Rush, what?!

I never thought this day would happen, but it has. Since it's really late, and since this is probably not a major occurrence for anyone south of the 49th parallel, I'll be brief.

Tonight, Denise and I attended a Facebook-induced (*vomit*) get-together of friends from high school. It was held at a local pizza place that will figure very prominently in my life in the next few years (more on that in a future post). The get-together was fine, a bunch of people doing the reunion dance, gumshoe-like FAQ, etc. The real highlight of the night was about a half-hour before we left.

I've been a Rush head for years now. I'm one of the new generation of Rush fans as I really started listening in the '90s. I always understood that they were a bit of a niche band for the US, with a couple of big hits during the '80s like Tom Sawyer and Limelight. Sure, they still sell out huge concert venues after thirty years of play, but they still wouldn't break the top twenty-five in all-time great bands for most magazines.

So, I was surprised (aka, tears in the eyes) when a Rush song was played in the bar! Sure, it was only Tom Sawyer, but even that is head-and-shoulders above most of the typical fare. It was the first, and probably one of the very few times, in my life that Rush was played in that kind of location. I'll treasure it always.
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Tomorrow is a very long car trip, and another missed Oilers game. At least we beat the Canucks last night.

Digging Out

Just finished carving compact snow and ice out of the neighbor's driveway. She's elderly, lives alone, and I really wanted the exercise. My back will start to scream in about an hour, but for now I feel great! It's that typical high that I get after a workout. The sort of thing that runners get after a couple of miles, but I dont have to destroy my knees to get there.

Anyway, I had great fun chipping away at the leavings of what must be four storms. I was pulling ice chunks out that were way to heavy for the shovel, which meant a lot of up and down. Squats, what?! Everything was over three inches thick, even compact as densely as it was. After about an hour-and-forty-five minutes, I had cleared the driveway so that two cars could park, and half of the sidewalk. Unfortunately, that was enough, I just couldn't take any more pounding on my right shoulder. It'll scream tomorrow morning.

Oh, and I had a lot of fun doing it!
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One of the best benefits was my short break in the middle. A Sam Adams Winter Lager went down very quickly and very happily! I must admit that, if I am forced to reach for a mass-distributed beer, I will grab a Sammy every time. I haven't been dissatisfied yet, even with some of the weird stuff (Cranberry Pilzner, anyone?). Maybe I was really thirsty, but that Winter Lager was about the best beer I've ever had, and that's saying something!
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Obligatory Oilers statement: Last night saw a cheap victory over the Coyotes. I missed the whole game due to a family Christmas party, but that's alright. I Did, however, note that the Tricity Americans are playing in town next week. They are currently listed as eighth in all junior hockey, which is pretty impressive. But then, I could probably be in eighth too, if I had Pickard in goal. It's really to bad the Oilers missed drafting him. I mean, they need yet another goalie prospect, right?...

Snow, Snow, Snow

The ruler showed nine inches of the white stuff this morning, and that includes a quarter-to-half inch of ice rain. Pretty amazing stuff for Western Washington. To bad the temperature's rising, so we won't be keeping this for long. Should be a wonderful mess when it all melts away!

I'm off for the rest of the year, so bring out your snow!

A little clip of last night. Snow coming down like crazy, and the kids having fun. I wasn't out with them yet, but soon would join, heavy ale in hand.

A Winter Wonderland

Whoa! Okay, I wanted a white Christmas, so I can't say I didn't ask for this. Six inches of the white stuff is a little much, even for me! Fortunately, we haven't been cold on a consistent basis (I don't call 25 cold). Of course I realized after the first night that we dropped into the teens that I hadn't blown out the outdoor pipes, so we'll see what kind of watery fun we get in spring.

It's funny how our jobs get in the way. Yesterday, I let the staff go at 2:00, and we subsequently spent the next 1.5 hours helping people get out of the parking lot. Yet today, when the roads are worse (frozen melt-off), we still don't close the office. Essential staff reports, and the building fully opens at 10:00. Did I mention that it's still snowing? All I can say is, I'm glad I'm allowed to use my own discretion.

