Half-Life and Times

New King of the Internal Blogosphere

2010-07-08T09:49:00.002-04:00

As I posted on FB a few weeks ago, I've had the dubious honor of co-chairing our committee on improving collaboration and cooperation between departments within IT. One of our focal points is trying to resuscitate our moribund IT Community page, which was launched 18 months ago with some initial success but which has lain relatively dormant for the past year or so. Given that my track record with this blog has been similar for the last few months (in part due to spending more time on Facebook, I'm afraid), this will be quite the challenge but one that I'm actually looking forward to.

Had a meeting this morning with a few folks who have been among the only regular contributors to talk about revamping it so we'll see where this all goes, but in the meantime, I'd better get back into the habit!

Friday Random Baker's Dozen

2010-06-04T16:40:00.001-04:00

01) Danger Mouse - My First Song

02) Garbage - Alien Sex Fiend

03) English Beat - Ackee 1,2,3

04) Rev. Horton Heat - Folsom Prison Blues

05) R. E. M. - Houston (live)

06) Adam and the Ants - Feed Me To The Lions (demo)

07) Elvis Presley - Fever

08) Nirvana - Breed

09) Sex Police - On The Side of the Truth

10) Beastie Boys - Triple Trouble

11) Gob Iron - East Virginia Blues

12) Pressure Boys - Linda

13) Pell Mell - Drift

Flooding Home

2010-05-11T06:42:00.003-04:00

It's always heartbreaking to see pictures of devastation from natural disasters and to try to grasp what people who survive are going through, but nothing, not even Hurricanes Hugo, Fran or Floyd, have hit home as much as the flooding in my hometown of Nashville. Watching the Cumberland and its tributaries rise on the Weather Channel last weekend and keeping up with the news via the Nashville Tennessean website throughout the week has been horribly sad, despite having not lived there for 38 years. You only ever have one hometown and mine is really East Nashville, within the bend of the Cumberland that stretches from LP Field (home of the Titans, which turned into a giant swimming pool last weekend and stands on ground where my father was born), down past Shelby Park and up to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and the Grand Old Opry, all of which was under 10 feet or more of river and may not reopen until the late fall.

I grew up within walking distance of Stratford High School, for those that know the area - a mile from little Cornelia Fort Airpark down on the river, which may never reopen now after this latest flood. We could stand in the front yard on a summer Saturday afternoon and watch the skydivers coming down almost overhead. For people that don't know the area as well, I tell them that I grew up in Shelby Park, which feels pretty true as much time as we spent there. It's flooded of course, but it flooded every couple of years - at least the ballfields did.

The old warehouse district on Second Avenue that they finally managed to turn into an entertainment district along with South Broadway was all underwater. The Ryman Auditorium was built on a rise that kept it dry, but the Grand Old Opry stage at the Opryland Hotel was underwater. While the Country Music Hall of Fame escaped relatively unscathed, the collection that was to be the Musicians Hall of Fame was stored at Soundcheck Nashville and largely destroyed, along with a huge number of instruments stored there for bands that were not currently on tour or recording.

As sad as all of that is, of course the most heartbreaking are the thousands of people that have lost their homes and their belongings and in many cases their personal histories. Some of that can never be repaired, but I'll be sending money to local relief funds and urge you to do the same.

Why I Hate Apple

2010-04-27T06:03:00.003-04:00

The search and seizure at the home of the Gizmodo reporter that broke the lost iPhone prototype story and the Jobsian control over all content are just the two most recent examples of why I hate Apple. For years, the necessity of paying a lot more money for underperforming hardware and a limited application suite to get the Mac OS was enough to keep me away from Apple, but it didn't make me hate them. The early iPod with their requirements for using Apple proprietary software and the iStore were annoying and kept me away as there were perfectly good, less expensive mp3 players out there without that baggage. It was really during the DRM debates that dislike of Apple turned into active hatred - the Jobsian flip-flopping and disengenuousness on the subject while continuing to create the most controlled computing/entertainment environment in the world. Sorry, but Macland just feels more and more like some combination of Oceania and the tightly controlled simulated reality of The Matrix and no, the irony of the first half of that equation is hardly lost on me.

Apple's real strong suit in the beginning was as a tool for creative people - it truly did have a superior environment for music development, video editing and graphic design. But it's success of the last decade had been entirely around consumption - iPod/iTunes, iPhone, iPad, iEtc - and with the control they exert on what can be consumed via their devices and the lock-in that they engender. I've got nothing against consumption, but I have no interest in being told what I can't consume.

Admittedly, the final and possibly largest factor is the Cult of Mac. I have a number of dear friends (some of you probably reading this) that have succumbed. If you don't have an Apple logo tat, you've at least thought seriously about it. In addition to having gone through a succession of iPods and MacBooks, you probably had your iPad within the first week it was available, despite already having an iPhone and a MacBook Air. If you've read this far, you're likely not going to try to argue with me - instead you'll sadly shake your head because I "just don't get it" (but if I'd just try a MacBook for a week, I'd never use anything else). I'm a big enough person to admit the siren call of "It just works" can be pretty seductive after an hour of trying to install a bit of software in the Windows world (much less a Linux box) but I will persevere.

Although I'm thinking about buying an iPad for Jeannette...

True-believer Syndrome

2010-04-25T11:18:00.003-04:00

My best bud Lex pointed me to an interesting discussion on the term "epistemic closure", co-opted (rather than coined) by Julian Sanchez with some good commentary from others here and here. Very worthwhile reading!

Personally, I've been thinking more in the last few days about the apparent lack of cognitive dissonance among the Tea Partiers and their fellow travelers, who all, like Lewis Carroll's White Queen, seem to be able to believe "six impossible things before breakfast". Or certainly at least six totally contradictory things, without breaking a sweat. Quite probably, it is the "believe" aspect of that which makes it possible - who cares about facts? Unfortunately because that faith seems to extend from religious faith to faith in Fox News, there's really no way to argue with them - no way to point out that what they said yesterday about that thing directly contradicts what they're saying now about this thing. I can find no coherent narrative to this at all.

What makes this even worse is the fact that the people they have faith in are openly mocking them, yet still they believe. Glenn Beck can tell them point blank that he's a "rodeo clown" and doesn't care about politics, yet they still hang on every word. Rush can tell people that he's just an entertainer, yet the dittoheads repeat every utterance as some new gospel. True-believer syndrome, indeed.

Identity Crisis

2010-04-24T14:27:00.004-04:00

If I pay attention to the commenters on various News and Observer articles, I'm either a socialist, a communist, an East Coast liberal elite, a Chapel Hill hippie or an unemployed bum sucking at the teat of the gummint. Or some combination of all of those, as those people really don't seem to let logical inconsistency (or lack of spelling or knowledge of grammar) slow down their rants.

Once again I blame my good friend Lex for suggesting newspapers open their articles up to online comments - it's all his fault! :-)

Back from the Dead...

2010-04-24T14:24:00.001-04:00

...or at least back from Facebook! I realized not only that I hadn't posted in more than two months (while spending way too much time on FB), I really hadn't written anything much in much longer than that. Time to change that.

DINOs

2010-02-04T21:41:00.003-05:00

If the Democratic leadership is all aquiver because they no longer have a supermajority in the Senate, why don't they tell the half-dozen most right-leaning Democrats-in-name-only to go fuck themselves and enforce a little party discipline among the rest of the crowd?

They have no hope in hell of gaining any Republican votes on anything substantial, so I'm all for doing a little housecleaning.

The Breeders vs. Kelly Clarkson

2010-01-31T18:01:00.001-05:00

I'm not usually a big fan of mash-ups but the ones I like tend to be combinations of things I like and things I don't - guess which is which in this case!

Windows Home Server project - The Build

2010-01-19T21:20:00.003-05:00

Man, I just love an anti-climax! I went ahead and assembled the rest of the parts (picked up the hard drives, a DVD drive and a couple of odds and ends from CompUSA at Northgate Saturday) and set aside Sunday afternoon for the build. If you're interested in specs, they're what I outlined two posts ago except that I decided not to waste a SATA slot on the old 250GB drive, I dropped the $35 on a new DVD drive rather than taking one out of an old system and I went with a stick of Mushkin 2GB DDR2 rather than 2 1GB DIMMs.

