tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51698972024-03-12T21:04:31.122-05:00DevelopingStormThe Life and Times of PetePete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.comBlogger840125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-81267015408709761672024-01-29T21:37:00.000-05:002024-01-29T21:37:39.552-05:00The Reading Life<p>I still like to read but I've not had good luck finding new books that scratch the itch. There's been a few I really enjoyed.: "The Passenger" by my favorite author, Cormac McCarthy and "The Library at Mount Char" by Scott Hawkins. And I, recently, enjoyed "The Mountain in the Sea" by Ray Nayler. It's about intelligent Cephalopods and I do love my Mollusca. <br /></p><p>But the list of books I put down after a few pages is far taller. A couple fall into the category of ones I know I'll read someday, but I just wasn't in the right mood. For example, "Anathem" and "Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World", Others fall into the "what was I thinking" category. I wont name these. I just did not like the writing. </p><p> I do have to mention the premise of one of the did-not-finish books as it still makes me chuckle: man-eating mer-people. I even gave that one two tries. I heard about it from YouTube, where someone was listing the weirded books they had read recently. I think they said there eventually was mer-sex but I never got that far. <br /></p><p>What I have been doing is re-reading old favorites. <br /><br />I reread the ten books of "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" and the three books of "The Prince of Nothing" series. Both are great series that got even better with patient re-reading. You can absorb so much more when you're not hurrying to reach the next big plot point. And there's a lot of absorb in both series. They are both dark and deep works of fantasy, well worth the effort.<br /><br />I also reread "Fishboy" by Mark Richard and I am currently rereading "The Wrestler's Cruel Study" by Stephen Dobyns. a couple of books, I picked up on the same trip to Barnes and Nobles back in the mid 90s. It was a lucky day as they both became favorites.. </p><p>"Fishboy" was still excellent but didn't hit the same way it did 30 years ago. The writing is beautiful and poetic but the story lost a little magic. <br /></p><p>We will see about "The Wrestler Cruel Study". It's a weird mash up of religion, philosophy and professional wrestling that I cannot claim to have understood. I just loved the tangle of idea. And who knows, I've listened to a lot of the podcast "Philosophize This!" over the last few years, so maybe I'll absorb a bit more this time.</p><p>Books I have already purchased but haven't attempted yet include: Susanna Clarke's "Piranesi", the final Cormac McCarthy book "Stella Maris" and a bunch of science fiction and fantasy. We will see how all of these go.</p><p>Happy reading. <br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-56687548122607862032024-01-22T20:49:00.005-05:002024-01-22T21:14:19.445-05:00I Feel Like Blogging Again<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why now? It's been nine years if you don't count the one post I made in 2017. That's a long time. Honestly I don't really know why I'm back. Like a lot of people I'm just sick of the corporate web. I also miss writing. <br /><br />I don't have big plans for the blog. I don't even plan on pointing out to the few friends that used to follow me that I'm back. Though, I'll get a good chuckle if someone actually notices. Beers on me if it happens.<br /><br />Why start blogging if you don't have a goal? I guess it goes back to what I said earlier. I miss writing. <br />What will I write about then? Good question. <br /><br />A lot has happened since I last blogged. <br /><br />I worked at Spotify for six years. That was a f-ing blast. Super proud of the things we built there. But I got laid off back in their first round of layoffs in Jan 2023. <br /><br />Started a new job working on robotic fulfillment systems for Walmart. It's fun to be working in a totally new domain. <br /><br />We got a new dog in 2022. A super sweet, English cream Golden. <br /><br />I got serious about lifting and became an aficionado of the sport of Strongman. <br /><br />And I started collecting knives. Pocket knives mostly but camping knives as well.<br /><br />And there's still all the old favorites as well. Books, Beers, Science etc.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I stick with this, there's a good chance I touch on all those topics. <br /><br />One final note. I bought the domain developingstorm.org, so I may do something with that as well.<br /><br />We will see where this all goes. <br /></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-88573366556597501772017-06-18T12:05:00.002-05:002017-06-18T12:06:02.072-05:00Old Elephant Memory PicturesBack in 2005<a href="http://developingstorm.blogspot.com/2005/03/elephant-memory-systems.php"> I wrote about a cool little booklet I had kept from the olden days of floppy drives</a>. 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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-27875710696759793032015-09-21T17:10:00.002-05:002015-09-21T17:16:56.914-05:00Bye Bye BlogAfter many years posting stuff under the developingstorm.com domain, I'm calling it quits. I've transferred the domain to someone who has wanted it for a bunch of years. It's been fun.<br />
