Jimmy Kimmel went off the air for a few days. People voted with their wallets. They cancelled their Disney + subscriptions, they sent a loud clear message. Jimmy Kimmel is now back on the air.

Apple pulls key apps from the App Store that anonymously and safely allows communities some semblance of agency against the cruelty of this administration. Imagine the response being billions of dollars in returned Apple merchandise, overnight, cancelled Apple related subscriptions and iPhone orders.

Apple is not your enemy. Disney is not your enemy. Tim Cook is not your enemy. Google is not your enemy. But they wield power over our culture that can be reversed and channeled appropriately. We always say, money talks, people with money have the power, etc. Collectively we could easily use that as leverage, and put them into the appropriate position to say Fuck you, make me.

But we’re not doing that. We are bitching about how Tim Cook is bending the knee, online, dopamine achieved. My wife always reminds me about pointing fingers, there are three fingers pointing back.

The boy has been feeling a bit unsettled for the past few weeks, sometimes waking up at 4 or 5 am and ready to play or just do something. My wife and I have made a plan to slow things down around him and give extra support where we can without trying to push our agenda too much beyond the basics (food, play, bed time, wake up time, general hygiene).

I don’t know if he’s been feeling my own stresses since I was laid off (I certainly have been doing my best to keep that away but you know, kids, they really see this shit). I’m guessing some developmental milestones are happening too. He has amazing vocabulary but expression is a challenge for him (honestly since he was a baby).

I’ve probably applied to around 75 jobs so far, have had lots of support from former colleagues and friends in the form of referrals and connections. Rejections are starting to come in, otherwise, a lot of ghosting. Really is what it is and I just keep myself away from the pressure that can sometimes build (not always successfully).

On the drumming front, I had thrown out my back about a week ago and it’s only yesterday and today that it is starting to feel more normal. I managed to practice these past 48 hours and have been concentrating on repeating the same patterns over and over, changing only the dynamic. My hands and feet are able to play things these days that years ago caused mental struggles (and therefore physical manifestations of those struggles), but I’m super happy about how much I have progressed and without the distractions that can come with being part of a band or something. I do miss playing with other musicians, but all in due time I suppose.

Right now, I just wish for my boy to work through whatever is causing his feeling unsettled and supporting him by being close to both he and my wife.

On Tuesday, August 19th I am officially unemployed. As I dive in to the world of job hunting, I suspect I will need to remind myself of the below regularly. Joan Westenberg writes about The Compound Effect of Consistency, this isn’t secret sauce but it is nice to read it articulated in a concise manner.

So the question becomes: how do you engineer momentum?

Start by identifying the variables that compound. Knowledge, confidence, network effects - these are multipliers. Then strip away friction. Reduce decisions. Automate where you can. Create systems that make doing the thing easier than not doing it.

Colton Voege writes No, AI is not Making Engineers 10x as Productive.

I would extend this conclusion to any profession or craft:

There is no secret herbal medicine that prevents all disease sitting out in the open if you just follow the right Facebook groups. There is no AI coding revolution available if you just start vibing. You are not missing anything. Trust yourself. You are enough.

Oh, and don’t scroll LinkedIn. Or Twitter. Ever.

Also, the math doesn’t compute:

I think sometimes people lose the scale of just how big a 10x improvement is. 10x is the difference between your mini-van and a record setting supersonic land jet. Imagine trying to drive your 10 minute commute down your city streets in a car that goes 600mph. Will you get to the other side of town in one tenth the time? No, because even a single 60 second stoplight will eat up your entire time budget. F1 cars slow down to mini-van speeds in basic turns. It turns out that most of any activity is not spent going at top speed.

(via Tao of Mac)

It seems to me that if you’re touting as a company some sense of false inevitability that you will shed jobs due to technology, that tax incentives and subsidies should be revoked (of which they were established under the guise of bringing employment and economic growth).

