I went to the physical therapist today. I went to the doctor last week because my knee has been bothering me much more than usual in the past month or two after I tweaked it while wearing all my heavy gear and trying to sit down on a very low seat.
When I got to the doctor and got through explaining the pain and my medical history related to the knee (took some time to get that fully explained!), she looked at it a bit. She could tell something was not right, and the spot that I told her hurts the most had something in it that she could feel, almost as if there was a piece of loose bone moving around, or a vein rolling when you press on it. It wasn't either of those, but I don't know how else to describe it.
After trying several of the "tests" on my knee that she knew, she was able to conclude that the problem was not muscular, or at least not in any of the major muscles, as I had great muscle strength and felt no pain in doing various exercises, so she brought in the other (more experienced) doctor to take a look at it. (On a side note, he is the doctor that first referred me to the army hospital that sent me to San Diego.) He came to the same conclusion, and they told me to go ahead and schedule an MRI for it so they could have a reference, becuase the only images they had to look at were pre-surgery. They told me a couple of things that it might be, though I don't remember what it was called, just that it is similar to if some extra scar tissue had grown and was getting in the way. If that is the case, some minor surgery might be done, though that would likely be orthoscopic and could be done here in Korea with a short recovery time, but at this point it is still a guessing game. It is also likely to be related to my first surgery, though the MRI will tell them if that is the case.
In the meantime, I am not supposed to wear my heavy gear or lift anything heavy, so I should be ok for now. I can walk just fine, though sometimes it is hard to sit down or go up stairs.
I should have the MRI scheduled by monday of next week, but I won't know more until after it is done, probably in two or three weeks depending on their schedule.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Rant on David Letterman
I really do not like David Letterman. Often while I am getting ready for bed, I will turn on my TV and watch a late night show. It isn't too late for me because of the channel it is on and mixed up timezones, and it is a fun way to end the day sometimes. Lately though, the show has often been David Letterman. I had seen Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien a lot and love their shows, and I've seen Letterman before, but until recently I didn't remember much about him other than that he was Leno's CBS opposite. After watching him more recently I have come to a conclusion that Letterman is not only unnecessarily crude, but isn't even all that funny. He uses the same gag over and over and then tries to make it funny with a Conan-style motion with his arms, amplified by his stuck-up band's noise. Paul Shaffer, his "Kevin" or "Max," thinks he is a lot funnier than he really is and thinks he is a better musician than he really is... it just drives me nuts! It is just sad when I can predict ahead of time if Rush Limbaugh or the GOP is going to be the target of his joke before he reaches the punchline-- he has gotten way too predictable.
I remember hearing for the first time that Letterman used to belong to NBC, and how they made a huge mistake in not fighting to keep him away from CBS, but now I'm not too sure. I think they did themselves a favor. They may have lost money, but they more than gained in a moral victory by dumping the fake talent.
I remember hearing for the first time that Letterman used to belong to NBC, and how they made a huge mistake in not fighting to keep him away from CBS, but now I'm not too sure. I think they did themselves a favor. They may have lost money, but they more than gained in a moral victory by dumping the fake talent.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Recording, Day Two
Day Two of the recording was much better than Day One. As I mentioned before, playing by ourselves is a lot less stressful.
We started the morning with a Korean Folksong medley. It didn't go the best because of some instrument malfunctions on the oboe, but we made do, and did a couple of takes with a trumpet using a straight mute instead of the oboe as a contingency. After the medley was done, we moved on to Inchon, a piece commemorating the Korean war and the services of the composer's father in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. Yes, I said "wars" instead of "conflicts." I don't care about the politically correct definition of things, especially since the definition is "a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air."
