While I'm at it, I might as well post and mention that we got our new couch, chair and ottoman in this past week. They look really good with the new paint and the entertainment center. I'll try and get some pictures up before Christmas so that any family out there reading this can see and discuss when we make our stop to see you over the holiday weekend.
We've got a wild two days coming up. Sunday lunch is with DeAnne's Mom in Kinston, then it's off to Tallassee that evening for dinner with my Mom and her side of the family. The Christmas lunch we're eating with my Dad and then we're going to have dinner who knows where. Stay tuned for a complete round-up post Christmas.
--Paul
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Year-End Hoopla, Part Duex!
So you've read the top 12, here's another "Top" list for you.
Paul's Top 8 Albums That are Decent, Yet Somehow Disappointing
* These aren't in any particular order actually, they're pretty much all equally disappointing
1) Tool - 10,000 Days
2) Incubus - Light Grenades
3) Dashboard Confessional - Dusk and Summer
4) Daughtry - Daughtry
5) Army of Anyone - Army of Anyone
6) Supernova - Rock Star: Supernova
7) Killers - Sam's Town
8) Evanescence - The Open Door
A lot of these I had high hopes for and they just let me down. The albums by established bands (Tool, Incubus, Dashboard Confessional, Killers, Evanescence) all follow extremely good previous albums (except for Incubus who is on a 2 album loosing streak with me). I don't know if the bar was set too high, or if it's just too hard for a band to put out great album after great album, but the established acts on the list just really let me down this year. Their CDs aren't bad, they're just not as good as the last one they put out.
The new acts on the list all had a lot of potential in my book and their debut just didn't live up to what I was hoping for. That's okay, they'll get a second chance, maybe, and the albums they put out certainly aren't painful to listen to or anything. I just wish they had been better.
--Paul
Paul's Top 8 Albums That are Decent, Yet Somehow Disappointing
* These aren't in any particular order actually, they're pretty much all equally disappointing
1) Tool - 10,000 Days
2) Incubus - Light Grenades
3) Dashboard Confessional - Dusk and Summer
4) Daughtry - Daughtry
5) Army of Anyone - Army of Anyone
6) Supernova - Rock Star: Supernova
7) Killers - Sam's Town
8) Evanescence - The Open Door
A lot of these I had high hopes for and they just let me down. The albums by established bands (Tool, Incubus, Dashboard Confessional, Killers, Evanescence) all follow extremely good previous albums (except for Incubus who is on a 2 album loosing streak with me). I don't know if the bar was set too high, or if it's just too hard for a band to put out great album after great album, but the established acts on the list just really let me down this year. Their CDs aren't bad, they're just not as good as the last one they put out.
The new acts on the list all had a lot of potential in my book and their debut just didn't live up to what I was hoping for. That's okay, they'll get a second chance, maybe, and the albums they put out certainly aren't painful to listen to or anything. I just wish they had been better.
--Paul
Year-End Hoopla!
In the spirit of all the other year-end top 10 lists that I've been reading, I thought I would throw my hat into the ring with a few lists of my own. Since I of course am a self-proclaimed expert on music (just like everyone else that's ever listened to a single song), I'll be doing a couple based on that.
We'll start with:
"Paul's Top 10 Albums of the Year"
1) Butch Walker - The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's Go Out Tonites
2) Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
3) Amos Lee - Supply and Demand
4) The Fray - How to Save a Life
5) Jack's Mannequin - Everything In Transit
6) John Mayer - Continuum
7) Damien Rice - 9
8) Athlete - Tourist
9) Audioslave - Revelations
10) Tom Petty - Highway Companion
Crap...I got two more that deserve to be mentioned. I guess this is a "Top 12" now.
11) Weird Al Yankovic - Straight Outta Lynwood
12) Breaking Benjamin - Phobia
So there you have it. The 12 albums that came out this year that everyone should own a copy of. All according to me. Take it for what it's worth people.
--Paul
We'll start with:
"Paul's Top 10 Albums of the Year"
1) Butch Walker - The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's Go Out Tonites
2) Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
3) Amos Lee - Supply and Demand
4) The Fray - How to Save a Life
5) Jack's Mannequin - Everything In Transit
6) John Mayer - Continuum
7) Damien Rice - 9
8) Athlete - Tourist
9) Audioslave - Revelations
10) Tom Petty - Highway Companion
Crap...I got two more that deserve to be mentioned. I guess this is a "Top 12" now.
