Monday, January 30, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Lately Im finding this cat is getting on my nerves more than she is fun.
She's overly vocal. Annoying loud meows when shes hungry and sometimes moments that dont seem to have anything tied to it. She pukes at the drop of a hat. She's destructive. She ripped my cable out of the wall and I had to get it replaced. She ruins my blinds. She destroyed my loaf of bread yesterday.
Its been something like 5 months and she is definitely attached to me so I feel guilt wanting to find her a new home. I dont want to do a shelter. Id rather just transfer her directly to a cat lady somewhere who will swoop her up and embrace her the way only cat ladies can.
My friend fed her while I was gone and ended up cleaning up 4 piles of puke for me. I came home and scrubbed the stains out. I plan on more trips this year so I guess I should just plan on more destruction while I am gone. Or find her a new home and be done with the stress of it.
Dont know what to do on this one.
She's overly vocal. Annoying loud meows when shes hungry and sometimes moments that dont seem to have anything tied to it. She pukes at the drop of a hat. She's destructive. She ripped my cable out of the wall and I had to get it replaced. She ruins my blinds. She destroyed my loaf of bread yesterday.
Its been something like 5 months and she is definitely attached to me so I feel guilt wanting to find her a new home. I dont want to do a shelter. Id rather just transfer her directly to a cat lady somewhere who will swoop her up and embrace her the way only cat ladies can.
My friend fed her while I was gone and ended up cleaning up 4 piles of puke for me. I came home and scrubbed the stains out. I plan on more trips this year so I guess I should just plan on more destruction while I am gone. Or find her a new home and be done with the stress of it.
Dont know what to do on this one.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
California is very different than Texas in a lot of ways.
Things are very expensive. Drinks, food, gas, cabs, coffee... its all very pricey. Of course I spent most of my time in Anaheim which is a Disney saturated town so there is the tourist tax you are most likely paying but I found this true in all parts I visited.
The conference was a circus. Imagine Guitar Center on Meth. Very loud. 100,000 people walking around. Lots of interesting cutting edge musical instrument stuff. The booths were complex near-movie sets and most people hired practical strippers to push their gear and represent their company. Everything you could imagine was there... guitars, basses, flutes, harmonicas, drum sticks, software, headphones, accordians, amps, pianos, its a small city's worth of gear in one location.
Heres an example... this is a drum kit for solo guitarists. You use your feet to play every drum part:
I got to sit in on some music industry panels with some pretty big players giving their thoughts on the state of the music industry. One of my favorite authors on the topic was there and it was cool to see him in the flesh. I did not get the courage to talk to him.
Here is a view from the third floor of the conference center:
My clients are getting into selling actual guitars and I was surprised with their quality and price point. The event was great for them because they picked up some endorsement opportunities and found a line of amplifiers they want to start selling as well.
We went to dinner with a guitarist who just got off a tour with Bon Jovi. The guy worked with Chris Cornell and a bunch of other bands I dont listen to but interesting to talk with a guy whose guitar work is on albums that totaled over 40 million in sales. And he seemed like a nice enough guy. I just sat in silence for that dinner and listened to everyone talk guitars. He was pretty impressed by our guitars and had a lot of great stories.
Lots of dudes were at the convention in absurd outfits. Big metal hair and makeup. Leather and tattoos. It was strange to see such a big scene like that because no one in Austin looks like that. At times it was comical how retarded these people looked.
One of my goals was to walk around and look for upsell items to offer dealers. I found a set of dice with chords printed on them that you roll to form new song structures with each roll. Pretty neat. I gave my card to one guy and he mentioned the ad I created for my company that is all over the internet. Nice to have a total stranger familiar with my marketing. Only slightly nice. Cause you know... who cares?
