andrew dodson

One thing about my Scripture reading that has been seriously lacking is memorization. Yesterday, I made it a goal to memorize a passage. I was somewhat impressed how quickly it stuck with me. So… here it is, typed out from memory:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end
They are new every morning
Great is Your faithfulness
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

From my current favorite book of the Bible, Lamentations 3:22-24 (ESV).

Well, well, well. So far, it seems my platform is working! I can tell you that I’ve practiced each of the last six days with no complaints. I’ve tried to play in the early afternoons or evenings, so I’m not pushing my luck by playing at all hours of the night. But, I’m also not playing timid - practicing along to the likes of the Smashing Pumpkins doesn’t lend itself to playing timid. Even by laying into the pads pretty good, no one has knocked on my door, called the police, left nasty notes on my door or called my landlord. So far so good!

It’s given me a renewed appreciation for having my electronic drums. The tones still annoy me, but they’re a great practice tool.

Today, Amos Lee releases his third studio album, Last Days At the Lodge. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this album. He’s become one of my favorite artists over the last year. I’ve described him before as the male version of Norah Jones - a little jazz, folk & blues all mixed together. I highly recommend checking him out, if you haven’t already.

So… my Yamaha electronic drumset has been collecting dust at The Point.  I switched to using a real kit there, so I haven’t needed the Yamaha kit.  All the while, I’ve been unable to practice drums very much lately.  That gets under my skin, so I decided to do something about it.

I brought my electronic drums home, determined to make them work in my apartment.  My walls are pretty thick, so I wasn’t worried about my neighbors on the sides of me (one wall is a stairwell on the other side, any way).  I was more worried about shaking the floor and making my neighbors below me not-so-happy.

I did some research on the web to see what other drummers do for this issue.  Most seem to like the idea of making a platform out of tennis balls and plywood.  I decided to go a different route.  I kept thinking about the mats you see in gyms in the free weight area.  They’re big, thick rubber, meant to absorb the impact of weights being dropped on them.

I went to Wal-Mart and found some “extreme impact” flooring. I bought two sets of the stuff - enough to give me three layers in a 4′ x 4′ area.  A pretty good deal at $40.  I also bought a mat that’s meant to be put under a treadmill for another $20.  I got it home last night and gave it a try.  It worked!  But, it wasn’t very sturdy.  Basically, three layers of hard rubber.  I decided I needed some wood in the mix.  My boss is in the middle of building a house, so he offered a piece of his flooring - thanks Dwayne!

Here’s the first idea:

This worked pretty well, but with the drums sitting on a hard surface, it made my kick pedal louder (at least it seemed to me).  Here’s what the layers looked like on this idea:

I decided to try a layer of the impact flooring on top.  It looked like this:

This made the layers look like this:

I practiced tonight for about thirty minutes.  So far, no complaints!  The platform has cut down on floor vibrations considerably.  Now, the sound of me hitting the pads would be the only issue, with the kick pedal being the loudest.  But, I think by putting something between the kick pedal and the floor, I should be okay.

(by the way… the space where I wanted to put the drums was the exact right size, as you can see by the pictures.  I didn’t have to move the bookshelf or anything.  Perhaps it was meant to be.)

I got a kick out of reading this blurb today from this article.

He won despite doctors telling him to rest.

Haney was with him in Florida when doctors told Woods the preferred
treatment for the stress fractures was three weeks on crutches and three weeks
of inactivity.

“Tiger looked at the doctor and said, ‘I’m playing in the U.S. Open, and
I’m going to win.’ And then he started putting on his shoes,” Haney said. “He
looked at me and said, ‘Come on, Hank. We’ll just putt today.”’

Get well soon, Tiger.

A little random blogging today.

Spread Firefox

The newest version of the best browser has been released. I’m pretty impressed with the new look and improved speed. Go get the latest version of Firefox here, and help break a record!

Dave Barnes / Matt Wertz

I’m really enjoying these two guys right now. They fall into the pop singer/songwriter genre. Both guys are also Christians that have each written a few songs dedicated to their faith. Dave’s website is here. Matt’s is here.

