Andy Leer's Blog

Almost another year gone by....

2012-01-24T20:42:00.001-08:00

After almost another year since the last post, there has been one big change...I'm married, well there have been a few changes.

Courey now lives me with full time, as a good permanent girlfriend should :). Laura and Justin also got married and have had their lovely daughter, my god-daughter, Lucy Leer. And Charlie and Tiffany have set a date and will be married by the middle of this year.

Dad and Mom have had Laura, Justin and Lucy living with them and they are more than grateful for all of that. I am grateful for all of that. It has been a lot of fun recently seeing all of them together on our weekly FaceTime chats. For right now Lucy is cute and funny, soon she will start doing neat stuff too.

As for me, I'm doing okay. Work and travel have run it's toll on me and my body....I often find myself eating thing out and about that I later regret. The travel itself is fun. Always meeting new people has definitely made me come out of my extroverted shell. Work is challenging in that I'm constantly trying to be a step ahead to prevent any catastrophes.

Courey and I have been getting along just peachy. We are having fun getting used to each other more so now that we live together, even though with travel for work, it sometimes seems as though we still live on opposite end of the city. She's getting really good at trying new dishes and I try to cook from time to time.

The house has been good. I'm always standing on pins and needles waiting for the next thing to break or need replaced but so far most of the big things have already been taken care of. Just waiting for the roof to cave in.

The band has also been having fun, with advent of a new album we've been hard at work on some new originals and live recordings which we know that the fans will love. We keep trying to improve our shows and our overall musicianship.

I hope to keep posting more so that this doesn't become a yearly blog. Let's see what happens!

One year ago...

2011-03-11T11:51:00.000-08:00

One year ago, I was living in an apartment on the second floor of a duplex by myself in Brookline a small town just outside of the city of Pittsburgh. I had just started working for Joe at Facilities Survey, I had just purchased my first Macbook Pro and I had yet to find Courey. A lot has changed and a lot has yet to change. In the interim, I have bought a house, been at my job a year now, became overly dependent on all that Apple has convinced me to buy and fallen in love with a girl named Courey.

First off, the house has been a lot of fun...no seriously. It has been a lot of work and with a new furnace in and two retaining walls rebuilt, I've been having fun. The house is also somewhat automated with the ability to turn lights on and off from anywhere in the world and also the ability to keep an eye on the driveway. I can also control the thermostat from anywhere and cut back on heating and cooling costs. This summer, I'll be doing a lot in the yard and hopefully cleaning more than once ever 3 months.

Secondly, I've been at my job for a year now. I'm getting better at SQL statements and using our software and support in general. I still don't like working with 1000's of records at a time but I guess thats growing up. I'm anxious to see what I'll be doing this year that I didn't do last year.

Thirdly, I still love my macbook a lot. It's been a work horse this year and has been treating me very well. It's just over a year old and I got Apple Care just in time. I've been sucked into almost every product that Mac has thrown out in the past year because of it. Apple TV, iPad and iPhone 4 are all on my MVP list.

Last but not least, I'm getting married. I've been dating Courey for over 7 months and last Saturday she said yes. We will get married this October in a catholic church with a traditional catholic service/wedding. Then she gets to move into my house. I can't wait! I know it won't all be peaches and candy corn but I'm very excited to embark on this journey with her. I wouldn't want to with anyone else! She has a great family and great friends and I'm anxious to become a greater part in their lives and visa versa.

Who is to say where I will be in a year from now or even a month! But needless to say I am very grateful for all that has happened, and I am excited to see where life will take me next.

What's been going on...

2010-08-31T19:09:00.000-07:00

First things first, I met a girl named Courey...you can ask how we met, and we'll come up with a different story each time if you like. She is great and within two months of knowing her, we've been all over the place. We spent a weekend in Detroit at the Detroit Maker Faire, we spent a weekend in Central PA visiting my parents and grandparents, and finally we spent a weekend in WV at the State fair and having dinner with her parents. It's been a busy few weekends.

