Alien-e.com

2010-04-30T19:22:00.000-05:00

This is it. This is the last post on alien-e.com. Changes in Blogger.com's policies won't let me publish to this page anymore. So, I'm going to have to tear my site apart and re-build it before I can blog again. Not really excited about doing that so, it may be a while.

Don't forget to check out my concert calendar here: http://www.alien-e.com/concerts/

See ya' later.

2010-04-27T15:45:00.001-05:00

So, I got some answers to my questions on Friday so, here they are:

1. Scott agreed to add a secondary filter on the AC unit. Also, I found a coupon on American Air's website for $500 but, he agreed to add a UV light inside the AC unit that kills bacteria and mold instead.
2. Scott is using 2 14" flex tubes so 20" was more than enough. So we cut it back to 15" X 22"
3. Scott agreed to put the return at the top of the stairs, turning the grate 90 degrees so it can be closed.
4. Scott said the unit in the attic was 110.
5. The chase will have 14" circular ducts will be the supply and return down the chase for the first floor
6. The AC unit that's being installed can't use 2 thermostats but, Scott suggested that we use a remote sensor that averages the two areas
7. The AC unit will be above my bedroom door oriented with the intake facing east
8. The utilities on the AC unit will be on the service side, which is facing north
9. The ducts will be replaced and the grate for the front upstairs bedroom since the room is slightly larger

Here is what we completed by Sunday night at 10:30

1. We did not add a 20 amp breaker. Will utilize the breaker from the original unit and pull out the wire to the original AC closet.
2. The 220 volt plug in the side yard is not active, so we'll rewire it from the breaker that supplies the old condenser unit.
3. Gas line up the wall is installed but the splice from the main and the line all the way to the AC unit in the upper attic remain to be installed.
4. The lines are drawn on the garage wall and it's ready to be cut out. Might even do it before I go to bed tonight...
5. No decking was installed in the garage attic
6. The upper attic void was opened this morning to allow the gas pipe and the electrical wire. I opened the entrance to the void by cutting the 2"X4" away. If I had not cut it, I would not have been able to get the gas pipe into position. Unfortunately, I messed up the walls in both bedrooms and will need to repair and re-texture the walls at a later date
7. Did not clean the void for screw tips and protrusions. Will do tomorrow or Wednesday.
8. Cory opened 15" at the back of the closet for the supply and return from the AC
9. Cory outlined where the scuttle will be but, since it was late we didn't cut the sheetrock. Also, we might need some more 2"X4"s to make the rough opening. Also the Werner ladder was $260 at Lowes. I'll need to find a cheaper solution.
10. I removed Matt's AC duct and taped it off. I left mine since I'll be in the room until the AC guys come on Wednesday.
11. Bought the plywood for decking the upper attic but, we didn't have the table saw here. So, tomorrow I'll take the sheets up to Cory's shop and get them cut and installed.
12. We also bought the plywood for the platform ($25) from Lowes but, we need to cut the scuttle out and rough it before we can put it up into the attic.
13. The overflow drip line has not been installed
14. The main AC condensation line has not been installed either. Might just get them to use the existing for the time being.

Here's what we completed on Monday:

1. Cory cut out scuttle above the landing and rough out
2. Eric cut away drywall in garage (#4)
3. We bought some more plywood and had it pre-cut into decking for upper attic
4. Bought j-boxes for wiring up a spare plug and a light in the attic including a new 20 amp breaker

What needs to happen tonight:
1. Deck attic with plywood and move supports that are in the way
2. Add the platform for the AC
3. Run wire from breaker box to the platform and wire up the light and extra plug
4. Install the pipes to get the gas line to the platform in the upper attic and splice in the pipes to the main gas line.
5. Throw a couple of sheets of plywood in the garage attic and screw down
6. Clean up the void to ease the install.

What we need to do on Wednesday:
1. Re-purpose the breaker for the existing condenser (outside unit) and pull out the existing cable (if we can find it)

2010-04-23T09:35:00.001-05:00

I'm getting my 15 year old AC system ripped out and replaced with an efficient 18 SEER unit.

Of course, with any project like this, I require a job that's above and beyond the standard AC contractor job. Cory (my brother) and I have spent the last week deciding on how this whole project is going to go down. So, we wrote a few lists.

