Something to think about...

"The problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so sure of themselves while wiser people are so full of doubt."

- Bertrand Russel

Something to think about..

"America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free"."

- The American President (1995)

There's always room for Wheaton!

I've mentioned here before that I'm a fan of the writing of Wil Wheaton. He shares a lot of insights into life that people usually take for granted. Whether it's his Geek in Review summary or little snippets he shares from his life, every time I tune in to the Wheaton channel I find something entertaining, enlightening, challenging or pensive which is why I try to make time every day for a visit to Wil Wheaton's blog; it's one of the few highlights of my life I can enjoy while at the drudgery of my employment.

Here's just another reason why I enjoy his blog.

Homesick for Vancouver, B.C.

It's raining again here in Salt Lake.
Whenever it rains I'm reminded of my second home in Vancouver, British Columbia.
I only lived there for two short, wonderful years, but I left my heart there behind me when I moved back to Utah.
I took my wife and daughter along with my mom and dad back to Vancouver with me last June. We were only able to spend a week there, not nearly enough time for me. When the time came to travel home, I insisted I drive the Suburban across the border so as to give me something to think about; left to my own idle recognisance I would have cried in grief at having to leave my second home behind again.
I would have gladly stayed were it possible, had I not a mortgage and a position of responsibility at home.

One day I'll get back there for good.

I've still to finish school, and that will occupy the majority of my time until 2010; maybe I can get done in time to see the Winter Olympics there.

This looks familiar, vaguely familiar,

Almost unreal, yet, it's too soon to feel yet.

Close to my soul, and yet so far away.

I'm going to go back there someday.

Sun rises, night falls, sometimes the sky calls.

Is that a song there, and do I belong there?

I've never been there, but I know the way.

I'm going to go back there someday.

Come and go with me, it's more fun to share,

We'll both be completely at home in midair.

We're flyin', not walkin', on featherless wings.

We can hold onto love like invisible strings.

There's not a word yet for old friends who've just met.

Part heaven, part space, or have I found my place?

You can just visit, but I plan to stay.

I'm going to go back there someday.

I'm going to go back there someday.

From "The Muppet Movie"

Space...with an attitude.

From http://www.badastronomy.com/

"To celebrate 6209 days in space, the European arm of the Hubble science community has released the extraordinary image above. It’s of the Carina nebula, a vast complex of gas, dust, stars, forces, and energy sitting 7500 light years away. The image is a mosaic of 50 frames from the Advanced Camera for Surveys onboard Hubble. It shows a region only 50 light years wide… and yet there is so much to see!

"In 17 years, Hubble has taken a half million images of 25,000 astronomical objects, producing 30 terabytes of data in the process. If everything goes as planned, NASA will service this magnificent instrument yet again in 2008, and it will have many more years of service. What other images will it take, inviting us to peer farther into the Universe and add even more to our already considerable knowledge?

Or will the Universe itself have something to say about our hubris?




I don’t believe in signs… but I do believe in humor, and if the Universe has a sense of one, it has a funny way of showing it. But you can find everything in that nebula. Even an attitude."

Bass for sale

I've got an Ibanez AEB10E Acoustic-Electric Bass Guitar (black finish) with onboard tuner that I'd like to trade to someone for a six string electric of equivalent value or to sell.
Bass is in great shape, only one year old, hardly ever played. I bought it to add bass tracks to my solo project work and then set it aside; hasn't been played much since.
All electronics work perfectly, pickup/tuner powered by 9 volt battery.
List price is roughly $400 bucks ($350 at Guitar Center and about $300 on eBay)

I would rather trade it to someone for a decent electric guitar than sell it, as I've recently joined a new band as rhythm guitarist and am in need of a second guitar.

See the specs on this bass here.

Leave a comment if you're interested.

New band, McKinley's Revenge

For those interested, I'll be stepping back from my traditional place at the keys to take up a tentative position as rhythm guitar for the new Celtic punk band McKinley's Revenge.
This marks my return to band life after a hiatus of several years, and as such, will be a very steep re-learning curve. Most of the other members of the band are joining right off the heels of the breakup of another band, and so are quite a bit more ready for the challenge of putting a new group together.
This also marks my return to the world of guitar playing; I haven't actively practiced my guitar in over a year, so the re-learning curve will be steepest in this department. Upon first strum in more than a year of my Epiphone SG P.O.S., I could tell it was going to be a long road; my brain knows what needs to happen in order to do what I need to do, but the hands have forgotten and need to be retaught.
Right now I'm really pissed that I had to sell my kickass Jackson with the Floyd Rose bridge two years ago to pay for medical bills, because it was by far a better instrument. I progressed more on the Jackson than on either of my two previous guitars. Oh well, I'll just have to save/sell some shit in order to pay for another.

At any rate, despite the challenges ahead, I'm excited as hell to be a part of McKinley's Revenge.

Check out the band's myspace page (link at the bottom of the graphic)



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