11) Weird Al Yankovic - Straight Outta Lynwood
12) Breaking Benjamin - Phobia
So there you have it. The 12 albums that came out this year that everyone should own a copy of. All according to me. Take it for what it's worth people.
--Paul
Monday, November 27, 2006
Television, the Great Evil
So I bought a TV this past Friday. I just couldn't stand it. I had to get something to fill up the big freaking entertainment center that DeAnne bought. Well, I guess I didn't "have" to, but it sure felt like it.
Anyway, Sears was able to order me the one I wanted and meet Circuit City's price and then cut me a little more for the price match, so I went that route. It also keeps me from having to drive out of town to get the thing. I'm going to pick it up though. I don't want them to deliver it to the wrong house like they did our dish washer last year.
I wound up getting a 40" Samsung LCD. I liked the spec sheet for it so we went to Dothan and looked at it at Circuit City and it looked really good, so we (I) decided to get it. We don't have digital cable in Andalusia yet, which I think is pitiful, but DVDs and games should look incredible and should we ever wind up with a digital cable option, or decide to go Dish or DirecTV, we'll have a good TV to watch it on already. If you look at it that way, it's not just a TV, it's an investment in the future. Or something like that. I'll post some pics when I get it put in. It's supposed to be here Wednesday.
--Paul
Anyway, Sears was able to order me the one I wanted and meet Circuit City's price and then cut me a little more for the price match, so I went that route. It also keeps me from having to drive out of town to get the thing. I'm going to pick it up though. I don't want them to deliver it to the wrong house like they did our dish washer last year.
I wound up getting a 40" Samsung LCD. I liked the spec sheet for it so we went to Dothan and looked at it at Circuit City and it looked really good, so we (I) decided to get it. We don't have digital cable in Andalusia yet, which I think is pitiful, but DVDs and games should look incredible and should we ever wind up with a digital cable option, or decide to go Dish or DirecTV, we'll have a good TV to watch it on already. If you look at it that way, it's not just a TV, it's an investment in the future. Or something like that. I'll post some pics when I get it put in. It's supposed to be here Wednesday.
--Paul
Music on the half shell
Got a few new tunes.
The new John Mayer is a surprisingly mature album with a great blues undertone. I picked it up because I read a favorable review and the guy was right. It's easily the best album the guy has ever put together.
Butch Walker (you know I can't talk music without talking about Butch) put out an EP of covers in between Letters and the new album. There's only like 5 or 6 songs on it, but they're all live and they're all great. Good "make you smile and sing along" type songs.
Still patiently awaiting the new Pumpkins album. They've been steadily rotating through old music on their myspace page. About every day or so they put up three new songs. Some are live and some are album cuts. All good stuff.
Finally, the new Weird Al album is probably one of the best he's ever done. Highlights include "Trapped in the Drive-Thru", a spoof of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" and "Confessions pt. III", a spoof of the Usher. Everybody thinks of food when they think of Weird Al, but he really does some great stuff outside of the food genre. At least go get "Don't Download This Song".
--Paul
The new John Mayer is a surprisingly mature album with a great blues undertone. I picked it up because I read a favorable review and the guy was right. It's easily the best album the guy has ever put together.
Butch Walker (you know I can't talk music without talking about Butch) put out an EP of covers in between Letters and the new album. There's only like 5 or 6 songs on it, but they're all live and they're all great. Good "make you smile and sing along" type songs.
Still patiently awaiting the new Pumpkins album. They've been steadily rotating through old music on their myspace page. About every day or so they put up three new songs. Some are live and some are album cuts. All good stuff.
Finally, the new Weird Al album is probably one of the best he's ever done. Highlights include "Trapped in the Drive-Thru", a spoof of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" and "Confessions pt. III", a spoof of the Usher. Everybody thinks of food when they think of Weird Al, but he really does some great stuff outside of the food genre. At least go get "Don't Download This Song".
--Paul
Thursday, November 23, 2006
House Pics
Here's those pictures of the house I promised back on Sunday. Hey, I said I would try, not that I would get them up on Sunday. Better late than never, right?
This is a view from the hallway of the half-painted wall.
This picture gives you a little bit better idea of the color. The camera didn't do the best job of picking up exactly what it looks like.
Then we have the new entertainment center.
