It’s funny, sometimes, how little things that we plan on
doing completely change as the day progresses. Take, for instance, playing my
guitar. I’ve hardly touched my guitars in two months. Not hard to do when you
are away for so long. Sure, I’ve thought about getting one of those really cool
“backpacker” guitars to take with me on road trips, but I really don’t need
that one extra item to take on a plane and have to lug around.
But, since I was home for a nice, long, holiday weekend I
thought I’d get some guitar time in. A few times during the week I pulled out
my newer JP6 and played it a bit, but found it difficult to get right into it.
I think that is mostly due to my fingers and hands not quite being in shape.
Also, the strings were shot and needed to be replaced.
I replaced my strings a couple of days ago, but nobody
wanted to come and jam. No biggie. I had planned on getting in some practice
time today and throughout the course of the day found all kinds of other chores
that needed taking care of. As it turns out, I finally sat down at my computer
to jam a bit (yes, I use my computer since I have a Line 6 UX8) and ended up
downloading all kinds of driver updates and software updates for the UX8. While
that was going on I also updated the drivers on my Harmony One remote (a very
kick-ass remote).
It also didn’t help that my secondary monitor went on the
fritz and I had to order a new one to replace it. It’s not here, yet, so I have
one monitor with an HDMI connected to my laptop, and the VGA connected to my
media computer and I have to manually switch it back and forth. Big PITA.
This was killing my motivation to jam, but it needed to be
done.
Then I decided to go get some plastic plates so that I could
bring my plants in from the colder weather. I figured I needed to get to the
hardware store before it closed. On the way there I stopped by Best Buy to
check out the e-readers. Specifically, I wanted to get my hands on a Kindle
Touch and a Nook. After checking them both out for quite a while I ended up
picking up a Kindle Touch. I’ll try to write a review on it a bit later….
And then I made it to the hardware store. On the way home I had to get some
food. Done. Back to the house, but now I had food to eat…. So I fire up NetFlix
to watch a flick while I eat, and I plugged my new kindle in to charge up.
So here it is, 8:00ish or so at night and I still haven’t
jammed. No problem. I come in to the computer and fire everything up and cross
connect it to my iPod so I can play along with some stuff. Before I get the
iPod fired up I start dicking around with my intonation. Don’t ask me why, but
for some reason I noticed it was just slightly off and before you know it I
spent about an hour and a half tweaking my intonation and string height setup.
If you don’t play guitar that won’t make much sense to you,
but believe it or not there is a really interesting balance of the string
height to the neck, the tension on the strings, the placement of the bridge,
etc. etc. On an electric with a floating tremolo system, such as my JP6 it’s a
delicate balance of all the working parts. Tweak one little thing, and it
throws the whole guitar out of whack.
It probably took me a solid year to get my Les Paul tweaked
so that it is “just right” for me, and it’s a significantly less complicated
guitar from a mechanical perspective. This is my second or third go-around on
this one, but it already plays even better than it did when it was brand new –
and that’s not an easy feat considering that it was set up great from the
factory.
But, finally, I jammed on it….and jammed, and jammed, and jammed…. Until my
hands are tired, I couldn’t pick properly anymore and my fingertips are already
sore. It was good, though! I got back to some of my older metal roots, almost
learned a new song, and warmed up my chops.
The point was to emphasize how you can start off intending
to do one thing, and end up doing a bunch of different things. I still got the
things I wanted to get done completed, and then some, but there were a bunch of
other things that gone done in between….
Now, what was I saying?
Monday, November 28, 2011
Thanksgiving Gluttony!
I’ve often heard of people gaining weight over the holidays.
Apparently it’s not that unusual when you consider that an average Thanksgiving
Day meal packs a whopping 5000 – 6000 calories!!!! Add that to a little extra
snacking, a few extra beverages, and an entire weekend of eating “hearty” and
it’s not surprising that people put on a few pounds.
This weekend, I also splurged a bit. My morning started off
normal enough with a slice of PB&J toast. About 11:00am I split a protein
shake (with banana and peanut butter in it) with my g/f to tide me over until
our feast.
