Monthly Archives: April 2019

Jumping in? or: You Can Spin It!

30 Tuesday Apr 2019

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Salutations™!!

I talk about records a good bit and someone asked me about starting to collect vinyl. I never know how to answer that, so I send people to Jonathan at Underdog Records. But, also, there are a few online record folks, especially on YouTube. So, I’m dropping this video from Jarrett New from VinylEyezz to help you figure some stuff out. Incidentally, my record player is the LP60. I love it but hope to upgrade soon. Enjoy!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“This is a great beginner’s turntable, for around 100 bucks, which I often mention on this channel.” – Jarrett New about the Audio-Technica LP60.

A First or: Disappearing Act

29 Monday Apr 2019

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Salutations™!!

I did something today that I have never done in my 12 years of podcasting. I deleted source files before a podcast was published. 20190429_211804

I was embarrassed, felt unprofessional and felt like crap afterward. My client, however, totally was cool about it and I really think the episode wasn’t what she wanted it to be, anyway. We will rerecord it and she won’t be charged for it. What made me feel the worst, though was it was her first ever podcast. At least her feet were “wet” and she had that first one out of the way.

But, I think my record of 12 years and no mistakes like this is pretty good. Still, that one time it happens, you still feel sick about it. Well, I’ve gone on long enough.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Data loss is an error condition in information systems in which information is destroyed by failures or neglect in storage, transmission, or processing. Information systems implement backup and disaster recovery equipment and processes to prevent data loss or restore lost data.” – Wikipedia

Spinning Sunday or: The Haul 4/27/19

28 Sunday Apr 2019

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Salutations™!!

It seems like forever since I’ve done one of these posts. We were still “in the dark” from the power outage and just went on about our day. We had breakfast and then did two stints at Underdog Records. The first was just to go in and get our haul and the second was to see (and participate) in Clay Howard’s LP release show. I was supposed to play bass but scheduling got in the way and couldn’t practice. I did lend my backup vocals, however. It was a good show. Loud and intimate. Anywhat! Here’s the haul:

Chuck_Mangione,_Feels_So_Good_(1977)

©A&M

  • Carole King – Writer: Carole King — This was actually acquired last week but it was our only grab in a truncated visit to Underdog, which actually could have happened on Friday, it’s all a blur now. But, this was her debut album back in 1970. She had written a lot of stuff but this was her first for her versions of the songs. VG++.
  • The Mountain Goats – In League With Dragons — The BCPF loves The Mountain Goats and we try to get anything we can. This is a brand new release that came out on Friday. It’s the “hardcore” 2xLP, double-speed mastered version that is yellow/green marbled. It also contains an exclusive black vinyl 7-inch featuring two non-album tracks. New.
  • The Cure – Pillbox Tales 1977-1979 — This was an import and “unofficial” release. Robert Smith sounds so young and at times didn’t sound like him at all. But, it was and it is. Great sound. VG++.
  • The Fresh & Onlys – Early Years Anthology — This is an American rock band out of San Francisco. The BCPF picked it up, I don’t know much about it. According to the bastion of all correct internet infotainment, Wikipedia: They are a key band in what has been described as San Francisco’s “new garage rock” movement, but their sound is equally aligned with pastoral psychedelia, brooding new wave, western twang, and jangly literate 80’s guitar pop. NM.
  • Kate Bush – The Kick Inside — If you ever know a Kate Bush song, you never forget the voice when you hear it again. That is the case here. I know her best for her work with Peter Gabriel and the tune “Running Up That Hill.” And, you can definitely hear the trademark Kate Bush warbly/high-pitched jangle. I love it, though. VG- due to some pops and skip or two.
  • Dokken – Tooth And Nail — It’s Dokken, it’s hair metal from the late 80s. I like that stuff. Yeah, I’m a sucker. VG/VG- because of the sleeve.
  • Linda Ronstadt – Silk Purse — Her second album and it’s all covers, as she was wont to do. Her thing was her voice. That was her personality and her vibe. She now has Parkinsons Disease and is unable to sing. This and all subsequent entries on this list is from the $1 bin and should be VG unless otherwise noted.
  • Nat King Cole – Top Pops — Nat King Cole. The BCPF. Done.
  • John Denver – John Denver’s Greatest Hits — 3B always plays “Take Me Home, Country Roads” when we’re cooking so, we have to add it, right?
  • Chuck Mangione – Feels So Good — Ol’ Chuck gets Yacht Rock Radio play, especially the title track, so why not have some on vinyl? I love that song.
  • Paris – Paris — This was Bob Welch’s (credited as Robert Welch) first project after leaving Fleetwood Mac. He formed this band with ex-Jethro Tull bassist Glenn Cornick and ex-Nazz (with Todd Rundgren) drummer Thom Mooney. The fact that Bob is on it and the cool neon green cover, are really the reasons I got this.
  • The Lovin’ Spoonful – The Very Best Of The Lovin’ Spoonful — As the name suggests. This is listed as Good condition and the cover sleeve is Poor because it’s falling apart.
  • Abbott & Costello – Who’s On First? — The BCPF found it and wanted it. That’s all we needed to know, right?
  • Europe – The Final Countdown — 7″ Single, not the full album, which I certainly want. People seem to hate this song, the band and the album. Kind of like Nickelback today. However, I love the band, this song and the album. So, I stick my tongue out at all of you.

