It’s been kinda rough over the last few days. I seem to have come down again with some kind of sickness. I’m beginning to wonder if there might be something in the environment of the new studio setting that’s affecting me. I tend to doubt that, though. If I were experiencing an allergic reaction, Jen probably wouldn’t be able to spend any time in this room at all. And while she’s been a bit sick herself, she doesn’t believe her illness is directly attributable to allergies. And she’d know. Regardless, I’m going to try and do some cleaning around here over the next week to see if that helps. This room hasn’t been cleaned since the Big Room Move, and it could use it.
Been kinda depressed today. As is my nature, I’ve taken to a bit of self-analysis to try and pinpoint the source of the depression. Can’t say this day started well for me. I woke up way too early and wasn’t able to get back to sleep. Then my usual breakfast routine ended in complete failure. (I mention this because I really needed that spot of ghetto-tastic caffeine.) Later in the day, I tried catching up on my sleep, but was interrupted a couple times, and wound up just laying around a lot longer than I would’ve liked. Sleep is a funny thing for me. If I don’t get enough, or my sleep cycle gets thrown off, it affects me. I need to work on getting on a regular, daily, sleep schedule. It’s not easy, as I tend to be drawn to more of a nocturnal schedule. But my current work hours don’t really allow for that. (And that, in and of itself, isn’t necessarily a complaint.) Further on in the day, I discovered that the obnoxious sewer smell I wrote about before has returned. It went away after I capped that dryer vent, and I thought that was the end of it. But apparently, capping the vent was just a coincidental fix. ‘Cause it’s back. I took another look in the hallway to see if there might be another vent/pipe/something that needs to be covered. Couldn’t really find anything. Discouraged to say that this problem is probably going to require the services of a plumber. More discouraged to know that, it may be a week before we’ll even be able to get someone out to look at it. (I’ve often stated, with all kidding aside, that we should just burn down this place and collect the insurance money. If it were only so easy…) Last week, I mentioned my latest guitar obsession. In connection with that, I wrote about prioritizing things that need to be done. And this plumbing issue has to be moved to the top of the list. Also, I’ve tried a couple times now to get hold of someone to come out and help us with the non-plumbing issues I mentioned last week. And I can’t get this guy to return my calls. Frustrating. But, I guess if he doesn’t want the work, I’ll just have to find someone else. Which probably isn’t that big of a deal. It just takes more time and puts things off even more. I need to exercise patience. But it’s not always easy. Anyway, the whole point of this entry is mostly to say that, when things suck, action is all there is. There was a time in my life when I would’ve tried to sedate the depressive tendencies with a large pizza and a liter of Pepsi. (Food addiction = probably the least sexiest of all addictions.) But I’m not doing that now. And that is its own kind of victory. But it doesn’t do much to solve the problems at hand. But, there is a plan of action to deal with the problems. And that’s a start. All I can really do for the rest of today is try and relax. And maybe go play some Viva Pinata.
Anyone who’s connected with me on Twitter has likely seen some of my “check-in” posts, usually powered by either Brightkite or Foursquare. For the unfamiliar, these services are sometimes referred to as “location awareness” tools. Basically, you tell Brightkite or Foursquare where you are at any given time, and then (depending upon your preferences) these services will distribute that information to your Twitter contacts, Facebook friends and/or to any other services you may have connected to these accounts. Using Twitter as a means of mobile/remote-location posting is nothing new. The service has allowed users to update their accounts via text messaging since its earliest days. But these newer services make it much easier to let the world know, for example, where you’re having lunch. As is the case with most of this stuff, the value of using these types of services is debatable. But that’s not what this particular entry is about. A new website called Please Rob Me has gotten a lot of attention lately. Please Rob Me aggregates location-aware posts from all of Twitter’s users, creating a seemingly handy one-stop shop for would-be criminals in search of an easy target. It only makes sense that if you’re checking in from a location other than home that you’re (obviously) not at home. Conceptually, I guess the idea behind Please Rob Me works. But the missing element in any Twitter-assisted crime would be a user’s home address. Potential perpetrators may know when you’re not at home. But they can’t break in if they don’t know where that home is. Of course, I have noticed some of my Twitter contacts also check in from their homes. Which could potentially provide their home addresses to anyone and everyone. I don’t do that, though. And for now, I feel fine with using these services. The thing about all of this social media and web 2.0 business is, individuals can choose to share as much or as little with the rest of the world as they care to. In my case, I probably share more than most. But that’s my choice and I’ll have to sink or swim with it. Regardless, I decided to post this entry because I’ve had acouple replies from my own Twitter contacts alerting me to the existence of Please Rob Me, in reference to my own Twitter posts. And I appreciate the concern. But I’m going to continue using Twitter to post from places outside of my home. I guess I’m just not that paranoid. Or I’m at least fairly certain no one is stalking me (in the cyber sense or otherwise), waiting for me to head out the door. Either way, I hope my usage of these services doesn’t prove to be a bad idea, after all. It’s pretty awesome to be a Super Mayor.
