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10 / 16 / 05
Las Vegas, Nevada: VH-1 Celebrity Golf Tournament
Day 1: After 4 hours of sleep a changeover in Texas we arrived in Las Vegas. It was hard to believe that the tour was over and we were back on the west coast. We were to grab our golf clubs and head to the celebrity challenge but there was a snag. My golf clubs did not make the connection so I made us late to the event. By the time we got to the course the challenge was almost over. So Edbass, GT and I played a round and then hooked up with Erik VH-1. We each filmed a short on the spot interview; I was so out of it I do not remember anything I said. We stayed at the Hard Rock that has a happening pool area. That is where the pairing up party was held. I hung out with Stone at the bar it was complimentary so we stayed there until it closed. I met the singer and bass player from Alter Bridge I told them I have their album on my MP3 player, They didn't believe me. Then I talked with the guys from Alice Cooper. I partied with Jack Blades, Alice Cooper, Meatloaf and a bunch of other people I don't remember. It started to rain so I was out of there.
10 / 15 / 05
Fort Meyers, Florida: Barbara B Mann PAH
The day started off with a glorious golf game with the radio guys from FM 92.5. It was a beautiful course and very difficult, I was lucky to shoot a 100. The show was amazing for our last show. We had some of the Ryche heads there and they gave me the metal respect on my solo to Speak. Afterwards we gave salutations to a good tour and went to the last M&G. I got quite a few invitations to go party at the hotel but I was dead tired from the golf game. I said hello to some cool Rychers who were outside our bus. I did manage to see some new tattoos of Soulbender and Whip wear. So it was off to sleep for 4 hours and a flight across the country to Las Vegas for some golf with VH-1.
10 / 14 / 05
Lake Buena Vista, Florida: House of Blues
It was Back to Disney world for some Whip time once again. I hooked up with Revolution Collin to do the much-needed drop off backstage. Just like a professional drug dealer he delivered the goods with an uncanny confidence. My buddy Big Ray stopped by, he said there would be chance Johnny Damon would show up. I basically spent the whole day in the back lounge working my fingers to the bone coming up with ripping double solos for the OM2. This was to be my last day of recording on the road because the next day is a mandatory 18-hole golf game. The show was completely sold out and packed with crazy Floridians. It was a tight show for the fourth in a row and again I had some Rychers that I recognized in the front row Whip section. The after show was definitely a bit intoxicated. I said hello to some friends and a few whiptresses.
10 / 13 / 05
North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: House of blues
This is the HOB with the alligator park next store. I saw a few gators and some giant turtles doing it. The grunts were pretty hilarious. I spent most of the day going over my writing for OM2 on the tour bus. The show was cool the crowd was all right. I rocked and gave the people their metal.
10 / 12 / 05
Knoxville, Tennesse: Tennessee Theater
It was nice to play a theater again. I spent the day in pro tools land dealing with latency in my Mbox. The show was a vibe and the crowd was very appreciative. The M&G was great. I met a kick ass guitar player but I can't remember his name, as well as some fans that were at the Nashville show. Backstage I also met some local musicians that were guest of our manager.
10 / 11 / 05
Cleveland, Ohio: House of Blues
This is a House of Blues that has a very small stage. It was definitely an intimate show. In fact the night before I went to see a show there. There was a cool band called Porcupine tree that I really liked and the alternative guitar legend Robert Fripp. There was definitely not a lot of room to move. The show was really tight and the crowd was hot! Afterwards I signed some autographs and said hello to some Rychers outside. We had to jet because we had a show 12 hours away in Knoxville.
10 / 08 / 05
Portland, Maine: Maine State Theater
I woke up to torrential rains hitting the top of the bus. Apparently at a truck stop last night our bus driver got clocked in the side of the head by some irate over speed-balling truck driver. Can you say vicodin? The show was kickin but the backstage has had its share of abuse. The bathroom looked like it belonged in a third world country. The sound was great and I had my usual partiers camped out in front of me. The crowed was loud and proud. Afterwards I hung out with some long time friends, it was good to see you all.
10 / 07 / 05
Atlantic City, New Jersey: Borgata Events Center
Borgata events center is a wailing casino with a music hall for bands to play in. There is such a diverse crowd that comes to party. We had a bit of a hiccup with the video system in the intro. It was a panic fest for our crew to bypass a cable that went bad do to local crew abuse. The show was amazing and the big stage was fun to move on. I was very appreciative to the fans on my side who gave extra Whip energy for my performance. Afterwards, we went to a live on air radio interview in the middle of the casino. It was pandemonium. The crowd was so loud that we could not hear what the interviewer was saying. We signed a lot of autographs and had a drink then we jammed up to our hotel rooms with some big dude security guys to get our luggage and check out. I managed to sneak a toast of vodka with some Ryche heads who were staying on my floor. I bypassed all the hookers and crazies and made it to my bunk in time for some absorbents and passed out.
10 / 06 / 05
New Brunswick, New Jersey: State Theater
Like in the past New Jersey kicks ass for us, they feel the energy and they respond! Another flawless show for the Whip. I am so dialed I can play this set in a lounge chair! Before the show I met with some publisher that wants to do a deal. I wined and dined him so stay tuned! Afterwards the M&G was awesome, really cool people!!! Later I hung out with comedian Craig Gass and Saturday night fever dude Jim Breuer. We shared some funny stories and they did some kick ass drunk comedy for us. Rockin!!!
10 / 05 / 05
Reading, Pennsylvania: Sovereign PAC
The performing arts center was a beautiful place to play. I do not know how many rock shows they have there but the place looks great and the crowd was gracious to us as we blitzkrieg them with our song and video!!! The ushers made people sit down which was not so rock but they gave us a major standing ovation when we finished. The M&G was cool. The infamous DR Rose was there to make us feel better. And I had a pretty damn good cheese steak as well.
10 / 04 / 05
Greensburg Pennsylvania: Palace Theater
A pretty kick ass show for a Tuesday night!! The crowd cheered us on and I had in front of me the most amazing dramatic dude with sideburns that could kill. He sang every line and air guitared every solo. When GT sang Shadows with him he was jumping up and down with vigor and enthusiasm that much of the older crowd could not even fathom. Still it was a great crowd who got a great show. I hope we can come and play the beautiful Palace Theater once again.
10 / 02 / 05
Toledo, Ohio: Stranahan Theater
Another puzzling hot day when I expected to be blistering cold. As being the 5th show in a row I was starting to feel a bit of drain on my psyche, or could it have been RBV I had last night in Merrillville? There was a sound check gathering of radio winners so we played a few extra tunes for them. The first set was a bit sleepy on the part of the audience but the second set they came alive for OMC. I had a much better show than the other night. Afterwards at the M&G I said goodbye to all the crazed Rychers who had been following us who actually invited me to another party!!! But it was off to Pittsburgh for a day off and a round of golf.
10 /01 / 05
Merrillville, Indiana: North Star Plaza Theater
The star plaza theater looked the same as the last time we played it. During the show my in ear monitors started going a bit south so I was fighting the show all night. I remember there was a propoundious amount of bass killing me all night. Thank goodness I had a bunch of super energetic Whip fans in front of me. The after show was cool. I hung out with a bunch of cool Rychers that invited me to their private party at the hotel across from the parking lot. I was there only an hour but I was pleased to see so many Rycheheads partying and getting along so well. Thanks for the get together. Lets do it again sometime.
09 / 30 / 05
Louisville, Kentucky: Palace Theater
Another global warming hot day. I ran into long time financial friend Jeff Thomason who discussed with me some opinions in the market these days. I then proceeded to record more much needed guitar parts for OMCII. The first set the crowd was a bit mellow but we played fairly well. The second set they came alive for OMC. It does it every time. I do have to say the palace theater is a beautiful place to play. The M&G was fun. Some fans gave me a Seattle Seahawk cap with my name "Whip" on the back. I am not very good with names but I remember faces fairly well so don't get down on me if I look a little lost in space sometimes.
09 / 29 / 05
Nashville, Tennessee: Ryman Auditorium
The Ryman Theater used to be the old opre a converted church that still has its wooded pews. I have to say my clean sound sounded great in there. I had some really cool fans in front of having a great time rockin to the Whip. A funny thing happened to Stone and me on the beginning of Walk In The Shadows. We both went to play our first note and nothing happened!!! So we both walked off stage got our problems taken care of and returned to start the song not missing a beat. The amazing producer Peter Collins was there to greet us and said we hadn't changed a bit. He loved Mindcrime and was quite pleased with all the additions to the arrangements and theatrics. The after show was cool. I met some fans that hadn't seen us since 91' I walked out on the streets of Nashville with Stone and we ended up in a country bar were we met some QR fans. It was quite unusual for me because I usually hang in Irish bars but this place was quite entertaining. "Save a horse…ride a cowboy" Yee Haw.
09 / 28 / 05
Columbus, Ohio: Promo West Pavilion
The promo west pavilion is where we performed with Dream Theater. We played outside but tonight we played on the inside stage. Before the show we had a QR barbeque so I got my quota of beef. The show was fun and amazing. I had a fun group of people in front of me all night. At one point in the show a bra came up on stage right in front of my pedal board. Then a gracious sweetie displayed her womanhood during the Mindcrime set. I remember Ed Bass tossed her a can of brisk ice tea for her to cool off. The next thing you know she has lifted her shirt and placed the can in between her breast still wearing her black bra. Very cool!!! The after show was cool; there were a pair of hot twins that wanted to got out on the town and party. Sorry, not this time.
09 / 25 / 05
Des Moines, Iowa: Val Air Ballroom
The day started out very muggy and the Val Air Ballroom smelled a bit moldy. I noticed that they had done some renovations to the place. I set up my recording rig in the corner of the building and proceeded to record some more guitar parts to OMC2. We had a radio contest sound check party before the show with about 50 people. We played fro them the new song I'm American. The crowd was crazy and ready to rock. Some voluptuous honey in the first row kept me amused all through the first set. The Mindcrime set was intense. I had a whole cheering section in front of me. Again, some blonde girl got on some guys shoulders and showed the band her goods. Boy, I sure love this job. Afterwards at the M&G I signed some guitars and took a lot of pictures. Back out on the dressing room deck I hung out with the keyboardist from Slipknot's wife and sister. They were really cool and diehard Rychefans.
