Father of three, and oh so tired.
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Getting a little techie today

February 19th, 2013 | Posted by kitster in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

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Some may know I am a little bit of a gadget whore. I used to be able to have more gadgets before Samantha and the boys, but I still get my toys every now and then. Lately, most of my gadgets have centered around mobile phones or tablets. My latest toy is a Google Nexus 7 tablet. It is really just a larger version of my cell phone (Evo 4G LTE on Sprint), but without all the Sprint and HTC stuff on it. My phone has a huge, 4.7 inch screen – but when I use my tablet for a while and then switch to the phone – it seems like I am trying to text message on a postage stamp.

Both my phone and tablet are running the latest Android OS, nicknamed “Jelly Bean”. You see, the folks out in Mountain View thought it would be cool if they would name their OS versions alphabetically after sweet treats. Let me see, I think it started with Cupcake. Donut followed. Then Eclair (my first Android phone was a HTC Hero running Eclair). Froyo. Gingerbread. Honeycomb (which I think was more for tablets than phones). ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich). For now, the current or latest version is Jelly Bean. But soon another OS will be released from Google, nicknamed Key Lime Pie. I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

Anyway, the fun thing about each new OS release is all the fun new items they include to snazz up your device. With Jelly Bean, Google introduced Google Now. An interface that almost tells you what you want to know before you ask for it. It is a simple set of “cards” with different information on each. Weather on one. Traffic on another… and so on.

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Anyway, one cool feature that I have found within Google Now is SONG RECOGNITION. Google Now contains a “Siri-like” voice recognition component that works pretty good. You can either say “Google..” or tap on the microphone and ask it questions. It will then do it’s best to answer you. But, if you do not say anything and it hears music.. it will give you a music note button. And, if you press it – Google Now will tell you what song it hears. I tried it with several songs, and it works VERY quickly. Quicker than Shazam. Quicker than Soundhound. Complete with cover art and a link to purchase the song in the Google Play store. It is fantastic – and caused me to delete Shazam off my phone immediately. If you have an Android device running Jelly Bean – try it out. Pictured to the left is what I saw when I asked my phone “When is Reggie Jackson’s birthday?”.

I am almost done with the nerdy Andorid talk. But, one other thing Google Now does is predict things you may ask it. For instance, over the weekend, my family went to Costco for some milk. We buy alot of milk. While we were there, I looked down at Google Now on my phone. Under the weather forecast and a traffic report for the way home, there was the option to “Research items at Costco”. Excuse me? How in the hell did it know I was at Costco? So cool. Depending on the time of day, Google Now will also give me traffic for my drive to work (in the AM) and home (in the PM). It is quite well done. I am impressed.

- Kit

While I was listening to Smooth Jazz (.com) while putting the boys down, I heard a song I haven’t heard in at least 20 years. Then, as I listened to it for the first time seemingly in my adult life – it hit me. This song was the reason I bought my 2nd ever album back in 1979. I loved this song and album so much, and I think it led to my love of smooth jazz today. Turns out I can still hum and/or whistle every note of “Give It All You Got” by Chuck Mangione. Fantastic song, and the official theme of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. “Do you believe in miracles??”

Give It All You Got by Chuck Mangione on Grooveshark

Give It All You Got by Chuck Mangione

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Ending a small hiatus

February 18th, 2013 | Posted by kitster in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

kit_samantha_mallThis post will be just a smattering of thoughts – rapid fire style. I haven’t posted in a week (or close to it). Sorry for the gap, but sometimes life calls.

First off – I have to tell you… I have the best, most rocking daughter ever. I got to have a little daddy-daughter time over the last week. Saturday, we braved a local mall and enjoyed a couple of whirls on the merry-go-round. It used to be her favorite thing ever. It isn’t anymore, but she still enjoys it. After that, we both had Haagen Dazs. I had Salted Caramel Truffle and she enjoyed Strawberry. When I asked her for a bite, she said “Of course, daddy!” If you are reading this, you most likely know how over-the-moon I am for my daughter. She is beautiful, confident, courageous, polite, courteous, intelligent and pretty damn incredible. Something just a small as a smile or a “Thank you, daddy” sends me into a universe of happiness. Right now, she is not feeling very well. A little cold has gotten her down, but she is still amazing. I just wish I could be sick for her. I would do it in a heartbeat.

