Five Reasons to Quit Complaining

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Gandalfe

“Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out alive.” ~ Bugs Bunny

imageSometimes I’m wont to complain. Walking the halls I’ve heard some complaining this week that makes my complaints seem trivial. But there a lot to complain about; taxes, work, family, friends, … Well, you get the idea.

One of my friends once told me that there are hundreds of millions of people who would love to have my problems. You know, that kind of puts it all into perspective, doesn’t it.

So here are my five reasons to quit complaining:

1. You have a job, a good job.

2. You have a great family and friends support group.

3. Eating on a regular basis is nice.

4. Taxes buy you roads, education, and more.

5. Complaining takes up time you could be using to enjoy life.

Okay, not so earth shaking I admit. But as we are doing our annual reviews at Microsoft, it was something I was thinking about as I listened to the chatter in the hallways. :o)

Posted in Culture, Employment, Family, Guides, Health and wellness, Humor, Quote | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

WORK Stats Worldwide Infographic

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Gandalfe

Prepare to be surprised by the statistics presented in this simple PSFK: What’s Work Like Around the World Infographic that I have excerpted here.

“One thing we have in common across the world is work, even though significant differences in the global economy and working life exist. Some countries stand out as having a culture of workaholics, vacation goers, retirees, siestas, and even priding themselves as the happiest place in the world.” ~ Janice Chow

Read more…

Posted in Employment, Government, Guides, Research | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

United States Tax Lies and Distortions?

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Gandalfe

“I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

image“The fact is, we pay for the lifestyle we expect. Without taxes, our lifestyles would be totally different and much harder. America would be a third world country. The less we pay, the less we get in return. Americans pay less taxes today since 1958 and is ranked 32nd out of 34 of the top tax paying countries. Chile and Mexico are 33rd and 34th.

The Republicans are lying when they say that we pay the highest taxes in the world and are only attacking taxes to reward corporations and the wealthy and to weaken our infrastructure and way of life.” ~ Stephen Foster, Jr.

So, you’re a Republican or Libertarian who hates taxes? Well, since you do not like taxes or government, let me know which of the following from this list (compiled by Stephen D. Foster Jr. of AddictingInfo) you are willing to give up in exchange? This tripe the Republicans are trying to sell reminds me of the lady who felt that if there were no policemen, there would be no crime.

1. Do not use Medicare.
2. Do not use Social Security
3. Do not become a member of the US military, who are paid with tax dollars.
4. Do not ask the National Guard to help you after a disaster.
5. Do not call 911 when you get hurt.
6. Do not call the police to stop intruders in your home.
7. Do not summon the fire department to save your burning home.
8. Do not drive on any paved road, highway, and interstate or drive on any bridge.
9. Do not use public restrooms.
10. Do not send your kids to public schools.
11. Do not put your trash out for city garbage collectors.

Read the rest of this surprising list at 102 Things NOT to do I You Hate Taxes.

Posted in Government, In the news..., Lifestyle, Money, My World, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

NEWS ACTION ALERT: U.S. Military Bands Face Potentially Devastating Budget Cut

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Gandalfe

image

The following is an open letter from the American Bandmaster’s Association and echoes the sentiment of the College Band Directors National Association. Now it is our turn to support the nation’s top music makers.

image“The House of Representatives has voted to limit spending on military bands, reducing by $125 million what the Pentagon originally planned to spend. It would be the first time that spending on the military’s 154 bands has been reduced by Congress.

To take effect, however, the reduction must be approved the Senate, which has yet to take up the fiscal 2012 Defense Appropriations Bill. Representative Betty McCollum, D-Minn.,who sponsored the measure to reduce funding, said that “the Pentagon doesn’t need any more band aid.” (Washington Post)

While the cap Rep. McCollum proposes suggests a 37.5% reduction in spending, in reality the cuts are likely to be much higher. Because this cap would take effect in fiscal year 2012, scores of bands would immediately have to be deactivated and thousands of military musician contracts would be abruptly terminated.

In addition to the dozens of bands that would be eliminated completely , the premiere bands of each branch are likely to be reduced to such a degree that national concert tours will quickly become a thing of the past. And these changes 
could take effect as early as October 1st, 2011.

Read more…

Posted in Education, Government, In the news..., Music | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Always look on the Bright Side of Life

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Gandalfe
Posted in Health and wellness, Humor, Movies, Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Comparing the Shakuhachi, Okuralo, and concert flutes

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Gandalfe

One of my most interesting musical friends, Toby shares this with us from the alt.flute alias. Those of you who know me, know I have dabbled with the flute for years, never quite getting traction as I have also been trying to add the clarinet to my arsenal too. 