For my feast I had no appetizers, despite my niece begging
me to try this or that. All of the munchies were some kind of bready
something-or-another. She has a hard time understanding why I won’t eat stuff
like that, but my mom, who is also diabetic, will. I tried to explain that if I
was going to eat something with a lot of bread in it, I would rather have
stuffing than some crackers or something.
But, for my feast I had a salad, some ham, some green beans,
and a little home-made macaroni and cheese. I even split a piece of pumpkin pie
and whip cream with my g/f. I also had a two glasses of wine, about three rum
balls, and when we started playing cards I had a glass of good whiskey.
Aside from normal eating I also allowed myself to have a
beer and a glass of whiskey on Friday, and Saturday. Saturday night I even went
down to a good Mexican place and ate a plate full of nachos (with the beer),
which I am really not supposed to do.
All in all, a little excess for me, but nothing too crazy.
And then I weighed myself on the scale this morning…. Surprisingly, I still
lost weight!!!
I’m now down to 130.2 pounds. All my friends keep telling me
I am getting really skinny. A few people have commented that I am “wasting away”
and one friend has actually asked if I am OK. I can’t say that the thought hasn’t
crossed my mind about not being OK, but I also figure with all the blood work I’ve
done I would hope that they would be checking markers for cancer.
I still think most of it is attributed to diet, though I
also hit a workout program pretty hard for the first month or so. Not so much
the last two months – I find it particularly difficult to work out on the road
when I am working 14 hour days and stuff, and I’m just not a morning person.
No, I think it’s mostly diet. I’ve made a huge effort to cut
out all the sugar in my diet, and that is not easy to do. Even before being
diagnosed with diabetes I was aware of how much sugar we consume as Americans.
Trust me, it’s in pretty much everything, and if you don’t believe me try
reading some labels. Still, knowing that it’s there and trying to eliminate it
are two totally different things. But I do a pretty good job and I don’t
consume a whole lot of sugar or simple carbohydrates.
So how much have I lost? Well, I keep a chart going back to
early 2005 of my weight. In 2005 I weighed 158 pounds. In 2007 I was up to
about 167 pounds. Somewhere in there I was also hitting the gym a lot and there
is no doubt that some of the weight was attributed to muscle mass. Then,
somewhere around 2008 I started to lose weight again. I think it’s because I
stopped lifting weights and started losing muscle mass, but I was also a bit
more conscientious about the spare tire around my middle.
In march of this year I was surprised to be under 160 again –
and didn’t realize it until we went skydiving for my 40th and I
thought their scale was weighing in light. By July I was down to 153 lbs. In
august, under 150, and by September I was under 140. Now it’s almost December and
I am about to be under 130!!!! Heck, if I take a good crap I can be under 130 before the day is out!
I honestly can’t remember the last time I weighed under 130.
I think it was somewhere around high school or college. A long time ago…..
Is there a point to all this? I’m not sure. Just that I
thought I would have gained a few pounds over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, but
I didn’t. I think I managed to enjoy myself, without denying myself everything,
and still ate reasonable.
Unless there really is something wrong with me, and I
suppose it’s possible, just about anyone should be able to lose a few pounds by
controlling their diet better. Mind you, I don’t starve myself at all. I eat
three to four times a day, maybe more, and I have some snacks. If I can do it,
you can too!
Apparently it’s not that unusual when you consider that an average Thanksgiving
Day meal packs a whopping 5000 – 6000 calories!!!! Add that to a little extra
snacking, a few extra beverages, and an entire weekend of eating “hearty” and
it’s not surprising that people put on a few pounds.
This weekend, I also splurged a bit. My morning started off
normal enough with a slice of PB&J toast. About 11:00am I split a protein
shake (with banana and peanut butter in it) with my g/f to tide me over until
our feast.
For my feast I had no appetizers, despite my niece begging
me to try this or that. All of the munchies were some kind of bready
something-or-another. She has a hard time understanding why I won’t eat stuff
like that, but my mom, who is also diabetic, will. I tried to explain that if I
was going to eat something with a lot of bread in it, I would rather have
stuffing than some crackers or something.
But, for my feast I had a salad, some ham, some green beans,
and a little home-made macaroni and cheese. I even split a piece of pumpkin pie
and whip cream with my g/f. I also had a two glasses of wine, about three rum
balls, and when we started playing cards I had a glass of good whiskey.