Secondly – all this bullshit surrounding South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney possibly sitting out his junior year so he doesn’t injure himself before his big payday. One hack sportswriter from the Charlotte Observer obviously desperate to fill column inches during the off-season writes a column stating maybe JD should sit the season out so he doesn’t injure himself before he is the first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Then, every outlet (radio, television, print, web) seized on the story and ran with it. Within a week, every sports-type in the country had covered (or still was covering) the story. Local sports radio spent several hours discussing this non-topic – even soliciting phone calls from listeners (which in most ANY case is a horrible idea). What I would say is – STOP. JUST STOP. This is a complete non-story. Jadeveon is a football player and will play football. It is true that he can realistically not raise his draft status (because he is predicted by most/all to be the first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft) – but I can imagine not playing a live-action snap for the entire season may hurt his draft status a little – dontcha think? Idiot!

All these videos featuring the Harlem Shake. Stop it. Please, for love of god – STOP IT. If you are reading this, and have no idea what the Harlem Shake is.. do not bother looking it up or pursuing it further. It isn’t worth your time. It will be time wasted that you can never get back.

I want to wish the best of luck to my friend, Greg Willits in his new career venture. Greg and I were colleagues 12 or more years ago. Since then, we have both bounced around but kept close. I stayed in web, while his career has really taken some zigs and zags. Anyway, he and his lovely wife, Jennifer – started a podcast back in 2005 dealing with family life and the Catholic faith. It was a huge hit, and led to them getting a 3-hour show on Sirius/XM’s Catholic Channel called “The Catholics Next Door”. Again, wildly popular. Greg has now (pardon the pun) taken a leap of faith, and taken a new position as the Director of Evangelization and Family Life Ministries for the Archdiocese of Denver. If that title sounds impressive, IT IS! So, now comes the separation from the rest of his great family while he gets things settled in Denver. I just wanted to say congratulations to him (and Jennifer, for whom without her none of this would have happened) – and good luck finding that perfect house out there!

Lastly, I love hamburgers. I will be starting my hamburger blog (called “Hamblogger”) very soon. But, last week I had one of the worst burgers I have every tried to ingest. I stopped at Burger King for lunch and got the “Angry Whopper”. This is a regular Whopper, but with a spicy bbq sauce, pepper jack cheese, jalapenos and fried onions. Not only was the taste not what I was expecting (or good, really), but it was also cold. This was an older Burger King I never frequent – and now I see why I never go there. Service? Bad. Food? Worse. Yuck. This burger has ALMOST made me scrap fast food burgers completely and just stick with burgers from fast-casual establishments or nicer. For instance, for my first HAMBLOGGER post, I will be featuring the Holeman and Finch “10 O’Clock Burger”. I have heard nothing but good things about it, and I figure we may as well start the HAMBLOGGER with a bang! For more info about this burger – check out the H&F Burger page.

Thank you for indulging me for a little while. I appreciate it.

- Kit

Today’s song is one of my favorite from the very early 90′s. It’s title accurately describes how I feel about myself sometimes. “Getting Away With It” from Electronic. Electronic is/was made up of New Order lead singer Bernard Sumner, ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys. The group had a handful of charting hits in the early 90′s (before New Order got back together for 1993′s “Republic”), but this is my favorite song. The song sounds like a Pet Shop Boys and New Order mash-up a little.. but I do love it.. especially the strings at the end.

Getting Away With It by Electronic on Grooveshark

Getting Away With It by Electronic

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XM Radio and Wayman Tisdale

February 12th, 2013 | Posted by kitster in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

tisdaleI have been a fan of satellite radio for a long time. Back in 2002, while it was in its infancy, I dove right in. I worked from home and used my XM Radio to listen to news, sports, and all kinds of music. The beauty of my set-up was, once I started travelling alot more, I could bring my unit with me easily and enjoy my tunes wherever I was. In 2003, Jess and I flew out to Seattle for a web design conference and also a little side business. After a week in Seattle, we spent the next week and a half driving to Grant’s Pass, OR, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, San Diego and back to Anaheim. We were never out of range of all my 80′s new wave tunes or sports radio. Several times, I would drive the 8 hours from Denver to Provo, UT (and back) and have smooth jazz or college football the whole way.

Even with all the channels XM (and later, Sirius) offered, sometimes you find yourself looking through other channels. Sometimes, I would listen to the hits of the 1940s. I would listen to the disco channel (called Chrome), and sometimes even Top 40. But, when I would stray from my 80s and 90s channels – more often than not, I would be on the cool jazz channel, Watercolors. While I used to get into jazz a little in high school, I really love listening to cool jazz thanks to finding Watercolors. One of the artists Watercolors introduced me to was Wayman Tisdale.

