't grow up listening to it. That's why I think I have more patience with those bands than with the 90s Alternative / Grunge movement. In 1991, I was a senior in college and by spring 1992, Nirvana was a 'thing' that was followed by Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam. I can wholeheartedly deny ever spending as many hours with Soundgarden's "Louder than Love" as I spent with Ratt's "Out of the Cellar" and that's really okay. Alternative / Grunge bands were just too trippy for me - too out there. I wanted Pearl Jam to make tunes like "Even Flow" and "Alive" instead of "Jeremy" (which I still consider to be an awful tune) because that was what I was used to hearing from bands. Smashing Pumpkins didn't do anything for me until they released the tune with the "Today is the greatest day" lyrics; I'd deny I ever purchased "Siamese Dream" but it came with the CDs I purchased in Indy from the fireman - can't say his name.

Continued in Part II

Be Hired by Russia for a Technical Writing Internship - NOT!

In this era of Russia being considered evil, I can't fathom even applying for this job, whether it is remote technical writing work or not. LinkedIn failed me yet again!

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Favorite Friends Scene

Wanking the Guitar

I Get It

No, this dude's purchased equipment should not be destroyed, once the illegal files have been destroyed. I'm sympathetic to this dude's appeal.
Read more here: convicted sex offender says electronics should be preserved