Archive: May 06 - Jun 08

Sunday, June 15, 2008
Ski: Do. (Edited 6/15/08)
A few months ago, I had no idea I would be sitting in the hot tub of a hotel in Southern Colorado in late February, planning a weekend trip back through Denver, and then on to Steamboat Springs for a day of skiing and taking some time to meet with the director of the Nordic/Jumping program. Looking back to my February 20, 2006 entry in this-here weblog it's written:
In the Next 5 Years
Ok, this is a declaration of things I'll do within the next 5 years. For a long time, I've had the desire to do these things, but since I've been either an irresponsible youth or a broke-ass student, I've just never managed to do everything I wanted. From today I have less than 1825 days to get my hind-end in gear. The list goes as follows:
1) Private Pilot's License. [...]
2) Boston Marathon. [Will likely forego or delay, depending on whether or not I ever find a good impact-absorbing brace for knees]
3) Ski in a downhill race and also learn to ski jump. This may sound kinda "bandwagon-esque" since the winter olympics are now in full-force, but nevertheless I am a skiier. Concerning downhill - ask anyone who's skiied with me...I love the speed of skiing. I also jump at every opportunity. ...pun intended. I'd love to do some big-air jumps and stuff, but I'm more taken by ski jumping than the freestyle skiing. [...]

Photo: One of my first few jumps from the 10 Meter jump at Park City, Utah's Olympic Park training facility. Biggest hill jumped to-date is the 20 Meter (K20). 6/13/08
4) Scuba dive. I've been snorkeling here in Cyprus, and it's amazing to see the world that exists underwater. While snorkeling here, (amongst other things) I swam right through a huge school of small fish. I couldn't tell you how many, but it was like flying through a cloud, but for about 30 seconds. [...]

Now back to modern-day. Here I am 2 years later, and I am gearing up to make happen the things I declared in number 3 above. These things won't just happen and be done with, though. Ahh, a plan there is...

First things first, I'm going to get all of the jumping equipment (which as you're probably aware requires specialty skis). These skis are only made once a year by the manufacturers and an advance order must be placed in order to get them. For now I'm going to see about picking up some gear that is already on-hand in Steamboat, and order my skis if my exact length aren't on-hand. Based on my height, my ski size is 255cm (which is about 100 inches or 8.37 feet). Once I have the equipment, then I'll begin learning the technique.

One of the problems with getting started now is that the jumping season is ending in 2 weeks. At Steamboat they have a K68 (68 meter) jump that's covered in synthetic material for summer use. Being that I'm going to have to work up to the K68, the only option for summer training is in Park City, UT. Luckily I found round-trip airline tickets between Denver and Salt Lake City to be reasonable at around $150 give-or-take. I'll be working out the details soon as to what kind of summer training I'll do, but I want to be able to jump the K68 at Steamboat by the time the next ski season starts.

The other part of 3 above concerns a downhill race. This also requires that I have certain equipment. I think I'm gonna pass on the tight body suit, but what I'm talking about are skis and boots. Believe it or not, there are many types of skis that work best in certain conditions and even vary according to body weight. While I could buy racing skis and boots, I'd like to have something more versatile. For this reason I'm looking at getting all-mountain skis and boots, but I'll try to get ones that perform well in racing-like conditions. I have an idea of what I want, but I'm going to try some out before I buy anything. And we'll see how it goes from there.

If I had to sum up the purpose of this entry, I'd say it has to do with this: Everyone has hopes, wishes, dreams, goals, plans, etc. To sit on these and just keep hoping or wishing... Maybe you'll be able to mentally escape and feel good about what you want to do, but there's really something amazing about making the decisions and putting yourself out there to make these changes happen. And not just amazing, but satisfying.

On that note, it's getting close to check-out time and I need to get my stuff together and head back to Denver. I'll follow up after my trip to Steamboat. Until next time. T


8:03 PM

Saturday, June 07, 2008
Air Time (On Track)
If you read the series of two Ski: Do(ing) entries from the past few months, then this entry is the follow-up to those. As mentioned in the latter of the two entries, I did make it to Breckenridge one last time before they closed for the season. That turned out to be a day for some of the most intense skiing I've ever done. Double black-diamonds, narrow steep chutes through trees, and overall an amazing day of skiing. The whole resort was my playground.

Now for the really good stuff - I'm now a registered competitor and a USSA member in the sport of ski jumping for the 2008-09 season. From this point on, I'll be working to attain the skill and experience that'll allow me to advance to an awards-level of competition. First things first, and that's training: I'll be in Park City, Utah at the Olympic Park Ski Jumping Arena on June 12-13th, heading back home on the 14th. The 12th will be a familiarization day, and the 13th is training day. From now through October 4 (which is the last day of the summer jumping season), I will train as much as I possibly can considering Park City is an 8-hour drive (or 1.5 hour flight) and considering the costs involved with making these trips. If only there was a facility closer, I could train as much as 3 times a week. All things considered, I estimate I'll make it out there an additional 3 or 4 times before winter.

Until next time - T

11:59 AM

Saturday, June 07, 2008
Ski: Do-ing (Edited 6/7/08)
Since my last entry, I made it up to Steamboat and met with the director of the jumping program. I got a good introduction to the equipment and got to watch a few guys jump the 90m jump (K90). With the season ending so soon after my visit (not to mention the end-of-season championships), there didn't end up being another time the director and I could coordinate our schedules. Fortunately there's Park City, and things are taking shape for summer ski jumping there. I made all of the necessary pre-arrangements and now I'm just waiting for dates. After joining the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) mid-April I'll be cleared for joining the Park City Nordic Ski Club, after which I'll be able to use the facilities and coaches. I'll be attending a training camp on June 19-21, but I may see if I can't spend a few days there in May to work on skill development. Update: The training camp previously mentioned is a rookie camp reserved for only for US Olympic Ski Team selectees, so I will not be attending this camp after all. Instead, I will have access to jump training throughout the summer, which I will attend as I am able. See June 7, 2008 entry "Air Time (On Track)" for details.

Park City is really my only option for progressive summer jumping. Once the season is underway in November I'll have the option of jumping in Aspen or Steamboat. Either place is a 2-3 hours drive from the Vail area (depending on traffic/weather), but Aspen may be a better drive (and worse-case there's a $90 one-way shuttle I can take).