After Inchon we had lunch before coming back to record a Korean song about longing for a mountain in North Korea... kind of like if the USA was split in half, and one half had a song about wishing they could see Niagra Falls just one more time. By that time, the oboe was in a better condition, so we redid the medley a few more times with the oboe. By that time we had a long break while some people did solo sections and/or a small amount of dubbing due to either mistakes or lack of personel, and I started a game of Phase 10. (We had already played Apples to Apples earlier in the day.) Midway through the game, though, I got called back into the recording room because while my short solo had been fine in the recording, the section it leads into needed to be redone, and as there was no break between mine and the solo after, I was still needed. It went fine, though I am glad it is over as it was the type of solo that looks like it wouldn't be that hard, but is one of the more challenging parts I've ever played. It is deceptively hard because of the intervals needed, the rhythm (or lack of it with the implied tempo change), and exposure at a point in which the player has no spot to breathe. Needless to say, while I am glad I had the part, I don't long to play it again-- three times is enough. (Music in May-- High School honor band, Army concert, and now an Army CD).
Tomorrow we get back into the thick of things, but the hardest part for me is now over as I get to enjoy the rest of the week of recording.
We started the morning with a Korean Folksong medley. It didn't go the best because of some instrument malfunctions on the oboe, but we made do, and did a couple of takes with a trumpet using a straight mute instead of the oboe as a contingency. After the medley was done, we moved on to Inchon, a piece commemorating the Korean war and the services of the composer's father in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. Yes, I said "wars" instead of "conflicts." I don't care about the politically correct definition of things, especially since the definition is "a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air."
After Inchon we had lunch before coming back to record a Korean song about longing for a mountain in North Korea... kind of like if the USA was split in half, and one half had a song about wishing they could see Niagra Falls just one more time. By that time, the oboe was in a better condition, so we redid the medley a few more times with the oboe. By that time we had a long break while some people did solo sections and/or a small amount of dubbing due to either mistakes or lack of personel, and I started a game of Phase 10. (We had already played Apples to Apples earlier in the day.) Midway through the game, though, I got called back into the recording room because while my short solo had been fine in the recording, the section it leads into needed to be redone, and as there was no break between mine and the solo after, I was still needed. It went fine, though I am glad it is over as it was the type of solo that looks like it wouldn't be that hard, but is one of the more challenging parts I've ever played. It is deceptively hard because of the intervals needed, the rhythm (or lack of it with the implied tempo change), and exposure at a point in which the player has no spot to breathe. Needless to say, while I am glad I had the part, I don't long to play it again-- three times is enough. (Music in May-- High School honor band, Army concert, and now an Army CD).
Tomorrow we get back into the thick of things, but the hardest part for me is now over as I get to enjoy the rest of the week of recording.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Out of the Morning Calm
This week at work we are finishing the recording of our CD: "Out of the Morning Calm." This is the second CD project I've done here at the 2nd Infantry Division Band, and I think it is (for the most part) the better of the two. I feel more prepared for the pieces, and I think the band is too. Also, this year our guest groups were better. Last year we had the Uijeongbu Junior Symphony Orchestra... a nice gesture in the name of community relations. Unfortunately, while the introduction to "America the Beautiful" was beautiful, the violins seemingly decided to all go a quarter step flat all at once when the verse started, leaving the ears in pain as you try not to wince. They were good kids, and there were some phenominal musicians, but the first half of that track was not a good representation of our musical abilities.
This year, we have the Uijeongbu Philharmonic Symphonic Orchestra, or something like that. I don't remember the exact name, just that they use two descriptive words in their name rather than deciding not to be redundant. They were a decent group-- same organization, but the adults instead. There were still some intonation issues, but not nearly as pronounced. The orchestra had no string basses, but that was not an issue as our own low brass managed to fill the lower registers just fine on their own. There were also a handful of highschool students that were on the same level as the orchestra last year, but since they were few and far between, the good ones blended and the not-so-good ones were covered up enough. What really was awesome though was the Uijeongbu City Choir! Again, I'm not sure of their actual name, but that might be it. They sung in two pieces, but by far the best was the Korean National Anthem. Hearing it with that full choir and our band accented by an orchestra was simply amazing!
Tomorrow we begin the portion of the recording with just us. I feel confident; the only part I am nervous about is a very short solo, mainly because while still figuring out how I was going to do part of it, I got a comment from my commander to get it fixed, and it sort of put a mental stress point in there for me that freaks me out whenever I play it. The last note tends to sound really wobbly sometimes because not only am I out of air by that point, but my heart is beating too hard to keep it steady! I will do fine though. If not, we'll just do another take, so it is not the end of the world.
