Fish Tales

Down But Not Out

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:56:38 GMT

Even though my home team is getting an early start to tee times for the summer, my roots have me interested in one or two of the playoff series. Particularly the PA showdown between the Penguins and Flyers.

Having lived on both sides of the state, one might think that I was torn for a favorite. However, my ties to the Flyers are long and deep and they are my boys when I am not rooting for someone more local.

Squid had recounted that we watched the first game of the series in Pensacola. Man, that was difficult to watch. First of all, it looked like the Flyers were all but spotting the Penguins a game (Only the Great Mantis would know why). Second, it seemed as though I was in the minority of fans rooting for Philly. Squid wasn't much help either being a Penguins fan by marriage. By the fourth goal from the Penns, I decided that I had enough for one evening.

When I got home, I had caught game three, only to be dismayed by the fact that the Flyers were 0-2 in the series. And then they played a hell of a game three to make some headway. With this spark I thought they had the potential to turn things around.

Unfortunate for me, their series fell on the Tuesday/Thursday schedule which falls in line with my fencing nights. This meant that I got to watch the first period and then go down to the club and hope for the best. With their loss on Tuesday, I started to get a sinking feeling which was exacerbated by a dismal first period last night.

And yet they prevailed. The Flyers have forced a game six and still have some punch left in them. While they might not be playing the disciplined game the Penns have been showing, the Flyers have been awfully scrappy. To me, that counts for something.

Pensacola, a Follow-up

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:13:19 GMT

As it turns out, I seem to have some more stuff about our trip to share with you:

During our first day with Bob, he had asked us where we were from. Upon telling him, he responded by saying that we didn’t sound like we were from Minnesota. Granted our accents are not pronounced by any degree, but me and my compatriots seem to have the unconscious trait of adopting the local accent very quickly. Indeed we had only been in Pensacola for the better part of a day and had already started to mirror the speech patterns of the locals enough to disguise our Midwest background. Squid had joked about consciously pouring on our native accent to see how Bob my react.

Speaking of accents, since Pensacola was a stone’s throw from the Alabama border, we all found it interesting to note which people exhibited Floridian or Alabaman flavors of speech. It was actually close to a 50-50 split in my books.

To add some color to our exciting second day… I was at the helm for the first stretch of our trek home after we hoisted the jib. Now, there is an effect called "weather helm" which basically means that as the wind hits the sails, the force of it acts as a steering mechanism pushing the boat to face the wind. While you would normally counteract this with the rudder, Bob had instructed us to let the heavier wind gusts push us up and then steer us back down to our normal course. The benefit is that:
1. You are not fighting the weather helm of the gusts
2. You get some extra speed from utilizing the extra wind effectively
3. It mixes equal parts of terror and exhilaration as the boat heels way over and starts riding up towards the wind
The maneuver was called "feathering" and it was a welcome addition to my arsenal of sailing skills.

Another moment on our windy day was as were striking the sails some porpoises came along side to check us out. I guess they were intrigued to see humans out during such a heavy patch and came to investigate. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of it because I was busy covering the mail sail. It was still pretty cool.

There are a bunch different markers to help you navigate waterways. While I understood the concept, I was having trouble with its application. One the first day I was steering us toward a shoal because I was approaching one marker from the wrong side. I also had trouble keeping them straight in my head for the written tests (which led to second-guessing and inevitable errors). I found it really frustrating that I could not come to grips with it all. And then, some time Tuesday evening, I had an abrupt moment of clarity. It was odd how the fog had lifted in an almost instantaneous fashion, but it did. It was still a shame that I floundered for as long as I had.

One of the endearing traits about the Native Café is that they have a bunch of art from local artists hanging on the walls. Photos, paintings, watercolors, etc… By far our favorite was a painting of a pelican, mostly because of its expression. Oddly enough, the title of the piece is called "The Grumpy Pelican." I was also eyeing a sketch of a flower. It was a particularly good effort and since it was done in black and white, the contrast was excellent. Lemur had a soft spot for some of the bowls and plates they used. It had a deco styling to it that hit a chord enough for her to file away the manufacturer for later reference.

To give more insight to our second instructor, Fred, I recall the class portion where he was talking about marine toilets. Proper use includes using a one-ply marine tissue paper. However, Fred had told us that it was okay to use a cheap one-ply you might find in the store. This was not an opinion, however, as he then told us about his experiment where he took a sheet of both and observed how each dissolved and broke down in water. I found it pretty cool that he went through the trouble of getting empirical evidence to support his hypothesis. Considering the cost saving between generic one-ply versus marine tissue, it was a worthwhile endeavor.

During some of our voyages, I would notice a sort of halo of light in the distance. The times I had seen it, I figured my mind was playing tricks and tried to ignore it. I think it was Wednesday or Thursday, when Squid asked Fred what that light was. Apparently, the sand is such in the area to reflect the light up and cast an aura. So not only was I not imagining it, it was actually a pretty nifty effect.

When taking sightings with a compass to fix your position, water towers make good landmarks because they are usually listed on a nautical chart. However, a water tower may not be a good landmark if there happen to be three in close proximity to each other. I learned that one the hard way.

When we put in at Bayou Chico, I had help with one of the dockhands to secure the Marian. After I had secured a line to the bow, the guy took the remaining line and in a few deft motions, secured the boat to cleat on the dock. What made it interesting was his movements were more like he was jumping rope than tying a boat down. There’s a man who has secured a lot of boats in his day.

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:15:40 GMT

Instead of repeating a lot of what captain_squid said on his journal here and here, I figured I would add a few comments of my own with the pictures that I took during the trip.

Here is a shot of the Blanca just after we arrived and settled in. Squid and I posed for another shot just before sunset. The humidity was palpable, I was glad to be rid of it after that first night.

The next two shots are of our first day sailing. It was a beautiful day with light winds. I got a lot of experience working the sails in the morning, almost to the point that our instructor had to fight of the itch to enter us into the race that was going on that day. Instead, we opted to switch posts and head back home. The wind had died in the afternoon and we were not sure how much more to expect.

On day two, the wind picked up. In fact, instead of the 10-15 knots the previous day, we had 20-25 knots to face with stronger gusts to boot. Bob took us out anyway, because we were willing and showed some aptitude the previous day. This is Squid at the helm. You can see the chop on the bay, which should have afforded us some protection. Here is a shot forward. You may notice that the sail is bunched up at the bottom. That is called reefing, and you do that when you have winds that might over power the sail. While the trip was mildly harrowing at times, it was a blast. I am certainly grateful for the chance to do some sailing in adverse conditions. I will be way more confident should we find ourselves in a similar predicament.

Day three was a wash, literally. We did our exam and set to wait until the afternoon to see if it would lighten up. The day before, we had seen a very pretty boat and it seemed to have anchored itself across from us in the evening. Note that it has two sails off the front of the mast. That is called cutter-rigged. The second mast (mizzen) at the back makes the boat a ketch. I regret that I did not get any shots of it sailing.

