Friday, July 29, 2005

My Multi Dimmension MI-5

1. TIME: Tell us about your watch.
My watch is ancient! It's a diver's watch, meaning it's got a rotating bezel to show elapsed time. I bought it at JC Penney before Susan and I were married, so it's at least 11 years old. I don't like metal bands, so I replace the plastic band on it every year or so. I've been thinking lately that I might go get a new one, just for a change.

2. SPACE: How about that space shuttle? Thoughts?
I want to see the crew home safely, and then after that they can chuck the whole program for all I
care. There are a bunch of things that we could better spend the money on, IMHO.

3. LENGTH: What job have you held the longest? Why did you stay so long?
McDonalds. I was there seven years. I started when I was a freshman in high school, and stayed until I graduated college. They were very flexible with my school schedule, so that's why I stayed. From there, I went to Wal-Mart (five years), and from there to my current job (almost six years). I've got staying power, that's for sure!

4. HEIGHT: What are your thoughts on flying?
If I can avoid it, I will. I'm not afraid to fly, I just don't really care for the act of flying. Well, on a big plane. I remember flying with one of my sister's ex-boyfriends, and with my Uncle Floyd, and I had great fun each of those times. Maybe it's the not being able to see ahead of me that bugs me. Or the feeling of no control, perhaps.

5. DEPTH. Share an ocean story with us.
My sister's story was a good one. Going "to haul" with Uncle Ash was always such fun, and she's right on with the tuna fish and devil dog stories. He always had Squeeze Parkay with him too, and to this day he's the only person I've ever known who uses it. I also remember fondly tubing in the Keag river with high school buddy Adam (though technically that wouldn't really be an ocean story), hunting for green crabs with Jason Butman, and killing red jellyfish with "Little Dave" Mahonen.



According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Rosewood Snare, Even Though I Already Have One

This one had me worried. For many days it sat at $350 with no bids. I of course paid $350 for mine a few months ago, and it's not in as good shape. I was really kicking myself in the pants. Seeing that it went for $455 makes me feel better, though.


According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

What is up with my boys?

For the last week, someone's gotten up between 4:30 and 5:30 every morning! Then for the last two days, both of them have been up. I took Matt downstairs this morning, and Susan kept Nat upstairs. What's there for a kid to do at 5am??? He didn't want his sippy cup, he didn't want to play, he didn't want to be held. He just wanted to be miserable. A little while later, Susan and Nat came downstairs too. She gave them some Cheerios. They each ate about six of them. The took two sips of milk. And then right back into miserable. It was obvious they were still tired. So why are they insisting on getting up?! We can't figure it out. But at 6am, Susan and I put them back to bed. After a couple of minutes of fussing, they went back to sleep. Of course Susan and I are still up, but they're sleeping soundly. So I took my shower and did my thing, and left for the office a little early so I could post this. When I left the house, the boys were still sleeping, and Susan had fallen asleep on the couch. Me? I'm about ready to brew up some Jet!!!

Feeling: the need for hot, black, strong coffee
Listening to: Marvin Gaye

According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

You won't believe what happened to me tonight!

You'll never believe what I just tried for the first time: cooked spinach! I've had it in stuff before, like lasagna, or stuffed in a chicken breast, or on pizza. And I like it raw in salads. But I've never just had it as, like, a vegetable. But here in the Batty household, we've really been diging the Birds Eye and Green Giant frozen veggies in sauce. So the other day, I was stocking up on the stuff, and I found creamed spinach. So I figured "Hey, I've liked the other stuff, let's go out on a limb." So I brought some home. Julia and Susan didn't dig it too much. Susan liked the flavor, but not the texture. Julia just flat didn't like it. I loved it. Of course, since no one else liked it, I probably never get it again. It'll get filed away with beef stroganoff and Sweedish meatballs--other dishes only I like, and thus never get... Anyway, three cheers for creamed spinach!

Just finished: Pork chops marinated in soy

According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

The weekend wrap-up, a few days late.