09 / 24 / 05
Saint Paul, Minnesota: Myth
The Myth venue was a new one for us. It had a very nice light system and it actually sounded very good for a trendy nightclub. The place was packed and the show was tight! Except for Silent Lucidity where my acoustic guitar was not working for the first few attempts. I recognized some Ryche heads out there in the audience. The after show was interesting. I met a girl who proceeded to tell me how a Catholic priest raped her and how her real life is so much like Operation: Mindcrime. Onwards to Iowa!
09 / 23 / 05
Winnipeg, MB: Burton Cummings Theater
The day started off with a round of golf at a local municipal course. Our manager, Geoff and I ripped it up in record time. The Burton Cummings Theater was a nice gig and they had a cute cook. The show was solid and Winnipeggers gave us a great ovation. Afterwards I met some really nice fans. I think the last time we played there was 1991. It was time to get back to the USA.
09 / 21 / 05
Calgary, Alberta: Mac Ewan Hall
MacEwan hall was situated right in the university. The first thing that happened was our hazer machines set off the alarm system for the whole campus. I managed to get some recording done for the next QR disc in one of the many rooms that we had access to. The show was really good and the crowd was great. Afterwards I met some of the Canadian ESP reps. they were coveting my distressed Rory Gallagher guitar. I talked to some fans that had visited Seattle and gone to some of our hometown shows. Then outside I talked to a couple of guys that said they drove to see us play in Las Vegas! That has got to be at least 1500 miles!!! Anyway, Calgary was a cool gig.
09 / 20 / 05
Edmonton, Alberta: Red's Entertainment Complex
Reds entertainment center is connected to the mega huge mall. On the ceiling is a giant moose. The stage is very, very small. We went on late because System of the Down were playing that night as well so the promoter gave a discount to anyone who bought a ticket to go to both shows. We were very close to the audience. I had Scott's kick drum right up my ass; still I rocked every inch of the 2'x 2" stage area that I had. The fans were great considering we had not been to Edmonton since 1991.
09 /17 / 05
Spokane Washington: The Big Easy
Another Big Easy show. Another crazy crowd and again fights, surfing and GGW in the audience. This time there was a dark haired hottie in a short plaid skirt who took her panties off and threw them at the stage, a security guy in the barricade caught them and through them back at her and told her to put them back on. A cool Ryche fan gave me the gift that makes you smile, a fifth of Grey Goose. The show kicked butt. The M&G was cool. Later, an after hours party with Ryche fans in a hotel suite was visited by yours truly and Stone.
09 / 16 / 05
Boise, Idaho: The Big Easy
After a glorious day of golf the day before it was back to the Big Easy once again. It is a quaint place to perform but the crowd is always way energetic. This show there had the usual fight in the front area of the stage as well as crowd surfing and college looking girls lifting their tops for us. Afterwards the Meet and Greet was cool. I signed a guitar and talked to a few drummers.
09 / 14 / 05
Vancouver, British Columbia: Commodore Ballroom
We caught the 9:00 am ferry to Vancouver and it was a beautiful day. Standing out on the deck in the sunshine was invigorating. The load in was slow so I just bummed around all day and noodled on my guitar in the dressing room. The show was great. We had a lot of energy from the crowd to back us up. Both sets were a lot more together and the playing was more confident. The lights were better and all the stage props worked this time. After the show I hung out with my Soulbender guitarist Dave Groves and his wife as well as long time friend Chris who brought me a few DVD's of some vintage concert footage of Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull and Riot. I also met the west coast rep for Warner/Rhino who is very excited for OMC2. Also, Kevin the vocalist from the band Damn the Divas stopped by to say hello. Then I hooked up with the owner of Wizard amplifiers and cabinets. He said we are going to work together again. The M&G was cool. I met a Soulbender freak that told me his favorite songs were Samsara and Three Towers. The drive to the border turned into a nightmare. We discovered that our Italian keyboardist was in the USA on a just visiting visa. He argued with the gun carrying fatigued border patrolmen and they yanked him off the bus with all his belongings and shipped him on a bus back to Vancouver to deal with the local consulate to get the proper work visa. There was nothing we could do.
09 / 13 / 05
Victoria, British Columbia: Royal Theater
I had a 5:00 am bus call so a few extra hours of sleep on the bus ride helped quite a bit. We arrived around noon then I proceeded to walk down to the waterfront and find a Vietnamese restaurant for some pho ga. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful town. Sound check was smooth. Everything seemed to be working right except my wah. The two evil eye indicators would not turn off. It was ok because I did not need it for tonight. The opening set was a breeze compared to the Priest set. The Mindcrime set was great for me; I had a pretty damn good show. We had some production errors but a pretty good first show. The M&G was small but the fans were really cool.
08 / 12 / 05
(One Off Show)
Sturgis, South Dakota
It was a long ass bus ride from Seattle to the motorcycle city Sturgis. I walked around the venue for a while and bought some souvenirs. The weather had definitely changed as storm clouds were coming our way. I met some of the Disturbed guys they were really cool. I am a big fan of their music. At sound check the wind started to blow. I knew this was not going to be a bikini-laden event. After sound check we took a group photo with Disturbed then decided what set list to play. The show was very good but the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. The lighting was basic and it was hard to see the crowd. The main thing I remember was during our set between songs motorcycles could be heard revving their engines and it was loud!!! After the show the Tropicana bikini contest girls were freezing and not having much fun. I hung out with some of the guys from TrikDaddy motorcycles and met some band from Sweden. We had to leave early so some of our crew could catch early morning flights so there was no debauchery that night for us. I did manage to watch some of Disturbed's set. They were tight and sounded good. It started to rain sideways. I was out of there. Next was a long bus ride home.
07 / 10 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Phoenix, Arizona:
Last show of the tour and it was the hottest. It got up to 115 degrees, a human sauna. The show was flawless for me as the warm air definitely relaxed me. After the show we took some pictures with the Judas Priest boys and hung out with some friends. I said hello to some cool fan club fans then I went back to the dressing room to celebrate with the guys. After a few cocktails I watched a few priest songs and said my goodbyes to the priest crew guys. I met a couple of fans out by the buses, they were supposed to be to females but I had my suspicion! I said goodbye and I think Stone entertained while I went back to the dressing room. After the show Scott the drummer for Priest invited us to go to a club in Tempe with all the band guys. The next thing I know I am whisked away in a long black limo with Scott and KK and everyone else. We get to the club and I see the 2 androgynous looking two that I left with Stone. I hung out with Dimebags widow Rita. She is a sweetie but I feel a little freaked when I talk with her. I mainly hung out with Glenn Tipton and his 19 year old son Trent. I was trying to tell Glenn without being a geek that in high school Stained Class and Hell Bent for leather were my personal grand alchemic guitar bible studies. I try my best to stay cool, it was hard but I did get Glenn's email on a napkin, unfortunately it got destroyed in my pocket the next day. All of a sudden some nasty girls started kissing each other and began lifting there mini skirts, Glenn Tipton grabbed me and told me it was time to go before anything incriminating could happen, How cool… a fellow musician looking out for a fellow buddy. I remember getting back to the hotel at a decent hour, which is highly unusual for me. I will miss those Judas Priest guys…. What a great tour!!!
07 / 09 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Las Vegas, Nevada:
This was an indoor show at the Mandalay Bay Center. I remember it was blazing hot outside and inside the arena it was frigid cold. The show was fun but it was to cold to feel comfortable. I saw a lot of QR fans out in the audience and I saw some excellent architecture! The after show was fun with our intoxicated fan club members and some guest from ultimate ears. We were then taken up to the foundation room and again our fans had a private room for us. The drinks flowed and a lot of laughs happened. I remember being out on the deck with all the partying people and seeing some interesting things happening. I make it back to the bus by 2 am. Time for some Advil and lots of water.
07 / 08 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Irvine, California:
Allen from ESP showed up before the show as well as Paul Muniz from Digitech. We were hanging out back stage when KK downing walked by and telling us that he was hurting pretty bad from the previous evening; he was very hard to understand he reeked of booze and he said something about "From the East coast and recently divorced". I have to say this was my perfect show of the tour. Everything sounded incredible and I played a perfect show. I was definitely in high spirits. The crowd was incredible and incredible looking. After the show some guys from Spocks Beard were hanging out, we had to kick them out of our dressing rooms because they were consuming everything. The M&G was fun, I remember meeting some incredibly built females!!! I am glad I will be home soon!!! Back in our dressing room area there was a huge party going on with all the Judas Priest guys and all the LA industry regulars hanging out. I was lucky to get out of there because some nasty stuff was beginning to happen.
07 / 07 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
07 / 06 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Seattle, Washington: White River Amphitheater
The day started out as whip the dad in reality at home. Yes…confusion…. many responsibilities…scream, joy…help!!! I drive to the gig in my BMW with my son who is kickin' on the bass for a 12 year old. We get to the White river amphitheater and park and immediately the JP merch guy gives my son a new JP shirt. I run into my friend Troy, then I take my son to go get something to eat. We grab our grub and head into the tables and run into Rob Halford and some of his friends, he shakes my hand then grabs my son Jazz's hand and says "cool t-shirt" my son is frozen in terror. We sit down at an adjacent table and my son is star struck, he can't even eat anything. He keeps saying to me "I just met Rob Halford…. I'm shaking!!!" The show was actually cold in temperature and the crowd was great, my son and his best friend were on my side giving me the signs of metal. Then my wife showed up and fixed my hair during a break in the set. The show ends and we head back to the dressing room and they put all our after show guests out side the dressing rooms. I go out to say hello to my family and friends and it is a madhouse. Some fan asks me to sign her shirt then my wife chimes in for her to lift her shirt!!! My eye wide open the girl looks at my wife and says that "she is not that kind of girl" Anyway more craziness happens and I manage to say hello to all my friends and some fans. I go to the soundboard with my son and his friend and we watch together a kick ass Judas Priest show, Definitely a memorable moment. Afterwards we all head back to the dressing room. I am partying with my family and friends. Some girl in our dressing room is getting tanked when my wife realizes that she has completely fallen out of her top, my friends are enjoying the show when my wife goes over and fixes that honeys top. Meanwhile my son and his friend manage to get into the Judas dressing room and have their shirts signed. Then my daughter shows up with her friends and I take her back to Rob's dressing room and he signs her jean jacket. That was the end of that evening!!!