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So welcome to the new developingstorm.blogspot.com<br />
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I can't guarantee I'll ever say anything again, but if I do that's where it will be. <br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-56455994203024580222014-11-05T20:46:00.002-05:002014-11-05T20:46:56.432-05:00Thoughts on Buying GuitarsA common refrain I here from my more experienced musician friends is that the instrument doesn't make the musician. They never say those words exactly, but that's their message: a new instrument isn't going to make you be a better musician. And who can deny that? The instrument doesn't play itself, unless of course it's some newfangled thing, but let's ignore them. An instrument is only as good as the person holding it. It's a truism, so why am writing this?<br />
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I remember the first day I brought home a guitar. It wasn't even mine, technically; it was my nieces, and she lent it to me. I had no idea how to play the thing. I didn't know the tune of the strings, the shape of the chords, or anything else about music. But I knew I loved that guitar. I enjoyed holding it. I enjoyed looking at it. And most of all it inspired me to learn how to play it. <br />
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To be honest, most everyone who has ever offered me advice on not becoming enamored of guitars has a rather large collection of the things themselves. I guess they're trying to save me from going down the same path they did. But I wonder why. If it's so self evident that the instruments inspire people even before they are played, why try and derail the natural attachment? I doubt it's the cost.<br />
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Perhaps it's just them trying to focus the new player's energies where it will pay the most dividend. That makes some sense, but it's sort of disingenuous. Guitars are beautiful and inspiring. That's reason enough to want to own more than one. <br />
<br />I know, it's a circuitous and pointless post, but hey, I needed to say something.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-20310943885372514732014-04-21T13:47:00.000-05:002014-04-21T13:49:49.359-05:00Record Store Day at Mill No. 5I find the resurgence of vinyl recordings a little bewildering. Honestly, I don't remember my turntable all that fondly. You could only play one side of an album before you had to get up and flip it over, the records got damaged very easily and the clicks and pops of the needle always annoyed me. I still have my turntable and my record collection but more for the emotional attachment than any great love for the format.<br />
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However, I went to a Record Store day event yesterday at Mill No. 5 in Lowell and it was fun and the people were very cool. But it was also a bit sad because I don't see how getting nostalgic for an out-of-date technology will work in the long run to rebuilding the musical communities that were the local-record-store.<br />
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The digital genie is out of the bottle. If it's not Spotify or other existing service, it will be a new one that is future of music delivery.. Hopefully both compensation for the artists and audio quality will improve over time, both are needed, but regardless as a delivery mechanism and a way for exploring music, digital deliver cannot be beat. <br />
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The funny thing is, I think places like Mill No. 5 itself are the real solution to recapturing the community feeling that everyone misses from the demise of the record store. Mill No. 5 is a great multifunction space that supports all kinds of artistic ventures. It's been pretty exciting watching it grow over the past few months.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-64077009667521799872014-01-02T16:45:00.000-05:002014-01-03T09:33:33.510-05:00Learning guitar, two years later.<br />
It's been an amazing couple of years.<br />
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I say this without hyperbole, learning guitar has been the best thing I've done for myself in decades. Not only have I learned to play a cool instrument, the process has forced me to develop new ways of listening to music; both in developing an ear for pitch and understanding the way music is constructed. I've also discovered that the discipline of practicing with a metronome has very similar effects to what I've experienced with meditation. The repetitive click-click-click and the concentration on small hand movements has been wonderful for stress relief and developing focus. Finally, leaning to play guitar has also expanded my circle of friends to include some wonderful new folks.<br />
