Still Cool Like That...

So my boy Sean calls me like a month ago and says, "Digable Planets is playing in Asheville." I remember Rebirth of Slick playing first as a "great find" then ad nausem on the Macs at the Ram Shop in some student computer bundle back in the `93. I was still a fan of their music and it sounded like a nice road trip, so I was in.

I must say from the scenic drive to the venue to the crowd to Ladybug. It was a great show. Digable Planets did not invent jazz-hip hop fusion but they certainly perfected their sound to take advantage of it. For those unfamiliar with the sound or the group, check out this snippet Rebirth of Slick (Cool like that) at Amazon.com.

I was profoundly impressed with the energy of the group and the interest of the crowd. Although, the band has not produced new music in like 9 years, it was great to see them on stage without losing a step, especially with a live band as backup. They have been busy on solo projects with less than stellar results which why fans should be excited that this tour is likely to be the beginning of a Re-Rebirth of Slick with Digable Planet reunited. New Music was promised for Spring 2006.

Just a word about the venue - the Orange Peel. If you have ever been afraid of touching anything when you go to see a band for fear of getting stuck to it or worse, the Orange Peel was a welcome change to the blackened interiors of other college night spots. Of course, I am an old married guy, and it may seem a seem a little commercial to some. Clean restrooms, being given a plastic card as a marker for your tab instead of yelling to get your ID back, and visible "orange shirted" staff could be a sign of the decline of the local bar or maybe it is just the kind of change needed to get us old money spending 30-somethings out and about.

Only downside:
I would have like to see more merchandise. I mean if you are going to sign CDs and such....Have "CDs and such" of what you just performed.

Special thanks to Hunter for putting us up for the night.


Solo Projects Websites:

Lady Bug
www.ladybugmecca.com

Butterfly
www.cherrywine.net

Doodlebug
www.ceeknowledge.com

Most info grabbed from:
www.gracenote.com and http://www.digable-planets.prv.pl/ - the unofficial website of Digable Planets

Daylight Savings Time Weekend in Boone

I am not sure whay I am even posting this. Hopefully, this will be my last "just a couple pictures with no substance" post. I am working like three jobs (that I will post about later) and I am still trying to make time to play WoW. I did take time to drive up to Boone Fork Trail in Boone, NC with the dogs and Jayne to grab some apples and some exercise.

Note to all: I really need a travel corkscrew. Kinda ruined the picnic when we could not open the wine.

Also notice the DiggNation RSS Feed on the Left.

Toast

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Originally uploaded by phalston.

Napa was an excellent place to spend our honeymoon. We have too many picutres to post but I would like the show off the toast. We both want to again thank our family and friends for the love, support, and presents. We hope that each of you will visit and share all the wine that we bought.

Little Chapel of Flowers

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Originally uploaded by phalston.

Just in case you were wondering if it was really a Vegas Wedding...The photographer in standing on the sidewalk of Las Vegas Blvd and we are facing an Eckerd.

Together

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Originally uploaded by phalston.

I promised to get pictures of the wedding on the web so here I go. First of all, I would like to catch everyone up on what has happened in my life in the past month. I turned thirty recently and now I have an excuse as to why my knees pop and I am losng my hair. The Bachelor/ Birthday party was great. Thanks to all especially for the T-Shirt from Erin. I will post a picture whenever Sean sends it. So then I quit my job at UNC. It is great to start anew here in Charlotte but I already miss my friends and fam in RDU. So then off to get married...

Nothing is less romantic than going to a courthouse in a major US city to get a marriage license. Jayne wasn't pregnant and I was not getting deported so we felt a little out of place. But later we got to dress up and have the ceremony. I am glad so many of you got to watch it live or slightly delayed. I will figure a way to post the video someday. I have the DVD if anyone wants to see it.

Here are some pictures of Vegas and the Wedding....Enjoy.

Elvis_maybe.JPG

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Originally uploaded by phalston.

While in Vegas...We had to see at least one Elvis. There were fifty there this night on the Old Strip.

NYNY Hotel and Casino

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Originally uploaded by phalston.

I promised pictures...so here you go...Here is the Hotel we stayed in. If you go to Vegas, do NOT stay here. See the roller coaster? Right outside of the window. Stay at Paris or save up stay at the Bellagio or Wynn. Just my two cents...

DML, DDL Let's mix them

I am writing this to remind myself that I hate SQL Server. I like writing SQL and but I hating coding it in SQL Server. Here is the reminder:

select * into New_Table from Old_Table where y="stupid"

instead of:

create table new_table as Select * from Old_Table where y="much more logical syntax"

Mixing the roles of DDL and DML syntax is wrong. Plain ol' wrong...

At least one someone else thinks SQL Server is Stupid... 10 Things I Hate about SQL Server (All Rights to the Poster)

We had a ball this weekend

Sending Chris off to College - Go Gamecocks, the Ballard brood came to visit. Otis and Sophie were also graced with the presence of Coco. All in all, we had a ball.

My first SAS Post

I installed SAS 9.13 for Windows successfully. I also installed SAS Enterprise Guide. I had to use the new SID even though the University instructions tellyou to use the a different method. It seems like they think you already have SAS installed. With the SID, I was able to install SAS from the CDs.

Enterprise Guide was also easy to install but gives errors when I close it. I have not finished troubleshoting this out of the way. I think if it is set up correctly it could benefit users who would like to run SAS but are little afraid or unfamiliar with it. You could even deliver code to the user and have them open it int he more graphical SAS Enterprise Guide.

By the by, I was able to attend SUGI 30 this year. Wow, what a party. I want to say thanks to Sharon and Hien for the co-authorship, content, and friendship during the trip. Here is our paper presentation.

Paper 187-30: Jeff Wright, Patrick H. Alston, Sharon Schiro, Tim Walters
PreMIS: Pre-hospital Medical Information System

Almost perfect dogs... 

Otis in Blue, Sophie in Red...