“imageI fired up my old Rev7 and produced a spacy little demo mp3 comparing Shakuhachi, Okuralo and concert flute. It’s just a bit of improv, and be warned that I am very rusty on all three of these instruments (and completely self-taught on all three), so don’t expect great stuff. But at least you can hear the Okuralo in action. I quite like the sound, and find it a very nice mix of shakuhachi and flute. Here is the download link (it’s safe):”

http://rapidshare.com/files/145480353/shakuhachi_okuralo_flute_demo.mp3

Toby goes on to say, “I think that this was a model made by an independent company, probably not by Okura-san. The company name is “Mirabilis Auditu”. No information I can find on the net. The serial number is Z200004, my guess is that it is actually the fourth one made.

imageThe sound is quite interesting. It definitely has some of the bright intensity of a shakuhachi, but since the bore is significantly smaller than a shak at the utaguchi (18.8mm compared to a nominal 20.0 for a 1.8) it is harder to find the sweet spot and not quite as–how can I say it?–smoky as a shakuhachi. It is clearly all handmade, with soldered tone holes and a seamed tube.

Interestingly, whoever owned this flute had a standard flute headjoint made for it. It has to be custom made, because it is significantly longer than a normal flute head joint (the okuralo has a short body) and also a bit larger in diameter than any standard headjoint. It has a very interesting “wing” designed embouchure. I will post a pic and let you know.

image

Anyway with that headjoint the okuralo becomes a quite respectable concert flute, but with a much darker sound than a standard flute. This I put down to the head geometry, but it is interesting that it changes character so much with the two different head joints.

That’s a very interesting conjecture vis-a-vis the name “misspelling”. It sounds completely feasible, but I have always seen the name written as “okuralo”.

He published his pictures of the Okuralo here: http://s471.photobucket.com/albums/rr78/kymarto/

Read more including some info about curved headjoints and traverse flutes here.

Posted in Flute, Music Instruments, Oddities, review | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Playtrack: Don’t Harsh My Mellow

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Gandalfe

From the things guys think about file, I’m listening to music while I make my way through a title from my reading list. Thought I’d share it and a nice photo with my gentle readers:

image YingYang

This moment will pass quickly as I have to get back to learning all the tenor charts for my band as I recently moved from alto to tenor to fill a personnel change.

Posted in Art, Health and wellness, Lifestyle, Music, Nude, Panties, Too Spicy for some | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mouthpiece Terminology 101

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Gandalfe

imageI was talking to some friends about sax mouthpieces and I realized that we needed to standardize some terms. I found this very descriptive and accurate diagram on one of those ubiquitous music forums and thought I’d place it here for both my and my readers reference. Click on the diagram for a larger view.

As I move from sax to clarinet, I notice that I am less demanding of my mouthpieces for an instrument I double on. Having played alto sax since I was 9 years old, I am very picky about alto saxes. But when it comes to clarinets, I am happy with a wide variety of mouthpieces.

Also, it would seem that I am also less picky about the low instruments like the bari or bass sax, bass or contra clarinets.

Posted in Band, Clarinet, Hobbies, Reference, Research, Saxophone | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Column Five: Goodbye Wallets

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Gandalfe

image

Posted in Culture, Economics, Education, Infographic, Lifestyle, Technology | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Getting Hired by Microsoft ~ the Zoosk way

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Gandalfe

“I’d rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate.” ~ George Burns

imageOver the years many, many family and friends have sent me their resume to get hired by Microsoft. I’m embarrassed to say very few made the cut.

But many of those who took my advice to join a temp agency and come in that way worked themselves into a job of a life time. They did this by learning from Microsoft as a contractor, networking, and developing a strong rep for a great work ethic. And as a plus, rather than being place based on what job is available at the time, a dicey proposition at best, the experienced contractor can cherry-pick that perfect job from inside the gates!

This story about ex-softie and now Zoosk Co-CEO Shayan Zadeh, rang a bell with me too.

What were your main business takeaways from working at MS?
Throughout Microsoft there are very established and successful business processes. I learned how to use these processes to attract talent, to evaluate candidates and to manage a team of super-smart, talented, and strong personalities. During my time at Microsoft, I really came to understand the impact of team morale on productivity and the ways that one can create an environment to foster collaboration.

I apply variations of these processes across my company. They helped me to create Zoosk and also help me run it in an efficient manner on a day-to-day basis. I think we’ve been successful and have been able to have fun in the meantime.

Just some grist for you mills, dear readers. Here’s wishing you good luck in your job of a lifetime search.

Posted in Bucket List, Education, Getting a Job, Gigs, Health and wellness, Microsoft, My World, Quote | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment