The Bolt

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November 27, 2005

The Happiest Girl

I endured musical torture at a very young age. No, really. The first song to which I can attach a specific memory is "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA". See? Torture. Why couldn't it be one of the other (better) songs that were relased in 1972, like "Layla" or "American Pie" that get this personal prestige?

It was the summer of 1976...

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and apparently this particular Donna Fargo song had stuck with my daycare provider so much that she still felt the need to play it four years after its release. She had the whole record (yes, I do mean a vinyl LP) and she played it quite a lot. I don't remember exactly how often, but it was enough that even at the age of five I was already sick of it.

I would think that it takes a lot of trying to annoy a five year old that much. I don't know, because although I do have a five year old daughter right now, I'm not willing to put her through a similar musical torture just to see what frequency of song playing it would take. My wife likes Keith Urban's music and our girls must hear a Keith Urban song at least every second day, and they're not even close to being sick of his music yet.

OK, enough of that, you get the idea that the Donna Fargo song really grated on me.

Strangely enough, the memory that I attach to that song is this: standing outside of the day care home, leaning against a large elm tree, and thinking to myself "what a stupid song to like. We don't live in the USA, we live in Canada."

So even at the age of five, I can claim that I was well on my way to truly appreciating American Thanksgiving day (you know, the day that all Canadians pause and give thanks that they're not Americans).

Finally, in the category of "please, make it stop", I see that on Donna's second album she covered the Jim Croce song "You Don't Mess Around With Jim". I absolutely do not have the stomach to listen and find out how badly she butchered that song.

Posted by Hammer at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)

November 25, 2005

How Loud Does It Go?

The song "Stereo" by The Watchmen is another one of those songs that I liked from the first time that I heard it. The way that the song starts with a slow crescendo of a backgrond synth and a single picked guiter, which is then overlaid by the lead singer completing the first two verses before the bass and drums join in, reminded me of the sound production on U2's Joshua Tree album. And I've always loved that whole album.

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Of course, the lyrics were the bigger hook that kept me intrigued:

In time, "Stereo" got ingrained in my head, and I found myself humming it from time to time with no explanation as to why - nobody else was singing it, it wasn't on the radio, and I hadn't played it that day at all. Hmmm. Why was that?

As I stopped to think about it, I realised that "Stereo" came to mind some times when I was being introspective, looking back on times in my own life and relating various songs to my feelings. So I've adopted this song (or at least the the title of it!) as part of my life's theme.

My life is a stereo.

I find it interesting to look back on notable songs in my past - those songs that are intricately tied to specific memories. I likely have a few more than most, since eleven years of my life were spent being a mobile DJ. So all of the other entries in this category will focus on particular songs from my past... but don't worry, I'll try not to pick anything annoying like "Macarena" or "Karma Chameleon". :)

By the way, if you want to learn more about the Canadian band that was The Watchmen, check out this Watchmen fan site. The site looks a typical Tripod mess, but the content is good. Finally, if you like the song "Stereo", check out their other tunes, they're pretty good.

Posted by Hammer at 12:03 AM | Comments (3)

November 24, 2005

A Tragedy Named Rae

It's been seven years since I first heard the news that someone I knew was shot and killed - and I don't mean in a hunting accident. I went through school with Rae LaCharity, and I always suspected that life wasn't going to be fair on him.

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I first met Rae in Grade 7 at Vickers school in Prince Albert. He was bigger than most of us at that age. In a class of about 25 children, of course you get to know everyone else in your class, but I did talk with Rae more than some others in class. I never did meet his parents, though, so I suppose we were less than "best friends" at the time.

The most vivid early memory I have of Rae is from November of 1982. There was a casting call for a Christmas play that the grade 7 class was going to put on (at the time, Vickers school only went up to grade 7). Rae and I were the only ones who tried out for the part of "Santa Claus". I remember the auditions were done right in class (reading lines from the play) and then the class had to vote on who they thought was best for each character.

