Tony Walla's Random Ramblings

I need to change goals. I need to update this at least once a week. Its not for lack of content in my head. The problem is making the time to get it out of my head and on the page. I partially blame Twitter for this. Twitter makes it so easy to send a quick note out into the ether.

Anyway, I had to get something up here. Something is coming this week that I’m proud of, but I don’t want to spoil it. I’ll post here as soon as I can to let you know what it is.

I’m not going to go into a long explanation of what Twitter is. For that, check out the video from commoncraft.

Just as I posted the last entry, I read something from triviabot on Twitter. This should make you want to carry hand sanitizer when you shop, or just stick to credit and debit cards.

Geri went to bed shortly after 7pm because she wasn’t feeling good. WISC decided to run local programming instead of “The Big Bang Theory.” I don’t remember what the proper grammar rule is when you end a sentence with quotes. Period inside or outside the quotation marks? I’m too lazy to look it up now.

I should be taking advantage of Geri’s unfortunate illness. I could do something nice like finish washing the dishes or folding laundry. Maybe I could catch up on video podcasts on our AppleTV. Perhaps I could finally finish editing the audio segment I’ve been poking at for three weeks. Instead, I sat on my butt and watched TV.

(This next section is out of order but this is how it came out of my head.)

I think its a combination of a few things. I lack motivation. (Thank you captain obvious!) What’s the prize at the end of the road? Should there even be a prize? Last night I had to work on an outage for 2 1/2 hours during what is typically my play time. I couldn’t join in a few Talkshoe shows that I normally participate in.* 

While I don’t usually mind being the guy that brings it all together, there were many factors leading up to my involvement that didn’t make me happy. Unfortunately, I would like to keep my job and I shouldn’t list them here. I didn’t get upset until it was all over and I was making a list of events. How could we have done this differently? (Three points removed to keep my job!) Why did it take 10 hours before someone called me? I was so wound up after the outage that I didn’t sleep well at all. 

I knew I had to get a lot accomplished at work today, so I focused a lot of energy into work. It wasn’t a rough day. If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be: meh. I accomplished lots of little things but nothing that really made me feel good when I left. I know better… the payoff will come later, but my head isn’t in that frame of mind right now.

Now that I’m typing this, a few things do come to mind that make me happy. I cooked dinner tonight. We made something new, lemon herb chicken. Ok, so the sauce came in a packet, but its still different. Geri made potatoes with Lipton Onion Soup mix that were great. Overall it was pretty good and I was happy for both of us. We stuck to our meal plan.

One more thing I consider a small win… I’m updating this blog. If I could tag this it would be under: youreallyshouldconsiderthisapersonaljournalentryandnotpostitbecauseitsucks

Perhaps this is my turning point for the week.

Thanks for putting up with the ramblings of the sleep deprived. (Yes I know I have nothing on you TheMacMommy, leave me alone!)

I finally pulled the Corvette out of the garage today. It’s a 2002 coupe. I bought it used in October of 2004. At the time, it had 73k miles. It now has 95k miles. That’s not really what is important here.

I don’t recall the year, but I remember being shocked when my dad called to let me know he just bought a 1987 Corvette convertible. You see, my dad usually researches everything he buys… almost to a fault. Consumer reports is his friend. This, however, felt like a spur of the moment purchase. 

At the time, I looked at it as more of a toy for him. This was the 3rd convertible that he’s owned that I’m aware of. (Previous convertibles are ’63 Corvair and an ’88 Mustang LX.) He always liked to take me out for a ride when I was home. I’ll admit that it was fun, but I still thought it was just a toy.

That all changed on Mother’s Day of 2004. I remember this vividly. We just finished washing his Vette. (After everything my parents have done for me, I don’t mind pitching in now and then… even when I’m back home to relax.) Dad looked at the weather radar on the computer. “We have about an hour before the rain moves in,” he said. I thought it was just going to be another ride.  That was fine by me because it was something we did together. As I approached the car, he flipped me the keys. I didn’t say anything. I just jumped in the drivers seat.

I can’t remember what he said exactly, I just remember the intent was to take the car out somewhere I could open it up. I pulled on to I-65 South from US 30 on the south side of Merrillville, IN. The top was down and the wind was blowing through the cabin. I was keeping it around 65 because there were a few semis and a couple of cars between us and a patch of open road.

