My first Linux distro was Debian Sarge. Learning how to get 1024 X 768 video resolution and the sound running was a really geeky challenge but I figured it out and was really proud of myself. Then came Debian Etch and I no longer had to bother with the sound and video, they just worked, the first time, exactly as I wanted them to. Wow, what amazing progress. Now, Etch has become obsolete and Lenny has become the stable version of Linux only now my 16 Meg nVidia TNT cards come up with 800 X 600 video resolution and there's not a darn thing I can do about it. Nor is this 'interesting' phenomena confined to Debian, it's also true of the Ubuntu family (in all its many incarnations, or at least the ones I know about). Yes, I've tried to find a solution but, so far, nothing I've tried has had any affect on the problem (and yes, I'm grateful that the sound, at least, is still working as it should, for whatever that's worth). I'm not hard to please, I don't use Compiz or dual monitors, I don't need super high resolution and I'm not a gaming geek. I just want 1024 X 768 video resolution and I don't care if I'm required to go through some geeky stuff to get it (like I learned to do with Debian Sarge) but I don't like being made to feel like I can't get there from here even though my hardware worked great with an older distro. This makes me very unhappy.
As if this weren't enough to sour me attitude, KDE has, in their incredible wisdom, elected to castrate the finest file manager I've ever used. That's right, the 'new, spiffy' version of Konqueror is a total wimp compared to it's predecessor. Yeah, I know, Konqueror is supposed to be a browser, not a file manager, right? Bull, there are too many browsers out there already and I like all of them better than Konqueror but I've never used a file manager with as much power as Konqueror 3.5.5 (on my Debian Etch system). By comparison, Konqueror 4.2.4 is far prettier (as if all I cared about were cosmetics) while being substantially less user friendly. You want specifics? The home page on my Konqueror 3.5.5 (about:konqueror) offers me instant access to my home folder, storage media, network folders, trash, applications and desktop settings. The same page in Konqueror 4.2.4 offers instant access to the home folder, trash, network folders and bookmarks. Disregarding the bookmarks, since I'd never use Konqueror as a browser, what's left is exactly half the functionality of version 3.5.5. Now that's progress isn't it?
I've been using Debian stable with KDE for about four years now. No way am I ever going back to 'that other OS' (which doesn't deserve the publicity of a negative comment which mentions it by name). Now, suddenly, I'm left hanging. I can continue to use Etch, which currently meets all my expectations but will become steadily more obsolete or upgrade to Lenny which doesn't meet my expectations. Isn't it great to have options?
Yeah, right.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Friends, good pennies and yo-yo's often return
Dad was career Army. That meant we never lived in one place more than three years. From late 1964 to late 1967 dad was assigned to Fort Ord, California. I have many fond memories of those years but the best and worst of them revolve around a girl named Randi. She was my first love and she was the most wonderful girl in the world. She was smart, she had a quick wit, she was pretty and she loved to laugh. I was madly in love with her and her fabulous family. Her mom encouraged me to be more outgoing and less worried about peer pressure. Her dad was a strong, quiet, intelligent man who wasn't at all intimidating to talk to. Her younger brother got me started playing the guitar. Her youngest brother was an impressive pianist and smart as a whip. I even loved their dog. Of course I was a teenager, knew everything and my world mostly revolved around my newly discovered libido so it was only natural for Randi to, finally, break up with me. In retrospect I can describe the two following years as my 'Gothic Emo' period but those words, in that context, didn't exist at the time. Suffice to say that I wore a lot of black and was extremely depressed most of the time. I refer to those as the 'hard years', by which I mean, it was always hard and I never got to use it. I poured all my passion into my guitar (excepting only the occasional bit that went into a kleenex).
Fast forward forty-some-odd years and I was able to track Randi down on the web. She has fond memories of me because she went on to meet lots of guys who were way bigger jerks than me. So now we're old friends, meaning sometimes we bicker, other times we ignore one another but beneath it all is a secure, comfortable bond, built on love. Sort of like family would be in a perfect world, but that's another story.