When I say anti-climax, I mean that the most difficult part of the build was getting the damn extra 120mm case fan screwed into the front of the case, since the HDD enclosure isn't removable. Everything else was easy-peasy - I managed to not even cut myself. And frankly the extra fan was probably not necessary (and is a bit noisy) but I liked the idea of another fan to move air off the hard drives. After I got the case fan installed, it went like this:

01) Finish prepping the case (screw in the mobo standoffs, install the power supply, snap in the rear I/O port template
02) Install the CPU and the stock cooler onto the mobo (this is a heck of a lot easier than the older sockets)
03) Screw in the motherboard and add the RAM
04) Install the hard drives (I used the bottom two 3.5" slots - the tool-less enclosure is nice but it's a little difficult to get to the clip on the other side)
05) Install the optical drive
06) Add the SATA cables (no more wide IDE ribbons - yay!!)
07) Connect the case wires (USB connectors, switch wires, etc)
08) Attach the power leads to the mobo, fans, HDDs, optical drives etc)
09) Plug in the keyboard, mouse, DVI and power cables and then hit power

Everything posted okay right off the bat - no errors (big yay for that!). BIOS settings were pretty much okay - I think I set the time and date and tweaked the boot order, but that was it. With the way Windows Home Server addresses the hard drives, I did not do any RAIDing of the drives - I'm not even sure you CAN do that and still have WHS work properly.

Slapped in the WHS install disk and let it go. There's not a lot of interaction necessary (but quite a number of reboots). It's interesting to see that a number of screens still refer to Windows Server 2003 (the kernel at the heart of WHS). Once the install completed and the last reboot was done, I attempted to get onto the network and found that the on-board Ethernet port was not configured correctly. I tried using the utility disk that came with the motherboard but as it didn't recognize the operating system, it wouldn't run Setup. I finally just opened the disk in Explorer and found the appropriate drivers. Once I ran them, I was able to get onto the network just fine and run Windows Update. That took a LONG time to pull everything down and install it, so that was pretty much it for Sunday (it was time for a couple of pints at Top of the Hill and the second half of the Jets-Chargers game by then). More on configuration in another post.

Windows Home Server project - Phase 2

2010-01-07T22:40:00.004-05:00

Short post tonight - ordered the OS, memory and CPU from Newegg.com (see previous post for specs). That'll give me enough to go ahead and get started (I'll yank a hard drive out of a system I'm retiring for now). Should get everything in time to start to work next weekend and at least have a system I can start testing until I get the final hard drives.

There's a good article in Maximum PC on Windows Home Server and some of the features, capabilities, plug-ins, etc.

Windows Home Server project - Phase I

2010-01-02T22:56:00.003-05:00

Those of you reading me on Facebook will have seen that I've been thinking of putting together a Windows Home Server to back up the various and sundry computers in the house as well as to act as a streaming server (and probably a print server). Windows Home Server has never gotten a lot of press, but it seems to me to have a lot of features that a NAS box doesn't offer and less complexity than trying to do this with Fedora or SUSE. I took a look at my existing boxes to see what I could salvage/repurpose, but the cases and mobos that I've already got didn't have support for the number of drives that I want to eventually be able to use. So I put together a wishlist on NewEgg.com to keep track of what I need to gather up (I've decided to do this basically out of pocket change, so I'm having to assemble it a bit at a time) and the total, including the OS and about 3 TB of storage is going to run about $650. I picked up the following bits at the CompUSA store at Northgate Mall today:

- Coolermaster Elite RC-330 case $50
- Coolermaster Elite 460W power supply $40
- ASUS AM3 socket mobo (full ATX, on-board NVidia graphics) $100

Left to acquire over the next couple of weeks:

- AMD Athlon II X2 250 (3.0 GHz dual-core) $70
- 2 sticks of 1GB DDR2 RAM $50
- Primary OS drive - 250GB SATA from old system Free
- 2 Western Digital Caviar Green 1.5 TB drives $220
- DVD/CD writer from old system Free
- Windows Home Server OS $100

I've got plenty of spare keyboards and meeses around, so that ought to do it. WHS can be run headless, but I've got a monitor I can use for it. I'll keep you guys posted as I continue to collect parts and start the build. One of the nice things about Windows Home Server is that you can add more hard drives and it just absorbs them into the big honking virtual drive, so I can slap a third 1.5TB in later and it should just immediately become addressable.

Greatest. Rocker. Evar.

2009-11-25T13:19:00.002-05:00

New video from the Dex Romweber Duo (hat tip to Dave Menconi at the N&O):

Margaret's Cantina - Showtime!

2009-10-23T23:21:00.002-04:00

It's finally time! Our show at Margaret's goes up tomorrow afternoon and is scheduled to hang until January 9th!

If you have a chance, come on by and check it out - if nothing else, the food at Margaret's is outstanding!

Watching My Hometown Go Up in Flames

2009-10-22T14:56:00.001-04:00

He shoulda left the Ryman Auditorium alone though...

The Nashville Teens

2009-10-22T14:53:00.002-04:00

So they weren't really from Nashville and I'm guessing that they weren't still teens but this is a great song from NC-born JD Loudermilk...

Etsy Shop is now Open

2009-10-11T22:51:00.002-04:00

Just opened an Etsy Shop as another outlet for my photography - you can find it here. I've only posted one photo to start with as I want to add to it every few days in order to keep it near the top of the search engine.

Carrboro Music Festival 2009

2009-10-11T22:47:00.002-04:00

Finally posted a few pictures -

Aminal

Great Big Gone

Viva la Venus

The Pagan Hellcats

You can click through for larger versions of each photo. Enjoy!

Festifall

2009-09-23T20:11:00.003-04:00

Just a reminder that I'll have a booth at Festifall in Chapel Hill on the afternoon of Sunday, October 4. It's a bye week for the Panthers, so you have no excuse - come on out! I'll be near the Franklin Hotel, across from Chapel Hill Comics.

My Favorite Ad that DOES include Psycho T

2009-09-18T12:01:00.001-04:00

Pretty sweet - you can catch a glimpse of J's church about halfway through.

My Favorite Ad that does NOT include Psycho T

2009-09-18T08:33:00.002-04:00

Some things have just got to be posted over and over again (hat tip to Dave Menconi at the N&O).

New Eats!

2009-08-30T21:06:00.002-04:00

J and I tried two new Chapel Hill restaurants this weekend, both of which we would recommend. Saturday after I got my comic book fix from Chapel Hill Comics and J picked up paint and stuff from Studio Supply, we checked out Butternut Squash in University Square. Of course, as long-time Chapel Hill residents, we are bound by law to describe any place as where or near where something else used to be - Butternut Squash is on the backside of USquare where Looking Glass used to be. All vegetarian (surprisingly rare in this college town) and much of it vegan and all of it good. My black bean burger was really good and the sweet potato fries were both plentiful and cooked to perfection. So far they haven't gotten their alcohol license but I understand it is coming. Good stuff!

And tonight since we were downtown already, we checked out R & R Grill (where Papagayo's and more recently Goldie's used to be). The place really looks good, the patio is nicely covered, good local art on the wall and the food was excellent! Too many places that have been in that space since Papagayos have eventually focused too much on the bar crowd and not on the food - hopefully this won't happen to R & R. My shrimp scampi pizza was really good (the calamari was a nice surprise). Go check it out - the more of us that do, the longer they'll keep serving good food!

Not Always About Bits and Bytes

2009-08-23T14:11:00.003-04:00

Despite appearances to the contrary (I'm constantly festooned with Blackberrys, laptops, digital cameras, mp3 players, etc.), I'm not ready to completely rid myself of analog yet.

While guys of all generations remember their first car, most of us in the 45-55 yo range just as fondly remember our first real stereo. Not the all-in-one receiver/turntable/cassette/8-track Soundesign that our folks got us for Christmas from Service Merchandise or Brendle's when we were in high school. I mean the first real hi-fi set of components that we assembled into what we hoped was a kick-ass audiophile system that was just as brag-worthy as the '68 Camaro that the guy down the hall in the dorm brought up from Kinston on the weekends. While we were certainly enamored of 'vettes and Jensen Interceptors and Shelby Cobras, names like Pioneer and Marantz and Kenwood and Harmon-Kardon and Bang and Olufsen and Bose were just as important.

I built my system piece by piece, Christmas by Christmas, since I was blowing all of my own money on beer, a girlfriend and LPs. The first were the Pioneer HPM-40 speakers which I brought into our room in Mangum Dorm my freshman year. There were about a half-dozen speaker models that seemed to represent 90% of what anyone around me had. The Advent 1 loudspeakers were in fact loud but didn't seem to have much in the middle ranges. The Bose 301s had great sound but didn't have the low end I wanted. The Bose 901s were way out of my price range. Panasonic Thrusters were (sorry) girl's speakers. I did know one guy that had scored a pair of Klipschorns - the Speakers of the Gods!! - but they were even further out of my price range. That left the Pioneer HPM-40s and -60s, which had (and have) a really warm sound, would handle as much wattage as I really needed to put through them and had really good response across the whole range.

