life, and a little more

looking back and looking forward

Dec 31

metalman777Life 2009 goals, Life 5 Comments

It’s that time again.  Time to look back at how the year went and time to look forward to see what the new year might have in store.

I found my blog entry for January 1, 2008 and in it I listed some of my hopes for the new year.  Read it below:

Hopes and Goals for 2008

Today is the day I’m going to try to get some of my goals and hopes for 2008 written down.  Maybe if I write ‘em down I’ll be more apt to keep ‘em!

Now, these are in no particular order, but I think the ones I list first are probably more important as they are at the forefront of my mind.

1.  Read my Bible all the way through by year’s end.  I want to start in Genesis and end in Revelation.  I want to see God’s plan for us from start to finish.  This is going to take some discipline on my part.  If I can’t read it then I want to listen to it on my iPod.  By reading what God has to say for my life, I hope to get closer to Him and love Him all the more.

2.  Lose 40 pounds.  This will be the hardest goal I have.  If I drop 40lbs, I’ll be right at a nice 200lb.  A lean mean fighting machine!  Honestly, if I can’t change my addiction to fast food, then this goal will get flushed down the toilet! I wish there was just a magic fix to get un-fat, but there isn’t.  I’m most concerned with getting adult diabetes if I can’t get my weight under control.

3.  Be more available for my wife and kids.  The computer shall be my mistress no more.  If one of my kids needs attention or help for something, I want to be able to say sure! no problemo! not, wait until I’m done editing this video!

4.  That said, I do want to be more creative and use technology to further that creativity.  I hope to learn Adobe Illustrator and Artrage 2 to help bring out the hidden artist in me (and boy is that artist hidden!)  I’d also like to find a nice “Photography for losers” kind of book to help me figure out better picture taking!

5.  I want to read some classic literature this year.  Not Shakespeare, but maybe Dante’s Inferno, Moby Dick, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Beowolf or The Iliad and Odyssey or Plato’s Republic.

6.  Get on our piano and try to learn some more music stuff.  My long term goal is to get a bass guitar, but  until then, I need to practice with what’s available.

I’m probably reaching for the moon by hoping to accomplish all of these things this year.  I can only try.

I read this list now on December 31, 2008 and am a little amazed at how much I failed!  I didn’t read the entire Bible, although I did listen to quite a few books on my iPod.  Losing 40 pounds?  Hahaha, that’s funny!  Let’s just say I didn’t gain any weight (which is a good thing I guess).  I was able to make good on goal number 3 – getting off the ‘ol computer and hanging out with my family more.  I didn’t learn Adobe Illustrator or read in classic literature, and I didn’t get on our piano at all.  One outta six is a pretty bad average.

Honestly, I’m not worried about it or even feeling guilty.  Those were good goals.  I’m even gonna carry some of them into 2009.

That said, here are those goals for 2009:

1.  Follow Jesus where ever He takes me.

2.  Get healthy and drop some pounds.

3.  Make family a priority.

4.  Definitely read more and watch less movies.

5.  Pick up the bass guitar and learn some sweet bass lines.

6.  Buy Guitar Hero Metallica the minute it comes out!

Quicken Financial Life for Mac

Dec 30

metalman777apple, money, software, www financial, mac, quicken, quicken financial life for mac, software No Comments

[JUNE 9, 2009 - QUICKEN POSTED THIS BLOG ENTRY REGARDING QUICKEN FOR MAC 2010]

I blog about a wide variety of topics.  I’ve been a little surprised that my most read entry is about Quicken and its alternatives for Mac users.  (Read that entry here)

I was a little shocked that I’m the number two blog when a person googles Quicken alternatives!  Check it out below…

Yeah, that is pretty sweet for a small time blogger like myself.  I am also curious at the pressure to write another blog that will garner that many hits.  I hate doing anything for popularity’s sake, and I’m not writing a follow up entry for that purpose.

I have stumbled upon some interesting Quicken for Mac news.  It is concerning Intuit’s new product, entitled “Quicken Financial Life for Mac“.   It supposed to be a redesigned Quicken that is specifically built with Mac users in mind.

I captured a bunch of screenshots and will post them here.  But the best post I’ve found so far on this subject is from Apple Insider.  Click right here to go to that article.

