Okay, one thing of semi-note...

I almost forgot, my youngest daughter had a test to get into the local magnet school. They recently changed their admission policy and now potential students have to take a kind of test.

We have been trying to get Daughter #1 in this school since the beginning of this school year. They formerly used a lottery system to choose new students as openings became available. They are adding space this year and are accepting a larger number of kids. But, when we got the letter telling us to come out for testing, we thought it was for both kids. But no, only Daughter #2. Which is disappointing. This school has a far better academic program in the K-5th grade than any other local school. And we really wanted our girls going there.

Or so I thought.

You ever go to a place and immediately catch a vibe that is off putting? You know, no one has done or said anything to you, but you are extremely uncomfortable there. This school did that to me. And when the administration began talking to us and explaining that no, only D#2 was being tested, my uneasiness was confirmed. These ladies were beyotches.

The school D#1 is currently attending, conversely, is full of amazingly nice people. The first time I went there, I was amazed at how comfortable I felt walking its halls. Everyone there makes an effort to be nice to you. It's pleasant.

I should make this point now, I am not going to let my inner comfort levels decide where my children go to school. That is, not unless I could put a significant name to why I feel uncomfortable. But D#1 will be going into the excellerated program next year if she stays in her current school. And I really don't want the girls going to different schools. Right now anyway.

I'm torn. I'm thinking we're going to wait and see if any more slots come open and D#1 can get into the magnet school too. But if not, we're putting D#2 into the same school as D#1.

Any suggestions?

Weekend whining

Somebody has to have done something interesting this weekend. But it certainly wasn't me.

I flushed my car's cooling system and washed both my car and van. Woo-hoo! Lots of homework. Yippee! And laundry. Oh my!

So. Anyone do anything of note or am I setting a trend here?

Steve Zahn is the luckiest SOB of this decade...

... maybe the past 100 years or so.

I have always liked Steve Zahn. His brand of goofy coolness is very appealing. This story, however, has shot him into the land of legend. He is a god among men.

UPDATE: The link I had up died, here's the story in full:

Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz in steamy threesome
Friday March 10 2006 16:57 IST
ANI

LONDON: Most men would have loved to be in actor Steve Zahn's shoes the day he shot a scene with both Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz in the movie 'Bandidas', for he was treated to a threesome with the lovely Latinas in it.

Zahn, who plays a lawyer in the movie which stars Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek as robbers in a Mexican frontier town trying to flee the law, said that his wildest dreams had come true when his co-stars tied him to a bed and teased him to get his help.

"I thought I'd died and gone to heaven," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

Certified Barista

I don't know what this has to do with coffee, but congratulations Tracey!

Because I’m All About the Guitar Pt. 20: Lenny Kravitz

Everybody goes through phases in life. There is usually something that helps punctuate those phases or the transition from one point to another. Maybe a favorite song or a frequented coffee house that served as both a landmark for our memory and a catharsis for the transition.

After I graduated from high school, the music scene was meandering. Heavy metal was getting played out and the old-school ‘70s and early ‘80s punk I adored was beginning its co-opting to pop thanks to bastards like Green Day. Grunge was just beginning to permeate our conscious minds and everywhere I looked I couldn’t find solid musical ground to stand on.

Then, although I had heard him plenty of times before, I discovered Lenny Kravitz. I mean, for what seemed like the first time, I felt his music. It was poignant, meaningful and wonderful.

I’m not sure I can articulate what Lenny Kravitz sticks out (or, stuck out – more on that later) from other bands. He’s not the first musician to rehash late-‘60s to mid-‘70s rock. Nor will he be the last. But something about his attitude in his music, something he translates well into his recordings. His music isn’t original, in fact, it’s probably more derivative than most other popular rock. But that attitude pushes his music to you, makes you pay attention to it.

There was something raw in his presentation. There was something primal in his music. There was something interesting in his words. It all worked together to make me pay attention to what he did. That and it was all catchy. Good choice of chord progressions and melodies.

His first three albums held me rapt. They filled a short void. There is also something special about Lenny that made me pick up my guitar again. I had put it down to concentrate on vocals for a while (damn me) and never fully recovered. But I did pick it up again, thankfully. Also, when Are You Gonna Go My Way? came out, it was my car’s theme song (I had a huge Ford Custom 500 – the car just seemed to purr that song).

Something happened after AYGGMW. Circus charted well, but that was mostly due to his previous popularity. It sucked. Just nothing touched you like before. To steal an overused euphemism, it was phoned in. Then 5 came out and I gave up on Lenny. There was simply nothing that was redeemable off of it. His cover of American Woman? Horrible. Painfully so.

I haven’t really listened to anything of his since then, but I’ve heard something on the radio here and there. Seems like the past couple of years might have seen a return to his earlier work – the work that made us love him. But I can’t say this with any authority. And honestly, I felt so burnt by Circus and 5 that I don’t know if I even want to find out.

Lastly, I want to point out that regardless of how much I didn’t like his later albums, I really appreciate Kravitz’s use of many brands of guitar. Though we see him play a Gibson Flying V most often, he doesn’t have any brand loyalty. You see him playing Fender, Gibson, Mosrite and Ibanez. That is really cool.

Idol liveblog ... sorta

UPDATE: Paul at Wizbang! is looking into his crystal ball.

I'm writing this at commericials while viewing the show ...

Good Lord, Bo Bice sucked.

Kinnik is the first to go. Can't say I'm surprised. I really thought she'd get the lowest votes. However, her performance of the song today is great. The best performance she's given -- ever. Is she sang like this all the time, she might not be going home.

Will's going home too. The only surprise here is that he had lower votes than Kevin. His song sucked again.

What a suck ass commercial break. I knew it'd be down to Ayla and Melissa, just let us know dammit!

Wow! I thought America would get sucker punched by Ayla's cute-factor, but Melissa's going on! I'm very happy about that as she's a personal favorite.

Ayla's crying. First time I've seen her show her age. She is truly amazing though. I think we'll see her again in the future. Her emotion is really effecting her song though ... the cracking voice is kind of killing it.

She pulled it out though, like the competitor she is. Now, let's get Kevin off the friggin' show.

Kevin stays! Damn VoteForTheWorst.com! Damn them!

America voted ... Gedeon is booted. Well, three out of four ain't bad.

I really, really thought Kevin would be gone. Oh well.

What I really find interesting about this show is the contrast between immediate opinion versus America's voice concerning other pop stars. Sometimes our memories are short and our opinions fickle. With regular pop stars, we speak via record sales. These guys really have to work hard to both give a good performance AND be likeable. Part popularity contest, part talent show. I can't believe how caught up in this I've become. Very good TV, I think.

Duct tape doesn’t solve all problems Pt. 3: Finally, where all this is going

Parts one and two are below this. Read them first.

One such rifle range occurred shortly after the battalion and our PAD returned from the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. Army units deploy to Fort Irwin to “play war” against the opposing forces there. It’s armor-based training in the middle of the desert.

Getting units’ equipment to NTC is accomplished a couple of different ways. Generally, most the vehicles and equipment containers are rail loaded. That is, they are driven onto train cars and then transported out there. There are circumstances where equipment is flown out, but that is very rare. What is more common, if equipment needs to get out more quickly than the rail, or if it misses the rail, it is line hauled -- loaded on flat-bed tractor trailers and driven out.

