This video  by Matthew Harding just makes me smile. I've seen it a couple of times now and it is so joyful and thus so powerful. Some call it contrived; I call it inspired. So many happy people contributing to a project. It's an international event, crossing borders, and bringing people together.

From the shot at the North Korean border to the deepest parts of Africa, there is always someone willing to dance with this team. Maybe my bucket list might include going to all these venues.

A friend of mine takes a garden gnome and takes pictures of the places he visits like Australia and New Zealand. Maybe I'd take a sax and play with bands of all kinds. Now that sounds interesting. I probably wouldn't schlep the bass sax around the globe though.  ;o)

Enjoy the music; be the music. 

Again thanks to Catherine for noting the YouTube video did not allow embedding. Click on the stop sign to be transferred to the YouTube presentation.

Making your house safe from burglaries is something that I have preached to my family and friends. The trick is to make your house the hardest one to break into on your street. Because so many people are lazy about this, either because they don't want to think about something so horrible or because they are 'too busy', it should be easy to rise above the norm.

Why should a thief work so hard to break into your house if the neighbor's house is easier, usually way easier?

I have 20 years military experience, in the Corps of Engineers, three years as a security guard and then security guard manager in college, and have done a lot of reading and research on the matter. But I am always trying to get the list of things so do down to a manageable few. Here is my prioritized list today:

1. Own a dog. Big isn't necessary as long a the wee beastie will bark like crazy if some tries to come in the house. Remember a dog is a huge responsibility, if you are not home much, this probably isn't a good solution for you.

2. Secure your doors. By this I mean your exterior doors, garage doors, and fence door. Use quality hardware including a deadbolt. Insure the inside door from the garage is locked. Insure that exterior doors are solid and use three inch screws to affix the hinges to the frame. Know that thieves can get into most houses through the garage by kicking a panel out of the garage door and then walking into the house through the usually unlocked inside garage door.

3. Use security system signs advertising on your door, in your windows and in your yard. You can get these at many hardware stores, Radio Shack, and on eBay. Do this even if you don't have a security service.

4. Install motion sensor lights by or near all entrances to your house. Thieves like to work in the dark. If you have one of those twenty plus year old shrubs blocking your entrance from the street, you are screwed. Trim in down.

5. Never park your car on the street. If you have a garage use it for your car. If you don't park the car in the driveway as close to the house as possible. Not only will this reduce your chances of getting the car or stuff in the car stolen, the finish of the car will stay like new longer. If you have too much junk in the garage to park the car there, do what I do. Clean it out once a year. If I haven't touched the items in the garage in two years, it gets re-purposed or trashed.

There are more ideas out there, but these are the big ones. I read the blotter report in my town paper and it is sad how many people get wallets/purses stolen from unlocked houses and cars. What the heck? These people are called enablers and they are as guilty as the thief.

"There is no reciprocity. Men love women, women love children, children love hamsters."
-- Alice Thomas Ellis

A tip of the hat to Eolake... again.

Someone asked for the name of the song on the Buffet-Crampon.com site. So I wandered over and was struck by both the visual beauty of the site and the very nice song. I called Suzy in, the clarinetist in the family, to give the song a listen, but she didn't recognize it. The Buffet clarinets are some of the finest instruments in the world and most pro's play one of the Buffet instruments.

The Tosca is the new standard I think. I don't really keep up with clarinets like I do saxophones. I play a Buffet R-13 Festival. And I've tried some of their other offerings; all were excellent instruments with buttery-smooth working key works, and stellar intonation and tone. The fit and finish is top-drawer too.

If you wanted to buy one clarinet that would last the average player the rest of their lives, this could be the instrument for you.

My Selmer Privilege 67 bass clarinet is one such instrument too and moved me from a want to be player into the realm of actually playing the instrument. I'd tried other bass clarinets and couldn't get the clarion range to play reliably, let alone the altissimo. With this instrument I was immediately able to play the full range of the instrument. Of course the Walter Grabner hand-made mouthpiece didn't hurt much either.  ;o)

Having done a tribute to one of Mom's fav singers, I thought I would highlight one of mine. A long time favorite of Suzy and me is Linda Ronstadt. This picture is from her Hasten Down the Wind album. Yes, I said it... Album.  :o)

One of my favorite songs by Linda and one that is not on everyone's list, Lo Siento Mi Vida. Here is a YouTube video of that song:

As noted by others, one has to wonder why this popular vocalist and entertainer who has earned multiple Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden Globe nominations has not been nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here are some of my other fav pictures of Linda.