07 / 05 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
07 / 04 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Portland, Oregon:
For the 4th of July this was a pretty calm day and show, in fact this was the quietest show of the tour with the decibel limit being very low for a hard and heavy show. The turn out was very disappointing probably due to the fact that it was a Monday and the 4th of July. The show went with out any problems and my playing was fine. After the show I did the M&G and then grabbed my luggage and got a ride from some of my friends back to Seattle.
07 / 03 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
07 / 02 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
San Francisco, California:
This show was called the Bone Bash, there were 4 bands total, and the other 2 were Testament and Cardboard Vampyres. There were a lot of new and old faces to say hello to. Some of them were Jason Newsted, Jerry Cantrell, and Patrick Lachman. Also there was our producer Jason Slater and his assistant Ash. The show was pretty fun for me knowing that all those musicians were there; I kind of hammed it up a bit. There was a sign in the audience for me that read "Welcome home Whip" That was very cool…Thanks. The M&G was huge and crazy; I saw a few intoxicated fans that I recognized from past QR shows. I hooked up with my aunt from Walnut Creek who came all by herself to this crazy event. We stayed and partied with some interesting looking fans until the fireworks went off and then we got on the bus and got out of there before any trouble could start.
07 / 01 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Reno, Nevada:
The wind was blowing all day and it was very hot. We went on stage and the blazing sun was facing right at us not to mention the 35-mile per hour winds that were blowing us away. I wore my skiing sunglasses until Walk in the Shadows. I had a tough time because the wind was drying everything up. It actually made it difficult to bend strings. After the show we did the M&G then I went and had a cocktail with the guys. We saw Gene Simmons, He did not say hello. He was with his daughter and walked right past us.
06 / 31 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
06 / 30 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
06 / 29 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Denver, Colorado:
This was an early show for us 7:00 to be exact. So when we started the show people hurried to get to there seats. This venue has an early curfew and sound decibel limit. I do have to say the Denver crowd loves give it all. I had smoking show and saw a few friends looking very hot out in the audience. The M&G was small and the Rychers were cool especially the one from Bulgaria what a surprise!!! A few cocktails later and we were off to Reno.
06 / 28 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Albuquerque, New Mexico:
After a mellow day off I was ready for a fun show. The crowd was a little laid back in the beginning but they came alive by the end of the show. During pre sound check GT, stone and I did a 2 song live on air performance for about 20 people, we played Last Time In Paris and Sign Of the Times acoustically. While in the catering tent a windstorm came swiftly through and nearly lift the tent off the ground. The M&G was really cool; it was good to see some long time Rychers. Afterwards I hung with some of the Priesters and some of their families.
06 / 27 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
06 / 26 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Dallas, Texas:
The day was insanely hot, I think close to 100 degrees. The sun sets into the stage so the crowd was shadowed to us. I had a great show, on the song NM156 I had a small passenger land on my arm for a whole verse. At first I was startled but when I saw the long legs I laughed, some people in the front row were amazed. We did a ridiculous interview with these guys that are doing an Internet viewable 100 concerts in a row for Google. After the show I hung out with my cousins from Dallas then I went the M&G and talked to some enthusiastic fans. When I went back to the dressing room Vinnie Paul, Dimebags Wife and their friends came in to hang out, drink some tequila and exchange info. It was good to see the two in happy spirits.
06 / 25 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
San Antonio, Texas:
Over 11,000 people were there to be metal for a day. The show was going great for me until The Needle Lies. My guitar jack came loose and shorted out until Mikey V found the sweet spot, I came back in on the first solo after the first verse. After that it was smooth until the end. At the M&G I signed another Soulbender CD and took a few pictures. During the Priest set I met Ian Hill's daughter and son. They were very polite and friendly. After there show Scott Travis invited me into their dressing room for hors d'oeuvres. I talked with Ian for a while then KK came in and we talked about golf then KK informed me that he is building a 27-hole golf course on his property in England. He said the next time we are over there we have a personal invite to play some golf.
06 / 24 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
New Orleans, Louisiana:
Ed bass and I took a walk down to a very cool store called Gargoyles. I bought some cool new clothes then walked through the French Market and saw the thousands of hot sauces available. It was strange to be on a small stage again and also the noise from the old dimmer packs reminded of me of the previous tour. Ed bass had some problems otherwise I think we played very good. Our curfew was 11:00 pm and we ended exactly on the mark. There was an opening band called Invain, they were very young and energetic. After the show we went to a bar that had a terrible duo playing, I could not bear it so I grabbed some of the crew and walked to Pat O'Brien's for a thirst quenching hurricane.
06 / 23 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
West Palm Beach, Florida:
Today was the golf press day with Big Joe from the The Buzz. We played a game with 2 winners and also played with 2 jocks. Ed bass and I played with the 2 jocks Nick and Meatpacker. Nick crashed their cart into the bridge and broke the axle of the right wheel. Then later in the game Meatpacker through one of his clubs into a pond. I shot 95 and Ed bass shot 91. During the game some red ants got on my hand and bit me, they really hurt. I also got a nasty sunburn. Before the show we did a photo shoot with Larry Munroe then it started to rain. The air was very thick on stage; I had to pace myself because I started to see white spots. After the show I hung out with my brother and my father who were doing business in Miami. I also spoke to my brother in law who called me during a biopsy he was performing to say he was coming to see me, later he called to congratulate me on the show.
06 / 22 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Tampa, Florida:
Trik Daddy's motorcycle gang showed up with their trailer and Winnebago and brought out about 500,000 dollars worth of custom bikes for everyone to ride. We joked with the guys and they gave us some of their shirts. The show was kick ass. I had a cousin show up and my friends Big Ray and Matt were there. The M&G was enthusiastic. It was sure hot and muggy.
06 / 21 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Day Off: Atlanta, Georgia:
The day started out with a round of 18 holes of golf, I shot a 91 and Ed bass shot an 87. The show was a hot kick ass performance. I was a little sore from the golf but was full force by song 3. After the show the M&G was small but lively. Later we hung out with Morgan the drummer from Sevendust.
06 / 20 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Day Off: Atlanta, Georgia:
Day Off. Our bus driver Ron lives about 45 minutes out of the city and invited the whole band and crew for a barbeque. We also played golf at this course in Dawson County. This was my first game of the year, I played pretty good but I lost a few balls. We went back to Ron's house and all the local neighbors showed up, lets say it was very interesting.
06 / 19 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Bristow, Virginia:
A perfect night to rock the weather was great, I had a great show. I am locked into the set playing wise so I can lay the shapes down easier. The M&G was great. I hung out with Revolution Collin and friends. He is leading the way for the Soulbender Fan club and setting up chapters in various cities. He showed the prototype for the Soulbender decal, which looks very cool. I took pictures with some young kids. It is always great to see the future metal bastion.
06 / 18 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Camden, New Jersey:
Another intense NJ crowd These people give so much back to you that it makes you perform just a little bit better. The M&G was cool. We had some repeaters including doctor Rose and Monica the pharmacist. They told us of a story when in the emergency room a packer was arrested coming into the country smuggling heroin. Apparently he had swallowed 80 balloons of heroin. The authorities had to wait until the balloons flushed out, once they had the evidence they cuffed the guy and began dragging him down the corridor. Monica happened to see this as she was passing buy then much to her amazement she saw that the guy was wearing an Operation Mindcrime shirt. That was pretty creepy!!!!
06 / 17 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Wantagh, New York:
This time the drive from NY City was not so bad. We made it to Jones Beach with no problem. Before the show I ran into Steve and Rob from Planet Waves and D'addario strings. The show was really good, there was a nice breeze coming across the stage, I barely broke a sweat. The M&G was small I met some cool people. Back in the dressing room Fingers the radio DJ did an interview with someone, then the crew from the Howard Stern Show showed up and a crazy time definitely happened. They wanted to kidnap Stone and me and take us to this premier strip club but my will was good.
06 / 16 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
06 / 15 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Hershey, Pennsylvania:
This was an indoor gig on a blazing hot day, which normally reeks havoc on my guitar necks, but today they were just doing fine. There was a lot of sitting around and waiting today, I was not sure why there was a slow set up. In any case we did not get a sound check so we were to wing it and do the best with what comes at us. For me the first song of the set I noticed that my mix was all screwed up, I figured I would fix it by next song, but Scott broke his snare and we had to delay the next song, which was Enforce. Well he replaced his meaty thick snare with a piccolo snare, which is very bright sounding. Needless to say my mix was all screwed up for the first few tunes but eventually I made a kick ass recovery. Even without a sound check and against technical problems we still managed to pull it off.
06 / 14 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Scranton, Pennsylvania:
The place was Montage Mountain, which we have played before a few times before. I think it was like 100 degrees with the heat index. The crowd was very reserved probably do to the heat. Thank goodness the JP lighting guys put a couple of fans out for us. I had a slaying good night. M&G was the smallest of the tour.
06 / 13 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
06 / 12 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Boston, Massachusetts: Tweeter Center
The last time we played here it was with Dream Theater, I think. Holy F%#& was it humid. Mikey V my tech had to wipe down the guitar necks with alcohol. I got the JP lighting guys to put a couple fans on the side of the stage. That made the show bearable. I thought our double solos were kicking; Stone is really making improvements on the fast intricate parts. GT had one of his better performances; I think the humidity helps his voice. Afterwards, The M&G was quaint. A couple of Stones' friends gave me a Boston Red sox hat. I was touched but I showed my loyalty to the Mariners.