Anyway, the afternoon sail did not pan out, so we went to the naval aviation museum. It was huge. I could have taken the rest of my roll there, but considering that it was geared for day photography, I only got the outside.

The next couple of shots are of us finishing up our skills requirements with Bob. It was another heavy wind day, so we only hoisted the jib. It was a nice enough sail though. Anchoring was interesting (I was forward so I did not get a shot). We managed to set it pretty easily even though the current made it look like it was slipping.

With 101 and 103 under our belts, 104 was on the Lady Marian. I tell ya, a 40-foot catamaran is large. Sleeping on a bed was nice for a change. While the couch on the Blanca was comfortable enough, the ability to stretch out was a welcome luxury.

Maneuvering such a large vessel could be intimidating. Squid had said as much to me earlier in the week. However, since it had an engine on each hull, I found it to be quite agile in tight corners.

Along with the smooth handling, its pace is equally, er, smooth. After a day's sailing, I was getting us back to the slip. As I was coming through the channel, a boat that had been refueling decided to pull away. Now, I tried to give it some room, but the channel there was a bit too narrow and I ended running my starboard hull aground on a sandbar. Fred helped me get the boat dislodged, and reassured me that the other guy probably should have waited for me to go by.

Anyway, this boat then anchored itself in the bay. Since it is not a public anchorage, this guy was painting himself to be a bit a rube. The kicker was when they hoisted their spinnaker and then attached of their kids to it. It was like a stationary parachute. Clever sure, but I was just waiting for the moment where the wind would spill from the thing and see the kid careen into the boat or the jet-skier nearby. (Picture to be attached)

Here is the obligatory wish you were here sunset shot. It is probably the best picture of the roll.

The last sailing day we got in with the catamaran, was a cruise to Bayou Chico for lunch. On the way we passed a military craft doing maneuvers with helicopters practicing landing over water.

Bayou Chico was interesting. It had a narrow channel and covered slips. The restaurant was okay, though we did seem to hit it as it was being slammed by a large group. Chatting with the guy fiddling with the Beneteau 40 in the photo, was pretty cool. A sort of mutual admiration for each others vessels.

On the way out, we sort of followed a tug that had come to take a couple of loads of scrap iron somewhere.

One thing that Squid did gloss over on our penultimate day was that after dinner, we had gone down the strip to do a round of putt-putt. Most of the week we had spent our evenings studying while Lemur would read or play games. This was a nice change of pace. Squid, though complaining about being tired, trounced the both of us. I honestly thought that a couple holes had it in for me because I would putt a good shot only to be thwarted by the lip of the cup.

On the last day we had 30-35 knot sustained winds. As Squid said, Fred was satisfied that we had the necessary anchoring training with Bob to translate it to the catamaran, so we took the test and then parted ways.

We ran into Bob as we were finishing packing up and got someone to take a group photo. I had a great time with Bob and will likely try to keep in touch. He may be instrumental in guiding us on our next selection of sailing vessels.

After packing up, we decided to check out the beach. Lemur had spent one day there already but I had not really had a chance to soak it all in. Considering the violet weather, it was likely to be even more impressive. The first picture is of the beach itself. I took it off of a pier that runs a long way out from shore. It gave a great vantage even though it did not serve too well as a wind break. This other shot is of the water tower. Unfortunately, I think we walked a little too far from it to see that it is clearly painted a beach ball. Cute, no?

It was a great week. I learned a lot and felt like I accomplished something. Several somethings even.

And... Pensacola may very well turn into a destination I visit with a degree of frequency. I look forward to going back there without the yoke of being a student. In fact, I have a feeling I’ll be finding several places like this with my new-found certification. The world just got a little bigger, and I am eager to see where the winds might take me.

A Change of Seasons

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:17:36 GMT

My bowling league has come to the end of another season. While I did struggle through the middle of it, I did manage to recapture and improve upon my average. Where I started bowling in the mid 130s, I have now clawed my way to 140.

In actuality, I have been bowling in the 150-160 range for the last three or so weeks... which has gone a long way for the general improvement of my average.

I was not alone in this. My teammates also ended the season strong and it put us in a position to roll off for the championship last night.

We performed admirably. I managed to bowl roughly 15 pins above my average and Dave had a really strong series as well, hitting 200 on one game. We swept our opponents and are bonified champions.

There is a season end banquet in a couple of weeks. We will have to discuss some sort of token to mark the occasion.

Strange Dreams

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:11:11 GMT

Hello strangers… there is much to share since my last post, but I will get to that in good time. First, I would like to share with you a dream I had last night that I cannot seem to get out of my head… which is unfortunate.

It was in the afternoon and I was in an unfamiliar town. I was walking on the sidewalk and came to a intersection. There were other people at the intersection minding their own business.

It was at this point that I hear a noise off to my left. It is more of a commotion really. When I turn to look, I see that about three houses down there are a couple of people on their porch trying to shoo a couple of bears in the sidewalk in front of them. Their din did not have the desired effect, however, and the bears reared up and went onto the porch and mauled to the two people to death.

The event was gruesome in its detail. I was in horror of it all, matched only by the horror of the realization that the reason no one was helping these two people were that they were afraid of a similar doom.

Anyway, when the bears had finished, I woke up. The clock was still an hour before my alarm so I tried to put it out of my mind and get a little more sleep in.

However… as you can well imagine, I have not really been myself today.

So yeah, you can just rock me to sleep tonight, Milo.

Pointless College Stories III - Picky, picky, picky

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:57:19 GMT

As I may have mentioned in previous Pointless College Posts, I had a fair degree of skill in lockpicking. While I have always used my talents for good, there was one or two instances where I let the Devil get the better of me.

When I first arrived at the main campus to Penn State, I opted to do the apartment rental thing instead of dorm housing. That first apartment I shared with three other guys I knew from McKeesport. One of them decided that he would rush a frat. By knowing him, I got familiar with the frat and his prospective brothers.

Anyway, most of the brothers had left to watch the football game. We were home and the place was, for the most part, empty. This left the pledge class time to employ me in their traditional prank against the brothers.

My job was simple. I unlocked as many doors as I could and they would then mix and match most of the furniture between the rooms. After they were all done, I would go back and locked all the doors again.

I was really on the fence about helping them. In the end it seemed harmless enough and I agreed to do it. I tell you, I must have opened half the house up and it went quickly after I got into a rhythm.

And while, the prank itself would be considered a critical success due to its execution, its reception was something entirely different than the pledge class had anticipated. In the end my roommate told me that I should keep my involvement in that escapade quiet.

I suppose my instincts were right in the matter. Still, it was an impressive achievement.

Pointless College Stories III, Sanguine Saucers

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:28:54 GMT

I was having trouble figuring out how to kick off this year’s Pointless College Posts. I had a list of topics, but I seemed to have misplaced it. Luckily, I my yearning for this to be released gave me an easy out.

