Krampus for Christmas part 12

With a furry fist Krampus laid the store greeter out, running off briskly when the shoppers started to shout.  "Happy Holidays" you would have thought it a curse, but to Krampus no other christmasy greeting was worse.  No Humbugs or Grinches hid within his heart, only yuletide kid eating vengeance made happy with the holidays start.  But these jolly merry Kwanzaas made his blood run cold. 

Sure Krampus remember all the ancient traditions of old, he sometimes mistook Santa for Odin if truth be told. He remember time before it was called Christmas, the wintry yule. Before he was reigned in by Santa, Krampus was even more cruel. Now with Christmas his lot was cast even if all the Xmases had finally past.

More Metal than You

I am not sure but I may be done with The Bone 107.7, and the reason is Madden.  I can't really believe I am saying this but he is worse than Lamont and Tonelli.  While the morning show staff are hackneyed Madden offends me on a visceral level. The term constantly springing to mind is Poseur. Paul Baloff would cream this creep.

The bone has been in a slide for years, really since Billy Steel left the air.  Under Larry Sharps, cooperate schil, deft hands the station slowly threw out the format that made them special in favor of a more generic AOR format.  Really they have returned to the format KSJO held prior to their format change.  This slide has continued under Derek Madden's guidance, only more so.  Listening today I found something truly generic, bland and soulless.

The problem with Madden is he seems a neophyte to the classic rock genre.  As an on air personality he comes off clueless, with utterly boring and wrote comments on who he considers paragons of the rock genre.  This certainly isn't metal!  One should know what has come before and understand where it all came from.  Thin Lizzy, UFO, Beckett and Deep Purple should be well known bands by any Iron Maiden fan.  Madden seems a product of the modern rock genre.

I have stated this before but I could easily see a station coming up and using The Bones old format, do put them out of business.  Just use the KOME call letters and you have a built in fan base.  Play something that hasn't been drilled into my head for twenty five years and you have another.

Krampus for Christmas part eleven

Krampus wandered the park in wonder even though all was turned down and dark.  Little scenes of Christmastide lay still, long past closing time.  The beast looked on smiling at how with no people no peddlers it got Christmas right.  In rain lights shined on the roadway all looking lonely in depth of night. 

Krampus left wind rushing through his hair, upon an old motorbike sidecar equipped for flair.  On through the houses alight with Christmas light bulbs shining against the night.  He turned down unknown streets to see houses made up with zeal.  Most streets had but a few but one street he stopped skidding with a squeal.

All the houses even the trees shined out blanketing the scene in weight.  Like new fell snow drooping down every branch.  He rode slow hushedly looking on happy feeling great.  This was a street to remember and check in on again.  Give the kids a good hearted haunting

Image comes from  Amoeba blog

Krampus for Christmas part ten

After his rounds to the bad kids of the town, our monster needed a drink.  Down the corner hid the lowest of dives all dark and full of beery stinks.  But it was warm and full and merry, so Krampus ordered himself twelve Tom and Jerry's.  He slowly got plastered the rest of the night.  There was singing of ancient rhymes and childlike delight, rumming and drumming til the monsters head was a'humming. Then one last call ended it all.

They spilled upon the street couples and gangs and some singles lonely with heart broken pangs.  Krampus was leaving when he heard words spoken hard and desperate.  Down a dark alley a date ended poorly.  The girls No's changed the monsters mood sorely.  With a bound Krampus sprang to see what was the matter.  A man meager like a mouse grabbed and pawed at a scared woman's blouse. Krampus now was mad, angry, pissed , full of furry, he was perturbed.  High on Christmasy vengeance he made the man bite the curb. Then a swishy switch'n along with screaming was heard.  Once twice the whipping was strong and even like the tide.  The villain wouldn't be sitting after the tanning of his hide.

long after the beating he left with the lady, clinging to his arm.  She laughed and was happy despite herself from Krampus's charm.  Leaving her at her doorstep but asked to call again, nothing serious just to check on his new friend.

Krampus part nine (though these aren't in order)

The little girl came home to music ringing over the fence from the neighbors backyard.  Singing and ringing out songs of Christmas under a veil of stars.  One wore a tuxedo and one was a bum. Longhair and gentile playing guitar the other singing and drinking rum.  Haggard and ragged the hobo's voice  burned warm and sweet, of bars and lamp lights and drinks coming for free.  Idunn listened long past her bedtime hidden under her bed.  Sleeping, dreaming of bums and sugar plumbs swimming in her head.

