monday morning workimback

a few quick notes as i sit here drinking mediocre coffee.

1. there’s this guy next to me at work who always says “that’ll work nicely”. he says it 5 times a day. noone else says that. not the way he does. i only mention it because as i began to type my first point, he said it again.

2. went to see caedmons call this weekend in frederick, MD. it was a great time. got to check out sound check, mingle with the band a bit, meet up with some good friends, meet up with some new friends, had a great dinner, saw a phenomenal show, and made it home safely. i’ve been a fan of this band for 8 years now, and they have become a part of my life more than i ever thought possible. its almost like a cult, only without most of the bad cult things. we dont have our own religion, we don’t hole up in compounds for standoffs with federal agents, and we don’t try to get you into our pyramid schemes (ooh that reminds me that i need to post about this real soon). it’s cultish in that being a die hard fan affects many areas of your life and because it is something that people who arent a part of it sometimes don’t get it. i guess what it comes down to is community. being a fan of 99% of all bands out there just means you’re a fan. but from the beginning, this band has gone out of their way to foster community. it all started with their first manager kirby, and the grassroots effort he put into growing the fan base. and from the first show in 1993 until now, the band remains accessible after shows to talk like normal people, because they are normal people, not affected by the fame and the accolades. and their music is good music. it draws you in. the music draws you close, and then the community traps you and suddenly you are driving 3 hours to a show and not even blinking an eye. suddenly some of the people you consider your closest friends are folks you’ve never met, youve only spent countless hours conversing with them in cyberspace, occasionally about this great band you both like.

so it was really cool for me to meet Patrick this weekend and watch as he was pulled headlong into the cult community that is the fans of caedmon’s call. i remember when i was at that point, and i was happy to give him an experience he will never forget before and during the show. when he came in the back door of the venue, i was there to meet him with Cliff, the founder of this band he had traveled 6 hours to see. he got to meet most of the band before the show and talk with them a bit. he got to meet some other great fans of the band. i even pulled him down into our front and center row from his balcony seats because not all of the comp tickets the venue provided were used. it was so much fun for me. now he’s going to go home and tell all his friends about the incredible experience he had. some will be impressed, some won’t care, and most just won’t get it. but that’s ok because he’s found a bunch of people who do get it. and that’s what will probably bring him back to the Rumor Forum and back to another CC show, no matter how far he has to drive.

And as the guy who started the dotnet, i makes me smile. I’m happy to be a part of this community. I’m by no means the leader, but i enjoy playing an integral role. Just don’t call me Koresh.

3. how about these new cell phones that take videos? how useless is this? i’ll tell you how useless. have you seen the commercial? some guy at a party knocks over a statue that crashes into an outdoor fish tank. the party’s host says “my insurance company is not going to believe this” and the girl next to him says something like “oh yes he will” because she’s captured the incident on her video phone. so that’s it. that’s the best they can do. it’s their first commercial for their video phone and the impression they want to leave you with is that ‘you might need this phone in case something breaks at one of your parties’. i cant make a better argument for why this is ridiculous. the people who came up with the technology cant think of any good uses for it, so good luck doing that yourself.