What does the I really stand for?

The iPhone 4. The next new gadget in my arsenal. here is a short interview I conducted with myself shortly after finding out that its on the way.

What's taken you so long to get one of these mar

Simple answer? I didn't need one. I got myself an iPod touch 2nd gen about 3 years ago, around the time when the iPhone 3G came out. I needed a device to take my attention away from the boring trip to work in the mornings on the bus. 

Why would you get a version that's two years old and nearly obsolete?

I just need to play my angry birds dammit! I'm also getting it for a great price. You can get these guys "new" on Ebay or craigslist for about 200 bucks, as long as you know how to be patient and can work Ebay like a pro. If you have some geek in you like me, you can get one with a broken screen for about 100 bucks and then get a new screen for 20-30 and save a boatload of change.

What are you looking forward to the most out of your "new"/old phone?

Well. for the last few years, since smartphones have become the norm, phones have been getting more and more expensive. So to save a few bucks, I've just been buying inexpensive prepaid smartphones. What I'm looking forward to the most is having a phone that just works. I don't really have to worry about age, because I'm replacing the battery as well, and I don't have to worry about space and having a bastardized version of Android. And before I forget, I will get to play and update all of my old apps and get to use an incredible 5 megapixel camera. Don't forget the camera. I almost don't need to carry my SLR with that thing on there.

Which carrier is your phone on?

Ehhh... AT&T. The internet is probably the most expensive part of the service and they are practically forcing unlimited minutes and texts on you just so you can get the bandwidth you want. I wish I could be using T-Mobile, for their unlimited internet, instead, but I really can't complain. I got the phone for a REALLY good deal. Also, I'm not the original owner so I might have some hassle unlocking the phone unless I use it for a few months.

Maybe I will post some of the guides I used if I am successful at replacing the screen and the battery.

So in other news, The iPhone 5s and the new ipads look like they will be announced next week. Any early adopters here? if so what new features are you looking forward to?

Repel the Dwell

I tend to dwell on what I do and don't have in my life. Obviously, I spend more time on the don't. That's one of the few lessons I never seem to learn. But the never learning just seems to be one of my quirks. God..... I hope I don't teach my kid that one.

This weekend I went on a super fun camping expedition to Dixon Lake in Escondido. It was strictly a reconnaissance mission for an upcoming camping trip to the same lake in October. Mainly to iron out all of the wrinkles and to give recommendations and share warnings with the other campers that are attending the same trip. I went with three friends, two of them being the leaders of the group organizing the whole trip.

We checked into our site on Friday afternoon and setup camp. Then we drove down to the lake to get some time clocked in for some fishing. The entire drive down from the campsite, we were discussing the best ways on how we should kill the fish once we caught one. The irony of the situation is that all four of us are pacifists, even more so when it comes to wild animals.

As you can imagine, none of us caught a single fish. So I guess the whole discussion was a bust. I hope in October that will be a different case. My co-worker shared with me some neato tricks on how to get fish to bite the hook, which I'm very eager to try.

Do any of you fish? when was the last time you hit the lake? Mine was with my Snoopy fishing rod back in the early 90's. It's probably still sitting at the bottom of Irvine Lake too!

PS.... If you are a craft beer enthusiast, Stone Brewing is about 5 miles away and worth the visit. Thank you, have a nice day!

In the Wilderness

One of the things I've learned, while watching shows on Tru TV (not talking about Wipeout here), is to always expect the unexpected when it concerns wildlife. For example, I watched a docudrama about a lady who went to one of those swim with the dolphin events in the carribean and the dolphin ended up grabbing the lady's leg and pulling her under. With that, I've come directly into contact with the local wildlife over the last month or so.

Experience #1
Around three or four weeks ago, I went to my favorite beach,Sunset Beach, to partake in some long awaited body boarding. I was out in the water waiting for some waves when I looked up the coast about 100 feet to some surfers who were going crazy for some dolphins that were coming near shore for some fish and playing in the waves. They came pretty close to me, maybe about 30 feet at least, but I decided to paddle in a bit to get out of their way. They stayed around for a bit but ended taking off for greener pastures. That was actually my first time seeing dolphins in that area and it was indeed pretty cool.

