07272021 – Ramblings of the Retired IT Guy and Musician!

Well it sure has been a long time since I last wrote and lots of water has gone under the bridge….lots and lots of water came down to us this week. 8 inches of water in a few days of torrents of rain and thunderstorms. We took on some water but were able to deal with it. Thanks to sump pumps and having electricity we stayed dry.Unfortuantely, these storms caused considerable damage and neighbors in our area, we all helped as best as we could.

aerial photography of green forest
Pray for our Planet

I started writing this session about two weeks ago but because of life situations that I cannot control I am continuiing to write today this 27th of July.

I really try hard not to raise the roof about anything these days but today I am fed up with ghe way people act especially when it comes to this Panoramic. My son who had COVID told me this morning that a good friend of his whom he was with over the weekend told him that one of his friends who was included in the group of people he was with tested positive for COVID…. now my son and all his friends must quarantine themselves. This is so unnecessary. Vaccines are available to stop this Pandemic Thanks to the wondrous mis-information campaign people are nervous about taking the vaccines. Yes I know some people are not able to take the vaccines because of medical reasons, but not to take it because you don’t trust it? I might not but alive today if I had not been given the Polio vaccine and many childhood diseases do not show up anymore because of vaccines given when we were young. So come on people get with the program so we can continue to get back to normal. My prayer is that the FDA will finally approve these vaccines….maybe that will help some people understand that we couldbe done with this virus if we all did our part.

Now that I have ranted, I hope this finds you the reader healthy and at peace with your lives today. It is important that we try to take xcare of ourselves and be at peace. I have found that geting closer to God has aided me tremendously in living a lot more peacefully. Prayer and study have truly helped me in gaining some new ad peaceful perpsective on my life even thouhg things around me are crazy. I have also begu to exercise a litlle more…during my infanous recocvery from a torn Achilles Tendon I had theray for six weeks. They taught me some really great exercises that I can still do at home every other day. They really help me feel better. My foot is so much better and I can walk almost normally now. Our dog Pip is very hapy for that.

So, life right now is pretty good, even though we are going through some financial stuff…. because of my tie to God every day in prayer and thankfulness for what we have and getting a litle more active physically I feel a change of heart and perspective….I am going to share a Bible verse with you and invite to lisyen to my Podcast coming soon..Plus more music on Sound Cloud; yes I haven’t wrtten much lately, but we will.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. … I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me” Phillipians 4:6

Reading this verse I have grown to understand that worey and agnst dowens’t work but letting God into my thoughts to take worry and shame away is the way to go. Have a great day and be at peace in this crazy world! God’s Blessings to you.

The Retired IT Guy and Musician

06052022 – Rambling’ On

I thought I would update you all on my journey with my foot.

I tore my Achilles’ tendon in my right foot. Went to the Orthopedic Dr. yesterday and the big boot is gone….. Yea! It was replaced with a support contraption that I can now wear a shoe or sneakers. I also will do 6 weeks of physical therapy. So good stuff to get back on track and give my wife a rest from doing the dog walking etc, etc. Our Lab lives long walks.

I was wondering what to write about and then it hit me….. I can write about anything I wish. That is the beauty of writing in your own space like this one… I can write about what is important to me and if I can help you the reader then I have accomplished something good. So here we go with Today’s Rambling!

As I listen to people talk and how they interact on Social Media I think we have lost the ability to just talk and have a conversation. There is anger, downright dislike… you can even be unfriended by someone. How crazy is that. Can’t we just agree to disagree and go on with our lives? I believe this is a real sad statement as to where we are as people. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs and thoughts. These differences are what make us unique and interesting. The Book of Proverbs has a great verse that I hope we can all apply to our use of our mouths and thoughts:

“Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭13:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://www.bible.com/116/pro.13.3.nlt

Lets decide to think about the consequences of the actions we take. Wether we are speaking or talking or on Social Media let’s all try to be more loving and caring.

So things are slowly getting back to some normalcy. I can now see my family face to face, no masks…. we can see friends we haven’t been able to be with and we can go to church not attend virtually… really good stuff and we are so happy about these changes.

