Man... This past month has been a friggin' whirlwind.  I refuse to believe November is nearly gone. Anyway...  Jesse and I are almost done with our debut Christmas album, "Herod the Fink", and while recording the last drum session, I thought it might be cool to see what I look like when I play.  Well, as fate would have i...

Yeah, I'm tired, but man - life is good.  I spent way too much time on our Herod The Fink project last night (and into the wee-hours of this morning), but it was so worth it.  We are really cranking to release a truly unique Christmas album.  My only regret is that we didn't start this sooner, so we could get more content.  But ...

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I just got done playing some sweet jazz for a client, and with the usual rock 'n' roll requests coming in, this was a great change of pace. I'm always intrigued at the different nuances that exist between styles of music as it pertains to rhythm and percussion.  Rock and roll pounds out some great 4/4 along the occasional 3/4 timing, with so...

A few months ago, I thought I'd get a bit more serious about setting up a semi-professional studio in my home.  It's worked out great, so far! As I've worked with clients, they've been more than happy with the results, and I'm learning new techniques and tricks of the trade at the same time.  So far, so good. So, along this trail, I b...

Through the 20 plus years I've been playing drums, I've had all sorts of drumkits, and I've used all sorts of heads.  Well, it came time to replace my snare head recently, and I was offered a new type of head by Remo. The Remo Ambassador Black Suede is a single-ply head which is meant to offer a softer sound without muffling the inherent res...

From the first memories I have, my life has been lived through rhythm.  There has always been an inherent "groove" of my life.  From walking down the sidewalk after school when I was in Jr. High, pacing the rhythm of the lines in the cement, and timing my steps accordingly, keeping the "1,2,3,4" clock in my head going ...

Wow... It's been a long, long time since I updated anything about my life on here.  Mostly because stuff got really busy, and really interesting about April of this year.  I've documented all the crud that we've gone through, so no need to rehash that. What I would like to say is that music is more a part of my life now than it ever has...

My sister died a week short of her birthday. It was really hard but we got through it.   Today, my nephew drove me right up the wall. I couldn't believe how much energy he had and how much trouble he could get into. Ben did most of the taking care of as I was busy with helping Holly with her resume   I get to move out for the first ti...

You know you've got a great project when its name is "Herod Fink", and it's Christmas-themed with an alternative flavor.  Yeah...  I'm really enjoying life right now. Anyway, so far, this project has been a whirlwind, but one we definitely cannot get enough of.  we couldn't stand it anymore, so we posted a little diddy f...

I've been debating on whether or not to write about this, and if I write about it, whether or not to make it public. Well... As you can see, I decided to make it public.  and to write about it. I came to work two days ago with the intent on working on the last of the original PHP projects still having a chance on making it through the me...

A little less than a month ago, my best friend's wife called me and told me she was planning a birthday party for her hubby.  Well, Scott being my best friend and all, I thought this was a fantastic idea!  After that, I didn't think too terribly much about it. A couple of days after that, I remember Scott telling me that he really want...

    I live beside a lady named Helen, her husband died two years ago. Manti goes over and helps her out a lot. Well one day he was off somewhere ( I don't know where) so I went up to help her, after I helped she asked me to go swiming with her in her pool. Of coruse I went ( what do you think I am... Stupid? ) While we swam we talk...

Hey Guys, Okay so its been a really really long time since I last wrote anything.  I just recently remembered my password and that is a really big part of my reason for not writing.  I know this is suppose to be like a diary (right or wrong?), but I would perfer to think that its more of a letter to a best friend (hope that don't sound ...

When I went in to my 6 month review about 4 month ago, I didnt know what I was in for. I assumed things would go well because I had accomplished everything I set out to do and more, so I felt pretty good. The interview went very well.  They complimented me on my work, the sales reports, the new web site, the money I was saving the compan...

