|
|
Blog Archives - July, 2003
| July
31, 2003 |
Day
In, Day Out, All Week Long
Things go better with Rock! Or in my case, with
E-Rock! Ha ha ha ha!
Well, I printed out 300 fliers for the show on the
16th, and wouldn't you know it, I handed all 300 of those bad
boys out, thanks to a little help from Allen, Dee, Jo, Mark
and Matt. Thanks, you guys! I owe you all one. One what, I don't
know. But I'll think of something!
After two days solid of walking around at the fair,
my legs were in the hurt locker. So Breann to the rescue with
the idea to go swimming down at the hot tubs (a stretch of the
Susquehannah River's west branch that's really warm). I needed
that for sure! After a good soak, I felt tons better.
Tuesday was pretty nifty. Hung out with Erina around
the fair grounds. Saw a whole bunch of folks I hadn't seen in
forever. Allen freaked out and thought he'd reached the 6th
level of Hell when he saw Erina and I walking around together.
I love it when people get freaked out like that. It's funny,
and I got more than a few good laughs out of it.
Finally got to take Dylan down to the Fire Hall.
Let me tell you, never before have I seen a kid so gung-ho about
being a fireman. Makes me proud. If I pass on everything I've
learned to him, I'm sure he'll make a great firefighter when
he grows up. Only time will tell... |
| July
28, 2003 |
Don't
Rain On My Parade
Fun promotional time! Fair week is here, and it's
time to plug the heck out of our show at Electric Avenue on
August 16th. So I get to print up some hand bills, photocopy
them a few hundred times, and then take them to the Fair Parade
to hand out to the general public.
Funny, I seem to be the only one doing promotional
work around here. Oh well, it'll pay off when we pack the Avenue.
If you're at the parade tonight, keep an eye out for me, pull
me over, and say Hi!
Talk
To Us, Damnit!
OK, time to use my blog to plug my friends' stuff
for once (besides Bad Idea, anyway)...
Want to talk to us? Right on. Here's how you can
do it. Get yourself a Telnet Client, like [gmud]
or [putty]
or what have you. Don't use Winblows' built in client, it doesn't
work that great.
Now that you have your client, here's the skinny.
Derreck has been spending insane hours coding a talker, called
Revelation. All original code, GPL'd, happy goodness. All you
do is plug into g3x.sytes.net port 9669. Register a user
name and BS with us til the wee hours of the morning! |
| July
27, 2003 |
Why
Me?
Outside my window, thunder rolls and lightning flashes,
lighting up the night sky for a moment.
And here inside, I feel like complete and total
crap.
Friday night was normal fare, a party over in Chester
Hill at a friend's place. Good things: Lots of beer, and I played
some Tempered Edge for everyone. They loved it. Always nice
to hear that people like your music.
Yesterday turned out to be a mixture of interesting
and completely weird. After waking up, I headed down to the
[fire hall]
to get ready for the Houtzdale Parade. Each year since I joined
CHHCo., I've ridden in that parade just to see the looks on
people's faces when they see that I'm doing something good for
a change. It's entertaining. After the parade, I headed to Clearfield
for the Bad Idea/Grinder show at Mary's Place.
The show was great! Mandy joined in on vocals with
Bad Idea, it's been years since I've seen her perform. Too bad
she can't play the guitar at the moment, because she rocks.
I jumped in for a little Rage Against the Machine as well. Even
ran into an old school mate who never gave me the time of day
when we were in school. Funny how people change and actually
become friendly...
Then it all came tumbling down. Infighting between
traveling companions, and a weird scrap in the parking lot when
we got to Travis'. Not to mention unintentionally listening
in on a domestic dispute at a neighbor's place. And on top of
that, throughout the day I had developed a sore throat, an it
HURT. So, I had Travis take me down to the [fire
hall] , where I called for a ride home.
Today, the sore throat hadn't gone away, and I had
band practice at 10am. Not a good combination. But I I trudged
through it anyway, and did what I could without destroying my
voice. After that, I came home to stay.
So now it's a quarter after 10, and I'm still in
the hurt locker with my throat. Oh well. These are the breaks
when you're a simple human being. It'll pass, things will be
back to normal, and all will be as right with the world as it
can get these days... |
| July
24, 2003 |
Sooner
Than I Expected...
3:55AM, and wouldn't you know it, I just got home.
This past night was an odd one, that's for sure.
After spending time at our [fire
hall] meeting and voicing my desire to be on the alternates
list for entry crew, I went up to Tommy's to relax and hang
out before I had to be home.
So, wouldn't you know it, while Tommy and I are
hanging out at Christy's, our Chief comes over the pager, screaming
about a working structure fire with entrapment. Since I wasn't
drunk this time, out the door I went, with Tommy, also a member,
close behind.