Friday I left the office at five instead of six. Barry was looking for some extra scrach, and I was looking to give up some hours. It gave me an hour to get home and see the kids before I had to head out for the gig in Bangor. We played this place called Carolina's, formerly The Waterfront, right under the bridge, near the Sea Dog. It was a slow crowd. At no time were their more than 1/2 dozen people watching the band. The bar is in another room, and of course that's where most people stayed. On the ride home, at about 1:30am, a state trooper pulled me over. He said he pulled me over for speeding, and I was going over the limit: I was doing about 34 in a 25. I think he really wanted to know if I was drinking. You see, he never said how fast I was going. "I pulled you over for speeding" was all he said. He gave me a warning, and on the description it just said "speeding." No "Do you know you were going 34 in a 25? kinda thing. In any event, I think this is the first time I've been pulled over for a moving violation. Oh wait, that's not true. Jeremy Rackliffe pulled me over in Waldoboro once for doing 55 in a 45. Again with the 10 over. I'm quite the speed demon!

So then Saturday dawns. I get up around 8am--sleept late, I did. Barry worked my Saturday shift too, and it was a good thing he did. I packed the DJ equipment into the truck in the morning. My nephew had his birthday party at 1pm. Since family from New Hampshire were coming up for the party, and since it was the boys actual birthday, we felt we should be there. So we packed everyone up for Eben's Batman party. We got home around 3pm, and that gave me a minute or two to close my eyes before the 6-10pm 20th class reunion. The reunion was fine, if uneventful. Class reunions are a little funky to DJ. Most people don't want to dance. They want to sit at talk, and catch up on where everyone's at. But at the end of the night, they said I did a good job, they'd call me in five years, and even gave me a little tip. I got home, unpacked the gear, and was in bed around midnight.

Sunday. No morning church for me. I know, can you believe it! I had a gig in Belfast that started at 1pm (so I thought), so I needed to leave Rockland at 11am--the time the morning worship service starts. So I left my house a little before 11, planning on being there at noon, and giving me my customary hour to set up. When I arrived, everyone was on stage ready to go. When I parked, members of the steel drum band swarmed my car, eager to help me schlep. "It's good to see everyone here so early," I said.

"Early?! We start at noon!"

It was a 12-2 gig. For some reason, I remembered it as 1-3. So, I missed the first 2-3 songs, but by 12:15 I was set up and playing.

Sunday evening, played the drums at church, then Subway for supper. Two foot longs for nine bucks. Susan had meatball, I had the toasted chicken bacon ranch. Yum.

Last Played Snare: '58 WFL
Listening to: Allman Bros.

According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Friday, July 22, 2005

Jimmy's Design MI-5

"In our local area we are seeing a lot of growth and change. Every end of town has a construction or remodel project it seems either going on or pending. This week we ask you to think in those terms and tell us a bit about how you might design our retail future in this area."
Swede

1. You want to open a restaurant. What kind of restaurant do you choose for Rockland? This would be based on what you think Rockland could really use.
Rockland needs a good diner. Somewhere you can get meatloaf and gravy, or hot turkey sandwiches. Somthing along the lines of what Dave's was back in the good old days. And, it would be open late, and have affordable lunch specials you can take on the run.

2. What type of store would you like to see in Rockland if you could add one?
We need a book/CD store. A Borders or a Barnes and Noble. Other than Wal-Mart, where can you buy a CD in this town? Nowhere! We need some place where you can find jazz cds.

3. If you had to put out the welcome mat to a national chain store or restaurant for this area what would it be?
Applebees/TGI Fridays.

4. What type of service business do you think Rockland needs or needs more of?
Gas stations.
No really, now. Rockland has more convenience stores than you can shake a stick at. What we need is a restaurant that delivers in the evening. We've got Snappy's Pizza and Dominos, and I hate Dominos pizza. We need a Chinese place that delivers!

5. A development company has hired you to scout a location for a smaller to medium sized shopping mall. They want to build something that will compliment the area. Tell them your vision for this type of facility for the greater Rockland area? Location, style and how it might blend in and look to this area. Have fun with this one!
It would have a Borders, a Chinese place that delivers, a vintage drum shop, and some good antique place packed with corner chairs. At the end of the mall would be a cool vintage diner.