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Guitars have always excited me. When I was a teen I wanted to be Jimmy Page or Neil Young. I was just too afraid to actually try. Sure, I had other excuses too but it really boils down to fear. I was afraid it would be too hard, I was afraid I would suck, I was afraid I was starting too late. Can you believe that a sixteen year old kid would think it's too late to learn guitar? Well, those fears didn't fade. In subsequent years I'd watch someone play or I'd get to hold a friends guitar and the desire to learn the instrument would start to take hold, but the fear inevitably would creep in and I'd do nothing about it.<br />
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I'd love to tell you how I overcame the fear and went out and bought a guitar, but that's not what happened. Like a lot of adventures, this one didn't start out with a plan. My first guitar was lent to me by my sister after I made an off-hand comment. Sure, once I had it in my hands, the love was near instantaneous, but I needed that push. It wasn't a great guitar. It was a bit out of sorts (poorly setup, in guitar parlance) so it was a difficult to play, but it was good enough and I stayed with it. <br />
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Finding your first guitar is a tricky thing for most everyone who doesn't have one thrust at them. Here's my advice. Don't buy the really cheap stuff. Sure, it's tough spending money on something that realistically could end up collecting dust in the corner, but don't set yourself up for failure. In the $300-$400 range you can get a decent guitar, be it acoustic or electric. <br />
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The gear I have is not bottom-of-the-barrel but I think most people would categorizes it as fairly entry-level stuff. Here's the rundown.<br />
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My acoustic guitar is a Seagull Entourage Mini Jumbo that sells for around $379 + $100 for the case. My electric is an Agile 3210, a Korean import you can get mail order from Rondo Music for $659 with case. My amp is a Yamaha THR10 that generally sells for $299. Add in straps, guitar stands, cables, picks, capo, tuners for another $200. Together that's $1637. You don't need all of this to start but if you want both an acoustic and an electric and you want stuff that will last, this is the ballpark cost. <br />
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Beware, though that once you get into this hobby, if you don't have willpower, it can drain your wallet quickly Guitarists refer to this as GAS: Guitar,
Acquisition Syndrome. It's easy to find guitars costing well over $2000. Nice acoustics made from fancy woods can go for double or triple that. Tube amplifiers are expensive too. Pedals are a little cheaper individually, but once you build a whole board, you're easily over a thousand there too. There's an oft repeated joke
that goes something like, "My one fear is that after I'm dead my wife
will sell my guitars for what I told her I paid for them". So far, I've been good and resisted most urges. I keep reminding myself that fancy equipment wont make me a better guitar player. <br />
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One of the best piece of advice I heard when I was first starting out was this: "play for a year and you'll play for life." The good news is that it doesn't actually take a full year for you to be able to play something on the guitar. The secret to really sticking with guitar is realizing that you never stop learning to play. It's rinse and repeat. Every month you practice and expand your know-how. I was blown away when I found out my incredibly talented guitar teacher has a guitar teacher. But that's how it goes. There's always something you can't do and can work on. After two years I can do so much more than I could at the beginning, but it's no where near where I want to be.<br />
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Another best piece of advice I received was "get a teacher". Besides being great sources of motivation and encouragement they do the one thing that the on-line resources for learning guitar can't, they provide feedback. In fact I think guitar teacher is the wrong name. They are more guitar mentors. They help you navigate the process of learning guitar more than teach you guitar. Like a mentor, they also find you opportunities and make introductions. My teacher has set up parties for her students to perform at and she has introduced me to people I can jam with, not just other students either, these are seriously talented amateur and professional musicians I've got to play with. These are things you can't get on-line. (My awesome teacher is Liz Lawrence of Root Note Studio, Lowell MA).<br />
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One of the surprising aspects of learning guitar was all the side benefits. I've found I really exercise my brain in ways that help me in all aspects of life. Both emotionally and intellectually. I get the emotional satisfaction of learning a new skill and the confidence that comes with it. There's also great camaraderie with the musicians I've met. Everyone I've met is supportive, friendly and willing to share their know-how. They are just great people and being a part of the whole scene feels good.<br />
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At the intellectual level I use parts of my brain I've never used before. My biggest challenge with learning to play has been 'ear training'.
