Book of Shadows

Grrr...

2011-06-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

So, on this, my first day of regular posting, I am faced with a major problem. I suppose that this ought to be a learning experience, but, honestly, I am just really ticked off.

I'm getting married again at the end of the month, and I was trying to print out the text of the wedding invitations over the weekend. Everything was going smoothly as I printed off a mock-up of the text, and I even printed out a stencil I was going to use later in the process.

Unfortunately, as I went to print the finished product, I got an error on my computer that said that the ink cartridge was the wrong one for the printer... you know, the same ink cartridge it's been printing on for weeks... the same one that the printer had JUST PRINTED WITH!!!

So, I dinked around with the printer for over an hour, taking out the print cartridges, putting them back in, unplugging the printer from power, unplugging the printer from the computer, doing all of those things in concert... and.... nothing worked.

So, I gave up for the night. Sunday morning, I tried again, and, after much frou-frou and messing around with the damned thing, I finally got that error message to go away. But would the damned thing print? Oh, hell no.

No, now, it told me that there was no printer installed. Even though the computer had the printer set as the default printer, and even though no settings had changed, it refused to print, and INSISTED that there was no printer installed.

So, I went to the manufacturer's website and downloaded the drivers again (as my CD with the damned drivers was no where to be found... okay, well, I found the Mac disk, but could not find the Windows disk anywhere) and re-installed the drivers and tried to print again.

NOPE! Printer is still not installed, insisted the computer. So, I went and searched online for more possible solutions. While perusing the help database of the manufacturer's web site (and while my dear fiancee went and borrowed another printer to see if the printer itself was the problem), an ad popped up, and the next thing I know, I am being re-directed to another site, My computer then informed me that the computer might be at risk and vulnerable, and that I should click an official-looking balloon to find out if that was so.

I shut down the computer, hoping to avoid the hostageware from downloading to my computer. Reboot and... every web page I went to re-directed the browser to some spam site. Obviously, I had not booted down quickly enough.

I decided that I needed to do a system restore and see if that fixed both the hostageware and the printer issues.

Can you guess whether it worked? I'll spare you the suspense: no, it did not.

Now, my computrer informed me that no changes had occurred to my computer within a whole week (even though I had started using a different keyboard three days ago) and that system restore did not change anything.

Sigh. Okay. Try again from an earlier date, and....

NOPE. Same message. Try again from an even earlier date.

NOPE!!! Same message. Now, you and I both know that SOME changes had to have happened at some point in the last month, but my computer kept telling me that everything was the same. So, I saved all my e-mails and new files to my external hard drive and went to reset the computer back to factory defaults.

An aside here: in early April, I renewed my subscription to Trend Micro for their PC-cillin anti-virus software. Since then, I have had to reset the damned computer once already; this would be twice now.

Unfortunately, even THAT didn't work. At the end of the process, I got an error message that the reset had failed and the computer rebooted... except that it didn't actually reboot. No, instead, I got a black screen and another error message that there was some PBR file that the computer wanted to do something with, but couldn't, and, thus, the boot had failed and my only option was to hit CTRL-ALT-DEL to reboot. When I do that, I get the same black screen and error message.

So, now, I have exhausted my knowledge of how to fix this problem, so one of my friends who knows a ton more than I do about fixing computers is going to do it. Le sigh.

In the meantime, I still don't have the wedding invitations printed.

Reinventing Myself, Reinventing The Project Blog: A Re-Introduction

2011-06-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

On January 26, 1999, I was almost 23 years old. I had been married for just over 5 years. I had three children, ages 4, 2, and nine months. I didn't have a high school diploma. I had never held a job.

And on that date, my husband asked me for a divorce. He had fallen in love with a divorcee from North Carolina that he had met on the Internet and told me that he was going there to get her and bring her here.

Um... no.

One would think that I would have let him go then (and I definitely should have, looking back), but I didn't. Without any life experience, I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to care for my kids. So, I made my now-trustless, crappy relationship work. I got two minimum-wage jobs while he stayed home with kids, since, on the day he'd asked me for a divorce, he also quit his very good-paying job with benefits (and had no back-up plan).

Ten years later, he pulled the same crap again, except that, this time, the girl was real and had pretended to be my friend, and I was someone completely different than the scared 23-year-old with three small children.

No, 10 years later, my kids were all teenagers, I was finishing my Master's thesis, releasing my band's second CD, releasing my second novel, and I had just celebrated my 7th year as a small business owner of a thriving web design business.

I'll spare you the gory details of the divorce, but, suffice to say, my ex is a dufus. (For example - and I'm sure there will be many examples over the course of this blog - after getting the quickie divorce he wanted so he could be with the home wrecker - and not even having to pay for the divorce that I DIDN'T want - he spent the next ten months harassing, intimidating, stalking, not paying his child support, and SUING me. He sued me no fewer than six times between August 2010 and January 2011. Nice, huh?)

But, being that he was a dufus, I've learned how to survive, and I have picked up a lot of information and skills along the way.

But the question really is: who am I?

For half my life, my identity has been intertwined with my marriage, essentially fixing his screw-ups (which, I am sure, I will talk about from time to time), surviving, and making sure my kids were cared for. But I never did figure out who I was.

From the time I was little, I have written things, but was I really a writer? I've played music most of my life, too, but was I really a musician? I have several college degrees, but am I really a scholar? I have painted and drawn since I was a child, but am I an artist? My work for the last seven years has been in computing, but am I really all that tech-savvy?

The answers to these questions are not so much answerable at all unless I am able to answer the deeper question: who am I?

Now that I have recently been informed that the ex his marrying his home wrecker and giving her his name, the mystery of my real identity has consumed my thoughts. It feels almost as if he is giving her my identity, even though she is NOTHING like me. But, still, he stole my identity and is giving it to her, leaving me with a blank slate.

Well, not entirely blank, I suppose.

I'm still playing music with my band, playing guitar and piano, singing, still writing songs, still performing, and even learning to play the steel guitar.

I'm still writing, obviously, though I haven't been writing in my books because the stories still felt too close to my marriage, so it's been really difficult getting back into it. But I do write, and part of the reason I am re-launching this blog is to document my writing.

I do have my Master's degree in Communication and Leadership, and I have taught college level courses, and my instructors at college thought I ought to have my thesis published in competitive academic journals... something that shocked me, because I was writing my thesis while going through my divorce and I barely remember writing it. How could something I barely recall writing be good enough for academic publication? But, apparently, it is, so, I guess that I am, in ways, still an academic.

I'm still doing web sites and graphic design, and I am learning how to incorporate social marketing into my skill set, and another reason I wanted to do this blog was to practice those skills by incorporating videos and social networking into content writing, and this blog will provide me an avenue to do so. (Also, as you can tell, I am majorly long-winded, and short blog posts should tighten up my writing skill set so that I am writing more short, concise pieces for the Internet rather than novel-length posts, such as this one.)

I'm still a Mom. At 35, I'm in a new relationship, and I've just welcomed my 4th child, Shelby, into this world. I have a 16-year-old in driver's ed, a 14-year-old artist, a 13-year old car nut, and a 1-month-old in diapers. So, this ought to be challenging.

Since my kids are picky eaters, I have learned over the years how to accommodate those tastes and still have quick, easy recipes for the busy parent, so I thought that this blog would be a good place to share those recipes.

Other things that I will share with any readers that happen to pop by are writing snippets, songs that I like and/or inspire me and/or that I am listening to, quick computer tips and tricks, web design tips and tricks, what I learn about social marketing, writing tips, and my opinions about things.

My goal is to post 10 to 20 new posts every week, 1 or 2 videos every week, and at least one new recipe (with accompanying video instruction) every week. By and large, I think I just need goals in my life.

Maybe, along the way, I will figure out who I am. Since I cannot change the fact that my identity has been stolen from me, and I cannot change the fact that I am no longer the person I was a year ago when he left me for the home wrecker, I figure that, what with my impending wedding, that I may as well suck it up and figure out who I am.

Comparison of Presidental Voting Results & Poverty

2010-10-20T10:23:00.001-07:00

While reading the headlines on Yahoo.com this morning, I came across this article regarding the staggering increase in people living in poverty since the recession began in late 2008. Included in the article was this map:

And, as I looked at the map, it occured to me that the heavy areas of poverty were pretty much along the "Red State/Blue Lines" of recent presidential elections. But I wasn't sure, so I searched the web for a map of the last presidential election, and found this one on NPR.org:

Okay, so, looking back and forth at the two, there did seem to be some kind of correlation... so I overlaid the poverty map onto the elections map and got this:

What does this tell me and/or anyone? You notice where the really dark sections denoting poverty are? With the exception of the poverty noted in New Mexico, the darkest sections are in solidly "Red" states. One stand out, to me, anyway, was the more than 25% poverty rate among children age 5 and younger in the state of Texas. Also notable, to me, again, anyway, is John McCain's home state of Arizona, which has put the whole "illegal immigration" thing as their #1 priority... um... maybe it ought to be the poverty rate of kids 5 and younger that is nearing 25%, as well? I know, I know. Some people would argue that it is illegal immigration and those darned immigrants that are causing the poverty rate. Uh huh. I have a bridge to sell you. It's located in Brooklyn. Look for my ad on Craigslist.

Maybe it means nothing, but I get the sneaking suspicion that conservative politics lead to conservative social programs that don't really help anyone. Not like that's some big revelation or anything, though.

The Thesis is DONE

2010-04-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Amid all the crap I am dealing with, I finished the thesis.

I should be proud of myself, I guess.

Some Good, Some Bad...

2010-03-17T05:55:00.000-07:00

The Good:

I took a copy of the CD to a radio station in Sandpoint, and they said that they would probably have the band in and start playing it the Sunday prior to the CD release party. I hope that I hear from them before that.

This was my Dad's idea. He's been listening to KPND while at work, and noticed that they have a local music radio show on Sundays. He suggested that I send it to them and see what happens. At first, I was like, yeah, but AFTER I get the professional CDs from the replicator. And that's when Dad said that he thought I should give it to them earlier so that they might be able to help me promote the CD release party. I thought THAT was an awesome idea, so, when I went shopping up at Sandpoint yesterday (on no sleep), I stopped by there and met with the station manager. Nice lady. Named Diane. Conversation didn't last too long, but I didn't expect that. I included a press kit booklet that I had printed that morning and an invitation to the CD release party with all the pertinent info included along with the CD. I also affixed a business card to the booklet, just in case.

The Bad:

The checker at Wal-Mart was a BITCH. She was snarky and rude and I gave her a bad review on Wal-Mart.com this morning.

I looked into the total costs to apply to law school. It's over $300. The application fee is $50. Some kind of required "verification service" is $121. The LSAT is $132 (but that's not until June, anyway). And then there's transcripts from the 6 colleges I've attended, totalling just over $40. Total? $343.82.

Anyway, so there's what's going on. I have to go work on my thesis now. I have about three weeks to get done, and then I can relax. I should mention that I actually got up about an hour ago; I'm not just still awake. LOL. Hopefully, I can stay on a day schedule now.

Grrr...

2010-03-10T04:33:00.000-08:00

I went to do the t-shirt silk screening tonight. The tutorial on the Internet looked really easy and like it would work well.

Let me just say this:

It. Did. Not. Work.

I am so glad that I used old t-shirts to test on before I got into doing the ones I bought. Now, I am PISSED I spent money on the ink and screen and glue and embroidery hoop and everything the tutorial said to get. The first shirt had splotches all over where the glue developed little holes while drying, and there was ink running off the letters, but I figured that might just be due to the fact that the brush I used was damp when I started.