Listening to: Juliana Hatfield
Just finished: a Fresca

According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

iTunes

So I'm DJing this class reunion this weekend. Their graduation song was a Cat Stevens number called "Child for a Day." I looked on line for it for a couple of nights, but no dice. I asked Jimmy T last night if he could find it on iTunes. Sure enough, they had it. 99 cents. Fine. I'll sign up for an iTunes account. One small problem: it won't work with Windows 98. Ok, whatever. I have a Mac at the office, but it doesn't have a CD burner. So I figure I'll use the Mac, download the song, upload it to my web space, download it when I get home, and burn it to CD. Here's the rub. The song you buy isn't in standard MP3 format. It's some Mac special format called m4p or something. What's that mean? Well, it means you have to use iTunes to to play the song, or you have to use iTunes to burn it to a CD. So I have one machine that doesn't have iTunes, but has a burner, and another machine that HAS iTunes, but doesn't have a burner! Great! So I still end up asking Jim to burn the CD for me. Why hasn't Apple released iTunes for Win 98? This is the first time I've had a piece of software that won't work on 98. Oh well, Apple. It looks like it's back to WinMX for me...

Feeling: hungry!
Listening to: Louis Prima

According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Monday, July 18, 2005

For Aunt Linda

Aunt Linda from PA asked for more photos of the kids on the website. So on my lunchbreak, I got around to doing something I should've done a long time ago: I got photo gallery software installed.

Looking forward to: chocolate ice cream
Listening to: Mindy Smith

According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Friday, July 15, 2005

For Eben




According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Gina's Really High Browed MI-5

"The following are the kinds of questions you get when you go drinking with a couple philosophy majors, a social worker and one psych grad student:"

1. Complete the sentence "We are on this earth to ..."
"Fear God and keep his commandments." Ecclesiastes 12:13

2. Cite an experience that truly makes you feel insignificant in the larger sense of the universe.
I guess I'm too ego centric. I don't know that I've ever felt insignificant in the larger sense. In fact, I think just the opposite! God made mankind to be the MOST siginifcant part of the universe. Maybe I'm playing with semantics a little, but there are some things that have really humbled/awed me in nature. I cried at the birth of all three of my children. And of course what Dad is going through really makes me think about life/death and all that surrounds it. But through all that, I don't feel insignificant.

3. How do you define what true personal freedom is?
"All things are permissible to me me, but not all things are expediant." 1st Corintians 10:23. Translation? Because Christ died for all sin at Calvary, you're forgiven for whatever you do. But not everything is benefical. So I'm free in everything I do, knowing that if I mess up, I'm still forgiven. And yet, real strength is knowing what freedoms you have, and yet retraining yourself from those things for someone else. Does that answer the question?

4. What do you think is mankind's most positive enduring characteristic?
"Mankind" is sooo universal, and most things aren't truly universal, so it's hard to pick. I would say that, in general, most of mankind wants to see their children succeed/do well in their life.

5. Name something you miss from your childhood?
Icy cold Coca-Cola in GLASS bottles!



According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Bible Trivia

Over on Village Soup, somone posted a tread about trivia. Someone then started making up little themed trivia quizes. I thought I'd make one up to share with them, and share with you too. So I thought up these questions out of my head. Your job is to email me your answers. No google, no concordance, no checking! This is trivia--it needs to be in your head! The winner will get a prize.

--

1) Moses put a snake up on a staff. What was the snake made of?

2) In Revelation, seven seals are opened. What happens at the opening of the seventh seal?

3) Peter cut of the ear of a soldier in the garden at Gethsemane. What was the name of the soldier? Which ear was cut off?

4) A woman poured perfume on Jesus before he was crucified. What was the kind of perfume? What kind of vessel was it in?

5) A man once beat his donkey, only to have the donkey turn around and speak to him! What was the man's name?

6) One of the major prophets saw a wheel within a wheel coming out of heaven with strange beings around it. Who was it?

7) One of the disciples saw a sheet with "unclean" animals in it lowered from heaven. Who was it?

8) Which one of these animals were Jews ALLOWED to eat? Bats, Shrimp, Eels, Grasshoppers, or Eagles.

9) After Judas hanged himself, the remaining disciples picked someone to take his place. What was his name?

10) There are three angels (four if you use the Apocrypha) named in the Bible. What are their names? (Extra credit for Protestants who get the 4th one!)

11) Two people in the Bible didn't die a bodily death--they were taken up to Heaven without dying. Who were they?

12) One of these couples weren't romantically involved. Which one? Isaac and Rebecca, Samson and Delilah, Moses and Meriam, Jacob and Rachel.


