Down and Out of it

I spent the last half of this month feeling less than 100%.  Not only did I contract a cold which has been dogging me for what is going on three weeks now but my desktop computer got a virus which seems to have completely deleted the contents of my hard drive.  It did one of its usual restarts after some updates, all my desktop icons where gone and all my program and library folders were empty.  Not a good thing.  I asked around to some folks in the neighborhood who are good with computers and the general consensuses is that I'm fucked.  I went as far as replacing the hard drive and reloading the operating system so now I just have to go through the tedious task of reloading all my software.  My one hope is I can recover the photo and music data from the old hard drive before I reformat it but I'm having some trouble accessing the data folders.  Hopefully with a little more encouraging advice from the neighbors I'll be able to get some stuff back.

Even though I've been sick, that has not prevented me from stepping out and enjoying some live music.  The weekend of the 22nd I went up to Rochester (of all places) with Eric and Kathy for my nephew Thomas' 17th birthday and while I was up there (conveniently) Eric and I went to see the Tedeshi/Trucks band at the Auditorium Theater.  A great room and a great show.

A fish fry smothered with Rochester's own Bill Gray's Hot Sauce

Also while I was up there I tried to make contact with as many people as I could.  I haven't been back to Rochester nearly at all since we moved back down to Maryland I don't know how many years ago.  I'd always planned to keep in touch but over time life happens and good friends seem to slip away.  It was quite successful in that I got to see Billy North (briefly) and my friend Kirk as well as Fred and a host of in-laws.  I didn't get a chance to see my friend Bob but I've been reconnecting with him recently via email and he sounds interested in maybe joining in for the next Broke Back Brewery tour.  I'd like to plan something like that for before the holidays but between work, school and the unpredictable winter weather it my not happen until early next year although I'm sure we could all use a break sooner rather than later.

Anywho, October is almost over and I'm feeling better so I better brace myself for the coming winter months

Not so compact

I didn't plan on it but this weekend I ended up with a part-time job.  This is a good thing since I've started working just 3 days a week at my "real" job so now I've got some free time.  I was off today and despite the less than stellar weather (cold and overcast, very autumnal) I went out  to poke through the last of the seasons garage sales.  I was surprised how many there were and one just seemed to lead to another so I was out for a couple of hours and did pretty well for myself.

The find of the day (I ended up spending a total of about $30) was at one of the last sales I stopped at.    I noticed a Sony CD jukebox, like I always noticed electronics at such affairs. After I plowed through a few stacks of cds I asked how many disks it held and was surprised to hear 400.  I know I would kick myself for not inquiring further about the price of said jukebox, so I asked and when he said it was $20 I said "SOLD!"

It wasn't hard integrating it into my little cave.  I moved the 25 disk changer into the downstairs living room and replaced it with the Sony.  It looks great although it does smell a little like tobacco smoke but that should air out soon.  The next and more difficult step was what to fill it with.  I have 2 binders full of Zappa bootlegs and covers so I just started shoving them in.  The binders are empty now and I still have almost 300 slots to fill!

Feed me!

Like I said, this is going to be a part-time job for me but it is surly going to be a labor of love.  I'll need to work out some sort of organization so I know what's in it and where I can find it but for now I think I'll just keep stuffing things into it until it's full and playing it on random.  This is certainly the best $20 I ever spent.