I recorded this the morning that my iPhone got all busted up. And I haven’t gotten ’round to posting it until today. It’s a short recording of some rarely-heard pre-recorded announcements available to bus drivers on new SLO Transit buses. Within the last couple years, SLO Transit added GPS-enabled (at least, I think that’s how they work?) automated greetings that announce upcoming stops (in two languages!). But apparently, that announcement system has a few other pre-recorded phrases that drivers can play at will. I hadn’t ever heard any of these before, and I missed a couple before I was able to start the recording. Still, you’ll hear a few of them here along with some commentary from the driver and a passenger. The bus driver wasn’t playing these announcements while the bus was in transit. They were played while the bus was passing some spare minutes at a bus stop.
Yesterday, I wrote about my plans for hunting down a new guitar. And I’m sticking with that plan. However, it’s dawned on me that there’s some other things in my world that require the time, attention and (most importantly) money that will eventually go into this quest. So the new guitar will have to wait. In the meantime, there are some home-improvement projects that are in serious need of attention. Unfortunately, I don’t have the ability to fix most of them myself. That means I’ll have to hire someone to do the work, and that’ll cost money. It’s discouraging, ’cause I’d like to get the guitar thing sorted out as quickly as possible. But in the end, the guitar is essentially a “frivolous” expense. The other stuff has to come first. I’ve already made one phone call to try and get someone out here to do some of the repairs. There are several things that need to be done, and it’s unlikely one person will be able to do them all. But, it’s a start. I also find that prioritizing in this fashion helps me to get these necessary things done first. I have a problem with procrastination, and I tend to put things off. Especially if they’re not particularly exciting. And to me, new guitar >> home repairs.
My mom always said it’s best to wait and get what you want. Even if buying something else sooner would make you feel better today. And I’m keeping that advice in mind right now. Back in 2007, on somewhat of a whim, I purchased a Line 6 Variax 300 electric guitar. I ordered the guitar from a mail-order vendor, as there are no Variax dealers in my area. Normally, I wouldn’t acquire a guitar in this fashion. But I was intrigued by the Variax’s guitar-modeling electronics, and I really wanted to try one out. Overall, I liked the guitar. I was impressed by the electronics. But over time, I grew tired of playing the instrument. I just wasn’t really happy with the playability of the neck and fretboard. They reminded me of cheap guitars that I played years ago. (Which makes sense, as the 300 was meant to be the entry-level Variax.) I tried replacing the Variax neck with a Telecaster neck but it didn’t really work. And by the time I came to accept that reality, I had already sold the Telecaster body from whence the neck was taken. (It should be noted that I really liked that Telecaster. It was kinda dumb, what I did. But, that’s what guitar-induced mania does to a man. At least, that’s what I tell myself to cope with that dumb decision.) I eventually sold the neck as well, as I had no real reason to keep it. I went back to playing the Variax 300 in its stock form. But still, I was never really happy with it.
I’m sick. Don’t think it’s anything serious. (No, it’s not pneumonia.) But dealing with the usual cold/flu symptoms hasn’t left me with much energy for things lke blogging/podcasting. What I have been doing is playing a lot of Viva Pinata. It’s a video game where you breed pinatas. Sounds silly? Well, it is. But it’s also fun, and it’s a pleasant way to pass the time when my brain is unable to focus on any one thing for extended periods of time. Here’s a TV ad for Viva Pinata:
And here’s a trailer:
That’s some serious hardcore gaming, right there. Nothing says “you just got pwn3d, bitch!” like a bunch of cute stuffed animals, wearing costumes and dancing around. In a garden.
I didn’t watch today’s Super Bowl game. I was, however, able to keep up with most of the action thanks to my recently downsized Twitter account. And during the game’s halftime show, I noticed quite a bit of antagonism towards this year’s featured act. Continuing the post-nipplegate trend of keeping things “safe,” the NFL chose to hire The Who to provide this year’s halftime spectacle. I’ll admit, I had mixed feelings about this decision. I’ve been a fan of The Who for a long time. At one time, I probably would’ve even described them as my favorite band. But, guys. Seriously? Here’s some soon-to-be-removed-from-YouTube clips of the band’s Super Bowl performance:
I’ve been using Twitter since April/2007. And since joining, I’ve had some simple rules about which Twitter accounts I would choose to follow:
1.) If I had an interest in the person/company/organization using the Twitter account, I’d follow it. No expectations here that the newly-followed account would follow me back. But it’s always been appreciated when that’d happen.
2.) If an account chose to follow me first, and that account was representing a person/company/organization I hadn’t heard of before, I’d usually follow it back unless it was engaging in obvious spam-like behavior.
And that lead me to where I was just a few hours ago. I was following well over 900 accounts, and it was too much. Sure, I had created a special list using TweetDeck to keep track of the accounts that I really cared about. But that list represented a fraction of the total amount of accounts I had chosen to follow. And that’s just silly. Why bother to follow an account and then never actually see that account’s Twitter posts? So, I’ve spent the last couple hours clearing out my Twitter account. I’m now following a more manageable 444 accounts, and I’ve removed that special list from my TweetDeck.
We spent the New Year’s weekend moving things around. The plan was to take the stuff in the back room, and swap it with the stuff in the front room. I had the idea to do this last November, because I thought it’d be good to move the studio into its own space, and to make our living area a little more open and comfortable. We’ve been living with this new configuration now for about a month, and we like it.
