Sawbuck

I got up today with plans in mind, things I needed to get done before relaxing for a while and then watching the Packer's preseason game tonight.  I made a plan last night, and plans somewhat, and there's always tomorrow to get a bit more done before going back to hell work on Monday.

I wanted to get the few branches I scavenged last year cut for firewood.  Last year I got a good deal on an electric chainsaw and used an old wooden folding chair to raise the wood while I cut it, and my foot to keep it stable.  That chair broke last year so I needed a new way to hold the branches for me to cut them safely - and safer than I was.  Just a short search on the internet gave me lots of ideas.  I saw one idea that I could run with so late last night I went out to the garage and drew up a rough idea.  I wanted to make it smaller than the ones I'd seen because it won't be used often and I have to store it in an already filled garage, but it also had to be big enough to be stable and safe.  This morning I headed to the lumber store for a few cheap 2x4's and got to work.  I didn't take many pictures during the process, but I got these few.

For the size logs I plan to cut I think this will work nicely.  I have a lot of smaller stuff pictured here, most collected with a hand saw in mind.  But I would think it would be safe for up to a 6 inch branch or trunk, properly trimmed, sectioned, dried and placed.  I'm not in need of much, after all.  And tomorrow I will put a flat edge on the bottom of the legs and a side brace, probably a 1x2, on the bottom of the far side.

I really do think that I want to put in a permanent fire pit next year.  The one we have is a very old one we got as a gift, but not leaving it out in the elements has let it last these many years with maybe half a dozen uses in a good year.  The ones I see advertised are 36 inches in diameter and I would like to find one that is closer to 24 or even 30.  I'm not trying to spit roast anything here, and the space to put it in isn't that large.  In fact, technically, it isn't legal for us to have a fire pit because we don't have a space the required length from any structure.  I think it's like 30 feet, if I remember right, and our lot is only 40 feet wide.  It's one of those city ordinances that is really only enforced if needed, thankfully.

I see a permanent fire pit in the back yard as getting used much more often because of the convenience, if nothing else.  It would also be a good place to drop the random sticks and dry yard waste I pick up rather than leaving a stick pile out for the city to pick up eventually.  I like the fact that we don't put any leaves out to be picked up in the fall - we mulch them into the lawn or collect them and mulch them into the flowerbeds.  We also compost our organic kitchen and yard waste (in my super cool compost bin I built) and use it in the garden.   We even put out our garbage only every other week, when they pick up recyclables too, while most use smaller bins and put it out every week.  Sure it's too little and too late to save this world, but I like to think we're doing more to help than most.

Atwoodfest 2017!

I took these pictures yesterday, we had a lot of fun but there was a lot of people - even though there are several local festivals happening this weekend.  There were tons of vendors for food and ware, and music is always in the background.  It's always a good time.  The weather was beautiful, sunny and very warm but not overly hot.  We just got back from a nephew's first birthday party otherwise we'd probably be there again today.  Just as well, we're probably better off resting for the rest of the day.  After this post I think I need to let my cameras cool off for a few weeks.

Another Bike Ride

I took Thursday off this week to get a few things done and I was also hoping to get a bike ride in.  I did get a few things done in the morning, but not as much as I planned.  But I also did get a bike ride in, even more than I planned.  This time I did go into it thinking I would post about it, you may blame Delcatto for encouraging my behavior by commenting on the last bike post!

That last post about my ride took a quite some time to put together, so this is more of a picture blogpost, or amateur photojournalism, but I'll caption the pictures for a sort of running story for some context.  Less writing is what I'm aiming for this time.  I don't think I'll do this again because I pulled over quite often to take pictures and, while there are some good ones, that just isn't what riding is about.  It became tedious so eventually I just stopped taking pictures, but still plenty to share.

Lots of pictures after the break.  Enjoy!

Apparently Google recognized that I took 3 pictures from the same spot and stitched them together for me.  Cool.

Dear Madison (Food Place)

I wrote and sent this last night:

26 July 2017

(Food Place),

We have been very good customers for a long time, I know you have access to my orders to see this.  Tonight we placed an order that included the Cookies and Cream ice cream, and we are very disappointed.

Well after enjoying our (Food Place Item) and (Food Place Item), we went to have some of that ice cream. At that time we noticed there was no plastic safety seal and when we opened it we saw several large spoonfuls missing, and it had frost on it like it had since been in the freezer for some time.

When I called to let you know, I was first given the option of a 6 dollar credit or replacement.  I chose the credit.  After a few moments of silence I was told I would be given a 3 dollar credit.  I disagreed.  I was again given the option of replacement so obviously chose it to be redelivered.

A few minutes after that call I missed a call from the same person requesting the one that was delivered be returned.  By now his disbelieving tone was very obvious.  I called back but he deftly didn't care to listen, I gave up, the replacement ice cream was on it's way.

And shortly, the replacement was delivered.  No problems there, the delivery driver was awesome, most all of them are.  He seemed confused about taking the other one back, so I explained.  It was only later I noticed that the replacement ice cream was Chocolate, definitely not the flavor I originally ordered.  Not that they would know, but I do not care for Chocolate ice cream.

In a situation where a mistake or defective product has to be replaced and the replacement is also incorrect, well, that would be gross incompetence or, I suspect, purposeful negligence.  I'm not innocent, we should better inspect what we get on delivery - even though we've found you trustworthy for years.  Our bad.  But your people don't have to be defensive, suspicious and spiteful when their mistakes or tampered products are pointed out.

We love your food and would like to keep it that way.

Sc(oakat)
(They have my contact and account information from the form I completed to send this.)


I was out on my bike today when I received a call.  I pulled over and listened to the message, it was the manager of the food place above.  Several hours later (post coming soon on the time otherwise spent here) I returned his call.   Without going into detail, we have a 20 dollar credit coming and an apology.  The manager may have over-shared when talking to me, and I told him that we totally understood.   An employee 'buys' ice cream but doesn't set it aside so the delivery driver grabs it innocently.  A manager trainee reacts like he shouldn't, then tried to kind of cover his tracks.  I don't want anyone to lose their job, and I told this manager that it was more insulting than offensive.  We are long time customers, and he could see and appreciate that.  So, all's well that ends well.

I had composed this exact feedback to them here before pasting into their corporate contact page.  I was ready to call them out.  My talk with this manager was good and he had gotten this message about my email first thing today, he said.  He was actually nice, even likable, and kissed my ass well.  What it comes down to is we have an apology and a credit toward the next order or two.  I'm happy enough!

Road Trip, Bicycle Style

My wife had things to do during the day today so it was up to me to keep myself busy.  After staying up late and jamming to concerts on YouTube last night, I had to be up before 9 to receive the grocery delivery.  Ordering groceries online and getting them delivered for free is just sooo easy and convenient, I don't think I'll ever go to a grocery store again other than for a few odds and ends.  We've been doing this for over a year now.  If you spend a hundred dollars it's free delivery, and my wife usually takes her father to the store during the week so if anything is out of stock on the delivery order she usually can pick it up then.  But this is off the topic...