Aside from normal eating I also allowed myself to have a
beer and a glass of whiskey on Friday, and Saturday. Saturday night I even went
down to a good Mexican place and ate a plate full of nachos (with the beer),
which I am really not supposed to do.
All in all, a little excess for me, but nothing too crazy.
And then I weighed myself on the scale this morning…. Surprisingly, I still
lost weight!!!
I’m now down to 130.2 pounds. All my friends keep telling me
I am getting really skinny. A few people have commented that I am “wasting away”
and one friend has actually asked if I am OK. I can’t say that the thought hasn’t
crossed my mind about not being OK, but I also figure with all the blood work I’ve
done I would hope that they would be checking markers for cancer.
I still think most of it is attributed to diet, though I
also hit a workout program pretty hard for the first month or so. Not so much
the last two months – I find it particularly difficult to work out on the road
when I am working 14 hour days and stuff, and I’m just not a morning person.
No, I think it’s mostly diet. I’ve made a huge effort to cut
out all the sugar in my diet, and that is not easy to do. Even before being
diagnosed with diabetes I was aware of how much sugar we consume as Americans.
Trust me, it’s in pretty much everything, and if you don’t believe me try
reading some labels. Still, knowing that it’s there and trying to eliminate it
are two totally different things. But I do a pretty good job and I don’t
consume a whole lot of sugar or simple carbohydrates.
So how much have I lost? Well, I keep a chart going back to
early 2005 of my weight. In 2005 I weighed 158 pounds. In 2007 I was up to
about 167 pounds. Somewhere in there I was also hitting the gym a lot and there
is no doubt that some of the weight was attributed to muscle mass. Then,
somewhere around 2008 I started to lose weight again. I think it’s because I
stopped lifting weights and started losing muscle mass, but I was also a bit
more conscientious about the spare tire around my middle.
In march of this year I was surprised to be under 160 again –
and didn’t realize it until we went skydiving for my 40th and I
thought their scale was weighing in light. By July I was down to 153 lbs. In
august, under 150, and by September I was under 140. Now it’s almost December and
I am about to be under 130!!!! Heck, if I take a good crap I can be under 130 before the day is out!
I honestly can’t remember the last time I weighed under 130.
I think it was somewhere around high school or college. A long time ago…..
Is there a point to all this? I’m not sure. Just that I
thought I would have gained a few pounds over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, but
I didn’t. I think I managed to enjoy myself, without denying myself everything,
and still ate reasonable.
Unless there really is something wrong with me, and I
suppose it’s possible, just about anyone should be able to lose a few pounds by
controlling their diet better. Mind you, I don’t starve myself at all. I eat
three to four times a day, maybe more, and I have some snacks. If I can do it,
you can too!
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Job Offers and Work
The other day a good friend of mine sent me an email he received regarding a possible position in Fort Worth, TX. In his email he said that it would mean that I probably wouldn’t have to travel anymore. Good point. On the other hand, I kind of like to travel. That doesn’t mean I like being stuck on the road for weeks on end like I am doing, now. But, I do enjoy traveling around a bit. I get to see some pretty interesting places and meet all kinds of people. I go skiing in the winter, and when it’s 108 back home in the summer I get to go to cooler places. It also makes for a cheap vacation when I take my g/f and aside from her flights and meals everything else is paid for. Nice.
But the big reasons I have to think real hard about those jobs?
Well, first off, I have a TON of flexibility in my work. When I am home my commute is about 120 feet. I don’t fight rush-hour traffic and I don’t spend my life listening to talk radio while stuck in traffic. I work in my boxers during the summer, or my fuzzy PJ’s during the winter. If I need to go to the mall during the day I do it. If I want to go have lunch with a friend of mine? No problem. Go play golf with my old man because I’ve been too busy to see him much lately? Again, usually not a problem. I just have to make sure I am getting my work done and I am otherwise left alone. Try that at Corporate X.
Secondly, I don’t do the same thing every day. None of the:
Get up at the same time
Sit in traffic
Go to the same office
With the same boss (I’ve seen my boss 2 or 3 times in the last five years).
And the same employees
And the same problems
And the same network
Work my 60 hours without overtime.
