A Day In The Life Of A Peanut Butter Cup

Listen Up!
NEW STUFF! YAY! I recently bought myself an external hard drive (750 gigs) because I was tired of burning excess files that I wasn't using to DVD's whenever my 100 gig HD filled up. I also bought a new set of rechargable batteries (so I can get more footage away from wall outlets), a 4gb thumb drive (because I lost my 1 gig a couple of months ago and 128 megs is not anywhere near enough for anything), and a little piece of software called DVD Ripper Pro (so I can FINALLY rip all my DVD's to my new HD. Only problem is that it doesn't work so well because I got it for 10 bucks.) :: Well, besides what I've BOUGHT, I've been getting even more used to working at the fabrication shop, and I actually think it's a better job than I've ever had before, I got a story from it this week, so more later. :: I just released my latest music video, not for the [Juggling] series, but the second part to the 48 Hours of Practice videos, this one being the best tricks I could do with Devil Sticks after 2 days of practice. :: Oh, and I've been letting a few people know about this already, so I may as well fill everyone else in. I'm working on the 3rd season of my old podcast Jugglers On Juggling. More on that in the juggling section.

-- Music Release --
Stacy's Mmmmm. I've fussed with this one for the past week, and I think it's about as good as it's ever going to get. Inspiration came from looking through my archive and seeing Hanson's Mmmbop. I remembered the track to be really blank in terms of lyrics, and really chorus heavy. Almost like the score of a movie of some sort, so I figured it's make a good underlaying track for a mash-up. Now the question bacame what track will be put over it. I figured, that since Mmmbop was a huge hit from the 90's, and it would be instantly recognizable, that I should get as easily recognizable song from around the same era. I thought about using the All American Rejects, Wierd Al, Eve 6, or maybe even Jimmy Eat World or Counting Crows. Nothing worked anywhere near as well as Fountains of Wayne though. Especially because Stacy's Mom is a very vocal focused song, the instruments drop out at a lot of points, and it's just great when you're looking for straight lyrics. So before I knew it, there I was fiddling with this new track.


Daily Life:
So this week at Acme Fabrication, we were cleaning out an office that was to become the new CAD lab. Let me set the scene. Picture a 10'x9' room, which has sat as a storage room for whatever, since 2002. Dust has been piled on everything to the point of actually being able to tell how long something has been sitting somewhere by eye. We actually ended up using a broom to sweep the dust off of the vertical walls of the room, that's how long the room had been unused. So the cleaning everything out of the room and dusting everything off including the room itself literally took all morning from 8:00 to noon.

So after lunch break, we had 2 hours to set up the entire room. We basically cleared out everything except for 1 long and low desk, 1 adjustable angle table from the stone age, and the drafting table in the corner (and of course the filing cabinet). So finally the room was set up and looked like an office. Now it was time to make everything work. First thing we did was decide that the long table was WAY too low to be of use to anyone over 14, and spent another half hour disassembling it and moving it out. Now we were down to 2 tables, so obviously the computer would have to be put on the adjustable table. The question was, where was that table going to go. Well, using my architecture experience, I figure out that since there's a window mounted air conditioner VERY close to a corner, angle the table at 45 degrees inside the corner, so it made a nice triangle behind it that would leave space for the wires to go and the heat to dissipate. Plus the Air Conditioner was now blowing right onto the person who would be sitting there, and would also aid in taking the heat from the corner and pushing it out into the room to dissipate further.

So that whole deal got set up and I spent the next hour or so moving the table and setting up the entire computer system, including an absolutely GORGEOUS brand new high resolution widescreen monitor, which had to be at least 34 inches wide, with a resolution of 2130x1200. I'm telling you, I almost got turned on by this monitor, that's how beautiful it was. Only problem was, the computer was running Windows 2000 and an ancient version of AutoCAD, but that still didn't detract from how awesome the setup looked now. So that got finished pretty easily.

Now came the real problem. There were no power strips in the building, and the monitor and pc both needed power from the only outlet on the one wall, and we needed to get a plotter (basically a giant, more accurate printer that is used to print out 36" wide pictures and drawings) hooked up somewhere. Luckily, after a little thinking, I realized that the wall on the opposite side of the door (the corner where the computer got setup is on the opposite side of the same wall as the door) not only had a power outlet, but also had enough room for the plotter to fit along without blocking the door or the drafting table. The only slight problem came when I was figuring out how to connect the plotter on the opposite side of the room to the computer. Luckily the cable was 18 feet long, and I just ran it over the frame of the door and taped it to the walls. Problems solved. Now Acme Fabrication has a fully functioning CAD lab that I was more than happy to setup and start using the next time I came to work.


Juggle This:
So yes, I am working on a new season of JoJ. Still making changes and trying to increase production value and content quality. I've got a bunch of ideas now that I'm thinking and planning again, but it's all right now just that, plans.

I've got the first episode planned out and ready to shoot maybe, and I guess I can tell about it's subject. It'll be about Juggling Forums. Ones that have failed, ones that have gone through changes, and more importantly, the giant trio of doom, and why they stand the way they do. I know that I'm not anywhere near a certifiable expert on juggling, but one of the things I AM certifiable on, is internet message boards. The other things I'm certifiable on being Photography, Web Design, and Video Editing, and those I all have plans to turn into episodes, but I won't go into detail on them yet. Just know that I've got plenty of ideas and this time I'll know what I'm talking about and not stating the obvious.

As for what else I've done juggling wise over the past week, well, I released my first Devil Stick video. 48 Hours Of Practice 2: Devil Sticks. So far, I've gotten a really nice response to it. I've got a theory on Devil Sticks, is that a lot of toss jugglers don't bother looking into Devil Sticks more than the basics, especially if the juggler is a hobby juggler and not trying to learn every aspect of it. So even with what I've done in the video, a couple toss jugglers are fascinated. I dunno. We'll see what happens, but my video went well, and I'm still picking up new tricks with the devil sticks. Just today I figured out how to use one stick to keep a standard right side-left side tap going.

I also have set rules for myself that at least 3 times a week I must either go outside or leave the house and find a nice high space to juggle in and practice high throws. It's helped. I just broke my 744 record today with 6 rounds of 744 back to a qualifying run. Still working on getting my 97531 more consistent.

Oh, and by the way, I finally tried 5 clubs again this week. Surprisingly, after doing my first successful flash back in "No Sleeves Attached", I haven't even tried 5 clubs again. So basically, this was only the second session I've ever tried 5 clubs with. The problem was partly because of me using Airflites back at the time, and I could barely hold 3 in one hand, much less catch them. Now that I've swapped them out for Radical Fish, it was much easier, plus the fact that I've gotten a lot better, means only one thing. Improvement. I got 6 clean catches (well, body collecting, but still). So that was awesome indeed. I still think it'll be a while before I give it my 3rd attempt though...



A Day In The Life Of A Peanut Butter Cup ~ Reeses2150