"The Warehouse never gets filled": Definition, please?

At work the other day, the HR lady and I were talking about some things and we got off subject for a minute and we ended up talking about music.

In this place I'm at, sometimes conversations go off on completely different topics, as I work for a small company and discussions usually lead to other information.. totally random one offs, kind of thing.

There's usually the attempt to make everyone to try to get along and know each other a little better, versus the "oh, that's so and so" with no background information on the specific person. At least there is some semblance of understanding of the humans in the building by way of various squirrel moments. It's not for every case, but has been proven in most instances.

When the conversation came up about music, the woman said that she was jamming out to various Spotify playlists (she tends to keep her door shut, as she is human resources and needs some privacy). While she was trudging along on her computer, she stumbled on a "New" / "Nu Metal" station on her phone. Okay, she can get down with that, as she's only five years older than me, therefore 90s songs are a part of her history.

Well... it's one thing to have Korn, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park, but then the station played ICP. The woman had to double check what she was listening to, as Insane Clown Posse isn't your typical metal band. On top of the fact she's from the Mitten State and tends to recognize other Michiganders, even though there are some artists you are willing to forget about from your home turf. With ICP, we are all used to that name being in the horrorcore / hiphop / rap subgenres and totally not the horns abound with long hair genre.

The topic got me thinking: If one Psychopathic Records band is listed, would others? What about the one off group called Zug Island? I mean, they're not the every day talked about band that Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope brought in to the fold (actually the rock band Jay created), but they are still on (or were on) the label. Given that Zug is more rock than metal, I don't know if they would have been played. Then again, Twiztid and Anybody Killa might not either. Surely, ICP doesn't belong as well?

It's so confusing these days what bands are classified as. Look at my post the other day with Knothead - how many genres he's put himself in. If some guy out of Washington can jump into all sorts of areas in the record store, why can't Spotify put a couple of Wicked Clowns on a new channel?

You know you're getting old when you can't keep up with it anymore and you ask the simple question of "when are they listed as "classic" anything to us???

To get off the music subject and onto the next, we are officially 1 year out of the destruction Hurricane Ian left behind. Thursday was the mark of the storm beast. There's been plenty of advertising about how far the area has come in the last 365 days and how new opportunities have risen.

For example, researchers from FGCU's Water School went on to various points in Southwest Florida to see how the hurricane affected the Gulf, Caloosahatchee and the mangroves. Not only would algae bloom show up, but the winds cleared some of the older / dying trees in the barrier islands. With a clear canopy and churning of soil, new growth can happen and help delay wind in future storms.

The places hard hit like Matlacha, Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel / Captiva are still struggling. My mother and I saw a hourly news show (ABC7's "Survival to Revival") the other night that showed places on Pine Island are still looking freshly destroyed. The shockingly interesting thing is, the news stated there's one place that has the highest elevation in Florida, so the damage was minimal for them.

Cabbage Key "is a private island" that is "located north of Upper Captiva" and "is only accessible by boat" (NBC2). According to the Cabbage Key website, it is "One hundred acres of tropical vegetation" and has a "historic restaurant, inn and rental cottages. A panoramic view of Pine Island Sound, near Fort Myers in Bokeelia, is provided from the front porch of our open-air restaurant situated atop a thirty-eight foot Indian shell mound. There are no cars here, not even a paved road. You will find winding nature trails, romantic picturesque views and relaxation".

Also on its website, there is history of the island: "Cabbage Key is an ice age sand dune. According to geologists, the island has not flooded completely since the last ice age. [...] The key has an irregular shape with its long axis measuring approximately 3,500 feet in length". From what the hour news cast reported, as well as what's listed on the history, "An extensive Calusa Indian shell midden is located on Cabbage Key. [...] The Calusa Indians were known to have lived in the Pineland area for about 2000 years until the mid-1700's. Remarkably, they survived for 200 years following the arrival of the Spanish".

Side note, according to University of Maine, "Middens are an archive of ancient coastal lifeways and environments. Archaeologically, middens preserve a record of thousands of years of coastal occupation".

To continue on with the history of the island, it explains there's a home that "[sits atop the midden] 130' from Pineland Sound at approximately 33' above sea level". Which made the storm surge not touch much of the island as the sea shells, clay pots and dirt are piled on top of each other. The major thing that was hurt was the boat docks to get onto the island.

Where as the Sanibel Causeway is slowly getting its beaches back and the road is finally paved all the way through. Fort Myers Beach got its Times Square Clock unveiled yesterday, yet the pier is still in shambles. According to a June, 2023 article, there is still no timeline on the reopening, however I couldn't find a specific article pointing directly to when and if it'll get touched.

