tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65730452011-07-08T05:41:58.315-07:00A somewhat infrequent log of rants, features and the like.Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-29087082692165703412008-12-31T17:41:00.001-08:002008-12-31T17:42:11.618-08:00

or, "will it be the same old same old?" Happy 9.1.1. I hope. Back on the "original" 9/11, 2001, the radical Islamic arm looked to take down the United States. They hated us for our freedoms, our permissive views on how the world should run, and, by and large, because we had hitherto been so successful. They probably also hated us because we had engineered said permissions and freedoms OUT of

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-8924222541006525652008-11-04T20:43:00.000-08:002008-11-04T22:09:55.454-08:00

The Good Okay, we have Barack Obama, our first African-American...no. Our first BLACK president, or President of Colour. Let's call it as it is. Political Correctness must die if we are to achieve anything of substance in this world. No, I'm not upset by this at all. In fact, I'm THRILLED that we don't get FOUR MORE YEARS of the McSame Old Same Old. But we need to quit hyping this up as "A

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-87342037109507226872007-10-30T12:45:00.001-07:002007-10-30T13:12:43.787-07:00

For every day... If an adult-of-diminutive-but-stocky-stature looks at you and tells you that they are not happy, do NOT ask them which one they are. Life grades on a curve. Turn signals: Not just to look pretty. Ashtrays: Not for smokers' coins. It's not that I'm old. Your music really does suck. "Common sense" isn't. What Would Scooby Do? Cheap. Fast. Good. Pick two and call me in

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1682252296428991732007-03-21T14:14:00.000-07:002007-03-21T14:16:08.143-07:00

Just had an epiphany this morning while I was returning with coffee to my desk. The logic train went something like this (I entertain story ideas as I do occasionally attempt to write stories. Thus far: Story: 15, Author: 0.): "Remember the characters you used to create in Dungeons and Dragons? The ones from lands of fantasy, which were rumoured to have existed at one time, and were wiped

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-69943830194715738432007-03-20T12:49:00.000-07:002007-03-21T14:16:24.771-07:00

So there's something that's been bugging me for a while. A long while, in fact. It has to do with nominal diminutives, or common names. Now I can see how something like "Tessa" would derive from "Theresa", and even how "Sally" might come from "Sarah", and I just found out that "Ike" falls from "Isaac", which is actually kind of cool, but there are several out there that completely elude me,

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-57617507085830856402007-02-22T17:52:00.000-08:002007-02-22T18:51:56.648-08:00

(forget the grammatical errors. I know they're here. A preposition is a bad thing to end a sentence with. And a conjunction should never start a sentence. But it's effective, because, for better or worse, it's how people talk. And dammit, there is BREW in February!!! PRONOUNCE THE DAMNED 'R'! anyway...) Wow. I had the fortune of connecting with not one, not two, but three people from my

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1171410422166129932007-02-13T14:43:00.000-08:002007-02-22T11:11:55.658-08:00

[Note: Original credit for music goes to Roger Waters, David Gilmour and Bob Ezrin, of course. The lyrics are somewhat mine.] The concept for this is that the current political climate lends itself rather well to the politics and reactions within The Wall as it was. The lyrics have been rearranged/rewritten to reflect the real world. The story is simple: We note the recent past and go

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1170723579119995012007-02-05T16:33:00.000-08:002007-02-13T23:02:24.863-08:00

I look around at the ascent and misuse of power which has dominated the progress -- or regress -- of this country. It frightens me. We are daring to wander down the slippery slope and become the Imperial Yankee Dogs the other countries feared we already were. And it's a venture on the part of this country's elite -- whom I did not elect, by the way -- which is dooming those of us who had

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1158690738741445462006-09-19T11:17:00.000-07:002006-09-19T11:32:21.633-07:00

In this most unusual of posts, perhaps I am chasing my past, something I swore I would not do. Well, I don't do it often, at any rate. There are some people I just have not seen in years and would love to be back in contact with them, even if just to say hey, how are ya, welp, see ya. Anyone who knows of the whereabouts of these people, please point them here or leave me a way to get ahold of

