modemgirl

the bike rave was a great success! just taking a quick study break to post my mix from last night, as promised. i think it went over really well overall. 2 live crew was a big hit, and a good friend was incredulous that i mixed vengaboys with the horrorist, so i was happy :)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

you’ve likely heard me mention seaballing before, but for those of you who haven’t, it’s actually the best thing ever. a combination bike ride and mobile dance party with awesome people and beautiful scenery, it’s pretty much my religion. and then there’s Velopalooza – a 10 days of bike themed fun that takes place annually in vancouver in early june. over 70 events in under two weeks, it’s a celebration of bikes, bike culture, and everything else that goes along with the awesomeness that is being a cyclist! with events such as 80s bike ride,  super hero ride and this friday’s Bike Rave – what’s not to love? so when a good friend / avid seaballer / organizer of velopalooza (pictured below, at the superhero ride with his frankenbike bike aptly named ‘your face’) asked if i’d record a mix for the friday night BIKE RAVE, obviously i said yes!

it’s always challenging for me to organize a mix for a unknown audience – i’m pretty self conscious when it comes to my taste in music in relation to “normal” people. (obviously i use the term normal loosely here) - i know that most people didn’t grow up on a diet of tidy trax, neophyte and scott brown, so i’m well aware that my taste is pretty niche and definitely leans toward oldschool techno rave rave rather than the current wonky mashup bass housey dubstep stuff that’s usually found on the dancefloor these days. this is why i love late night college radio and don’t have much interest in playing clubs.

anyhoo! the point is, i worked pretty hard to make this mix awesome, and hopefully it will be enjoyable for consumption by bike nerds of all types, so you should come out tomorrow night and listen. vengaboys, squarepusher, flosstradamus, the horrorist, prozzak and madonna….. next to the ocean with a bunch of weirdos with glowsticks stuck to their bikes!? maybe i should bring some candy bracelets to hand out? anyone know where can i get UV bike shaped beads?

i’ll post the mix here on saturday for those of you who live out of vancouver and can’t make it!

if you want to troubleshoot your life you have to do it in the same way we troubleshoot anything else – from the ground up.

in networking, we use the 7 layer OSI model to divide an entire system into smaller sub-systems. various functions of network communication are isolated to specific layers, with each layer dependent on the ones it below it to function properly. layer seven is the ‘application layer’ which, as i’m sure you can deduce, is where your applications run. at the other end of the model is layer 1, which focuses on the physical – does your computer have power? are all the cables plugged in? layers 2-6 cover everything in between. the layered model gives us a logical and consistent way to approach problems, because there’s no point worrying about the upper layers until we are satisfied the lower layers are functioning properly. there’s no sense in adjusting web browser settings when the cable to your router is unplugged, right?

when i first was introduced to the OSI layer, it struck as having some remarkable parallels to maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a concept i first encountered during my time as a psychology undergrad. a similar layered approach, but in relation to human needs and motivation.

if your body isn’t happy then there’s no real point worrying about “upper layer” concepts such as relationships, career, spiritual enlightenment, etc – because any changes you make are going to be running on top of a suboptimal physical platform. this doesn’t mean that you’re doomed unless you’re going to the gym 15 times a week, only eating super healthy and going to bed early every day. it DOES mean that if you want to progress as a human YOU need to learn to listen to and learn to take care of your body, mind and soul.

fresh air. vegetables. exercise. WATER. endorphins will literally save your life. i don’t want to preach, but seriously – the difference in the quality of my life from when i was sendentary +  eating crap + inside all the time + no exercise compared to now where i make an effort to get outside + exercise at least once a day + drink a zillion glasses of water + no more smoking + healthier eating is extraordinary. plus i no longer feel guilty for NOT doing all those things – which in turn improves my overall sense of self esteem. the spiral works in both ways you know – up and down.

once you start getting layer 1 on track, you’ll start to find other things fall into place. when your body is functioning optimally you’ll find that your mind feels clearer and you’ll be able to approach relationships, work, every day life more rationally and efficiently. when your blood sugar isn’t constantly going up and down you will begin to have a sense of control over your life, and you’ll sleep better. when you’re well rested, you’ll make better decisions, and begin to deal with stress efficiently instead of relying on vices to distract you from aspects of your life you’re not happy with.

i think the society we exist within often inflicts a sense of lost control over our lives. as small cogs in a giant machine, we feel as though we are victims/products of society, and that nothing we do makes a difference. responsibility for our condition becomes externally focussed, and we don’t take ownership of our own lives. taking charge of ‘layer one’ is a huge step towards realizing that ultimately we ARE responsible – we don’t always have control over everything, but we ARE in charge of maintaining the hardware that we have to work with.

the more i learn about being a human, the more i realize that we are just extremely complicated machines. we all have our routines and behavioural patterns, and sometimes life could be so much more efficient with just a bit of fine tuning. sometimes unexplainable things happen, but it’s usually because there are forces at work that we just don’t understand. successful performance requires proper maintenance, service packs, QA and regular audits. call me a cyborg, but i like to think of it as being a sysadmin for my own life.