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For the last few months while playing bass with Angel Vivaldi, I've added distortion to my bass tone. Try as I might to get a good clear sound to cut through the mix with two high gain 7 string guitars, it just wasn't happening. This old Boss bass overdrive had been kicking around, and incorporating it was night and day to making the bass stand out in the mix.
http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=155
Now, this pedal has mixed reviews, seems to be a love it or hate kind of thing. It works great for my situation, and I'm especially fond of the fact that it has a blend knob, for mixing in dry undistorted bass signal in with the effected tone.
My main issue with this pedal was that I didn't need it to be a pedal. It basically stays on all of the time, and the rare instance that I would need to turn it off, doesn't justify it being on the floor. So, I've had it velcro-ed to the top of my rack. This had been working fine for me, despite looking a tad bit oddball.
However the past week or so, the pedal starting acting a little wiggy, and upon frustrated inspection, saw that the switch had come loose, and it would need to be taken apart. I joked with the guys in the band that depending on how it looked inside, I may try to make it rack-mountable.
So, I took it apart and lo and behold, it was constructed in a modular enough fashion that I decided to make it into a rack mountable unit.
First, I needed something to mount it into. Upon brainstorming and going through all of my crap, I stumbled across an old Rockford/Fosgate PA-1 car audio mixer unit that I had. It no longer worked, but it was a good approximate 1/2 rackspace size. I decided to take it apart and see if it was salvageable. You can see the guts of the PA-1, it's shell, and the dismantled pedal here:
The potentiometers for the knobs in the pedal were attached to their own separate circuit board, which meant the spacing had to be specific. However, the holes on this casing basically lined up with that spacing, thus saving me a ton of work.
So....game on!
Here's a shot of the pots on their own board, and the pedal disassembled:
I decided what would work best would be to mount the pedal's circuit board to the original pedal bottom plate, giving me a nice even template for mounting, and more importantly, a rubberized surface to protect the circuit board. Mounting was tentatively like this:
I also decided I would install a 9v adapter into the casing as well, eliminating the need for a separate wall-wart type power supply. Space was limited however, and instead of using the barrel type plug, I decided I'd wire it straight in.
I theoretically could've also used the 9v battery connector wires, but I wanted to make that connector accessible so in the event that the adapted died (because they do eventually) I wanted to be able to use the 9v battery connector as a last minute backup if need be (more on that later)
Next up, fabricating the enclosure. So I kicked about a few ideas on how to mount the circuit board to the case. Ultimately, I decided I'd drill holes and attach standoffs that you would normally use inside a computer case to mount a motherboard. I put the baseplate in place, marked off the holes, and began to drill.
I now had 4 standoffs to attach the circuit board to:
I guess my drill bit walked a little too much when I drilled as they didn't line up quite as properly as I'd hoped :-/
I was thinking I may have to re-drill, or just use 2 or 3 screws. However, by loosening them up a little, I was able to make all 4 screws usable luckily.
I reattached the velcro to the bottom (well, formerly the top, but I switched it up lol) until I actually get it in my universal rackmount and such. Here you can also see where the standoffs are mounted. I had trimmed the threads of them down, but they were still sticking out.
Ok, a mockup to see if it will all fit. It's tight, but workable.
And to my luck, no drilling necessary for the main controls :)
The guts at this stage:
Using the pedals original label plate, the controls are easily mountable, and labeled :)
So, in order to stabilize the standoffs, I decided I would JB weld them. I also decided to fill in a few of the holes with it too (I'll be doing more of that in the near future now that I have the layout of all the plugs determined)
While waiting for it to dry, I sanded down the nubs
Now came time to mount the circuit board to the backing plate. There was really no space on the board to attach screws or anything, so there was a bit of a challenge here. I wanted to be able to adjust it if need be, so something permanent like glue was out. But I also needed it to be secure when moving it around. So, I decided on binder clips :) I'd clip it down and then remove the top lever. I placed electrical tape underneath the side making contact with the board so there wouldn't be any grounding out.
Three binder clips in place, no top levers:
It's no ready to be screwed down:
Binder clips in place, screw standoffs line up, and the pots still fit through the holes :)
Double check with the control plate in place to make sure it still works....it does.
Attach the knobs for good measure :)
Main circuit board all secured.
Potential input/output jack placement (again perfectly pre drilled holes, couldn't pass up this enclosure!)
Side view of installations thus far:
I was originally going to use a standard home extension cord to attach to the adapter. That way if the adapter ever needed to be replaced, it would be fairly painless. It was too bulky to fit in the enclosure however. I was going to relinquish myself to soldering the wires directly to the prongs, when I thought of another idea....shielded female blade connectors!
Easily swappable electrical plug that doesn't take up too much space :)
How it will fit in the case:
In the near future I will velcro the adapter down. In would've done it now, but I'm apparently out of velcro. I wanted something to just hold it temporarily to test, and a bunch of electrical always works in a pinch!
This was my initial switch idea, from an old computer tower. However, it was too big and bulky to make work.
I decided on another old computer tower switch that was much smaller. However, it was square. I wanted to be able to mount it neatly into the round pre-drilled holes. I decided an old unused 1/4" jack would be a good way to mount it.
It so happened that the prong on the jack was almost perfectly suited to holding the switch in place...score!
This left the mild issue of having the button only reachable by sticking something into the jack and pressing this button:
I figured I'd devise something for it, and in the meantime, I could always use a plug from the guitar to stick in there to switch it.
Here's the current state of the internals:
Rough front panel layout:
I stuck the LED through one of the free holes for now just to be able to see it:
Temporary look of the backside:
I affixed the sticker from the bottom to the top to cover a few of the unnecessary holes, and also to still have a serial number of some sort, and I have a working front layout:
That was a pedal! Not anymore lol.
A few quick labels so I know what's what:
As I was assembling, I stumbled across an idea for the on/off switch. I had a piece of cable sitting there, and it was the perfect size of the opening for the button.
I cut away enough of it to fit around the button, and just glued it. Temporarily taped off the remaining extra holes until I fill them in. Ultimately, these are now before and after shots.
My initial test resulted in an ungodly ground hum. I had to mildly reassemble to assess it, then I regrounded everything and reassembled it. Now it works perfectly :)
Very near future mods:
-Add velcro to the adapter inside and elminate the electrical tape tie down method
-Secure electrical cable from being able to be pulled out of the back
-Fill in excess holes
-Glue down switch to input jack holder
-Paint?
Ultimately though, I set out what I had only mildly hinted at. And all in all, despite not being completely done, it's completely workable, and it all came to fruition in a matter of a few hours, and all with stuff I already had, no purchase necessary!
See, there IS a use to all that junk that I keep at my house lol.
So I now have a rackmountable Boss ODB-3 (hence my modified ODB-3_R_ model #). It also runs off an AC outlet, no need for a wall-wart adapter or a battery.
The JOYS of being a geek. A geek that happens to have a cool idea once in a while, and who happens to be good with tools. :)
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Saturday, October 16th, 2010
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Well, today is 18 years since the passing of my Grandfather Arthur Holodynski. I really can't believe it's been so long, yet I do acknowledge just how much really has changed since. No matter how I look at it, Oct. 16, 1992 is a day I'll never forget.
Partially, I want to acknowledge and whole heartedly thank my Grandfather for all that he gave me, and what he accomplished, a lot of it unknowingly and unintentionally. He was not without his flaws, but all in all he was a very good man and a very good influence on many people he came in contact with. A lot of the lessons and habits I personally learned from him, weren't directly taught, but were observed. It's possible that to some extent I picked up too much from him, but in my love for him, I wouldn't have it any other way.
In many ways, I have much in common with him, from how I'm perceived, to my approach on things in life. Between work ethic, the way I get along with many people, the way that I'm a perfectionist in what I do almost to a fault, the way that I can't deal with just doing nothing, and my desire to do things that need to be done in the best possible ways, are among the traits I picked up from him. To be able to have focus on one primary outlet, yet still be jack of all trades to some extent in everything you get your hands in is something I admired then, and still try to keep up with to this day.
My Grandfather was a man of craft. His primary craft was clothing, fabrics, and tailoring specifically. He may not have been the fastest at what he did, but you'd be hard pressed to find someone who could do it better. I remember my Dad telling me that one time he had taken him into a store looking for suits (NBO or Macy's maybe), and my Grandfather just looking at the hem of a suit jacket that was $6000 dollars in the mid 1980s, quickly dismissing it as "crap" and "shoddy workmanship". Thing is, compared to what he did, it surely was. It may have taken him months to make something, but there's not question that when he completed it, it would be damn near perfection.
He worked for John's Manville for I think 33 years, before he retired in 1986. He was the head tailor in his dept. I don't know much about what that was as he didn't really bring it up too much, and being a long time ago and me young, I likely wouldn't remember that well. But even though the stuff they did was often by machine and computer controlled, he did much hand stitching. Because he was more accurate than the machines. When you would see pictures of the bay doors opening on the Space Shuttle, and there's the padding in there, he had personally hand stitched most of that. In space there's no room for a stitch to be .0001 of an inch off. That's why they had him do it by hand; it would ensure that accuracy. Despite the amazing feats such as that which I'm aware, and certainly many other that I'm not, he got little in terms of commendation or recognition for it. However that wasn't why he did it.
The thing about that too, was that he never was arrogant about what he did or could do. Even though he was an amazing tailor, and also extremely adept at many many other things, he was never anything other than humble and hardworking. Up until days before he passed away, he would still be outside daily tending to our garden, chopping wood for the winter and our wood-burning stove, cleaning, painting, or something. He wasn't sedentary and he was always seemingly making something out of nothing. And it would be good.
He worked hard at everything he did, and often did so with little acknowledgment and thanks for what he was doing. He always worked hard to provide for family, and made sure that there was always food in our house, that there was clothing and shelter, and that if there were things that his children or grandchildren wanted, he would do his best to make it happen, asking nothing in return. He got my Father new cars when he started driving. When I wanted a Nintendo, he and I walked to the nearest K-Mart to get it for me, despite knowing my Dad wouldn't approve of it. Whenever I broke a part on my bike, he would take me to get a new one. When I wanted to make tapes to listen to, he would always buy me at least a pack of 2 Maxell cassettes when we went shopping. There are surely MANY more things I could add to this paragraph, but you get the idea.
One of the many things that impressed me about him was his ingenuity with things. He would find unique, original, and often times unexpected and low cost solutions to things. He would use super strong concentrated coffee as a way to stain wood. He showed me how using concentrated strength in small sections of a tight jar would make it easy to open. He would use our concrete porch as a knife sharpener. I remember him filing the hinge of a door on a Porsche Matchbox car so it wouldn't stick closed. Things like that. He never failed to impress me with his unique way of thinking and problem solving.
He was semi-fluent in many different languages. As a matter of fact, I never even got to really witness much of this, and even crazier that English was probably one of his weaker ones. But I know that he was able to carry on conversations in Polish, French, some Italian & Spanish, Russian, as well as being fluent in Ukrainian, German, and English. Yet he only was in school until 2nd grade. These things were all learned in the expressness of the real world. Some of it likely during the events of WWII. He told me stories of how he had been shot at from planes while working in fields during that time. How he came to America in the late 1940's to start a new life with basically nothing. He always had some amazing story to tell about something he had experienced. And he had experienced a lot.
I also still think of the amount of change he witnessed in his lifetime. He was born and raised on a farm in the Ukraine in 1923. They did not have electricity, running water, or sewers. Ultimately, by today's standards, the dark ages. Yet, by 1992, short of the mainstream evolution of the internet, he witnessed everything we have today come into fruition. In the grand scheme of what we have in our lives and rely on, when he was born, these things didn't exist yet. The idea that in 69 years he witnessed a massive transformation in the way life is lived is almost impossible to comprehend. As much as I'd like to see a lot happen in my time, I don't think what I've witnessed between 1978-2010 holds a candle to what my Grandpa saw change between 1923 and 1954.
There are little quirky things that will always remind me of him. Whenever I smell wintergreen alcohol I think of him, as that was his "cure" for almost anything physical. He also would use Boric Acid to cure pink eye type symptoms. He used to save paper plates and napkins to be used again. Whenever I smell a pipe or Tijuana Smalls, I think of him. Just mentioning a bath with epsom salts makes me think of him. He used to watch WWF religiously. When he wasn't watching that, he was watching PBS. He wouldn't let us own a Microwave because it would use to much electricity. But oddities aside, he always had the best intentions for all of us.
I still have dreams to this day with my Grandfather in them. Often they're very similar to what it was like living with him in my life; very unobtrusive, kinda just there in the background, and steps up when necessary with just the right amount of input, guidance, or advice, and nothing more. Sort of like a guide, in that just his presence will assure things will go well. I guess in a way that's still the same, I just don't see him anymore.
Thank you for everything. I miss you and love you Grandpa.
R.I.P. Arthur Holodynski March 7, 1923 - October 16, 1992
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Sunday, October 10th, 2010
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I spent the day working on cars, so here's a little vehicle status update:
Started on Christina's Jeep, as this was the fundamental task. The front brakes on her truck have been WAAAY beyond shot for about 2 weeks, preventing it from being driven at all. She was well past being down to metal on the pads, and $ hasn't been friendly to us the past few weeks. I tracked down pads and rotors for $75 shipped, and the main plan was to put them in today.
The toughest part of this was being able to actually get the truck off the ground. I have 2 hydraulic jacks, neither in the best of shape, and her truck is pretty high and heavy. After a few attempts using a rim & bricks to prop up the jacks, it wasn't working out. I ended up using her stock bottle jack successfully. There were no significant issues swapping out the parts. I definitely spent more time jacking up and taking down the truck than changing the parts. Not uncommon for a typical backyard disc brake job.