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1158615844953526812006-09-18T14:25:00.000-07:002006-09-18T14:44:04.986-07:00

It's very strange. Age, that is. On first glance, and going as logic dictates, one might think that it is simply the process of aging, growing more mature, hopefully acquiring wisdom as we go, which allows us to make the statement as follows: "Is it just me, or do seventeen-year-olds seem much younger today than they were when we were growing up and not quite seventeen years old?" It's not

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1158283894803843522006-09-14T18:24:00.000-07:002006-09-14T18:31:34.823-07:00

I will never forget the September day in 1981 when I met Robin (he went by "Robby" back then). He went out of his way to make me feel welcome in the unfamiliar environment which was the S.W.A.S. program at Sir Francis Drake High School. Right away, he was open and friendly. Through the years, we'd run into each other off and on, and he was always happy to see me. He was one of those people

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1158011212771694362006-09-11T14:25:00.000-07:002006-09-11T14:46:52.813-07:00

I'm positive this isn't to be the only reflective blog on what happened five years ago today. If you go and look back in my archives, you'll find my thoughts about what happened. Meanwhile, in Amerika, what has happened since then? Our civil rights are being trampled, our natural resources are in danger of being raped, the innocence and brilliance which comprise our children -- our future --

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1157745684854287442006-09-08T12:42:00.000-07:002006-09-08T13:07:18.246-07:00

Ever have a moment where you see something out of the corner of your eye and think it's one thing, and it turns out to be totally different? Sometimes it happens where you think your black cat is the 8-ball on a pool table until it meows at you and throws your reality askance. Sometimes you think it's a gas pump holding you up with its nozzle as the gun. Oh, wait -- that one's for real. Well,

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1140757236852019652006-02-23T20:51:00.000-08:002006-09-18T17:28:09.610-07:00

Berkelian Rhapsody (based on Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen) Is this in real time? Is this in memory? Caught in a for(;;) loop, no escape from this subroutine... open() your files, branch through the do{}while()s and see I'm just the kernel, I need no libraries Because you boot me up, load and go Branch from high, store to low Any way the thread flows Doesn't really matter to me To me. unlink()

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1140755959670612422006-02-23T20:28:00.000-08:002006-02-23T20:41:33.036-08:00

Yes, I'm still here. Unfortunately, with a 1.5h commute, while I may think of profound things and the like on the way to work, I don't remember them by the time I have a moment to post. Isn't that the way it goes. Maybe it's because, in all my ranting, I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said. When I do, you, the followers of the Journeys of the Sound Chaser, will be the first to

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1119559735136972072005-06-23T13:47:00.000-07:002010-03-17T00:07:55.245-07:00

or, Legalised Plundering for Fun and Profit A man's home is his castle. "Home, home again, I like to be there when I can When I come home, cold and tired It's good to warm my bones beside the fire..."         -- Pink Floyd, "Breathe (Reprise)" Home. What do you think of when you think of home? A warm fire, candle-lit dinner for two? Friendly chaos of you and your love and your children

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1099499000496132982004-11-03T08:23:00.000-08:002004-11-03T08:37:34.430-08:00

Congratulations, Amerika. You have what you wanted, and you will get to watch it turn into what we have always fought against. Bush spoke of "Freedom, Justice and the American Way." He has no more of a clue on any of the above words than the average person does on the subject of quark theory and rocket science. You, the people, have doomed this country. Are you so blindly unaware that

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1097874339563725972004-10-15T14:01:00.000-07:002006-09-18T19:26:59.426-07:00

or, What You See Is What They Think "Things are seldom what they seem Skim milk masquerades as cream." -- W. S. Gilbert [Note: I've apparently been remiss, as my maternal carbon-based lifeform has informed me. This is from July. Okay, fine, it's also from April. I've had a busy summerfall, and it shows no signs of slowing up. I'm doing a 200+ mile-per-day commute (round-trip). I

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1087585598722170302004-06-18T11:50:00.001-07:002004-06-18T12:06:38.723-07:00

It's been a while. For those of you who have been following my feature page at Star Wolf Innovations , you're probably aware that I'm in the middle of a life-changing event of some sort; those of you with whom I've actually been in contact are aware of what said event really is. I have advice for you: If you marry someone, you need to be sure that you are both committed enough to

