Mr. Starbucks himself

On Tuesday I got to meet Howard Shultz. He's the first billionaires hand I have ever shaken. It was pretty cool because I was the first roaster technician he bumped into when he came through our department, so we actually were able to talk for about 5 minutes. Most people only got a hand shake and off he went so I was lucky to just chat with him. Anyway that was a cool highlight for the week and he is one cool guy who knows his coffee and loves it. One fact I learned is that his personal favorite coffee is Sumatra and he drinks it all the time. He also owns a green jet that he flew in on.

Before he left he spent about 1 hour talking to the plant about what Starbucks is all about and how we play such an important role in the development of the company. I learned more in his speech than in any college class as to what it means to have a business mind and how a business leader leads. Good stuff that I found very enlightening.

We also got to hear from him about the latest and greatest to come available as Starbucks expands. There is some cool stuff, so stay tuned for developing products to try out.

What am I up to?

Well, I am still tackling a music project that seems to keep challanging me to grow as a musician every day. When I first decided to persue a compiling of songs on a plastic disk, it was going to be instrumental and I was going to be the a solo guitar artist like my influences :Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci... It has pretty much evolved away from that completely. I figured at the time, I would be able to find people who like that type of music and I would be able to connect with a drummer, basser, guitarer who were just as enthused to go for that musical approach. Slowly that died off and I started to write stuff that is more toward lyrical based song construction. I started to listen to more and more stuff that has words and I really started to enjoy the style and emotion that a voice can bring to music. This was a bit new to me because when I started music I was 100% set on instrumental rock stuff. I look back at it now as a musical growth that has made me more rounded and thus, no harm done and I make out better for it. Cool beans.

Well, through this progression as a writer I have found as difficult to gather a group together to where I can just be: Firstly, a strong guitar playing force and Secondly a strong song writing force in the band.

"Oh well" Sayith I, "It's just struggles that I am certain many people go through in searching so I'll just keep pressing forth the way I have."

More and more I found that doing just those roles was not enough and I have to expand and adapt. Which reminds me, I remmember one of my best college teachers I had at UNR saying, "Do you guys know what the definition to insanity is= Doing the same things over an over and over and expecting a different result."

That came to me at a good time and I am trying to approach things in different ways.

Well this kinda brings things up to date without to much intense detail. Basically, now I've taken a step back to look at things and I am find myself pushing to take on the many roles that make up the sound in a song.

One, I am writing drums on my computer and learning the advantages and disadvantages of that process. Two, I am writing bass guitar parts (until I go buy a bass guitar and just play it myself) which also has advatages and disadvantages. Three, I'm also trying to push my guitar playing and writing skills as far as I creatively can taking into considereration all the drums and bass that I will have to come up with to fit the guitar parts. Trust me, it has limitations. Lastly, I am now trying to sing to all the crazyness that I have been realeasing out of my emotions and through my guitar. I am finding this part of me to be the most challenging and daunting task. Until the last couple months, I have never really tried out my vocal wings, especially to the music I have come up with. It's a bit hard to pick it up and and try and match up with my other abilities that I have been working on for 2-6 years. It's a bit frustrating because it is now really the last piece that I have in order to accomidate the music I have written. At the same time it's scary, kind of like my first attempts at soloing on guitar or my first attempt at public speaking. I am reluctant to letting anyone hear what I have attempted. Only the few have heard hints of stuff. Also, it's not just average singing that I want to hear with this music. Thus, I am very critical of myself when I listen back to it and I decide whether I have what it takes for the voice at the center of this music. It's definitely new ground for me. It's scary and I struggle with my faith in it but I am going at it with the mindset that, quote, "Sometimes you have to jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down."

All in all, What am I really up to? Either, I am pushing myself or being pushed through all the musical challenges I have faced and I am still uncertain but interested in how it will pan out.

Woopie That's two blogs in 7 months for me. Talk to you next spring.

PIPE DREAMS

First off, this post does not have anything to do with MJ and MJ pipes and me dreaming about MJ in my pipes.

It actually has to do with my job. More and more I realize that my job at times is a lot like a video game. Recently, there has been a lot of cool construction going on at the SBUX Plant. There are more pack lines, box conveyors and big robots being installed. This place is so automated and pretty fun to be around and work with.

Basically, my part (my job) in this process of providing for all you SBUX consumers is to control a coffee roast to perfection on a computer while controling coffee flow through the system. Todays post is about the coffee flow part. I use to play this game at my cousins house (Dave H.) called Pipe Dreams. Basically, it was one of those mixed up slide puzzled (similar to the picture above) where you slide the pieces around to align the picture only this was a bunch of piping. I loved this game because you had to align it really fast because about 30 seconds later the ooze at the begining of the piping would start pouring through the path that the player was creating. That's my job in a nutshell a lot of the times. At my work I have to account that I have the coffee available to roast, I have to roast it and then get it to the proper pack line. In between all the coffee loading equipment, the coffee roasting equipment and the pack lines is a sea of pipes that direct where the coffee is going. So basically I am playing playing Pipe Dreams throughout my shift and each day I have to beat the game and then pass it off to another roaster to try and beat the game. Basically a vidoe game is about control and getting past situations in the environment that the game puts you in. My job acually has a similar feel and environment which makes it a neat place to be because I have always been around video games growing up.