Fast forward forty-some-odd years and I was able to track Randi down on the web. She has fond memories of me because she went on to meet lots of guys who were way bigger jerks than me. So now we're old friends, meaning sometimes we bicker, other times we ignore one another but beneath it all is a secure, comfortable bond, built on love. Sort of like family would be in a perfect world, but that's another story.
Monday, May 11, 2009
A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.
Back before we got married, while Lisa and I were still dating, we worked as stockers in a Super S market in Llano. The assistant manager caught me kissing her in the stockroom and primly advised us that we should avoid overt displays of affection while on duty. Later that day I had occasion to pass Lisa as she was stocking on one of the isles. Rather than stop and speak to her, because the assistant manager was a few feet away stocking on the same isle, I leered at her and said 'Hey lady' as I passed. She instantly leered back at me and responded 'Hey sailor'. The assistant manager frowned but didn't say anything. To this day, that exchange serves is as well as a kiss and a hug when we're in public or in a hurry.
The store PA system played classic rock music. I guess that's a big thing with lots of supermarkets. We mostly ignored it but Lisa doesn't care for old Bob Dylan tunes and one Dylan tune, I Want You, came up often in the music. Of course Lisa hated it and I knew it but, if no other employees were in a position to see me do it, I'd loudly sing along on the last two words of the chorus, 'so bad' in a really terrible Dylan-impression voice. I thought it was a pretty cool double entendre, acknowledging that my significant other didn't care for Dylan while reminding her that I really did want her, 'so bad'. Sure enough, if she was anywhere near me I could hear her laugh when I sang out with Dylan and I assume that some of my coworkers figured out the joke because, even though nobody ever said anything about it, I sometimes heard them laugh too.
Life is good, love is wonderful.
The store PA system played classic rock music. I guess that's a big thing with lots of supermarkets. We mostly ignored it but Lisa doesn't care for old Bob Dylan tunes and one Dylan tune, I Want You, came up often in the music. Of course Lisa hated it and I knew it but, if no other employees were in a position to see me do it, I'd loudly sing along on the last two words of the chorus, 'so bad' in a really terrible Dylan-impression voice. I thought it was a pretty cool double entendre, acknowledging that my significant other didn't care for Dylan while reminding her that I really did want her, 'so bad'. Sure enough, if she was anywhere near me I could hear her laugh when I sang out with Dylan and I assume that some of my coworkers figured out the joke because, even though nobody ever said anything about it, I sometimes heard them laugh too.
Life is good, love is wonderful.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Can someone loan me a (reg)fly swatter?
I've been getting emails from regfly.com, formerly registerfly.com, complimenting me on having been a good customer since 2002. I finally tracked down an online feedback form to tell them what I thought of their ads. Here's what I told them:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Registerfly.com treated me horribly. They took my money but wouldn't apply it to my account (or show me how to apply it to my account). Consequently, both of my domains, one being very important to me, were lost forever. I elected to write off the money I gave to Registerfly as the price of learning a lesson and that should have been the end of the story but it wasn't.
Now you're sending me email, talking to me as if I were a valuable customer who you'd like to bring back into the fold; as if Registerfly.com had never ignored or abused me. Nor is there any sort of link in the email where I can click to opt-out of your charming advertisements.
So, some seven years have gone by and not much has changed with registerfly except your name (which is now regfly); you're still abusing me and I'm still putting up with it.
All that's really changed is that I got myself a new domain, from another provider, and haven't had any trouble with it at all.
So, if you were in my place, how would you feel about these ads you've been sending me?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Was I too harsh? Do you think they'll understand? Is there any chance I'll stop getting email from them? Guesses anyone? :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Registerfly.com treated me horribly. They took my money but wouldn't apply it to my account (or show me how to apply it to my account). Consequently, both of my domains, one being very important to me, were lost forever. I elected to write off the money I gave to Registerfly as the price of learning a lesson and that should have been the end of the story but it wasn't.
