Author: Jeff Hendricks

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Times They Are A Changin’

I’ve had this blog up for quite some time now, and I suppose it’s time for me to branch out into something besides just blogging for fun. Debbie (my wife) and I have been tossing around the idea of starting a professional blogging/writing career, which seems hard to do at first. We’re still doing some research on it, however, and there’s a good possibility we’ll be brightening up the page a bit and offering more than just witty commentary and cool geeky posts… we may actually start producing e-books and articles (with videos) for download. We just have to figure out how to get it started, and we’ll see where it goes.

Here’s to the future!

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Live Looping: Music For People With ADD

I’ve recently run across a type of musical performance called “Live Looping” which involves a performer on stage using a delay device to layer sounds until they have an entire song. After watching some of these musicians, I am extremely impressed, and very much inspired to try it myself. I will have a detailed video on how I set my rig up later on, but for now, I’ll just say that it is incredibly fun, and perfect for musicians with Attention Deficit Disorder. Why? Because you not only get to perform the whole song, but you get to do it all yourself, jumping from instrument to instrument, and part to part, while keeping track of everything you’ve done already.

I’ve got two guitar amps, a digital effects unit, a MIDI keyboard controller, a computer, and a MIDI footpedal controller. Oh yeah, and a couple of guitars!

I know it’s kind of a tease to just describe it without some sort of photo or video, so here’s something to tide you over! This guy is one of the best I’ve seen at this kind of music. Yes, this is what I am wanting to learn how to do.

[youtube_sc url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EF3V3BsZDI”]

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Living Life With Significance

Have you ever thought about what separates great people from ordinary people in history? It’s more than being rich. They were remembered through time because they impacted enough people to make a difference. They lived their lives with meaning, with significance.

I have been wanting to have more of an impact on the world around me for years. But as most of you know, corporate America doesn’t care about innovation or impacting people’s lives if there’s no money involved. I can see myself in the near future breaking out of the corporate mold that has held me in prison for so long. It has provided a living for my family, yes, but has stripped me of the ability to do anything but work 8 to 5.

For me to make an impact with my life, I am going to have to step out on faith, and find a way to make a living doing something more than paperwork. We will see, in the near future, how successful it will be. Wish me luck.

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A Letter Of Complaint To Ubuntu 9.10

Okay, most of my readers know I’m a big proponent of Linux as an alternative to Windows. But lately, there’s been dissension among the ranks. And in a rare fit of frustration, I find myself dissatisfied. I suppose I should be more specific. I’m not installing Windows on my workstation, not getting rid of my MythTV box. I’m not talking suicide… just need to get a few gripes off of my chest about the best free OS ever made.

For years, I used Red Hat Linux. It was the de facto standard, and most servers ran it. Then along came SuSE Linux, which was a huge step in advancement. There are still times when I wish I ran a SuSE distribution, it’s that good… at least as of a year or two ago it was.

Then I discovered the phenomenon of Ubuntu, and all its flavors. For people like me who wanted to try out all the newest apps and have them work out of the box, Ubuntu was a Godsend. Everything worked for me right off the bat, it had all the apps I wanted already in the repositories, and you could get it with different desktops preinstalled.

However, in a surprising turn of events, I’ve discovered Ubuntu has utterly failed in several categories in the last year, specifically with version 9.10. I happily ran Ubuntu 8.10 for quite a while, and had no issues until I replaced my graphics card one day… all of a sudden it wouldn’t autodetect it, and I couldn’t get X to work right no matter how hard I tried. When I tried putting the original card back in, the system was rendered useless. So I backed up my stuff, made a note of apps I wanted to install, and did a fresh install of Ubuntu Studio 9.10. This is when the irritation set in. Continue reading “A Letter Of Complaint To Ubuntu 9.10”

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Hurricane Musings

Yeah, it’s that time again. Holiday time? No, Hurricane Season! You know, the time of year where the local weather media goes nuts talking about every rainstorm as if it could be the next “Big One.” You know, there’s only so many times I can hear that on TV and get concerned. I mean, we lived in N.O. before and after Katrina (we were smart enough to get out during the storm). We saw what happened, we know the consequences. There are some things in life that you just have to accept a certain level of risk for. In fact, when you know God is in control of everything, you pretty much don’t have a say in the matter, anyway.

Still, in my life, it’s time to minimize. No, not getting rid of old clothes, I’m talking about my life. “But you’re not that busy,” you say. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’m too busy to do the things I really want to do, long-term. I’m not too busy to play a game every now and then, and I’m not too busy to have fun with the family.

So I’m going to cut down on the amount of time I spend doing nothing. What am I going to fill it with? I need to find activities that will help me become a better person… not just a better video game player, or bulletin board poster. Something with eternal value.

This will be an interesting adventure, and by no means do I know how it will turn out… but anything worth having is worth sacrificing for.

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Friends Are All Over The World

I was digging through my regular internet forums lately, and realized just how much the internet has removed physical boundries. I watch dance troupes from Korea. Talk to computer modders from Israel, the UK, Australia, and more. Share car information with people in South America. Talk about music to people all over the world.

Some of these friends I’d call “acquaintances” because I’ve never actually met them in person. Some of them I’ve only met once, but I talk to on a weekly basis, and I know more about their lives than I know about my own extended family. Why is that?

It’s because we share some sort of passion. And life is all about passion. What makes you passionate? What are you willing to sacrifice for? What do people say you eat, sleep, and breathe for? Who are you most readily associated with? What about people that don’t know you personally? What part of you do they see first?

Find your passions. Pursue them. Chase them. Don’t be afraid to dream about them. They define who you are.