Iris

Iris, originally uploaded by swainorama.

This is a beautiful picture of a beautiful little girl. She's the youngest daughter of our friends Greg and Helen.

Well, hell.

I've obviously decided to swear (or curse...or cuss, if you're from the south) every chance I get when it comes to this blog. I swear too much in the real life as well...but I am trying to curb that a bit in anticipation of Liv one day repeating every cool-sounding word that comes out of my mouth.

The actual reason I'm posting is because I noticed a link to my blog on 2 other blogs...and if that ends up driving a bunch of traffic to Life of Swain, then I'm gonna feel like a lazy ass who can't take 5 minutes every couple of days to jot down some of the junk that's been going on in my life. And of course one of the links HAS to be on the site of a creative, productive, intelligent and publically involved blog king...making me look even more idle. It's cool though, because the other link is on a site that has huge promise but far fewer entries than mine (I mean, seriously, check the date of the last post). And, by the way, that "quality not quantity" thing that people love to say all the time is complete bullshit. More posts equal more wasted time in front of your computer...and we all know what a great thing that is.

I've lost focus. But I think I've made my point.

iPod Battery Trick

Wired's Leander Kehney describes iPod battery tricks, along with discussion of replacement batteries:

Acquired in October 2001, and in almost daily use, my iPod was down to two or three hours of continuous play from a battery originally rated for eight to 10 hours. Before breaking it open, I updated the iPod's firmware, choosing to wipe the drive while doing so. Oddly, this operation restored the battery to its former glory. After loading up a selection of songs and hitting "shuffle," the iPod played for 8.5 hours continuously, almost to the minute.

When asked about this on an earlier occasion, Apple Computer's iPod product manager, Danika Cleary, said she'd heard lots of reports, but she didn't know why it worked.

Goddamnit!

I have 2 posts regarding Damien Rice on Austin City Limits. I took the time to painstakingly link to the PBS website and everything (it's not that difficult, actually). Absolutely no chance I was going to miss it. Well, I like beer...and I like hanging out with friends...especially on a Friday. So, I went to Europa with people from work and completely forgot about the show. I wasn't out late...maybe until about 9 or 9:30. Luckily, my buddy Greg had left a message reminding me that Austin City Limits was on tonight at 11. I was in the clear. Well, beer and long work weeks tend to make me sleepy and I took a nap...until 11:04...at which time I sprung to my feet like a 9 year old on Christmas morning and dashed to the VCR. Trusting that the tape in the machine was safely cued to a blank spot, I began to record the show. Damien had already begun performing "Volcano". I hadn't missed much. But, some time during the 3rd or 4th song, the tape ran out. I rewound to an arbitrary spot...somewhere around the halfway point and continued recording...possibly over an old episode of Six Feet Under. Oh, well.

So, I'm a little pissed that I hadn't planned ahead and had a tape ready to go...and also a little annoyed that I couldn't just WATCH the show. For some reason, I HAD to tape it...even if it meant that I couldn't just sit and enjoy it. But I did enjoy it...and once it was over, I turned the TV down and played through the 2 Damien Rice songs I know. I don't sing enough anymore, and now I feel like someone took some sandpaper to my throat. It's cool though.

I have a friend at the local PBS station...and I sent him an email begging for a copy of the episode. Let's see if Dave Vinson hooks a brother up (and when I say "brother", I mean me...not Doug Vinson).

One last thing about Damien Rice: I bought "B-Sides" from the iTunes Music Store. Holy shit. Especially this song...

Hip-no-tyzing!

This work is drake as shit!

http://graffodisiak.com/

Smiley Liv

Smiley Liv
Originally uploaded by swainorama.

Taken today after she ate. She's smiling and "talking" a lot lately...I can't get enough of it! Sweet girl.

Goodbye Beth!

Beth and Liv
Originally uploaded by swainorama.

Our very good friend Beth Ranson is moving to Austin. We worked together at NBC 12 in Richmond in the early 90's...and by "worked" I mean "partied." We have a lot of great memories of hanging out at Shannon's house after the 11pm show, watching movies on his large format laser disc player...and drinking...a lot. Beth moved several times over the past 8 or 9 years but ended up back in Richmond to work for Martin/Slay Public Relations for a while. But there were too many signs (seriously...real signs) telling her that she needed to give Austin a shot. So that's what she's doing. It sucks that she's leaving...we have a lot of fun hanging out...and she loves Liv to death. But Austin sounds awesome...and I can't blame her for making the move...but that fancy-ass apartment better have a phat guest room!

My Work

This is what I do for a living.

Damien Rice Air Date

I checked local listings, and it looks like Richmonders will have to wait until Oct 22 at 11pm to see Damien Rice on Austin City Limits. Waiting sucks.

Firefox for Mac OS X

This is just a test to see if Firefox makes it easier to post.

My Favorite Picture of Liv

Dave & Liv
Originally uploaded by swainorama.

This was taken about a week ago. She looks so old! Damn, I love that girl!

Me in the 8th Grade

Me in the 8th Grade
Originally uploaded by swainorama.

This is the first photo blog I've attempted. Thanks to Paul for the flickr tip. I'm a little photo crazy, so if uploading ends up not being a complete pain in the ass, my blog may get photo-heavy. And that's cool, since a picture is worth a thousand of these antiquated things I'm using to tell you about my first photo post.

Contributing to the Delinquency of Babies

Last night was my first night out by myself with Liv. We've gone to the store and stuff like that, but it was my first "dad and baby girl...doin' dad's stuff" outing. Our mission was to visit a friend in the Fan (who will remain nameless...or at least I'll spell his name backwards to protect his anonymity) and acquire much music. Mission accomplished. I have so much stuff to listen to and discover that it'll keep me busy for weeks. I've never written a music review...or any kind of review for that matter...so maybe I'll blog my thoughts on one of the records that Lihp let me copy. We talked about being more motivated and inspired to actually do creative stuff, rather than piddling around not really getting much of anything done. I suggested a "down and dirty, do a project in a weekend" approach. Give ourselves deadlines so that projects get done and don't become an endless chore. Enough for now...I have to get some work done. Tonight I'm taking Liv out drinking.

Damien Rice on PBS

Damien Rice will be on Austin City Limits on the following dates:

Oct. 16, 2004 Damien Rice followed by Patty Griffin
Feb. 12, 2005 (REPEAT) Damien Rice followed by Patty Griffin

Check local listings here:
http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/tvschedule/index.html

Busy day at work today. I'm about to go home and spend some time with the girls. I'm really into this new CD I found. The band is Matt Pond PA, and the record is Emblems (www.mattpondpa.com). Very cool...and growing on me quickly. Rogue Wave is also in heavy rotation.

I found a bunch of tapes with old song ideas on them. I'll be listening to them in the car over the next week...trying to find a few gems. I'm getting excited about making music again.

Man, I really thought I'd have more time for this. I guess I just need to figure out how to fit it in. Saw some really great artwork from Mathew Lively (http://www.matthewlively.com/) on Friday. I always get inspired when I go to openings...and immediately start thinking of ideas for my own work. Then I go home and the enthusiasm slowly fades as I try to get "stuff done". Liv (my sweet baby girl) occupies a lot of my hours at home. I wouldn't have it any other way though...she's absolutely amazing...and makes me laugh every day. We are truly blessed to have her in our lives.

We're working on this kick-ass studio in our attic. Once it's set up, there will be no excuses for either of us. We talk about wanting to paint, and to screenprint, and to do all kinds of other cool visual stuff all the time. But we never get around to it...and use the unfinished studio as a convenient excuse. That's about to end. I need to get away from the computer for a while and get messy.

I need to write some songs too.