Now you're sending me email, talking to me as if I were a valuable customer who you'd like to bring back into the fold; as if Registerfly.com had never ignored or abused me. Nor is there any sort of link in the email where I can click to opt-out of your charming advertisements.
So, some seven years have gone by and not much has changed with registerfly except your name (which is now regfly); you're still abusing me and I'm still putting up with it.
All that's really changed is that I got myself a new domain, from another provider, and haven't had any trouble with it at all.
So, if you were in my place, how would you feel about these ads you've been sending me?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Was I too harsh? Do you think they'll understand? Is there any chance I'll stop getting email from them? Guesses anyone? :)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Did it have to be Friday the 13th?
Lisa awakened me at 6:30 on a Tuesday morning complaining that she couldn't breath and had already been up for two hours fretting about it so she didn't want to wait until 8:30 when the clinic opened. I took her to the ER (at the hospital in Llano, 20 minutes from here). The doctor took a chest x-ray and sent her home with an antibiotic, cough suppressant and an anti-inflammatory. Thursday afternoon I came down with whatever-the-heck-it was so Friday (the 13th) she drove me to the ER (at the VA hospital in Temple, a little over 2 hours from here but substantially more affordable). The VA doctor had my chest x-rayed and sent me home with an antibiotic, cough suppressant and an anti-inflammatory. Neither doctor gave the condition a name but both appeared to have seen it before.
On the way home from Temple an idiot hauling a front end loader on a monstrous trailer pulled across the road in front of us, completely blocking the highway. Lisa, who was driving, managed to come to a full stop without hitting the trailer. The guy behind us was less fortunate. He rear-ended our car. The car is history, that's what the wrecker driver figured anyway. After calling 911 to report the accident we called our daughter Lily and, in relatively short order, our son-in-law, Kirk, arrived and drove us home (Thanks Kirk!).
As of tonight (Sunday) we've both got sore muscles in our necks but are otherwise alive, well and slowly recovering from our respiratory conditions. Tomorrow we'll go to the clinic and have our necks looked at.
It's all well and good to live in interesting times but, honestly, we'd much prefer having the words 'drama' and 'trauma' remain a little more abstract than they've been of late.
Sheesh.
On the way home from Temple an idiot hauling a front end loader on a monstrous trailer pulled across the road in front of us, completely blocking the highway. Lisa, who was driving, managed to come to a full stop without hitting the trailer. The guy behind us was less fortunate. He rear-ended our car. The car is history, that's what the wrecker driver figured anyway. After calling 911 to report the accident we called our daughter Lily and, in relatively short order, our son-in-law, Kirk, arrived and drove us home (Thanks Kirk!).
As of tonight (Sunday) we've both got sore muscles in our necks but are otherwise alive, well and slowly recovering from our respiratory conditions. Tomorrow we'll go to the clinic and have our necks looked at.
It's all well and good to live in interesting times but, honestly, we'd much prefer having the words 'drama' and 'trauma' remain a little more abstract than they've been of late.
Sheesh.
Friday, February 06, 2009
The Army is still changing my life (thanks uncle Sam).