After the groceries were put away and several small chores completed, I set out on my bicycle.  I didn't pay attention to the time, but it was sometime before 11 this a.m.  I had an idea of what and where I wanted to go but no set plans, and when getting on the bike it is nice to have a destination in mind.  Last night I considered heading downtown to the capitol square, probably a 20 minute ride for an experienced bicyclist, but what was I going to do when I got there?  Setting out earlier in the morning I could have hit Madison's large farmer's market on the square around the capitol building, but otherwise I didn't have a real destination there.

I wound up riding on the bike path down behind Olbrich Botanical Gardens, another place to stop and visit - but not this day, then down along lake Monona where there is the Olbrich Park Biergarten, a beer garden that just opened this summer in this city park.  It's bigger than I thought it would be, the fenced in area, and I stopped at the end of the parking lot (before a huge puddle) and had to take two pictures to get the length of it.  This looks like it will be a future destination for us, easily.

From here I worked my way up (hill!) and around the top of the lake over to the Atwood area and stopped for a rest break at the Harmony Bar and Grill, one of our favorite local establishments.  Here, I considered following the bike path down the isthmus to the capitol, but instead I headed back on the bike path northeast towards home.  I was still making it up as I went along, however.

When I got back on the streets I veered west and headed toward Dexter's Pub but first I had to cross East Washington Avenue, a very busy street running into town northeast to southwest, toward the capitol, of course, the center of Madison on the center of the isthmus.  Probably why it keeps getting mentioned now.  My wife fears ever crossing this road on foot or bike as there's usually at least one pedestrian death a year on the street.  When I came upon it I had the green light so was able to ride straight across in my bike lane easily.   From there it's just a few easy blocks to the pub.  They had a great Rodenbach on tap; expensive ($9.50 for 10 ounces), but one of the best beers I've tasted.  From Belgium, it's one of the original Flanders red or red/brown sour ales.  We enjoy a bottle of Duchess De Bourgogne every Friday evening.

While here I considered my next moves.  I wasn't quite ready to go home yet, so I went north just a bit more then headed back east, to go over the pedestrian/bicycle bridge across the aforementioned East Washington Avenue.  I hadn't been across it yet, and it was built just before we moved into the neighborhood.  I figured I would have to stop and walk my bike up, but the grade was slight enough that even out-of-shape-me was able to make it all the way up in first gear.  From here it's just a short jaunt down the path to the street we live on, recognizable by the street painting at the corner.  (I hope the neighborhood group repaints it this year - see prior link - I'll plan to help out this time.  I wrote about it when it happened here.)

Coming down on the east side of the bridge is Starkweather Creek, looking very full after all the recent rain.  Still, very picturesque.  By this time it was well past the lunch hour and I was ready to head towards food.  I didn't feel like ending my ride yet so I rode past the end of our street, to another bridge, and turned northeast toward another of our favorite bar and grills, Brother's Three.  This was pretty much the end of my journey.  I was hot, super sweaty, hungry and needed a rest.

I hung out for some time and chatted with the staff, letting my sweat dry and my body temperature regulate.  They know us well here as we are frequent visitors.  I had a drink and cooled down and after a while my wife showed up to meet me (I had texted her) before she went to check on a cat for friends that are on vacation.   I stayed and had some food before taking the short bike ride home and mowing the lawn, now that it was dried out some from the rain we had the day before.  After that I took a bunch of pictures for the garden blog, go take a look here!

I hadn't planned on a blog post about this bike ride today or I would have taken more and better pictures.  Still, I don't do things just to post about them.  Live life first, then share what you want when you want and if you want.  This is why I don't 'do' farcebook, people seem to need to report on their lives too much.  I prefer to think of this blog as my sort of online journal that others can see, and only if they wish.  If you made it this far, thank you.  I very much appreciate you reading.  I do like to write, but this is a lot of words for this instant-gratification society.

Full size versions of almost all the pictures I took today are after the break!

Fire Pit, Headlights

We enjoyed another fire pit with friends last night, some we don't get too see very often anymore.  It was nice and relaxing, and cooled enough by sundown that we could actually start the fire.  The yard spray pretreatment kept the mosquitoes mostly at bay and the rain and thunderstorms held off until later in the night.  My wife made snacks and grilled up some hot dogs that we got with our quarter cow and, boy, were they delicious!


My project yesterday was restoring the clarity to our older car's headlights.  There's lots of YouTube videos on the process, I mostly followed this one.  I've been thinking of doing this for years now, but I would just do the temporary fix with toothpaste.  This time I invested the 20 bucks or so in materials and just did the permanent fix.  And I have plenty left over for several more cars, perhaps I can sell the stuff to some poor, dull-yellow-headlighted person.

Overall, they look much better now than they did before.  In the first picture the yellow doesn't seem to nearly come across as it really was, but they are sure cloudy.  Next is during the process, I have the lenses completely sanded and ready for the clear coat.  Last is after the final coat and not yet dry, yet you can see they are much clearer than they were before.  Later today I will wax them and see if they get clearer yet.

I need to start thinking of new projects to keep me busy.  I have all sorts of tools and lots of wood, I can take the time and enjoy the process.  That's really what it's about many times, the process.  I can work at my own pace, listen to music and hang out in the garage - which is one of my favorite things.

Unfortunate Reminder

I found this video on a music site today as just released, a song called 'F***ed Up,' and now I can't get it out of my head since I first watched it earlier this evening.  It describes my feelings at work recently, yes, this is where I'm going with this.  I can't adequately describe the position I'm in at work without going into too much detail to explain.  And it certainly is not the end of the world, for my position, anyway, but other heads should roll and I expect they will eventually.  This is what happens when, um, never mind.  Anyway, ever forward.  This song itself is therapeutic in it's aggression and expression, but right now I'm in a good position to relate to it, also.

Josh Todd and the Conflict - F***ed Up

Ahh, Summer

Holiday Weekend, Friends

Happy Fourth of July weekend, everyone - or Brexit 1776, as I've heard it referred.  I hope you had time off and spent it wisely, or not so wisely, however you prefer.  I managed to get a lot done around the house and yard and still see friends and family.  Some of the big things I managed to get done are power wash the whole house and garage and install a pulley system to store our bikes in the garage.  Plus many, many more little projects and I still had plenty of time to relax, stay up late and listen to music - though I have several new things to listen to yet.  That's one thing about music, there's always more that I haven't heard yet.


Another highlight of this holiday weekend is that I got to visit with my old pal, Mike.  He was in Wisconsin for the weekend from Michigan visiting a former, and now current again, girlfriend.  We drove up to Wisconsin Dells, about the halfway point, to meet them for dinner Sunday night and then hung out by the Wisconsin River and talked over drinks.  She seems to be nice and they seem to be happy together so I hope it goes well for them.  It has been over 20 years since they last dated, and I do remember meeting her back then.  We had a very nice time, I only wish we could do it more often.  We also texted Gary, another old friend, to let him know we were thinking of him.  The three of us did a lot together in our youth.