As for recreational skiing, I've managed to hit the slopes 3 times so far this year. I skied Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge, and most recently Keystone. I'm going to try to make it back to Breck on their last weekend open (the 18-20th), and when I have free time I'll ski Arapahoe Basin and Loveland until they close. ...I heard that one year Arapahoe stayed open until July. ...that'd be sweet. If you're interested in seeing a bit of Colorado (including views from the resorts), check out the shaky videos I have posted. They're short and done with my digital camera, so forgive the movement. ...it's just to give you and idea (and take me back).

Starting Monday the 14th, I'll be working out of Colorado Springs. While I've enjoyed working in the South Central part of Colorado, it'll be nice to be only an hour or so away from Denver. The Colorado Rockies just started their season, some great concerts are coming in to town, and it'll allow me to get a jump start on my trips to Park City (no pun intended...seriously). Anyway, that's the news. Until next time, Tony
12:40 AM

Sunday, June 01, 2008
Notes - TR61 (not public, sorry)
This is probably not going to be something anyone but me will want to ever read. It's just a way for me to keep track with progress and rethink sessions I have with my workstation. It might give you a headache if you're not careful.

5/31 - I got more familiarized with the sequencer and recorded a funky but very repetitive groove. I went through and set each track individually, using the house kit and some bass that sounded good. Using the menu button under the arrow keys, I looped the drums from measure 1-4 and after recording the bass I looped measures 1-6. Though I usually stick to sets of 4, the 4 and 6 seemed to work out alright together. Playing those loops back, I tried a few different lead sounds to play over the groove, but grew tired of that. I'd like to figure out how to loop the whole 64 measure song, since it'd either quit, or I'd have to press locate to send it back to square one when I regrouped after a bad note or whatever. I'm learning menu nagivation better using the arrow keys primarily, the scroll wheel to change most values, and the increase/decrease buttons to change the sounds. Tempo's still kinda weird since the knob setting will send the beat to 240 if it's lightly moved from the far right position. I'm gonna see if I can find a way to change it's manner of adjustment, but due to fact that it's a knob, I may have to use the scroll wheel.

I did a hard reset to clear that first song out - there's probably an easier way without deleting each track separately. ...gotta find that out. I decided to practice by playing the lead part of Royksopp's Only this Moment and loaded a template song. Using the utility button to open that menu, I checked the box for copy pattern to track too? to load the preset drum pattern. It was the Techno/Euro Beat template, which wasn't quite Royksopp, but it did the trick. For the lead I used D042 Thin AnaLead. I adjusted the preset tempo down from 130 to 120 to make it easier to play the notes.

I need to get a memory card to store songs on. I think it'll take a 1GB SD card. Looking forward to the Sampling card's arrival. Then I'll have to find a way to really start saving and storing songs and data.

5/30 - Yesterday. I tried the sequencer mode after playing with various patterns and combis. It went alright, but I couldn't get the drum beat completed (kick+snare on track 1, and ride on track 2). I didn't realize that I was changing track parameters, but not actually changing the track I was recording on. ...which is done by highlighting the track number at the bottom of nearly any page. I need to see if there's a panic button: I was tweaking knobs and had an eternal release on a sound that no matter what I did wouldn't go away. After a minute it finally did, but if that ever happened live it'd suck.

I miss my echoplex and the touch screen from my Studio workstation. Man those sure made things easier.
1:05 AM

Thursday, May 29, 2008
Concerts - A Work In Progress
I figure it's time to list out all of the bands I've seen, mostly so that I can get the dates right. For now, it's gonna be a huge mess but it'll get sorted out in time. On we go:

