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random news and happenings
Author: bbwax on October 26 2007 Viewed 2940 times. 22 people liked this blog. You can rate it below if you haven't already.
People who enjoyed reading this: pierlu001, energygiant, jdg, p, jogn, Moriarty, Roshi, RRine, frnortnr, SenorFrio, astroid, Zanf, bodo, timmo, Fredo, yghartsyrt, ModuLR, usborne, utofbu, subset, lilt, j_chot
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long time no read em411 internet ghost people. howdy. hope you are all doing well.
i installed a firefox plugin called leechblock. it keeps me from spending time here, and elsewhere, when i should be learning and working. i've already progressed so much i feel kind of like george costanza on seinfeld - you know, that episode where he gave up sex and became a genius.
i've unplugged the internetz @ home. i'm hanging clothes out to dry. i'm going to grow a garden in the spring. i've sold all my gear. i put the laptop on a shelf (but no i haven't sold it, yet). i've unplugged the tv. going green and minimalistic is fun! just say no to consumerism.
link
link
we have one of those crazy home theater setups. one day i just noticed that's all i did in the evenings anymore. too tired after work to do much else. fuck that. i need to live life instead of watching other people live theirs. to paraphrase something i read - "ever watch a movie where the characters are sitting around watching tv? no, because that would make a boring story - the story of my life." netflix will suck away your time. gonna sell all that junk and get a simple radio that also hooks up to the ipod.
link
when i sell all that stuff i'm adding the money to a trip fund to go to egypt this spring.
i want to learn to play chess. i want to cook, learn spanish, learn to draw, read more, etc.
been backpacking a lot. been doing that for a few years, but really getting into the ultralight backpacking these days. no more 45lb pack up and down mountains. strictly sub 15lbs from now on. makes the trip a lot more fun when you can breathe and walk uphill at the same time.
link
boom chicka boom boom drums and mellotron just wasn't cutting it anymore. (also on a side note: i haven't sold 1 single song. i think maybe 20 free songs have been downloaded. that should give me a big fucking clue.)
taking a new direction. i bought a classical guitar. i've been learning how to read music and play classical-style for about a month now. i practice an hour to two hours every day after work. tough, but i'm hanging in there. it's something i've always wanted to do. i've already vowed to not buy an electric until i've learned how to read music and played classical for a year. i would get into trouble buying pedals and fx. i'm a recovering gadget-aholic don't you know?
i think i will probably end up doing fennesz, stars of the lid, dead texan, and tim hecker style ambient with guitar eventually, but for now i'm keeping it simple and building a solid musical foundation.
i'm doing yoga and meditating everyday for a couple months now. best damn thing i ever did for myself. i highly recommend it.
at work i am rabidly devouring everything about xhtml, css, php, usability and accessibility, etc. that i can get my hands on. i need to kick my career into overdrive. cut the fat, get lean and mean, specialize.
i think this is the most i have ever written about myself in one sitting. i feel like an egomaniac now.
so, what have you been up to?
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10/26/07
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pierlu001
lately, i've been reading your long post.
i have to agree with all that you have said: what you are doing is what i think i should do right now, so i pretty much understand your point of view and i bet you feel good about it. this blog is pretty much inspriring for me right now, so thanks for sharing.
keep focused about music reading and playing the guitar. in the end is an occupation that can give you more satisfaction than you imagine.
p.
Recent blogs: first blog!
10/26/07
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pierlu001
agree about everything but leechblock. you should have the will to do it by yourself
Recent blogs: first blog!
10/26/07
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jdg
pierlu001 said: "lately, i've been reading your long post."
omglol. perfect.
i've been up2 building out the bakery.
mastering alot... which is great! but, between that and the bakery, i have no time. for my mind.
had a deth in the family the other day: link
i will miss that bus.
10/26/07
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p
the bus died and bbwax sold all his gear!! 
I know something will come from the new determination.
10/26/07
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madeofoak
nice work, bbwax. way to actualize. stick with the guitar and it will pay off. i appreciate you actually learning to play it before going droney and experimental. most people these days just pick one up, figure out how to make feedback and announce "i'm an experimental artist now."
way to go!
