Well, not really. A nasty sore throat changed a planned vacation day into a sick day, a trip to the doc resulted in antibiotics, but the night belonged to the funk. IDC live @ Trip.

The official inspection of a new training system that is destined for EU. That was a tidy 7 hour meeting...but now my throat hurts. As in really hurts. But I have gigs coming up. This isnt good.

Slogging through a largely unproductive week. At least I dragged my sorry arse to class, albeit for only the first hour. A mans gotta know his limitations. Tomorrow will have to be productive...sometimes you have no choice. Deadlines are good for that.

no, not that kind. A rehearsal of nostatic jazz, prepping for a couple of gigs. Funny thing about all this playing...I might actually know how to sorta play my instrument.

Back to business. Two PIF gigs in the valley, then hustle back to SM to swap gear, then to Hollywood for IDC rehearsal. The good news is that the Roscoe killed. The bad news is the ergos just arent going to fly so back to VA itll go. Sad face. But a replacement will be ordered. Happy face.

A return to our mis-spent youth. Harry came by to check out my new toys and me his, then breakfast at the counter at Norms with st as well, then a walk to Trutone where Harry and I spent about 2 hours playing various guitars, basses and pedals. And didnt buy anything. That *is* like the old days, since we didnt have any money back then... Then a ride on the bike to Neptunes nest for a late lunch. Who ordered winter? Geez...

Hmm - love the new bass, except for the short horn that makes it damn near impossible to play in the first position while standing. Arggh.

A double header for the boy - piano lesson at 6pm and drum lesson at 8pm. St had to proctor the drum lesson so that I could head to tai chi class. The terms were if the lesson was done well, the boy could get his Runescape bots as an early b-day gift. Result? Evidently best drum lesson ever. Bribery does wonders...*sigh*

mmm, spalted...

As another MCIT system nears completion (well, actually semi-completion) a quick-and-dirty set of edits to add title cards for sequence testing. Cut, render, transcode, repeat.

Another back to my roots (sort of) session. Doing some voice-over for a project at work (not mine). Hmm, maybe I could have been a contender. Never too late for a 3rd, um, 4th, no, 5th career...

Heres your full day (all times PST): 0130 wake 0330 board flight BOS-LAX 1030 land, mistakenly wait for ride on departure level 1200 cook late breakfast 1400 audition in Noho 1630 cook quick dinner 1700 pick up the boy 1800 rehearsal in Hollywood 2200 return home, plop on couch 2300 zzz

Day two of the game jam. Well, actually this is at the Sugar Shack near the Alewife station. Jam went well. Margarita was stiff. The captain is in control...

Apologies to Ben Folds. Day one of a "game jam" in Cambridge, MA. Evidently these are "projects". Super. I've seen far worse...

sigh...

sigh...

Not mullets, mallets. Turns out the boy will be in the percussion section, and that means a smattering of tools of the trade. You got yer SD1 sticks (for snare), timpani mallets, xylophone mallets, yarn mallets, and of course bells. Everyone needs bells...

Vegas is an odd place. I dont gamble (though will admit to spending hours watching poker on TV), dont drink to excess, and dont really like campy live shows. As such, Vegas isnt high on my attraction list. It does have one redeeming facet though - people watching. You certainly have a floor show that is live 24/7. As long as you can avoid the depression that seems to encircle some there, it is a fascinating study of human nature. Or perhaps better said as zombie nature. I just dont get slot machines...

I have had the pleasure of dining at some excellent sushi places over the years. Probably most notable being The Hump (and now, notorious, after they were shut down for serving whale sushi). Turns out that Nobu is housed within the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas (where we were staying), so we figured, "why not?" In a word - sublime. Perhaps the best sushi we've ever had. And that is saying something. The red snapper was ridiculous, and the amaebi was stunning. Seriously. Oh, and the Mia Margarita was a hit as well.