If that name sounds familiar, it should be. He was an 3-time first team All American basketball star at Oklahoma in the mid-80s. He was a Olympic gold medalist. He was a #2 draft pick and spent 12 years in the NBA. With his career winding down, he started kick-starting his music career. What followed was a hugely successful jazz career while playing the bass guitar. Unfortunately, Tisdale was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and passed two years later (suddenly). One of my favorite songs of all time is the song (at least to me) put him on the map – Ready to Hang. I have shared it below as my song for the day. Give it a spin. If you are interested in hearing more about Wayman Tisdale’s story (which I haven’t even scatched the surface), please view the trailer to the “Wayman Tisdale Story”.

Why am I saying all this? Well, I decided to give up XM a couple of years ago. It was just an expense that I thought wasn’t needed anymore. Most of the time I do not miss it. Between mp3s, Spotify, Slacker, Pandora, podcasts, etc. it isn’t that hard to miss it. But every so often, they have occasion to offer XM/Sirius free for two weeks (effectively turning your radio back on). I give in and listen – and that always makes me want to re-subscribe. Now, they include online and mobile streaming along with service for XM radios. The latest 2-week trial ends tomorrow – and I am very close to maybe giving it a go again. The ongoing special is $25 for 6 months. This is a great deal when compared to the normal price of 15 bucks a month. I am still wavering.

Do you have XM or Sirius? How long have you had satellite radio? What are your favorite channels?

- Kit

Ready to Hang by Wayman Tisdale

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Twin language and bad radio

February 10th, 2013 | Posted by kitster in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

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I am convinced my twin boys can communicate with each other – in their own language. I had read a little about this before the boys were born. I also saw a CNN story on this while at work one day a couple of years ago. It contends that twins (some, most, I am not sure) can indeed communicate with each other in a way other children cannot. Tonight, I saw this first hand.

While playing in the children’s playroom (our former living room) I was sitting near an open doorway. The boys were on the other side of the wall in the hallway. So, I peered around and saw them – said “peek-a-boo” and darted back out of sight. Then, Max poked his head around, gave me a smile and garbled words, then snuck back out of sight. I hear them “talking” and giggling. Then, popping around the corner is the other brother, Mason (pictured). “Bleggle-bag-mergh…” then giggles as he darts away. More talking and giggling. They then proceed to choreograph alternate peek-a-boos.  Max. Mason. Max. Mason. Like clockwork. Talking and giggling the whole time. It was very cute, and a little crazy too.

Atlanta radio really sucks. Really. It has for a while now. But, over the last year radio mega-conglomerations have cemented that fact with moves and shifts. Two of my favorite stations have been removed right off the dial – leaving (for me at least) nothing good to listen to at all. A couple of years ago, my favorite radio station was taken off Atlanta FM airwaves and placed online only. A year later, it was placed back on the airwaves, but at a different, less-than-stellar signal (of which I could rarely if ever pick up). Then, it was taken off again – replaced by a hard rock station called “The Bone”. Nice.

I live in a northern suburb of Atlanta, and in my neighborhood the only radio station I could get clearly is 92.9 Dave FM. This is one of those “Jack” stations that popped up everywhere in the mid-2000′s. They skewed alternative, but also had heavy rotations of U2, Dave Matthews, REM, etc. Not a bad station, really. Plus, they had very good jocks – including several from the radio station I mention above. I used it to wake up to in the morning. I listened to it in the boys room as I changed them (which was all the time!). It was a good mix of music on a strong signal. 4 months ago – CBS yanked DaveFM to make way for Atlanta’s THIRD sports talk radio station. I like sports talk, but this station is horrible. So, now I am left with no music alternatives on local radio. Sure, I use my phone to listen to Spotify or radio stations from other markets (courtesy of  Tune In Radio), but it isn’t the same.

Luckily for me, Atlanta has one of the premier college radio stations in the country – WRAS 88.1 “Album 88″ out of Georgia State University downtown. Why I get this station crystal clear (from downtown) I have no idea – but I’ll take it. This station plays a great mix of terrible, bad, good and great music – in 2 hour blocks. The station represents every genre of music – except maybe polka (and I am not sure that they do not play that, either). Point is – it is a little bit of a crapshoot when you tune in when I do. I listen around 6:30 to 7:30 most evenings. Depending on the day, you could hear R&B one day and industrial music the next. Then maybe country a day or two later. I have found a couple of artists and songs I enjoy that I would have NEVER heard before – and that’s pretty cool. But there have been times I just had to turn it off completely. But, it is always an adventure. One day, I will buy myself  one of those fancy Jambone or Bose bluetooth speakers that you can take anywhere. But until then, I will continue to visit the musical buffet that is Album 88.