I have seen some news pieces that the artists on Matlacha have moved over to various places within downtown Fort Myers, much like some of the restaurants have fount opportunity to go into vacant places in shopping plazas. It's not ideal because they want to be where they belong (on the island to support the locals), but until the areas can be completely redone, they have to move inland for now. It also can be seen as a win because there is a very good chance of gaining more clientele from these new spots and when the ability to move back home occurs, word of mouth will gain traction and it will be bigger and better. One restaurant said they'd be game to make a couple franchises from this, if it turns out to be okay.

Although, on the other hand, I don't know much about what's redone on Captiva, but I think the hotel (South Seas) is still being worked on, much of the businesses are still boarded and only a handful have really come back to life.

I know on a few of the housing sites (the "house for sale" ones.. not the website Craig built) list multi million dollar places for half of what they should go for, and that's because the houses are down to studs. I'm sorry, but if I'm seeing pictures of a house or even touring it, with 4 feet of drywall gone from every room or even the entire wall gone, I am not going to spend $500,000 on the place because I'm going to have to spend that and then some to continue building it.

That is a bad comment on my end, but it is completely different of a story to buy a place and spend a couple thousand to replace appliances, carpeting, painting, etc., and lay down half a mil, but to know I've got to put at least five grand in drywall in the place, then start from square one with doors, locks / knobs, appliances, bathroom stuff (tubs, toilets, sinks), countertops, furniture, ad nauseam... I'm better off moving north and buying a place and fixing it to make it my own. Since you're pretty much starting from square one down here and having to basically rebuilt the house, would it be cheaper to flatten it and start from the ground up? And if it is, aren't lot prices significantly lower because the expectation is to build a house?

Again, I know that makes me sound like an ungrateful bastard, but I'm just trying to think realistically. I know people are hurting right now and they just want whatever money they can get so they can walk away and rebuild somewhere else, but I kind of don't want someone else's problem, knowing I am about to live in the path of a hurricane. We probably won't get another storm of Ian's caliber, but I don't want to take that chance and put together a place to live and then worry about what I'm going to face if something wicked comes my way. Like I said, I'd rather deal with snow up north than storm surge and everything else even a minor hurricane can bring.

A positive note happening soon, a business called "Charity Pros" is putting on an "All Star Concert" to "honor the presence of the Heroes who risked their lives to rescue hundreds by land, sea, and air during the massive flooding, those who came to our aid with food, supplies, and medical through extreme conditions, and the many unsung heroes that have exhibited incredible acts of humanity, kindness, and generosity over this past year. Proceeds from the event will support our local musicians and music industry workers severely affected by the stor" [the 'stor' ended that way on the site].

The site also states that there's going to be some big names coming to play and a big tailgate party is happening to "honor Jimmy Buffett. Plus, if you spend a big amount for a ticket, you can get amazing looking seats and wined and dined by the local sponsors of the event.

Who's playing, you ask?

"Internationally acclaimed Rock Band Matchbox Twenty will headline the event [...]

Special guest, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, and four-time Grammy winner Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles for over 27 years, will also be taking the stage. [...]

SWFL rock band Red Hannah will kick off their All-Star set, featuring special appearances by local professional musicians Matty Jollie, Sheena Brook, and more surprises. Proceeds from this event will help support local musicians through Music Alive SWFL, the Tabarrini Children’s Outreach Foundation, and the Charity Pros “Megan’s Wish” program".

It really looks like a superb lineup and I wish I could go, but sadly, it's not something I can afford to do right now, especially where it's an outdoor festival, next Saturday, and nosebleed tickets are slightly above my pay range (starting at $79). I'm not trying to use that as an excuse, but it's rain or shine and since it'll be outside at Hammond Stadium (👎boo... Twins territory!!👎), it's also a drive I can't do at night as I don't see well in the day time or the night time.

But I totally dig what this is trying to accomplish and 100 per cent wish I could go.

This might be the only time I get to see Matchbox Twenty and I still kick myself for not going to the Goo Goo Dolls concert when we first moved here (we literally had only been in Fort Myers a couple months and I had been looking for work and didn't know of the Barbara B Mann theater until I drove past the billboard for the college and saw the band was playing there that week. By that time, it was too late to get tickets and having no dosh, I didn't go). I'll hate myself for missing Matchbox too, I know. But that's part of life.

At some point I do want to try that Tito's Cantina and FK Your Diet, as there has been positive reviews about them. FK Your Diet keeps showing up in my Yelp feed.

Overall, there's so much I want to say and yet I feel like I'm beating some of this topic to death. I know I don't have any recent pictures of the cleanup locally, but I do want to add 2 pictures I took on the way back from Sarasota.

The blue of the sky with the white clouds mirroring on the water. I forget where exactly we were, but we were close to Fort Myers.

This next photo I have, was taken in the house I was staying at. I just thought it came out interesting. I was on the floor playing with the dog and ended up looking up at the chandelier.