Then I moved onto the Subaru. In the last few weeks I had some realization about the Subaru, mainly, that since the FL repair, I had been driving the car regularly, and the only issues started in the heat of summer and it started overheating. When I had the car taken back in after that, there was a ton of other issues discovered, hence why I bought the cop car. But essentially, it was only the overheating issues changing the driving status of the car. Now that the temp is cooler, there's much less chance of it overheating. Hypothetically of course. If nothing else, I wanted to check out the possibility since the worst case scenario leaves me in the situation I'm in now....a dead Subaru. I figure if I can extract anything else out of it, it would be to my advantage. And not gonna lie, I miss my car :(
On Thursday I had taken the thermostat out, but I was unsuccessful in getting it started due to a dead battery. So after working on the Jeep, I used it to jumpstart the Subaru. It started, and actually sounded decent....interestingly, despite being last diagnosed with _6_ check engine codes, the check engine light was out. However, the car was smoking like crazy from all over, under the hood, under the car, out the exhaust, etc. I'm sure part of it was due to it sitting, and who knows what kind of vegetation, cobwebs etc were there, as well as it having to blow out whatever's settled in the past few months. But it did persist, and I have reason to believe it may have blown a (two?) head gasket. Though it was only smoking a little bit after a while. I let it run for about 45 minutes through, and no overheating. It did seem like it started running a little worse toward the end but, I still have a glimmer of hope for it. I'm gonna check out / change out the spark plugs, and see how it goes.
Next order of business was the Caprice. Ever since I got it, the front driver's side made an occasional clunk, which progressed worse and worse. I thought it was one of the ball joints going. Thursday morning on the way taking James to work (he's having his own vehicular issues), on the highway, it made another clunk, and the steering got stiff and the car got wandery. Not very good. I babied it, and got it back home. Upon taking the wheel off, I discovered that the ball joint hadn't gone, but the upped control arm had disconnected itself, and pushed itself into the motor and steering. I went yesterday and bought 8 bucks worth of bolts, nuts, and washers. One of the bolts had come completely off, so I had replaced it, and the other was really loose. It took a bit of elbow grease, but I got both bolts tightened up reasonably quickly, and it completely solved the clunking issue. It actually feels like the front end and front wheels are connected to the car now. This very well may be the first time I ever had a genuine "major" repair that was solved with under $10 worth of parts!
Of course this was all too good to be true. The next step was to test the brakes on the Jeep. I did a couple of panic stops in the yard, but the pedal started to feel spongy and the brake light came on. I looked and saw brake fluid. It was coming from the back. Lots of it...
I jacked up the back and took off the tire, and saw that there was a pinhole in the brake line. So despite the overall successful repair day, the Jeep was again immobilized. It looked a little rusted, so it is pretty likely that this problem was unrelated, and very likely could've been on an open road, maybe even with Tristan in the car, and the fact that it happened in my yard is quite the blessing. She'll have it towed to her ex's shop tomorrow and it'll get taken care of Monday hopefully.
Always something when it comes to cars. I love cars. But damn do I hate them too. *sigh*
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Saturday, June 26th, 2010
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Who needs an alarm clock when you have James? Not me on the morning of Saturday June 19. It was for the best though, because we did want to get going and get back home asap. So we all got up, got dressed and packed, and got ready to head out. I also as an experiment, tried to recharge up my AC now that it had all cooled down. Thankfully, the car took it, and the AC was back on. THAT was a huge “phew” in itself. After getting the car packed up and checked out, we set out. The first stop was to be a Pep Boys just a few miles from the hotel, so I could get a new fuel filter. This seemed to be the issue, since bypassing it allowed the car to drive without crapping out.
So we set off to the Pep Boys, and upon arrival, it turns out it was a only a service center, not an actual parts store. We asked if there was a parts store nearby, and they said there was one a few miles down the road. Well, there was one and we found it, but it was a little further than expected. Whatever, we found it and we made it. Even better, they had the fuel filter in stock. Picked it up and some extra hose, and went out and installed it. It went in with no issue, and the car was still running. We went and got some food at Wendy’s and set off for the highway to head home.
Aside from the ridiculously asinine traffic (the norm for Florida), the trip back was starting off well. Then about maybe 30-40 miles or so in, the car crapped out again. UGH!!! So first I bypassed the fuel filter again with my original contraption. This got us going again, but a few miles later, died again. I basically tried every combination of bypassing, moving fuel lines around, and it would proceed in the car restarting, driving a few more miles and then dying back out.
I began to think that the fuel pump may be the culprit, despite the fact that I replaced it less than a year ago. I took apart stuff in my trunk to get to the cover and take it off, and left it off to try to get more airflow to the area. Again, this resulted in a few miles of driving, then dying. I even took apart the backseat figuring with the cover off AND inside cooler air flowing it may keep it from overheating (if in fact it was) but that didn’t work either.
Basically every attempt to fix was greeted with restarting, a few miles of driving, then dying again. I was able to determine that fuel was pumping constantly regardless of the car driving or not. This ruled out the fuel pump. But ultimately the motor wasn’t taking the fuel. I had tried to dismantle some of the other lines to see if there was maybe a clog or something.
For the record: NONE of this work is fun to do on the side of an interstate. Especially in Florida. In “record breaking heat”. When you live 1000 miles away. Just saying.
As I had spent a good amount of time trying to see if there was a clog and stuff, someone had pulled over to help. He had some tools and advice, but even still nothing. At this point the car wasn’t restarting like it had previously. I messed with some stuff, and basically the motor was just spitting back the fuel that was trying to go in. Finally, sputtery, it did restart, and we managed to get the car to the next exit, off the road and into the parking lot of a truck stop.
Status update: About 3 hours or so spent working on my car unsuccessfully on the side of the highway in the heat, so I’m drenched in sweat, smell like gas, and covered in grease = KILL ME…NOW!
We went inside, and I was able to slightly cool off. I bought some fuel system cleaner and starting fluid. This was my “plan”: If I could spray the starting fluid into the intake it would get the motor to temporarily rev up, and I could stick the fuel line hose into the fuel system cleaner bottle and possibly have the motor suck that through the fuel line, possibly getting it to blow out whatever was blocking it. Tried that, no luck. Tried running just the fuel system cleaner through the intake, nothing. Tried running straight gas into the intake, nothing. Then even starting fluid was doing nothing. Nothing would get this beast to kick over now.
At this point we’d already wasted most of the day. You know, the hot disgusting part. But now, there was no game plan. THAT part of it doesn’t bother me. I tend to like spontaneity and doing things unplanned on a whim. The difference here is that there was a problem that needed to be solved. Generally speaking, I’m the one people turn to when there is some weird problem that needs to be solved. Usually if I can’t fix something, I can at least steer people in the direction they need to go to solve it. But now, I was the one with the problem, and for a change I was the one out of ideas. I didn’t know what to do now. I was in a vehicular situation that was beyond my capability to diagnose and repair, and now I had to figure out what to do next. Tack on that we’re 1000 miles from home, and I’m mentally and physically drained, I kinda felt hopeless to say the least.
The Pilot truck stop we were at was only a gas/convenience store, but the TA truck stop across the street was a truck service station. We decided to go there to see if there were maybe any mechanics with ideas, clerks with ideas, anything. They were basically useless, stating that there wasn’t really anyplace nearby that would even work on cars, and that even if there was, they certainly wouldn’t be open now (6:30pm-ish). James offered to put me up in a hotel and have the car towed until I could devise some sort of plan. My opinion on that was that if towing was gonna be involved, the car should be towed to where it was going to be fixed, not towed somewhere just to be towed again.
My sister had the idea of even renting like a U-haul and a car dolly to at least get the car home. That was gonna run almost $1000, so no go there. James brought up the idea of asking my student Jon if he could help. He had come to our Jemfest show, he’s currently going to school in Orlando. I hadn’t even considered that. He was about 120 miles away, but that was a lot closer than most other alternatives. As it turned out, he was able and willing to come get me, and let me crash at his apartment until I got things squared away. Jon basically came and saved my ass!
At this time, since I had some semblance of a plan, we reorganized the inside and back of Jay’s truck to accommodate James so they could get on their way back home. Ultimately, there wasn’t much they could do to help at this point anyway, heck there wasn’t much I could do, and they all had regular jobs and such to get home to. I had things to take care of too, but nothing that couldn’t be accomplished with a cell phone. So around 7:30 I think, they headed back towards NJ.
My sister also gave me the advice to call 1-800-Pep-Boys, as they will come and tow your car to the nearest location, do the work, and include the towing with the repair bill. Also, my sister would be able to pay for it, despite not being there, and I could also likely get my Dad’s employee discount. Yay, solution! Sorta. The START of a solution at least.
I pretty much sat around in the interim catching up updating people what was going on and such, and trying to cool and wind down. It took a little bit for Jon to get there, but he still beat the tow truck by about an hour. He got there maybe around 10, and the tow truck arrived a little after 11. The nearest Pep Boys was about 30 miles north in Jacksonville. The Pep Boys had a hard time locating a tow truck that would come out because, as the tow truck driver informed me, I was at kind of a “black hole” location-wise. I was smack between St. Augustine and Jacksonville, kind of in the middle of nowhere, just far enough away from either city for no one to want to help, and for nothing to really be around.
My car was now en route to Pep Boys in south Jacksonville, and with the graciousness of my friend Jon, I was en route back to Orlando. After a stop for some food, we made it to his apartment, where he bestowed upon me access to a comfortable futon (oxymoron?) and the relief of central air. It was here where I passed out in exhaustion from a pretty nerve racking day…
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As we parked, we come to the conclusion that this is not the same hotel that the last Jemfest James and I attended was held at (2007…. 7/7/7 to be exact ☺ ). Angel disagreed, and it was made pretty clear that a bunch of Jemfests were here, but not that one. We got checked in, chatted a bit with Mike Martin (guitarist from Fozzy/Stuck Mojo, supremely nice guy!), and we got up to our room. Nice room, with a working A/C and a bed (my only stipulations at this point). Actually two beds, but that was just bonus for my present needs.
I made a noble attempt at trying to get at least an hour or so of sleep. I’m generally the kind of person that will function MUCH better if I can get a LITTLE sleep, like an hour or two, as opposed to none. If I get no sleep, I start to get delirious and start fading. If I get a little sleep, I’ll just be grumpy and cranky. But I can function. I figured with a fairly important show coming up in very short amount of time, I should try to get something resembling sleep. As comfortable as the bed and A/C were, I just could not get to sleep. It just wasn’t happening. I was going to be cruising in overdrive tonight. All things considered, I was holding up fairly well, with the exception of some grouchiness, which I think could be expected to some degree.
We all got ready for the show, and loaded in all of our gear. The unfortunately small crowd was present. It’s apparently fairly common to have next to no crowd when performing at Jemfest. We knew it, but there was that glimmer of hope that the attraction of Mr. Steve Vai himself may draw in a bigger crowd. We were wrong. The thing is, it’s ultimately more of a get together/guitar convention, and less of a “gig” per se. Even still, there’s notoriously small turnouts at these Jemfests.
No matter, we were gonna give it our 110% regardless. Shane Regal played before us, played a good set with songs that had a few parts that sounded vaguely reminiscent of AV songs, which made us giggle a little, and then it was our turn at pretty close to our scheduled 8pm start time.
I got to take the stage first to get the bass tone dialed in. There was some tweaking from myself, the sound guy, and Crystal, the owner of the rig I was playing through, but soon enough, we dialed in an AMAZING bass tone. I was stoked! The other guys got all set up, and we started our set.
This is where my individual story differs slightly from the other guys. The quick summation: I had a BLAST!!! The long version:
The stage setup was to be Angel front and center, drums behind him center, with Jay and I flanking him. The way that it ended up though, Angel was a tad off center, putting him and Jay closer together. This ultimately left me with about half the stage, and the stage was pretty decently sized as well. I immediately took it upon myself to make use of this space, because I do enjoy moving around the stage when the space is there. This freedom of space, coupled with amazing bass tone put me in a pretty good mindset to start with.
Things were off to a good start. Then…during our 2nd song, in walked Rob Balducci (solo artist on Steve Vai’s Favored Nations label) along with Steve Vai! I had a split second moment of being starstruck, that moment of nervousness and awe over seeing any famous person, but it immediately channeled itself into positive playing energy. As I mentioned in a previous blog, my intention was to give the audience AND Steve Vai the best show that I could. I had a chance to play in front of him, and it was happening now. I did my best to step up and play my damndest. And I truly believe I did.
When they had walked in, they stood in the back, and were truly listening to us and taking it in. When he first came in, I think that I may have been the only one who saw him. We had a plan that if he did come in, we’d play our song Acid Reign, which is one of our best sounding, and best band showcasing tunes. After we finished the song that we were playing when he walked in, Angel went to announce the next song, and didn’t announce Acid Reign. At this point I realized that he didn’t see Steve Vai there. I went and told him “No, Acid Reign.” When he realized what I was saying, and why, it clicked. We were under the watchful eyes now.
Throughout the course of the maybe 15-20 minutes or so he was watching us for, I was doing my best to keep an eye on him, as well as the rest of the audience. I was impressed that he was legitimately watching and listening to us the bulk of the time. He was making some conversation with Rob Balducci, Kevan (Jemfest coordinator), the guy who was presumably his assistant, and some of the other people that were moseying around. He was checking out some of the guitars on display as well.
At a few points throughout he’d point to someone on the stage and then be talking into the ear of his assistant. He did this likely it seemed to each of us onstage, I did catch eyes with him once or twice in his process of doing this. Toward the end of his time there, I saw him pointing and talking to his assistant, and then the assistant had come up and began to take pictures of us at different angles.
The whole thing I think gave me the boost I needed to get through this show with the lack of physical necessities I was experiencing. From my personal perspective, I think it may have been the best show I’ve done to date. I had great tone, made nearly no mistakes (I made a few, I AM human!), I felt absolutely confident on the stage and in my performance, I felt energetic and lively (no idea where it came from….probably adrenaline city), the presence of Steve Vai didn’t freak me out and likely propelled me to play better, and most importantly I had an amazing time!