My brain has a difficult time processing and putting a name to a pitch.
I'm not tone deaf. I can hear the differences, I just struggle trying
to identify the specific tone. For example, I can hear that a minor 3rd
is different than a major 2nd but when hearing both intervals I can't
always say which one is which. Developing this skill feels like I'm opening up areas of my brain that have never been used.<br />
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But it also simpler than that. The concentration required to master a difficult song, the memorization of various musical scales, and relationship of various other musical elements just does my 50 year old brain a lot of good. The end benefit is improved creativity and focus both for more music study and at work. <br />
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So if anyone out there is thinking about learning guitar feels that they can't do it, or feels they're too old, or has any other excuse that keeping them from following a dream to learn to play music, let my experience serve as motivation. It's never too late and you may surprise yourself and find a new passion.<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-26239674971582830342013-09-19T13:25:00.000-05:002013-09-19T13:25:21.906-05:00I Guess I'm Sticking AroundI received notice from my hosting service, a while back, that it was time to renew the domain for developingstorm.com. I let it sit unaddressed for a bit and seriously considered letting it lapse. Obviously, I don't blog much. But for some reason I renewed. So I'm here to stay for at least another couple of years. <div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-71565257218088229572013-05-04T08:54:00.001-05:002013-05-04T10:19:26.434-05:00Turquoise CorncobI made this recording of some improvisation I did the other day. It's a short guitar instrumental piece. It's three layers: a chord progression, a solo over that and then finished with a little bit of slide/noise on top for texture. I think it has a psychedelic vibe. Hence the name, Turquoise Corncob. The name doesn't mean anything, it was just a free-association of words that came to mind when it came time to put a name to it.<br />
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<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F90718812"></iframe><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-45687948037407477912013-04-27T15:00:00.001-05:002013-04-27T15:00:35.078-05:00Ten YearsThe highlighted text below was my first blog post from April 28, 2003.<br />
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My name is Pete Lyons and I’m a software developer. My current employer is IBM but this log isn’t about that. I’ve been writing software professionally since 1984. I spent a lot of time as a ‘UI guy’ but I now find myself parsing protocols and working on transactional backend system more. I intend this log to deal with thoughts and ideas about software development that I don’t see other places. I hope this won’t become a nepotistic link fest like so many web logs I’ve seen. But then again, I’m not a writer so lack of things to say or the time to write the content could lead to that. Let’s hope not.<br />
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My favorite technical topics to read about are Java programming, Scripting Languages (especially Ruby), and Patterns. My favorite non-technical topics include off-beat movies, books, dogs, food, spirits (the kind you drink), current events and football (the American kind). Whether this log has anything to do with these things, time will tell.</blockquote>
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Did you notice I called it a 'log'? It was so long ago that 'blog' wasn't a common term.<br />
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It's been a fun ten years but I had higher hopes for it when I started. The blog never really found a footing and I certainly never wrote much about software development. With the advent of social sites like Facebook, it's function as a tool for sharing thoughts or interesting finds with my friends diminished as well. <br />
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My most popular posts are as esoteric as my blog. The post that gets the most hits is one I wrote about my confusion around the words <a href="http://blog.developingstorm.com/2005/06/running-roughshod-or-ripshod.php">roughshod and ripshod</a>, another that gets a lot of hits is about the genesis of my love for <a href="http://blog.developingstorm.com/2005/06/shark-crackers.php">saltines</a>.