But as all long weekends go, the end comes and it is back to the work week.  We will be seeing other friends tonight but can't stay very late because we have to get up early.

Latest Listening Pleasure 27 - Rammstein

I first heard of the East German band Rammstein long ago when I heard the song Sehnsucht on the radio.  I had no idea who did it or what the name of the song was.  I even tried looking in a database in the music area of a local big box bookstore to no avail.  Eventually I figured it out and got their cassette tape.  After that they kind of disappeared from America for many years after two of the members were arrested for indecency for performing a part of their stage show.  Look up a live video for Buck Dich and you'll see what the prissy Americans were offended by.  Europeans are much more open-minded.

A few years ago there was a lot of hype for their new DVD filmed in Madison Square Garden called Amerika.  I did not order it then, but I did have other music releases of theirs and, of course, there's always my go-to site, YouTube.  Recently there was more hype for another live DVD, Paris.  All right, I'm in.  I pre-ordered Paris and ordered Amerika at the same time.  What the hell, they have a great live show and feature pyro, staging and props unlike any other bands, even Kiss.



Now, I've always loved the live stuff, CD, DVD or YouTube.  The live sound and feeling brings across an energy that studio albums don't have.  Amerika is like this and I enjoyed it greatly.  This band does put on a very good stage show.  Paris is also taken from a couple live shows (filmed in Paris, of course) but is highly doctored with all sorts of effects.  Not that it's bad, just different.  I've seen interviews when they and the director talk about all the work that went into it.  It was filmed in 2012 and released just recently, over 5 years after it was filmed, and you can tell it took a lot of work but I think they overdid it.  Camera angles jump around too much and too many special effects have been added for it to feel like a true 'live' show to me, the opposite effect of what they wanted.  But that's my opinion, I just love the live stuff, even the one camera concerts on YouTube.  In fact, I just finished watching a full Ratt concert before writing this.  (I saw most of it last night before dozing off.)

Another thing that came out recently was one of those 'Elders React' videos featuring Rammstein.  I like these videos, they're quite funny at times.



Previous LLP Posts...
LLP 1 - Pain
LLP 2 - Nightwish
LLP 3 - Die Antwoord
LLP 4 - Pain part 2
LLP 5 - Andrew Bird LIVE
LLP 6 - Nightwish part 2
LLP 7 - Paramore
LLP 8 - Newsted
LLP 9 - U.D.O. LIVE
LLP 10 - Nightwish Imaginaerum Movie
LLP 11 - Kiss
LLP 12 - Rick Springfield
LLP 13 - Hyrax
LLP 14 - In This Moment
LLP 15 - Faster Pussycat LIVE
LLP 16 - Sebastian Bach
LLP 17 - Cradle Of Thorns
LLP 18 - Amaranthe
LLP 19 - Lindemann
LLP 20 - Halestorm
LLP 21 - Garbage LIVE
LLP 22 - Arcade
LLP 23 - Nightwish LIVE
LLP 24 - Ace Frehley
LLP 25 - Darkc3ll
LLP 26 - Dementia
LLP 27 - Rammstein

I've been trying to make the print above smaller, and I can, but the line height stays the same.  I may have to redo the links or put the list in the right column.  I'll have to play with it some more and maybe have this resolved by the next LLP post.

June This-And-Thats

I'm overdue to catch up on things so once again it's time to start typing and let it all out.  Well, not all.  I've not posted lately mostly due to stress.  My work had become, and still is, more stressful than it ever should be.  I'd like to elaborate but I really can't without giving too much detail.  Ever see that cartoon with the birds on the branches of a tree and the lower birds are getting shit on?

• I did take a vacation a couple weeks ago.  I didn't have any big projects but I did have a lengthy to-do list.  I managed to get most of it completed, including building an umbrella stand that my wife wanted to hold my grabber and the walking stick I got in Jamaica when we got married.  Just a small project, but I like making things out in the garage.  I'm certainly more of a rough carpenter than a finish carpenter, but I seemed to manage with this and my wife is happy.  The time off was mainly spent getting my head back and learning to deal with my job status and what I need to do if I want to change that.
• My wife has been healing well recently and has a few more weeks off work.  Basil hasn't had it so well, though.  He completed his round of antibiotics but it still didn't fully clear the UTI so he had to go back to the vet.  He now has more medicine and special food to help clear up the crystals in his urine and the infection.  We also found out he has a bad tooth that is causing him pain so we will have that taken care of as well.
• On a related note, I've shampooed the carpet in the computer room several times now.  Kate's friend Terry lent us her machine, and it has worked very well.  We've not found any spots where he's peed in quite a while but I kept smelling it so it may still have been happening, especially since we find he is not quite over the infection yet.
• Weather-wise we have been hot.  Hot and humid and sometimes very stormy.  Today is refreshingly comfortable, finally, and is the first time in a week we have been able to open the windows and enjoy the breeze through the house.  Now, if my wife would hurry up and heal we could go bike riding together!
• We've had our first fire pit of the year, the first of many, I hope.  I've been considering putting in a permanent fire pit in the back yard, I feel we would use it more often then.  I have enough cut wood for probably two more fire pits before I'll need to cut up the scavenged branches I have on the side of the garage.
• A Night Out for Goodman, a beer and chocolate tasting at the local Goodman Community Center was a lot of fun out with some friends.  I didn't manage to get a taste from all the vendors but as many as I could!  There were a dozen or so local bakeries/chocolatiers and maybe fifteen local breweries/distilleries giving out samples of their wares.  It was a beautiful evening with also a band and games, and all goes to charity.
• I've also not updated the garden blog in several weeks.  I plan on taking pictures today and posting over there another tour of the yard.  We lost one plant that I really like in a storm, but my wife brought in the flowering stalk and we've had it inside for almost a week now.  Something, either squirrels or rabbits, has been nibbling on some potted plants.  I moved one into the area between the gardens and it is still getting eaten so it must be squirrels there as rabbits can't get in.  And I've missed the full bloom of the lilies as all the petals have now fallen, same for the peonies.  But the day lilies are blooming now and the garden is looking very well.  I'll link it here when I post pictures over there, probably later today.

That's all I can think of for now.  There are a couple things I'm thinking of for an LLP post, but I need to find the time and gumption to do it.  After typing on a computer all day at work it's not exactly what I feel like doing in the evenings.  Oh, and we have another quarter cow coming real soon.  Well, I have pictures to take and I think my wife and I are going to get out for a bit now.

Recent Health Issues

We've been dealing with some health issues in our family recently, and for once it's not me.  First up, our cat Basil, and next is my wife Kate.

