Out With a Bang

Dear 2012,

The three words that best describe you: STINK, STANK, STUNK.

With a few exceptions (my sister's wedding, our son's birthday party, and a fun trip to California) this year sucked. I feel like I spent more time in existential examination than playing trains with Eli; my midlife crisis came at the beginning of his ability to empathize.

There was a point where I had to evaluate everything: who I am, what I've done, where I'm headed, etc. and I did not like all of the answers. It's a little trite to try to fix things with new year's resolutions, so the idealist in me needs to kick the realist in the nuts and take some chances. Big picture stuff, like doing work that means something. Creating things. Reading books. That kind of stuff.

Current me has become so "go with the flow" that my identity got flushed. I need to be better than I am, and that means not caving in to being tired or low on time or excuse-rich. I need to pick a thing to do and do it. It's advice I give to my cousins in college and it should apply equally to me.

I do have a few hair-brained schemes in the works. One is a blog, but I still need to figure out the identity of that. I have the basic idea, and I have a band of miscreants in mind to power it. Another is a brewery. I have the place and the beers named already, and I have a scheme to get it off the ground using a completely different group of talented friends.

Most importantly, I have some ideas for some music I'd like to make. It's tricky for a few reasons - mostly logistical. I'm really hoping this one, if any of them, comes to pass.

So, if I've shorted you this year, or seemed like a jerk, or acted generally badly - it's been a tough 12 months. Please forgive me and don't give up on me. Let's go get a beer. Here's to 2013 (who'd have thought we'd see it...)

And How Have You Been?

Fair warning - this post is going to spray to all fields. But first, a bit of an explanation. 

For some reason, the firewall at work blocks access to Blogger. I can upload any file I want to Google Drive, but blogging is verboten. My new setup is to write bulk text when inspiration hits in a text document in Google Drive, then copy and paste into Blogger (and edit, usually) when I get home later. How's it working? Check the (lack of) archives.

And so, this evening I went through the fragmented ideas I've squirreled away, and found this interesting bit of politics from August 24th of this year:

To Chris Christie:

“Waited silently”? Is that really what you’re going with? Don’t you remember this guy, from only 9 months into the Obama campaign?

Plus, don’t you have a majority at the moment? Make laws and quit complaining about how awful Obama is. He’s doing something to help people while you focus on helping companies.

In light of Christie's kind words for Obama after the hurricane ran roughshod over his state, his criticisms seem less cutting now. I applaud him for considering the humanity over the politics when it mattered (and for designing those awesome sweatshirts - they've inspired me).

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A brief rant about how Google may have worked toward the end goal (an all-encompassing ecosystem like Apple's) before solidifying the components. Remember Google Wave?

Google Alts

Google does lots of things very well and while they seem to improve user interfaces, they also still have baffling disconnects in some areas. Sometimes, it’s just nicer to use a different program than the Google standard.

Vimeo > YouTube (my opinion, only, and by the slimmest of margins)
Wordpress.com > Blogger.com
Flickr > Picasaweb

 I also meant to touch on Android here, as it's a Google property. I don't understand why they didn't just replace the native Android music player with Google Music. The native player has a nice lock-screen control panel, GM doesn't. GM can stream music, native player can't. I know it's a big company, but surely someone within it uses both apps, right?

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And finally, a tip o' the hat to one of my all-time favorite bands, The Flaming Lips:

The Flaming Lips

I just watched the documentary on the Flaming Lips called “The Soft Bulletin” on Pitchfork, and it brought out some odd feelings. I am proud of them. Talk about an anomaly - they’re a garage band making grandiose, artsy records on Warner Brothers. I’ve been trying to get away from the major labels (more specifically, from supporting the RIAA) but the Flaming Lips have made that impossible.

From the time I became aware of them, their music definitely stood out in a crowd of post-punk, genuinely independent bands. I’ve followed most everything from Oh My Gawd through their most recent releases. I’ve not loved everything they’ve released, but it turns out they have had misgivings about a record or two as well.