I also try to sign up to be a beta tester for the Quicken product, but alas, I was rejected!  My “you are not cool enough to play with our software” letter is below:

So I don’t have any hands on experience to report.  Hopefully Intuit will release a product that is as good as their windoze version. The screen caps from Apple Insider look promising.  Below are the screen caps I took directly from Intuit’s website.

Best Music of 2008

Dec 30

metalman777music, videos ac/dc, avantasia, best of 2008, black tide, brave, death angel, disturbed, extreme, gama bomb, hammerfall, harem scarem, hyper static union, joe satriani, jorn lande, journey, king's x, metal, metallica, mudcrutch, music, paul gilbert, pillar, reviews, starbreaker, tempestt, Tesla, testament, theocracy, whitesnake No Comments

[viddler id=d6ec4d57&w=437&h=392]

Meet Him In The Air

Dec 22

metalman777music, videos christian rock, hyper static union, melodic rock, music No Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBYWTINBvME]

Hyper Static Union released their sophomore album, entitled Meet Him In The Air this past week.  It has a been a few years since their first album, Lifegiver, but it was well worth the wait!

This is taken from the band’s website:

Hyper Static Union is an American alternative rock band from Camas Washington. Moving forward with the new album… “Meet Him in the Air”, HSU continues their poetic exploration of life, love and God’s truth.

Hyper Static Union is Shawn Lewis, Bryan Albrechtson, Ray Burnham, Mike Jackson, and Tim Downing.

The label “alternative rock” is a little misleading for me.  When I hear the word “alternative” I immediately think of Nirvana and the STP and the whole grunge rock movement.

HSU is very melodic and full of vibrant harmonies.  Well, listen to the samples and tell me what you think.

Samples from Stryper's forthcoming Murder By Pride

Dec 21

metalman777music, videos christian metal, hair metal, music, samples, stryper No Comments

from Stryper’s website:

“After years of speaking to fans and hearing comments like “more guitars”, “more solos” and “more screams”, I decided to keep those comments in mind as I wrote each song. It was important to me to try to get back to that early sound of Stryper yet at the same time, to remain relevant today. It’s certainly not an easy thing to do but as I listen to “Murder By Pride”, I think that was accomplished.

I got the idea of the title “Murder By Pride” from seeing pride consume dreams, goals and many times, lives.  We all deal with pride and it can be crippling, so I wanted to write a lyric and a theme that would be a constant reminder of that. This record has been in the works for a long, long time and I can only hope that it was worth the wait!” ~ Michael Sweet

Of the three, I have to say that 4 Leaf Clover sounds really awesome!  Well, listen below and see for yourself!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skcNDMm41c8]

New Christmas Song From Theocracy

Dec 19

metalman777audio, humor, music christian metal, christmas music, heavy metal, music, theocracy No Comments

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008 FROM THEOCRACY!

PUSH PLAY BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE SONG

[audio=https://dl-web.getdropbox.com/get/Music/Theocracy%20-%20Rudolph%20vs.%20Frosty.mp3?w=4f0722e0]

RUDOLPH VS. FROSTY (Smith)

Everyone knows Rudolph has a big, red shiny nose
And Frosty comes to town every December when it snows
But did you know that those two never really got along?
I bet you’ve never heard this Christmas song…

“I’ve paid my dues for years and years, I’m Santa’s very favorite deer, so I should be the second in command at Christmastime,” says Rudolph
“Pull the sleigh where Santa goes and light the night with my red nose, I think it’s time for me to get what’s mine”

“Night lights are replaceable–a talking snowman’s magical; my agent says I need a bigger piece of Santa’s pie” says Frosty“
I bring children real joy, not just the latest stupid toy, I think it’s time for me to get what’s mine”

Then Rudolph rang his reindeer bells
Turned and sang with all the elves

Hey Hey Hey
Santa’s on his way
You’d better stop that bickering before it’s Christmas day
Ho Ho Ho
Egg nog and mistletoe
And Santa’s gonna take a torch and melt you to the floor

“Frosty, you’ve got coal for eyes, when things get hot you won’t survive, so get out of my way, this job is mine all mine (now snowman step aside),” says Rudolph
“Rudolph, man, your claim to fame’s a lightbulb and a funny name, and everybody knows I’m next in line”

Rudolph with your nose so bright
Won’t you kiss my corn cob pipe

Hey Hey Hey
Santa’s on his way
You’d better stop that bickering before it’s Christmas day
Ho Ho Ho
Egg nog and mistletoe
And Santa’s gonna mount you in his living room for show

“Hey Rudolph!”
“What?”
“I wrote a song about you!”
“Oh boy…”

“You wanna hear it? Here it go!