By the time I hit State College, my gaming playing preferences were more toward the card, computer and role-playing variety. Sure I would play the occasional board game, but those were your run-of-the-mill one off types. When I started hanging out in Room 51, the Dread Lord was just ramping up his table top gaming addiction.

At that stage, Games Workshop had most of the market there and being a British based company with a macabre sensibility, it was really attractive to our Bob. I had some exposure to their Warhammer 40k stuff through a friend in New Jersey, but I hadn’t been bitten by the bug simply since it seemed geared towards strategy guys who also wanted to paint their playing pieces. Not being an artist by any stretch, I kept it at arm’s length.

However, Bob had just bought some miniatures for a game called Blood Bowl. I believe it was on its second generation and the concept was fantasy football. Not in the way that it is today mind you, but orcs, elves and dwarves, etc. duking it out on the gridiron. Each type of team had their strengths and weaknesses as well as a way to develop players over time as a result of what they did in a game.

I have to admit, mixing an RPG element with a board game had a certain appeal. On top of which the mechanics for the game were simple enough to allow for creative playmaking. So I was intrigued, but not completely sold.

What starting the downward spiral was when the local comic shop had opened up an area to sign up and play in a league. It had a pretty innocuous start with a few teams here and there, but it soon grew into more than a dozen people… many fielding several different teams. From what I was told later, it turned out to be one of the larger leagues in the country.

Anyway, It would not be uncommon for me to play three or four (or more) games in a week either after classes or over the weekend. With the range of coaches and teams the games always remained fresh. My main team was a Dark Elf team (kind of a cross between passing and defense) and later I started playing a Chaos team (a bruiser type team which had access to interesting mutations).

Over time it was cool to see how some of my players would develop and change the strategy of my play. I will confess that I got pretty attached to one or two of them. It made it all the more sad when they were inevitably crippled or killed on the pitch.

The league was strong for about one to two years. After that, the same crowd started shifting over to Necromunda, another Games Workshop game where it was small squad tactics in a subterranean wasteland… and then to Mordheim (think Necromunda in a fantasy setting). While fun, it never had the same impact on me that the Blood Bowl league had.

After moving, I tried a few times to find a league near me. The ones I found weren’t really healthy enough to warrant the commute or the sustained effort. Then I found FUMBBL, an online Blood Bowl league. It is a pretty snazzy system but I could not quite break into it.

Now with this new release coming up, a lot of my old hankerings are starting to resurface. I am both eager and horrified at the fact that I may end up buying this thing for several platforms. At least I won’t be wanting for a game when the mood strikes me.

Depending on time, I may dig out my minis and take a few snaps of them. Hell, I may even have one of my old rosters tucked away in the files somewhere.

Winter Wonderland

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:12:17 GMT

Again, it has been a while since my last post. In fact, I think I'll just stop drawing attention to the fact from now on.

Anyway, I did manage to get up to the cabin this past weekend for a bit of a rest before getting back into the thick of the progressively busy fencing season.

As luck would have it, the lake was having its annual ice fishing tournament that same weekend. Since this lake does not have a reputation as a fishing lake, I found it sort of amusing... but really it is just an excuse to go out and drink some beer anyway and that is a plan I can get behind.

While I did not do any fishing myself (I forgot to pick up a license), there were plenty of others out having a good time of it. The weather had decided to be mild for a few days and we were taking every advantage of the fact.

After our visit, we retired back to the cabin for some dinner. After which, we walked over to where Cliff had cleared off a part of the lake and flooded it for ice skating. I am not an adept skater by any means, but it was a lot of fun, especially since we did so under a nearly full moon. We were half-tempted to ask Cliff to turn off the floodlights.

The next day was pretty lazy. We took another stroll out on the lake and this time I even took my camera (below the cut)

Here is one of the ice rink.

A shot with the lads, to lend perspective.

A fire. It isn't on the ice, as requested, but it will have to do.

Remanents of Saturday's activities

Some guys drilling holes in the ice

A small ice house

A tip up fishing rig

For those interested, the way these work is that you set it much like a mouse trap. The fish comes along and bites at the bait, which triggers the spring that sets the hook and raises the flag. All you have to do is look for a flag and pull the fish in. Clever, no?

Great Bowls of Fire

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:40:41 GMT

Hello strangers. I just thought I would check in. While the bowling league I joined a few years ago has gotten back into full swing, this entry is to confess that I did a little moonlighting last night.

Some other folks got wind a while back that I picked up the sport and said that they could use the odd sub for a men's league that bowls on Fridays. They finally tapped me and, while I feel a little guilty about it, it did not change the fact that I had a heck of night.

It didn't start off the way... my initial game was a 132. Not bad... roughly my average these days. However, I managed to follow it up with a 202. And then a 184. So, not only did I manage to break 200 for the first time, I also put together a 500 series.

I found myself wishing that I could deliver that kind of performance for my usual team, but I suppose time will tell if I can develop any sort of consistency at that level. One thing is for sure, I've set a high bar for this other league.

Hey, Beatle... go to the window...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:30:25 GMT

Hello again. Long time, no? So much to catch up on, so little time to do so.

It has been roughly a year and half since I started my journey learning bass guitar. I still do my weekly lessons, when time permits and my instructor and I spend a bulk of the time talking about the theory behind some of the stuff I like to listen to. Every so often, we will then tangent into something deeper to push me out of my comfort zone. I have been happy with my progress.

In fact, I finally worked out one of the bass lines to a song I've dug for a long time now. It is a short song, but relatively intricate and fun as hell to play. But talk is cheap.

Here is the link to a recording I did of said song. The title to this post will help you identify it... Enjoy!

Eating Crow

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:10:42 GMT

Yeah, so I haven't posted in a while. I keep meaning to put up the pictures of my Boundary Waters trip, as well as do a little something to commemorate the fact that I have now been living in Minnesota for ten years.

However, the post to break this hiatus is to admit that I was wrong in my assumptions on the coverage for the olympics this time around. While the televised content remains very annotated, I have been snooping around the streaming broadcasts and I am pretty impressed. It looks like I'll be able to all fencing events in their entirety if I so choose... and without the uniformed banter I have come to loath so far. Kudos to NBC and the olympic folks who made this possible.

Stabbing Preamble to the Boundary Waters

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:57:02 GMT

Around this time of year, me and some folks get together for an annual trek up into the BWCA, or Boundary Waters Canoe Area. It is a federal reserve at the northern part of the state where you basically have to rough it. No motor boats, no glass, no cans. You get a canoe and paddle until you run out of water, and then put the canoe on your head until you find more water.

I have been going up to the Boundary Waters for a few years now, and the four of us usually head up the week before Memorial Day to get ahead of everyone else as well as gamble on it being cold enough for the bugs to still be down. However, conflicts arose that dropped out two of our normal crew and between that and the cold spring, it pushed out our trip a few weeks.

