All the equipment fit in my car. The plates vary in weight from ten pounds to forty-five. Everything’s brand new. So, we set up in my garage gym and got down to business with the first workout.

The workout of the day today was five rounds of five rep sets of the deadlift. I figured it would behoove me to start light to make sure I had the form right. I started out at 135, finished the fifth set at 205, and tried one at 235. Eric, on the other hand, started where I left off and finished with all the plates on the bar (305).

So, it looks like I can do barbell work in my garage. Now, all I need is a bench and a set of squat stands. Thumbs up for new gear.

Thanks, Eric!

Digeum Mix Sessions – Volume 04, Session Pap — Blip Beat BBQ. Mixed by Jay Def in Meridian, Idaho, USA, on Sunday, May 30, 2010. Running time: 2:52:08.

Go give it a listen and leave a comment with your thoughts.

Keep dancing, Amanda. I hope you like this music.

Digeum Mix Sessions – Volume 04, Session Oscar — Dancing with Amanda. Mixed by Apollo Lee in Sunnyvale, California, USA, on Sunday, May 23, 2010. Running time: 1:16:14.

Go give it a listen and leave a comment with your thoughts.

Each track is carefully chosen. Some of them are stomping, and some of them are goofy and hilarious. One of them spins into an Irish fiddle tune. This big variety keeps a fun groove going until the very last track.

Digeum Mix Sessions – Volume 04, Session November — Hit It, Brobot. Mixed by Jay Def in Meridian, Idaho, USA, on Friday, May 21, 2010. Running time: 2:08:40.

Go give it a listen and leave a comment with your thoughts.

This mix stomps hard, a street-hardened set of tech house that delivers a drubbing that never softens for a second. When Jay Def wants to spin house music, it’s always gritty, tough, and punches you right in the chest. It feels like three in the morning in a warehouse, where everyone’s sweaty and screaming, the DJ pulls out another record with a bassline that comes from nowhere, and the weak have left the dancefloor for the committed.

Don’t believe me. Go listen to it. And close your eyes and picture every underground party you’ve ever been to — every time it’s getting to that hour when you’ve passed the point where you’re worried about getting up and doing stuff tomorrow.

Digeum Mix Sessions – Volume 04, Session Lima — Lazy Saturday Afternoon. Mixed by Jay Def in Meridian, Idaho, USA, on Saturday, May 08, 2010. Running time: 2:03:33.

Go give it a listen and leave a comment with your thoughts.

I remember some time ago reading a funny story about a guy’s misadventure making a medicine ball. I thought to myself, “The worst that can happen is that I’ll mess up the cuts on a PVC pipe and have to buy another $2.25 pipe to start over with.” I knew that, whenever we built the medicine balls and parallettes, we’d be working outside. Spilled sand or miscut pipes outside damages nothing. Right.

When Eric and I got the supplies out to my car, I pointed out that the seats in the back fold down flat and that there should easily be enough room to put the PVC pipes in the car and close the rear hatch. Unfortunately, I loaded the PVC pipes in the car, put one end against the windshield on the passenger side and closed the hatch. This caused the PVC pipes to impact the corner of the windshield on the passenger side. Yes, now I have an impact fracture from the inside about the size of a dollar bill. So, my parallette construction project just added a $150 windshield repair to the bill.

Eric and I wandered to find burlap bags, found the clock ticking against us as we researched glass repair options, and finally scrubbed the medicine ball construction (which would involve running to a beach to get 50 pounds of sand and, the way my luck was going, dumping it all over the interior of my car). We decided to focus on building the parallettes.

The actual construction part of the parallettes was really easy. While Glassman’s instructions call for a high level of precision and straight cuts, we had minimal tools and cut the pipes by hand on my front lawn. Using electrical tape as a cut guide, in accordance with the instructions, was brilliant, but electrical tape never forced a straight cut from a small hack saw. While some of our cuts were weirdly crooked, once the parallettes were put together, they were as solid as they would be if we had used a mitre box.

After some testing, we were both surprised by how solid and useful these parallettes are. I was also surprised by how much more challenging kicking up to a handstand is when you’re effectively nine inches taller. Fortunately, we have photographic evidence of our adventure.

• 1 PVC Pipe, 10 feet: $2.23
• 4 PVC Elbows: 4 x $0.47 = $1.88
• 4 PVC T Joints: 4 x $0.65 = $2.60
• 8 PVC End Caps: 8 x $0.53 = $4.24

• Electrical tape: $0.59
• Mini Hack Saw: $6.49
• PVC Cement: $4.79

• Windshield repair: $150.00

Today’s grand total: $183.77

The lesson: When loading your car with something long, don’t put the end against the windshield.

At 39 tracks and just over three hours long, this is the longest Digeum Mix Session mix to date. At 128 beats per minute, it’s just right for a hike, a jog, or a really long workout. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed spinning it.

To the birthday boy, I hope this mix finds you in good spirits and marvelous health. I’m privileged to call myself your friend.

Digeum Mix Sessions – Volume 04, Session Juliet — For Jay. Mixed by Apollo Lee in Sunnyvale, California, USA, on Sunday, April 25, 2010. Running time: 3:04:10.

Go give it a listen and leave a comment with your thoughts.

If you like your breaks heavy and aggressive, but not hyper-active, with a little menace, this is your mix. At just over 71 minutes, it’s just long enough and punchy enough to put it in your ears and get some coding done. Or stomp your workout with enough gusto to set a personal best. Go, Jay!

Digeum Mix Sessions – Volume 04, Session Echo — Not for the Faint-Hearted. Mixed by Jay Def in Meridian, Idaho, USA, on Monday, March 22, 2010. Running time: 1:11:13.

Go give it a listen and leave a comment with your thoughts.

His new mix is nearly two hours of funky and atmospheric drum & bass. There are vocal tracks here, full of jazz chords and acoustic basslines. There are punchy grooves that make you shake your fist. His track selection is right on the money. What a gorgeous mix.

Digeum Mix Sessions – Volume 04, Session Charlie — Dreaming of Spring II: Unleash the Sun. Mixed by Jay Def in Meridian, Idaho, USA, on Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Running time: 1:57:10.

Go give it a listen and leave a comment with your thoughts.

Jay’s new mix is two hours of lush, ambient jungle and spaced out drum & bass grooves. The music here melts into the background if you want it to, but still keeps a good thump going. In fact, as I write this, I’ve uploaded the mix, but it’s still playing as I work into the night on some other projects I have going. I don’t even want to pause this one to go take a leak.

This tour through the breakbeats is an addictive one. This is going to be interesting tomorrow on the track doing 400 meter sprints with Jay’s beautiful blend in my ears. Jay has some enviable skills as a DJ and his taste in music is impeccable. Now I know I’m going to attack his collection with my portable hard drive at my first opportunity.

Well done, Jay. Welcome to Volume 04.

Digeum Mix Sessions – Volume 04, Session Alpha — Dreaming of Spring. Mixed by Jay Def in Meridian, Idaho, USA, on Monday, March 01, 2010. Running time: 1:58:24.

Go give it a listen and leave a comment with your thoughts.