The next year, after moving into an off-campus apartment, I added the Pioneer SX-780 receiver (yes, I was a Pioneer guy) and the year after that, the Pioneer PL-100 turntable. The turntable I still have - simple, belt-drive, mostly fool-proof. I think I've got an extra belt for it around somewhere, just in case, if it hasn't succumbed to rubber rot. Unfortunately the receiver lost a channel after about 5 years and died altogether a few months after that.

By the time I graduated, the Sony Walkman cassette players and large boomboxes had become the more common way to listen to music followed quickly by the introduction of the compact disc (man, those CDs in the first few years sounded like crap!) so I often feel like the last generation to give a hoot about high quality music re-creation. I can't help but think that people that have grown up getting their tunes through earbuds or car speakers and from crippled mp3s must hear music differently than I do.

Those HPM-40s have been sitting in my home office without getting much use for the last few years. I've got a decent-sounding Kenwood home theater system in the family room (real wood cabinet speakers - not the horrible plastic cabs they mostly sell now) and I've got Klipsch ProMedia 2.1s on one of the PCs in my home office so I was having trouble justifying keeping them. But then I decided to give them a last listen and popped in the "Kings of Swing" Reader's Digest LP set I picked up at an antique store in Manteo last fall - 4 discs that all look like they've never been played before. Cranked up the volume and dropped the needle on the first cut on the first side of the first disk, which happened to be "A String of Pearls" of all things, and the sound just blew me away. And when J got home from the neighbors' house, instead of hollering up at me to turn it down, she remarked on how great it sounded.

I don't intend for this to be an old guy rant about how much better things were in my day. It's more a matter of a reminder to myself that some technology has more than stood the test of time and while it's more than reasonable to consign the VHS recorder and analog televisions to the landfill along with the old CRTs and 8-track tape players, for some things there really is no good replacement. At least not yet.

Friday

2009-07-17T17:48:00.001-04:00

One nice thing about working from home on Fridays is the opportunity to blow the plaster(board) off the walls when I'm done with work for the week - love those Klipsch speakers!

Today's mix:

Joe Jackson - Friday
Big Country - In a Big Country
Oingo Boingo - Ain't This The Life (live)
Madness - One Step Beyond

(I'll admit that it is not Lady J's favorite thing but she tolerates it.)

Supreme Court Nominee Hearings

2009-07-15T07:10:00.002-04:00

When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account.

Yeah, that wasn't Sonia Sotomayor. That was Sam Alito, who was confirmed to the bench by a Republican-led Senate a couple of years ago. Just in case anyone thought Sessions and Graham actually had, you know, a point or something. Other than pandering.

Thanks for Glenn Greenwald, Eugene Robinson and others for pointing this one out. Not sure why the Democratic senators haven't picked up on it yet.

I Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident...

2009-07-12T13:43:00.002-04:00

...at least when I'm cutting grass on a hot Sunday afternoon.

Fescue's natural color *is* gray in July so I should stop worrying about it and rejoice over only having to cut it every three weeks or so until September.

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is the best Pink Floyd song. Evah.

My friends and relatives that are loudly wondering whether the country can take another 3 1/2 years of an Obama administration have every right to state their opinion and I won't even call them "traitors" despite the fact that we're still at war. Bless their hearts.

My mp3 player is currently way too heavily slanted towards alt.country and Americana - must shake things up a bit.

Propane really is better than charcoal.

I'm not blogging less because of Facebook - I'm blogging less because I'm spending more time doing than writing.

Timberweird

2009-06-25T22:14:00.002-04:00

So the T-wolves, with their 4 first round picks, take 3 (count them, 3!) point guards and... Wayne Ellington. I understand Wayne - they're lacking a true shooting guard. And there's no question that with Telfair, Ollie and Bobby Brown, the Wolves are not exactly sporting All-Star caliber PGs. So the question is, who gets traded before the start of next season? I don't pay enough attention to salaries to know what the cap situation is for them or how easy it would be to move Sebastian Telfair, but I'm guessing they keep Ricky Rubio and Ty Lawson from the draft and try to move Jonny Flynn and Telfair. Of course Rubio's 6-5, so maybe they look at him as a combo guard.

Whatever happens, it's interesting to watch the post-Kevin McHale Timberwolves figure things out.

English Beat - "Save It For Later"

2009-06-09T20:08:00.001-04:00

Last video I took at the English Beat show Friday night - one of my all-time favorite songs. I can't stress enough - if you have the chance to see them, go! Much, much fun...

English Beat - "End of the Party"

2009-06-08T19:45:00.002-04:00

Second (and best) of the videos from Friday night's show - got a little closer for this one. One of my favorite Beat songs. Took all night to upload and the last vid is even longer, so it might take a couple of days before I have time to upload it. Enjoy!

English Beat - Click Click

2009-06-07T17:40:00.001-04:00

First video posted from the English Beat show, Friday night at Cat's Cradle. Couple more to come...

Music to Cut Grass To - Sunday Random Dozen

2009-05-03T19:22:00.002-04:00

01) This Way Out - Wall of Voodoo
02) Milk - Garbage
03) Dirty Work - Steely Dan
04) Mommy, Where's Daddy? - Red Hot Chili Peppers
05) Friend of the Devil - Grateful Dead
06) Robo - Less Than Jake
07) Don't Look Back - The Knack
08) Burning with Optimism's Flame - XTC
09) Avalanche - Ryan Adams
10) Home - Sheryl Crow
11) Stories for Boys - U2
12) Buzz and Grind - Gob Iron

Republican Women

2009-04-30T21:15:00.001-04:00

Maybe it should be reassuring to know that Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin aren't the only GOPers with two X chromosomes that are bat-shit insane. Virginia Foxx and Michelle Bachmann make a good case that women are just as capable of being stupid and bigoted as the men are.

Just a little something...

2009-04-28T19:56:00.002-04:00

...to keep you amused while I think of something I want to blog about.

No Excuse

2009-04-16T06:54:00.003-04:00

I went from being inordinately proud of my alma mater after they won another national championship to embarrassed to have my name associated with them in barely more than a week. Tom Tancredo is an idiot. The more he talks, the more it becomes obvious that he's an idiot. And a racist. And a xenophobe. That does not mean that he doesn't have a right to speak at UNC. Attend his speech and boo if you'd like. Hold up a sign outside or in the back that doesn't obstruct anyone's view. But the actions by a surprisingly large number of protesters Tuesday night at Bingham Hall were inexcusable (and illegal), regardless of who was speaking. I am ashamed.

Lucky

2009-04-14T06:51:00.002-04:00

Spent Saturday night at an almost empty Cat's Cradle, enjoying three quite different but very good bands. Sally Spring and the Ted Lyons Experience wasn't generally my cup of tea, but the strong voice talent, some good songwriting and the interesting guitar style made for a really nice set. The Jon Shain Trio was also quite good, especially when they avoided dipping too much into cutesy Michael Franks territory. Again, some good instrumental chops and some really nice songwriting made for an enjoyable set. The headliner was of course Katherine Whalen and Will Dawson of Squirrel Nut Zippers fame and a band that at one point consisted of six guitars (if you include the bass guitar and the pedal steel) and a drummer - the instrumentation changed from song to song with Katherine taking a few good turns on the banjo. It was a shame that there weren't more people there (I know it was Easter weekend) and even more of a shame that a number of folks that were apparently just there for Jon Shain left after only a couple of songs. Lucky is definitely worth a listen. Don't expect SNZ - as she has on her solo CDs, Whalen moves on to new material and new styles but it's all good.

New Toy - HTPC

2009-04-13T21:49:00.001-04:00

Spent a good bit of Sunday afternoon hooking up a new home theater PC - so far, so good. Specs are as follows:

- HP Pavilion Slimline s3750t PC
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor E7500 [2.93GHz]
- 4GB DDR2-800MHz SDRAM [2x2048]
- 640GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
- 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4350 & TV Tuner [DVI, HDMI, VGA adapter]
- Blu-ray player & Lightscribe SuperMulti DVD burner
- Wireless-G LAN card
- 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, headphone port
- Integrated 5.1 channel sound with front audio ports
- HP wireless keyboard and HP wireless optical mouse

An 802.11N card would of course have been preferable but it wasn't an option with this build.