Most of my time was spent alone so that was my only real beef. More people to hang with during the day would have been nice. My clients are cool guys and they seemed to enjoy me. I think they are sending me a guitar but that's just a guess. I worked a couple hours over the course of a few days which was much less than I planned. Mainly it was because my wifi connection at the hotel sucked ass and I had to walk a few blocks to Starbucks to get a connection. And with all the walking I was doing I pretty much said screw it when the thought came up.
The girls were cute but Austin still has them beat. So much for California Girls. I talked with 3 women with the intent of going out and got a date with 1 so not a bad ratio. She was from New York. Jewish gal, brunette, fantastic ass. Our conversations flowed very naturally and she had a pleasant spirit and smile. We took a cab to a nearby town and had drinks the last night. We made out in her hotel room and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her naked (no sex which was fine with me). I left around 4:30am against her request for me to stay and got up at 8am for my flight. Every other night I had been going to bed around 9 from complete exhaustion but my last night in town was an all-nighter. I may have a decent contact if I ever want to explore New York. Of course these kinds of things can dry up quickly if she gets a boyfriend. She says New York guys are awful so time will tell.
I had a completely engrossing conversation with a very successful older man on the plane ride back to Dallas. He started talking to me first and we ended up talking the entire 3 hour flight about business, family, success etc. The flight felt short and I appreciated most everything he had to say.
Overall a decent experience. Maybe a 6.5 on a scale of 10. The coolest part deserves a post in itself which is coming soon. This pretty much made the trip for me.
Finally, here's a little girl going to Disney (the convention center shared trams with the Disney folk.) She put her glasses on upside down which is pretty much adorable.
Things are very expensive. Drinks, food, gas, cabs, coffee... its all very pricey. Of course I spent most of my time in Anaheim which is a Disney saturated town so there is the tourist tax you are most likely paying but I found this true in all parts I visited.
The conference was a circus. Imagine Guitar Center on Meth. Very loud. 100,000 people walking around. Lots of interesting cutting edge musical instrument stuff. The booths were complex near-movie sets and most people hired practical strippers to push their gear and represent their company. Everything you could imagine was there... guitars, basses, flutes, harmonicas, drum sticks, software, headphones, accordians, amps, pianos, its a small city's worth of gear in one location.
Heres an example... this is a drum kit for solo guitarists. You use your feet to play every drum part:
I got to sit in on some music industry panels with some pretty big players giving their thoughts on the state of the music industry. One of my favorite authors on the topic was there and it was cool to see him in the flesh. I did not get the courage to talk to him.
Here is a view from the third floor of the conference center:
My clients are getting into selling actual guitars and I was surprised with their quality and price point. The event was great for them because they picked up some endorsement opportunities and found a line of amplifiers they want to start selling as well.
We went to dinner with a guitarist who just got off a tour with Bon Jovi. The guy worked with Chris Cornell and a bunch of other bands I dont listen to but interesting to talk with a guy whose guitar work is on albums that totaled over 40 million in sales. And he seemed like a nice enough guy. I just sat in silence for that dinner and listened to everyone talk guitars. He was pretty impressed by our guitars and had a lot of great stories.
Lots of dudes were at the convention in absurd outfits. Big metal hair and makeup. Leather and tattoos. It was strange to see such a big scene like that because no one in Austin looks like that. At times it was comical how retarded these people looked.
One of my goals was to walk around and look for upsell items to offer dealers. I found a set of dice with chords printed on them that you roll to form new song structures with each roll. Pretty neat. I gave my card to one guy and he mentioned the ad I created for my company that is all over the internet. Nice to have a total stranger familiar with my marketing. Only slightly nice. Cause you know... who cares?
Most of my time was spent alone so that was my only real beef. More people to hang with during the day would have been nice. My clients are cool guys and they seemed to enjoy me. I think they are sending me a guitar but that's just a guess. I worked a couple hours over the course of a few days which was much less than I planned. Mainly it was because my wifi connection at the hotel sucked ass and I had to walk a few blocks to Starbucks to get a connection. And with all the walking I was doing I pretty much said screw it when the thought came up.