The one, and only time I went to the NTC, we had less than two weeks to prepare and go. We were an afterthought and we had to jump through hoops to get out there. To get our equipment out there in time, we line-hauled our two HMMWVs. This is the lesson of the story: if you are in the military, or if you ever have occasion to haul a vehicle with canvass tops across the country, take off the freaking canvass!

When we got to NTC, one HMMWV was missing the rear cargo-area canvass and had substantial damage to the front, passenger-area canvass. Either the canvasses weren’t secured for travel or the wind just picked up a weak area … they got ripped up.

So, back at Polk, weeks later, we’re having to do all this tactical travel in HMMWVs that aren’t technically able to be used. We had cannibalized the best canvasses onto one vehicle, but during the course of NTC, the front canvass ripped at the front, just above the windshield – see the circled area of the photo. However, we had to get out to the range for our one day of shooting. A soldier’s mind can be a dangerous thing; we had to work with what we had and ripped canvass met camouflaged duct tape and the military’s version – 100-mile-an-hour tape.

Picture this: Five soldiers at 5 a.m. doing their pre-combat checks for all the appropriate gear, weapons, MREs and freaking tape. It was a mess. A big, honking, aggressive, intimidating military vehicle with a huge mass of green and camouflage duct tape all over the top.

Driving to Alexandria from Polk takes about an hour in a civilian vehicle, so it takes about an hour-and-a-half in a military vehicle. About half-way there, the tape begins to lift. “Um, Specialist J*, could you hold down the canvass so it doesn’t fly up,” I holler, because you can barely hear shit in a HMMWV under the best of circumstances. We wound up pulling over and taping it down again. It barely made it.

While at the range, we reapply tape liberally. It looks ridiculous. I take the opportunity to point this out to the maintenance sergeant there who is supposed to be ordering new canvass for my HMMWVs.** He shrugs it off. He is still a bastard in my eyes.

We all shoot. We all qualify. We get ready to leave and pick up an addition passenger – a senior-ranking NCO. I was driving; I didn’t want any of my soldiers to have to worry about the canvass.

Halfway home, that senior NCO and I kept a hand on the canvass. The freakin’ tape just couldn’t hold the shit down.

I first began telling this story to relate a humorous “Ha ha, we had to drive a lot holding down canvass, how funny,” kind of story. It turned into a lot more because I realize that this event means a lot more to me and serves as an allegory for military service.

Sometimes your shit looks like it’s ready to go, and it’s not. Sometimes your shit isn’t mission capable, but you make it work anyway. Sometimes you just need a hand.

*Oddly enough, she shared my last name (by marriage) and her home town is within an hour’s drive of my family’s stomping grounds, but her family is no relation.

** Which never arrived during his stay. He moved to another installation long before we got our canvasses – over a year after we returned from NTC.

Duct tape doesn’t solve all problems Pt. 2: Getting closer

Part one is below this. Read it first. Okay. A LOT longer than I expected. There will be a part 3.

A PAD has a lot of equipment assigned to them to help them achieve their mission. They have the computers, cameras, editing systems and related accoutrements. There are supplies, tents, field desks, chairs and all that mundane stuff you don’t ever think about until you have to plan such an expedition. They also have vehicles and trailers, etc. to transport said equipment and personnel on the battlefield.

For most Army journalists, a PAD is their only real experience with combat-like training. (Ed. More correctly: Every soldier gets combat training every so often. What I mean to say is that this is a PAO soldier's only experience being in a combat-ready unit of other PAO soldiers. They may be assigned to combat units individually, but they'll never have the experience of a PAD -- getting the equipment ready, etc.) They have to stay on top of their assigned gear and their deployment equipment. But, most PADs tend to have a daily mission supporting the installation Public Affairs Office that takes a lot of time away from combat mission-related training. There aren’t a lot of PADs in the Army. Most journalists spend a good bit of time assigned to installation PAO shops where all they do is work on the newspaper or broadcast products and have that seldom-seen relationship with the company as I was talking about earlier.

Some PADs have really good relationships with the installation where they are assigned. Some don’t. The 11th PAD falls, or fell (as I have no idea how they are now) into the latter category. The problem is, is that with a commander and NCOIC, they have a detachment rating. Which means they are treated as a company-level element, but they don’t really have the personnel to support company-level activity. They should be attached to a full-size company or detachment and that company should assist the PAD in personnel and equipment issues. This relationship should be administrative only. The company and battalion supporting the PAD shouldn’t get into the business of running the PAD. BUT, it’s inevitable that these things are going to happen.

At Fort Polk, while I was there, we were attached to the 142nd Corps Support Battalion whose mission is primarily quartermaster and maintenance. At the time, they had a battalion commander who was very interested in getting in the business of all his companies, administratively attached or no. Basically, we had to start attending all battalion training meetings and perform all their training activities also.

In ways this was good. In ways this was bad. It was bad in that it took us away from supporting the post PAO and from giving the journalists training and experience in doing their public affairs mission. It was good in that it caused us to become far more battle focused. That is, we became far more familiar with our combat and field equipment, loading and unloading the equipment into vehicles and preparing ourselves for deployment.

As “Army training” is concerned, I learned more about how the Army works and how it is supposed to work in my last two years in the Army than I did in the eight proceeding. This is due in large part to our detachment commander, a major, who was a former armor officer. He knew all this stuff and forced me to learn it. He was an asshole. But it was baptism by fire and I learned tons.

The reason Maj. Mike was so influential in us actually learning stuff is because he insulated us, in large parts, from the BS that went on at the battalion. Their exercises and such tended to be cluster effs. We participated but at the same time did our own thing relevant to our mission.

One of the biggest clusters the battalion did quarterly was the rifle range. Every soldier has to qualify at least semi-annually with the M-16 and any subsequently assigned weapons, such as the M-9 pistol, the M-249 SAW, the M-24 sniper rifle, etc. Since soldiers had to this, the battalion took it as a training opportunity to take care of several requirements.

While there were several ranges on Fort Polk, the battalion decided to have its ranges at Camp Beauregard, an Army Reserve installation in Alexandria, LA. This allowed the battalion to perform a load exercise of their equipment, a tactical convoy to Beauregard and they would do the Common Test Training and Testing while there. This quarterly excursion would last three or four days. Sounds good on paper, but the execution was always, and I mean ALWAYS, a mess. Things didn’t happen when they were supposed to happen. Soldiers were running around not aware of what to do. Soldiers were running around intentionally not doing what they were supposed to do. Soldiers were running around doing things in private that they weren’t supposed to be doing. Again, it was a cluster.

So, these quartermaster and maintenance units, whose jobs were also their daily missions, would do all this stuff and it was pretty easy for them. However, those of us who were attached to the battalion, my unit, Finance, and the Personnel Services Branch were kind of ass out. We had daily missions and couldn’t really afford to take off for the majority of a week just to qualify with our weapons. So, generally, we had to cut deals that we would drive out for one day and return that evening. The catch was that we had to drive our tactical vehicles, HMMWVs and the like, and couldn’t drive regular government-owned, civilian-style vehicles.

