My First Time Drumming in a Band

This is the story of what it was like for me to drum in a band for the first time, under absolutely worst case conditions.

Introductory Vlog

This is my very first attempt at making a video log or vlog.  At first I tried to upload the video to Blogger, but the size was small and the resolution seemed crappy.  So I uploaded it to YouTube and inserted it instead.  Trial and error I guess.  We'll see where it goes from here.

How Bad do you Want It?

My friend/co-worker/workout partner Chris said this phrase to me once - "It all depends on how badly you want it".  I don't even remember what we were talking about - probably about making time to go to the gym, which him and I typically do several mornings per week.  I can't recall for certain though.

I've been thinking about that phrase a lot lately though.  Amanda and I are planning on taking a cruise some time this summer, and if I'm going to be in a bathing suit a lot, then I would love to feel and look really fit.  Granted, my abs haven't completely disappeared (I'm still in pretty good shape), but they're not cut like they used to be either.

At my age though, how difficult would it be to get rid of that extra few pounds/layers that are hiding my stomach muscles?  I recently read (is it really reading though if you're mainly looking at pictures?) a post on The Chive called "Actors Who Went Overboard".  One of the more dramatic examples is picture #10, of Christian Bale (see below).

The caption below the picture reads:

Christian Bale lived on an apple a day to prepare for his “svelte” role in The Machinist and then put on 100 pounds of muscle to play Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins

I couldn't help but think - how badly must you "want it" to live on an apple a day?  How badly then do I "want it" if I can't forgo the garlic bread that accompanies the pasta-laden soup for dinner?  Or what about that piece of cake?  How badly do I really want those abs - enough to skip dessert?

That's the big question about any other goal too - how badly do I want that degree, that raise, to play that instrument, to learn another language, to grow closer to God, etc.

I know that being goal driven isn't the only thing in life, and sometimes it can be more harmful than beneficial (if you"want it", whatever the goal is, so badly that you're sacrificing the relationships with your loved ones, for example).  But if you find yourself falling short of whatever goals you are hoping to accomplish, then try asking yourself that question the next time you face an obstacle or stumbling block:

"How bad do you want it?"

The Mind or the Multitasking - ADHD version of "The Chicken or the Egg"

I read an article last week (see link) that talked about the negative effects of multitasking on the human brain.

Unfortunately for me though, my current job requires multitasking, to a large extent.  I have somewhere between six and ten tasks to accomplish at any given time, and the urgency of a particular task varies based on external events and who is making the request.  Often times I find that just when I start to focus on a specific task I get interrupted by a new request or question about the product I'm responsible for, or something related to it.  If not that, then it's a co-worker discussion around me, a phone call from my wife, or a random email.  Most of the time this doesn't bother me much - I'm pretty used to it and it keeps me from getting bored.

Lately though, I feel like I've been having a harder time staying focused on just one work task.  At home too, I have so many projects and things to get done that I find myself often challenged to decide which one to work on and then once I'm engaged it's not uncommon for me to get distracted by someone or by another priority that I want/need to make progress on.  I even had a hard time the other day sitting down to read the Bible and write in my journal, as I was thinking about various reasons to get up and get other things done.  I don't recall having this problem nearly as much before though, and after reading the article I couldn't help but wonder if maybe my brain has been adapting to the continuous multitasking that work and/or life has required of me.

Younger generations probably have it even worse, since they are inundated with multimedia and multitasking for the majority of their life. I know there are other factors to consider, but how much impact does this have on the increased diagnosis of mental disorders such as ADHD.  I'm not the only one to notice this coincidence either.

So how should we address this modern problem then?  If our minds are being forced to adapt to constantly switching between tasks and doing multiple things at once, then would it help to force ourselves to at least periodically and purposefully pursue behavior to combat this?  Here are some ideas of activities for this:

• Meditation
• Prolonged prayer (including not just talking, but also listening)
• Writing
• Turning off multimedia

Maybe I'm mistaken though, and it's all just genetic.  And perhaps the only thing that will help an excessively restless mind is to keep it engaged, active, and/or medicated.  I can't help but want to err on the side of discipline, determination, and deliberate behavioral modification though.

Dart Board Project

I bought an electronic dart board shortly after college, when I was living in an apartment with my brother, who was in high school at the time (how we ended up living together is a long story).  Since those apartment days I've lived in four houses before this one, and have mounted it somewhere on the walls of all of them.

