BrewBlog

Wow, I'm a Dad!

Our baby, Jackson Paul Brewer, has arrived and he's wonderful.  He was born in the late evening on Monday night, January 23.  Since then, 95% of my attention has been focused his way.  We took him home from the hospital Wednesday.  He's definitely a handful, like any newborn.  We're figuring stuff out the hard way since we seemed to have misplaced the instruction manual.  come to think of it, I don't remember ever seeing one.

Catching my first glimpse of Jackson was such a joy and rush.  My wife was in labor for just around 24 hours!  It's tough seeing the one you love go through something so traumatic, even though it's natural.  All I could do was offer moral support, which isn't as much as I'd like to have been able to do.  I stood in that delivery room, paced and caught tiny tiny naps while we waited for Jackson's entrance.  We didn't know what the sex of the baby was, so we weren't even sure it was going to be "Jackson".  Earlier the previous evening, we went to bed and my wife mentioned that she felt as though she was going to have the baby that night or the next day.  She was right on.  That day before she went into labor, we walked a two plus mile trail around Maidu park to get some outside time.  We're thinking all that walking is what kicked things off. 

It was about 2:00 in the morning when my wife woke me up and said that "something was going on".  The rush was on.  After getting dressed, I grabbed all our carefully packed bags and essentials, added a fresh layer of deodorant, filled Barley kitty bowl with food and off we were.  We had a bit of a drive ahead but it was the middle of the night, so we didn't have any traffic to contend with.  She informed me that her contractions were only two minutes apart.  WHAT!  Driving a little faster than usual, made the drive in record time.  We checked in and the wait was on.  We got settled in our room and just waited.  Three nurses shifts later, it was go time.  Up until the delivery, time seemed to go by very quickly, which I didn't anticipate. 

Finally, Jackson arrived.  About five seconds after he was born, I exclaimed "I see a penis!"  After months of speculating the sex, we finally knew we had a baby boy.  The exclamation was mostly due to the fact that I insisted that we were going to have a boy, based on nothing more than a hunch really.  I got to cut the umbilical cord and that was pretty exciting.  After whisking the baby away for a moment, he was given to us.  The feelings during the moments of his delivery were incredible.  The happiness and pride combined with sleep deprivation and adrenaline is remarkable and not easily repeated I'm sure.  We were amazed by the whole thing. 

Now, Jackson is approaching four days old and the buzz hasn't worn off.  Nor has the sleep deprivation.  We haven't slept much at all and we've lost the sense of time and schedule.  We've been getting to use all our baby stuff and learning all about newborn care.  It's definitely tough but so worth it.  We're a bit overwhelmed but working through it together.  All our friends and family have been so tremendously helpful and great.  I'm very grateful to have them in our lives.  As I type this post, my wife is getting the first real bit of rest since Jackson was born.  I've found that it's easy to just stare at him in amazement.  Wow, I'm a dad!

Reality Television

When you see a blog post titled "Reality Television" you probably assume negative criticism will follow.  But nope.  I'm a fan of some reality television.  Should I be embarrassed?  Reality TV has been around a long time now and I've been paying attention since it started becoming mainstream about ten years ago (that's just a guess).  Arguably, it's gotten out of hand with so much of it and the saturation arrived a while ago.  I'm certainly not the biggest fan of it but TIVO has made all television much more tolerable so we're able to get a little more out of television since we are able to skip commercials.  I've gotten sucked into several reality TV shows covering a variety of themes and I'm not ashamed to say I really enjoy it. 

Why does it seem cool to hate reality TV?  Numerous time I've heard people talking about a show they are watching and someone in the conversation always pipes up about how they don't watch that garbage as they roll their eyes.  I get not liking it and even thinking it's stupid but I'm curious about the love/hate nature of the genre.  Does it mean I'm shallow because I like it?  Would I be cool if I watched ER?  Um, don't think so.  Television drama has gotten pretty cheesy in my opinion but I haven't watched much so I'm not a good critic.  Reality TV is not my favorite programming but it's close.  A good sitcom is probably my favorite.  I'm also a closet soap opera fan.

Does what one watches on TV tell you anything about someone?  Intellectuals would be quick to offer that they do not watch television because it's such as waste of time and for dummies.  To me, it's like everything else, a simple preference of entertainment.  My wife mostly reads and never watched television AT ALL until I invaded her life.  We replaced her badly melted, eight inch television set with my newer and bigger model.  I also insisted on Satellite TV because of my silly feud with the cable company because of their nineties ban on the Ultimate Fighting Championship.  I'm digressing now so I'll just quit before I reveal any more of my "embarrassing" television habits.  But hey, it will matter less eventually, when our TIVO will be full of children's programming.  Do they have reality TV cartoons?  I suppose that's impossible since cartoons aren't real.  Damn it. 

