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I discovered this song before it hit #1 on the Latin charts. I think it's still #2. I love the concept of telepathy and practice it often. This song is only 4 chords, but the structure and the way things come in and out is very distinct. It was a fun song to learn and play. Unfortunately, my Spanish sucks so I didn't do a very good job on the lyrics, but fortunately, they are spelled out in the video and in the sheet music!
Buy the sheet music on noteflight. Watch the video below...
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 The second in a series of video tutorials brings us a Saxy version of Empire of the Sun's Old Flavours. This arrangement was transcribed from a bunch of synthesizers and arpeggiators into a bunch of saxes.
The Sheet Music is Available here on noteflight. The video of me performing the sheet music can be seen below...  In advance of the new original music single to be released later in 2021 under the Gunky Funky moniker, I am starting a new series of music video tutorials where I take a popular song that I like and not only transcribe one or many of the parts into sheet music, but also perform those parts on YouTube from the sheet music. The first song is I Wanna Be Where You Are, originally performed by Michael Jackson.
You can find the sheet music for this work on noteflight. You Can also enjoy the video within this blog once it premiers on YouTube below...  Where it all began for me I've been writing software for some 30 years now, since I got my first computer at age 10 and copied BASIC programs out of 3-2-1 Contact magazine so I could play games on my Apple II compatible. I graduated with an IT degree at the peak of the tech boom, worked for a Fortune 500 bank, a couple of growth companies, my own side projects, and most recently, I even co-founded a software startup. However, nothing quite prepared me for the stressful journey of finding my next endeavor on the job market of Boulder, Colorado. Here's my story and my advice for anyone else about to be put through the wringer...
 Photo Credit: Matt Collamer As a white male, I've grown up with a level of privilege and entitlement in this world which had led me to rarely question my advantages, but worse, sometimes question the plight of those who mostly experience disadvantage and discrimination -- the total opposite of privilege and entitlement. As a person who, above all, strives to serve the greatest good of others and the greatest good of all, this is an unacceptable state. Fortunately, after being in a long-term relationship with a person of color, I've had the blessing to be able to gain a better understanding of how the dichotomy of skin color separates us in subtle ways, and how we still to this day create unfair advantages for ourselves, even in states of ignorance when we are trying to help. In this blog, I explore various ways that we, as white people, create these disadvantages, as well as how we can transcend beyond the lip service we give to people of color as we all try to erase separation and truly treat each other as equals.
My New Book, Spin the World Around, is available now on Amazon At the end of my trip around the world through 24 countries, I found myself with a 750,000-word draft “travel book.” It was gargantuan. After months of editing, I realized I needed to split it into two books, and of course, continue editing. The first book was a guide for someone to travel deeply and cheaply entitled How to Spin the World Around. Now, I present a nonfiction narrative entitled Spin the World Around, in which the protagonist (me) essentially discovers the methodology of travel later outlined in the first book.  The experience of writing a memoir has been a time-consuming process, and it taught me about how we can play with time. Just the other day, I was cleaning out my garage and I found a journal in a filing cabinet. I opened it to an entry I had written when I was in high school, and it was about the desire to travel the world for adventure. “I’m not afraid of death,” was one of the lines written in the journal entry. I hadn’t read this entry probably in decades, but I’m sure it’s no coincidence that the same line written in my high school journal was later said during a key moment by a person I met years later in this book I’m about to release – about my world travel adventure. Be careful what you wish for; I’m glad that’s behind me. Then, I realize that this book I’m about to release actually ended about 3 years ago, and the protagonist was not only growing and changing over the course of the book, but once the book ended, I continued to grow and and change. I realize and accept that I am no longer the person I was in this book, just as a river is ever-changing and never the same moment to moment. That said, capturing the river in a given moment with a photograph or a story is a worthwhile creative endeavor. Learning to look back at our past selves with compassion is also worth it.  A certain amount of time was needed between the completion of the events and the manifesting of storyline omniscience. This allowed me to write a nonfiction narrative instead of just regurgitate a slew of chronological journal entries. Editing became key, as well as generating a story arc and developing a writing style. I worked with several editors and learned something from each of them. Before I even split to two books, I was encouraged to focus on action-based parts from the first editor. “More Action! Action! Action!” she’d write in the margins. The second editor was actually a writer who I paid up front through a proxy, but they never got back to me after they got paid. One guy offered to edit, but after reading the first chapter, he claimed to already know how it ended, so I knew I was in for another re-write. The editor I ended up crediting on the title page spent the most time with me and made the most impact on the writing style. The entire process helped make me a better writer… and editor. The good editors would generate writing assignments for more writing to be further edited. This process could go on for infinity, but eventually I needed to let it go. I encourage everyone to write their own memoir, if only to learn about oneself through creating it and become a better writer (and editor). In the mean time, I hope you enjoy my story and find my message valuable. With that, I present to you – Spin the World Around. Available now. Screenshot from Android Version My first smartphone apps were these basic tools to allow users to create their own binaural beats. The app was called Binaural, and this past December, I made both the iOS and Android versions free for anyone to download and use. Now, I've decided to take this a step further and make the core of these apps open source! This means that you can go to my github page and download fully working sample apps that generate binaural beats and isochronic pulses. Then, you can use these algorithms in your own apps. If you find any of this useful, I'd appreciate you give me shout, and perhaps I'll feature your app on my Guided Meditation Treks blog!
