CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE or double click on the scooter

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It’s not too often that I share something of a personal nature on my blog. This is one of those times.

My wife manages just about everything financially for us. My entire paycheck goes into her bank account. She pays [just about] all of the bills. When we go most places, it’s her credit card and debit card that gets used to purchase the various goods and services we consume. And to be completely honest, I’m ok with this, with some minor exceptions.

She’s got a proven track record, having been in accounting for over 20 years, knowing how to manage money and all of the financial matters. We’ve paid off several credit cards and my car loan, so I’ve seen her management of this first hand. And we’ve been able to travel and do some things with the house and still manage to have coffee, creamer, milk, juice and oatmeal available for me to fix each morning. All in all, it’s a system that works, with some minor exceptions.

Exceptions

But even the best of operations have their gotchas. And this is where mine come in here.

There’s something to be said for having your own money – without restrictions. Not just spending like a mad man, but without having to check in with the finance manager and just being able to purchase something. This is my exception to the almost perfect system of our financial management.

I have my own credits cards, including one that I still make my own payment – not coming from my day job income. It’s a nice independence to have a card that I can just make a purchase, without consulting my wife before hand.

But there is the issue of making the payment, how much I put on the card, keeping my balance at a reasonable level. So far, making the payment hasn’t been an issue as I’ve been able to do little side jobs here and there, or pull from savings. Up until now this has worked, but I can foresee the day when this flexibility of having my own little financial piece of management will be limited even more.

Since my wife and I have separate bank accounts as well, the issue of managing my own financial part hasn’t come into play, regardless of the bulk of what I make not being 100% available to me. But if it were to go away completely, I could see how that would bother me. I liken it to an older person that’s been driving for years, then being told they can’t drive anymore. Having that independence removed tends to be a difficult adjustment.

Compromises

But there are compromises that we have made so far. One is I now have a debit card that is linked to my wife’s checking account. This has made it possible for me to make various store, food and other purchases without having to pull from my personal accounts. I admit that it’s helped in having some direct access to the money I make that contributes to our household.

Also, with most of my credit cards being paid out of my wife’s checking account, I still have use of them, keeping my purchases [and their amounts] to a manageable level. This helps in knowing that at least I’m financially contributing to not only what I spend, but to our overall debt.

And this also doesn’t discount that my wife and I discuss financial matters on a regular basis. Things such as major purchases are things that we debate, making sure we don’t over extend ourselves and ensuring we are both on the same page.

Bonus

The bonus to all of this is that I’ve become a much better manager of my own finances. Not that I was horrible with my money before, but I do appreciate to know more about being able to better keep track of what I spend and make. Add to that the ability that I’ve had of getting 0% credit cards to do balance transfers to reduce the amount of interest I pay, I feel a bit more liberated in being able to feel like I’ve contributed to our overall financial picture.

In The End

So while I may balk at concerns with my reduction of managing my own finances, I’ve learned to adjust with the few little bits I still have control over. And in the future, I’m sure I will try my best to be open to more changes, just as long as they are not too drastic.

It’s not that I don’t have anything to say. I’ve got lots to write about. But I’ve just not made the time or had enough motivation to write a new post. Hey, at least I’m being honest.

I’ll admit that some of it is summer related, although I can’t really blame the lack of writing on my enjoyment in the sun. Up until the last few days, we’ve hardly had any sun. Mostly rain. And lots of it. No one wants to read constant blog posts filled with complaints about how much rain there is.

So what gives? What can you tell us, Mr. Mankins? Give us the scoop.

The Future of Banal Leakage

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been contemplating making some changes out here. More than just a template update or a formatting change. And before you ask, NO, I am not shutting this place down or quit blogging. I plan to keep Banal Leakage up for as long as I have something to say. After all, the main reason I started this blog was to have a place that allowed me to write more.

But I really want to change some things about how I blog here and what I blog about. So here’s a list of the various changes I want to make.

• Scooter Sundays

This is obviously one of the parts of my blog that I enjoy doing. Sometimes there’s delays [like this week], but it’s mostly related to trying to film the various parts of each episode and putting it together to make something that not only provides entertainment to my readers, but also to me once I watch the final edits.

So while I’m working towards regularly posting each episode on a Sunday, there’s also lots of behind-the-scenes details that will provide a cleaner look, easier navigation and better video viewing options. Stay tuned.

• Regular Posts

I’ve been doing the two-posts-a-week for sometime now and sometimes only one post a week. Even for me, in my laziest of modes, it’s not enough. I need to post more and more often. And not just needing to, but wanting to. There’s a lot of topics and subjects that I think about, but then don’t share them on my blog. I want that to change.