So, I wiped off the screen, fixed the holes in the glue, dried out the brushes, and then went away for a while (colored my hair, took a shower, watched some TV) while the new glue dried. Looked for holes in the glue when I came back (the glue is supposed to keep the parts you don't want colored from getting colored). No holes. Used a dry brush on another shirt from the rag bag. The ink would BARELY go through the screen. Ended up only partially colored (though the lines were better without the water).

But I am not going to attempt this at all on the shirts I bought. I would probably only end up with a few decent ones. I am going to have to call a silk screening place to find out what they would charge to just do the silk screening. I even already have the ink and the shirts. Just slap on the freaking design. Grr. It better not be much.

I'm Tired, But I Did It...

2010-03-04T06:34:00.000-08:00

I am finished with my 504 class, so I can focus on other things. I am really tired right now and feel a headache coming on. I'm still going to take a shower after writing this, though. I've earned it.

I also finished the scope and methodology section of my thesis today, got David to send all my graphics for the CD in to the replicator's FTP site, and worked on the song for a friend's movie. Everybody who's heard it so far seems to like it. I'll probably record a demo over the weekend.

I am hoping and praying that the CDs get here in time for the CD release party. Disc Makers has me worried what with getting different turnaround times everytime I talk to them. As it sits, I think that I am going to end up paying for overnight shipping on part of the CD order to make sure I have some CDs in time for the show. Here's hoping.

Show Went Well...

2010-02-11T02:00:00.000-08:00

There were a lot of people there (about 100), and the crowd was receptive. We didn't play our most awesome show ever, but it wasn't our worst, either. Also, not using my own PA SUCKS ASS.

Made some contacts about playing weddings and more shows, and "You Suck More Than I Do" went over REALLY well. I knew it would. It's funny.

Mister Fish... RIP

2010-02-06T01:53:00.000-08:00

I just found my betta, Mister Fish, dead in his bowl.

Miscellaneous Stuff

2010-02-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

So, Monday and Tuesday, I'll be working on my Literature Review for my thesis, Wednesday I'll be playing at a show in Spokane, Thursday and Friday of next week I'll working on my Lit Review again, as it is due next Saturday. In the meantime, somewhere in there, I have to keep up with this other class. I do know that it is over on March 4th, so that'll be a relief.

I have everything I need to send the CD off to the replicator, so I guess it is going out in the mail on Monday. Thirty working days later, I should have the CD. I guess we're looking at early-to-mid April for the CD release party, now.

Been busy...

2009-12-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

Oftentimes, my work feels an awful lot like I'm not doing anything. I know that's not the case, but I still can't help but feeling that I am incredibly lazy, and, more often than not, not as intelligent as I wish I was. Oh, well. I am being self-deprecating again.

Wednesday night, I stayed up working until 3 AM, and then got up at 8:30 AM in order to have time to get ready to go to Spokane and be at a meeting with a client by 11 AM. I made it, and the meeting only took about half an hour. After that, I went to the client's and picked up his files and got his DNS on the right path to propagating to his new host. After that, I went to my aunt's house and visited with her until it was time to go to class.

At class (the last one of the semester), they had a potluck, and I brought drinks, though nobody drank what I brought except for two people. (Well, and me.) I got my last paper back.

Afterward, I got home and started watch TV, but, around 12:30 AM, I was just exhausted, so I went to bed. The pain in my neck woke me up at about 6 AM, so I just got up, after trying to go back to sleep for 15 minutes without success. I then got about 90% of one client's content up, and made all the edits for another client's site and sent those off for approval. Then, I had to drive to a third client's place to take photos for his web site. I got home and tried to watch TV again, but kept trying to fall asleep again. I finally went to bed about midnight, and, once again, the pain in my neck woke me up about 6-ish, so I just got up.

So far today, I have written the beginnings of two songs and have copied the chord progression and lyrics for "Ave Maria," as I am kind of bored but the pain is preventing me from thinking; therefore, I can neither re-write my paper nor can I work ATM.

Dear Yahoo!

2009-12-07T00:27:00.000-08:00

In your inifinite wisdom, you've decided to leave a "Contact Us" link off your site entirely. It's no wonder you already have a crummy reputation for customer service, helping your customers and users, and even sending auto-responses that are least bit relevant. Indeed, I've not seen such a lack of caring about clients since I sent MySpace a complaint about their "Books" pages and got back an auto-response about blogs.

At any rate, I thought I would give you fair warning that users are about leave, en masse. Why, you might ask? Because you allow advertisers with dangerous content to posts ads on your site. Their ads crash browsers, cause computer resources to slow down, and would crash lesser systems, such as netbooks or older computing systems. Additionally, the freaking refresh on your Sports pages is asinine. There is no way to turn it off from any page with actual stats on them from the box scores, so, when the ads don't crash the browser (IE AND Firefox), the pages refresh to the point that actually reading something is a study in frustration.

It is because of these facts that I am leaving you, Yahoo! I don't want to, 'cause your instant messaging emoticons are awesome, and I like the concise news headlines that don't change 'til I click a button. I like your e-mail (except that you keep changing where the Log Out button is), but, alas, this is the last straw. No more looking at your blogs. No more e-mail. No more reading the news. And no more looking at your advertiser's ads... good or bad.

Wow. That might hurt the pocket book.

Well, yes. I am only one person. However, a person in my position (in the tech industry, a trusted technology person in my local community) who tells the average Internet user to avoid Yahoo because of their dangerous ads that might crash a computer system, well, let's just say that my sway is not inconsiderable, and things get around. Yeah, it might just be me, at first, but, before long, it could be a million people avoiding Yahoo. All because you don't screen your ads.

So, shame on you, Yahoo, for not having the proverbial testes to accept complaint mail or to say "no" to advertisers with dangerous, resource-consuming ads. I'd say I'd see you around, but, in a few months, I doubt I will.

Sincerely,
One pissed off ol' computer user.

Real Briefly...

2009-11-29T06:22:00.000-08:00

CD will probably go to the mastering place early this week (Monday or Tuesday, I think).

I have a 15-page paper due on Thursday. My topic sucks and I can't write about it with any degree of authority or confidence, so I need to choose another topic, research it, and write the 15-page paper by Wednesday night. Sheesh.

Mixes!

2009-11-18T07:16:00.001-08:00

Got the mixdown from the engineer on Sunday. I have listened to it on 7 different players with headphones and without and in the car. I think there are five major changes overall, and we're good to go on this.

Clearing up The Ol' Schedule...

2009-11-12T03:30:00.000-08:00

I finished all the work I can on a recording studio's site, on the machining site, on another recording studio's site, and on an Irish law site that I can until I get more information and/or feedback from each of them. In the meantime, I have to work out a quote for another client.

I got a sign for my business today. Four-foot by eight-foot sign that will go out front to advertise. I really feel like this will help bring in customers, though I do really wish my office was set up in the porch. However, that is not currently possible. Still, having a real office space would be really, really nice.

The tonsillitis appears to be clearing up.

I talked to the engineer the other night, and I hope to have a copy of the mixed tracks for the album by the end of the week. I really want to hear them, dissect them, and get this thing finished. I am still not decided about the CDs, though; still waffling on the black CD with vinyl coating versus a silver CD with a label silkscreened on that just looks like an old 45 RPM record. On the one hand, the vinyl coated ones will look freaking awesome and really professional; on the other hand, I am worried that they might not play, based on a black CD the kids had of a video game for the PS2. And I can't decide if it's worth the risk for the look.

Feeling A Little Better...

2009-11-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

I went to the doctor yesterday and got antibiotics for the tonsillitis. I took one pill yesterday, and, today, I woke up for the first time in a week without excruciating pain at the back of my throat. Swallowing has been difficult and extremely painful, but today, I'm not even taking pain pills to get through the day. I feel almost human.

So, I had a night to myself on Friday night and wrote a new song rather than working. I am not in love with this song; it's a little like having an ugly baby, I guess. It's not bad. It's just not as good as some of my other songs.

Saturday, we had band practice, and that actually went really well, despite my tonsillitis. I actually sang decently (even if I didn't have my normal range), and we all played well.

Sunday, I went out to the studio to mix the recording. We got there about 1PM and didn't leave until almost 10PM. But, we got the mixing done, and the record sounds pretty darned good (I'd say "awesome" but I didn't get a copy to make sure).

Updates...

2009-11-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't felt any better over the last couple of days, and I still don't. I am burned out, wiped out, and just plain tired. Since I have been sick, I have been having trouble sleeping.

Yesterday, I went into Spokane and got the tracks the were processed at the other studio. I also signed the contract to perform at the Coeur d'Alene Resort on the 18th and 19th of December, and I went to class. On theway home, we dropped the CD with the autotuned vocals off with the engineer, and, on Sunday, I am going into to the first mixdown session. I am not holding my hand over my ass that it will be the only mixdown session, but I really, really, really, REALLY hope that it is. I am ready for this project to be done.

We have band practice tomorrow, then I'm in the studio Sunday, Steelers play on Monday, and then I have a metric shit load of work to do. At least the class in Spokane is canceled for next Thursday, so I, in effect, have an extra day this coming week.

Ow

2009-11-03T02:33:00.000-08:00

I banged my head REALLY hard tonight. I was cleaning up a bunch of papers on the floor that were just under the edge of the hanging shelves near my table. I raised up and smacked the top of my head but good. It hurt like the dickens for a long time. I saw stars. Kenny thinks I have a concussion.

Didn't do a shittin' thing today. Must rectify that presently.

I Am Not Feeling Well...

2009-11-02T15:48:00.000-08:00

I wasn't feeling well yesterday when I woke up, either, but today, I feel even worse. Yesterday, I was having panic attacks, and today, my throat is sore, I have a mild fever, and I feel like my bones are hollow and filled with helium. I also feel a headache coming on.

Despite this, I have to work on the paper for school, start thinking about the next paper, read four articles and start preparing presentations for class in Spokane, work on content for four sites and prepare a quote for a fifth. There are other projects, too, but nothing that time consuming or pressing.

Busy Stuff

2009-10-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

Things are about to get really busy school-wise. I have to go over the first paper from my Spokane class and get that turned in before next Thursday, and then the second (and longer) paper will be due a couple weeks after that. This is a problem because I have NO FREAKING CLUE what I am going to write about or what method I am going to use to dissect it. I have to figure that out by next Thursday. Otherwise, I won't have enough time to put everything together before the paper is due. Additionally, I am scheduled to present a chapter from the textbook to the class and I haven't even read the chapter. I also have to prepare a presentation for the class from the other textbook. These last two things are due November 19th. Then, I have to present examples from the second project the following week. So, a lot of projects are coming due all of a sudden. Luckily, the class is over Dec. 5th.

In the meantime, I have to finish the web site for one client, do updates to another site, prepare a new quote for a third client as to his SEO, build another site for a fourth client, and talk to a couple of local businesses about web sites they've expressed interest in. I also have to write content for two other sites (sites 5 and 6, if you're counting). Le sigh.

We Had A Show

2009-10-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

Our show Saturday went really well. I'm sorry if you missed it. It was awesome. :)

Cool Video

2009-10-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

MY BOOK IS IN PRINT!!!

2009-09-23T18:38:00.001-07:00

I Am Having A REALLY Bad Day...

2009-09-17T03:37:00.000-07:00

You know that car I got back yesterday? It's not driveable... again.

I drove myself to the studio tonight, and things went really well, I thought. I was singing only to ther rhythm guitar track, so the vocals turned out fairly awesome, I think. I guess the proof will be in the pudding, so the old cliche goes, when I get copies of the tracks so far.

