Fun At Work

I have been a fan of Guns 'n Roses since the first time I heard Paradise City. The sound of Axl's voice combined with the unbelievable guitar played by a guy called Slash. It was part of an album that music lovers still gravitate to.

Last December I saw the current incarnation of Guns 'n Roses. Which is really just Axl with a band of musicians. However, there was the voice. Slash was not there and something was missing.

A couple of years ago I saw Velvet Revolver. There was the Slash guitar. It was a really good show but again something was not quite right.

Last Friday I saw Slash on his current solo tour. Again there was no Axl. He says the two of them will never perform together again. Many people, including myself, think one day they will.

Slash has a rather unique job. He plays guitar in a rock n roll band for a living. Many people play guitar in a band but very few are successful. I don't know about any other recent shows but on Friday he looked like he was really having fun at work. He played really well. As anyone who is familiar with Slash's work knows, he has a very unique sound. His playing sucks you in to a sonic adventure.

He is the best of his generation.

The show was amazing. I watched him and his very talented band from the second balcony of the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg. This venue adds to any show held there. The crowd was into it. They were true fans. They enjoyed old Gunners tunes, Velvet Revolver tunes, Slash's Snakepit tunes, and songs from his new solo album. The band could feel their enthusiasm and they fed off it. By the time the first jangly notes of Paradise City were played by the man who wrote them I don't think anyone in the building was not completely engaged with what was going on in that room.

I have a great job. I don't write about it here but I will say I want to be as good at what I do as Slash is at what he does and I want to have as much fun while doing. He truly enjoyed his work that night and it showed.

I don't know if I can ever get to that point but I hope I can some day.

Necessary Evil

I was reading some news on CBC.ca. I find it to be a good source for info. While I was reading a story about inflation. It was a decent story. Then I did the thing I often do but hate myself after. No I did not binge on ice cream. I read the comments.

I could write a few pages on the sad state of the comments made by readers on web news services but that's not what I want to write about today.

It is clear that people do not understand what inflation is or how the economy works.

It is normal that people say inflation is a tax. It is normal to read that inflation is controlled by the rich to disadvantage the working class.

The truth of the matter is inflation and unemployment are unpleasant but completely necessary for the economy to function properly. Today we will discuss inflation.

In any economic system investment is important. People who have money need to use the money to make more money. They need to take some risk with there money. Usually this is accomplished by giving money to someone else who uses the money to make or sell something, also known as investing. The person who accepts the money then returns the money used and some more to the original person. This is the return and hopefully there is enough more to offset the cost of inflation so the original person can buy more than they could in the beginning.

Now imagine we did not have inflation.

At first this looks ok. Your money would keep the same amount or gain buying power. Sounds good. However, if your money will do more over time by just sitting there, then there is no motivation to invest. You can gain buying power without risk. This also may sound good as the rich will not their money to get richer. However, if the people with money do not invest it, there is no company to go and work at and no job to make money. That could be ok since there would be nothing to buy anyway.

What this shakes out to is, your money losing value motivates everyone to invest to off-set the loss in buying power. This investment ensures there are jobs to work and things to buy.

Although it may seem like it sucks that your money is losing value, inflation is a good thing.

Through all this I just wish people who post to CBC.ca actually understand what they are talking about but that may be too much to ask.

It's A Party

Friday evening I went to a birthday party for the 4 year old daughter of a friend of mine. I had a great time but I also learned a few things as well.

My learning began the night before. I was in Toys 'R Us with my another friend trying to buy a gift for a 4 year old girl. This proved to be a bit of a challenge. Since I don't have children of my own and neither does the friend that was with me in the toy store we were at a bit of a loss. Thankfully we had some guidance on Facebook or we would have been completely clueless.

It's a good thing I have some problem solving abilities. We managed to piece together a plan and purchase gifted that went over well with the 4 year old crowd. There may have been a lot of laughing involved.

The actual party attendance also taught me a few things.

Children between the age of 2 and 7 have a whole lot of energy. They just keep going and going. I don't know where they get it but they seem to never quit.

Kids are getting taller. 5 and 6 year old kids are the height I was about 8 or 9. I'm not the tallest man but I'm a reasonable height. That's all I have to say about that.