21 May 08 - The Cure - Denver/Morrison - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
30 Apr 08 - Roger Waters - Denver - Pepsi Center
17 Jun 07 - The White Stripes - Bonnaroo '07
17 Jun 07 - Salvador Santana Band - Bonnaroo '07
17 Jun 07 - Wilco - Bonnaroo '07
17 Jun 07 - Wolfmother - Bonnaroo '07
16 Jun 07 - The Police - Bonnaroo '07
16 Jun 07 - Ween - Bonnaroo '07
15 Jun 07 - Tool - Bonnaroo '07
15 Jun 07 - Hot Chip - Bonnaroo '07
15 Jun 07 - Kings of Leon - Bonnaroo '07
18 Jun 06 - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Bonnaroo '06
18 Jun 06 - Death Cab for Cutie - Bonnaroo '06
12 Jun 05 - Widespread Panic - Bonnaroo '05
16 Oct 04 - Southern Culture on the Skids - Del Rio, TN - Hotoberfest
28 Jun 04 - Reamonn - Moscow, RU - Olimpiskii - Maxidrom 2004
28 Jun 04 - Hooverphonic - Moscow, RU - Olimpiskii - Maxidrom 2004
28 Jun 04 - Placebo - Moscow, RU - Olimpiskii - Maxidrom 2004
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGWKOO1b6sc
28 Jun 04 - Mumiy Troll, Zimfira, Nochnie Snaiperi, Splin, Bi-2, & more...
- Olimpiskii- Maxidrom '04
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6cj06Sh0F8
3 Jun 04 - Zveri - Tver, RU - Regional Circus Arena
3 Aug 03 - Audioslave - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys (Lollapalooza)
3 Aug 03 - Jane's Addiction - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys (Lollapalooza)
3 Aug 03 - Jurassic 5 - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys (Lollapalooza)
3 Aug 03 - Queens of the Stone Age - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys (Lollapalooza)
3 Aug 03 - The Donnas - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys (Lollapalooza)
20 July 02 - Moby - Knoxville - Civic Coliseum
20 July 02 - Dirty Vegas - Knoxville - Civic Coliseum
00-05 - Gin Blossoms - Knoxville - Blue Cats
00-05 - Southern Culture on the Skids - Knoxville - Sundown in the City
9 Nov 03 - Andrew W.K. - Knoxville - Blue Cats
30 Apr 03 - Ween - Knoxville - Historic Tennessee Theatre
10 Feb 03 - Sound Tribe Sector 9 - Knoxville - Blue Cats
16 Aug 03 - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Nashville - AmSouth Amp.
22 Nov 02 - Medeski, Martin, and Wood - Knoxville - Historic Tenn. Theatre
30 Jul 2002 - Weezer - Nashville - Hi Fi Buys Amp.
Jun 02 - Bonnie Raitt - Knoxville - Historic Tennessee Theatre
18 May 02 - Green Day - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys Amp.
18 May 02 - Blink 182 - Atlanta - Hi Fi Buys Amp.
5 May 02 - Incubus - Nashville - River Stages
25 July 01 - Dave Matthews Band - Nashville (Antioch) - Starwood Amp
25 July 01 - Junior Brown (w/ Bo Diddley) - Nashville (Antioch) - Starwood Amp
28 Sept 00 - Flaming Lips - Knoxville - Moose's
23 May 00 - The Cure - New Orleans - Saenger Theatre
22 May 00 - The Cure - New Orleans - Saenger Theatre
18 May 00 - The Cure - Atlanta - Lakewood Amphitheatre
10 Mar 00 - 311 - Pensacola - Bayfront Arena
31 Oct 99 - Primus - Biloxi - Miss. Coast Coliseum (Family Values Tour)
31 Oct 99 - Limp Bizkit - Biloxi - Miss. Coast Coliseum (Family Values Tour)
31 Oct 99 - Staind - Biloxi - Miss. Coast Coliseum (Family Values Tour)
31 Oct 99 - Filter - Biloxi - Miss. Coast Coliseum (Family Values Tour)
21 Sept 99 - The Wailers - Knoxville - Moose's
28 Apr 99 - Widespread Panic - Pensacola
29-31 Dec 98 - Phish - New York - Madison Square Gardens (New Year '99)
7 Aug 98 - Phish - Raleigh
6 Aug 98 - Phish - Atlanta - Lakewood Amph.
23 Jul 97 - Phish - Atlanta - Lakewood Amph.
97-00 - HUM - New Orleans - House of Blues
97-00 - Green Day - Panama City Beach - Club Spinnaker
97-00 - Sister Hazel - Panama City Beach - Club Spinnaker/LaVela
97-00 - The Lemonheads - Panama City Beach - Club Spinnaker
27 Sept 97 - Widespread Panic - Knoxville - Smoky Mountain Jam
27 Sept 97 - Violent Femmes - Knoxville - Smoky Mtn. Jam
27 Nov 96 - Smashing Pumpkins - Biloxi - Miss Coast Coliseum
27 Nov 96 - Garbage - Biloxi - Miss Coast Coliseum
8 Nov 95 - REM - Knoxville - Thompson Boling Arena
8 Nov 95 - Luscious Jackson - Knoxville - Thompson Boling Arena
5 Apr 96 - No Doubt - Knoxville - Civic Coliseum
5 Apr 96 - Bush - Knoxville
5 Apr 96 - Goo Goo Dolls - Knoxville
1 Oct 95 - Dave Matthews Band - Louisville - Farm Aid
Recently, Ants Marching, Drive In Drive Out, What Would You Say
1 Oct 95 - Neil Young - Louisville - Farm Aid
1 Oct 95 - Willie Nelson - Louisville - Farm Aid
1 Oct 95 - Hootie and the Blowfish - Louisville - Farm Aid
26 Jul 95 - Weezer - Knoxville - World's Fair Park
Mpeg Video file:
No One Else - Knoxville '95
RealPlayer file:
No One Else - Knoxville '95
26 Jul 95 - Teenage Fanclub - Knoxville - World's Fair Park
9:58 AM

Monday, May 12, 2008
When only minutes remain
Today was one of those landmark days. The kind of day that you're likely to always remember, if not in it's entirety then by one or two key events. It's the sort of day where you want to face it all and come out looking good, all the while aware that this may not be possible. Some landmarks after all, are assigned to serve as reminders of the most traumatic and spirit-shaking lessons and experiences we've ever endured.

And so we live and learn and move along, dealing with what we cannot change and working to shape that which we can. Making the best decisions we're capable of, it's abundantly clear that if we aren't true to ourself then we can never be true to another. As cliche as all that sounds, there are times when these often-heard and simple yet profound statements really do fit the situation perfectly.

As the last minute of this day passes, I look forward to the next.
Until next time - T

Sunday, October 07, 2007
Dream girl
She leaned over with her hair falling to her left, looked in my eyes, and sang to me,
"I had a good time
With you in my atmosphere
Come back around again."

Then I woke up.

Monday, August 20, 2007
That's one spicy doorway!!
As I was leaving my apartment yesterday, I noticed a line of those small ants coming out of the grass, marching across the concrete, and making their way under the door frame. And I don't mean one little line of them, I mean I-40 for ants. Since I don't want them exploring my apartment looking for water or crumbs, I grabbed my caluking gun and proceeded to seal off their entryway, with the exception of a small hole. I thought I'd go ahead and allow them a viable passageway to exit, so that they wouldn't emerge from a less-desireable place, perhaps an outlet or some other byway. Smoothing out some of the caulk (which is more out of habit), I noticed one little guy got stuck in the caulking and wasn't moving. I used the sharp tip of a stray nail to lift out a small amount of material to which he was attached. Careful not to separate his body segments or to rip off a leg, I slowly worked him free with the help of a blade of grass. He assisted me a bit by using his pincers to grasp the blade while I gently pulled to free him from the sticky matter. After implementing a few rescue techniques, I finally I freed him and set him on the ground. He might have lost a small segment of one leg in this ordeal, but he quickly oriented himself and was on his way. So back to the task at-hand...

I ran across an article the other day that had suggested some natural household products that you could place in the path of ants, and that they hated this stuff so much they wouldn't cross it. I'm not big on chemical insecticides (a.k.a. neurotoxins), and I really didn't see any reason the ants should die. I found a remedy recently for plant pests, so I thought I'd give the natural ant remedies a try. After the caulking, I decided to look for this article again and take care of this on my way out the door. Among the items I found suggested "pepper", "vinegar", and "cayenne pepper". The vinegar is supposed to render ineffective their sense of smell, according to what I read. I decided to give the cayenne pepper a shot first, and wondered if regular pepper was even up to the task. It seemed awfully weak when compared side-by-side with the POWER of cayenne!