Duct tape doesn’t solve all problems Pt. 1: The set-up

This turned out to be really long, so I am separating it into two parts. This first part is an explanation and set-up for the second part, which is the actual meat of the story I want to tell.

The military has two kinds of jobs: combat arms, combat-geared tactical jobs and non-tactical jobs. The difference being that the tactical, combat-related jobs live, eat and breathe their work. Their company is their job. Their first sergeant and company commander are also their bosses.

Non-tactical guys belong to a company also, but only for administrative issues. The first sergeants and company commanders only see their troops at formations and company-related activities. These troops have jobs at different places on the installation that, in the majority of circumstances, the company has no control over. Many of these troops work for DoD civilians.

This is pertinent for a couple of reasons. Combat arms guys are always working together. Working with the people they will go to war with. Building teams and bonds that will get them through the stress that is a combat deployment. They are also constantly working with their gear, checking their vehicles, weapons and weapon systems, and performing plans and exercises to test their systems, gear and personnel. This is their job – staying ready for war. It doesn’t matter if it’s infantry, combat engineers or chemical/biological defense, these guys are constantly working as though the flag could go up at any time. Now that the flag has been up, their training takes added enthusiasm.

The combat arms troop is the bread winner of the military. They are the guys that the rest of the military is there to support. So, in contrast, most of the REMFs (yes, I was one) don’t practice their common combat-geared skills often. They are required to go out and qualify with their weapon every so often, they have to pass a physical fitness test and they have to pass a test of common military skills regularly (quarterly in the Army). But generally, they go and do their daily support missions. There is no way they are as practiced or as ready as a combat arms troop, or someone who is assigned to a combat arms unit. They simply don’t get enough practice.

While stationed at Fort Polk, I was in the closest unit to combat arms that a Public Affairs pogue can come – a Public Affairs Detachment. A PAD is an eight-person team comprised of a commander, noncommissioned officer in charge (E-6 or 7), a public affairs NCO (E-5), three print journalists and two broadcast journalists (all E-1 to E-4). Their mission is to deploy in support of operations around the world and produce command information products (print and broadcast) for troops in theater and in the rear. That means, the PAD should do a local newspaper or newsletter. They should post this on the web or distribute it electronically. They should also be sending out press releases to international and DoD media. They may also be responsible for escorting and credentializing civilian media in theater. Broadcast journalists may be operating radio or TV stations or providing said products to the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service for distribution around the world.

Idol disappointment

Update: Dean's a little nicer than me.

Wow. What a waste guys. Not a single stand out performance. Based solely on the strength of their performances tonight, any of these guys could be going home. The show wasn't even that entertaining tonight. Very disappointed.

However, based on previous feelings and attachments we know that Taylor, Chris, Ace and Elliot are safe. I mean, they all gave passable performances, but they either chose the wrong song or delivered a lackluster performance. I thought Taylor gave the best showing, and I liked his song choice, but something was off.

As for who's going home, I'm almost certain that Kevin is on his way out. My next choice is between Will or Gedeon. They both kind of freak me out for one reason or another. Bucky may be in there also, but he was in the passable range tonight also.

I can run!

Well, I can jog slowly, actually. For those of you who haven't been reading my blog long, or just don't pay attention, I have only recently started exercising and getting back in shape. Allow me to put this into a little bit of perspective for everyone.

Two years ago, when I was in the Army, I could still run. Not well, mind you, but enough to still call it running. That changed the day I went on terminal leave. I haven't so much as looked hard at a gym in two years.

My decision to diet and exercise has followed a somewhat haphazardous plan. I started with diet and very slight exercise. Enough so that I don't even consider myself having started exercising until I started going to the gym last week.

Near the beginning of this initiative -- say, three or four weeks ago -- I tried to run. I woke up early one day with the intent of doing a slow, very short run. I went MAYBE 100 yards. I mean, it was not lack of desire, I simply experienced total body failure.

Last week I began a serious workout plan at my gym. I am currently focusing on cardio to both build endurance and lose weight. I am doing 45 minutes of cardio and a slight ab workout Mon., Wed., and Fri. I am doing 30 min of slow cardio focusing on muscle-building, reverse-progams and then weight training on Nautilus machines on Tues. and Thurs. It's been going well the all of one-and-a-half weeks I've been doing it.

I threw my back out on Monday. I rested really well Monday evening and took yesterday off exercising and pretty much chilled out. Today I planned to do a very light workout on the elliptical or a walking pace on the treadmill. I don't know what was up today, but every freakin' machine in the place was in use. Normally, when I get there after work, I can count the number of people in the fitness center on one hand. No more than two. Today it was packed. I decided to bite the bullet and just go run.

It was easier than I thought it'd be. I can't believe how much more of a workout real running (well, slow jogging) is compared to a machine. Covering real ground versus digital miles is so much more rewarding. I am ecstatic, hence the long post.

Thanks for supporting me in this guys.

Lessons learned

As most of my 'net friends know, I am attempting to lose weight and get in better shape. There are pros and cons to this. Over the past week-and-a-half, here are some lessons I've learned or, at least, were refreshed.

Lesson #1: It's amazing how quickly your body responds to exercise if you push yourself at a decent rate. I started my gym routine on an elliptical runner, 45 minutes, level 1, flat rate. And it nearly KILLED ME. By Friday I was running random hill programs, 45 minutes at level 8 and it was a good workout.

Lesson #2: While your body responds postively to stimuli, it will also respond negatively. For example, if you have a back prone to going out of whack, it's going to do so.

Lesson #3: I prefer plain old ibuprofin to naproxen sodium. Growing up a military dependent, I was given Motrin for every ache and pain. A few years of military service provided the same. Then one day, naproxen sodium came into my life and I thought it was a Godsend. But, based on recent comparisons, ibuprofin is my preferred pain killer for back pain. Naproxen sodium is still the king for headaches though.

Lesson #4: There is no entree I can think of that is not improved by a liberal dose of hot sauce. This is, of course, not a recent lesson learned, but something that bears repeating often.

Welcome back!

The Shape of Days is up after a short hiatus. Jeff has posted all the entries he wrote while his site was down, and (like I need to say this) they are great. Especially this one.

Again with the Idol

UPDATE: Dean has now got his thoughts up.

Tonight the ladies kicked it up a couple of notches, in comparison to last week. But, there was something lacking in most of the performances. Paris seemed ... flat, or just too comfortable in the role she's made for herself. I have no doubts that she'll continue to next week, but she needs to really challenge herself soon or she may not see many more weeks. Especially when they combine the girls and guys.

The best performance tonight, bar none, was Mandisa's version of I'm Every Woman. She loves the song, you can tell. She just owned it. Very good, very good. I'm not sure I agreed with Randy's "best performance this season" assesment, but it was very good.

Second best ... I think probably Kellie Pickler. She sang Melissa Etheridge's I'm the Only One and did it very well. She didn't have the second best sounding voice of the evening -- or third or fourth for that matter -- but she did have the second best performance. She just sucks your attention to her. Very watchable. If you're not young enough to lust after her, you either feel like she's your little sister or daughter. She's so disarming. I don't know that that'll be enough to carry her to the end, but she's sailing past tonight.