The new couch is going to be a brown color like the top of the curtain and then the chair that's replacing the pink recliner on the right is going to be a light beige color that has a pattern with the same blue as the bottom part of the curtain. I'm not the expert, but DeAnne says that it's all going to work in the end. For now, I'm just going to have to take her word for it. The picture also doesn't really give you a good feel for exactly how large the entertainment center is. It takes up the majority of the wall it's on and really makes the living room feel more close and cozy. The paint also helps to separate the living room from the rest of the house so that it feels like you're actually moving from one room to another when you walk through the house. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it. DeAnne, well, I would ecstatic would be the word to use.
Happy Thanksgiving
--Paul
This is a view from the hallway of the half-painted wall.
This picture gives you a little bit better idea of the color. The camera didn't do the best job of picking up exactly what it looks like.
Then we have the new entertainment center.
The new couch is going to be a brown color like the top of the curtain and then the chair that's replacing the pink recliner on the right is going to be a light beige color that has a pattern with the same blue as the bottom part of the curtain. I'm not the expert, but DeAnne says that it's all going to work in the end. For now, I'm just going to have to take her word for it. The picture also doesn't really give you a good feel for exactly how large the entertainment center is. It takes up the majority of the wall it's on and really makes the living room feel more close and cozy. The paint also helps to separate the living room from the rest of the house so that it feels like you're actually moving from one room to another when you walk through the house. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it. DeAnne, well, I would ecstatic would be the word to use.
Happy Thanksgiving
--Paul
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Wii!!!
It's been busy, busy around here the past week.
The church got some new sound equipment, so I was up at the church just about each night this past week helping get that set up and ready to go for Sunday services. It all sounds great and I think we were really able to do a lot with the budget that the church gave us. I think the church is really going to love it.
Our big news for the week...DeAnne bought us a new couch, chair and entertainment center for the house on Monday. We got the entertainment center yesterday, but it's going to be just before Christmas before the couch and chair come. So of course, since we had new furniture on the way, DeAnne decided that it was best to go ahead and paint the living room and hallway before it all got here. So the home improvement continues. She went with a tan color. I think it turned out pretty nice, especially with the entertainment center we got. I'll try and get some pictures up later today.
Finally, as the title of the post may indicate, we got a Wii last night. For those of you who haven't heard, the Wii is the new Nintendo game console that is set to compete with Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's XBox 360. DeAnne got it for me for Christmas.
I started calling our Wal-Mart yesterday around 3:00 and then called every two hours after that to check and see if a line had started yet. At 7:00 they told me that there was about 4 people in line, so we decided to go on up there and join in. So we waited from around 7:30 to 12:01, but we got one. Brian and Adrienne showed up around 9:00 after getting back from watching the Iron Bowl in Pensacola. All in all, it was a long wait, but we had a blast. The people in line were all nice and everyone had kind of an unspoken understanding that if you wanted to get up and walk around for a few minutes, you could without loosing your place in line. When all was said and done, we were number 5 and Brian was number 6. I think they had around 15 or so. But the travesty of the evening was in the game selection they had available. No Zelda was to be had. I don't guess it's a big deal anyway. DeAnne's not going to let me have it till Christmas anyway, and I'm cool with that. It's just nice to know that I'm getting one.
Anyway, I'll try and get living room pics up today sometime and I'll keep you posted on the status of the couch and chair. If I don't post before, have a happy Thanksgiving.
--Paul
The church got some new sound equipment, so I was up at the church just about each night this past week helping get that set up and ready to go for Sunday services. It all sounds great and I think we were really able to do a lot with the budget that the church gave us. I think the church is really going to love it.
Our big news for the week...DeAnne bought us a new couch, chair and entertainment center for the house on Monday. We got the entertainment center yesterday, but it's going to be just before Christmas before the couch and chair come. So of course, since we had new furniture on the way, DeAnne decided that it was best to go ahead and paint the living room and hallway before it all got here. So the home improvement continues. She went with a tan color. I think it turned out pretty nice, especially with the entertainment center we got. I'll try and get some pictures up later today.
Finally, as the title of the post may indicate, we got a Wii last night. For those of you who haven't heard, the Wii is the new Nintendo game console that is set to compete with Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's XBox 360. DeAnne got it for me for Christmas.