After Rae and I read our lines, the loud and unanimous opinion of the class was that I should play Santa. I looked over at Rae, thought about it, and then when the teacher asked if I still wanted the part, I declined. Now that I'm 34, it's hard to believe that my thought process at 11 years old was so mature: you see, I firmly believed that I was going to be given ample of opportunity in life, and that if this was Rae's chance I didn't want to get in the way. Perhaps Rae could grow up to be an actor. I was pretty sure that acting wasn't my calling, so even though I desperately wanted to play the lead part in the Christmas play, I handed it over to Rae. He did thank me for that even though he (and everyone else) were confused as to why I would audition for a part and then later decline. I never told anyone my real reason for stepping down.

The next year, grade 8 was at P.A.C.I (Prince Albert Collegiate Institute - we all just pronounced it "pay-see"). P.A.C.I was classified as junior high school: it only had grades 8 and 9. I still think that was a good idea, given the amount of changes that adolescents are going through at that time... plus, it shields the grade 8's and 9's from the harshness and cruelty that the older grades can sometimes inflict on them.

I think that grade 8 was a turning point for Rae, as it likely was for many. Whereas Rae was just big and goofy (and pretty likeable) in grade 7, he started to become tougher in grade 8. He still always trated me very well, and we had a number of good times and laughter together, but I know that he carried his strength and size too far some times. Some of it was quite unintentional, like a bear playing with a puppy and not realizing how strong it is.

As we moved on into high school, Rae and I still kept in touch. I recall that for a time in grade 11 I had a whole house to myself, and Rae and I would bring our girlfriends over to watch movies. There was still a noticable gap in our lifestyles, however; I was already quite far down the road of a career in technology, and I still don't think that Rae had found himself. He still seemed insecure to me, and although he and I did hang out, he also associated with a number of others at school that really he shouldn't have. But at that age, there's no good way to tell your friend "I think you're hanging out with the wrong people". I still wonder if his parents ever knew (or cared) about his school life - I still hadn't met them, and Rae never talked about them.

Rae was smarter than he ever gave himself credit for. We would sit down to do math homework together, and he "got it". He really did like math, but there's no way he would let anyone else know that. I don't recall his math marks from high school, but it wouldn't surprise me if I learned he was intentionally messing up on exams just so that he wouldn't be seen as a "smart" person by others who would have made fun of him for it. Rae didn't have the self-esteem it takes to stand up to others and say that he was proud of his accomplishments, and that their opinion's on his life didn't matter.

For grades 11 and 12, it seemed to me that Rae was letting himself be defined by others. Rae was quick to party, and looked for the social acceptance that comes from being "a good partier". Increasingly, Rae would tease and bully others in school, but only when he thought it would earn him points with his peers (yes, the wrong peers). All the while, he kept on being friendly to me and a few other people and acted very normal when he wasn't around the wrong crowd. The few times that he came to my house he was very polite to my parents, and my Mom did remark to me that she thought Rae was a "very nice boy".

The one other very clear memory I have of Rae is from May of 1987, the start of summer between grades 11 and 12. Rae was looking for a summer job, and I managed to line up an interview for him at Thorpe Brothers Plumbing and Heating. At this point it was now obvious that Rae wasn't going into acting (despite my wondering five years prior), and getting into a trade looked like it could be a good move for him. Rae was excited about possibly getting a job at Thorpe's, and went into the interview with a smile on his face and in his heart.

Rae interviewed very well, and the person doing the interview was about ready to hire him when he asked one last question: "what are your career plans?" Rae answered that he thought he would go into university after grade 12. Wrong answer. He should have just stuck with the truth, and tell the interviewer that getting into a trade would be a good long-term career move for himself (which is really what he thought). But no, Rae wanted to impress the interviewer - again, Rae showed that he didn't have the confidence to just say how he felt. Instead of showing the interviewer he was smart, he just ended up not being hired. Thorpe's wanted to hire someone who was going to be around for more than just one summer - they were looking to give someone a career, and Rae blew it.

I fell out of touch with Rae when I moved to Saskatoon in 1988 for my first year of university. I don't ever remember seeing him since high school graduation. Ten years went by, and then in 1998 I went back to Prince Albert for the Carlton High School 10 year class reunion. A few hours into the night, Dave Hornidge leaned over to me and joked, "too bad we didn't have the reunion last year, maybe Rae could have made it!" I told Dave that I didn't understand.

