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Five Words…

I got the news today that I was not picked for a job I had interviewed for. I’ve gotten rejection letters and emails before, but I think this is the first time I’ve actually gotten called by someone to give me the bad news.

Frankly, I’m not sure its much better. The attempts to sugar-coat it and reassure me that “you would have gotten the position…BUT” don’t help soften the blow any…I just kept waiting for the HR gal to JUST SAY IT…JUST SAY IT and get it over with so I can spend the rest of the day second-guessing myself, and next few days being a grouchy jerk…just in time for the holiday, too.

Just spare me the BS and just say “You were not good enough.”

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Metal to the Pedal!


Metal to the Pedal
Originally uploaded by EdSoliz

At first I was considering a repair kit for my beleaguered Rock Band bass pedal (see previous entry). A repair kit has a metal plate which is attached to the busted pedal with self-tapping screws. It would do, but there would be nothing to stop the underlying plastic from breaking further, and driving some screws into something made out of plastic might make that happen just a bit quicker too.

Cost: $25 Certainly a few more bucks than I what wanted to spend, but what the hey, that upgrade to Rock Band 2 wireless drums can hold off a bit.

I then read about PedalMasters who sell a complete metal replacement for the entire pedal. There would be some work involved in removing the plastic pedal completely and replacing it with the new one.

Cost: $30 A few more bucks, but hey, there would be NO chance of that sucker breaking. After an agonizing 3 days waiting for the Postal Service, I got my prize and put it all together. Even for someone as mechanically un-inclined as myself, it was fairly easy, though there were a few rough spots. The verdict?

This. Kicks. Ass.

I can’t say it any better than that, the pedal now has a much better feel to it. The increased weight reduces the push back from the spring underneath and it is much more comfortable to use. Even after playing “YYZ”, “Call Me”, “Ballroom Blitz” and “Rio” on Hard difficulty my leg felt pretty good. I can hit the triple-bass notes in YYZ (though I can’t say much for the REST of the song) and it ROCKS.

Once I get the Rock Band 2 set, I may replace its stock pedal with this monster. Big thumbs up to Pedal Masters!

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Packing on the Pixels

As if I need Wii Fit to give me a fresh reminder every day, I am a lot heavier that I should be right now. I am making some slow progress in turning that around, but even given the best of scenarios I will continue to be fat for the near future.

Yeah, I said it. FAT. Not “husky” or “big-boned” or any of that other baloney.

Thus, when I play games that have character creation, I like to make a character that looks somewhat like myself, and thus, I’ll kick up the ‘weight’ slider in an attempt to have my fat-assness reflected in game…but somewhere along the way, they stopped letting you create fat characters in games.

I first noticed this in one of the many flavors of The Sims; all of the characters are Ken and Barbie dolls with the heaviest one sporting just a slight pot belly. Disregarding my own situation, what if I wanted to create Santa Claus? There’s no P90X at the North Pole!

I was quite happy, then, to find that Guitar Hero:World Tour allowed me to present myself in all (and I mean all) of my 268-pound glory. I even have him doing the Elvis bit at the end of shows. Perhaps I will slim him up in the future if things go well, but until then I will be happy to see him stomping around the stage like Meat Loaf.

Thankyavurrymuch, Neversoft!

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I’m A (Christmas) Creep…

I love the Christmas season: the music, the hustle and bustle, baking Christmas cookies, shopping for gifts. Unlike most folks, I actually like listening to Christmas music, and keep my radio locked onto the local radio station playing 24-hour-a-day Christmas tunes.

My favorite contemporary Christmas song is the Eagles’ rendition of “Please Come Home For Christmas.” Its actually a pretty depressing song, go figure.

Anyways, I was happy to hear that the Christmas-a-thon was going to begin today, until the alarm clock went off and I heard “Baby, Its Cold Outside” somehow, it just didn’t feel right. I guess even for me its a little TOO early right now.

Maybe next week. 🙂

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