My picks for who's leaving: I am certain that Kinnik Sky is leaving. Unfortunate because I really liked her personality; she just hasn't delivered the goods since finals. Second choice ... that's a bit harder. I believe it's between Melissa McGhee and Ayla Brown. While I really like Melissa's voice and would love to hear some more songs from her, she's probably going to be the one voted off. I think Ayla's got more universal appeal and is just too likeable.

You?

Wizbang! continues to rock

The commentors at Wizbang! are consistently interesting, amusing and thought provoking. Recently I have been reading Kim Priestap's stuff and she is doing amazing stuff.

Her recent post about the Oval Office carpet is dead on. She is now a permanent commentor at Wizbang! and posts weekly updates at her original blog. Make sure to pay attention to her stuff, it's great.

An Academy Award post

I only caught bits of the show last night, but anything I would write was best said here.

Great excerpt:

Hollywood is often accused of being "out of touch with mainstream America," as Jon Stewart said during his opening monologue. He specifically pointed out that "this town is too liberal," joking that it's "a moral black hole where innocence is obliterated." As George Clooney pointed out while accepting the Oscar for best supporting actor, Hollywood's progressiveness often means that its films have often led the country before it changes for the better. The real way that Hollywood is out of touch has to do with its inability to laugh at itself, and the Academy Awards are the best example. Films are important, whether they are everlasting works of art or audience-pleasing thrillers. As Jon Stewart demonstrates every Monday through Thursday evening, appreciating something's consequence and weight while laughing at it is possible, just maybe not for an audience that is too caught up in its biggest moment.

Difficult weekend

I had an arm-length "Honey Do" list this weekend and I didn't accomplish any of it.

The two major items on said list were to clean our mini-van (three kids, even one being an infant, are rough on a vehicle) and run a radiator flush through my car. I woke up Saturday morning intent on getting those two things knocked out. Still getting the groggy out of me, I logged onto my computer to check mail, etc. That's when the weekend went downhill.

My computer decided it no longer wanted to talk to me. The keyboard was refusing to act in a civil manner and the mouse was all out of sorts. Initially, I was able to run my anti-virus and anti-spy ware programs, but to no avail -- the computer's ailment just kept getting worse. To the point that it would only boot up about 1 time in 5.

I ran through every diagnostic I could, checked everything I know how to check and came to the conclusion that whatever the problem was, was beyond my ability to fix. So I was faced with a couple of choices: Pay someone to diagnose it, buy a new system. Well, we're not a large area and most computer places aren't open on weekends (and because of school and my wife's things we really can't have our computer down very long). The only places that were open charge around $70 just to look at the thing. Then you have to worry about getting parts and if you can do the work or have to pay them to do it. OR, just pay a bit more and get a new system. I did the latter. I was able to cannibalize most of the parts from my old computer: ram, DVD burner, and the old hard drive.

I slaved the old drive and pulled our old information from it and reformatted the thing. I believe that the processor was going out on our old computer, but I don't know this for a fact. Anyway, it took me almost two whole days to do my diagnosing, part hunting, giving up and buying and then reinstalling/setting up. Hopefully I'll get to some of that Honey Do during the week.

Because I'm All About the Guitar Pt. 19: Is it guitar or is it Korg?

I am a fan of progressive rock. I love bands that consist of great musicians playing great music at breakneck paces. Odd chord choices and interesting scale progressions are my cup of tea.

A common theme is making one instrument sound like another, or mimicking other sounds. My favorite band, Dream Theater, is big on this with guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess sharing solos. So, I've decided to post a fun little challenge, can you tell which solo is guitar and which is keyboard:

Clip 1
Clip 2
Clip 3
Clip 4
Clip 5

Answers are in the box, highlight text inside to see the answers.

Clip 1: Keyboard Clip 2: Keyboard Clip 3: Guitar Clip 4: Both Clip 5: Guitar

Let me know how you did.

Previous installments:
Part 18: A beautiful guitar;
Part 17: Getting all amped up over the sound;
Part 16: Not quite plug and play;
Part 15.25: Don't let Gibson buy your company;
Part 15: The greatest guitarist you've never heard of;
Part 14: The finish;
Part 13: Vernon Reid;
Part 12: The vibrato tremolo;
Part 11: Jimmy Page;
Part 10: What's in the wood?;
Part 9: Rebuilding a guitar;
Part 8: G3 2005;
Part 7: John Petrucci;
Part 6: Chingon;
Part 5: Home recording on the cheapity cheap;
Part 4.01: Guitar Zen;
Part 4: Full service Friday -- concert going in 1993;
Part 3.5: Gretsch guitars;
Part 3: The Reverend Horton Heat;
Part 2: Back when I thought I could play;
Part 1: Zakk Wylde then and now

Idol ruminations revisited: Hicks and Daughtry kick ass

Well, the guys did better than the girls, but there were still some poor song choices and it was lackluster in comparison to last week. However, my favorties, Taylor Hicks and Chris Daughtry brang down the house.

I was shocked by the judges' comments for Hicks. I thought his song choice was perfect for him and they berated him for not showing out. I just don't get these guys sometimes. Meanwhile, Daughtry closed the show with a huge rock and roll number. The very best volcal performance was by Elliot Yamin, but he lacks the stage presence and overall likeability of Hicks or Daughtry.

Dean disagrees with me on a couple of issues.

It was difficult, but I was able to cast votes for both my favorites. Who do you think's going home?

Defining yourself

Cullen -- [adjective]: Extremely extreme! 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

h/t Rob.

More Idol ruminations

I agree with Dean, last night's American Idol episode was the worst of the season.

With three exceptions, the ladies made very poor song choices. Melissa McGhee, Kellie Pickler, and Mandisa were the only ones who picked decent songs and gave enjoyable performances. I disagree with Dean, in that I think Melissa gave the best performance. She got my vote last night, but I was also going to try and cast one for Kellie. American must really love that girl because the phone lines were busy for a solid 30 minutes on her line. I gave up without ever getting through.

Based on this episode, I truly believe that a guy is going to pull off this year's contest. Not just becuase I think Taylor Hicks is awesome, but because the overall talent pool with the guys is much greater.

Speaking of Hicks, don't forget to log in your choice of song in my post below this one.

The Taylor Hicks post

UPDATE and BUMP: With Idol on tonight, I wanted to bump this up as it takes on relevance again. I also want to link to Taylor Hick's pre-Idol songs again. You can find them here. Hell of a Day is my personal favorite.

Well, it seems that among my readers, friends both cyber and otherwise that are Idol watchers are all pretty big on Taylor Hicks.

So, given that we all believe he's going to make it, perhaps all the way, I pose this question: What song do you think he should sing?

My suggestion: Life Without You by Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Yours?

The ongoing quest for better health

It was a rough week last week. Most folks in my household dealt with some varying degree of head and chest cold. Nothing as bad as WunderKraut, but enough the derail diet and exercise as we sought comfort food and could barely get ourselves to move. So when we needed to eat the best, we ate the worst.

But I have restarted with a vengeance. I hit the gym yesterday for the first time in years. I spent 45 minutes on the elliptical runner. Today, I'm scaling that time back a bit, probably 30 minutes and am going to do some strength training as well.

I haven't gained back any of my initial loss, and that's a good thing, but I really need to push myself in the gym for a while to see some more progress. Hope you are all doing well also.