About 2 miles later, I was able to weave through the traffic. For a split second I thought I should ask first… naaahhhh. I put my foot to the floor and sunk into the seat. I looked down at the dash and in no time flat it shot to 100. My heart was pounding. My grip on the wheel tightened. That was pure joy. I looked over at my dad with a big grin on my face. “What took you so long?” was all he said. We spent the rest of the drive talking about music, the Cubs, or something that wasn’t really important I’m sure.

I will never forget that feeling. It was at that moment that I learned two things.

1. I finally understood why Corvette owner have such a passion for their hobby.
2. I had to have one.

It wasn’t until now that I realized that it really wasn’t about the car…

I once had an idea to post a photo a day to accomplish two things. The first thing is to find something that would make a nice photo.  In my head this would act as a way to look at things from a different perspective and maybe slow down a little to enjoy things… yeah right!  The second thing is to post things on this site regularly.

Well, this may not be a recent photo, but I think it fits both goals.

This was taken with my iPhone when it was only 3 days old.  Other than the lamp post on the left, I think its a pretty good picture for an iPhone.

Ed. note: I was only trying to write a quick answer to the “Who are you and where are you from?” question on the Welcome to Macintosh Network. Little did I know that I was going to write a short story. It was a good exercise to write something that just flowed out of my head, but then also have a little bit of sense to edit some of it. This certainly knocked some of the rust off. This really doesn’t have anything to do with the interview with the film makers… if everything works out, you’ll see that soon. What you see below is a reprint, warts and all, of what I posted on the WtM Network forum.

Who are you and where are you from?

I’m new to this game but not really.  I’ve used Apple products since the IIe in 4th grade. Our computer lab had 30 Apple IIe models and a few color Imagewriters.  In 5th grade, we were lucky enough to be part of an experiment in the state of Indiana where they put 10 Apple IIc computers in our classroom.  I have vivid memories of Lemonade Stand, Oregon Trail, and Number Munchers.  I was one of the few students allowed to use a real robotic “turtle” that would plot out lines on a large sheet of paper with various colored pens which would mimic my Logo commands on the screen. Jr. High and High School gave me limited access to Mac labs mainly for word processing.  That stuff was boring.  The cool stuff was the mini recording studio at Harrison Jr. High School tucked away in a repurposed storage closet.  I had exposure to MIDI sequencing on an Atari 1040ST my dad bought for us at home, but it was never this elegant.  Merrillville High School had a Mac lab dedicated to music theory, sequencing, and production where I had exposure to early versions of Pro Tools and MOTU software… and who could forget Band in a Box!

After high school, I didn’t have any direct exposure with Apple products unless I saw a Mac pressed into service as a sequencer for a band or at the heart of a Vari*lite lighting rig.

I bought a refurbished 3rd generation 30Gb iPod that I still use every day.  I used to carry large folders of CDs (about 300 CDs total) but now I could fit them all into my pocket.  This was an amazing product! I wish I could say this was my gateway drug because that would sound cool, but it was a turning point.  From that time, I followed Apple, waiting for the next product announcement.  My dad liked my iPod, so I convinced my mom to buy him one a few years ago for his birthday… another refurb 3G 30Gb model. Christmas that year, I bought yet another refurb 3G 30Gb for my girlfriend, Geri. That led to my mom conspiring with me to upgrade my dad’s iPod to a 5G 60Gb model.  His old 3G 30Gb went to my sister with my help.  Then dad bought mom a 1st gen 2Gb Nano that she loves for her workouts. Geri’s 30Gb iPod started showing signs of wear after many drops and a few car accidents, so for Valentine’s day, I upgraded her to a refurbished 5G 30Gb model.  Fortunately I was able to save Geri’s old iPod, and my aunt is enjoying it today.  It would be an understatement to say that the iPod had the halo effect on me.

On the third day of Geri and my honeymoon, I used the work laptop to connect through the Disney World guest network and ordered my new computer, the 24″ Aluminum 2.8Ghz iMac. I convinced Geri that just the iLife suite alone would make our wedding photos and video easier to manage. (Rob and Josh heard the real story.) I’ll be honest, it wasn’t an easy transition. I had to unlearn old habits in order to learn a new way of seeing things, but I’ll never look back. 

