Roots Retrospective (Part I): Do You Want More?!!!??!

Release Date: January 17, 1995










Track Listing
Intro/There's Something Goin' On
Proceed
Distortion to Static
Mellow My Man
I Remain Calm
Datskat
Lazy Afternoon
? vs. Rahzel
Do You Want More?!!!??!"
What Goes On Pt. 7
Essaywhuman?!!!??!
Swept Away
You Ain't Fly
Silent Treatment
The Lesson Part 1
The Unlocking

Strangely I can't find this album in my iTunes library.  I have to wonder if there's a stray disk somewhere in my collection that has not been assimilated. Anyway, I can't say that there are any particular standout tracks on this album. Overall, it does sound just a little bit dated but there are some marquee tracks on this one that really characterize the essence of  The Roots. Proceed, Do You Want More and Silent Treatment have to be some of most classic songs on this album.

Next Up: The 1996 Release Illadelph Halflife

Do you want more of that illadelph game theory before things fall apart?

Hands down one of my favorite groups of all time.  There are only two groups who's albums I would buy without having heard a single track or review.  The Roots are one of those groups.

Well, to be fair, I haven't heard or purchased Wake Up! a collaboration with John Legend. I am not a huge fan of Organix but everything from Do You Want More?!!!??!  to How I Got Over will forever have a place on my iPod.

I had a buddy ask me to put together some new (to him) music and I immediately asked him if he had heard any Roots tracks.  He had heard a few, liked some, but not all.  I agreed to put together a recommended playlist for him but with so much music (8 albums in my collection anyway) I didn't really know how to pull my favorite tracks for him.  Well...I thought I would just go through each album, list the tracks and just highlight the ones I liked and why.  I figured if I was going to go through that much effort, I might as well document it.

This is clearly too much for one post...so I'll just start with Do You Want More?

Products of Our Environment

I don't think that anyone would argue that many of their traits came directly from their parents.  No breakthroughs there.  I am sure you notice it in your everyday life.  Perhaps it's how you talk, your sense of humor, how you cook, your music preferences...the list goes on and on.

What's interesting to me though are the inverse tendencies that are just as powerful as the direct tendencies we inherent from our parents.   One example, growing up we were always late going places.  Not just a little late every once in a while...always late, and sometimes hours late.  I think as a results I have this inherent animosity towards being late.  Not to the point that I am neurotic about it, and sure, I still get caught up from time to time and don't leave the house when I really should, but most of the time...I would much rather be ready early and get where I am going with time to spare.  That being said, I still drive way too fast (like my dad) and I will delay folding laundry for as long as I can (like my mom).

What about you...do you have any reverse tendencies as a result of your childhood?

Scoreboard Update

I may not be using my EE degree on a daily basis, but it does come in handy when it's time to put together a serious project.  My polo scoreboard is coming together quite nicely.  Here's a couple of pictures.  

Here's the backside of the scoreboard.  No, it's not Coke powered.  It's there for scale.

Here's the business end of the scoreboard.  4 digits for time and a game can be set from 3:00 to 30:00 minutes.  1 digit for each of the scores. 

A little shot in the dark.

Another behind the scenes view.

Denver Veloswap...

...is only the world's largest consumer bicycling and sports expo.

But that didn't really give me an idea of what to expect.  All I knew is that back in March a local cyclist told me to keep an eye out for it.  So I did.  I found the date and set it on my calendar.  All I could gather was that it was going to be an epic gear swap of old, new and in-between cycling gear.  Individuals, shops, retailers would all be there to peddle their wares.

We wanted to get there when the doors opened so at 6:00 AM on Saturday morning we rolled out of Choice City to The Mile High to start our morning at a great little diner. We got to the doors about 45 minutes before they opened and we had a pretty good spot in line.  It wasn't quite backed up to the freeway yet (but it didn't take long to get there).

So...it seems like there are two strategies, but before I talk strategy...I've gotta talk layout.  As you walk in, you first go through all of the major manufacturers and sponsors...we are talking about folks like Rudy Project, Subaru...then you get to the big retailers (Mavic, Panda Bike, Full Cycle, Big Shot Bikes) then it starts to get to the guys with piles and piles of used shit, well it's not all used.  Clearly some of the gear might be unused stuff from a sponsor, or maybe some equipment that has one season of use, or stuff that was ridden within an inch of its life.  There's also a LOT of really vintage stuff out there.  I was looking for some odds and ends and was definitely ready to pounce on a good deal if one popped up.

Right, so strategy...it's really not that complex.  Either you can start at the front and work your way back or bolt to the back and work your way forward. I opted to head for the used stuff since I was looking for a deal on some mechanical brakes.

This shot gives you an idea of what the inside looked like.

I actually only spent $25 at the expo but I did score two Avid BB7's with levers, a nice ear warmer and two blinky lights.  Not a bad take for 25 bucks.  J managed to raid the Pearl Izumi women's medium bin to find several pairs of shorts (including two baggies) and three pairs of socks for one Mr. Benjamin.  She also scored 4 handlebars for 5 dollars.

I'll definitely be back next year, ready to deal.  It may actually be worth getting a vendor pass to get in the doors a little early so I don't have to battle the masses next year.  It was amazing how many people piled into the building in just 20 minutes.  I think also for next year, I may actually print out the map.  I got disoriented more than once and J had to navigate me to the guy with the $5 disk rotors...I would have been in the far corner with the 65 year old couple trying to sell their trek tandem for $650.

