It Has Begun

Well, it's a done deal. That's it for this site.

Check out the new site here.

It's still in the making, but it's definitely in a readable format.

That's All For Now Folks!!

No more blogger for this kid, I've gone as far as a can go. Well, with this program that is. The genius that I call my Tech Adviser glady invited me on over to a bigger, better, and faster place for my blog. That's right, invite only. It's gotta be good. So this is the last blogger post for this kid. The next post you read on here will be the link to the new and improved blog. It might take me a day or two so sit tight and get ready to enjoy the show.

Seth, all blogged out.

Good News? Possibly?

Yes my ears are still ringing, and the doctor had no idea what it was. Everybody that has it knows what it is though. Anyways, it never even occured to me to ask my girlfriend who works with deaf children to ask around about it. She talked to some people today and it turns out there's a specialist down in Newport Beach that deals with this and they except my insurance if I'm referred. So, that's what I'll be doing when I go back to see my clueless doctor. Getting referred. I also found a herbal supplement online that's suppose to take care of it, so for 34 bucks I figure I could at least find out that it doesn't work.

So thanks Abby for looking out for me.

Riiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggg

Quote of The Day

"Early morning cheerfulness can be extremely obnoxious."

William Feather said that and I must admit that I agree. That's not to say that I'm crumpy or pissy in the mornings, but I'm certainly not Mister Bubbly. My brother was the crumpy one, he'd rip your skin clean off your face if you talked to him before he had his breakfast back in the day. I'm not really one to jump outta bed in the morning, throw the shades open, turn on all the lights, get the TV crankin', and start jumping around signing. I like to wake up to the radio and lay there for a couple minutes and let my body realize that it's time to get up. Then I open the shades up some, take a shower, and all that other morning stuff. To be truthful I hate shades, I'd prefer to have a house with huge windows and no shades or curtains what so ever, and let the day light wake me up. I've never been one to really care if people see me or not. Where I live now though we have neighbors directly across from us and who knows what they're into, webcams and stuff. Bad. The shadeless windows will have to be put on hold for awhile.

Like the quote says, "obnoxious", not rude, or annoying, or painful. Just obnoxious where it causes me to think, "Could we just be mellow and calm for an hour or so and ease into the day?" Early morning cheerfulness is sort of like yelling at someone when you're standing right in front of them. It doesn't necessarily piss you off but you're thinking, "Ok buddy lets tone it down a notch, I don't need this right now. I'm right here!!" And just how many cups of coffee have the people reporting the news had?

Anyway, back to work.

William Feather was an author most noteably known for his quotes. He lived from 1889 to 1891 and his work can be found on Amazon.

Make It Stop

Today was my first visit to the doctors since I've moved to California. I gotta say that the ones in Manhattan Beach are pretty sweet. Well, architectually speaking of course. Once inside it's the same unorganized mess of paperwork and moody front desk attendants that you would find anywhere. The doctors are nice though, and all high tech with their wireless template PCs walking around entering data where ever they please.

The reason for my visit was a two part problem. The main reason, the ringing in my ears. I figured I'd get my right knee checked out while I was there cus that's been bothering me a little lately. So as we can see no life threatening illnessess so to speak, problem number one. Problem number two is I'm the only one that can hear the ringing in my ears, so I'm the only one that knows how frickin' annoying it is, and being a DJ and lover of music I would consider it very life threatening.

A few of you might remember me mentioning my problem every now and again back in the day. I've had a very faint ringing in my right ear for ages, at least 8 years. I can't even really remember when I went and had Dr. Cook check it out. Of course, he had no idea what it was. "Let me poke this cold thing in your ear and take a look around. Hmmmm, no infections, no redness, no pain. Looks ok to me. It'll probably go away in a week or so." The ringing was so faint that I could only hear it if I really concentrated on it or if it was extremely quiet. Fast forward 8 years. The begining of the week on my way to work it started in my left ear. Now I can hear it in both ears and it's noticeable 24 hrs a day. Thank god it's not keeping me awake at night. It is making it difficult for me to hear some times though. The problem is that the ringing is the same frequency as certain sounds we hear on a daily basis. So, if the frequency we hear on a daily basis is quieter then the one in my head it masks it out, if it's louder my ears go kinda nutty. All week I've been asking people to repeat themselves depending on how noisy the environment we're in because they get masked out. For instance, on Tuesday while at lunch with a co-worker all I could think was, "Get me the heck outta this noisy deli so I can make out what this person is saying and not act like I'm deaf." I sorta feel like there's a little fluffy cloud just hanging out in the left side of my head causing problems, kind of like I have a naughty piece of cotton stuck in there or something.