• More Details About Me

Which leads me into my next change. I plan to share more about me. Not too deep and there’s still some subjects that are off-limits for a public blog. But there’s a lot that happens to me or things I experience that I feel like sharing. I read other’s blogs and enjoy their posts that reveal more. Peeling back a layer or two that gives insight to not only the writer, but also letting the readers give their perspective.

Don’t get me wrong… I like to entertain my readers with posts about music, movies and food. But there’s more that I’d like to write about and share with all 40 of you the collective readership here.

Other Projects

I’m also working on a myriad of other personal projects that are taking much longer than I expected. I think at times that I am spreading myself thin, but at the same time, I get another idea and think about it for a while before adding it to the mixing bowl. Of course, not all of my ideas come to fruition. Most are notes that I carry around with me on my phone. They are ideas for stories, web sites, domain names, blog posts, articles, data backup systems, exercising I need to do, places I want to travel to, drinks I’d like to make, etc… etc… etc.

Out of these hundreds of notes, there’s only been a select few that have been or are getting made into something public. A short story, a novel, a blog [you are reading it now], some short films, scooter and snowy videos and a screenplay. Then there’s those couple of “if I could complete these soon” projects that I really am putting time into, but they seem to be more involved than I imagined. Progress is moving forward, even if it is in small steps.

Nutshell

So have I confused you more than I helped clear things up? Let’s summarize the above:

• I will be posting more than two posts a week and they will be more personal and revealing.
• Scooter Sunday is here to stay, but I am working on some improvements, one of which will be revealed soon.
• I have more things to do then I have time to do them in, but I still would like to complete some of them in the near future.

All clear now? Nope? Well, then ask away in the comments. I await your perplexing questions.

Happy 4th of July to all those that celebrate it.

Enjoy good food, exciting fireworks, good times with friends and/or family and if you imbibe, please enjoy responsibly.

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE or double click on the scooter

Vimeo version – Click here.

Ten Days Old

Hard to believe I went 10 days with posting out here. It really wasn’t planned. It just sorta happened. I hope it doesn’t happen again for a long time. [the delay, not the posting of new blog posts]

Viewing Issues

If any of you are having issues watching the videos either directly on the page or from the Vimeo link, please let me know. I’m trying my best to work out any kinks or oddness as I move forward in making these videos available.

Video Streaming Problems

This last weekend, I decided to finally upgrade this blog from WordPress 2.6.5 to WordPress 2.8. I normally will wait on new versions of WordPress for a long time before upgrading, hence still being on an older release.

Most of the move was smooth and caused very few problems, namely the SEO plugin and some formatting with the display of comments [it was showing each comment twice: both 2.8 compatible comments and legacy comments].

But, I also noticed something else. The most recent Scooter Sunday video was taking forever and a day to load up in the background. What normally would take less than 20 seconds is now taking at least three minutes or longer to load up.

For anyone that’s been experiencing problems trying to watch the videos, this is resulting in the video stopping while it’s playing, which means you need to click play to start it again, which can sometimes restart the video from the beginning. Frustrating, I know.

the highlighted area above is the progress bar, showing the video downloading

In order for the video to play smoothly from start to finish, the video needs to download itself completely. From most broadband connections, this should take under 30 seconds. To tell when the video is loaded all the way, the above picture shows the highlighted progress bar. When it’s all “filled in”, it’s ready to be played. Alternatively, you can also start playing the video right away and it will should load up and play at the same time, with no need to make sure it’s loaded all the way first.

When I brought up this slowness issue to my ISP, 1and1, the support staff informed me that steaming video was not allowed and that 30mb videos were “too much traffic that infringes on the other users that are hosted on the same server.”

Um, excuse me, but my monthly hosting plan allows for up to 1.2Tb of transfer. Last month, I only used 2% of that. Logically, I could use another 98% of that and still not go over my monthly allotment. I have Scooter Sunday fans that need their videos – unedited and containing the music that goes with each episode. For now, I’ve resolved the issue by moving the videos to another server I have [coincidentally with the same ISP] and they are back to the speedy loading videos they were before.

But if for some reason, if any of you experience slow down again [or any other issues], shoot me an email via the Contact form.

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Review: Marilyn Manson “The High End of Low”

I make no apologies for being a big fan of Marilyn Manson, the band, even if the artist known as Marilyn Manson can be a mixed bag at times. But musically, I think the former Brian Warner and his collective pool of dual-named participants have made some incredible and impacting music starting in the mid 90’s and continuing into the new decade. And while I have my favorite albums – “Antichrist Superstar” “Holy Wood” and “Mechanical Animals” – I also like the band’s newer albums. But even after many listens, these new albums still don’t grab me completely. Such is the case with “The High End of Low“.

