tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55131702024-03-13T06:12:48.504-05:00Ron Hostetter's BlogRandom Thoughts, Occassionally Posted, Poorly OrganizedRon Hostetterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03290309449953015058noreply@blogger.comBlogger414125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-28278325860944612852009-11-24T13:33:00.002-06:002009-11-24T13:40:09.755-06:00Desi Serna is my Guitar HeroI started taking guitar lessons when I was a kid. I don’t recall exactly how old I was, perhaps it was when I was in the 6th grade, maybe around 10 or 12 years old. The lessons were in my teacher’s home – his name was Bill - and we closely followed the Alfred guitar books. I do remember that Bill liked to brag about how well I was doing to my mom when she came to pick me up.But Bill could only Ron Hostetterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03290309449953015058noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-30278443003396984032009-11-18T16:24:00.000-06:002009-11-18T16:24:05.579-06:00Learn Guitar Theory - scales, chords, progressions, modes and more on the fretboard. Music theory for guitar.I will write a more detailed review of this book in the near future, but for now just know that this book is amazing. It's helped me finally begin to understand guitar theory so now I know why those songs work the way they do. Mr. Serna is a great teacher!Learn Guitar Theory - scales, chords, progressions, modes and more on the fretboard. Music theory for guitar.Ron Hostetterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03290309449953015058noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-92186227330837252792009-05-13T21:23:00.001-05:002009-05-13T21:24:42.029-05:00Review: Roger Clyne & The PeacemakersOn Tuesday night at Knucklehead’s Saloon, Roger Clyne literally became a Peacemaker.Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers made their first appearance in KC with new lead guitarist Jim Dalton Tuesday night, to the delight of a sparse crowd on the outdoor stage. The rain threatened throughout the 2 hour show, but never materialized.In the 90’s Clyne was the front man for the Arizona-based band, the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-588427394463691342008-09-09T15:05:00.003-05:002008-09-09T15:19:39.900-05:00The new Zune / iPod BattleThere have been some interesting developments in the digital music player market this week. First, Microsoft trumped Steve Jobs by announcing some updates to its Zune device and software. Then today, Apple announced the updates to the iPod and iTunes products.Before we consider this week’s developments, let’s review the long and treacherous path of the Zune.Back in November 2006, Microsoft Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-62242829811045626672008-09-01T21:40:00.000-05:002008-09-01T21:41:00.036-05:00Bump, Set, Dance!My daughter is a volleyball player.She’s also a dancer and a cheerleader. She’s 12, so she’s just coming into her own, starting to become the woman that she will eventually be.She’s tried a lot of things over the years. She’s played softball, but has given that up (she was hitting better than her brother), she tried basketball but didn’t like that (it didn’t help that she was on a pretty bad teamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-71283042174691591792008-09-01T21:18:00.001-05:002008-09-01T21:18:59.958-05:00Are Those Things Real???This weekend, our kids were at the lake with their cousins, so Denise and I had some time to ourselves. Besides trying to figure out what to do with ourselves (it’s amazing how unbusy a busy schedule becomes when the kids are gone), we decided to go visit the Bodies Revealed exhibit. The exhibit has been at Kansas City’s Union Station all summer, and this was our last chance to see it.If you Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-65436208037774291092008-08-28T21:12:00.002-05:002008-08-28T21:13:03.791-05:00Me and BruceI saw my first Bruce Springsteen concert Sunday night.I’ve never really been a big fan of Springsteen. I’m 41, so I was in my prime music-taste-defining phase of my life when Springsteen was becoming popular – the late 70’s.Over the years, I came to know the hits like everybody else. I know most of the words to “Born to Run,” if only through osmosis.As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found myself Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-84002769438601404202008-08-14T13:51:00.001-05:002008-08-14T13:51:26.112-05:00Youth SportsMy son’s a baseball player.He’s entering high school now, and he still has the passion and desire to play baseball. He started playing ball when he was 4, so he’s been playing baseball for 11 years. He’s