Here's the source code for iOS. Here's the source code for Android. Or you can just download the app and not worry about how it works!  What my day consists of I've been doing software development for a long time, and recently, I've been working on some newer stuff with my startup, Synervoz. We are creating cutting-edge technology to bridge gaps in the realms of music and talking with our app TurnMeUp. For example, how many times have you been listening to music with earbuds or headphones when someone in the room is trying to talk to you? Our app lets you hear them without taking off your headphones. Not only that, but our technology lets people not in the room to talk to you in real-time without making you answer a phone call or interrupt that important Jamiroquai song you are listening to in the moment. Here is an outline of some of the technologies I've worked with on this project (and otherwise), which I find to be some of the most relevant technologies in the 2010's, yet they didn't even exist ten years ago!
 My good friend told me to create an account on steemit and start posting some stories, so here is my first one. It's about the ideas and concepts behind burn events like Burning Man and how we can incorporate the good parts into our daily lives without having to go into the desert.
Why I stopped going to Burn Events, But Still Live the Good Parts
I originally published this article with Austin Daze back in 2013, but I've been seeing the images disappear on my original article, so I wanted to reprint the article here for eternity! Rumor has it, Jamiroquai is about to release a new album in 2016. This month marks the 3-year anniversary of their Latin America tour. Back in February of 2013, Jamiroquai played a show in Monterrey, Mexico. Local Austinites took a trip to give you this report:  Downtown Monterrey
Usually, when I travel, the first thing that people say when I tell them where I’m going is, “Wow, that’s going to be awesome!” When I said we were going to Mexico to see Jamiroquai, the response was, “Be careful.”
Knowing that attitude is everything, my buddy JB and I figured embracing every moment with positive intentions and no fear would result in a great trip, and we’d be totally safe the entire time. With that, we drove to Laredo and ditched JB's car at Wal-Mart so we could take a cab to the bus station. By the border in downtown Laredo, bus companies abound, and each bus leaves at a different time. We meandered for 15 minutes, missing each by 5 minutes until we found one. We boarded it 3-hours direct to Monterrey. Though we saw a beater of a bus at the border that was worse, Greyhound was definitely not the nicest bus option. Ours was a luxury coach with only 2 other passengers, and the trip was only $25 each.  A comparison of my two vintage King Tenor Saxes. A Silver-Plated 1932 Vol True II and a circa 1946 lacquered Zephyr I once posted a review of two of my saxophones on Facebook before realizing that i could additionally share this analysis with the world. So, here are some screenshots of this post, which is an analysis of two saxophones made by the same company about a decade apart and the technological advances in saxophone making during that time in the 1930s and 1940s. The King Zephyrs of the late model are the precursor to the famous King Super 20 saxophones and can be found at about a fifth the price with an arguably similar sound.
Here is my analysis of the findings... The zephyr and voll true II sound similar, like they are obviously in the same family, but, the Zephyr is... 1. Less stuffy 2. more easy blowing 3. more edge 4. more ergonomic 5. the high register really sings and the low register really booms. 6. Newer horn does not hiss 7. Not as pretty, but it's all about the sound  People get uncomfortable when called out on their stuff. I know I do, anyway. Sometimes, an individual gets called out, and sometimes it’s a group or culture. For example, I often post intense political or scientific ideas on Facebook, such as alternative views on reality that are not currently accepted by the mainstream. Most “Facebook debates” are framed into a dichotomy. Someone is either on the popular side of the argument or the unpopular side. Nevertheless, as much as we might try, it can be nearly impossible to find truth between only two choices. To take the evolution versus creation debate, I believe there is evolution, but there is also an unseen creative consciousness beyond entropy that shapes it. Since this theory doesn’t fit into the black/white dichotomy between Darwinian evolution and biblical creation, people get uncomfortable.
I'm working on a new album for Guided Meditation Treks that has nature sounds looped infinitely. Here are some nature videos I shot in Alaska this past summer, mostly of waterfalls, my great friends in nature.  In 2015, I attended a publicity conference to learn how to land radio interviews, and since then, I've been going on the radio to talk about my projects and causes! Specifically, how to save money on cheap flights around the world, how to use social networks like Couchsurfing to meet locals and live with them for free, and how to travel mindfully. I've also done a couple of interviews about my Guided Meditation Treks project, and one about my silent disco project.