I started doing a little research on my own and basically my problem is called Tinnitus. A lot more people have it then you'd think and no one knows what the hell causes it or how to fix it. Sort of like a lot of problems that torment us on a daily basis. If something isn't broken, sticking out of your skin, lumpy, or you're not bleeding, doctors have more important shit to deal with. Frankly I'd rather have a broken arm because I know I can walk into a hospital and any idiot can see that it's broken, whip up a cast that I can have people autograph or stick some pins in me and in a few weeks or months I'll be good as new. What I've found out so far is that certain things might cause this and that's it. Nothing fixes it, except killing yourself or stabbing a pencil in your ear. Don't worry I'm not going to do either, but some people have actually committed suicide from this because they've had it really bad. Mine is just sort of a pain in the ass. Do I listen to really loud music? I have in the past or once in awhile but certainly not enough to cause something like this. You know how sometimes when you go to a really loud club the next morning or when you leave that night you have a ringing in your ears? That's me 24 hours a day.

I did get a physical though and some blood drawn to make sure everything else is fine, and my knee will be fine in time. My ears aren't infected (I was hoping they were) and I got to take a hearing test. No hearing loss except for the tones that are the same frequency as the ones in my head. I guess the next step is to do more research. Thank god for the internet.

So here I sit in a Starbucks, checking my email, writing my blog, drinking my coffee, and realizing how annoying some of the sounds are that come out of a place like this. I'm off to the ski shop to do some work and get some sanity back. I guess it could be worse though, the ringing could be voices.................

A Small Piece Of International Recognition

Today I sort of got what you could call an, "International pat on the back." At least that's what I'm going to call it for now. I've only been doing the whole blogging thing for a few weeks now and had originally started it to keep my friends back home up to date on what was happening in my life. I guess in those few weeks it's become a little something more than that. Yes my friends and family back home are reading it, but so are my co-workers and friends here in California and as I found out today someone I've come to know electronically through his own blog. Today he just happened to mention my blog in his blog.

His name is Craig Robinson, he lives in Berlin, and he is the man behind Flip Flop Flyin. Probably those of you reading this have no idea what that is, but I'd be willing to bet that you've all seen his work. He's the creator behind the Minipops, small pixilated figures or animations that represent famous people. He has also done stuff that's been on MTV and just recentally some commercials for Yahoo! Music Unlimited, and The Submarine Channel's Valley of the Cnuties.

I can't really remember how I came across his site to begin with, but if I remember correctly Wired magazine had done an article on Minipops so I decided to investigate. I went to Flip Flop Flyin over a year ago and I've been enjoying his creations ever sense. Recently he just started his own blog, Flip Flop Flying, with a G. I usually check it on a daily basis to see what sort of adventures Craig and his dog Billy have been up to. Turns out Billy even has his own blog. I would leave a comment every now and then and would always get a response, so it was pretty cool to see that one day he had left a comment on my blog. The entries are very entertaining and one of the many ways I kick my day off. It's pretty neat to see how people live on a daily basis on the other side of the sea.

What's my point you ask? I guess it's that sometimes when you think you're just reaching a small audience it's usually bigger then you think, and sometimes small things turn out to be bigger then you planned. So thanks Craig for creating the Minipops and being one of the many things that keeps me entertained on a daily basis. And thanks for mentioning my blog on yours, the least I could do was return the favor.

That Takes A Lot Of Balls

So I don't really promote stuff on here all that often but this was something I saw that I definitely wish I'd been a part of. Sony has always made kick ass products, so it's nice to see them applying some of it to there TV adds. It definitely reminds you that you're a kid at heart.


You can check it all out at,

Sony Bravia TV Spot

Enjoy, and I'll see you soon.