Since it is inevitable, perhaps the removal of said tax incentives should be accelerated under the guise of inevitability).

“Hi John”

I received the WhatsApp notification on Monday from my dad. He never calls me John, so something was off already. I thought maybe somebody stole his phone, so I called. My mom picked up. She had texted me from his phone, he was at the hospital, waiting for the surgeon to come to fix his stent that was placed in him 10 or more years ago.

She said he was playing golf on Sunday, after the game he wasn’t feeling good. She and his friend took him to the hospital that evening. She didn’t sound worried, she was at home watching the news. She also didn’t sound like herself, maybe she was tired or perhaps she had worried herself to a tizzy earlier.

It was late Monday her time, she was tired and told me she would take his phone back to the hospital on Tuesday.

After hanging up she sent a few more WhatsApp messages, from his phone, telling me not to worry.

The next day she called (or maybe I did, my memory is now a little fuzzy) from his phone. This kept bothering me that she was communicating from his phone, something seemed more serious. She still didn’t share more details but surgery was going to happen soon.

She texted (again from his phone) and said surgery was done and it went well. I was still worried, it wasn’t clear to me how she was so calm (my mother loses her mind when my dad gets a simple flu). I later found out she had taken her anti anxiety/panic medication.

Once he was awake post-surgery I was finally able to talk to him.

It wasn’t just a simple problem with his stent. The stent had somehow gotten loose and punctured the wall of the aneurysm on his aorta while he was playing golf on Sunday. He was bleeding out.

After he was done playing he felt some pain pangs in his abdomen. He sat down to grab lunch. He drank a little bit of whiskey, the pain got worse. As the pain continued he felt weak, tired. He decided to leave for home and somehow drove himself back.

At home he told my mom he wasn’t feeling good. Sat in his chair to watch TV. Things started getting worse. He said he felt the worst chills he had ever experienced in his life. At that point, maybe 7 hours later, he decided to go to the hospital.

When they scanned him they found the issue with the stent. How did he not bleed out?

A small clot made it’s way through in the space between the aneurysm bubble and the loose stent and plugged the hole that had caused his internal bleeding.

This man should have been dead.

His vascular surgeon told him this was a 1 in millions odds of surviving. A puncture like that would have escalated quickly and he would have only had minutes. The surgeon had put in a new stent, as reinforcement to the original stent.

Dad is home now after a few days recovering at the hospital post surgery. He had lost almost 1 liter of blood, which currently is floating around in his abdomen, waiting to be absorbed by his body. They had given him a blood transfusion so he was mostly normal.

My parents live in Brazil, I never would have made in time to see him. That gratitude I feel that he made it through this (and sheer awe by the luck of it) consumes me at every minute.

I’m ecstatic you’re still in this world Dad. If you hadn’t made it, you at least would have had that last sip of whiskey. Since you get to have another sip, I’ll be there soon to toast with you.

❤️

This album is too good, and so is this song.

First shower heads and lo-flo toilets, now radiation standards offend these people (bold emphasis mine):

Trump tightens control of independent agency overseeing nuclear safety

NPR has also seen a draft of an executive order “ordering the reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.” The draft calls for reducing the size of the NRC’s staff, conducting a “wholesale revision” of its regulations in coordination with the White House and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team, shortening the time to review reactor designs and possibly loosening the current, strict standards for radiation exposure.

This week I have taken the plunge to learn WMA by Pearl Jam from their wonderful Vs. album.

There isn’t much on the internet (footage or tutorials) on this song which is too bad, but also a little refreshing. I think I’m close in my pattern, I still haven’t figured out how to incorporate the hi-hat part yet with everything else going on. And I can’t sustain the pattern through the entire song (while being in time)yet so going to spend more hours on it.

Soundgarden and Bill Withers played in the background today for most of the day…

I can’t imagine what job seeking must be like these days. This article calls out that roughly 60% of CFOs at companies have pessimistic views of the economy (they believe we will be in a recession as soon as the second half of this year).