Shortly after that, I went to leave, but my car wouldn't start. I could hear the solenoid running, and things try to turn on, and dome light would come on, but the starter wasn't getting any power. So, I had the engineer give me a jump start, but it was obvious there was something wrong with the alternator. So, I tried to drive home, anyway. But the lights were getting dimmer and dimmer by the second. While I am on the curvy, twisty Fertile Valley Road headed toward the 4-lanes, I meet this car. And do you know what that accident of nature did? He kept brighting his lights at me! Brightdimbrightdimbrightdim... and then... BRIGHT. I'm like, "M*****F*****!!! I already KNOW!!! DUUUUUUHHHHHHH!" I mean, seriously: what thought processes must have been at work there? "Oh, there's a car with really dim lights. I'll bright 'em and blind 'em."

Cheese and rice!

I eventually - creeping along at about 10 MPH - make it out to the 4-lanes, but, I don't get on. Instead, I stopped near the entrance to the road, and called Kenny to see what I should do. He said that I should wait there for him, and to put the car in a safe spot. I went to back up, and it died, and it would not be restarted. So, I opened the door and the dome light came on. I left it like that so people might have a chance of seeing me.

Eventually, Kenny and my cousin - the mechanic - showed up, and they got it started by jumping it again. Lights got dim really fast, and, by the time I hit Scotia Road, it was dying again. So, we pulled over, and jumped it again. This time, my cousin adjusted something in the alternator, and we all thought that it was going to work. No such luck. I got about a quarter of a mile on the Newport side of Diamond Lake, and it died for good. The battery would no longer take a charge.

By now, I had had it. I went to call a tow truck, but they didn't answer. Kenny called my other cousin who was at the house watching the kids while they were rescuing me, and had him bring my mechanic cousin's pick-up over to us to tow the freaking car home.

Have you ever driven a car with power brakes and power steering when it has no power? At night? With no headlights? On a chain? With only one very slow trip of being towed ever before under your belt?

Well, don't. It's not fun. I was so afraid that I was gonna hit that truck. I was standing on the brake with both feet the whole time, trying not to hyperventilate from the stress of chain towing the car that I had just spent $1,300 repairing... God... it was a HORRIBLE night.

While I was back on Fertile Valley Road, I prayed that God would help my car to just get it home. It died the first time just shortly thereafter as God gave me the middle finger.

I Got My Car Back!!

2009-09-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Good as new!

I am going to the studio tonight. I am doing the lead vocals. I listened to the demo tracks I did at that same studio in May for a metronomed demo to build the rest of the songs around. The vocal track on the May demo was clear, and about 99.9% in tune. When I did the tracks in May, I was singing to just an acoustic guitar, so I could hear the vocals really well. So, tonight, I plan to sing to just the electric rhythm track throughout. Hopefully, we'll get an awesome result that way. It won't hurt to try.

Grrr...

2009-09-14T03:03:00.000-07:00

I guess I shouldn't be whining too much. I bought the camera in November of 2006. Still, only three years of sporadic use out of a camera? Seems a little on the "short-lived" side. Anyway, I've been having trouble with it, and suspected the battery as it was obviously some kind of power issue. So, I bought a new battery (at the cost of $18 for the battery and $20-some odd dollars for shipping). Mom brought it to me today; it was delivered to her place sometime last week.

Anyway, I charged the new battery and put it in the camera. Guess what?!?! It wasn't the battery. So, after football got over, I went to Kodak's web site and went through their troubleshooter, which, to no surprise from me, determined that it was a much more serious problem. After spending nearly half and hour trying to find the exact date that I purchased it, it turns out that it is no longer under warranty (again, cue lack of shock from me), and the site provided me with two options: either send Kodak the camera and $200 (plus $48 shipping) for maybe getting it repaired (they might send me a remanufactured one, if they couldn't fix mine) or getting $25 off an order in their store.

So, not willing to spend another $248 on a 3-year-old camera, I looked through their prices, and compared those with the prices at Dell, and found a Fuji 12x optical zoom, 5.7x digital zoom, 10MP digital camera with a 4GB SDHC memory card for $211. What a deal. According to the e-mail, I should get it October 1st.

Other things happening: my books are being shipped from the printer, so I am about to update the web site with pre-order stuff for A Night Borrowed. I don't know what it is with people, either, but, every time I tell someone that I wrote a book, they want a copy... for free. Exactly where is this kosher? Because, if I haven't spent more than a minute with you on the phone (and I called you), then we're probably not friends, and I am not going to give you a free copy of my book. I don't care who the hell you are. It's the same thing with CDs. For some reason, people seem to get it into their heads that, if they've spoken to me for 10 minutes at a bar that I somehow owe them a copy of my CD for free. Not happening. Same thing with books.

And don't get me started on "friends" wanting web sites from me... for FREE. I mean, honestly, unless I've offered to do something for you for nothing, then it's probably not going to happen for nothing. I do this for a LIVING, not to make friends and influence people. How would these same people feel if I asked them to part with their work for free? Yeah.

Still Really Busy...

2009-09-12T06:21:00.000-07:00

I re-did the band's web site.

Thoughts? Does it look right to you?

Been Busy

2009-09-06T01:33:00.000-07:00

I had a kinda bad day on Thursday. I had gone to bed at about 4:30-ish Thursday morning, and then got up at 10:30 AM. I made coffee, watered the lawn, got cleaned up and dressed, and then went to check e-mail. While I was doing that, Kenny returned from Cusick, where he had gone to get an application from the Tribe for a deputy position with the Kalispel Tribe. He only had Thursday to get it in, so he was going to do it online, but he had to have a resume in order to complete it. I had one on my external hard drive, so I went to get it onto my thumb drive so he could use the laptop to put in his app because I had things to do on the desktop computer.

Well, when I went to access my external hard drive, I got this error that said: "A file is corrupted. Drive is inaccessible."

So, I FREAKED OUT. I had just spent two months writing a book, and the ONLY copy is on that hard drive. Not to mention that ALL of my files for the sites I have built are on that drive. ALL of my billing files and Kenny's billing files are on that drive. All of my photographs, graphic work, and the pictures Hometown Digitals had taken for the band are on that drive. All of my school work and papers dating back to when I was getting my Associate's degree in 1999 are on that drive.

So, I try a few times to get into it and nothing works. I Google the error message and find a forum where a guy says to unplug this and that and re-plug everything in in a certain order. That didn't work. Found another forum where someone said to run a chkdsk on the drive. I did that, and the error went away, and all my files were accessible again.

But that made me paranoid, so I made back-ups to CD of everything that was on the drive, got Kenny his resume on the thumb drive, and got everything together to go to Spokane. While there for business-related stuff (collections... le sigh) and a class, I went and bought a new external hard drive, so, no fears, everyone! The book - A Night Borrowed - is still coming out October 1!!

Holy Frickin' Crap, People

2009-08-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

I just finished writing A Night Borrowed. I cried when I wrote the ending.

The book is 433 pages, and 86,547 words.

YAY!!!

Still have 12,000 words to write to meet my goal, though. They'll go in Devil's Handiwork.

Word Count Status Update

2009-08-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

I am so close to hitting 40,000 words for the month that I can smell it. I stayed up until 5 AM this morning to write my daily 4,500 words; I didn't quite make it, but that's okay. I finished a really important scene in A Night Borrowed, so that works.

Sleeeepyyyy

2009-08-25T04:31:00.000-07:00

I just went over 30,000 words this month. I am tired. A Night Borrowed may be finished - for the most part - by the end of the week. Will have to go back and add some characterization scenes, but it is almost done. Only three major scenes left to do.

I honestly can't believe I have written more than 80,000 words since July 5th. Crazy. (And that's not counting work articles, e-mails, blog posts, tweets, or the update to my personal site - updated with release dates for A Night Borrowed and Moonshine Valentine.)

Well...

2009-08-17T21:54:00.000-07:00

...I am no longer working for KGB. I checked the amount of money I made in 6 hours, and it came to a grand total of $12.85. Not worth it.

I have been practicing piano like crazy here lately. I am going in to record the piano parts on ten of the thirteen songs (as well as horn parts on one song and organ parts on another) on Wednesday, so the window is closing on practice time. I have tomorrow left to practice, and THAT'S IT.

I am up to 17,000 words in A Night Borrowed and Devil's Handiwork for the month of August. A Night Borrowed is up to 70,780 words total; Devil's Handiwork is at just about 60,000 total. I don't know if I will need all those words, but I figure that it is better to have more than you need going into editing; it's easier to cut than it is to create.

The cat that had the broken leg and the head injury last year is now missing. We fear that he is dead. He has not been around in 4 days.

I Am Semi-Employed...

2009-08-15T01:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you have seen these ads for KGB. I found the one I've linked to there pretty funny, so I looked them up on the Internet, and it turns out, they were hiring. So, I went through several testing processes, and I worked my first shift for them tonight. My ass is tired. I remember now why I don't like shift work: I can't really get up and move around! I won't be taking any more afternoon shifts, I can tell you that.

I am going into the studio tomorrow afternoon at 1PM to record at least acoustic guitar tracks. I might do the piano parts, too, but I am not sure yet. It depends on who I can get to take me, as the piano is rather large, plus I'll have the stand, and the acoustic guitar. I kind of thought about video taping the recording of the piano parts, but I don't have a video camera and I don't know who has one, anymore.

More Recording...

2009-08-14T03:09:00.000-07:00

I went in tonight and finished all the electric guitar work that needed done. Saturday, I am doing at least the acoustic guitars. I might do the piano parts, too. We'll see.

That's about all I have to report. I have been slacking on the writing these last couple of days. No particular reason; just have been.The swelling has gone down on my lip, but the bite is still there. I have been treating it with hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, and toothpaste to dry it out. It is working, but it is going to look nasty for the next couple of days.

I Got Bit By Something...

2009-08-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

...while I was sleeping last night. It is not a whole lot better now.

Here is a cell phone picture of just how swollen the left side of my upper lip was this morning:

Stuff

2009-08-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

I figure I will need another week to finish the basic storyline of A Night Borrowed, and then another week to finish up the main bulk of the story in Devil's Handiwork. After that, I'll spend another week editing and adding scenes, going over the stories, taking things out and adding other things.

In the meantime, I have to practice the piano, but I don't have any work pressing. And, other than that, I probably should go for a walk, take a shower, and, uh, you know, do some writing or something.

Bass & Drums Are DONE!!!

2009-08-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

We went into the studio this afternoon and we re-did "Dear Jane" (the drummer's song), "Relax," and "The Cover." They came out a LOT better, so I have my bass and drum tracks! We can start building the rest of the stuff now.

Next week (sometime between the 10th and the 14th), I'll be going into the studio again and re-recording electric guitar tracks on:
Fine Fools
The Night Let Me Down
Strings
Moonshine Valentine
Even If It's Wrong

...and fixing one bum note in "Honor Among Thieves."

The weekend of the 15th, I'll go back in and do acoustic guitar tracks on:
Strings
The Night Let Me Down
Moonshine Valentine
Honor Among Thieves

Hopefully, on the same day (the 15th) I do the acoustic guitar tracks, I'll do piano tracks on:

Moonshine Valentine
Honor Among Thieves
Strings
The Night Let Me Down
If The Stars Align
Rumors
Fine Fools
The Cover
Even If it's Wrong

... and then record the horn parts on "You're The Reason" and then record "You Suck More Than I Do." (LOLOLOL)

The week after that (sometime between the 17th and 21st), I'll go in and do the lead vocal tracks for all the songs, and then the week after that (sometime between the 24th and 28th), Kenny will record his lead and rhythm tracks. Once that's done, we have backing vocals and harmony parts to do (probably between the 29th and the 10th of September), and then mixing (probably between the 10th and the 16th of September).

And then we'll be done.

Writing Crap

2009-08-04T04:18:00.000-07:00

So, I basically took the first two days of this month off from writing, even though I signed up for another writing thing for the second consecutive month. So, my word count total so far for AugNoWriMo is just what I have written since about 2:30 AM, which is 1,111 words (no, I am so totally not kidding).