I started calling our Wal-Mart yesterday around 3:00 and then called every two hours after that to check and see if a line had started yet. At 7:00 they told me that there was about 4 people in line, so we decided to go on up there and join in. So we waited from around 7:30 to 12:01, but we got one. Brian and Adrienne showed up around 9:00 after getting back from watching the Iron Bowl in Pensacola. All in all, it was a long wait, but we had a blast. The people in line were all nice and everyone had kind of an unspoken understanding that if you wanted to get up and walk around for a few minutes, you could without loosing your place in line. When all was said and done, we were number 5 and Brian was number 6. I think they had around 15 or so. But the travesty of the evening was in the game selection they had available. No Zelda was to be had. I don't guess it's a big deal anyway. DeAnne's not going to let me have it till Christmas anyway, and I'm cool with that. It's just nice to know that I'm getting one.
Anyway, I'll try and get living room pics up today sometime and I'll keep you posted on the status of the couch and chair. If I don't post before, have a happy Thanksgiving.
--Paul
Monday, November 06, 2006
Child's Play
One of the strongest memories I have of my first surgery is getting to play the original Legend of Zelda on the NES the night before my surgery. It was a blast and now both you and I have the chance to give a memory like that to another child.
I know I mentioned this on the original dubnet, but it's worth mentioning again. This year's Child's Play is getting started. If you missed my first post about it, it's a charity run by a couple of guys who love video games and make their living by creating an online comic strip about video games. Each year, they create Amazon.com wish lists for various Children's Hospitals around the world. People go and buy items off the lists and those items are sent to the hospitals. All the items on the lists are toys of one type or another with the emphasis being on video games.
I know that around Christmas, everyone is asking for money, but if you've ever played a video game and enjoyed it or if you've ever been inside of a Children's Hospital for one reason or another, or even if you've never done either, let me encourage you to go and buy something for a hospital somewhere in the world. Your gift may be the one thing that gives a child a little hope or happiness during a time that they may be more scared than ever before.
So please, take a few minutes, go to http://www.childsplaycharity.org and check out what you can do for someone in need. The total raised last year was $605,000. Let's make sure we help blow that number out of the water.
--Paul
I know I mentioned this on the original dubnet, but it's worth mentioning again. This year's Child's Play is getting started. If you missed my first post about it, it's a charity run by a couple of guys who love video games and make their living by creating an online comic strip about video games. Each year, they create Amazon.com wish lists for various Children's Hospitals around the world. People go and buy items off the lists and those items are sent to the hospitals. All the items on the lists are toys of one type or another with the emphasis being on video games.
I know that around Christmas, everyone is asking for money, but if you've ever played a video game and enjoyed it or if you've ever been inside of a Children's Hospital for one reason or another, or even if you've never done either, let me encourage you to go and buy something for a hospital somewhere in the world. Your gift may be the one thing that gives a child a little hope or happiness during a time that they may be more scared than ever before.
So please, take a few minutes, go to http://www.childsplaycharity.org and check out what you can do for someone in need. The total raised last year was $605,000. Let's make sure we help blow that number out of the water.
--Paul
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Emma and Izzy say...
Happy Halloween!
Check out DeAnne's myspace to see the animals dressed up for the holiday. I don't think they enjoyed it as much as we did.
--Paul
Check out DeAnne's myspace to see the animals dressed up for the holiday. I don't think they enjoyed it as much as we did.
--Paul
News from the Doctor
I went and saw my doctor today for a general checkup and everything's looking good. He said all my stats looked good except that I could stand to loose a few pounds. For those of you who haven't seen me recently, I've gained a little weight since getting over the surgery. I don't know if my appetite has increased or what, but I think that I've been eating more since I feel better than I used to. Anyway, he wants me to loose about 15 pounds. I knew it was coming and I've not been happy with myself for a few weeks now, so Dee and I had already started walking around the neighborhood in the afternoons. Hopefully, I can keep that up and maybe cut back on my snacking and trim the portions down and I'll see some pounds come off. Only thing about it is that we're entering holiday season and you all know how I like to eat.
Enough of that. I'll get my blood checked again next week. We're hopeful that after next week we may be able to go to getting my blood checked just once/month. It will be a very, very happy day when they tell me not to come back for a month.
So now I'm scheduled to see my cardiologist in January and then Dr. Kerr doesn't want to see me again for 6 months.
--Paul
Enough of that. I'll get my blood checked again next week. We're hopeful that after next week we may be able to go to getting my blood checked just once/month. It will be a very, very happy day when they tell me not to come back for a month.
