The Good Ship RSS

I don't know how this happened but I don't think a single one of my friends use RSS. I would wager on the fact that they don't know what it stands for. If it were not for Vista putting that stupid RSS reader on the gadget sidebar widget thing they would certainly never heard of it.

I say that to say this: Almost all of my friends are in the wide swath that is the IT field. Programmers, Sys Admins, Techs, Webbies, Comms, and the like. It makes me feel that I live in the wrong part of the country. They know their stuff but RSS is not in the mix I don't think.

On the other hand since they are not in those high paid big city IT positions here in this hell hole of a state they will not likely be one of the MCSEs working at McDonalds. I would rather be over qualified and underpaid in a state with a red state lifestyle than a millionaire in a megaopolis filled with mannies and shock jocks.

I wish I had known

Cruise Control buttons should have a skull and crossed bones on them. Anytime I think a part of my life is okay enough for me to set the Cruise and relax, I slam into something solid. Constant attention, constant focus. I suppose the pressure that is crushing me probably inspires some. I may have inspired me at some point but I am worn down. Worn and dull.

Joy is becoming harder and harder to find. Survival mode sucks. I am relegated to headphones and coffee. There is no place for me to be. There is no peace. It is all beach and no shelter.

The real problem is not the stress but the lack of payoff. I have never been in such a zero-sum game before. There are no points, there are no finish lines, just more race.

None of this is new to this world and I suppose instead of dying of diabetes at 47 I could be suffering of mercury poisoning at 20 like some fireworks assembly worker. I can put this all in perspective quick enough but that somehow doesn't make me want to trot on with a smile.

I grew up with almost zero exposure to country music. In high school I was forced to listen to Garth Brooks and Randy Travis thanks to my brother and I hated it. Anything with a slide guitar or banjo made me cringe.

Two things happened to change my mind about country music. First and most importantly I started playing guitar. The more I play acoustic the more I respected the country guitarists. Secondly I looked around for something unfamiliar to quiet the noise in my head.

In the last six months I have dunked my head into the sobering outright common sentimentality of ballad country music. I like the happy songs too but if it smacks of a bar song or a sing-a-long then I have to pass on it.

I have been caught off guard by some songs like "Allisya Lies", "Better in Color", and just tonight the song "November 8th" blew me away.

I am not saying that I know the artists or follow discography. I am still a Demon Hunter, Emery, and King's X fan. I have just opened new avenues of musical appreciation.

Another odd facet of my music enjoyment is the joyous phenom that is Kingdom Bound Quartet. They are like the Lil' Wayne of regional southern gospel quartets. Chicks dig them and they sell t-shirts. They are awesome.

Phoney

Well, you would know that within weeks of my Tilt purchase I learn of the AT&T no-camera version of the Fuze. I can't win.

One day I won't care if my phone has a camera in it or not but for now I am stuck with this restriction.