The first steps after initial boot were to install Avast! A/V, ZoneAlarm firewall, Irfanview, Winamp, Deepburner and MediaMonkey. Since we're not planning to use this box for general web-surfing, I may not bother with FireFox or another browser but I will want to go ahead and upgrade to IE8 soon. The wireless access point is upstairs in my home office and so far I seem to be getting adequate throughput for Hulu, although Youtube is stopping to buffer a bit. The Iron Man Blu-Ray is working fine with the software provided from H-P but I fully expect to run into disks that won't play so any suggestions on the best Blu-Ray player software would be most appreciated. I've got my MP3 collection on the workstation in the office upstairs shared out to the new box with high-def audio out to the home theater receiver, so we have tuneage. And I've tested out both analog and digital stations from a straight coax cable TV feed from the wall and that looks good as well - haven't tried recording or any other DVR functions yet. I also haven't checked to see what I can get (if anything) coming through the digital cable box - I'll keep you posted as I continue to set things up. There are a bunch of little things I haven't done yet, like setting up the remote control, rewiring other parts of the HT set-up as I've swapped around a couple of other components, etc. The goal is to make this as complete a system as possible while making it relatively straightforward to use.

So my checklist to date is:
o Blu-Ray player - check (need to try more disks)
o Music Jukebox - check
o Internet streaming TV - check (loves me some Hulu!!)
o DVR - in progress (tried recording "Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother" tonight)

Haiku Tweet

2009-04-10T21:33:00.001-04:00

I do not Twitter
Each thought is a precious gem
I need more letters

Final Four, BayBee!!

2009-03-29T19:58:00.003-04:00

There's nothing like living in the college town where you went to school! Watched the game today at the bar at Top of the Hill overlooking Franklin Street and Columbia, drinking some of the best brewpub beer in North Carolina served up by bartenders that know my name - can't get any better than that!

The cops and CHFD were out in force but the crowd actually did act like we'd been here before (like, uh, last year) and while there was much "woo-hoo"ing from the sidewalk and lots of car horn blowing, it was pretty clear that we damn well expected to get this far, and rightfully so.

Should be a hell of a weekend next week!

Good Season

2009-03-27T06:26:00.004-04:00

I'm sure there are people writing today that are going to be saying that Dook fell short last night. Frankly I think they played well over their heads in February and losing in the round of 16 feels about right for the talent level. I've got no use for their ferret-faced coach and I've got no use for the team, but if I'm honest, I've got to say that they overachieved this year.

So once again the Tar Heels are the last ACC team standing...

Great Spring/Summer at the Cradle!

2009-03-26T09:53:00.002-04:00

Wed. April 8 - Robin Hitchcock and the Venus 3
Sat. April 11 - Katherine Whalen's Lucky
Wed. April 15 - Superchunk
Mon. April 27 - Dinosaur Jr with Mike Watt
Fri. May 1 - Rev. Horton Heat
Thu. May 7 - The Presidents of the United States of America
Fr. May 8 - Lez Zeppelin
Tue. June 9 - X
Sun. June 14 - The Meat Puppets

And them's just the highlights - holy moley!!

I've already got tickets for the Rev and will definitely be hitting the X show. I've never been the Robin Hitchcock fan that many of my friends are, but POTUS and Superchunk are very likelies and the Katherine Whalen show is a probably unless I decide to drive over to Greensboro to see the Othermothers instead.

Wow!

Life is Good!

2009-03-08T19:22:00.003-04:00

A Carolina victory over Dook on Senior Day, a warm March evening, a couple of big ole chunks of yellowfin tuna on the grill and some Mad River Brewing Co. Steelhead IPAs in the fridge...

The Nortel Bunker

2009-03-06T06:10:00.003-05:00

As an ex-Nortel employee (13 years plus another 4 working for an outsourcer on a Nortel contract), this is painfully funny. Different bozos running the company into the ground now, of course. For my many friends that are still hanging on there, continued good luck!

Oh, there are seven more of these (so far).

Interesting Choice for Headline

2009-03-05T21:38:00.002-05:00

The big headline on today's N&O sports page after NC State's Senior Night win:

McCauley's Happy Ending

Well, *I* thought it was funny...

Rushbo

2009-03-04T06:22:00.002-05:00

If Rush Limbaugh is the nominal head of the Repuglican Party (it took less than 24 hours for the RNC chair to apologize for telling the truth about him), then the Democratic Party is in for a long run in charge.

Dook-Carolina, Part 2

2009-03-04T06:18:00.002-05:00

Also, HBO is airing Battle for Tobacco Road: Duke vs. Carolina throughout March and it is available on HBO OnDemand through March 22. I caught a few minutes of it over the weekend and decided I needed to take the time to sit and watch it. Check it out - looks like a fairly well-researched history.

Dook-Carolina, Old-Style

2009-03-04T05:55:00.002-05:00

People say they remember where they were when John Kennedy was shot or when the towers fell. I remember where I was for Carolina's Senior Day in 1984, as they tried to finish the regular season undefeated for the first time under Dean Smith. I was watching at my friend Dirk's house south of Chapel Hill and as the Heels fell behind with seconds left, I walked out onto the front porch, unable to watch anymore. So I heard, rather than saw, Matt Doherty dribble the length of the court and pop a shot before the buzzer to put them into overtime. Two overtimes later, UNC had the win and the undefeated regular season, setting us up for one of the most disappointing post-seasons in UNC history. The loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament and the eventual loss to Indiana short of the regional finals were crushing, but they unfairly overshadow what a fun team that was to watch. And Matt Doherty's dribble and shot are up there with Dudley Bradley steal and dunk at the end of the State/Carolina game in Raleigh in 1979 as the greatest Carolina plays that I only heard as they happened.

People focus on Jordan, Perkins, Daugherty and Kenny Smith (four eventual NBA all-stars) on that team and rightfully so, along with now-underrated Matt Doherty. But they also had a bench, with Steve Hale stepping up while Smith was out with a wrist injury, Buzz Peterson coming in for pre-3-point-line jumpers and freshman Joe Wolf providing good minutes inside. Duke was a younger version of K's first Final Four team two years later, with Dawkins, Alarie, Bilas, David Henderson and Tommy Amaker. It was great to watch again (J does NOT understand why I'd watch a 25-year-old game) - next up is the 1992 "Bloody Montross" game! :-)

You Told Me So

2009-02-23T22:42:00.001-05:00

Yes, David B and others bugged me for some time to join Facebook. Having had a web presence for 10 years, a blog for at least 5 years and an active profile on MySpace for a couple of years, I wasn't anxious to add yet another portal to monitor and update. But after one of my buds from high school tracked me down and convinced me to join (thanks Jeff!), I'll now admit that I was wrong and you guys were right and I owe you a beer or something. I'm finding that without a lot of effort or time, FB is allowing me to keep up with folks I worked with at Nortel and CSC, catch up with folks from college and Governor's School and best of all it's been a prime mover in reconnecting me with some of my best friends from high school, many of whom I haven't seen in almost 30 years. That resulted in a mini-30th reunion of a dozen or so folks from my class and the one after in Charlotte last weekend that was an absolute blast!

So, you all have the right to say "I told you so!"

Friday (not all that) Random 10

2009-02-20T19:58:00.004-05:00

Midnight Oil - Forgotten Years
Mission of Burma - That's When I Reach For My Revolver
New Order - Rock the Shack
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Pearl Jam - Life Wasted
Pressure Boys - Policeman In My Neighbor's Yard
REM - 1,000,000
REM - Little America
Robert Palmer - Some Like It Hot
Robert Palmer - Looking For Clues

And one to grow on...
Rockpile - Teacher, Teacher

The Difference Between the Parties

2009-02-13T06:54:00.002-05:00

2000 - New Republican administration comes in, there is a massive terrorist attack on US shores, America rallies to the President (despite the fact that the Republican administration failed to heed specific warnings of an attack), Congress (including Democrats) give the President pretty much everything he wants.

2008 - New Democratic administration comes in, the worst economic collapse in the last 70 years is already underway (much of it at least indirectly due to policies of the out-going Republican administration), America rallies to the President, Republicans in Congress do everything they can to stop the President from taking actions to at least lessen the severity of the problem, blocking progress while arguing over 1% of the package.

Republicans really do suck.

