My first "Verify" blog post

     Blogging will take over your life.  

     I learned that in back in 2001 when I had a blog call the "Sharktank".  It was not technologically savvy:  I would post a page, and then EMAIL all of my friends and tell them to go read it.  It generated some mild debate within my circle of friends.  Some friends would respond with their real names.  Others would use online names, but I could eventually figure out who they were.  There is a site that archives old web pages, and I will post (hopefully) all of those old "Sharktank" entries from 2001-2003 here soon.  

     The last decade continued on.  My four year run with the Dallas swing band "The Lakewood Rats" had come to an end, and I was pondering new directions at age thirty three.  I got a web design certificate in 2003, and like most students, I figured out HTML and CSS fairly quickly.  Not wanting to concern myself with the uncertainties of the Microsoft world, I decided my back end work would be on the LAMP side:  Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP.  And off into that world I went.  With tons of help from a friend of mine, I felt like I was finally getting PHP scripting and MySQL databasing to work with each other and MAKE SENSE, as well as understand Linux shell scripting.  I was actually starting to believe I could make a living in web design.  

     My last major website build is here:  Georgebond.org  I post comments there from time to time, but most of my commenting will now be here.

     A change happened at my current job last year, and life with that job change took me away from web design.  It was indeed last year that I was strongly reminded how important the guitar and music are in my life.  

     I have always been the first to tell anyone that I was NOT one of the more talented guitar players to graduate from the University of North Texas.  I graduated by the "skin of my teeth", and I was not "born" to play guitar:  I was born to be an artist, and guitar is the medium that I chose.  However, I do believe that the intense focus and practice on the instrument (as well as cutting my teeth with four bands and two churches) throughout the years of 2002 to 2009 made me the competent player that I am today.

     One group that I played with recently dissolved after five years, and I feel lucky now that I can take a long, well-deserved break from the bar/wedding gig scene.  I have always felt that I do have a unique talent for writing parts for OTHER people's songs, but that I am not a very good song WRITER.  I just turned forty three, and I have no evidence of solo work.  THAT is changing now.  I am writing and/or completing songs for MY solo album.   I am close to completing an Eric Johnson tribute song.  I have been listening to nothing but his catalog at home for the past three months, and I am excited about the results that I am getting in song form. 

     How, on earth, does blogging fit into my life at this point, you ask?  As I write this, I am honestly not sure.  My aforementioned friend has reminded me twice that building and maintaining your own blog is a WEB SECURITY NIGHTMARE and that I should only do it if I could devote a good part of my life to it.  I would love to build and be proud of my own blog, but since that is not an option, I figured Blogspot is a great alternative.  If I am wrong, I will fold up this blog and go elsewhere.  I will post here every now and then with links, pictures and videos.  I will discuss all things political, cultural, and musical.  Video blogging will probably become more frequent if I can find the time to do it.

     Therefore, I will now take the time to outline a few "rules" about this blog:

1.)  I will keep it clean on this blog.  I will not use curse words here, and commenters will not use curse words or inappropriate references, either.  

2.)  Just like the "Sharktank" blog ten years ago,  I will not name any of my friends by name during a debate thread.  You are more than welcome to give your own name in the comments if you like.

3.)  Every fact I print here will be footnoted with a link.  If I head off into an opinion rant, I will make that VERY clear.

4.)  I will add more rules as I see fit. :)

     Why did I choose the name for this blog, you ask?  A good friend of mine hates the movie from where the title originated, and he certainly knows who he is.  The title is simple tweak of a friend, and nothing more.  ;)

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     Will I be able to pick up where I left off in web design someday?  Perhaps.  For now I am fairly content with my life and how things are going.  I am very satisfied with my advancement as a musician, and I pray that I can someday make a full living playing and teaching guitar.

     Is there any love in my life, you ask?  No.  I would say there are probably three precious ladies that I would reach out to if their lives allowed me to have the chance.  This is of course a personal issue, and if you see me in person, don't bother asking because this humble man will NOT tell you who they are.  

     I will practice the axe tonight. Here is the practice agenda:

EJ tune
     Harp harmonics on STRAT 

     opener ideas
     song
Country tune

Scales-not too fast
    triplets-loosen wrist
    Pentatonics
        picked/slurred/fingerpicked-SLOW
        Pentatonic book
        blues licks
Arpeggios
    slurred/swept/plucked:
        major/minor
        stacked major/minor/diminished 7 sequences-write down new ideas!
Cherokee
Other tunes

     I am just a humble guy, humbled before God to play for Him at church every morning.  I always somehow find myself back at a musical "square one" somewhere. I know I have much work to do in my musical life, as well as other parts of life.  

     I have a framed napkin hanging on my wall.  It reads, "To George, Play on Brother!  Stevie Ray Vaughan '90".

I do.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  Have a great weekend, and a great holiday season.

George