A few weeks ago Basil took a pee on the carpet beside my desk chair.  My wife got it cleaned up quickly and we kept an eye on him.  A week later he peed again behind my desk chair.  Okay, time to make an appointment with a veterinarian, we suspected he had a urinary tract infection and would need an antibiotic.  My wife found a nearby clinic and made an appointment.  On the day and on the way to that appointment he got so scared he peed into the towel in the cat carrier, useless for lab tests.  They sent her home with a small, expensive packet of water resistant litter and a kit to get a pee sample.  We had to get a little box for that litter, separate the cats and get Basil to pee in the new box with a small amount of strange litter in it.  Simple task, right?

Twice we kept Basil in the basement all day and twice he was out when we got home.  Both times with his brother Hamish's help, we're sure, one to unlatch the weak-latching door and the other to push the door, two cases of soda and a litter box out just far enough to squeeze through.  We were never going to get a sample like this.  Or if we did force it to work they'd be traumatized more than they'd already been.  In the meantime, every few days he would pee on the carpet again and we would scrub it up if we could find it.  Thankfully it was nice enough out that we could open the window some and air it out, too.

Finally, we arranged to take him in to the vet clinic and leave him until either he peed or they could extract a sample to verify the UTI.  It didn't take more than a couple hours, and even then he peed in fright not knowing those humans, but they were able to confirm the infection and issued antibiotics.  He's been on them for several days now and thankfully he seems to feel better.  He was pretty upset and hissy with Kate for a day or so after dropping him off, he blamed her and he let her know it.  I'll wait a few more days to be sure and then rent a carpet cleaner this weekend.

As for my wife, well, she's had ongoing issues for years and had surgery to correct this last week.  She said she doesn't mind what I say here, but I have my reservations.  I've had my own surgeries - 3 since I started this blog - and told my stories here but I don't feel her story is for me to tell.  Just know that she is doing very well.  Her post-surgery pain is less than she had before and she is raring to go - having taken zero of her prescribed painkillers.  She will be off work for some time yet so I think her biggest problems will be dealing with boredom and holding herself to her temporary limitations.  She is pictured in the bottom right of the pictures above, the back of her shoulder anyway.

Plant Day II

Two weeks after buying and potting several flowering plants we went and got some more.  Several seen here on the steps, a flowering bush to replace the sickly peony on the edge of the stump area, and sage and parsley plants for the garden that are not shown here.

Another pictorial tour taken after planting is over at the garden blog, if you wish to visit.  Also, I got the bat house up on the back of the garage.  No bats yet, but it is early and I am hopeful.









It's been a little busy around here lately so I haven't been posting much.  I will write about it soon, but for today let it be about the plants and our little part of the outdoors.  Today is another beautiful day - after more cool and rainy weather recently.  I should be doing something outside rather than typing on a computer inside.  I like how our yard has been evolving over the last several years, and I look forward to watching this year's plants grow, bloom and thrive.  Thanks for coming along.  Again, an up to date picture tour is here.

Plant Day!

Today was the spring day I went plant shopping.  We had a lot of pots to fill and I think I filled them well.  It was overcast with sprinkles this morning, perfect weather to beat the crowds so I got going early.  By midday it was sunny and beautiful outside so I'm sure the amateur gardeners were out in droves, crowding the plant stores and making it hard to move about and causing long lines at the cash registers.

I didn't really have a plan when I set out, just an idea of how many pots I had.  I tried to get plants that tolerate full sun and that looked nice to me.  I did get one for part shade by accident, I put it on the front step behind the front flower pot.  The front is the north side of the house so it should do well there.  This afternoon Kate and I went and got a couple hanging baskets, too, one for front and one for back.  We may still get more plants, there is still some space in the flowerbeds in back, we want to look at perennials to replace tulips on one or both sides of the front stoop and we still have planting to do in the garden.

This was really the first spring day that we could have all the windows open all day and enjoy the beautiful weather.  But that also means summer is right around the corner, and Tuesday is supposed to be the first day in the 80's F.  I always hope to keep the windows open but before you know it it's just too hot.  Oh well, we'll all - cats included - enjoy open windows while we can.

I'll take more pictures and post another yard and garden photo tour soon, possibly tomorrow, over at the garden blog.

Latest Listening Pleasure 26 - Dementia

In high school I had friends (yes, not many but some!) who either played instruments, had longer hair, enjoyed the same kind of music that I did or any combination of the above.  I'm still friends with some, and I've written about them here, while others have faded or pushed away.  One of my good friends from then, Mike, even lived with me for a while after high school.  Otherwise we still seemed to get together somewhat regularly, driving to and fro.  He continued to school an hour or two away but got hooked up with a band, Syrys, if I remember correctly.  School fell by the wayside for him as it did for me, but he was doing what he loved.  Eventually the band left small town Wisconsin and moved to a house in Chicago to seriously pursue music.  It was after that move the band, now named Dementia, put out an album called Recuperate From Reality.  Getting that album out was a great accomplishment.  That the album was recently re-released by an independent label is a wonderful recognition and validation of their efforts.  Too bad some of those involved sought more so it is just the one cd instead of a box set.  The 3-cd box set that it should have been would have been a better tribute - if they all could have agreed on things.  It's all in the past, this should be nothing more than a celebration of that past.  One would hope that would be the only motivation, but it seems not because only the one cd got re-released.

Mike, Skylar and Brian

Mike contacted me recently to let me know about the re-release and I ordered it immediately.  The album, Recuperate From Reality, was released in 1991 on Tombstone records, the re-release is available under these blue words.  A few days later he sent me a link to a YouTube video of Dementia playing at the Avalon in Chicago.  (He also emailed me a picture of me and him at least 25 years ago.  I was shirtless, tanned and skinny.  No, I will not post it.)  Unfortunately, I don't think the band lasted much longer after this show.  I believe both Skylar and Brian went to the west coast, I think separately.  Mike followed his own career path, too, and wound up in Michigan.  They had several bass players over the years, and one interesting fact is they once had a bass player named Matt Snell who more recently played with Five Finger Death Punch.  He appears on the last two tracks of the re-release, songs that weren't on the original CD.

I've heard this so much and knew all the guys (well, not all the bass players) so it's hard for me to be objective.  These were the times in the early nineties.  We were young and having loads of fun, probably lucky to have survived it at times.  But being close to it and having it and hearing it for so long, I can't tell, is it dated?  I don't think so, or maybe it's the production.  No matter, it will always remain a favorite in my collection.




Previous LLP Posts...
LLP 1 - Pain
LLP 2 - Nightwish
LLP 3 - Die Antwoord
LLP 4 - Pain part 2
LLP 5 - Andrew Bird LIVE
LLP 6 - Nightwish part 2
LLP 7 - Paramore
LLP 8 - Newsted
LLP 9 - U.D.O. LIVE
LLP 10 - Nightwish Imaginaerum Movie
LLP 11 - Kiss
LLP 12 - Rick Springfield
LLP 13 - Hyrax
LLP 14 - In This Moment
LLP 15 - Faster Pussycat LIVE
LLP 16 - Sebastian Bach
LLP 17 - Cradle Of Thorns
LLP 18 - Amaranthe
LLP 19 - Lindemann
LLP 20 - Halestorm
LLP 21 - Garbage LIVE
LLP 22 - Arcade
LLP 23 - Nightwish LIVE
LLP 24 - Ace Frehley
LLP 25 - Darkc3ll
LLP 26 - Dementia

A YouTube video of the whole 1991 album audio is after the break.