About eighteen months ago I started having asthma-like symptoms. I thought my childhood asthma has decided to revisit me in my golden years. At first the symptoms were mild and non-threatening but they gradually became more intense. After a kilo-dollar trip to the ER where they gave me a fifty cent Albuterol treatment with a nebulizer (lets talk about the rising costs of medical care) I went to the clinic in Llano. She gave me a prescription for Albuterol (we already had a nebulizer machine at home) which is very inexpensive and a rescue inhaler (Albuterol in a very small aerosol can for $40 ostensibly due to an exotic but necessary propellant) and that worked just fine for a few months. I scrounged an extra nebulizer machine to wag around in the van in case I had an "attack" while I was playing a gig and wound up using it on several occasions but my symptoms continued to become more frequent and more intense. I made another visit to the clinic and asked my PA if I was going to wind up needing a nebulizer treatment every four hours for the rest of my life. She gave me some samples of Advair and made it clear that she couldn't treat me for long with samples. Advair worked great and I only had to use it twice a day but a quick trip to drugstore.com showed me that it was going to cost around $400 a month. That was going to be a serious monetary obstacle for us. A few years ago I needed a complete physical and when the local clinic explained that it would cost several hundred dollars, reasoning that it was bound to be at least somewhat less expensive, I drove to the VA hospital in Kerville and got the most thorough physical I've ever had in my life for a grand total of $25. So, I said to myself. "Self, it's time to go see the VA again". I was able to get the forms online and fill them out. We had to drive to Temple (a little over two hours from here) but I'm getting superlative treatment and, so far, it hasn't cost me anything at all. My asthma-like symptoms have been diagnosed as COPD, I've had some minor skin cancers removed and I'm soon to be fitted for a CPAP machine to treat my mild sleep apnea.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Oh Goody, Another Presidential Election
Maybe it's age related but having seen a few presidential races, they no longer seem significant to me. As always, both candidates are idiots because that's how our political system works. Nobody who's qualified to be a good politician wants any part of the job and, conversely, anybody who wants political power is manifestly unqualified to be in possession of same.
So, one or the other idiot will win the election and then he'll proceed to make countless mistakes which may or may not contribute to the mess our nation has become. He may or may not get caught with his hands, feet, or other anatomical protuberances in a socially or morally inappropriate place and four years from now we'll all get together to decide whether or not we want to elect yet another idiot or stick with the same idiot for the next four years. Et cetera, ad nauseam.
The simple truth is that the President of the United States, who is generally considered to be the single most powerful man in the world, is powerless to change anything or, for that matter, do any lasting damage.
We may or may not have a worldwide depression, things will get better, worse, or stay about the same.
I plan on hanging around for as long as I can, to keep an eye on things, but I've long since outgrown the naive belief than my opinion, or my vote, is going to make the slightest difference in the way things are; any more than a single iron molecule could alter the course of a battleship.
Will I vote? Yes, probably. Have I picked a candidate? Yes, but my wife likes the other guy so we may simply agree to abstain together.
So, one or the other idiot will win the election and then he'll proceed to make countless mistakes which may or may not contribute to the mess our nation has become. He may or may not get caught with his hands, feet, or other anatomical protuberances in a socially or morally inappropriate place and four years from now we'll all get together to decide whether or not we want to elect yet another idiot or stick with the same idiot for the next four years. Et cetera, ad nauseam.
The simple truth is that the President of the United States, who is generally considered to be the single most powerful man in the world, is powerless to change anything or, for that matter, do any lasting damage.
We may or may not have a worldwide depression, things will get better, worse, or stay about the same.
I plan on hanging around for as long as I can, to keep an eye on things, but I've long since outgrown the naive belief than my opinion, or my vote, is going to make the slightest difference in the way things are; any more than a single iron molecule could alter the course of a battleship.
Will I vote? Yes, probably. Have I picked a candidate? Yes, but my wife likes the other guy so we may simply agree to abstain together.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Maybe Having Kids Is A Bad Idea After All
When my daughter was five years old her mother Karen (her maiden name was Knight) and I divorced. We only had one car and I left it with her when she asked me to leave. I took only my musical equipment and clothing. I didn't hire myself a lawyer for the divorce, I hired a lawyer for Karen and paid him in advance. She got the house, everything in, on or around it, the car and custody of our daughter Catrina. I think Karen managed to break even on the car but she sold the house for enough to clear several thousand dollars in profit and liquidated everything in/on/around the house in a garage sale.
