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The sweet taste of my last day as a temp at Millipore.  I'm looking forward to changing gears, but the uncertainty of future working conditions is a bit unsettling.  Hopefully, I'll continue to enjoy long lunches, and morning flex time.  We'll see.  I don't have much actual work left today, and I may even begin working on my July Monthly report.  I'd rather not as there is still a week of June left.  I must not squander the season.   I'll listen to the LBDOK White Man's Moccasins and sit in my cube.... waiting.

It won't be long before I'm sitting at Jumping Jay's presentation to BioPharm R&D about Confocal Microscopy.  I've seen it in rehearsal, but the full, real presentation will be interesting.  This is the first time I've felt like an equal part of a team here at Millipore.  Of course, now it's the time to switch teams - to say good bye to the old ways and start something new.  Our extended lunch expedition to Blue Ribbon BBQ in Arlington will provide a nice and relaxing end to my temporary employment.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 1:59 PM

 




Take the "Which FARK Cliche Are You" quiz!
posted by Ben at (0) comments 7:23 PM

 
I have some profound and insightful things to say, but don't feel like taking the time. Perhaps this link to a video of Phish' performance on Letterman will appease the gods of internet content.

http://homepage.mac.com/rwgraft/Phish/iMovieTheater46.html
posted by Ben at (0) comments 8:21 PM

 
06/19/04 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
Set I: Reba, Runaway Jim, NICU> Scents and Subtle Sounds, Wolfman's Brother, Walls of the Cave > David Bowie
Set II: Song I Heard The Ocean Sing > Piper > Gotta Jibboo> Limb By Limb, Cavern
Encore: Wading in the Velvet Sea

Wow. Phish is firing on all cylinders, and pushing their music to the limit. Set 1 of this show, is the first set that I've seen that did not continue a new (to me) song. I'd always expected that his set would be a bummer, as I'd been narrowly avoiding it for about a year - but it may have been the best set that I've seen. It contained stand out versions of almost every tune. The Reba opener worked well, by the time the band had worked through a couple of the fugue’s I was in tune with them and ready to play. Jim was high energy, and slightly exploratory. MICU > SS&S was high energy, introspective, and marvelous - but things kept getting better. The jam out of Wolfman’s was funky, section, and amazing. They took Walls someplace ridiculously new - taking the prog rock tune into an ambient, sicket-style jam,, and pushing that to a place that I've only seen Phish comfortably play w- a magical musical zone where the quartet produces melodic, soothing, and entirely unstructured music. The Bowie was also a top notch version, likely the best that I've seen despite the efforts of a fellow in front of me who passed out and completely freaked out his girlfriend. the line "he has a pulse, so he's ok" is such an indicator of the ignorance that pervades the drug culture. Eventually, his buddies walked him out to the hospital tent because he failed to fully recover.

Set 2 was very long, very jammy, and quite excellent. Piper was the clear highlight as it stretched to insane lengths, and included a really intense Tweeprise jam. I don't know how Trey restrained himself from playing the lick and kicking the energy up to an astronomical level. This jam started out slow, but built into something jaw dropping. Kate picked up on the insanity and she's never voiced much interest in Phish extended jamming. In the past she's noted that she'd prefer a couple 10-15 min songs to a massive 30-40 minute jam. I don't think there is much that she'd want to sub in for this jam. The segue into jiboo was pretty smooth, although disappointing - the way that the band was scheming, I had expected something awesome (the segue was good, but Jiboo is not a fair answer to the Destiny Penguin/Orca). While Destiny is not the only response fitting a crowd gag referencing one of Mike's captions for Clifford Ball or Great Went Photos, Jiboo is barely a song and has a prison of a bass line. Fortunately, Mike and Phish managed to escape the doldrums of the Tab styled piece and provide foundations for a short but interesting jam. As Jiboos go, this was excellent and did fit in with the general direction of the piper jam (possibly the longest phish song that I have seen - I hope that it beats the IT 46 Days)/ LimbX is a tune that I really enjoy seeing, and Phish is back in form mastering the inhuman drum machine line - it took him a little while after the hiatus to get his skills back to playing something Trey programmed to be at the very limits of human ability. The jam in this was very ambient, relaxed, and quite thin sounding. It was unusually so for Limbx, and quite unlike the set closing jam that I expected - but it did not disappoint. Cavern was a nice, quick way to raise the energy level and close the set. Trey flubbed the lyrics an a hilarious and sever fashion. He was applauded. Has he gotten the song right in the last ten years? Probably not, but that's ok. The words really don't matter. It's all about the danceable build and the screams of "a picture of nectar" and the phish community's number 1 rule "whatever you do, take care of your shoes."