According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow"

I'm taking my 15 minute coffee break. I was in my car listening to Jeff Beck's Blow By Blow album. I had this on cassette back in high school, and it really was one of my formative albums in my early drumming career. Richard Bailey's super funky syncopation and huge, resonant drum tone were a huge influence on me. Anyway, I was reading the liner notes of the CD, when I noticed two things. The second song, "She's a Woman," was credited to Lennon/McCartney. Of course, I'm a huge Beatle fan too, and for the life of me, I couldn't think what tune it was. Luckily, Jimmy T hipped me to the lyrics, and once I heard them I thought "Oh yeah, NOW I hear it!" It's like the Herb Alpert version of "A Taste of Honey." Once someone pointed out to me it was a cover of the Beatle tune, I figured it out. Before that, though, I never noticed it was the same song. (The same song done in a different time signature with a cheezy trumpet part, but still the same song. Sorta.)

Also just noticed on the same album: Stevie Wonder wrote "'Cause We've Ended As Lovers." This is my favorite tune on the album, and probably my favorite instrumental ballad ever. Jeff's performance of this tune is a story in sound. You can hear the death of a relationship through his guitar: the remorse, the anger, the sadness. Truly a work impressionism in music.

Feeling: A little sad, a little mad
Listening to: Uh, Jeff Beck!

According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Monday, July 11, 2005

A Reminder For Myself

I need to tell you all about: a) kids' birthday party, b) gig for Blues Festival, c) exceptional sounding snare drum played at that gig (wanna guess which one?), d) why pumpkin nicknames?

Working on: www.riparocks.com
Listening to: Robert Cray

According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Friday, July 8, 2005

MI-5

It's Blues Festival week-end here in mid-coast Maine. Get in touch with your melancholy side, and answer these blues related questions.

1) You've got the blues, and you want to keep 'em going. What album do you play on your jukebox?
Oh, I'm the master of feelin' low down and lovin' it! For me, the albums that keep me depressed are: Counting Crows "August and Everything After"; Sarah McLachlan's "Fumbling Towards Ecstacy"; and of course A Few Small Repairs" would probably be in the mix, too. Oh, and something with Chet Baker singing.

2) You've got the blues, and you want to get rid of them! What album now?
Anything by James Brown or The Brand New Heavies. Anything where Louis Armstrong sings. (His voice always makes me smile.) Something Latin by Poncho Sanchez or Tito Puente.

3) You shuffle into a BBQ joint. They've got every type of grilled/smoked/BBQ'd whatever you could want. What do you order?
Pulled pork, wet, either Memphis or Kansas City style. Slab of ribs, same style. Hmm. Love that red sauce with plenty of brown sugar and molasses! And put just a touch of heat in it too. Corn bread is nice. No slaw for me, thanks. Most places make it too wet for my taste. I'm not too big on BBQ beans, either. I'll take mine in the Boston style, thanks. So I've got what, ribs, pork, and cornbread. Guess I'll take a beer to go with it. Here's one instance where I might prefer a lager over an ale. But a nice, light ale would be good too. Oh, how 'bout some Hoppin John to go with that plate. There. I think I'm full.

4) You've got to make it to Austin to see your baby/honey. Take your pick: train, Greyhound Bus, hitch-hike. How you gonna get there? Explain.
Train. I like trains. And it seems such an under utilized way to travel.

5) Share your favorite blues name with us! Here's the recipe: Start with an infirmity, add a fruit, and top off with the last name of a dead president. Example? Blind Berry Filmore! What did you come up with?
I've always liked "Skip-toothed Watermelon McKinely." Thompson's "Hobblin' Pickles Washington" is nice too. Put me down for "Tongue Tied Mango Wilson."


Just finished: Beef noodle soup
Listening to: The Cranberries

According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Wednesday, July 6, 2005

The Vacation Wrap-Up

OK, vacation. Here's the sum up.

Saturday. I washed Susan's car. I think this was the day. Packing and other stuff.

Sunday. Church. Everything was as a normal Sunday, I think. Heck, it was over a week ago! I can't remember.