I also thought that, from the best that I could tell, that we ALL put on a great show. I mean no show is ever absolutely perfect. A show like this has specific drawbacks as well; we were using equipment that’s unknown to us, we were travel weary, we didn’t have a great monitoring system on the stage, and we had very little crowd. James was uncomfortable with the drums and setup, and the fact that he was millimeters from the edge of the stage. Jay had a hard time hearing things. Angel just felt uncomfortable with his personal performance. I admit I didn’t hear the guitars as well as I would’ve liked to as well. But I really did think it was a pretty decent show. On top of it all, for as miniscule as our audience was, they consistently responded well to us, and I figured that was a sign.
After we finished, Gabe, one of the Jemfest coordinators was coming onstage to make some announcements. He told me “Steve Vai was there for part of your set.” I told him that I did see him back there. He said that “He thought you guys sounded really good, he really enjoyed it.” The fact that he was there for more than just a few moments, and stayed for a few songs I think speaks volumes. If he didn’t like what he heard, I think he would’ve walked out sooner; he had no obligation to being there.
Afterward, we got everything off the stage, we loaded up our stuff back in our cars, and went back to our hotel room. My intention WAS to crash out. But the opoortunity to mingle with the other Jemfesters (new word?) was the more viable (vai-able?) alternative.
So we went back down, mingled, enjoyed some of Fernando Pareta’s awesome set. It was good mellow times. As things began to die down, we went back to our room, and I proceeded to fade away into the sleep number bed in an air conditioned room. I was vaguely keeping conversation with Angel about guitarists for a bit, but once Angel started talking about video editing with James, I was lost into lala land… 36-37 hours up straight as described in this and the previous entry will do that to you…
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Lo and behold I wake up once again in the wrath of Florida. I don’t really understand this place. So many people look to Florida as being like a paradise on Earth, and I just do not understand it. I may be slightly tainted by my recent string of unfortunate events, but even before, I still couldn’t comprehend. This is a rant for another time, as I can probably write a whole blog about that. But I have so much more to get to first.
First, let’s talk about the string of events that lead to FL night #2. Jemfest. That’s how it ALL started. We were invited to play it a few months back, and initially had reservations about it. It’s a very cool event in theory, but just never really has the turnout to make it worth what it takes to participate. It’s usually in FL, and just the transportation makes it rough. Unfortunately, there’s often not much turnout, and it’s not a paying gig, so it makes it a hard thing to justify. It’s cool and fun, it just ultimately doesn’t outweigh the effort and expense.
However, we were informed that Steve Vai would be in attendance this year, and that ultimately we may have a chance of him witnessing our performance. It was decided that THIS was something that we really shouldn’t pass up. So, we all pulled our crap together to make it happen. We did a lot extra rehearsals, scrimped up our cash and set off.
We set off in 2 vehicles, Jay’s truck, and my Subaru. James rode with me, Angel with Jay. We left about 8:30 on Thursday night. Things started off well.
Obstacle #1: Absolutely ridiculous traffic backup in Virginia. They apparently knocked a section of highway down to one lane to repaint lines. I personally think that on a major stretch of highway such as I-95 where there is a steady flow of traffic, they should NEVER knock it down to one lane. So THAT took us over an hour to conquer just a few miles. After that though, things were pretty smooth sailing. That is, until daylight.
We were in GA, just north of Savannah, and my A/C stopped working. Of course, in all the things I threw in my “just in case” tote, my A/C pressure gauge wasn’t one of them. So we proceeded to Wal-mart where I bough some Freon/Gauge. The A/C compressor was obviously overheating, because it was jacking the pressure way up with hot air. No go on the quick fix, and off we were with windows down.
Even before we left, I had a gut feeling that I wasn’t really going to be able to get any decent sleep before the show, namely because I don’t do well at all trying to sleep in moving vehicles. If I try, I usually end up waking up like every 5-10min, and never can fully rest. Plus, we were to be arriving not all THAT long before the show, so yeah, I kinda foresaw little rest. Now, tack on no A/C, and there was basically no shot of rest. I can barely function if it’s over room temperature, and I’m extremely cranky whenever it’s resembling “hot.” Driving in Florida summer heat, I was barely surviving. I got maybe 10-20 minutes worth of broken sleep over 2-3 hours and was just miserable despite the airflow in the car.
Shortly into Florida, in my effort to sleep, James nudges me to tell me “There’s something wrong with the car, as he’s pulling toward the shoulder. Basically, it was acting as if we had run out of gas, but it didn’t. I inspected what was going on under the hood, and it seemed that part of the throttle that turned with the cable wasn’t turning right. So I sprayed a little WD40 on it, and it did turn, and when it did, the car started back up. Everything seemed to be ok.
A few miles further down the road, it died out again, same way. I inspected some other things, and everything seemed fine. I can’t recall how many times we stopped, but it happened every few miles, the car was off for a few minutes each time, and each time I had tried a few different things. I had eventually on one of these stops came to the conclusion that it could be a clogged fuel filter, so as such, I was going to bypass it. I had made a coupler out of a pen that I was going to use to join the hoses together. Since I couldn’t get one of the hoses off the filter, I had to cut it. Now, my coupler was too short, so I had to make another one. I used an tire pressure gauge, gutted it, and used the tube to connect between the hoses. This worked, but I had a super hard time getting the hose on one side around the tube. Finally after some good time beating it up, I got it assembled, and it worked.
We headed off again, and this time, it stayed running strong. From where I had completed the fix, we drove about 40 miles to meet back up with Angel and Jay, and refuel. I re-inspected the patch job, and all seemed to be holding up. So we headed the last 40 miles or so to Orlando. Of course during this time it would start to rain on us, since it was too hot to roll up windows. Also, we hit all of the Walt Disney World tourist/vacationer traffic. James was driving, and I shared his frustration with the absurdly horrific Florida driving experience. The essence of trying to to drive in Florida is probably most accurately compared to taking cactus needles and sticking them into your eyeball one at a time. Except, maybe a little more frustrating. And time consuming.
But we made it to the hotel by like 4:15, and check in was at 4:00. So despite all of the detractions, we really didn’t lose much time in way of what we were sorta scheduled for. It’s always good to have a buffer like that just in case. We made it alive, and I was functioning, but cranky, sweaty, and tired. Time to get to that hotel room….
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As I mentioned in my previous post, we’re playing at Jemfest in Florida next week, during which none other than Steve Vai will be attending. A week from right now we’ll be road tripping it down to Orlando for a show, and that in itself is pretty nifty.
A few weeks ago upon hearing about it, one of my students asked me if I was nervous about it. He said, understandably, he would be, being that it was likely that Steve Vai would be in our audience. As a performer, it’s a pretty natural thing to have some sort of nerves before any performance. As such, I’m sure I will feel some of that there, as I do at all my shows. It’s also quite likely that it may even sneak in a little more than normal considering. All in all though, I’m not really nervous about it, and here’s why.
I try to look at things from a logical/realistic standpoint, sometimes to a fault. (another topic for another blog lol) First off, there’s this standpoint; if we’re gonna wow Steve Vai or not, really makes little difference to how I should feel on stage. I know the ONLY way we will wow anyone is for us to all have fun, enjoy ourselves, and be ourselves on stage, as naturally as we can. Being nervous will not help that any. It’s a hard thing to do, but ultimately, your best bet to handling a high nerves type situation is to not be thinking of it as such, and to not care about the things that make you nervous. Easier said than done, right? Well here’s how I handle that.
Still using this same situation, Steve Vai may think we’re awesome. He may think we suck. You never know, he’s entitled to his opinion. In either instance, what changes? If he thinks we suck, that’s the end of it right there. If he thinks we’re amazing, it STILL may end right there. The odds of him rushing up to us to tell us we’re great, sign us to his label and throw wads of cash at us are slim to none even if everything goes perfectly. The most likely scenario is for him to be somewhere between those two extremes, and be accepting of us, politely complimentary, and maybe exchange some kind words/advice about our performance. That’s it. We make a positive impression, maybe even put the band, our names, and our performance in his head, and life goes on. That can mean good things in the future, but the reality of it is that not much will come out of it initially. If he witnesses numerous events that match up to it, it’s more likely I say, but one performance won’t really make a huge dent in that. As much as I love Steve Vai, and as much as he is basically the top of the heap in the genre we play in, in the music industry as a whole, he doesn’t have HUGE amounts of pull, and is probably even LESS likely to use the pull he has to it’s fullest capacity at a guitar convention. There are other acts performing, I’d wager he’s less likely to single one act out, no matter how much they stand out, and more likely to play the role of cool, straight man during his visit.
This is all my assumption mind you. You know, to quench nerves, remember? :-p
The other take on it is this. You never know who’s in your audience. You may be playing a show to 5 people. One of these people could be a miserable drunk, or one of those five people could be a rep from a major record label. Or maybe both :-p But I know that if a talent scout from Atlantic records was in my audience, I would not recognize them or know it. I guess in a way, I tend to gravitate towards thinking someone like that could ALWAYS be in my audience, so I better perform like they are there. As a matter of fact, at something like Jemfest, there’s a chance someone who may be more detrimental to our/my musical futures than Steve Vai could be in the audience. Heck sometimes someone who IS a nobody, can play a more vital role in your musical destiny than a star or an industry rep. Need proof? The Beatles & Brian Epstein. He was just a record store owner when he saw them, and him taking on the role of manager changed them, him, and music as we know it.
So, you never know. That’s why to ME, Steve Vai or not, I’m gonna play my heart out next week in Florida. Just like I try to do at every show. I also believe the show will be broadcast on www.jemfest.com so look for us Friday 6/18 at 8pm there, if it’s working. Or better yet come see us in person. You won’t make me nervous. ☺
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Thursday, June 10th, 2010
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Just getting ready to have band practice. That’s been the regimen as of late….lotsa practice. We’re playing a show in FL in about a week and half (Jemfest) which is going to require a 90 min set, and we’ve generally been playing 30-40 min sets, with not all that much more in recent preparation. To top it off, likely to be in attendance because he’s at the event, is none other than Mr. Steve Vai. Yep, no pressure.
I’ve made some steps (though there’s plenty more to do) in making a stronger and more updated presence online. My website reconstruction, and many other undertakings, have been sort of hanging mid-completion, and I hadn’t really been able to devote much time to completing them, or even really thinking much about them. I realize that some aspects, such as my website, my youtube & myspace music accounts, etc, kinda look like I just fell off the face of the earth in the past few years. This is not how I want to come across, so I’ve decided I’m going to be making changes in all of that. Yes, I have been busy, but I’m NOT non-existent. Or am I??? :-p
Basically I’ve decided I’m going to try to get the things that I do have online up to date and more representative of my life now, and also maybe also try to get some other things started. Possible ideas include (but are not limited to) a video blog, a podcast, a facebook music page, etc etc…
If anyone has any ideas of what they’d want to see me doing, or think I should participate in, I’m open to suggestions. I’m basically trying to get the things I have out on the internet represent who I really am, not who I really was. I’m also willing to take it to the next step, and possible even reinvent who I am. So, yeah that’s the latest on that front. Again ideas, suggestions, pleas to knock it all off, etc are all welcomed.
There’s plenty more that I want to post and such, but I’m gonna try to spread my blogging out more evenly….less a novel every half a year, and more a few paragraphs….well, lets start with the goal of MORE often than I have been.
More soon ☺
-Jake
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Thursday, March 25th, 2010
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Ah the joys of character builders.
Since I bought my Subaru last summer, it had one minor issue that could be considered an annoyance. Whenever you would take a corner hard, or do any jolting action in the car, especially if the car had less than half a tank of gas, the car would bog down for a few seconds until it regained itself and then go on its merry way. I knew this was a fuel issue and was likely either the fuel pump, or the little pickup/sock looking filter thingy.
So in October, I bought a new fuel pump cheaply on eBay, and decided I would replace that as soon as I had a little free time, as the issue was getting worse. It got to the point where even the jolt of taking off from a stop would make it bog, which is a lot of fun driving in NJ traffic. I was extremely happy to discover that the fuel pump was accessible without having to drop the gas tank, just take out the backseat, and you could access it right behind it fairly easily. When I thought I had the free time, I began to dismantle.
As soon as the car was completely disassembled, I got the call that my friend Jennie was gonna need to go to the ER. This of course, resulted in me reassembling everything very quickly and not nearly as carefully as I would’ve liked. In this process I was able to do a very quick cleaning of the pickup filter, which was EXTREMELY clogged and dirty, but not thorough at all.
This was a band aid, as it did make it slightly better, but didn’t solve the problem entirely. So at least, I knew it was the pickup filter, and not the fuel pump. Also, after reassembly, there was always some smell of gas in the car, especially after refueling. So again, that was October.
A few months of trips, being busy, and actual winter weather, have prevented me from doing anything about it until just recently. The weekend of my Monty Python marathon, which was like 2 weeks ago, on my way home to assemble for the event, I was running low on gas. I had intended on stopping for gas just off the Parkway. Well, about ¼ mile away, literally feet before my exit, my car ran out of gas and died, despite showing an 1/8 of a tank of fuel remaining. It’s finicky-ness in fuel transport was getting worse apparently. Dreading the thought of having to push the car off the highway, and even more the outrageous cost they charge to get towed off the Parkway, I cranked away, and after about 15 minutes, the car managed to get a 2nd wind, and enough to get me to the Exxon station just around the corner. Phew.
So, last week I actually had shifted things around in my schedule to make the following Wednesday the day I would FINALLY fix my car. This was a very responsible thing I thought. However on Friday, just before I was to head out for a show, I had stopped for gas, and upon arriving to my house, not only did I REALLY smell gas, it was leaking out. The car decided it couldn’t wait I guess, the time had come. So even though I hadn’t intended on working on the car on Saturday, well, I was now!