We got on the scene to find that the house involved
was that of a friend of ours. There's something you don't like
to find out, that's for sure. But we got on the scene in a heartbeat,
and had the fire knocked down rather quickly. The person trapped
inside, well, we got her out and she's fine. The last thing
we needed was a repeat of Monday night...
Anyway, I wasn't on the entry crew this time, at
least during the fire. But after we beat the flames down, I
got set up on overhaul, where we go through the house looking
for hotspots and taking general damage inventory. All went well,
and the fire was declared extinguished shortly thereafter.
Then came the hunt for the homeowner's weapons.
Two .22 rifels, a .22 pistol, and a collector's 30 ought-six
(spelling?). Thankfully, the ammo for these firearms was in
a bedroom which was relatively untouched by the fire, so we
didn't have any of it going off. Lucky break, eh? After recovering
everything, the Fire Marshall arrived and we called it a night.
Unfortunately, though, our friends are homeless.
So Rancho Relaxo is proud to be the first to announce a benefit
concert for the family! So far, two bands are schedule to appear:
Tempered Edge (my band), and Bad Idea (Tommy's band). We're
hoping to line up more as the weeks progress, and working towards
the weekend after our show at [electric
avenue] to hold the benefit. More info on that as I get
it together.
One of those moments where being both a firefighter
and a musician pays off in Karma, allowing me to do not one,
but two good things for my fellow humans. Makes me feel all
warm and fuzzy inside, and let me tell you, there's no greater
feeling in the world. To be able to help others is something
I cherish alot, and enjoy doing immensely... |
| July
23, 2003 |
Just
Because I Can...
Having a blog such as this gives you a few liberties.
One of my favorites is using it to say hello to friends who
stop by and read on a somewhat regular basis, not to mention
people who don't visit at all.
First of all, What's Up and Big Thanks to Wil Wheaton,
even though he has no clue I exist. His site, [wwdn],
is the basis for this particular design incarnation of Rancho
Relaxo. Thanks, Wil!
A big Hey to Breann! It was her idea to make the
site a color other than it's original baby blue. The result?
The purple goodness you see before you. And even though he doesn't
like to be named, another Hey goes out to Breann's man!
Gotta say What's Up to the boys of Bad Idea: Tommy,
Travo, Travis and Gary! These guys are the source of nearly
endless fun for me, since I roadie for them as well as maintain
their website. And not to be left out, gotta say YOU GUYS RULE
to my bandmates in Tempered Edge: Bill, Dave, Andy and Vince!
We're going to make some noise in the near future, so look out
world, here come the bad boys of Tempered Edge!
OK, so I'm a sucker for the ladies. One in particular
that I want to say Hello to is Christy. She's working hard (or
hardly working, I can never tell the difference) dealing with
a rather interesting demographic of people at her job, and deserves
credit for keeping her cool through it all. And hey, Christy,
you still owe me a night at Karaoke, not to mention I still
owe Dylan a trip to the [fire
hall]...
And finally (since I don't want this entry turning
into a novel), Hello and Thanks to John Miller and Paul McSween,
purveyors of the John Miller Program over at [fccfree.com].
Every Thursday night these guys put on a kickass Webcast, and
often plug my band and play our tunes. Thanks again, guys! |
| July
22, 2003 |
A
Hard Pill To Swallow...
It was most certainly a long and interesting weekend
for yours truely, and to be quite honest, I'm glad it's finally
over.
Friday night was simple enough, all I did was go
to Electric Avenue for Karaoke. Nothing special there, just
alot of mindless beer drinking and fun on stage.
Saturday I found myself in Curwensville, hanging
out with Erina (of all people!), Jay, and Erina's parents watching
the parade. Rare is it that I even go to little town festivals,
let alone with my ex-fiance, her parents and her boyfriend.
After the parade we went down to Irwin Park for the festival
itself. That's where I ran into some folks I haven't seen for
quite a while. I guess it pays to go out every once in a while.
Sunday saw me going out to Breann's place to hang
out, which ended up stretching into Monday, when we went to
her boyfriend's place. From there, I ended up partying with
Tommy, Christy, Gary, Misty and Brandon.
And that's when the pager went off.
Now, fire hall rules (not to mention common sense)
say that you can't be part of the engine or fire scene crew
if you're drunk. Well, I was drunk. When the pager went off,
I didn't go. Not to mention that when it went off, the battery
chose that moment to die, so I didn't hear what or where the
call was, only that we were summoned to the scene.
After waking up this morning, I managed to figure
out that the fire wasn't your typical fare. Structure fire,
two small children trapped inside the home. To us, that's a
reason to go into hyper-panic-yet-try-to-remain-calm-and-do-your-job
mode.