Since I have set a goal of 65,000 words, I am going to have to keep a better schedule than this. I need to write at least 2,500 words a day, or I won't make it. Luckily, I am in an exciting part of the book, where everything is starting to come together (though I guarantee you that you won't see the twist coming... it's starting to twist in A Night Borrowed, but you won't see the full rotation until the third book, Night Fades.

My Neck Is Killing Me

2009-08-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

I must be sleeping funny again, as my neck is doing almost the same thing as before when I went and saw the chiropractor. I feel like someone's stabbing a railroad spike into my neck. It's terrible. I have ice on it now, even as I type.

I planted lawn seed today with Caitlin, as we still had some bare spots out in the lawn from all my gardening efforts earlier this summer. I also got copies of all the stuff we've done in the studio so far, but I have yet to listen to them. Gonna do that shortly. Then, I have to re-write an FDA report for a client, and then I am going to play piano, and then I am going to write... if I have time.

Sometime this month, I need to put the CD cover together. I need to get a bottle for the front cover, and I need to get a label to put on the bottle with the band's name and the album title printed on it. I need to get pictures of the band, and I need to get some custom picks made, and then there is a ton of other stuff that I can't do until I get my school money in September. Le sigh.

I DID IT!!!

2009-08-01T02:57:00.001-07:00

I just hit 53,730 words in A Night Borrowed for JulNoWriMo. That's just for the month of July, and I didn't even start until a few days into the month. Ha! I am really pleased with myself right now.

Now, on to AugNoWriMo, where I plan to write 65,000 words in 31 days. That's only about 2,100 words a day, but I'll have to write every single day to do it.

So, I am celebrating tomorrow. Taking a day off from the computer!! (Don't make much sense, do I? Have to write every day and then taking a day off? Pppttthhhhfff!)

I Am So Far Behind...

2009-07-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

...I couldn't catch my ass with both hands and Stickum.

It's been a long month. I'm at about 40,000 words so far in A Night Borrowed in JulNoWriMo. Which means, in the next three hours - if I was to make the 50,000 words for the month - I'd have to write another 10,000 words. Which, at this point, is probably not going to happen.

An acquaintance told me that my storm pictures of the "potential tornado" we had on Tuesday were used on KXLY News 4 - without attribution. Grr.

Better get to writing, I suppose.

Must Be Stupid

2009-07-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

I am about 10,000 words behind to get to 50,000 words for JulNoWriMo, but I just signed up to do 65,000 words in AugNoWriMo (August Novel Writing Month) for the month of August. The goal is to finish Devil's Handiwork and A Night Borrowed by the end of August. Devil's Handiwork needs about another 25,000 words to be done, and A Night Borrowed will need about another 40,000 words... assuming that I actually hit 50,000 words in it for July. HAHAHA.

We Recorded

2009-07-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

So, we recorded again yesterday. It went all right. Got to the studio right about 3 PM. We unloaded my amp and guitar and the bassist's guitars, and set those up. I went over the site with the recording guy, who wants some changes to the site.

The drummer arrived, unloaded his stuff, and set up his drums. That took about 15 minutes. Another half hour to set up microphones on the drums.

We started with "Strings." It took about 4 takes, but we got one that worked pretty quickly. Encouraged, we went into "The Night Let Me Down." It took us probably a dozen takes but we finally got a good take. Next, we did the drummer's song, "Dear Jane." That one took about a half dozen takes, mostly for false starts. The drummer was not happy with one of the spots on my guitar, so I will re-do it later. Next, we did "Rumors," and, even though that's a pretty difficult song to play, we only needed three takes to get it right.

Once we were done with those - which were the songs we had planned to get done yesterday all along - I went over the list of songs left to do. I had previously listened to the six songs we'd recorded the last time, and decided that we might want to re-do "The Cover" and "Even If It's Wrong," but that the second take of "You're The Reason" we could keep, along with the three I knew were good from the last session: "Moonshine Valentine," "If The Stars Align" and the third take of "Honor Among Thieves." So, after yesterday's session, we only had "Relax" left to do, and, possibly, re-doing "The Cover," as the band decided that they liked the take of "Even If It's Wrong."

I have a new-ish song called "Fine Fools," and I really like that song, so, I decided that we would record it, too, for this record. So, we took three takes to get "Fine Fools," and then two takes on "Relax." After listening back to them, I still think that we need to re-do "The Cover" with a metronome, and I also think that we should re-do "Relax" with a metronome. I am waiting to get copies of everything from the recording guy and then we'll make a decision on those two songs. I am pretty sure, though, that we will be re-doing those two with a metronome.

So, all in all, this is what is done for the record, as far as bass, drums, and rhythm guitar go:
Moonshine Valentine
If The Stars Align
Rumors
The Night Let Me Down
Fine Fools
Strings
Even If It's Wrong
You're The Reason

I will have to re-do or edit guitar tracks on:
Dear Jane (one damned note, but that's enough, I guess)
Honor Among Thieves (one damned note, too)

We'll probably be re-doing:
The Cover
Relax

And then I have one more song to add, but it is piano and vocals only:
You Suck More Than I Do

I should be writing today, but I am not. I am tired.

Word Count Status

2009-07-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

I'm at about 31,000 words in A Night Borrowed for the month of July!

Recording Stuff

2009-07-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

I talked to my cousin, Angel (since she has played in a brass section), and asked about getting a brass section to play on "You're The Reason." I showed her the song and the parts as I have written them on the keyboard, and she said that real horns probably wouldn't come out a lot better than the way the keyboard sounds. She says that recordings are generally pretty harsh on horns. So, I will probably just play the keyboard for those parts. Saves me some money, too.

JulNoWriMo & Stuff

2009-07-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

Didn't write at all yesterday, but we did have a short band practice. We practiced the four originals that we're going to record the bass, drums, and rhythm guitar for on the 25th, when we go back into the studio.

I have four new show recaps up: here, here, here, and here.

Today, I plan to write some more in A Night Borrowed. I am almost at 30,000 words for the month. :)

Coccygodynious* People

2009-07-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

So, a few weeks ago, I responded to a Craigslist posting for a band for a wedding. I sent them a complete set list and links to cover song demos. They replied that they wanted to come hear us play live. I replied that the bars weren't paying that well, so we have been doing weddings, but that I couldn't just invite them to someone else's wedding reception. So, I told them they could come hear us at a practice. A week or so goes by, and I don't hear back from them. I figure that they weren't interested in coming over or something and wrote it off.

Then, on July 3rd, the lady writes back asking when we're practicing so she can come hear us play. I tell her that the drummer is out of the area for one weekend and we're playing another wedding the next, so the 19th (today) is the next practice. She writes back later that day that they are coming.

Over the course of the last two weeks, I have tried to confirm this with her. No replies. Yesterday, I wrote again to confirm. Finally got a reply at 1 PM today that they've hired another band.

My question is: WHEN did she hire another band? Because, unless it was at 12:30 PM TODAY, she should have called or e-mailed THAT DAY, not waited until two hours before they were supposed to show up!!! I mean, the fact that they hired another band is not the deal here: it's the lack of consideration for my time, but not e-mailing or calling me and letting me know they've hired someone else and are not coming.

* means pain in the ass

Words and Stuff

2009-07-18T02:17:00.000-07:00

I am almost to the halfway mark for JulNoWriMo. Tomorrow, I should crack 25,000 words (plus some, I hope). I need to get at least 50,000 words this month, or I'll never get the book done this year.

Kenny may have gotten me another web design job for a local flooring company, so that would be good.

As for the band, we're practicing on Sunday, and there is supposed to be a potential client coming over to hear us play. I doubt they'll actually make it over. But, just in case, I am cleaning the floors tomorrow... vacuuming the livingroom carpet and mopping the linoleum in the dining room, kitchen, and bathroom. Also, clutter must be picked up. The house isn't in that bad of shape, considering... except for the kids' rooms. Arg.

The Show Went Well

2009-07-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

I got up at 11AM yesterday (because I had been up until 4AM making preparations for the gig), made coffee, and started getting ready. We packed up and drove to Dover and got to the venue. We dragged all of our equipment up the stairs to a renovated hayloft in a barn. The floor was uneven, and all of our equipment was tippy. Oh, well.

We set up. I had major issues with the power source for my little 66-key keyboard. I have started using the little keyboard for the organ parts on the Bon Jovi songs we do, and I went and bought a second tier for my keyboard stand for that very purpose, so it looks like I have some real keyboard talent, what with the two keyboards stacked atop each other, the 88-key big one below and the little 66-key one above. LOL. Anyway, so once we got the power issues situated, we soundchecked.Soundcheck was a mess. We couldn't seem to get the levels right. We got them close, though, when we stole the drummer's vocal microphone and stuffed it in his kick drum. Once the kick drum was audible through the PA, things seemed a bit better, soundwise. Not perfect, but better.

After soundcheck, we went and got some hamburgers for lunch and then Kenny and I grabbed the big keyboard, my acoustic guitar, one half of Kenny's amp, and my little Abilene amp and we went to the wedding site. Once there, we found that the concrete pad we were to play on was in the full-on afternoon sun. And, we had only two outlets and we needed three. So, Kenny jetted back to the barn to go get a power strip. Once we were set up, to keep me from burning my hands on the keyboard (which was HOT thanks to being in the full-on rays of the sun), Kenny stood between me and the sun, shading my hands. He was dripping with sweat, and my legs, which were still in the sun and covered in black tights, felt like they might catch fire.

We did really well at the wedding, though the sun prevented me from doing as well as I wanted to while people were sitting down. The bride wanted us to play an instrumental acoustic version of the chorus from Tom Petty's "Here Comes My Girl." We did manage to pull that off without a hitch, so, that was good. After the wedding ceremony, I played Pachabel's "Canon in D" for the bride and groom to march back down the aisle, and then we packed up our shit and went back to the barn for the reception.

We got back to the reception and had some ice water, and then re-set up our stuff for the gig. The heat inside kept people outside; it was about 105 degrees inside that barn, and muggy as hell, but we persevered. We played really well, all in all. There weren't any glaring errors, and the band sounded awesome, and everyone was having a great time and dancing (outside where we couldn't see them, but Dad told me about it), and the bride and her mom told us repeatedly that we rocked and that they really enjoyed it.

We broke everything down and loaded it into the vehicles. We went to bed - with my cousin staying over (and I am really glad he came; we really needed his help and he was a HUGE help) - at about 2 AM, and I didn't get up until 1:30 this afternoon. So far, I haven't really done anything except make dinner for everyone. It's in the oven now.

So, all in all, it went well.

More Words

2009-07-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

I managed to write just over 1,000 words yesterday, bringing my total for JulNoWriMo to 14,973. It seems so slow going, but once I made a change in Chapter One, the rest seems to be going smoother. I was going to skip a bunch of stuff that was supposed to happen in the book and just summarize those events, but, I realized that much of the characterization happens during those seemingly boring parts to write, so I am writing them. Not that I really want to. I'd rather get on with what happens.

I'm Procrastinating Again

2009-07-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

I have been doing everything BUT writing in A Night Borrowed. I don't like how it is turning out, and I fear that I will have to start over. It needs desperate re-working.

Today is really my last day to write until Sunday, so I should get to it. Tomorrow, I have to practice with Kenny and then break down all the equipment and get it ready to move to the venue. Saturday, we have to leave here by 1PM to get to the venue for set-up by 2PM. Also, since Kenny and I are playing guitar and piano AT the wedding itself, we have to set up part of the stuff at a different place and then move it to the venue when the reception starts. And then there's breaking down again and re-loading it up in the vehicles... and did I mention that the reception is taking place on the second floor, which means hauling everything up a flight of stairs?

