Swam With a Shark Today

We had a lovely day today. Some friends took us out on their boat to a spot near a reef where lots of colorful fish abound. We swam with huge schools of fish of all types, feeding them bits of orange. Once I was floating face down in the water to observe all the fish, when further down, perhaps twenty feet below me, a large shark swam lazily by.

I can't be sure which type of shark it was. I looked up sharks that frequent the Bahamas and tried to find top down views. The only ones I found that looked close to my vague memory are either a tiger shark or a nurse shark. It had no interest in us anyway. It's much more interesting when you are in the water near a shark rather than just seeing them in an aquarium!

feeding bits of orange to colorful fish

Live in Concert

This post may be more for myself than for anyone else. I was trying to remember every concert I had seen, and I realized how difficult it is to recall them all, so I decided why not put up a post so I can more easily keep track! I'm told that I saw Fleetwood Mac when I was very young, but I don't have any recollection of that, so I don't count it. So the first real concert I went to was U2 in Tucson for the Joshua Tree tour in 1987. They were simply incredible. Still one of the best concerts I ever saw in my life.

Next I saw U2 again for the final concert of that tour, one which they filmed for the movie Rattle & Hum. This was on 12/20/1987 in Tempe, Arizona. BB King opened and also played with U2 on Love Comes to Town.

The next concert I saw was an odd one--Dread Zeppelin at the University of Arizona on January 20, 1991. They were very good, though the music was odd, being Led Zeppelin music played reggae style with an Elvis impersonator lead singer.

Then I saw the Black Crowes in Tucson, 6/13/1991. First time I went to a concert as a date. We got very close to the stage, so it got a bit iffy at times with some members of the crowd, but the music was quite good.

Next was ZZ Top on August 12, 1991 in Tucson. Good, but I didn't like how many recorded sounds they used, since it took away a bit of the live feel.

A buddy talked me into going to see Van Halen on May 17, 1992. We didn't have tickets, so we went to the parking lot at McHale Center in Tucson as the opening band (Extreme) was already playing. A desperate scalper gave us tickets at face value that were about row ten right in front of Eddie Van Halen. It was amazing just to watch the ease with which Eddie played!

Chris Cornell of Soundgarden

Then came an awesome experience, because it was so unexpected. I went with one of my brothers to see Guns n Roses on February 1, 1992. I thought that would be okay, and it was, but what really rocked was the opening band, Soundgarden. I hadn't heard of them before, but they were electric. Definitely much better than Guns n Roses. I went out and bought their latest album right away and they've been a favorite ever since.

I saw U2 for a third time in Tempe on October 24, 1992. I didn't like how commercial they looked this time, though of course they still sounded great.

Somewhere around this time, though I can't find dates, I saw Foghat at a country dance hall in Tucson, and Quiet Riot at the Wildcat House where I was working.

The last concert I saw before heading into my overseas life was Alice in Chains on April 15, 1993. They really rocked, though sadly on one of my favorite songs 'Would?' their bass player's instrument stopped working, and bass is the driving force of that song. I wish they had started it over.

Pink Floyd in London

Now things got really cool! From Moscow I flew with a friend to London to see Pink Floyd for their Division Bell tour in October 1994. It was filmed for their DVD 'Pulse', and it was probably the most amazing sounding concert I ever saw, as well as being the last official concert of Pink Floyd.

My friend and I got lucky and also caught a make-up date by Stone Temple Pilots on 10/26/1994 during that London trip. Wow, were they awesome! Two great concerts within a week of each other really made that first trip to London a memorable one.

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page

After returning to the US, my wife and I saw a Page & Plant concert on 9/24/1998. I just love Led Zeppelin, and that's all they played that night.

It was a long time before I went to any concerts again. My family flew to London from Baku to see two great bands. First we saw Pearl Jam at Hyde Park. What an experience that was. The next day I took the kids back to Hyde Park and we listened to Paul McCartney play, though we didn't have tickets to go inside. It was outdoors, so we could hear decently. Then to top it off we went to Wembley Stadium on 6/19/2010 to see Green Day. As we walked into the stadium we saw Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, whom we had no idea was the opening act. That was a treat, seeing 'I Love Rock and Roll' played live before 100,000 fans. Green Day was great, but I was disappointed that they played so few songs from 21st Century Breakdown, an album that I really liked.

