mememiner.com

Here's the new template. It's the Sandbox Motion Professional Website standard template, with no customization. It works though. More to come....... Read More »

Long story short: one tooth grew in sideways, bottom wisdom teeth were impacted for year, finally broke through and immediately started showing signs of surface decay. Meanwhile, part of the biting surface of my upper rearmost molar is pressed up against another tooth, started to decay, badly. Can't see the decay though, but a month ago I started to feel it. 1 week of awful tootaches later, I find myself at the oral surgeon getting three teeth extracted. Only problem is, I can only get local anesthetic. Doc was quite good and managed to extract the teeth without cutting them, but being awake during something like this sucked. Mouth has been sore ever since, but less so each day. Hurt really bad after infection developed in socket but antibiotics cleared it up. At any rate, here's the teeth I got pulled. The one on the right left shows extensive decay. No, I'm not proud of this, but the tooth was screwed up to begin with (growing in sideways, etc.) and since my mouth is pretty crowded as is, one less non-functional tooth doesn't bother or embarrass me.... Read More »

“Art’s the way to know what you don’t.” - Azaroth, from Postsingular, by Rudy Rucker... Read More »

I was recently contacted by a good friend who did not like something I had written on this blog, and they were quite upset about it. I thought it might be a good time to state why I even write this blog. It started out as an easier way to maintain the “home page” I’ve had more or less since 1994. I thought it would be a clearinghouse for cool ideas I ran across (hence the name “mememiner”) but once I realized I didn’t really care to participate as an author of blog content on the level of say, a bigger blog, it became more of a place for my personal thoughts. From time to time I am quite intimate and open about my hopes and fears on this blog, and the reason I do not restrict postings to “friends” on my LJ site is because I am not afraid to share my innermost feelings, warts and all, from time to time to the small readership that frequents this site. If anyone thinks that I write blog posts with the intent of achieving ulterior motives, nothing could be further from the truth. I am simply keeping a journal of private thoughts, publicly. While you may be privy to them, that does not give you the right to unfairly judge me or assume that they are a jumping-off point for criticism. Well, judge all you want, just don’t expect to internalize any judgments you make as a result of reading something here. Let me be clear: if you do not like what you read here, do not read here. It’s pretty simple. Please don’t expect me to change my behavior just because you developed a problem with something I wrote. I’m not writing for you, I’m writing for me. And to the person who emailed me about the blog post, you are my friend and I admire and respect you, and I hope that you can move on, but I offer no apologies (except when I do, and not in this case).... Read More »

Jalen and I went and saw “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” today. A couple thoughts… For one, it wasn’t as awful as I had been made out to believe. The Silver Surfer, as portrayed through his spoken dialogue, came off as fairly accurate to the spirit of the original comic book character. This was a pleasant surprise. Secondly, people should not expect the FF movies to take themselves too seriously. Obviously this franchise is going to be a little tongue-in-cheek, and given that our expectations were set along this trajectory in the first movie, complaining about the goofy moments in movie reviews is neither illuminating or relevant. Thirdly, I’m sorry, I don’t get the hype about Jessica Alba. She looks terrible as a blonde, and she’s on the generic side of exotic brunette IRL. Big deal. Finally, I’m really disappointed that they failed to show Galactus. He’s one of the coolest-looking characters in the Marvel Universe, and yet in this movie, he’s portrayed, more or less, as a menacing cloud/tornado thing. Weak. I realize the screenwriters would have felt the need to develop the characterization a bit more if they actually showed him in his giant humanoid form, but I have to say, a real bummer. Jalen thought it was TOTALLY AWESOME. Then again, he LOVED the Ghost Rider movie too. Talk about a screenplay that makes absolutely no sense.... Read More »

(Thanks to Bubblegumfink)... Read More »