Whether this administration forces a recession on us or through shear self-fulfilling prophecy, the likelihood of accelerated layoffs because of corporate austerity or actual economic events is becoming more real.

Since the elections I’ve amped up my rainy day fund savings and can’t shake the feeling that I need more. I had made some assumptions around ACA benefit needs but in researching the numbers tonight around coverage for me and my family here in the state of Nebraska, the outlook isn’t great: If I lost my job tomorrow I would be looking at anywhere from $1400-$2800 per month in healthcare premiums. Nebraska just doesn’t participate in ACA in the same way more progressive states do.

This is bananas. I am fortunate, and privileged, in that I work for a tech company (which also means highly volatile) and that I still have a job. I am considered a high performer in my current role. But I can only hope for the best and plan for the worst, and the ticking hands of that worst clock appear to be moving closer to that dreadful hour.

I am not economically rich, far from it. I am rich in the important ways, I have a wonderful wife and beautiful son, they help counter that clock and fill me with joy every day. All I have to do is show up for them every day and do one thing.

I’m a big fan of Becca Farsace’s YouTube channel. She’s a natural at vlogging and I miss her content when she was at the Verge. Today she posted about her two weeks with the Light Phone III and it echoes the review from Wired that I read previously. It all boils down to the gamble being: will you have a stable software experience with this (temporarily priced?) $600 phone and the answer seems to be no out of the box, in particular SMS issues (can send but not receive, quirkiness with group chats) and camera responsiveness.

I love the industrial design of the device (not sure how it feels in hand), with its Dieter Rahms-esque black box with a speaker grill. Also the photo quality (akin to mid-2015s aesthetic) drives a little bit of nostalgia while preserving perfectly serviceable shots.

The texting thing will be more difficult for the Light Phone crew to solve. Some of it could be carrier related, but in a world where your number is registered to iMessage or Google’s RCS service, things can sometimes linger even if you de-register the mobile from your previous service creating the “send but can’t receive” scenario.

I suspect I would enjoy the device, but no WhatsApp is a deal breaker (supposedly they are working on it), as this is the primary way I communicate with my parents abroad.

For the time being, I will stick with my minimized iPhone 13 mini and keep it stock/barebones with only essential apps and no social media.

American Brexit (members only article) from Taegen Goddard’s excellent Political Wire.

This has been my main source of political news for the past few months and my mental health is grateful for it. Highly recommend the subscription.

And Britain, according to independent estimates, is now 10% poorer than it would have been had it remained in the EU.

The public seems to agree. Recent polling shows more than two-thirds of Britons now believe Brexit has gone badly.

That’s not just buyer’s remorse—it’s the realization that an entire country willingly made itself poorer for the sake of ridiculous political slogans.

Now, apparently, it’s America’s turn.

Hoping that buyer’s remorse doesn’t last 10 years for the US.

Yes, we seem to be surrounded by them these days don't we? I'm not referring to those vultures, but instead the John Mayer song from his 2006 album "Continuum". The drummer on the album is the great Steve Jordan along with Pino Palladino (gosh if there were ever a bass player that I wish I could jam with it would be Mr. Palladino).

I don't nor have I really paid attention to John Mayer, I have always paused however when I hear a song that have these rhythm juggernauts playing on the track. That was the case with this song "Vultures"*. It is a simple, tight bass and drum groove with tasty guitars and fairly decent vocals. I came across a live performance of Steve Jordan playing it and the groove hit hard.

So I decided to do one of my one take drum covers. I listen to the song once, chart out a basic form and get a sense of the feel and press record. It was nice to feel motivated behind the kit again, a nice distraction from what has been going on lately. Here's my drum performance of the song:

*Goes without saying that I hold no copyright or ownership of this music, the drum performance in this track is mine for my own musical education purposes. All rights are reserved by the respective copyright owners.

