How’s the grass over there?

After 25 years of corporate software development I am trying something different.

I just received an email from Rancho Bernardo High School confirming that I am eligible to start work as a part-time assistant art teacher. The opportunity caught me by surprise and I owe a debt of gratitude to my friends and neighbors for recommending me for the role, and their ongoing encouragement. The position is only through June, but will hopefully give me a taste of the classroom.

I also volunteered for Encorps, a non-profit organization that helps STEM professionals get into the classroom and, eventually, credentialed. Over ten weeks I will volunteer as a computer science instructor in underprivileged schools once a week.

Why am I doing this?

I want to teach, but I’d like to “test the waters” first. Originally, my plan was to substitute teach, but my applications went largely unnoticed. This way, however? It’s better. I get to teach kids what I love – Art and Programming – and see if the grass truly is greener on the other side of the fence, at least for me.

Holy Cr@p, Teenagers

Ashley takes after many women in my family. Like my Vavoa, however, it's all about finding the right approach. For my Vavoa it was See's Candy. For Ashley? Just give it time ;-) — Ashley takes after many women in my family. Like my Vavoa, however, it’s all about finding the right approach. For my Vavoa it was See’s Candy. For Ashley? Just give it time 😉

I now am the proud father of two …. teenagers. Ashley is now 15. Kaylee is now 13. Being a guy, it’s amusing to experience how the teenage years play out for my two girls. To all the girls I knew when I was a teenager, you had me completely fooled! I thought you had everything figured out the entire time I was tripping over my own hormones and treading water in an ocean of social awkwardness. Ha! I know better now!

Anyhoo, I drew Ashley a comic on the eve of her 15th birthday. She’s notorious for being difficult to shop for. Her sister, Kaylee, however, is not. I hope I did a good job of conveying that in the comic.

Suno – A Generative AI Music Service

Will Work For AI Tokens — I strongly believe that Generative AI is going to dramatically change how music is created. I only hope it’ll be for the better.

If you haven’t tried out AI by now, you should. I’ll admit, I was scared of it first, but I am also finding it to be an amazing tool.

Several months ago I used generative AI to help me create some artwork for an application I developed. Since then I have started using ChatGTP to clean up correspondence and generate cover letters for my ongoing job search.

About a month ago my friend, Ben Good, introduced me to Suno, a generative AI music service. First, he showed me how he could provide Suno a “theme” ( i.e. “I want a happy summertime song about driving along the beach and enjoying the sun” ) and a “style” ( i.e., “American Folk” ) and it would generate a song complete with vocals and a backing track. Then, as a gag, he fed Suno lyrics – in this case a random wikipedia page – to show me that Suno could make a song out of just about any source material. You haven’t truly rocked out until you’ve rocked out to Wikipedia, by the way.

I was hooked ( Ben already was ). I bought a subscription and started feeding it some song lyrics that I had been working on. Low and behold! Suno generated a song. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start. A huge start, honestly. Just hearing my lyrics sung to a backing track got my creative juices flowing.

Since then Ben and I have discovered you can explicitly tell Suno through a prompt what exactly you want your song to sound like ( baritone, edgy, acoustic, heavy metal, twangy, emotional, simple melody, etc …) as well as specify the structure of the song ( verse, chorus, intro, solo, etc … ). The end result? Still not exactly what I was looking for – but close enough.

Here’s the coolest part if you can play an instrument and have a decent voice ( cough, cough – me ). Suno also allows you to download what’s called “stem” files for any song it generates for you. One stem file is the vocals. The other stem file is the music track. Then, you can take the stem files, feed them into a transcription service, generate the sheet music for your song, and learn to play it. Of course, you can generate them by hand – I mean ear, too, it just takes a little longer.

So what happens next?

Well, it doesn’t take too much effort to see the music industry is fighting back. Their claim is that Suno has “trained” its AI model on existing songs. I know for a fact that I heard inklings of well-known artists’ voices in the songs that it generated for me. However, in my very humble opinion? The train has left the station and is roaring along at breakneck speed. I, personally, don’t think they can stop it.

As for me? It’s an enormous win. Suno is helping me create music – my music – music that might have never been heard, otherwise. And with the stem files? I plan on learning to play and sing it, too. Ben and I are currently collaborating on an album. I’ll post here soon about it!