Oh, this was pretty awesome too.

Simplify

from Wikipedia...

In mathematics and algebra, "simplify" means to "make more simple" by means of reducing, combining, completing operations, or solving.

But in this case I am talking about simplifying life...specifically, my life.  Starting a new job leaves one with limited resources (i.e. time and energy) with which to do other things.  And if it's one thing I like to do...it's "other things".

So I've been thinking a lot lately about ways to simplify my life.  So far I've come up with a few ideas...Not in any particular order of importance.

Purge Redundant and Unused Items

This one is pretty simple.  I just need to look around and  There's a dyson vacuum to my left that just won't get used. It only works okay and we recently picked up a Kenmore that works great and fits our need better anyway.  About 2 feet from that Dyson is a GoPro camera.  It's a great little device but I so rarely do all of the prep to use it and post processing to actually view the videos that it's really just a drain on my time and space.

Batch Processing

I kind of like to let stuff pile up anyway.  Laundry, dishes, whatever.  Maybe those aren't great examples, but there are plenty of things that take some amount of setup or breakdown time so it's not worth just doing it once.  Ironing clothes and cooking are the first things to come to mind.

Prioritize

This kind of connects back to the Purging stuff.  I like projects, and I also love to start a project as soon as I think of it.  Unfortunately this often leaves me with two things 1) unfinished projects that I am not excited about and 2) more projects at once than I really have time for.  So, I am really trying to get through project A before I start into project B.  On that note, the Polo Scoreboard has been making some good progress lately.

Day Twelve - Getting Down to the Wire

My last Friday as a free man was fairly uneventful.  I made a quick run to the bank for some direct deposit paperwork, drove J's mom up to the reservoir to hike around a bit and check out the view of town from ~500ft above and wrapped up with some delicious Japanese food at Jeju's.  With the huge lack of excellent restaurants in town, it was quite refreshing to find one that pleased all three of the diners.  Watch out for the Spicy Tuna Roll though...it's not just a Tuna Roll with kick, they kind of make the tuna into a paste.  Not really ideal.  However, the Samurai Roll is well worth the $14 or whatever it happens to be...that was quite delicious...and elaborate.  I wish I had taken a picture.  Maybe next time.

Note: Not actual Samurai Roll that I consumed but a pretty good recommendation (foreground)

I am starting to wonder which of my many bags is acceptable in a business-casual environment.  I may just have to go with the classic Timbuk2 messenger...at least until I get the scratch for a RE Load waxed canvas bag!

Day Eleven - Cleaning & Driving

We've got family coming in to town which means two things.  1) Get the place ready for presentation and 2) acquire said family.  I did get a good amount of cleaning done...although the Dyson suddenly died as I was vacuuming the sunroom.  I guess I'll have to look at that at some point.  I also whipped up some delicious BBQ and some mediocre mac & cheese.  It's my first attempt at M&C and I was a little rushed, so it's kind of mushy and lacking flavor.  I'll nail it next time.  The pulled pork was delicious...as always.

Day Ten - Lots of Packages Today

I ordered a few things last week (this of course has nothing to do with the fact that I am expecting a steady inflow of cash soon) and everything arrived today.

First was a small collection of Chris King Bling.  I got the replacement bearing for the one I destroyed last week and a few finely machined tools to work on my creaking bottom bracket.  Since I was stranded most of the day yesterday with the Honda in the shop, I took the opportunity to run some errands.  Two bike shops, two hardware stores, one grocery store, two department stores and Jimmy Johns somewhere in the middle.

The second item to arrive was a tiny camera I got off of Ebay.  I've actually wanted an inexpensive really small camera for a while.  I already have a digital camera but it's too big and clunky to stick in a pocket or carry on rides in a useful way.

Last but not least was a none-too-soon supply of tea.  I was getting dangerously low and needed to replenish.  I can't wait to sample some of these bad boys!

Eight & Nine - Dark Hours

The last two days are a perfect example of not being able to recall what I "did".  I mean, it's not like I sat on the couch all day.  It's just that I didn't really do anything of consequence, hence it doesn't stick in my brain, hence, I can't recall what I did.  So when I try to recount, it feels like I completely lost two days of my life.

Fortunately, that's not the case.  Monday was pretty chill.  I think I just did some cleaning around the house in the anticipation of some possible poker (which did not end up panning out).  I also confirmed that my Honda was in fact leaking a little bit of fluid onto the driveway.  The funny thing is that I thought it was from the plumber's visit last week.  I never saw his car, but I assumed a plumber would have an old truck and assumed that old truck would be leaking oil in my driveway.  (I don't even know if he parked in the driveway).  I only noticed because sometime in the last couple of weeks I cleaned up the driveway a bit and now I can park in a different spot.  Who knows how long I've been leaking fluid(s) and how long it would have taken me to notice if I just parked in the same spot all the time.

Anyway, that takes me to Tuesday.  First thing I did was drop the car off at the mechanic down the street (which is quite convenient). It turns out I was leaking fluid from the clutch slave cylinder and I also needed a radiator hose replaced.  That actually grounded me for most of the day so I cleaned a bit more, worked a little more on the polo scoreboard project (making some good progress there) and after picking up the car I went for a short MTB ride.  So, nothing monumental, and nothing really worth mentioning when someone asks "So, what did you do today?"

Even this post isn't worth tagging with a label...