I'm rather proud of that last one. Unfortunately, some of my best
posts (IMHO) were lost when I abandoned my home-grown blogging software back in 2008.<br />
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If anything else, it's an interesting personal record of the evolution of my interests. My philosophical and political meanderings, my poetry phase, my general desire to learn to write better, learning to play the guitar, all have been captured for anyone to read about. I amuse myself by pondering the possibility that some future sociologist's research AI will scan these these pages on a web archive and find some tiny shred of information about the human condition.<br />
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This isn't the end. The blog will lives on. What will the next ten years bring? Well, I'm still a fan of books and movies, so there's a good chance they'll show up. Also, guitar and music. Count on them. And beer. Got to have beer.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-85550745712561928812013-03-22T12:26:00.000-05:002013-03-22T12:30:24.677-05:00The Chaw<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQgcu46bknmfo8lO_X8c4KVHlqg3Phsx7PQ-OSPIuqWdpXyEh-c" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQgcu46bknmfo8lO_X8c4KVHlqg3Phsx7PQ-OSPIuqWdpXyEh-c" /></a></div>Honestly, I started listening to this album because I loved the cover. Besides being a big dog fan the band's name strikes me funny. Are they named after a wad of chewing tobacco or a dog's chew toy. That sort of dichotomy is in my humor wheelhouse.<br />
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As for the music, imagine if Dick Dale made an album with the Doors and you'll have an idea of what the music sounds like. Lots of surf sounding guitar along with deep moody vocals and an overall seedy vibe. The sort of music that would be used as a soundtrack to movie about a outlaw motorcycle gang. <br />
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I flirted with another somewhat similar sounding band called The Black Angles but I grew tired of them pretty quickly. The Chaw in contract has had some staying power on my frequent play list. Even if you don't enjoy them as much as I do you have to appreciate a bunch of musicians who aren't making music that sounds just like everything else. And if my initial chuckle about the band name was intentional perhaps they even have a sense of humor about themselves.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-44727581909924928952013-02-20T17:00:00.001-05:002013-02-20T17:00:14.384-05:00New Music #3: Blood and Burger<br />
James 'Blood' Ulmer has been around a long time. Rodolphe Burger's been around for a while too. It wasn't until recently that I ever heard of either of them. They made an album together back in 2004 that contains the recording from this session along with a lot of cool studio work. At first this was a bit too chaotic to grab me but after multiple listens, I'm hooked. It works really well played LOUD. Ulmer's Fusion Jazz stuff and Blues works are worth seeking out. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YLRqiJsoPus?rel=0" width="420"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-36836040647362319782013-02-17T19:37:00.000-05:002013-02-17T19:37:05.502-05:00Thirsty Moose Taphouse BummerI had been meaning to try the new Thirsty Moose Taphouse in Porstmouth NH ever since it opened. I finally got a chance today when my sister in-law and her husband asked Jayne and I to meet them there. The beer list was good, the space is nice, the food was decent but damn was our bartender unfriendly to us.<br />
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It was worse than having a barkeep in a bad mood; there must have been something we did or said that set her off on the wrong foot but it was clear she did not like us. We didn't send things back or make her life hard in way I can imagine but every friendly word we offered was met with curt service to our face and scowls and eye rolls as she walked away. We did get beers when we wanted them but it was not a pleasant experience. I don't recall ever feeling less welcome at a place. <br />
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My wife Jayne and I sat at opposite ends of our group so we didn't get a chance to talk about it at the bar but the first thing she mentioned when we got back to the car was how unpleasant that had been. So it wasn't just me. <br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-40332079680846994932013-01-14T21:16:00.000-05:002013-01-14T21:23:06.347-05:00Ning Chi Spicy Pot Sauce<br />
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I've had this jar in the cupboard for a while and never knew what to do with it. I originally picked it up at the local Chinese market when I was feeling adventurous. But after tonight It's going to be a go-to ingredient.<br />
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I worked a little late tonight and when I got home I didn't feel like spending a lot of time cooking. So, I chopped up an onion, a half a head of cabbage and threw it into a fry pan. After it wilted a little I added in some left over roast pork and a little water and a few heaping spoonfuls of this magic elixir. It's thick, red spicy-deliciousness. <br />