As far as work goes, I am about all travelled out, but when there is work to be done, ship me off! I have not been home for more than a few days straight in the past month. I've been on the road a lot for work, and I'm getting to see a lot of amazing places and meet interesting people. More so I'm getting to eat amazing food that I normally would not get to eat. Tonight was a lobster roll and fresh calamari with a view of the ocean at Jimmies of Savin Rock. Last night was the most amazing Chicken and Dumplings at the Southport Brewing Company, I will be going back for more chicken and dumplings.

Music unfortunately has taken a bit of a back seat, and I have not had time of recent to do anything crazy. I'm still playing with the the Neon Swing X-Perience and having a great time! Our summer tour had many memories that will not soon be forgotten. I currently have aspirations to start a bluegrass Jam session once a month in Pittsburgh. I have a location scoped out in Mt. Lebanon, I just need to start talking to people and see if there is enough of an interest.

The house is coming along great, as with any house, there are bunch of things that always need worked on. Being away from the house doesn't help with that, but I'm slowly chewing away at my self induced honey-do list. Once the weather cools down a little, I firmly intend to get a bunch of yard work done!

My New Job....

2010-07-13T06:47:00.001-07:00

My new job is pretty cool. I'm writing this post to test something out...One big thing I'm looking into currently is Search Engine Optimization. So in order to get higher ratings supposedly you need have links from other sites to get to the site. I'm going to try putting some links on my blog to see if that improves the other sites search-ability.
The site that I created is Facilities Survey Inc.'s website. The company is a Facilities Management company that focuses on solutions such as...Software, Asset Inventory, Building Documentation among other services. Please feel free to browse the site.

The software portion of the site is designed to explain CMMS, or in our case our Custom Maintenance Software. This system allows facilities managers to keep track of assets and work orders and generate useful data.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changessss.....

2010-03-04T10:42:00.001-08:00

A lot has happened in the past 4 weeks for me. I thought rather than have to explain it to a large number of people over and over again, I could alleviate some of that with this blog post, some of you might be getting here from the land of twitter, other from the town that is facebook, and others yet from google BUZZZZZ. Regardless, here are the updates.....

1) New computer - I have gone to the dark side and now have a MacBook Pro. I have to say, I'm still getting used to it but I love the adventure. I have a trusty copy of Windows 7 virtualized on it so I'm safe if I run into any WINDOWS ONLY! applications. I also got the Magic Mouse, and must say, it's pretty nice!

2) NEW JOB!!! Although I will be sad to finally leave Duquesne behind, I am happy to start a new adventure with Facilities Survey Inc. out here in Pittsburgh. I will be a "Field Engineer I". I will split my time between traveling and working at home. It will allow me to use some of the knowledge I gained here at Duquesne as a technician, and allow me to keep furthering my skills with multimedia and over all tech support. Facilities Survey Inc. is a company run by Mr. Serwinski.

3)HOUSE!?!?!?! Yup you read it right, I'm settling down for the time being and have put in an offer and had the offer accepted on a house in Churchill, Pittsburgh (more specifically Turtle Creek). It is the house pictured above. Thanks to my great realtor Kaedi Manly, I should be closing on April 30th, 2010. The house is a great little house and the people that live in it now have it done up real nice. Needless to say I am excited. I can turn my amps up to 11 now and now worry about bothering the neighbors.

snOMG!!!! 2010

2010-02-11T05:35:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to say a few things about this whole SNOW STORM! First off, WOW, it was great to see people pulling together to help others out. While stuck inside, I had a chance to look out my window a lot and I saw so many people helping other people dig out and push cars among other things. Pittsburgh as a whole has greatly impressed me, and the amicable neighborliness has never shown brighter than these past few days here in the burgh. Secondly, the city has done a great job, despite taking what seemed a day or two to get to it, they really did a great job, they had a HUGE task in front of them and they handled it like none other. With the help of outside contractors and the help of the National Guard, Pittsburgh will easily recover and dig out of this mess!
All in all, what a great experience despite the hardships!

My New Hammond organ and Leslie Speaker!!!!

2010-01-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

Here is my "new to me" Hammond C2 and Leslie Speaker. The hammond was so graciously donated by Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA and I just picked up the Leslie from the organ Legend, Gene Ludwig. It is currently being housed at Red Caiman Media in downtown Pittsburgh. Thanks to Red Caiman, I can crank the Leslie 122 as loud as I like! I am aspiring to become a great player and I'm just starting to get the hang of the feel of the keys and the foot pedals. It's been a dream of mine to own a set up like this and now that I do, I am excited to play!

Proof of Concept - Midi Organ Bass Pedals

2010-01-05T05:58:00.000-08:00

Here is a proof of concept of a project I've been wanting to do for a little now. I took a set of pedals from an old Hammond M2 organ and have wired them into an Arduino programmable micro controller. A friend helped me do the coding for the Arduino and it now sends Midi out. In the video I am using a free VST. The pedals will eventually be finished and used with a Roland VK-8 Clonewheel organ. You can see videos of the organ on my youtube site. Also, eventually I will have a second manual that will be able to have the original keyboard mounted on it.

When I am done with the project I will post a link to either an instructable or a further post with more details and the sketch (arduino code).

Using Korg NanoKontrol and Nano Keys to get MICRO B3

2009-12-14T08:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of me demonstrating the use of a Korg NanoKontrol Midi surface with the Korg NanoKeys to have a Micro B3 Hammond-Esque organ! Check it out. Cool little tutorial on how to get drawbars on the cheap!

Me and My VK-8 (Hammond Keyboard Clone)

2009-12-08T18:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of me playing along with a "jam track" haha. Anywho, I just got my organ in the mail Monday and I couldn't be happier. The touch of the keys is incredible and the tonewheel generator sounds great as well. The drawbars and the Roland D-Beam are a lot of fun to play with! I can't wait to get it out to a gig!

Domo FIGHTS Santa!

2009-12-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

Here is the holiday's version of the Move My Domo Project. The same rules apply accept now there is a light you can turn on and off on top of the tree. Thanks again to the ioBridge guys for this great easy to use product!

Here is the link to the actual page. This is also formatted and viewable on the iPhone! MMDv3

Have fun and play with it. If i see you moving the guys I'll try to wave hi! If you have any ideas or requests for further additions please let me know and I will try to incorporate them into the next build!

Tour of Leer Media

2009-12-02T20:50:00.001-08:00

Here is just a quick tour around my home office, so you can see my setup and some of my fun "toys"/work objects. Hope you all enjoy. I don't really have interns but if I did, they would have a larger closet than that to sleep in....

MMD v2.0 (Domo Attacks!!!)

2009-11-21T12:09:00.000-08:00

Move the Slider below to Make DOMO ATTACK!!!

Move the Slider below to Make Munny ATTACK!!!

MMD v2.0 (Domo ATTACKS!!) was made exaclty the same as version 1.0. I just replaced the duck with Domokun and added the webcam functionality. The trickiest part was getting the webcam setup. I used WebcamXP and posted the code using the HTML generator and then modified the size. Domo is moving using a servo motor connection to an ioBridge. Added functionality in 3.0 will have an iPhone only interface that will allow you to not only watch, but control Domo from the iPhone.

UPDATE

Version 3.0 is now available for the iPhone visit MMDv3 on your iPhone web browser.

First Project with My Own ioBridge!

2009-11-19T11:23:00.001-08:00

Move the Slider below to Move the Duck!

Just recieved my very own ioBridge in the mail today and what better to do that make a ducky move from the internet!

I hooked up a servo to channel 4 of the ioBridge on channel 1 of the servo board and set the channel as a servo channel. I then added a variable servo control widget to my dashboard and now I can control the ducky's movement back and forth from the web over ethernet.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T06:51:00.003-08:00

Here is my Wall-E pumpkin. I had the idea but stole the design from someone else online! At one point he even had glowing red eyes! He became known as EVIL WALL-E!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T06:51:00.001-08:00

My robot costume included a programmable micro controller and a voice changing circuit. It was a hit everywhere I took it and even won first prize in a costume contest!.