The Great Reorganization

Not too much went on this weekend in my A/O. I spent all Saturday reorganizing my daughters' room.

They have a hard time keeping it clean. This is mainly my younger daughter's fault. She pulls out toys and clothes and stuff while daughter #1 is at school so #1 comes home to a mess and has to, unfairly, clean up her sibling's disaster. So, it slides. And slides. Until the mess is too much for them and almost too much for us. I finally got tired of it.

I flipped their bed around and reorganized their closets. I cleaned up their mess and moved their TV across the room. It's not perfect -- they just have too much stuff for it to ever be perfect -- but it gives them more space to play with the space being better distributed.

They have been given rules in the past. But I have given them three rules to follow every day: keep your beds clean (made up and no toys on them); anything you take out, you must put away before doing anything else; and they have a cabinet of games and crafts that they must ask permission before getting anything out of. Simple, yes? Well, they've had variations in the past that have always failed.

Failure is the issue I've been concerned with while devoting so much of my time to the task. My wife has spent countless hours reorganizing their room, only to have the mess take over. Part of the problem, I think, is that their only incentive to keep things clean was to not get in trouble. That is, if they kept their room clean, nothing positive happened, just maintaining status quo. But if it was dirty, they got in trouble. The other, obvious problem, is that they have too much stuff in too small a space.

As for the first problem, I have initiated an allowance for them. This way, they have a positive incentive if they keep things clean and organized and lose that incentive if not (and further punishment as necessary). Of course, to make this a habit for them, the wife and I have to become very active in helping them keep things clean. Which is the primary reason these things fail in the first place -- lack of our participation. We're hoping to add new chores every five weeks or so, giving the kids enough time to turn the new activities into habit before creating more tasks.

The second problem is a lot harder to deal with. Space is a premium. We already have a storage unit and are going to have to move yet more stuff to it. There are times I want to just get rid of so much stuff. But whenever I start trying to cut back my own crud, I hit a brick wall. We're pack rats. It's a hard habit to break.

So, if anyone wants to hire an editor for about twice what I'm making now so I can afford a bigger place, let me know.

The ports

Jay Tea at Wizbang has the definitive post on the ports issue.

From the beginning, I've kind of wondered what the big deal with this is. Working with the military and being former active duty, I've seen contracts change hands often. Overseas, we have local national employees doing a lot of the work. In Afghanistan, Afghans perform a large part of the day-to-day labor that makes the bases their stronger. They also have a lot to do with the food service there.

So, after my initial schock that the UAE was going to run our ports security, I hunted down the real deal. Oh, they're only going to control the management of the ports. Oh, it's only six ports. Sheesh, this is a regular contract deal and the ports in question were already controlled by a foreign company.

To summarize, the UAE is an ally. The UAE has been a strong supporter of our War on Terror. The UAE will be a deciding factor in any offensive strategies we will have to take against Iran. This Arabophobia I'm seeing across the country is sickening and it's becoming more and more clear that much of it is being orchestrated by the Democratic party and dock-working teamsters. Want to ally yourself with them?

Because I'm All About the Guitar Pt. 18: A beautiful guitar

Sometimes the muse strikes. Sometimes not. Sometimes it tells you to write. Sometimes it tells you to admire a beautiful guitar.

D'Angelico guitars are considered some of the very finest ever made and the teardrop New Yorker is their very best. From the D'Angelico website about the founder:

Master luthier John D’Angelico is universally regarded as the finest archtop guitar builder that ever lived. In his Kenmare Street workshop, on New York City’s Lower East Side, he created the first of what would become the standard to which all other guitars would be compared. D’Angelico adapted techniques that had been used for centuries, and then improved these delicate manual processes in order to build the modern instruments demanded by his musician clients. These guitarists often requested special size and structural variations, in the body depth or scale of the neck for example, and that additional features and stylish embellishments be incorporated in the finished design. The marvelous reputation of “D’Angelico-built” guitars quickly spread throughout the musical community, and soon John D’Angelico’s small New York workshop was attracting professional musicians from all over the United States.

While they are the cream of the crop of guitars, their semi-hollow bodies start at an approachable $1,700, their archtops at just about $200 more than that. But they cap out with their remarkable teardrop New Yorker model which would put you back a whopping $30,000.

Check out D'Angelico's website for more gorgeous guitars. Check out Ed Roman's teardrop New Yorker page.

Previous installments:
Part 17; Part 16; Part 15.25; Part 15; Part 14; Part 13; Part 12; Part 11; Part 10; Part 9; Part 8; Part 7; Part 6; Part 5; Part 4.01; Part 4; Part 3.5; Part 3; Part 2; Part 1

I AM THE LAW

You scored as Justice (Fairness). Your life is guided by the concept of Fair Justice: Everyone, yourself included, should be rewarded and punished according to the help or harm they cause. "He who does not punish evil commands it to be done." --Leonardo da Vinci "Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace." --Dwight D. Eisenhower More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page... Justice (Fairness) 85% Existentialism 65% Divine Command 65% Utilitarianism 55% Strong Egoism 45% Hedonism 45% Kantianism 40% Nihilism 15% Apathy 15% What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03) created with QuizFarm.com

h/t to slickdpdx

Idol murmurings

Last night's Idol was superior to Tuesdays.

Not that I don't like the female contestants. When it boils down to who's best, I think the women have the edge. But the reason last night's comp. was better was because the men have some real talent across the board. There is going to be some tough decisions later on, it will be interesting to see which six progress.

The three I know, and want to progress are Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks and Ace Young. They all gave great performances and all have the potential to be stars. Not just American Idol stars, but I think they could transcend the medium, if given the opportunity. But the only one out of that three who really made a good song choice last night was Chris.

Talor ... I want him to win. I like him the best out of any contestant. But I don't think, when it's down to him and Paris or Lisa or Katharine, he's going to make it. Man. I want to hear this guy sing with BB King or Eric Clapton. There is already a great future for him, I think, even if he doesn't progress past tonight.

That's my two cents anyway.

UPDATE: Dean's got a good post up also.

UPDATE the second: Tracy seconds the Hicks.

UPDATE the third: You can download some of Taylor Hicks' pre-Idol songs here. I revise my assessment. This guy rocks solid. I think he's gonna go all the way. (h/t Bill from INDC Journal commenting at Dean's).

Linear vs. non-linear learning

I have no cases to back this up, just my own experience, but doesn't it seem like learning is enhanced when classes are presented in a logical progression?

I am in classes again. I am trying to finish my degree and move on to the Master's program. The class I am in is difficult. Not the subject matter, but the way it is being presented.

We're not progressing linearly. The professor is pulling information from all over the place to fit an idea he's presenting that has no apparent logical end. It wouldn't make much difference if was an easy flowing, assignment in a couple of weeks kind of thing, but the dude assigned a HEAVY workload and we have much due our next class session (Friday). Problem is, no one has much clue as to what to do or how to do it.

Sad thing is, the class is about developing courses for adult education.

The coffee pot

I have a theme going in my coffee-related accoutrements. I have been building my stock of brushed steel and black items and finally have nailed the final piece -- my coffee maker.

I have been wanting a certain Mr. Coffee model for quite some time. But, since I had a working coffee maker (no matter how cheap it was and how ugly that slightly off-white is) it was hard to justify dropping the $60 or $70 for one.