The owner / operator (Scott Russo) of American Air is coming by on Friday, so we have a few questions:

1. Can we add a filter that's attached to the AC unit on the return? We're looking for a cheap-o backup filter that will come after the filters at the return grills (upstairs and downstairs)
2. We are leaving 20" at back of "new closet" that we cut open a the back of the stairs. Is this enough room?
3. Can we put the return at top of stairs (not on the landing, over the stairs)?
4. Is the attic unit 220 volt? (want to know how to wire the unit)
5. We will remove the duct that goes up into the chase to the second floor. Will you bring ducts to replace it? Will you be using flex for the downstairs ducts and the downstairs return? What size (since Cory and I believe the big return should be upstairs).
6. Can the unit utilize two thermostats?
7. How will the unit be oriented in the attic?
8. Where will the utilities (gas, electric) terminate in the upper attic?
9. We will remove all of the existing ducts in the upper attic so they will have to re-duct the two upstairs bedrooms and add a vent into the bathroom. Will you make sure to bring ducts to do this?

Here are the parts that the installers won't do so, this will have to be pre-install work for Cory and Eric to do over the weekend:

1. Electrical line from small panel (adding a 20amp breaker to the secondary panel) to garage attic and up to upper attic (#12 3 wire)
2. Verify side yard plug is 220 volts and active and confirm it's on one breaker (label it), if not, FIX IT!
3. Run gas line from garage attic to upper attic (measure pipe length to the wall and up through void)
4. Open up strip of sheet rock for copper tubing that stops 4" down from the ceiling and goes all the way to the floor (this sucks because I just had the sheet rock in the garage repaired and painted)
5. (Optional) rip 4X8X.5 sheets of plywood in half for walking in garage attic (22 feet across)
6. Check opening of void between the upstairs bedrooms for opening into upper attic and open up if necessary. Don't forget to remove more 2"X4" and make the opening to the void wider at the bottom. Note: This will be the main "highway" for the gas line, freon lines, condensation drip tubing and electric for the new placement of the AC.
7. Clean the void for screw tips and protrusions (don't want to get our hands all scraped up screws in the back of the patch that was done in the corner of my current bedroom)
8. Open back ~21" of 'new closet' to create a chase (and box out the rest for the floor of the new closet)
9. Open scuttle to upper attic (box out the rough opening) - 25" X 30" minimum: use a Werner "Televator"
10. Remove all ducts and registers from upper attic (show where register should go in the bathroom)
11. Rip 4' X 8' sheets of cheap plywood for upper attic decking (so they are at least 2' wide)
12. Create 4' X 8' platform (3/4") up on 3 2"X4"s on end, leaving it loose for the installers to orient
13. Run an overflow drip line above front door
14. Run the AC condensation line down to pecan tree roots (down void) - to eave in the corner, so it goes into the rain barrel

Day of instructions for installers

1. Instruct installer to use open strip up to the ridge then up the void NOTE: Water heater is going here. Clearing out the void will happen before the install.
2. Make return and downstairs air at the BACK of the closet
3. Use 2 round ducts down the chase to the downstairs (back 21" of the closet) and bring them all the way to the floor on the first level. (supply does not have to be as long)
4. Drop thermostat wire down chase for side of main hallway

So that's it. It's going to be one hell of a weekend.

2010-02-19T11:27:00.000-06:00

My brother an I built modular workstations in my garage last night. I'm in desperate need of cleaning out my garage to make it ready for my 240 Z to come home. I left it at Crushproof over a year ago and they stopped working on it after the roll cage and gas tank were installed. I assumed that they would call me when they had an opening to start doing the bodywork. At the same time, I was hoping that they wouldn't call me for a while because I didn't have the cash to pay for the work at the time (and they don't take credit). So, I get an e-mail (through myspace) from Lux that says the property manager is going to start towning cars from their property on the 21st (SUNDAY!).

I gave him a call to reassure him that I would pick it up before Sunday and he said he would call me back. I'm a little paranoid though. From the irritation in his voice, it sounds like he may want to charge me for storing the car in his garage for a year.

Either way, I'm under pressure to have a place to put the car since the car can't be left outside.