Technology on the Trip

2009-09-09T22:08:00.001-07:00

Technology has played a huge part on my trip to the South. The biggest part was Navigon for the iPhone. This trip wouldn't have been as enjoyable and easy without it thus far. It had allowed me to get everywhere and has yet to lead me astray. The iPhone has also played an important part by providing me with the ability to blog on the spot, book hotel rooms, and find places to eat very quickly. I couldn't imagine a trip without a device like this. On another note my Asus Netbook has been a more than ample replacement for my HP laptop and has even helped me kill some time with netflix despite overall poor wifi connections down here.

Parthanon

2009-09-08T20:28:00.001-07:00

Earlier today Bill showed me around parts of Nashville and I got to see the replica of the parthanon from the Worlds Fair.

Little Jimmy Dickens

2009-09-08T20:23:00.001-07:00

He was a bit hoarse in voice but as a comedian, he was hilarious.

The Grand Ole Opry

2009-09-08T16:53:00.001-07:00

I finally made it to the Grand Ole Opry.

Site of the 1982 World's Fair

2009-09-06T19:25:00.001-07:00

Knoxville TN Worlds Fair Park

This is a picture of the Sunsphere at night. The ironic part about this picture is that this would not have been able to be posted in the same way without one if the inventions from the fair... the touch screen.

Tennessee Welcomes You with 3G

2009-09-06T14:22:00.001-07:00

After a bit of a stint all day on the edge network, I entered Tennessee and was immediately greeted with full bars on a 3G network. I was starting to get worried. I then proceeded to tether my netbook to my iPhone and book a room in Knoxville for the night!

Andy & Woody

2009-09-06T14:05:00.001-07:00

I stopped to see ab old friend in Pulaski,VA. He was glad to have a visitor and an unexpected one at that. Woody is 97 going on 98 this November and is still sharp as a tack!

Travels with Andy

2009-09-06T07:03:00.001-07:00

And so it begins, my week long journey to Nashville TN and back. I started this morning around 8:30 and don't plan on being back until somtime Thursday night or Friday. My first stop is to see an old friend named Woody in Dublin WV bit that's about 3.5 hours away.

Gravity Hill

2009-08-07T18:34:00.001-07:00

On some back road in New Paris PA there is a road that defies gravity!!

Playing Keys

2009-07-29T09:17:00.001-07:00

Playing keys at the Claredon Ballroom. We had a great show. Lots of good swinging going on.

MEGARITAS

2009-07-28T10:25:00.001-07:00

Chipper from Biggie's sub shop hooked us up with some Megaritas from Peppers!

John Legend Dance Party

2009-07-28T10:23:00.001-07:00

After drinking some MEGARITAS we headed back to the rooms for a John Legend dance party.

Biggies Sub Shop

2009-07-28T07:22:00.001-07:00

Best subs/ food in OC Maryland. Between 18 th and 19th on Philadelphia Ave. Great people and fantastic food!

mmmmm Crabs

2009-07-27T14:00:00.001-07:00

Plate 4 @ Phillips Crab

Captian Jeff and Captain Morgan

2009-07-27T11:18:00.001-07:00

Parasailing was awesome on the bayside of Ocean City MD.

MarVa Theater

2009-07-27T11:16:00.001-07:00

That was ridiculous. Some lady who was the president of the Pocomoke society if idiots treated us like children, complete bullshoot. I hereby boycott the MarVa Theater. What a b&*#h!!

Soundcheck at Pocomoke

2009-07-26T14:58:00.001-07:00

MarVa Theatre in Pocomoke MD. We were not fortunate enough to find any honary ghosts .

Kites at the beach!

2009-07-25T16:30:00.001-07:00

Huge kite display at the beach fun times followed by fries and beer.

Dogfish Head Brewery Tour

2009-07-25T16:23:00.001-07:00

After some tasty tastings and a great tour, we were all feeling the effects of the tasty beer!

Fox Chapel Yacht Club Gig

2009-07-12T16:13:00.001-07:00

Here is the setup from the fox chapel gig, wow that was a long one .

My mini rig!

2009-07-10T10:09:00.001-07:00

Asus Eee 1000HE , Altec Lansing USB powered speakers, and Logitech Bluetooth mouse. Running XP/ eeebuntu Netbook Remix.