But I am getting ahead of myself.

The story of this year's trip actually begins with a fencing tournament in Des Moines. This is another annual trek I make and it generally falls after my return from the wilderness. I like this tournament because I really like the folks down in Des Moines. Additionally, since I have been on the administration end of tournaments up in the Twin Cities, this is a rare occasion for me to fence in the even as opposed to working it.

The tricky bit was that the tournament was on Saturday, and I would then be getting together with Squid on Sunday to pack and drive up north to enter on Monday. A slim timeline to be sure, but I took comfort that since my events were the first two of the day that I would get back home in time to get any last minute packing done.

With summer hours in effect at work, I had a jump on my drive down to Des Moines. It was a good thing too because I had some last minute fiddling to do on my equipment and it gave me an opportunity to stop at the Cabela's in Owatonna to pick up some gear. Anyway, I get down to Des Moines in good time and check in. First order of business was to get some dinner and ended up at a Chinese place right across the street. After that, I settled in to checking some of my gear. Since I signed up for foil, for whatever bizarre reason, I needed to go through some of the more sketchy equipment and try to get it to a passable state. Then I turned in for the evening.

In the morning, I went with a club mate to a trucker diner spot for breakfast and fueled up for the day's activities. We found the venue alright and I started getting ready for the first event.

Knocking off the rust

We kicked off the day with mixed foil. With the exception of some brief bouting the week leading up to this tournament, I hadn't really picked up a foil in over a year. I suppose that is what happens when you don't keep your equipment in order. Anyway, it was a pretty decent size for Des Moines. Normally the numbers are pretty cozy, but today we had 15 and along with some talent... to keep me honest.

In fact, I got the number one ranked guy in my pool and got to fence him right out of the gate. He blanked me in short order and gave me pause to think on whether or not I made a drastic mistake. The second loss wasn't much help either, even though I managed to eke out a few points.

But maybe I just needed a little warm up because I rallied for the last two bouts and came out of my pool 2-2.

Click here to look at the pool round

Seeded 7th, I ended up on a bracket that had me fencing many of the same people I ran into at the pools. The first DE was against Harms, and though I had beaten him, it wasn't a comfortable victory. It was odd though because he changed his game when we go into it, and it wasn't working for him. He left me define the distance and since I kept choosing different targets there were few instances where he seemed to control the action. So I won handily, 15-3.

That put me back into the jaws of the 1st seed. Casey is one of the guys from the very strong club in Nebraska. He is athletic, precise and aggressive. The first period of our bout went very much like the pool. I was too close and too slow to give myself time to react to an advance lunge he has refined to pure gold. As we got into the second period, I was already down five or more touches but I had finally adjusted enough to make him work for it more. I even rallied a little bit with a little aggression of my own. If I had found a way to neutralize his bread and butter shot, it might have been a closer bout. A 9-15 loss was respectable to me, considering my earlier performance. It was fun and I even managed to place in the top eight.

Click here to look at the direct elimination table

Touchy touches

With the foil event out of the way, I could focus my attention on epee which also turned out to be a record tournament for the Des Moines folks. We had 25 in the end with about half of them in the upper echelon of the classification bracket. Four A's and five B's? Come on now. I was hoping to relax a little bit and now it looks like I might actually have to work. It didn't help that I felt pretty flat from my normal competitive regimen. So it would have been safe to say that I was not necessarily setting my sights high on my performance.

Click here for a look at the pool round

With 25, we had another five fencer pool and pulled Kovanda as my A. Again, I got the privelege to fence the top guy in my pool right out of the gate. If you've read some of the other tournaments I have posted, you may have seen this name come up before. Kovanda is another one of those strong Nebraskans and I always admired how well he sold his feints. He is also pretty wily.

He got off to a strong start and racked up a couple of touches out of the gate. I managed to claw one back with some infighting and then he got another. I picked up another a little later on, but I had considerably slowed down the pace of the bout. He was happy to follow suit because he was in the lead. I make another attack and hit him on the thigh. Tied at three a piece and time expired shortly after that. I could see that he was pretty frustrated about it too. Priority went his way so the onus was on me to make something happen in that minute, but he found some counter time in my actions and got a touch to beat me 3-4. That was much more than I expected.

Of course, I had to follow up that tough bout with another. Musgrave is another name common to these accounts and while his primary weapon has been foil, his style makes him a remarkably strong epee fencer. It is usually a toss up who takes the bout and this time it was me, though by a scant margin.

My other two bouts were a little easier because they were the less experienced fencers in the pool and I ended up with a 3-1 record.

Click here for a look at the direct elmination table

This placed me 9th in the seeding and my first bout was an older gentleman I had been talking to earlier in the day. He was relatively new to the sport, so I kept things pretty simple. He had a good rally after the break, but I ended up winning the bout 15-5.

After that, I fenced a kid named Welsch. I never faced him before, but he seemed a little rough around the edges. His bag was counter attack from a defensive position, so I would back him up to the end of the strip and then go at him. It worked for the most part. Since I was stronger at infighting, his attempts to push back the distance also worked in my favor. However, I could tell that I wasn't really invested in the bout. I felt like I was toying with him when I should have been pressing the advantage.

(BTW, I'm the guy on the right)

Well, that is sometimes enough to fence sloppy and he started chipping away at the minor lead I had. On top of which, somewhere in the second period, I moved laterally and for the first time in the years I've fenced, I rolled my ankle. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The whole game changed for me because I was no longer fencing to win, but rather to keep from aggravating my injury... cursing the whole time to myself for doing something so bone-headed the day before I was to go up the Boundary Waters.

At the end of regulation, we were tied at 14-14. I think he got priority for the overtime, but it didn't matter as I made a half-hearted attack that he parried and finished me off. So, I lost the bout and part of me was grateful while another part of me was still cross from being careless and yet a third part of me dwelt on the fact that I should have beaten this kid. Anyway, my performance pretty much keep in the top 10, which wasn't bad considering how little I've competed this year... still... I should have beaten that kid.

Hobbling home
After the loss, I didn't waste a lot of time packing up and getting on the road. It was mid afternoon and I wanted some daylight to burn for the final packing session. So I said my goodbyes and beat a hasty retreat home. The drive back was interesting around the Iowa border due to some severe weather. About every five or ten minutes, the radio program would be interrupted with updates on the local tornado warnings. I was grateful that I seemed to be ahead of the main cell, but found it quite entertaining to see it roll in.

I did have to make a stop for gas and a few other things. By this time, not only had the adrenaline of bouting worn off, but I had basically been sitting for a couple of hours. Needless to say the ankle was a might tender. I bet I looked like some sort of idiot, limping around. When I got home, I spent about an hour icing it down before hobbling around to gather things for the camping trip.

Then I doped up with a couple of painkillers before I went to bed, hoping for the best in the morning.

