Happy New Year. Just got this old site up and running again. I will be writing again soon.
Until then, how about some Johnny Gill?
“White Chocolate Was Special”
Recently heard some good news regarding ratings of the top political podcasts and growing audiences. Rumor is, Gavin Newsome is going to start his own podcast soon. One thing I’ve had difficulty doing is prying myself away from the latest news. And I say this as someone who periodically watches C-SPAN (votes, debates, etc). Yes, there are a few of us out there in the world.
It’s amazing to see my favorite childhood NBA player announcing college basketball games now. And when it comes to a break from the news, there’s nothing better than Chuck, Shaq, Kenny, and Ernie covering the NBA (although rumors are, that may end soon too).
In addition to the commentary/humorous side of the NBA, there are some excellent “legends” videos out there. (Is that word getting overused now?)
This is one I just came across, but I’ve seen quite a few.
And, hate to admit it, but I’ve been ***WATCHING MrBallen for quite a while. Great storytelling. If you are new, I would probably start here:
***Edited for clarification
Uh Huh, Uh Huh….
To Start the Week
What is life without music? Just came across this in the dusty old collection and it had me smiling and grooving. What a great group the (Re)Fugees were.
Rumor is, there is a comedian and his brother that love this group. đŸ˜‰
(Re)Fugees!
It Continues…
At this point, I’m definitely going to have to go through a whole bunch of old cassette tapes. If you were not aware by now, there is a countless number of remixes featuring rap/hip-hop legends on YT and elsewhere. Some really good stuff (also some terrible stuff) . Just do a little digging/sampling.
NEW Redman ft. Method Man
….nice shout out to New Edition Red.
Is it time to get Sirius?
It’s been awhile. Politics and appointments/health shifted my attention away from this place. Oh yes, there is college basketball also. Hell yes!
Typical for the holidays, this year I ran into a shiny new list of trial offers. It’s been years since entertaining any older technology for daily use. However, the more I witness current advertising, or more specifically, what is being pushed, the more I realize I may need to go back to some old ways.
Throughout the past few years, many several hour driving trips have presented a few annoyances. One of the most frustrating and irritating, the radio. About 45 min in, a terrestrial radio scan (in my location) only produces country music, religious commentary, and conservative talk. Put me in a torture chamber with that lineup, and I’ll talk in seconds.
Ever since “trying” XM Radio many many years ago, I’ve been intrigued with offers from Sirius. Well, I decided to jump in. And after a few weeks in, it has been great. Politics, music, and commentary have made trips much more enjoyable. Would highly recommend.
The biggest news, during my hiatus, was the release of several new songs from some rap/hip hop legends. This wasn’t on my radar, but definitely on the wish list. Fantastic additions for my drives also. We want more!
Old School Hip Hop/Rap
Just heard from my buddy that he picked up a loop pedal for his guitar. Which led me to think about how much technology has changed since the late 80’s – 90’s. For a few of us, on a very limited budget, recording music consisted of “cassette tracking”. This involved recording different instruments on different cassettes, overdubbing (playing recorded tape and recording live on new tape), then trying to somehow blend the parts without EQ’s and other leveling tools. Definitely not professional studio style recording. The only “leveler” between line and recording, was sometimes a cheap Realistic mixer from Radio Shack.
My recording adventures started during my rap phase. We used samples, we slowed down vinyl records to take pieces and parts from existing songs. We cut-in movie parts, added generic keyboard based record scratches. All through overdubbing and that very basic mixer.
So, going back to the rap phase, I thought I’d drop a few gems that never received a whole lot of attention. Consider this, my old school rap post.
Def Jef – Droppin’ Rhymes on Drums
Radio/TV
It was about 15 yrs ago when antennaweb and other similar sites were starting to get popular. Lots of folks were cutting the cable, checking their tv specs for “built-in” tuners…AND beginning to use tv boxes OR PCs to stream everything from local news, radio, YouTube, etc. Of course, this wasn’t the beginning of “cut the cable” culture, just the time when a larger group of consumers started noticing the trend (and switching).
Is it time to VPN everything? Good question. YouTube is much different than when it started (especially after being purchased by Google). With the popularity of tv boxes and streaming comes forced advertising and data mining. VPN’s can help resolve many issues, but they are not a full scale solution. As always, the devil is in the details. So be sure to check logging policies and also where the vpn company is located. You may be defeating the purpose of purchasing vpn service, by simply handing your data over to another data miner.
As of right now, I am getting personalized ads from Seattle and San Francisco. It’s kind of nice seeing what’s going on on the west coast. I’ve seen a couple of advertisements for school teachers and programs at local schools. Another for animal rescues. And another for state funded prescription coverage. YEAH!!!
It’s not as easy these days, but sometimes you just have to change the dial.
I think I’ll kill the radio, don’t want to hear this song..
Pump it up!!
So, anyone familiar with Type 1 Diabetes knows that the duration of time (and age of onset) with the disease plays a huge role in outcome/development of complications. Don’t believe me? Do your own research/investigate. Thirty years seems to be a key point when it comes to circulatory issues, kidneys, eye problems, and other challenges related to the disease. Anyone with existing complications is going to spend ALOT more time at different doctors’ offices and face an onslaught of bills.
As I’m nearing 43 years with the disease, I thought I needed to find an insulin pump that works well for me. And I think I found it. Numbers have been in range the majority of the time. No terrifying lows in the middle of the night. No panicking while in the midst of mowing and chomping on a handful of glucose tabs.
The recent A1C was not good. But given the last 4 mo. of stress and uncertainty, it’s forgivable. My doctor is extremely happy with the other blood work and lab tests and thinks the new pump is already doing wonders.
Pretty damn good news.
“Dr Dre, lil busta”
It’s the weekend, and what better way to celebrate than a little old school, nostalgic, funk infused hip hop? This mix has been on repeat lately.
On the agenda this month: Switch to new pump (T1, training, etc), landscaping (pull old shrubs, plant new, maintenance of woods overgrowth), re-purpose 4X PC’s, discover new parks for diggity dog walks (doing pretty well in this area), more and more home cooking (from guac to pulled pork, it’s been delicious).