This week for the first time in a while, I'm teaching Exchange 2003, Microsoft's course number 2400C. The beautiful thing I love about the way this class is going is that I have a chance to inform these guys about some best practices to implement in preparation for their upgrade to Exchange 2007. Now that I've spent the better part of the last 7 months teaching Exchange 2007 (Wonderful tool with great value, btw), I really get a chance to let my students know about forthcoming changes they'll see after they upgrade, whenever that is.
It also helps when you have a great group of students to work with as well. I've known a lot of people that get up and go to work, slogging through the day, but I can say in all honesty that I do love my job. My manager is cool, my peer instructors a rock solid, and the sales staff actually asks whether or not a class is right for a particular customer.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Strange Metallica Cover Groups
For some reason or another, I thought it would be funny to have a Mariachi band that played Metallica covers, going by the name "Los Metalistos". Just an idea.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Officially PreDiabetic
OK, so I don't suffer from that dreaded condition quite yet, and I have a chance to make some changes to the lifestyle and beat this thing while I can. I know there are some diabetics out there, and I'd love to hear what you would've done differently to fend off the situation if you could do it all over again.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Journal of the Guitar Hobbyist/Junkie
I, like many before me, love my guitars. I love acoustics, classicals, but my niche is in the world of electrics and guitar synthesizers.
I began studying the guitar when I was 19 years old, between my sophomore and junior years of college at Wichita State. I found out that I had teratoma and embryonal carcinoma, two forms of testicular cancer. I returned to my hometown of Salina, Kansas and had two operations to remove the cancer (after 24 years, I can say that the treatment was successful, thankfully).
I was laying about most of the time during my recovery, and I noticed my brother's Peavey T-60, so I picked it up and started figuring things out. When it came time for me to return to school in the spring (January, really), I snagged my dad's acoustic that he wasn't playing much, and signed up to take guitar lessons at WSU. Little did I know...
WSU offers a jazz guitar program, with outstanding instruction. Today, that program was headed up by Craig Owens, and fine guitarist and instructor in his own right. When I started taking lessons as a beginner, my instructor was none other than Jazz legend and Kansas Music Hall of Famer Jerry Hahn . Jerry accepted me, a lowly beginner as a student, but he instilled in me a passion for the guitar. I still try to play everyday.
Since then, I've found that many a guitar player can become the victim of a strange neurological and economic disorder called G.A.S. - Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. Over the years I've owned probably half a dozen Inez guitars, still owning 3 today, a couple of Epiphones, an ESP, a Fernandes Nomad (great for travelling), an Ovation, a couple of Yamaha acoustics, one custom Warmoth LP copy, and now my new favorite guitar is a Godin xtSA with Synth-Access.
As someone who wants to get the most versatility out of my instrument of choice, I'll take the Godin. It has a humbucker - single coil - humbucker configuration for nice tonal aspects (I prefer the PRS dual humbucker configuration, but the Godin is a nice alternative). It has a piezo pickup in the bridge for a nice raw acoustic sound, great for fiddling around with a fingerstyle sound. Lastly, there's the RMC 13-pin synth pickup, tied to the piezo pickup in the bridge, with access to all the weirdness a synth has to offer. I don't play piano, organ or flute, let alone a classical orchestra instruments, but if I think a song I'm working on calls for it, I know I can get there, either through the use of my Roland GR-33 or through one of my other favorite toys, Propellerhead's Reason 3.0 (buy this product!). I can set my GR-33 to do midi-output to an M-Audio Uno Midi-to-USB cable, then compose directly into Reason's instruments and manipulate from there.
All for now...
I began studying the guitar when I was 19 years old, between my sophomore and junior years of college at Wichita State. I found out that I had teratoma and embryonal carcinoma, two forms of testicular cancer. I returned to my hometown of Salina, Kansas and had two operations to remove the cancer (after 24 years, I can say that the treatment was successful, thankfully).
I was laying about most of the time during my recovery, and I noticed my brother's Peavey T-60, so I picked it up and started figuring things out. When it came time for me to return to school in the spring (January, really), I snagged my dad's acoustic that he wasn't playing much, and signed up to take guitar lessons at WSU. Little did I know...
WSU offers a jazz guitar program, with outstanding instruction. Today, that program was headed up by Craig Owens, and fine guitarist and instructor in his own right. When I started taking lessons as a beginner, my instructor was none other than Jazz legend and Kansas Music Hall of Famer Jerry Hahn . Jerry accepted me, a lowly beginner as a student, but he instilled in me a passion for the guitar. I still try to play everyday.
Since then, I've found that many a guitar player can become the victim of a strange neurological and economic disorder called G.A.S. - Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. Over the years I've owned probably half a dozen Inez guitars, still owning 3 today, a couple of Epiphones, an ESP, a Fernandes Nomad (great for travelling), an Ovation, a couple of Yamaha acoustics, one custom Warmoth LP copy, and now my new favorite guitar is a Godin xtSA with Synth-Access.
As someone who wants to get the most versatility out of my instrument of choice, I'll take the Godin. It has a humbucker - single coil - humbucker configuration for nice tonal aspects (I prefer the PRS dual humbucker configuration, but the Godin is a nice alternative). It has a piezo pickup in the bridge for a nice raw acoustic sound, great for fiddling around with a fingerstyle sound. Lastly, there's the RMC 13-pin synth pickup, tied to the piezo pickup in the bridge, with access to all the weirdness a synth has to offer. I don't play piano, organ or flute, let alone a classical orchestra instruments, but if I think a song I'm working on calls for it, I know I can get there, either through the use of my Roland GR-33 or through one of my other favorite toys, Propellerhead's Reason 3.0 (buy this product!). I can set my GR-33 to do midi-output to an M-Audio Uno Midi-to-USB cable, then compose directly into Reason's instruments and manipulate from there.
All for now...
Saturday, July 21, 2007
New & Exciting
Well, maybe not so exciting. My name is Bob, and a number of years ago when I was new to the world of technical training, a co-worker (lovely lass named Carole) slapped the nickname "The Bobster" on me, and in my professional community, it's kind of stuck. Ask an MCT that's been around a few years if they know The Bobster, and odd's are they're talking about me.
I have alot of interests, from college football and basketball, to music and guitar, back to being a good parent, and a few other things in between (not to mention a few interests outside the norm - where'd I leave my 20-sided dice?).
I hope that the reader's of this find it humorous, perhaps insightful, but whatever it is, it's going to be real. I've often dreamt about writing professionally, and have done a few things (technical), and as a fan of the fantasy and science fiction genre, have wondered if I have the skill to craft a good yarn.
Perhaps... but for now, I'm just going to work on my writing chops and just keep a weblog, a journal that reflects whatever it is I'm thinking at the moment.
I bid all of you good day.
I have alot of interests, from college football and basketball, to music and guitar, back to being a good parent, and a few other things in between (not to mention a few interests outside the norm - where'd I leave my 20-sided dice?).
I hope that the reader's of this find it humorous, perhaps insightful, but whatever it is, it's going to be real. I've often dreamt about writing professionally, and have done a few things (technical), and as a fan of the fantasy and science fiction genre, have wondered if I have the skill to craft a good yarn.
Perhaps... but for now, I'm just going to work on my writing chops and just keep a weblog, a journal that reflects whatever it is I'm thinking at the moment.
I bid all of you good day.
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