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1081968985498211862004-04-14T11:52:00.000-07:002004-04-14T12:01:34.043-07:00

"I am sailing with the silver ships to the west, to the undying lands." -- J. R. R. Tolkien "So cautiously, at first, and then so high As he spoke, my spirit climbed into the sky I bid it to return to hear your wonderous stories..." -- Jon Anderson, "Wonderous Stories" (This page will likely receive numerous updates over this year, as I'm sure its current content does not

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078429419072655192003-10-31T11:42:00.000-08:002004-03-04T11:47:32.216-08:00

or, This age hits home. "Death. It's not so bad. It beats the alternative." -- Unknown This year has been quite the year, it would seem. Most of you are familiar with the events which have inundated the world, the Nation, and California in particular. This piece addresses something a little closer to home. A long running tradition, the Northern Renaissance Pleasure Faire, has

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078429264297784012003-10-30T11:39:00.000-08:002004-11-03T17:51:46.646-08:00

or, "I didn't think time could go backwards." "What did I know? Those days are gone forever, I should just let 'em go." -- Don Henley, "The Boys Of Summer" "Alas, poor Yorick; I knew him...well..." -- John McDill as Captain Hook in "Peter Pan" What a time it was. Learning became available beyond the monasteries, trade flourished (pirates notwithstanding), artisanry

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078428214655034332003-09-03T11:19:00.000-07:002004-04-14T13:32:11.686-07:00

(or, Where Did We Go Wrong?) "Teach your children well Their father's hell did slowly go by And feed them on your dreams The one they picks, the one you'll know by Don't you ever ask them why If they told you, you would cry So just look at them and sigh And know they love you." - Graham Nash "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078427834577875472003-04-17T11:13:00.000-07:002004-11-03T17:51:33.276-08:00

(or, "The State Of The World: F. U. B. A. R.") You don't get something for nothing, You can't have freedom for free. You won't get wise with the sleep still in your eyes, No matter what your dreams might be. -- Neil Peart, 1976. "The time has come", the Walrus said, "to speak of many things..." [This is going to be somewhat of a rambling rant, although I will try my best

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078427444056901422003-03-11T13:07:00.000-08:002004-03-04T11:15:19.390-08:00

(or, "There will always be bullies.") A bumper sticker says it best: "It will be a great day on Earth when education has all the funding it needs and the military will need to hold bake sales to build a bomber." "Heads, I win; tails, you lose." -- Anonymous I am sitting here reflecting on the state of the world, the state of the union, the state of the state of California, the

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078427020157028392003-01-30T11:02:00.000-08:002004-11-03T17:51:20.290-08:00

(or, "Next, Please.") By and large, life is good, except for this excuse of a shadow of the ghost of the dream which used to be America... "If his reign goes unchallenged, then everything that is green and growing and good in this world will be destroyed. There won't BE a Shire anymore, Pippin!" -- J. R. R. Tolkien, "The Two Towers" I may be a bit skittish. Perhaps I

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078426900604594162002-10-28T16:58:00.000-08:002004-11-03T17:50:52.886-08:00

Hey, all, sorry it's been a while, but I've been incredibly busy as per usual. I know, I know -- I still have pictures to scan in and all sorts of other rigmarole. Since I last wrote, I've become unemployed - again (anybody need a UNIX Man For All Seasons, a session keyboardist/guitarist/mandolin player/singer, a freelance artist?) and have spent weekends working down at Casa de

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078426634599636672002-07-29T10:55:00.000-07:002006-09-18T18:45:48.083-07:00

(or, What Will The Aliens Think?) Something has been a recurring theme in my deeper thoughts through the years that I've been able to have deeper thoughts -- that is to say, since I was about twelve or so (born old, aging well, for the most part, but I digress). As I have gone through life listening and looking about me, I have noticed the odd connection between the times and the music

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078426188525683132002-07-09T13:47:00.000-07:002004-03-04T11:49:46.076-08:00