10/26/07
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bbwax
pierlu, glad you liked the post. guitar has been amazing so far. i've always had a beat up guitar around and played some basic chords, but starting to read music and buying a decent guitar has been extremely rewarding already. there's just something magical about that classical nylon string and warm acoustic sound. much more fun to me than mousing around on the laptop.
i recently had to reinstall osx at work. hence, no leechblock right now. maybe i will try and do it without leechblock. i am low on willpower some days though.
jdg, can't wait to see the bakery when it's finished. and i'll be damn sure to stop in and buy some awesome baked goods if i'm ever in seattle. sorry about the death in the family. even (old) beetles are getting more rare to spot around here, much less the buses. my dad had a baby blue beetle. love those old vw's.
p, i can feel good things starting to happen. it's an overwhelmingly positive feeling when you cut out some noise in your life and focus in on what truly matters. i just wonder why i didn't do some of this stuff sooner!
madeofoak, yeah, that's a trap i didn't want to fall into. i will give myself a year minimum on the basics. i'm pretty sure i will never be a virtuoso, but that's ok. i'm doing this for me. mainly as a personal challenge and positive hobby. i don't plan on recording myself for quite a while, if ever, so there's absolutely zero pressure to be a "good guitarist" - which is a nice thing. but i do want to competent, decent, and not make anyone's ears bleed. down the road though i can see combining guitar with my love of making strange noises with electrical devices.
10/26/07
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p
bbwax said: "
p, i can feel good things starting to happen. it's an overwhelmingly positive feeling when you cut out some noise in your life and focus in on what truly matters. i just wonder why i didn't do some of this stuff sooner!
"
I understand, I've lost years of work time being resistant to what my heart tells me to do. (is that too sappy?)
10/26/07
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frnortnr
it's not often that people act on their desire to trim the fat. excellent post.
10/26/07
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bbwax
thanks, frn. 
you all unpacked yet and enjoying the new place, eh?
i say "eh" in the traditional canadian pronunciation.
10/26/07
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bbwax
p, be sappy man, let it out. life is short. don't waste time anymore.
i think somebody posted a link to a blogger on here a while back. it was a guy who was going to start living his life as if he only had 5 years left to live. he cut out all sorts of BS, made some goals, and started doing things he'd always tended to put off. i think it's kind of a movement now, i've read about all sorts of people doing that. that's one of the things that inspired me.
the articles i posted above about consumerism also inspired me. and some anti-tv articles. google "life without tv". there are lots of folks doing it these days.
and hell, when you get to be 33, you start to realize more and more how time will just slip by if you let it. it's so easy to get distracted by hollow and meaningless things in life.
10/26/07
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jdg
you're 33?!?! fuck that.. old man.. die already
10/26/07
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frnortnr
unpacked? hahaha, not at all. well, enjoying it? oh yes. talk about trimming the fat- 2 storage lockers worth of stuff in our 2nd room, been going through it, and 90% of it will be going to charity. no tv yet either, that's been nice. trying to stick with link . but i'm way to lazy to give up the internet. ;)
10/26/07
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bbwax
jdg, what is this logan's run? look who's talking, old man! if i am an old man, you are an old fart.
frn, thanks for that link! that's a good one. we've been trying to buy local as much as possible and there's a couple of coops, but the recent drought in georgia is the worst in 100 years. tough on crops and local farmers. we've been trying to conserve water though. buckets in the shower, sinks, and under gutters to catch extra runoff. our plants appreciate it.
glad you are enjoying it at least. life amongst the cardboard box canyons, hehe. i have plenty of internet at work! just none at home. congrats on the no tv. i think we are going to start with an experiment - don't watch for 1 month, and then decide about selling it. my wife might kill me if i immediately sell it. she needs her fix of the muppet show pretty regularly. and i need to watch the goonies about 1 every six months. but i think we can do that on the laptop.
10/26/07
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bbwax
1 = once. no edit fix yet?!?
10/26/07
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timmo
Hi bbwax,
I will agree that this is a enlightening b-log to say the least. I am particularly interested in the lightweight backpacking part...I discovered Ray Jardine's ideas on ultralightweight backpacking a few years ago, last winter I finally got the courage to shed my old backpacking stuff and sewed myself a tent, tarp, and backpack, along with some clothes. My girlfriend sewed a two person quilt and backpack. I found the process of sewing to be greatly rewarding and of course incredibly frustrating too. I can't agree with everything he says but his deep approach to the subject is worthy of exploration. As I'm sure you figured out with stuff so light you can travel much farther away from others and with much greater pleasure. Anyway, always cool to find someone else who likes electronic music and being outside like that. If you find yourself backpacking in Oregon or Washington blah blah blah...
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