You should find Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd on Twitter and follow them. Interesting dudes.

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Thank you for your indulgence. I'll do my best to get regular again. 

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

If you know me, you know I'm a "path of least resistance" type of person. I have relatively low resolve, and I very much enjoy eating a good meal. Thus, I am overweight. Not by a lot, but by enough that I feel the need to do something about it.

I am still in decent shape. Closing in on 42 years old, I can still maintain a 10-minute mile jogging pace (something I would have mocked in high school) and can pull my son in a trailer on the bike up hills for many miles. Everything has atrophied in the past five to ten years, but nothing is torn or broken, so it can be fixed.

Musically, I have been in a bad way lately. Projects have been pushed off and practice has nearly been eliminated. Mostly, it's my own re-prioritization of time. It's also difficult on Jennie when we play because Eli would like to be part of the action in the basement, and thus, will not sleep. He was lulled to sleep by the dulcet tones of Supercush or Big Drag in the early days, but it's not the noise that's the issue now - it's the fun.

So, it's logistically difficult to get in some rock time, and that doesn't make me happy, but it'll have to work for now.

The main point here is that I'm not done with anything yet. I am very proud of some of the music I've had a part in making over the years, but I still feel like there's a magnum opus in there somewhere. I've written a lot, but I don't feel like I've really captured what's in my head and put it into words (and I think some of it would be worthwhile reading). I've been in love with the same woman for 14 years but I feel like I've been sort of working around being the husband I could be. I'm still chubby, but in my mind, I'm fleet and foxy.

All of this can still come to fruition.

Coliseum Minus One

I've seen them a few times now, and they're one of the most fast and furious bands I've encountered. I just read that their bass player left the band. Next to the guitar player in Blues Traveler and Barb from House of Large Sizes, I can't think of anyone who looked happier playing his instrument. It's too bad he's gone. This video seems like a good representation of where they were heading:

Fitocromancy

I'm testing out a few web sites and Android apps, looking for a workout equivalent to Weightwatchers. There are SO MANY to choose from. Lots of people recommended the Nike app, but it's only available for iOS. I am interested in the Nike Fuel Band, so I hope they go Android at some point.

Here's a list of what I'm trying: Runkeeper: GPS-based tracking and mapping of runs, rides, and walks. That's it. I do these activities most, so I've used this a bit already. The fact that I can connect with friends and look up the routes I've walked online or on the phone is pretty neat. Also, it's free. Fitocracy: this was recommended by some video game pals of mine. It's basically achievements for doing all kinds of physical activities. As you do more stuff, you "level up". Workout Trainer: it lists workouts or entire workout programs based on your size, fitness level, and goals. There are apparently 1700 workouts available, including walking for 30 minutes. The other app that was suggested by multiple friends is myfitnesspal, which is a food and calorie tracking app. I already use Weightwatchers (they finally have an Android app) so I don't need it. What do you use, if anything, to motivate yourself and track your progress?

Catching Up With Komen

I was appalled by the Susan G. Komen group's abrupt decision to remove funding for Planned Parenthood. It shows the absolute disregard for the actual mission of both organizations by the people managing it. The about-face and sacking of the folks who drove the decision makes a bit of a difference, but corporations have the right to put money where they want. When they do (or don't in this case), they also need to accept the consequences of those actions. I remember when the Komen foundation was an up-and-coming thing and I was amazed and impressed by how quickly they grabbed allegiance with so many people. It makes sense; the basic message is “we’re all affected by cancer in some way, and cancer sucks!” Tragically, in a move obviously triggered by an election year and selfish politics, we now have seen the reality: The Komen foundation can be plied against universal, unilateral support of women. Their support could be conditional. As I said earlier, I don’t begrudge them the option to remove funding. It’s unfortunate that they opted to alienate a large segment of their supporters over politics (why were they contributing to Planned Parenthood previously?), but they’ve also opened my eyes. I will be less likely to support an activity with Komen’s name on it. I think I’m not alone on this. And that's not all. This article shows that they may have been endorsing a gun manufacturer at the same time that they were defunding Planned Parenthood. How does that make any sense at all? And maybe more damning is the following movie trailer, which casts even more doubt on the motives behind the foundation, and was available the week of the Planned Parenthood debacle (disdain for Komen is not new, apparently). Are they still in it to fight cancer, or has it become a branding juggernaut caught up in a whirlwind of profit?