I have known this last point for a while but, good people make for good times. I was hanging with some of the best people I know and was having a good time. If you surround yourself with good people your life will be good. Friday evening was a clear example of that.

On Friday I went to a 4 year old's birthday party and had a lot of fun. This is one of many signs that life is good.

A Touch of Class

Last year during Breast Cancer Awareness month NFL players and coaches were encouraged to wear pink during games to raise awareness for annual screenings for this horrible disease that effects so many. It was very well received and I am happy the league and its players ran with it and are doing it again this year.

I sat down today to play some Madden 11 on my Playstation 3. As the game started up the machine told me an update was required. I begrudgingly updated my game and away I went. Usually the updates fix some glitch or add some feature I don't really care about.

I was very happy to see that you can play in the Breast Cancer Awareness Month mode. The players and coaches have pink on and at the 2 minute warning they give the official announcement including the website you can go to for more information.

I thought this was excellent and applaud Electronic Arts and the NFL for doing this. This in an excellent way to use a very popular platform to raise awareness for a very important cause. It could have been easy for them to not bother or become bogged down but they used their profile to make a difference.

I don't play a lot of video games. I watch more movies on my PS3 than play games. Gaming is not seen as having much of a social conscious. Many games are violent and have dark themes. I personally have no issue with this but I am happy to highlight when a huge moneymaking venture takes some time to do some good.

I realize some of what they are doing is including it because it is 'in the game.' That's ok by me. We should not discourage good acts.

I personally commend Electronic Arts and the NFL for including this feature in the game.

Where Is It?

I am fairly creative. I come up with some pretty good ideas from time to time. I do write a couple of blogs and occasionally have something good to say. I enjoy photography and have taken some nice photos over the years. I admit I can't draw or paint to save my life, but we can't be good at everything.

Lately, I have not had a creative thought.

It seems the well is dry. It seems all my good ideas are gone. I keep coming up blank. The part that bothers me is I don't know why.

It might be that my life has not been too inspiring. Maybe I'm just tired. I know that's true. I may not care enough at the moment but I don't know why that would be it.

Creativity is fickle. It's easy for it to be turned off. It's easy to lack inspiration. I look at the world around me and I don't see anything interesting. It's like I've been there and done that. Maybe I need a change but its easy to fall into ruts. I seem to be in one.

There is an upside to all this.

I'm sure my creativity will come back. I'm sure I will have more good ideas. I'm sure the world will continue to surprise and amaze me. I'm sure I will say and do things that will be great. I hope it happens sooner than later but I know it will happen.

I'm a creative guy in a funk, but it will come back, and that is a great part of life.

Getting Back At It

During my summers I don't live at home. I don't live too far away, about an hour drive. Once you consider the long days getting home is not really an option. This isn't a big deal but I do have to turn off the life a bit. Having said that, I am back home and returning to my life.

It's takes some effort to get back to normal.

Over the summer I stop by my place about once a week. Unread the mail and ensure everything is ok. I may stay the evening or I may head back out. It seems a lot of envelopes and used glasses seem to accumulate. A glass of water while reading the mail doesn't make a big individual mess but it does accumulate.

All the stuff I take with me has to be unpacked and either cleaned or returned to where it belongs. Again this is time and effort.

If you are away for several weeks you need to restock the food. Not much point in keeping food around if you are not. On those few occasions where you want to stay home and eat during the summer a pizza will do just fine.

A very important part of returning is to track down the friends I have neglected. The people I call my friend are the most amazing individuals. I always feel bad when I go away for the summer and barely speak a word to them. They deserve better. I do make a point of regularly updating my Facebook status so at least they know how I'm doing but, it's not the same.

Over the years people have often asked why I do this every summer. There are times I wonder as well. The best I can figure is it prevents me from living an ordinary life. When I look back I want to see a unique and varied existence. I want to be able to tell stories or amazing moments, interesting people, and exciting adventures. To do that some sacrifices need to be made. If not living at home in ten sum er will bring this then I am happy to do so.

Different people want different things in life. It's part of what makes life amazing. If it is important to you then you will be able to make the necessary sacrifices to get it. We can't do it all but we can do what is most important. Make sure you are doing the right things for what is important to you.