I'm cobbling together a live audio setup with a couple of low powered amps, various mixers, and four wedge 10" monitors for an outdoor audio performance. I need a bunch of cable and buying pre-fabricated cables will break the bank, so I'm looking to make my own cables. The cables will be used to run to the speakers and for interconnection between mixers and effects processors. Everything uses 1/4" connectors. The longest cable run, for the speakers, is in the 30-40 foot range. I was looking at this cable.

Is there any specific type of bulk cable I should look at buying? Will the cable I linked to above work? Does anyone know of a better place to find lower prices on bulk cable?

...it's time for an update for my non-triber blog friends. Not that I've been posting much over there lately.

So, what's been going on with me, eh?

Well, I lost my job last month, or rather, I know exactly where it is, but I don't have to go there anymore. My company laid off about 1000 employees and I was one of the lucky ones that got to go. I truly hated that job and it couldn't have come at a better time. I got a nice severance package and I have a golden opportunity to really make my practice take off.

I'm moving to San Diego. I rented an apartment down there already. It's just a matter of packing up and getting my stuff down there. I've begun the process and I'm trashing things that I've been hauling around for years. There's something quite liberating about it. I've become so much less attached to "things" over the years and this is the second and final part of the big cleanse of the old. I'm only keeping clothes, kitchen stuff, musical gear, burning man gear, snowboard gear, books, furniture, decor, & entertainment stuff (TV, DVD's, XBox, etc), and computers. It might read like a big list, but it's really not much. I've already given away and thrown out a bunch of stuff, but I've still got more to go. It sure will be nice to have less boxes to pack and unpack. I can't believe how much crap I've collected over the years and just couldn't let go of, even after doing a big clean out before my last move.

My apartment in San Diego is pretty nice. It's a one bedroom in a small nicely landscaped complex. There's a built in bookshelf & cabinet in the living room. Good closet space with a linen closet in the hall and a full wall of closet in the bedroom. Lots of cabinet and counter space in the kitchen. Parking spot, a small storage cabinet, and on-site laundry facilities. It's only half a block from my very good friend's apartment, a block and half from other friends, and less than a mile from several others. Best of all, it's only three blocks from the beach. I've been wanting to move near the beach for several years now, specifically to San Diego after meeting all of my friends at Burning Man that live around the Ocean Beach area. (If you look at the pic of the surfer's on the pier, you see that it leads into a residential neighborhood. I'm three blocks straight up the street from the pier.)

I'm not going to look for a new job right away when I get down there. I have until summer before money becomes a big issue, so I'm going to make a go at getting my practice started. I figure I'll never have a better time to do it than right now with a decent balance in the bank and loads of time available to make it go. The area that I'm moving to is very bohemian and accepting of non-traditional healing modalities, so I think I'm situated very well geographically for this type of business.

Big things happening. I feel like the last few years of my life have been leading up to this. I'm so excited and can't wait to start fresh in a new city.

Here we go with Round 3. Interesting changes.

January 3, 2007

I typed this up in response to a thread in the LA Burners tribe, but I thought it might be helpful for others who don't read there. Feel free to pass it along to anyone who might find value in it.

Here's what I've found through years and years of battling my social anxiety. Some of it may apply. Some of it may not. Take what's useful and leave the rest.

-Most people don't see the things about me that I don't like.
-Most people have just as many things about themselves that they don't like as I have about myself.
-People's impression of me is often a reflection of my impression of me. If I like myself, other's will too.
-Paradoxically, people often think more of me than I think of myself.
-It's ok to not be perfect. I never will be perfect so I can't wait until I am to start making friends.
-Most people are just as eager to make new friends as I am.
-I'm not imposing on someone by trying to start a friendship.
-Not everyone is going to like me and that's ok. How I feel about myself is more important than how some stranger feels about me. Just because they don't like, doesn't mean I like myself any less.
-Some people are not worth being friends with. Their negativity has nothing to do with me personally.
-Rejection is not something to take personally. If someone rejects me after meeting them, they haven't even taken the time to get to know me. There's no way it CAN be personal.
-I am worthy of being liked and loved. Anyone who says different is telling me more about themselves than about me.

...I wish I could update both journals at the same time. I spend more time over at tribe.net because of the discussion forums, so I usually end up posting to my blog over there. Anyhow, here's a quick recap of what I've posted lately.

(The blog is located here for those who want to read the full entries. Most are non-friend locked, but just add me if you have an account over there or make one. Tribe is cool. Like LJ with discussion groups.)

( a bunch of links )

( 100 things )

This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club. Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.

( Read more... )

"...I was not acknowledging my shadow side. I had always tried to be the best person I could be, and now was being told I was a criminal! I began to realize that I certainly had some imperfections within me."

Excepted from the Oct. 5, 2006 update on What's Up On Planet Earth

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and eternity."

From The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

When a ray of light breaks through the clouds,
their dramatic filtering only makes the light more beautiful by contrast,
just as we can shine more brightly in the midst of life's challenges.

-excerpted from the The Daily Om

Dear LJ,

I have a confession to make. I've been unfaithful. You see it started off innocently enough. After my audio board folded in January I was without a forum to post to on a daily basis. So, I started looking for a new place to frequent. That's when I found Tribe.net and the huge Burning Man community that congregates there. I began posting there intending to only discuss BM stuff. Before I knew it though, things had escalated. My group of friends grew and one day it just sort of happened. I started blogging there.

I'm so ashamed. You'll never know how sorry I am to have hurt you so. It is possible for me to post to two journals without showing favoritism to one or the other though. If you just give it a chance, I know we can make it work!

-Craig

( so what has been going on with me lately )