Experience #2
I seem to have gotten the bug and really enjoy hiking the trail to the Bridge to Nowhere. The trail goes right through the Sheep Mountain Wilderness. The first few trips through, I didn't see a single mountain sheep and I assumed it was a BS ploy. My fourth time up was on a rainy/drizzly day and when I was taking my mid hike break at the bridge, I actually saw a group of about 7 or 8 sheep walking on the hill just to the south! I wondered if I would be able to get a better view of the sheep in the future because they look pretty interesting.

This last weekend when I took the trail, I walked the majority of the trail with a guy who commonly prospects on the east fork of the San Gabriel River. He was telling me that the sheep are actually very common sights but most people are looking down at the trail instead of looking up and seeing the awesome sights. We parted at about the four and a half mile point and I continued to the bridge and a nice half hour break and watched the bungee jumping instructor setting up the rig for the morning jumpers. I then started back to the trail head and got about 5 minutes away when I heard a rustling in a bush about 10 feet away from me next to the trail. I grew a tad concerned and I looked over in that direction and saw two more mountain sheep less than 20 feet away from me! They were running parallel to the trail  and trying to get up the side of the hill. I was sooooo close that I thought one of the sheep was going to charge straight at me and I'd be running my ass right back to the bridge.Whew! That was close!!

I hope I get the chance to see more wildlife out in the middle of their habitat. They are much more interesting out there than seeing them on a day trip to the LA Zoo.

It's Time To Go

I've been wanting to write about this for awhile and couldn't find the right words. I'm gonna die ......  maybe. Hopefully. Well, I probably will someday.

I'm leaving an uber cool trip to New York City, today. I'm going by train which is mostly unthinkable mode of transportation in this day and age in the US. I'll post some updates along the way if I can get internet on my phone.

I'm not actually dying, btw.

Breaking Out of Purgatory

I just accomplished a task that I have been dreaming and procrastinating for several months. Well, more like the last year.

The quest for any artist is to have their work shown. Now, this really goes against the grain for most of us artsy type people for several reasons. Many are introverted. For others, their work is just so personal that they could never imagine their work being completed or seen by somebody else. Its just one of the grandest feelings that we get to keep ourselves realistic.

I just made that move this past weekend. I looked at about 100 photos that I shot at two different brewerys and at Griffith Park. I wasn't proud of my work one bit. And I had several great photos. But I think I'm straying away from my point.

Just because you do art doesn't mean you should stop moving forward. The way to go is to mow every person in your path down and get to point B. I just sent out my first sales pitch to have my work hung at the new tasting room of a local brewery. Its a good deal for both sides. My photo/s get shown, they get free decorations, and I get experience.The worst thing that will happen is that my photos won't get shown. Well..... They are already not CURRENTLY being shown other than my website. There is no real downside If I get rejected..

I hope this doesn't make it to the eyes of my prospective sale, but I was just looking to gain some experience and some well needed guts/cojones to take me to the next level. I obviously passed that test when I hit send in my email, even if it ends up in the spam filter. I can say now, what many other people in this world can't say is "I did it!".

This year is already starting to shape up as a big win for me! I just need to keep following the lead of my favorite wrestler, CM Punk. Because he is "The Best In The World!"


Edit
Booo.....I need a new job :'-(


Edit #2
Wow! What a ramble!

Edit #3
Do these really count as edits since I added them before I posted this the first time?

Getting into Music Shape

Whoever thought that starting a podcast would be a breeze. Not much sweat involved, unless it was kinda hot outside. Well, then I remembered I am making a music based podcast. 100% of the music will be written by me.