Vandervort Realty has a website

Last, but certainly not least – I finally got around to launching a website for Jodie’s brokerage, Vandervort Realty! You can see it here. Jodie is still very much into the sales side, but has been expanding more and more into property management as well. If you have any questions regarding buying or selling a home, or if you need help with a rental, feel free to use the “Contact Us” page – mainly because I haven’t tested it yet. ( Just kidding, I have ).

That’s all for now! Thanks for reading, people, I hope to post again soon. In the meantime? Go create … and….

Take Care. Live Life.

-Scott

#Suno #RanchoBernardoHighSchool #ArtTeacher #HighSchoolTeacher #GenerativeAIMusic #GarageBand #MakeSomethingCool #Teenagers #TeenageGirls #DadOfTeens #MakingMusic #ChatGTP #Comics #Encorps #ProgrammingTeacher #Volunteer #VandervortRealty

Clean-ish

The van was a mess
I must confess
It was time to give it a good cleaning

It had accumulated enough soot
For plants to take root
Giving dirty a whole new level of meaning

( And that was just the outside )

I rolled open the door
And gaped at the floor
It was completely covered in shit

As I held my nose
And shoveled out moldy clothes
I found myself ready to snap

From the windows I scraped stickers
From the seats I plucked “pickers”
Left over from last winters’ colds

I tossed out dirty spoons and utensils
And worn broken crayons and pencils
And Tupperware containers full of old food

The van now exorcised
I spun around in surprise
And found my daughters staring back at me in shock

There stood my girls
Trash bags unfurled
Filling the van back up with their crap

#familytruckster #badpoetry #comic #parentfail #adulting #drawnandcoded

This one time at band practice …

We’re the best band in a three block radius.

It has been almost three years since a jam session between Shawn Burgwald and I prompted the founding of the “Rubber Band”. I think we tried to play “Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC. Almost three years later and I’m still learning the damn solo.

The band has changed a little. Shawn now primarily plays electric guitar rather than drums. Colin Young has taken up the drums in his place. Mike Jock, our original bassist, has decided to pursue other things. John Hatcher has replaced him on bass, and has introduced a banjo into some of our covers. Kenn Matthews maintains his role as lead vocalist. My brother, Todd Vandervort, and I bring up the rear on our respective guitar.

Aside from playing guitar I’ve started singing a little, too, lending backup vocals for Kenn as well as the occasional song. I joke with the guys that I have exactly two octaves to play with, but I’ll leverage them to the hilt if they’ll let me. The shower is now my studio and my family, the unfortunate audience. As for guitar, I find myself mostly playing acoustic. At band practice, surrounded by amplified electric guitars, it can be like bringing a knife to a gunfight, but I manage.

I started writing songs, too. I’ve had a lot of fun garnishing my illustrations with poetry, so songwriting seemed like a natural progression. Time will tell if they ever see the light of day and the drums of ears ( other than mine ).

As far as the future of The Rubber Band? We’re trying to get out of the garage and start playing live more. It’s tough, though. We’re all Dads with families, jobs, and responsibilities vying for our attention. It’s hard enough to find time to practice alone, let alone as a group. But, we manage. And the good news? We’re getting better, too.

Maybe someday we’ll be the best band in a four block radius.

The Rubber Band and their merry group of band aids.

Take care. Stay healthy. Live life.

– Scott

#therubberband #garageband #music #guitar #musician #rock #beatmaker #drums #garagebandmusic #newmusic #beat #bass #cover #rockband #comic #illustration #drawnandcoded

6th Grade Glamp

“I almost walked up to the office to call you guys the first night, but my friends convinced me not too.”, Kaylee told Jodie and I, not long after returning from 6th Grade Camp.

It was probably a good thing she didn’t because, although Jodie and I had fully intended to leave our phones turned on as we slept, we had forgotten to. Awesome parenting, right?

“So…?”, I prompted her.

“The food was bad and I didn’t sleep at all the first night!”, she told me.

“Would you do it again?”, I asked her.

“No!”, she said, firmly.

“Really?”, I asked again.

“No!”, she demanded.

“Why?”, I asked.

“The food was horrible!”, she repeated, adding, “And the beds had graffiti all over them, and….”

“….it wasn’t that bad, then!”, I interrupted.

“… and everyone kept farting! My friends and I all used the bathroom at the same time…”, Kaylee continued.

“…so no one knew who was farting?”, Jodie interrupted, laughing.

“YES!”, Kaylee confirmed.

Although I missed my little girl, I am proud of her. My own experience with 6th Grade Camp some 36 years ago – ironically, at the same campground and ( likely ) bunk houses – was disastrous.