The girls were cute but Austin still has them beat. So much for California Girls. I talked with 3 women with the intent of going out and got a date with 1 so not a bad ratio. She was from New York. Jewish gal, brunette, fantastic ass. Our conversations flowed very naturally and she had a pleasant spirit and smile. We took a cab to a nearby town and had drinks the last night. We made out in her hotel room and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her naked (no sex which was fine with me). I left around 4:30am against her request for me to stay and got up at 8am for my flight. Every other night I had been going to bed around 9 from complete exhaustion but my last night in town was an all-nighter. I may have a decent contact if I ever want to explore New York. Of course these kinds of things can dry up quickly if she gets a boyfriend. She says New York guys are awful so time will tell.
I had a completely engrossing conversation with a very successful older man on the plane ride back to Dallas. He started talking to me first and we ended up talking the entire 3 hour flight about business, family, success etc. The flight felt short and I appreciated most everything he had to say.
Overall a decent experience. Maybe a 6.5 on a scale of 10. The coolest part deserves a post in itself which is coming soon. This pretty much made the trip for me.
Finally, here's a little girl going to Disney (the convention center shared trams with the Disney folk.) She put her glasses on upside down which is pretty much adorable.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Anaheim
Flight/Hotel booked. Shuttle reserved.
I am heading to Anaheim this week for a 5 day music product conference called NAMM. I'll be scouting talent for new products for my clients business. I've never done something like this so I can expect a feeling of being overwhelmed I'm sure.
Something like 100K people are registered to attend so this thing is massive. I honestly have no clue how I'm going to be productive and make it worth my client's time. I'm also going to try to find time to clock in and work a few hours. This will be a great test of how productive I can be away from the comforts of home. But I am looking forward to enjoying the warm California weather.
I'm hoping I get both business and pleasure well taken care of. And I will update each and every single person who reads this all the boring/juicy details. Yes each and every one of you (two that I know of... at least!)
I am heading to Anaheim this week for a 5 day music product conference called NAMM. I'll be scouting talent for new products for my clients business. I've never done something like this so I can expect a feeling of being overwhelmed I'm sure.
Something like 100K people are registered to attend so this thing is massive. I honestly have no clue how I'm going to be productive and make it worth my client's time. I'm also going to try to find time to clock in and work a few hours. This will be a great test of how productive I can be away from the comforts of home. But I am looking forward to enjoying the warm California weather.
I'm hoping I get both business and pleasure well taken care of. And I will update each and every single person who reads this all the boring/juicy details. Yes each and every one of you (two that I know of... at least!)
Success
Had a great conversation with my friend last night about success and money.
I was telling him how I have a fear that success will turn me into a douche and this affects my own motivations. I am fully aware its bad mental programming and not at all based in reality. Ive actually read about something called the fear of success and its a pretty common thing for a lot of people.
My friend said something that made sense to me. He said first off you never really have money. You don't really own anything when you think about it. You have money flowing through you at varying amounts throughout your life. Some people find a way to make a lot flow through them. Some hardly any. If you have a lot of money flowing through you, you can choose to do some amazing things with it, both for yourself and for other people.
But its so easy to look at it in archetypes. The Gordon Gecko, greedy soulless twat crushing everyone in his way or the peaceful artist happy with nothing and living on pure existentialism. Both are lifestyles I don't want.
The truth of the matter is entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes. And I realize how limited my thinking is sometimes.
I know I am sitting on a great opportunity with my profession. I have a company thrilled to have me on board because I am making them a ton of money. If I can stay motivated, fight the loneliness of self employment, and work hard I can hit my six figure goal well before I am 35. But thats just it. It has to be more than just a figure. I have to decide what kind of person I want to be. What kind of things I will do with this income. Who I can help. The experiences I can have that I couldnt have otherwise. Because without these things it just becomes an empty figure that will only bring me down when I hit it and realize I have no real motivation to have it in the first place.