Summer nights and my radio

Somewhere deep in the parks near home I am missing the light shatter through the oak leaves in a hide out beneath the trees. Sitting on stones like hills baring their bones.  Weakened wind breathing out and in breaking the heat as I sit on my rocky seat.  Giving life to shadowy islands in this suns sea of light.  God I want for night!  Cars and cool air and sprinkled water smell everywhere. Freezer touch on my skin and midnight trips to seven eleven.  Dogs out the windows waiting again to drive.  Only in those colder moments toward morning feeling alive. 

machines of loving Grace

I finished the first episode of Adam Curtis's "All Watched Over by machines of loving grace" documentary last night.  I am a big fan of Curtis's other work, he is a person I would love to meet and talk with.  His work reminds me of Burke's connections and the day the universe changed.  While I loved "The Trap" and "Century of Self"  I am not as captivated by this work.  The Trap had an electrifying metal stimulation to it, but Machines of loving Grace makes very interesting points.  I am hoping a more connected response to the second episode.

Much of the material in the first episode "Love and Power" is financial and Randian.  I am not interested in finance much to my bank accounts dismay and I am often leery of Rand.  As a Rush I have heard about Rand for years, 2112 is a retelling of Anthem.  Her ideas are oddly dangerous in their presentation, but not for the reasons many expect.  The idea of the secret club of doers who actually moves the world seems to appeal to many the wrong person.  Most upper managers I have know love that shit, when they have never thought up or build anything.

The Randian hero isn't Steve Job it isn't even Waz, its both of them as one.  And over time of getting away from doing, dreams and money even a Randian hero ceases. 

To get into my own philosophical and political leanings, they would be called chaotic at best.  I like self action without controls being put in place.  I down right hate a big group of people telling the individual what to do.  I always see the one as superior to the group as the act of grouping destroys self.

As such the ideas of the Californian ideology and Objectivism are appealing to me.  But you can see machinism as a folly, computers are not yet smarter than the people that program.  And the thought of feedback presented in the show seems more an attempt to catch a ghost in the machine.


 Additional.  I have seen the second episode and I found it much more to my liking.  I would love to watch the third episode the money in the machine and the machine in the monkey but I can not find it.  If you can point me in the right direction it would be great. 


Jim Rickel 

Crescent Star Progressive Rock score card 9

Silly Love: This was sort of my reaction and tribute if you will to hearing Daniel Johnston's song from the Fun album.  I recently watched the movie the devil and daniel johnston and learned about him there.   It was a really good documentaty I really recommend.


The Metal: This comes from the pick of destiny soundtrack by Tenacious D.


Shadow Self: This comes from Kevin Gilberts Thud record.  I think I was getting at a past or second self here.

Cuz theyre more than meets the eye: Is a line from We care a lot by faith no more back when they had chuck mosley on vocals.   I have no idea why I used this as the title really.

Sad wings of destiny: This is the second of Judas Priests records. I think I liked the idea of destiny as everything is speeding out of control but not crashing at this point.

They call me the working man:  Obviously from Rush's first record.

Ladybug's picnic: Comes form Seasame street and was written by Bud Luckey and Donald Hadley

Head Games: Is the title track from Foreigners third record.  I really just wanted something with game in the title lol.


Sleep Come on me soon:  This is a line from david gilmours so far away from his first solo record.


Toy Soildiers: comes from Martika's record, i think she only had one.  There are no songs about painted pewter miniatures that I know of so this had to do.


Bytes break into bit: You should know my love of Rush by now.  This is a line from the body electric off Grace under pressure.  An underrated record as all of them are awesome.

Used with Conviction:  This is a line from Hallowed Point off Slayers Seasons in the Abyss.  I was just looking for a song about guns, saturday night special by lynrd skynrd would have done just as well, but i like metal.

Signal to noise:  This is a song off Peter Gabriels Up record.  It also is what I find too often on my HD stations

Too many things are evident: This is a line from Iron Maidens Infinite dreams.  This is on their Seventh Son record, their most progressive record.

Tyr:  I was sort of getting at the viking metal band from the Faroe Island here.  Just trying to go with a viking them.

My Last Attack:  This is a song by Holy Grail off Crisis in Utopia.  These guys are great and give me hope for metal.

Colorado: This is a song off of Flying Burrito Brothers self titled third record.  This was back when Rick Roberts had vocals for the band.

Colorado

The night draws past the mangled memories to something new.  Selfward looking eyes fall upon someone else and Aloysius begins.  Ranging to autumn lands made new in their burnt in dreams.  This once and future land mingled and mixed though soon to oily separate upon awake.  Now Aloysius climbed secret steps hidden for the alien but yawning wide for the alienated.  This where once he belonged, friended and enthronged.

My Last Attack

I have been working on creating subject bookmarks for everything in the site.  I hope this makes it easier to reach older posts that are possibly related to something you are interested in.  There are a few running topics.  Please let me know if there is anything else you might want from the site.  I want to be useful to people.