Peter Erskine, famous jazz drummer from the likes of Weather Report and other, put out some drumless tracks that are available for purchase on iTunes. I purchased a handful of them and have been enjoying coming up with parts.

Counting the days for Christmas/New Years break. I am taking a little over two weeks off of work. No travels really but lots of play with the family, and much needed rest.

• After seemingly months of not playing, I managed to have some time with the sticks and recorded a cover of "Between Two Points" performed by David Gilmore and his daughter, Romany. The original song was written by The Montgolfier Brothers back in the 2000s.

Full song cover:

• We went to a Christmas tree farm to get our tree. They have a lovely red barn where kids can go upstairs to an open space a play with toys, skateboards and other fun vehicles. I tried the skateboard, it's the first time in like 30 years that I've hopped on one.

• It has been abnormally warm here in central Nebraska. Today was 62, sunny, no wind. Most days have been similar. I hope January doesn't clobber us like it did last year.

• My crazy work hours has kept me away from the news, I'm all the better for it to be honest.

It’s a short week this week due to Thanksgiving. The 12 plus hour days I’ve been putting in regularly for the last 3 months has made it difficult to wind down (I woke up today at 2 am, granted I think I fell asleep at 8pm).

• Lot’s of reflection on finances.  While I would love to be in a fuck you money situation, my goal is to be able to have the occasional go pound sand money.
• Tied to the above, mainly gearing up for the change in administration in January (and next 4 years).  I really can’t predict or time things but have come to the conclusion to prepare for the worst and acknowledge or reap the rewards of any successes that come up.
• My work will undergo major shifts this upcoming year. Lots of unknowns within that statement, but I work with talented, wonderful humans.
• My son is becoming more musical every day (lyrically and sonically).  He’s also discovering (and appreciating) the nuance of comedy.  I can listen to him all day (and often do).
• My wife and I have a lot to do still to focus on what’s in our control for the next year, next 5 years, next 20 years.  Lots of big decision making experiences we need to go through. We both agree on the need to simplify and reduce stress as key outcomes.
• I’ve been listening to David Gilmour’s new record. It’s lovely, and of course Steve Gadd is playing drums on it.

Boeing has been shooting itself in the foot since the early days when they decided to move their HQ from Seattle and “innovated” by outsourcing shit. But sure, let’s blame the workers in Seattle, who produced high quality airplanes up until leadership changes decided that quality and engineering takes a back seat to perceived shareholder value: (gift link) The Machinists Take Boeing Hostage

As we ease into September, I can feel autumn making it’s way to our trees. The light already feels different from just a week ago.

I’ve been enjoying the hot Nebraska summer days and nights since we moved here. In particular working outside and enjoying some ice cold NA beer after yard chores or some other activity. I don’t have a lot of access to NA beer brands (Athletic Brewing was my goto when we were still in Seattle) in my small rural central Nebraska town, but compared to last year the options have opened up. Here’s my top 5 list for the beers I’ve enjoyed this summer, hopefully more brands will make it to stores here next year.

1. Run Wild IPA (Athletic Brewing Co): Just a great hoppy, crisp IPA. Not always in stores but I stock up when they appear.
2. Stella Artois Liberte: Ice cold, comes in glass bottle. Tastes like the real thing.
3. Heineken 0.0: I love ice cold glass bottled Heinekens.
4. Just the Haze IPA by Sam Adams: This one was a surprise, I never liked Sam Adams before but this has been regularly stocked and doesn’t overwhelm you with malt like the real stuff does. A crisp, lighter IPA.
5. Busch NA: Another surprise (and always stocked and cheap). These are crisp, flavorful (light bitterness a la pilsner). I keep these near freezing and am pleasantly surprised that I would be touching a Busch beer product.

In the coming months I will be shifting to Guiness NA as temps cool down.