JulNoWriMo Word Count

2009-07-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

So far, I have 7,218 words for JulNoWriMo. Once the synopsis was complete, things started to make more sense and writing was easier. I am going to have to go back and make some textual changes when I am finished with the first draft, but things should be good for A Night Borrowed to come out October 1st.

Other news: There is no one at the landscape yard today... except for customers, who seem to think that I - a mere neighbor of the place - know something about the operation of the landscape yard and equipment thereon. Case in point: a guy delivering slate to the yard today thought that I somehow knew how to operate the crane truck and/or get into the office so he could get the keys to run it. Wut?

Busy Day Ahead

2009-07-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

Today, I have to go into Spokane to meet with a client. That meeting is at 3PM, and I hope to be done by 4PM so that I can go over to Uncle Rick's and look at my car.

Finally, I made an appointment with the studio to pick up preliminary mixes of the drums, bass, and rhythm guitar tracks we did last week. That's at 6 or 6:30.

Not sure what's going on tonight, but I have almost finished the synopsis for A Night Borrowed, so I should be good to go on that and be able to write the darned book this month and next. Last year, when I did JulNoWriMo, I wrote the 50,000 words in the 31 days. The thing is, when I wrote Night Cries, it ended up being just over 135,000 words. I do hope that this book is shorter. With any luck, the book will end somewhere between 85,000 and 90,000 words.

Anyway, I need to get ready to go. More later.

New Show Reviews

2009-06-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

I have four show reviews posted, here, here, here, and here.

So, today, I want to finish the articles for a client's site and send them to him. I need to do two more show reviews and send them. I need to go get involved in JulNoWriMo, and I need to practice the piano. But, as you can tell, I am not doing any of those things. I am procrastinating.

My Schedule.... Whoa.

2009-06-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Today, I plan to finish up the 8 remaining articles I owe a client (these are all personal injury articles). I finished the four show reviews I had due yesterday, but I already have another one pending.

Saturday, I will be in the studio. We're planning on completely finishing three or four songs at a time, so we're working on the songs we're recording without a metronome, first. Those are Moonshine Valentine, Honor Among Thieves, and If The Stars Align. If time permits, we're going to try to work on Rumors, too. We're only trying to capture drums and bass, and, hopefully, my rhythm guitar parts. Hopefully, we'll get all that done, and then I will go back in over the weekend of July 18th to do the lead vocal tracks, the piano parts, acoustic guitar parts, and any string/horn parts that need done for whatever songs we got finished. The following weekend, then, Kenny will go in and do his lead guitar parts. After that, I'll go in and do any backing vocals, and then we'll mix it down. So, we'll get about a third of the album done by the end of July, and then work on another three or four songs... probably Strings, The Night Let Me Down, and You're The Reason. Then repeat the above process, to have those songs finished by the second week of August. Then, we'll go in and do Dear Jane (the drummer's song), Even If It's Wrong, The Cover, and Relax (all easy songs). Repeat process again, to have those done by the end of August/early September. If time permits, I have two other songs we might do. One is with the whole band; the other is just me and a piano and MAYBE some backing vocals. Then, once it's all mixed and I have copies, I'll get it mastered, replicated, and packaged. This means that I have to nail down the packaging sometime within the next two months, including deciding on jewel cases or jackets and getting pictures and formatting those for the packaging specifications.

So, that's Saturday. Sunday, I have band practice for the wedding. This practice is important, because the wedding is July 11th, and my drummer will be gone the weekend of the 4th, so we will only have this one practice left. I want to start early and hit everything on the setlist.

In July, I intend to participate JulNoWriMo (July Novel Writing Month) again. Last year, I wrote more than 50,000 words in Devil's Handiwork. This year, I want to work on A Night Borrowed, and, hopefully, get it mostly finished before school starts in late August. A Night Borrowed I plan to self-publish, to get it out to those who want it right away. I am going to query Devil's Handiwork to agents and editors over the winter and see what happens.

Gaelic Tattoos

2009-06-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

So, in checking my web stat trends for Gaelic Shadows, I noticed that about 20 people per day, for the last 6 months or so, are coming to my site searching for Gaelic-inspired tattoo art. So... I guess I will do up some celtic/Gaelic tattoo art, and post it here soon. Looks like something people are interested in.

If I give the tattoo art away for free, will people buy my book and/or CD? Who knows?

New Show Recap

2009-06-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

I have a new show review posted here.

Cajun Is Home!

2009-06-14T23:42:00.000-07:00

Thought I would update you and let you know that a white Jeep stopped out front at the end of my driveway this afternoon and let Cajun out, so he is home. I don't know why someone took him, and I know even less about why they brought him back, but I am really happy that they did. I missed him really bad.

Stuff happened today, but I will write later when I am not so wiped out.

My Kitty Is Missing

2009-06-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

Friday night, I came home from singing karaoke at Stateline, and Cajun was in the house, sleeping on the couch. Before I went to bed, he wanted out, so I let him out. He is usually back in the morning. The kids says that they saw Cajun sleeping on the sidewalk out front Saturday morning, too. I never saw him. We went to my cousin's wedding and we were gone all afternoon and part of the evening before returning home to change clothes. Cajun was nowhere to be seen.

We went out to my aunt's house for a while Saturday night. We got home around 1 in the morning, and Cajun was nowhere to be seen. This morning, Cajun is still not around, and now, I am really concerned and upset. I keep thinking about all the horrible things that could happen to him, like those vicious dogs next door that the neighbors can't seem to keep penned up. Or the highway. Or the cars zooming in and out of the driveway. Maybe someone took him thinking he was a friendly stray. In any case, I miss my cat and I want him home.

More Show Recaps

2009-06-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

I am very nearly finished with the bankruptcy articles, but I also have show recaps up here, here, and here.

More Planet Stuff (Not That You're Interested)

2009-06-03T23:50:00.000-07:00

I have gone from 1423 to 2112 looking at the Western sky as seen from Hudson Valley, New York. I found that the alignment appears to happen WAAAAY more often than the article I read would have people believe.

I'm going to post more pictures. Remember, you can click on these to make them bigger.

For these, I told the program to make the moon to scale, so we can see when it is a crescent moon and when it isn't. I cannot decide which ones of these to count and which to dismiss as another kind of alignment. So, look these over and let me know which you would count. For my purposes, the alignment of August 8, 1423 is what I consider the benchmark. Here is that alignment, with the moon to scale:

Though it is interesting, in this picture, how Mars and Mercury and Saturn are also in apparent alignment, what I am most interested in is how Venus, Jupiter, and the crescent moon interact. So, that's what I am comparing everything else to.

Now, here's another, similar alignment, a scant 59 years later on August 15, 1482:

I am not sure this is a match.

Next up is another alignment, this one from September 23, 1626:

Things are a little off, but they are pretty close, and, to the naked eye with Jupiter and Venus at the correct size (they aren't to scale in these), it would be pretty hard to tell, I think. Opinions?

Okay, next is October 15, 1757:

This looked pretty close.

Next is November 25, 1794:

It looks very close to me. Thoughts?

Next is September 6, 1815:

The moon looks completely off kilter, to me, in this one, though, while moving through the sky (which the program only kinda-sorta replicates), it might look closer to the benchmark at one point or another throughout the night in question.

Next is November 1, 1864:

Looks like a match.

Next is September 28, 1946.

Jupiter seems way out of alignment, but it is close. Still, I crossed it off my list after tonight's session of looking at them. I just don't think it is. Close, but no cigar.

Next is November 21, 1960:

Venus and Jupiter appear closer together in this, and the crescent of the moon appears like more of a frown than in the benchmark. Still, I think it might be close enough. Thoughts?

Next is September 1, 1981:

I think this might be a match.

Next is December 1, 2008:

While it's sort of cute and funny that the sky made a frowny emoticon, I don't think this is an alignment.

Next is September 15, 2053:

Help me decide.

Next is September 21, 2077:

Looks like the 2008 frown, huh? I think it is not the alignment I'm looking for. Thoughts?

Next is July 1, 2098:

I say no. What do you think?

Next is September 23, 2112:

I think this is an alignment. Thoughts?

Show Recaps

2009-06-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

The two new show recaps are up, here and here.

Projects!

2009-06-02T00:24:00.000-07:00

I have a new web site content/SEO commission to work on. Thirty articles by the end of June about California bankruptcy, civil litigation, and personal injury. Away we go....

I wrote two more show recaps this morning. They aren't up on the site, yet, butI will post links as soon as they are available. In the meantime, I've been meaning to get to work on the synopsis for A Night Borrowed, because it is so much easier for me to write if I have a roadmap... even if I tend to ignore it once I do it. A lot of the thematic elements that I'll use to put the book together will come out during the synopsis-writing process. So I need to get to work on that. I also need to spend a couple of days sweeping and mopping. I think I have put it off long enough. The whole house is starting to gross me right the hell out.

For The Last Couple of Days...

2009-05-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have spent the vast majority of the last couple of days working with a program called Stellarium. It shows you star and planet positions throughout the ages, including into the future. Space movement is all math, so I assume that this is fairly accurate. You might ask why I am using an astronomy program to look at star and planet positioning. Good question. It's actually about the sequel to Night Cries.

You see, part of A Night Borrowed takes place in present day in upstate New York, among other locales, and the reason that part of it is set in New York has to do with an article I read in a FATE Magazine compilation of articles called Out of Time and Place: Amazing accounts that challenge our view of human history. I bought the book on a whim at Barnes&Noble during one of my forays there. It was on clearance.

Anyway, in this book is an article about Druids in New York. The whole of that article is basically re-published here, but the following was the part that made me go, "Hmmm....":

In Fahnstock Park located bear Putnam Valley, New York are two chambers very close together. One chamber, the smaller one is oval and because there is a slab of rock near the back wall large enough to place a human body we named it the tomb. Out side this chamber is a large flat rock placed in the earth with carvings that clearly show an astronomical conjunction involving the crescent moon, and the planets Jupiter and Venus. It is possible that someone tried to make a record on when the chamber was built or perhaps the time it was used to place the body of a very important person. Using a planetarium program at the observatory in which I was a staff member at the time, I went back in time to find out when this particular alignment of the two planets and the moon took place. The dates I got were 1423 A.D, 1500 B.C and 2772 B.C.

But, actually, the guy was wrong about the alignments. Even after searching the whole of the year 1500BC, I wasn't able to find it, but I did find it happening on August 8, 1423. I took a screenshot of the event, which was more than just Venus, Jupiter, and the moon:

You can see where Mars was right there, too, as was Mercury, and even Saturn was in the Western sky at dusk that night. In fact (though I couldn't get a good screenshot of it), Uranus, which isn't visble with the naked eye, was lined up. After finding this, I went and looked all over around the year 1500BC, and didn't find anything, and I was starting to think, after three hours of doing this, that the 1423 alignment was a "one-off" phenomenon. But, out of curiousity and sense of thoroughness, I went and checked 2772BC. It didn't take me long to find this:

It would have happened below the horizon from a vantage in upstate New York, and about 4 in the morning. It would have been visible from South America. Anyways, in that shot, you can see that it is exactly the same alignment, just not visible from the ground. It's EXACTLY like the one I found in 1423.

So, I went back to 1500BC, looked some more, and came up empty. I decided - since the whole point of this was to see what the alignment looked like - since I couldn't find a picture of the inscription on the stone - and to find when (for my book's purposes) the alignment happened again. I started at 1423, and started going through the years, month-by-month. I found something similar in 1482:

... but it is not EXACTLY the same. I kept looking. I found another alignment that is exactly the same in 1626:

I don't remember where Mars was in that shot, but I think it was there, like in the 1423 one, just way far away, so it is exactly the same. Well, based on this information - that there was 203 years between the 1423 alignment and the 1626 alignment - I skipped 203 years ahead from 1626 to 1829. Nothing. Looked all around there. Nothing. Finally, I went back to the month-by-month examination, and, three hours later, found the alignment again - more to the south, this time, though - in 1837:

But the moon isn't quite right. It's in waxing crescent phase, but it is not aligned to make a triangle with Venus and Jupiter. It's close, though.