Guy Forsythe @ The Thunderbird in Pittsburgh

2009-07-07T18:54:00.001-07:00

incredible show at the thunderbird uke sousaphone and cahon

Ketchup Dino

2009-07-07T07:32:00.001-07:00

I found this guy hanging out down by the ppg rink the other night.

lil brudda Charles and I drinking the night away!

2009-07-02T08:09:00.001-07:00

had a fun time at the Holister's party drinking gin....... and tonics.

Bullseye

2008-08-03T10:10:00.001-07:00

I took off from Greensburg yesterday after the swing band got back from tour and headed for mybhometown of Mechanicsburg. Here I am shooting by brother Charlie's longbow.

Dogfish Head Brewery

2008-08-01T22:49:00.001-07:00

Last show of the tour. The dogfish head brewery had some great brews and the staff was great.

My first Red Stripe

2008-08-01T12:51:00.001-07:00

My First Red Stripe

These girls know how to put it down.

2008-07-31T22:01:00.001-07:00

Wow I was not expecting this .

Milanos

2008-07-31T13:30:00.001-07:00

Somehow Milanos made their way down to OC MD.

I met Kevin Miller!

2008-07-30T19:46:00.001-07:00

Alleged IFL champion Kevin Miller was pleased to be met by the Neon Swing Experience.

The reining champ!

2008-07-30T15:47:00.001-07:00

After 9 plates and some ice cream, Ryan retained his title as " Supreme Eater of Fish". His wife Jenna was extremely proud.

Mike is feeling good!

2008-07-30T13:39:00.001-07:00

getting ready for some seafood.

Clarendon Ballroom

2008-07-30T13:37:00.001-07:00

Here we were setting up at the Clarendon Ballroom. Rockin Ryan was runnin around with his guitar.

Sushi

2008-07-30T10:32:00.001-07:00

We had incredible sushi yesterday Mary got Joe to try fatty tuna belly.

A tender moment...

2008-07-28T11:28:00.001-07:00

Enough said.

Time Square New York

2008-07-28T11:25:00.001-07:00

Here's a pic from Time Square . Wall-e is a great movie!

I drunk

2008-07-27T22:18:00.001-07:00

Swing dance lessons in Central Park

2008-07-27T13:27:00.001-07:00

Swing dancers in Central Park taking lessons before our show.

Sean Jones @3:00a.m.

2008-07-27T00:57:00.001-07:00

So I'm in the apple store on fifth at 3:00 in the morning and I see this large guy in front of me checking out iPod speakers. I say to myself, " that looks like Sean Jones." Sure enough it was. CRAZY!

First show in NYC

2008-07-26T22:17:00.001-07:00

Heres the entrance to our first show in NYC. It's shady from the front but decent inside. Should be a good show.

iAss

2008-07-26T10:52:00.001-07:00

Steve can't handle that I have an iPhone .

I beat the machines!

2008-07-26T08:54:00.001-07:00

At a rest stop in Deleware, we found this arm wrestling arcade game. For fifty cents I was able to prove to the band my immense strength.

The Complimentary (Continental) Breakfast

2008-07-26T08:49:00.001-07:00

Here is a fine sample from the choices at the Comfort Inn in Towson, Maryland.

Friday Night Swing Dance

2008-07-25T23:26:00.001-07:00

Here is a nice couple that came to our first show in Towson, MD. They just happened to be my parents. There were a lot of decent dancers that attended this dance.

DS Guitar Hero Tournament Day 1

2008-07-25T14:12:00.003-07:00

After a long drawn out five song battle, today's reining champion is Andy. He melted off the face of his inferior competitor, Tim Palko

The iFlask

2008-07-25T14:12:00.001-07:00

We are two hours into the tour and I thought it would be nice to show you one of Apple's latest products. The iFlask. We will definitely see if this has any uses on the trip!

Maryland Signs

2008-07-25T13:14:00.001-07:00

Maryland has a very polite way of asking drivers to merge lanes...

Load in!

2008-07-25T09:20:00.001-07:00

Here we are loading up the u haul.We are running both early and late thanks to Mike's impecable time cushioning.

Gadgetry

2008-07-25T05:48:00.001-07:00

Here is most of the gadgets that I'm taking on tour with me. There is everything from guitar hero ds to power inverters and my laptop.