In this current house though, the room I really wanted to place it in is a 3-season room that's attached to the back of the house, in which 3 of the walls are all windows.  Placing the dart board on a windowed wall would not only block the view, but also risk a window breakage if a dart should miss the board.  The fourth wall is made of brick and is actually the back of the house (from before they added this room) and also has one window and a sliding glass door.  Mounting the board on the brick would require making holes in it, as well as ruining the tips of any darts that might miss the board.

So the solution I came up with is to make the dart board mount in the window that's in the brick wall, but also make it removable.  It could slide in and out of the mounting brackets that were previously used for the screen (when the window was exposed to the outside).  The end result can be seen in the pictures below.

This allows the walls to remain unmarred, but we can also still use the dart board (with minimal effort).  The height is regulation, and it's in a location that suits the room perfectly, both functionally and aesthetically.

It Lives to Suck Again!

The carpet in the house that we moved into has a fuzz problem.  Lots of little balls of carpet fuzz are all over the surface, and keep reappearing after vacuuming.  A little online research indicates that this is common with new carpets  But in the process of preparing to have our neighbors over tonight, our vacuum stopped working.  The sound was probably twice as loud as normal (and it's normally equivalent to a 747), it smelled like it was burning, and it wasn't working at all.

I cleaned out the roller and tried it again, to no avail.  Amanda has owned it since before we were married (over 13 years ago), so we were considering whether to just trash it and look around for a new one.  As a last ditch effort though, and since we have many other things that we need to spend money on, I thought I would take it down to the basement workshop and take it apart to see if I could figure out what's wrong with it.

I requested Lucas' help with it, to which he complained incessantly, until I was at the end of my tolerance and threatened punishment.  Once we started taking it apart though, and I was showing him how it worked he started to gain interest.  Once the major vacuum pieces were separated I realized that the whole suction path from bottom to bag was clogged with compressed carpet fuzz. 

Lucas ended up somewhat enjoying himself, using the needle nose pliers to help pull out what turned out to be a small mountain worth of carpet fuzz.  

Now the old Hoover lives to suck another day!

Thoughts on Homosexuality

There is a story in the news recently about the latest "The Bachelor" contestant saying the he doesn't think there should be a gay bachelor show.  He gave a few reasons, but people are in an uproar about it, calling him a homophobe and every other name under the sun.  The article is here:
http://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/bachelor-juan-pablo-anti-gay-comments-174244489.html

What bothered me though is that (according to the article) he didn't say "they're going to burn in hell" or "it's a disgusting disgrace". He just voiced his disagreement with having it as the main topic of a TV reality show. To me, this indicates that if anyone says ANYTHING negative AT ALL about the gay lifestyle, no matter how minor, then they're going to be attacked and labeled as being full of hate and fear.

However, while I don't think his statements warranted the public reaction and comments, I don't think I would have used the same wording either, so here are my thoughts about the topic:

I basically equate homosexuality morally with looking at pornography.  I know most men struggle with the issue to varying degrees and most/many succumb to it, maybe even frequently (depending on the individual).  Some men don't struggle against it at all, they just do it (view it) whenever they want to and/or are able to, and they don't care.  They have no moral objection to it, especially if they're not Christians. 

As for myself, I'm not going to claim to be immune to the temptation, but I think it's morally wrong so I do my best to avoid it.  Sometimes it's a difficult struggle, but I want to do the right thing so I keep up the fight.  I don't have any hatred or animosity for guys that give in to the temptation with reckless abandon - I enjoy them as people/friends/human beings and their private life doesn't affect me so I don't care. 

If they were to ask me whether I agree with or accept these choices though then I would say "No, I don't".  Because I don't think it's the right thing to do.  If they're not a Christian though then they use a different moral standard then I do, so my reasons means nothing to them.  If they ARE a Christian though, then I would probably be more resolved in explaining to them why I think God demands a different standard than the way they are living, and that they should consider trying to quit their porn habits.  If not though, then that is between them and God and I've said my peace with them. 

So it is with homosexuality.  I think God has a higher standard for us, but if they're not Christians then I have no ground to stand on, nor do I really care.  So I'll just enjoy them as people/friends/human beings, since their choices regarding their private life doesn't affect me personally.

SNL = Sex Centered Comedy?

Last night Amanda and I watched SNL for the first time in years.  The latest episode I could find online was from March 9, 2013, hosted by Justin Timberlake.  The first skit was funny and revolved around him hosting the show for the 5th time.  From there though, all but one of the skits were centered around sex. 