So, I went back 1626, and started going month-by-month again. I found another similar alignment - two hours later - in 1757:

The alignment of the moon is much closer to what I saw in the 1423 alignment the author of the article described, so I am torn as to which date is the correct one. I know that it happened on August 8, 1423, and again on September 23, 1626. The time between those two occurences is 203 years. If the 1757 alignment is the correct one, then the time between alignments is 131 years. If the 1837 alignment is the correct one, then the time elapsed is 211 years, which seems closer to me than the other.

Of course, there is nothing saying that it couldn't be BOTH dates, meaning that if the alignment happened in 1626, and then in 1757, and then again in 1837, the time between the last two I found is only 80 years.

Now, I am pretty sure that no one who reads A Night Borrowed is going to be as anal as I have been in figuring this shit out, but I want it to be as accurate as possible; however, for the purposes of the story, I am thinking that saying it happens about every 200 years would be logical. What do you think?

Today, I am going to see about making karaoke CDs for the karaoke people at the Stateline; they said they'll pay me $1 per song. And I am going to see when other planetary alignments took place. I am actually enjoying that. :)

Memorial Day & Stuff

2009-05-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, I wrote a recap of the show "The Tudors" for a new web site (you can read it here), and I wrote a parody song for the band's message board. I cleaned up the bathroom today, too. I suppose I should go practice the piano or write something, but so far, I don't feel like it.

Flawed Thinking

2009-05-23T11:13:00.001-07:00

I recently read a blog post about the new movie in the Terminator franchise. The blog writer said that she didn't like the movie because she had a hard time suspending her disbelief because of continuity problems. Specifically, she mentioned that, in Terminator: Salvation, that the machines already knew John and Kyle Connor would be important to the resistance even though, at the time the movie takes place, they aren't important yet. I cannot speak to this, as I haven't seen the film, and, based on reviews, probably won't 'til it comes out on cable. However, I would speculate that the machines sent back messengers to that point in time to tell the other machines.

Now, don't get me wrong. I liked Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and I also like Terminator:The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The other movie(s)? (Was there more than the abyssmal Terminator 3?) Not so much. The Mythology keeps changing. But there has always been one thing that bothered me about the whole concept of machines launching a nuclear attack that is at the foundation of all the films, and it is this:

It's hard to suspend disbelief when the catalyst is a premise that makes everything else that follows implausible. I mean, given that Skynet has become self-aware, it boggles the mind to think that ultra-intelligent machines would then decide that the best course of action for eradicating mankind is a nuclear bomb. Assuming that the machines know what we know or have put into their databases, then, certainly, Skynet must know that a nuclear blast would cut all electricity, among other, horrific side effects. Given that at the time of Skynet's supposed first attack, the Big Bad Machines were, basically, just a computer sitting in a room, who, exactly, would have had the knowledge, manpower, and wherewithal to restore the power grid?

I believe that the writers of The Sarah Connor Chronicles attempted to address this paradox (machines blow up mankind, blow up themselves and their power sources in the process, hence, no man-like machines could ever be built), by spending at least one episode in a power plant in southern California (see Season 2, Episode 2 of TSCC, entitled "Automatic for the People").

I suppose that one could theorize that Skynet was smart enough to know that it would need power, and avoided precisely destroying certain, pivotal power plants so that it could build more machines (using other machines, I would guess, but who would program those machines? Skynet?), and that might also explain how anybody managed to live through the nuclear blasts (world wide, I further assume) and the radioactive fallout.

But this actually brings me to another point: if it was Skynet that programmed the other machines to build human-like androids, how did it do so? Because most computers used to tool machine parts are not connected to databases, but are instead programmed locally to a dedicated hard drive... at least, in my experience with them. There may be some computers for this purpose that are connected to networks, but that actually seems a bit counter-productive to keeping one's designs from being hijacked, so, even if those computers were networked, it would probably only be within the company where those computers were housed and not connected to a wider, world-wide network like the Internet. Machining designs are quite proprietary. Therefore, one would have to assume that Skynet would be able to access those computers another way, perhaps through electrical outlets that the machining computers are plugged into, but that brings up two problems: the first is what I started writing this post about (the power problem, post-nuke, not to mention the physical damage that the machines would have to avoid with their nuclear blasts, thus sparing more people in order to spare facilities); the second would bring us in to Tesla territory, which I am neither qualified nor inclined to talk about, except to say that it's pretty scary to think that someone out there might be able to figure out what you're up to, what you're using, or even what's on your hard drive due to the nature of the electrical ground plug.

Then again, perhaps I am wrong altogether about this. After all, I am not a nuclear scientist, and don't really know that much about it. Maybe power grids and machines could continue to work through massive electro-magnetic blasts and the force created by a nuclear explosion.

But I don't think I am wrong.

Okay, Break's Over!

2009-05-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

I have a list of things to do:

Write a synopsis for A Night Borrowed and write that in June instead of July
Put together a disc of songs for Dad for his birthday
Mop these disgusting floors
Clean out the porch (will need help with this)
Find someone to mow my fields and lawn
Put together sheet music for the new covers
Finish the record by August
Finish writing Devil's Handiwork by the end of July
Finish writing A Night Borrowed by the end of June
Edit both books in August
Get A Night Borrowed to the printer by September
Start querying Devil's Handiwork in August
Move my office to the porch by the end of September
Finish the record cover and printed material

I Think I May Be Getting Sick Again

2009-05-13T03:11:00.000-07:00

Why do I always start to come down with some God forsaken cold whenever I am about to record? I started feeling sick again today, with a little bit of congestion, sore throat, painful tonsils, fever... the works. I feel better now, but I sure didn't this morning, so I stayed in bed much of the day.

I had e-mailed the gal about the wedding to set up a time to get her set list requests and sign the contract and look at the venue, but she never called. Got an e-mail tonight saying that she had been in Montana Tuesday for work (and is every Tuesday). At any rate, my next availability, I think, is Sunday.

I wish I had my car back. I have so much shit to do and so little time to do it in and no way to get there, either. I need to start with the cleaning of the house soon, but, in doing the mental inventory of what needs to be done, I realize that it is not as big of a job as I had first anticipated. Most of the work is in sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming floors. Dusting is a huge job, as well. And the kids' rooms? I don't even want to think about it. But, I figure, I can get the house kicked into shape within four days or so, so, why not put it off a while and relax? So, that's what I am doing.

I finally got an idea for A Night Borrowed that might sustain the storyline for 300 pages or so, which is a Very Good Thing, considering that I don't like filler material. Plan to get started on that soon, and write the manuscript in July. Book should be ready by September-ish, which is about the same time as Moonshine Valentine will be done. In the meantime, I plan to finish up the rough draft of Devil's Handiwork and then do re-writes through June. Somewhere amidst all of this, I will be cleaning the porch and converting it into my office. For this, I will need some money, because I plan to put up blinds, and those cost money.

So, I am working on a project for my cousin tonight and tomorrow, might go out Thursday - not sure yet - or will work on piano parts if not. Friday, I am in the studio, Saturday is band practice (now with new songs!), and Sunday is food shopping and the wedding meeting, if the bride is agreeable to such things.That's all I got for now. I hope all of you are doing well.

So...

2009-05-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

...now that school is over until the end of August when it resumes, I seem to have some time on my hands. First things first: I went out Friday night and had three drinks and sang some karaoke. There was some sort of incident there - prior to my arrival - when some gal apparently caught (or thought she saw) her boyfriend doing the horizontal mambo with another gal in the parking lot. I heard about this incident A LOT throughout the course of the evening. At any rate, I didn't relax a whole lot, because apparently, the people at the bar missed me or something, and I was being talked to and asked to play darts and be a shoulder to cry on and sing karaoke. Which wasn't bad or anything, mind, but it is hard to relax when you are so popular (LOL... because I am not popular... at least, not as popular as my friend, Duff, who cannot go out into public without everyone bogarting his time... it's like being friends with Britney Spears!)

So, I thought that we would go out Saturday night, to really have some fun now that school is over. Well, we did, and we were, until a couple of moronic jagoffs decided that Kenny's car looked like a cop car (and it does, because it was one), and decided to sprinkle the car with sugar water from a hummingbird feeder. This, after asking the bartender what it would take to get 86'd from the Legion and staring at me and my aunt all night. Well, my aunt caught them sprinkling the car, and confronted them, Kenny right behind her, and they acted all, "Oops" when told that he wasn't a cop, but then proceeded to be even more annoying when they left, as they pulled their truck in right behind Kenny's car and acted like they were going to ram it or something, but we thought they might try something like that, so pretty much everyone in our party was staring outside at them, so they didn't really dare.

So, anyway, now that school is out, I plan on cleaning my house. Monday, I am dealing with the floors. Tuesday, I am going to tackle the clothing in my room. Wednesday, I am re-arranging the porch so that I can have my office out there. Thursday, I am dusting. Yeah, it is an all-day job, considering that I live next to a landscape yard with a dirt driveway and this pellet stove's ash is microscopic, and settles EVERYWHERE.

I have band practice this afternoon at 4, and I need to go see my Mom, being that it is Mother's Day, and all.

I'm Done!

2009-05-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

I am finally finished with school!!!!

The Flatu-Cat

2009-05-07T03:05:00.000-07:00

My daughter's cat is the world fartiest cat. I swear, this cat smells like it lives on nothing but baked beans and cabbage. Sometimes, I'll just be sitting here at my desk, minding my own business, when the odor of festering garbage and just-lit matches hits my nose, and all I can think of is, "Dear God! What is that smell?!?!?!"

This cat farts all day and all night. It farts when it is happy. It farts when it is upset. It farts when it is playing with the other cats (which sends them running in the opposite direction, too, and you know just how hard it is to gross out a cat!). It farts when it is sleeping. It farts when it is eating. I swear it farts to annoy me. No, seriously. It sleeps in the chair behind me when I am sitting at my desk and just farts up a storm (which, for this cat, is not difficult). When I turn to see if the cat is there, it always is, and it smiles at me (if cats can smile), as if to say, "Wow! that was a good one!"

It is also Camo Cat. It is the same color and pattern as my couch, and the cat likes to sit in the far corner, where no one ever sits, and then it likes to fart as soon as we sit down to watch TV. And you don't know where the smell is coming from for a while because the cat BLENDS. It is like a deer hunter in full-on "hiding-from-deer" attire when it sits on this couch, like the afore-mentioned hunter in a tree stand... except when this mythological hunter farts, there is no one to gag except himself. When this cat lets one rip, the room clears.

If this cat drank beer, its transformation into an uncouth hillbilly would be complete.

So Glad School's Almost Over

2009-05-07T02:40:00.000-07:00

School ends for the semester on Friday, and I have a 3-page paper due on Friday, and four more postings to do on the message board, and I am done for the summer. I already had to register for Fall classes, though. One of those, I will have to drive into Spokane on Thursday nights from September to December. BUMMER! But it is a required class. But I have two 4.0s from the classes this Spring, so I am okay with that. But I am really, really glad that school's just about over. I am getting burned out... seriously.

Random Stuff

2009-04-30T03:04:00.000-07:00

Finally heard back from a client about a web site, and he FINALLY likes the design, so we are moving forward.

My cold is clearing up. I spent probably an hour trying to unplug my ears, with little success until much later, when I spontaneously yawned and I could hear again.

Apparently, something is going on for my birthday at the Stateline tavern in Oldtown on Friday the 1st. Things get started around 6PM or so. Be there or be square.