Taxing Weekend

2009-02-08T17:35:00.001-05:00

Pretty much finished doing the taxes today - just need to review again before I submit. I love me some Turbotax - just hope I used it better than Tim Geithner. But I assume my taxes are a lot simpler than his.

False Spring

2009-02-08T17:33:00.001-05:00

Had a great ride out past Jordan Lake today - 68 degrees and every motorcycle in North Carolina was on the road. Current forecast looks like I might be riding to work every day this week. I know it won't last but I'll damn sure enjoy it while it does!

RIP Lux Interior

2009-02-05T23:27:00.002-05:00

I was never the biggest fan of the Cramps but I always enjoyed their music and their schtick. Much more importantly (to me), they were huge influences on some of my favorite bands, including the Bad Checks, Fetchin' Bones and the Flat Duo-Jets, who toured with them more than once. So one more time, y'all, let's tear this damn place up!

Depleted Heels

2009-02-05T06:46:00.003-05:00

No 7 footer coming off the bench. No defensive stopper. No long-range shooter coming off the bench. This team looks a heck of a lot different than it did last fall!

I have no idea what Graves did or didn't do to put him in the doghouse for the rest of the season but that's the least worrisome of the problems. Zeller is a much more problematic absence and we've clearly missed him a number of times this year, particularly when Tyler got into foul trouble. But missing Marcus is by far the biggest obstacle and one we've yet to really find a way to overcome, unless it's in the way we beat Maryland this week - rain down the threes and don't miss. We just do not have the guy to lock down the Tyrese Rices that are out there waiting for us in the NCAAs. Frasor tries his heart out but he's no Ginyard - he's not even a Wes Miller. Ellington and Green have to be focused on scoring (and Wayne's never been more than an adequate defender). I don't see a Dudley Bradley or a Jackie Manuel on this team, so we'll have to play defense by committee and score a LOT of points.

Buddy Holly

2009-02-05T06:38:00.002-05:00

Really nice tribute in the Des Moines Register and coverage of the 50th anniversary Winter Dance Party at the Surf Ballroom (hat tip to Dave Menconi).

There are very few artists whose music stands up over time the way Buddy's did - hard to believe that he was only 22 when the plane went down 50 years ago.

After the Final Season

2009-02-03T20:46:00.002-05:00

For the last couple of years, I've been enjoying Joss Whedon's comic book follow-ons to the final seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel - Buffy Season Eight and Angel: After the Fall. Now comes a new one - Boom! Studios has released the first of the Farscape mini-series. The first issue begins where Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars ends, with Crichton and Aeryn Sun holding up their newborn as they look out at the cosmos. I was an occasional viewer of Farscape, always enjoying it when I saw it but never scheduling my life around it (unlike the Whedon shows), but I was a fan enough that I'm happy to see the storyline carried on. It looks like they're doing some number of 4-issue mini-series - no word on how many. Check it out!

HHS

2009-02-03T20:43:00.002-05:00

Good to see Tom Daschle stepping aside. The tax problems were ridiculous but really more emblematic of a larger problem - that he went from the legislature to health industry lobbyist and had no business then going to Health and Human Services. I have a lot of respect for him and what he's done in the past but that would have been the absolutely wrong signal to send on influence peddling and "business as usual" in Washington. Whatever his reasons were, kudos to him for bowing out.

McWho?

2009-02-03T20:40:00.002-05:00

Why is ANYone listening to John McCain right now? The guy who was convinced that the economy was fundamentally sound as the financial industry was in free-fall? The guy that turned Indiana and North Carolina blue? Yet I keep hearing him in the news talking against a stimulus bill that he so clearly has absolutely no understanding of. 'Bout time old John retired, isn't it?

Super Bowl Brews

2009-02-01T19:11:00.003-05:00

Breaking with my normal penchant for Pale Ales and IPAs, tonight is devoted to Reds

Terrapin Beer Company Big Hoppy Monster (ABV 8.0%)

Magic Hat Roxy Rolles (ABV 5.1%)

The BHM worked well with the baked swordfish I fixed just before kickoff.

Steele in Charge

2009-02-01T09:35:00.002-05:00

I don't know how much the choice of a party head means these days. There was general derision among the wingnuts when Howard Dean was chosen for the DNC a few years ago (and not a little trepidation among Democrats) but I maintain that it was primarily his work on the 50 State Initiative (well, that and the idiot in the White House at the time) that won Congress back in 2006 and paved the way for Obama's strategy in 2008. The prevailing strategy had been to shore up the base and nibble away at the margins (hey, it worked for Rove) but the Dean strategy netted a real majority instead of a razor-thin margin. The choice of Dean also signaled the rise of the netroots, which clearly had an impact on Obama's victory. So yeah, they can make a difference.

So what do you take away from the RNCs choice of Michael Steele (Lt. Gov Maryland)? The guy that in his run for the Maryland Senate in 2006 worked together with the Republican gubernatorial candidate to bus in homeless people from Philadelphia to pass out fliers in poor areas of Baltimore that listed both candidates as Democrats. The guy whose campaign handed out "Steele - Democrat" signs and bumper stickers. He's said some things that I thought were outright wacko but on the other hand, pretending you're a Democrat in Maryland doesn't strike me as stupid. It'll be interesting to see what his ideas for rebranding the GOP are over the next few months.

New Source of Revenue

2009-02-01T08:44:00.003-05:00

I suggest the Obama administration nominate EVERY American for a high-ranking government job so we'll all pay those back taxes we've been ignoring. Could be a big enough windfall for the Treasury that we can pay for the stimulus.

I had some sympathy early on for Geithner as apparently there is some lack of clarity around income tax for folks working the IMF, but later reports that he was told repeatedly by the IMF that he owed taxes killed that. And Daschle? No excuse.

Obviously with anyone you take the good with the bad and in Geithner's case, it's probably worth it. I want the best possible person for Treasury right now and I don't argue that he's not the guy. But as much as I've liked Daschle from a policy perspective, there's gotta be somebody else out there with the skills for HHS. I know that it's not as simple for these guys as to pop in a new copy of Turbotax (despite Geithner's statement) and do their taxes in a weekend, but if you can afford to pony up over $100K in back taxes on short notice, you can afford a competent accountant to do your books.

Bi-Partisanship?

2009-01-31T09:29:00.002-05:00

If you want bi-partisanship, get some damn votes! I didn't hear calls for bi-partisanship when there was a Republican president (with a lower popular vote total than his opponent) and a legislative majority smaller than the one the Democrats have now. I see no reason to pay any heed now to the people whose failed policies we're now trying to fix.

Or to put it more bluntly, you had your chance - we're going to fuck things up OUR way for awhile!

Stimulating

2009-01-28T21:54:00.003-05:00

Look, don't give me a damn $500 tax cut. It'll stay in the bank and will provide absolutely zero economic stimulus. I think it's fair to say that most of the people I know would do the same. We're either newly unemployed or we're scared shitless that we will be tomorrow. The Republicans have it totally, absolutely, demonstrably wrong and thankfully they were unable to sway enough Dems to vote against the current package in the House. The package that passed does not go nearly far enough and still depends too much on tax breaks, but it's a damn sight better than what was being proposed by Boehner and others.

The quickest way to create jobs is to use the money to pay people to do new fucking jobs. The American Society of Civil Engineers just put out a report suggesting that we need to spend $2.2 trillion to fix existing infrastructure. Now, if I get laid off, I'll be a lot happier when my unemployment runs out to know that there's a job out there repairing bridges or something - I'm certainly capable of doing physical labor and while it might pay a heck of a lot less than what I make today, I won't starve to death. And I'm pretty confident that I'd be the boss in a few weeks anyway...

eBay Auctions - I Has Some

2009-01-25T21:03:00.002-05:00

So the great comic book giveaway I tried earlier last year really never made much progress, so I'm trying the eBay route after all. I've got 6 auctions out there that I just posted tonight - it'll be interesting to see if they go anywhere at all. All I really want is enough shipping cost to cover what it'll cost me - I don't care if I get nothing for the books themselves. If you're interested, look for:

Superman 79-84 (DC)
Way of the Rat 1-6 (Crossgen)
X-Men: The Early Year 3-8 (Marvel)
Wanted 1-2 (Image)
30 Days of Night: Beyond Barrow 1-3 (IDW)
XSE 1-4 (Marvel)

Hoping I get some takers...

Mmmm, Crab Cakes!

2009-01-21T08:05:00.002-05:00

There was a moment yesterday when the motorcade rounded the Willard Hotel onto 15th when it stopped a block north right next to my old office building. The new president got out and started walking towards the east sidewalk and I was convinced for a minute that he was going to run into Old Ebbitt Grill and come out with a couple of to-go orders of crab cakes. That would have been awesome! And tasty!