Due to nerves, bad food choices, or both, I didn’t shit for the entire week. Showering was also traumatic. I spent the first two days with unrinsed shampoo in my hair before I gave up on bathing altogether. I was all-too-happy to return home, or at least I would have been if my mom didn’t immediately whisk me off to an event at the Portuguese Hall upon picking me up – unshowered, filthy, and still very constipated, in dress slacks and a tie.

So, no Kaylee. I’m not sure I’d do it again, either…

But I’m glad you did.

– Dad

#6thGradeCamp #Camping #SixthGradeCamp #Cabin #Cuyamaca #CuyamacaOutdoorSchool #PowayUnifiedSchoolDistrict #Comic #ParentingFail

Spending my inheritance

My Mom loves clothes.

As the story goes, my Mom and her identical twin sister, Bernadette, were traumatized throughout their adolescence by being forced to wear hand-me-downs and homemade attire due to my grandfather’s frugalness. This resulted in an insatiable desire to shop for clothes upon reaching adulthood, but only at discount clothiers.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get it out of their systems before I was born. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom and aunt dragging my cousins, brother, and I to go “clothes shopping” with them. My Mom always admitted this “urge to shop” was a direct result of her childhood deprivation. Being kids, we entertained ourselves as best as possible, often by hiding in the clothes racks – much to the chagrin of our Moms’ and the store clerks. And the clerks? They knew my Mom and aunt on a first-name basis. As to whether this was due to them being identical twins and easily recognizable, or their frequenting the stores so often as to become regulars is debatable. My money is on the later, however.

As I grew up I have no doubt my Mom’s biggest disappointment is that I didn’t inherit her love of clothes. It’s not for lack of trying, either. She’d drag me to Nordstroms, eager to buy me the latest in Men’s “Surfer Wear” that was all the rage in the 80’s and 90’s, and was always shocked when I’d shrug off her attempts. It is a little known fact that, yes, for the most part I let my Mom dress me all through middle school and high school.

My Mom got the last laugh, though. Between my brother and I? Four granddaughters. All of whom have inherited the clothes shopping gene. She’s never been happier.

This comic is a tribute to my Mom and my aunt. Shop til you drop and spend every penny, just please, oh, please, don’t drag me along anymore.

Take care. Stay healthy. Live life.

-Scott

#DrawnAndCoded #ShopTillYouDrop #DiscountClothes #TJMax #Marshalls #Ross #Comic #FashionSale #Fashion #Shopping #Style #FashionBlogger #Inheritance

Dog, the walk

The first of my “draw comics, faster” New Years’ Resolution for 2024.

One downside when drawing digitally, at least for me, is that I’m given too much control : I can can zoom in ( and in, and in, and in ), flip, rotate, skew, erase, un-erase, re-erase, sketch over, sketch under … with the end result usually looking like crap. My OCD inevitably gets the better of me.

This year I’m trying to keep it loose and get these done a little faster. I have a lot of ideas I want to pen down this year. Hopefully, they’ll make you smile, or think. Hopefully both.

Take care. Stay healthy. Live life.

-Scott

#WalkingTheDog #AnimalLover #Pets #ILoveDogs #FamilyDog #FamilyPet #DogComic #DrawnAndCoded

Purpose

Remission.

It’s been two years since my last treatment for prostate cancer. If there’s still cancer growing in me, there’s not enough of it to detect in my bloodwork.

If there’s anything good about prostate cancer, it’s that it can be detected through a simple blood draw. The blood draw looks for a Prostate Specific Antigen, or PSA. A high PSA doesn’t necessarily mean cancer, but if you’ve had your prostate removed ( like me ), anything higher than zero is bad.

I get tested every three months. The days leading up to those tests are anxiety-inducing to say the least. I try my best to push the worst parts of my cancer treatment as far back into the corners of my mind as possible, but those memories start creeping up, like clockwork, as the blood tests near.

Staying busy helps.

My daughters, now 12 and 14, haven’t outgrown dear-old-Dad, but their own interests, friends, and hobbies have freed up time for me to take on some new interests of my own. I’ve started taking online art lessons, formed a garage band with some of the neighborhood dads, and have even started doing some freelance software development.

So, yeah. Life is good.

Take care. Stay healthy. Live it.