I have to write a paper sometime within the next few days. It's due by midnight on Saturday night. I am going shopping tomorrow (Thursday), and then out to the Legion for a while Thursday night. Friday night is the party thing, so I might get some of the paper written Friday during the day, provided I am not hungover or otherwise unwell. Saturday, we are having band practice, and I will have to finish up the paper after that, so I will miss out on the steak dinner thing at the Legion Saturday night. Sunday, I think, I am going to do... NOTHING. Monday is my actual birthday. Don't know what (if anything) is happening.

I Fricking KNEW It!!!

2009-04-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

So, now that we've purchased a new couch, the very one I initially wanted is back up for sale. Same phone number, too. I wonder, did the husband get the phone number in the divorce, too? I am going to have Kenny call just to see if the same dippy woman answers. How could it not be? It's a red velvet sectional in Sagle with the same 610 prefix phone number. I knew, just as soon as I bought something else, the thing I wanted would be available. Dammit.

I Have A Head Cold

2009-04-22T05:01:00.000-07:00

I feel like crap. I can't breathe, and that means I cannot sleep, either. My ears feel plugged up. I really hope I feel better soon.

I Need Something To Look Forward To

2009-03-24T04:15:00.000-07:00

I am so tired of everything being drudgery. Just something else to get through to try to get what I want. I work and I work and I work and it just seems like, no matter how hard I work, it's never quite enough. Something steps up and screws me over and I don't get what I want. Or what I want ends up being a big pain in the ass.

I just want this record done. I have been waiting for it for TWO YEARS. I have worked and slaved and sued people, and I am still getting yanked around... I just want it DONE already. I want to make videos of the songs! I want to sell my CDs to the world and have people love them without hearing, "Oh, the production sucks, so I can't comment on the songs" or, "You suck at singing, so I can't comment on the songs." All people are interested in is the PACKAGING. They are not interested in content. All they care about is how the songs are presented, not what they're saying.

When I wrote "The Cover," it was kind of a rant about how people look at me and go, "Oh, you have big boobs, so you're a slut," or, "You are blonde, so you are STUPID!" Like, judging a book by the cover, which was where the title came from, and the original lyrics said as much. Anyway, so, now I am thinking that it isn't just ME people judge with one glance, but EVERYTHING. Like, my songs. There aren't very many people outside my circle who really get what I am saying in my songs. There are MESSAGES there! They are not just pop fodder!

Anyway, that's what's on my mind. I am tired and need something to look forward to. Getting the CD done? It's not something to look forward to, 'cause, until I am holding the master tape in my hands and am getting it sent off to the replicator and packager, it isn't anywhere close to done.

No, what I mean is, I need something DEFINITE to look forward to, or this depression is going to tear me apart.

I Went To Spokane...

2009-03-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

...and I got the rough mixes from the studio. Not much to comment on. It needs work.

In other news, the "B" semester started at school today. I am supposed to read a book that is really boring before Friday because I have to make posts about it. I am having a really hard time getting into it. I found another couch that I am thinking about buying. The couch I have has some springs broken in the center (who knows how), and it must be replaced after 10 years of nearly continuous use.

No! Not That!

2009-03-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

My desktop computer did a weird thing this morning. I went to turn it on, but Windows wouldn't boot up. I tried three or four times, and then called Dell. While I was on hold to talk to some East Indian tech support person, I got the bright idea to unplug it from the power. So, I did. I left it unplugged for thirty seconds, plugged it back in, and tried it again. It worked.

I decided I need to schedule regular back-ups. Things could get ugly elsewise, mostly because of my e-mails. I have most of my work and school files on my external hard drive, but all my e-mails are on the main drive. So, I made a back-up today and scheduled back-ups of new e-mails to be made weekly.

But I have no clue what caused the problem in the first place.

Taking a couple days off...

2009-03-05T01:02:00.000-08:00

I am pretty much finished with school for the next 10 days, and have done as much as I can on all my clients' sites until I hear back from them, so I am taking a few days for myself.

Any suggestions on what I should do?

I Am Bitchy

2009-03-03T16:53:00.000-08:00

Ever been bitchy? For me, it usually takes several days of dozens of things piling up on me for me to get this way. Here's a list of what I am dealing with:

So, a few days ago, I found this gorgeous, red velvet, curved-back, sectional sofa for sale on Craigslist. This gal was selling this couch because her carpet in her new house was pink. I really, really wanted that couch. But, today, after a week of trying to set it up so I could get it, she informs me that she lost it in her divorce; the judge awarded everything in the house to her ex-husband. So, I don't get this couch I want, which was only going to cost me $100 plus a U-Haul rental to move it. Similar couches sell for nearly $3,000 on the 'Net; more on showroom floors. ARG!

The insurance company for the gal who hit my parked car says that my car being parked there made Kenny 25% to blame for the accident (even though failure to yield for road obstructions makes it always 100% your fault), so they only want to pay 75% of their damage estimate: $1,600. Meaning, I would only get $1,200 for damage that, according to several sources and quotes, may cost as much as $3,000 to repair. My insurance company, meanwhile, is doing.... NOTHING!

I have heard nothing about my recording.

Last Sunday, I had an appointment to meet with a client about his web site. Not only did he not call and cancel, but I haven't heard ANYTHING from him since.

Yesterday, I got a phone call from another client wanting to know if she could get in trouble for her book having the same name as another book. I told her, "No, you can't copyright titles." I swear, I am going to institute a $25 per question policy.

When Kenny wrecked my car, he was serving an eviction notice for a client of his. That client has still not paid Kenny the $190 he owes Kenny. So, Kenny called him today, and asked about it. The guy was all, "Do you take credit cards?" Kenny said, "Through PayPal." The guy says, "Screw it; I'll send a check." And hangs up. Douche.

Today, I found out that my student loans for Gonzaga, which I had contract through US Bank for, were unceremoniously sold to ACS. Almost two years ago, this same company bought out my old undergraduate consolidated loans from another company and then refused to release them to a new company when I reconsolidated with new loans. In both of these cases, I was not informed that my loans were being sold until after the fact, and, regardless of the fact that I don't owe anybody anything until I graduate with my Master's, this REALLY pisses me off. How can they just sell something that you signed a contract for? Shouldn't they at least have to let you know that they are planning to sell the loan and let you get one with a company of your choosing rather than a company who has already dicked you over once? Cheese'n'rice!

On Friday, the chimney repair guys came over, and they demanded that we rip out part of the carpet and extend the concrete pad that the stove sits on. They said it was "code."

Video, School, Work, Recording, etc

2009-03-01T04:39:00.000-08:00

The video is complete. It is 26 minutes long, and that download is 115 MB. Just so you know. Let me know if you'd rather have a DVD. I thought I did a good job with it. I even layered music with the voiceovers that Kenny did for me... and I synched in little video clips, too. :)

Recording went well. We got all the drums and bass tracks for all the songs finished. We're going to get a rough mixdown now and then the engineer is going to work some magic. We're finished recording for now while the engineer makes adjustments.

I just have a couple things left for this class to do and then I am done. One of those things includes subjecting people to my video. And then another class starts up a few days later.

As for work, I have two web sites that I need to work on on Saturday, at least for a while, as this video has sucked up most of my time.

Why It Takes Women So Long To Get Ready

2009-02-28T04:24:00.000-08:00

I bought a new torture device. Okay, okay. It's a bra. Actually, it is a strapless convertible bra attached to a bodysuit. In any case, the thought behind the garmet is a good idea. Not so hot was the execution of the idea.

Let's start with the obvious: if you're going to make a bra/underwear thing like this you have to make it so that the woman can fasten the damned thing herself. I opened the package and looked at it. It's sleek black, glistening fabric. It is very pretty.

I slipped the thing up over my hips and up to my boobs, and then I tried to attach the clips in back, because, unlike a normal bra, you can't fasten it in the front and then pull it around. It simply don't work that way.

You'd have to be a damned contortionist to get this thing hooked up by yourself. After several fruitless minutes of trying, I finally unsnapped the crotch (yes it has a snap-closed crotch), hoisted it up, and tried again from a different angle. No luck getting the hooks fastened in back, again.

So, I tried to re-snap the crotch. After fiddling around with it for probably 5 minutes, I got down on the floor and tried. Nope. Not gonna work. So, I bent WAAAAAY over to have a look down below. And damn it all if they weren't BLACK snaps on the damned thing, so you can't even SEE them to get them re-snapped.

So, fine. I take the whole thing off and examine the snaps. They're not even real snaps. They're more like little plastic blobs with corresponsing little plastic holes surrounded by fabric. They are not even close to being a design with which a woman could feasibly fasten herself while wearing it... which brings up the question: what if you did - miraculously and theoretically - manage to get the thing fastened in the back by yourself and then you went out somewhere in it... what if you had to pee???? You'd NEVER get that thing snapped back up without an assistant, which, now that I think about it, opens up a new job title in the personal assistant marketplace: Bodysuit Crotch Snap Fastener Assistant. Probably pays AT LEAST $10 an hour.

But I digress. Even when you're not wearing the thing, getting the snaps hooked back up is no small feat. it requires the use of a vise, pliers, both hands, and the gravitational pull of Jupiter to snap back together.

After a few minutes of dinking with it, I finally have the crotch re-assembled, and go in for another attempt at fastening the back. After tilting this way and that and bending my arms in ways they were never intended to bend, I finally got it put together... kind of. I got the bottom one hooked up just fine, but then I got the top one hooked onto the second rung, leaving the second hook without a place to go and strange bulge in the hook and eye system in the back. Bollocks.

But I left it for a while, because it was on, and I did look CUTE in it. After about 10 minutes in it, the back started irritating me, though, so I undid the hooks and gave it another go.

Again, you have to be a contortionist to get this damned thing hooked up! My shoulders popped, my elbows creaked, and I bent myself almost completely backward trying to fasten the hooks and eyes in the back. I only managed to hook the top hook into the bottom eye, which was even worse than missing the second one altogether previously, so I tried again.

After about 10 more minutes of fiddling with it, I gave up and decided that I would need help is I was ever to wear the thing properly. Then again, if I ever decide to wear it anywhere, I will need a peeing buddy.

Perhaps, though, there is a method by which one could hook everything up BEFORE putting it on? I doubt it.

Recording!

2009-02-18T10:17:00.000-08:00

Tuesday we were in the studio, and managed to capture drum tracks for five of the 11 songs. I had hoped to get more done, but, it is what it is. Looking back, things didn't go as badly as I perceived them as going while it was happening. I had to remind myself this morning that this is how recording sometimes goes; no band - professional, indie, major label or not - comes out with a finished CD in just 8 hours.

So, we're on the right track and will be back to recording next Thursday!

Your Media, Your Airwaves, Your Voice

2009-02-15T22:19:00.000-08:00

You'll notice that, in the sidebar to the left, that I have put in a new widget. It is a poll to give our opinions about the most important aspects that need to be addressed by President Obama's FCC chairperson.

It iws important that you vote and let your voice be heard. If you're tired of the pro-corporate bias in the media that has nothing to do with your real concerns for this country and what matters to you... if you are tired of the spin and propaganda that make these things that are only good for big business look like the benefit you and your concerns... if you would like to keep the Internet free for all to use without preference to which corporation can pay the most ('Net Neutrality), then please, take this poll. The airwaves are yours. They do not belong to the government, any media owner, or any corporation. They belong to the American people. Let's take them back.

It Doesn't Rain...

2009-02-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

...but it pours.

(Yes, I am re-using the title from my MySpace blog. Because I am being lazy.)

Anyway, so after the awful events of last week, one might think that nothing else really bad could happen here, but IT DID!

This morning, my cat, Cajun, demolished my brand new bag of bagels right in front of the bedroom door. Cajun had bounded through the bedroom, over the bed, and back out. Well, Cajun NEVER comes in the bedroom, so I should have found that odd.