not very big or strong, but he is fast and he has good hands and a strong arm. And he has a love for the game.I didn’t play baseball growing up. In fact, I never really played any sports. I’m notAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-29507324697138349792008-06-04T09:11:00.000-05:002008-06-04T09:12:01.646-05:00Made in ChinaI recently purchased a DVD player for my SUV. (That’s right – I don’t care about the environment or gas prices. I still need a big vehicle to carry my family and all our stuff.)The DVD player was installed, and I got my truck back a few days ago. When the wireless headphones weren’t working quite the way they should, I decided to consult the owner’s manual to see if there were any tips for makingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-85842929351233255542008-05-21T15:00:00.001-05:002008-05-21T15:00:52.860-05:00Trying to Understand...I read today that the CEO’s of the world’s largest oil companies are on Capitol Hill being harassed by lawmakers.I’m curious why Washington thinks it’s a good idea to penalize the oil companies. In this so-call democratic and capitalistic society, it seems more and more that the most successful people and companies are being punished.Of course, I don’t look at the oil companies as innocent Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-64148422321295785982008-03-18T12:08:00.003-05:002008-03-18T12:14:42.538-05:00I Love Free StuffI'm share Royals season tickets with a group of folks. A friend of ours buys the entire season, and then we get together and have a ticket draft to divvy them up.This draft has always been a rather manual, tedious task. This year, I decided to try to automate it. To build a program to manage the draft, I downloaded Microsoft's Visual Basic Express.Visual Basic Express is one of several free (yes,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-70048549387414049742008-03-10T16:34:00.001-05:002008-03-10T16:37:45.558-05:00Surprise is my favorite place on planet earthLate last night (this morning actually), my son Joey and I returned home from our annual trek to Arizona to enjoy some warm weather and Cactus League baseball. My brother Harry also came and as usual, we met Dan Fox in the desert. My buddy Bill and his son Matt also joined us this year.We arrived bright and early Friday morning and drove straight to the Surprise Recreation Campus where the RoyalsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-12236877402807958602008-02-12T11:15:00.000-06:002008-02-12T11:16:16.420-06:00The Royals: Looking ahead to 2008Spring is in the air. Okay, it’s about 10 degrees outside, but still… The Royals officially report to Surprise, AZ tomorrow, which always gets me excited for the coming warmer months.In just a couple of weeks, I will be heading out to Arizona, along with my brother and son, to get some sun and to fill my lungs with warm, desert air. As spring approaches, I have a few thoughts about the upcoming Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-41250733673260109452008-01-23T08:55:00.000-06:002008-01-23T08:58:15.112-06:00It's the Economy, Stupid!I was watching the Today Show this morning, and I noticed a recurring theme from the sound bytes from our illustrious presidential candidates. They kept talking about the poor souls who “live paycheck to paycheck” and those where are victims of “predatory lenders.” It made my think to myself, what about responsibility?I mean, these candidates are telling us that they will take care of us. But whyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-3913602180614849392007-12-20T12:58:00.000-06:002007-12-20T13:00:46.237-06:00My HOF BallotI am a lucky voter in Joe Posnanski's "Pozcar Awards." Here is my ballot for baseball's hall of fame:Bert "Be Home" BlylevenAndre DawsonGoose GossageDon MattinglyJack MorrisJim RicePete RoseAlan TrammellSome comments:Blyleven: I've always loved Bert. He's not given nearly the credit he deserves.Dawson: I grew up at a time when cable TV was just coming into homes, and our family quickly became Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-84406625720510894052007-11-05T12:46:00.001-06:002007-11-05T12:46:33.260-06:00Take a NoteMy wife thinks I’m a little bit nuts over this issue.I’ve been an Outlook user all of my life. (By “all of my life,” I mean “since I’ve been a serious email user.” That was probably around 1997 or so. I used other email programs before that, but that was about the time that serious work-related email use really kicked in.)I’ve always thought of email and calendar as sort of a ubiquitous activity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-71466655860889874312007-09-18T15:04:00.000-05:002007-09-18T15:06:56.645-05:00New GigYesterday I started my new job at Perceptive Software. Perceptive makes a product called ImageNow, which is a document imaging, management and workflow tool. So far, the company seems to be a great place to work and while I'm just starting to learn the product, it is very impressive.www.imagenow.