Now I like sex as much as the next guy, and I think I'm pretty far from a prude.  I don't mind hearing a sex-related joke or watching a skit about it either.  But when the majority of the material you can come up with revolves around or involves explicit sexual content, isn't that a little ridiculous?  Here's a list of the skits and their topics:

1. The Five Timers Club - solid and funny, including appearances from many beloved hosts and cast members
2. Romantic Comedy - a mock movie trailer centered around a man's relationship with a transgendered woman (she had a shlong).
3. Weekend Update - funny and mostly non-sexual, but featured an annoying flamboyantly gay character named Stefon about halfway through though.
4. It's a Date - dating show where contestants compete for the bachelorette.  It centered around sex and ended with the contestants joking about having a fivesome.
5. Tales of Sober Caligula - talked about orgies, sex with various animals, etc. 
6. Maine Justice - mildly humorous, and surprisingly non-sexual.
7. NuvaBling - spoof ad of the Nuva Ring contraceptive ring = birth control for glam girls.
8. Moet & Chandon Ad - featured former porn starts selling perfume.  Funny, but primarily about sex again.

There you have it, 5.5 out of the 8 skits either talked about or were completely centered around sexual content, mostly explicit and/or perverse.  I can't help but wonder if that says something about our culture.  Is it really that focused on sexuality and I just don't realize it as being that depraved? 

Since this was the first time watching SNL in many moons, perhaps this episode was abnormal.  I'll probably give them the benefit of the doubt and try it again (at least one more time).  But I'm starting to miss Mad TV more and more.

Men Who are Meaninglessly Marked

Since moving to Ohio, I have asked about half a dozen guys with large and elaborate cross tattoos on their arms if there was any spiritual significance for their decor. For all of them, the answer was no. One just wanted a tattoo and liked the way it looked, another got it because his dad always wore a cross necklass around his neck, and yet another got it in honor of his brother who died, and on and on.

Now, I'm not trying to be judgemental, or imply that these men shouldn't have gotten these tattoos unless they believed in the faith that the symbol stands for. I'm glad at least a couple of them had some kind of personal or emotional purpose behind them. But I just found it interesting that all of these men are marked physically, but not at all spiritually. Which is more important? Hopefully the answer is obvious in that God cares about what's in our hearts and minds, and not about the ink on our shoulders.

Thankfully, I met a gentleman in the hot yoga class that I took on Saturday with a large cross on his back that actually had spiritual significance behind it. He was a Christian and said a Bible verse in Isaiah (I don't recall which specific verse) is what inspired him to get the tattoo. I shook his hand, gave him the brief story of my informal survey, and thanked him for not being one of the many men who are meaninglessly marked.

An Oddly Dreaded Question

Amanda and I have started participating in a small group from our church. It meets on Sunday evenings, but today's meeting consisted of dinner and fellowship (hanging out), instead of the normal Bible study/worship/prayer time.

After dinner, the men were out on the back porch, when one of them asked what has become a dreaded question for me - "What do you like to do in your spare time?"

The only answers I could come up with was exercising (3-5 times per week), Christian pursuits (reading the Bible, going to church, etc), and practicing drums once in a while. That seems pretty lame though, so after that I had to pause and continue the answer with what I would like to do in my spare time, but don't have enough resources (time and/or money) to pursue. This includes:

• Practicing martial arts (not enough $$)
• Fixing up/improving my car (again, $$)
• Playing video games ($$)
• Inventions and/or Electronics projects (time and dedication)
• Practicing piano (time, and $$ for a piano/keyboard)

In hindsight, I currently also like to spend time reading, writing (journal, blog, website) and spending time with my kids.

But all of the additional above activities require time, and (more importantly) money, and we still haven't fully recovered financially from me being unemployed and us relocating to Ohio. Also, the rent we're paying at this house is higher than a normal mortgage would be, but we're still in mortgage purgatory since short selling our house in California, and will be for at least another year and a half. 

Life is good, and I don't intend to sound like a whiner.  But I would definitely like to be able to spend more resources on myself and pursuing my numerous personal interests, and I don't intend to give up the idea of being able to one day either.  But for now, I guess that's the sacrifice of having a full time job and a family.

It's A Sad World After All

In case you haven't seen or heard about this news article, a man recently sued Disney World for being stuck on the "It's a Small World" ride for, get this, 30 minutes.