I took my cayenne pepper to the door, grabbed a pinch, and BAM! ...right in their path! After that, BAM!, smack-dab on their entryway! I noticed this caused a little ant-excitement, as they are known to do when their normal routine is shaken up. After a minute though, I wasn't noticing any blatant avoidance of the peppered areas. "Vinegar", I thought. I went to my pantry and looked, but had no regular ol' White Vinegar. ...which is nasty, by the way. I did have some Italian Balsamic Vinegar. "Hmm, it's still vinegar...I'll try it.", I thought.

I returned to the front door and thought I'd give a little spill in the peppered area. Was a cayenne/balsamic synergy about to solve my ant problems?? Nope. After a splash here and there, I looked to the original site of pouring and noticed the ants actually had halted at the shore of the balsamic sea and were doing what I can only describe as drinking. "What the hell?", I thought.

I returned to the computer, looked up ant control with balsamic vinegar and found a forum posting by a sweet young housewife where she said (essentially) "Don't use balsamic vinegar, they love the stuff! lol!".

"Well, crap." I thought. Would I rinse it? No. I just went on my way, deciding to leave it for later. I worked late last night, so I paid it no attention as I got back home. To my surprise, when I stepped out the door this morning, the two small cayenne pepper fields had a large number of dead ants on it. "Damnit.", I thought. Metaphorically speaking, the color of the pepper and vinegar now represented the blood of those lost in this battle; their little bodies lying about as soldiers slaughtered on the plains of their homefront. Casualties of their natural inner drive to provide and sustain, all for the greater good of their kind.

A few steps away from the door down a concrete path, my attention was drawn to several massive gatherings of ants on the pathway. They seemed to be running around with that same agitated energy previoiusly mentioned, but with no clear purpose or instigator. There was no fat green caterpillar at their center, nor was their a greasy salted potato chip. The only thing any of them were bothering with was a semi-dry wilted flower that had fallen from a nearby bush. Nothing to get excited about, from what I'm aware.

Having left that site puzzled, I'm curious to return and see what the status of this whole situation is. I'm going to cleanse the "treated areas" free of the balsamic vinegar and cayenne concoction, since that did noone any good. In the meantime, I'll see what I might think of next to discourage them from habitating so close to my entryway and encourage them to relocate elsewhere.

This whole fiasco could have been avoided if I somehow could've just spoken to their leader. Anyone know how to send the Queen a message?

Until next time - T

Thursday, August 16, 2007
Edited: Laaazerr-Beem (spoken as would Dr. Evil)
I read an article about some moron who was arrested by the FBI for shining a Class IIIB laser at aircraft.
I'm familiar with Class 1 lasers, but what about class IIIB?, I thought to myself. Wanting to know more about these beastie lasers, I though I'd read up on them. What I found was that these devices are far beyond that which any man should have the power to possess. Unless of course, that man be none other than Dr. Evil. What I mean is this...

The following is an actual quote from a retailer's website:
"The Pulsar Series laser is...a burning, slicing machine. With the cap set intact, the Pulsar is guaranteed to cut through trash bags, pop balloons, and even light matches!"
Folks, did you ever think we'd live the to see the day technology would be able to do so much to enhance our lives? I'm beside myself.

In the meantime, if you decide to invest in one of these (for under $200) or one of the more powerful lasers ($1600 and up), please handle your new power responsibly!

Until next time - T

Saturday, July 21, 2007
WARNING: Your ass may be rocked off if you watch the following...
Seriously, unless you're prepared, don't watch this:

http://stage6.divx.com/user/DeliriumTremensSL/video/1375788/Las-Rayas-Blancas---Live-Under-The-Blackpool-Lights-DVDRIP

I think this may be some of the best straight-up rock-and-roll that's being performed this day-in-age. Believe me, I could use a helluva-lot more hyphens to describe this, so if this is what does it for you, spare yourself the details and get on with watching the performance. Oh yeah, and it's the White Stripes.

Has anyone ever seen just two people rock like this? Seriously.

Enjoy.

-T

Monday, July 02, 2007
chill time
Have you ever had those times when it's just you, it's late, and the outside hustle-and-bustle has all but ceased? When the night is no longer young and the outside air has reached a point of peak freshness.

On this particular night, the candlelit room has a soothingly warm glow about it. I can't say how long this will last - the tapers have worked their way down and all that remains of each is an enduring pool of transparent melted wax and a gently swaying flame that encapsules a peculiarly curled coal-black wick. Shifting senses, the smooth steady hum of a fan motor drones while the subtle white noise of the air it moves exhales resembling a creekside campsite, waves of wind through the trees, or the gentle static of low-volume off-air networks. Gravity insists and cushions encourage. Relaxing nearly every voluntary muscle, yet still aware, there now exists a state of ecstatic comfort. As slowly light begins to fade away, a new light fades in. It did seem this time would not last forever, though rest well and rest assured: this time will come again.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Trashing one of today's aspiring future business leaders (an inspired e-vent)
The following 'rant', if you will, is somewhat in the spirit of my previous entry, which was titled Future Engineers and Short Change-ed. This time, however, I'm not going to hold back as much with direct insult, should I feel the need. It should be noted that this is directly related to a business plan that I just had the unfortunate displeasure of reading. The author of this 'plan' is a male student in a senior-level Business class who undoubtedly will end up completing his MBA before long, after which time, he'll be entering the lower tier of corporate America, starting his first of many future small-business failures, or perhaps fitting nicely in an already-established business as a run-of-the-mill Joe Schmo, devoted to a lifetime of keeping up with the Joneses and being not a leader, but simply being the first. Without further ado, let me begin...

So you want to be a busnessman? You think you've got the drive? You think you've got the ego? It's gonna take either a great deal of courage to jump in there with the sharks, or it's going to take a great deal of blind stupidity and straight-up foolishness. Let's take a look at your business plan, Mr. X.

Ok, great, it already looks like you're going to have a problem with consistency. You use big words, but your plan is visually wretched. It's always nice to see "Page#" on the table of contents. I'm sure noone would have figured out those were page numbers if you hadn't included the pound symbol. I'm glad to see that you've included a series of 5 appendices at the tail end of the report.