06 / 11 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Uncasville, Connecticut: Mohegan Sun
This place The Mohegan sun Casino is a first for us. A lot of tickets were sold so that must have made JP happy. For the majority we have been playing outdoor places with deathly humidity. This arena was air conditioned heavily. Fortunately my guitars did not go out of whack. The show was fun, I actually got the nerve to jump up on the PA and go all the way to the edge and lay waste. Normally my leather pants get so sweaty that it is hard to jump up on things. After the Show we had a Small M&G, I met the editor for Braveword magazine that is based up in Toronto. He is going to do a feature with Soulbender in the future. Afterwards we hung with Frank of Fates Warning and his wife. We hung out with some of the Judas Priest dudes and Stone did his levitation trick on some of the non-believers. We then went out to the casino and explored the bars but unlike New York they do not stay open very late. We hooked up with my friend Eric from VH-1 and went out to our tour bus and partied. I heard from others that he did not leave until daylight.
06 / 10 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Holmdel, New Jersey: PNC Bank Arts Center
Finally a show were we got to go on at 8:00 pm. It got dark enough to actually have a decent light show. I had a great performance considering the 80% humidity. I do have to say that the New Jersey crowd was excellent. Afterwards I hung out with the rep for Floyd Rose guitars. Then 2 guys from our old record label showed up as well as VH-1 Eric and his friends. I met a guy from Cyberstorm Internet radio; another killer contact for Soulbender.
06 / 09 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
06 / 08 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Manchester, New Hampshire: Verizon
We took an extra long sound check to work on songs we are going to perform at the New Orleans show. I switched from the Mesa power amp to the Marshall amp and it seems to work in the mix better. The show was the best so far technically speaking, the stage sounded very good and the crowd was great. After the show I met a couple of guys from Godsmack, the singer and the drummer. I watched the remaining Judas Priest show from the soundboard then afterwards we partied a bit in the dressing room with K K Downing.
06 / 07 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Buffalo, New York: Darien Lake
We were back at the Darien Lake outdoor shed. I noticed white fuzzy cotton flying in the air; they make me sneeze. I had a great time on stage except the wind was crossing the stage blowing my hair in my mouth all night. The M&G was small but enthusiastic. We had some drinks with some old friends then off we go.
06 / 06 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
06 / 05 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Toronto, Ontario Canada: Molson Amphitheatre
This time into Canada was smooth sailing; there were no hang-ups with immigration. Toronto weather was perfect for a metal show of epic proportions. The only snag I had was my Sabine wireless system was getting hit hard by the big tower, which was in close view. During the performance I saw in the audience many QR t-shirts as well as a flag from Hungry. I thought we rocked and I thought the audience was very appreciative. The M&G was small, I took a picture of some banner that is going to all the shows, I also said hello to some Sanctuary record label people as well as a girl from Australia. I watched the whole Judas Priest show and hung out with some of the crew. On the bus we watched the last episode of Deadwood.
06 / 04 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Detroit, Michigan: DTE Energy Music Theatre
Another blistering hot show, it is amazing how muggy the weather can get in a few hours. The performance was quite good although there were plenty of annoying RF hits throughout the night. KK Downing came over to my side with his Tech Andy to check out some Whip mania on stage right. The M&G was small but everyone was really pleased with show. One of the fans brought a couple of pictures of Eddie's old tech Franklin Felder who tragically died back in 99'. A little later on Stone and I had some frosty sierra pale ales with the Gwar guitarist "Beefcake the Mighty" He invited us to there show in Seattle in late July, this I've got to see. Some more beer drinking entertainment for you, a drunk out his mind fan was trying to scale the barbwire fence to get back stage. He kept falling down and rolling down the hill. It was like watching an animal in the zoo. Eventually, security tried to shoo him away in there golf carts, he eventually disappeared into the forest.
06 / 03 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Chicago, Illinois: Tweeter Center
The Tweeter Center was the venue of choice, a massive outdoor amphitheater. I ran into our promoter Gary Buck and midget wrestling champion Meatball before the show. This time the show happened with no major hiccups. I thought I played fairly good for a hot muggy night. I saw a couple of Soulbender shirts out in the audience, which made me rock a little harder. Afterwards In the M&G I hooked up with the Soulbender fans. They were asking when the release would be. I said "patience. We have 14 ideas brewing and we will post on Myspace any demos that are ready," They also asked about my signature guitar line. I told them the Skull strat will be available for the Fall line, the Les Paul series will have to be a custom order from ESP directly. My friend Jim Harwood was there with his lovely wife. He was gracious enough to tend to our ever ending laptop computer problems. Just before the bus was about to pull away KK Downing came on the bus and told us what a pleasure it is to have us on the tour and stop by anytime on their bus for a beer. Pretty damn Cool!!!!!!
06 / 02 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
06 / 01 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Xcel Energy Center
We were lucky to have a sound check do to the fact that there was a late load in, still the Priest held the doors for us to get an adequate sound check. The beginning of the show was a bit sketchy due to a switch of an intro song to signify Stone and I to get out and start the set. The problem was there was no intro song. I heard our machine intro while I was still back stage and bolted like lightning to get out to the stage, but to my dismay, I found that Stone did not even have his guitar on, so I just started the intro riff of "The Whisper" by myself and figured Stone would come in on the second time around. The crowd looked confused, then I figured out that I was not even on in the mains, so when Stone finally got on stage we both came in together through the mains on the second time around. After that the set went really well for me. Afterwards I met some guy from Cranesong who make hi-end audio gear, he will hopefully hook us up with some toys when MC2 is mixed. I listened to some of the Priest show, they sounded incredible.
05 / 31 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Travel Day
05 / 30 / 05
SUMMER U.S.A. 2005 (Judas Priest)
Cleveland, Ohio: Blossom Music Center
For the first show it was a scorcher of a set. We are contracted to play 60 minutes as the opener for Judas Priest. The show started at 7:30 pm so we were in full daylight. It was strange at first because the crowd was not all in there seats. Then after the first riff in the song "The whisper" thousands came from the beer gardens and parking lots. It was fairly comfortable with no breeze and a mild temperature in the lower 70's. I made it to the second to the last song before I broke a string. Right after the last melodic lead line I popped the high e string. After the last song we headed to the back stage, we were surprised to hear such a loud ovation coming from the crowd. We could of easily done an encore but we were out of time. When we were heading to the dressing room Glen Tipton was there waiting and congratulated us. Afterwards I hung out with my photographer friend Amir. You can see a lot of his pictures on my web site.
02 / 19 / 05
Los Angeles, California: Universal Amphitheater
The day started out with ESP guitar rep Allen Steelgrave taking Stone and me out for breakfast or lunch. We were met by a friend of his named Mike Stone. So I had lunch with 2 Mike Stones. We sound checked with the orchestra, there were some wireless problems that kind of put a kink in my performance including three second audio drop outs during the set. I also broke my first string of the tour. It was a great sold out audience with some unusual people getting busted for smoking pot. After the show it was a zoo backstage. There were a lot of industry people to meet and hang with. Also the fan club had an after show which included 2 kegs of beer; it got a little too crazy so I did not hang to long. I also did a photo session with ESP for my up and coming signature skull guitar with Gene Kirkland. I remember getting about 2 hours of sleep before I had to catch my flight back home. Now to sunny Sun Peaks Canada for some intense fast skiing. Metal!!!!
02 / 18 / 05
San Diego, California: Viejas
The day started out with Stone and I meeting with the Taylor guitar rep Bob. He picked us up at the hotel and took us to lunch, actually breakfast for us, which was sushi. We then went to the Taylor guitar factory and did the tour and picked up some swag and then got a nice ride to the Viejas Casino. I can tell you everyone is feeling fatigued, most everyone has had this shity cold and cough for 3 weeks now. The stage was bigger than last night so we weren't bumping into each other as much. The first half of the show went well, I had a very nice looking front row to keep me company. The second half of the show I was a bit knackered and I think the crowd was too. The room sounded quite good.
02 / 17 / 05
Anaheim, California: House of Blues
This is the smallest of the House of blues, there is no room to rock on that stage so you just half to get into the music and stand there and lay slabs of rock. Paul Gargano showed up from metal edge magazine. We had a meeting about scheduling the next album, recording and writing and the future tour with Judas Priest. The crowd was energetic as usual. It was especially nice to see the two females in the front row who shed there tops and watched the show in their black bras. Very metal!
02 / 16 / 05
Las Vegas, Nevada: House of Blues
Before the show I had a great lunch with my cousin and his girlfriend. The show was extra sold out. I had a great time after the show. I met comedian Craig Gass and Porn star Tabatha. Some cool fans rented a room up in the foundation room. We partied till 2:30 am then it was off to Anaheim.
02 / 15 / 05
Phoenix, Arizona: Celebrity Theater
This time at the celebrity theater we did not set up for the 360 degree round stage but they sold tickets way around the perimeter. The show was inspiring having to play to so many people at different angles. I hooked up with Dave Ellefson (ex Megadeath) who works with Peavey on the side. We did some photos for their upcoming catalog with Stone and me posing next to their new JSX amp. I also hooked up after the show with our old wardrobe person Alie Amato and I met the California Angels tour manager.
02 / 14 / 05
Tucson, Arizona: TCC Music Hall
The day started out with an acoustic performance at the rock radio station. We had an interesting ride from the station person named Wendy. The hall was nice to play in. The crowd was the usual great rock crowd. Tucson is a great town for metal. Afterwards we met Spyder from KNAC; we hung and had some laughs.
02 / 13 / 05
Travel Day
02 / 12 / 05
Stateline, Nevada:: Harrah's
I wish I could have gone skiing, my mouth was salivating seeing ski runs but with a beautiful day and being a Saturday the lines were way too crowded. The show was a work out and a half, the air was so thin I almost passed out in the Mindcrime set. This was much more intense than Denver. After the show I hung out with my relatives and some cool fans. I abstained from gambling.
02 / 11 / 05
Kelseyville, California: Konocti
This was a very interesting gig. It looked like we were playing a wedding. I have never played a show were the audience was having dinner. I was very unenthused the first set, I would try and throw my picks in peoples drinks to stay amused. The Mindcrime set was much better, the crowd actually stood up even though I am sure they were discouraged to sit down by security. In fact one dude got popped for lighting up during the show. Even if the crowd has to sit down there is so much energy in playing Mindcrime that I can disappear into a guitar coma. All in all I think the band played very tight.
