My Router Rout

I just got finished installing a Linksys router into my system config at the house. The problem was that I had bought a Belkin card and wireless router to integrate with a Westell DSL modem and my Mac. Didn't work. Not the config. We figured that out after 4 phone calls to my ISP Verizon and a bunch of plugging and unplugging and moving the pc into the kitchen to see if we could get signal. It ended up being the router itself. Long story short, Belkin folks let me down.

I exchanged that junk for Linksys. The Geek squad at Best Buy along with a number of other dudes who have used the Cisco powered blue for quite some time kept recommending it. After a couple of on line chats with Linksys and a phone call to Verizon, we got that piece of crap PC running at a good speed. And on top of that, the MAC continues to do well with this new hookup.

Spring

Bachelors Buttons
Originally uploaded by banj.

I had to put this up. Is it a great shot? Hands and knees, bent over as far as my self can, focusing, compositioning, thinking, and...here's the results. i like it. Hope you do too.

Turco Awesome!

Turco Awesome!
Originally uploaded by banj.

Sunday afternoon me and Ms. got to do the Stars game against Calgary. Calgary was 3rd in the west with Dallas at 2nd. It was an incredible afternoon of hockey! We had great seats in the lower tier. I have not seen a NHL game with that much physicality since the early 00's. Dallas of course pulled out a 3.2 win. Modano scored while they were at our end. That made it all worth while. Season tickets? If I could only pull it off. All I need is someone to share next year and I'm in!

Buck

Buck
Originally uploaded by banj.

Buck Owens died today at the age of 76 at his home in Bakersfield. I wasn't a great fan, but did go to see him at the Green Country Danceland in Poteau, Oklahoma in 1976. That was because even then, he was an icon in the world of country music. I was only 16 at the time.

He was a big part of the Hee Haw television show days, and he had a number of songs that topped the charts in the 1960's and 70's. Buck was born in Sherman, Texas in 1929. In fact Texas folks, Hwy 75 Central Expressway as it weaves through the Sherman/Denison townships is named "Buck Owens Expressway."

I guess if I had to pick one song that summed up Buck it would be "Act Naturally" from the year 1989. Buck Owens definately left his mark in American music.

Our Newest Covers

You know what "cover songs" are, right? It's doing someone elses material, sometimes with a twist? My brothers the Sausage Kings are great inovators. We do mostly covers on everything from Greenday to Bill Monroe. Here's a list of our newest efforts:

U2, In the Name of Love
Billy Idol, White Wedding
3 Doors Down, Kryptonite
Elvis, It's Alright Now Mama
T-Rex, Ban a Gong

You may say. "Ok, sweet, sounds cool, hmmm, so what?" Well really you would be right if it were a bunch of guys with electric guitars, drums, keyboards, etc. But we of course are a "newgrass" band. That's bluegrass with such a twist that they'd throw us out of a bluegrass festival in a NY minute. It's great stuff though. Stuff like you ain't never heard! But ya shud.

RAIN!

Remember when we were all crying about how dry it was? What an incredible weekend of rain and thunderstorms! It was nice to see, but in some places around DFW such as Grand Prarie, there were over 8 inches of total rainfall. WFAA is reporting one death of an SMU student that was driving a convertible in Turtle Creek. Evidently when the high water came in over the doors there was nothing else to do but bail. She was then swept away by the waters. I'm sorry to hear of such a tragedy. People need to realize that the water is one of the strongest forces of nature and it doesn't take much to overpower us.

Speaking of Channel 8, check out their new web feature. FAA, so innovative, always on the cutting edge.

Texas Music Revolution

TMR is being held this weekend at Southfork Ranch, and even though I've done the radio production gig for the last couple of years, I've never been. I think that Ms. and I are probably going to make a trek through the rain and the mud and check it out this year. I'm not planning on a long stay, I'd just like to catch the scene and have a feel for the atmosphere. The two biggest names there, and the only ones I'd care to see, are Robert Earl Keen and Radney Foster. They are both the last ones to go on tonight, so it is very likely I won't catch their acts. And no, I'm not going to wear a crushed cowboy hat, it's really just better not to.

Stephen Arnold

Stephen Arnold Music is a production/distribution company for signature news music. They have clients all over the United States. What this means is when you hear the guitar and trumpet intro to your favorite ten p.m. local news broadcast, no matter what big city or market you are in, if it's good, it's Stephen Arnold. "What's so cool about this?" you may ask. What's cool about it is that they are located in McKinney, Texas. There are only a few players in this business, and SA is one of the big guys. They have a awsome studio location in the woods just outside of town. For those of you in the Dallas/FW market, if you listen to WFAA or KXAS news you're listening to SA.

I've got a meeting tomorrow to work out my stations new signature. I've been signed with them for 7 years now, but when I get to be a part of the studios I feel blessed to get to get involved with this end of the biz. The end I should be in, in the first place.

New Boom

Wired magazine along with other pb's report that the new age of internet is indeed a "boom." Not a "bubble" as we witnessed in the late 90's, because bubbles break. This is a full fledged boom that is beginning to take place NOW. They report that there is a buzz in silicon valley and that there are rumors of 7 figure signing bonuses coming from the leading (or soon to be) companies. The interesting thing about all of this is that it seems that some of the things that were set sail during the "bubble" are still on course and have become what they were predicted to be, even as the bubble went south and left so many unemployed the plans made during that era perservered. Plans such as widespread high speed connections, i.e. DSL. On line shopping, bought anything at all lately?

I'm excited about this. There are many solid companies with solid financial backing that are todays players. Pay close attention. If you are over twenty years old, you may start to notice something very familiar. Something that may get a whole lot better.

Toby

Toby
Originally uploaded by banj.

