The Bass Geek

1. Unbolted tires should move away from a car very easily. When they do not, call a friend with a large metal hammer.
2. Truss rod adjustments are miracles and should never be taken for granted. It’s like I have a new bass.
3. Wireless networking (and the gadgets that make it happen) are nice to use but horribly annoying to install.
4. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has posted a countdown clock for training camp, and it depresses me every time I look at it.

I’m sure quite a few Steelers fans have wanted to reach for a drink while contemplating the team’s new mascot. Evidently, it’s a sentiment shared by said mascot, who was arrested for DUI and stripped of his ceremonial duties.

Never fear, though. It evidently takes two people to shoulder the weight of this incredibly lame icon, so there’s a spare. Maybe he’ll see the error of Steely’s ways and we can put all of this behind us. I can see a “Steely Curse” coming a mile away, and it needs to be avoided right now.

New podcast is up - download it here or listen on the site.

I only managed to hear him on the Internet simulcast of a Pittsburgh radio station’s Steelers coverage, but the stellar journalist who popularized both the Terrible Towel and the phrase “Immaculate Reception” passed away earlier this week.  He was an oasis of personality in a drab, projected-from-the-diaphragm world.

I’m still recovering from both the schadenfreude of watching the Patriots lose yesterday and the chili contest that accompanied said viewing - an excellent cap for the weekend. All is right with the football world (minus a Steelers Super Bowl win), and life can continue on a positive course. Since the Pro Bowl means nothing, that’ll be the end of football talk for a bit.

The new hard drive is in my system, and I’ve got both an OS X and a Vista partition running without incident. The only hassle so far has been reloading data (not major, as I could just copy data over from the old drive) and programs (slightly more, ’cause I have to hunt down old serial numbers from upgrades). The upshot of it is that I now have more space on the Mac side for music projects, and the Vista side is ready for work on my upcoming laptop book.

I saw the U2 3-D movie over the weekend, and it was an interesting experience. The music was overall decent to this casual listener (aside from a seemingly flat section in “Beautiful Day”), and there were no overwhelming “COMING RIGHT AT YOU!” moments (again, aside from an obligatory Bono reaching out towards the camera - what did you expect?). The drum set stood out particularly well, as did some of the crowd shots, and there were some drawn-in and composited special effects that were interesting as well. It did carry a “layered” look to it - the effects at times appeared on very flat panes that seemed stacked on each other. Still, a decent spectacle.

The day itself was spent collecting the requisite souvenirs and such from various locations (and wasting some time watching a lackluster Steelers game).  After obtaining the necessary cultural detritus, including a sizable number of snuff bottles (they were on sale), we absconded for pizza and the start of our musical adventures.  Even though there wasn’t anything live at One Eyed Jacks, it was still worth the stop to hear a jukebox that featured Betty Davis, Dio, Turbonegro and Funkadelic.  The red velvet wallpaper and black velvet nudes complemented the place well.

From there, we took in some more Kermit Ruffin at the Blue Nile.  Tight funk and jazz band - well worth a second viewing.  While my wife didn’t pass out early or anything, there was evidently something in the vodka and tonics that promoted zombification.  Not in a drooling roofie sort of way, but in a clawing, constant-demanding-for-brains sort of way.  You have to be careful with such things in this town, but luckily we managed to escape without incident.

Also, Jennifer thinks she might have run into Keith Urban, in all of his tiny, spa-enhanced glory.  So, there you go.  Thank you for that, Sugar Bowl.

We’re trying to decide now what to do with New Year’s Eve - Morning 40 Federation at One Eyed Jacks, Dumpstaphunk and Porter/Batiste/Stoltz at Howlin’ Wolf’s, or the celebration downtown.  Comments?