I love to do radio interviews because they help me verbally express ideas in a concise manner. The added pressure of a 'performance' situation has always helped me be at my best. Knowing that I have a limited timeframe and that potentially many people are listening, combined with the fact that I try to tape most of my interviews for eternity means that these narrow windows of communication have the potential to spread information and knowledge far and wide. Tuning into the brainwaves of a good radio host is also a great practice as well. Their penchant for brevity and packing lots of info in a short space to people with a limited attention span helps me to get my points across in the most efficient way possible. Here is a collection of radio interviews I've done to date:
I love a good radio interview as part of a wider approach to getting the word out.  After traveling the world for a year, living the life of a movie character, averaging under $100 for each of my flights, and living for free in the homes of locals through 24 countries, I wrote a "How To" book to teach everyone how they too can see the world on a shoestring budget while having rich experiences at the same time. This small book is an easy read, and it is loaded full of all the latest and greatest web sites, social networks, and travel apps to make your smartphone a personal travel agent. It also goes in depth about mindfulness strategies to help you go deeper on your next trip. Check out the press release from Spin the World Around. Or, just go straight to Amazon.com and get yourself a copy. Guaranteed you will save more money in a single transaction during your travels than you spend on this book.
The stage is set for some terrific jazz festivals in the next few months! Which will have you grabbing your saxophone and dancing in the streets? I know this article gets me to want to start jamming on mine! Holiday Lettings picks some of the best from New Orleans to Nice. New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, USA Photo credit: Rande Archer (license) via flickr.com 24 April – 3 May
Every day is a jazz festival in New Orleans, but it’s not often that you get to catch Tony Bennett and Cassandra Wilson, two of the highlights scheduled for 2015’s event. This is also a great opportunity to discover the local culture, whether you dig into alligator pie or watch Cajun musicians crafting accordions. There’s music everywhere in the city 365 days a year, and drifting around Frenchmen Street to spot street performers is great fun. While you're at it, join a ghost and vampire tour to see another side of this city’s unique spirit. Of course, if you’re into New Orleans’ elaborate parades, you’ll appreciate the extravaganza at Mardi Gras World. This is the first of a series of travel blog posts I'll be hosting in partnership with a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, one of the Internet's greatest travel sites. Let us take you away! As a company out of the UK, please excuse the British spelling, but if you hear the English accent in your mind's voice, it's all the better! Tired of tinsel and turkey? Fancy a Rudolph-free zone? Join Holiday Lettings in some alternative holiday destinations, from Istanbul to The Bahamas. The Maldives Photo credit: Mac Qin (license) via flickr.com Why dream of a white Christmas when you can bask on a beach with sand as white as alpine snow? In the Maldives the sapphire skies meld beautifully with the azure ocean waves and the palm trees sway gently on the shore. Just sit back with a coconut cocktail and watch a mesmerising sunset turn both sky and sea a gorgeous golden hue.
If you can drag yourself off the beach, dive into the warm water to see the neon-coloured fish and coral reefs. Feel the breeze in your hair as you try your hand at surfing or sailing. Then fall hook, line and sinker for night fishing (and the taste of your own barbecued fish).  Robin and I just got back from a weeklong trip to Mexico initiated by some frequent flyer miles and an urge to go someplace tropical in December. We visited the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, the tourist mecca of Playa del Carmen, and the party town of Cancun. Between the beach and sun, there was plenty of raw energy from the Mayans, the locals, the great food, and a huge fart I left in the bathroom one day. Here's our story.
 I took a trip to London this past October for a conference called Tech Crunch. It was with my good friend, Zed, who had triggered me to take my journey around the world last year. At this conference, we presented a new musical technology and met some interesting people! Here's the full story!
...said the literary agent. Since committing myself to releasing a wanderlust guide about a trip through 24 countries on the cheap, I've been making my way though the system in place to maximize the experience. I went to the Writers' League of Texas conference last month and spoke with some agents with an intention to use a traditional publisher. Until book stores and traditional distribution are obsolete, there's something to be said about the format. Maybe it's like the record album, but I still love holding a former tree and reading from it. So I'm focusing on this new entity called "Spin the World Around." It is the name of the memoir, but it's also a way of living. What keeps the planet spinning? The force from the beginning. ~Daft Punk All esoterics aside, I took some really cool pictures along the way, and I thought that sharing them would be a nice platform to illustrate the manifestation. My plan is to post a single high-res photograph each day until the book is released. With so many photos, I should have a platform by then. Here are the social network icons, without the names... Dig it! Ok, well, so here's what i learned at the conference:
1. Twitter: you should be posting 4x per day and only 20% of your posts are about you. 2. Facebook: sadly, it helps to pay them to promote you For the photo posting idea, here's a list (and my accounts for Spin the World Around): 1. Flikr lets you share high-resolution photos 2. Pintrest: photos pushed from Fliker whose locations can be added to a map 3. tumblr: similar to Flikr, but maybe not as high-res 4. instagram: has additional effects and a forced resolution, so postings are a separate work of art that can be re-posted to Flikr as such 5. imgr: for memes and funny pictures 6. Reddit to re-post photos "I am learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged. I cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach. I will not allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I have come to understand that life is best to be lived and not to be conceptualized. I am happy because I am growing daily and I am honestly not knowing where the limit lies. To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new discovery. I treasure the memory of the past misfortunes. It has added more to my bank of fortitude." ~Bruce Lee
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