breakfast
January 22, 2004 by Eric Richardson
Yesterday Magilla, Kathy, and I went to Grinder for the $2.99 weekday breakfast special (I got pancakes, scrambled eggs, and hash browns). Hitting up their breakfast special is my new thing. I love getting up a little early, heading over there, getting breakfast and a coffee, and getting a start on my day that way.
As we were sitting eating, some FBI agents walked in. Now, normally you see a guy with an FBI hat and you're like, "Somebody got an FBI hat." But I'm pretty convinced that wasn't the case here. About 6 of them came in a big Tahoe, several had combat boots on, and all were earing sunglasses.
Today I read about yesterday's pre-dawn FBI/LAPD raid at a nearby housing project (I saw nearby... maybe 10 miles). Over 400 total officers were involved, so I figure there's a pretty good chance that these guys were heading back to the office after that and stopped by to partake in the special. That's sort of crazy.
getting there...
January 19, 2004 by Eric Richardson
I bought a new soundcard last night. My old one came with my computer in 1997, so it was getting up a bit in years and I couldn't find any up-to-date support for it. Since they're cheap and pretty standard, I picked up a SB Live!. Installation was a breeze. I stuck it in, compiled the right kernel module, modprobed it, and there it was. The mixer shows 32 elements with volume sliders. I have no idea what most of them are.
It'll be good to have sound out of my computer again. I was getting kind of lonely without it.
Live Music: Quincy and Steve Reynolds
January 18, 2004 by Eric Richardson
Last night I finally rid myself of a month long absense from live music, heading out to the Hotel Cafe in order to see Steve Reynolds. I don't know if it's just that I'm starting to go on heavier nights, but each time I go to the Hotel it seems like its more and more crowded. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing -- the Hotel's an amazing place and it's great to see it doing so well -- but the crowd does make things a little less convenient. Kathy and I showed up around 10, and the doorman was having to not let anyone more in until some of the crowd from Coby Brown cleared out. It was packed for Quincy, and then we managed to get seats at a table for Steve's set. Moral of the story? Go early, stake a claim, and enjoy a full night of music.
But on to the music...
Steve was on at 11, so we got there in time for the 10pm, which was Quincy. I knew it was going to be a good night when I saw that Cisco DeLuna was playing with her. I first saw Cisco playing with Steve a couple years ago, and his lap steel has mesmerized me ever since. Quincy has a powerful voice and a sharp stage presence. The clips available off her site give a pretty good feel for what the live show sounds like. I especially enjoyed Afraid. Quincy would do this lateral head move a lot that I thought was pretty hot. When I was a freshman we called the corresponding front-to-back motion the pigeon. I guess hers would qualify as a sideways-pigeon.
Steve Reynolds played at 11, and it was a little bit of a throw-back show. Cisco (along with the drummer and bassist from Quincy's band) stayed up to play. That was definitely cool, since it'd been a while since I'd seen Steve and Cisco together. Steve's vibrating leg was back in high gear, which it hadn't been the last few times I saw him. And then, to top it all off, he played an instrumental Passport of a Minstrel at the end. When Steve plays instrumental, I go into shock. He and Rodney Branigan are the two guitarists I've ever seen that just make me sit there shaking my head in awe.
Friday I'm planning to head back to the Hotel to catch Jim Bianco and Pedestrian.
new screenshot
January 16, 2004 by Eric Richardson
that reminds me of a joke...
January 15, 2004 by Eric Richardson
ESPN's top story image caption after our upset of Arizona:
Wow. That line's so bad, yet so funny, that it reminds me of one of my favorite jokes:
A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel attached to his crotch. The bartender looks at him and says, "Hey... Did you know you've got a steering wheel attached to your crotch?"
The pirate looks at him in that pirate way and says, "Arrrr! It's drivin' me nuts!"