Monday. Drive to New Hampshire. Arrive at Story Land at almost spot on 3pm. (If you buy park admintance after 3pm, you get a pass to come back another day. We chose to use ours the next day, of course!) 3pm was the time we agreed to meet my inlaws and Susan's brother, his wife, and their daughter. Alas, we'd forgotten the inlaws cell phone number at home. So we waited. About an hour later, they showed up. It was a longer trip than they thought. We did little in the park that day, but Julia and I did go on Dr. Geyser's Remarkable Raft Ride. After that, we checked into our motel. The staff there were very nice. After a little unpacking, we took the kids to gradparent's camp site, so Grandma and Grandaddy could babysit while Susan, Hound Dog, Dawn and I could go out for a little dinner. Susan thought her meal was a little spicy. Mine was just right. I had a local beer while there. I don't remember the name, but it was pretty good. Headache in evening.

Tuesday. Breakfast at Guildies, as recommended by the motel. Pancakes were bigger than the plate!!! You couldn't eat two. Leigh, the waitress, was fantastic. Matt asked her to be his girlfriend, and she accepted. She picked him up, and lugged him all over the restaurant. Huge portions, good prices, and a wicked nice staff. We will go back! Day spent at Story Land. Taking twins to Story Land before they can walk is a challenge. There's not too much for them to do. Towards the end of the day, it starts to rain. We don't care, and continue to ride Dr. Geyser, as well as the Bamboo Chutes Log Flume ride. Back to the motel. Headache. Inlaws, who're camping in a slide-in camper on the back of their pick-up, cook inside camper while parked in our motel parking lot. Yeast rolls are yummy. Sleep.

Wednesday. Guildies for breakfast. I can only eat 1/2 the omelette they serve me. Matt asks Leigh to marry him. She agrees. Shopping. We seach the outlets for table service for 8, and new cookware. Find lovely, affordable, discontiued table service, but they only have enough for four. Bummer. Cookware not found. We did purchase some chocolate, CDs, and a few movies. We also made a quick trip to the New Hampshire liquor store to purchase Godiva, something we can't find since Maine got rid of their state run liquor stores. For lunch we stopped at Quiznos. I think they have a better selection than Subway. I had the Mesquite Chicken with Bacon: chicken, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and ranch dressing. Home by early evening. Crash. Headache.

Thursday. Home all day. Defrost freezer. Mow lawn. Banking. Clean and organize studio with new drum display shelves.

Friday: I forget.

Saturday: I forget.

Sunday. Church in morning. Play gig with steel drum band at 2pm. Back to church in evening. Day all gone.

Monday. July 4th. Make breakfast for family. Parade at 11. I have a gig that's supposed to be from 3-5pm. But there was a scheduling snafu. Even though we confirmed the 3pm start time, they really wanted us to start at 1pm. I got the call from Blind Al at 1:45 that they wanted us playing ASAP. We were rockin' the first tune at 2:15. At 3pm, we were all done. I picked up Julia, who was BBQ-ing with my Aunt Gin. Home. We decided not to drag the kids to the fireworks. Bed.

And we now return to our regularly scheduled week.


According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Some Silly Quiz

You are .jpg You are very colorful.  Sometimes you forget things, or distort the truth.  You like working with pictures more than words.
Which File Extension are You?



Looking forward to: a hot turkey sandwich
Listening to: Earth Wind and Fire

According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Tuesday, July 5, 2005

Pix for Aunt Gin

Here are the notables:

Julia, Humpty Dumpty, Uncle Hound Dog, and cousin Grace
Matt and his old man ride the carousel.
The Safari Ride with tanks on front for water, gas, and juice! (Bigger photo=longer download for you dial-up users.)
My niece Grace diggin' my shades.

For the complete directory, click here.

Working on: Somone's web site
Just finished: chicken parmagan, peas and oninons, and garlic alfredo noodles

According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

Vacation Not Quite Wrap-Up

There will be a complete rundown at some point, but here's a quick vacation update.

I was able to:
Go to New Hamster
Clean drum studio and build new snare drum shelves
Pack car with a different drumset for gigage
Defrost freezer
Play a couple of gigs
Get ear infection
Mow lawn
Wash, vaccuum, and Armor-All Susan's van

I was NOT able to:
Paint garage
Paint deck
Wash, vaccuum, and Armor-All my car
Install new light fixture in dining room
Finish the HUGE omlette at Guilde's Restaurant



According to the prophecy of: Billy Rhythm [Link]

 
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