Saturday was an extremely nice day anyway, first day of Spring, and it actually was like spring; already too hot for me! Upon disassembly I discovered that the bolts that bolt the fuel pump assembly to the tank weren’t all that tight, most likely explaining the constant gas fume smell as well as the possibility of leakage as well. I replaced the pickup filter, and reassembled everything, a little more carefully this time. I also used the opportunity to install my seat covers I got for Christmas (just a LITTLE late :-p) properly, since the backseat was already out. Hypothetically all was good.
So last night, well early morning actually, I was heading home from Christina’s. When I did my repair on Saturday as I mentioned, I had a full tank of gas. Last night, it was finally running low, so I gave it the test. I had about ¼ tank, and I decided to use the entrance ramp to the Parkway from Rt. 9 as my test bed…a nice long corner that starts off pretty typically, but the second half of it tightens up even more…lots of fun in my car :) Lo and behold, despite throwing the car hard around it, there was no bog at all, just nice smooth acceleration throughout! Victory!!! Or so I thought.
About 8 miles down the Parkway, the car decided to run out of gas again. I had just under a ¼ more than 1/8 of a tank (1/6 or 1/7 maybe?) on the gauge, but the car obviously had other plans. This was right before the Metropark exit, and I managed to coast around the exit ramp and off the parkway. I tried as I could to get the car to crank over, and it just wouldn’t go. Of course there couldn’t be a gas station right there either. There was however a Quick Chek moderately close the other way, and it was downhill. Luckily it was 4:30am and not much traffic. I pushed the car in reverse to U-turn in the road, and then coasted downhill to the Quick Chek at the light. I managed to get the car off the road, but not completely into the parking lot, as it’s driveway was uphill. I couldn’t even push it at all up the driveway. Luckily, the Star Ledger truck driver gave me a quick hand pushing it into a space. Ok, car secure. Next order of business, retrieving gas… at 4:30am.
I began the walk. It was actually awesome weather to walk in. A little on the chillier side for most, perfect for me, about 45 degrees I believe. I began the walk at a medium pace, no point in rushing, and I was a little tired at this point anyway. I walked down to Wood Ave past the Metropark, and up to Lincoln highway, about ¾ of a mile. 2 gas stations, both closed. The one however, did have a man working in the office. I walked up and got his attention, told him I ran out of gas, and he told me to go down the road to the next light, there was a station there open. He could’ve helped I’m sure, but he didn’t. Douche. So I walked down about another half mile and there were two gas stations both open. I went in and was a bit miffed that the gas cans were 17 dollars, but whatever, could be worse. The fact that they had both Pepsi AND Mountain Dew Throwback bottles almost made up for it! Bought the stuff, filled the gas can for 6 bucks, and was on my merry way back.
About an hour and a half later, I was finally back at my car, added the gas, and drove back to the same station to tank up. Luckily I just managed to beat the main rush of traffic to get home just around sunrise.
The conclusions that can be derived from this are as follows: I take it the car’s fuel issues are resolved. I no longer smell gas in the car (aside from the gas can and adding it myself lol), and when the tank was mere miles from running out of gas, I still had enough gas flow to eliminate the fuel cut/bogging that has plagued my car since I bought it. Also, I guess I must’ve disrupted the accuracy of the fuel gauge by possibly throwing the float off kilter just enough to make the gauge read inaccurately. So until I feel the desire to take it all apart AGAIN to calibrate the float (ie: bend it), ¼ tank = New “E”!
That all being said, I still love my car, and I didn’t mind the walking in the middle of the night for gas. It actually reminded me of being in Tennessee when I was on tour the night before our first show and Mike, James, and I were walking down the main drag at like 3am looking for my cell phone! I’m happy that the bulk of it is resolved, and I’m thankful that both times the car crapped out, I was extremely lucky in the circumstances that followed. Especially last night….that could’ve sucked.
Yay for character builders.
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Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
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In the weather/driving department that is.
Ok, so for nearly 5 years I’ve owned and AWD car in some form. This is for a few reasons, but namely is because I’m on the northern east coast, and weather here can be notoriously sloppy. We get rain and snow, and conventional front or rear wheel drive vehicles can be host to lots of traction issues if driven improperly. I’m not saying that they all drive bad, but all wheel drive drives better. It’s good to have a car that you don’t have to drive like a grandma in AND fear for your life whilst driving 15mph down the highway! It’s also good to have a car that can actually maneuver, so when some asshat who thinks that just because they bought an SUV they don’t have to learn how to drive in the snow, comes barreling toward you, you can actually avoid it.
It’s been unfortunate that up until this morning (late night in my time!) I haven’t actually HAD the opportunity to drive one of these vehicles in snow. Between relatively light winters the past few years, vehicular legality issues, mechanical issues (yes I have 2 NON running Celica All-Tracs at the moment lol), I’ve evaded this very phenomenon I’ve desired to experience.
So purchasing a Subaru and making it my daily driver, I was hoping it would happen sooner than later. It would figure that 2 days after I left for AZ in December, we got actual snow. And my car sat buried under a pile of snow until I came home…and the snow was gone. It would figure that the 2 times they predicted snow, I got to drive on a merely wet road while the lawns and sidewalks were barely white. And last Thursday morning as I was outside installing new speakers in Christina’s truck, nearly 2 inches of snow accumulated as I worked. And by the time I got done, got inside and changed, and went to go out, it was nearly all melted.
I had been pretty convinced that the next course of action would be witnessing snow literally melt around myself and my car as I walked and drove. I love snow anyway, I have the means to be safer in it whilst traveling, and I have crap for luck generally, so as it would seem, I’d never get to experience this lol.
So, if nothing else, I got to partially experience it this morning. There’s only maybe 1-2”, but it’s enough to slide around on and see how this AWD thing felt. Also, it was an opportunity to test my car and know what I have to work with under these conditions.
I slid around in Christina’s driveway in a fun way….it’s neat to feel that slide-y slightly out of control feeling while turning in the snow, that in most cars can easily lead to an “Oh crap” moment (usually followed by some variation of a *thud*), turn into a perfectly in control, car going EXACTLY where pointed just by manning up and stepping on the gas. In a rear wheel drive car, that results in insta-spin. In a front wheel drive car, that usually results in sliding straight in the direction you weren’t trying for. With all wheel drive, it equals awesome!
The one unfortunate discovery of the drive was that I need to do my brakes. The anti-locks have had minor issue since I bought the car, and it’s especially evident in this weather. But I already have the habit of being aware of longer stopping distances from NOT having anti-locks in you know…EVERY other car I’ve ever owned hahaha.
The next fun event was going around the long entrance ramp/curve from Route 9 to the Parkway, and passing a BMW SUV in the outside lane. I obviously pissed him off, because he made a distinct point to catch back up to me and pass me once we were on the straightaway. I may not have the fastest car in a straight line, but I’d race that same guy around the corners in any weather….and most other vehicles too. Gotta know your game ☺
Then when I stopped at the bank, I saw a big patch of open untouched white snow. I couldn’t resist. I love how when doing donuts in an AWD car how the circles get smaller as you push harder, the opposite of RWD/FWD cars. I also love how it’s so easy to exit it. Usually in RWD/FWD cars, you have to stop, let the car run it’s course, get your bearings, and then exit your donut area. With AWD, just like when power sliding it, just aim where you want, correct the little over you’ll slide just due to physics, and boom, your driving straight in the direction you want to be.
(Yes I did just write a whole paragraph about that! :-p)
The phenomenon I’ll have to work on is that, after having driven mostly only vehicles in snow that shouldn’t be driven in snow, I still get that tensed up, heart in my chest type feeling when I feel a little slide in the stuff. It’s slightly alleviated when the car responds with perfect manner, but it’s still there. I’m usually pretty good for being able to suck that up and keep my head on straight and react properly despite it; I take great pride in that actually. Especially when I’m driving. I guess crap car paranoia will take a little bit of time to overcome completely. However a little bit of it is always good to have from a safety perspective I guess.
It’s a fun day for me indeed. It may barely qualify as a snowfall worthy of such things, but it’s the best I’ve gotten so far. And I’ve FINALLY done something I’ve been pining for for ages, and distinctly READY for for years.
One more for the books…YAY!!! ☺
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Saturday, January 30th, 2010
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This started with an email convo between Christina and I. (You could understand why I love this girl :-D) So in the midst of my depth of explanation of it all, I decided maybe I should just make it a blog. And why not?
She basically asked me what my favorite cars were. This is not a brief topic for me by any stretch at all. Short of writing a novel, I’ll inevitably be leaving stuff out. But here are some of the more “dream” car aspects of this, semi chronologically.
*****
Classics:
1948 Tucker
Important part of automotive history, unfortunate part of automotive history (specifically the American government’s influence on it), one of the coolest cars in automotive history, and unfortunately, one of the rarest cars in automotive history. Watch the movie :-p
1957 DeSoto
I think it's such a perfect personification of a 50s car...huge, swooping upward fins, and it was one of the faster cars of it's day. I’m fairly certain that the motor in the DeSoto was the first production motor to have 1hp per cubic inch. It was one of the first at least. A car like that, I wouldn't be picky about color...though light colors would make it's lines more prominent.
427 Shelby Cobra
They only made 356 of these in 66-67, but there are countless replicas, kits, etc and many of them are superior to the original. The fastest car of it's day as well. Such a basic formula, get the biggest most powerful engine available and put it in the smallest lightest car. That formula in this case somehow also inherited a bit of sexy as well. Gotta love curves. I prefer this car in blue as shown here. For the record, this is the car I drew myself driving for a CARtoons magazine contest that never made it, because the company went out of business one issue before the results were published :(
1971 Hemi 'Cuda
My favorite muscle car. I'd take just about any muscle car, I really like them all to some extent. The 67-69 firebirds are probably my second favorite. This one is also rare, only one year had double headlights, which I like. The Dodge Challengers were the same car and they almost all had double headlights. I consider them right on par with this car, and would totally take one as well. Seems more likely since there are more Challengers and they are exactly the same car, but I'd still slightly prefer the 71 cuda. Oh, and there's only one color I'd WANT (I'd take any lol), and that's the "Plum Crazy" as shown here :)
*****
Interestingly I'm not really all that into any mid to late 70s cars so much that I'd put them here. Kind of a low point in automotive manufacturing as far as cars go in my opinion. The oil embargo turned American made engines into embarrassing performers (My dad’s 1976.5 Mustang Cobra II had a 302 V-8 making a whopping 125 horsepower… totally sad), and most of the styling was lame too. Late 70s Trans Ams look cool, as do the late 70s Corvettes, but the motors were pathetic. That’s easily fixed these days but….no real “dream cars” there for me.
*****
Ok 80s and up:
1987-1992 Toyota Supra Turbo
I've wanted one since I was 9. The next generation (ie, the Fast And The Furious Supra) was way faster, and way more in demand. I totally wouldn't mind one of those either, but THIS one is what started it, and there's something about this body shape that I still love. Plus, even if its not as fast, it is STILL fast, capable of being damn fast, and not nearly as much investment to do so. The next generation ones are SUPER expensive....SUPRA expensive even :-p The main colors it came in were red, burgundy, silver, white and black. I'd prefer the white. It's the curves thing :)
1990-1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4
They changed body styles in 95, eliminating the flip ups and being slightly roundier instead of pointier. I like 'em all :) The original styling is like the Supra, hence part of the attraction. But 300+ horsepower, all wheel drive, all wheel steering, and every other gadget and gizmo of the time, makes for a car that Jake likes a lot lol. I think I'd be partial to wanting one in blue.
2009 and up Nissan GT-R.
The most awesome production car at the moment, in my opinion. It’s actually been compared to being a modernized and perfected 3000gt lol. This car isn't all that sexy, though presentable at some angles, this car is all about speed. In all forms. I'm in love lol. If this car was in the current 370z shell, I may cream in my pants lol. But even still, I want one of these more than anything else being made right now at any price. Color? Well it comes in crap colors, white, gray, silver, charcoal, red, and black. I would go either silver or white. But I'd REALLY want to get it painted blue as well lol.
*****
So there’s a quick snapshot of my automotive tastes. There’s so many more that I love, and so many more than THAT that I hate lol. This was fun though ☺
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Thursday, January 21st, 2010
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***After all this time, there are so many topics to conquer via blog. I guess ultimately if I don’t want to be stuck in this predicament I SHOULD write more often. Not only would it take the edge off of having numerous topics to elaborate on, it would also address the issue of my blogs being way too long. A bunch of short blogs on a semi regular basis would be more palatable than a novel every blue moon. I am well aware of such things. That doesn’t make it any easier though. I promise to try harder to alleviate this whole situation.
I’m gonna start things off on a positive note, and one that’s a tad unconventional for me. Convention has never really been my thing though. So… think of it this way….its’a blog!***
It’s a new year. Compared to this time last year, there are a lot of changes in my life. Most, if not all of these, are for the better. (Many of these are blue!) For this I am extremely thankful. Here is a quick rundown of these changes:
I now own another 1988 Toyota Celica All-Trac. Ok, this one was good, but quickly went bad, but still overall, good. I WILL get it running one day. I hope. (It’s blue!)
I got a new bass. A Carvin 6 string fretless. This bass is as much MY bass as my Universe is MY guitar. I knew I had to have this bass within seconds of playing it. The playability, tone, everything, makes this the ultimate bass to me. (It’s also blue!)
I bought a Subaru. A 2002 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS. Thanks to Vin for selling this to me. It may not be an All-Trac, but I’ll be damned if the experience isn’t close, and for certain things I need a vehicle for it’s better. I love this car, and I especially love how my car feels after driving other cars. Subaru owners of this era/type know exactly what I mean. (This TOO is blue!)