Magic Smoke

Thu, 01 May 2008 16:19:01 GMT

Much like elora_c, I had some recent computer trouble at home...

Right around the time of the Sectional Championship, my computer would not get passed the BIOS start after a restart. It would just give me a blank screen and a series of beeps from the motherboard's speaker.

After the tournament, I spent some time diagnosing the problem. Turns out that the number and types of beeps mean something. Seeing as I was getting eight short beeps, the research I had done indicated that my video card went. I swapped it out with another and it did not solve the problem.

Failing any other guidance, I took my box over to a local OEM manufacturer to help me figure out the problem. I like this place. It is close, has decent hardware on the cheap and the guys there... well... that could well be me behind the counter if I was a little more hardcore.

Anyway, I get there and set my box on the table and waited for a technician. Another gentleman had come it right behind me. When a tech came, I gave up my place because I knew that my problem was going to take a little time. This other guy apparently brought his machine in because he thought it was running loudly.

The thing looked brand new, and actually, it was. There did not seem to be anything wrong with it either. It was entertaining to watch the tech try to explain this to the man. Eventually, the guy was convinced went on his way.

When the tech got to me, I told him my problem and we began the dance of pulling out hardware to see which bits were bad. When it was all said and done, he figured that the power supply went bad. That, in turn, blew out the video card and the motherboard.

So I had a decision to make. Plunk down a few hundred dollars to replace hardware which is akin to stone knives and bearskins, or shell out a few hundred more on top of that and piece together a completely new machine.

It was a really tough call. A sexy new machine would be nice, but it would also involve adopting Vista or the 64 bit flavor of XP... an idea which didn't appeal to me particularly well. On top of which, I haven't been using my PC in any capacity that would require the extra processing power. In the end, I couldn't justify the extra expense and simply bought replacement parts for the system I already had.

When I got home and started replacing the parts, it became pretty apparent that some of the components fried. There is a rather distinct aroma of electronics who have given up their ghost and these reeked of it. On the positive end, the new parts have the advantage of better design. The old video card and motherboard each had a fan for their processors, their replacements did not. It is a nice side benefit to have a working computer that is actually quieter as a result.

Now I can sit back on the fence and upgrade on my own time table... whenever that turns out to be.

Coming Up for Air

Thu, 01 May 2008 00:40:35 GMT

I have been remiss in my posting of late. The tide of life has a habit of washing over you unexpectedly and then carried off into the deep water with the undertow. Since I have reached another ebbing period in the cycle, I aim to make up for some lost time. Hopefully this update will prompt me to up my posting frequency (again).

Fencing
About half my silence has been due to the brisk tournament schedule leading into the Sectional Championship which we had the privilege to host this year. Since the championship is a qualifying event for Nationals, there is more pressure to get things right. While our group had a fair amount of autonomy in organizing the event, there remained another level of bureaucracy to satisfy. This lead to an additional mantle of stress which I felt that I bore poorly.

The tournament went well enough though. Even with a late winter storm dropping our numbers a bit, we still had a few decent events. They ran smoothly and the set up and tear down both were pretty efficient. There is still a debrief to go through, but I consider our effort to be a success... especially since my colleagues and I hadn't run this particular tournament before.

On top of which, I dug down and got myself certified for refereeing foil. While it wasn't my best work (hey, I was distracted), it was good to lend a hand there in an official capacity.

With that, the season is starting to wind down. Our Division has a few tournaments to run still but the big pressure is off in my books. I am even getting back in the mood to compete in one or two of the remaining tournaments before the season ends. In fact, there was one this past weekend that I managed to compete in epee in addition to helping out. Came in second too. I guess there is still a little mustard left in this guy after all.

Bowling
The season for my bowling league has also wound down. While we gave the lead team a run for their money, we fell a little short of vying for the championship title. I'm fine with that. The Charmers had a good run and I even finished up with something like a 140 average.

To cap everything off, we had a banquet to get everyone together one more time. Most of it was hob-nobbing and reminiscing, but at the end the league went through some business. In additional to reviewing a couple changes to the bylaws, they had officer elections... and guess who got nominated for president...

Yeah... I don't know how this happens. It could be that I was picked at random because the guy who did the nominating was the current president and he was just looking for a way to get out of the office. Not necessarily a ringing endorsement for the position. Regardless, I quoted the words of General Sherman, "if nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve."

So the officers stood as is, but I cannot help but feel that a bug has now lodged itself in someone's ear somewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if this scenario plays out again twelve months hence.

Music Lessons
I am still taking my bass lessons. I am still enjoying them even though it can be slow going at times. It dawned on me that I recently passed the one year mark and considered posting something to commemorate, but it keeps getting pushed off. Sufficed to say, I do see a marked improvement from where I was and where I am now.

Rock Band
Speaking of music... Squid, Leems and I have still managed to get together on a semi-regular basis to play Rock Band. It hasn't lost its glamour and part of that is due to the robust download schedule Harmonix has adopted for new content. Song releases vary on my personal scale of taste, but then again you can't please everyone. I am thrilled that they have kept up their momentum and wish them luck in sustaining the franchise. In that same breath, I curse them for the workout they give my credit card.

Hockey
The Wild finished the regular season in spectacular fashion by winning our division title for the first time in their franchise history. Then they got themselves axed out of the playoffs in the first round by the Avalanche. Disappointing, sure, but still a good run. Squid and I managed to get tickets to game five. It was an exciting game for two periods and then our boys lost their skates in the third. With my schedule freeing up a bit, I have been watching more of the other playoff series with great enjoyment. I am especially savoring the shellacking the Avs are currently taking from the Red Wings. No, I'm not bitter...

The theoretical warming of the weather hasn't changed the pace my lifestyle has taken of late, but the release valve on the pressure has certainly opened up a bit. So, hello again, hope to talk to you all soon.

Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:08:46 GMT

It has been a while since my last post about fencing. This is largely because I have not competed all that much this season. That, in turn, is due to the fact that I have been volunteering to help run many of the local tournaments for the past couple of years.

In one sense, it is a bit of a drain because there is the set-up and the registration and the actual running of the events that can turn a nice lazy Sunday into a chaotic melee of activity. Our division has turned a corner though. I think we have finally organized bit better and had some people step up to ensure that each of these tournaments have adequate personnel to keep pace without increasing the stress levels.

In fact, we have increased the number of tournaments considerably and the burn out factor has remained relatively low. Despite the drawback of not competing as faithfully as I had once did, I do find a certain amount of satisfaction in sustaining the local tournament circuit and giving back to a sport that has given me so much.

You might ask, "Fish Tie, where the Hell are you going with all of this?" Glad you asked. You see, in addition to the organizing committees to run the administration of tournaments, there are bodies devoted to training armorers and referees. The armorers understand the specifications and tolerances of all of the scoring equipment for effective repair and maintenance. The referees maintain order on the strip and ensures fair applications of any rules when a situation arises.