02 / 10 / 05
San Francisco, California: Warfield
The day started out with a 1:00 pm drive to the rock station the Bone 107.7 for an exclusive acoustic performance. There were about 40 winners that got to sit in and ask questions. Stone and I decided the night before after hitting 4 Irish bars and the Gold Dust saloon that we should work out another Mindcrime tune acoustically. I suggested The Mission and we worked it out in my hotel room before we left for the Bone. The performance went off very well, thank goodness since it was beamed across the country. The Warfield is a great place to perform, before the show Ed Bass was not feeling to well so we acquired a mobile doctor to administer some good drugs for my partner. The beginning of the show was a bit funky; Stone was having problems with his guitar cutting in and out subsequently messing everybody's mix up. I played the first 2 songs almost as a single guitar player. After that problem was fixed the rest of the show kicked ass. Afterwards the meet and greet was pretty cool. San Francisco is my home town so it was good to be back.
02 / 09 / 05
Day Off
02 / 08 / 05
Day Off
02 / 07 / 05
Day Off
02 / 06 / 05
Day Off
02 / 05 / 05
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Electric Factory
I had a great show at the Electric Factory. My sickness basically gone I had a good amount of energy for a very energetic crowd. Mindcrime was ferocious. The place was packed. The after show was good. I had a kick ass Philly cheese steak.
02 / 04 / 05
Hartford, Connecticut: Webster
Backstage at the Webster Theater It was cold and damp in the dressing room. I spent most of my pre show moments in the bus where it was nice and warm. The first note of the show hit as a rush of that warm smoky alcoholic air. The place was packed all the way back to the front door. The set went smooth until Silent Lucidity, after the solo my sound started to fizzle, my clean sound started to gristle like chicken on the barbeque. My trusty Mesa Boogie 100/100 power amp torched! How ironic, on the guest list were 2 guys from Mesa Boogie! I was lucky that was the last song of the set! I had Mikey V hook up my back up Marshall 100 watt for the Mindcrime set. When I hit the first chord of Anarchy X it was blistering loud, it almost took Ed bass's head off. After everybody adjusted their mix the show rocked. We had a little film glitch but all in all it kicked ass! Afterwards I met some cool fans and a couple of girls from Turkey. Frank of Fates Warning and his wife showed up for some stories and laughs.
02 / 03 / 05
New York, New York: Beacon Theater
After a quick van ride to the Beacon we ascended up the stairs to the dressing rooms then back down for sound check with Tim Truman and the local NY orchestra string section. Things went semi smooth due to the fact that there are stage black outs for the local union. I did not worry because with orchestra you just have to wing it. I felt pretty good just coming off a nasty cold that had made its way through our entourage. The first song Whisper started off powerful but I think I threw a very heavy slab of metal because I popped my ear monitors out of my wireless pack. Mikey V was there to pack me in and wrap me back up as well as catch a little of my spot light glory. The Mindcrime set was magical. Having a sold out standing room event at the Beacon is to cool. Everything was so intense, in fact on Breaking the Silence a power chord threw my right arm into a spasm that hurt like a Mutha! I shook it off and had a triumphant ending. After the show we said hello to some of the record label people and some people from VH-1. Then James and Mike from Dream Theater Stopped by. I was back in my bunk by 1:00am. That is quite different then what happened the last time we were here.
02 / 02 / 05
Albany, New York: Northern Lights
I was feeling about 50 % due to the cold I had contracted. The Northern lights club was packed and the crowd was venomous for some Ryche. The stage was very small so there was not any room to rock out but I feel I played extremely well as well as the rest of the band. There was a guy in the front row that had a fetish for piercings, his whole face had pins in it, definitely a man of discipline!
02 / 01 / 05
Verona, New York: Turning Stone
I am a man beaten into throws of submission. There will be no drinking for me tonight as I have caught the dreaded lergy of the Turning Stone casino. I spent the whole day in my boring room feeling ill. I did manage to write a killer new tune in my dreary state. The show was surprisingly good for me; I guess my last drops of adrenalin kicked in. After the show I just wanted to drop dead but I did manage to say hello to some friends and some overly friendly fans.
01 / 31 / 05
Travel Day
01 / 30 / 05
Cleveland Ohio: House of Blues
This is the first time we have played this house of blues which just opened 2 months ago. It was great to give them a sell out show. The first set went smooth; the crowd was a little laid back. Then when Mindcrime hit they went crazy. Eddie and I got our first brassier of the tour thanks to some full figured lady. I was definitely on my mark though I did consume a bit too much of the red bull.
01 / 29 / 05
Chicago, Illinois: House of Blues
This was Eddie's birthday and he decided to celebrate a little bit early. We actually had to delay the show to sober him up. The first set was a bit rough though we all played a bit harder to make up for our birthday boy. After Jet city Woman we sung happy birthday and brought out a cake with candles for Eddie to blow out. He did that with no problem then he did a stage dive into some pour fans in the front row. After security helped Ed back on stage, Geoff told Eddie to make a wish so Eddie got on the microphone and told the audience to "Blow Him". All I have to say is that it was a memorable night indeed.
01 / 28 / 05
Chicago, Illinois: House of Blues
A cruel 6:00 am wake up for a drive across town to do some acoustic performances for WGN TV. We played 30 second clips of Sign of the times and the lady wore Black and about 3 minutes of Eyes of a stranger. We met Carrot Top and Vanilla Ice who were also at the station. The show was great. I had a great time. Afterwards we hung out in the foundation room then went to a local bar to unwind.
01 / 27 / 05
Chicago, Illinois: House of Blues
With 4 hours of sleep we were off to visit the Mancow radio show for a live electric performance. Our crew set up our back up rigs and we played I don't believe in love, Breaking the silence and modified version of Eyes of a stranger. Everyone loved the performance at the radio station. Next was an acoustic performance for Loop radio station and about 25 contest winners. Then back to the hotel for some fragmented sleep which is hard to do when you're full of caffeine and adrenaline. The show was a bit sleepy but the crowd was intense. I had some great fans in front of me to spur on the Mindcrime performance.
01 / 26 / 05
Detroit, Michigan: Emerald Theater
It was blistering cold outside of the Emerald theater. It was a big stage that placed Scott way in the back. It was so fun to have lots of stage room. I played very aggressively but right around "Love" I kind of went brain dead so I had to go ingest some Red Bull on the side of the stage to pick me up for the rest of the set. The audience was great.
01 / 25 / 05
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Eagles Club
Back again to the Rave. A great crowd and sloppy sounding stage but a good rockin' time. We had to break in Pamela Moore to do some acting due to the sudden disappearance of Roxy. The guitar necks are starting to straighten out a little too much do to the cold dry air, so a ¼ turn is needed in the truss rod. My tech Mikey V is on the case.
01 / 24 / 05
Travel Day
01 / 23 / 05
Madison, Wisconsin: Barrymoore Theater
A glorious Sunday in Madison started out with lunch with my good friend JH. I watched some playoff football, sad to say my buddy Jim Mora's Team did not win. The gig was at an old theater called the Bellamy. I have to say it was the best sounding stage of the tour so far. The show flowed like butter for me especially the infinite sustain that was godlike. After the show met some cool fans then it was off to Milwaukee for a much needed day off.
01 / 22 / 05
Minneapolis, Minnesota: First Avenue
Half way from Kansas City we were hit by a nasty snow storm. Visibility was almost zero with 50 mile per hour winds. We had to pull of the highway and wait out the storm at a truck stop. The inside windows of the bus began to freeze. We finally left around 12:30 with a 3 hour drive to Minneapolis. We arrived at 3:30 and were told they still wanted to do a 7:00 pm show, so there crew and our crew worked diligently to get the show to set up in time. We actually hit the stage at 7:20 with no sound check. The first set went ok but the smoke was taking its toll on our singer. It was really kind of a long sound check. The Mindcrime set was smoking. After the show Stone and I hit the bar and talked to the locals..
01 / 21 / 05
Kansas City, Missouri: Up Town Theater
This show was a good quality big stage rocker. It's all come back to me, my stage sound is mammoth and I am ready for battle.
01 / 20 / 05
St. Louis, Missouri: Pop's
Across the Mississippi and into the bad part of town is where we were taken. Amidst Strip bars and strange buildings is where the place called Pops resides. A strange smoky event that that turned out to be a lot of fun. The stage was quite small so I had Scott's kick drum practically up my ass. I had the pleasure of viewing some nice architecture out in the audience though.
01 / 19 / 05
Chicago, Illinois: House of Blues
Our gear was frozen when the truck finally arrived to the house of blues. Scott's cymbal stands were completely frozen inside their case. Our computers were frozen and would not boot up. It was 5 degrees outside and that does not include the wind chill. All the necks on my guitars were bowed and had to be tweaked. I'm glad we had an extra day to get all the kinks worked out. My new guitars played beautifully through the show. My new skull guitar with the Floyd Rose is punchy as hell; it's made out of swamp ash. My new signature Les Paul's have infinite sustain. This will be a great tour to break them in. The performance was pretty damn good considering we had not played together in 2 ½ months. The crowd was great as expected; they really came alive for the Mindcrime set. Afterwards we met up in the Foundry room with our booking agent and had a much needed cocktail. They kicked us out around 2:00 am I think?


text:
Low-sugar double chocolate muffins
By Tali Simon | July 18, 2013
This is the story of a muffin made in the final 15 minutes before the baby's nap. It's the story of a muffin recipe that I wished I had doubled, because with the passing of 24 hours, we were down to just two. The next week, I made them again. The week after that, I made them twice.
At first, though, I was pretty unimpressed. Fresh from the oven, the chocolate flavor was barely discernible, they weren't sweet enough, and I felt like I had to search for the chocolate chips. Sure, I'd wanted a healthy chocolate muffin, but…
But. But the next morning, after a night's rest in the fridge, they were wonderful. The chocolate flavor deepened, the chocolate chips seemed to come out from hiding, and somehow, they were totally sweet enough — even though there was just that half-cup of sugar in the whole batter. Also, there are flaxseeds hidden in there, and if I hadn't put them there myself, I would never have known.