Had a funny experience today. I got a call from a woman, Christy Harris, whom I once shared VJ duties with at a Communikey show. Well, she was VJing and I made visuals for the Freq Modif set. I’ve also borrowed a screen from her before. At any rate, she called up to ask if I had a video mixer and/or projector she could borrow for tonight. Unfortunately, my video mixer bit the dust a few months ago when it suddenly decided to stop working. I explained that my video mixer was on the blitz and that I no longer had a projector. She was also kind enough to ask if was doing video anywhere tonight. Of course, since it’s 10:00pm MST and I’m writing a blog entry, the answer was no, I’m not doing video anywhere tonight. It was an interesting question that really brought 2006 into, if you’ll pardon the pun, “focus” for me. I put a not-insignificant amount of energy in 2005 trying to develop and build my skills as a visual artist. In addition to assembling the requisite hardware, I also began collecting clips like mad, spent money on VJ software and went out of my way to ask people to keep me in mind if they ever needed someone to do visuals. In January, I saw the guys from Mother Earth Sound System at the last techno party I would attend in Boulder, and they mentioned that they would like for me to do visuals at the Full Moons the upcoming summer. It was the last time I talked to any of them. They never bothered to follow-up with an email or phone call. Not only did they not call or email, nobody, except for my good friend Erik, asked me to play or spin anywhere in all of 2006. I think this is the first year that something like that happened. It’s worth mentioning that when I did spin at Erik’s party, I DJed a set of ambient black metal, but that’s a different story. I’m not really sure what happened, but it seemed like 2006 was the year I gave up on the scene, or it gave up on me, or maybe it was a mutual parting of the ways. Nobody seemed to really care if I was involved in their parties or not, nobody really thought I had anything to offer them. I did stop going to Boulder functions. In fact, I can name on one hand the number of times I went out for music this year: The fore-mentioned CommuniKey party in January. Fanny, Xanopticon, Abelcain and Duran Duran Duran (along with CDatakill) in May. Unearthly Trance in September. Celtic Frost in November. Doormouse & CDatakill in December. I guess if you’re not going out, people don’t really remember you. 2005 would have likely been a bust too, but in 2005 I did several shows with N., and that got me out in the community. Unfortunately, I’m not friends with N. anymore, much less doing shows with him. The fact is, seeing him with J. makes me sick. Seeing him alone and knowing he’s with J. makes me sick. I have never, in my entire life, been more disappointed and disgusted with a close friend as I was with N. The way he screwed over his long-time partner was just indefensible. The fact that he did it for J., one of Boulder’s most pretentious, selfish and more reprehensible wanna-be aging hipster flake-a-zoids, is the proverbial icing on the cake. Essentially, after I found out about their affair, I was very direct to him in emails until he finally told me he was writing me off completely, and never wanted to speak to me again. I’m OK with that. I spoke what I perceived to be truth to a boy who didn’t want to hear or think about the ugly, hurtful side of his actions, and he decided that rather than engage in dialogue, he’d rather just withdraw from our friendship. We did run across one another in McGuckin’s last summer, and he said something like “Hey. What’s Up.” I just rolled my eyes to the ceiling and kept walking. I wanted to scream at him that he was a fucking scumbag, but I had other things on my mind. He knows how I feel anyway. I suppose it’s sad that the possibility of seeing an ex-best-friend out would deter me from going out, but in many ways, my relationship with N. was one of my few anchors in the scene. When I did shows with him, or went out, or talked about/played/made music with him, I felt connected. I felt like, here’s my good friend, and he totally understands what I see in music. I didn’t just lose a friend, I lost one of my main allies in the so-called scene. Boulder’s scene is about as whack as it gets anyway. The powers-that-be are bringing out the same ole played-out bullshit minimal techno and IDMish techno that went in and out of vogue in 2003. Maybe if they were asking me to do visuals or spin or be involved, I’d be more generous in my assessment, but as is, I just see people with lots of attitude about something that’s the only thing they have going in their lives. I guess if my life was that monochromatic, I’d be protective of it too. I’m grateful that my life is not monochromatic. I have an amazing family, and a new son, and wonderful companion animals, and one of the best jobs in the world. For me, electronic music isn’t just a scene, it’s a literal living. I make my living, enough to afford a nice house and nice things and take care of my family, in the electronic music industry. Not too many people involved in parties or producing or DJing can say that. That being said, having gone an entire year and only being asked once to participate in something, well, I guess it hurts and makes me a little sad. I love this music and I love(d) this scene. It might surprise some people to know that I still DJ. Lately I’ve been spinning every day. It might surprise some people to know that I still collect music like a madman, and still work on producing my own music. What’s really ironic is that I feel like I’m at the top of my game, yet I might as well as not exist as far as the Colorado “rave scene” is concerned. I know that part of it is that the scene itself is dwindling, but I imagine that the number of DJs, producers and VJs is not. I also know that most of my involvement with the so-called scene was me getting out there and doing stuff myself — producing my own shows, or with like-minded folks. Honestly though, it mostly feels like nobody really gives two shits. Nobody thinks of enough of what I do as a producer, DJ or VJ to bother asking me to play at their parties (with above-noted exception). That, in isolation, makes me fairly sad. However, not living in a vacuum, I cannot allow myself to be too out of sorts over it. After all, I have a sweet life, even if I’m not being asked to help out or play at parties anymore. I do hope that this situation changes in 2007. Oh, and I have a million other things to write about, but this has been on my mind for a while. Hopefully I’ll get around to posting more about the other stuff later on. I know this post sucks, but I felt compelled to write one more thing before the end of the year. Colorado electronic music scene — thanks for nothing in 2006. Happy New Year!... Read More »