May The Fifth Be With You

Happy Friday!

Thanks Jonco!

May The Fourth Be With You

For all you Star Wars geeks, here's the Star Wars Holiday Special that you all want to forget.



I do remember watching this on television in 1978 - and it was never to be re-aired.   (Of course I also remember seeing the original movie in the theater with my friends back in 1977.  I remember playing with imaginary light sabers, acting out the scenes with my friends behind the Dixon theater waiting for one or our parents to come pick us up, several times we went.)  I liked the original trilogy as a youngster, but the newer ones I've not really seen much of, except for the one with the original characters back.  And then I only got it for us to watch as a nostalgic novelty.  I'm just not into this kind of thing anymore but I thought posting this today might be somewhat original and funny.  Well, we all like what we like so whatever it is you may as well let your geek flag fly high!

Petcube Video

I just took this video through the Petcube app, the first time I tried the video part.  I think the video taken was just over a minute but the file is 45 seconds.  It seems to be sped up a bit, and there is an episode of pixels.  The laser isn't the easiest to maneuver with your finger and over wifi, but overall not a bad first try, I think, and Hamish would probably agree.

New Gadgets, Petcube!

Recently I wrote how we received the Amazon Echo Dot for christmas.  It was a fun gadget, but it was just a novelty and not really utilized for anything.  That changed when I bought two outlets that connect to wifi to control power to whatever you plug into them.  So now, both lamps in the living room are controlled by voice with Alexa or by using the app from wherever you are.  Not a necessary thing, but I think it's pretty neat.

Since then, I was looking for a bluetooth speaker to use exclusively for Alexa.  I would up getting a bigger version of the Amazon Basics bluetooth speaker that I already have and like.  Now it is much easier to listen to music - anything we really want through Alexa and Amazon Prime.  Another use for the Dot, and a good one for us.

While I was getting that speaker I came across another gadget that caught my fancy, and I ordered it pretty quickly - the Petcube.  The Petcube is a 4 inch cube with a camera that connects to wifi that you can use to see your pets from wherever you are on your phone via the app.   When you log into the camera the cube itself makes a noise and a light on it turns blue letting you know the camera is live.  Through the app you can play with the cats with a laser or turn on the sound to talk to them.  You can also take a picture or video if they happen to be super cute.  If it's dark, they have a more expensive version with night vision, but again, I can turn on the lamps from anywhere with my phone.  There is also a feature you can pay for that will use it like security, recording when it detects loud sounds or movement.

The cats have become familiar with the noise it makes when it comes on, so when they hear it they will come out to the living room and start looking for the laser!  It's not the easiest to control, with your finger on your phone screen, but they do have fun with it.  And almost everyone I know has absolutely loved it when I showed it to them, other than one relative who acted rather dismissive but I think he likes to think he's on top of all the tech things so it's old news to him.  I think it's quite a lot of fun and still not something everyone has heard of, but I know several people that I showed it to who may have one of their own soon!

Late Easter Bunnies?

We lost the tree 2 years ago now, April 25 actually, and then we had much fewer squirrels in the yard last year. This year, a brood of what seem to be yearling - or maybe 2 year old - rabbits have moved into our yard.  Well, maybe not 'moved in,' as I think I would find out where they lived, but our yard has certainly been their playground lately.  I keep telling my wife I need a pellet gun - half-heartedly, of course - and she always exclaims her disagreement.  As long as they don't eat all the flowers that I'll buy this spring then I guess at least they give the cats something to watch.
My wife says there are four, but I have only ever seen three at a time.  I'm pretty sure this will continue until proof is presented...

Happy Blogday To Me!

I almost forgot, this is my Blogday!  I've been doing this for eight f**king years!   Wow.

Edit 4/11, added new 8 pic.

That's a long time to keep something up that is as personal as it is public.  I've had friends and family that care, friends and family that don't, friends and family that sign up to get emails when I post but then I rarely or never hear anything back from them.  I know blogger ain't farcebook, tweeter, linkden or Instagrat.  I don't care.  I don't want more accounts or social media so I know I don't make it easy to be my friend that way.  I just like having my own little corner of the internet here that I can say and post (almost) whatever I wish.  Just - and sometimes mostly - for me.  An online journal, or a diary, of sorts.  I appreciate those that come along for the ride and I also appreciate the new friends I've made along the way.

Blogging is always a bit of work in progress.  The other day I tweaked my template and lost my lists in the right column.  This is the second time I lost my lists, I can't remember if I was messing with my template last time.  I will build them again, but it may be later tonight, tomorrow or even next week.  Whenever I feel I have the time and gumption to get it done.

I don't want this to take away from my post earlier this evening - we got bikes!  Scroll down or click here to read all about that!  And Happy Blogday to me!

New Bikes!

I've said it here a few times now over the last few years, and finally we have bicycles!  Last weekend we went to look at them in a store then came home and shopped online for what we wanted.  They arrived on Thursday this past week, the delivery driver was good enough to leave them at the back door since we weren't at home.  We've never had a delivery stolen but we know that it has happened in the area before.  That night I started putting mine together, and today I finished it and put my wife's together.  Hers went much smoother than mine.  She has a nifty 3 speed that has the normal brakes of a one speed, while I have a 7 speed with hand brakes.  We won't be riding in any races, just riding around our side of town, eventually.

We spent some time outside with adjustments and learning to ride a bike all over again.  While I think it is true, that you never forget how to ride a bike, the details and the finesse of it will take time to re-learn.  Still, the harder part is going to be getting the body back into somewhat near the shape it was the last time we rode bikes.  For me it has to be at least my late teen years, while Kate thinks she may have been twelve when she last rode a bike.  We started mostly in the driveway and yard until moving to the sidewalk and then the street, but just our little corner of the street, maybe a couple hundred feet either way at the most.  It was a nice little exercise and, as my wife pointed out, much different than riding the recumbent exercise bike downstairs.

We practiced enough to be a little sore, but not too bad.  Overall, not bad for how long we've not ridden.  There are so many places we can get to just on our side of town, and so many dedicated bike paths to get there and further, if we ever wish.  I'm looking forward to getting in better riding shape this summer, even if it's just for a quick jaunt down the bike path to Atwood Ave to get ice cream! →

Spring 2017 Pictures

It was finally dry and sunny enough to get a first look at what's going on outside with all our plants.  If you're interested in looking at a bunch of small plants that probably don't mean anything to you then stop by Scoakat's Garden here!

I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do with that website, but don't expect much more than what I did last year.

