Tagged by the 1st Mate

She tagged me with a bloggers game. Here are the rules: There are a few rules one must follow to play the game. When tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list eight random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to eight other people. So, here are 8 random things about me.

1. Cats love me. I've learned not to look at cats: don't make eye contact, they think you like them.

2. I get a headache every day. I've started clenching my teeth; don't know why. But it doesn't help.

3. I got my first pair of glasses in the fourth grade. For all the things that have bounced off my glasses, I would be blind if I didn't wear them (now you know where that saying comes from).

4. Somewhere I have a 36 year old daughter I have never seen. With or without glasses. And I don't know her name.

5. I have a fantasy that I never have to wear clothes again. And I have nightmares that I'm naked in public.

6. I don't know 8 other blogs. At least, right now I don't.

7. I believe that I can do anything I put my mind to. I'm trying to do everything and it's making me crazy.

8. Forget the "Golden Rule." The only thing that works for me is "The Serenity Prayer."

Ok Here's the movie...

Morgan OI 33 Sailboatv2

Morgan OI 33 Sailboatv2:

3D model by Jim

Updated Model of my 1973 Morgan Sloop with a proposed wind turbines, solar mounts and davit design.

On Stage Tonight...

The 1st Mate and I have been singing and playing in some of the nightspots in San Carlos in recent months. We just got our promo photos done and tonight, turned on GarageBand and did a quick little recording of our opening number. While Bliss sings, I play guitar and use a "vocalizer" to expand my voice into a quartet. Neat technology.  We use a backing track on an iPad for drums, piano and bass.
Hope you like it.

Goodbye, Dave. Goodbye, Steve.

This week my Uncle Dave passed away from a brain tumor. He was 87 and was surrounded by loved ones. Dave introduced me to sailing, and I now sail 2,000 nautical miles a year, on average. I was impressed as a child by his architectural renderings and became an artist, which led me to cartooning and illustrating in newspapers and magazines, and eventually, to publishing, where I am today (and the last 23 years). I'm still painting if I can find the time. Good for the soul. So it's safe to say that Dave was a phenomenal influence in my life. He was gentle and kind, but could be firm too. A good man. I'll miss him.

Also this week Steve Jobs died from pancreatic cancer. He was 56, and I always thought of him as being older than me.

When computers were first available to the public, I bought a Commodore 64 and taught myself BASIC programming. There weren't a lot of software titles at the time so if something interested me, I would have to write the software myself. A little later I learned to code in "assembly language" because BASIC programs ran so slow. Assembly was a library of three-letter codes that addressed the computer chip directly. It would only add and subtract, so if you wanted to divide or multiply, you had to figure that out for yourself. It was fun and challenging and I found myself dreaming code in my sleep.

Steve's Macintosh computers enabled me to take my artistic skills (see above) and make them commercially successful. Because of Apple's simple and elegant interface and software, I quickly developed the ability to start and run a publishing company and a commercial art and design studio. I found I could work at home and having gained that freedom, took it a step further and moved to Mexico where we run a publishing house from our condo near the beaches and our sailboat (also see above). I'm an Apple "fanboy" because Apple allowed me to write my own ticket.

I try to remember that when someone I admire passes on, that they are still in the universe... and therefore, still close by.

Woke up this morning, got myself a Gretsch.

For the past 10 or 15 years now, I've been buying Ibanez guitars... Acoustic, bass, semiacoustic, jazz acoustic, solid body... I gave the solid body guitar to the 1st Mate. She's taking lessons now and the Ibanez RG I bought from her son long ago is much easier to play than the acoustic guitar she has. That left a space on my wall for a new guitar.

When I was a teen and learning to play, I sold my moped for $50 so I could buy a new Sears-Roebuck black and white Silvertone electric guitar. My friend Bob Niesmith and I started a rock band called the Titans. We would play wherever we could, and eventually started getting paid for it.

My dream guitar was a Gretsch, like the one played by Chet Atkins. (At the time, I really didn't much care for the songs Chet played, 'cause they weren't cool. But I admired Chet's skill, and especially his Bigsby Tailpiece equipped Gretsch.) The Gretsch he owned would have bought a new Chevy Corvette in the early sixties, and I would have certainly bought the Corvette if I had that kind of cash...

Fast forward to 2011 and Chet has died and gone. I have a space on my wall. Gretsch now builds a line of guitars that are less than the "Chet Atkins Country Gentleman" that still fetches $4,000 and up. So I shopped around the internet until I found a lightly-used double-cutaway Gretsch Electromatic in a beautiful natural mahogany finish and I bought it.

I picked it up this week when we traveled north for a business trip. It's a fabulous guitar, and as much as I like the Ibanez quality/price balance, the Gretsch is heavenly.

My new favorite guitar, with a Bigsby Tailpiece. Stay tuned for some recordings later..   (pickin' & grinnin')

Screw Facebook

I got a notification from Facebook that I have 2 messages, 2 event invitations, several comments, etc. When I tried to log in they notified me that my account information had been "compromised." Whose fault is that? Guess who.

I logged on and after a grueling process of establishing a new password ("No, you can't use that. No, that one doesn't have any numbers. No, that password is in the Nigerian dictionery, etc.") they require me to upload a copy of a government-issued photo id. (That way the hackers will now have my drivers license to use to purchase weapons and drugs and kiddie porn).

Why does Facebook think I need them in my life? This company is an example of pure arrogance coupled with an unlimited sense of entitlement. I'm posting this to let all my friends know that Facebook is out of my life forever, and if they want to get in contact with me, they can just email it to me.

Anything with Facebook in the subject will be deleted before I even see it, unless of course, you attach your government-issued photo id to the email.