Velvet Sea was a nice encore. There was some interesting Trey and Mike interplay in a version that seemed slightly longer than normal. While some people are probably posting to RMP or phantasy tour ripping on the song selection here, I can honestly express no complaints. A. I like the song, and b. Moving ballads are the only way to close a show that was so improvisational. A jam song, or a rocker would seem trite (although Cavern would have been acceptable if it weren't the set 2 closer)

All in all, it was a great night of music. I listened to Fish more than usual and enjoyed it. I also noted that Trey and Mike were playing together unusually well. At times it was like they were as connected as two hands on a piano (except of course, they were two distinct individuals playing guitar and bass).
posted by Ben at (0) comments 7:52 AM

 
Thursday evening out with Carla and Rhonda, stirred up a lot of thoughts. Yes, I received a stack of long lost books, that I thought were sacrificed on the altar of adolescent affection. Thank god. The hard bound anthology of OSC stories is a most excellent volume.

It wasn't really nostalgia, or long extinguished emotions that stirred - it was ideas of happiness and creativity. Rhonda has forsaken a career in something sensible to follow her ambitions as a writer. Now, I remember when I fancied my self a writer - but I never had more than a hobbyist’s enthusiasm for it. It's the same thing with my bass playing. While I enjoy both activities, they set my passions alight, but doesn’t entirely resonate with my identity. Maybe, I don't define myself by my activities and profession. Maybe the gospel of Chemical Engineering usurped these ambitions. I'm not sure. Although, if I won the lottery (which I don''t play) I can see myself moving towards writing as a pass-time and ultimately a profession. I'd enjoy the immersions, as I'd plan to rent a pad in Portsmouth or Seattle for a month or tow and get to know the places and the people on a more intimate level. Life fuels writing, but it isn't a necessary component in engineering. It's too quickly forgotten... but I shall not.

On the others side of things. It's Phish show time, so it's of to SPAC we go.


posted by Ben at (0) comments 7:59 AM

 

I enjoy the new blogger feature that allows emailed submissions, but the annoying space at the beginning of each entry needs to be eliminated.  Maybe I'll remember to go back and delete that when I get home.   It's 1:36 pm, I'm bored and Hungry.  The transition region between positions is not especially exciting.  I'm much too bored and busy.  I'd really like to be fully involved in one project, or the other.  Oh..... I have a meeting at 2.  Well, that will keep me occupied.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 1:41 PM

 

It's been a twisted couple of days in the lab. the AC's out, and temperatures have run high.  On Tuesday, I was so out of it that I mistook Cream's "White Room" for a Moody Blues song, and proceeded to make a fool of my self by ripping into the blues.  I still think that there's one section of that tune which went on to define the Moody Blue's sound.  It's that break, where Clapton isn't playing anything and there's a bit of an organ swell...  Yeah.  That musical glory was distilled into an entire rock band.   It's not too surprising, there are tons of bands that pulled one trick or progression from the Beatles and went on to stardom.

I also had a revelation today.   The lab radio was tuned to HairNation - high school nostalgia for the 30 yr olds.  In listening to the metal, i realized.  All of the songs are about babes and bling bling.  While the sound of late 80s metal is different than contemporary hip-hop, the substance is identical.  Big Cars, Big Hair.   It's all the same.