As I read your report, it seems like your plans are for global domination of this market, however you then weenie out and expect the local market to kick-off your enterprise. Already I'm seeing problems with trademark and copyright infringement, while you seem to think that it'll be ok to produce 'similar and customized' versions. Additionally, the demand for your product is expected to be driven primarily by a seasonal marketplace that has already swallowed numerous franchise and independently-owned businesses. My question to you is can you keep up during the boom and keep afloat during the drought? For how many years will you be willing to take a loss, in hopes of eventually coming out in the black?

It looks like your research is narrowly focused and lacking in validity. I don't expect you'll ever be CEO of a company through your vision alone, even if the product name is the same as your own.

It's interesting to note that your products will be created by imiginary machines that don't yet exist; and those machines run by software that doesn't exist. Are so keen that you will design these that are the base components of your business yourself? How long is it until you plan to start funneling American Dollars into China's economy by outsourcing your design, manufacturing, materials, and labor? Are you to be the next to start another gimmick trend; to pump it into the mainstream like many other pollutants we so-allow, standing not to serve and support our neighbors, but instead line your pockets, turn your back, and let byegones be byegones?

Back to your report. Your marketing strategy sucks. Don't like that word? Try one of these: Your marketing strategy is dull, unrealistic, shallow, weak, brittle, frayed, tender, flacid, fallible, and ridiculous.

Your promotion strategy is nothing but fantasy in black and white.
Why your product plan even includes the word philosophy, I don't know.
Management plan - (This is where sound effects come into play, however I won't attempt to phoneticize those here.)
Again, the use of big words isn't helping.

***

I'd keep on, but at this point, I'm not going to even waste my time critiquing the remainder of the 30 page business failure plan. I'm sorry I even wasted this much time writing about it. The reason for all of this in the first place is that over the past number of years, I've had occasion to run into people who are studying business. The University of Tennessee is in the top 25 in Executive Business Schools, and you can find groups of these people everywhere. They're the post-high school university edition of cliques. Their egos are abrasive, and are best represented by the metaphor of a skunk, but one that walks with an air of pride and in its mind, imagines it is commanding respect and envy from the rest of the animal kingdom, all the while not knowing just how repulsive and foul it is.
Note: This does not go to say that every business student, graduate, or professional fits into this stereotype. Those 'in the business' are just as aware of these skunks as I am, but unfortunately, the skunks themselves have a lack of vision and cannot see things for what they are. ...the ego-factor is likely the culprit for this inability to distinguish their actions from those which are more nobler in character.

For anyone who has made it this far, you most likely know that I am fully aware that confidence and ego are completely different, as are spirit/confidence and arrogance, greed versus desire for attainment, lust versus love, and a number of other polar words and concepts. ...and now that I'm making an attempt to rationalize and disclaim that which may be misunderstood, I'll leave it at this and be on my way. Until next time. -T

Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Not Fast, Not Furious
Here is an awesome site that I hadn't seen in a while. This stuff always makes me laugh. I'm glad to know that someone out there finds some of these 'customizations' as funny as I do. Check out all of the pages/pictures sometime and enjoy!

http://www.jimmy540i.com/bmwnightmare.htm


Friday, March 16, 2007
Charitable search engines and helping fight the sex trade
Did you know that instead of using Google to search for everything, you can use a website called GoodSearch:

www.goodsearch.com

...and they donate one cent per search to that charity. Granted, it's not much, but if you add that up over the course of a year, it could add up to the equivalent of a $10 donation from you. ...just make sure you're doing real searches and not trying to inflate the numbers by doing frivolous searches. Anyway, once you're there, you'll see a search window and below it a blank that asks "What do you GoodSearch for?" Here you can type in any charity you wish. So if you want to help a charity that helps combat the sex trade, type in any of these:

Polaris Project
Fair Fund
Equality Now
CATW (Coalition Against Trafficking of Women)

You can use GoodSearch for any legitimate charity or school that's out there. It's a good thing!

.........................................................................

Here's a link to a video from CNN about the sex trade in Indonesia. This stuff is never nice to watch, because of the reality of the situation. This video is good at making the point, but not forcing you to see some of the gut-wrenching details that some of the informative videos communicate.

CNN VIDEO - Sex Trade in Indonesia

As I always say, please take a stance so that you will be as intolerant of these practices as I am. If you should ever hear of anyone supporting prostitution of any kind anywhere, or even joking about it in a way that is making light of it, please take a moment to jar them from that state of mind and let them know it's nothing to take lightly. In addition to this, if you're ever visiting a city in the US or abroad, and you hear about or suspect that a club or bar you're at may be a business that's helping to solicit sex, PLEASE leave and spend your money somewhere else! ...ignoring it and staying there will only support their business of exploiting girls and women.

Thanks once again for hearing me out on this.

p.s. Gangsta rap=Uncool http://www.fradical.com/Spike_Lee_slams_pimp_rap.htm


Saturday, February 17, 2007
Old white dog poop; questions Radio Shack doesn't have an answer for.
First things first. If you type "old white dog poop" in Google, a guy's myspace weblog entry comes up. Now... He asks a very important question:

Where has all the white dog poop gone?!

So really, when I was a kid my friends and I would play in yards of vacant condos and if the prior tenants had a dog...a long time before then...there would be the ghostly remains of that formerly dark stinkin' poo. However, in it's white (and pure?) form, there was no stink. We'd pick it up and throw it at wooden fences and each other. The entertainment value when throwing it at fences was the white cloud puff that ensued after impact. Throwing it at each other was just good mean fun.

So how does the phenomenon of white dog poop come to be? It's not easy to find an answer on the web. I searched (to no avail) for confirmation, but my guess is that it's either climatic (humidity/sun-induced changes) or it had something to do with the food itself. I could see this transformation being possible if the food contained a high percentage of artificial ingredients and was possibly colored by dyes that may break down in UV light. Apparently spotting white dog poop this day and age is as rare a phenomenon as would be seeing bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster.

So on to another question... Why was I able to pull up this guy's weblog entry when typing "old white dog poop"? I tried searching Google for lines out of my weblog entries, but nothing came up. Frankly, I'm glad you can't Google stuff and pull up my entries. I just don't know why one person's does and mine doesn't.