I have nothing against streaming music (I do so on occasion), but I prefer buying my music and downloading on to my device. iTunes used to be really great at this. In the last two or more years, I keep running into this glitch where 1) I buy an album from iTunes on my iPhone. 2) The tracks all go through the “Downloading” motions and successfully download. 3) New album or songs don’t show up on my Apple Music library for anywhere between 2 - 24 hours.

Rebooting or killing Apple Music process does nothing to accelerate anything showing up on my library.

Yesterday, while accidentally deleting a song off of a playlist, the album I purchased not 3 hours prior magically showed up.

“Could it be that by manipulating a track list in a playlist resets the library somehow to show the recently downloaded track(s)?” - my brain

Yes, my friends, this is indeed the case. I tested this by buying a track, creating a playlist called “Test” and adding a random song from my library.

Bam, track shows up in my library immediately.

What was once a service I never had to think about on my phone, now requires multiple steps to get a purchased piece of music to show up in my library.

I’ve been messing around with my drums and mic setup and I think I’ve dialed in the sound how I want it. One of the things I’ve been practicing is taking a song with lots of space and introducing little snippets of tension in the time without losing the pulse. Super fun exercise, and when done right, downright musical (not saying I have achieved this). Here’s a snippet of the song “Eat the Elephant” by A Perfect Circle that I played my own drum interpretation over:

It is bitterly cold today in central Nebraska. Wind chills of -38 degrees Fahrenheit to be precise. Absolutely gross. I could have chosen to binge watch a show or two in bed all day, instead I chose to play drums for 5-ish hours.

During my teens, playing along for hours with headphones, to Pearl Jam or Nirvana was fun, but created a lot of fatigue due to shitty headphones, blasting the music way up to counter the loudness of the drums. As I resolved to pick up the drums again, I knew that not only protecting my hearing would be important, but also recording my playing to listen back on what I can improve on would be vital.

I came across various YouTube drummers recording their videos and noticed their drums didn’t appear to be closely mic’d, in fact I couldn’t detect microphones at all. Reading some of their equipment descriptions led me to this crazy little product from Yamaha: the Yamaha EAD-10. It’s a little stereo microphone that attaches to your bass drum and connects to a brain/processing unit (the mic also can act as a trigger for your bass drum, and you can purchase separate triggers to attach to your snare, toms etc for added sound capabilities).

This little device has been absolutely amazing. I can connect my smartphone or laptop to the brain and record audio from my drums in near studio quality.

Here's what it looks like on my bass drum:

Yamaha Companion App: Rec ‘N’ Share

Yamaha has a companion smartphone app called Rec ‘n’ Share available in the App Store or Google Play Store. This app is what makes this equipment shine. The app is functional and fairly basic (certainly could use some better design touches) but it really makes it easy to either record your drums/practice session and organize them or load a track from your music library to play along to (it even has some ML features that can split the instruments of a track so you can mute them and record your parts into the track). Its main premise is to also record video from your phone as well as the drums track so you can share on YouTube (I have no intention of publishing on YouTube).

My Practice Sessions

I made a commitment to play at least one hour every day. Thankfully I have stuck to this since August when I got my drum studio set up. When I purchased this mic back in November of 2023, my sessions immediately increased to averaging several hours every day.

Here’s a sample of a drum track. I literally started a new recording on my phone, the app gives me a countdown from when I press record, and I played for a few seconds then stopped the recording and shared the track via Airplay to my Mac (the app bounces the track to a .M4A file but I can also extract a .WAV).

Here’s a sample of just the drums:

And here’s an example where I stripped the drums with the app from a song I recorded with one of my old Seattle bands and recorded a new drum track to the original instruments:

There literally is no step 3 to this! I plug in and press record and voila! I have been extremely happy with the results, and it allows me to analyze what areas to focus on if I’m in a practicing mindset, or just jam at all hours to my song library.

15-year-old me would be truly amazed at what technology has enabled me to do musically, and this technology has brought back a joy that I haven’t felt since I was 15.