So, it was a pretty great haul, even though we only got to listen to about two of the records because of the power/Clay situation. We will catch up a little today, I think. Underdog was hopping with people yesterday, partly due to Clay’s performance, but because people were just wanting to be there. Jonathan had hotdogs, too. Yum! Listen to each new episode of The Less Desirables to hear about the TLD/UR special of the week. And, use Discogs to catalog your vinyl, CD or even cassette collections.

Until tomorrow, keep spinning…
Scorp out!

—
“I’d like to see you in the morning light. I’d like to feel you when it comes tonight. Now I’m here and I’m all alone. Still, I know how it feels. I’m alone again. Tried so hard to make you see but I couldn’t find the words. Now the tears, they fall like rain. I’m alone again without you.” – “Alone Again” (Dokken/Pilson)

Sounds Like Saturday or: Dance!

27 Saturday Apr 2019

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Salutations™!!

Today is the 51st anniversary of Sly & The Family Stone’s Dance to the Music album. I love me some Sly, too. Here’s a live sample of the high energy awesomeness that was them in their prime. And, of note, that drummer is so fun to watch.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“All we need is a drummer for people who only need a beat. I’m gonna add a little guitar, and make it easy to move your feet.” – “Dance to the Music” (Stewart)

In the Dark or: Powerless

26 Friday Apr 2019

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Salutations™!!

So, this is Friday’s post, which I’m writing on Sunday. Full disclosure, sometimes I write my posts in advance and sometimes I wait to see what happens in my day. Well, I was getting through the day on Friday and at 547p, the power disappeared from my house. The weird thing is, Ma ‘Rents didn’t lose power, nor did my neighbors to the south of me. Oddly enough, the neighbors to my west did lose power, but the street lights (mostly) were still on in front of their houses. The duplex farm to the north of me also lost power. When I looked on the Duke Energy website, it showed my house and said “Customers Affected: 1” Then another notice that showed the duplex farm as 66 affected and a third triangle with 47 affected.

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The Genius of The BCPF

I can’t sleep without my CPAP and without power, my CPAP is useless. Let’s just say my night was no fun. We could have gone to my parents’ house but we thought it surely would be on soon. I continuously texted “STATUS” to Duke Energy and all they would say is that there is an outage and that they were investigating it. I’m telling you, Dear Reader, no one was out investigating this. I can also tell you that when we found out what it was that caused it the next day, there certainly was no one investigating it overnight.