     She always got a lot of new media attention and magazine covers.

That's my Sunday morning reflection as I wait for Suzy to wake from her stint on the all-night shift at the hospital last night.

I was talking to Stephen Page about his soprano that he had Benedikt Eppelsheim modify to play to low A. You might remember that Benedikt built me a custom bass sax that plays to low A. Stephen sez:

"For a while now, I had been lusting for a Low A soprano. I am a classical player, and I do a lot of violin transcriptions, which of course may require a low concert G. So, after seeing one that Mr. E had made for a friend in France, I got in touch. A few months later, I sent my Yamaha EXHG for the work. I've had it back for a month now, and it is simply amazing. The whole lower register is much, much better. The new tone hole gets rid of a dissonant overtone that used to be present with the previous final tone hole. The key is operated by a LH thumb key, just like a Bari. The work is simply impeccable. You can hardly tell it is aftermarket!"

What an exciting idea. Note, I haven't run this by Suzy yet for funding so mums the word okay?  ;o)

Here are a few pics that Benedikt sent me.

    Ouch, that's gotta hurt!

     Benedikt does top-notch work. Like the line from Batman, "Where does he get those toys?

And the modified instrument still fits in the case. Shipping is very expensive, almost one quarter the total cost. Stephen adds, "I've turned the old bell into my new reed water cup :) Great conversation starter!"

Well, I'm considering asking Suzy about this tomorrow. It's not like I don't have enough musical instruments already. But this would be a pricey investment but one that I would really enjoy and use. And knowing Benedikt and his work as I do (I own one of his soprillos and have played one of his contrabass saxes), the instrument will play better than when I purchased it before his work.

Cheers.

Mom, Jo Stafford died this week. I know you two were Long Beach girls. Let's remember her with this song and here are the lyrics so you can sing along with me.  :o)

Dream, when you're feeling blue
Dream, that's the thing to do
Dream, while the smoke rings rise in the air
You'll find your share of memories there

So dream, when the day is through
Dream, and they might come true
Things never are as bad as they seem
So dream, dream, dream

Things never are as bad as they seem
So DREAM, DREAM, DREAM

Here an interesting obit.

"Americans have long treasured a well-tended lawn. But a small, if determined, movement would replace vistas of unrelentingly green front lawns with at least pockets of exotic flower and vegetable gardens that not only are feasts for the eyes but sources of cheap veggies, too.

No statistics exist, mainly because the movement so far amounts to little more than a persistent dandelion. But largely because of an art project to turn a front lawn in Salina, Kan., into a so-called Edible Estate, it is gaining widespread publicity through the Internet." - Paul Wenske

I have this patch o' grass in the front and another small patch in the back of my yard. I spend a lot of money watering and fertilizing each year. Truth be known, I pay a landscape guy to keep the place looking spiffy. But for three months a year, the front turns into a straw farm. Brown, unhappy the grass just dies unless I pay hundreds of dollars to water it. This I refuse to do.

So I'm looking to find a solution to the front yard. The back is green all the time because it is protected by trees. Suzy wants to plant a bunch o' trees in the front. I'm toying with replacing the grass with clover and other drought resistant stuff that only needs to be mowed once a year.

The Germans, where Suzy and I lived for around five years, luv to plant every inch of their fenced, front yards with flowers, fruit trees, and the like. But then they are wont to spend hours tending their spaces and making it beautiful. I'd like to find an almost maintenance-free solution that will not put the neighbors up in arms.

So my gardening friends, what say yea? What would you do?

  From Gerg's collection, the WJE does "I Just Can't Wait To Be King". I'm the guy in the funny hat in the front row and that's Suzy to the left of the girl in the santa hat.

   
Just havin' fun and playin' wit da old folks. 