As far as who to help I have an idea as to where my heart is. I have a soft spot for old people living their final days in either bad nursing home conditions or in abject isolation. The stories of old people trying to befriend telemarketers because they have no one else to talk with absolutely levels me. I was almost crying as I typed that sentence. I think that emotion holds an answer as to where I can turn my attention. I'm not sure how best to go about it exactly, but knowing I am making a persons old age less lonely or painful is something worth looking into.
As far as personal experiences, the big house and giant television sounds so vapid and awful. Id rather have several small places around the world than one giant house here in Austin. That would be my idea of wealthy living. The ability to live comfortably, not lavishly, in several locations throughout the world and being able to take a handful of people with me as much as possible. Paying my friends employers to let me snatch them away to hang glide in Spain for awhile or something awesome like that.
Those are the thoughts I need to hold on to when I'm sitting here at this computer thinking to myself what the hell I want out of it.
I was telling him how I have a fear that success will turn me into a douche and this affects my own motivations. I am fully aware its bad mental programming and not at all based in reality. Ive actually read about something called the fear of success and its a pretty common thing for a lot of people.
My friend said something that made sense to me. He said first off you never really have money. You don't really own anything when you think about it. You have money flowing through you at varying amounts throughout your life. Some people find a way to make a lot flow through them. Some hardly any. If you have a lot of money flowing through you, you can choose to do some amazing things with it, both for yourself and for other people.
But its so easy to look at it in archetypes. The Gordon Gecko, greedy soulless twat crushing everyone in his way or the peaceful artist happy with nothing and living on pure existentialism. Both are lifestyles I don't want.
The truth of the matter is entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes. And I realize how limited my thinking is sometimes.
I know I am sitting on a great opportunity with my profession. I have a company thrilled to have me on board because I am making them a ton of money. If I can stay motivated, fight the loneliness of self employment, and work hard I can hit my six figure goal well before I am 35. But thats just it. It has to be more than just a figure. I have to decide what kind of person I want to be. What kind of things I will do with this income. Who I can help. The experiences I can have that I couldnt have otherwise. Because without these things it just becomes an empty figure that will only bring me down when I hit it and realize I have no real motivation to have it in the first place.
As far as who to help I have an idea as to where my heart is. I have a soft spot for old people living their final days in either bad nursing home conditions or in abject isolation. The stories of old people trying to befriend telemarketers because they have no one else to talk with absolutely levels me. I was almost crying as I typed that sentence. I think that emotion holds an answer as to where I can turn my attention. I'm not sure how best to go about it exactly, but knowing I am making a persons old age less lonely or painful is something worth looking into.
As far as personal experiences, the big house and giant television sounds so vapid and awful. Id rather have several small places around the world than one giant house here in Austin. That would be my idea of wealthy living. The ability to live comfortably, not lavishly, in several locations throughout the world and being able to take a handful of people with me as much as possible. Paying my friends employers to let me snatch them away to hang glide in Spain for awhile or something awesome like that.
Those are the thoughts I need to hold on to when I'm sitting here at this computer thinking to myself what the hell I want out of it.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The rootkit is dead. It royally fucked my machine though. My buddy basically had to create a new user account and start over. Same computer and programs, but after we deleted the rootkit it affected the ability to access anything from the original account. It was so embedded into my hard drive that it could no longer function without its presence. Crazy.
Now my computer runs like it was brand new. Lightning fast and a stark difference then what I had gotten used to these last few months.
He also schooled me on the people behind these things. He said Russia is a big player in computer viruses. He said they most likely get access to hundreds of thousands of machines and literally rent the use of these computers out to people who do things like drop fake anti-virus software and wait for someone to stupidly buy the thing with their credit card. They also access your processing power and use it to hack into networks and do illegal shit. This is probably why my computer was running so slow. It was being used for projects outside of mine. yikes!