Granted, he is handicapped (in a wheel chair), so life is harder as a whole for him.  And also, he only won $8,000, which doesn't seem like too obscene of an amount.  And additionaly, the ride didn't have any way for him to get off of it when it was stuck, but everyone else (not in a wheelchair) did have a way off.  So maybe it wasn't really too bad of a judgement.  I've certainly heard of worse.

But then again, I was stuck on that ride before too, for at least 30 minutes, if not longer.  And the amount of time that people have to wait just to get on that ride on a normal Disney day can be more than an hour.  Did I mention that that stupid freaking song plays over and over the whole time when you're waiting AND when on the ride?  Over and over.  And over.  Again.  *It's a small world after all...*  AAAAAaaaaggggghhhhh!!  I never thought of suing them though, I was just annoyed and thought that I have no desire to ever get on that ride again - EVER.  I'm sure I'll swallow those words for my kids some day though, if we finally decide to waste thousands of dollars to take them there, and if they want to experience the unjustified hype.

As a final thought though, if a lawsuit and negative press is what it takes to get them to get their act together with that pathetic excuse for a ride, then maybe it's for the best in the long run.  Maybe the experience won't be as bad if/when one day I'm persuaded to *take my kids there after all * (singing the song).

Unemployment Update

Well, the job search is still in progress.  I’m still getting numerous solicitations for contract positions around the country, but Amanda and I have decided that we’re not quire desperate enough to separate our family for the duration that it would require (2-6 months), and most of them are not lengthy enough to want to relocate for either (max is typically 12 months).

Aside from those, I’m also getting solicitations for full-time positions in parts of the country that I have no desire to live, such as the Detroit, MI area, Tucson, AZ, the Los Angeles. area, etc.  Again, we’re not quite financially desperate enough yet to want to move somewhere that we don’t think we'll enjoy living in.

I am realizing that there are many improvements I need to make in my daily routine though, including:

• Be more dedicated to searching around and spending less time responding to solicitations.  
• Create a schedule and stick closer to it (I originally had planned to do this, but did not follow through). 
• Set aside more time to work on professional development projects (relearning “C”, relearning Verilog, designing a PCB, etc).  This is challenging not only in the prioritization of time, but also in deciding which task to spend time on.

 In addition to the job search and professional development, time also needs to be spent in requesting forbearance for our mortgage (a ridiculously lengthy process), and looking at health insurance options.

Do Not "Like"

I am amazed at how lazy I am becoming in regards to commenting on people's blogs (when I even take the time to read them).  I want them to know I have read them and appreciate their post (as I want people to do to mine also), but I'm often not sure what to say - "very insightful"?  "great post"?  "I totally agree"?  These seem generic, pointless, and unnecessary when I can usually just click "like" on Facebook. I can't believe that I've become so lazy though.

I know the general trend in electronic communication is to keep it short and sweet, due to the prevalence of Facebook and texting, and as an engineer I approve of the efficiency and effectiveness.  But I really hate to see the unfortunate (although expected and understandable) side affect of modern communication methods become the degradation of extensive and thoughtful expression, especially in myself.

The Meeting Minutes of Michael's Mind

A couple of months ago, I was in a long drawn out meeting at work. Since my participation in this meeting was minimal, I started daydreaming about this question"What would an ideal life look like to me, within the bounds of reality?" I then started making a list, of goals that could actually be achievable, even if they would be unlikely and/or overwhelmingly difficult. So here is is:

• Exercise 3-4 times/week consistently.
• Aside from my regular job, make some additional $ on the side somehow (make an invention and/or start my own business of some sort, etc.)
• Be able to afford having our house cleaned quarterly (take the stress of keeping up with it off of Amanda).
• No (or very few) house or car repairs to have to deal with myself.
• Enough $ to pay off debt sooner, and also do more fun things (with the family and on dates)
• Be motivated to read and learn more stuff for work. I am considering an accountability partner and/or creating a discussion group for this.
• Go on more dates with Amanda, preferably dressing up occasionally too.
• Spend 15 minutes/day with God (reading Bible, praying, etc.)
• For Amanda and me both to set aside 1 day/year spent with God (be alone with Him - just walking, thinking, praying, contemplating, listening, etc).
• To set aside at least 1 full day and night per year for just Amanda and myself to spend together.

Now all I have to do is win the lottery and cut out sleep from my schedule:-) Seriously though, is this list achievable? If not any time soon, then even in my lifetime? And if not in its entirety, then which items should I scale back or just give up on?