From PC Mag: "Yes, we know—if you only had a nickel for every "save money on gas" article you've read or seen in the past year. And to add to the confusion, many of the tips in these stories are in fact based on superstition, junk science, or grandfather wisdom that doesn't really apply to today's automobiles. (Check out our TechnoRide piece on debunking gas-saving myths.)

Sure, you could just go out and buy a hybrid. Or trade in your sedan for a Schwinn. But beyond the expensive or impractical solutions, there are ways you can use your tech-savviness to stretch your gas dollar. Since you're a PC Mag reader, you already know you're smarter than most others on the road. So prove it by applying your geekiness to a good cause—keeping money in your pocketbook. Here are some of our favorite high-tech tips for saving gas, starting with the easy and working up to the truly geeky."

Read more...

I did some smart thangs in the last eight years as I did predict this based on what was happening overseas and in California:

1. Moved within walking distance to my work, a few miles to both the parent's house and Suzy place of work. Just last month the whole team moved five miles south, so I'm looking at my public transportation options.

2. Purchased electric bikes. Batteries didn't last long enough and were expensive. Going up hill was a dicey proposition. Now I'm trying to find a new home for them.

3. Bought a moped. But since it was over 50cc I have been trying unsuccessfully to get a licence. For some reason I have a hard time with question about shifting, kill switches and the like that are unique to motorcycles, not mopeds.

4. Reduced trips and ride share. The park down the road has become ten times as crowded as in the past as locals forego the trips outta town in favor of local hotspots.

What have you done?

This is a good read on a number of levels. I started out reading this thinking, "Yes, why don't more bloggers know this!" I ended up realizing I'd slid into some of the traps that come from being a lazy blogger, a writer who wanders, and someone who could be a bit shorter and still get the message across.

"The ability to write well is very useful for our personal and professional lives. It helps students, business people, politicians, writers,  bloggers, marketers and everyone who has ever needed to arrange words together to convey ideas or opinions. The written word has become an essential means of social communication: mastery of it helps you to enthrall and  persuade an audience that would look upon you favorably in return.

It goes without saying that learning how to create compelling content is a part of one’s success as an online publisher. Reading widely and deeply while consistently honing your writing skills helps a great deal in bettering your prose. Sometimes, it doesn’t hurt to read a few stylebooks/essays on writing by professional teachers or authors."

I included the anime character because I just thought it was cute. :o)

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Sara went to high school in Seattle. She is a very good singer, don't you think? Just enjoying some jazzy vocals today.

Some of us at the convention spent most of the trip asking around for authentic food joints. The recommendations were mostly for national chains like Chili's and Cracker Barrel. We finally got an endorsement for Papa's BBQ and headed over there. The crowd out front were mostly locals who greeted us and some vendors trying to sell us tamales before we even got into the restaurant.

The food serving size were huge and the pictures below don't even begin to show how huge the servings were. The tea glass so large enough that you needed two hands to pick them up!

The decorations were a little more primitive than I would have chosen. I made sure we didn't sit under the stuffed turkey or deer. And of course there was the obligatory Texas spurs chandelier.

The flight home was uneventful but I did try to capture some shots of Mount Rainier as we flew by. I was in an aisle set and had to reach over two people.

This doesn't do the view justice, but often is the favorite part of my trip as the pilot jockeys to get as close to the mountain as possible. Whenever I see Mt. Rainier I think, "I'm home."  :o)

We were treated to a trip to the Houston aquarium on Wednesday night. The food was excellent and our tables faced a huge tank full of fish. The water was pristine and the fish exotic.

Walking around after the meal I discovered some other fun animals:

Then the managing editor of our team decided it was time to do a little dancing with the sharks while I went to pet the kitties:

That was the longest day for us from 6:30 AM till 3 AM the next morning for Renee. I crashed at 11 PM.

I spent 4 hours on a plane yesterday. Imagine a 6' 4" fellow like myself jammed into seat designed for a person 5' 10" or so. My knees are at my chin and I had the always fun window seat so that when I get up two people have to stand up too. I was reading "Pillars of the Earth" and made it most of the way through that.  What an excellent read.