March This-And-Thats

Most all I've posted recently has been about the weather or my shoulder.  We've had warm spring days, cold winter days, snow, rain, thunderstorms and hail - all very recently though not necessarily all on the same day.  Thank goodness spring is coming, but officially it is already here.  We have plants coming up and I'd like to get out and take a few pictures but today is rainy and dreary, maybe tomorrow.  In the meantime, I have a few things on my mind so time to type them out!

• Just to get it out of the way, I had a cortisone shot in my left shoulder on Wednesday.  It's too early to know how well it works out, but I hope it gets better yet as the next day it was measurably worse.  It is starting to feel a bit better now but certainly not as it should.
• I mentioned spring so it may be time for my annual wish of getting bicycles to get about our side of town during our non-winter seasons.  I think I may actually follow through with it this year.  My wife would be content to walk, but I want to bike.  I feel there's a higher chance of me biking somewhere with her than walking.  I think that's because biking will take much less time than walking.
• I finally bought myself a cordless drill/screwdriver.  I've had the same corded drill since I was a teenager, and it still works wonderfully but it is a bother to keep chucking drill bits and screwdriver bits alternately when working on projects.  I bought it during the holiday sales late last year and, unfortunately, I haven't had an excuse to use it yet.  But it seems real cool!
• Last night the Badgers fell to the Florida Gators in the round of sixteen in the NCAA tournament.  It was an another exciting ride, watching them come together and get the wins when it counted.  Last night they lost by one point, at the buzzer, in overtime.  A quick and almost surgical finish to the game.  Most Badger fans were probably stunned, like me.  A few seconds after the late finish I picked up my jaw, turned off the channel and got on to other things.  I still can't make myself look up the highlights or stories yet today.
• Over the holidays we received a gift called the Amazon Echo Dot (thanks Mom and Dan!).  I set it up at home, but it was just a novelty.  We never really used it for anything, until recently.  I bought two outlets that connect to wifi and plugged in our living room lamps.  Now we turn on and off the lights by asking Alexa to do it, or I have an app that will turn them on or off from anywhere, individually or together.  Certainly nothing necessary, just a bit of fun and it makes the Dot more useful.  I've tried to think of other things we could automate in our home, but nothing else really makes a lot of sense, usefully or monetarily. 

That's all I can think of for now.  In the middle of writing this today my wife and I went out and about to a couple neighborhood places for food and drink.  Not very busy out today with the weather.   This is the kind of thing we could do on bikes during good weather.  It will happen this year - and soon!

Trump Catnip Toy

I was shopping Amazon for something totally unrelated a while ago and I saw this little trinket that brought me thoughts of Basil and Hamish shredding it - The Trump Catnip Toy!  It's brand new, we'll see how long it takes for it to fall apart...    :-)      Oh, and Happy Irish Day!



Video link here, email readers, if it doesn't transfer.  But stop by the website sometime, say Hi!

Hmm, March. Yeah.

I woke up to snow today, several inches through mid-morning.  They said it was going to be the light, fluffy stuff but my snow thrower was clogging every few feet.  Oh, my aching back.

I scheduled this day off a few weeks ago, it's just my luck we get March snow this day.  I got to sleep in, anyway.  A few hours were spent scanning and cropping all our wedding album photos into the computer.  Yes, we were married just before digital cameras were everywhere.  I'm glad I finally did this task as the pictures were getting well stuck in the photo album.  Now, rather than spend more time at the computer typing (and alternately shaking my arm trying to get feeling back), I think I'll go out for a bit.  I have a couple errands, now that the snow has slowed, and I may go out for a late lunch.  Overall, since I'm not at work, this is still the best Monday I've had in some time.

Relative Humidity

Today was chilly, but refreshingly sunny out, and the high winds (gusts of 40-50+ miles per hour) of the last several days finally calmed.  By the time I got home from work today the sun had warmed the porch enough again so that the cats really wanted out there.  They always want out these days when the sun is out because they know it can get even warmer than the house.  The porch does face south and the sun is starting to get higher in the sky and warmer, surely spring is coming!  I let them have access for, oh, maybe 90 minutes or so until the sunbeams left us.  My wife was home by then and they were inside, anyway.

When I went to shut the door I saw something I had never seen before.  Well, not like this.  The porch windows had condensation on the inside.  It was 24ºF (about -4ºC) outside the single pane cheap porch windows and 72ºF (about  24ºC) inside the house, the porch felt similar when I let them out, slightly cooler when I went to shut it.  The humidity outside, according to my weather app, was 24%, while inside I got a reading of 43% relative indoor humidity from the humidifier controller on the air return vents downstairs, and a reading of 37% upstairs in the computer room off the porch.  That's a lot of numbers.  I found it interesting to check for those numbers when I saw the effect.  Like I said, I have never seen this before.  I've seen the condensation on the outside, making it look similar, but never the inside.

The humidifier we had installed just after the beginning of the year has been a very good investment for our cold, dry, winter air.  The best part is that we never have to think about it.  No constantly filling up the tank, changing expensive filters every 10 days, no dripping water on the floor.  No muss, no fuss.  Twice a year I have to move the damper from 'summer' to 'winter' or back, and once a year change the water pad.  I think we made a very good investment, indeed.

Other than that, all has been well enough, I guess.  I have a few things I could mention, but I should have time this weekend that I may post another This-And-Thats.  Outside, there's no snow around, really, and just a few inches in the forecast for Monday.  Now if we can just get temperatures to stay above freezing...  I mean, really, there's already plants coming up!

Shoulderitis

Well, I wasn't in a very good mood my last post, was I?  It was how I was feeling at the time.  This will be a short post as my arm tends to fall asleep when I'm typing.

I had my MRI Tuesday evening.  I spent almost 30 minutes shoved into that toilet paper tube head first.  This was my fourth or fifth time in the big donut.  I hate it every time but I do manage by always keeping my eyes closed and concentrating on the music in the headphones.  Even the banging of the machine is somewhat comforting to me in the darkness.  Anyway, it looks like I'm headed for a cortisone injection in the near future for rotator cuff tendinitis and bursitis.  I think my doctor expected to find more from the MRI and, depending on how the shot works out, we may have to take another look at what's going on in my neck.  The pain seems to have lessened - or else I'm getting used to it - but the numb and tingly is still happening often.

So that's it for now, my arm keeps falling asleep.  Just know that my condition is not fatal, just a bother, but I reserve the right to complain sometimes.  It's my site, after all.

Misadventures Continued

I had my doctor appointment a few days ago.  It's now been over 5 weeks since the original injury and I'm still having pain in my neck, scapula, shoulder and bicep with numbness and tingling going down my arm into my fingers.  The doctor believes the source is my shoulder injury and not in my neck, and now, so do I.  My lack of progress has gotten me a date with an MRI machine next week.  From there, if it's like my past experiences, I will have to meet with a surgeon, set a date and get all the paperwork in order.  I don't want to have surgery again but I can't live like this, either.