Then, I get a letter from Gevalia where I get a pound of coffee and this cool pot for a pittance of a fee. No further obligation. Pretty neat. So I got a coffee pot that is very similar to what I wanted, a pound of really good coffee and an easily cancellable contract with Gevalia.

Just thought I'd share.

Paid to be poor

I always have mixed emotions around tax time. I am not well off. Never have been. I am a former Army sergeant and am now a government employee at pay grade GS-09 step 1. You can find these salaries if you care to look. My wife is a stay-at-home mom and we have three children. I am not well off.

However, I make plenty of money to get by. If I don't buy into instant gratification, I make plenty to live comfortably. It's a matter of priorities and savings. It's taken us some time to figure that out, but lessons hard learned are the ones that stick best, I think.

Ever since I started filing taxes, I have worked it so I got a refund. When it was just the wife and I, we claimed as little deductions as possible to get that return. I understood it was an interest-free loan to the gov't, but I just didn't want to pay. But as we started having children, we started getting more and more money back from the government. To the point where every year I get back more than I pay in -- a lot more. This year it's nearly six times what we paid in, and I claim every dependent I have.

While you never want to complain when anyone gives you money, I have a problem reconciling it with my ethical mind. I didn't earn this money. The gov't basically gives me the greatest return on my loan to them that I'll ever see. I'm going to take it. I'm going to reinvest it in the economy like a good American. Some of it will see savings.

Every time I hear some liberal wacko talking about how taxes are unfair, I know they are. But not in the way they think.

Because I'm All About the Guitar Pt. 17: Getting all amped up over the sound

Getting the right sound is important to guitarists. Making your own guitar sound, your "unique" tone is the goal of all aspiring six-string slingers. However, how important are the minutiae? How important is that all-tube amp? How important are those super shielded, gold-plated-connector cables? How important is a separate head and cabinet vs. a combo unit?

For many, Marshall stacks are the gold standard of rock guitar amplification. In many ways they are. Just about every band from Hendrix, The Stones and The Who to Iron Maiden and Slayer have used or do use Marshall amplification. They build solid products with dependable sound.

My answer to this -- again MY answer -- is not that freaking much. Honestly, I hear people talk all the time about tube amps vs. solid state. I hear all the arguments for and against using the best, most expensive equipment you can get your hands on. Well, you know why that shit sounds better? Because it's the best built, not necessarily the best technology.

The guitar world is famous for this creation of mojo. They construct a really good product, but to get people interested in forking out the extra bucks, they have to come up with some kind of gimmick to sell it the hungry masses. They add gold plated connectors to their high-end cables and get BIG NAME GUITARIST to endorse the product. Suddenly a rush of young wannabes all have to be playing Gold Plates: The 24-karat cable or some such.

Now, I am not saying that the Tube vs. Solid State argument is exactly like this, but it's similar. There is a difference in sound between tubes and solid state. You can hear tubes hum. You can tell the influence they have on sound. An old tube will negatively color your sound. Conversely, you can tell when a solid-state amp is playing. It's sharper and lacks the warmth that so many guitarists associate with tubes. But this is also a broad generalization.

Tube amps and heads are the Holy Grail of guitarists. And I will tell you without a doubt, almost every tube amp out there is better than every solid-state amp out there. I believe the reason has everything to do with quality of construction and very little to do with tube or solid-state technologies.

You look at almost any amplifier manufacturer's line of products and can see that their budget models are all solid state, while their high-end models are all tube. So, predictably, one of the upsides of tube amps is the quality of manufacture. There is a lot of history in tube amps and guitar playing, so musicians are always going to want to tap into that as much as possible. They are also going to emulate their idols, who are using tube products.

Of course, a great majority of these idols are getting their tube products for free because of endorsement deals, but that's part of the biz. A major drawback is that tube amps are power hungry. That is, a tube amp requires more power to produce its rated wattage. Another issue is that vacuum tubes break, blow out or lose vacuum. You have to replace them frequently and check them often. Which mean that if you gig a lot, you should have back up tubes on hand or you could be in trouble.

Line 6 products vary from combo amplifiers, heads and cabinets, effects to synthesizer guitars. They make quality products and are always on the cutting edge of technology. Their POD guitar/computer interfaces is an innovative step to home recording or just playing around with computer effects.

Tubes can get expensive too. Prices range from $10 - $80 but there is a JJ/Tesla model out there I've seen running for over $200 (per tube!). Also, different tubes can effect sound quality and overall volume.

Solid state amps take guitar electronics out of the 1950s and puts them firmly in the next couple of decades. I am no electrical engineer, but I do know that solid-state electronics is a more reliable and economic way of routing power. Most guitarists had problems with the way solid-state amps sounded in comparison to tubes. They were dry, didn't have the depth of sound that tube amps have and the overdriven channels lacked the punch that tubes gave.

However, technology gets cheap. Technology gets better. Fast. Nowadays you have spring-reverb loaded, heavy-overdrive ready amps that rival tube amps in sound and size. They also usually deliver more power, cheaper. Solid states also have a good life-span.

Fender has long made great guitars and great guitar products. They have always had an eye on engineering products for the working guitarist. The Cyber Twin combines tube and solid state technologies to produce great sound and high output.

Honestly, I have no idea why tube amps sell so much better. They simply aren't that much better sounding. And you can pick up a solid state that does more or is bigger, cheaper. But, they don't tend to be built as well as the tube amps are. So, some people are attracted to the quality in the tubes, which makes sense.

There is an exception to this rule. Line 6's amps are made of a comparable quality to Fender and Marshall's line of combos, heads and cabinets. They are a make completely solid-state based products that have TONS of effects and amp/cabinet models built in - which is another benefit to solid state tech: built in effects.

Of course, there is always a best of both world's out there and that is usually the tube/solid state combos. Fender has a popular line of amps called the Cyber Twin. They combine a tube pre-amp and a solid-state power amp producing a tube sound with the benefits of solid state power. They also include a lot of digital effects.

The end state of all of this is that mojo is really in you, the consumer. What do you like? What do you want? Are you going to let an aggressive marketing campaign decide what your sound is going to be?

While Marshall may still be considered the gold standard Mesa Boogie products are hot its heels. Most who have played or heard Mesas swear by the sound. John Petrucci plays 'em, nuff said.

Get out there and play a lot of amps. Play the same songs. Play using the same effects. Play using no effects. Play using the same guitar, preferably your own so you have a base idea of sound and attack quality.

Having written all that, if I could afford a Mesa Triple Rectifier there would be on in my home right now.

See you next week.

Previous installments:
Part 16; Part 15.25; Part 15; Part 14; Part 13; Part 12; Part 11; Part 10; Part 9; Part 8; Part 7; Part 6; Part 5; Part 4.01; Part 4; Part 3.5; Part 3; Part 2; Part 1

Top 10 All-time Best Rock and Roll Instrumentals

Man. This was harder than I thought it was going to be. I found it near impossible to limit this list to just 10 songs, but, somehow I did it.

To offer some explanation as to how I came about with my results, I followed a few different criteria. First, I asked myself, just how catchy is the song? How listenable and re-listenable is the song? Then I asked, how complex is the song? How much musical ability is evidenced in the tune? I then asked how influential is the song is. How many places have I heard this song? How many musicians do I know or have heard of that list this musician/song as an inspiration?

