Kirk Banks Tournament 2011

My boys did really well at the Kirk Banks tournament this weekend. After losing our first two games on Friday, we won our two games by pretty good margins on Saturday and advanced to the Sunday game. We won our Sunday game 3 to 2, and it was a great game. We had two subs play on our team, and they fit in really well and apparently enjoyed playing on our team.

Drums

I am really loving playing drums right now. It's the one rock instrument that I haven't gotten proficient at. I think I'm almost good enough to play in a band. I sat behind the kit with some friends on guitar and bass awhile ago, and I was hooked.

These Roland drums are really great. The mesh heads provide a really nice bounce for the sticks, and playing "real" drums for my recordings allows nuances that are hard to do with programmed drums. And I love the range of tones too.

Now I just have to work up my double bass speed to do death metal. I was jamming to some Deicide yesterday and I can almost keep up with the drummer. For about 8 seconds.

The Governor

At the Supreme Court Justice swearing in ceremony for the partner of one of our friends, we found the Governor of Hawaii in the lobby, and asked his security guy if we could get a picture with the kids. My son has just about a foot more to be the same height!

My girls for the Winter 2011 season

I am really going to miss this team. They were just the most fun set of kids I've ever coached. Great positive attitudes and some good teamwork and skills. We didn't win every game, but we had a lot of fun and the kids developed some good strategies and foot skills. And really, that's what AYSO is all about.

The first picture is from my gift to the kids, a trip to the yogurt shop, to celebrate the end of the season. The second pic is from our trophy ceremony.

The Recyclecoaster

My son and I worked on a school project / contest to make a carnival ride out of recycled materials. We opted to do a cardboard box roller coaster. I wish we had more time to work on it. I would have tried to make the loop a little bigger, so the riders wouldn't be banging their heads while they went on it. We did try to score some voter points by including the principal, the teacher, and strategically selected students. I think we would have benefited from more color too. Though we didn't win the contest (the competition was stiff!), we were pretty proud of it!

Flame maple

I am a SUCKER for flame maple on guitars. On high quality guitars, this maple face is glued onto the top of the guitar, and is usually at least 1/4" thick. On cheaper instruments, there is a really thin veneer glued onto the top.

The most beautiful piece of flame maple I own is on my Ibanez BTB 1005 bass. It's such a deep, rich flame that doesn't disappear whatever angle you view it at. And look at how thick that top is!!


I think the flame on my Dean Time Capsule V is tied with the Ibanez above. The flame is slightly more obscured because of the transparent black finish, but you can still see the ripply effect:



The flame on my Paul Reed Smith Custom 22, in contrast, is very obscured by the red dye, which is also super hard to photograph. I'm considering having this guitar refinished to have the grain pop more. IMO the dye is a waste of a really high quality PRS top, which (for you guitar nerds) would now be classified as an artist series top or maybe even a private stock:


My new Les Paul Axcess has a beautiful top, and I'm starting to appreciate the fact that it is very unique and nowhere as perfect looking as my other guitars.



My MTD Kingston Heir 5 string fretless has a really nice flamed maple top:


Here's the back of my Gibson J-100 acoustic guitar, with the thin flames that I think is usually referred to as fiddleback maple.


My dad even bought me a bookmatched flamed maple set, which I hope to someday have commissioned into a custom guitar.



What I like most is that flame maple is an anomaly found in nature and you will have little imperfections that make a figure unique. I hate coming upon a nice flame maple topped guitar - makes me want to buy it!!

The greatest commercial ever

I love this commercial. It's the perfect blend of funny elements. First off, you have the tragically dorky Carl, who you kinda feel sorry for while you're laughing at him. Then you have the chick that just wants to be left alone and enjoy her cereal. The guy with the condescending voice is so out of place. And the girl that waves to Carl at the end is a funny touch.

The expressions on their faces are great. I love how Carl slides into the chair. I love how Carl can't make eye contact with the condescending guy. I love how condescending guy preaches while he's dipping his teabag.

It doesn't hurt that I'm a big proponent of fiber. I try to get as much fiber a day as I can, without going overboard and, ummm, suffering the consequences. I can easily get 25 grams of fiber a day. And by the way, did I mention that I care about your fiber too? If you're reading this, I hope you get a lot of fiber. Just please don't point to someone else's blog and tell me to care about their fiber.