And sadly, I came to find out that those two little
children did not survive.
Some of my teammates down at the hall are really
depressed about it. This is one of those times where you do
everything you possibly can to save lives, putting all your
training to use, and it just isn't enough. Our boys tried their
damndest, like they would for anyone trapped in a burning building.
This was just one of those times.
I want to send my condolences out to the family
of these two little innocent souls. They were taken from this
world WAY too early. I may not be a religious man, but I sincerely
hope that, wherever they are, they are in a better place... |
| July
18, 2003 |
Auntie
Em! Auntie Em!
Gotta love severe weather!
Around 3:30, it came accross TV that Clearfield
County, PA (where I live) was under a Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm
Warning, and doppler radar showed the storm cell heading straight
for my little boondock town. Neat! So, I headed outside to watch
the show.
Mother Nature is a very awe-inspiring person. Today,
I saw my first Supercell. For those of you who don't follow
meteorology, a Supercell is a cloud formation that has the potential
to spawn a Tornado. And when it's right over your head, it's
rather humbling. I did see swirling clouds, but no funnel formations.
Darn, I really wanted to see this hell hole of a town leveled,
too...
As a funny aside, a thunderstorm rolled through
soon after the Supercell passed over us, knocking out the power,
which is still out as I write this. Funny, my main computer
dying kind of gave me an advantage today. Now that I'm working
from a laptop, I don't have to worry about power outages. I
just switch over to the battery. Nifty.
Trouble is, though, I'm racing to get this done
as fast as I can. You see, my parents don't understand the term
"Memory Effect" in regards to batteries. So this battery
thinks it is only supposed to last about two hours or so. Great.
Oh well. Maybe someday they'll catch on... |
| July
17, 2003 |
Limit
5 per customer
If you got here from [fccfree.com],
then [this] is what you've probably come
to see...
Ahh, yes. The obligatory "State of the Blog"
entry. Gotta love these. This is where I let you know about
little things that happen with this blog, how it's coming along,
you know the drill. I've done it with all the incarnations of
The Ranch.
Anyway, the title is a bit of a hint. You see, this
is the 5th entry since I switched The Ranch over to the blog
format. As such, you'll notice after this that five entries
are all that will be displayed here on the main page. After
that, older entries will be found in the [archives].
They'll still be here, but I don't want this front page getting
insanely long.
As far as the new design is concerned, it's doing
well. Everyone who's visited has commented to me on how much
nicer it is than the previous incarnation. The fact that it's
simple is the biggest plus, according to visitors. So, in a
nutshell, this design is here to stay!
Hopefully later I can con my mom into loaning me
the car. You see, I have a promise to keep. My friend Christy's
son is gung-ho about firefighters. While most kids have a pretend
plastic fireman's hat (which we in the game call "lids"),
this little guy has his own real lid! Lucky kid! Anyway, I promised
him that one of these days I'd take him down to our [fire
hall] and show him our engine, tanker, and whatever else
we have laying around the hall. Hey, when dealing with the next
generation, it's important to foster their imagination. And
if he wants to be a fireman, then more power to him, and I'll
show him how we play the game of firefighting.
Thankfully, I have this weekend off from the music
scene here in Central PA. For those that don't know, not only
do I have my band, Tempered Edge, but I also do roadie work
for a band called Bad Idea. The last three weekends have been
busy with them, and they finally have a weekend with no shows.
So, I'll be heading down to Karaoke at Electric Avenue. Haven't
been there in a few weeks, and it'll be good to see the K-Crew
again. If you're not busy, stop down and have some fun with
us! |
| July
16, 2003 |
It
Certainly Isn't Friday...
If you got here from [fccfree.com],
then [this] is what you've probably come
to see...
10:20 AM. The house is empty except for me, the
dog, and my hamsters. Smokie, the lazy boy ham-ham, is crashed
out in his favorite corner, and Mary Jane, my baby girl ham-ham,
is rustling around in her cage, maybe trying to annoy me into
staying awake.
Ed, Edd and Eddy is on the tube, Cartoon Network
being the only channel I care to watch. Earlier, there was a
fly buzzing around the room, but some quick hat swinging brought
that to an end.
I still haven't gotten dressed yet. One of those
lazy, easy going Wednesdays. Nothing major going on, no fire
hall meeting, no real place to go. And, after the rain we had
last night, it's actualy a rather nice morning outside. Not
that I plan on going out, though. The sun and I have been at
odds for years. Always wanting to shine in my nocturnal eyes,
burn the living hell out of my skin, things like that...
I'm down to a half glass of tea and one ciggarette.