I got a haircut. Another 14” taken off of my mane. It’s just past shoulder length now. Even though it’s been a few months, I’m still adjusting to this. But overall, I like it better than I did. I still have some hang-ups about my hair, and I’m slowly trying to deal with, conquer, and ultimately accept them. But I think I like it better than I did this time last year. (Alas, this is NOT blue)
I have a girlfriend. This is something that I haven’t had in some time. It’s safe to say that in my nearly 6 years of not being in a relationship, I’ve developed some hang-ups, stipulations, biases, and just general pickiness that I guess I didn’t think I had, or at least didn’t realize so much, and it was seeming like no one would be able to fulfill quite what I was looking for. I feel safe to say that all of these things have been met, and in many cases exceeded, and I almost feel guilty to say that I’m happier than I have been in a long LONG time. I guess I could say that I almost feel guilty because it feels so good, that it almost feels like it’s like I’m getting away with something I shouldn’t. I guess I’ve harbored such strange emotions to relationships, self deprecating attitudes, general unworthiness, and really just doubt that it was out there, that I never REALLY truly expected something like THIS. I know I’m gushing, and I can’t help it. It really is that sugary sweet to me, and I know it is to her, and that’s the scary (in a good way) part of the whole thing. I love it. (This isn’t blue either, but she really LIKES blue!)
Also, the Angel Vivaldi EP “The Speed Of Dark” is officially out. I play bass on it, and it’s good to be able to say I’m on a CD. Not that making CDs is all THAT hard these days, but to be on one that’s fresh, new, being promoted and marketed, and most notably, looks and sounds GREAT, is a really good feeling. Whether the music is your thing or not, I’m extremely proud of it, I know James & Angel are as well, and it’s a nice departure from last year when it was just a task to complete down the road. YAY for progress! (This is not blue, but the artwork is pretty badass!)
I’ve also dropped a few pounds since last year. How much, I do not know since I don’t have a scale. But a pair of pants that were snug on me a little over a year ago, now will fall straight to my ankles with no belt. Judging by where my weight was 2 years ago when I knew, from then till now I’ve lost 40-50 pounds. I’m in the neighborhood of 240, which is only about 10-15 pounds more than I was all through high school. No complaints here.
Ok so that’s just a quick snapshot of how things are shaping up for me this year as opposed to last year. Needless to say, I’m happy where things are in my life, and where they are going. There are still some areas that need improvement of course, but all in all, I think things are going in the right direction for me. It feels good to not be so negative….or at least LESS negative. Maybe it’s because I like blue.
Happy 2010 to everyone, and I hope everyone has as great of a year as mine is starting out to be ☺
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Quick note to throw out there for myself, and a handful of my friends. It was on this day (June16th) in 1996 that I left Tucson to come back to NJ. I left with most of my belongings packed into my 1980 Toyota Corolla (with approximately 285,000 miles on it at that time…not 100% sure, the speedometer died at 271,000 about 6 months earlier and I drove a LOT lol). If I remember correctly, I had a measly 500 bucks to my name to make the trip and get started with in NJ, that was mostly from my loving Mom, who was one of the few who supported me on this chapter of my life.
It was Father’s Day that year on the 16th, which, while not intentional, was an interesting coincidence since being at my wits end with my Dad was a big motivational factor for the transplant. It was also the first of many cross country road trips I drove for. It was a fun experience.
It also is interesting to think that I was just 18, driving from AZ to NJ in an arguably P.O.S. car alone. Looking back my family must’ve freaked lol. Oddly, I didn’t feel too inexperienced or immature to do it. I guess I always had that air about me. The same reason at 15 I was enlisted by my dad to do most everything for our move out TO Arizona from NJ.
So many little random details from this trip still remain in my memory. My sole map was a pocket US atlas. Just after I got my car packed and I was ready to go, my car stereo (a Sony cassette deck) decided that it was a good time to have the preamp outputs die. So I had no rear speakers and my front speakers were super small and crappy. So a stop to Wal-Mart was necessary for me to get a line level/speaker converter. The stop didn’t happen until the 2nd day though, after I had stopped for the night in Albuquerque. I had to quick mock up a run of speaker wires through my car over all my stuff to make this happen. Upon arrival into Albuquerque I had witnessed what it looks like driving into the city at night cresting over the mountains northbound on I-25. A beautiful sight actually. Not quite the stereotypical view of Hollywood from the mountains, but the same type of sight. More breathtaking than I had expected.
I remember having a mini heart attack/bout of confusion over the signs for Las Vegas (New Mexico, not Nevada….I know NOW lol). I remember a long stretch of driving through Colorado I went to step on the clutch and it going to the floor. I stopped, added more fluid and pumped it up and it was fine (it did that sometimes I discovered lol). I drove through a corner of Wyoming and I saw sunlight at the latest local time I’d ever witnessed. It was 10:55pm and in the stretch of road/land was so flat and open there was a trace of sun in the dark purple just above the horizon. I stopped at one of the few places I could in mid Nebraska for the night.
The next day was my longest driving shift ever…over 33 hours! I drove straight from mid Nebraska to NJ. Not my record for longest distance covered, but close. I discovered that Iowa is pretty much just green rolling hills lol. I also got pulled over in Illinois and had my entire car unpacked and repacked by 2 cops with a K9 unit and had all my stuff sniffed out. Apparently if you’re from out of state with a beat up car and long hair, you MUST have pot in the car. A bunch of packing/unpacking and an hour and a half later, and they left with nothing on me. I remember that the Ohio Turnpike toll pay scale made little sense, and the best I could deduct was that if I had stopped for a hotel off of it, I would’ve paid like 40 bucks in tolls. So I just drove straight through lol.
I was gonna try to stop in PA for a nap, but I couldn’t sleep. I tried, but my adrenaline was pumping. So I picked up No-Doz to be safe, and kept on trucking. Made it all the way to NJ (a day ahead of schedule) and when I arrived it was one of the biggest senses of relief I’ve ever felt. I met up with Vin and we were going to drive to his Grandmother’s where we were going to be staying. I made Vin drive because I was SO exhausted and my right leg was sore from holding the gas pedal in one place for so long (no cruise control lol).
That began a very intense and crucial chapter of my life. I can’t believe that was *gulp 13 years ago.
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***WARNING! Lengthy blog about my cars.***
After much deliberation and some turning of events, I’ve decided on some vehicular changes.
First off let’s discuss the All-Trac project. The All-Trac wasn’t supposed to be a project. I spent a good amount of time searching the nation the last few years for an All-Trac that was a good balance of condition and cost. I had saved my first one that got wrecked in 2007 as a parts car, and I was looking for something that would allow that. After finally finding the one that fit that bill, coinciding with a time when I had the funds, I scooped it up. I managed a cheap flight to Milwaukee, WI, managed a shuttle to the owner, had good rapport with him, and even a mostly trouble free drive home (did get a stupid ticket in PA for driving a non-registered vehicle…um, I just BOUGHT it?...whatever), and even managed good gas mileage. Yet within a week of getting it home, the car decided to eat itself. My luck ran out as it were. It basically blew the head, started knocking badly, and no compression on 2 of the 4 cylinders. Begin PROJECT. (hurts just thinking about it lol)
I was basically thinking that I’d take the opportunity to use my other wrecked All-Trac I had saved as a donor car, and do a complete engine rebuild. Being that I had most of the parts at my disposal (some in doubles), it wasn’t going to be a huge cost, and essentially the end result would be an All-Trac in great shape with an engine in tip top shape. It’s what I was HOPING the new car was going to be without having to do this. But that wasn’t an option now. This option would at least get me to what I was hoping to have.
There are 2 main issues with this situation however. First is time. I’ve been teaching 7 days a week for a good amount of time now. Every now and again a day off squeezes through. When this happens however, it’s usually last minute, plus I’m usually not in the mood to go wrenchin’ on the car, even if I happen to be in luck with weather. Which brings me to the second issue.
I don’t have a garage. Both of my All-Tracs are up on jackstands in my driveway/yard. Space isn’t all THAT much of an issue, but weather and storage are. I have enough room to work on the cars, but when it’s dark, even droplights and such aren’t the best solution. Especially since I can’t leave them out. Also, I have to bring out and pack up my tools everytime. If I had a garage where I could work at my leisure barring weather and daylight, I’d be much more prone to working on it, even if it was small bits at a time. The free time I can scrape up often occurs in the wee hours. Also, it often seems that the setup and teardown for working on my vehicles everytime is a job in itself.
I really want a running All-Trac. However, my current All-Trac situation isn’t really syncing up with what my current life situation has in store for me at the moment. Now when I pull into my driveway I have 2 All-Tracs staring me down. 2 of a car that’s super rare to begin with. A car that is high on my list of ultimate cars to own. Yet, I find myself in a position that really leads me to a point where I feel it’s time to move on. Cut and run.
I don’t feel like I got ripped off on the second All-Trac. I got what I paid for. The car is/was in great condition, and ran great when I purchased it and immediately subjected it to a 1000 mile road trip. There is always some sort of risk factor when buying a used car, especially a 21 year old one. It’s just extremely unfortunate that the risk kicked in a week into ownership. It’s even more unfortunate that it culminated at a time in my life when the main factor for repair is time, something I don’t have a lot of to be able to offer.
I also feel that keeping these 2 cars just sitting and barely getting touched or worked on is also a bit on the wrong side. There is a small niche market for these cars, and the parts associated with them. There are some enthusiasts that will be able to put what I have sitting in my driveway to much better use than what I am doing. Also, it’s quite likely that between the 2 cars and all my extra parts and such, I can probably recoup most of my financial investment, or more, if I’m patient and thorough.
There are other events that also pertain to this. First off is my Sentra. Poor, poor, little beater car lol. This car has been ever faithful, and ever ridden hard by me. It’s up to 146k miles. That’s 102k logged by me. Kinda goes without saying that they’re not of the easy kind of mileage. However, the car chugs right along in typical Nissan fashion. It’s not without it’s issues. It’s starting to show it’s age. It needs a bunch of little trivial work done to it. It’s beginning to look like the old beat up econobox it’s turning into. It’s old faithful, but the car does nothing for my soul. I’ve owned it over 8 years now, and I love the car for what it is, but it doesn’t soothe my soul. It isn’t fun. It isn’t a dream car. It’s a workhorse really.
My sister is in the market for such a vehicle. She has her Del Sol (about her equivalent to my All-Trac) which she adores, but she wants another vehicle to take the brunt of routine, so her Honda is at less risk, and can be a little more babied. My sister also owns a 1981 Datsun 210, the older brother to my Sentra per se, that’s not running, but probably could be (you know, if SHE had the time :-p). She had great luck with those old Datsun/Nissans. As opposed to being in the market and searching all over for such a car, when the premiums on these good mpg cars are going up, I have one that would work for her. Keep it in the family, you know?
Tack on now the other factor. I’m going to be buying my friend Vin’s car. He has a 2002 Subaru Impreza 2.5rs that he’s selling for a few personal reasons. This car is one of the few cars of modern bulld that I like. It’s basically the successor to the All-Trac in spirit. It’s a car that’s focus is on an AWD drivetrain. It’s a shame the car’s not a WRX, for the fun factor, but for a daily driver, the lack of a turbo (and turbo lag) is more convenient. Plus, their 2.5 motor is tried and true, and reliability is always tantamount in a daily driver. My main complaint with the Subarus of 2002 onward was lack of 2 door/coupe models. I’m of the mindset that performance cars should be 2 doors, or at least be available in 2 doors. 2 doors look less like family cars and more like sports cars. I like sports cars. There’s a reason that you don’t see 4 door Lamborghinis and Ferraris. I digress.
But as a daily driver car, 4 doors actually work for me. I’m always slugging around guitars for my lessons, and the easy access to the backseat is handier than even a hatchback. Also around here in NJ with rain and snow, it’s more logical to have all wheel drive in my daily driver. Really, the 4 door Subaru is a sensible option for my main driving needs. It also partially fulfills my driving wants. Ok, it’s 25hp (and 25ft/lb of Torque) less than an All-Trac. It’s an arguably ugly, boxy car, compared to a sleeker (even if dated) 2 door hatch. But in function, they cover the same ground. So much so that it seems pretty redundant to own the Impreza and then bust my ass on the All-Trac, so in the end I’d have 2 vehicles that are almost the same in function.
This led me to the thought of possibly still doing the All-Trac, but making it more of a performance car. More power and such. But that would cost a lot more money. Then it hit me, that if I have a daily driver that would be great in all weather, if I’m going to have any sort of car for the ‘fun’ side of things, it would make sense to do something that catered more to the sheer speed factor. You know, the kind of car that you step on the gas and you get forced back into the seat with such force that you feel like you’re time warping lol. Something with rear wheel drive. Maybe like a Toyota Supra. You know, one of my dream cars since I was like 9. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it I guess. For the sheer speed factor, as much as I don’t want to admit it, and most of you wouldn’t imagine me uttering this, I wouldn’t be completely adverse to something American and with a V-8. I’d have to explore and see what I’d find. That’s the future though. We’ll see how that goes when I get there.
In the meantime, in a nutshell, I’ve actually willingly torn myself from the idea of following a dream. The path was right there, and I’m normally the type that says follow your dream at any cost. I guess I took a step further and decided to change the dream, for now, or at least the priority of it. In reality it doesn’t mean that I’ll never have an All-Trac.
I guess it’s sort of like when you are really in love with someone, and despite all efforts, for whatever reason it’s just not going to work out, so you move on. You never lose the love for that person, and you know that if in the future, if there was a way for it to actually work out, you’d pursue it then. But since there is no way it would work out in the present time, you accept the situation for what it is, and do your best to move on without being in too much pain. Dwelling on it only makes it hurt, so you have to get back to living your life and deal with it not including this person.
Looking at 2 All-Tracs in my yard not running is dwelling on my vehicular situation.
(My blogging consistency has been out the window, so it’s pretty safe to say that my next blog will be written by a Subaru owner.)