The best part is that Caelyn and Jonah are getting a taste of real winter! It won't be around for long (probably into next week), but the experience still counts. To bad I haven't been able to get out with them, yet. Denise had them playing for about an hour yesterday, and apparently a great time was had by all.
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I shouldn't even mention that the Oilers are back to their consistent inconsistency. A magnificent pair of games over the weekend were followed by a 9-2 and 3-0 loss. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

On a related hockey note, we'll be in the Tricities for the Christmas festivities at mom and dad's new place. I should check to see if the Americans will be playing in town, but am reluctant. I don't need the disappointment of seeing no games due to the holidays. We'll postpone that for a little sense of sanity, should the Oilers win before Christmas.
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Got the Digitech Jamman last weekend. I'll post a review when I get a moment to actually use the thing.

Kansas City, for Shame

To understand this rant/post/whatever you want to call it, you have to understand something basic. I manage an IT department for a large Internet security company. We have offices all across the United States, including one near Kansas City, where I have two employees. You also need to understand that at this company, we review our employees' performance during January.

Why is all of this important? Because I get the pleasure of going to Kansas City in January. Now, typically weather doesn't bug me. I spent some time in the '80's in Anchorage AK. I would gladly shrug on the mantle of Canadian citizenship to live somewhere insane like Edmonton (but not Calgary). The fact is, though, that Kansas City in January is simply a pain in the neck! Yes, they get cold, but they are in that middle region where, when they get cold, it's just infrequently enough that everyone goes half-way crazy. Three inches of snow could be difficult for drivers in Florida, but Kansas City sees it every year. Get over yourselves and your weatherpeople that crystal ball their way onto the nightly news.

Okay, that part of the rant got out of hand. I'm going somewhere with all of this. I apologize, but we're about to jerk this train back on the tracks. Chug-a-chug.

So I thinks to myself, "Hey! What is good about KC in the winter? It's cold, it's full of big, strong, beef-fed conservatives...They have to have a minor-league hockey team, right? I could go take in a game!"

The Googles shows me all kinds of amateur and junior leagues. (Dear Lord, what will I do without a junior league around here when Jonah/Caelyn get old enough?...No, no, wait. Two rants is enough for one posting.) It looks like a pretty good hockey town, with rinks and everything.

So why don't they have a minor league team?!!!!!!!!

Stupid KC. I'll have to console myself with barbecued beef and Boulevard beer. It's a tough life.

Strength Training and Other Such Nonsense

IN America, an astonishingly low number of people get excited about exercise. If the years since WWII have taught us anything, it's that the sedentary lifestyle is the way to go. It makes us feel comfortable, contributes to the oh-so-shallow pockets of television network executives, and causes all kinds of mental/religious/health dilemas. What a wonderful society we live in!

And so we all blithely come out of our twenties, heading into a middle-age of growing waistlines and back pain. That is, until that fatal day that we decide enough is enough. It's time to start to exercise.

For me, exercise has been an on-and-off thing. High school was really active. College wasn't. Mid-twenties were really active. Late twenties weren't. And just this year I decided to get back into a regiment after several years off.

Fortunately, the body remembers. It knows the muscle it once had, and thinks that it can be that strong again. The mind remembers the euphoric hormones generated during and after a workout (ever heard of a runner's high?). And what remains of the muscles remember the motions of each individual exercise. But this phase in my battle against the bulge is going to be different.

I've been at the gym for about five months, and I'm seeing results. I'm stronger, fitter looking, and generally happy with my progress. I'm using a regiment that I've used before. It has always worked in the past, for a while. After a few months, however, I tended to plateau permanently. And I feel I've reached that point again.

So I looked for something new. I decided that doing what I've always done might not be the right decision. The exercises I've always done need to be abandoned. They work, but they don't trigger my sense of experimentation and drive for personal improvement. In other words, I want to do all those exercises that I have never liked. We often don't like to do things because they aren't easy. And when you are trying to better yourself, the easy path rarely leads to the highest reward.

I stumbled upon a regiment on StrongLifts.com that seems to fit the bill. The premise is simple: Start with very low weight on a very basic rotation of compound exercises. Learn technique. Raise weight gradually at each workout. Focus on the squat. In other words, build strength properly, consistently, and comprehensively.

I'll check back into this discussion in a few weeks. To start out, all of the core exercises but one start with an empty Olympic barbell (45 lbs). We'll see how far I get.

I'm excited about exercise again!