Growing Up

2009-01-20T18:03:00.004-05:00

There was a common theme among Repuglicans and an unfortunate number of MSM talking heads eight years ago that the "grown-ups" were taking charge. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft - these were the guys that had been there before and were supposed to know how things worked (I'm not sure what the hell it was that they were supposed to be fixing). We see how that went.

I've noticed a number of commenters today (PC among them) that have noticed that this time around, WE get to be the grown-ups. We're actually being treated like adults - talked to instead of talked down to, told the truth (good and bad) instead of what someone thinks we ought to hear, and given some responsibility for getting us out of the mess, instead of being told that the extent of our patriotic duty is to shop more and sport yellow ribbons on our SUVs. It certainly doesn't hurt from my perspective to have a 'tweener like me in the White House, but I don't know if this is a generational thing or a personal thing. All I know is that I'm liking it.

The Key

2009-01-20T17:57:00.002-05:00

Okay by me that Obama didn't go for the obvious soundbite in his inaugural address - he chose substance instead.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long, no longer apply.

Something to remember in the weeks ahead as the blatherers pick away at everything he does.

Ex-President George W. Bush

2009-01-20T13:25:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to try it out.

Advice for the Fellas

2009-01-20T13:19:00.002-05:00

Valentine's Day is on a Saturday this year. I would strongly suggest not waiting too long to make dinner reservations if you know what's good for you...

Is He Really Leaving?

2009-01-20T06:06:00.002-05:00

I see I'm not the only one that was worried about whether Darth Cheney is actually going to leave or not...

NFL Playoffs

2009-01-18T18:02:00.000-05:00

As long as it's not an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl, I'm happy...

Risky Business

2009-01-18T17:28:00.000-05:00

A large group of walkers on the track at the gym taking up all the lanes, while I'm coming around listening to the Doors "Break on Through (to the Other Side)" at 11...

Success!

2009-01-18T17:21:00.003-05:00

So while I might be trying to balance sleep and diet and exercise, I can at least claim success with one of my goals - I did stick to my training schedule last week!! I managed to get in 4 runs and 3 weight-lifting sessions - we won't worry too much about how FAR or how FAST I ran, nor how much weight I lifted. The key is that I made the schedule work. The next hurdle (and it should be a fairly short one) is to do 12 miles a week and average less than 9:20 per mile. Given that 4 years ago (pre-Chicago) I was running 15-16 miles per week and averaging less than 9:00 per mile, that's shouldn't be a stretch goal, but sadly...

But hey, no negativity - I'm pretty happy with the progress so far!

Inaugural Day Fantasy

2009-01-17T21:55:00.002-05:00

Do NOT have a mouthful of your favorite beverage as you go look at PC's idea for the perfect inauguration. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Conundrum

2009-01-15T22:03:00.004-05:00

It's pretty obvious that I haven't been blogging much lately. I can't blame that on my recent addiction to Facebook, as that has only been the last week or so. This frankly hasn't been a very bloggy year despite the election, and since Labor Day, I've frankly felt too busy. A week in Dublin, a week with my US team in town, a week at the beach and then the holiday stuff started. And I should say that this was the funnest holiday period I can remember. Ever. While we unfortunately didn't get a chance to see ALL of our friends, we did manage to see many of them while seeing lots of concerts, seeing our families, running into folks we haven't seen in years, making a nice long weekend trip to DC and finally getting a bit of rest.

My problem now is a bit different and is the reason for the title of the post. I spent a lot of time last year trying to catch up with taking care of my health. I spent a lot of time at the dentist taking care of things that I'd let go way too long, I had my first physical in 8 years and I spent a couple of nights at the sleep clinic at the UNC Hospital, resulting in getting a CPAP and starting to really improve my sleep. I also realized that my blood pressure has gotten much higher over the last few years and have started trying to do something about that. So here's the problem - in addition to the CPAP, I need to sleep MORE. 6 hours a night isn't enough and I don't always get 6 hours. But I also need to lose weight to help reduce my BP, which means adding some workouts and morning is the only time I really have available. I also need to eat less for lunch, which kind of means (making and) taking my lunch to work, which means yet another thing to try to get done in the morning. Not being willing to hit the sack at 10pm (I'd miss Daily Show!!), I'm having a real problem getting more sleep while still managing to run and lift as often as I need to and I'm still eating at the cafeteria at work. Something's got to give somewhere - just haven't out what yet.

Morning Humour

2009-01-15T09:04:00.003-05:00

This may be the funniest thing I've read in awhile - wish the humor was intended. Swallow your coffee before reading it or your keyboard will suffer the consequences.

With his characteristic openness and at times almost self-defeating honesty, Mr Bush has been the first to acknowledge his mistakes – for example, tardiness over Hurricane Katrina – but there are some he made not because he was a ranting Right-winger, but because he was too keen to win bipartisan support.

And there's more!

Out of the Fridge - Terrapin Beer

2009-01-04T21:22:00.003-05:00

I've been a big fan for awhile of Athens Georgia's Terrapin Beer Co and their Rye Pale Ale, their India Brown Ale and their seasonal Rye Squared (a hugely hopped, 8.5% ABV Imperial IPA) and earlier this week I picked up four-packs of their Big Hoppy Monster and the Wake'n'Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout. The red ale weighs in at 8.0% ABV and has a nice combination of flavors but the Stout, featuring local Jittery Joe's coffee, is something special! If I got to a point where I needed a beer for breakfast, this would be the one. Sure, it's much sweeter than I normally like (I do love my bitter hoppy IPAs!) but it's got great flavor and isn't as heavy as you might expect. I highly recommend anything I've ever had from these guys - kudos!

Temptation

2009-01-01T17:03:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas, y'all!

2008-12-24T17:40:00.003-05:00

Don't worry, kids - the movie is NOT called "The Martians Conquer Santa Claus"!

I know quite a few people that can't imagine spending Christmas in Australia or Brazil because it would be warm and stuff. Hah! Pretty much all Christmas movies would have you believe that it snows in all 50 states in the US every Christmas - if it ain't cold, it ain't Christmas. But growing up in Nashville and spending most of my adult life in North Carolina, I remember many more Christmases going around in short sleeves than I do wearing heavy coats. This year is no exception - even the coldest-natured person was running around with at most a light jacket today and it may reach 70 this weekend. I do have a lot of sympathy for the folks that are stuck in O'Hare or otherwise victims of foul weather but that's rarely a problem here (we get it around the second week of January, when we almost inevitably get an ice storm).

Like most long-time Chapel Hillians, we headed off to University Mall and A Southern Season today. No one goes to UMall to do real shopping anymore - it's more a place to pick up some last minute knick-knack, run into folks from church or your neighborhood and pick up a few nummies from ASS. We only did the middle of those (having finished our knick-knacking and nummie-buying earlier in the week) plus we had a nice lunch at the Weathervane, before coming home and doing the last minute "OhGodthisplaceisapigsty" housecleaning. It was, of course, not a pigsty, but there's no question that it looks better now and we can relax and enjoy wrecking it again while I'm off work the next few days.

Here's hoping you all have a magical Christmas and a healthy and happy 2009!

Christmas Tunes

2008-12-21T00:59:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, this has been a really music-oriented holiday season for us, with opportunities to hear the North Carolina Symphony's Holiday Pops concert, the NC Jazz Rep Orchestra's holiday show and club shows with Hege V, the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Southern Culture on the Skids. Between the concerts and a number of good Christmas episodes of television series we like (like Chuck, Monk and Psych), I've been unusually uninterested in catching holiday movies this year. But it's already been one of the best holiday periods I can remember and it's not even Christmas yet!

When I was working from home regularly, I usually had a playlist together for when I knocked off on Friday - something to blast out of the Klipsch speakers and knock the dust off the shelves. Since I'm planning on working up through Christmas Eve next week (but doing so from home), I've put together my playlist for Wednesday afternoon - if you hear a loud rumbling around 2:30 on Wednesday, it's probably my subwoofer...

1. T-Bone Burnett - God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
2. Beck - The Little Drum Machine Boy
3. Timbuk 3 - All I Want For Christmas
4. The dB's - Home for the Holidays
5. Dave Edmunds - Run, Rudolph, Run
6. Fishbone - It's a Wonderful Life (Gonna Have a Good Time)
7. Southern Culture on the Skids - Merry Christmas, Baby
8. The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York
9. The Musical Cast of Toys Featuring Wendy and Lisa - The Closing of the Year
10. Sun 60 - Mary Xmess

Happy Solstice, y'all!