Go home
Eat dinner
Go to bed
Get up at the same time
Etc., etc. etc.
Every week to me is something new. It’s new people, it’s a new project, it’s a new opportunity to fail or succeed, a new opportunity to learn and better myself. Mostly, it’s not the same 9-to-5 grind bullshit day in and day out and I love it. I’m not even sure I can go back to a 9-to-5 grind job right now. That would be very difficult.
And last, but not least, when you read into the job descriptions you will always see something that reads very similar to “…. maintain the network 24x7 ….” What you should be reading is that they are going to strap a pager or smart phone to your ass and that you will be on call 24 x 7 and get woke up at all hours of the night and have to work weekends. Fuck that. I’ve done it. I’ve put my time in and I have no desire to go back to doing it again.
My boss says that the reality is that I am already on call 24 x 7, and that is true to an extent. I would never turn a client down that called me in the middle of the night. But, they don’t call me. They call the poor sap that is the network administrator and wake his ass up in the middle of the night because if they call me it’s going to cost them out the waazoo. The number of times I have been woken up in the middle of the night to help a customer? I can count them on one hand. So it’s really not the same and someone would have to pay me buckets of cash to take on that role and responsibility again.
But the big reasons I have to think real hard about those jobs?
Well, first off, I have a TON of flexibility in my work. When I am home my commute is about 120 feet. I don’t fight rush-hour traffic and I don’t spend my life listening to talk radio while stuck in traffic. I work in my boxers during the summer, or my fuzzy PJ’s during the winter. If I need to go to the mall during the day I do it. If I want to go have lunch with a friend of mine? No problem. Go play golf with my old man because I’ve been too busy to see him much lately? Again, usually not a problem. I just have to make sure I am getting my work done and I am otherwise left alone. Try that at Corporate X.
Secondly, I don’t do the same thing every day. None of the:
Get up at the same time
Sit in traffic
Go to the same office
With the same boss (I’ve seen my boss 2 or 3 times in the last five years).
And the same employees
And the same problems
And the same network
Work my 60 hours without overtime.
Go home
Eat dinner
Go to bed
Get up at the same time
Etc., etc. etc.
Every week to me is something new. It’s new people, it’s a new project, it’s a new opportunity to fail or succeed, a new opportunity to learn and better myself. Mostly, it’s not the same 9-to-5 grind bullshit day in and day out and I love it. I’m not even sure I can go back to a 9-to-5 grind job right now. That would be very difficult.
And last, but not least, when you read into the job descriptions you will always see something that reads very similar to “…. maintain the network 24x7 ….” What you should be reading is that they are going to strap a pager or smart phone to your ass and that you will be on call 24 x 7 and get woke up at all hours of the night and have to work weekends. Fuck that. I’ve done it. I’ve put my time in and I have no desire to go back to doing it again.
My boss says that the reality is that I am already on call 24 x 7, and that is true to an extent. I would never turn a client down that called me in the middle of the night. But, they don’t call me. They call the poor sap that is the network administrator and wake his ass up in the middle of the night because if they call me it’s going to cost them out the waazoo. The number of times I have been woken up in the middle of the night to help a customer? I can count them on one hand. So it’s really not the same and someone would have to pay me buckets of cash to take on that role and responsibility again.
SPAM and Telemarketers
The other day I was in a bar and these two chicks were talking about how much spam they are getting. They also talked about how every time they get spam they always click on unsubscribe, etc. They are also on Facebook and several other social networking sites. Then, about a week ago I overheard one of the IT guys talking to another guy about one of their users. The user had a smart-phone and had two pages of social networking apps loaded onto it…and they were having all kinds of problems, including being inundated with SPAM.
So here is bRad’s handy tip of the day:
If you are subscribed to Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, MySpace, or any number of other social networking sites, and you are getting a lot of SPAM then shut the fuck up! All of those sites are notorious for selling and distributing your information. Heck – YOU are notorious for posting everything you do in your life on all of them so that it gets plastered all over the internet. Secondly, if you are one of those people that subscribe to those sites and you also complain about your privacy and rights – again, shut the fuck up. They are all also notorious for having terrible privacy policies and it’s well-known. So don’t whine to me about it.