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Once I tasted it, I knew I'd had it before in spicy dumpling soup at a Szechuan restaurant in town but I never knew what the stuff was. It has great depth of flavor. I can't wait to try it in more recipes.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-5058054910282469382013-01-07T08:55:00.003-05:002013-01-07T08:55:37.578-05:00New Music Files #2I can distinctly recall walking into the old <i>Newbury Comic</i>s in Burlington, back in the 1992, to buy some new CDs and hearing the <i>Pixies</i> for the first time. I was really into the <i>Grateful Dead </i>at that time so the <i>Pixies</i> sounds wasn't in my sweet spot but the store was playing <i>Surfa Rosa/Come on Pilgram</i> and it was so full of new energy and sounds that I bought a copy then and there. <br />
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I had the same experience in reverse yesterday, though sadly not in a cool record store. I discovered the Vermont duo <i>MV & EE</i>. I got the lead from a music blogger Aquarium Drunkard (great name by the way) via the HypeMachine plugin for Spotify. If you've not used HypeMachine you should give it a shot. They supply curated playlists created by various music geeks. It's well worth checking out.<br />
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The <i>MV & EE </i>bio on <i>Spotify</i> describes them as a "Vermont-based neo-psychedelic lo-fi experimental rock collective". That doesn't exactly describe my current musical sweet spot but as soon as I heard them I became a fan. I've not heard anything quite like them before. It's raw and lives on a the edge of musicality, probably too closely for a lot of people, but I found it really invigorating. If you like hearing new things give them a listen.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QrxpytZWshY" width="459"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-7351260309547416742012-11-28T08:29:00.000-05:002012-11-28T08:44:15.099-05:00Hex EmpireEver since I was a little kid and found my older brother's abandoned Avalon Hill <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactics_II">Tactics II</a> game in our basement closet I've had a fondness for strategy war games. I couldn't tell you the number of hours I spent playing Walter Bright's classic cursor based Empire on my old Leading Edge PC. When I finally got a color monitor I even wrote a DOS TSR that would color the screen cells so water was blue and land was green.<br />
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The turn based strategy genre has fallen out favor with mainstream gamers but I still occasionally find flash games that scratch that old itch. Here's a really fun little game with a lot of strategic depth of play. <br />
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The games's not really playable at the size I could embed it and keep the formatting of the blog, so I'll just provide you a picture and a link.<br />
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<a href="http://www.canopian.com/games/hex-empire.html" title="Free Online Games">Play Online Strategy Games</a></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-58656387446455762852012-10-30T20:31:00.000-05:002012-10-30T20:34:54.536-05:00New Music Files #1The other days I was surfing around in Spotify looking for cool bands I didn't know about when I hit the mother-load and found a couple of new bands that have since been dominating my playlists. The first band I hit upon was the defunct "Ass Ponys" from Cincinnati. Their catchy guitar riffs and dark and funny lyrics (See: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2w4a2DsmII">Ball Peen</a>) are great. Then when looking at what the band members were doing now I found "Wussy" another Cincinnati band featuring Chuck Cleaver, guitarist and song writer from "Ass Ponys". Here's Wussy playing one of their songs, "Pizzza King". Chuck is my new favorite guitarist of the moment.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-41139612845715917352012-10-23T11:25:00.000-05:002012-10-23T11:30:11.960-05:00Last ResortI cannot recall a TV show as schizophrenic feeling as ABC's military/political/corporate intrigue, love story, science-fiction, mystical island adventure series <i>Last Resort</i>. It took <i>Lost</i> a long time to get as tangled as <i>Last Resort</i> is after only a couple of episodes. It's only missing vampires or zombies and I wouldn't be surprised if they show up at some point.<br />
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It's been reasonably engaging but I'll need to find a thread to hang on to if I'm going to stick with it and so far none of the story lines have my full attention. And for all the uniqueness of its premise it feels a bit too much like <i>Lost</i>. <br />
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Other than <i>Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea</i>, and <i>Sea Lab 2021 </i>I can't think of any other sub shows. Am I missing any? <div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-45553356295078730152012-10-22T13:57:00.001-05:002012-10-22T14:02:56.810-05:00Root Note Studio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just a quick post to plug my awesome guitar teacher<a href="http://www.rootnotestudio.com/lizlawrence.html"> Liz Lawrence</a> of <a href="http://www.rootnotestudio.com/index.html">Root Note Studio</a> in Lowell. I've been taking lessons from Liz now for around 6 months and I've had a lot of fun and I've learned so much. I'm just a beginner so I can't comment on her musical abilities much beyond that they seem magical to me but I can tell you she's a great teacher who makes learning fun and who constantly challenges me in ways that invariably improve my playing. <br />
