the Look Machine -- living the dream

Well, we're moving. Welcome to the last post on this version of the Look Machine weblog. Lots of memories here. Good times. And some bad ones. And even some strange ones too. I think we've all learned alot here.

Check it out now !

You will soon see that the Look Machine is alive and kicking, perhaps harder than ever before. Collin (and Jason?) have been designing an awesome new site. It will be up soon, and you will love it. We also did a photo shoot with Brett Weber the other day. He is a very talented photographer with a real eye for compisition and the know how to make it happen. He got some great shots of us that we will be using some time soon.

Our Demo is almost ready! We were going to finish it tonight, but had to postpone due to computer problems. However, it will be worth the wait. We're also practicing hard and writing a lot of new (heavier) music. I can't wait to be playing shows!

You know those inspirational posters they have in gyms and principals' offices? I always think they are so funny. Some genius put these spoofs together. Amazing.

So the other day Ian was travelling through the countryside with a Hindu Priest and a Rabbi, as he often does. But a horrible windstorm kicked up and they needed to find shelter. They happened upon a farmer, who said they were welcome to wait out the storm at his place.

One catch, there was only room enough for 2 in his house, so one of them had to sleep in the barn.

The Hindu Priest, being a kind man, said he would gladly sleep in the barn. But, after about 10 minutes, a knock came at the farmhouse door.

The Priest said there was a cow in the barn, and since he considered cows sacred, he could not in good conscience sleep there.

The Rabbi said, "Fine, I will sleep there so you can stay in the farmhouse."

But a couple of minutes later another knock came at the front door. Sure, enough it was the Rabbi.

"There is a pig in that barn, and it would not be kosher for me to sleep beside it."

Ian recognized what he needed to do. He offered to sleep in the barn so that the others could stay in the house. And he headed out to the barn.

A couple of minutes went by. Then there sounded a KNOCK KNOCK on the front door. The farmer opened the door. . .

Standing there were the cow and the pig.

And what is he doing on our weblog?

Here is an ingenious (I even spelled that word right on the first try I think...) post I invented.
Well. School started today.
This is how my year looks like it is going to be. (I am ripping my own brain out in this picture.)


Hmmm...

Today I had to fill up both of my cars. I spent $117.00 on gas. That is pretty amazing to me. I know that I am going to sound like an old man right now, but I remember when I started driving and gas was $.89 per gallon. I paid $3.50 per gallon today. That is a lot of money when you get right down to it.

Everyone may hate me for saying this, but part of me is really glad that gas prices are going up so much. We don't pay nearly enough for gas in America. In other countries, gas can easily cost over $8.00 per gallon. When per capita income is taken into consideration, it is not uncommon for people to pay 30 times as much as we do for gas!!! Because gas has been so inexpensive fo so long, there has not been much of a felt need for fuel efficient cars or alternative energy sources. I am hoping that the dramatic rise in prices will spur public support and funding for research in those areas. It is a dream of mine to live in a world where we don't use fossil fuels and we don't pollute the air.

The dream of being completely fossil fuel-free is a distant hope. In the short term there are things that could happen that would make a positive difference. I would love to see an increase in carpooling and public transportation. As prices have climbed recently, Lindsay, Ian and I have all re-arranged our schedules a bit so that we can ride together to Newark a few days per week. Each of us has made a small 1/2 hour change in our schedules and we have gone from driving 3 cars to driving 1. Because one of those cars is my truck, we have cut our gas consumption to 1/4 on the days we share rides. I hope to see more people make this shift. It is really easy and it is totally worth it. Your wallet will love you and the environment will thank you.

Hey everyone,

I know it has been a really long time since I posted on here. I have been really, busy woth a lot of awesome things. I have a lot of pictures and a lot of stories that I will post in the near future. Here is just a preview.

These pictures were from my vacation. Lindsay and I went backcountry camping in Banff and Jasper National Parks. It was one of the most amazing trips I have ever taken. See for yourself.

The internet opens many new opportunities for people. One in particular that I find amazing is the ability for the individual to warn the masses about unacceptable behavior. I know that if a business treats me badly, I can write a post about it and people will read it and know that they better beware. For instance, search for the apartment complex in LA where I stayed – "515 Kelton Towers" and in the 4th hit you'll find that it has a major garbage problem, courtesy for me. If you want to know about Swinging Beds, you'll find Ian's description of his project on the first page of google hits. Curious about "Oliver the Humanzee," well you'll find my frustration with the Animal Planet doc on the first page too.

I say this only to bring up the fact that – just because I have a weblog – I have the power to contribute to a pretty bad online reputation for a company. In fact, earlier this year an online mortgage company did a very nasty thing to me. When I sat down at the settlement table, they added $850 in fees that were undisclosed prior to then! I couldn't believe it.

Nothing that I said afterwards would cause them to waive that accursed fee. I went back and forth with them for 3 weeks. Each level of management told me "that was the way it was," and "they were allowed to do it." My real estate lawyer said they did it because they knew it would cost way more than $850 in court to force them to pay, so they were basically untouchable.

That is. . . until I said, "You know what, if you don't reverse this, I'm going to have to post about this awful experience on my weblog." I told them to look up a couple of phrases that I gave them and see how highly this weblog ranked in the google search engine. I told them to imagine people looking up their company and finding an accurate description of my experience with them as one of the first hits.

They refunded the money in full, that day.

Wow.

Quick question for you all. Broadband or dial-up? Trying to figure out how lean we have to make the new site.

We had our first practice in some time tonight and really made the best of it, it was a blast. We ripped through a large number of songs, even working on 2 new ones. What a great time. Nice to be in a room making music again.

A web redesign is on its way. Today Collin and I started putting together thelookmachine.com version 2, and I have to say it's going to be beautiful, blowing away what is currently here.

And there is more exciting news to report. We've been putting the finishing touches on a new site for boysetsfire – one that, we have to say, completely rules this world and shall dominate all other websites until they are its slave – and the owner of the recording studio where they're working on their new album really likes it. He wants us to do a site for him. And he offered that perhaps he could barter hours – we get recording time in exchange for a new website for him. Now we have a partner who's not in the band, so we have to work things out with him. . . but this could mean that we'll pump our ep up to a full length and record a full-fledged 12 song album sometime in the near future. Now that would be very cool, I think.

Chris, why why why? It makes me so sad.

That is a real dog. Not made up by some creature technician in Hollywood. Can you believe it? You can read his and his owner's weblog.

i was just drumming. a florescent lightbulb fell on my drumset and myself and exploded. that was surprising/painful. My drums are a mess now. It was our black light. (48") Dangit.