- Kit

Here is one of the songs I heard last night during a show called “Urban Flava”. I have never heard of this guy, Anthony David. Besides having two first names, I now know he is from Savannah but makes Atlanta his homebase now. Anyway, the song caught my attention enough to where I had to look it up on the Album 88 web site. And now, I share it with you. It is definitely worth a listen!

Words by Anthony David

Working for the weekend

February 8th, 2013 | Posted by kitster in Uncategorized - (1 Comments)

Redbox kiosk

First of all, my nearby co-worker has already complained about how cold it is in the office today (loudly, to himself) about 20 times today. If he does it again, so help me, I will go over there and set him on fire. OK? Ok. Let’s continue.

Friday always brings choices. One way I treat myself each week (or Jess lets me treat myself) is to stop and get a little fast-food breakfast on the way to work. Choice. What to have for dinner? Choice. If we have a baby sitter, what are we going to do tonight? Choice. More often – “Hey, let’s get a Redbox movie”. Choice. That is where I am at right now.

What on earth should I get from the Redbox on my way home? If you are unfamiliar with Redbox, it is a company (owned by that company that counts your coins in grocery stores, Coinstar) that places big, red kiosk machines in public places like WalMarts and grocery stores. These kiosks are filled with movies and games, and are available for $1.20 a night. What a bargain. Now, these aren’t the absolute latest movies – movie studios make services like RedBox and Blockbuster wait 28 days after a movie is released on DVD before they can stock it in their kiosks or stores. This is because after 28 days or so, a new DVD sees a sharp decline in sales. The studios figure you are less apt to buy a DVD if it is also available to rent. So, they make you wait – and to me, that makes sense and is perfectly fair.

Back to me. I am faced with a lackluster collection of flicks to choose from, but would like to watch something relatively recent. Here are a couple of my choices.

  • Flight – Denzel Washington plays a drunk airline pilot who lands a plane safely and gets in hot water
  • Here Comes The Boom – Kevin James gets beat up alot while Salma Hayek and The Fonz look on
  • Alex Cross – Madea is a man, and gets wronged somehow – so he starts kicking ass
  • 7 Psychopaths – Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken make money stealing peoples dogs
  • Ted – Marky Mark befriends a teddy bear who has the voice of Peter Griffin
  • Hotel Transylvania – Cartoon where the main characters eat “Scream Cheese”. Get it?

So, what do I choose? I am leaning towards “7 Psychopaths”, but could be swayed. What do you think?

Anyway, have a great weekend. Stay warm and dry.

- Kit

Todays tune is by that cartoon band, Gorillaz. 2005′s “Feel Good, Inc.” is a tune I liked alot (along with “Dare”). Gorillaz were very hot in the early and mid-2000s and with good reason. Good music and strong vocals.. plus did I mention they are cartoony? Anyway, enjoy their biggest hit courtesy of your old pal, Kit. Oh, and extra points if you can tell me who is doing all that damn laughing in the song!

Feel Good, Inc. by Gorillaz

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So, let’s try this again.. shall we?

February 7th, 2013 | Posted by kitster in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

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I have been in the web/internet business for a while. When Ricky Martin took the world by storm with his “Livin’ La Vida Loca” – I had already been in the business for 3 years. It has been a long time, and I have done alot of things web-related.

Well, I have decided to throw out a new blog. Yes, I have done blogs before. Podcasts, too. They have all died for one reason or another. No time. Other projects taking precedence. Kids (which could also count as ‘No time’). This blog will be a daily (or twice-daily) look into what I am doing, eating, watching, seeing, etc. I promise to make it as interesting as I can. If a time comes where the items I publish are boring or waste your time – I will stop doing it. But, let’s just assume that will not happen – ok?

So, welcome to my newest blog. I am also going to create a weekly blog about my love of HAMBURGERS and hamburger joints that are popping up like weeds here in Atlanta. It will be called “HAMBLOGGER” and the first episode will debut sometime in February.

OH! One more thing.. I will close each blog entry with a link to a song I love (or like a whole lot). Please give it a listen. I would also welcome your feedback on the song – and the blog in general. Feel free to leave a comment – good or bad – any time.

- Kit

Today’s song is one of my “poppy” 90′s favorites. “Carnival” by The Cardigans was a followup to their hugely popular “Lovefool”. Either that, or it was just a marginal charter on the same album.. I can’t remember. A happy, playful sound – plus the bonus of the band “sparking up” in the beginning make this a feel-good go-to for me. With all the crap that made the radio in the mid-to-late-90′s, I am surprised this tune didn’t make the cut. What say you?



Carnival by The Cardigans

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