When Catrina was about 13 she decided she wanted to live with me. After a protracted battle, Karen capitulated and allowed her to come live with me on condition that I not ask her to pay child support. I couldn't have cared less about the money but I did insist that Karen sign a waver on the child support I was paying her. Karen did, in fact, sign a temporary child support waiver. A few short years later, my second wife, Kathy, and Catrina declared open war on one another. They refused to compromise, or even discuss their differences. At my wits end, I finally decided that my only option was to send Catrina back to her mother.
Catrina moved out, Karen rescinded the temporary waiver, and the state promptly came after me for back child support for the entire time Catrina lived with me. Of course there was no way I could pay it and I was self employed so they couldn't garnish my wages. I asked Karen to please do something about this. She agreed it was unfair but insisted there was nothing she could do.
After the shop closed I worked at one or another entry level job for the next few years and the state always took a little out of my meager check to apply to my back child support which, by this time, with penalties and interest, had grown to around $26,000.00. Karen agreed it was unfair but continued to insist there was nothing she could do about it. I finally started taking odd and part-time jobs that paid cash and that's how things stood until a few months ago when I decided to see if a lawyer could do anything to help me. I'd tried to hire a lawyer on several occasions over the years but they'd all refused me the minute I said the words "child support". This time I got lucky.
Linda Bayless, a brilliant lawyer from Kingsland Texas, acquired the records from the state of Texas, did some research and advised me that, in fairness, I owed Karen about $3,000 if you subtracted the child support she was morally (if not legally) obligated to pay me from the child support I owed her. She then made one phone call and the $26,000.00 the state was demanding suddenly dropped to $10,000.00. Karen, of course, declined to concede that she owed me any child support for the time Catrina lived with me so $10,000.00 it remains today. She'll get it eventually, but I'm in no hurry to accelerate the process. Am I wrong to feel this way?
When Catrina was about 13 she decided she wanted to live with me. After a protracted battle, Karen capitulated and allowed her to come live with me on condition that I not ask her to pay child support. I couldn't have cared less about the money but I did insist that Karen sign a waver on the child support I was paying her. Karen did, in fact, sign a temporary child support waiver. A few short years later, my second wife, Kathy, and Catrina declared open war on one another. They refused to compromise, or even discuss their differences. At my wits end, I finally decided that my only option was to send Catrina back to her mother.
Catrina moved out, Karen rescinded the temporary waiver, and the state promptly came after me for back child support for the entire time Catrina lived with me. Of course there was no way I could pay it and I was self employed so they couldn't garnish my wages. I asked Karen to please do something about this. She agreed it was unfair but insisted there was nothing she could do.
After the shop closed I worked at one or another entry level job for the next few years and the state always took a little out of my meager check to apply to my back child support which, by this time, with penalties and interest, had grown to around $26,000.00. Karen agreed it was unfair but continued to insist there was nothing she could do about it. I finally started taking odd and part-time jobs that paid cash and that's how things stood until a few months ago when I decided to see if a lawyer could do anything to help me. I'd tried to hire a lawyer on several occasions over the years but they'd all refused me the minute I said the words "child support". This time I got lucky.
Linda Bayless, a brilliant lawyer from Kingsland Texas, acquired the records from the state of Texas, did some research and advised me that, in fairness, I owed Karen about $3,000 if you subtracted the child support she was morally (if not legally) obligated to pay me from the child support I owed her. She then made one phone call and the $26,000.00 the state was demanding suddenly dropped to $10,000.00. Karen, of course, declined to concede that she owed me any child support for the time Catrina lived with me so $10,000.00 it remains today. She'll get it eventually, but I'm in no hurry to accelerate the process. Am I wrong to feel this way?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Thus begins a chapter of our life.
On Tuesday the fifteenth of July at around 2 PM, quietly, in her sleep, my mother died.
Thus ends a chapter of our life.
Thus ends a chapter of our life.
