IntegrityWebDev

My advice if you are getting a tattoo, think about it before you do it. Think hard. I have two and want 2 more and I’m glad I have mine.

I am not sure where I heard this but I got this advice that i would agree with (although I didn’t follow it exactly).

Find what you want, print it out, put it up on your bathroom mirror or somewhere you will see it EVERY DAY. Look at it every day. In 1 year if you aren’t sick of it then get it.

Another piece of advice I think it was Brian Setzer (Stray Cats, “Jump, Jive and Wail”) gave once was never get one where a judge can see it. :-)

I got my first on around 97 or so. I had known for a year or two what I would get if I got one. The decision to get it was a bit spontanious but I knew WHAT I wanted and WHERE I wanted it.

Being a Christian, I wanted something that was a conversation starter, something interesting a little mysterious. So my first one was the phrase “I KNOW THE TRUTH” on the inside of my right ankle. It is in a simple script, 1 color about 3/8” tall. Nothing fancy.

Here were my experiences with my first one: I found the font I wanted but I really think the guy bobbled a bit because it sort of looks like “I KNOW THE TRVTH”. That one was not pleasant feeling but it was easily bearable and over in a matter of minutes.

Within a week I knew the next one I wanted once I saw it in a clip art book. I know what you are thinking…clip art book? But yeah, its an image of Jesus with a crown of thorns and blood coming down. It’s hard to see because its a bit abstract (some people never get it) and its also a bit tribal looking. See the picture.

Even though I knew then it was 2002 or so before I got it. It’s on the outside of my right ankle. Two color, about 4×4” with some “fill in” work. It took about 45 minutes and IT HURT A LOT. I will not lie. This one HURT. HURT. HURT. HURT.

I got them both on my right ankle around sock level because that way I can control who sees them. Pants=no see. Shorts with taller socks=no see. Barefoot and sandles=see. Not that I care but it just wasn’t for me to get them on my arms, back etc.

I don’t have to look at them all the time but I can sport them when I want to. A friend got a superman emblem the same day I got my first one and he got it on his right arm. Has regretted it ever sense. Never wears shirts that show it off.

Me, I don’t regret it at all. I like them. They are an expression of me. They generate interesting conversations with people, includingt he people I got them from.

Make really sure if you want them or not. Once you get one, chances are you will want more. My biggest advice is if you do get one, get it somewhere you dont see all the time. You will know after you get it whether you regret it or not. Ankle, back, back of leg etc…these are good places to start.

Do I want more? I think so. For about 2 years now I’ve been chewing on getting “blessed” and “holy” on the lower parts of my calves…either in Japanese or Hebrew. I have to decide that part before I get it.

PHP is a great language. After a few years of HTML and some previous experience with other programming languages (BASIC, C etc) I started delving into PHP.

Compared to other languages PHP has a great learning curve and the Internet is filled with examples that will help you along.

Even now that I work for a company that hosts on Windows servers running ASP.NET, I like it and ASP.NET can do some neat/flashy stuff but PHP is a more solid workhorse for me right now.

Plus it costs you nothing to get into it (you can write PHP code in notepad). So that is a good attractor for a lot of would-be programmers…it was for me!

PHP is great language and a great place to start. Even if I didn’t have previous experience I think PHP would be the best place to start in programming.

A lot of people inside and outside of music underestimate the bass guitar and its role within a band and within a musical setting in general.

It is true that a band of any kind can exist without a bass guitar…just as it’s true that a band can exist with out a singer, drummer, piano player or (gasp!) even a guitar.

But the bass guitar is very fundamental to the sound in a lot of styles of music and should not be overlooked or minimized.

Bass is an instrument that is very easy to pick up and learn but it is an instrument you can spend your whole life learning and never master.

A lot of guitar players falsely assume that because they are a good guitar player they can very easily be proficient at bass. Because the instruments are set up very similarly this may be true to some extent, but the role and execution of bass guitar is vastly different than that of a lead or supporting guitar in a musical setting.

Bass gutiar generall has a specific function in modern music and resides at a specific location in the musical spectrum. The bass works closely with drums in a lot of settings to create a very tight rhythmic bed. In some cases where drums and/or percussion is not present the bass will make up not only a rhythmic bed but also a percussive bed for the music.

Bass guitar can be a supporting instrument and can also be used as a lead or even solo instrument. Several well known bassists have brought the instrument to the forefront of music.

If you are approaching bass for the first time, take heart that it is easy to pick up and with practice you can be playing in no time. For those that seek a challenge, bass can be an extremly rewarding experience for you as well, as the accomplished bassist must have a thorough knowledge of scales, modes, rhythms, timing, expression, advanced chording and many more higher level subjects in music theory.

But abvoe all have fun!