-Scott

#Remission #FindingPurpose #SurvivorsGuilt #PTSD #NoEvidenceOfDisease #CancerSurvivor #Family #ParentingFail #Comic #ProstateCancer

Training Wheels

#trainingwheels #bike #kidsbike #learningtoride #bicycles #balancebike #ParentingFail #DrawnAndCoded #comic

Logistics

Calling it a "cup" is probably the worst decision in the history of naming things. At best it could be some sort of headgear. At worse, you're just confusing young boys as to what the heck it's actually for, much less where it goes. — Calling it a “cup” is probably the worst decision in the history of naming things. At best it could be some sort of headgear. At worse, you’re just confusing young boys as to what the heck it’s actually for, much less where it goes.

If there’s one thing COVID taught me, it’s how important it is to get up and move. Being confined to a desk for work is bad enough, but being confined to my house is something else entirely. After dealing with lower back pain for a months I tried some things.

First, at the recommendation of my friend and neighbor, Missy, I bought a standing desk. It’s a relatively affordable tabletop model from Vari, just big enough to fit a single 27″ monitor. Unfortunately, my monitor was 32″, just big enough to hang over the sides of the platform and bulky enough to max out its’ hydraulic lifting mechanism. After cannibalizing a smaller monitor from my kids’ gaming setup, my back pain was better, but persisted.

Next, at the recommendation of my wife, Jodie, I started following an online Yoga Instructor, Adrienne. Adrienne’s video, Yoga For Lower Back Pain, is short, concise, and effective. I’ve been doing some variation of her routine nightly before bed ever since, effectively serenading my wife with a cacophony of cracking, popping, grunting, and ( yes ) occasionally farting noises as she drifts off to sleep. Again, it helped a little, but the back pain persisted.

Next, I submitted myself to a chiropractor, specifically Cooke Chiropractic in Rancho Bernardo. I survived 47 years without ever seeing a chiropractor and only did so at the recommendation of my wife. First off, Ian Cooke is awesome. He showed me massaging techniques with a racquetball, various stretches, and encouragingly told me that I would, in fact, be back up and running in no time. Near the conclusion of our first session he positioned me on a small massage table, gently placed his hands on a couple of spots on my back and hip, and rearranged every single vertebrae in my back with a violent jerk. This resulted in a loud audible crack, an even louder shriek from me, and hysterical laughter from my wife. It helped a little, but the back pain persisted.

Finally, I bought a Fitbit and started tracking my steps. I never gave the 10,000 steps-a-day thing much thought until I realized how little, in fact, I was actually moving throughout the day. Sure, I’ve made a habit of regularly lifting weights, prefaced by a short warm-up on a stationary bike. I’ve even been a devotee of Shawn T’s T-25 workout for several years ( basically, Insanity for the less-inclined ). But, I was averaging only 3,000 steps-a-day. Cranking it up to 10,000, with the help of Adrienne, a standing desk, and a few sessions at Cooke Chiropractic finally did the trick. My back pain is gone and I am even running a few days a week, too.

At this point you’re probably wondering what in the hell this long winded monologue has to do with an illustration of a misplaced athletic cup. Well, 10,000 steps is roughly 4-5 miles and can take a couple of hours. It’s a lonely plod without someone to talk to, so I often walk with my family and friends. On these walks I’ve realized that walking not only loosens up ones back, but ones mouth, too.

To my friend, Missy, thank you for sharing your story. And to her son, Allan, I’m sorry you got caught in the crossfire.

To everyone else, keep moving.

Take care. Stay healthy. Live life.

-Scott

#varidesk #standingdesk #10000StepsADay #ShawnT #T25 #AdrienneYoga #YogaByAdrienne #CookeChiropratic #Chiropractor #FitBit #KeepMoving #Baseball #AthleticCup #ProtectiveGear #LittleLeague #ParentingFail #DrawnAndCoded #BackPainCure

Click!

Photos tell a story.

But when I’m old and gray.

The only photos I’ll care about.

Are of my family in disarray.

Staged photos may seem more appealing.

But really they’re really just a lie.

Because the most memorable family photos.

Are the ones that go awry.

Bunny ears.

Funny sneers.

Jabs. Slaps.

Piggybacks.

Their personalities all come out.

My family’s perfectly imperfect.

But still, I have to shout.

“Hold still, damnit!”

Click.

#FamilyPicture #Photographer #FamilyPhoto #FamilyPhotographer #PhotoBomb #ParentingFail #DrawnAndCoded #Comic #BadDadPoetry #Poetry