After years of serving as a referee in an unofficial capacity, helping to ref bouts and tournaments just to keep things moving, I have finally taken the final steps to being properly qualified through the USFA. Took nearly a year to do it too.

For those who are curious, the process involves a lengthy seminar to go over strip order and general referee instruction. Then there is a written exam testing you on general knowledge of the current rules and regulations for tournaments as well as specific rules on the different weapons.

While the seminar isn't difficult, it is time consuming. In addition, there is not a long list of qualified refs in the country to choose from, so getting them into the area can be a costly endeavor. Luckily, completion of this seminar allots a year to complete the exam requirement.

The exam is a little more challenging. Not only is it purposefully worded in a manner to confuse the takers, but it is done so in a poor fashion. Or, at least, that is my opinion. In addition, the margin for error is very slim, where passing a section requires a 94% or better on the results. The combination of the two keeps the pass rate down in my experience.

Last night, I finally got through the general exam. While I still have work to get the further qualification for foil and saber, I did pass the epee. Now that I've gotten through the first bit, I will not have to go through the seminar again to retake the foil and saber sections. Well worth the added effort in my estimation.

It is a nice accomplishment. I lends an air of authority to what I had been doing in years passed and it is another way that I can support the local fencing community.

Pointless College StoriesII: Fish Dates Outside His Species

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:46:07 GMT

captain_squid said yesterday that I should tell this story. It is actually a pretty good story considering the shocked response I get after having done so. However, I am at odds here because one of the tenets I had set for myself when posting here is not to talk about my love life (or lack thereof). It just seems like a bad idea to air that kind of thing on the internet. Lucky for you, nostalgia will win out this time...

Before I get started, I will confess to you that I am pretty thick when it comes to women. Perhaps I should rephrase that. My confession is more to the point that I have a hard time gauging a woman's potential interest in me. I do not pick up on whatever subtle clues they might drop to signal to me that I might be attractive. On top of which, whenever I pick up a vibe like that and follow through, I often find that I am quite mistaken in my assumption. So my natural tendency is to err on the side of caution and opt for obliviousness... which might be a factor into why I am still single. But that's another story.

Anyway. Let me project you back again to NRT's fledgling production of "The Martian Chronicles". During rehearsals, I had the pleasure of meeting piratelemur for the first time. I honestly did not know what to make of her in the beginning because we really hadn't talked all that much, but I did find her to be a bright and clever person. Towards the end of the production, we somehow ended up dating.

I say this because I forget if we were somehow set up by others in the group or if Lemur had initiated it... as I remarked earlier, I was pretty oblivious simply because the prospect of dating was something that happened to other people. I vaguely recall having a conversation with Squid about the whole thing before I started seeing her. He thought quite highly of her and told me in not so many words that if I passed up a chance to date her, that I was dumber than I looked.

So we started going out. We'd hang out at her dorm or down in Room 51 or some such other thing. Once the semester ended, we'd write occasionally and even met up at Art's Fest. It was a fun time, but a part of me couldn't help but feel that we were going through the motions of dating. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed her company, but I guess the emotional attachment wasn't there.

On some level, I think she realized it too and when the fall semester started, we broke up. I have to give her credit for bringing it up because I probably would have idled a while longer. At the very least, we both had the maturity to realize that it was the right thing to do.

And I'll be the first to admit that it hurt for a little while. Even though we weren't really serious, there was a familiarity of companionship that was suddenly no longer there. If anything, that was probably what prompted me to make another attempt at putting myself out in the field for a change.

Anyway, a week or two or three go by and I am coming to understand that Squid and Lemur had kind of a mutual attraction going on. I guess that when Squid was trying to talk me into dating Lemur, it was because he was quite smitten himself. However, circumstances had changed where they felt that they couldn't act on it without hurting my feelings.

This struck me as odd. We broke up amicably, and did not drag out the split at all. It seemed ludicrous to me for them pussy-foot around their attraction out a sense of loyalty to me. From my perspective, I felt that Squid needed a steady relationship much more than I did at the time.

I tried to relate that in clearest terms possible, but I don't think I actually convinced them until I started dating another woman from Atherton.

So, yeah... my best friend dated and then ultimately married my ex-girlfriend. Leems jokes sometimes that I am her "emergency back-up husband" and now that I've recounted this to you, you can probably fathom how funny that actually is.

Pointless College StoriesII: Fish Becomes a Ham

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:17:25 GMT

While plenty stories remain to be told about college, it is becoming more and more difficult to bring them up without first broaching the topic of No Refund Theatre. It has certainly been mentioned in passing enough that it warrants its own attention. So here we go.

It was the spring semester of my first year that the main campus so that would probably be 1993, if the noggin is recollecting correctly. By that point, I was hanging out at Atherton pretty regularly even though I was far removed from the Scholars Program. Anyway, there was a group there called The Atherton Players who put on a play every year and this time around they had chosen "The Crucible".

Since I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with theater at McKeesport, I figured I would go to auditions and see what happened. When I didn't get cast, sure I was disappointed, but I shrugged it off and figured I would fill my time some other way. About a week or two later, I was chatting with Skippy. He'd auditioned as well and didn't get cast but he said that he had been talking with a few of his friends and they made the decision that they were going to do a play anyway.

I asked what they planned on putting on and he said there was a play adaptation of Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles." Intrigued, I auditioned for it and got a couple of parts. This was because that since we weren't an established organization and it was done completely out of the blue anyway, that there weren't more than a dozen of us to fill the many roles needed to cast it fully. It didn't matter to me. In fact, I think I preferred it because we all seemed to be the guys who appreciated theater, but not necessarily the guys who where going to make it our living.

So, over the next couple of months we rehearsed and gathered props to use. Since we didn't have a budget, we had to be inventive on how to give our props that Martian feel. Skippy's guiding factor was that when in doubt, spraypaint it silver (It's a motif!). We also conscripted the help from Rick to fashion a bunch of paper-maché masks for us to wear for when we were playing Martians. In fact, I still have that mask prominently displayed at my house.

Eventually we put on a few performances at the HUB auditorium. I remember grabbing Squid to help us to run the light board. It was a really good time and though the show wasn't what you would consider a high-production endeavor, we all put a lot of work into it. And after we were done, we immediately started talking about the next play we'd like to put on.

We dubbed ourselves No Refund Theatre shortly thereafter. Over time our numbers grew which allowed us to do more projects over the course of a semester so much so that we became a fixture at Forum Building (our new stage area of choice) on any given weekend. Not only that, but it also became an outlet for folks who wanted to have a hand in any aspect of the process, including playwrighting.

I think we managed to be successful because we kept from formalizing into student organization. We were unfettered by formal budgets, bylaws and officers. We didn't care if your major was theater or not. If you had a project and there was an available weekend, you just nab it and get the ball rolling. Sure there were clashes of ego, but what group doesn't have that? At the end of the day, we were all working toward the same goal and were happy to lend a hand to others in order to achieve it.

