Blogging Ottinger (tim)

I only have a G1, not the cool new Droids, but I have become far too comfortable with it. It really is an amazing bit of technology with some useful bits of programming. My favorite apps right now?

• Weatherbug gives me constant awareness of the weather. Nice stuff, multi-location, too.
• Twidroid is always running. Next to tweetdeck it is my favorite twitter client.
• EMail to access work email from anywhere.
• Gmail for my personal gmail.
• Browser might be the better way to see reader and facebook, because their mobile pages are nicer than most of the apps that would otherwise be used. Nice job Goog & FB.
• WifiOnOff allows me to turn wifi on and off without having to go through the settings menus. It’s mighty handy.
• Waze is a new addition for me. If we all use it then we can track traffic conditions together.
• Metronome because I play guitar and haven’t learned to count or keep a beat all that well.
• FoxyRing adjusts my ringer volume based on ambient noise levels. I have quite missing calls for “didn’t hear it” reasons.
• Bubble is a bubble level. Works in three orientations. Flat it is a circular bubble level. Has actually been handy.

If you can, please drop a line to me as tottinge at gmail com to recommend or disrecommend nursing homes in the Indianapolis/Greenwood area. We have some decisions to make and hearing pro/con a few of them might be useful. If you have definite opinions or good experiences please either email or comment below.

Thank you so much.

wow. I could see doing away with my distortion pedal and just using this. I couldn’t quite give up my custom-made OD, because I like it and have sentimental attachment, but he gets truly great sound from this.

I mixed equal-ish parts Tien Tsin peppers and Ancho peppers, and have been adding it into my hot cocoa. The cocoa mix is Libby’s riff on Alton Browns recipe from Food Network.

I use a coffee stirrer, the ones that are like two skinny straws, and scoop the pepper blend out of a little cup. I put about three “dips” of chilis into a coffee cup of cocoa. It is really very nice.

Cayenne, eat your heart out. This is FAR better.

I just love to listen to Gov’t Mule, and it’s quite nice to hear them jam with Joe Bonamassa. Here is a little video sample.

My latest quest is to try different kinds of chili peppers in hot chocolate. The reasons are two. One is that I love hot chocolate season and it’s getting cold outside. The other? While I love chili peppers and chocolate, I think that cayenne is too harsh for smooth milky chocolate.

I think that people use cayenne because it’s readily available in huge quantities and it is the pepper they know. I don’t think it’s entirely suitable for hot chocolate though.

I want to come up with two basic varieties of hot chocolate. One will be warm, mellow, smooth and only slightly “bright” from the chilis. The other will have some real heat, but still be a good representative of the smooth hot chocolate experience.

I am starting with the generic “Swiss Miss” non-marshmallow hot chocolate powder mix until it runs out. It is good enough for my purposes. We’ve a very old 3lb can to finish off, and there’s only a few good cups left in it. I may continue with same to be more scientific, or may upgrade to a better drinking cocoa later.

Process is pure hackery. I add “a little” to the cocoa, taste it, then add “a little” more. Basically no measurements at all. I keep going until I can taste it, and then drink the whole cup even though the cocoa will hydrate and “bloom” progressively. Sometimes by the bottom of the cup the pepper sediment is a little unpleasant and the drink is a little on the spicy side. It’s all in the name of recipe development, so it’s all good.

I totally dig Ashley Cleveland, and my wife totally doesn’t. But I just found out that she has a Youtube channel. Awesomeness follows:

Neal Schon, Ross Valory, Ansley Dunbar, Greg Rolie… what a great start they had. They were originally more of a progressive jazz/fusion act, but apparently none of us heard of them until they picked up Steve Perry as a vocalist and turned to pop/rock. While I like Rolie’s voice better, and have to roll my eyes a little at the androgynous appearance of Perry at the time, I can’t deny that Steve Perry had a considerable gift and a very distinctive sound. That said, my favorite parts of most songs was always the guitar solo.

I think that somehow Steve Perry had the kind of effete look that girls in high school found totally appealing. It really seems confused to me, but there you go.

Schon and Rolie were both from Santana. Dunbar came from Zappa and later moved on to Jefferson Starship and Whitesnake. After Dunbar, the amazing Steve Smith took over (see some of his solo work and Vital Information for tasty, tasty jazz drumming!). This was the rockin pre-1980 period, and it they made good music. It wasn’t until Greg Rolie left the band and Jonathan Cain took over keyboards that they reached their peak in terms of albums sold… but during this period they transitioned into a prom band.

I was thinking about Journey for no good reason today, and thought I’d dredge up something old and different. Enjoy “Wheel In The Sky”, one of their earliest pop chart vehicles. I still think they had something here, though SP needed some pants that fit, a haircut, and some buttons on his shirt:

Tight harmonies and instrumentals were evident on “Feeling That Way”:

A little more energy is apparent on “Where Were You”, and Ross Valory decided to dress up as a banana. I don’t know why. Steve Perry once again could be mistaken as somebody’s girl singer from a distance, but sounded absolutely great wailing this song:

It’s a little bite of my childhood and leads me to remember my old friend Rick MacIntosh with his beater mustangs and his burning desire to *be* Ross Valory. Journey was the soundtrack of our friendship, and I guess I can’t be too harsh on their prom songs because of that.