So who's got my answers? Until next time – T
Friday, October 27, 2006
Terrible
My top 16 is not so much a list devoted to favoritism. The first letter of the names of those on my top 16 spells out "time is balancable", although balanceable is the correct way to spell that word. There's not an option for a top 17, so I had to sacrifice the letter E somewhere and that seemed like a good place. Balanceabl just doesn't quite do it. I had a top 24, but after "Time is balancable", it would have to have been followed by "Bart JJ M K?"...which just would not suffice.

Thursday, October 26, 2006
Vehicles
It looks like the BMW is going to sit for a while. It was, in fact, a broken timing belt...the valves are damaged, and my latest estimate was $3500. I'm thinking that's a bit high, since the previous estimates from that shop were from $2-2500. Nevertheless, it's going to be a pricey job. I'm looking into a multitude of options, and I'll go with what fits my budget and gets me back in shape again.

In the meantime I've got the VW Bus back on the road. Interestingly enough, I put it in the shop today to have some routine maintanence done, as well as a good mechanic's-eye inspection done. He's gonna adjust the valves (typical VW maintanence) and tweak my carb. I ordered a muffler today, which I'll install sometime after I get it 4-10 days from now. ...at least I don't have to mess with any fuel-system parts...I hate smelling like gasoline for 3 days straight. In the coming months (despite the chill of winter), I'll be progressively restoring the VW. This will include interior work, exterior work, shocks, bearings, seals, and whatever else I so choose to do.

...still thinkin' about that motorcycle, but now I'm favoring the 650 version (as opposed to the 1200). The 1200 is a little big, not to mention it's $5K more. ...I could almost get 2-650's for the price of the 1200.

Oh yeah, the female ban is over. Until next time. -T

Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Future Engineers, Short change-ed
Future Engineers
Ok, I'm sitting here at work in the Engineering building's computer lab, and some guys are printing out their projects. One guy uses a heavy duty stapler for a small stack of papers, which causes the staple to come back through the top side of the paper. He asks for a staple remover, as if that's his only hope at getting this rogue stable out of his paper. I mention that I usually use my fingers, but he proceeds to grab some keys (the keys to the lab's storage cabinet), as if they'll help. I commandingly advise him not to use the keys (afraid he was going to bend it), so he says he was using the key-ring. ...you know, the circular thing that holds the keys together. Okay man, if you say so. I, myself, could use a key-ring to remove a staple, but that's a rather pain-in-the-ass way of removing a heavy-duty staple, and certainly that wouldn't be my first choice.

A couple minutes later one of his course-mates attempts to use the small stapler, and says "it's jammed." As if all hope is lost, he was going to go without stapling his papers instead of looking at the stapler to see why it was jammed. I grabbed it, removed a few troublesome staples, and wa-la!...it worked. I don't mean to be an ass...I mean, he thanked me, but really... Are these guys really tomorrow's engineers?!

Short Change-ed
Let me start with this...I recently had several dollars worth of quarters in my backpack, which I put there after my last laundry day. After a couple days in my backpack, I took them out, leaving not one remaining. Today after getting dressed, I took the change from my dresser to carry with me...just in case. It just so happens that at this moment, I want an msg-laden bag of generic nacho-cheese corn chips (Tom's version of Doritos), and I only have 36 cents on me. No dollars, no nothing..just the change from the dresser. I checked my bag twice, and did such a good job the other day of removing all of the quarters, I now can't even have the simple pleasure of eating my junk-food o' choice. 'Sucks.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Today's Special
I don't know what the subject line means, really. I passed a resturant earlier and they had a few specials up for today. And, for the record, "Today's Special" was a mannequin-esque-themed Nickeloden show from back in the day.

Onto another subject... In the Thompson Twins song on my profile "Lay Your Hands On Me", I think they'd have been better off using another title. This version starts off with "Feel the Magic". That would've been a better title, since the song is more than what "Lay Your Hands on Me" implies. Much more importantly (in my humble opinion) are the following lyrics (p.s. It helps to be listening to the song at the point the following lyrics are sung. It's just better that way.):
- "I was feeling cold and tired...kinda sad and uninspired."

- "Back and forth across the sea I have chased so many dreams. But I have never felt the grace...that I have felt in your embrace."

- "I was tired and I was cold...with a hunger in my soul...when it almost seemed too much...I see your face and sense the grace and feel the magic of your touch."
So call me a cheeseball or whatever, I don't mind, but if you've ever lived these words, you'd have a crystal clear understanding that there's not one [expletive] thing cheesy about them. That may have sounded a bit aggressive, but I felt it needed to be said. As for the music itself, it has a chill-kinda essence to it. ...that is, after the characteristically 80's intro and excluding the chorus. One of my favorite features of this song is that single echoing piano note that first sounds around the 47 second mark, but also at 1:24 (faint), 1:43, 2:18, and 2:36. This solitary resonating note fades back into the haze. I love how effective that small detail is at standing out so powerfully.

No car news to speak of yet. Until next time, don't forget to feel the magic... T

Sunday, October 01, 2006
My poor car
Driving back from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park today, a woeful thing happened. ...I'm not quite sure yet, but I think the timing belt in my car broke.

Here's a quote from Europeancarweb.com about my engine and what I may be facing:
"The BMW M20 six-cylinder engine is known as a "crasher engine," meaning that if the timing belt breaks the valves hit the pistons. The best case scenario is bent valves, meaning a complete valve job or salvaged cylinder head. At worst, the valves can destroy the pistons, as well."
Great....a "crasher engine". Why couldn't my engine be called the "it's cool engine"? I hope I can find someone that can do a good repair at a reasonable cost. I'd prefer to get it done at Grayson, but their service shop knows they're good and charge like they know it as well.

Well hell, I'll update this when I know more.

Thursday, September 21, 2006
The ultimate riding machine...
Often on my way to class or work on campus I walk past an area where there's parking for motorcycles. Most of the bikes are pretty standard...big new street bikes, older Hondas, maybe a Harley, and even the occasional Vespa. One day I was walking past these bikes and noticed a very unique bike which I soon learned was none other than the BMW R1200GS. ...see the picture on my profile page if you haven't already noticed it. My-oh-my is she sweet. The one on campus isn't exactly the color I want, however the one on my page IS. Mmm-Hmmm. If my point wasn't already clear: I want this bike.