I haven't really picked up my guitar or my bass much over the past two years.So, the question now is how do I get back into shape with my playing. If you're asking yourself the same questions, here are a couple of ways to get yourself back in:

Exercising your fingers:

This is probably the most painful part of learning a stringed instrument. The best way I've found to do this is to use one of those hand grips that the MMA guys use to work on their fingers. Resold under the Planet Waves brand, this handgrip has on one side a rubber bumper that fits on your palm and the other side has four hard plastic bumpers on springs. Then you kind of just work on your fingerings as though you were playing.

Another technique I read about in an interview with Dino Cazares (of Brujeria, Asesino, and Fear Factory fame), where he used to strap scuba diver ankle weights to his wrist and put black electrical tap on his finger joints. He did this until he finally got to playing at his regular speed without the extras. He then would remove the tape and weights and all of the extra resistance increased his speed and accuracy. The article is no longer available on its former site, but the excerpt is still on the Blabbermouth.net website.


Playing your scales

Practicing scales actually have several different uses when playing a guitar. First off, it helps you learn notes and positions. Second, they help you learn how to switch strings seamlessly. That seems to be a  more difficult concept when you're first learning how to play. Third, it helps you learn how to time yourself. Pick up a metronome from Sam Ash or Guitar Center and play along to the pace it sets.

Here is a good link that shows the different guitar scales available
Here is one for the bass
and
Here are the triads and progressions


Listen along

My favorite bassist ever, Tony Campos, mentioned in an interview several years ago that one of the ways he learned to play was by listening to Cannibal Corpse and other death metal and metal bands and trying to figure out what notes they were playing and then try and recreate it himself. By doing this, you also come to respect the different styles of music you play, which in turn makes it easier to remember and pick up.

Another reason to play other peoples music is that its easier to learn techniques and notations that you would look at on a sheet of music and wonder how the hell you would play that. I remember when I first was learning to play, I was looking at an old copy of Guitar World that had the sheet music for Schysm from Tool. It was my first time seeing triplets. I never even saw those when I was playing in my school band. Then I listened to the song 50 million times, and then I was good to go.


Get out there!

My last but not least tip is to just get out there and play! get some type of decent and find an open mic, join a band, or just jam with some dudes (and/or ladies) who enjoy the same style as you do. I was in a very short lived band and it was one of the most fun times of my life! Just make sure they live near you or you all must be willing to meet in the middle. Concerts are a great way of finding others that share your interests, of course. And have fun out there playing music!

The Sounds of Hell

I was sitting here and thinking about what I wanted to write about. At first, I was going to write my next entry for starting a podcast, but then after I had written everything out, I thought I would like to mention something I've found interesting since I was a little kid. The Sounds of Hell!!!

This clip was taken from my most favorite radio show ever, Coast to Coast AM. Click Here to read the backstory.

I actually listened to that recording when it played live on the radio about 8 or 9 years ago. At the time I was a delivery driver for a pharmacy, a job I strongly disliked. When you are on the road for 8 hours a day, you end up listening to talk radio. Well, I used to drive from midnight to about 4 AM every night. So I had just returned to the pharmacy after finishing up my delivery run.I had to drop off my paperwork and split. The pharmacy was located in a commercial zone that was virtually empty in the middle of the night. Nobody driving on the road and the pharmacy was closed.

So I pull up to the entryway from the street and sit there to listen to this recording. It kinda freaked me out. and all of a sudden from the right side of my car, I see this  tiny orange glow come out of nowhere. I started freaking out, and then I see it was a homeless man sitting on the lawn of the business and I jump like 4 feet into the air! OMG!

I thought that was the best piece of radio I had heard ever, that is until they had on the guest who was the spokesperson for the Maitreya and the guests who shared their recordings of EVPs and Exorcisms. Very compelling radio! To be honest the exorcisms are the best but the EVPs are the freakiest. Especially when in one area you hear the voice of the kid and in another you hear the voice of an adult and its determined that they are the same spirit messing with the investigators!

Unfortunately, people get a little too upset when great topics such as this get talked about. Mostly, its done by people who take religion a bit too seriously. Its worth it to take a step back and just enjoy life. Tightwads!