The weirdest thing to realize is most of the people behind this are probably under the age of 18. You infernal kids!
They get your passwords, your cc info etc. My buddy told me that few people ever really have major problems with these things that he has seen, fortunately. I ran my credit report today and nothing appears to be strange. Ill be vigilant but its crazy that apparently I had this little bastard on my machine since August so Im sure my processing power has been used to do all kinds of shady things. He said this kind of thing is pretty prevalent and a lot of people probably have rootkits running in the background completely unaware. But if you dont have much money like myself and dont buy bullshit anti-virus software when it pops up on your machine, you are probably going to be fine.
Now my computer runs like it was brand new. Lightning fast and a stark difference then what I had gotten used to these last few months.
He also schooled me on the people behind these things. He said Russia is a big player in computer viruses. He said they most likely get access to hundreds of thousands of machines and literally rent the use of these computers out to people who do things like drop fake anti-virus software and wait for someone to stupidly buy the thing with their credit card. They also access your processing power and use it to hack into networks and do illegal shit. This is probably why my computer was running so slow. It was being used for projects outside of mine. yikes!
The weirdest thing to realize is most of the people behind this are probably under the age of 18. You infernal kids!
They get your passwords, your cc info etc. My buddy told me that few people ever really have major problems with these things that he has seen, fortunately. I ran my credit report today and nothing appears to be strange. Ill be vigilant but its crazy that apparently I had this little bastard on my machine since August so Im sure my processing power has been used to do all kinds of shady things. He said this kind of thing is pretty prevalent and a lot of people probably have rootkits running in the background completely unaware. But if you dont have much money like myself and dont buy bullshit anti-virus software when it pops up on your machine, you are probably going to be fine.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Rootkit
This is a new word to me. But its already one of my least favorite words.
A rootkit is basically a nasty computer virus that embeds itself deep within your machine. It has a nifty skill of avoiding most methods of getting rid of it. I am running my computer today in safe mode because of this little bastard and wont get it fixed until tonight when I take it to my computer genius friend's house.
One day you may too learn of this word. Take heed dear friends. A rootkit is a bitch. Tie this with something called the Blue Screen of Death and you have pretty much summed up the last few hours for me.
But I will win. My friend knows of rootkit. He knows how to zap the little fuck. Enjoy my computer dude. Youre about to be murdered.
A rootkit is basically a nasty computer virus that embeds itself deep within your machine. It has a nifty skill of avoiding most methods of getting rid of it. I am running my computer today in safe mode because of this little bastard and wont get it fixed until tonight when I take it to my computer genius friend's house.
One day you may too learn of this word. Take heed dear friends. A rootkit is a bitch. Tie this with something called the Blue Screen of Death and you have pretty much summed up the last few hours for me.
But I will win. My friend knows of rootkit. He knows how to zap the little fuck. Enjoy my computer dude. Youre about to be murdered.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
big shock. The rich, flip flopping politician took Iowa.
BUT
Paul losing 2nd to Santorum?? Santorum?????
The guy who likened gay sex to beastiality? The guy who spouts lines like "they hate us because we're free"? For the love of God his nephew came out in support of Ron Paul. His own family doesn't even want him to win.
Why am I surprised most Americans aren't smart enough to vote for real change?
I did read in a forum that this is not a terrible thing for Paul. His support could grow further while attacks to his running mates will increase. But this is a sobering reminder to me of the retards that make up this country.
My only joy is knowing more people will Google Santorum and see the awesome Google bomb created in his name by gay columnist Dan Savage. I want to world to Google "Santorum" right now.
BUT
Paul losing 2nd to Santorum?? Santorum?????
The guy who likened gay sex to beastiality? The guy who spouts lines like "they hate us because we're free"? For the love of God his nephew came out in support of Ron Paul. His own family doesn't even want him to win.
Why am I surprised most Americans aren't smart enough to vote for real change?
