As Usual, our California Politicians Know What's Best

As of yesterday, I appear to have a growth coming out of my ear. You see, now in California you can no longer drive with a cell phone in hand. Hence, Motorola and others will be rolling in dough with the mandated use of “hands free” devices. Hence a Bluetooth is now fixed to my ear. And I’m sure to lose that tiny device, as I have to take it off and charge it every couple of hours. However the important question remains: will it make the roads safer?

During my morning run, will I now be able to sprint across the street at that green light, or will drivers still blindly make those right turns? Can I assume that they will stop at crosswalks and red lights, or will they still be engrossed in conversation? Too soon to tell, but I’m not going to take any life-endangering chances. Personally I’ll wager that the accidents are not due to the lack of ambidexterity on the part of the driver; rather the inability to multitask - talk and drive at the same time.

Results of my findings will be forthcoming.

Phone problem resolved but bigger issues remain

Well, I'm feeling so much better now. I exchanged my phone for one that receives Ringtones. Now I'll hear the intro to AC/DC's Back in Black every time you call me.

I realize that this issue is so small in the scheme of things, (just think of the SoCal fires, Katrina, etc.), but I'm irritated by incompetent technical support throughout the country. It's not the technicians' fault; I put the blame squarely on companies' shoulders for the lack of proper training. Workers are trained to learn only their itsy bitsy part, rather than learning how their jobs fit into the entire picture. When you call a wireless, cable, internet, or any service provider, a generalist or troubleshooter should answer your call, and then consult the proper technician to solve your problem.

Actually this represents a bigger problem: the dumbing down of the American worker.

Going Crazy

I just wasted two hours on the phone with AT&T Wireless. I received a coupon to download a free ringtone on my new cell phone. It downloaded, but I couldn't retrieve it. We finally figured out that the song I wanted was unavailable for my phone. The rep asked me to name more artists, which I did: AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, the list went on and on. Nothing. She finally figured out how to access the available ringtones. Ten in all-songs I'd never even heard of . I can't even buy any more ringtones.

Will someone please explain the logic to me?

Escaping to the Blues

I just had to get out of L.A. this weekend, so we sped up to Ventura. In this town you walk from club to club and imbibe great blues without handing over a cover. I anticipated a drought this weekend, as the band cancelled at my favorite club, “Wine Lover’s Bar”. Strolling along Main St., we heard some steady rhythms at “It’s All Good…” Actually, The Preachers Blues Band started a little slowly, but was moving by their second set. Killer sax. At the plaza was an unbelievable band, RV Park, with two incredible guitarists. Chris (don’t know his last name) was one of the finest that I have had the pleasure of hearing in ages. These guys sounded like they had been playing together for years, but I couldn’t even find a website. They had no CDs for sale and no promo cards. In fact, the only ones who appreciated their music were Don and I, along with the city’s homeless. What crap is everyone listening to?

Ranting at the Gym - Part 1

I can’t believe how lazy you guys have been at the gym. If you can bench 180 lbs, why aren’t you strong enough to re-stack your weights? And I’m sorry, I can only leg press 230 on a good day, so I’m not even going to attempt the 450 you left me. This situation has gotten worse since autumn has approached. Is there any correlation between the month or the year and a man's cycle? After all, here in SoCal we don't have seasons.

Coming up next: the guy who reads the newspaper in between sets.

Music crisis

As I'm typing away at my keyboard, I'm itching for some new music. So I turn on the radio and even go online for some motivation. What's up? The same old stuff, over and over. Yeah, there's my itunes library, but I want to hear something new. I'll be forced to search YouTube and become totally entranced in the videos and unable to complete my project. I guess there's always tomorrow.

Goodbye Hughie

I ran my 8 miles this morning with my iPod shuffle clipped to my tank. “Green Grass and High Tides” started. I began to tear up so I had to skip over the song. The same thing happened when “There Goes Another Love Song” started to play.

Every few days I log onto the Outlaws website, hoping to find that the “Florida Guitar Army” had added a Sept. 21 concert since they were going to be in SoCal the next night for a private event. Someone from the site had some inside info that they were trying to find a venue for that date, and suggested that we keep checking back.

Tuesday morning I clicked directly onto the home page like any other time, only to find Hughie Thomasson’s photo, with the numbers 1952 – 2007. One of the world’s most underrated guitarists died of a heart attack at the young age of 55. I’m still in a state of shock.

Hughie, you’ll always be remembered. Hopefully I’ll be able to play your songs soon.

Life without chocolate

OK, I've gone one week and three days without chocolate. You see, I decided to start this cleansing program. I can still eat, but no caffeine (oops, I blew that one), no white starch (there goes the sourdough), no dairy, no alcohol, and no processed sugar.

Well I'm one who can't just eat one cookie or one piece of chocolate cake; once I bite into that first lucious chunk, I can't stop. Then there goes the whole batch and the whole cake. Luckily I'm a runner so I stay at a decent weight.

They say that it takes 21 days to get over an old habit or food addiction. Can I make it to 3 weeks? We'll see. I really don't miss it...yet. Friday is the last day on this 14-day cleasning program. Saturday night I'm going to open a bottle of buttery Chardonnay, buy some imported cheeses and indulge. That is what I really miss.