Now here is my other tip with regards to SPAM – if it’s a legitimate business site, such as Target, and you recently placed an order and suddenly you are getting offers from them it’s probably OK to click on the unsubscribe link. Most of the time, that works. But, if it’s Bob’s House of Sex Toys and they are trying to sell you some Viagra, a tube of Sex Lube, a cattle prod, and a coupon for two hours of time with Belinda the Dominatrix Midget then don’t click on the unsubscribe link. In fact, don’t click on anything! They aren’t going to unsubscribe you and by clicking on the link you just verified they have a good email address.
Now about those telemarketers – there are some federal laws and guidelines that telemarketers have to abide by. Go look them up and read them. Don’t pass around the latest bullshit anti-telemarketing email that some goofball wrote at 2:38 am in their mom’s basement.
For the most part, you can politely, but sternly, tell these people to not call you and take you off their list. If they do it again, they are subject to a fine and a lawsuit, but if you don’t follow up on it it’s your fault.
Next – don’t answer the phone. If the phone rings while you are about to stuff those peas into your face and you see “unlisted” or a number you don’t recognize don’t freaking answer the phone. Let it go to VM or your answering machine if you haven’t been lucky enough to get out from under your rock.
Stop signing up for those stupid “You can Win this Corvette” things at the mall. You can’t win so forget it. Yes, they have to give one away by law, but they also just got ALL of your information along with a million other people and what do you think they do with it? They sell it. That’s how they make their money. So if it’s worth it to have a 1-in-a-100-million chance at the Chrysler Minivan, and be subject to 500 calls a day by someone in another country by all means, sign up.
Last? Change your phone number. It’s not that hard. And it’s not that hard to give it out to those people you want to have it. I love my parents, but I go over to their house and their phone rings no less than 5 times an hour while I am over there – all of it is telemarketers. They’ve had the same number since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and the entire world has it. You probably have it and don’t even know it. So what do they do? They use their cell phones and just let the phone ring and ring and ring. Not sure how they do it because it would drive me crazy.
So here is bRad’s handy tip of the day:
If you are subscribed to Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, MySpace, or any number of other social networking sites, and you are getting a lot of SPAM then shut the fuck up! All of those sites are notorious for selling and distributing your information. Heck – YOU are notorious for posting everything you do in your life on all of them so that it gets plastered all over the internet. Secondly, if you are one of those people that subscribe to those sites and you also complain about your privacy and rights – again, shut the fuck up. They are all also notorious for having terrible privacy policies and it’s well-known. So don’t whine to me about it.
Now here is my other tip with regards to SPAM – if it’s a legitimate business site, such as Target, and you recently placed an order and suddenly you are getting offers from them it’s probably OK to click on the unsubscribe link. Most of the time, that works. But, if it’s Bob’s House of Sex Toys and they are trying to sell you some Viagra, a tube of Sex Lube, a cattle prod, and a coupon for two hours of time with Belinda the Dominatrix Midget then don’t click on the unsubscribe link. In fact, don’t click on anything! They aren’t going to unsubscribe you and by clicking on the link you just verified they have a good email address.
Now about those telemarketers – there are some federal laws and guidelines that telemarketers have to abide by. Go look them up and read them. Don’t pass around the latest bullshit anti-telemarketing email that some goofball wrote at 2:38 am in their mom’s basement.
For the most part, you can politely, but sternly, tell these people to not call you and take you off their list. If they do it again, they are subject to a fine and a lawsuit, but if you don’t follow up on it it’s your fault.
Next – don’t answer the phone. If the phone rings while you are about to stuff those peas into your face and you see “unlisted” or a number you don’t recognize don’t freaking answer the phone. Let it go to VM or your answering machine if you haven’t been lucky enough to get out from under your rock.
Stop signing up for those stupid “You can Win this Corvette” things at the mall. You can’t win so forget it. Yes, they have to give one away by law, but they also just got ALL of your information along with a million other people and what do you think they do with it? They sell it. That’s how they make their money. So if it’s worth it to have a 1-in-a-100-million chance at the Chrysler Minivan, and be subject to 500 calls a day by someone in another country by all means, sign up.