I was deep into a rather risque part of the book as we were landing in Houston. And the fellow next to me was either looking out the window or reading my book. What the heck, I was actually embarrassed. The risque part went on for at least four pages but I couldn't read it with this fellow looking that way. I'm sure I was imagining things, but geesh, Louise.

It is very hot and humid Houston in July; who knew! ;o) This Northwestern was very uncomfortable. Almost immediately I had sweat rolling down my body. That is a feeling I could do without; how spoiled am I? I'm trying to max liquids which is something that I don't always do.

I toyed with the idea of hitting the pool at the Marriott but every time I walked by the pool was filled with kids. Probably not a good idea to lay out in the sun for a pale skinned fellow like me anyway. And there was this boy wandering around the first floor crying. Kinda surrealistic. Renee, my coworker, wondered if the child was lost. I hadn't thought of that. I figured an older sibling did something. It's interesting that Renee immediately thinks of a child in need and I think of the otherwise. I was brought up in a big family so maybe that explains part of it.

Well, I have to get dressed for the conference. It's strange to be on conference time vice my normal home schedule. Normally I would have already been at work about three hours already. And with the party tonight, it will be a late night.

Fat city from Strange Maps. Anyone watch the Wall•E movie? And Americans continue to get fatter.

Read more... 

As I watched the Wall•E movie I thought it would become propaganda as the too fat to move humans were showcased. It was a part of the movie that was tough for me to watch. Robots were doing everything for the humans who suffered as the result of inactivity. Fortunately it didn't do more than observe and end on a positive note. When we had to forage for our livelihood, we used our bodies in a healthier manner. Now it is just too easy to live at a keyboard rather than interface with the human race and get our exercise. I think I'll go walk the dog. 

Molly, our principal saxophonist, took such nice pictures of her Lupines in the back yard of her new house last week that I was inspired to wander around the yard with my camera. And Carole has been sharing her video log for a while now. But I am not as brave as her to have a running dialog as I scan the neighborhood. Besides, she has a way cool southern accent which reminds me of my relatives from Kansas. Hey, I can't compete with that.

It's been very warm (read hot) for a week now and the grass is starting to go dormant with that fresh hay smell and brown color. So finding flowers that were close to their prime was a challenge. It's 9 AM and there is a light mist.

The Hydrangeas are not as blue as they will be in a week, but they are happy with the new rain. Yes, I'm a flag guy. This Iris is so big it's leaning away from the Lilacs.

This plant is more flowers than bush. I would be remiss if I didn't include Frodo under the Spruce tree that almost died. My granddaughter Amber likes this fellow. Oh, and yes, I did get my deck restained in time for the 4th of July, but it's raining.

It looks like we'll have a bumper crop of apples from the trees. As I surveyed my work Shelby sez, "Hey, is it time to go in yet?"  :o)

DEEP SCHROTT is the first bass saxophone quartet ever and was founded in April 2008 by Dirk Raulf (Cologne/D), Andreas Kaling (Bielefeld/D), Wollie Kaiser (Saarbruecken/D) and Klaas Hekman (Rotterdam/NL). Check for concert dates starting in October 2008. This sample was videotaped and recorded live at Topaz Studio, Cologne on April 2008. Directed by Robin Baum.

You've just listened to "Cultural Value" by composer Dirk Raulf and played by DEEP SCHROTT. This stuff just talks to me. I'm drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Here's another sample:

Their Web site was not easy to find but is located http://www.bittenichtfuettern.de/output.php?CN=deep_schrott&Script=0.

This just in from a fellow writer at work:

When I got home Monday evening, a bear was snacking on the bird feeders in the back yard. My wife Cynthia was sitting on the back deck watching the squirrels just before noon, when all of a sudden they split. She then saw the bear coming around the side of the house, about 15 feet away. She got up slowly and said, “Hello, bear,” whereupon it ambled off the other direction.

The photos are taken through a screen door, so are a bit fuzzy.

No more feeding the birds this summer!

When I pinged the fellow to get permission to use the pictures he added, "Sure. I hope the bear sticks to bird feeders and garbage cans, and doesn’t get shot."