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-57616748199730843242007-08-20T10:44:00.001-05:002007-08-20T10:44:51.597-05:00Financial Peace University – Fall ClassOur next Financial Peace University class is scheduled to begin September 17, 2007. We will have class on Monday evenings from 7-9. If you would like to join us, please email me.Our summer class is winding down. We have just one class left. It has been a good class, and I hope everybody has gotten some good information from it.Personally, our debt snowball remains on hold while we save up some Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-50381715335303832532007-08-06T13:55:00.001-05:002007-08-06T13:55:15.326-05:00The 100% Down PlanCan you pay cash for your home? Think about that for a moment… How much do you pay in monthly mortgage payments? Now, imagine your life if you didn't have to make those payments? What could you do with that money? Save for retirement? Give to a charity?So many people have the mortgage idea ingrained in their thinking. They can't even imagine having a paid for house.Is it easy? Heck no! If it was Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-57261104488572033822007-07-23T11:23:00.001-05:002007-07-23T11:23:26.527-05:00Retirement and CollegeI am coordinating a Financial Peace University class at my church. (If you are interested in taking FPU, please let me know. I'm planning our next class now).Last night's lesson was on retirement and college saving. There were a couple of very important points from that class that I would like to reiterate here.Save for yourself first You probably feel a tinge of guilt thinking about putting Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-51239952624535515982007-07-20T10:03:00.001-05:002007-07-20T10:03:36.533-05:00Debit Cards Are EvilYou are probably thinking I mistyped the title. It should read:Credit Cards Are EvilWell, that is true too! Credit cards are bad news.But in this post, we'll talk about how using a debit card can wreck a budget.Last summer, my wife and I were shopping for our son's birthday. Just a couple of weeks earlier, we decided to get serious about our money and stop the crazy spending. Using Dave Ramsey's Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-79790451144957689392007-07-17T13:47:00.001-05:002007-07-17T13:47:53.555-05:00More on Cars…One more thought about cars…I think that when most people hear someone say "save up and buy your car with cash," the immediate reaction is, "no way! That's too much money!"But, remember, you have an asset to add to your cash. The trick here is getting your current car paid off. I was thinking about this as I drove to work today. My car will (hopefully) be paid off in about 6 months. I'm going to Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-76813336516578793212007-07-16T16:22:00.001-05:002007-07-16T16:22:15.587-05:00Cars and MoneyCars.From my experience, cars are one of the biggest reasons people run into money problems. I am guilty of this. I've made some VERY stupid mistakes with cars in the past. But, I've learned my lessons. Here are some thoughts on what I've learned.New Cars SuckThat is, they suck the money out of your wallet. I love driving a new car. They smell great, they shine, and they don't rattle. New cars Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-89949991034929391382007-07-11T14:14:00.001-05:002007-07-11T14:14:41.897-05:00Don’t Save For Retirement?The biggest key to getting out of debt is unbridled focus and intensity. If you focus on that and that alone, and attack it, it can be done.Dave Ramsey calls it "Gazelle Intensity," based on a show he saw on the Discovery channel. (He tells the story in his book, "The Total Money Makeover.")If you are spreading yourself across several goals, you will not get to where you want to be quickly. For Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5513170.post-88340371783383419492007-07-11T09:00:00.001-05:002007-07-11T09:00:31.382-05:00Connecting MDA to Vista’s Mobile Device CenterI started using Windows Vista last October. Since then, I've tried off and on (unsuccessfully) to connect my MDA phone to Vista's new Mobile Device Center.I've used the ActiveSync for years without any problem, but the Mobile Device Center just wouldn't connect at all. It's not a big deal for me because I sync directly to my company's Exchange server over the air, so I can get anything to my Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com4