In other words, these muffins are the perfect compromise between "help! I need chocolate!" and "I should probably eat something healthy." Just don't forget about the fridge time.
One year ago: Coconut chocolate chip muff-cakes
Tweaked from Pastry Affair
Yield: 14 muffins
- 1¼ cups whole wheat flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 cup milk (prefer pareve? water or plain seltzer are fine)
- ½ cup white or brown chocolate chips, plus an extra handful to top the muffins
1. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, flaxseeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Switch to the paddle attachment, and add the egg, vanilla extract, oil, and milk. Beat on low speed just until a batter forms. Add chocolate chips and mix into the batter. (This can also be easily done with a large bowl and electric hand-mixer.)
3. Scoop the batter into the prepared tins, filling them about three-quarters of the way. Top with a few extra chocolate chips. Bake for 20 minutes, or until completely set.
Important: For best results, chill thoroughly in the fridge before serving.
4 Comments
what are flaxseeds? where can they be found?
will it come out ok with out them?
I've been eyeing these for a while and finally have an occasion to make them -my son's birthday! I was thinking I would like to make it into a cake instead. Do you have any idea if this would work? What size pan and temp. and bake time? Also, have you ever tried making a "healthy" frosting?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
You may notice that some of the cats available for adoption have a small green heart that signifies they are special needs. They may be identified as special needs for various reasons, but one of the most common reasons is because they tested positive for FIV. Here are some facts about FIV:
FIV Facts
1. The Feline Immuno-deficiency Virus is a slow virus that affects a cat's immune system over a period of years.
2. FIV is a cat-only disease and cannot be spread to humans or other non-felines.
3. FIV cats most often live long, healthy, and relatively normal lives with no symptoms at all.
4. FIV is not easily passed between cats. It cannot be spread casually - like in litter boxes, water and food bowls, or when snuggling and playing. It is rarely spread from a mother to her kittens.
5. The virus can be spread through blood transfusions, badly infected gums, or serious, penetrating bite wounds. (Bite wounds of this kind are extremely rare, except in free-roaming, unneutered tomcats.)
6. A neutered cat, in a home, is extremely unlikely to infect other cats, if properly introduced.
7. Many vets are not educated about FIV since the virus was only discovered 15 years ago.
8. FIV-positive cats should be kept as healthy as possible. Keep them indoors and free from stress, feed them a high-quality diet, keep and treat any secondary problems as soon as they arise.
Many FIV cats, such as Chester (pictured above) and Arnie (pictured on the right) have been waiting a long time to be adopted, because they tested positive for FIV. And yet in some cases they may not even have FIV. If they were ever vaccinated against it, they will show as positive for the virus for the rest of their lives. And even if they do have FIV, they may go their entire life without ever showing symptoms. FIV positive cats can live long, healthy, happy lives. So please, if you're considering adopting a cat, consider one of these very worthy FIV cats.


text:
Six years ago Cole, Packard, and Southwick1 reported finding cancer cells in fluid perfused through the artery and collected from the vein of a cancerous segment of colon removed at operation. Other investigators have reported finding cancer cells in the circulating blood. In a recent study2 of 328 patients with malignant disease, cancer cells were found in the peripheral blood in 23% of the "curable" cases and in 33% of the "incurable" cases, in some before, in some during, and in some after operation.
These investigators saw showers of cancer cells in blood specimens in some cases incident to manipulation of the tumor by such means as pelvic physical examination, dilation and curettage, preparation of the skin prior to operation for cancer of the breast, application of a pedicle clamp, and dissection about the tumor.
Moore, Sandberg, and Watne3 recently reported a study of 179 patients with
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Sharing the goodness…
Beth Massi is a Senior Program Manager on the Visual Studio team at Microsoft and a community champion for .NET developers. Learn more about Beth.
More videos »
I was cleaning up my desk today and in the piles of mail and gobs of paper I found the SDN Magazine "Women in Technology" issue 101 that featured an article I wrote that was released in print back in May. Well, I just noticed today that near the end of June they made most of the articles available online, including mine. :-)
Using Windows Presentation Foundation and Line-of-Business Data in Microsoft Office Clients
In this article I talk about how to expose Line-of-Business data via ADO.NET Data Services to an Excel client using WPF. Office solutions you build with Visual Studio are designed to work with Windows Forms controls but you can also use WPF controls in your solutions as well. Any UI element that can host Windows Forms controls in an Office solution (VSTO) can also host WPF controls using the Winforms ElementHost as a container.
Using WPF controls in Office allows you to think out of the box and provide world-class data visualizations that are not possible with Windows Forms controls. And you can do it easily in an instantly familiar end-user application like those in the Office family. But what if you don't have any fancy data visualizations? Even the simplest controls that display data are often better off as WPF controls in Office applications because they better match the UI styles used in the latest versions of Office. Using WPF can make your add-ins look built into the Office applications themselves, providing a better user experience.
This article describes one piece of the Northwind Office Business Application (OBA) we created in the beginning of the year so if you're interested in OBA development with Outlook, Word, Excel and Sharepoint I'd suggest reading these as well:
The full sample application, built with Visual Studio 2008, is here: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/OBANorthwind
Of course, the rest of the magazine is pack full of awesome articles from very well known women in technology (scroll to the bottom of this page for the whole list). I'm honored to be featured with them in this issue. Thanks again to Marianne van Wanrooij and the folks at SDN for putting this together and I'll see you in October at the SDN Conference!
This is great. I remember when you showed an example of this at the East Bay .Net User Group meeting, I had no idea you could do WPF in an Office Add-In. Thanks for sharing the information!
Most of women started in "technology" became "business women" in a while :-)
Nice article Beth but I think the bottleneck in using such an app is the deployment.
Hi Waleed,
Check out the deployment whitepapers on the VSTO Dev Center:
And the VSTO blog:
Also we're building better deployment features into VS2010:
Thanks Beth for your valuable links. By the way, there is a recurring question in the community about the RTM release date of VS 2010. Since you and Liz are my Microsoft MVS - Most Valuable Spy :- ) , I thought you could leak me some information to publish on the forum.
Have a lovely day
Sorry Waleed -- I would never be able to give out that kind of information.
i want to create ribbon menu in window application.
so help me plz


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- BlackBerry device software 6.0
Reload the handheld software on the BlackBerry smartphone.
For Windows users see KB03621
For Mac users see KB19915
By downloading, accessing or otherwise using the Knowledge Base documents you agree:
(a) that the terms of use for the documents found at www.blackberry.com/legal/knowledgebase apply to your use or reference to these documents; and
(b) not to copy, distribute, disclose or reproduce, in full or in part any of the documents without the express written consent of RIM.
Visit the BlackBerry Technical Solution Center at www.blackberry.com/btsc.


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GStreamer on TI DaVinci and OMAP
|2011-11-08 17:06:23
|Gstreamer Codec Development
|Posted By: Wendelin Klimann
Join Date: 2011-05-21
Location: AUSTRIA
I want to develop an paramertic audio eqalizer for the gstreamer plugin (Auddec1) but i am not shure what is a recomendet way to start that.
Is development directly with the gst-ti plugin and a codec server recomendet or better with an auddec1_copy example from the Codec Engine? Or something else?
Would be nice if one could help me.
Thanks in advance
|2011-11-08 18:20:46
|Re: Gstreamer Codec Development
|Posted By: Todd Fischer from RidgeRun
Join Date: 2008-11-18
Location: UNITED STATES
Hi Wendelin,
Which TI processor are you using?� If the processor has a DSP, it is your goal to run the paramertic audio eqalizer on the DSP?� Is this a hobby or a professional effort?
If it is a professional effort and you are using a processor with a DSP, RidgeRun has the GStreamer framework to pass all audio data to a DSP algorithm then get the modified audio data and pass it back down the GStreamer pipeline. (Sorry about the commerical plug on the forum).
If you are a hobbist and you want to use a the DSP, check out TI's C6Run technology� - http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Category:C6Run
If your processor doesn't have a DSP, then you will be writing a standard GStreamer element.� All the great GStreamer documentation explains how to do that task.
|2011-11-09 03:04:00
|Re: Gstreamer Codec Development
|Posted By: Wendelin Klimann
Join Date: 2011-05-21
Location: AUSTRIA
Hi Todd
I am a student who make his final work with a beagleboard xM Rec. C which includes a Davinci DM3730 SoC and yes i want to run the EQ on the DSP.
Is there a possibility to get support from RidgeRun?
TI's C6Run would be an option, but, as far as i understand, it is not possible to add this C6Run codec to the gstreamer-ti plugin and i would not be able to use the benefits of gstreamer.


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Posted at: 11/28/2012 7:06 PM
By: Katie Eldred
(ABC 6 NEWS) -- The idea of five hundred million dollars has everyone rushing to get their Powerball tickets. Just hours from the drawing Casey' gas station in Rochester was busy.
The worker there joked that they wouldn't be surprised to see smoke coming from their ticket printer just with how often it's been running.
The odds of winning are not likely. In fact you're more likely to get hit by lightning or die from a bee sting. Yet many will still be watching those tickets closely with the hope of winning that half a billion dollars.
"Oh gall I've got to go buy a Powerball ticket," said Kathryn Radke.
Even those that never buy Powerball tickets wanted in.
"No, I never play it," said April Wiesner.
Many bought in numbers to have a chance at the $500,000,000 dollar jackpot.
"We decided to do a group effort, and we got 27 tickets," said Sue Kieffer.
"I've got two here," said Radke.
For stores that sell lottery tickets, it's been good for business.
Just Rite Foods in Rochester says they've sold to groups of more than 100 tickets, and even started a pool themselves.
So what would you do with a half a billion dollars? "From what I hear everybody spends it," said financial advisor Scott Heck.
He says managing that much money would be a job in itself. "You'd have to hire somebody, there are people that make a living off managing that much money."
He says if the winner is smart they still need to stick to a budget, but with that much money they would be able to make some risky investments.
"If you've still got 200 million left over frankly you don't have to be worried about risk too much."
Even with the odds...
"The amount is the motivator," said Wiesner.
The half a billion dollar jackpot is too big to ignore. "Because maybe there's a chance at winning some money."