ESV Makes Some Changes

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7 edition of the ESV made some changes here and there. I didn’t know about this until Josh emailed me today. Looks like some good changes. I’m going to check to see if any of my ESV’s have these changes. After all, I can NOT have an out-of-date Bible. Kidding. Sort of. While we’re on the subject, don’t forget to pre-order your copy of the ESV Study Bible. Can’t wait!

I just returned from Russ & Lilly’s wedding in Cleveland, OH.  It was a fun weekend and congrats and Russ & Lilly!  Check out the slideshow.

I’m often asked what type of software I use to create my websites, logos and the like.  Everyone knows I’m a Mac guy, and they assume I use the Adobe Creative Suite.  Not so fast!  Assumptions can sometimes be wrong.

Yes, I’m a Mac guy.  Love ‘em.  Used a PC for years before finally using a Mac at work.  Hands down, Macs are far better machines.  Trust me.  PC users are scared to switch because they’re afraid a Mac can’t do what a PC does.  Wrong.  Not only can it do everything a PC does, it can do it better and you won’t be pulling your hair out all the time.

Anyway… on to the real topic.  What software do I use?  My general rule of thumb is easy - find something that does what I want for free.  The glory of humanity is this - there are people willing to donate their time and effort and ability to create a nice software package for free.  This is called Open Source.  When I simply can’t find a good open-source (free) program, I find one for cheap.  I try to keep my overhead as low as possible.

General Graphic Art

For my general designs, this is where I don’t skimp.  I use Adobe Illustrator a lot.  I’m currently looking into open source programs (Inkscape), or cheap programs (Vector Designer) for my vector art needs.  Until I decide if those programs are viable, I’ll use Illustrator.

Photo Editing / Raster Graphics

Photoshop?  No.  I use Gimp.  It’s a wonderful, free program.  For all of you out there using pirated versions of Photoshop because you can’t afford to buy it yourself - please try Gimp.  There IS a learning curve, but it can do everything Photoshop can do.  I’m very impressed with it.  Not to mention, it’s more streamlined that PS and runs much faster on my computers.

Web Editing - HTML

These days, I don’t do a whole heck of a lot with HTML.  When I absolutely have to code something with HTML, I use Nvu (there is also a version called Kompozer).  It gets the job done and is free.

Web Editing - PHP, XML, General Coding

I’ve fallen in love with Smultron.  A free, powerful text editor that plays nicely with PHP, XML, CSS, and HTML files.  A nice, multi-purpose program.

Web Editing - CSS

There is a free solution here that some people might enjoy.  Simple CSS.  I’ve tried it and it does get the job done.  But, it has some quirks that I don’t like.  So, I use CSSEdit.  It’s not a free program, but is in the “affordable” bracket.  It’s a pretty slick program.

Wordpress

These days, I design all of my sites around Wordpress.  I love the ability to maintain my sites from any computer with an internet connection.  There is a learning curve to designing custom themes, but once you figure it out, it’s a breeze.

Word Processing

Sometimes, clients send me Word documents with their content.  Mac does have a version of Microsoft Office, but it’s not cheap.  So, I use NeoOffice to read Word & Excel files and more.  A truly wonderful, free word processing program.  They are constantly updating it and improving its features.

So, there you have it.  If you’re looking to save some money, but still be productive, I strongly suggest looking into open source options.  Small businesses, schools, churches, governments, civic groups and non-profits could benefit greatly from saving money and using these types of programs.  You should at least look into them and give them a chance.

Last weekend, I was able to enjoy the Expo fireworks from the comfort of my apartment. These pictures show the view I had from my window.

> View slideshow

Hello faithful blog readers. No, I haven’t abandoned this blog. As it turns out, I’m in the midst of my busiest time of year (a little later than usual this year), but that will likely die down soon, as summer is upon us. I really do have a LOT to blog about, but strangely haven’t found the time. I’m kicking around about 10 blog posts in my head and can’t seem to get a moment to hop on here. So, I’m going to make an attempt at catching up on my blogging this week and give everyone something maybe-or-maybe-not-so-interesting to read.

More to come…