From what I understand No Refund Theatre still exists. Part of me feels a sense of pride in helping to found an enduring institution at Penn State. Granted, they've since emerged from the underground to become a formal student organization, but I can sense that they are remaining faithful to the principles of amateur theater we tried to uphold. Pity they got the history all wrong and called Skippy by the wrong name, but I suppose history is meant to be imprecise.

Pointless College StoriesII: Fish Meets the Mascot

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:47:38 GMT

To continue this romp through the past, I am feeling awfully tangential. So for this third installment, I will recount an encounter I had with an agent of the dark cabal that truly runs everything on main campus.

This was during my first year at university park because I was in an apartment complex off campus enough to require riding a bus back and forth. In fact, I was waiting for a bus at the main stop at College and Allen. I was minding my own business when I saw a squirrel hopping about looking for food.

Since I had everything in my trench coat, I remembered that I had a few peanuts in my pocket from the last time I was at the Jawbone. So I pulled one out and tossed it to the little guy. He pounced on it and quickly disappeared to parts unknown.

A few minutes later, I see the same squirrel working his way over to me again. So I pull out another peanut and toss it to him. Again, he snags the nut and disappears.

In another couple minutes, he comes into my view again. This time, I decided to make him work for the peanut and had him take it out of my hand. He obliged and disappeared.

By this time, I am sure you can gather that he came back. I mean, he knew he was into a good thing. However, I was out of peanuts and told him as much. He remained skeptical though, sniffing around me and giving me a cute little unbelieving scoff.

I even showed him my hands and he sniffed those. Then things got a little weird. Seems as the little guy was paying more attention than I thought and in one spry action advanced on me to peek inside coat pocket that once held the peanuts. Finding none, he finally retreated.

From then on, I stopped carrying peanuts in my coat. The benefits outweighed the danger of being carried off by our furry little overlords.

Pointless College Stories II: Fish Learns to Stab People

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:42:07 GMT

I am finding it hard to decide which stories to tell, but since the post about nicknames came up, I figured this post would help clear one or two things up.

As part of our graduation requirements, we had to take a few credits of gyms or activity courses. While there were classes to take at McKeesport, I purposely held off until I got to the main campus in order to get a wider selection.

When scanning through the blue book, one class stood out from the rest: fencing. It appealed to me because 1. it wasn't a team sport, 2. it was an actual physical activity and 3. it seemed like a real thinking man's sort of game. And come on, you stab people.

So my first semester at main campus, I signed up for Fencing 1, which focused more on general conditioning, fencing basics and drills. We also dealt exclusively with foil since it has the best balance between form and engagement for novice fencers.

It was there that I met Bonfitto. He was a lanky fellow with long curly black hair. Sort of a cross between Howard Stern and Joey Ramone on first impression. I started calling him Skippy for very little reason other than it seemed to suit him.

Anyway, he seemed personable enough and I ended up being his drill partner quite a bit because we seemed to be on the same wavelength as well as a shared appreciation for the sport. I think we ended up learning more because of it.

At the end of the semester I tested well and had the drive to take Fencing 2 the next semester. There, we learned some more advanced tactics as well as got exposure with some of the other weapons. Again, I excelled in the class enough to think that I should pick it up as a regular hobby. However, fencing is not a cheap hobby and I let it drop into the background until my eventual move to Minnesota. The rest, they say, is history.

As for Skippy, well, we hung out a bit outside of class. Since he lived in Atherton, it just became another room in a long list of places to visit. After a while, some of these groups coalesced into group we often speak of today.

Pointless College Stories II: Fish Makes a Stand

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:04:33 GMT

In reviving the meme that word_geek started last year, I figure that it is only fitting that the first story I will relate took place during my tenure at the McKeesport branch campus.

One of the last semesters I attended McKeesport coincided with the emergence of new recycling efforts. As if overnight, trash cans throughout the campus spontaneously spit out a diminutive blue offspring whose sole purpose was to house used paper. To exacerbate matters, only certain types of used paper were considered valid trash for these coveted new receptacles. While many took this in stride, I was rather put off with the change.

Not that I was lazy. Far from it. I was put off by the fact that we were segregating our garbage. In an environment where diversity is supposedly cherished, we deign to place one sort of refuse over another. And while I was not what you would call a political being, I felt obligated to state my case to the student government.

So I prepared a short argument and attended their next meeting. Once the floor was open for new business, I presented my case. My remarks began by addressing the high ideals of diversity that college in general aspires to and slowly moved on to bring this gross hypocrisy to their attention. I think they were moved by the professional eloquence I brought to my case. I say this because even though many cracked a grin when I finally got to nub of the matter, I think still managed to convince them of my rationale even if only on a peripheral level.

While moved, the organizing body remained intractable to my plea... I considered a grass roots protest effort but could not muster enough support from my colleagues to attempt it. It is a shame too, because we could have used a lot of paper in the process.

Thus ended my only attempt at engaging the student body of the McKeepsport campus behind a common goal. I had one other dealing with student government, but that was at the main campus and story for another time... equally pointless I might add.

Yet Another Post About Rock Band

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:06:12 GMT

At the risk of appearing obsessed, I wanted to share this because it is pretty nifty how these guys have been supporting the game.

In addition to releasing a good number of new tracks since the game came out (I've downloaded at least nine so far), they've also updated their community website so that you could link yourself to your rockers and bands. It is an interesting way to share the experience and so, without further ado, may I present an insider look to the Red Mantis Cult.

I know, it isn't much to look at yet. I have to chat with my band mates to see how to proceed.

One Track Mind

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:04:02 GMT

At the risk of boring you all with yet another post about Rock Band, I did want share with you all that I tested out the multiplayer function this weekend with the astute assistance of captain_squid and piratelemur.

They got themselves familiar with it for a few songs while I finished up dinner and then after we had finished eating, we dove into our multiplayer options. Quickplay would have allowed us to pick freely but since Squid and Lemur wanted personae of their own, we fired up the World Tour. We felt obliged to name ourselves Red Mantis Cult. I'll let one of my bandmates chime in the appropriate response.

One of the drawbacks I have read about this mode is that the person who makes the band is bound to it as its leader. It is good in that it still allows folks to be removed or added, but there should also have been an option whereby you could change the leader of the band, should it become necessary. Additionally, it seems that characters/avatars/whatever are locked to the instrument they are created under. So... if you make a drummer, they cannot become a singer. Because they mix the guitar and bass parts together due to the fact that they are governed by one controller, making a character there is a little more flexible. Squid and Leems were content to having guitar characters while I pulled up my drummer I had going in a solo tour (which is a pretty nifty thing).

Actually playing a tour is relatively cool. Each city has a number of venues and those venues have options for set lists. You can either pick from a few songs or you pick set lists of varying shades and colors. Some of them are set lists you pick, some are random, some are a mix between them. It keeps it interesting though the random songs can be tricky if it decides to drop a complicated song on you. Depending on how well you play on the difficulty level you select determines how much you increase (or decrease) your fanbase.