I convinced my father to switch to Mac as well. He was true to form… he had to one-up me. As soon as he ordered the same iMac that I had, he put in his order for 4Gb of RAM.  Now his transition was no where near as smooth as mine. I must say the Leopard’s screen sharing features just work. That feature alone has saved me hours of troubleshooting and training over the phone.

I have recently joined the ranks of the iPhone owners and I am eagerly waiting the next batch of announcements about the product in June.

Sorry for the short book. I started writing and kept on going…

Thanks Rob and Josh for bringing the film to Madison and not only allowing me to interview both of you, but for also entertaining Geri and I for over two hours with your stories.

(ed. note: More like mental dump day.  This is coming out of my head in the wrong order.  Further proof I need this day.)

First of all, I see that I need to update the blog more often.  I should set a more realistic goal of once a week.

So there are many reasons for the mental health day today.  Geri was in the hospital Thursday thru Saturday for what must have been a nasty bacterial infection of her GI system.  The doctors still don’t know exactly what the problem was but she’s feeling better.  She made it back to work today and I’m happy for her.  I know she’s been itching to get out of the house.

Since I spent the night with her in the hospital Friday and Saturday nights, I was very tired and behind in getting the lighting up for the production of Guys and Dolls.  I finally got things up while rehearsal was in progress on Sunday night.  That is normally the first night of tech and I start programming the console for the show.  Monday we only got through the first act.  Also on Monday, Mickey pointed all the dark spot on the stage to me.  So Tuesday’s rehearsal started with Mickey and I refocusing a few fixtures.  Got through the 2nd act at the beginning of rehearsal so I thought all was well.

I moved over to the sound board for the full run-through of the show where I will be for all performances.  Mickey was running the lighting console. (ETC Express 24/48)  We very quickly realized that all of the blackouts were not recorded correctly.  It’s a quick fix but annoying to not get it right the first time.  A few hours later, it was 11:30 and we were done with the run-through.  Grabbed all the mics from the actors and started to go through my notes to correct lighting cues.

I left the church at 12:30am this morning.  I really couldn’t get to sleep until 2am.  I kept thinking of bills to pay, roof to fix, car to jump-start… too many things to allow my mind to settle into sleep.

I slept in until 10am.  I NEVER do that.  I guess all that lack of sleep over the weekend caught up to me.  I started going though iBank this morning to make sure all the bills are paid.  I’m still trying to get used to this program… not as intuitive as Quicken, but I feel less dirty using it.  Quicken really doesn’t have a good reputation on the Mac, but that’s another discussion.

I just came in from jump starting the classic Topaz which was pretty easy.  The hard part was getting is out of the pool of ice that formed around it.  I couldn’t rock it out.  There’s a hard chunk of ice under the right rear tire that is holding it back.  I need to get some ice and sand to take care of that.

Lots more to write about, but I can’t keep things organized in my head as I write.  Looks like I’ll save some for later.

So it has finally come.  Something I look forward to every Christmas season… snow.  Unfortunately the local meteorologists are predicting that the snow will be closely followed by sleet and freezing rain, turning the roads into skating rinks.  Management at work is on alert for any weather issues.  My cell phone is on and ready in case I’m needed for anything.

Hopefully today will bring the erection (yeah… I said it!) of the Christmas tree.  We have some minor cleaning to accomplish before the tree can go up.  There was some debate as to switching to newer LED style white and blue lights but I decided to save the $45 it probably would have cost this year.  I think it’s worth waiting until we move into the next house and get a new tree.

Geri is currently working Pampered Chef show #2.  That leaves me here alone to do housework.  Laundry and dishes are on the agenda as well as some rebate paperwork for all of the electronics and software purchased over the Thanksgiving holiday.  You would think I would be more enthusiastic about claiming $235… I think the whole thing is a scam.  Why not just give me the discounts when I buy the stuff?  Oh yeah… its because they’re counting on people that don’t even bother with the process to make a little more profit.  I’m sure there more to it than my simplified view, but I’ll stick with my reasoning for now.

Now I just realized why I’m having a tough time getting going this morning.  It was waking up at 1:50am for some maintenance work online.  Got back into bed at 2:30, but I never really slept well after that.  There’s no NASCAR race to help me take a nap this afternoon either.

Geri’s dad should be coming by soon to drop off the Christmas wreath that we usually hang on the chimney.  With the snow and conditions as they are, I may just wait to go up and hang it though…. we’ll see.

I think its time to try out my new boots and get the shovel out of the garage for the first time this season…