The quiet crisis...

I was awoken at approximately 4am by Titus wanting out from the covers. I immediately knew something was not right. The tank sounded different. Much to my surprise and terror, the tank had cracked about 7 inches from the top of the tank to the side. I was in absolute adrenalin mode within 45 seconds. I stopped and somehow pulled it together at 4:15am to grab a bucket. I quickly removed the light and lid and removed the water to just below the crack. Problem number one solved. Problem two, KEEP THE LIVESTOCK ALIVE! I was able to make enough room in the tank to put everything below water. You can see this and the crack in the picture to the left. Kal thankfully kept the kids in bed watching the madness and ballet unfold. It was the best and safest place for him and the pups. I was all over the house within seconds gathering supplies and various parts and pieces I had acquired over the past few months. The tank was quickly supplied with a pump to circulate the water. I added an air pump to pump air. That's what they do ya know. Lastly, I added a heater to keep the water warm. Everyone calmed down and I began to mop up the floor and disconnect the hoses and tubes. It was now 4:45am. Crisis contained.

My mind suddenly went into a tail spin in regards to where to get a tank. You see my tank is an all in one system. I need another all in one system the same size since that's what my livestock would fit in and that's all the room I had for a tank. I needed a new one of my tank ASAP. Luckily I was able to find one at The Fish Gallery. I arrived at the store at 10am on the dot. No, I did not go back to sleep. They also had looks of terror once I told them what happened. I got the tank and was on my way back home by 10:20a. I arrived home at 10:30am and immediately began the task at hand. Thankfully, there is a silver lining. My tank needed to be redecorated. I was able to create a taller design which Kal and I both really like. The completed reset up was done by 12:30pm.

Once all was done, I had time to ponder why the failure occurred. My curiosity is probably due to the fact that I watch too much National Geographic TV. There's never any one issue that causes a catastrophic failure. So I broke down the events of the past 24 hours and came to the following startling conclusion. I did a boo boo.

Last night I had moved the plastic apparatus that hold up the lid so that they were directly across from each other. This was the first failure. I noticed it was snug and thought to myself that that was odd. The weather has turned cold and the house was still warm from the previous day. Last night as the room cooled, the glass contracted a bit and the snug fit caused the glass to break. This is my theory and I'm sticking to it. It was probably just me forcing the lid on. Lesson learned. We lost one fish. Believe it or not it was the fish that started it all. A firefish.

Valentines Mix...

Dark hearts Love Deep..http://www.box.net/shared/8kqfxxse5o

The mix to me shows shades of the heart via music.. Sometimes it's dark. Sometimes is wild, and sometimes it's just done.

So sit back relax and grab your valentine.. it's a fun ride.

Inspiration from reconnection..

I have to admit that facebook has truly changed my life. It's allowed me to reconnect with many people I'd thought lost to time. One such group was a bunch of people that I used to hang out with every weekend and sometimes even play for them. So in honor of my facebook reconnections, I did a new mix. This is for all those old friends and new ones who I hope have enjoyed my talents over the past years.

I called the mix My Way. The naming is due in part to finally being able to stand on my own two feet and show people that this is how my mixes go. I don't take requests, and I'm not following any trend. I'm playing what I want and how I want. This may seem a little rude but I think the mix will speak for itself.

Enjoy.

http://www.box.net/shared/3e2isjntcp

A start of something new..sort of

I have for many years latched on to a musical artist or group in their infancy. As they grow and I expose other people to these artists. They sometimes mock me but other times they really listen to me. So I decided that I should start writing about the things I get hooked on musically. Right now I'm in this very odd place with my music. I'm treating it like pieces of a puzzle for some great work which I will construct in a meticulous way. But I thought I would share with you an artist which has literally made me stop and take a breath. The artist is human8. This is his myspace page. He is on facebook but his profile is private you must add him as a friend to access his info. (Smart Man) I quickly found all this out due to stumbling upon a track at Beatport and doing a quick google search. I love technology sometimes.

Listen to some of his music. His music is of course dance music, but very well crafted and thought out dance music. This boys and girls is the stuff that dreams are made of.

Beauty in those things around you..

I have said that I am a lucky man and yesterday I was again shown that this is so very true in many aspects of my life.

I was in the arts district yesterday afternoon with Kal for a quick meeting and stop off at a project he did over in that area. I can not begin to describe the beauty that Dallas is now home to due to the revitalization of the arts district. As I sat in the lobby of the cavernous Meyerson Symphony Center, my view was of the new Winspear Opera Hall and the Wyly Theatre. You can see pics of both the new opera hall and theatre on the link for the Winspear above. I was dwarfed by these magnificent building's and examples of superb architecture that call Dallas home. Once the meeting was done we toured Kal's project. I first have to say that again my partner is extremely talented and most people can never truly grasp what he does until you tour one of his projects. I also must say that knowing that he contributed to this wonderful collection of buildings is something that I am very proud of for him. If ever you get the chance, I highly recommend just coming to see the buildings. It's truly something Dallas should be proud of.

I am ending this post with a pic from within the Meyerson. I don't claim to be a professional photographer and especially since the pic was taken with a camera phone, I must apologize for the quality.

I hope it gives you an idea of the the beauty that this building holds within it's amazing exterior.

The insanity of Art..

I have been laxed in my blogging and facebooking. But, I have an excuse. I've been working on a track. It's been the most amazing experience I've had musically. The track started simply enough, but in time and some tweaking of bits and pieces it's truly become a work of art. The only drawback is that I actually spent approximately 7 hours yesterday composing. I know my little family was not happy. The outcome, I believe, will be worth while. I will let everyone have a listen when it's finished. Although I'm not sure when that will be but it will be soon.

Is it over yet..

Personally I am ready for this election season to be over. I voted this morning and hoped that for some magical reason all the media coverage would stop after I did. Quite the contrary actually. I think I dodged a bullet as I was walking out of the polling place and saw two different news crews setting up camera's to broadcast. I don't know about the rest of the world but I'm so ready for all this to just stop. I don't care about Palin's wardrobe. I don't care how many houses McCain has. I also don't care how much Obama is outspending his rival. What I do care about is just moving on. The next few months will be uneventful until the next president is sworn in. The financial crisis will still loom over us all. Someone will finally say we're in a recession and the media will always go haywire over the smallest insignificant fact. Let's here it for normalcy as we know it.