As long as I'm at it, I may as well tear the car down to a rolling chasis this weekend and get it prepared for body work. The workstations that Cory and I put together last nigth should make storing all of the parts very easy. I also cleared out most of the things that don't belong in the garage and should be stored in an attic. Unfortunately I have no access to either of them because because all four of my attics don't have openings (except in the garage but, it's a little skuttle and the attic is not decked for storage).

This weekend will be interesting. I may try and get some contractors scheduled to do some projects I have stated for the beinning of this year including, a new water hearter and a new air conditioning system.

Hey blogger, where did the spell check go?

2010-02-02T23:28:00.002-06:00

So, I've been posting on Blogger through their FTP interface. Apparently, using FTP makes up about .05% of bloggers, since most use the free "blogspot.com" addresses. So, Blogger is killing off FTP, which means I'm going to have to re-build my website to continue using Blogger starting the 25th of March. Not looking forward to it but, it will give me a chance to overhaul this site. Let's see what happens in the next few months.

2010-01-26T14:11:00.002-06:00

I looked up from my work this morning to see one of my co-workers standing at my cube entrance. He said "I think there's a riff happening today". I'm not very concerned with losing my job this early in the year since I'm a contractor and I've heard that I'm good until March. So, I was immediately curious about who was being let go. Sadly, it was someone very close to me and Connie. He had helped me when I was drifting between organization (at the end of a previous contract) AND provided Connie with a position here at my office as well.

It was a co-worker who I had come to rely on as mentor, a sounding board, a protector, and an manager (even though that wasn't reflected in his title). I am very lucky to know him and have offered him as much help as I can on finding a new position.

I don't see the real reasoning behind the lay-off, as we are hiring in our organization. I'm sure it won't be clear to me for a while as the organisational change hasn't been officially communicated.

It has been a sad day but, I'm certain that he will find a better job out there. I wish him luck.

2010-01-21T23:06:00.003-06:00

I realized recently that I only drink when I'm around other people who drink. So, since my sister is pregnant (sorry if this is the first you're hearing of it), I don't drink much at the house. So as a result, my beer fridge has not been re-fueled recently. Not much reason to keep it stocked while I'm only drinking occasionally at the casa.

Speaking of beer, I have over 50 beers that I made that need to be emptied. Mostly I need to get them empty to re-fill them. Perhaps it's time to have a have a beer drinkin' shin-dig? Well, either way, I'll brew up 5 gallons this weekend. Now, who to name it after?

2009-12-07T16:32:00.002-06:00

Wasted weekend.... I ended up playing Left for Dead 2 aaaaaall weekend. Thousands of zombies destroyed and nothing to show for it. I hope I don't do that again for a while. I did take a break for Lauren's Ugly Sweater party on Saturday night. Met some cool people, saw some cool people... had a few beers.

This week is going to be busy so, maybe it's good that I took the time off. I'll blog about it.

2009-11-16T12:23:00.003-06:00

On return from Dallas on Sunday, my sister informed me that she had my birthday presents from my parents and if I behaved this week I would get them on Saturday. Very funny. Then, as almost an afterthought, she mentioned that my cat Eddy had died. Eddy was an undersized kitten that I saved from a feral cat's litter in 1993. For some reason, neither of my parents called me when it happened and Amy was very nonchalant in her delivery of the message.

I can't help but be a bit irritated when I proclaim that I'm bothered by the death of a cat that I considered mine and having my sister telling me that "oh, that wasn't your cat anyway". It's as though the assumptions of how I will feel about a situation is actually how I will feel and when I say different, I'm told "whatever".

I am certainly guilty of misjudgements on the value someone places on an animal or a thing before. Specifically with Amy, who's frog had "red leg" and was prescribed a fairly expensive rounds of injections as a cure. When her frog was paralyzed and seemingly unresponsive, I advised her to allow the frog to die. I quickly realized that my words lacked empathy and apologized. My hope was that Amy would realize the same situation with me and Eddy.

Eddy had a good life with my parents after I moved away in 1998 and he lived a surprisingly long time for an outside cat. I will always remember the times when Eddy began to purr from a good pet that it was soon to be followed by a bite and an escape.

2009-10-13T13:33:00.002-05:00

Tickets went on sale for ACL for $149 bucks today but, the server was so glutted with requests, I didn't even get to the purchace page. Totally missed out.