And to top it all off, I missed the bottom stair yesterday afternoon and rolled my ankle while tumbling to the concrete floor.  I kept ice on it for hours last night but still today the top outside of my foot by my ankle is swollen and purple.  And everything hurts today, like I fell onto a concrete floor yesterday.  I'm getting too old for this shit.

And if that's not enough sunshine and lollipops for you, winter has made a comeback.  We got snow and ice yesterday and last night.  Not much, but it does seem like February again.

Now I should try to write something positive instead of just complaining.  Sorry, I don't think I have it in me right now.  There's always next time.

It's Still February, Right?

Here's a sight not often seen here in the middle of February.  The cats have full access to the warm, sunny porch today and have been enjoying every minute of it.  Last fall we expected a harsh, cold and snowy winter.  Here we are now, on this date, in this month, with the snow almost fully melted with high temperatures hovering at or close to 60ºF and more of the same in the forecast.  I'm certainly not going to complain, but it does worry me some.   There's plenty of time for it to be winter still before it becomes spring, but this is pretty unusual.

Today, we slept in - well, I slept in.  My wife is the more responsible one and keeps a more regular daily schedule.  The cats help her with that.  They can be pretty obnoxious about wanting their early morning wet food treat to get her out of bed.  They don't usually ever, or never, bother me in bed, but they don't seem to hesitate to jump all over her.  On weekend nights at home sometimes I tend to stay up too late and drink too much.  I still have fun, but things are so different now with the internet, and it's a lot safer fun than I had on weekend nights 15, 20 or even 30 years ago.  Is that justification for me now being old, tired and boring?  Hmm, maybe, or maybe I just suck at being social now.  Next topic.

It's been over four weeks now since I injured myself coming up the stairs on January 18, and my left shoulder quarter is still giving me problems.  The pain has calmed recently and defined itself to me more.  I'm still having issues with my neck, but I still have a little lump on the outside of my bicep that sends numbness and tingling down my arm and into my hand when I touch it.  And the soreness in my rotator cuff has defined itself now, as my doctor originally diagnosed.  It is notable to mention that I had a left shoulder problem in the summer of 2015.  The PA I saw a couple weeks ago mentioned that was the last time I requested my pain pills.  I have a full physical scheduled for this upcoming week so I'll see the doctor again very soon, I'll just have to see what he thinks then.

I turn 50 this year. I've always known, but I'm starting to realize my mortality even more, and the ramifications of getting older.  It sucks.

Friday Duchesse De Bourgogne

Happy Friday!.. and Happy Weekend, everyone!

The days are getting longer now and the end of winter is inevitable.  We will be warm again!  There will be more to life than work and cold and darkness!  Soon!  Well, relatively soon.
I promise...  *Sigh*

Actually the immediate forecast isn't so bad.  But I think it's just lulling us into a false sense of security, then - Bam!  20 more inches of snow!  We'll see. Mother Nature, I'm keeping an eye on you.

Tonight is Friday, still a reason for at least a small celebration in this household.  The Duchesse has been our Friday friend for some time now.  She is a pleasure indeed, and one of the luxuries we afford ourselves, my wife and I.
Duchesse De Bourgogne

More Misadventures Of Being Me

Two and a half weeks ago, on a Wednesday, I was bringing something up from downstairs, maybe laundry - I can't remember, but something requiring both hands.  I lost my balance a little bit but steadied myself as I was coming up, but I was off to the left side.  I stepped up right into a handrail on my left shoulder.  Me, rushing a bit up the stairs and my left upper quarter suddenly and unexpectedly stops dead.  Wow, that hurt!  But I didn't drop what I was carrying and, after a few moments and curse words, I shook it off and completed my task.  I don't think I even thought about it again after that, well, not until the next day.

Before I continue, maybe I should explain how it came to be that there is an odd handrail on the way downstairs.  There were no handrails for the first parts of the stairs when we moved in, only the one on the steps downstairs starting where the wall ends at the basement.  I added the two short pieces of handrail to cover the first 3 steps down and the first few steps after the corner until the handrail starts at the bottom of the wall.  When I bought the piece, 8 feet was the shortest length available so I had a good size piece left over.  So, being a tall person and admittedly rather clumsy I had the idea of adding it along the base of the wall, giving me something else to grab that may be more solid than the rail that starts below.  It may look a bit odd but I use it often on the way downstairs and I'm glad I installed it as it has helped me greatly in the past.

The next day at work, it was Thursday afternoon, my neck started to get a bit stiff.  The following day my neck was still stiff and my shoulder started to ache.  I still did not even remember that I hit it at all until later Friday night as it got more and more sore.  Over the weekend it affected everything I did and disrupted my sleep, so on Monday I went to work and let them know I intended to get in to the doctor that day.  My doctor was off so I saw a Physician Assistant that agreed with my assessment of a rather bruised shoulder.  I had full movement and it didn't seem like anything serious happened to the structure of my shoulder, just badly bruised soft tissue internally.  She gave me a prescription for painkillers, which is the reason I went in, and sent me on my way.  I got through the rest of the week dealing with the pain and taking pain killers as needed.  When it got to the weekend I had seen no improvement so I requested more pain killers and received a few more, but not many.  I rationed them as best I could but it was not feeling like it had improved at all.

The next week, now this last Wednesday, two weeks after I hit my shoulder, I left work again to go to the doctor.  This time I saw my own doctor.  My old doctor I had for over twenty years, until he moved up and became a Vice President so I had to find a new primary care physician.  This new doctor I have only seen a few times so I have yet to really trust him fully.  He looked at my shoulder and determined that it was the rotator cuff that I injured.  While he was going over the plan of care I was saying to him that that just didn't seem right with the pain I had.  He came over and started poking and prodding my shoulder again and Yowza!  He found the spot, all right.  He pushed his fingers in to check out my biceps tendon and I almost jumped out of my chair!  The diagnosis changed to Biceps Tendinitis.  He upped the amount of painkillers he was going to give me and mapped out exercises for me to do.  On the way out he had me stop for x-rays, later he sent me a message that they were normal.  He also wants me to consider physical therapy but I declined for now.

Last night I also found a lump on the outside of my bicep that is exactly where the base of the wall ends if my shoulder is under the rail, so I must have hit that pretty good, too.  In fact, that is the source of most of my pain, though I still have issues in my neck, shoulder and scapula.  For now there is nothing I can do but pain management, hot/cold packs, maybe a few exercises and hope it heals sooner than later.  If not, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Sorry to be long-winded.  I didn't write this to complain and I'm not asking for your sympathy, but I haven't written anything since it happened so I thought I'd share what I've been dealing with lately.  Now for some more painkillers and whiskey...

