Fall in the Northwest

Posted on October 1, 2007 by Gandalfe

FallColorsOrange It rained all day today but the vibrant Fall colors are making the day anything but dreary. As you can see in these very nice pictures from a photographer called Ingwar, autumn brings more than brisk cool mornings and, in the northwest, rain. There are the crisp smells of logs on the fireplace, the sight of birds heading south, and the delightful color everywhere you look.

FallColorsRoad Driving around can be more fun than turning on the TV for the next few weeks. I remember doing just that with my parents in the mid-western U.S. as a child. We were amazed at the beautiful colors, regaled by the radio, and just enjoying the company of each other.

FallFashions Suzy has the thermometer set for 65 during the night and if you get up early, which we invariably do, we are met by a cold tile floor in the bathroom. But during the cold months, the cats surround Suzy, purring, and keeping her warm. So sometimes we wake to the cool morning and just snuggle a bit longer than normal sharing our body heat and delaying the inevitable and necessary need to get up.

Our German Sheppard, Shelby is looking at me from the floor of the library. I suspect she wants to go for a walk. That means raincoats, hats, and the like. But she is such a good dog, how could I say no. Enjoy the beauty everyone. That is the fashion statement for this family, jeans, warm shirt, raincoat, hat, and dog on a chain. Does any one wear the fashions showing up in the paper and magazines now. But by this number worn by this very thin and beautiful lady in this picture it clear to see that colors might make a color in the world of fashion this Fall as it does on the good ol’ mother Earth.

Posted in Health and wellness | 2 Comments

WebMD: Stress Breaks Hearts

Posted on September 28, 2007 by Gandalfe

Emotional Stress Alters Heart Function, Ups Heart Disease Risk

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical News

Sept. 20, 2007 — Here’s a health fact most of us understand better than our doctors do: Emotional stress really can harm our hearts.

Intense grief, acute anger, and sudden fear can have direct — sometimes fatal — effects on the human heart. And long-term emotional stress shortens lives by increasing the risk of heart disease, notes Daniel J. Brotman, MD, director of the hospitalist program at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.

"What is intuitive to people is not necessarily intuitive to physicians," Brotman tells WebMD. "Emotional stress, conceptually, is the same thing for cardiovascular risk as physical stress. But a lot of doctors blow that off, because they think emotional stress is a psychological problem, not a physical problem."

Read more…

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Nectarine’s ‘Barely out of Beta’ Comic Strip

Posted on September 27, 2007 by Gandalfe

Fresh from the Nectarine bat-cave is this new effort with a lot of promise.

Barely

BTW, I’ll be glad when my editor of choice fixes the way it’s process fuzzes the picture. :o( 

Posted in Humor | Leave a comment

Halo 3 – when you’ve finished your homework. :o)

Posted on September 25, 2007 by Gandalfe

This is mostly for my Grandson. Nick, when you finish your homework tonight, I have an unopened copy of Halo 3.  :o)

Halo3

There are some perks to working at Microsoft. Didn’t help me with advanced copies of Harry Potter books though. ;o) 

Posted in Games | 5 Comments

Great gigs, Seattle Symphony, and Good Luck Chuck

Posted on September 24, 2007 by Gandalfe

InspektorGadgetsm

I took Friday off so in my mind that’s when the weekend started. The Dissonance Big Band soon to be renamed Inspektor Gadget performed twice as a part of the King County Day of Caring. The nicest comment we got was from two ladies who wanted to know if we had CDs they could buy.  :o)

BenaroyaHall a.0639 Then Saturday we went to the Seattle Symphony’s SciFi Favorites concert. It was a lot of fun with music from early TV including the Jetsons, StarTrek, and Outer Limits and some of the most famous genre-defining SciFi Movies including ET, Star Wars, and 2001, a Space Odyssey. During the intermission I asked the ushers if Suzy and I could sit in the box seats right next to the stage because they were empty and because we had season’s tickets they let us do it. So we were able to see the whole orchestra, soloists, and more from just above them. Before we were guessing what instruments were being used (synthesizer or oboe?) and had to do with that. Since we enjoyed the show so much more with that view, we upgraded our tickets for the rest of the season to that box seat.

GoodLuckChuck We finished off our weekend by going to see the movie Good Luck Chuck with two of my favorite people Jessica Alba and the actor/comedian Dane Cook. GoodLuckChuck2This was rated R, but in a good way. By that I mean for sexual context and theme instead of the American’s preferred violence and mayhem.  The movie wasn’t very deep and definitely not for the faint of heart when it comes to sexual farces. But Suzy and I laughed, chuckled, and giggled our way through the show with our bucket o’ corn and gallon-sized drink that make up the ‘medium’ size in theaters now-a-days.

On the boring side, I spent two hours replacing the trial anti-viruses that came with Suzy and my new computers. That was fun–not. But I did get to give a friend of mine’s son his first sax lessons, after having played two years in elementary school. Sharp kid. And then my grandson came over for his weekly lesson where we spent the whole time working on Jamey Aebersold’s ‘Watermelon Man’ from his ‘Maiden Voyage’ book and CD. I can’t wait until my grandson, now 12 starts figuring this stuff out. He certainly isn’t afraid to play out, but he could practice a bit more.

Posted in Music | 3 Comments

Emoticons, En Dashes, and Enchiladas

Posted on September 20, 2007 by Gandalfe

I stumbled upon this from the ‘more stuff, less fluff‘ blog in their ‘Emoticons, En Dashes, and Enchiladas‘ post. It tickled me so I thought I’d share it with my favorite people, my blog posse, my readers. It is a good thing for all of us to remember. 🙂

Q. The menu in our cafeteria shows that enchiladas are available “Tues.–Fri.” However, when I ordered one on a Wednesday, I was informed that enchiladas are available on Tuesday AND Friday, not Tuesday THROUGH Friday. When I informed the cafeteria manager that this was incorrect, she seemed shocked and refused to change the sign. Please help determine who is correct!