In the small group portion of my recording, I am with the Woodwind Quintet. Last year we had no oboe so we used two flutes, and I had some of the best tone of my life. This year, we have the proper quintet, but I have a boring part that is entirely up-beats, but I can't complain too much because that also means that I didn't have to spend valuable time working on any tough sections in my practice time.
It will be a packed few days as we go to KBS studios, full of a packed recording schedule, as well as lots of down time as other groups are recording.
This year, we have the Uijeongbu Philharmonic Symphonic Orchestra, or something like that. I don't remember the exact name, just that they use two descriptive words in their name rather than deciding not to be redundant. They were a decent group-- same organization, but the adults instead. There were still some intonation issues, but not nearly as pronounced. The orchestra had no string basses, but that was not an issue as our own low brass managed to fill the lower registers just fine on their own. There were also a handful of highschool students that were on the same level as the orchestra last year, but since they were few and far between, the good ones blended and the not-so-good ones were covered up enough. What really was awesome though was the Uijeongbu City Choir! Again, I'm not sure of their actual name, but that might be it. They sung in two pieces, but by far the best was the Korean National Anthem. Hearing it with that full choir and our band accented by an orchestra was simply amazing!
Tomorrow we begin the portion of the recording with just us. I feel confident; the only part I am nervous about is a very short solo, mainly because while still figuring out how I was going to do part of it, I got a comment from my commander to get it fixed, and it sort of put a mental stress point in there for me that freaks me out whenever I play it. The last note tends to sound really wobbly sometimes because not only am I out of air by that point, but my heart is beating too hard to keep it steady! I will do fine though. If not, we'll just do another take, so it is not the end of the world.
In the small group portion of my recording, I am with the Woodwind Quintet. Last year we had no oboe so we used two flutes, and I had some of the best tone of my life. This year, we have the proper quintet, but I have a boring part that is entirely up-beats, but I can't complain too much because that also means that I didn't have to spend valuable time working on any tough sections in my practice time.
It will be a packed few days as we go to KBS studios, full of a packed recording schedule, as well as lots of down time as other groups are recording.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Darwinism vs Conservationism
Today I was pondering something that has been on my mind for about a year now, so I decided to get it down on pen and paper... er... on pixels... So if you read this just to see what I did at work yesterday or what I did on the weekend, you might as well skip over this one as it is just my ranting about so-called "experts."
That really sounds quite controversial at first when you read it, but if you take a step back for a moment, maybe you'll see what I am getting at...
Darwinism, or for the sake of making my point a little better to read, Natural Selection, thrives on the idea of "survival of the fittest." If Rat A and Rat B both are subjected to the same environment and contract the same disease, and Rat A survives while Rat B dies, then according to Natural Selection, the gene pool has been strengthened by the rat with the stronger genes (Rat A) surviving, and the weaker genes (Rat B) dying off, eventually producing a species of rat immune to the disease. So effectually, Darwinism promotes the strong surviving whilst the weak dies off, creating a healthier gene pool.
Conversely, Conservationism thrives on the idea of preserving life. A true conservationist will administer medicine to Rat B to conserve life. A better illustration would be an endangered species; suppose a beaver dam is built and changes an ecosystem. Creatures dependant on the river will have to make some changes, and in the event that they can't adapt to the newly created pond, they will likely die. In history, Darwinists believe that this caused some species to die out, while other species survived and came out stronger for it. Herein lies the problem: As a species is beginning to die out, making way for the stronger species, the true conservationist is obliged to intervene and save the weaker species from extinction, using the loss of the species as a worse outcome than the emergence of a stronger species.
I am getting a little long-winded, I know, so the above can be summed up in one simple phrase:
The two are complete polar opposites!
It is for this reason that I scoff at environmentalists who are such huge proponents of Darwinism-- the very ideals they believe in totally contradict their perfect picture of life.
One cannot fully support both Darwinism and Conservationism simultaneously.
That really sounds quite controversial at first when you read it, but if you take a step back for a moment, maybe you'll see what I am getting at...