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I take lessons once a week down at her teaching space in Whitesett Guitar Works on Market Street. It's a cool and funky old industrial space that defies description. Parking is easy enough, just make sure you have some change for the meters.<br />
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Highly recommended.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-81615745867164852462012-10-03T10:35:00.000-05:002012-10-03T10:35:05.971-05:00Android Libraries - When a Little Knowledge KillsFirst post in a while but I thought this was worth dusting off the blog for. So, I've been working on Android for nearly the last year and I've been enjoying applying my overall experience with Java and Eclipse to accelerate my team's productivity on the platform. It's fun to know things. But as the title of this post says sometimes it doesn't work out so well either. Case in point, Android Libraries. If you've worked with Java and Eclipse before I'm sure you're familiar with creating sub-projects for shared code. It's easy, you create a jar project, add in the projects tab of the Classpath dialog of the project preferences. Easy-Peazzy-Lemon-Squeezy. You can still do this with Android Library projects and things will compile and but you'll run into class loading issues when you run your code. The solution is not use the standard Eclipse way of associating the library and instead go the Android tab of the project and add a reference to the Library project there. That's easy too but if you're like me and think you know how to use Java and Eclipse it can take way too long to figure out.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">TLDR: Don't use Eclipse standard methods for connecting libraries projects. Use the Libraries list on the Android specific properties screen.</span></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-50857262873372778752012-06-17T10:24:00.000-05:002012-06-17T10:26:21.946-05:00Update in Pictures and Words<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, lots of stuff has been going on but blogging hasn't been one of them. Here's a little collage of recent photos. I've been hiking a lot and gone on a couple of beer exploration adventures. I've also been helping out with my new buddy 'The Fonz', my sister in-law Karen's new dog. Jayne and I went and saw a Red Sox game recently too.<br />
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Not pictured, I've been playing a lot of guitar and working a lot on some cool Nuance technology for Android phones. I actually start taking real guitar lessons next week; that should be a lot of fun.<br />
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Best movie I've seen recently: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/">Let the Right One In.</a><br />
Best book I've read recently: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magicians_%28Grossman_novel%29">The Magicians by Lev Grossman</a><br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-48272676809798069902012-03-18T08:44:00.000-05:002012-03-18T08:44:02.636-05:00Wild Rover<br />
The guitar playing is sloppy, the rhythm is bad and the singing would send a dog scurrying for cover but considering I'm a complete beginner I'm pretty excited by it. It took me a few takes to get through even this single verse and chorus so it's still a work in progress but I really wanted to get this working for St. Patrick's day. <br />
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I used <a href="http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/d/dubliners/the_wild_rover_crd.htm">these chords and lyrics</a>. A big thanks to FlynnerFolkSongs for his<a href="http://youtu.be/zRhljMtynjY"> great tutorial on YouTube</a>.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SCvovNuJNgs" width="420"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-79480616040159519802012-03-14T15:18:00.002-05:002012-03-14T15:33:50.827-05:00Learning Guitar at 50: #1Setting out to learn something new is always interesting. It challenges you in ways you can't begin to predict before you start. Inevitably things you thought would be hard turn out to be easy and things you thought would be easy are harder than they look. This is a post about the preconceived notions I held prior to starting my journey to learn guitar and my take on things now.<br />
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Notions #1: There would be plenty of internet resources to learn guitar.<br />
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Reality: There is so much information out there it's absolutely insane. But if you simply search for 'Easy guitar songs' or some such thing you're going to get swamped with stuff of wildly differing quality and much of it geared toward players with a couple of months or more of experience. <br />