I did read in a forum that this is not a terrible thing for Paul. His support could grow further while attacks to his running mates will increase. But this is a sobering reminder to me of the retards that make up this country.
My only joy is knowing more people will Google Santorum and see the awesome Google bomb created in his name by gay columnist Dan Savage. I want to world to Google "Santorum" right now.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Final Mixing Session
is tonight. This should put us closer than ever to finishing this damn thing. I almost dont even feel like a musician lately. My voice sounds like shit. I cant write a thing. I am devoid of creativity. I pick up the guitar and play the same thing over and over again. Im in a pretty good mood but there is just nothing there as far as artistic drive.
This mixing session will be great though. I need more concrete experiences showing that we are actually wrapping this thing up. Its been over a year in the making. I feel like a lot has gone down in that time.
Whats next? I have no idea. Mastering. Planning a CD release and then just this blank spot. Critical shame? Surprising success? Mild interest then a flame out?
Who knows!
-----
Iowa caucus tonight. Go Ron! I'm actually nervous about this. Like physical symptoms of nervousness. I hope people come out in droves and pick the one peace candidate. The one guy who understands their economic plight. The one guy who wont suck the cock of special interest groups. Is that an uncomfortable image? Good. The one guy who got more donations from active military members than all other candidates combined... how is that not front page news??? Seriously. I know the answer to that but I'm still posing it. Nutty? Crazy? Fringe? It depends on what agenda you serve.
Will there be manipulation of the voting results? I wouldnt put it past people. That's why its gotta be a landslide. I know of people in austin who drove to Iowa to get the word out. AAAAAHHH go go go !
http://www.newsmax.com/Surveys/Results/id/37
FORMER CIA AGENT IN CHARGE OF BIN LADEN UNIT ENDORSES RON PAUL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92OV3RbU3ek
This mixing session will be great though. I need more concrete experiences showing that we are actually wrapping this thing up. Its been over a year in the making. I feel like a lot has gone down in that time.
Whats next? I have no idea. Mastering. Planning a CD release and then just this blank spot. Critical shame? Surprising success? Mild interest then a flame out?
Who knows!
-----
Iowa caucus tonight. Go Ron! I'm actually nervous about this. Like physical symptoms of nervousness. I hope people come out in droves and pick the one peace candidate. The one guy who understands their economic plight. The one guy who wont suck the cock of special interest groups. Is that an uncomfortable image? Good. The one guy who got more donations from active military members than all other candidates combined... how is that not front page news??? Seriously. I know the answer to that but I'm still posing it. Nutty? Crazy? Fringe? It depends on what agenda you serve.
Will there be manipulation of the voting results? I wouldnt put it past people. That's why its gotta be a landslide. I know of people in austin who drove to Iowa to get the word out. AAAAAHHH go go go !
http://www.newsmax.com/Surveys/Results/id/37
FORMER CIA AGENT IN CHARGE OF BIN LADEN UNIT ENDORSES RON PAUL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92OV3RbU3ek
Sunday, January 1, 2012
howdy there 2012
last night was one of the better New Years I've had in awhile.
I went to a show and ended up in the woods. Austin has a place called the Enchanted Forest and its this huge piece of land in the woods with all these different tents of music and strange art. I took a small amount of mushrooms that made me feel awesome. I danced. I laughed a lot. I did kiss a gal so that was good.
I am sitting here looking out on a truly beautiful 1st day of 2012. I dont feel hungover. I feel fantastic. 2012 is going to rock.
I went to a show and ended up in the woods. Austin has a place called the Enchanted Forest and its this huge piece of land in the woods with all these different tents of music and strange art. I took a small amount of mushrooms that made me feel awesome. I danced. I laughed a lot. I did kiss a gal so that was good.
I am sitting here looking out on a truly beautiful 1st day of 2012. I dont feel hungover. I feel fantastic. 2012 is going to rock.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)