summer is here at last, but I'll have what she's drinking

Holy crap!

What happens when you play it backwards?

I just met up with a friend I hadn't seen since 9th grade when I lived in Ft. Riley, KS....his family now lives in Mtgy. Seems to be doing quite well. I didn't ask for his top ten albums of all time yet, though.

))<>((

Just kinda randomly figured out how to play 2 songs this weekend:
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Waterloo Sunset"

Don't know why I never worked on the latter one before because it's one of my favorite songs of all-time. Or maybe that is why I never tried.

feel good video of the year

http://www.buzzfeed.com/stacylambe/how- ... coming-out

So Anderson Cooper finally came out.

Tom Cruise, ball's in your court

Just had a Rivercat sighting. He lives!

The saxophone solo puts my teeth on edge but, hey, that's a good thing.

I guarantee that if you listen to this the 'gonna get out and get me some poooooontang' line is in your head for good.

Oh man. Hang in there, stinky lil' buddy.

Seriously, though, I think we almost stole a cat yesterday.

Texas Republicans formally oppose critical thinking. (no, not the Onion)

"Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority."

http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/ne ... -thinking/

As a teacher and moderate Republican, this makes me sad.

As far as having any power in the party or any meaningful effect on current policy.... I am a Moderate Republican may as well be read as I am a Dodo Bird. Wish it weren't so and I remember a time when I could have rational conversations about all sorts of things with more Republicans than not, but sadly those times are gone. Now, when you vote Republican, those are exactly the policies you indirectly support. I'm not saying I agree with all things Democrat because I certainly don't, but shit like this just makes voting obvious for me. This isn't fringe wackos, this is the Texas Republican establishment's official platform. This is what you vote for when you vote Republican.

I hope you mean Dodo Bird as in extinct and not the other connotation.

I just find myself not being able to agree with much of anything that either party is doing.

Yes, that is what I meant. The other meaning is reserved for the other side of the party... the side that unfortunately is in control of it.

It's obviously way too easy to get something out to the masses these days.

I guess it's never too late to discover brokeNCYDE.

I feel as I may have seen that before at some point, but was fortunate enough to have blocked it from my mind.

Truly frightening.

RE: Tech

I feel old and out of touch. Uninformed of what is at the tip of my fingers both with the web 2.0, Cloud storage, the capabilities of software like Spotify (I use it frequently, but only for it's main, simple function) and shit, I have a Blackberry Torch which I only use a handful of its capabilities. Nevermind if I had an iPhone with endless App supply.
I was telling the younger brother (21 year old) of my assistant (24 year old) that since the mid-2000s, because I've gone mainly to desktop and car audio listening of music, I've completely missed the transition to wireless home audio playback, and by my own fault feel overwhelmed at trying to make the step into a wireless home stereo. His response: "I don't think I've ever listened to music on a home stereo. I grew up with mp3 players."

I can claim that I like my life simple and this tech ignorance keeps it that way, but I also feel like I'm going to wake up one day and be like my 41 year old co-worker who is completely computer illiterate.

anyone else feel this way, and if you do or don't, what are your thoughts on the subject of everyday consumer technology?

Seems like some of the connectedness would be nice, yeah, but fucking good home stereos sound GOOD. Walking over to the stereo, grabbing a record out of the shelves, and laying the needle down is a nice experience. I never want all my shit with me when I'm moving around (mobile device) except the rare longer motorcycle trip, and I have an ipod for that.

For me it is about integrating what you want into your life and not bothering with things that don't meet your needs.

For example, a decent home stereo with good sound is something I place a value on, and I like the tactile experience of records and even tapes. They also hold a nostalgic appeal. So around the house this is generally how I listen to music. Yet, I also plugged a bluetooth receiver into a spare connection, have a ton of music on a cloud server and can beam from my phone directly into the stereo with this connection. So, when I want the convenience and unlimited storage available with modern stuff I have that too. I can stream a playlist when I've got people over and don't wanna be paying attention to the stereo or just want background music. I can grab music off the internet on a smartphone and send it to the stereo and whatever else I want to do. I can do all that from my laptop as well if I want. When I'm in the car and on the go the convenience factors take over and I stream everything from the cloud for the car stereo, which also has a bluetooth receiver. I don't have to clutter the car with CDs or tapes and the sound is fine by me with the streaming for listening in the car. I guess I want the best of both worlds. I enjoy and still want to keep hold of the traditional things I like. But, when the new technology allows me uses that work for me, I want to be aware enough and technologically educated enough to use them.