Green Day at Wembley Stadium

My family took a train from Budapest to Prague on July 2, 2012 to again see Pearl Jam. You really can't go wrong with Pearl Jam, though the opening act 'X' wasn't so good.

We had a surprise treat at the end of our stay in Budapest. As a 20 year anniversary of the fall of communism in Hungary, they brought in the Scorpions to play a free concert on 6/16/2014. They were so great!

Rush saying goodbye

The next concert was one we went to because my oldest son is a huge fan of Rush. We had no idea that the concert on 8/1/2015 would be the last Rush concert. What pros these three musicians are. I'm not a huge Rush fan, but they were amazing.

Now just this past weekend we went to see three favorite bands, Soundgarden and A Perfect Circle on 4/29/2017, and Alter Bridge on 4/30/2017. For those who don't know, Alter Bridge is the band Creed but with a new singer. All three were very good, though I felt the song selection for Soundgarden wasn't the best, and their sound was a bit off. A Perfect Circle was simply amazing. Wish I could see them some more.

A Perfect Circle

I really wanted to get to the June concert in San Bernadino for Primus and Tool, as those are about the only bands left I love and haven't seen who are still active, but we couldn't make it work.

Update to say that on November 1, 2017 I saw A Perfect Circle again in Virginia. The opening act was The Beta Machine, which has the same drummer and bass player as APC. APC played more songs than the first time I saw them, since it was a full concert instead of a festival. They played all three of their new songs.

On November 7, 2022 I saw Porcupine Tree at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. A truly excellent show.

On November 1, 2023 I saw Tool in Milwaukee with my son Anton and his fiancé Sage. Awesome as always.

Rockville Festival

My family and I had a wonderful time this past weekend. We not only got to visit my beloved Aunt Jan (after 16 years!) and meet her fiance, but we attended a rock festival with three of our favorite bands.

A Perfect Circle

On day one we first saw A Perfect Circle, which is led by Maynard James Keenan, one of the greatest singer/songwriters alive. Their set was terrific, everything that I could have hoped for. They played most of my favorite songs, and the sound was amazing. My sons took a few photos and short video clips with their mobile phones, so naturally anything I put here won't be even close to how good it looked and sounded live, but I'll put some up just for flavoring.

Soundgarden was a tad off their game, in my opinion. I last saw them 26 years ago (!!) and they were incredible back then. The energy and sound quality hooked me right away when I had never heard of them before. I don't know if it was the venue, but this time the sound wasn't quite as perfect. Worse was their song selection--I felt they were trying to do their more commercial stuff rather than their best songs, and they hardly played any of the songs I love most.

Alter Bridge

Alter Bridge was on the second day, and they were as good as I expected. They have one of the best guitarists in the world in Mark Tremonti. They are basically the band Creed but with a different singer.

Sci-Fi Sale

My techno-thriller The Immortality Game is on sale for just .99 on most sites. I have a Bookbub ad scheduled for Saturday the 8th, though for some reason they agreed only to run it in Australia, the UK, Canada, and India. I went ahead and put the book for on sale even in the US on Amazon and GooglePlus. In the aforementioned countries you can find it for sale on Amazon, GooglePlus, Kobo, and iTunes. If you know anyone who enjoys this type of story, please help spread the word. The sale will last through the 13th.

Artwork by Stephan Martiniere

1st Place in Nassau Cup Invitational Chess Championship 2017

What a fantastic result I had in chess these past two weeks! A new sponsor has taken interest in trying to strengthen Bahamian chess and organized the inaugural Nassau Cup Invitational Chess Championship at the beautiful Old Fort Bay Club on the west side of New Providence island. All the top players from the Bahamas were there, and to show just how tough the field played against each other, the national champion Kendrick Knowles finished in next to last place.

I started very well with three straight wins. I had a tough loss in the fourth round to FIDE master Cecil 'Carver' Moncur, where I should have drawn the endgame but played it too passively. Then I won the next game to finish the first weekend with four out of five points.

Beating Bahamas National Champion Knowles in round 3

I started the following weekend well, too, with a win over CM Elton Joseph to move to five out of six, but then I hit a slump by pushing too hard. I lost two games in a row where in each of them if I didn't push so hard I could have drawn. I was still in first place due to how hard everyone was battling, but now it was by only a half a point over FM Moncur. But in the next round I handily beat FM Moncur to nearly put it away, and I finished it off with a win in the final round to complete the event with seven out of ten and clear first place.