Venues and cities unlock at a brisk pace and opportunities such as winning a tour van or stealing roadies are part of set list selections. After playing through a little while, we gave ourselves a rest and hit the store to kit ourselves out. Squid found a nice steampunk ensemble while the Lemur decked herself in electric lime green.

Over the course of the night, I came to understand a few things:

1. We all liked how the crowd would start singing along if we were really nailing the song.

2. Squid preferred the new guitar over the old one. After experimenting between the two, I had come to the same conclusion.

3. My left foot has a better sense of rhythm when using the bass pedal of the drum kit.

4. Lemur really likes the Pixies.

5. General consensus was that we could easily tune out the noise from striking the drum kit. We had the sound up on the television but it wasn't too loud, I thought.

We were up pretty late and everyone had a go on just about everything. I felt like I hit the hump on the drums though because I played a couple of songs on Sunday and found it come a little easier. In my hubris, I jacked up the difficulty to expert and tried one of the beginner songs... where I promptly failed at around 71%. Lousy bridge.

I'll let my bandmates fill in anything I might have missed. However, I will close by saying that Harmonix did well. Very well even. This game is going to see a lot of use, even more should some of my other friends take a similar plunge so that we could get an online band together (hint, hint).

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go practice my stick twirls.

Bang the Drum Slowly

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:58:57 GMT

I will make a brief acknowledgment that EA made good on its promise to replace the wonky kit quickly. The new pads performed well against my, er, quality control testing. Now it is just a matter of packing up the old pads and sending them back.

While I did not have an abundant stockpile of the fourth dimension in which I could lavish on the new gear, I did play enough to get a sense of my aptitude. My drumming skills need a little work. It is one thing to have a sense of rhythm. It is an entirely different thing trying to set three separate parts of anatomy to function in an independent, yet correlated cadence.

I have also noticed that the slower speeds of the easier levels can be more of a detriment than the guitar. Anticipating notes is always a problem, but I find tuning out extra percussion harder than tuning out the guitar fills. Once I feel a little more coordinated with the kit placement, I'll put that theory to the test on the harder difficulties.

Until next time. Keep on rocking.

An Interesting Notion

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 04:57:33 GMT

There has been a lot of press regarding Rock Band, both in its development and after its release. However, this piece stands out to me.

Why?

MTV, back in the day, was a refreshing outlet to expose people to new music and artists. Music videos themselves evolved into an art-form which sadly petered out as the station that launched the revolution also evolved itself out of the art-form in attempts to keep up with the fickle tastes of their young demographic.

I have often heard the sarcastic comments of those reminiscing about the does when MTV actually broadcasted music videos and even reveled in the irony. I find the above story to be an odd glimpse in to the potential of this medium and how MTV has shrewdly positioned themselves to cycle themselves back onto the pulse of music community.

It will be interesting to see what pans out and how much corporate taint may leak into the final product. All I know is that I have already downloaded the Bowie pack that opened up today and I am quite satisfied.

Remember Me?

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:43:08 GMT

I find myself browsing through here recently and came to the realization that I haven't posted in a while. While nothing particularly noteworthy has happened between now and that last post, it is probably a good idea to touch base... if only to serve as a sounding board to myself (because I am relatively sure that all of my readers have since vanished into the ether).

Fencing
As many may recall, I am on my second consecutive tour serving on the board in our area that coordinates the local fencing tournaments over the course of the season. Last year, I all but dropped the idea of fencing competitively in order to ensure that the tournaments that we ran had at least one able body to help out.

This year, I have significantly increased the number of tournaments I have competed in... relatively. It is by no means the same scale when I was just a regular joe, but it is still a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Also decreased in scale, or so it would see, is my competitive edge. While understandable it is still a little disheartening to have dropped in the ranks as I have. Still, I enjoy the experience which is half the reason I picked up the sport in the first place.

Most recently, I was in a tournament traditionally held the weekend before Thanksgiving. As a gimmick, they include a raffle for a frozen turkey for each event where the winner of said event pulls the name of the lucky recipient. You'll all be happy to know that I won the turkey this year for the epee event... so while I may not have excelled from an athletic standpoint, I still achieved something.

Hockey
Oddly enough, I have managed to watch a good amount of hockey this season. I think was due in part to the fact that our Wild had such a stellar start... which of course since gone nova and now seems to be collapsing into some sort of black hole of uncertainty. Between player injuries and talk of trading I am at a loss to gauge what to expect on the ice. Next week, we have tickets to see them match up against the Flyers, who also seem to be getting a bit of ink for their indiscretions of indulging in a bit of the old ultra-violence. Considering the physicality of our last two games against Vancouver, I say bring it on.

Bass
Watching hockey has one nice side effect: I can practice my bass at the same time. I still do not devote enough time to this hobby, but even still I find that I have may a lot of progress so far. My speed and precision have improved even if it might not be performance muster. On top of which, my ear for picking out bits of music and even locking into a key is getting sharper. For the latter, I had no... N-O ability at all. I find that bit very gratifying. Yet patience remains the key, so to speak. I will keep taking my lessons as long as I need them. There is still a lot to learn about music in general and it looks like I am now in a position to do just that.

Music
Semi-related to the previous point, I tracked down and filled some gaps in my music collection. For a while now I have been trying to get a copy of a song by Shriekback title "Go Bang". It is a little bit pop but I like it and I have known for quite some time that the album was out of print. I did discover that there were a number of used copies available (Amazon is a truly innovative marketplace) and picked up a copy dirt cheap. Whilst on this spree, I discovered that I had an itch for Devo and The Who that needed scratching as well. The problem here is that I couldn't go to my usual online outlets to get DRM rights free copies. Call me crazy, but when I buy something, I'd like to think that I actually own it. Anywho, so I bought a couple of their CDs that had the songs I was interested in. My commute to work has brightened significantly even as it disassociates itself with the actual occurence of the sunrise.

Phone
I had my phone replaced. My provider has a plan it came due. I hemmed and hawed for probably a good month or two after I was notified, but I finally decided on something. It is pretty nice, if only for the fact that I no longer have that annoyingly ill-placed antenna nub sticking up. The only downside was transferring my contacts... which I was told later could be done a lot easier than I had done. Maybe next time.

Games
I do not have a lot of time to play games, but the recent break in the drought of new releases has nearly broken my spirit. As I mentioned in comments elsewhere, I picked up both Mass Effect and Rock Band and have attained levels of joy that could only be measured with an old style keg, and a copious volume of simians. Keep in mind that this is still the case after I discovered that there was a problem with my drum kit. However, I may have to hand it to EA for implementing a replacement process which may have a new kit in my hands by the end of the week at no additional cost.

I fear that sleep may soon end up a casualty in the never-ending struggle for free time.