(but then, you knew that.) A friend of mine from high school sent me this particular article today. Normally, I don't pay too much attention to this sort of thing, as the word 'republican' offends my senses in roughly the same way as might the defensive discharge of a skunk at close range. Normally, too, I'm not wont to reprint copyrighted material. Song lyrics seem to be an exception,

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078425739951136492002-06-26T13:44:00.000-07:002004-11-03T17:50:12.593-08:00

This God thing is really getting out of hand. I mean, it's ALWAYS been overblown. Ever since the Nazarene walked the planet, got nailed to a tree, then mysteriously vanished after having been buried, there's been this obsession with the "True Divine" and "miracles". Then the righteous started getting really righteous, and obsession is not a strong enough word to describe the actions to

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078425547550268562002-06-11T22:34:00.000-07:002004-03-04T10:42:48.826-08:00

"Things are seldom what they seem Skim milk masquerades as cream Highlows pass as patent leather Jackdaws strut in peacocks' feathers..." There are days, and then there are days. There are days where I wonder how this world has survived thus far. It's okay for our kids to see war and gratuitous violence and drugs (in spite of "just say no" (or "just fly low", whichever you prefer))

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078424772558204322002-03-04T10:05:00.000-08:002004-03-04T10:57:45.420-08:00

This is a special Birthday Edition of the Journeys of the Sound Chaser. There are two people whom I wish to commemorate here. One of them I know personally, the other I admire greatly. Well, that's not strictly true, of course -- I rather admire both of them, but for different reasons. The first one is a very dear friend I met at the Renaissance Faire while it was still a good

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078423350305201522002-02-24T18:01:00.000-08:002004-11-03T17:49:52.673-08:00

-- Porky Pig to Daffy Duck, "Robin Hood Daffy" And the world is, once again, slightly darker. It got dimmer when Douglas Adams left us last year (to whom my good friend, Ghost Rider, and I, still have a tribute song in process...). It got dimmer when George Harrison left us last year. Before that, it was Phil Hartman, and Jim Varney, and Dr. Seuss, and Mel Blanc, and Jim Henson (with

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078423227456844602002-02-14T21:58:00.000-08:002004-11-03T17:49:35.443-08:00

(It's not what it should be.) [Sorry, I've been a bit remiss, again. The Great Temporal Devourer has been visiting of late. To catch you up, briefly, I'm employed, somewhat gainfully. I thank whichever deity it was that decided to drop a credit card into my lap, as dangerous as it is. Without it, I'd not be able to fix my car. But I digress.] So here I am. February 14th.

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078422391385479462001-11-30T18:45:00.000-08:002007-02-23T16:56:50.031-08:00

(or, "How's that, again?") Those of you who visit this page might note that it's not been updated for quite a while; this is, by and large, due to the various happenings that some of us refer to as Life. Others of us refer to it by a somewhat different four-letter word. You know, as in, "Life Happens". Substitute appropriately. The last six weeks have been a whirlwind of business without

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078422303544136712001-10-15T21:34:00.000-07:002004-11-03T17:49:06.253-08:00

"You've got it good. Really. It could be worse, you know..." How many times have you heard a conversation head that way? You sit and bemoan your fate or your current situation, and someone invariably points out that it could be worse, that someone always has it worse than you. Sometimes you grow so accustomed to it happening that you do it to yourself after a while. And

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078421567849703702001-10-01T21:29:00.000-07:002004-11-03T17:48:51.093-08:00

(or, "Be careful for what you wish...") I seem to be blessed. Or cursed. I can't quite seem to figure out which. You see, I am afflicted with the ability granted to the entirety of the truly intelligent and powerful, the ones who have a better idea on how to go about wielding their energy than most of the general populace. In short, the kind of people that I would like to spend my

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6573045.post-1078420789535982052001-09-17T21:15:00.000-07:002004-11-03T17:48:33.546-08:00

(or, "Check your religion at the door?") I'll explain this in a bit. Who would have thought that my initial page would have been initiated by the destruction of the New York World Trade Towers? Certainly not I. I imagined something much less literally Earth-shattering and benign. But that's not what I got. For those of you who know me, you are aware of the many trials and

Sound Chaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08929464266642675179noreply@blogger.com0