When I said earlier that most of the street lights were on in front of my western neighbors, a tree had fallen on one of the light poles and knocked out a transformer. Now, here’s the thing about that… I was listening to Chess, yes that ill-fated musical starring Murray Head and featured the song “One Night in Bangkok,” when the power flickered around 520p and there was a big BOOM! It was loud. But, everything still worked, other than the internet having to reset itself. I figured it was a transformer because of the sound. But, everything stayed on until about 30 minutes later. So I don’t know what was going on.

So, the night went on and nothing changed. The BCPF got inventive and put an LED flashlight into one of the gallon jugs that the distilled water for my CPAP comes in. It acts as a lantern and disperses light really well. That was pretty awesome. She’s pretty awesome, too.

(don’t be disoriented Dear Reader… I’m going to whisk us into the future, here)

So, Saturday, we get up, without showers and without sleep (she can’t sleep when I’m hacking and gurgling all night from apnea), go out to start our day. We see the tree laying across the downed pole and figured that is the cause (we didn’t see it the night before) and a tree service working on it.

At breakfast, I tried the STATUS texts again and it did give me a different message. This was actually saying they were going to update me after the assessed the damage. I knew they weren’t checking it all night.

Then it said that the estimated time for power to be on would be 730p. Then I got another about an hour later that said it would be 1130p. We were at Underdog Records for the Clay Howard album release show and we decided we’d go on home to see what was going on and get ready for Willows. We came down our street and there were no utility trucks but we could see trees in the yard of the house that had it happen. We pull into our driveway and the outside light is on and we are in business!!!

So, that’s why Dear Reader that my Friday post was delayed until today. I know it really doesn’t matter if I post every single day but it does to me. You may return to your present day and time, now. Oh, and be warned that tomorrow’s post will also be from the future…

Until tomorrow, stop time traveling…
John Connor out!

—
“If it weren’t for electricity, we’d all be watching television by candlelight.” – George Gobel

The Shots are In or: A Gathering

25 Thursday Apr 2019

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Salutations™!!

I totally forgot to take pics at our TBD Referral Group get together tonight, but we had a great time. There were about 37 folks at Camel City BBQ Factory tonight. It was a lot of food, beverages and gaming happening. My Steelers traded up (a rarity for them) to get the LB they needed. That’s a great thing.

I told you about my headshots and Stallone sent them to me. I don’t like them. Don’t get me wrong, Stallone did as good as he could but the canvas he had to work with (me) is hideous. I’ll leave one of them here. Everyone else seems to think they’re okay, I just hate the way I look. Oh well…DSC04316 copy.jpg

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“With the 10th pick overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Devin Bush, LB out of Michigan.” – Roger Goodell

Blown Away or: Go Canes!

24 Wednesday Apr 2019

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Salutations™!!

The ‘Canes pulled it off and beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions, Washington Capitals in 2OT to advance to Round 2!

Go Canes!

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Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Teuvo Teravainen #86 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in the second period against the Washington Capitals in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 24, 2019 in Washington, DC.” – NHL.com

Can’t Beet That or: Red Head Shot

23 Tuesday Apr 2019

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Salutations™!!

I did something I’ve not done in a while today and that’s got a sunburn. I met with my friend Stallone Frazier to do a few headshots for a project or two I have coming up and we were on top of a building downtown. I wanted scenes from the town I love. That’s not what did it, though.

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So red I glow! (no, not really)

Stallone is an awesome dude and we had a two-hour conversation about life, business, business life, kids, parents, and so on. It was just cool talking with him. I dig him a lot and what time we get it was good just hanging out on the top of this building. The bad part was it was right in the sun. There was a lovely shaded space but we didn’t move there. I think we both thought we’d end the conversation at any time but it went on for two hours. But, you know what? To me, it was worth it.