2009-07-20T11:17:00.002-05:00

Check out my comic-con schedule!

I'm still working the bugs out on the time difference and how it syncs up with my phone. See you in San Diego! (actually, I'm already here).

2009-07-18T02:49:00.002-05:00

I spent a lot of time in the office this week. We're really winning hearts and minds with our efforts. Ah, finally, after 2 and a half years people are finally understanding the benefits that my skillset has to offer. By Friday, going to see a concert was exactly the kind of reward I was looking for. What better concert to go to than one of my favorite local bands, The Mercers. It was a CD release party for their EP, "Hovercraft". Not sure what the title has to do with the collection of songs but, it's a title. I sent out an invite to about 30 people but, nobody responded to the e-mail. Strange. Anyway, Cory showed up at the house after I got home from work. We had dinner with Matt, who went to the bar on River Road for a concert with Nate who came down from Dallas for the show and some campin' and some toobin'. Matt has to work tomorrow... um... today but, he didn't want to have to drive back to Austin too late so, he took a sleeping bag.

Cory and I got down to the concert at The Parish about an hour before The Mercers went on so, we hit the bar next door. Daddie's, I think it was. I chatted up the waitress but, she acted too busy to talk to me. I never know if I'm being entertaining or annoying. Judging from most waitstaff that I've tried it on, I'm about half and half. Once the baseball game was over, the bar cranked the music again. Just in time to go back next door and watch the show.

The Mercers played a few random songs, then the 7 songs from the EP and about 3 more songs. I only recognized Disco Nixon (from the EP) and Un-America from their previous album. About halfway through the set, some chick ran her fingers through the hair on the back of my head but, when I turned around she had either run away or decided to blame the prank on her friend. I kept a smile on and gave her a "yeah, right" nod. I think she was tired of standing behind two 6-footers that were nestled up near the stage. I get that a lot.

Towards the end of the set, I scanned the audience looking for "shorties" and spotted Chris Stutsman who was a friend of Bo's and formerly the drummer of the band former known as Choking Ahogo (now The Mercers). I see him at Peter's and Brian's (and Eric's and Evan's) shows about 90% of the time. He had brought his wife (who's name escaped me then, and continues to elude me). I pointed him out to my brother and he waived them over. Cory, Chris (who is also over 6') and I were now a wall of meat no doubt pissing off the crowd from the stage back to the bar. I'm not as concerned as I used to be. If we hadn't started the show at the front, there would have been a huge gap between the stage and the crowd. I practically did them a service :P.

After the show ended, we headed back down 6th Street, which by now had been cordoned off so drunks can walk into the street without fear of a beat down from the bike cops. Most of the way up the block a group of concerned Christians were carrying signs about sinning and belting out dogma through a megaphone. Damn annoying. Worse still, the signs were condemning "drunkenness", which is kinda the point of 6th Street. Clearly, they missed the *point.

*I'm not asking for commentary on how I shouldn't be annoyed by concerned Christians, so don't bother.

Cory and I finally made it home, cracked open the last Coca-Cola from the fridge and split it into two glasses with Treaty Oak Rum, which made a nice night-cap. We both fell asleep on the couches in front of the TV watching Brendon Frazer in George of the Jungle. This movie is better with your eyes closed by the way. I woke up around... now, and decided to start blogging again. Not sure why but, why fight it? It's fun to do when I have the time and when I get inspired.

I'll try to get in a few words each day this week to cronicle my time in San Diego.

Hopefully, I'll be overhauling my site soon so I can post more pictures and incorporate other social-media crap-ola on the front page. Until then, enjoy more of the same.

2009-05-16T14:02:00.009-05:00

Adam had to work today and my original intent was to explore the city on foot. I woke up a little late, and I didn't do any research on Vancouver so I decided to wait until noon and go to lunch with Adam. In the mean time I hung out on the couch and organized my pictures from the day before and posted a blog.

When noon came around, we decided to have sushi (again!) and damn Vancouver has totally spoiled me on sushi. The restaurant we went to had giant, crazy-good hunks of salmon, soft buttery-consistency tuna tataki (with a smoky dipping sauce), and something called a paradise roll (which it was). They get some really fresh seafood there and you can actually taste the difference. I have not had such good sushi in any restaurant in Texas regardless of price. Simply amazing.