Last on my list of criteria is how much do I like the song? You know, there might have been some songs that should have been on my master list that weren't there, but it's my list. If you don't like it, make your own contest.

So, without further ado, here's the list (click on the title for a 20-40 second clip of the song):

10. Orion - Metallica
What can be said about this song that hasn't already? It's the definitive metal instrumental. It was played at their first bassist, Cliff Burton's funeral.

The album topped at #29 in The Billboard 200, but no songs from the album hit the charts.

9. Stream of Consciousness - Dream Theater
As big a fan as I am of Dream Theater, it should be no surprise that I chose one of their songs for the list. I do feel they deserve it though. As far as influence, every progressive band that has come out in the past 10 years lists DT as an influence. As far as musical ability, well, I am of the opinion that there are none better, as a band.

It was still a hard decision to narrow it down to one song. I love Overture 1928, but I felt that this song edged it out musically. I also almost chose Liquid Tension's When the Water Breaks for sheer musicality, but just wasn't well-known enough. At 11 minutes and 16 seconds SoC offers a tour de force trip though a variety of styles, sometimes whimsical, always very Dream Theater.

The album Train of Thought topped out at #53 on The Billboard 200.

8. Journey of the Sorcerer - The Eagles
I had to put this entry in here. While it is certainly a good song, the real reason it is on this list is because I'm a HUGE Douglas Adams geek and no instrumental Top 10 list is complete without this song, in my opinion. So, as stated earlier, it's my list, dammit!

The album One of These Nights topped the Pop Albums charts at #1 in 1975. Lying Eyes off the album won a Grammy that year.

7. Walk Don't Run - The Ventures
A great story from Wikipedia's entry on the Ventures:

The story behind their selection of Walk Don't Run provides some insight into the distinction between technical virtuousity, versus the essential elements of a wildly successful Pop-Music hit. Bob Bogle, original lead guitarist, cites Chet Atkins as one of his early influences. Bogle bought the Chet Atkins LP, Hi Fi Guitar which featured Atkins' fingerstyle rendition of a song originally written by the great jazz guitarist, Johnny Smith. Within Atkins' elaborate and laid-back delivery of "Walk Don't Run", Bogle found inspiration. He stated years later there was no way his "pedestrian" guitar skills would allow him to play it the same as Chet Atkins did, so he and Wilson worked out a highly energized, very much simplified arrangement, and a Rock & Roll Classic was born! Another Chet Atkins inspired guitarist covered "Walk Don't Run" on his album Quantum Guitar in 1998, none other than Yes guitarist Steve Howe.

6. Wipe Out - The Surfaris
Billboard.com's short bio on the Surfari's says this about Wipe Out:

...the number two 1963 hit that ranks as one of the great rock instrumentals, featuring a classic up-and-down guitar riff and a classic solo drum roll break, both of which were emulated by millions (the number is no exaggeration) of beginning rock & rollers.

It's that influential. What more can you really say, except to add a Jeff Spicoli influence, "Whoa!"

5.Classical Gas - Mason Williams
What a big sounding song! At first you almost think it's going to be some medieval throwback and then it just kicks it open. A huge song that is greatly composed.

The song won three Grammy awards in 1968 and was again a hit in 1987 when Williams re-recorded the song with Mannheim Steamroller.

4. Little Wing - Stevie Ray Vaughn
I can't say anything better about this song than Dean Esmay said in the comments section at his place:

"But I'd say that 'Little Wing' is his single greatest accomplishment instrumentally. It's amazing that they kept it in a vault and only released it posthumously. It's simply astounding from start to finish, and exceeds any cover of that song I've ever heard, including both the Derek &The Dominos version(which I love) or Jimi's own original.

And by the way, occasionally I hear some snotty punk say Stevie was 'just a hot dog.' All I can do is ask them to listen to "Little Wing" and then ask them to explain that."

The song charted at #26 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks Billboard in 1992. Two years after his death.

3. Green Onions - Booker T and the MGs
As the house band as Stax Records, Booker T and the MGs can be heard on some of the most influential soul and RB albums of the '60s. But what is perhaps more important is the instrumental work they did. Green Onions is one of the most listenable, catchy tunes ever written. This is due in large part to Steve Cropper's economical guitar work and Booker T. Jone's floating organ playing. A testament to taste and ability, this song is a vital part of our musical compendium.

The song topped out at #3 on the Pop Charts in 1962, but hit #1 on the Black Songs charts.

2. Sleep Walk - Santo and Johnny (performed by Joe Satriani)
How hauntingly beautiful is this song? Once you hear it, it sticks with you and remains infinitely listenable. A slow, jazzy, in the mood kind of song.

Released in 1959, the song reached #1 on the Billboard charts in August of that year and again in 1982 for Larry Carlton.

1. Frankenstein - Edgar Winters Group
How often do you hear this song on classic rock stations? Even if you don't know the name of this song, you've been inspired by it. Not only is this a very serious musical number, it's fun but not to the point of frolicking. To me, it is the very definition of the rock instrumental. It immediately sets the theme and there is some great interplay between the different instruments without getting tiring.

Released in 1973, this Billboard #1 song is as vital today as it ever was.

--------------------

Thanks to all who played. Dean Esmay provided the closest list, though I didn't really expect anyone to get too close. He names six of the 10 I named and our numbers 3 and 6 were the same, so I'm pretty impressed how close someone came.

In a way, I’m kind of disappointed now that I’ve actually settled on a list. So, I will say that this is, at best, subject to change at any time. In fact, I believe I have decided to make this list a biannual event -- and I will be tweaking the master list a bit.

Everyone wants to be on this away team

How awesome is this thing? The Enterprise inspired Nissan Terranaut:



To steal a line from FARK, "Set phasers on 'Awesome!'"

Not quite Tarzan

Holy crap! I completely missed this story 15 years ago, but this is awesome.

Missing MREs

If you know anything about legal proceedings, investigations, etc. you know that people can't say anything about anything while an investigation is underway. With that caveat in mind, I proceed on eggshells.

Have any of you read this story? I love my military bretheren. I love the service. I love that I get to work with them. However, every so often, they do something dumb.

Point #1: Don't sell the government's property. Point #2: If you ignore Point #1, don't sell it on eBay.

Read the GAO's report in PDF.

Wooly Booly

Who knew Ken had stopped off in Michigan recently?

Da butt?

A professor of psychology has postulated that the symbol we associate with the heart and Valentine's Day is actually a representation of the female behind.



The, er, money quote:

"The Greek goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, was beautiful all over, but was unique
in that her buttocks were especially beautiful," he explained. "Her shapely
rounded hemispheres were so appreciated by the Greeks that they built a special
temple Aphrodite Kallipygos, which literally meant, 'Goddess with the Beautiful
Buttocks.' This was probably the only religious building in the world that was
dedicated to buttock worship."

How cool is that?

Just me and my crew

A great quiz.

You scored as Moya (Farscape). You are surrounded by muppets. But that is okay because they are your friends and have shown many times that they can be trusted. Now if only you could stop being bothered about wormholes. Moya (Farscape) 94% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 81% SG-1 (Stargate) 75% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 69% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 69% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 69% Serenity (Firefly) 63% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 63% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 56% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 56% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 56% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 56% Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

Which is exactly the way I wanted it to turn out.

h/t Mary at Dean's.