Is My Driving Offensive?

Every morning I drive to work and see an example of someone who does not understand common driving protocol. Common driving protocol is not the same as the law or NTSB safety guidance. The law is like a standardized test; it's a general set of rules based on sound principles, meant to apply to the largest possible population. It does not always make sense, depending on the situation. NTSB guidance informs the law, and is based on minimizing worst-case scenarios. It's the source of "defensive" driving.

I employ "dynamic" driving. When I drive, I pay attention to everything happening around me. I check my mirrors, I move over a lane to let faster cars pass, and I try to enter a highway at a speed matching the flow of traffic. Flow is the key to driving, in my opinion. There's the set speed limit, and then there's the prevalent speed. I maintain that it's safer to travel at the prevalent speed. The law doesn't agree and the NTSB can provide statistics showing how the prevalent speed (assuming it's faster than the posted speed) can be a percentage more dangerous in the case of a crash. My common sense response is that it doesn't matter if you're going faster or slower than the posted speed limit as long as everyone is going roughly the same speed. When you have much faster or slower cars, everyone around them has to adjust for them, and that's when chain reactions can happen. Personally, I prefer to be going just a tad faster than everyone so that the action is in front of me. If I'm going slower, cars pass me from behind, and it's harder to keep track. If I'm going slightly faster than most cars, less cars are coming up from behind, so more of my attention is focused on what's in front of me. I'd love to have some kind of way to reward the drivers that operate like I do on the road. I see it on occasion - someone moving over ahead of a merge, slowing down to make room for a truck, moving out of the left lane to let faster traffic through, etc. If there was a system of rewards in place, more people might start driving conscientiously. I'll probably still be going faster than them.

Not Resolved, But Motivated

I'm not big on resolutions, but I have some plans for this year. Some of it is completing what I started in 2011, some is correcting missteps, and some of it is just getting new stuff to make our lives easier.

First - I planned to lose 40 pounds in my 40th year. I lost 30, but then I gained back a few of those around the holidays. I need to eat better food and in smaller quantities this year. I also need to get back into an exercise routine. These are difficult with all of the temptations of modern life in a fairly populated area. On the other hand, I have a very inexpensive gym in the building at work and I am still enrolled at Weightwatchers.com which now has an Android app. No excuses - this needs to become the norm.

Second - we have a lot of clutter in the house. Mostly, it's in the areas that are primarily my domain: the garage and the basement. Since winter is here, the garage has to be the first priority. I need to get rid of anything we are not regularly using or might not use in the coming year. No matter what, I need to make space to get both cars in the garage. When Spring arrives, we need to get a shed. That's a big expense, but it'll not only free up the garage in a big way, but it'll help to sell the house at some point. In the meantime, I'll continue chipping away at the basement to make it a more functional space. That needs to become what I envisioned for it when we moved in.

Third - the mighty Vue can't last forever. Jennie's car is accumulating miles pretty quickly, and we'll need to switch to a newer vehicle for taking all the trips we take. I have my sights set on a particular car and model, so we just need to sort out finances and make it happen. Also, I currently have two bicycles and there's a third that I am coveting. I need to keep the newer of the existing bikes, sell the other bike (or part it out), and start a fund to get the new bike.

Other stuff - I'd like to get Jennie a DSLR camera that she can learn with and maybe supplant some of the trips to the photo studios for pictures of Eli. She has a great eye and this would be money well spent. I'd also like to start over or resume my CCNA training from last year. Finally, I'd like to take Eli camping, on a train trip (maybe Texas?), and on a plane (L.A. trip we've been intending to take) this year. We'll be putting quite a few miles on the bike and bike trailer, too.

Happy new year to you and yours!

~Chris