Maybe this exercise is pointless, but then again maybe setting these goals could help motivate me more to find a way to achieve them.

Facebook vs Blogging

Is it just me, or does Facebook cause a serious distraction to people who would otherwise be blogging?

On a different, but still blogging-related note - I wonder what the ratio of female bloggers are to male? It seems like men are outnumbered in blog-land by something like 100-to-1.

On a completely different note, I absolutely appreciate afternoon naps on the weekends, but I'm guessing that today's nap is the main reason that I can't sleep now!

Almost (but not quite) Smooth Operator

In a previous post, I mentioned getting a cyst that was on the back of my head removed. Well, almost 2 months later there is still about a quarter sized bald spot there!

I have had several of these cysts removed before (they're just randomly occurring lumps), but I have never had a scar like this after getting them removed. This (and other factors about the procedure) leads me to believe that the doctor may have botched the job.

Anyway, I was in need of a hair cut again, but annoyed by what looks like a hole in my hair. So on Sunday evening I decided to just make the whole thing even. As you can see in the picture below, I set the clipper to its lowest possible setting and then went to town on my dome.


Needless to say that it has definitely been getting noticed. In fact, I don't think I've gotten this much attention since like, never! It's kind of fun. And seeing the kids get freaked out the next morning was pretty comical too.

Why Sac-town is Better than O-town.

I started this a while ago, but just never got around to publishing it. Recently though, someone who we know from Florida (but now lives elsewhere) mentioned having a potential opportunity to move to the area asked me what I like about it. So here is the answer.

For all of you who live in the Orlando area, I apologize for criticizing your hometown. Maybe to be fair I'll also post a blog soon about the things that are better in O-town, although don't be surprised if it is much shorter.

• Climate:
• We actually encounter seasons, with colors changing in the Fall (the leaves are just starting to turn colors now), and lots of blooming in the Spring. While the Winter is chilly, it's not brutal (no snow/ice). Summers are as hot as O-town, but with...
  
• ...No humidity!
  
• The temperature drops 20-30 degrees at night, making Summer evenings much more enjoyable.
• The weather is much more predictable. If the forecast says it isn't going to rain, you can reliably leave the top down on a convertible.
  
• Nature and Sightseeing:
  
• A large variety of foliage (not just Oaks, Pines, and Palms).
• The topography rises in three directions (North, East, West).
• Flowing water vs stagnant water. Florida has an abundance of lakes. Here though, rivers and small streams are much more common, probably because of the runoff from all around us.
• Plenty of trails and parks, both locally and regionally.
• The ocean to the West.
• Snowboarding/skiing to the East (Tahoe).
• We can get in the car and drive in any direction to see something interesting and new. Not that Florida doesn't have things to see, but because it's a peninsula, you're much more limited to how far you can go and what you can find.
• Sports:
• NFL : 49ers. Raiders
• NBA : Kings
• MLB : Giants, A's, River Cats
• NHL : Sharks
• Arena Football : Sabre Cats
• People here seem to have more passion for the home teams, perhaps because the population isn't as diverse in its origin (in Florida, almost everyone was born elsewhere, then moved South). For example, River Cats games are almost always packed, even though they're a minor league team.
  
• People:
• Stronger sense of community here, probably in part because of the large population of tourists and snowbirds in Central FL.
• Both have similarly conservative political climates (inland anyway).
• Both are similarly friendly and family oriented.
• The City:
• OK, the downtown area of Orlando is much cooler for single people, with a much better centralized strip of bars, clubs, restaurants, etc. than the city of Sacramento. I'll grant it that much. Lake Eola is pretty nice too.
  
• But then again, our downtown area is much more family friendly, because of the following, right in the heart of downtown and within walking distance of each other:
• A really impressive Capital building, not to mention the extensive and impressive park land that surrounds it.
• The Westfield downtown plaza (an open-air mall).
• Old Sacramento, right on the American River.
• Numerous museums, including ones specific to art, history, trains, and cars.
• Misc:
• The traffic here is nowhere near as bad as Orlando. It is extremely rare for me to be stuck at a light for more than one cycle. Sure, the main highway (I-80) can get a little slow during rush hour, but it's leaps and bounds better than I-4. Not only that , but carpooling solves the problem almost completely, because there is a separate carpool lane for the busier parts of the highway, and they take it seriously here (very few violators).