My kids' Dad

Steely Dan Chicago 2008 Think Fast Tour

Last Wednesday while at the conference in Vermont (post to follow soon) a colleague at work sent out an email asking if anyone wanted two tickets to see Steely Dan at the Chicago Theatre. She knew she could resell them through something like StubHub but she felt that she should just give them to someone. I was checking email everyday until Wednesday when my PC would bluescreen everytime I connected with the VPN to work so I gave up. When I saw her email on Friday I figured it was too late but asked her anyway. She graciously gave me the tickets but had printed them on a single sheet of paper (we try to save paper using duplex as a default).

On Saturday I set off to Chicago about a three hour drive (1/2 tank of gas or 4 gallons in the smart car). I was able to park right next to the theatre and saw that the show was sold out. I did not want the extra ticket to go to waste and I knew there would be fans desperate to get a chance to see the concert. As I was walking through the crowd which had not yet been allowed into the theatre one fellow asked if anyone had a spare ticket. I told him I did but it was obvious he was looking to make some money by reselling tickets and did not actually want to see the show. Since I could not separate my single ticket from the extra ticket he then found someone he knew was looking for a single seat. That's how I met Bob. Bob gave the fellow a few bucks for his connecting us. I didn't ask for any money for the extra ticket and Bob was grateful and offered to buy me some drinks and food. Bob and I hit it off enjoying great conversation and then the show. We both felt that these sorts of things do not happen by coincidence but that there was reason perhaps like that "paying it forward effect".  The show was phenomenal and my discussions with Bob inspiring (his encouragement for me to take up the guitar may soon take hold).

Today while shopping in the local grocery store a couple teens saw me with my new Steely Dan T-shirt and exclaimed, 'Steely Dan rules!', I can't agree with them more.  It is also heartening knowing that it's not just the older folks who appreciate the band.

Steely Dan

Enjoying the start of the concert it is phenomenal.

- Posted from my iPhone -

Hot August Night

Neil Diamond was hot this August night as he performed in downtown Grand Rapids.

He still works hard at pleasing the crowd and his message received by a full house.

We are the superior being

Since Blockbuster just raised rates on their programs we switched to Netflix for DVDs. We like the TotalAccess program where we could exchange the DVDs at our local store but we weren't about to spend more on our monthly fees. We discovered the Watch Instantly feature that streams some movies direct to our PC (Vista) and have been enjoying the new Dr. Who series (which airs on Sci-Fi Channel). This led me to track down this video from the KLF (Timelords) which the kids love:

DISCLAIMER: Although we love this video, we DO NOT endorse the indiscriminate extermination of Daleks.

3 films

CARS was a family treat. Pixar got back to family fare that we could all enjoy.

I also rented MirrorMask on DVD and found a real gem - highly stylized and thoughtful.

Even better yet is Johnny Cash's Hurt. Apparently a remake of a NIN work that Cash breathes his soul into. The DVD is only a few minutes long - wanting to make you watch it over and over. Johnny Cash has never been more awesome - here is a man that treats us to our vanity leaving us with all that really matters.

Happy 4th!

Great family day today - we decorated our bikes and pedaled them in the local parade. You just can't beat a small town parade for feeling part of a local community. I then tried Matt's technique for roasting a whole chicken without a rotisserie - the chicken came out beautifully. The trick is to roast the chicken on the half of the grill that has the flame turned off, then flip to the other side every 1/2 hour.

Next we saw Madagascar and fell in love with the track, "I like to move it, move it". We just couldn't stop dancing - as well as most of the rest of the audience. Until this 'incident' I have found the idea of owning an iPod or buying music from iTunes just uninteresting. But after getting home it became our first purchase of a direct download album ($9.99) and considering how much use we got out of it prior to the fireworks - worth every penny. (We set the iBook out in the front yard with some powered speakers and gave the neighborhood a treat.) iTunes impulse purchasing - brilliant! We also burned a copy onto CD so the kids could listen to it as they went to bed, iTunes lets you burn up to seven copies onto CD in addition to playing it as often as you wish from your system.

Then we sat out in the front yard as some friends and neighbors came by and enjoyed some kid friendly fireworks before running out to the high school a block away to view the town's large skyrocket display. Even the rain didn't spoil our fun.