Well, I got up, went to the bathroom, and then went into the kitchen to get the broom to clean up the bagel carnage off the dining room floor, where, apparently, the bagel destruction had started. I had just finished sweeping it up when I smelled heat and heard some crackling. My eyes were instantly drawn to the chimney, and, sure as shit, the wall around the chimney was on fire!

The fire started in the chimney, apparently from the bricks getting really hot and catching the drywall on fire. At one point, I guess, the stove was on the other side of the partition between the dining room and livingroom, but the chimney access was closed off by a metal (aluminum, maybe?) plate when they moved the stove to the livingroom side of the partition. Where the plate was in the wall was where the fire was burning.

Sprayed the fire with a spray bottle, putting it mostly out. I called out to the kids and got them to get dressed and go out to the car where they would be warm with the heater and all. Then, I called 911. For whatever reason, I got a hold of Pend Oreille County, and they had to re-route me to Bonner County. I reported the fire, told them that it was pretty much out but that we didn't know if it was in the walls or not. So, they were on there way. Then, I unloaded everything off my piano (my 121-year-old player piano... you know, the one my Dad bought me) and went outside myself to wave the firetrucks into the house. It was a good thing I did, because they were all over the place, completely lost. But they finally got here and looked at everything with a thermal camera to make sure that the fire was out. (Apparently, this thing is sensitive enough to see footprints on carpet when you're wearing shoes.) The fire was out, but they pried off the paneling and drywall where the fire had been.

While the firemen were here, I was in the car with the kids, getting worried and wondering how much damage there would be when I got back inside. Luckily, the firemen had moved my piano out of the way, so it only got some soot and a little water on it. Soon after, the firefighters left, and I got to clean everything up. Some of the family came over and helped move the piano back against the wall, but away from where the fire had been so that repairs could be made.

So, now, we have to wait for the chimney repair guy to come over and decide how much it'll be to repair it. We can't run the pellet stove until then, so it is pretty cold in here. Dad may come over later and take the kids to his place until we have the heat back on.

I had to cancel a meeting I had scheduled for a web site, and who knows how practice will go tomorrow without any heat. But Cajun was today's hero. If he hadn't eaten my bagels and acted like an idiot, the fire might have spread to the ceiling (the kids' rooms' floor) and we might all be dead. So, I gave Cajun a can of tuna. He earned it.

LTD Damage

2009-02-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

I am tired and I don't want to be doing anything...Monday afternoon, Kenny went to serve some papers up north of where Mom & Dad live... somewhere on Jackpine Flats or something. Anyway, so he serves the papers (and he had taken Dad with him), and he is heading back out when he comes to this hill on the one-lane road. Two cars are stopped in the middle of the road, so Kenny stops and waits for them, and then the cars leave. Kenny goes to go up this hill, and the road is icy. He can't get up it, so he starts to back down. The car slides sideways in the rear-end, and Kenny gets my LTD stuck. Yes, he is driving MY car.

So, they try to wiggle the car back and forth for a few minutes, and finally decide that it is well and truly stuck, so Dad goes walking to a nearby house to borrow a shovel. As Dad is walking away, Kenny keeps trying to get the car moving by going forward and then backward. While he is looking backward, a car comes over the top of the hill, starts slipping on the ice and hits my car head-on.

Now, nobody is hurt, I should say that now.

No BODY is hurt, except the body of my car.

The lady who hit the car was driving a two-day-old Suburban. You slide a lot faster than you roll, especially downhill, and, rather than take the ditch, she hit my car right on the passenger side front fender's corner. It DEMOLISHED the fender, the headline rim, the bumper, and all the chrome and lights around the fender - except the headlights... those still work. The impact crunched the fender over the hood, so the hood can't be opened, and jammed the fender back into the passenger door, so that can't be opened, either. Here are some pictures of the damage:
(click for larger views)

So, I am very upset. Kenny did not get the woman's temporary license number. He did not get her VIN number or her driver's license number. At least, with his P.I. business he could look some of that up, but he didn't even walk to a nearby house and ask to use the phone. He did walk to a nearby house and get them to pull the car out.

The only semi-bright side to this is that she REALLY damaged her Suburban by hitting my car. Apparently, it mashed the radiator into her engine and broke oil and fuel lines and it was not driveable.

Kenny talked to my Uncle Rick (who fixes car body damage), and he talked to our insurance company, and the woman's insurance company, and made a police report. We looked up the blue book value on the car - which, I figure, is somewhere between "average" and "excellent" condition - and my LTD is probably worth somewhere between $6,500 and $9,000 with the 429 in it. But I still figure that her insurance company will lowball it and total my car for what I paid for it: $1,400. I am GOING to get SCREWED on this; I know it.

So, that pretty much ruined my week.

Projects

2009-02-03T05:18:00.000-08:00

Today, I finished a pain-in-the-keister project, got most of my school books for the "B" semester that starts in March, and bought some awesome chocolate scented body scrub and body wash. They are The. Awesomest.

I am so looking forward to recording and FINALLY working with TRUE professionals who know what they're doing and FINALLY capture MY awesomeness and my songs' awesomeness and my band's awesomeness.

Because we are AWESOME!

STEELERS WIN!!!

2009-02-02T00:40:00.000-08:00

HEY!!!! The Steelers won the Superbowl!!! I'm not going to Disney World, but I am happy!! The first team in NFL history to six Superbowl titles!!! Too awesome for words!!!

About half the people I invited ditched me at the last minute, but, oh, well. Life goes on. I have a ton of leftovers. Heh.

Anyways, not much going on other than that... now, I have to go do school work and some real work. Tomorrow, I start exercising again (oh, joy). Also tomorrow, I am getting my new desk, so, no more painful neck spasms and stuff. It should be awesome!

I sent the kids away to Mom's for the week so I could get all my school projects done and out of the way so I can focus on the recording. Should be a peaceful, if busy, week.

Today...

2009-01-29T07:53:00.000-08:00

...I read Fahrenheit 451 for class (not bad, but leaves a weird taste, so to speak), had a business meeting, and registered some of my songs with the copyright office. I also practiced the keyboard parts for the songs that have piano for the album.

Right now, I should be sleeping, but I am debating staying up to get back on a day schedule.

Not Much To Say

2009-01-28T02:01:00.000-08:00

Been working, been doing some school stuff (did postings last night and have to watch a video and do more postings tonight), been working on the songs (changing a line here or there as I verify the songs' complete uniqueness by typing lyrical lines into Google with quotes to make sure nothing comes up), and I went and bought a new keyboard.

Not a typing keyboard, but an honest-to-goodness, 88-key, weighted hammer-like keys, digital piano keyboard. I found it on Craigslist for a steal, and went and got it from Post Falls today. I also went shopping for stuff for the SuperBowl party. But I have to do one more thing for that.

Anyway, that's about all that has been happening. Must go do school work now.

Despite There Being No Football On...

2009-01-26T02:16:00.000-08:00

... I had a pretty good day. I didn't get to bed until about 6 this morning, and got back up at noon. Got my shit together, and made some soup for the band. We had band practice, and it went really well. We sounded almost perfect, to be honest with you. There are a few more things to tighten up, but I think we might be ready to record by the end of February! Yay!

I Am Tired

2009-01-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

I am tired. I went to bed at about 4:30 AM, but couldn't sleep. I laid in bed, awake, until after 7 AM. Then, Dad came over and woke me up at 10:30AM. I don't really mind so much, but I am tired, and that makes me nauseous. I might go take a nap; I am supposed to have company tonight.

Yesterday, we pretty much got the book project wrapped up, and I talked to my lawyer client in LA about his site, which I am supposed to finish up by tomorrow.

I got my tax stuff put together, and I wrote a new song yesterday. It's actually pretty good, but I don't think that it will make the record. It's called "Discontent," and is a blues song that would - mostly - be a guitar instrumental. It plays off of Richard III's famous soliloquy by Shakespeare. If this gets recorded, it will probably be for the next record, along with "Fine Fools," "Troubles," and a few other new ones I have written here recently. Unfortunately, many of them sound the same, so I may have to re-work them and make one or two songs out of the lot.

Well...

2009-01-19T01:25:00.000-08:00

Went over "Fine Fools" with the bass player, and then I worked. Been a long day.

HERE WE GO!!!

2009-01-18T21:18:00.000-08:00

The Steelers are going to the Superbowl!!!!!

One for the toe!!!

I Had The Cops Called On Me...

2009-01-16T11:02:00.000-08:00

I went out to pool leagues with The Usual Suspects on Wednesday. So, about three-quarters of the way through the pool league games, this Priest River cop comes in. I don't think anything of it. I even walk right past him to go get another drink. Eventually, the cop leaves.

At the end of the night, the bartender calls me over and asks me if I knew why the cop had come in. I said, "no." She proceeded to tell me that the cop came into the bar to throw me out because someone in the bar (a patron, most likely) had called the police complaining that I was "indecent." Apparently, this person reported me as not wearing anything under my shawl. Is that ridiculous or what?!?!?

Verifying photograph (sorry for crappy quality... cell phone picture):

Fine Fools

2009-01-14T05:54:00.000-08:00

I was writing again, and wrote a new song. I've titled it "Fine Fools." It's a funny story about the title: I was sitting the car outside a gas station, and looked to my right at a nearby bar. On the wall of the bar was this neon sign that was supposed to read "fine foods," but part of the "D" was out, so it read, "Fine Fools." I had to go with that.

The choruses - I think - are really catchy. Kenny hates it already. I showed it to him, and he said it was "too pop-py." I see it as a commentary on people knowing things are screwed up but don't do anything about it. Will show it to the band at the next practice.

Five Years

2009-01-14T01:01:00.000-08:00

So, I guess I have been writing this blog for five years as of the 12th. Heh. Pretty cool.

I was beseiged by phone calls today, mostly work. Classes started again today. I began my fifth course in the master's program, but, at least, this class looks like it will be fun. We're going to watch James Burke, after all! That makes everything better.

Miscellaneous Detritus

2009-01-12T01:44:00.000-08:00

Had band practice tonight, and things are really starting to come together. Just a few more weeks, and I think we can get this CD recorded and be on our way.

My neck goes through good hours and bad hours. It really fluctuates that much. Playing guitar tonight really hurt. My guitar weighs 14 pounds, so that stands to reason. When I wake up in the mornings, my neck is really stiff and hurts a lot. An ice pack on it for 15 minutes followed by a warm shower or a warm towel kinda works. Working makes the back of my neck all tingly. I am trying really hard to sit up straighter and not sit on my leg and not sleep on my stomach, but I tend to do it anyways. School starts on Tuesday. That should be fun. (Not.)

Arg

2009-01-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

The pain in my neck is better (the ice helps), but working is still a pain, pun intended. I will be going to the chiropractor in a little over an hour. Hopefully, I will feel better afterward.

I Went To The Chiropractor...

2009-01-06T17:25:00.000-08:00

...and, as it turns out, my chosen profession is attributing to a case of torticollis. The muscles are huge surrounding the spot, and all this is most likely been brought on by using a mouse. Sheesh. Who knew web design could be debilitating?

Apparently, this all got started in 1996 when I was in two rear-end accidents in Spokane within the span of 5 months. The first one wasn't that big of a deal, but the second one was a pretty bad accident, as the car got pushed probably 25-30 feet into the intersection.

What's interesting, though, is that, according to that Wikipedia article up there, this kind of injury can be brought on by an ear infection. I had an ear infection not too long ago, but it was in my left ear, and this pain is on the right side of my neck. Anyway, working continues to hurt, and I have way too much to do for this crap to be going on. I am supposed to go back on Friday to see if he can put my vertabrae at the top of my spine in once the swelling goes down in the muscles around it.