An Endless Roll Of Film

Photo time again. I figure since I have a digital camera there's no excuss for not taking pictures, and since I have a computer and fingers there no excuse for not putting them on the web for you to see. So anyway, on the way home the other night I stopped an took some pictures and then walked around a little when I got home. Here's what I came up with.

The Beach Around Sunset


The Elporto Power Plant Smoke Stack aka The Candy Cane


The Actual Sunset


Playa Del Rey - The Dusk Series






So Phil Jackson (To bad he still doesn't couch the Bulls) just happens to live right down the street from us, and this is his favorite little dive bar just a little further down the street. The Harbor Room, occupancy about 15.



That's all for now folks. I'd type more but it's time to go tune skis.

Confirmation

Well it's official. My ass will be back in Vermont from Dec 22nd to Dec 30th.

And the rest of my body will be with it, granted US Airways doesn't completely screw me again like they did last year. But I think as some of you know I came out the winner in that one.

Can't wait to see everyone.

First Snow Fall Experienced Through Pictures

I logged into my email yesterday to find these pictures of Vermont's first snow fall of the season that my Uncle sent me.




I must say that it brought a flood of memories and good times rushing back to me, and also made me think harder about what I'm doing and where I am. A huge part of me misses the mountains, but a huge part of me that's still developing and discovering who I am is perfectly content right where I am. It's the whole stuck between a rock and a hard place ordeal. I want to live on the beach, I want to live three feet from a ski areas chair lift, I'm a computer technician, I want to be a DJ, Architect, Real Estate Salesmen, Wiring Technician, Ski Tuner. I'm good at fixing computers, but it's getting boring, I'm extremely organized, I can sell almost anyone on anything, I loved wiring with my Dad, I'm at home in a ski shop, I want to build houses, I want to stop sitting at my desk, I want to do more with my hands, I think Manual Labor is great. So many things to decide, but at the same time I know I'm blessed that I have so many choices and decisions to make. It's a dilema, but it's a good one. Now if I could just go to the store and buy some motivation in a can.

Thanks for the pictures Larry, and thanks for keeping me in Vermont while I'm living on the beach. I owe ya.

Some Things I See On A Daily Basis

Some photos for all my pals back home to keep you busy until I can think up something witty to post.

My Neighbors


My Surf Board At Night


One Of My Favorite Bars


For My Brother


Sincerely

"The Blogger...West Coast's answer to Vermont's Logger."

Quote courtesy of Tracey Stanier

Spotted

In a subway station outside of Oakland on a visit to see Corin.

That Is Much, Much, Better

So I finally had it with paying 70 dollars to fill up my gas tank. Three weeks ago after a pleasant day of work tuning skis I went to a dealership with my big Ford, and left with this bitchin' ride.


Bye, bye, Ford truck. It's been real, but you've quickly become extinct. I now save 30 dollars every time I fill my tank and I get at least 150 miles out of it.

The Finest Ski Tune In Town

Just wanted to give everyone a little heads up, if you're looking for Ski, Surf, or Snowboard goods you better come to Ski & Surf in Manhattan Beach and support your Mom & Pop stores. For those of you that don't know how to get there I've added a trusty little map for you.


Ski Surf Shop in Manhattan Beach

Storm Watch 2005

At least that's what they like to call it when we get a good day of rain in Southern California. I think it's just so they can have a reason to freak out when they drive in the rain. I myself rather enjoyed Storm Watch 2005 for the following reasons,

- It makes the news fun to watch, they talk about it kind of like the world might be coming to an end.
- All the crazy people that drive on the road seem to slow down and stay in one lane.
- It's kind of interesting to have a change in the weather.
- You can see forever once it stops because the air is crystal clear

So anyway, I came home today towards the end of Storm Watch 2005 and decided to head up to the crow's nest where we live and see if Mother Nature had any random bolts of lightning to throw at me or if it had all died down. The view from our roof is rather amazing at anytime of day and in any kind of weather but to be up there after a solid day or two of rain is incredible. It's kind of like waking up to a foot of fresh snow. After being out here awhile you sort of don't notice that the air isn't is clean as it could be, but the rain totally washes it all away and you really get to see what you're surrounded by and how much this city really has to offer. Mother Nature didn't have any lightning left, but she did leave me with this.