So I bought an Acer Aspire One 8.9" netbook back in Feb to jot down lyrics and stuff. My intent was to take it to band practices and whatnot, btu at 45 min each way, I didn't end up with a lot of battery power left while I was actually there. Also, I left the band in March or April, so that need kind of evaporated. Too bad, it fit really nicely into one of the side pouches on my gear bag.
So basically the netbook (which I'm typing this blog out on now) has sat there unused since then, like more than 6 months. I had bought a dvd burner for it (not that it has the horsepower to really author a dvd, but it was only $45) even. So I went on ebay last week and bought a 9-cell battery for it (allegedly 12 hours worth). So now I'm thinking I'm gonna use this thing more often, just so it's not sitting here as a waste of money. It should have enough juice now for me to at least watch some movies or something, if nothing else. If I get feeling creative, my toneport doesn't use separate power so I should be able to sit somewhere and just record some jammed riffs too, as I have some recording software on here as well as L6 gearbox for all the fx and amp models.
We'll see what happens. This thing isn't as capable as a real laptop, but it's even more portable. It'll even fit in some of my gig bags.
So I've been sitting here listening to old recordings of Carole and Paula on the Magic Garden. Anyone who grew up in the late 70's/early 80's may remember it from daytime kids tv.
Last year, I stumbled across it and it was like this big steel door was opened in my brain and suddenly I rememebred all sorts of things from when I was very very young.
Now, it seems very bittersweet. Not to sound liek an emo kid or anything but, when I listen to those old recordings of Carole and Paula, it takes me back to a time before anger, sadness, hate or pain. Just the joy of music. It makes me sad now to know that all that wonder and joy is gone, subsumed by the requirements of survival as an adult.
But it's good music. Although it makes me sad, it cheers me up at the same time. They used to always close the show with a song called See Ya, which I heard in my subconscious for years without knowing it. They'd roll the credits and close the doors as they were playing it. It had a kind of finality to it without meaning to.
Well all of a sudden i have a lot of new views and comments on my profile. Couldn't figure it out until someone kindly pointed out my profile avatar pic was showing up on the front community page. Strange. Wonder how that happened, I've had that pic forever, it's not new. I haven't made many updates lately. Guess it's time for my random 15 seconds of interweb fame. Life has been coming at me kind of fast. In any event, enjoy your stay. I updated my playlist with more relaxing music for any new visitors (it was about half metal before). Feel free to comment or such, but I will delete material I feel is offensive as is my right.
I finally got off the fence. Woohoo! My second flame top Explorer Pro now has a '57 Classic/'57 Classic Plus set installed in it. My initial impression after one band practice is that they feed back quite a bit when I try to go for gig volume in a very cramped space. But oh God, the tone. Shouldn't be an issue live as there's more room and for home recording, the amp'll be much quieter.
Just a random post here. Iv'e got two kinda big things going on, the kickoff of busy season ant work and my band has started gigging a lot lately. Between the two things, I am completely wiped out most of the time. I think we (my band) has waaaaay too much gear, but we're picky about how we sound. My back is definitely not enjoying loading up cabs, multiple times in a night and repeating the exercise at 2:30 am to go back. I'm finding that I've been good and responsible the alst few outings as well as far as not getting hammered, which is great from a safety perspective but ultimately, very very boring to sit around sober all night waiting to be able to go home. Oh well. Next big outing is on July 5th. Should be a decent time.
It occurred to me that maybe listing out all my gear on the internet wasn't such a hot idea. No need to provide a grocery list for random unannounced miscreants.
Unfortunately, as I was removing my instrument listings, it deleted the photos, and with them, all the nice comments left by a bunch of nice people. Sorry guys, didn't realize that was going to happen and it isn't a reflection on the importance of the comments, I enjoyed them
P.S. I re-upped a few of the photos, just without all the gory instrument details.
Ok, so I just watched the bowl with my band. Seems like you can't put the 4 of us together in one place or silliness ensues. I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. I'm still feeling the burn in my stomach. Good Times.
I don't normally mess with my guitars. I leave them basically stock. That's the way they were designed, so that's the way they're supposed to sound, right?
After playing my wk 43 explorer that has a 57 Classic and 57 Classic+ pickup set in it (which I always wanted to try but never could afford the $8k for a custom shop) I've come to the conclusion that the 500T/496R pickup set that came stock in my other explorer sounds too scooped and brittle for me. Upon further pondering, the 57's and the burstbuckers are designed to emulate variations of the original PAF humbuckers from the late 1950's. The explorer prototype was mahogany, not korina. I now have a modern interpretation of those first explorer prototypes and as for the sound, I REALLY like it. SO much more full than these modern ceramic pups.
So my next project? I'm going to buy a set of Burstbuckers in the next few weeks and do the unthinkable... replacing the pups in my other explorer. I want to know what the other PAF reissues sound like in a failry controlled situation (i.e.: same body shape/material as I've heard the 57's in). Based on what I like better, I will probably be picking up another flame top explorer pro and putting the better sounding pup set in it so I have a nice fat sounding explorer with a falmed top and bound neck. Yeah, I'm showy
I was thinking about this movie that came out last year, Lions for Lambs. It brought me back to when I was in college and trying to decide what to make of myself. In the end, I never really decided life just kind of happened as it never really waits up for anyone to catch their breath.
The movie has a backdrop of some of the war on terror, but really, that's not the point. Neither is the political gamesmaship evident. Really the movie is about acting. Not like in a movie or on a stage, but about believing in something and taking action when you feel it's right. Because even if you can't change something by yourself, it certainly won't change if nobody takes action. I've seen this theme here and there over the years and it's usually pretty poorly conveyed.
I've done a little volunteer work here and there, but there's always this feeling of, could I have done more? Truth is, I've gotten comfortable-fiddling, as they say in the movie, while things I took for granted and bemoan form a distance burn down around me.
I saw a funny PSA (public service announcement) they're runnin in the netherlands regarding fireworks. They poke fun at some fundametal militant islamics. Apparently there's been some backlash over it. Certain groups think it's in poor taste. Well I got news for you. Freedom fighters are to be revered, but when you TARGET civilians, you are NOT a freedom fighter. You're a terrorist.
A true freedom fighter is someone who is trying to bring an end to an oppressive regime for the sake of the people. The terrorists who kill civilians and coerce them are armed bullies. Thugs. Their goal is not to liberate americans and indigenous peoples but rather to eradicate them whenever they disagree. This is called genocide and I think there was a pretty clear consensus in Nuremberg that this is not good, acceptable, or valid.
And yet, they demand we honor their fighters and their twisted ideology. Why? Are they showing respect to the cultures they are trying to eliminate? Kind of a double standard there. Someone wants to assert that the Koran, or the Torah, or the New Testament is their Holy Book? That's great. Don't get mad when I disagree and don't act like it's my obligation to honor mass murderers. The world has come a long way since the dark ages of Roman Catholic brutatilty. The Catholic church found a way to exist peacefully, why can't the fundamentalists?
| My Profile
Hydra26's blogs, last updated : November 15, 2009