So now I'm scheduled to see my cardiologist in January and then Dr. Kerr doesn't want to see me again for 6 months.
--Paul
Music!
So in keeping with the new "general" theme of the blog, I thought I'd mention a few of the things Dee and I have been listening to lately (since this seems to be something people with blogs tend to do a lot).
Amos Lee. www.amoslee.com - This guy is amazing. He has an awesome voice, a style that is part blues, part bob dylan and I am just floored by his stuff. We loved his first album and I know that I like his new album even more.
Audioslave. www.audioslave.com - Love these guys. The new album is probably their most mature and is possibly their best work.
Jack Johnson. www.jackjohnsonmusic.com - DeAnne is crazy about the man. I like his music, but I'm not just wild about it like she is.
I'm tired of linking these things already. You'll just have to google the rest of them yourself.
There's always a Butch Walker/Marvelous 3 album or two on my iPod. DeAnne really likes the new Daniel Powter single. Breaking Benjamin's latest is really good if you like the heavier side of life. What else? I'm starting to get really amped up for the Smashing Pumpkins come back, so I've been listening to some of their older stuff. I'm also going through a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers phase.
That's about it. Pretty random post if I do say so myself. Anyway...till next time.
--Paul
Amos Lee. www.amoslee.com - This guy is amazing. He has an awesome voice, a style that is part blues, part bob dylan and I am just floored by his stuff. We loved his first album and I know that I like his new album even more.
Audioslave. www.audioslave.com - Love these guys. The new album is probably their most mature and is possibly their best work.
Jack Johnson. www.jackjohnsonmusic.com - DeAnne is crazy about the man. I like his music, but I'm not just wild about it like she is.
I'm tired of linking these things already. You'll just have to google the rest of them yourself.
There's always a Butch Walker/Marvelous 3 album or two on my iPod. DeAnne really likes the new Daniel Powter single. Breaking Benjamin's latest is really good if you like the heavier side of life. What else? I'm starting to get really amped up for the Smashing Pumpkins come back, so I've been listening to some of their older stuff. I'm also going through a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers phase.
That's about it. Pretty random post if I do say so myself. Anyway...till next time.
--Paul
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Upgrades
I upgraded to the new Blogger beta. They've introduced some new features and so far they're pretty nice. They've also made some small tweaks to the templates that shape how the blogs look. The most obvious example of this is the drop-down list style for the post archive on the right. It's now interactive in that each month will expand and collapse as you click on the arrow next to the name of the month. It's not much but for a geek like me, it's pretty cool.
They've also made it quick and easy to add labels to posts so that you can click on a label on the right and see all the posts related to the label. If I had the time and the patience, I would go back and label all the posts in the surgery blog, but I don't think I have what it takes. I do intend to label all posts from here out though.
--Paul
They've also made it quick and easy to add labels to posts so that you can click on a label on the right and see all the posts related to the label. If I had the time and the patience, I would go back and label all the posts in the surgery blog, but I don't think I have what it takes. I do intend to label all posts from here out though.
--Paul
I Take It Back
Blogger did let me move the old blog off to a new address.
It's now at http://dubnetsurgery.blogspot.com
You can read all the old posts there.
I'll create a link on the right to the old blog after I'm finished with this post.
--Paul
It's now at http://dubnetsurgery.blogspot.com
You can read all the old posts there.
I'll create a link on the right to the old blog after I'm finished with this post.
--Paul
Welcome to DubNet 2.0
Welcome.
So as I mentioned in my last post at the original dubnet.blogspot.com, I've created a new blog with which to post about mine and DeAnne's life in general and to just stay in touch with those that would like to read about little ol' us.
Blogger wouldn't let me save off the old posts and reuse the original address that I used, so that's why it's still where it was and why there is now a second blog.
This post is mainly just to get things rolling. I knew if I didn't do this fast, I would never get around to it, so here it is. So bookmark the new page and get ready to read all about us.
Later,
Paul
So as I mentioned in my last post at the original dubnet.blogspot.com, I've created a new blog with which to post about mine and DeAnne's life in general and to just stay in touch with those that would like to read about little ol' us.
Blogger wouldn't let me save off the old posts and reuse the original address that I used, so that's why it's still where it was and why there is now a second blog.
This post is mainly just to get things rolling. I knew if I didn't do this fast, I would never get around to it, so here it is. So bookmark the new page and get ready to read all about us.
Later,
Paul
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