Thank you for your thoughts

Jim Rickel 

Anthem

Growing dark in the sun the things we've done, smile down knowing we are caught with now mercy to be bought. They cradle us tight drowning out our fight. Whats left isn't us just some little child they can trust. Filling us with fear but safe if they are near. Its loss that's lost held safe at any cost. Narrow on the path dreams only gaff. Let me be someone I ill call me.

White is the light that shines through the dress that you wore, a second attempt

Goldensward hillsides
separate from light
Weary eyes whining
shaded foresite

Feral tooth ridge lines
Gnash upon the sky
Halal smalt violet
to say blue; a lie

Onward past today
On the morrow
Broken, no not made
there my sorrow

All these Tale
But a dream
Only you Only me
Us not made to be

Lofty rare beauty
I might paint
singing shining
tormenting me binding

Yours is but a device
Mused memory be free
By your own wing fly
Be you Ill be me

Krampus part Eight

Krampus walk home hungry and confused and mad and angry. And it drizzled looking any minute to rain, and the hole in his sneaker was a pain. He walked on mumbling with stomach grumbling, peering in windows for bad children to eat.

Some streets were sad and shabby and the people weren't christmasy but rather crabby. Christmas wasn't always fair where money wasn't in the air. The monster took caught a bus scaring off all the people and making a wild fuss. Making way to the side of town where the kids and wallets were plumply filled.

Around the houses Krampus crept like a cat but none of the bad kids were big boned or fat. Only grisly spoiled brats chauffeured from soccer, piano and tennis. The only porker was kind and jolly, A delightful little fatso named Pauly. Krampus would have to make do with a scrawny back talking bastard or two.

Down the chimney no not his style he kicked in the door with a smile. He told the parents what he was about and usually they handed the truants over without a shout. This time was different this time was fun dad fought with Krampus and told the kids to run. It was odd pops had such moral fiber when the kids had none. Krampus ran off from the fight, laughing and cackling into the night. Children were good but sausage was too and Harry's Hofbrau was open almost til two.

Týr

I have been working in a scrum team for a number of sprints. This post is not to advocate the process, In reality I think scrum just boils down to talking to people and helping out. This is just to point out the positive aspects of scrum and how they align to a set of virtues people have emulated. For scrums part these are the attitudes and practices that I have seen led to positive results. The virtues I will be speaking of come from the Odinic rite and Astaru practices. Don't give them too much weight they were made up in the 70's by dungeons and dragons players with too much time on their hands. I am using them as chastity really doesn't have a place in scrum and wrath may actually be useful.

Per the fifteen second wiki search I did in my research the values of Astaru are as flows. I will try to address each point by point with thoughts on scrum.

• Courage: In the face of a project that is new and untried say yes I want to do that project myself. You will learn from it and will have a better idea of what the next project may take. Also your team develops an air of getting things done.
• Truth: Don't veil your words you need to be open and honest with your team. If you don't speak your mind nothing will change. Also sometimes two voices are heard when one is not. Adding your agreement and support to someone is a big thing.
• Honour: Give your team faith in their skills. You are going to work cross functionally if you are getting scrum right. Honor your coworkers by trusting them when they take up work in your area of experience. Also take advice they give, maybe they have seen things from a different light.
• Fidelity: Treat your team as family, you may have issues within the team but not outside. Speak of the team as a hole but challenges as your own. Have your team members back even when other work pulls you aside for the team. You need to finish tasks and not leave people waiting on you.
• Discipline: This is really something that is assumed in all work environments, but for scrum try to work within the needs of other team members. QA may speak in bugs so dev should be attentive to the bug tracking system. Design may need to give more documentation that calls out specifics they may not normally have listed, so that those code the page can give them what they want.
• Hospitality: Attend to each of your team members and if they are needing provide for them. If they need to complain then listen. If their voice is not heard create a forum so it is. If they are being wronged work to set it right.
• Self Reliance: When you take a task own that task from beginning to end. It is fine to need help, it is not fine to not seek that help.
• Industriousness: If you finish your tasks take more. Keep those post it notes flying across the board.
• Perseverance: If something is pushed from a sprint to the next thats fine you can finish it next time. Don't throw away your work because you missed a sprint deadline. Keep at things even when you know they are not going to be finished. Do what you can.
  

Well that's it. Please let me know if this is a help or where I am wrong.

Jim Rickel

Oh have we got a video?

Well I logged my first video bug recently. It was a pretty interesting experience. The developer was looking for more information on the issue and asked for a video specifically. It was nice as it clearly displayed my exact steps. There are a few bugs that even solid duplication steps are not enough so I can see places where this will be a nice tool.

I used camstudio to do the recording, after finding some comments saying it was the tool to user for this sort of thing. It was surprisingly easy to use after I figured out how to set the region I was to record. I was even able to use my microphone for something other than video games. I was able to provide narration that called out everything that was happening on screen.