Roseville WiFi count up one more

I'm sitting in the new It's a Grind coffee house on Pleasant Grove and Foothills in Roseville.  This makes for another nearby coffee house that has free WiFi.  Nice place, pretty much just like the other It's a Grind locations.  Not too surprising considering that it's a franchise.  This one has a lot of power outlets and I appreciate that.  They gave us a free bag of coffee beans as kind of a welcoming gift.  How am I going to spread my coffee house time between all these great places?  I noticed that another recently opened place, The Bad Ass Coffee Co., just started offering free wireless.  I've been in there a few times.  I like it because it makes you feel like you're in Hawaii and that's a good thing.  They offer 100% Kona coffee for Kona lovers.  So now that makes five places I'll likely visit for coffee/WiFi.  What's up with Starbucks not taking the lead with the free WiFi thing?  I suppose they don't need to but they certainly make enough $$ to do it.   So, props to the places that do offer free WiFi, I will remain loyal. 

Do you need a lot of witnesses to be courteous?

I thought I'd reiterate a post my wife just made about our observations of how the public treats a pregnant woman.  Her post is here.  Everyone is in a hurry and common courtesy is dwindling slowly.  So it is every person for themselves in reality but can we take a few seconds and a little effort for people that are struggling a little more than others for Christ's sake?  Is it so hard to hold open the door or give up your seat?  Fortunately there are still a lot of people that get it but the number of people that don't get it is increasing too, which is sad.

Maybe it's the Prozac

Our cat Barley is continuously innovating in annoyance.  I've blogged about it before (here, here and here).  I continuously revisit Barley's behavior because it seems odd and it entertains me while being frustrating me at the same time (maybe like children?)  I'm by now means claiming that our cat is particularly special as many pet owners do - I've often wanted to slap people that insist that their cat or dog or bird is the smartest, cutest or whatever.  This past Christmas, I think my dad nailed it when he watched Barley get stuck in a box.  After watching Barley sit in the box for a moment, my dad said "I know what the cats problem is.  It's stupid". 

Barley has been sleeping at the foot of our bed on and off since we've moved into our house.  Lately, night time has been a little rough for him and we can't figure out why.  On one occasion a few weeks ago, I awoke to Barley chewing on my kneecap.  I didn't wake up because I needed to roll over or use the bathroom.  I woke up because he was chewing on my kneecap.  A few days later, my wife and I both woke up because he was sleeping in our bed, growling loudly.  I sat up to comfort him and he let out a big hiss.  Again, just a couple nights ago, he was growling again. 

We were thinking that maybe the Prozac he loves so much is scrambling his already small brain and making him have nightmares.  It is actually a side effect.  By the way, I know the cat loves his Prozac because it just so happens that he immediately gets treats after I shove the little pill down his throat.  I have the process down to a science and can do it in just a few seconds.  My mom graciously offered to kitty sit for us recently and Barley bit her, breaking the skin, when she tried to give him his pill.  When I get home from work, Barley comes out of hiding and sits on the counter and waits for me to give him his pill.  It's truly his favorite part of the day.  Hoping for another dose, he'll get on the counter later in the evening, hoping I've forgotten that we just went through the process a few hours earlier.  If he had thumbs, he'd probably help himself to the whole bottle.  Of course then I'd have a little less to blog about.

Best of 2005

I'm finally wrapping up my little obsessive ranking exercise that spans the last six years.  This one is at least current.  Even though it's very early in the year I have yet to buy a single CD and I'm not even sure what will be coming out this year that will get me excited about music.  I guess we'll see.

Best of 2005:  The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute

1. The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
2. Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze
3. Strapping Young Lad - Alien
4. Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band - Horses in the Sky
5. And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Worlds Apart
6. Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
7. Nada Surf - The Weight is a Gift
8. Sigur Ros - Takk
9. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
10. Soulfly - Dark Ages

The top three here are really pretty much equal to me.  I enjoyed these the most last year overall.  "Frances the Mute" is more great stuff from The Mars Volta, even more indulgent than their last.  I read some criticism about it but more people liked it than didn't, by far, from what I've seen.  Again, if you can deal with the falsetto, and you like prog rock (prog is short for progressive in case you didn't know), than this is the CD for you.  I struggle with falsetto until it sometimes grows on me and then it works, which is the case with Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In. 

Queens of the Stone Age are once again on the mark with their latest.  This one is without Nick Oliveri, which I thought was going to be a big problem at first.  I was wrong.  Nick's usual contribution of vocals on a few tracks have added some terrific variety to the mix of songs.  His psychotic screaming style is classic.  Plus, his bass playing works well with the band.  But like I said, I was wrong.  The CD is packed with memorable songs that have high replay value.  Josh Homme really does carry the band, which is his job.  The rest of the band, which changes here and there, do a great job on "Lullabies" as well.  Not included in this top ten because it's not eligible, but worthy of mention, is the live CD/DVD by QOTSA titled "Over the Years and Through the Woods".  This is how live material should be done.  It's really damn good. 