Darwinism, or for the sake of making my point a little better to read, Natural Selection, thrives on the idea of "survival of the fittest." If Rat A and Rat B both are subjected to the same environment and contract the same disease, and Rat A survives while Rat B dies, then according to Natural Selection, the gene pool has been strengthened by the rat with the stronger genes (Rat A) surviving, and the weaker genes (Rat B) dying off, eventually producing a species of rat immune to the disease. So effectually, Darwinism promotes the strong surviving whilst the weak dies off, creating a healthier gene pool.
Conversely, Conservationism thrives on the idea of preserving life. A true conservationist will administer medicine to Rat B to conserve life. A better illustration would be an endangered species; suppose a beaver dam is built and changes an ecosystem. Creatures dependant on the river will have to make some changes, and in the event that they can't adapt to the newly created pond, they will likely die. In history, Darwinists believe that this caused some species to die out, while other species survived and came out stronger for it. Herein lies the problem: As a species is beginning to die out, making way for the stronger species, the true conservationist is obliged to intervene and save the weaker species from extinction, using the loss of the species as a worse outcome than the emergence of a stronger species.
I am getting a little long-winded, I know, so the above can be summed up in one simple phrase:
Darwinists (Natural Selection) rely on the weaker species dying off.
Conservationists (Environmentalists) rely on saving the weaker species.
The two are complete polar opposites!
It is for this reason that I scoff at environmentalists who are such huge proponents of Darwinism-- the very ideals they believe in totally contradict their perfect picture of life.
Monday, February 16, 2009
a visit from Corrie
During the weekend I got to enjoy a visit from my cousin Corrie. Corrie is an English teacher in Mongolia, and she was able to have a long layover in Seoul on the way back to Mongolia after going to a conference and having a vacation in Thailand.
My morning on Saturday started dark and early as I got up to go to the airport, but unfortunately not only did my ride to the bus stop oversleep, but I did too. My goal was to get to the bus by 6, but he called at 6:37 to tell me he had overslept. Fortunately it wasn’t a big deal as the bus at 7 got me there before 8, so Corrie only had to wait an hour for me at the airport, during which time she got some needed rest.
On the bus back to Seoul, I casually pulled out my copy of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Brothers Karamozov” and asked if she had ever read it. She laughed and proceeded to pull the same edition of the same book out of her own bag! We thought this was hilarious, so she took out her camera and took a picture of us holding up our books. Our opinions of the book were similar, though slightly reversed; I like all of what I’ve read so far, but I like the beginning the best, while she likes the book but thought it had a slow beginning. In either case, it is an excellent book.
After getting back to Uijeongbu, we went to Deanna’s apartment and stayed there for a couple hours so Corrie could settle down and get refreshed after her flight before we sent to Spaghetti House, a local Italian place we really like because you can design your own pasta. We were there with Deanna’s roommates, Sue and Janet, before we (Corrie, Deanna, and I) departed for Seoul.
After an hour-long train ride to Seoul, we found ourselves at Gyeongbokgung (Gyeongbok Palace), the primary palace that was used by Korean royalty. (Following the Japanese invasion of 1910, Korea is no longer a monarchy, and only a few distant relatives are left from the royal family.) We got to the palace in the middle of a changing-of-the-guard ceremony, so the timing was excellent. Corrie got several good pictures, though her batteries were dead and she was trying to squeeze what little life out of them that was left. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the palace and at an adjacent museum.
After our visit to the palace, we went to Insadong, an outdoor/indoor market, where we shopped around for a little bit before we went to Coldstone Creamery. It was Corrie’s first time eating Coldstone’s icecream, so now she can say that her first time there was in Korea.
Following the icecream, we all were a bit tired and went back on the train to Uijeongbu to Deanna’s apartment where we played some Guitar Hero and hung out for the rest of the evening. I walked Corrie to my pastor’s house where she was staying and then went home.
The next day was not as eventful; we met at church, and after the service, we went back to Deanna’s place and just watched TV and talked until I had to go on post to fold the flag at the end of the day. We didn’t really have time to go anywhere since I had to be back, and it was good for Corrie to get a relaxing “chill” day anyways.
It was really nice to see her, and she was able to meet Deanna for the first time, so it was a really fun weekend.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Games
I just got home at around 10 pm and realized that this is perhaps the earliest I've been home in a long while, excluding Wednesdays when I don't see Deanna. Usually I leave there at 10 or later (depending on how badly I rationalizing staying another 5 or 10 minutes) and then get home and finish some of the wind-down time that I spend online each day. I do it then because I usually skip some or all of it to get to Deanna's before it gets to late as she is waiting on me so we can eat. So on the average night I get home at 10:30ish and am ready for bed a little after 11, except for the nights when I call home, when I end up going to bed later at 11:30. Getting up around 5 am most mornings makes it difficult at times, so while I would not voluntarily trade my longer evenings for some shorter ones and more sleep, my fatigued body is thanking me anyways.
Two nights ago I stayed up late at Tom Vasel's house to watch him and Sam Healey record the latest episode of The Dicetower, a podcast on board games and other related topics. I will be coming on the show this summer, so I wanted to see them do one recording to see what it is like and be mentally prepared for what the process is like before I actually sit down and do one. It was very entertaining, and I actually discovered that I enjoyed the show much more in person despite its increased length-- since they were recording, it was longer as I was there during any breaks or editing needing to be done. I was also very happy when Sam sat down with a pad of paper and told me all the games listed were games he is getting rid of. I bought one of the games from the section he was selling and picked out several of the games he was giving away for free, and the next night I was delighted to see one of his kids walk in our gaming area holding a big stack of games for me. Upwords was perhaps the only conventional game I got, though the Lord of the Rings edition of Risk is still a version of a conventional game. The other games were what I like to call unconventional-- meaning they aren't your average Parker Brothers game, but rather they bring gaming to a different level. It is kind of like comparing your average 50's science fiction TV show with one of the many shows to come in all the decades since... the modern "unconventional" board games are a completely different breed and are often a much higher quality, both in game play and in components.
So now my game collection has grown like a pack of tribbles over the past few months, and in the next couple of weeks will be growing even more as a large order of small to mid-sized games will be arriving in the mail. I plan on buying a few more games as well before I come home, though I may have them just shipped straight home instead of to here because most of them won't be played until I get home anyways.
Some of the games that I have played that I recommend for someone that has never played "non-conventional" games are:
Two nights ago I stayed up late at Tom Vasel's house to watch him and Sam Healey record the latest episode of The Dicetower, a podcast on board games and other related topics. I will be coming on the show this summer, so I wanted to see them do one recording to see what it is like and be mentally prepared for what the process is like before I actually sit down and do one. It was very entertaining, and I actually discovered that I enjoyed the show much more in person despite its increased length-- since they were recording, it was longer as I was there during any breaks or editing needing to be done. I was also very happy when Sam sat down with a pad of paper and told me all the games listed were games he is getting rid of. I bought one of the games from the section he was selling and picked out several of the games he was giving away for free, and the next night I was delighted to see one of his kids walk in our gaming area holding a big stack of games for me. Upwords was perhaps the only conventional game I got, though the Lord of the Rings edition of Risk is still a version of a conventional game. The other games were what I like to call unconventional-- meaning they aren't your average Parker Brothers game, but rather they bring gaming to a different level. It is kind of like comparing your average 50's science fiction TV show with one of the many shows to come in all the decades since... the modern "unconventional" board games are a completely different breed and are often a much higher quality, both in game play and in components.
So now my game collection has grown like a pack of tribbles over the past few months, and in the next couple of weeks will be growing even more as a large order of small to mid-sized games will be arriving in the mail. I plan on buying a few more games as well before I come home, though I may have them just shipped straight home instead of to here because most of them won't be played until I get home anyways.
Some of the games that I have played that I recommend for someone that has never played "non-conventional" games are:
- Ticket to Ride (with or without the 1910 expansion)
- Settlers of Catan
- Carcassonne (several variations of this... all but the Carcassonne: New World)
- Dominion
- Colosseum
- Mystery of the Abbey (similar to Clue)
- Memoir '44
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