While I’m packing

Packing for a three-week trip to Las Vegas is an extended process.  Make no mistake, the actual act of putting clothes and equipment in a big only takes an hour or so.  I’m experienced in that area and if you told me I had to go on the road for a month right now, I could be wheels up in half an hour if need be.  The other packing, though, takes several days. 

So begins the five day process of packing up enough family/friend good times and memories to last me over several weeks away from home.  I had a fantastic afternoon with the family yesterday.  I plan to spend this afternoon and evening with my local and not-so local buddies in a battle of mixed drinks, beer, cards, and common sense.  Tomorrow is date night with my ever-understanding wife.  Sunday is family day.  Then I spend Monday running errands and, well, actually packing my bags for the Tuesday morning flight.

I don’t foresee much writing between now and the time I make it Vegas.  With that in mind, here are a few things that I’ve found entertaining recently.

Robot 365

A local blogger and photojournalist, Little Lost Robot, has started a Flickr 365 project based on his robot collection.  LLR is a geek in the best sense of the word and is talented beyond my wildest dreams in a wide variety of media.  Here’s one that suits my current mood.

I couldn’t decide which of his photos I liked the best, so go check it out yourself HERE.

Mouth of the Brazos

The Fat Guy is one of my older Internet Friends.  Though we disagree on a lot of political matters, we agree on the important stuff like music and beer.  He recently linked to one of his local bloggers.  JD from Mouth of the Brazos speaks with a tongue that may not be the best example for the young’uns, but he’s honest.  If you head over, prepare to see some words you might not use at cocktail parties.  That said, he’s an interesting Texas voice who pulls off the regular turn of phrase that will make some of you smile.  Take, for instance, this reflection on regret as he got ready to go in for major heart surgery.

I think pussy and bird hunting and fishing were about the only things my old man ever considered worth his time. The order being relative to the one he’d most recently done. Like almost all of us guys, once he got his nut, he started in thinking about fishing if it was summer, bird hunting if it was winter.

And, from my dad’s perspective, bird hunting = quail hunting and fishing = catfishing. Pussy, conversely, means pretty much any pussy. He was not a picky man when he found himself needing some of that old sweet roll.

Archive.org

If you are a live music lover, you already know about archive.org.  It’s been a time-waster for me for many years.  Recently, my buddy G-Rob and I have been in a debate about whether the site is a wormhole or black hole.  Either way, if you are a live music fan, you can spend hours searching through the database for something fun.

My most recent download is this show from Robert Randolph and the Family Band, live in Beaver Creek, CO last year.

Oh, and special to G-Vegas Eddie From Ohio fans who remember the old Handlebar:  G-Rob found THIS show from March 2000.  It’s Robbie solo in the old mill.  The songs themselves are hit or miss.  The cool thing about it is, midway through the first set, Robbie reveals he wrote the next song on his way up from Atlanta that day. Turned out to be “Number 6 Driver.”  Midway through the song, he says something like, “This is where the bridge will go.  Add your own words, if you like.”

With that, it’s time to pound on some work and get on with the weekend.  If I poke my head up any time soon, it will likely be from Vegas.

Take care, y’all.