This motorcycle is everything I want in a motorcycle. First (and foremost), it's an Enduro (i.e. street and trail). My first motorcycle was a '76 Yamaha Enduro 125. I loved that thing, and an 83 year-old man in a Buick Century took it away from me. Anyway, back to the BMW.... This bike really is just immaculate (especially with the optional pods for carrying stuff.). Second positive feature: it's NOT a crotch rocket. I'm the kind of guy that thinks if you own something then you need to use it for it's intended purpose. For example, if you own a truck - you should haul stuff from time to time. If you own a Hummer, you should live in a remodled missile silo in Montana ready for Armageddon. ...and it'd also be wise to own a fuel storage tank to feed that monster. If you own a sports car, you should drive it how it's meant to be driven and at the very least get a speeding ticket from time to time. So my viewpoint with motorcycles is somewhat parallel...If you have a crotch rocket, then you need to race it on a track, not just get a cool-looking outfit to wear when riding it and pop wheelies and hang out at gas stations with other crotch-rocketeers trying to boost each other's egos. I say race that mo'fo'!
Note: Exhaust: Exhaust on many crotch-rockets (as well as on those "customized" imports) are all the same to me: Annoying as shit. It sounds like many of those bikes/cars have kazoos for tailpipes. Since I'm on the subject, I can also do without overly-loud Harley/street bike exhaust. Many of those pipes aren't accentuating the sound of the engine - it's straight-up noise pollution, no doubt about it. To me there's a difference between good-sounding exhaust and bullshit exhaust. For example: those throaty boat-sounding exhausts that have that solid churning sound as opposed to exhausts that emit bursts and pops or hi-freq buzzing vibrations. Buy hey, to each their own...it's all my opinion.

Getting back to my preference of Enduro over other bikes, guys and gals, hear me...if someone claims that a street bike,dirt bike, or whatever doesn't quite stand up to a crotch-rocket either speed or accelleration-wise, well, let me say this: Most riders never fully appreciate what those sportbikes are designed for, and if they do it's not wise to a bunch of that stuff off-track. Watch this to see what I mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDc-XgguEn4

As far as sportbikes go, I do have a thing for Ducatis. I discussed Ducati vs. Hondas, etc. with a friend recently, and true, there may be some bikes that edge out Ducati in numbers or performance. I see it like this: Lamborghinis and Ferraris don't always win car races, but those cars have class. A Honda may edge out a Ducati in performance, but to me most Hondas are a dime-a-dozen. A Ducati, however, has the speed AND the class.


The way I see it, every type of bike has its purpose. People will do what they do, but if you go from NC to CA on a sportbike, say goodbye to those huevos. Here's the breakdown:
Street bike - Your standard for Hell's Angels membership. These are for cruisin on the roads of this grand planet. If you so feel the need, get some big-ol' sissy bars to prop them boots up on, point those heels towards the horizon, and find you a little lady to throw on the back (vise-versa for female readers/riders). Hit up all those hole-in-the-wall "Double Deuces", braid that beard, and retire with your very own tattoo parlor.

Touring bikes - These are for taking long trips or having a Cadillac-style bike to ride in-town. Perfect for retirees who want a smooth ride, a stereo, and all that defines the GoldWing lifestyle. Good luck picking it up if you dump it.

Sportbikes (i.e. crotch-rockets) - Made for racing and making your balls hurt.

Dirt bikes - For tearin' through the trails and all that airborne stunty jazz.

Enduros - These beauties, namely BMW's version is what I'd consider to be the gem of the motorcycle world. If you have an enduro, you have the best of all worlds. It'll cruise, it'll jump, it'll tour, it'll take you to work. It'll fly off the line and make you glad you had a good grip on the handlebars. Oh, it's bad! ...well, that's my pitch!



Anyone know where I can get $14,000 for one? ha! Hey, financed for 60 months at 9% interest it's only $261/mo. That's do-able. For now I'll be content just dreaming about it and sportin' a pic of it on my MySpace page. What's that they say?....patience is a virtue, right? Until next time. -T

Friday, August 11, 2006
I wonder...
...about alot of things.

Over the past couple of days, I've been checking out a website that has some Scandanavian gifts and things. As I browse through this stuff, I'm noticing little nuances of these pages that...I don't know, they remind me of how enriching it is to go abroad and meet all kinds of interesting people.

I often find that it's when there's a great spatial distance between those you've crossed paths with, coupled with memories of some great times, it's then that you begin to understand how awesome some people really are. Be it their views on life, their rock-solid relationship with their significant other, the way they choose their words, their goals, hopes, and dreams, their style, or just the things that give them joy, sometimes getting a new perspective can revolutionize the mind. The key is being able to take this new perspective, remembering how grand it is to view life through it, and on occasion, allow it to run freely and enlighten yourself and others with it.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Female Bass Players; The Subways; Lollapalooza
So last night I happened to catch the musical guest on Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show. They are a band called the Subways and they seriously rocked. They have a female bass player, by the way. I don't know what it is about female bass players, but I want one of my own!

The girl in the Subways is attractive not to mention the fact that she moves very well. I've always been fond of skinny girls that can tackle the job of bass guitar. First in my heart must have been D'Arcy from the Pumpkins. The Donnas bassist (I met her)...and drummer! (talk about a girl with moves, shoo!)..., Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, the Talking Heads bassist-she's cool, the girl with A Perfect Circle/Zwan (she's fo' sho' a favorite of mine), Southern Culture on the Skids' thumper, and a few that I've seen from other random bands. Hell, I like alt-rocker girls period (methinks). Woe-is-woe-is-me.

You know, I used to have a girlfriend who expressed an interest in playing bass guitar. I remember a time sitting in the floor of my apartment watching her hold it for [maybe even for] the very first time, playing a few notes.... She's a small girl and it looked good on her. She was a cool girl, and I've missed her being around for a good while now (I think she actively hates me now). That's all I'm disclosing about that, but needless to say there were lessons learned.

Ok, so I was talking about the Subways. I don't know how old they are, but I'm thinking that they're gonna be pretty big before too long. Their performance on Mr. Ferguson's show was really good and they seemed to capture the essence of what attracted me to alternative music in the first place. Good on 'em, and to hell with all that Corp-rock bullshit. The Subways seem to be the real deal, so I'm giving them my props and official recommendation.