2008-12-08T22:17:00.003-05:00

J in front of the Stephan Colbert portrait

Number 44 - "one of these things is not like the other..."

Sweet ride

Spent a really nice weekend in DC, primarily to see the newly-renovated Museum of American History at the Smithsonian. JennySlash and I agree that they kind of jumped the gun on the opening - there were a number of displays that just obviously weren't quite ready for the public yet. It felt a bit sometimes like wandering into a restaurant a half hour before they open. But it was fun and some of the stuff that is finished is quite cool, including the Transportation in America gallery (sweet 40's Harley and Indian in there) and Julia Child's kitchen. The centerpiece is the preservation work that has been done on the "Star Spangled Banner" which was in really bad shape - it still is, but it shouldn't get any worse and the new display area is pretty nicely done and informative. Of course the highlight for us was the portrait of Stephen Colbert!

My boss asked me jokingly before we went up to be on the lookout for people infused with "hope" and all joking aside, I think we really did see that. I think a lot of the visitors were there now because they knew they wouldn't be able to go around the inaugural, so there was certainly a feeling of anticipation both for the impending end of the current administration and for the beginning of the next. The Presidential display in the museum was crowded, particularly at the end of the wall with the timeline of the presidencies which has now been extended to included President-Elect Obama - probably the most photographed area of the museum.

Securing the Homeland

2008-12-02T22:29:00.003-05:00

I thought my suggestion of Michael Jordan as Secretary of Defense was pretty bold, but I really admire the daring of appointing Concrete Blonde lead singer Johnette Napolitano as the Director of Homeland Security. Her raspy growl should be enough to intimidate just about anyone, including terrorists, and as long as she brings Jim Mankey along, his incisive guitar leads will add a fine counterpoint. Certainly I will feel a hell of a lot safer at night knowing that Johnette is in charge of our safety from the bad guys! Much moreso than the current guy - I don't even know what band he played in!

Photo by Cunning Stunt

Holiday Music

2008-11-30T20:43:00.004-05:00

Hege V and the Bijous

The Master Entertainer

The Backbeat

I'm a sucker for music at Christmas - not just Christmas music but music in general, although I do dig me some Christmas music. We've got CDs of traditional, jazz, bluegrass, New Wave, Celtic, early Rock, 70's, 80's, lounge, and alternative. We've got Mannheim Steamroller, Celtic Women, Johnny Mathis, Jethro Tull, Mojo Nixon, Squirrel Nut Zippers and just about anything else you can imagine, except maybe hip-hop and straight country.

But it's not just Christmas music on the radio or CD player that we're into - November and December are prime times for us to go out and see live music. We caught the North Carolina Jazz Rep Orchestra at Memorial Hall a week ago for their annual Christmas jazz show and last night we went over to the Cat's Cradle for Hege V opening for the Backbeat.

George Hamilton V (Hege V) went to high school in Charlotte at the same time I did (he was a Myers Park Mustang, I believe, where I was an Independence Patriot) and we both spent the same four years at UNC. I remember seeing George at Festifall early on and he had a band when we were seniors that included my bud Handsome Dave on bass. But I never really met him until first Gumbo YaYa and then Hege V played the Rhythm Alley. I can honestly say I've never seen anyone that is a better overall entertainer (or a nicer guy) than George and of course the show last night was no exception. Excellent as usual!

I'm not a fan of tribute bands (no offense to my friend Not-Slash with Appetite for Destruction) but the Backbeats are quite good at the Beatles cover thing.

Next Tuesday we've got tickets for the NC Symphony's Christmas Pops show at Memorial Auditorium in Chapel Hill. Wednesday we'll be at the Squirrel Nut Zippers Christmas show at the Arts Center. And next Saturday we've got tickets for the annual Southern Culture on the Skids Christmas show at the Cradle.

There are more shows coming up - those are just the ones we've got tix for...

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T17:36:00.002-05:00

The three most important women in my life that I'm not married to - sister, mom and mom-in-law

Daddio

Spent a very nice Thanksgiving at my sister's rebuilt-after-last-years-Halloween-fire house outside of Charlotte. Drove down in the morning with JennySlash, her mom and her mom's fiance - the drive down the back roads to Harrisburg via Liberty, Ramseur and Asheboro was pleasant and the food of course was all that one could ask. Got a chance to see nephew Sailer Boy for a bit, although he spent most of the day shuttling between family members' houses. They're heading out for the Gulf in February and then (probably about this time next year) heading to the Orient, which should please Sailor Boy since he's been wanting to get to Japan since he joined up.

Spent some time Friday cleaning up my home office (it's still something of a disaster area but not as much as before) and then got a little Christmas shopping done on Saturday before going over to the Cradle (more on that in the next post). Today we got the tree up and decorated (I think it's our prettiest tree yet) and now I'm enjoying a fine local IPA at Top of the Hill while J is at church for the first Sunday of Advent.

Got a lot of work to do over the next few weeks before Christmas but also have a lot of good holidays stuff planned, so I'm in a good holiday buzz that I hope will last for a few more weeks!

Vista Revisited

2008-11-26T11:14:00.002-05:00

I've written from time to time here about my struggles with Vista on both JennySlash's laptop and the desktop I bought for Mom and I managed to purge Vista from our house this summer, opting for Windows XP as well as an Ubuntu-based desktop to play around with.

That changed in early October when I was able to get what was essentially a free laptop. I got a Dell XPS that naturally came with Vista (with SP1) along with a Blu-Ray player, 4GB RAM and a kick-ass video card. I have to admit that I've had none of the hangs, interruptions, slowdowns, etc. that everyone else has reported. Of course the interface is still wonky and I still don't see any reason in the world that they moved some of the controls around the way they did (there was a logical progression from Win95 to Win98 to WinXP that got blown away with Vista). But on the whole, I've had no real problems with Vista this time. Now, I have no doubt that this is due to a) having SP1 from the get-go and b) having 4GB of RAM and a video card that doesn't steal memory from the mobo. I'd like to complain (you know me - I REALLY would) but I really haven't had anything to bitch about. Yet.

To be on the safe side, I've repurposed the Ubuntu box as a Vista test box so I can install stuff on it before putting it on the laptop. Ubuntu worked fine for the most part, with the exception of flash-based websites causing the box to crash, regardless of what browser I was using. That's a more than minor annoyance - I found a number of purported fixes for it but none seemed to do the trick. I've got a partition set aside to install Linux but I might try Fedora for a couple of months next.

Oh No! The Adults are Taking Over!

2008-11-25T09:39:00.002-05:00

Sad chuckle thinking about the talking idiots eight years ago hurrahing over the incoming Bush administration as "the adults" taking over. At least the Onion saw through it:

at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history
that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by
unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace
overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us.

So I don't have any issues at all with the number of ex-Clinton folks that are being tapped for positions in the Obama administration. Seems like a pretty good place to find competent, experienced people.

What concerns me more is the number of strong senators and governors that are leaving those positions for the Obama cabinet or at least being discussed for them. Even though those seats will (I think in all cases) be backfilled by Democrats, that's a lot of experience that the Senate and statehouses will be losing. I think it also points to the reality of the last 25 years or so - the consolidation of governmental power in the Executive branch. It certainly hasn't been linear - Bush 41 certainly didn't have a free hand and Clinton was limited in a lot of respects by the Gingrich-led Republican Congress - but it has been leaning more and more towards that point of the triangle. I'm not one of those that believes that it's better when the Executive and the Legislative are from different parties, especially now that they're both controlled by MY party, but I do hope that this Congress will not sit back and let the President drive like their Republican counterparts did during the first 6 years of Bush 43.

Doctor Dean

2008-11-12T22:47:00.000-05:00

Every Democratic politician in America should line up across Vermont to kiss Howard Dean's ass - in a climate that said Democrats had to focus on specific states and districts and that some places weren't worth the effort, Dean's 50 State Strategy in 2006 put the Democratic Party in the majority in both houses for the first time in twelve years and paved the way for Obama to compete across the country. Nice going, Dr. Dean - we owe you one.

Raptors

2008-11-12T22:46:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what this means...

As I walked out to the Xterra yesterday morning, I startled a huge hawk that must have been just on the other side of the car - it flew right past me about chest height before landing in a tall pine across the street. I'm used to seeing hawks in the neighborhood but usually looking up a few dozen feet at them. It was nice to see one at eye level and only a dozen feet away for a change!

