Red Beans and Warcraft

Yes, Justin was able to lure me into World of Warcraft. He missed his calling as a crack dealer.

Going to try to track my exercise on a daily basis. Today: 20 minutes at the track. Probably would have been better not to do it in the heat of the afternoon - I was ready to pass out at the end.

Made myself red beans and rice tonight. First time in a few years that I've had them - tasty and tons of leftovers too.

Tony and I received a flyer from Daddy's Junky Music, and in it they had an ad from long-time effects pedal maker Digitech detailing several custom pedals they've developed, such as the Eric Clapton Crossroads, Jimi Hendrix Experience, and some asshat from Disturbed. These feature settings right out of the can that are supposed to mimic the classic sounds of these artists. Line 6 has for years made similar types of effects. I wonder though, based on my own musical experience, if that is short-changing a lot of developing guitarists of the challenge of learning how to truly manipulate their effects. I can remember over the years trying to learn how to get my guitar to sound like song X, and in the process discovering an entirely new sound that I liked better than the sound I was trying to emulate. Learning to play any instrument, but particularly any rock instrument that depends in part on amplification, should include learning how to make certain sounds, as well as the functional act of playing the proper notes.