Dave looked at me and quickly sobered up as he said, "oh, you didn't hear? Rae was killed last year, execution style."

No, I hadn't heard. And I was in shock. It didn't really hit me until the next day, when I went to work and thought about things. I thought about the boy I met in grade 7, and wondered what kind of man he had turned into, that someone else wanted him killed.

I found this obituary online:

LaCHARITY On the evening of Thursday, October 9, 1997, the life of Rae Allen LaCharity came to an end. Though his life was short in years, it was plentiful in memories. Rae lived each day of his life to the fullest and will be sadly missed, but never forgotten by all of us who knew and loved him. There will be a Memorial Service on Thursday, October 16, 1997 at 3:00 pm at Jacques Funeral Home, 240 - 17 Avenue S.W. Calgary.

I disagree. I don't think that Rae lived each day to the fullest. I think that somewhere along the line, Rae was cheated. He was never mentored at an early age; nobody told Rae that he was doing good and that he was a smart person with a lot to contribute to society. His low self-esteem caused him to seek approval from the wrong people in school. The school system failed Rae - it may have taught him english and algebra, but it didn't show him some of the more important life lessons.

In the end, the life of Rae Allen LaCharity was a tragedy because he really did have the potential to be so much more.

Posted by Hammer at 10:14 AM | Comments (11)

November 08, 2005

How Do Normal People Survive With One?

I have had at least two computers up and running in my house ever since about 1993. At various times in the past twelve years I have toyed with the idea of going back down to one, but it never happens - there is just too much benefit.

I got to wondering today: what do people do when they only have one computer in the house? (I'll call these "normal people"!)

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There certainly has been an evolution in the function of the various computers that I've owned. Back in 1993, my two computers were an Apple IIgs (used for connecting to the Internet, since it had a modem) and a 486 running Windows 3.1 (used for programming assignments as a computer science undergrad). In 1996 I retired the Apple IIgs, only to replace it with a Mac (used for writing and graphics), while the Windows machine had become a Win95 box with a Pentium procesor (still used for development work).

In the summer of 1998, I was introduced to Linux, and loved it from the start. Since then, my second (or third, or fourth) computer has always been a Linux box, and I've enjoyed the benefits since then:

1. SENDING LARGE FILES TO PEOPLE
To send a 750 MB file to someone else, I'll place it on my Linux machine's FTP area, and then send that person a password to retrieve it. How do normal people send files that are any larger than about 10 MB?

2. BACKING UP MY DESKTOP COMPUTER
The data files (and sometimes a few bits of the operating system) from my desktop machine a routinely backed up to the Linux machine. How do normal people do backups?

3. EASY UPGRADES OF MY DESKTOP COMPUTER
This is tied into #2, really. When I want to upgrade my desktop computer (or reformat due to some problem) I never worry about it, I just erase the hard drive and upgrade. I know my files are already backed up. How do normal people upgrade their computers without losing everything?

4. RECORDING TV SHOWS FROM REMOTE
I set up a PVR (personal video recorder) that is integrated into a satellite tuning card. When I want to record a TV show, I just go to my web site and look at the online program guide, and tell the PVR to schedule a recording. How do normal people record shows if they have neglected to program their VCR before they left the house?

5. UNLIMITED EMAIL ALIASES
When I sign up to some new web site, I just create a brand new email alias for that site, and point it to my main email account. That way, if they ever start spamming me, I can delete that alias without affecting any of the rest of the email I get. How do normal people register with web sites without giving their one email address to all the spammers in the world?

There are more, but these are the biggest ones. Admittedly, these are all personal technological benefits... I'm not actually making any money with them or saving the world here.

Yes, I know that the questions above are rhetorical - the answers are pretty much obvious.

Yes, I know that "normal people" isn't actually a euphemism, it's just simply true - these people really are normal, I'm the oddball here.

And finally yes, I know that I could do the above if my main computer was just a Linux machine. However, then I couldn't do a few things that I really do need my desktop machine for, like author home movies, track our home finances and do my business taxes.

Hmm...perhaps the really good chefs of the world wonder how "normal people" are able to cook with any less than 6 frying pans in their kitchens...?

Posted by Hammer at 09:54 PM | Comments (0)