So, Adam moved his 1:00 meeting back, so we now had time to hit up the dog park again, this time with Kayla and Bini who Adam’s ex-girlfriend Kim dropped off that morning since she was going on a bike ride the following day. Both dogs are crazy for fetch but, so well trained that Adam easily got them to pose for a picture with the objects of their obsessions just inches away from them.

After the dog park, Adam finished / blew-off his office work and we met up with Mike with the intent to hit up the Pitch and Putt at Stanley park. On the way, we drove by the Gastown Steam Powered Clock which was tooting out the old familiar grandfather clock tune as we drove by it. When we finally collected Mike and got to the Pitch and Putt, there was a long line so; we went for wings at a bar down the street. Mike is one of Adam’s long time friends and his wife, Angie (also Adam’s friend) came to Houston and met a few people a when Adam was living there. I’m not sure that I was one of them.

Afterwards, we headed over Lion’s Gate bridge and up to North Vancouver (strangely, a different city than East Vancouver, and Vancouver proper) to look at a house that Mike and his wife were planning on buying. They currently live inches from Stanley Park in a near-basement condo that they have since outgrown. The place they looked at was really great, with decks, a basement (that they would rent out), a sunken living room, landscaping everywhere and a cool set of planting boxes for gardening.

Since Angie does not care much for gardening, it would most likely get overgrown and the garden would be re-purposed for a back yard. It reminds me of all of the houses that my family and I moved into over the years. Tearing things out, making them our own. It also made me think about looking around for another property in Austin, just to look for now, I guess.

As the sun was setting, we climbed up to a “romantic” vantage point overlooking Vancouver. Though, when the sun was up, it was more majestic / awe inspiring. Adam had ridden up on a bike ride up this incline before where his group had a non-confrontational run-in with a black bear. It was a good day for a ride and there were plenty of motorcycle riders tearing up the side of the mountain. Damn I look good in this picture.Anyway, we headed back into town to meet up with Mike, Angie, and her brother and sister. It was her sister's birthday, so we celebrated on Granville Island at the Cat's Social Club which was previously "The Cat's Meow". Somehow it caused too much confusion with people searching for pet stores on Granville Island. The food bar food was fair, and I didn't get to know Angie, and her brother and sister all that well because the bar had the music cranked up, so I couldn't hear anything. I drank many local beers and Adam and I made an early night of it. Another great day in Vancouver!

2009-05-15T13:21:00.006-05:00

I flew from Austin to Phoenix. While waiting for my flight, I picked up a pair of earplugs at a gift shop while looking for stupid chotchkies to give to my friends. I tend to do that when I travel. I guess Arizona wasn't interesting enough. I realized too late that I could go to the duty-free shop and pick up some alcohol for cheap. In retrospect, it would have been taxed at the border in customs since I was already bringing a case of beer into Canada for Adam. I set him up with 12 St. Arnold's Spring Bocks and 12 Christmas Ales.

When I landed and finally worked my way through customs, Adam was waiting for me on the other side. Still the same smile, I wonder if will ever age. He still has the same red Ford truck that he bought in Houston back in 2002 but, now it has a camper shell and his Water Tiger logo emblazoned across the doors. He's doing fairly well, even in a down economy.

We stopped for Döners served in a pita on the way back to his place for a late lunch. Good stuff. I met his dog Kayla, who was riding in the back of the truck, patiently waiting to go to the dog park. So, we dropped off my stuff and took her down to Renfrew park. Adam used a Chuckit to throw the ball for miles and would have it back in mere seconds. Kayla is THAT fast! She somehow never got tired, either.

Afterwards, we went for sushi and Adam introduced me to Lululemon, a sort of super-comfortable yoga wear that the women that originate from a hip neighborhood in Vancouver. We sat in the window of the sushi joint watching women wearing Lululemon stroll by. Quite enjoyable.

