Over the last few years, this has happened to me five or six times with different accounts. Usually, it’s been credit cards. This is the first time it’s happened with the debit card.

I have no idea how it is that my card numbers keep getting stolen. It’s especially curious with the debit card as I really only use it these days for ATM transactions.

Maybe this has something to do with it.

(Thanks to Jen for the video.)

We had fun when we took the train to Monterey. I hope we get to take another train trip sometime in 2011. I do miss being in an area with commuter trains like the ones in the Chicago. Trains in this part of California are for long trips only. No commuter trains here.

My friend Stephanie is on a train right now, on her way to Bakersfield. I hope she’s having an OK time. I said I’d walk down to the level crossing (the one seen in the video above) and wave at her train as she passes through San Luis Obispo. I’m not sure when her train comes through. I do know it’ll be going the opposite direction of the train in the video.

My friends Erk and Squeak are train drivers in Australia. I think that’s pretty cool. Also, my friends Woosang and Drue control the trains in Australia and tell them where to go. That’s cool, too.

This concludes today’s bit of train-inspired randomness. I need to get some sleep.

1.) Since leaving the orbit of a major metropolis and moving to relatively-small San Luis Obispo, I’ve lost certain connections with mainstream media. I used to listen to WXRT a lot, and while the station’s legend grows ever-more blighted in these modern times, it was (and probably still is) one of Chicago’s best sources for new music. I don’t actively listen to the radio much these days, and even if I did, the closest approximation to ‘XRT in my area would be the local college radio station. Most of the time, my stereo receiver can’t even pick up the college station’s low-power signal, and because it’s a college radio station it’s very… college radio-y. It’s not really the same thing as WXRT.

2.) I mentioned in the previous item that my active radio listening is somewhat limited. Actually, my active media consumption overall is limited. At least, in terms of Old Media. Since Jen and I moved into our own place here in SLO, we’ve never had cable TV. Other than a subscription to a now-defunct music magazine, my reading of periodicals has pretty much become non-existent. Sure, I spend a lot of time online. But I don’t follow many of the Internet’s “popular” outlets, even those that relate to my interests. More than anything, I use the Internet as a tool for finding/doing specific things or seeing what things my friends/contacts are finding/doing. This helps me keep a thumb on the pulse of a handful of sources. But it’s not the same as being plugged directly into the Matrix.

3.) I’m old! Yeah, I know that’s a relative idea. But I do find myself having a bit of a “get-off-my-lawn” complex when I look at some of these whippersnappers out there today. It doesn’t help that reading about music before actually hearing said music can implant tiny prejudices in my mind. One of my favorite music writers is Jim DeRogatis. I read his reviews of the band Vampire Weekend long before I had heard any of the group’s music. Dero has had some mixed feelings but ultimately he’s unimpressed with these guys and he’s always half a sentence away from bringing up the band members’ Ivy League pedigrees. And knowing that these dudes come from money seems to have an effect on Dero’s perceptions of the band. And in turn, this has an effect on me. Here’s a Vampire Weekend song that wound up on one of those end-of-year lists (not Dero’s, of course):

I heard it for the first time tonight. I didn’t totally hate it. (Though, on second listen, I think I’ve heard enough.) And up until that point I hadn’t even given the band a chance. I just dismissed them out of hand because of things I had read. That’s a lousy way to appreciate music. Still, going further into this I’ve realized that I *do* actually have some serious conceits towards most of the artists that fall under the Indie Rock banner. I find it difficult to relate to what I often perceive as a bunch of privileged young’uns, who all look like they just rolled out of bed and decided to start bands before they brushed their teeth in the morning. Hey, you damn kids! Grow up and at least pretend to try. Is that too much to ask? I mean, look at this:

Apparently, Generation Twee is so enamored with this kinda stuff that even car companies are eager to help them sell out. Anyway, I think the whole point of this item on my list is simply to say that, it’s hard making a living as a musician. My reaction, when I see people who downplay their own successes in doing so is to believe that they must have golden parachutes on the other side that’ll magically carry them into their parents’ law offices if the whole music thing doesn’t work out.

I didn’t dislike everything I heard on those year-end lists. Though, the stuff I’ve liked is certainly outweighed by the stuff I didn’t. Regardless, it’s made me realize that I need to work a little harder at keeping up, and that maybe I shouldn’t downplay stuff before I’ve even heard it. No matter how twee it may be.

(Comments welcome here.)

I couldn’t find any online videos for the first show. Here’s some kind of promo video for the second show:

Wesley won an award at SXSW for this short film:

See his other videos here and here. Also, here‘s Wesley’s photo blog and here‘s the Facebook group I mentioned in the podcast. Finally, here‘s the song “Hey, Wesley.”

Cockatiels, doing stuff.

For today’s entry, I’m posting a video that was originally recorded on July 7th, 2007. Jen and I attended a wedding ceremony that was held on a boat on the Mississippi River, near Minneapolis/St. Paul. I captured some footage of boats on the river as they passed by. This was recorded with my old Canon camcorder, and I think there was some moisture on the lens. So, the quality’s not the best. Anyway, I’m gonna try and clear out my backlog of videos during NaPodPoMo, so there should be some more as the month continues.

I also took some short videos of water moving through the creek.

A few more photos and videos can be seen here.