Last? Change your phone number. It’s not that hard. And it’s not that hard to give it out to those people you want to have it. I love my parents, but I go over to their house and their phone rings no less than 5 times an hour while I am over there – all of it is telemarketers. They’ve had the same number since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and the entire world has it. You probably have it and don’t even know it. So what do they do? They use their cell phones and just let the phone ring and ring and ring. Not sure how they do it because it would drive me crazy.
Meh…
I received a few emails and comments that I need to update my blog. One of my friends specifically referred to me as a “loser.” For not updating it, I suppose, but then again I have several friends that call me a loser from time to time. Why are they my friends? Sometimes I wonder…..
But lately, I just haven’t much in the way of drive or motivation. I thought I might be slightly depressed, and I suppose it is still possible. I asked my doc if the meds I am now taking cause any depression and he said it wasn’t a known side effect. However, he did say that if my blood sugar was too low that could cause me to not feel like doing a whole lot.
I don’t believe I updated my blog, but the last time I had my blood work done my A1C and non-fasting glucose test were below normal….even for someone that is not diabetic. That’s good, but we needed to tweak my meds again.
But, back to not being motivated. It’s kind of hard to explain because, as I said, I don’t feel particularly depressed. In my head, I am still writing on the blog, still writing music, etc., but I just don’t have the motivation to actually get up and do anything about it. Hence, why the blog hasn’t been getting updated very often.
I haven’t hardly touched my guitars in the last month or so….and it doesn’t help that I have spent most of that time on the road for work, which is exactly where I am right now. I’m in a little town called Sandy, Utah. It’s about 12 miles south of Salt Lake City and we just got a good dusting of snow. Perhaps I should rephrase that. It’s a “dusting” for areas that get snow. Back home in Texas it would probably shut the state down. Ahh….soon it will be time to break out the snowboard, get it waxed, and pack up for some snowboarding!!!
I’m sure I’ll overcome this lack of motivation, but it could take some time. It doesn’t appear to be going away quickly and perhaps I am just freaking tired – I was on the road for I don’t know how long, and am now on a four-week-straight road trip. I get home for Thanksgiving, and then leave again for another trip. That’s too much. The other night I literally was disoriented when I woke up in the middle of the night. I didn’t know where I was, the layout of the room, or even what town I was in. Sad.
But lately, I just haven’t much in the way of drive or motivation. I thought I might be slightly depressed, and I suppose it is still possible. I asked my doc if the meds I am now taking cause any depression and he said it wasn’t a known side effect. However, he did say that if my blood sugar was too low that could cause me to not feel like doing a whole lot.
I don’t believe I updated my blog, but the last time I had my blood work done my A1C and non-fasting glucose test were below normal….even for someone that is not diabetic. That’s good, but we needed to tweak my meds again.
But, back to not being motivated. It’s kind of hard to explain because, as I said, I don’t feel particularly depressed. In my head, I am still writing on the blog, still writing music, etc., but I just don’t have the motivation to actually get up and do anything about it. Hence, why the blog hasn’t been getting updated very often.
I haven’t hardly touched my guitars in the last month or so….and it doesn’t help that I have spent most of that time on the road for work, which is exactly where I am right now. I’m in a little town called Sandy, Utah. It’s about 12 miles south of Salt Lake City and we just got a good dusting of snow. Perhaps I should rephrase that. It’s a “dusting” for areas that get snow. Back home in Texas it would probably shut the state down. Ahh….soon it will be time to break out the snowboard, get it waxed, and pack up for some snowboarding!!!
I’m sure I’ll overcome this lack of motivation, but it could take some time. It doesn’t appear to be going away quickly and perhaps I am just freaking tired – I was on the road for I don’t know how long, and am now on a four-week-straight road trip. I get home for Thanksgiving, and then leave again for another trip. That’s too much. The other night I literally was disoriented when I woke up in the middle of the night. I didn’t know where I was, the layout of the room, or even what town I was in. Sad.
Tooth Owie – Still Cont.
My gums and everything feel like they are all healed up, but I need to have an x-ray taken to see if the bone has healed up enough. I was supposed to go about a week or so back, but I’ve been on the road and have had to push it off until the week of Thanksgiving. Hopefully the x-ray will look good and I can get my implant in, soon!!
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