Much post-Christmas shopping was done today. First to Guitar Center where we bought an Alesis MultiMix 8 Firewire mixing board; a new microphone; boom stand; and pop filters. I’ve wanted to buy a “real” mixer since I was a teenager. The closest I had come was a Tascam Porta Two 4 track recorder. I think it has 6 input channels and, of course, records onto 4 tape tracks.

The mixing on the Tascam works well and is pretty inclusive as far as effects loops inputs/outputs and all, but it is a very noisy board. You get extreme hiss (its a tape deck, after all) and so I always wanted a more professional board..

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Enter the Alesis. This is a little thing of beauty. Pots instead of faders, but its got all of the goods, including some decent effects (though I wish it had a noise gate!) and firewire input/output so you can record each discrete channel, as well as the mix simultaneously on a computer. Very snazzy.

After Guitar Center we hit CostCo, and the mall. Picked up some dirt cheap basketball nets from a toy store that was closing down. The shelves were pretty bare, but I had just taken down the half-there basketball net from our hoop last week so I was glad to see something useful there for 40% off.

Finally we did some grocery shopping, then it was time to hook up the mixer, mics, and everything. I found the combination of gear, cables, and positions that worked well just in time for dinner. Just need to make sure the drivers are happy on the Mac and we’re good to go. I can’t wait to do some recording. Perhaps tomorrow.

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I want to try and blog more on here. I’ve enjoyed reading through some other peoples blogs and noticed that its the little things from day to day (for instance Neil Gaiman’s blog) rather than the media and video links (ala BoingBoing) that are holding my interest right now.

Of course, both of them are actually written by “somebody” (or several somebodies in the case of the latter) which definitely helps

Oh well. We can try.

Another goal I have is to actually comment on peoples blogs and, more specifically, to actually write reviews on iTunes and other resources for podcasts or other things that I enjoy. I’m starting to really wish that people would write some reviews of our podcasts and realized that I can’t expect anybody else to write a review for my podcast if I’ve never written any for the ones that I’ve enjoyed.

Now, I’ve posted comments; phoned-in; written e-mails; and recorded mp3 comments for other peoples podcasts. I’ve posted reviews to my blog here and played podcast promos too.. but I’ve never written reviews - which seems to have the biggest impact as far as helping them get more listeners.

Non-online goals include calling my son more often; reading more; writing more fiction; recording more music; getting to bed earlier; getting to work earlier in the morning; eating better; and getting into a real exercise habit. The eating and exercising seem to go well for about a month or two, but then falls apart. I need to make them no-brainer habits so that I stick with them.

With that said, its bed time.

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Interested in living in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana or Wyoming without being a United States citizen, and pay no taxes?

Well, it appears that the Lakota tribe withdrew its treaties with the United States government last week. They have invited any US citizens to move in and join them as well.

I have no idea where this will go. I don’t think that the Government can be too happy about it though. Small disputes over gaming regulation are hard enough - this can have a deep impact on a range of issues. Of course, this may not be an official Tribal stance, as there aren’t many facts in the Agence France-Press article.
Seen on Indianz.com:

Lakota Freedom Delegation withdraws from US
Thursday, December 20, 2007

A group called Lakota Freedom Delegation is withdrawing from the treaties their ancestors signed with the U.S. and is setting up their own independent nation.

Four activists, including Russell Means, were in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to announce their plans. They said the federal government has failed to abide by 33 treaties that promised land, health care, education and other services. “Our people want to live, not just survive or crawl and be mascots,” Phyllis Young said, Agence France-Press reported. Members of the new nation won’t pay taxes. The new nation’s territory covers western parts of North and South Dakota and Nebraska and eastern parts of Wyoming and Montana.

Get the Story:
Lakota group pushes for new nation (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 12/20)
Descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse break away from US (AP 12/20)
Lakota group declares sovereign nation status (The Rapid City Journal 12/20)

Relevant Links:
Lakota Freedom Delegation - http://www.lakotafreedom.com

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Sometimes you just have to shake your head. What on earth are these product designers thinking- didn’t somebody stand back and scratch there head and say “well darn- that looks like…… nah!”

From BoingBoing:

Today in my series of photos from my travels: this baby bath on sale at the John Lewis store in London’s Oxford Street. It’s basically a bucket (the instructions refer to it as “womb-shaped”) that you wash your baby in. Seems reasonable, but once you use the enclosed stand, it begins to look a little bit too much like “baby in a blender” for my taste. Link

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Excellent Face in a Place. Something kinda creepy, yet kinda cool about those windows.

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Sadly, this is what all of my diet attempts slowly devolve to

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The Germans know how to pick their research topics!

10 Minutes Of Staring at Boobs Daily Prolongs Man’s Life by 5 Years

By: Stefan Anitei, Science Editor

Listen, guys, now we know why Pamela Anderson made her transplants: to make us healthier. “Angels of mercy” like Jordan just prolong our life and Hugh Hefner knows it.

A German research published in New England Journal of Medicine and Weekly World News said that men staring at women’s breasts in fact prolong their lives with years.

“Just 10 minutes of staring at the charms of a well-endowed female such as Baywatch actress Pamela Lee is equivalent to a 30-minute aerobics work-out,” said author Dr. Karen Weatherby, a gerontologist.

The team led by Weatherby was made up of researchers at three hospitals in Frankfurt, Germany, and found this results after monitoring for 5 years the health of 200 male subjects, half of whom were asked to look at busty females daily, while the other half had to abstain from doing so.

For five years, the boob oglers presented a lower blood pressure, slower resting pulse rates and decreased risk of coronary artery disease.

“Sexual excitement gets the heart pumping and improves blood circulation. There’s no question: Gazing at large breasts makes men healthier. Our study indicates that engaging in this activity a few minutes daily cuts the risk of stroke and heart attack in half.” said Weatherby, who even recommended that men aged over 40 should spend at least 10 minutes daily admiring breasts sized “D-cup” or larger.

She said that this was as healthy as going to the gym for 30 minutes daily and prolonged a man’s life by five years.

“We believe that by doing so consistently, the average man can extend his life four to five years.” said Weatherby.

This is indeed a very serious reason for men to enjoy without shame those midnight TVdownload low-budget women-in-prison movies and collect such instructive and health beneficial magazines like Playboy and Hustler.

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in a show of solidarity with the WGA writers

Monday, December 3, 2007

From the Colbert Report Writers!

(From WGA Member and Colbert Report Writer Frank Lesser.)

Good news, guys! In solidarity with the WGA, all the cute internet
animals are going on strike.

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