I realize that most other blog posts that link to this all-too-short examination of personal fave H.P. Lovecraft in the New York Review of Books are quoting this paragraph, but it really is one of the best things ever written about Howard: He was also frightened of invertebrates, marine life in general, temperatures below freezing, fat people, people of other races, race-mixing, slums, percussion instruments, caves, cellars, old age, great expanses of time, monumental architecture, non-Euclidean geometry, deserts, oceans, rats, dogs, the New England countryside, New York City, fungi and molds, viscous substances, medical experiments, dreams, brittle textures, gelatinous textures, the color gray, plant life of diverse sorts, memory lapses, old books, heredity, mists, gases, whistling, whispering—the things that did not frighten him would probably make a shorter list. The article essentially makes the case that Lovecraft was the penultimate nerd, to which all of us who have been fans of his over the years answer with a resounding “Well, DUH!” Much like Rick Moranis’ character in Ghostbusters, only hardcore nerds can open up gates to otherworldly realms as expansive and horrifying as Lovecraft’s. The extroverted and socially popular couldn’t be counted on to catch a glimpse of eldritch horrors or understand the inherent creepiness of non-Euclidean geometry if the fate of the world depended upon it.... Read More »

The uncommonly wet weather we’ve seen on the Front Range this year has resulted in lush, green mountains that one normally associates with the Pacific Northwest. It also seems to have resulted in an abundance of bear food, as we’ve seen bears on our property 5 times since late April. Our friends Ted & Caroline came to visit this last weekend, and when they went up to their car on Saturday morning, were suprised to see bear prints all over their truck. I guess they had left some food in the truck the night before. Yesterday afternoon, we saw a small black bear in our backyard. I managed to get a couple shots of him, here’s one:... Read More »

Today I deleted my RSS feed to Wonkette, when I realized that I had been right-clicking on her feed in FeedDemon and selecting “Mark Channel As Read” without even bothering to glance at the headlines for about a month solid now. I ‘spose she was funny at first, but the schtick didn’t last. I’ve never been a fan of gossip columns to begin with, and gossip columns about think tank personnel, bloggers and political figures is even less interesting than Hollywood celebrities (go figure). I had high hopes for her at first, seeing as she was alumnus for one of the best web sites of all time, suck.com, but it just didn’t pan out. I’m thinking her talents are poorly-served by having to cover such ugly, personally uninteresting people.... Read More »

Top 10 Most Ridiculous Black Metal Pics of All Time My favorite is the bald guy in #5, although the evil dude with his fly down is pretty hilarious, too.... Read More »

I’ve added a new, permanent feature to this blog. It’s the rollcall of names of people I think ought to have a cap popped in their ass. I’m christening it with the 3 conservative commentators I hate most: Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly. If you agree with me, great! If not, I could care less. I’m not trying to be politically correct. I’m simply making a list of people the world would be better off without, in my flawed and vindictive opinion. I will be adding more names as time goes by. UPDATE (01/09/05): I took this down tonight. The wife felt it was rather mean-spirited. I guess that was the whole point in the first place, but no sense painting a target on my back, either.... Read More »

Come on, you know you have been waiting for this moment: I updated my OPML file. Check the main page if you’re hurting for RSS feeds. It’s on the right.... Read More »

just deleted 30 comments worth of crap about texas hold-em poker, debt refinancing and various porn-related crap. i’m gonna have to figure out how to turn off comments on the MT blog without turning them off on LJ…... Read More »

Well, it was a noble goal, but one I'm unfortunately incapable of fulfilling. Planning our wedding and a sinus infection are the main culprits, and I knew you would understand.... Read More »