Valentine's Day and all is well

Well, neither the wife nor I did much special for V-Day. This is not really anything new. I am king suck when it comes to romantic gestures. I married a very understanding woman. Thank God.

We did go out this weekend and do some shopping. I got a coffee press that you can see in the post below this one. She got some metal mixing bowls she's been wanting for some time and a day planner (she picked up for herself).

However, the past few days I have given more gifts to her than I have in some time. With our diet has come some new reserves of energy. So, I've been helping out around the house a lot more than normal. Now that's romance.

Being the father of two girls, I have been thinking a bit about future Valentine's Days. The wooing will begin sooner than I want it to, I'm sure. I guess the shotgun's gonna have to be readied.

What's got me thinking about my daughters' futures is a minor event this morning. My wife called me at work this morning to tell me what my four-year-old did. Do you know that new commercial where the girl is wearing braces and a boy walks by and says, "Braces. Cool." The theme of the commercial is, of course, to help image conscious girls feel better about getting braces.

What does my darling 4-year-old say when she sees the boy say, "Cool?" She asks my wife, "Mommy, can I get braces?"

I fear the future.

Food service Sunday

I don't want to steal my friend Mr. Bingley's schtick, but I was cooking today and decided to post my own version of his meal posts.

The wife and I are dieting South Beach-style. So we're always looking to try new things. We picked up some portabella mushrooms from Sams yesterday and I decided to do a baked stuffed mushroom with them.

Here I've got the mushrooms washed, de-stemmed and ready to go. That's a baking stone ... the wife does Pampered Chef. For baking, I have fallen in love with all things stone.

After getting the mushrooms out and prepared, I concentrated on what I was going to put on them.

I surfed the net looking for some recipes. I didn't really find anything I wanted so I decided that I was going to wing it, somewhat.

We're upping the veggies, so I went for a variety. I chopped some baby leaf spinach, some green onions, celery, and pressed out some garlic. I chopped up some Canadian bacon (which the SB Diet book says is actually a preferred meat over ham -- 'cause the sugars in most cooked hams, I imagine) and all was ready.

My choice of beverage also differs from Bing's a bit. While he kicks up the notches with his various and assundry wines, I keep the coffee brewing.

I wasn't sure how well my grand experiment was going to work. I didn't want to throw a lot of spices in with everything finding that it's always easy to add spice, but impossible to take it away.

I sauteed everything in a little bit of olive oil. I wanted to add some red wine or balsamic vinegar, but, alas, all I had in the cupboard was rice vinegar. That was a no-go.

To give it a little kick, after cooking the veggies and meat, I added some sharp cheddar cheese spread.

If you're at all familiar with this stuff, you know that a little goes a long way. I used about two tablespoons for the batch.

Left: Ready to go in the oven. Right: 350 degree and 25 minutes later, all done.

Consensus opinion = A really good blend of flavors, but a tad bland. I added some more of the cheddar spread to mine and my wife added some cream cheese to hers. She made the better decision, I think.

So, we both thought I should have added a bit more spice (some vinegar and some cayenne pepper I think) and if I'd grilled the portabella's first this would have been an A+ meal. As it is, I give it a B- (but an A for effort).

However, on the diet front, things are going quite well. Regular readers know I started this diet stuff on Monday (Feb. 6). Since then I have already lost over 12 pounds!

So, here's to weight loss!

Top 10 Contest!

UPDATE: Visitors, commenters, readers ... please leave whatever list you'd like. However, to be eligible for the contest I will only accept lists that use songs from list below.

Well I got the idea yesterday to do another top 10 list. I want to do my Top 10 All-time Best Rock and Roll Instrumentals. However, while compiling songs, I got another idea, why don't I up the ante a little bit this time? Why don't I involve my blog buds and readers?

So, here's the deal:

At the bottom of this post is the list of every song I'm considering for my top 10. Using this list, and only this list, compile your Top 10 All-time Best Rock and Roll Instrumentals. Post your list here. My list will be posted by Noon EST, Thursday, Feb. 16. The person whose list most closely matches mine will win a compilation CD of all 59 songs. If there are duplicate lists that win, the person who posted their list first will win.

I don't yet know what my list is going to be, I will be doing a critical listening session for the next few days to decide. So, don't try and get any hints out of me other than the ones I'm about to give: I have a soft spot for influential songs. I have a soft spot for rocking songs that grab you from the get go.

Don't send me e-mails or post messages saying I left any song off ... yadda, yadda. I know there are some that deserve to be here that aren't. Blah. There are some songs I wanted that I couldn't track down, and there are others that I left off because they weren't as strong as at least 20 of these. I will tell you this, those songs I couldn't track down wouldn't have made my top 10 anyway, so keep that in mind.

This post will remain at the top of my blog until I post my Top 10 Feb. 16. Post questions here, or email me.

Full list in no particular order
Happy Camper - Reverend Horton Heat
Bullet - Reverend Horton Heat
Overture (Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Disc 2) - Dream Theater
Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One - King Crimson
Red - King Crimson
Overture 1928 - Dream Theater
Beer 30 - Reverend Horton Heat
Stream of Consciousness - Dream Theater
Sleep Walk - Santo and Johnny (as performed by Joe Satriani, true to the original)
17th Century Chicken Pickin' - Impellitteri
Cliffs of Dover - Eric Johnson
Damage Control - John Petrucci
Searching - Joe Satriani
Wipe Out - The Surfaris
Honky Tonk Parts 1&2 - Bill Doggett
America The Beautiful - Black Label Society
Speedball - Black Label Society
Rat Salad - Black Sabbath
Time is Tight - Booker T & the MGs
Green Onions - Booker T & the MGs
Nottingham Lace - Buckethead
Speed Metal Symphony - Cacophony
Classical Gas - Mason Williams
The Horse - Cliff Nobles & Co.
Apache - Cliff Richards & The Shadows
Journey of the Sorcerer - The Eagles
Misirlou - Dick Dale
Erotomania - Dream Theater
Frankenstein - Edgar Winters Group
Fire on High - ELO
Albatross - Fleetwood Mac
Hocus Pocus - Focus
Maggot Brain - George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic
Beck's Bolero - Jeff Beck
Summer Song - Joe Satiani
Rumble - Link Wray
Orion - Metallica
The Call of Ktulu - Metallica
Rebel Rouser - Duane Eddy
Atom Heart Mother - Pink Floyd
YYZ - Rush
La Villa Strangiato - Rush
Satch Boogie - Joe Satriani
Spanish Fire - Impellitteri
Fire Garden Suite - Steve Vai
For the Love of God - Steve Vai
Little Wing - instrumentalized by Stevie Ray Vaughn
Scuttle Buttin' - Stevie Ray Vaughn
Surfing With the Alien - Joe Satriani
Tequila - The Champs
Pipeline - The Ventures
Walk Don't Run - The Ventures
Sparks - The Who
Tommy Overture - The Who
Triad - Tool
Eruption - Van Halen
When the Water Breaks - Liquid Tension Experiment
Evil Eye - Yngwie Malmsteen
Soul Sacrifice - Santana