A. Although the sign was incorrect, I’m not sure you should annoy the person who provides the enchiladas.

The quote is from the staff at the Chicago Manual of Style which is a reference I use on a regular basis.

Posted in Humor | Leave a comment

Weird Instruments – the Sea Organ

Posted on September 18, 2007 by Gandalfe

sea_organ1 I am so enjoying this new find of mine, the Unusual Instruments Music Video blog. Today’s post is about the Sea Organ located in Zadar, Croatia. thumbPiano Alexander Zakharow seems to be a true connoisseur of unique and interesting, okay let’s call it weird musical instruments. And the first thing I notice is that many of these weird instruments are also beautiful pieces of visual art too.

So check out the thumb piano or the very strange Laser Harp used by the famous Jean Michel Jarre in his concerts. But beware, you might spend a lot more time on this site viewing the entries and watching the videos. And maybe, just maybe, you will look at the world surrounding you in a different way. Upon careful examination, almost anything can be made into a musical instrument of some sort.

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Join 98.9 Smooth Jazz at the Release Party for our CD Sampler Volume 11

Posted on September 13, 2007 by Gandalfe

SmoothJazz I love the Smooth Jazz KWJZ 98.9 guys and the money from this project goes to the Jackson Street Music Program supporting the rich Jazz history of Seattle and children’s education programs.

Volume 11 features Rick Braun’s Sao Paulo along with eleven other smooth jazz favorites that you won’t want to miss. For complete details click here.

The Release Party for the 98.9 Smooth Jazz CD Sampler Volume 11 on Monday, October 22nd at Jazz Alley featuring smooth jazz trumpeter, Rick Braun and his band.  Tickets are $40.00 per person and include an advanced copy of Volume 11 autographed by Rick Braun.  This is an all ages show.  Tickets go on sale at 10am Friday, September 14th. Prepaid reservations which are non-refundable and non-exchangeable can be made by calling Jazz Alley at 206-441-9729. 

This year’s sampler features:

  • Jazzmasters – Free as the Wind
  • David Benoit – Beat Street
  • Paul Brown – The Rhythm Method
  • Rick Braun – Sao Paulo
  • Ray Parker Jr. – Mismaloya Beach
  • Brian Bromberg – Cantaloupe Island
  • Gregg Karukas – Girl in the Red Dress
  • Boney James – Total Experience
  • Jeff Lorber – Anthem for a New America
  • Gerald Albright – Deep into My Soul
  • Joyce Cooling – Revolving Door
  • Marion Meadows – Sweet Grapes

So cool.  :o)

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Richard Wiseman: Quirkology, the Curious Science of Everyday Lives

Posted on September 12, 2007 by Gandalfe

quirkology Yesterday I got the chance to hear Richard Wiseman, the chair of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire and the author of Quirkology, the Curious Science of Everyday Lives.

For over twenty years, psychologist Richard Wiseman has examined the quirky science of everyday life, spending nights in allegedly haunted houses, conducting clandestine experiments in over 30 countries and spending ten years researching the nature of luck. By examining this research, and the research of others who study “quirky science”, we can gain a glimpse into ways the human mind really works.

I was so enthralled with the presentation that when I got home that night I showed my extended family an example of his work on YouTube called, Colour Changing Card Trick. The presentation totally floored that audience which included my wife, daughter, and grandson.

In his new book he covers:

  • How does your surname affect your life?
  • Why should women have men write their personal ads?
  • What is the funniest joke in the world?
  • How can you tell when someone is lying?
  • What does the way you walk reveal about your personality?

Bio: Dr. Richard Wiseman started his working life as an award winning magician and one of the youngest members elected to the Magic Circle. Following a degree in Psychology from University College, London and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh, he has been head of the research unit at the University of Hertfordshire.

He has published over 40 papers in refereed academic journals and his work has been supported by grants from The Wellcome Trust and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA). In 2004 he was awarded a NESTA Dreamtime Fellowship for his innovative work in science communication, and in 2005 served as President of the General Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. His research has been featured in over 150 television programs and newspapers, and his first book The Luck Factor, has been published in 14 languages and published in over 25 countries.

In addition, he is well known for designing and conducting mass-participation projects, including LaughLab, one of the world’s largest interactive experiments involving 350,000 people from 70 countries. Dr. Wiseman’s current “quirkology experiments” have been viewed on YouTube by over 2 million people.

Posted in Books | 1 Comment

Grenadilla Wood, Environmental Effects, and Organic Bore Oil

Posted on September 10, 2007 by Gandalfe

The best read on this subject that I have read to date:

by Larry R. Naylor

clarinetSilverKeys“I have received copies of Web discussions, involving whether grenadilla instruments can become blown-out, from customers and repair technicians from around the country. Since I have been restoring instruments in this condition for many years, I assumed that most musicians were familiar with this problem. Apparently, this is not the case. Identifying slowly accumulating problems with one’s instrument can be problematic because most experienced musicians can readily accommodate to, or compensate for, these changes—up to a point.

Some musicians are not as sensitive to idiosyncrasies in their instruments; they tend to “drive” an instrument rather than play it. I suspect that some musicians may have only experienced instruments in a relatively compromised condition, thus they do not perceive performance problems on their current instrument; they are unaware how good an instrument can be. For example, a comment I frequently hear from first time clients is, “I didn’t know my clarinet (oboe, English horn) could play like this!”

Read more…

Posted in Clarinet, Music | Tagged | 5 Comments