The whole concept brings a sense of hope and possibility.  What will chip away at the establishment.  Grunge and Alt. rock killed metal, by bringing substance back to the airwaves.  What will kill hip hop (outkast withstanding)?  Will Umphrey's Kill hip hop?  I don't think so, but I can dream of electric guitars fusing jazz and metal without sounding like Joe Satriani.  Oh the possibilities....
posted by Ben at (0) comments 3:33 PM

 

I am  a fiercely economic person, or so the specters of deja vu informed me.  Electric flesh and memory seem to think that I will squirrel away enough money for a down payment on a Boston condo (apt) before making the move.  We'll see.  It will take me a while to bank that modest amount.
posted by Ben at (1) comments 8:33 AM

 
"It's such a misfortune to steal, but the time finally came so I took"

My job hasn't even started, but my mind is a soup of obsessions and ideas. Calculations meter out my dollars, and cents, and what seems like an increase in earnings is gobbled up by an increase in "adult" expenses. Capital investments in autos (although the wagon of death has a little bit more left), saving for a down payment, student loans, etc. Should I move out, or just pile money and live half a life in NH? Rents are low, and interest rates are rising... What will the future of the economy be?
posted by Ben at (0) comments 8:27 PM

 
A Jorb! A Jorb! Millipore has extended an offer for employment. I'm quite excited about it and will of course take it. It's in membrane R&D, but will involve different projects than what currently occupies my time. That's fine, as we'll be scaling up and working with device characterization and qualification, instead of early stage development. It should be quite neat (as well as challenging and rewarding).
posted by Ben at (0) comments 9:35 PM

 
The wedding and the road were interesting and enjoyable. I'm a hurried pile of babble. There's too much on my groggy mind for me to focus on one simple, thing. Pornographic visions and pounding bass lines. My distractions out number my committed faculties. There are just a few key points that I'd like to raise. 1. Seeing a peer get married was surreal. The ceremony didn't grip me, but the reality and emotional weight sunk in at the reception. Tj wasn't the only one wiping his eyes. Also, who would have thought TJ would mean so much to me? Not I. This fraternity thing works in mysterious ways. I shall not soon forget our weighty bond.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 9:49 PM

 

Yesterday's volcano of stress has subsided, and is now washed away with elation.  The road is calling!  I am ready.  Seis De Mayo is still in absentia,  but my head is clear and I am ready to ride upon waves of nostalgia, reflection, and seek the enlightenment of the highway prophets.  Neil Cassidy, Jack Kerouac guide my car as I cross the great soul of our land.  Forgive my use of highways, but smile at the maddening speed with which I shall cross to Cleveland.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 1:49 PM

 
With some God Street Wine on my mind, I sti and type trying to keep time with some floydian march through emotion and memory. Nightmares of war, and childhood set like the moon into a rippling, velvet sea.

I started taking advantage of amazon.com's used cd service. It will help me flesh out my collection of obscure bands and maybe allow me to explore my interests in jazz music. Rocky's looking at me with a crooked, confused stare. Rock, rock on, young cat.

This weekend was incredibly relaxing, as Kate and I went to Maine to kick it with the family. Even though the winds kept us from venturing out on the lake (barring some wave kayaking, and kate's misadventure) I enjoyed things. My interest in chess is stirring. I just need to figure out how to avoid the stupid errors, that I unwittingly ignore while moving pieces into shock and awe gambits.

For those who want Ben movie reviews: Shrek II is very funny, but at the same time, not all that good. It lacked the amazing balance the first movie demonstrated, juggling comedy, story, morality, and adventure. While Shrek II, has some triumphant moments and brilliant jokes it doesn’t deliver a solid story, and I felt that some of the jokes were a bit too adult for a children’s movie. OSC didn't seem to indicate similar sentiments, so I must be increasingly bitter in my conservatism.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 8:53 PM