Friday, July 11, 2008
The Perfect One-Night Stand
Years ago, over a dozen years into a marriage that remained stubbornly dysfunctional despite our best efforts, I met a nice lady while I was playing a gig in a beer joint. All evening, during my breaks, we talked, flirted and laughed together. After the show was over and my equipment was all packed away I sat with her until closing time. Just before the bar closed she told me she'd been separated from her husband for six months and wasn't interested in an emotional attachment but would be delighted to have sex with me. I was utterly stunned. Here was a confident, mature, uninhibited, attractive woman who wasn't looking for a serious relationship, didn't have a hidden agenda, was totally free of any emotional tax who wanted to have sex with me. The legendary, perfect one-night stand had suddenly happened to me, of all people. She had her own place right down the street from the bar so I followed her home and... well, it was about as good as two willing and experienced people who don't really know one another could make it. In other words, it wasn't very good. Live and learn.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
I Now Pronounce You Man and Wife
When I was a child comic books were one of the profound joys in my life. I well recall how pleased I was with the first issue of Spiderman, but that's another story. One of the ads which appeared in the back of almost every comic book I bought in the late fifties and early sixties offered to make anyone an ordained minister for the princely sum of ten dollars. Fast forward to around 2006 when I came across the Universal Life Church on the internet. They looked mysteriously familiar. I can't swear they're the same folks who were in the back of the comic books but, thinking they probably were, feeling nostalgic about it and because it's free these days (instead of being $10), I applied and received my certificate of ordination. I printed it out on card stock, then I carefully reduced the image and printed out another copy for my wallet. A few weeks back, just joking around, I showed the wallet card to some friends and, to my surprise, was asked to perform the wedding ceremony by a young couple I know. I then checked with the courthouse to find out that, yes, I can legally marry people.
Today I performed that ceremony and was profoundly moved by the experience. While freely admitting that my track record with marriage isn't all it could be, I remain a strong believer in the sanctity and power of marriage. I believe that marriage marks the beginning of life's most precious journey. I won't reprint the entire service here, though I may eventually post it to my website, but here are the words which were so powerful that saying them moved me almost to tears.
"By the power of your love for one another, before God and in accordance with the laws of the state of Texas I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now seal your union with a kiss"
I've played the guitar in front of thousands of people without feeling the least bit nervous but officiating over the marriage of two young people with perhaps a hundred onlookers was terrifying and yet exhilarating beyond description. My authenticity as a Reverend may be ethically questionable but this wedding was as real as it gets (and 100% legal in the state of Texas). Life is good, love is wonderful.
Today I performed that ceremony and was profoundly moved by the experience. While freely admitting that my track record with marriage isn't all it could be, I remain a strong believer in the sanctity and power of marriage. I believe that marriage marks the beginning of life's most precious journey. I won't reprint the entire service here, though I may eventually post it to my website, but here are the words which were so powerful that saying them moved me almost to tears.
"By the power of your love for one another, before God and in accordance with the laws of the state of Texas I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now seal your union with a kiss"
I've played the guitar in front of thousands of people without feeling the least bit nervous but officiating over the marriage of two young people with perhaps a hundred onlookers was terrifying and yet exhilarating beyond description. My authenticity as a Reverend may be ethically questionable but this wedding was as real as it gets (and 100% legal in the state of Texas). Life is good, love is wonderful.
Monday, June 09, 2008
The Great Castell Kayak Race
I had a very interesting gig last Saturday. My friend Jerialice hired me to run sound for The Great Castell Kayak Race. Entertainment was provided by David Lewis Morgan, David Byboth, Ross Vick of Trueheart and Joe King Carrasco.
David Morgan, David Byboth and Ross Vick all appeared sans-band, with acoustic electric guitars and I was fortunate enough to be permitted to accompany each of them during their performances. I've known David Morgan for a while and have become familiar with most of his songs but I'd never met, or heard, David Byboth or Ross Vick. They each risked having their performance degraded by permitting me to accompany them. Both are powerful and experienced performers with fully developed and complex styles so it was relatively easy for me to 'feel the groove' and blend into the mix though Ross has a love of subtle key changes which add wonderful depth to his songs but were a serious challenge for a cold follower. His chord structures are coherent and exciting so I got a little carried away on a couple of his tunes (sorry Ross).