So, for the next few days, I’ll still be able to fry an egg on my head and will start peeling, but that’s okay. All is good. Thanks again, Stallone! I’ve seen other people’s headshots he’s done and they’ve been great, but the subject matter was me this time. I will probably hate them because I’m in them, but I’m sure the shots will be great! When I have something, I’ll share. Stallone is also working on branding for me for a “new venture” which isn’t really new, but he did The Man Who Ate the Town logo, which I love. You should contact him if you need photography or graphic design done.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“I never expected to see the day when girls would get sunburned in the places they now do.” – Will Rogers

Still Flying or: The Bad Crash

22 Monday Apr 2019

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Salutations™!!

Today was an up-and-down, topsy-turvy kind of day, Dear Reader. I was still flying high from Saturday’s Cobras game and then the relaxing, laid-back nature of the day yesterday, along with some yard-sitting. Rule1logonew

Today, I had all my podcasts, save one, cancel so, it was to be an easy day.

The podcast I did was the Rule One Podcast, and we know that while there are humorous aspects to this podcast, the subject matter is very serious. It’s about addiction and can be for several things, but mostly drugs since Kerri Sigler is the founder of Phoenix Rising and the WS Drug Court.

The subject was tough. We had a young mother, whom we call “Nicole,” talking about how she got into drugs, what she did to try to get off of them and how she’s now been stripped of her rights as a parent. It was heartbreaking listening to her story.

A lot of people ask how can your child not be enough!? How can you still do drugs when you’ll lose them!?

Those are unfair questions. Addiction doesn’t work that way. Addiction doesn’t care what the consequences are. Well, she could not take them. No, that doesn’t work either. When a 12-year old girl is introduced to drugs by an aunt, someone she should trust, and that continues on into her teens and then the parents of the boyfriend (baby daddy) introduces a late-teen already hooked on stuff to crushed-up pain pills and how to snort them, there’s nowhere for that child to go. Okay, run away! When that is your lifestyle, you don’t know to run away. Stop being an insensitive f**k!

She admitted the only person in her family that wasn’t an addict was her mother, who was partially disabled. Listening to her story and hearing the emotions was hard. I never fully recovered all day.

3B had fallen asleep at his mom’s for Easter dinner but was supposed to be with me yesterday. He doesn’t have his after-nines (driving after 9pm), yet and while he is allowed to drive after nine for work or school, this was neither. So, I didn’t get to see him yesterday and he worked today so I didn’t get to see him today. Just hearing “Nicole’s” story, I wanted to hug him, badly. But, I also know that he’s growing up and my time of seeing him is going to get shorter and shorter and he’ll be off to school (hopefully) after this and I will see him even less.

It makes me realize how my parents feel when I don’t see them as often as I could. I mean, they live right next door. But, my regular schedule (and theirs), keeps me busy and harder to get by there. Reminds me of a song…

You can hear the episode HERE.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon, little boy blue and the man in the moon. ‘When you coming home, son?’ ‘I don’t know when. But we’ll get together then, dad. You know we’ll have a good time then.'” – “Cats in the Cradle” (Chapin)

Not-So-Silent Sunday or: The Home Game

21 Sunday Apr 2019

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Salutations™!!

Yesterday was my first game as “the Voice” of the Carolina Cobras. It was a little nerve-wracking at first as the schedule was tight and we had to hit marks. But, I had an intern on headset telling me what they wanted when. After the first 10 minutes or so, everything settled down and the flow really picked up.

I had plenty of time to throw my personality in the announcements, as well, interacting with the crowd a bit. And, we raised the 2018 NAL Championship banner last night!

I’m also proud of my Fan Interference partner, Ty Collins as he was the play-by-play for the Cobras. He did a great job with his color commentator, Matthew (sorry I missed the last name). This was co-broadcast on local My48 and on YouTube. So, I am including the YouTube feed and it’s a long one, but if you’re interested, you can enjoy the game. The next game is on May 4th and it will be Star Wars night. So, enjoy the game.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Cobra Nation, make some noise!” – Me