Beating FM Moncur in the penultimate round

On the final weekend, Cuban Grandmaster Renier Gonzalez  was a special guest and watched all the games and analyzed with the players between rounds.

Me with Grandmaster Renier Gonzalez of Cuba

Even former US Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas Brady stopped by to watch for a bit! This was the biggest prize I have ever won before, and it was in a gorgeous setting. I couldn't be happier except if I had just not lost those three games.

Grandmaster Gonzalez, me, and the sponsor

What I Read in 2016

At the end of each year I do a summary post of what I read throughout the year. I find it interesting to see my reading habits, and to make note of what the best books were each year. I read 52 books each of the past two years. Not quite that many this year, though close at 47. I use a standard five star rating method with five stars meaning I loved the book so much I intend to re-read it throughout my life, so there are rarely any five star books.

1. NOS4A2 by Joe Hill *** and a half
2. The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss ** and a half
3. Lock In by John Scalzi ****
4. Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson ****
5. Deadwood Gates by Steven Erikson ****
6. Nova by Samuel Delany ** and a half
7. Just After Sunset by Stephen King **
8. Turning Angel by Greg Iles **** and a half

9. Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey ****
10. The Bone Tree by Greg Iles **** and a half
11. True Evil by Greg Iles ****
12. Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson ***
13. The Dragon Chronicles by mix of authors ** and a half
14. Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey **** and a half

15. Dr. Sleep by Stephen King ****
16. If At First... by Peter F. Hamilton ***
17. Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey ****
18. Imperium by Robert Harris ****
19. Conspirata by Robert Harris ****
20. Darkness Weaves by Karl Edward Wagner ***
21. Warship by Joshua Dalzelle ** and a half
22. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller ****

23. Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clark *** and a half
24. Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson ** and a half
25. A Different Kingdom by Paul Kearney ****
26. Future Imperfect by Keith Laumer **
27. Kick by John L. Monk ****
28. Intrusion by Rosalind Minett ****

29. Infiltration by Rosalind Minett ****
30. Seed by Rob Ziegler ***
31. Beyond Redemption by Michael Fletcher ***
32. Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse by various authors ***
33. Wastelands 2 by various authors ***
34. The Song of Albion collection by Stephen R. Lawhead *** and a half
35. A Serpent in Eden by James Owen **
36. Hell in the Pacific by Jim McEnery ***
37. Inferno: The World at War 1939-1945 by Max Hastings *** and a half
38. The End of All Things by John Scalzi ***
39. Shakey: Neil Young's Biography by Jimmy McDonough ***
40. Seveneves by Neal Stephenson *** and a half
41. Fatal Crossroads by Danny Parker **
42. The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell ****

43. Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell ****
44. The Archer's Tale by Bernard Cornwell ****
45. Vagabond by Bernard Cornwell ****
46. Heretic by Bernard Cornwell ****
47. 1356 by Bernard Cornwell *** and a half

Life Keeps Moving Right Along

With Facebook being so easy for doing instant updates, I find it difficult to keep up to date on the blog, especially during big life changes. My family departed Baku, Azerbaijan in July. We spent a month and a half in Beloit, Wisconsin helping our eldest son Anton get settled into this freshman year at Beloit College. Follow the progress of his new rock band Tortuga on Facebook!

Goodbye lunch for Anton

Anton quickly met some musicians at the college and formed a band called Tortuga

Sadly leaving Anton behind for the first time in our lives, we went on to Washington DC for a week before heading for my new posting in Nassau, Bahamas. It has already been an interesting couple of months here.

Typical view on New Providence, Bahamas

First we had the biggest hurricane in living memory hit us. Hurricane Matthew was Category 4 when it struck Nassau. I lived in my office for four days, which wasn't fun. Our house was mostly okay, except for the back yard and having to throw most of our cold/frozen food away.

The hurricane left downed trees and power lines all over

Then I played in the Fall Classic chess tournament, which was a qualifier for the national championships. I took 2nd place and qualified, so this coming weekend I'll be starting the double round-robin National Championships of the Bahamas.Wish me luck!

Playing in the Fall Classic 2016