Oh the things kids say

Sometimes I wish I could make up real life:
So we're getting out to the car to head to church. Denise spots a squirrel in the big tree outside. I take the kids over to see, and they both get really excited. As we're walking away, Caelyn and I have this conversation:
R: So, Caelyn, what color was that squirrel?C: Uh, I don't know.R: Was it gray?C: Yeah, it was gray, just like (pauses to think) Papa's hair!
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Oilers at Dallas today, in another afternoon game. After pulling out a win against the Blues, I revert back to my early-season stance that we have no idea what to expect from this team. Either they get lucky, and pucks fall in the net, or they don't, and they lose. We aren't seeing any real blowouts, but watching games results in a Zantac 2.5 hours. I guess that's why we watch sports, to see who wins and loses. It's just a lot more fun to watch a team win consistently.
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I haven't posted yet on the Thanksgiving results. Suffice to say that the turkey (more accurately the fire in the smoker) caused a good bit of apprehension, but turned out spectacular. Most families can say that they ended up with way to much in the leftover department, but in our case it really was true! We hadd a simply stupid amount of food for seven adults.The five (yes, five) desserts were almost untouched.

I've subsequently done justice to the holiday by eating my weight back up in stuffing, turkey (ooooh that dark meat), and desserts. To the gym tomorrow, where I will subject myself to all the exercises I don't like.

Go Oilers!

Christmas

It's been a long time since I've really truly gotten into the christmas holiday. I mean, everyone gets excited as they sit on their couch, eating a cookie and watching the Peanuts gang magically transform a stick into something beautiful. No, what I'm talking about is the true excitement that used to seize us as children. The excitement that began to bubble up just after Halloween, as the wind picked up, the snow began to fall, and plans for "Who's house this year?" were being made.

The trouble is that we grew up. We lost that excitement in the press of everyday life, in 1500 new Christmas movies a year, in the commercialism. I mean, how many times can we hear from retailers that the holiday season was disappointing before we truly understand that all they want us to do is buy up their overinflated inventories? Christmas lost the magic. Sure, maybe we went to church (maybe), and listened to the old stories. Maybe we felt the spirit of giving infuse us enough to plink a quarter in a kettle, or buy some truly outstandingly thoughtful gift for the significant other of the year. We baked less, drank more, even worked on the holy day itself. Is this ringing a bell with anyone else's twenties?

So what is different this year? For me, it's the thought of slogging back across mountain passes to a place of cold clear weather. A place where the air smells of sage and wood smoke. A place that might not get snow, but who knows what's up in those clouds. When I was growing up, Christmas was always freezing, and it didn't rain.

Another factor is the fact that we'll be spending Christmas in one place. No more portioning time for church, FamilyA, and FamilyB. One place, only. We go, we open presents, we play, cook, talk, sing, and enjoy for the rest of the day. No obligations, just family. Of course our Christmas will be soured by the fact that it won't be the entire family, but hey, steps toward perfection are always positive.

Finally, maybe it's just the thought that this year has been extremely stressful. Work situations, Jonah's delays, Caelyn potty training, and a meriad of other little items are weighing me down like an anchor. I need that unwind. That time when nothing else matters but us. When everything else is secure, safe, and three-hundred miles away.

It's been a long time since I've thought about saying this before Thanksgiving, but I'll say it now: Merry Christmas, everyone.

See, I'm not insane!

Maybe it wasn't the main focus of my post from yesterday, but we did have a little discussion about the NHL's slamming the Oilers with possibly the best/worst schedule in 08-09. It seems that someone else had a very similar thought over at Oilers Nation. Click here to read the post.

Tonight we have another matchup with a team that I say is about to dynasty itself into the record books. Detroit is one of those teams that you watch skate just to see brilliant hockey. Here comes a prediction: Detroit takes the President's trophy enroute to a six game Stanley Cup victory over...oh...how about the Penguins? (Wait, wasn't that last year?)

Anyway, back to schedules rant. As I said before, I hate this schedule now. It messes with my mind, as we jump from games in central, mountain, and eastern timezones, all in the same week. It can't be good on the players, which could extend the current twenty points to 22 or 23. But in the end, what is better?

Learning by Ear

First, let me say, nice win last night, Oilers. You get doubled up in shots, but somehow pull out a 7-2 win. Better to save those goals for next month.

Which reminds me to point out something. (Okay, I'll get back to the actual subject of this post in a moment.) The fact that the Oilers start off their season with so many games on the road, added to the fact that they have one divisional game in all of November, smacks of something criminal to me. Sure, I'll probably be loving life in March when everyone has to come to freezing Alberta to play a winter game, but right now it's brutal. A lot of comments are flowing through Oiler blogs about players not playing to their potential. Is it at all possible that they are still shaking off the summer rust, and that the travel schedule has done nothing but emphasize the problem? I guess we'll see, come next spring.