At Casey's they had sold more than 500 tickets by five o'clock Wednesday.


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LETTER: Advocating for open-mindedness
To the Editor:
Last Monday was a victory for open government and democratic input and a loss for common sense and mutual trust between Chatham Park and the town of Pittsboro. Although Mayor Voller and Commissioner Fiocco made the point that the rezoning was only the first step of a long and safeguarded process and that the multiple revisions to the master plan reflected a lot of the public input and concerns from the previous five months, a majority of the public present was in no mood to hear the status report and the reasons for moving forward.
This train wreck was unfortunate because it was based in part on fear, anger, misinformation and mistrust ... .
A portion of our community needs to reconcile its strong impulse to protect land it does not own with the reality that a landowner owns property that they want to develop in partnership with Pittsboro and the region.
It seems unreasonable for Pittsboro Matters to claim neutrality, when in fact such a position actually serves to stop progress and delay decision making.
JFK once cited Dante when he said "the darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis."
The fact is some of the greater community is against Chatham Park in all forms, which I respect; others are either confused or need more information to either support or oppose it, while a healthy number of stakeholders support the plan that the town negotiated.
In fact, the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation passed a resolution the next day supporting the project and requesting that the town move forward with the rezoning.
I hope that our community becomes acquainted with the master plan revisions and ideas for Chatham Park that were mentioned by Mayor Voller, Commissioner Fiocco and others before we lose the opportunity to shape Chatham Park and work in a space of mutual trust. Our future depends on our advocacy and open-mindedness today.
Virginia Penley
Vice President, Chatham County Democratic Women
1st Vice Chair, Mann's Chapel Precinct


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Smart meters, electronic meters, etc. all smacks of "big brother" and selling info to marketers. They are intruding into our private lives and habits more every day. It won't be long before there are cameras in the bedrooms and someone to monitor female "trash" with the ridiculous laws that are being proposed. All these electronics mean less jobs all the way around. Not only that, anything electronic is subject to HACKING. We've already seen horror stories of people getting bills for tens of thousands of dollars when there's no possible way they used that amount in a residential home. And the water company will FIGHT YOU TOOTH AND NAIL. NOT a good thing for consumers. You watch and see who's going to suffer.
I think Mittens needs to be careful about these subjects that he's "flip-flopping" on. Everybody knows darned well the Republicans wanted to let the auto industry fail and give all the money to the big banks, Wall Street, big corporations and any of their cronies who had their hands out. They wanted NO part of supporting any company with a UNION. Another huge ETCH-A-SKETCH moment for "Mittney".
masfnmloans: ---- So who do we BLAME for 1 in 88 kids having Autism and needing schooling BY the age of 2??????? And who should take care of them being that the cause is highly likely to include environment, toxins, heavy metals, vaccinations, etc. that accumulate in the brain and can be triggered by a gene in some families. With an EPIDEMIC (as they now call it) if this proportion WHO should be blamed and WHY aren't they looking for a CAUSE as well as trying to help these kids???
You sound like one of those "know-it-alls" who doesn't even have kids and criticizes others about a subject he knows nothing about.
I hope Ohio gets its head together and the voters get out there. We know what Kasich and his bunch along with the other liars who weaseled their way into the State Capitols have done. These "contestants" are all a joke. They aren't putting forth leaders to help make this country great again. Their lineup is like a bunch of executioners .... all waiting to get their hands on the taxpayer money, break up the U.S. into pieces and sell it off to the highest bidders for profit. They've been slowly doing it for years.
You're quite right. Eliminate the middle man (politicians). But they have to keep up this pretense so people don't panic, because if all the people together ever realized that Washington doesn't really represent us and they've ((S)elected officials) been sucking at the trough off our dime for all these decades, there might be fighting in the streets or something. Politicians count on the fact that half of America either chooses to keep their collective heads in the sand OR are uninformed OR watch and follow Fox "news". As long as corporations rule our country, people will be left to die in the streets and we will NEVER have any say-so in our government again.
And some of our politicians have tried to prevent Americans from buying drugs from Canada by saying that they may be "unsafe", yet they are American- researched and American-made drugs? Is this what you're saying? And that we sell them to Canada cheaper? Hmmmm. Maybe it's that problem we seem to have that capitalists won't let our government negotiate for cheaper rates on drugs for consumers in this country. It all comes right back to greed.
Yep, he's one unbelievably arrogant, self-serving, greedy creep.
You think that's bad .... I once worked for a company where the owner (President) rang a cow bell for his secretary. Yes, you heard that right. He RANG A COW BELL. And she DID come running. That was just one of a few "abuses" where the bosses were demanding and arrogant. One place I worked, the manager threatened the girls that if he caught them "talking" to each other, he would hit us over the head with a baseball bat. This was in the 1980's. Unbelievable, huh? And these were local suburban jobs.
This "conservative" (cough, cough) has people he PAYS at a much INFLATED AMOUNT than what Strickland paid his people, so they can read the newspapers and "inform" him of what he needs to know?? Manages his time better doing what? Figuring out how to separate more Ohioans from their money and their rights? How to squash some more jobs? All those huge tax cuts they strangled everyone to keep, just doesn't seem to be satisfying the greedy corporations. Go ahead and blame it on the unions ... you will anyway. Never mind that the corporations and the rich have been fleecing the middle class for decades and have ramped up their efforts. Never mind that they don't pay their fair share and prefer to do business overseas where they can use slave labor. Never mind that these "patriots" don't believe in investing in the country that's making them rich beyond belief. Good Grief ... pay taxes? They wouldn't THINK of it!!! They're ABOVE paying taxes, don't ya kno?. We, the workers, should pay for their police & fire protection, for their roads to be maintained, for their trash removal, etc. Kasich is nothing but a master manipulator, and most intelligent Ohioans are onto him. Excluding the "Fox" folks, of course.
Insurance on the open market STINKS to high heaven, especially for those with ANY pre-existing condition, no matter how mild. You would have to experience the high premiums and lack of coverage for you $$$$ to even know what I'm talking about. If you have no knowledge of the subject, you shouldn't be commenting on it.
CraneCams: ----- Did Kasich also HAVE to give tax cuts to the corporations and the rich, thus ADDING to Ohio's deficits????? Is that the smart thing to do to balance a budget? Take from the poor and give to the rich???
I used to feel the same way, especially when I was paying for my 2 girls to go to private Catholic School AND paying taxes for public schools. However, I now have all 5 of my grandchildren attending Parma schools and have a relative driving a Parma school bus. One of those kids has special needs and Parma has one of the BEST school systems for kids who are less abled, as told to me by a Neurologist who goes to bat for families who try to get their kids educated with or without DRUGS. Our school system has been having difficulty for many years. The Kevin Kelly factor is not lost on me, however, the schools have been doing a good job trying to cut out the waste. Having no busing for the kids is an EXTREME hardship for most families. My daughter spends her entire day shuffling 3 kids to and from different schools and at different times, with a kindergartner having half-day classes. A city and your home values are only as good as the school system is. If the schools are lousy, people will not move into the city to raise their kids here. The recession has hit us hard enough, but the crumbling school system that is suffering from lack of funds and a crazy governor who's SLASHING funds even further, doesn't make for a good picture or a good future for the city of Parma. As a senior, I know the additional money coming out of my pocket for taxes is going to hurt me a little more, but when I think of the alternative, I'd rather choose something BETTER FOR THE KIDS.
And for those complaining about large classrooms, classrooms being too warm or cold, etc. .... buck up and teach your kids to be a little tougher. How selfish and self-serving can you be? I'll bet some of you won't even teach your kids to clean their room or take out the garbage. How are you going to teach your kids to be able to go out in the working world someday? When I was a kid, there was no air conditioning in schools and it was normal to have a classroom with 30-34 kids. It was no biggie, and kids ACTUALLY LEARNED AND BEHAVED. Maybe it's the quality of parents these days that's gone down and their lack of priorities .... plus the government decided to stick its nose in and make teachers quit teaching and instead forced them to become TESTERS.
Well, there's a dumb Republican decision for you. With all the problems they're stirring up and passions running high with unemployment, them busting the unions, wanting to cut out social services for the elderly, the children and the poor, etc. .... some nut with a gun could just get himself drunk enough and worked up enough. We've seen what can happen like that very recently.
DA8: ----- Guess you missed the articles detailing how Kasich is rewarding his new employees with THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS MORE than what Strickland paid HIS employees. How do you justify the TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH and these bloated salaries when you're cutting jobs, wages, benefits and busting the unions? http://www.plunderbund.com/2011/01/06/governors-office-salaries-going-way-up-under-kasich/
Yeah, he won the election with a whole lot of help from the Supreme Court. And lies helped. By the way, where's the JOBS, JOBS, JOBS???????
Some people stupidly vote against their own self interests. In this case people, in their ignorance, don't realize their own paychecks are based on Union Scale. Once the unions are busted and the Republicans eliminate the minimum wage, as they would like to, working people in this country will be taken back to the old sweat shop days with no benefits, no job security, no safety regulations, unlimited working hours for MUCH less pay and toiling at the mercy of corporations. After all, there aren't a whole lot of them that give a living wage and any type of benefits "out of the goodness of their hearts." They prove time and again that their interests are their own profit. There's no PATRIOTISM, as they feel they are above paying taxes to our country for the benefits they reap. They want ALL the burden shifted to the people.
To make it fair, we need to go after the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decision that gave corporations "personhood" so they could give freely and SECRETLY as much as they want, to buy our elected officials.
Hmmmm. Bailouts started under Bush that you forgot to give credit for.