I mess with the digital camera a bit, but to no avail. Still
broken, damnit. Derreck's wallet sits over on top of the DVD
player, waiting for me to take it back to him. Speaking of DVDs,
curse my forgetful mind. Forgot to bring mine home from Breann's
last night. Oh well. One more day without Anime DVDs won't kill
me.
That sun, on the other hand... Now he's out to get
me...
One month exactly (well, more or less, anyway) til
the big show at Electric Avenue. The calender on my wall laughs
at me a bit, telling me without speaking "Sorry, kid. You
still gotta wait. Nya nya." Gee, thanks.
Mary Jane rustles around in her cage some more,
rattling the whole structure of my closet organizer along with
it. Maybe if I give her some carrot chips, she'll calm down.
Or maybe she's pissed because I ran out of baby spinach leaves
a while back. Who knows, I don't speak Ham-ham...
Just one of those lazy, easy going Wednesdays... |
| July
14, 2003 |
File
Incomplete. Try Again?
If you got here from [fccfree.com],
then [this] is what you've probably come
to see...
Since the digital camera isn't on the functioning
list at the moment, you're going to have to wait for Galleries.
Like there's any huge demand for pics of me, anyway (he he).
But once I get the pics from Friday night off of the CF card,
there should be a nice little gallery of pics up, including
Eric on Stage and Eric with the Ladies.
I promised you more on the Band Practice situation,
so here it is. We got a new board and stuff this week, and made
the decision to go low-impedance to get rid of our buzz problem.
Trouble is, our amps can do L-I (XLR (mic) cable), but those
ports are long since fried. And it only took us six hours to
figure this out. Not to mention Bill had some stuff hooked up
wrong. But that's minor compared to the fact that, if we're
going to go L-I, we're going to need all new power amps. Oh
well. When we get famous, we'll get them.
I'm going to be adding more stuff to the sidebars
here soon...
Sometimes, my life comes to these kinds of points.
You know the kind, right? The ones where you have all this good
stuff to choose from, but in the end, you can only choose one?
That's where I'm at now, and let me tell you, it's a doozey.
When I'm at liberty to say more, I'll fill you all in... |
| July
13, 2003 |
All
The Pretty Colors...
If you got here from [fccfree.com],
then [this] is what you've probably come
to see...
Gotta thank John Miller for linking to my site from
the site of the JMP. Maybe I'll get some site traffic from him,
who knows.
Ugh! What a night at band practice! We didn't even
get to play at all thanks to technical difficulties! More on
that later.
Like the new color scheme? Purple good. Breann said
"light blue isn't you at all" so I done made it purple
instead. Since my editor doesn't do a very dark purple, I decided
that little tiny graphics with a hint of Photoshop filter would
do. I like it, personally...
Wild time at the Bad Idea show the other night.
Hopefully soon I'll have an MP3 of their rendition of Rage Against
The Machine's "Killing In The Name," featuring your's
truely on lead vocals! |
| July
11, 2003 |
UAW
Local 420 www.fccfree.com
As always, every Thursday night I tune in to the
[john miller
program] (JMP). John and his producer Paul have been putting
on what has become the longest running webcast since the dawn
of the 'Net itself, and I must say it's pretty damn entertaining.
I'm a regular viewer and participate quite often with ICQ messages
and phone calls.
Well, last night was the end-all beat-all of hillarious.
Program starts, John says "Hey, maybe we can get E-Rock
(me) to call in to this PC Chat radio show and see how many
plugs he can get in for the JMP." Mission: Accepted. The
call was hillarious. I got the Trivial Trivia question right
(What does GNU stand for? GNU's Not Unix),
and then managed to get in four plugs for John's program before
they cut me off. Needless to say, it was alot of fun.
John and Paul are going to get their hands on the
PC Chat show archive and play my call next week on the JMP.
Check it out, Thursday, 9PM EST.
|
| July
10, 2003 |
Looks
Different, Doesn't It...
Oh, what have I done this time? Well, the most recent
version of the Ranch was nothing short of a pain in the ass
to update and maintain, so I've decided to take a hint from
[wil wheaton]
and use this as a personal Web Log (or, simply blog). Gone are
the bells and whistles of Ranches past, and here to stay are
the accounts of my day to day life and travels.
I still have image galleries, and I still have an
About Me section, but that's about all that remains. Everything
else is gone. Shock Rock, Ranch Gadgets, everything. Basically
what happened is I started to run out of free time, and could
only do little tiny updates at sporradic intervals.
So this is what you get, and this is how it will
stay for quite a while. Just me, raw and uncut (well, as uncut
as Tripod will let me get for now, anyway), and in much smaller
doses. |
|
|
[fearmongering]
|
|
|
[listen]
|
|
|
[watch]
|
![[adult swim]](../images/links/adultswim.gif "[adult swim]")
|
|
[play]
|
|
|
|
