Dave Hamilton / Dave The Nerd » play

The Macworld All-Star Band Speaks!

Dave — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:07:27 +0000

Last night, Chuck Joiner delivered something that has never* previously been accomplished other than gigs and rehearsals: He assembled the entire (existing) Macworld All-Star Band into one (virtual) room, leaned heavily on the Skype button, and recorded the entire conversation.

And we let him release it. Crazy, huh?

Well, it’s out there, and it’s alive. You can check it out as it appears as MacVoices #8144.

I know I say it all the time, but I’ll say it again: I am *so* honored to be a part of this band and the friendships we have developed together. Definitely a highlight of Macworld Expo each year and a highlight of my experience in the Mac community and beyond

*Technically, we did get the band into an AIM-style “private, band-only” chat room in the very beginning to “chat out” the setlist prior to rehearsal. For all of the following gigs we found that having a (benevolent?) dictator assigned to manage the list was far more productive. Or at least it was easier, and we’re all for that.

Guitar coming along

Dave — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:14:43 +0000

As indicated, I took my first guitar lesson on Tuesday, 4 days ago. Our 8-year-old daughter took HER first lesson on Friday. Out teacher, Matt Lister, is absolutely fantastic. In the period of a half-hour lesson he was able to get each of us (separately) playing songs and actually using the instrument. To me, that’s huge. My first lesson was actually fun, and so was our daughter’s, and that’s a good thing. After all, that’s the goal, right?

Practice — especially the first day or two — was quite painful. The strings felt like fiery needles to the fingertips on my left hand, but sure enough even that’s (slowly) getting better. Practicing 15-to-20 minutes per day has been enough to push through the pain, have some fun, gain some facility, and begin to build up those calluses. It’s odd to notice the feeling slowly slipping away from my fingertips. Typing has become a whole new experience. Not bad, just… new.

And I guess that’s the point of this: a whole new experience. I’m very much looking forward to practicing together with my daughter this weekend, as well as my next lesson on Tuesday!

Learn something new

Dave — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:54:52 +0000

On Tuesday I will continue on my path of knowledge expansion. After work I’ll head over to Earcraft Music in Dover, NH where I will take my first guitar lesson. The guitar is something I’ve always wanted to learn, and my wife is happy because it might just stave off flying lessons for a few more years.

Then on Friday I will go back to Earcraft for my daughter’s first guitar lesson. We’re looking forward to beginning down this path together.

I’ll keep you all posted on our progress!

Going off grid…

Dave — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:32:22 +0000

As some of you know, next week the family is going on a week-long Disney cruise. In addition to being excited about all that lies before us (including the simple idea of spending a much-needed week together!), I’m a bit anxious. It’ll be the first time in nearly 8 years that I’ve gone entirely ‘off-grid’ for more than what could previously have been measured in hours. No cell phone, no e-mail, no net access, no nothing. Oh, sure, the boat’s got Internet cafes, but I figure unplugging for a week will be good for me — and for everyone else, too. I’m just a little fearful that I might get the DTs and start shaking every time I walk past a web-enabled machine on the boat!

See you on the flip side… I hope.

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