The thing that makes it even more of a challenge is that it's real life and if you make mistakes which can happen it causes all sort of additional fun:).

A Third Impression

This may not make me popular with people, but since when have I ever been popular anyway. Today I gave In-And-Out Burger it's third opportunity in my whole life to try and give me a reason to believe that they make something worth eating. It came to me as no suprise as I ate this Animal Style meal that I was not to overjoyed at what it tasted like when placed in my mouth. What is it that I am not tasting that all others seem to fall for. I am not very picky at all when it comes to food but I think I have no choice but to stay Out-and not go-In.

Good Stuff

I recently thought that I was going to be unable to play worship at the church anymore due to a schedule change at my work. It really was a bummer to have to even think that I was going to need to stop because I figured for sure I would be on the weekend shift. In fact, it was mentioned that everyones schedule will change in order to cover the new work load. We are increasing production and the roasters are having to cover a seven day work week. I just recently learned of my schedule from my superviser today. My supervisor told me, "It's the strangest thing but we went through our scheduling system and have come up with our scheduling and you are the only one who's schedule did not change." I was shocked and the first thing that came to mind was being able to play on Sundays at our times of worship. Thus I said to myself today, "Don't count things out so soon."

I Reek of Beans

Well if you didn't know already I have started working for CVRP (Carson Valley Roasting Plant) as a Startbuck roaster. It's been quite an eye opener as to what goes into the Starbucks product. They hold such high standards to maintain a consistent product and I am right where that all takes place in the roasting control room at the plant. There are so many different types of coffee and blends that are roasted that all have a unique flavor and quality that no other company has come to achieve and they keep pushing for better. I know so much more about coffee that I never would have thought about and I have never really been much of a coffee person. This is no longer the case since
I have been surrounded by experts that know everything about the anatomy of a bean and how it reacts and changes over a roasting period. It's very detail is all that I can say.

On a side note and in response to the title of the blog (which has nothing to do with the magical fruit), everyone of us has probrably been to a Starbucks and instantly smells the scent of roasted beans once you walk into the place. Well, when you are at a plant it's just like that but multiplied by millions of pounds of coffee that is at it freshest point once roasted. Not only do I marinate in the air all day, but every once in awhile (just about every day) you have to go in and clean out under the roasters and all sorts of bean particles are pretty much raining on you as you clean so it gets all over me. If you didnt know, coffee is very oily and this stuff sticks to just about anything especially humans. When I am at the job I am used to the smell once I am a couple hours into the shift, but once I get home and get out of my work cloths I just reek of the stuff. It's not a bad smell obviously, but it's probrably as potent as going into a Casino and rolling around on the carpet for eight hours.

Well those are my thoughts. I do have more in my head but this is long enough.

X-06

Wow has anyone had a glance at the latest X-MEN Movie trailer. That movie is going to wipe the floor with anything else that's slated to come out so far. I would toss out a link but I am sure you can all find your way to it's location. (Hint: When in doubt think Google. Or try quicktime movie trailers) Hope you all have a good weekend and if you have a chance take a gander at this trailer.

This was the Age speaking..... out.

Invisible Voice

I have been reading everyone's blogs for awhile now and I have started to realize more than ever an interesting thing that I do. In fact, I am sure this is nothing new to anyone and others may even do the same thing. I couldn't help but notice recently that whenever I am reading someones writings I actually hear their voice when I read it. For example, if it's Dave Harders blog I'm reading, I hear his voice in my head saying the words not my own. It's weird but I do this for eveyone's blog. It's amazing to me how I am so intune to each and everyones voice and that they are all so individually unique or different much like a finger print. I can't help the voice I hear even if I try to hear my own voice. The writters voice will always take precedence over my own voice. It's just amazing to me that in the silence of reading or thinking that I can hear everyone so loud and clear. It's like that saying,"If a tree fall in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" Well to me it does because I have heard what a tree would sound like if it fell and I would apply that to that event. Furthermore, this also works with books on me. If I went and read any Lord of the Rings Books now I probrably couldn't help but hear Elija Woods voice as Frodo or Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn Strider. It's a part of me that's so intune to a voice that it will stay with me where it applies.

Now you may be asking, "What about the people's voices you haven't heard?"