Lollapalooza - Wish I'd have gone. Seems like this year's 3-day, 1 city show was reminiscent of the Lollapaloozas of yesteryear. I didn't make it to my first Lollapalooza until 2003 or 2004 (Jane's Addiction, Audioslave). I'm not sure exactly if the originals were 1-city deals (like the Woodstocks), or if they were multi-city destinations. ...guess I could look it up,but I'll do it later. Alright, I'm gonna go. Until next time. -T

Friday, July 07, 2006
Fellow GreeneVillains (intentional) + 1 ambassador (Shakin' up the top 8)
Ok, the ambassador is Yuri Gagarin, if you couldn't tell.

Other than that my top 8 consists of my cohorts, counterparts, comrades, colleagues, companions, crutches, crushes, cousins, cracka's, cooperatives, co-hosts, conversationalists, culinary artists, college advocates, copper metallists, creedence clearwater revivalists, crown jewelists, crazy ways-ists, cash procurists, counterintuitivists, competition finalists, calendar datists, cranky tourists, connisuers, and coo-coo-cooers.

Actually, cousins was a lie. My bad. Until next time -T

Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Malish
This entry has to do with the Russian text that's on my profile page (below the absinthe, and on past the flags).

So...is it simply curiosity or do you think that wild arrangement of characters might actually say something you'd find interesting? Regardless of why you want to know, I'll tell you it's no secret. In fact, it's the lyrics of a song by a Russkii Rock group Kino (or more specifically a Russian rock icon named Victor Tsoi) and covered very well by a modern group called Mumiy Troll. The song is called Malish, which means something similar to sweetheart, sweet little thing, or babe. I'm going to translate the song more to convey how I interpret it rather than a word for word translation (which might make it more dry sounding). Here it is:

The warm warm sea
And the blazing hot sun
Waves of the lightest blue
And the desolate beach

Music - right beside me
And you right beside me
This entire coast
Is ours!
When I see just how you dance,
Baby, you drive me crazy
And when you look at me oh-so serious,
Babe, I love you

When you so kiss me oh-so timidly
Sweetheart, you stir and excite me
But I just can't, I just can't
I'm sorry
I just can't.

A song flies over the waves
Speed-like-tsunami
And a ship out on the horizon
Just floats

Something has happened between us.
Just what happened between us?
For me, this question does not give
Peace of mind.
When I see just how you dance,
Baby, you drive me crazy
And when you look at me oh-so serious,
Babe, I love you

When you so kiss me oh-so timidly
Sweetheart, you stir and excite me
But I just can't, I just can't
I'm sorry, I just can't...

But I just cant, I just cant,
Forgive me, I just can't...

But I just can't, I just can't,
Leave you.
******************
I tried to keep true to the writer's words and structure, but also convey what I think a native Russian listener would get out of this song.

In the song he seems to be looking back on the situation, and the memories are vivid and inspiring. Reflecting back on that time, he can't figure out what did or didn't happen and by asking that question, it leaves him with nothing more than a heavy heart.

That's my take anyway.
I'm interested to hear your comments, whatever they may be.

Sunday, June 18, 2006
Bonnaroo music festival
Hi everyone. I got back yesterday night from my 24-hour stint at the one-and-only Bonnaroo music festival. I got to see Oysterhead, Death Cab for Cutie, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. ...bits and pieces of a couple more, but I was there only a short time.

I went with a friend...on a whim and with a limited budget. My freind and I knew someone that could get us in, so we decided it'd be worth it to head down there for a day. I gotta say, though, that if I'm able to go next year, I'm gonna get a ticket, get there early to camp, and stay the whole 4 days! The main reason my friend and I had to get back was because of work/previous obligations and budget.

...I'm gonna try and squeeze in a trip to Russia for August, although it may be somewhat impossible to pull off. We'll see.

Anyway, if we would've been able to stay, we could've seen Radiohead, Beck, Elvis Costello, Moe, Bela Fleck, Les Claypool, Bonnie Raitt (who I've met before, by the way), and many many more. For the full lineup, check out www.bonnaroo.com

Ok, I'll finish this and maybe add more to it later if I so feel the need. Until next time. -T

Thursday, June 15, 2006
...and it took me, like, ages...
It's 'bout dang time. The song "Too Young" by Phoenix is one I've been waiting for for quite a while. Somone finally put it up, so viola! Sorry I don't have much else better to talk about.

�ÃивеÃ!...и пока! -- Тони

Saturday, June 10, 2006
...
I still want my angel.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Send Me An Angel
Seriously. ...right now.

If Real Life's version is too dancey or techno for you then try these other versions.

Fans of hardcore/shock rock kinda stuff, check out Deadstar Assembly's version. It's a good cover,

There's also a version by a group called Thrice, but they seem to be promoting a new album, and it's not up for myspace users to add to their profiles currently. You can hear it here:
http://webjay.org/iteminfo/8994254/526599d18ad6c549260fe87878b66581

...it's a more West Coast punk-sounding version.

So I'm waiting...

Sunday, May 28, 2006
Chess on MacIntosh computers
For anyone who thinks they're relatively good at chess, try this.
- Find a MacIntosh computer
- Go to: Finder-->Applications-->Chess
- Play a game on the easiest setting

Now I'm not bad at chess, but I have to say that I have not won a single game versus the computer. I have won twice, but I cheated by asking it for hints for every move. ...so I really haven't won at all.

It's kinda frustrating to lose every single time, but I'm gonna keep trying. Good luck if you so dare attempt this feat yourself! - T

Sunday, May 28, 2006
Ban Lifted, New [World] "Order"
Ok, I'm over banning females from my top 8. I would like to give special thanks to John for the enduring and selfless act of looking after those two women beside him while the ban was in force. He persevered and even when there was no light at the end of the tunnel, he smiled and took two for the team. ...so to speak. John, you set a standard that raises the bar. Cheers to that!

So now those on my top 8 are people who have a name other than their own as their profile name, or have a variant of their name in it's place. ...it just so happens there are only 8 people who have it like this. There's no particular ordering, it was just random. FYI. Until next time. -T