Okay, so back on topic.

A blind guitarist can learn songs in a few different ways. The expensive route is to purchase lessons from either a website (i.e. www.musicvi.com) or via a personal teacher. Alternatively, you listen to a CD, probably augment with Internet research, and try to hack it out. Some even have friends that play that can help teach.

I use the second option. As this topic gets a bit of conversation on forums, I figured I would comment on the process. It's laborious, almost impossible with kids around, and will result in you playing the song your way. You will probably never exactly cover a song, which in some ways is a great thing! On the other hand, if you truly want to cover a song, I can't stress the first option enough. It costs more in dollars, but less in time. It has the added benefit of helping to develop proper technique while learning a song you enjoy.

Anyway, for me, the process usually goes like this: I start out either looking specifically for a song, or browsing the catalog of one of the sites listed below. I listen to the song over and over to develop a sense of rhythm, key, and difficulty. For example, songs with advanced techniques or finger-style melodies would go way up on the difficulty chart. Often, songs with high difficulty are simply impossible for my ear, as I can't pick up every transition, every note.

So I've listened to the song several times. I like it, I can probably even sing the words, but I haven't touched a guitar. Once I have everything in my head, I sit down and attempt to play the melody. This solidifies my sense of the song's key and helps me identify chord changes. Since most popular songs follow standard music theory. (Why go against the grain if it won't make you money.) So, I know that a song in a particular key will generally have specific chords. For example, a song in the key of C will have C, F, G, and A-minor. Since most songs work very well with only four chords, artists rarely go outside the box. So now it's up to me to put those into a proper order, get the right strumming pattern, and play along with a group.

Is my method precise? NO. Does it develop any new techniques or skills? No. Does it allow me to play along with a crowd in 99% of circumstances? Yes. So, for anyone thinking that picking up the guitar is to hard, listen very carefully to a few songs, learn some chords, build up some calouses, and have fun!

And now, for your clicking pleasure, the sites I most commonly use for chords, lyrics, and learning:

www.guitarnoise.com
www.guntheranderson.com/v/index.htm

Party on, Jonah!

We just finished watching the Oilers get beat in a shootout to the Avalanche. Despite the fact that Dwayne needs to keep his legs together more than a homecoming princess, it was a really good game. Shootout took five rounds, which is not something you see very often. I don't remember seeing one that long before. The whole thing was particularly heartbreaking as the Oilers had a goal lead with 30 seconds to go in regulation. After a couple of penalties, and a five-hole shot (see my comment above), the game was essentially lost.

Oh, and at the same time, we had Jonah's second BDay party. Thomas the Tank Engine seems to be a bit of an obsession right now, and it definitely was the theme. From the decorations to the music to the cake to the presents, everything came up trains. I'm sure I'll have pics to post tomorrow, which will give me a chance to figure out image placement with a screen reader. Anyway, party was pretty good. It's always good to have E&K in the house, even if she was off the radar again.

I realized today that I haven't touched the Breedlove in several days. That will be remedied tomorrow. 'tis the season to study Christmas songs, and I'm already behind the curve. Erik reported that I should have a looping pedal in my house shortly, which will help enormously with practice.

A very journal-like entry, but hey, what do you want for 10:30 at night after a very, very long day.

Go Oilers.

The Ubiquitous First Post

Alright, so here it is, and yes, it'll read something like every other first blog post you've ever read. Sorry about that, but sometimes you don't mess with perfection.

It took me a long time to get into this blog thing, and like most everything else in life, it was hockey that was the trigger. Hockey? Yes. Hockey got me married, hockey gave me an entertaining childhood. Hockey pulled me into blogging. Why? Mainly because I had to respond to this.

I'm also a nonAlbertan that follows the Oilers, and doesn't understand why. I mean, there is a hockey team less than 200 miles from me (though I would have to pass through border control to get to a game). The fact is, that the Oilers are simply the most entertaining, best covered, and certifiably insane (northern Alberta in winter) team in the NHL. You love them, you hate them, you watch them on HNIC when the stars align. And, if you're me, you start blogging just to say that some NHL blogger with weak content has it right (Reportedly she's pretty hot, though.)

Admittedly this blog will probably result in very little interest external to my children looking back in twenty years to see "what truly was wrong with daddy", but at least it's an outlet for marginal creativity. What can you, my nonexistant reader, expect? Essentially, this blog will, like so many others, be a chronicle of my thoughts and experiences. Enjoy!