That’s my girl.

Last night I was driving in the car with my two-year-old daughter.  The song “Achilles Last Stand” by Led Zeppelin came on the radio, so I turned it up a bit.  She’d never heard that song before, but she’s a Led Zeppelin fan, often asking for “Whole Lotta Love” when she’s in the mood to [...]

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"Gonna use my fingers." Test-driving Amazon’s MP3 service.

Recently I downloaded a, um…trial version of the Pretenders’ debut album using my favorite peer-to-peer service (I’m not saying which one, but it rhymes with Bit Torrent.).  I’m ashamed to admit that I had nothing from the Pretenders in my collection, and after listening to their entire first album (which includes their biggest hit “Brass [...]

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Remembering Challenger

Twenty-two years ago this day the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff. 
It was my first genuine “Where were you when it happened?” news event. 
I remember it as if it were yesterday.  I was sitting in high school English class when the principal’s voice broke over the school intercom, interrupting the teacher.  The [...]

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(Anti)Social Networking

I’m usually an early-adopter when it comes to new technology and new geek toys (the free or inexpensive ones, anyway), but only recently did I hop aboard the social networking bandwagon.  Which is basically the modern equivalent of buying your first color television in 1981.  I think I was the only one left on Earth [...]

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What are all these strings for?

The toughest part about trying to learn a new skill (aside from actually starting the process) is avoiding getting discouraged in the beginning.  I’m wise enough now to understand that, and to know that anything worth learning requires effort and dedication.
Which is why I didn’t break down in tears when I was unable to play [...]

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I got my first real six-string.

There it is — my first guitar.   It’s a Fender Squier Telecaster.  The “Squier” in the title is from the Latin “skiro”, which roughly translated means “a model that Paul can afford.”  The Squier is actually Fender’s cheaper knock-off of their own original Telecaster, made famous by such folks as Bruce Springsteen, George Harrison, and [...]

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Dropping Peter to play Paul

I’m toying with the idea of trying to learn how to play guitar. (Just writing that down is a bit scary, because now it’s out there.)
The idea itself frightens me because I’m a thirty-seven-year-old geezer whose only experience with the guitar is playing “Smoke On the Water,” something anyone who picks up a guitar [...]

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(Pana)Vision Quest

I’m a film buff.  I have been for as long as I can remember.  In the days before my daughter was born (when I still had disposable income) I spent entirely too much money on DVDs, and watched at least one new movie every week (By "new" I simply mean one I hadn’t seen before, [...]

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I’ve become what I despised.

I used to follow world news and politics.  Closely.  Partly because it was once a primary part of my career, but also because I was passionate about it.  At election time I wanted to find the best person for the job, so I studied the candidates, watched the debates, and followed their campaigns.
And I chided [...]

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