Finally got around to updating MT to 2.661. No more comment spamming!... Read More »

Let's see -- trip to Wondervu, trip to Boulder, trip to Nederland -- all in all, about 3.5 hours spent in the car today, and I didn't even make the trek down to Englewood. Our vehicles, once nice, are breaking down. The Explorer needs an alignment pretty badly. It's also got this problem with the brakes -- they squeak and the emergency brake seems to not be so effective, again. The Subaru makes a really bad rattling noise that I'm told I can do nothing about. It also only gets about 20 MPG now, probably due to the 145,000 miles on it. Both of them are really dirty, with multiple stains and interior blemishes that are driving me crazy. Have I mentioned we spent $273 on gas for both our vehicles for the month of March? That's $68.25 a week. Insurance was $214. I'm starting to think this driving thing is a crock.... Read More »

So I wake up Thursday morning about 3:30am from a deep sleep, or I guess I should say, I'm awakened from a deep sleep, by a room that's spinning around me about a million miles per hour. What the ... ? I sit up in bed, and the room kinda slows down. Weird. I go into my office so I won't wake up Jalen and Melissa, and sit down. I'm feeling a bit nauseous, but nothing terrible. Sit there for 15 minutes, and walk downstairs to get a drink of water. I reach the bottom of the stairs, and the room starts spinning again. The feeling is akin to that of being on a merry-go-round after accepting a double-dog-dare from the big kids to let them push you as fast as they can; or being on that one ride at Six Flags where they spin you around really quickly and drop the floor out from underneath you. The feeling I was getting was like that, except all out of proportion because I hadn't drank anything or eaten anything weird. Rest of the body feels normal, but head is spinning like too many beer bongs the freshman year in college. Anyway, get to the bottom of the stairs, the spins, and then the sudden onslaught of severe nausea. I call Ralph on the Big Porcelain Telephone, note the absence of food in the conversation and go into the living room where this happens maybe 10 more times before Missy wakes up at 7:30am. Fortunately for me, she's got the day off to take care of my pathetic ass. This happens maybe 30 more times during the day. I move my head slightly, and the room starts spinning furiously for about a minute, then stops and I'm nauseous. It does seem to get better through the day, but is still very debilitating and scary. At some point, Missy notices that during one of these "spells", my eyes are moving back and forth very rapidly, akin to what happens with people with down's syndrome. At this point, we are getting a little nervous and decide to consult WebMD. What we got back wasn't pretty: "these are signs of a small stroke or brain tumor" seemed to be the general consensus. We decide to wait 24 hours before panicking to see if the symptoms persist. I wake up on Friday morning after barely sleeping Thursday night, and indeed, the spinning spells continue. We call my father-in-law, who's a surgeon, and ask him what he thinks it is, telling him what we found on WebMD. "Well, I guess it could be a tumor or a slight stroke, but my guess is that it's this thing called Benign Positional Vertigo". He goes on to explain what it is (an inner-ear condition), how it's caused (free-floating calcium carbonate crystals in the inner ear chambers), that it's not life-threatening, but to go in and see a doctor about it. We schedule an appointment for later that day (Friday) with Dr. Berger, our family practitioner. By the time we get to see him on Friday, most of the symptoms have gone away. We explain to him what happened, and he nods and whips out a piece of paper and explains what he thinks is happening. Basically, it's what's described here. By Saturday, hardly any symptoms. I dance my ass off at the MESS party, Realm (Matthew Dear was excellent). Go home, stay up with Missy (Jalen was spending the night at a friends -- sniff, sniff, but that's another topic) for a bit, go to sleep, and wake up on Sunday morning with the BPPV back with a vengeance. Guess my brain hasn't adjusted yet. As I write this, I'm feeling a bit of vertigo, but not much. I managed to drive myself to work, but I'm trying to keep my head from turning too much. Dr. Berger says that it can take upwards of a month for your brain to adjust to it's new environment. Let's hope it happens soon.... Read More »

Upon reflection, I've decided that the world has more than enough negativity to go around without needing to contribute more myself. Therefore, I've taken the post down in which I was intensely harsh (fairly probably, but that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do) on some friends of the family. The funny thing, my feelings were somewhat justified yesterday with a visit from the GDs, but it's a brand new year, and it's time to forgive and forget. Happy New Year!... Read More »