The one major draw back with this is the .avi file size. You are going to need to zip anything you record if you want to send it through mail or upload it anywhere. I made the mistake of just uploading it to a site and it took forever.

Signal to Noise ( My trouble with HD Radio) part 2

I guess I should follow up my post on HD radio with a little bit on Kfog, in the interest of being fair. Kfog just as a conventional radio station broadcasts on two frequencies in my area; 104.5 and 97.7. The 97.7 channel has its broadcast towers here in the south bay.

For the HD 2 station the signal is good and I don't have those annoying buffering moments I do with other stations out of SF. The content is there 10 and 10 rebroadcast. I guess that can be interesting if you get a year you like. If not then you have ten songs to wait through.

In general I don't really thing this HD thing is going to catch on. Its nice to feel that you are in a secret club that gets to hear something few others do, but that isn't going to go very commercial.

Also to be honest I have trouble finding regular stations that play music I like. If the music isn't succeeding on normal radio why are they going to keep playing the music on another radio station.No listeners and already struggling for content really doesn't give me hope.

Cellcept + Prograf = Get your flu shot

Sick again! It has been a bad year for me on the illness front. This is caused by the immune suppressant medication I take for my transplant. This is one of the side effect you have to live with after organ transplant. I have been lucky most of the time and have been much healthier than my seemingly regular immune system having wife. This year has been bad though, I seem to get every little stupid thing and they wear on for far longer than they have in the past. I am beginning to think it was my missing the flu shot, It normally feels like a waste of time. I seem to get the same winter season illness with or without the shot. But maybe it helps with the spring and summer bugs which are the ones I am getting this year. I also have cut down on my soda, as crazy as it sounds I think soda does kill off much of the mouth and stomach bugs I would have gotten. So the moral is if you have an organ transplant don't be stupid like me get your shots.

August and Everything After

I know its not very metal to be a fan of the Counting Crows but I am too metal to lie and say I don't. I have all of their records! I have their back patch on my denim jacket.

August and Everything is the first record from the band and the one most people know. I really enjoy the record but find Recovering the Satellites to be a better work. It may seem odd to review a record that was so popular which is why my review will focus on the non single tracks.

Most of the non hit songs are decidedly down beat and somber. The possible exception is "A Murder of One" which it's had some minor airplay. This is in contrast to Mr. Jones which was almost insipidly poppy. It's almost funny how different the record is to the one big hit.

Omaha I would take a song about growing up in a somewhat bad situation. Its a solid song.

Perfect blue buildings, Anna begins and Time and Time again have a lot of loss in them. They seem to be calling out for someone without answer.

Sullivan Street is my favorite of the Crows songs on any record. For me, and perhaps not you, it has the feel of solitude and late night drives. Missing something not finding it but still keeping up the search. Going to place that you know have changed but you keep returning hoping to find it back the way you remember it.

Ghost Train and Baltimore have an almost western feel. I get sort of the store song vibe from these. A little bit like Marty Robbins.

This is a favorite album of mine I would consider it a desert Island sort of record. I hope you give it a listen if you have only hear only the hits. I think the undiscovered songs are the best on the record.

Too Many Things are Evident

Ashes of summer lift up beside the road to choke the path with embers and air set alight. Drawn upon the things evident, and it's all smoke and crumbling difference. Bleary eyes inward suffer unto night. Take it from my site. Softly Rain take this summer kingdom bless or mourn as you might.

Signal to Noise ( My trouble with HD Radio)

HD radio is a bit of a broken promise. My thoughts after a couple months of driving and listening in South Silicon Valley.

I am not sure if the HD stations are in fact clearer. They seemed clear before on conventional radio. I really do not hear a marked improvemnt, though I have very bad ears and am not the best person to ask about audio.

Is the song information nice? Yes well really sort of. If you are like me you can identify most songs after just a few notes. At least on the radio stations you commonly listen too. If you listen to college radio they do not often provide this information.

Those hidden radio stations they talk about have mostly been a fail for me. If you do not have a solid signal the radio does not play anything, it just goes to buffering. This can be very annoying, but is worse than you thing. These sub stations have super weak signal strength and are constantly buffering. San Francisco stations are ok when driving in Mountain View but basically non existent in south san jose.

As for stations I really like the live 105 classic station. It's pretty much what I expected and is nice to hear the old live 105 back on the radio. The Bone HD 2 is the other station I listen to or try to listen to. They should call it Wolfmother radio as that is the only group I know. It seems to be quasi screamo crap 24/7. I could probably program a better station and one of the many internet radio stations certainly do.

My wish would be KFOX to give Greg Stone the HD2 station and have an all progressive rock station, but some people would call that hell im sure.