There is one other item I wanted to touch on; If you haven’t gotten a COVID shot to help end this Pandemic please get one. Don’t be fearful think of the blessings we have been given….Be Well, sing some songs and say Hi to your neighbors.

Peace,

The Retired It Guy and Musician

Ramblings-05312021 Memorial Day

Let’s Not Forget What This Day Is About

Memorial Day 2021. It’s here and how things have changed in our country since we last honored those who gave their lives in service to their country. People are gathering together, families can be back together. What a blessed country we are and I really hope people will understand how truly blessed we are!

We here on the east coast have been hit with 4 days of consistent rain, wind and very chilly temperatures. Forcing us inside we’ve been watching a number of old war movies. As we watched the movies I thought about the sacrifices that were made by those who served their country and made the ultimate sacrifice. It is right that we take a day to remember those who died. I lost friends in the Vietnam war, some great musicians and talented people. All the time indoors the past few days as I said gave me time to reflect on those loses of times past.

I hope all my friends and followers will take time to reflect on the meaning of this day and be thankful for all the blessings we have been given. Below is a verse of scripture to think on today.

Psalm 107
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Be blessed and Peace!

The Retired IT Guy and Musician

Happy Monday Boys and Girls! – 05242021

Happy Monday to all my followers and friends. I hope you had a great weekend and the week has started off well for you. We had a taste of summer here on the east coast this past weekend. Turned on the A/C, my wife got the shorts out and tried to stay cool. You know we are all funny… as soon as it gets a little warm we have to cool off and as soon as it gets a little cool we have to warm up…we’re so spoiled.

My hope is that you all have been practicing good attitudes since I last wrote. I have really been trying to maintain that connection with God and adjusting my attitude. So far I am doing pretty well. I haven’t been losing my temper so quickly and I have been successful in slowing down my head at times instated of getting all wound up. So not bad for a retired guy who is just starting to figure some things out about life. I hope my suggestions may have helped some of you who might feel the same way as I.

I spent some time writing another song this weekend. The song is titled “A Little Dissonance” and is loaded on Soundcloud. I used some synthesizer settings to bring a different sound to the piece…. You can ever hear some of the synth sounds I recored on my Mac with a Pocket Operator I was given. In case you do not know what a Pocket Operator here is a description:

Let’s start with the basics of what a Pocket Operator is. Each one is a miniature programmable sequencer with a bunch of built in sounds and effects. They are all the same physical size, shape and layout. The colour scheme and unique display assigned to each one is what sets them apart. Despite differences in their functionality, the general workflow of every Operator is very similar. The thinking is, if you learn how to use one Operator, the rest should make a lot more sense. 

Taken from the Teenage Electronics website

This is a cool little music-making machine and there are about 20 different synths available to buy. These are not too expensive so if you want to experiment with them they are easily available on Amazon or the Teenage Electronics website. I attached the PO to an old analog/digital converter that I then attached to my iMac, after fiddling with some settings in Garage Band I was able to record the synth sounds….when recording the new piece I incorporated the synth sounds from the PO with the recorded music. I hope you enjoy the piece, it’s a little different. Please comment on what you think. I would enjoy hearing from you.

Here’s hoping for a great week ahead for all of us. The weekend brings Memorial Day. Thus begins the Summer of 2021 and this year is a lot different from last year. States are opening up and mask wearing is slowly not necessary as long as you are vaccinated. Last year we were in quarantine and panicking over so much a stressful time. I think we should be very grateful this weekend and tell everyone about two things:

  • Our Service Men and Women have given of themselves to keep us safe. We should be very very thankful to them.
  • Thankful to our God for the blessings of Hope and Love given to us throughout this Pandemic and the new Hope we have as we move forward.

I close today with a verse from the Bible hoping you will take it to heart and keep the faith.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ( Jeremiah 29:11)

So You all have a great Memorial Day weekend and be sure to tell your neighbors why you are so happy! Keep the music in your hearts! This blog will also be a Podcast real soon!

Peace,

The Retired IT Guy and Musician