Now THAT's cool...

LOL... just a random thought here. It's pretty cool to be able to surf the 'net during a blackout. Now that we have FIOS (which has a battery backup), we decided to put our wireless router on the UPS. So when the power went out a few minutes ago, while I was working on a draft blog on my laptop, I was able to continue typing and save my draft without missing a beat.

Music Monday - NIN and new CDs in my collection

Hi all! (Yes, all three of you who read my blog.) :) I know it's been a while since I've blogged, what with the new job and all, so I thought I'd better make a last minute Music Monday post.

Last week Jen and I saw Nine Inch Nails in concert at Nissan Pavilion. NIN is probably the hardest band I listen to, and not one I would normally buy tickets to go see... but I didn't buy them. We cashed in our DC101 listener network points for a pair of tickets. Hell, they couldn't even give away all the tickets -- the 300 section was 3/4 empty and the 200 section was about a third empty. But regardless, the show still kicked some serious ass. Reznor and the band started off strong and went the first five songs or so with incredible energy before coming up for air. (I wish I could find a set list... more searching tomorrow, I guess.) The light show and effects were amazing. I only knew about half the songs -- I only own one NIN album (their latest, Hand That Feeds) so I pretty much only know the radio songs. But I felt a little better when I noticed I seemed to be the only one rocking out to Dead Souls, a song that appeared on The Crow soundtrack. So I guess all these die-hard goth metal freaks really aren't that die-hard after all.

Latest additions to my CD collection
I really don't buy too many CDs these days -- with a collection of over 400, Jen has tried (in vain) to implement a "buy one, sell one" policy on our collection. But recently I broke down and placed a BMG order for some albums I've been meaning to get, and an Amazon order for some new releases. Today I got my BMG order:
Bo Bice - The Real Thing
Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
Limp Bizkit - Greatest Hitz
Fuel - Greatest Hits

OK, I admit it, I'm a Kelly Clarkson fan. Call her my guilty pleasure. She was the first American Idol, after all (and you all know that I am an AI addict), and she is a fantastic singer. Plus her second album is a bit harder and edgier than her first, so some of her songs get airplay on the adult alternative stations that I tend to listen to. Bo Bice... well, I heard one of his songs on the radio and I liked him well enough on AI, so I thought I'd give it a shot. As for Fuel -- well, I thought I'd pick this up since it was rumored that Chris Daughtry (from AI) was going to be Fuel's new lead singer, but apparently he turned down the gig! Oh well... I still like Fuel quite a bit. And Limp Bizkit is a band I've always liked on the radio but never bought an album. A Bizkit hits album is perfect for my collection.

So what's in my Amazon order?
Billy Joel - 12 Gardens Live
Live - Songs from Black Mountain

These are two of just a handful of artists where I will buy a new album from them. Others (off the top of my head) include Dave Matthews Band, U2, Alanis Morisette, and Rush.

Coming soon, the 10 favorite albums in my CD collection!

Do I do too many things?

It's funny, but in conversations with my new co-workers, I've noticed just how many different things I currently do, in addition to the wide variety of things I've done in the past.

Currently I:
- work as a full-time web developer
- sell diecast cars from home (as part of Indypacecars.com)
- do occasional gigs as an audio engineer at Reston Town Center and Burke United Methodist Church
- do mystery shopping
- perform with the Redskins Marching Band
- participate in product sample testing and word-of-mouth marketing through BzzAgent
- am the father of a 17-month-old girl, as well as the principle cook and grocery shopper for my household

In the past I've been a/an:
- member of my high school rifle team
- Assistant Scoutmaster
- lifeguard
- journalist and photographer for my local newspaper
- ROTC cadet
- Lt. Governor in Circle K (collegiate service organization)
- recording engineer at a studio outside Philadelphia
- audio engineer at an amusement park
- delivery driver and prep cook for a sports bar
- HTML instructor

I guess I can understand all the different activities during high school and college... that's part of "finding yourself". The question is, did I maybe find too many different sides of me?

Great American Backyard Campout

Reconnect with nature! Register for NWF's Great American Backyard Campout. It's free!

The duck says "quack". So does the dog, the cow, the pig ....

Little Miss learned her first animal sound -- "quack". Actually, it's more like "dack" and comes complete with hand motions -- pinching fingers like a duck's bill. I guess she learned this at daycare because we didn't teach her! But the funny part is that currently all animals say "dack".

"LM, what does the duck say?"
"Dack! Dack! Dack!"
"That's right! What does the doggy say?"
"Dack! Dack! Dack!"
"No, the doggie says 'woof woof'. Can you say 'woof'?"
"Dack! Dack! Dack!"
"Um, honey, I think this one's defective!"