Then as I was driving back from the store after dark, a very large owl (I'm assuming a barred owl) flew across the street not 30 feet in front of me. If a black cat crossing your path is supposed to be bad luck, what does having two raptors cross your path the same day mean?

Cabinet Post

2008-11-12T22:45:00.000-05:00

I know there's talk of keeping Gates on during the transition. Let's make it until July. Then the NBA season will be over and Obama can appoint Michael Jordan as Secretary of Defense! Think about it - one of the best all time defenders in the NBA, Chicago guy, incredible end game. Who better?

And the Bobcats sure seem to be going nowhere fast...

Champagne

2008-11-05T00:46:00.002-05:00

I've had a champagne split cooling in the refrigerator for years, waiting for Karl Rove to do some hard time. Having killed a bottle of Korbel while celebrating the victory of President-elect Barack Obama. I decided I really needed more (and shifting to beer seemed like a really bad idea) so I decided that this as much as anything spells the death of Karl Rove and his methods. Watching the crowds closing down Franklin Street in Chapel Hill and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, I'm a little sorry we're at home and not at Grant Park or DC or downtown Chapel Hill, but I popped the cork on my little Rovian split and I'm toasting the "death" of Karl Rove and his politics.

Still Close

2008-11-05T00:06:00.001-05:00

98% of precincts reporting and Obama has less than a 20K lead in NC.

I need more alcohol.

President Obama

2008-11-04T23:47:00.002-05:00

Seeing Rep. John Lewis basically speechless a few minutes ago brought to mind a number of things that have been running through my head the last few days. I think John Lewis was one of the guys that sat in at the Krystal restaurant in Nashville (before the Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter sit-ins) in 1960 trying to get served - the restaurant was cleared and the manager turned the heat all the way up and then filled the restaurant with insecticide trying to get rid of the protesters, while in the meantime, Dad was in the back (while working for Sunbeam Bread) pulling hamburger buns out since they weren't going to be sold. In the meantime, my paternal grandfather was driving a Nashville city bus out to Fisk University where of course the students had to sit in the back of the bus.

I went to a majority black elementary school in Nashville growing up - when busing was instituted after my 5th grade year, I was bused to a whiter school than I'd been attending. Before then, my first real memories of US politics was the 1968 Presidential election, which I mostly remember for being against George Wallace (who my grandfather was for) and for Hubert Humphrey (who both my parents were enthusiastically for) - I have to admit that Richard Nixon was just an afterthought.

What might be most significant is that I've thought very little about race when it came to this campaign - it's been a matter of ideas and policies, not the color of the candidates. The most incredible thing about this whole election is that I think that's been the case for most Americans, and that says something quite wonderful and a little unbelievable about how far we've come in my lifetime. As I watch President-elect Obama speaking at Grant Park in Chicago and reflect on Kay Hagan's victory over Liddy Dole, I've never been prouder of my country and my fellow countrymen.

The champagne is flowing and I'm a happy guy.

Getting Into The Act

2008-11-04T06:24:00.002-05:00

Since everyone else is throwing out their predictions, guess I ought to do the same...

I've got Obama winning with just under 51% of the vote and picking up Florida, Virginia and Ohio to get 338 electoral votes. Sadly, I'm afraid McCain is going to squeak out a win in North Carolina, but I hope like hell I'm wrong.

I think Liddy Dole has disappointed and disgusted enough people that she's assured a Kay Hagan victory, but I'm thinking that Pat McCrory will take the governor's race.

I've spoken to a number of people that are convinced that we won't know the outcome until January after the courts or the House of Representatives decide this thing, but I'm thinking we're going to have our answer by the time Stewart and Colbert come on the air at 10pm EST.

Barack the Vote Chapel Hill - Post 7

2008-11-02T23:06:00.004-05:00

The dB's

Still a pretty good crowd after over 5 hours

Peter Holsapple - Guitar God

Mitch Easter - Bass Guitar God (?)
Joking aside - Mitch was tight and sounded great

Chris Stamey - doing Ask For Jill, I think

I'll admit that I was there primarily to see the dB's (I voted a couple of weeks ago, kids) and I was not disappointed. Can't wait for the new material they've been talking about!

Let's not lose sight of the primary reason for the concert - it was to get people out to vote (of course primarily for Barack Obama). There was a really nice energy in the air and for all that could go wrong and despite the attempts that I'm sure there will be to steal the election, I'm feeling pretty good about the chances for a big Democratic night Tuesday night. I'm hoping for nothing less than 330 electoral votes but I'll settle for 271.

Barack the Vote Chapel Hill - Post 6

2008-11-02T22:37:00.004-05:00

Will Rigby

The dB's

Peter Holsapple

Mitch Easter, sitting on for Gene Holder on bass

Chris Stamey

The highlight of the day for me and the reason I was still there after many, many hours was a chance to see the dB's again and I was not disappointed. Sure it was a short set, but opportunities to see one of the best bands of the 80's don't come along that often. More photos in next post...

Barack the Vote Chapel Hill - Post 5

2008-11-02T22:24:00.003-05:00

Ivan Howard of the Rosebuds

Ivan Howard and friends do "Nice Fox"

Mac McCaughan - acoustic Superchunk set

Mac McCaughan - thanks for putting this all together!

Barack the Vote Chapel Hill - Post 4

2008-11-02T22:17:00.006-05:00

Admission of guilt here - this was the first time I'd had a chance to see Billy Bragg live but my stomach got the better of me and I bolted just before noon to grab a sandwich and a brew from Spanky's. I wasn't gone more than 45 minutes but I managed to miss the first half of his short set. However, I did make it for the last three songs as well as his talk for the audience and I definitely understand his appeal. Very inspirational and the high-point of the day for most of us!

Barack the Vote Chapel Hill - Post 3

2008-11-02T21:58:00.003-05:00

Greg Humphries of Dillon Fence and Hobex fame - one of the sweetest soul voices you'll ever hear

More Greg doing his thing

Backstage - Rob Ladd, Peter Holsapple, Will Rigby and others

Mid-morning and the crowd continues to grow for the Bowerbirds

I Was Totally Destroying It - currently my favorite local band name! Note the shout-out to Tyler Hansbrough - alright!

Barack the Vote Chapel Hill - Post 2

2008-11-02T21:43:00.004-05:00

Mac McCaughan as Portastatic

Still Mac - thanks for organizing this thing, dude! And for volunteering to play at the un-rockandrollish time of 9am...

The crowd starts to grow.

Regina Hexaphone

I got to Graham about 9:30 while Mac was still on going solo - there were probably 3 or 4 dozen people already there, not including the wonderful folks from Counter Culture coffee doling out caffeine and sugar bombs. People gathered quickly as the morning went on. I'm embarrassed to say that this was the first time I'd heard Regina Hexaphone - they were a lot of fun and I'll be looking for them next time they're at Local 506 or the Cradle.

Barack the Vote Chapel Hill - Post 1

2008-11-02T21:06:00.003-05:00

Mac McCaughan of Merge Records and Superchunk organized an outdoor concert at Graham Memorial on UNC's campus Saturday as a get-out-the-vote effort. I'm not going to write a lot about the individual performers as I'm just glad they were there and willing to give their time on a Saturday morning to encourage the vote and I kinda suck as a rock critic anyway. What I will say is that there was some very fine music, a large crowd and a realization on my part that it's gotten easier to get up in time to see bands at 9 am than it is to stay up and see them at 1am...

Graham Memorial terrace - the venue. The Morehead Planetarium is just to the left - it was the last early voting location for Chapel Hill

The reason for it all

Doughnuts - the breakfast of ex-champions! Thanks to Counter Culture for the fine coffee and the doughnuts

My Sister's House

2008-10-26T22:16:00.004-04:00

JennySlash doesn't see dead people

Tony Plutonium Self Portrait - "After the Halloween Shop"

JennySlash

Some of you may recall that my sister and brother-in-law's house burned down a year ago this week, the Sunday before Hallowe'en. After an initial slow start in getting any help from their insuror, they finally got the house rebuilt and were able to move back in around the first of July. We went down for the weekend to see the rebuilt place for the first time this weekend and I'm happy to say that the house looks fantastic and they're doing very well. They've always been known for their Hallowe'en parties and despite the fire (started by old wiring) starting the morning after their party last year, they're gearing up to have another one next Saturday, albeit on a smaller scale. It was great to see how well they've bounced back from such a life-altering event.