Songs that are finding their way into my favorites list are “Pretty As a ($)”, “Leave A Scar” “Running To The Edge of the World” and “Blank and White” Both musically and lyrically, these songs are catchy and have a lasting connection with what I’ve grown to like in the construction of Marilyn Manson songs.

Then there’s songs like “We’re From America” which is very clever with lines like “We don’t believe in credibility/Because we’re know that we’re fucking incredible” but with a musical tone that tends to wear out it’s welcome after a few listens. Waiting a while and going back to re-listen to the song produces a new appreciation followed by a need to give it another rest.

As for what doesn’t grab me, it’s lines like “I wanna fuck you like a foreign film/and there’s no subtitles to get you through this” from the song “I Want To Kill You Like They Do In the Movies” It’s not only cheesy, but very much over the top. I get the idea of the story here, but for me, it’s reaching in the art of songwriting, even for Manson. Same with the song “WOW” which falls apart early on, both in word and in tune. Bringing it back to the hard edge, “Wight Spider” works out the creativity by proclaiming “I’ll possess you but I don’t need you to be another one of my possessions“

I’ve played the album from start to finish at least ten times since it’s release and it’s certainly not horrible or unlistenable. It’s got a more polished finish than “Eat Me, Drink Me” has, but less of a shine than “The Golden Age Of Grotesque” played to the Manson fan more consistently. I still always go back to the song “(s)AINT” at least once a week. Hard to resist that leading-up-to-the-chorus line “I’ve got an F and a C and I’ve got a K, too/and the only thing that’s missing is a bitch like you“

So if you are already a big fan of Marilyn Manson, this album will eventually work it’s way into your playlists. And while it’s no “Antichrist Superstar”, it’s a good effort that’s worthy of welcoming Twiggy Ramirez back to the fold.

” *** “

I give it 3 out of 5 stars

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE or double click on the scooter

Vimeo version – Click Here

Sunday or Monday

Between the weather, last minute BBQ invitations at friends houses and other interruptions, the last few episodes of Scooter Sunday have been posted on a Monday. This is not intentional and I am working on getting the episode posted on Sundays again.

Going Dark Next Week

There will be no Scooter Sunday episode next week. It’s not only Father’s Day, but it’s also my one year wedding anniversary. And if I want to make it to my second anniversary and spend some quality time with my daughter, I decided it best to take the week off. Never fear, we’ll be back in two weeks with an all new episode to finish off the month of June.

I think he looks a lot better since he’s gone on a diet and off the smack

As I’ve posted before, I’m a big Howard Stern fan and have been for about 15 years. For over 7 years now, Artie Lange has been a cast member of the Howard Stern show, in the chair previously filled by Jackie Martling. The stories he tells on the radio are funny and his book is a compilation of the same and other stories. Plus, I like these kinds of books that tell a good story about someone’s life.

Artie Lange’s “Too Fat To Fish” is the book that I am going to read in 30 days [or less].

A Second Book

I’ve read some good books that were recommended by friends

As a bonus, once I’ve finsihed reading Artie’s book, I have taken a suggestion from commenter breakaway9 [known in real life as Kris] and will read “The Bookseller of Kabul” by Asne Seierstad. It sounds like a very good story about a woman who mingled in with the women of Afghanistan, telling how life really is in the Middle East.

In 30 Days

At the end of the first 30 days, I will write up a book report on “Too Fat To Fish” and give my readers a run down of how it was and if it’s worth passing on the suggestion to someone else. Stay tuned.

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE or double click on the scooter

Vimeo version – Click Here

Spot The Inconsistency

This was one of the more difficult episodes to put together and in the process of collecting all of the footage, I ended up with a consistency error [a film making term]. It happens in movies and TV shows, why not a Scooter Sunday episode. Leave a comment if you spot it. No prize, just the happy feeling inside that you caught a film making glitch.

UPDATE: the other associated term for errors in film and production is continuity.

Utah’s weather at this time of the year can be very sporadic. One minute it’s cold. The next, it’s sunny. So I thought planning an episode around the last few days of rainy weather would work. And we actually did have rain here this morning when I was still puttering about the house in my jammies. But I wasn’t prepared to hop on the scooter and go take a ride at 9:30am [although I'm sure images of me on a scooter in pajamas are making you laugh right now]. I was hoping for harder rain in the afternoon, but instead, we ended up with threatening clouds and sunshine.

So what does this mean? It means Scooter Sunday is [once again] delayed this week. Hang tight for the next few days and I’ll complete the episode and get it posted.

But all is not lost. I did actually do a video this weekend. Not scooter related, but one I think you’ll like. I know Penelope did. Head over to her blog and check it out.

Blimey! Sweet 16?!

[ Clicking the above link will take you to a new window to It's Me Penelope's blog ]