His agent called and said that I had to give him some publicity. He's been starring in a recent hit called Streetlevel Lover. I'm not proud of it, because it's not a family oriented type of story. It's about this Casinova that lurks in the evening looking for females that just need a little attention and understanding. If another would be lover even challenges him for the attention, it usually ends up in a duel. It can be somewhat gorey as I've seen what he goes through. Torn ears, missing hair, even missing eyelashes. Not the kind of injuries one needs when out on the town trying to look so suave. Anyway I hope this post gets the job done. I get tired of all of the whining from the agency. He's really not that good. Plus he's been gaining alot of weight lately. The douche bag!

I'M ON THIS PICTURE THING

duchess
Originally uploaded by banj.

I was wanting a little flash to my site, so I decided to add some pictures for my next few posts. There's been no great topics here, but in looking through my files I am putting forth a very few of my favorites. I was at the McKinney park area off of Wilsons Creek a few Sundays back (while Ms. was laid up), along with Duchess. She was so happy to be out and run and chase! She's so fast that almost every picture I took was blurred or just out of focus. Couldn't catch up with her! In this shot she's looking at the ducks as they scampered off back into the water. She left them alone for the most part, but liked to run full speed and then stop when she reached them. Silly girl! Good dog!

Cad Ranch

Cad Ranch
Originally uploaded by banj.

They do this to the art. It's art on art in Amarillo. I came up with this photo from last July. It was hot and windy, typical west Texas. How 'bout that differential?

Do the Tango!

tango electric
Originally uploaded by banj

I don't know why, I just thought it was cool. This ride was featured along with 4 others in this month's issue of a Wired magazine. And just for the sake of informational content, George Clooney drives one. The Tango goes 0-60 in like 4 seconds and has a range of 80 miles before the bunny wears out. Think of how highways would have to built if this was normal travel.

Home

We got into Little Rock around 8:30 on Sunday night. I hadn't seen the Clinton Library after dark before. I won't get into politics, but I'll just say that the structure and it's lighting effects are really impressive.

A side note; Sunday was Ms. and my anniversary, the twenty-third...yes I remembered. After checking into our hotel, we got settled, had some drinks, and then ended up watching the top 40 fashion do's and dont's of the year. Amazing, but I didn't realize that tie dyed was out, what's with that? The bed in the hotel room was pure greatness! The only problem was that we didn't get enough sleep, and not because we were busy (hey, we've been married 23 years, we're boring), but because we stayed up way to late.

Monday morning in central Arkansas was absolutely gorgeous. No wind, 75 degrees and a sky as blue as the Lord made blue. We arrived ahead of time at the church building right along with the rest of the band. We then made our way to a back room to run over the three songs we were to perform. Our warm up was flawless. There's truly something magical that happens when we are together. The music is so full, the dynamics and timing are so strong, and the harmonies are so sharp that it makes you realize why our brand of new grass is so uncommon.

Around 200 people attended the funeral. Following the opening statement, we played a medley which was concieved by my friend during his long drive from Fayetteville. After the first song we all took a seat in the choir section. After the second preacher spoke, we played again. My friend who feels more like a brother to me spoke to the audience about his dad and shared some of his childhood memories. He got through it, but barely. The remainder of us sit misty eyed holding our instruments in anticipation of the next song. When prompted we again singled filed into the pulpit to perform the final song, "I'll Fly Away." Before we began everyone in the building was asked to stand and sing with us. Some did, but some wept. Overall, I thought it to be very inspirational. It was in fact the most uplifting funeral service I had ever attended.

We followed the precession to the National Cemetery just outside of North Little Rock. It was such a peaceful place, located among small hills with patches of gravesites located along a meandering road. Upon arrival, members of the U.S. Coast Guard stood at attention as the body was carried to it's final resting place. The U.S. flag was folded and taps were played. A few handshakes, hugs and words of thanks and wisdom were passed around among the many friends and family members. Soon after the service all of us departed in different cars, in different directions and headed back to life as usual.

Ms. and I on the other hand, bought bologna and cheese at the nearby Wal Mart Neighborhood Market. We then made our way onto Interstate 40 then south on to I-30. In just four hours we were back in Greenville, Texas, but instead of turning traveled straight into Dallas to the Lemmon Ave. Whole Foods Market for something to take home for dinner. We're now back safely.

I love Arkansas.

Someones Dad

I consider the guitar player for the Sausage Kings to be one of my dearest friends. I can't exactly pinpoint why. We've shared a lot of personal stories over the last 10 years and at times called each other we were at our worst. I guess that combined with a strong mutual respect for each others musical ability makes it somewhat easy to see him that way.

His father passed away after a couple of months of serious illness. It was on Friday. He called me to tell me that he was on his way to Little Rock because his dad had passed away. I called him back and left a message that if he needed me or anything at all, just call. He did. I spoke to him today and it felt as if he was doing quite well at first. But as the conversation ran it's course, I knew that was not the case. He talked about how his dad had been responsible for one of his first musical attractions. This coming from a man who couldn't play a note. The song was "I'll Fly Away." He said that as a boy his dad had brought this song to his attention. His reaction to his father was that "we didn't sing this in church." He followed that up by weeks of search records stores for vinyl and sheet music for the tune. In time, he found it and that, was the first song he learned on the guitar. What a story.

I'll be playing banjo at the funeral on Monday morning. His dad never liked the banjo. But after a gig in Arkansas a few months back, he in a conversation with my friend said this: "I don't like the banjo. But boy I sure do love to hear that Joel play." That's very touching to me. So much so that I'll play the banjo for him one last time, on Monday morning.

Avoidance

I was going to avoid talking about stuff like the weather, but wasn't today great?