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And when ol’ St. Nick saw it
He thought it would look really good mounted on his wall”

“Oh you think that’s funny? Well check this out:

Frosty the Snowman
Was a puddle on the ground
And a makeshift scoop for the reindeer poop
Is the best use for his magic hat I’ve found”

With a nod of his head, Rudolph took to the sky, and swooping down, he gouged at Frosty with an antler to the eye
But Frosty struck right back and grabbed his bright red nose, and turned it right into a popcicle as Rudolph’s whole head froze
But Rudolph broke the ice, shook his antlers twice, and raced back in to strike again
But then a “Ho Ho Ho!” came booming from the sky, the echoed voice of you-know-who

With the cookies and milk and a bowlful of jelly in his belly
And a dash through the sky, and a twinkle in his eye, St. Nick
With a bag full of toys for the good girls and boys on his shoulder
And a “Ho Ho Ho!” and a “Look out below!” St. Nick

With the cookies and milk and a bowlful of jelly in his belly
And a dash through the sky, and a twinkle in his eye, St. Nick
With a bag full of toys for the good girls and boys on his shoulder
And a reindeer call and a “Dash away all!” St. Nick

“You two ougtta be ashamed, you’ve sullied Santa’s perfect name, this operation would go down the drain if I retired,” says Santa
“Neither of you gets the job, so go and join the Grinch’s mob, and Merry Christmas both of you, you’re fired!”

Then Santa broke into a smile
Said, “Everyone else stay awhile!”

Hey Hey Hey
Santa’s here today
And now it’s time for Christmas dinner, everyone awaits
Ho Ho Ho
Everything’s alright
‘Cause Mrs. Claus has whipped us up a Christmas feast tonight

Hey Hey Hey
Santa’s here today
And now it’s time for Christmas dinner, everyone awaits
Ho Ho Ho
Everything’s alright
‘Cause Santa’s having venison and snow ice cream tonight

Buh Bye My Friend Flickr

Dec 13

metalman777pictures, www flickr, picture sharing No Comments

So I log into Gmail the other day and was kind of bummed to find the above email from AT&T.  I’ve been using Flickr for about 2 or 3 years now, so I’m more than a little sad to be losing this service, at least the Pro Version of it.

As you can see, I’ve uploaded quite a few pictures to my account.    Flickr has always been very easy to use and it has always been very easy to share pictures with friends and family.  I use Slide.com to import my different Flickr sets and make some pretty cool slideshows (just posted one here as a matter of fact) Now that I am being downgraded to a “free” version of Flickr, this is what I’ll be getting:

BOO!  100mb a month?  I can shoot that many pictures in just one sitting!  And as you might know, shooting low resolution pictures (like 300kb instead of 5Mb) will make printing said pictures a pain in the neck.  Grainy and horrible prints is what you’ll get!

So I’m looking around at different sites now. If I gotta pay, I’m gonna get the best one I can find.  Watch for at least one or two more posts to come and see if I can find the perfect picture sharing website.

New Podcasts

Dec 11

metalman777podcasts podcasts No Comments

Ok, finally found some new podcasts.  I’ll listen to ‘em this week and let you know which ones are good!

Right off the bat, I know I’ll be addicted to Ask A Ninja and Digg Nation.  Funny stuff!

Nate's 10th Birthday Party

Dec 06

metalman777family, pictures birthday, nathan No Comments

[slideshow id=576460752341245155&w=426&h=320]

I can’t believe my little guy is 10 years old!  Seems just like yesterday he was crawling around in diapers!

A Christmas Video Worth Watching

Dec 02

metalman777Christianity, videos christmas, consumerism No Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K14c4NGuhDI&eurl=&feature=player_embedded]

I ran across this video and thought it was very well done.  Take the message to heart!