Latest Listening Pleasure 25 - Darkc3ll

I found another interesting band while indulging in one of my favorite pastimes, browsing the internet for new music - Darkc3ll.  Something initially caught my attention, probably a description of the album and the song titles and, after looking further, I took a leap and got their recent release, 'Haunted Reality.'  If I see something interesting the first thing I do is go to YouTube to see and hear it.  This time, what I found was a newer metal band that was using a lot of keyboards and effects to create a sound that I rather liked.  They go for the "evil" approach to their songs and image, like metal bands have been doing since I was a little kid.  It still works and it's still pretty cool when done well.  An Australian band, they once had a promoter cancel a show because he took exception to their album cover and theme.  Nice one, boys.  As it was then, it is now.  It's show business, folks.

'Haunted Reality' is a pretty strong album start to finish.  I can see why they released Preacher as the first single, but I think there are several songs that are better, like Stitch Your Heart, Stab Me (With Your Crucifix) and Monsters - which is kind of a cute song, actually.  There are two videos from the new album so far, one is essentially a tribute for their fans called Raise Your Horns (Army of Darkn3ss) and the aforementioned Preacher.

Darkc3ll - Preacher


There's also some video of the band playing live on YouTube - not a lot, but I've watched much of what there is.  It is there on the stage that all those effects used on the album need to be played and played along with.  Now, I've long accepted that these days some bands play to backing tracks.  Nightwish needs to recreate the orchestration,  and Pain has always played to tracks to sound like the album (he is a producer, after all).  Here, similar to Amaranthe, the guitarist is also the keyboardist so they play to the pre-recorded tracks.  But one live video keeps bugging me.  I watched a show where only the singer had a microphone, the background vocals were all on tape.  Really?  At least give them a mic stand and pretend to sing!  Not enough to turn me off the band, but I do hate that.  Here's a song off an earlier release.

Darkc3ll - Hate Anthem


I'm actually having a lot of fun enjoying this band, maybe you will, too. Now, raise your horns!!!  \m/

Previous LLP Posts...
LLP 1 - Pain
LLP 2 - Nightwish
LLP 3 - Die Antwoord
LLP 4 - Pain part 2
LLP 5 - Andrew Bird LIVE
LLP 6 - Nightwish part 2
LLP 7 - Paramore
LLP 8 - Newsted
LLP 9 - U.D.O. LIVE
LLP 10 - Nightwish Imaginaerum Movie
LLP 11 - Kiss
LLP 12 - Rick Springfield
LLP 13 - Hyrax
LLP 14 - In This Moment
LLP 15 - Faster Pussycat LIVE
LLP 16 - Sebastian Bach
LLP 17 - Cradle Of Thorns
LLP 18 - Amaranthe
LLP 19 - Lindemann
LLP 20 - Halestorm
LLP 21 - Garbage LIVE
LLP 22 - Arcade
LLP 23 - Nightwish LIVE
LLP 24 - Ace Frehley
LLP 25 - Darkc3ll

I'm a Liar

I know this is a farcebook kind of thing to do, but I resemble this cartoon!  Sorry!

January This-And-Thats

I haven't done this in a while so it seems like it's time to start typing again and see what comes out.  Come along, it might be fun.

• I'm finally feeling better after a rough start to the new year.  I was hit from behind in traffic on the Thursday before.  I stayed home the next day due to soreness, but did not go to the doctor and am quite well now.  NYE we had a few friends over for food, drinks and games.  It was a lot of fun but I felt that I was coming down with something all weekend.  On Monday evening it hit me like a ton of bricks and stayed with me all the way through Friday.  Just a nasty, snotty man-cold - the worst kind!  As I write this I am feeling perfectly healthy for maybe the first time this year.
• I drop my car off at the shop for repairs tomorrow morning.  At the same time I will get my rental car for the week.  That means I'll have to do some make-up time at work.  I don't like doing make-up time.  I will miss having my car, too.  I've never had to have this amount of repairs done to a vehicle and can only hope that when I get it back it's like brand new.  Or at least as good as it was before the accident.
• Our weather started out by snowing the first few weekends in December.  Since then we've had a few spells of bitterly cold weather.  Single digits, either above or below zero like our highs and lows have been, is really cold.  That said, I think I would rather have the cold than the snow.  Snow has to be moved and makes travel more difficult than the cold.  Unfortunately, I have no say in the matter.  Though the days are now getting longer we have months of both snow and cold yet to maneuver.

• We had a whole house humidifier installed last Tuesday.  It installs downstairs on the air ducts by the furnace.  We had been using a 4 gallon humidifier located generally in the center of the house but it just wasn't cutting it.  You're constantly filling it up and the filters are expensive and don't last long when it gets really cold and dry.  I think it will be a pretty good investment in the long run.  I'm still playing  with the settings a bit and it seems to be working well, but when the weather gets this cold and dry it has to run often.

• It is still a pretty good thing to be a sports fan in Wisconsin.  The football Badgers won a great game in the Cotton Bowl last week.  The basketball Badgers enter league play on a roll and have another really good team this year.  This afternoon's road game against Purdue will be a tough one, though.  And the Packers enter today's playoff game on a 6 game winning streak.  It's win or go home time, Packers.  I hope they can keep it rolling.

Even though I felt the need to sit and type I guess I don't have a whole lot more to say right now.  The holidays are over and we are in the part of winter where we tend to hibernate - we don't go out as much and spend little time outside.  Today, I'll be spending the later afternoon watching Packers play the Giants and flipping back and forth to the Badger basketball game.  It's not often the games conflict, but they do today.

LLP Bonus - Amaranthe and Pain

I may have to rethink this format.  I'd like to post these Latest Listening Pleasure posts more often ( the last was in April?!) but eventually it would be most of the same bands every time they release a new album.  Thus the LLP Bonus posts, like this one.  Although I'm constantly scanning the internet for new bands and new albums that I find appealing I need to really get into the music to write one of these posts.  I don't want another one like LLP 7 - Paramore where I really dug the single then later I hear the whole album and absolutely hate it.  Now, I've found a newer band that I want to write a LLP post about but first I need to acknowledge two favorites that I've been listening to a lot lately.  Both have recent releases and both have already been a featured LLP band.

Amaranthe's new album, 'Maximalism,' is much like their last and I am still enjoying their 3-singer sound.  The first single, That Song, is a standard rock anthem and I recognized it as such immediately.  Still, I found myself singing along and loving it.  This album goes deeper than the last with better songs but is still front-loaded like the last CD.  Below is the official video, but there is a great, simpler version from a record store appearance here.

Amaranthe - That Song



Peter Tagtgren's Pain has been a favorite of mine for a long time.  His new album, 'Coming Home,' has been eagerly anticipated as his last Pain album was in 2011.  Since then he has released a Hypocrisy album and the Lindemann album with Till Lindemann from Rammstein, as well as producing other bands.  Now, with his 17 year old son, Sebastian, filling in on drums, he is out touring again.  (Till even joined him for a Lindemann song, first time live!)  Besides the title track below, just released on New Year's Day, you can find all the other new Pain videos here.  Wannabe is a real good one, too.

Pain - Coming Home



There, now that I have these posted I can start on the next official LLP post.  No hints on who it is!  You probably wouldn't know the name even if I told you.  It will be posted when it gets posted...