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Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
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Think of 15 albums, CDs, LPs (if you're over 40) that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life. Dug into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. Royally affected you, kicked you in the wasu, literally socked you in the gut, is what I mean. Then when you finish, tag 15 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill. Get the idea now? Good. Tag, you're it! >:)
*blinks*
This only 15, or 25 album thing doesn't work for me for a few reasons. First off I went through phases of musical discovery. These phases were marked by a few albums in styles, but usually any given artist I'd listen to a few of their albums to fully understand them. My dad had a lot of vinyl growing up, so when I would get into something new from his collection, I'd usually check out everything he had by an artist, and things he'd recommend based on it. Also, in my early days were a lot of homemade cassettes that would normally have 2 albums on it, hence a lot of times, one album would be 2 (or sometimes even 3).
Here are the most 'essential' items I could muster. I did my best to put them semi-chronologically as to when they impacted me.
Hell, I'll break 'em into their phases lol.
Phase I - Initial inspiration (age 4-10)
1. The Beatles - Entire Collection?
The Beatles were the first thing I listened to, starting at about age 4 or 5. This was when I started playing guitar, and in the beginning all I played were Beatles' songs. I definitely would not be what I am musically if it weren't for The Beatles. In the early days, I listened to all early Beatles up to Revolver, and add in The White Album and Let It Be. I didn't really get into Sgt. Pepper or Abbey Road till later in life.
2. The Monkees - First 4 albums
I also listened to The Monkees, because the songs were catchy, and that reinforced my love of catchy melodies. Even at a young age that caught my ear and made me like that aspect of music. Not that The Beatles didn't have good melodies, but my focus had been more on chords with The Beatles. I didn't appreciate their melodies until after The Monkees hit me.
3. Weird Al Yankovic - In 3-D/Dare To Be Stupid
Weird Al Yankovic came along, and made me laugh, but even at age 6 or 7, I was able to realize that he had an amazing band that could sound like the original artists so well, and that had a huge impact on me. The importance of performance and sound within a band started here.
Phase II - Expansion (age 10-13)
4. Boston - Boston
Phase II was triggered by Boston. Boston was my first "main" band that wasn't The Beatles. The 1st Boston album had it all...great guitar, great melodies, great songs...I was hooked. This paved the way for the main classic/progressive rock I got into.
5. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
The next "main" band. It's hard for me to not just say all Zep albums here, and they are all about as important to me, but there was something about the vibe of this album that just puts it an eek above the others. Memories of playing this whole album through while doing homework...good times. Zeppelin really added that element to me...vibe, production, and final product (performances over perfection, etc), and Physical Graffiti had that in droves. Recordings that could leave you as speechless as a live show (In My Time Of Dying, In The Light, Ten Years Gone, just...yeah)
6. Deep Purple - Machine Head/Fireball
Early Heavy Metal? You bet. Fast, rhythmic, alternating guitar and keyboard solos, neoclassical overtones, double bass drumming, shred. These 2 albums added aggresiveness to the palate that I hadn't experienced before. Balls and chunk!
7. Queen - Sheer Heart Attack/A Night At The Opera/Innuendo
Brian May...Freddie Mercury...jeez what else can you say about that? Most dramatic music I'd heard at that point. I mean "Stone Cold Crazy" to "Love Of My Life"...talk about range! The idea of studio theatrics (orchestra of guitars? 3 man choirs?), amazing guitar tone, and just beautiful, passionate music throughout, there's no surprise Queen was a huge part of my musical influence. Innuendo came out right as I was seriously getting into them, and Freddie's passing soon after was a devestating event for me.
8. Yes - The Yes Album/Fragile/Close To The Edge/Drama/90125
My first foray into Progressive Rock. Melodic, dramatic, and with major chops. Yes was my first rock concert in 1991 (first concert was Paul Simon just a few weeks earlier), but I was already into them prior to that. Fragile really started the trend, as it was a showcase of 5 virtuosos, who also just happened to be a band and could write great songs as well. Also, Chris Squire's crushing Rickenbacker bass tone had a huge impact on me as well. In actuality musically, I was influenced much more by the bass on these albums than by the guitar. Most of the guitar still escapes me (Steve Howe HAS to be from another planet!) If it HAD to be one, Drama edges out. I don't know why, don't ask, it just does.
9. Styx - Pieces Of Eight/The Grand Illusion
Less reason behind these, I just really liked them at the time. First entry here that doesn't do as much for me now as then. But Styx hit me hard for a while and I was totally about these albums for a time.
10. Billy Joel - Turnstiles/The Stranger/Stormfront
When Stormfront came out, it began a spell of really getting into these albums. The songwriting was amazing, and the songs just grabbed me. I only got more into them as time went on. It really got me into playing piano/keyboards as well.
11. Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail (followed closely by all of the Steve Hackett albums)
The other prog venture. Something about old Genesis was really cool. At that token something about Trick Of The Tail just stood out for some reason. Songs just stuck in my head a little more, and the balance of Collin's pop sensibility vocally, with the band's experimenting (moog bass pedals, doubleneck guitars, triple acoustic songs, etc) was another pivotal moment for me. Tack on Steve Hackett's brilliant playing and I was hooked.
Phase III - Venturing Out (13-16)
12. Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain
A huge album to me for being so different than most of what I listened to, yet so brilliantly well done. Even if I don't like a lot of his other stuff, Prince is a musical genius, and this was his finest hour in my opinion. My interest was spawned by the ending of Computer Blue. Perhaps the first moving emotional guitar solo to make me think of the guitar being used in that way. That really changed the way I thought of lead solos as being more melody and less showing off.
13. Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining
The first pre-recorded cassette I ever bought. Completely on a whim, based on a TV commercial I saw where one guitarist had an SG, and the other had a Rickenbacker 12 string. Having both of those instruments in my home made me ride my bike down to Vinyl Vault and buy it. It's polished mellowness, as well as creepiness and catchiness put this album in heavy rotation for a while.
14. Elvis Costello - Armed Forces/Get Happy!!/Imperial Bedroom/Punch The Clock
Another one that probably mostly can be attributed to the bass. Bruce Thomas is a sick bastard! But the songs were great, the vibe was cool and varied, and When it hit, it was hard for me to not have these albums in a solid rotation. It was thinking man's pop music. Equal doses of Beatles, Motown, and Jazz. Great combo.
15. Blue Oyster Cult - Fire Of Unknown Origin/Imaginos
A friend of a friend gave me Imaginos and I loved it, in all it's 80's-ness. It triggered the idea of Fire Of Unknown Origin, which was a different 80's but equally impressive vibe. The 2 together covered 2 ends of a spectrum that I really liked. Sci-Fi-ness, with dark overtones, cool guitar, and very listenable. It also started the whole idea of the 80s being a sound (and not just what was new, as it was no longer new), as these arguably sounded 'dated' at the time. I liked the sound, but never thought of it that way.
16. King's X - 1st 4 albums
After Midnight Oil, one of the first 'new' bands I really got into. It started with Faith, Hope, Love, but quickly grew into the 1st four. The amazing guitar tone and tasteful playing, strong harmonies, passionate lead vocals, heavy yet catchy songs, there was no way I couldn't love this band. The formula put these guys as my new "favorite" band for a number of years.
17. GTR - GTR
Another reminder of "80s" sound. But more importantly, this was using the guitar for things other than guitar. The fact that guitar could still be 'GUITAR' even in the age of synth was an awesome concept. Spawned many ideas of expanding the guitar that I hadn't conceived previously. Throw in 2 of my favorite guitarists into the mix, and formula for success. For me at least.
18. That's That - Demo Tape
James Rosocha on bass. From my hometown! This tape was huge to me. First, it gave me hope. Someone from my town and from my school that did something worthwhile musically! Second, it was my first foray into what would be considered Jazz-Fusion. Third, the bass was AWESOME! Fourth, for being 6 instrumental songs, it was catchy as hell. This tape got mondo play time! (It was on the back of my King's X - Gretchen Goes To Nebraska Maxell UDII 90min tape :-p)
19. Survivor - Vital Signs
First "guilty pleasure" here. These songs had been implanted in my brain much earlier than I 'discovered' them. My mom listened to this album a LOT when it was new. Then it faded. I accidentally stumbled across a tape of it (unlabeled) and listened to it, and in all it's cheesiness, I loved it. It was pure 80s cheese, yet I loved every song. Songs I should've been embarassed to listen to, except music doesn't really embarass me. Further reinforced the 80s sound, yet tacked on the powerballad/emotional factor.
20. The Fixx - Shuttered Room/Reach The Beach
Jamie West-Oram has the best clean guitar tone in the world. My quest for a perfect clean tone began here. Clean guitar sounds became a huge part of my style, and The Fixx guitar tone was the Holy Grail. His style and tone I think are best showcased on these two albums, and it forever changed my guitar playing having The Fixx hit me. 3rd reinforcement of the past 80s sound I loved, and 2 more albums that cemented themselves into my permanent rotation. It also incorporated space in the music being as important as the music itself.
21. Pearl Jam - Ten
The first new "mainstream" band that did anything for me. This "mainstream" became known as alternative or grunge. Whatever, at the time it was mainstream rock. Most mainstream stuff (now or then) didn't do much for me. But Pearl Jam had a real band vibe to them, like they were the children of classic rock bands. The idea of new bands utilizing a classic type approach was the new thing, it was new to me, and I liked it. Bonus points for 12 string and fretless basses too! This album also reinforced the 'new' sound at about the time the aformentioned albums reinforced the 'old' 80s sound. I realized I liked both. But this album made me want to wear flannel shirts, backwards caps, and combat boots to some extent, as well as make it more ok for me to like the classic rock I liked. Another heavy rotation album for me.
22. Alice In Chains - Dirt
This album was important to me, because of all the alternative/grunge bands that hit, when I heard Dirt, I knew IT would be the album that would stand the test of time. Everyone said it was Nirvana's Nevermind, which didn't do much for me. The influence of this album on the next 10-15 years of rock/metal is insurmountable. I knew it then. Because it was an experience for me. One of those albums that I HAD to listen to the whole thing (and having versions with 2 different track orders screwed with me!) It was a whole new sound and I loved it.
23. Frank Zappa - Freak Out
A completely different approach. I loved this album for what it was....satire of music as a whole. A pessimist's perspective. Tack on silliness, and an absolute experimental approach to....well everything, and it was like knocking down the walls. You could do ANYTHING you wanted in music. Changed my whole outlook.
24. Dada - Puzzle
Got into them just as they came out. Seeing them live cemented what they were, which was a great band. No one member stood out, each of them is pretty good in their own right, but as a team, they are greater than the sum of their parts. Great vocals, songs, and amazing how they pulled it off live. Stripped down live, they could sound as good as their record, and that amazed me. No gimmicks, just good music. Proof that it was possible was here.
25. Extreme - III Sides To Every Story
This album put Extreme up there with King's X as a favorite band. This album had everything... brilliant guitar work, heavy, light, and progressive songs, drama, great lyrics, vocals, harmonies, hell even orchestra! Another album that changed my outlook and became a permanent part of me as a musician. Many different memories are tied to this, and I could honestly say that this is one of the most important albums of my life.
26. Primus - Pork Soda
Wait a minute....you can do THAT...with a BASS? Seriously? 6 string fretless? Two-Hand tapping? While singing? Are you serious? It started by seeing a transcription to "Tommy The Cat" and thinking that it wasn't possible. Getting a copy of Pork Soda reinforced that it was. Taking a slice from the Zappa approach, it brought psychoticness, virtuosity, bizarre songwriting, and an absolutely unique sound to my own importance of music. Les Claypool still blows me away to this day. 15 years later, I finally have my own 6 string fretless. I still think he's absolutely nuts!
Phase IV - Redefining
27. Dream Theater - Awake
After The Beatles, the next most important album to me musically. This album changed me in many ways. It brought my love back to the guitar (it had been waning for about a year previous). It brought the idea of the guitar tones in my head out (Mesa/Boogie amps and expensive processors). It reinforced the idea of what I had conceived for years before, which was best of old Prog (Yes, Genesis, Rush), and the best of newer heavy metal (Iron Maiden, Metallica, Pantera) and mixed them perfectly (touched upon by Extreme and King's X, but DT perfected it). It brought extreme diversity (The Silent Man into The Mirror), and extreme musicianship (Erotomania) together in a stunning spectacle. And most importantly, it was the sound of the music I had heard in my head, actually being audible. After wearing out countless cassette copies, and a good number of CD copies, absolutely still never gets old to me. The closest I may ever get to a 'perfect' record. I love all of DT's stuff, but this has the top spot by a big margin. Pinnacle album for me.
28. Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien/The Extremist
DT brought a new found love back to guitar. This got me into Satriani. These are my 2 favorite Satch albums and made me love him as a guitar player. When I heard these with fresh ears, I was amazed at what he could make a guitar do. One of my favorite guitarists ever. He made me understand the importance of melodic soloing, awe-inspiring technique, and being completely unique. Changed my guitar playing forever.
29. Steely Dan - Aja
In my Junior year, I really got into Jazz. This album just really stuck out as such an amazing overall album. It was hard to take this out and listen to anything remotely close to it. For a while this was just....THE album. It's not even really JAZZ per se, but distinctly jazz influenced. I kinda like that blurry line. It would never be confused with Return To Forever or Weather Report; Jazz of the same era. Completely distinctive, memorable, and amazingly produced. The album has a dense history of it's own in it's conception....you can hear it in the music. This reinforced the Jazz influence in my own playing.
30. Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime/Empire
Accessible Prog Metal? Maybe a band that could do a great prog/concept album then release an amazing pop album? And play it all live as well or better than the studio versions? QR was all of these. Mindcrime and Empire entered heavy rotation around the time I turned 18 for great singing, melodies, guitar work, and diverse songwriting. Their style had a huge impact on mine and what I liked. Tate + DeGarmo = awesome.
31. Echolyn - As The World
A totally awesome album that proved that there were bands that were as capable as the old prog bands, and still able to put a modern spin on it. Great unique sound and songwriting, memorable prog, and an album that demanded a start to finish listen. A huge favorite still today.
32. Mr Bungle - Mr. Bungle
Another mind blowing album of the Zappa/Primus variety, but possibly taken to the next level. Never had I heard music touch so many genres, taboo subject matter, sampling, space, bizarre, comedy, virtuostic musicianship and god....everything in one. Often changing in the same song! A total mindfuck of an album. Right away this album blew me away, and changed me forever.
33. Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy
This album changed me in that it was one of the first things I ever heard musically that I could say was something that I wasn't actually capable of doing. Most music to that point that I heard, while much was challenging, I could safely say that I could conceivably do. This album made me think differently. The music was directly in my genre, but guitar-wise, Michael Romeo executed things I was absolutely incapable of doing. He is a master of what he does. Tack this on to quite possibly one of the greatest progressive metal albums ever, and let's just say that I spliced that tape (Maxell XLII 100) many times!
34. The Cure - Disintegration
A completely different pivotal album. After seeing this album mentioned in Guitar World's 50 most important guitar albums, I was intrigued. My girlfriend being a fan of The Cure had the album and had me listen. It IMMEDIATELY became part of my style. The clean effected guitar used as a part of an orchestration of layered guitars, used like a cello and having it's own set of simple melodic hooks, changed my guitar playing immediately. Also the vibe of the songs, and the dark, yet uplifting way Mr. Smith does it here... I was able to see why the Trey Parker and Matt Stone would be willing to have the line "Disintegration is the best album ever!" be in a South Park episode. Upon hearing it in it's entirety, I was able to say "I get it."
35. Muse - Absolution
Last but not least. Muse is one of the only bands of more recent times to completely floor me. Their live show is sensational, and they personify all of the things I love in a band; a completely unique sound, amazing musicianship, diverse sonic range, and amazing songs. When I first heard Absolution, it was mind blowing. There were qualities that I could totally tell where they came from (ELO, Queen, Rachmaninov, Gershwin, Led Zeppelin), but the combination of which I never would've imagined. I was first stunned to hear one of my top bands (Dream Theater) rip off Muse not only once but TWICE, thinking, why would they do such a thing (Dream Theater in my head being a band that would be above Muse). But after seeing Muse live, and their ability to do what they do so well, and attract so many in the process, I get it. They're among the masters of their time.
So yeah, a little more than expected. And even chronologically, in the last 10 years, the only band that made the cut was Muse (Cure influence was around 1999). Just goes to show that once a mark is made, it gets harder to impress me to make a new mark. Here's to the band that will make 36...
Thanks for reading!
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Monday, November 3rd, 2008
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So here are some pics of my PC running OSX. Upon pressing power and going through the BIOS, you get this:
After selecting OSX here, you get this:
(In theory this right here would let me do a tri-boot if I wanted Linux on here as well....muahahaha :))
So after hitting enter here, I'm greeted with this:
and that is promptly followed by this:
Don't mind the mess, but just to assure the doubters that my monitor is indeed hooked to my PC:
And the final shot of my "About This Mac" screen:
Yep. Good times indeed.
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Sunday, November 2nd, 2008
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***The following is part blog, mostly tutorial, and entirely long and geeky. It pertains to building and setting up computers. Read at your own risk!***
Last month, my old computer died. In actuality, this was likely long overdue. It was a computer I built in the neighborhood of 6 years ago, and it wasn’t even top of the line then, really more of a cheap bang-for-buck machine. But I made it with top quality parts, and as such it continued it’s trouble free operation after a few generations worth of computer parts have come and gone. This machine has served me extremely well, despite the fact that for the most part, I’ve pretty much beat the crap out of it lol.
Now, I had kinda told myself that I really wanted to build a new machine for myself this year, for numerous reasons.
One, I hadn’t built a machine in quite some time, and I was feeling the itch. I get a kick out of building computers, so I just wanted to do it again.
Two, my machine was pretty outdated, and finally beginning to show it’s age. It worked fine for basic stuff, but when doing video or music rendering, recording, etc, you could tell it was old.
Three, I really wanted to have a good fast solid computer for recording. My Mac laptop is awesome, but even that was showing it’s limitations when it came to high power mixing and whatnot. As cool as it is, it’s also a few years old. In exporting music tracks for recording, mixdowns, etc, I was truly wasting a lot of time with either machine.
Now again, my current PC was old enough that an ‘upgrade’ wasn’t gonna work. Pretty much EVERYTHING was outdated. But with my schedule the way it’s been, coupled with the fact that the PC WAS still working, it was hard to justify this change.
Then finally, a few weeks ago it hit. Power went out in our house for a few moments one night, and after it returned, I could not get my PC to properly boot up no matter how hard I tried. I later discovered what was probably the primary reason for this, One of the capacitors on the motherboard seemingly popped. It may have been from the power out, age, or who knows what else. Needless to say though, the computer was done.
The victim:
The Final blow:
In addition to all of this, in the past few months I had stumbled across some interesting information in the form of what they call “OSX86” or a “Hackintosh”. This is a PC that is capable of running OSX or I should specifically say Mac OS. In the past few years Macs are made with Intel processors, as opposed to the previous proprietary ‘PowerPC’ processors. This means that at the heart of it, new Macs run on the same hardware as PCs do. This has opened up possibilities for those who want to run Mac without having to fork out the huge amounts of cash to do so. It’s really for the underground, ubergeeks, and those who are willing to try something new and different, associated risks and issues accompany it as well.
It was one of those things that the more I read, the more I wanted to see if I could do it. It seemed that the people who got it working well loved it. And for as much as I would never have thought it just a few years ago, I love Macs. Newer ones that is. I love my laptop for what it is, as well as Mac OSX in general. And while, I could never completely abandon PCs, because I like the flexibility of both, as well as the fact that both Windows and Mac are not without their respective faults and strengths, to be able to get high end performance out of either system sounded like a win/win to me.
There was specific hardware that would work to pull this off, so I figured I’d follow that path in getting parts for my new machine. My logic being if the whole Mac thing failed, I could just still run it as just a Windows box. But the prospect of a dual boot Windows/Mac computer just seemed awesome. Basically the performance of a Mac Pro, but without having to pay $3000. With the information provided by the Hackintosh/OSX86 web presence, I ran to geek central (ie Newegg) to piece it all together. Luckily I found some good bargains, and away I went.
Let’s talk about the parts:
Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L $60! (open box)
One of the darling motherboards in Hackintosh circles, as well as among standard PC users. Solid and stable, good for overclocking, and not a bad price. Not as feature laden as some other boards, but a solid performer, and super compatible for my project. Plus, open box….price was definitely right! I didn’t want to venture away from an Asus board, but this board was a lot cheaper than an OSX86 compatible Asus. The only real departure I made in this build. That being said, it came with a bunch of accessories, and so far I am very impressed with it.
Processor:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4ghz $190
This actually was a last minute choice. I was gonna go with a 3ghz Duo. But this was only 10 bucks more. I weighed the pros and cons of a faster Duo, or a slightly slower Quad. In essence, much software is just beginning to address dual cores, and even less supporting quad cores. At least in the PC world. But Mac has been addressing Quad for quite some time. Not to mention that in either realm, music software (specifically what I use, Steinberg Cubase) addresses Quads, it seemed the better choice. It would be siginificantly higher performing for music, and for the Mac end of it. Plus, with my RAM and motherboard choices, it would be easy to overclock to probably 3ghz as well. The prices on quad cores has significantly dropped just in the past few months (I think in like the spring this very CPU was in the neighborhood of 400 bucks-ish if I’m not mistaken). It also seemed like a good way to help prevent the inevitable being obsolete a little more.
RAM:
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066mhz $105 (but $30 rebate on the way)
I wanted fast, solid performing RAM. OCZ makes great RAM, and this is some of their better stuff. Also, I wanted to be able to use the maximum amount of RAM in this computer I could, and the maximum supported by the motherboard was 8GB in 4 slots. So I figured this was a good start, and I’ll get another pack of these down the road. Mac will address 8GB of RAM, though Windows (XP) will not. That’s why I figured, well, 4GB was a good start lol. And the price? Just bonus ☺
Power Supply:
Antec Basiq 500w OEM $40
This was a pretty easy choice. I wanted at least 450w, preferably higher. I didn’t necessarily need silent, but I wanted strong and reliable. Antecs are top performers in this regard. Plus, this model had dual 12v rails, and 18 amps on each of them to boot. Some of the power supplies that cost 2-3 times this one didn’t meet that. My only gripe was that it only has 2 SATA connectors; I would’ve preferred 4. Other than that, this thing was a perfect choice, and at a ridiculous price as well.
Video Card:
Asus EN7300GT Silent 512MB $32! (open box)
The 7xxx series nVidia cards are standard offerings (or at least had been) in Mac Pros, so this would be a solid choice for this project as well. Not to mention a card of this caliber for this price! Keep in mind I’m not a gamer, so the top performing video cards aren’t necessary for me. That being said though, the visual effects in Mac OSX rely on at least decent graphics, so I figured the standard offering should get me there. Not to mention the standard offering in a Mac Pro would be 256MB, and this doubled that. Should be beyond plenty for my needs.
Firewire:
Syba PCI card $12
PCPartsAndCables front FireWire header to standard FireWire plug contraption $16
I like firewire, as do Macs. For extended file transfers, external hard drives, and audio interfaces, firewire is so much better than USB. This was a must for me, so I picked this up. It has one internal port, because I wanted a front mounted firewire port as well as the rears. The cool thing was that the bundled 6-4pin firewire cable was worth the price alone (I think I paid $20 for the one with my camcorder!).
The clincher was that even though this card had the internal plug, and my case had a front port, the front port had the type of plug that would plug onto a firewire equipped motherboard. This is not the same type of plug as a standard firewire plug. This plug from PCPartsAndCables in the UK was basically able to mate these 2 plugs. Yay for scouring the net to see that at least ONE other person experienced this and made a solution. Go PCPartsAndCables!
DVD burner:
Samsung 22x DVD+/-RW LightScribe SATA drive $26!
The price of internal DVD burners is absolutely ridiculous. Just in mechanisms alone, these current prices must just barely cover cost of parts. I went with the SATA for solid transfer speeds, and LightScribe just to check it out. I chose Samsung because they tend to make solid stuff all around, and along with that, this particular drive seems to be very highly touted.
Case:
Cooler Master Centurion 5 Black/Silver $40 (on sale)
This is quite possibly the piece of the puzzle that got the most scrutiny. My qualifications I thought were quite simple, but in essence not at all. I wanted a case that looked semi-decent, was built fairly well, had enough drive bays to hold the multiple drives I’d have, have good cooling and air flow in terms of intake and exhaust fans, an intake fan that would blow across the hard drives, have front mounted USB AND FireWire ports, fit in the 17.25” spot I had for my tower, and most importantly, not cost some ridiculous amount of money.
I literally scoured through 100s of cases, even over the past few months, and often came up short. I finally discovered this one. Really, it was obvious fairly quickly, it pretty much met all the requirements. I wanted the one with blue trim, not silver. But the silver was on sale for 20 bucks less, so that was a no brainer.
Hard Drives:
Western Digital 36gb 10k RPM Raptor $40 (used on ebay)
Western Digital 320GB 7200RPM 16MB cache $15!!!! (NEW! On ebay)
I got both hard drives on eBay, a bit of a fluke but wow. The Raptor was a buy it now of a lot of 12, and it’s also a few years old (but still under warranty). It was more curiosity for that. I wanted the small one for a Windows system drive, and specifically to keep Windows on a completely separate drive for wipe/reinstall purposes, as well as to aid in the dual boot factor.
Now the 320gb, THAT was the fluke. New, sealed, and no reserve. I was just watching it to see what these were going for on ebay. I knew they were $50-75 new. I got the email saying that this one was ending and was only at $9!!! I figured, what the hey, I’ll bid $18 bucks. I won it at $15! Absolutely ridiculous.
Both drives are awesome and fast. The Raptor is a little noisy, but that seems to be a common issue. However, the Raptor being older it still has the old 4 pin molex connector, so the 2 SATA connectors on the power supply is just enough.
Keyboard:
Apple A1243 Aluminum full size keyboard $50 (Best Buy)
(not mine, but a better example of how it looks than my photo)
Well, ever since I saw and tried one of these out I was in love. And when my install got to a point where I needed a USB keyboard, this was the one I decided on.
Carried over items from previous machine:
Keyboard
(Originally, but soon realized it was not going to work. Replaced with Apple aluminum keyboard)
Logitech Track Ball
I have had this for ages, probably like 7-8 years. It still works perfect, and it still fits me like a glove. It’s USB, so no need to replace it. If/when it breaks, I’ll buy the exact one again lol.
Western Digital 250GB IDE drive
Initial setup was done with this drive, but it was removed as soon as the new ones came. After that, I bought an external enclosure for it, and I now use it as a backup drive for this machine.
Sony 16x DVD+/-RW drive IDE
This drive doesn’t like to eject a lot of the times, but it does still work well. It’s nice to be able to do disc copies with a source and a record drive, so I decided to keep using this.
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum.
Now I knew I wouldn’t get this working in Mac, but I would in Windows. It was gonna have to do until I get my FireWire recording interface.
So that covers the choice of parts. The motherboard was ordered first, and thus arrived first by itself. Everything else, except the hard drives and firewire contraption, all arrived the following Tuesday. 7 boxes, it was early Christmas for me! After a long day of lessons, I finally came home and began constructing. I took my time so I could be sure it was done right, as well as I wanted to relish in the computer building process. Initially I used my old hard drive, and upon very first power up, it worked just fine!
Within the next week or so, I got my new hard drives, as well as began to fiddle and tweak with the Mac installation, as well as dual booting and getting it all to work in the new configuration. Now, a Windows install is pretty much no biggie, but the Mac install is. I used a version of Mac OSX made by Kalyway, and I used two different ones, the 10.5.1 and 10.5.2 versions. I started with the 10.5.1.
On the first run, I literally just ran the disc and wanted to see if it would take. This was without following any of the install guides, changing settings or anything, just ran the setup disc. The bad thing about this particular install is that it takes probably in the neighborhood of 10-15 minutes just to get to the beginning of the install. I got a little tingle seeing the apple logo on my display though ☺ So I just let the install run and I was off to lessons. When I came back, it said install had failed. D’OH!