I have put this one to the test before. I have read other peoples blogs or writtings or books and I heard a totally separate voice that I haven't heard. It's just bizzar to me that I will put a random voice to the words. Then I go and actually meet the person or hear the person on t.v. for the book, and I find I am way off sometimes and sometimes I am very close on others. It's a strange thing to experience. Then I got to thinking about the Bible and the different people in it. When I read this I have put different voices in my head that apply to the person that is talking. I'm sure we all do this but I wonder just how off I am with some of the voices. A voice is a very important thing because it gives us recognition of someone or something even when they are not there and we can't see them. So I am left to wonder at times, is the voice in my head of Jesus when he speaks in the bible really accurate at all. Every time I read his teachings I hear the same voice. I couldn't really describe the tonality to you because it's hard. I would be saying something like:"well it's a manly voice and it's sort of soft with a bit of low end to it etc." That doesn't really help a whole lot for someone who is trying to understand how I hear the tonality of his voice It would even be hard to describe a persons voice that I have heard like Dave Harders to someone who hasn't heard it for themselves and really get accross to that person what it really sound like. I just wonder how off or maybey how close or even how bias it may be when it comes to the tonality of the voice of Jesus or God or Moses or Goliath or David's or anyone from any book. I wonder how a person of a different culture may hear the voice. For example, they may hear the voice in Hispanic sounding voice or a Russian type voice or even an ebonics or asian or greek or Irish or Italian or whatever style of tonality because they all have a certain timber or tamber to the sound. Much like one accoustic guitar will sound different than the next.

Anyway that's all I got for this log.

Oh, one last thing because I have to ask you. Did you hear my voice as you were reading this?

Olympics

I am pretty excited about the Olympics this year. It starts this Friday and I will probrably be glued to the T.V. when it is on. I love watching all the events and seeing competition and rivals go at it. I especially enjoy the bobsledding, downhill skiing, speed skating, snowboarding and Hockey events. So pretty much anything dealing with speed or lots of airtime. I just hope it's not on at a weird time of day where I can't watch the stuff since its over in Italy. I also look forward to the Winter Olympics because I know in the same year the World Cup is happening and it's a double treat. With events like this the Super Bowl means little to my entertainment value. Question: What events if any do you like to watch in the Olympics?

Any Takers

Last week was the closest I have ever come to a baby shower. My sister had her shower for her new born to be and it was a bit scary to see what goes on during this party process. Mind you this was only a glimpse that I caught of what was going down. Prepared were 10 diapers each with different chocolates that were melted into what mimics a filled diaper. Then these are passed around the room to be smelled in close proximity by the participants. With no other means other than their nose (unless they sneek a lick) they have to guess what mess smelled like what chocolate. Simply Amazing...

X-Box Vs. Atari

My brother-in-law the other day brought home an Atari from Target and it has been the coolest game system I have played in a long while. I have been playing Pong and Asteroids and Centipede for last couple of days and it has been bliss. One button with a joystick is all I needed to be entertained by a game system. He got this Atari with 40+ built in games for only $20.00. That's B A Utiful (complements of Bruce Nolan). Now, what is up with the X-box 360. I figure I could buy like 35 or more Atari's for the price of one X-box. Yes there is the quality difference and stuff and I do appreciate graphic intensive games, but that is a large price tag. Plus, I am the video gamer type as long as it doesn't make me sick. I am just wondering who is Microsoft targeting with this expensive monstrosity. Cus it's not me. Does anyone own this X-Box yet?

Two riddles to ponder on

Pronounced as one letter,
And written with three,
Two letters there are,
And two only in me.
I'm double, I'm single,
I'm black, blue, and gray,
I'm read from both ends,
And the same either way.
What am I?

There is a green house,
inside the green house is a white house,
inside the white house is a red house,
inside the red house is a bunch of black babies.
What am I?

Guitar-A-Mario

I ran accross this movie clip while I was trying to add an audio clip to my personal blog profile. I was pretty amazed at a movie clip I somehow ran into and I thought I would share it with you all. I enjoyed video games a lot in my youth, in fact I have a cousin who is very inclined in the vidoe game industry and he would always have the latest games and would bring them over whenever a family even would arise. It was exciting to get together and game like we did. Anyway, I would have never thought that this particular games music would have been inspration enough to play on guitar. Well, someone went ahead and did it anyway. I am sure we have all played this game countless times to recognize this tune, so here's the clip: Guitaramario

Joe Satri-Yoda

I Thought I would start off my topic with kind of a musical mentour of mine Joe Satriani. This guys guitar playing is what inspired me to want to play music and pick up the guitar. This guitar player among countless other musicians has had a major impact on people and inspires them to become great at an instrument. Joe in particular from reading and learning more about him has had quite the impact on other guitar players. To me he is like the Yoda of guitar players in that he has personally taught many great guitarist in his life as a teacher before he was even known. Some notable names are Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett from Metallica, Larry Lalonde from Primus, David Bryson from Counting Crows, and even Nigel Tufnel from Spinal Tap. Anyway, I would like to know what are some of the interests of others reading this and who inspired them to get into the things they enjoy practicing and enjoy doing.

Recent Thought: I think the next Satriani Concert I go to I will be bringing with me a big Joe Satri-Yoda sign.