Strapping Young Lads surprised (and scared) the hell out of me with "Alien".  One word to describe "Alien":  "Intense".  This is the fourth studio CD and best from these guys.  I was first intrigued by Strapping Young Lad because one of my favorite drummers, Gene Hoglan,  joined the band for their second CD and has been a key element since.  Gene absolutely rips on the drums.  He's completely self taught, which is inspiring.  Devin Townsend is the wild front-man and his vocals are completely over the top on "Alien", which was a goal of his while recording.  "Alien" is one ass kicking track after another.  Extreme double-bass drumming and profanities that come across as screamed into your face seems like a lot to deal with, and it is.  It's great though, but you have to like that kind of music.  It's not cookie monster vocals, which is refreshing, but it is screamed into your ear.  I've listed to "Alien" at the gym a number of times and I find myself damn near pulling my arms off with weights because it gets me so pumped.

Silver Mt Zion has been prolific and consistently good.  I've already sang praises for Silver Mt Zion.  "Horses in the Sky" is similar to the previous two, maybe a little longer.  Like previous efforts, "Horses in the Sky" has many high points and has a feeling all it's own.  Trail of Dead showed some growth with "Worlds Apart".  I'm not sure how I'd compare it to their earlier works but it's definitely good.  I could do without a few songs but it's got enough going for it to me to beat out most of what was released last year, and it wasn't a bad year by any means.  A few of the songs are among my favorites from them.  Foo Fighters impressed me with their double-disc release of "In Your Honor".  I'm still trying to warm up to disc two (the mellow disc) but I really like disc one (the rockin disc).  Dave Grohl has really impressed me these past few years.  Nada Surf has something about them that gets to me.  I've become a huge fan over the past several years.  "The Weight is a Gift" is good, not as good as their last, but good anyway.  It's an enjoyable listen, making me want more.  Sigur Ros doesn't change their formula much with "Takk" and that's not a bad thing.  After "()" I was asking for more and "Takk" gave it to me.  If you like their other music, you'll like this new one.  Death Cab For Cutie is popular now and they deserve it after so many years of being an underground favorite.  "Plans" is their big coming out and it has been living up to expectations.  It's solid and possibly the most mainstream of my picks.  My final pick, "Dark Ages", is the second metal release on the list, making for a surprising hard core presence, considering I'm 34 years old.  I can't help it.  Soulfly is still on a tear.  Max's vocals are as angry as ever.  The music is ferocious.  Soulfly is interesting in that they have these tribal digressions that actually add a lot to each release. 

So that's it.  Hopefully we'll get a good mixture again this year.  With some of my favorite bands throwing in the towel over the years, I'm always looking for new music.  Lately though, my discovery rate has slowed a bit.  This year I'll be putting more effort into finding new bands to get excited about.  a few posts I've been wanting to do are some other favorite lists related to music.  Current favorite bands and all time top ten favorite releases would be fun.

CD Lifespan? This is Unfortunate

Link: Do Burned CDs Have a Short Life Span? - Yahoo! News.

Opinions vary on how to preserve data on digital storage media, such as optical CDs and DVDs. Kurt Gerecke, a physicist and storage expert at IBM Deutschland, has his own view: If you want to avoid having to burn new CDs every few years, use magnetic tapes to store all your pictures, videos and songs for a lifetime.

"Unlike pressed original CDs, burned CDs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years, depending on the quality of the CD," Gerecke says. "There are a few things you can do to extend the life of a burned CD, like keeping the disc in a cool, dark space, but not a whole lot more."

The problem is material degradation. Optical discs commonly used for burning, such as CD-R and CD-RW, have a recording surface consisting of a layer of dye that can be modified by heat to store data. The degradation process can result in the data "shifting" on the surface and thus becoming unreadable to the laser beam.

I'm assuming this true for DVDs as well.  Sigh.  I have a lot of digital content "preserved" on DVD and now I have to rethink my strategy.  First off, I'll be looking more into this info to see if it is in fact true.  If it is true, I don't believe it's commonly known information. 

We're getting close!

As of today, we are full term with the baby and are out of the preemie status.  The official bed rest status for my wife is also no longer as of about a week ago.  Both things are good news, even though having a baby a little early is not a big deal these days.  The bed rest was not easy for my wife since normally active and healthy people do not like being confined to a bed or sofa for weeks on end.  The bed rest was necessary to prevent having a very early baby and has obviously worked since she is still pregnant.  The road to get to this point has been long, obviously much more so for my wife since she is doing all the work.