After Sushi, we went to a community center / church to see Mike Doughty play. The venue was similiar the Cactus cafe in size (no more than 200 people or so) but the acoustics were more church like, due to the high celings. The show wasn't a complete sell out but, Mike has a pretty decent fan community in Vancouver. The concert started a little late because Mike, Scrap and crew (one guy) showed up late. Fortunately, it took them no time to set up and pass out the "question jar". During the performance, Scrap and Mike pull questions written by the audience and answer them. I asked "Did you grow the beard BECAUSE you were coming to Canada, or did it just automatically appear when you crossed the border", which got a pretty good laugh from the crowd. Mike said that he was clean shaven in Washington and continued on to the next song. Around the second song or so, two of Adam's friends, who he had not seen since High School showed up to watch the show. After the show, Mike was selling copies of a CD called "busking"; a recording of a concert held in the subway tunnel between the 3 train and the F train on 14th street in NYC. He even signed every copy that he sold.

After the show, Kat, Adam, Jaime, and I went over a block and had a few beers at a local bar.

2009-05-12T11:22:00.002-05:00

I am SO EXCITED to see NIN and Jane's Addiction tonight with Russ. I've never seen Trent in concert before but, I have seen Jane's Addiction many times at too-many-Lollapaloozas in Dallas.

We'll probably go out after the concert since I'm not going to work the next day. I'm finally going to get to see Star Trek on Wednesday (also with Russ) at the Village at 12:30. It's going to be a fun week!

2009-05-11T11:17:00.003-05:00

Welcome friends to post number 500 in the life-blog of Eric Thompson (also calls himself Alien-e but, only on the internet). This weekend was my first meeting with my partners at Past / Futures Records. We spoke briefly about my planned PA setup in my backyard (Che knows sound) and then discussed secret company business. I was hoping to record the meeting and publish it on the website in some sort of Music Industry Weekly podcast (motha-fucca!) but, the connection to Che was fer-shit caus, he was skyping in from his cell phone in a van somewhere in Massachusetts. We are meeting again tomorrow to talk about the upcoming Strange Attractors concert on Wednesday (at Emo's) since they are one of our two upcoming releases. I think they have already looked at the demo vinyl but, it might be cool to bring it along.

Over the weekend I spent some time working on the house. Amy and I did yard work all morning and I follwed that up with a trip to the gym. I figured, I didn't need to hit the weights after the eliptical machine since, I planned on finishing working day in the yard digging in the dirt. Cory and I re-cut the border trench around the planting beds but, we ran out of time before we could install the border. The next day, we finally put some effort into the bathroom. There were plenty of things we didn't account for, and we ended up wasting a bit of time an energy but, we learned a few things and should have much more success next time we find the time to work on it.

Now, this morning I dropped off my car today at Jeff's Autobody on Lamar. They had done some work for me previously when I scraped the hell out of my Z and I was really satisfied with the results. That was an out of pocket expense and was a fairly reasonable price, considering the result was non-. Fortunately, this damage was caused by someone else and was completely covered on my policy. Here is the "before" picture. I'll post the "after" when I get back from Canada. Oh! I'm also going to Canada to see Mike Doughty and my HP comrad Adam Scheuer. I am excited to see Canadians in their natural habitat. I will take many pictures and write in my internet journal (ijer = blog).

Happy 500 everybody!

2009-05-08T17:17:00.002-05:00

In the past two weeks I've listened to the prototypes pressings of Past / Futures Records, got my car damaged, saw The Mercers, Jason Isbell, Whole Wheat Bread, MC Chris, and Flight of the Concords. I've been super busy for the last couple of weeks, and the next weeks I'll be just as busy. I'm going to see Louis C.K. tonight, NIN and Jane's Addiction on Tuesday, then Mike Doughty in Vancouver. The week after, I'll go see Cowboy Mouth and (the band that Past / Future Records is producing on Vinyl) The Strange Attractors. I am stoked!

2009-04-21T09:23:00.002-05:00

I have been fighting a cold all weekend and I'm amazed at how much I did. I worked out almost every day, went bachelor partying with Scott Smith and his crew (Friday and Saturday) AND I volunteered for the MS150. If you rode the MS150 you might have seen me at the entrance to rest stop #5 (the one where you had to get off your bike and walk across a field). I was snapping flags like a mad. One biker even called me "The Crazy Flag Guy"!

I got a bit dehydrated from a hard morning of flagging so I polished off a bottle of water and followed it up with some Sweet Leaf Honey Mint Tea. I'd had it before and didn't like it because the liquid in the bottle was simply a mint delivery system. Overpowering mint hit my stomach in a strange way adding waves of nausea to my dehydrated sickness . The result? Well, I felt much better seconds after "the event", if you know what I mean.

