I thought I’d put my current strength training routine up here so you’d have an idea of what I’m doing. I’m certainly open to suggestion, critique, pointers, and other feedback.

I only do strength training Monday through Friday.  I take the weekends off from weightlifting in order to rest.

My normal routine is to get up at 4:00 AM each weekday, stretch for 30 minutes, then go through that day’s routine.  After my workout, I have a protein drink with my morning vitamins.  Since my morning vitamins contain 1000 mg of vitamin C, this is the best schedule (since vitamin C is important for repairing muscle tissue).

I also try to vary my workout each week by shuffling the exercises around.  Basically what I do is move the first exercise to the end of the routine each week, so it’s normally several weeks before I perform the same routine again.  My intention with doing this is to not allow my body to become accustomed to the routine and thereby stop working/growing.

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If you haven’t heard already, Erasure has a new album out called Other People’s Songs.

Yes, you guessed it — I’m an Erasure fan.  They’re actually my favorite group.  No matter how I’m feeling, there’s always something in my Erasure CD collection to match my mood.

Just released, Other People’s Songs is as explanatory a title as one could think of.  The CD is a collection of songs, remade by Erasure, originally released and performed by other people.

This is by no means a collection of resampled pieces, but is, in fact, a tremendous example of Erasure at their best.  They’ve taken a wide variety of songs from the last 40 or 50 years (from Peter Gabriel to Buddy Holly!) and “Erasured” them.

For instance, Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill” is fully recognizable.  That having been said, however, you’ll also find it to be indisputably Erasure-esque (not too blatant a play on Abba-esque, I hope).  The release of Buddy Holly’s “Everyday” is also very well done in true Erasure style.  To ensure no one takes them too seriously (something Erasure has never worked towards), the incontestably flaming rendition of Ronette’s “Walking in the Rain” will have you chuckling to yourself in a knowing way.

Amazingly, from Peter Gabriel to Buddy Holly to The Righteous Brothers to Cockney Rebel to Elvis Presley, Erasure was able to take instantly recognizable pop songs from the latter half of the 20th century and turn them into original Erasure classics.

If you’re an Erasure fan, Other People’s Songs is a must have.  If you’re not an Erasure fan but have enjoyed a variety of sounds and styles over the last 40 or so years, I believe you’ll find this album worth the price as well.

In light of its now internet-centric business model, it’s difficult to remember a time when Microsoft viewed the internet as a passing fad and would not embrace it.  Seven years ago to the day, Microsoft finally woke up and realized they were already behind the ball with the internet craze.  This realization forced a company-wide reorganization within Microsoft — and thoroughly entertained those of us in the industry who believed Bill Gates to be insane for not diving in sooner.

I’ve answered several pending FAQ submissions and am working on answering some of the others that have been submitted.

Read on for details.  The updates are in the following sections.

      Website
      Politics
      Tattoos
      Piercings

If you have a question that isn’t already here, be sure to submit it.  If I think it’s something others might ask, I’ll add it to the FAQ.