Corporations have had their ongoing tax cuts and tax loopholes. Instead of creating jobs, they send them overseas so products can be made cheaply in sweat shop conditions. Corporations DO NOT believe in investing in America and will do all they can to AVOID PAYING TAXES TO SUPPORT THEIR GOVERNMENT, THE INFRASTRUCTURE, etc. The only thing they pay for willingly is into campaign funds for Republicans who continue the cycle of giving them breaks. On the other hand, unions and employees have been making concessions for DECADES since Reagan and his trickle-down economics. Employees have lost benefits, wage increases, job security, etc. while corporations enjoy more profit then they ever dreamed of. There is plenty of wealth in America .... except that it is now ALL concentrated in the hands of a few. Our economy thrived during the days of the unions and people (including non-union workers) enjoyed a decent wage and better working conditions. Kasich wants to help his fellow Republicans do away with all of that, including getting rid of the EPA, OSHA, and ALL unions. There's a lot of stupid people who don't realize THEIR paychecks will go down and THEIR benefits will be DECREASED because most companies paid their employees based on union scale to be competitive. Once Kasich and his like-minded Republican cronies bust all the unions and get rid of the minimum wage, you watch how backward this country will become. It will be funny when the clueless and the unsuspecting such as yourself finds yourself without much in your hands except wishes and regrets.
I think 50,000 is an extremely conservative number, no pun intended. That doesn't even count the jobs lost over the rail system Kasich scrapped right off the bat. Add in the teaching jobs and other union jobs that will be lost PLUS lost taxes on LOST WAGES. Then you can figure that all those TAX CUTS went to the RICH and the corporations ..... that means even LESS money going into Ohio's piggy bank. Less working people in Ohio, less money in the treasury, less jobs, jobs going overseas. BUT KASICH'S NEW EMPLOYEES ARE MAKING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS MORE THAN WHAT GOV. STRICKLAND PAID FOR THOSE SAME POSITIONS.


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Ulrich Nehring
Ulrich Nehring is a senior financial management executive with over 30 years of experience in the diagnostic imaging healthcare and vegetation management utilities consulting industries within both publicly traded companies with a global reach in addition to privately held companies.
Mr. Nehring has extensive business acumen in strategic planning, business combinations, treasury & banking, risk management, capital employed, manufacturing, consulting services, financial and business management.
As Chief Financial Officer of ACRT Inc., Mr. Nehring also served as Treasurer on their board of directors. Prior to this position Mr. Nehring was a senior financial management executive with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and several multinational strategic business units of Philips Medical Systems.
In addition to Mr. Nehring being an adjunct member of Baldwin Wallace University where he instructs International Finance, he is also an adjunct at Kent State University in their Executive MBA program instructing Business Finance in both the Corporate and Healthcare venues.
Mr. Nehring received his undergraduate degree in accounting from Cleveland State University and his MBA from Baldwin Wallace College. He is also a member of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).


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Summer Faves
I've been scarce around the blog this summer….Here's what I've been up to….
Summer days with boys….reading books, jumping on beds…:)
A new squishy, born in June.
A Harry Potter movie marathon with my kids after they finished reading Book Four.
A super fun and creatively refreshing shoot with North Georgia Studio of the Performing Arts
I can't believe summer is winding down and fall is just around the corner! What have you been up to this summer?


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By Douglas J. GillertAmerican Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 1999 Defense Secretary William S. Cohen will meet with U.S. troops in Darwin, Australia, Sept. 29 during a nine-day visit to Australia and Southeast Asia.
Some 250 U.S. service members are in Darwin preparing to deploy to East Timor, an island province of Indonesia that voted for independence and is now struggling against anti-independence factions. A handful of Americans are already in Dili, the capital of East Timor.
En route to Cairns, Australia, Cohen will meet Sept. 27 in Hawaii with Adm. Dennis Blair, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command. Blair briefed reporters at the Pentagon Sept. 24 on the situation in East Timor. He said the operation is going well under the leadership of Australia.
"[The Australians] moved in very quickly after the United Nations resolution" to turn over control of East Timor to the democratically elected government, Blair said. "The day before they moved in, there was an agreement with the local Indonesian armed forces, the TNI, as to how that turnover would be conducted," he said. "Since then the TNI on scene has been carrying out their part of the agreement."
Besides Australia and the United States, nations participating in the East Timor operation include New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and others. Blair said additional U.S. forces could be sent in as the operation expands.
Blair told reporters that the flow of U.S. personnel to the operation "so far has been about right" and that he was pleased with the progress of the operation. He said he doesn't anticipate sending U.S. ground combat forces to East Timor. Participating U.S. personnel, he noted, are covered by an Australian force protection umbrella.
Blair said U.S. troops fills a variety of support roles and, if Australia requests them, the United States would deploy more to northern Australia and East Timor as the mission expands.
In the meantime, U.S. personnel are already working on humanitarian relief efforts to the thousands of East Timorese driven from their homes. U.S. forces are setting up a civil and military operations center in Darwin to build a closer working relationship between the international peacekeeping force and the relief organizations, Blair said. The center places military civil affairs specialists with nongovernmental relief organizations.
A senior DoD official said the Indonesian forces have restored some order in the violence-rocked the East Timorese capital of Dili. He said ending the violence and bringing full security to the region, however, will take time.
Cohen will meet with senior Australian defense officials and with defense and political leaders at each of his other scheduled stops in Jakarta, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand; Singapore; and Manila.
In Singapore, Cohen will visit Changi Port, a naval facility Singapore has expanded to accommodate large U.S. naval vessels. The official said Singapore strongly supports long-term U.S. security interests in Southeast Asia.
This will be his third trip to Southeast Asia in the past two years. Since Cohen last visited the region in 1998, the Philippines ratified a new visiting forces agreement that re- introduces U.S. military training activities there. The spokesman said Cohen will meet with his Philippine counterparts to discuss the next steps in renewed security cooperation.
Cohen's return to Asia follows a hiatus caused by DoD concentration in Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia, the official said. He said the secretary sees the trip as important to communicating how strong U.S. interests and concerns are in maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.


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Amnesty torture fears for missing Al Jazeera journalists
Amnesty International calls for journalists' release.
Amnesty International calls for journalists' release.
by Press Gazette Published
Amnesty International has called on Colonel Gaddafi to release four Al Jazeera journalists held for more than two weeks after being detained trying to leave Libya.
The international human rights charity said the two correspondents and two cameramen who were arrested in Zantan, near the Tunisian border, and could be at risk of torture.
The missing correspondents are Ahmad Val Wald-Eddin from Mauritania and a Tunisian, Lutfi Al-Massoudi - both 34 years old.
Norwegian cameraman Ammar Al-Hamdan, 34, has also been detained along with Ammar Al-Tallou from Britain.


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Torres is still struggling to score regularly despite being given a regular run in the Chelsea team following Didier Drogba's departure.
Di Matteo said: "He scored goals from the first game he played this season and he's always keeping defenders busy and moving and doing the right things. Even when he doesn't score he works hard for the team and provides an outlet. I don't see any problem with him."


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UN declares famine in two Somali states
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Laurie MacGregor reports from Somalia
Famine has swept through two areas of Somalia, the United Nations officially declares today, confirming the analysis of ACT agencies working in the country.
While the announcement refers to the Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions of southern Somalia, ACT predicts that the entire south will face famine within weeks. There is ample evidence that millions of people in Somalia already have little or no access to food, are acutely malnourished and are at risk of starvation in under two months, says the 78-member Somalia NGO Consortium, in which ACT participates. More than 3.7 million Somalis, or half of the entire population, are in need of humanitarian assistance. In some areas in south central Somalia, more than half of the population is malnourished - of whom more than one in four is severely malnourished.
UN coordinating network OCHA estimates that as many as ten million people are now affected by drought and food shortages accross the Horn of Africa. The situation is described as the worst for 60 years. Somalia, where ACT member Norwegian Church Aid is now hard at work distributing food to over 30,000 people, is one of the worst affected.
Aid underway
"We are already underway in our efforts to distribute 262 tonnes of flour and 52 tonnes of cooking oil to the hardest-hit areas of Gedo province in Somalia. This first delivery will assist over 30,000 people in four villages for around a month. However, needs are huge. We received over US $700,000 from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs towards Somalia earlier this year, but we are now applying for more," explains NCA's Gaim Kebreab, in Somalia and Kenya.
He describes a situation under which people are beoming increasingly desperate now that their crops have dried out and died, and animals are now dying in large numbers.
"Food prices have exploded this last year, and for many, the need for food and water is acute," says Kebreab.
An assessment team was sent last week to the affected areas to evaluate the situation and plan a relief effort. ACT has worked in this region of Africa for decades, and has a strong local network of partner organisations on the ground that can ensure a rapid and effective response.
Towards famine
ACT raised the alarm about the dramatically deteriorating situation accross Africa's Horn three months ago, but it has taken time for the international community to respond. Hunger and drought are far from a new phenomenon in this part of Africa, but now that two rains in a row have failed at the same time as food prices have increased, the threat of famine spreading across the whole of southern Somalia is very real.
"The population of Somalia, and accross the region, need all the help they can get right now," says Kebreab.
Gaim Kebreab, area representative for Somalia/Kenya, tel. +254 733 609 936
NCA press hotline: +47 932 42 493
Drought in the Horn of Africa
- One year on, progress visible in Horn of Africa
- Horn: rain for some, hunger for most
- Kenya: digging for water in the midst of drought
- Surviving the drought, and preparing for the next one
- Ethiopia: medication needed to tackle measles
- ABC News reports from Dadaab camp
- Ethiopia: the elderly have stopped eating
- Horn of Africa: more energy and attention needed
- Dadaab: the road to relief
- Uganda acts on drought resistance
- Ethiopia: setting up camp on hard soil
- Volunteers keep the peace in Dadaab camps
- In Horn of Africa, drought only a trigger
- Dadaab: life in a refugee city
- Mogadishu: ACT delivering essentials to the toughest spots
- Somalia: reputation opening doors to strong-hold areas
- Dadaab: "It's what makes you get up at 5am"
- ACT's emergency response in Somalia and Kenya: a snapshot
- Africa drought: Dadaab extension a safe haven for Somalis
- This famine knocks on everyone's door
- Dadaab: praise for expansion of Kenyan camp
- Kenya and Somalia: a tale of two droughts
- UN declares famine in two Somali states
- Desperation increases in southern Ethiopia
- Women slog for miles seeking last drop of water
- SMS from South Ethiopia: cattle are dead, we'll be next
- Anguish as Ethiopians run out of options
- Africa drought: pressure on Dadaab extends for miles
- Horn of Africa drought: 10 million could starve
- This is the last of my food