On Monday (still sick, mind you), I got home at 4:30 and went straight to the gym with Matt. 30 minutes of running, 40 minutes of weights and a follow up of ab stabbing crunches. When I got home, Cory shows up and we install the shelves for the symbiote station and I start on loading the newly installed shelves with tools. Then I re-racked 10 gallons of Oktoberfest and dropped the temperature in the lagering fridge for the 5 to 6 month wait to keg and serve.

I woke up this morning feeling much better but, I'm not %100 yet, so I may take it easy tonight. Maybe put up a wall of tile in the bathroom, if Cory drops by around 5:00.

2009-04-09T09:11:00.003-05:00

At Rick's birthday, Ruthie suggested that we go the Third Annual GI Joe Stop Motion Film Festival so, Ruthie, Josh, Rick and MasterBAD (sorry, can't remember his name) Mariah, Cory and I bought tickets.

Before the show Mariah invited Cory and I out to dinner and we decided to eat at Clay Pot. Cory and I got there early and ordered a beer. When the guy asked if we wanted to start a tab, I said "Cash... I'll pay in Thunder-Cash" (I was thinking of Thunder Cats at the time). Then the guy next to me said "Did you just say Thunder-Cash?". I turned to look at him and he added "Do you work at Thunder Cloud?" I told him, I did say Thunder-Cash, but did not work at Thunder Cloud. Turns out, he worked there and we had a short chat about how annoying their ad campaigns were.

The show was good. Not a very good blog today... sorry.

2009-04-06T11:03:00.002-05:00

Sunday was an all Z car day. I started working on the brakes at 9:00 A.M. in the shade of my Magnolia tree and finished at 6:30 attaching the freshly painted rocker panel. Car's in great shape, now it just needs a wash.

I cooled off by going to the Rollerderby and having a few beers with Matt while we watched Man vs. Food.

Thanks for the proper "Big Shot" title bump Duffy. So, what cha' got for me?

...I have people?

2009-04-05T02:14:00.002-05:00

Got a lot of things done today though, nothing got done on my backyard or house. Perhaps tomorrow. At any rate, I started going to the gym again today. Hope it sticks. I met Brian Lindley at Home Slice Pizza (will do a review for dininginaustinblog.com) and became a partial owner in a record producing business. To end the day, I killed hundreds of zombies in Left 4 Dead and got a few achievements.

Not a bad day. What will Sunday bring?

2009-04-04T11:13:00.002-05:00

Started my day watching The Pixies from a DVD I was given for Christmas. Then Matt and I went to the Gym. I'm planning on going to Independance Brewery later today but, first. I'm going to meet Brian to discuss the record producing business over a Pizza at The Parlor. Should be a good day.

2009-03-19T09:47:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was the first official music / media day of South By South West (SXSW). It started for me at 2:00 when my sister dropped me off on East 6th Street and I walked over to Ms Bea's to see Todd Patrick (toddp) and his first show of the day. Todd was hugged and acknowledged by almost everyone that walked by as he bought me a beer and we talked at the bar. I was introduced as "my friend from High School" which was pretty funny. Todd and I had fallen out of touch recently. Even last year he was so on-edge and busy (two camera crews were following him around to make documentaries) that we barely had time to talk. It was very different this year. I'll see more of him today and through the rest of the week.

At 2:30, I headed over the Radio Room and waited in line to see Heartless Bastards but, the line never moved. I realized that were playing on the outside stage so, I ditched the line and walked around the alleyway. Sure enough, I could hear (and almost see) the band playing. Other Musicians (like Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears) were loading equipment into the venue through the rear entrance. I was approached by a British guy who asked me if he could enter. I guess I looked kind-of bouncer-ish with my height and yellow SXSW wristband. I told him that I ditched the line in the front to come back here and I was just going to stand here and enjoy the show. We both eventually darted into the crowd through the rear entrance (sorry line people). I met up with him a little later and he slipped me promo-card that his promoter said he should be passing out. Turns out he was James Harries and he has a show coming up on Saturday. I listened to his music on mySpace and I liked it.