I'm not entirely sure what to write.  Half because I'm still reeling, and half because I'm still asleep. I'm now in the International Airport in Las Vegas, heading back home after a trip which put my 5-year anniversary trip to absolute shame.  I'm just shaking my head in disbelief. During the trip, we went and saw the show Ka by Ci...

Well... I finally did it.  I've been kind of anxious about the whole "modifying my car" because I've never done it before, and my car is still under warranty.  I have no idea what this might mean for the warranty, but after hearing / feeling the difference, I don't regret it one bit.  I love it! Just two modifications fo...

Imagine for a moment you had no idea about the atonement of Christ. Now imagine you sitting there and listening to what I have to say. And the first thing you hear are the words, "God demands perfection for salvation." Not sure about you, but for me, that creates a sort of sinking feeling inside...  I put "perfection an...

Oh, man...  Where do I even begin this post?  And from which angle?  How about I just start typing and figure it out when I'm done....  Yeah, that's what I'll do. I just finished reading this Microsoft article which explains, using no uncertain terms, how to get "IT Management" to see the "value" in upgrad...

So...  This week has been just one blessing after the other.  I mean, seriously, it's been an amazing week!  I've been recording this great band in my studio, I've been rockin' the code at my day-job, and things are just great. So, to celebrate my happiness, and general good mood, I decided to take myself out to lunch.  I wen...

Well, people....  Most of yesterday (until this morning around 12:30am) I spent trying to figure out what to do about my email situation. Here's my situation:  I get so much friggin' spam, I can't stand it.  This shouldn't be news to anyone.  The person who receives no spam is a person who doesn't have an inbox. So, I decided ...

Seems that this chapter is all about "markings" and the prophecies about the curses put upon people (and which people put upon themselves). I can feel the doctrine behind this chapter, and I caught myself frequently asking myself why Mormon included this chapter.  No doubt there's some serious doctrine in here, but this time around...

 So...  I thought I'd be going to bed, but here I am. When the Spirit directed me to come down and write down my testimony, I wasn't (and still am not) quite sure what to write.  This certainly isn't due to a lack of testimony comparative to other times I've done this, but rather quite the exact opposite.  It is because my tes...

Beyond yesterday's post, I haven't posted anything in awhile.  I guess it's because nothing really interesting has happened lately. My kids are growing like weeds, and I try to enjoy them when want to, and I'm trying to want to more often.  That's kind of a sad statement, but I don't believe I am a "born-to-parent" type of guy...

I take no credit whatsoever for the following content, but I thought it was too incredible to simply link it.  Here is the link to the original page, but just in case that site ever goes down, I want to make sure to keep the content around.  It's just too beautiful. "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail b...

So, I was on my way to work today, when my phone rang - displaying an unfamiliar number.  With everything going on in my life, I decided it would be a good idea to answer it anyway. Turned out to be a really good idea. Last week, I decided to take the time to draw out plans for the studio and turn them in to the city for approval.  I ...

Ya know...  I really wasn't planning on writing anything today, but ah, what the hey.  It's 5:30 and I'm not going to be doing anything else within the next 20 minutes. So, lately I've been pondering this whole "ILoveMyJournal.com" thing I've created, and where I should take it.  So far, there aren't that many users, but ...

Here's a little something we did during the day today.  Luci had a bit of a mis-understanding of what the easter bunny really was at first.  She got the hang of it, though.  Video above:...

 So, I was just in bed just about to fall asleep (like within 1 or 2 minutes of sleeping), and I felt like I needed to come and write in my journal. My prayers on Sunday evening, I believe it was, felt just like I was communing with the Spirit.  Everything spiritual seemed so easily understood and understandable. Man, I hope this make...

Below is a photo of how my little studio looks right now... Despite the fact that it's now nothing more than a bedroom, with piles of acoustic pucks and other audio paraphernalia scattered about, I've gotta say - "I'm over it." In 3 days, I'll say goodbye to this place, and begin anticipating the construction of our new abode, as w...