Alright, so I went online, did a little research, and changed some motherboard BIOS settings. I also made some specific choices in the installation, and let it go. It worked! Upon reboot after setup, I discovered that it needed to be using a USB keyboard to enter my information. Unfortunately, my keyboard wasn’t USB, so I had to run to the store and get one. I’m kinda fussy about keyboards, button feel and placement, etc, so I didn’t like most of the standard offerings, not to mention most of the standard stuff is way expensive and wireless. I don’t need wireless, it’s just gonna sit on a desk. So I decided to go with the keyboard I’ve really liked from the first time I saw/tried one; the new aluminum Apple keyboard. Seemed appropriate for such a build too. I picked up from Best Buy, and it was back home to the Hackintosh.
I put in all my info and boom I was running Mac OSX. The only thing that needed patching was a quick audio fix. Also, the graphics were supposed to work, but they didn’t. I guess the 512MB card wasn’t supported, but some searching found a fix for that as well. Networking worked fine as well. So I went and installed a bunch of apps to see how it worked. The only problem I encountered was that my version of Toast (CD burning app) liked to crash. That, and the machine wouldn’t restart or shutdown from the menu, it had to be done with the reset and power buttons on the case. Not the worst situation. Bootup and shutdown were very quick, and everything else was super stable.
So this was very successful, and the level of ability needed to get it working was in actuality a lot less than a Windows install and all the drivers needed. But it still wasn’t exactly what I wanted. In the next few days when I got my new hard drives, I got to experiment a little further. I downloaded the next newer version of Mac OSX, Kalyway 10.5.2. I decided to see if it would simplify the process, see how it compared. This one booted up to install a whole lot faster which was welcomed.
After the install, I rebooted it up, and this time it did recognize my graphics card. So the only thing that required a patch was the audio (basically like a driver install). That, and I was having some weird issue with it seeing external drives, which was another patch. And that was it. Two patches, one for external devices, one for sound. This install also addressed the shutdown and reboot issue as well.
Tack this on with the no problem Windows XP install (I’ll shoot myself in the foot before I let Vista touch this machine…..maybe if they actually make any steps to make Vista decent I’ll reconsider, but in 2 years they haven’t, so the odds don’t look too good), and I have a serious performing, decently priced computer that runs both XP and OSX flawlessly, quickly, and I got to build it all myself! Talk about win/win! ☺
It uses a small patch on the Windows install to let Windows give you the option for dual booting, and a Darwin Boot Loader to select Mac or Windows, and voila…a dual boot XP/OSX machine ala new Macs with BootCamp. But for a whole lot less money.
So for those of you who were adding, it was $610 in parts. All of the shipping came out to about $100. So roughly a $700 computer. For the record Mac Pros (desktop Macs with competive specs to this) start at $2800!!! I mean, I admit Mac Pros are awesome machines but uh…4 times the price? And…my machine is pretty awesome too ☺
I haven’t gone through the trouble of benchmarking or anything, but lets just say everything runs REALLY fast. And some of the audio exporting that I would do that would take 4-5 minutes to do, gets done in 15-45 seconds. I’ll let you decide if that seems like a decent upgrade ☺
Welcome my new machine….the “SkyBox”. ☺
R.I.P. "Blackbox" (2002-2008)
As a final note (and testament to true geekiness), I setup my ancient laptop as a Linux SAMBA print server, so that the Windows and Mac machines can all use my printer. So my *gulp 11 year old Dell Latitude CPi 300D laptop with a 300mhz Pentium II, 192MB of EDO SDRAM, and 6GB hard drive has actually gone to use. It also allowed me to change around my dining room area a little bit to incorporate this and also put my internet/networking stuff out there instead of my room.
That’s the lastest in the always changing world of my geekiness. PHEW. Ok, now that that’s finally done, on to other stuff.
(I can’t believe I wrote all of this…
…I can’t believe you read all of this :-p)
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Friday, October 31st, 2008
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Over the past few years, and more so over the past few months, I’ve really been feeling like it’s been time for a change with my hair. I’ve been growing out my hair since just before the beginning of my freshman year, or more specifically late summer of 1992. I had my hair cut into what was basically a mullet. After seeing how I looked in my class picture, I made the conscious decision that I was never cutting my hair again. I stuck to it. As the years went on my hair grew longer and longer. It grew probably to about 3/4 of how long I got it in the first 5 or 6 years. The rest of the time it only grew a few more inches, but the last 4 or 5 years or so it’s been down to or past my waist.
So, some explanation as to the desire for the change. First off, it’s been to a point for a while where I haven’t really liked the way it looked. Due to it’s length, it pretty much just always stayed back, even when my hair was down. Whether it was tied back into a ponytail, or hanging down, it really wasn’t all that obvious that it was long unless you were standing behind me. So while impressive in length, it wasn’t all that impressive to see. This also placed a lot of stress on my scalp and hairline to have it always being pulled back. As an unfortunate side effect of genetics, my hairline isn’t that good to begin with, and this pulling of my hair back only made things worse. I wanted my hair to actually to be able to hang down when it was down, and that was gonna require some removal of length.
There were also random other discoveries of inconveniences as my hair got to be as long as it was. Such as how much hair would be leaned back upon when sitting, or in some cases even sat on. How I had to tuck in a shirt, and then untuck my hair. How I had to make sure my hair was flipped forward when sitting on a toilet. How I had to flip my ponytail up on my headboard when sleeping, so I didn’t get wrapped up in my own hair while turning over in my sleep. How when I brushed my hair, I’d brush the top, then reach around my back to brush the bottom of it. How when I was onstage, if I did actually get some of my hair to flip forward, it would get itself in the strings of my guitar or bass. Things like that.
The sum of these things far outweighed the “cool” factor of just how long my hair was. Not to mention that really, there wasn’t much of a cool factor associated with it anymore. If anything, it was my stubbornness that kept it that long at this point. That and maybe a big slice of lazy.
I had decided a few years ago that when I did decide to make the jump and cut my hair, I was gonna donate it, and also cut it to be ABOVE my waist again, and probably like mid back. In my head I did like the idea of having had grown my hair for at least half of my life. So since I had started growing it when I was 15, turning 30 accomplished that. So I guess there’s no excuse for the last oh….8 months or so of hesitation. I go back to the lazy slice, and throw in a few chunks of busy for good measure. That’s my reason (excuse).
I also figured I had kind of proved my point in the last 8 years or so. I figure at this point, I’m due to actually be ok with how I look, and lately I’ve been more disgusted with the way I look than I have ever been, and that’s saying a lot.
Cue last Saturday. For some ungodly reason, I just kinda woke up in the neighborhood of 5am. After breakfast and some driving around, and not having a lesson for a few hours, it seemed like a good of time as any for making a change. With Jennie along as the innocent bystander/resident photographer, I have ‘official’ documentation of the few minutes that to most people wouldn’t be a big deal, but to me is pretty much a life altering event. In a way it’s like losing 10 years. But I’m at a point where I’m grateful losing 10 years because I look old enough lol.
I also got an opportunity to donate 13" of hair to Locks Of Love. Being a cancer survivor myself, it only made sense to do so.
Welcome a Jake with less hair, but new and improved. It's definitely something to say when you can cut off over a foot of hair, and yet still have long hair. :)
Before:
During:
After:
(I know I'm getting the lovely bald spot on the back of my head, there's absolutely no need to remind me :-p)
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**DISCLAIMER: This is another of one of those long self-realization posts again. Of a personal nature. Read at your own risk. Just a heads up!***
This is some background that may explain some of my personality traits, habits, and issues I have as a person that I've spent the better part of my life trying to deal with and move on from. The reasoning for self improvement, better perception and all that jazz; a lot stems from the following.
From 5th -10th grade I was obsessed with a girl that I had no business being interested in. She was out of my league, by no means interested in me, and most importantly, she had little to do with it. What I mean by that is that it just happened. I literally woke up one day obsessed with her. The things I noticed and found out about her became things I liked about her after the fact. That whole thing in itself deserves it's own post, and one day that may happen. But the important aspect of it was that it was secretive. I didn't want her to know, or anyone else, aside from my closest friends.
But at the end of my freshman year I developed interest in another girl in a whole new way. She was different. I was into her for who she was and how she was sort of specifically. I liked the way she looked, I liked the way she acted, the more I learned about her, the more it grew. It was real. It was… well it was….attainable. I even mustered up the courage to tell her how I felt (in a note of course, no way in person). She was the kind of girl I was liking for who she was (flaws and all), and that made it so much more amazing that MAYBE I would have a chance. Aside from the fact that she had a boyfriend of course.
So over the course of the summer, we would talk a lot, hang out occasionally, and really just get to know one another. This was all new to me in that it was the first girl I was ever into, that I was actually communicating with, and not obsessing quietly over in the distance somewhere, preferably unknown. I'm also quite certain that I was carrying myself in a manner that was likely causing more harm than good from a "relationship" standpoint, but I really had no idea what I was doing. This was all brand new to me. I had no idea then that my words and actions were essentially dumping myself into the dreaded "friend zone". I didn't know anything about any of that back then. I was beyond naïve, certainly. I may have not known that my actions were setting me up for heartbreak at some point, but even if I did know, I probably would've continued anyway. Because, I was getting to talk and hang out with a girl, and that was really a first for me.
We had established what I considered to be a pretty good foundation for a friendship. I may be wrong, but it seemed that way to me. Sure I may have cared about her in a "more than friends" kind of way, but I knew that being "friends" was all we could be and I didn't push beyond that. Good thing probably.
So that is the setup to what we'll call "the event." It happened at a good friend's party. It was merely days before my first day of 10th grade. Everything was cool and we were all having a good time. However, as most parties involving groups of teenagers do, the party turned into a dreaded game of 'Truth Or Dare.' As soon as those words were uttered my heart sank. I knew it could only mean bad things. Mostly because I was supremely inexperienced with women, and it wasn't uncommon for me to be picked on by many of my peers. Probably because I would take the abuse and not fight back. Putting those two main qualities of my persona into the mix with this game was a formula just reeking of disaster. Top it off with the fact that my friend was here, and her being much more of an open person rather than a secretive one, it was quite likely that the bulk of this party knew my true feelings for her.
What followed was a rather bizarre string of events, including me having my first kiss with another girl who not only had a boyfriend, but was sitting right next to her! Since she was taken and he was, you know, RIGHT THERE, the dare was scaled from a French kiss to a kiss on the lips. That's not nerve-racking at all; kissing a girl on the lips in front of her boyfriend….for a first kiss. I wish I could say that was "the event", but it gets better!
As I knew would happen that night, and surprised that it took as long as it did to surface, I was dared to kiss her. A 15 second French kiss. Now, it's not that I didn't want to do it, I really did. But first of all, I had NO idea what I was doing. Secondly, it was in front of a bunch of people, a lot of them I wasn't all that comfortable being around just hanging out. Thirdly, she was immediately put off by the prospect. It could have been more of just an act, and it could've just been exaggeration. Either or, it didn't matter. I could only go off of what I saw, which was that she was grossed out by it. So after the group finished their count out loud to 15 while I engaged in something that in my mind should've been something magical, rewarding, or at the very least, nice, "the event" happened.
It was bad enough to me that she was visibly disgusted at this whole thing, whether she meant it or not. To top it off however, after the counting was done and our lips separated, her immediate reaction was to spit repeatedly, and wipe off her tongue. It was the exact reaction you'd expect to see if someone had told "Don't eat THAT! It's poison!" after taking a few bites of food.
Now, this was a long time ago. I can't explicitly recall how, or even to what extent I addressed this with her. I know it HAD to have surfaced to some degree, as we remained friends. Maybe that was a mistake right there. Again, what did I know? Even so, essentially, I know that her reaction was more of a "to save face" kind of thing. You know, because it would've been so unacceptable to think that having to kiss me would be anything less than disgusting. Merely tolerable wasn't an option. But I digress.
It couldn't have happened at a more inopportune time. I was merely beginning to find the way to act around women, and more importantly, how to feel about myself and regard myself in the process. I wasn't really all that desirable to the girls I was around anyway, and I was starting to realize that. I didn't have any ego, or much confidence in myself, but mostly it was due to inexperience. Also, probably being around girls who knew me forever didn't help that either. Or being the "nice guy". It's not to say that if "the event" didn't happen, I'd have a picture perfect self image. But if it had gone positively, it may not have been the beginning of it getting worse. It may have actually just been a passing moment in my history to build off of. Possibly, it may have actually made me feel good about myself and start the beginning of me being secure in myself. We'll never know.
The truth of the matter, is that whenever I think about the negative things about myself, relationships, self image, confidence, fears or whatever, more often than not, I can steer my issue back to that specific event. It's not that I want to, just where it tends to end up. It made me think very little of myself at a time when a positive ego boosting event may have molded me into the person I should've been.
It's also so deep set into my psyche, and has been there for SO long, and through so many events of my life, it's far beyond anything I can comprehend in terms of resolve, forgiveness, or forgetting. It'll always be tucked back there somehow, and admittedly, I really don't know how to truly deal with it. I may never know.
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Saturday we hit the beach early again to maybe get some time before the storm rolled in. Clouds were forming and such, but we did manage a little time. The water was a tad bit warmer but still cold. It was extremely rough and wavy though, which was neat in itself. After an hour and a half or so, we headed back as the clouds were getting thick. We used this “downtime” to do our laundry. There was a laundry room at the camp so we took advantage of it. After that was done, we had actually found out that there was a tornado watch for the remainder of the evening. The sky did begin to get creepy looking with mist and clouds and such. We spent the rest of the evening with the RV and it did get very windy and rainy. No tornados but just general storminess. After watching some movies, we were out for the count again.
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jakeskylyr's journal
relaxed.
confused.
groggy.
determined.
nostalgic.
rejected.