I was hoping to catch Horse Feathers at Club DeVille but, they had just finished their set. I talked with a hot bartender who recognized my shirt. Afterwards, I headed back to the Radio Room and caught Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears which as a GREAT show. It was about this time that my Twitter to Facebook APP started to annoy a few people.

I knew Mariah was on her way in to pick up her wristband and Meiko was going to be playing on the day stage at the Austin Convention Center, so I headed that way. I met up with Mariah in line and gave her a beer. We met back up at the day stage, listened to Meiko, then headed down to 2nd to get our Pure Volume badges. The line was long and smelled of unwashed hipster. Once inside the Pure Volume venue, we grabbed free Kirin Beers and wandered back to the smokers lounge in the back and people watched.

Mariah and I rounded headed over to see Ladyhawk at Stubb's where, once again, we got into the VIP area. I'm really getting used to getting the royal treatment. No doubt next time I go to Stubb's I'll end up with the rest of the commoners and stare longingly at the VIP area to the right of the stage.

The next stop was Beerland where Born to Lose nearly blew my earplugs out of my head. I walked in front of a huge PA and could feel the my hair vibrate to the beat. Intense! After that, we both called it a night and Mariah drove me home. (official) Day one, complete.

2009-03-18T09:48:00.004-05:00

I ditched work early yesterday because I was having a bit of car trouble. Two mornings in a row, I get out of the car and smell something burning. I suspected that it was my clutch. Maybe I didn't have it fully engaged when I climb the hill up to my office in the morning?

After meeting up with Russ and the Austin Convention Center and buying a SXSW wristband with his presenter badge (thanks Russ!) I drove straight to the dealership and asked them what the issue could be.

The technician said he would take a look at it so, I signed a work order and sat down in the lobby with my work laptop. Just after I finished a spreadsheet for work, the person who got me to sign the work order came in and told me I needed a brake job. I asked how much. She said $900. I politely said "OK, I'll be doing that one myself". I could see out into the work bay and saw my car on the lift with the wheels removed, which made me suspect that "looking" at my car was a pay-for service. So, I asked if I owed anything. Once she finished up the paperwork, I was told that it would be $90 (over $100 after tax) for the labor to "look" at the problem.

I went ahead and purchased the brake pads from the parts department for over $300.00, intent on going home and installing them. I was still concerned with the $90 "look at" fee when I went to the register and asked the lady at the register why I was charged. The lady at the register was very sympathetic. She asked the service person again who once again re-assured me that it was a labor cost and I had to pay.

So, $400+ later, I make it home with two small boxes and a diagnosis. I have all the equipment to do the brake job, so I got home, changed clothes and set to work. The first thing I realized was, my jack doesn't fit under the 350Z. So, I went to pick up a low profile floor jack (more mile on a rotor that sticks). I went to look for the key to my wheel locks and could not find it. I couldn't think of a time from when I first got the car that I took the wheels off so, I can't imagine where it would be if it wasn't in the car. I called the dealership and they assured me that they didn't even use it. So, I was stuck.

Amy and Lauren already went down to Woodrow's, and I was planning on meeting Melissa and seeing a show at New Guild Co-Op organized by my friend Todd Patrick (aka todd p) so, I decided to take the bus. I got down to the venue just in time to get a text from Melissa saying she was going to stay in for the night. I did get to see Branch Davidians and Air Waves but, Todd must have been over at Ms Bea's finishing up the show there.

Branch Davidians was intense and raw and Air Waves had some really infectious baselines. Both were really loud because the room was so small (bring earplugs people). I bought a 6 pack of Bud Light but, could only get through 3 of them so, I gave the last three to some college kids who were debating who would have to go on a beer run before the next band showed up.

I got on the bus again and met up with Lauren and Amy coming back from Opal Divine's on their way to Fadó. The door was only letting people in as people left and they were charging $10 cover. So we went next door to Péché hoping they had food. The kitchen was closed, so we made due with a gin and tonic and some kind of Effin vodka drink that Lauren recommended and went home after.

Will my SXSW week get better? I hope so.

2009-03-17T11:21:00.003-05:00

Thanks for helping me diagnose this, Jared. Once I figure it out, I'll post the link as part of my homepage. Does this one work?

http://www.google.com/calendar/hosted/alien-e.com/embed?src=eric%40alien-e.com&ctz=America/Chicago