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What you really want is a structured method of learning the basics. Luckily there are options here as well. The program I discovered and am using is the <a href="http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCourse.php">beginner's series</a> hosted at <a href="http://www.justinguitar.com/">justinguitar.com</a>. <br />
The lessons are comprised of YouTube videos and accompanying web pages that cover everything your need to get started. The lessons are run on a honor-system so no upfront payment is required. There are accompanying materials you can purchase as well. I recently purchased <a href="http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BS-000-BeginnersSongbook.php">Justin's Beginner Songbook</a> and am having a great time with it. There are videos for some of the songs on the web but having the chord progressions and lyrics written out is a big help.<br />
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Notion #2: The hard part would be learning the chords.<br />
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The basic chords certainly require work to get a handle on but they're not that hard. It turns out that the hard part is putting all the individual pieces together. Music is a flow that doesn't wait for your old nervous system to communicate with your creaky joints. In the end, it's not the stretchy hand positions that are the problem it fluid movement from one position to another. The good news it's still a lot of fun to make poorly flowing and unmelodious music. <br />
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Notion #3: If you just practice you'll get results.<br />
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This is mostly a true notion. I'm sure there are certain hurdles ahead of me that may challenge this notion but so far it has been true. What I have learned so far though is that even with a lot of practice progress is slow enough that you can't often observe it directly. I like to think of it as watching a watch. We all wish progress would be like the quick sweep of the second hand but in reality it's more like the slow progress of the hour hand. You can't see it but if you track its progress you'll see it always advances.<br />
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Notion #4: It would be work<br />
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Maybe I'm just lucky but the time I spend practicing never feels like work. I certainly dedicate a lot of time to practice but it's not a chore. I do it because it's fun. It's not uncommon that I 'finish' practice and put on some music only to be so inspired by the playing that I have to pick up the guitar again to practice some more. I someone had told me it would be this way I would not have believed them.<div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-85508832237867567232012-03-05T09:35:00.002-05:002012-03-05T09:36:54.316-05:00New Guitar DayI've been learning to play on a borrowed instrument so this is my first guitar. I'm pretty excited actually.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqZBoE0IZmf8QEhQlUtVwoy4Pp2xsOmZSzEGUSle-GgPHOL3Yn7H-olG_29ryDQxh7o8zK92Q9dmjGTPm0QRbWX59kGcrhElRg-QlEYIhQ3Syj_27XHPLHQQ0ADTeAGzsSxvb/s1600/IMG_0627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqZBoE0IZmf8QEhQlUtVwoy4Pp2xsOmZSzEGUSle-GgPHOL3Yn7H-olG_29ryDQxh7o8zK92Q9dmjGTPm0QRbWX59kGcrhElRg-QlEYIhQ3Syj_27XHPLHQQ0ADTeAGzsSxvb/s320/IMG_0627.jpg" width="239" /></a><br />
It's a Seagull Entourage Mini-Jumbo, manufactured in Canada, It sounds great and feels awesome.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169897.post-84461596640238465252012-02-24T09:11:00.001-05:002012-02-24T09:11:47.045-05:00Rhythm Guitar MeditationRhythm. I don't have it. Yet, anyway. At times it feels like my inner clock has sprung a spring. I'm not dissuaded however. I'm working under the assumption that the rhythm guiding part of brain just needs some exercise and that, like anything else, it will come with practice. <br />
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It's the practice that I really wanted to post about. Or rather how it so much it reminds me of meditation. I don't recall whether I've posted about meditation in the past but I use it for stress relief. The meditation technique I've used calls for you to focus your mind on your breathing and then work to remain focused on that and that alone. When a random thought intrudes you notice it, categorize it and then go back to focusing on your breathing. It's one of the many things in life that takes only minutes to learn but you can spend a lifetime trying to master.<br />
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Guitar rhythm practice is very similar. Rather, instead of breathing, the focus is on the tick of the metronome and the count of the strum pattern. If your concentration wavers and you get off beat you need to recognize how you've diverged and get back in time. They require a very similar world-detaching inner focus.<br />
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It will be interesting to see if the later has the same stress relieving benefits. Luckily, life's already been pretty mellow lately but it certainly can't hurt and in the process I might develop some rhythm.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">The blog of Pete Lyons</div>Pete Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129198124713707459noreply@blogger.com0