Now we are just a few weeks away from the actual due date and we are very excited and anxious to get our hands on little baby Brewer.  We've been preparing for his/her arrival bit by bit for weeks and now it's just a matter of more waiting.  We've got a baby room and baby clothes and baby this and baby that.  It's all about the baby.  People that have kids probably remember the days just prior to birth and those without are likely rolling their eyes much like I would have just about any time prior to these last six months or so.  Once the baby gets here, we'll have a blog set up for him/her and that will be the primary way we share photos and experiences for folks that are interested.  We can't really set up the blog completely until we know the sex of the baby. 

We just celebrated our two year wedding anniversary on Tuesday.  Oh how things have changed since that day.  We watched our wedding video for the first time all the way through and discussed all the changes since the wedding.  That day was the best day of my life, easily.  You couldn't have kicked the smile off my face that day.  Our first two years as husband and wife have been great and I'm looking forward to our family expansion.

Dawn2Dusk

A new coffee house opened close to my house.  I'm a big fan of coffee and coffee houses so I was happy when I saw that we were getting another one.  As I've mentioned in one of my very first posts, "The Perfect Blend", free Wi-Fi is a huge plus in a coffee house, so much so that I will much more likely frequent a place that offers that.  The new place is called Dawn2Dusk and much to my delight, it has free Wi-Fi.  I spent a few hours this past Monday working there and had a good experience overall.  The coffee was good, I had a good breakfast burrito and the Wi-Fi worked flawlessly.  I also appreciated that they had some power outlets.  The ambiance is okay, but not great. 

I'll be a regular customer since I do like it and it's the closest coffee shop that has free Wi-Fi.  The first time I went in I felt a little like I was cheating on It's a Grind, which has been where I almost always go, particularly when I'm looking for a place to work.  I've been going there the most to work for over a year and a half now.  A Perfect Blend is great but I go there less just because it's across town and a bit of a drive.  Choice is good and I very much welcome Dawn2Dusk to the neighborhood.

Best of 2000

Best of 2000:  Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

1. Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
2. Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun
3. Silver Mount Zion - He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Lights Sometimes Grace the Corners of Our Rooms
4. Grandaddy - Software Slump
5. Queens of the Stone Age - R
6. At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command
7. Nada Surf - Proximity Effect
8. Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
9. The Drum - Diskin
10. Soulfly - Primitive

This is last of the look back at my favorites of the year, which is good because nobody cares.  I'd like to look back at this, probably long after this blog is EOL , and remind myself of what I was really into at the time.  That's the real motivating for this.  I'm actually having trouble with the "Best of 2005" list.  The top five is very easy but I'm having a difficult time paring down the bottom five for the year.  I'm going to re-listen to several of them to decide.  Anyway, let's go back to 2000 for just a minute.  I'm going to be quick because I'm betting burned out on these damn lists.

The top release of the year was easy for me in 2000.  "Lift Yr Skinny Fists" is the first GYBE disc I heard and it's a classic.  I should say "discs" because it's actually two discs.  Sometime I'll attempt to expand on why I like this band so much, but not today.  2000 was the first time we got an official release from Silver Mount Zion, a band that is more or less a subset of GYBE and I love them for the same reasons.  "Left Us Alone" from SMZ is more similar to GYBE then some of their later titles that I appreciate just as much.  We also got the debut from Sigur Ros in 2000.  "Agaetis Byrjun" is great, their best in my opinion, even though I like their recent stuff as well.  All three of the top three on this list are groundbreaking, even though it's different than what I typically listen to.

"Software Slump" is my favorite from Grandaddy and towards the top because it's so strong, perhaps speaking to me a little more than usual because of my cubical lifestyle from 8 - 5.  But it's just the best of Grandaddy, bringing out a little bit of everything I like about these guys from Modesto.  Queens of the Stone Age is solid with "R" and even though not my favorite from them, still good for many repeat listens.  "Relationship of Command" from At the Drive-In is a nifty find because of my interest in Mars Volta.  It should be the other way around since Mars Volta is post At the Drive-In, but whatever, I'm a late comer with these guys.  "Proximity Effect" is my least favorite from Nada Surf but I like it enough for it to be on this list.  Yo La Tengo won me over a second time with "And Then Nothing...", continuing in a direction I've appreciated since becoming a fan eight years ago or so.  The Drum is really a band called China Drum  They changed their name for some reason, maybe an attempt to reinvent themselves but sadly, "Diskin" would be their only release.  I was such a big fan of China Drum, it was sad for me to see them pack it up.  "Diskin" is pretty good but not great.  I don't even think you can buy anything from China Drum or The Drum.  "Primitive" rocks in a metal way.  I really like Soulfly as they appeal to the teenager in me.