Joe King Carrasco brought his band and they did a fabulous job. As a genuine Texan-By-Choice I love all the flavors of Texas music which include, though aren't limited to, Country, Rock, Rockabilly, Blues, Bluegrass, Tejano and Conjunto. Joe and his band are a wonderful blend of all these and more. They're accomplished musicians with no protruding egos and in combination their performance manages to be smooth, polished and professional while achieving the seemingly contradictory feat of being high-energy with the sort of slightly jagged edges that make live music so incredibly much more fun than recorded music.
I bought CD's from everyone on stage (except David Morgan who doesn't yet have a CD) and brought them home.
My Mind's Eye by David Byboth
The Road by Trueheart (Ross Vick)
Hot Sun by Joe King Carrasco
Y'all rock on and thanks a million.
David Morgan, David Byboth and Ross Vick all appeared sans-band, with acoustic electric guitars and I was fortunate enough to be permitted to accompany each of them during their performances. I've known David Morgan for a while and have become familiar with most of his songs but I'd never met, or heard, David Byboth or Ross Vick. They each risked having their performance degraded by permitting me to accompany them. Both are powerful and experienced performers with fully developed and complex styles so it was relatively easy for me to 'feel the groove' and blend into the mix though Ross has a love of subtle key changes which add wonderful depth to his songs but were a serious challenge for a cold follower. His chord structures are coherent and exciting so I got a little carried away on a couple of his tunes (sorry Ross).
Joe King Carrasco brought his band and they did a fabulous job. As a genuine Texan-By-Choice I love all the flavors of Texas music which include, though aren't limited to, Country, Rock, Rockabilly, Blues, Bluegrass, Tejano and Conjunto. Joe and his band are a wonderful blend of all these and more. They're accomplished musicians with no protruding egos and in combination their performance manages to be smooth, polished and professional while achieving the seemingly contradictory feat of being high-energy with the sort of slightly jagged edges that make live music so incredibly much more fun than recorded music.
I bought CD's from everyone on stage (except David Morgan who doesn't yet have a CD) and brought them home.
My Mind's Eye by David Byboth
The Road by Trueheart (Ross Vick)
Hot Sun by Joe King Carrasco
Y'all rock on and thanks a million.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Clueless is do-less
Trying to fix a computer for Missy's boyfriend, giving my grandson guitar lessons, trying to learn about blogging software, trying to learn about file servers, playing two-piece gigs with Ely, four piece gigs with Jerry or Fermin, helping Jerialice with sound at her Songwriters in the Round meetings, mowing the Benson's place every week, getting the ezine completed and published, taking care of mom...
Wow, and there's way more on my 'pending projects' list.
If there were three of me I'd be no better off because those other two bastages would be 'cherry picking' all the easy jobs and I'd just get stuck with the scut work.
I wash dishes, do laundry, run errands, shop for groceries, sharpen things (mower blades, axes, hoes, chisels, knives and/or scissors), do much of the cooking, change mom's diapers and try to do the occasional odd job while I'm at it.
Lisa's been after me to hang some grow lights for her African Violets. I think I've got all the hardware bought but I'm still pondering the details of getting it done. Once I feel certain I know what I'm doing, and how I intend to get it done, I get right on it but I do sometimes spend rather a long time thinking it over. Like an artist waiting for the muse, I'm a slightly challenged handyman waiting for a clue.
Wow, and there's way more on my 'pending projects' list.
If there were three of me I'd be no better off because those other two bastages would be 'cherry picking' all the easy jobs and I'd just get stuck with the scut work.
I wash dishes, do laundry, run errands, shop for groceries, sharpen things (mower blades, axes, hoes, chisels, knives and/or scissors), do much of the cooking, change mom's diapers and try to do the occasional odd job while I'm at it.
Lisa's been after me to hang some grow lights for her African Violets. I think I've got all the hardware bought but I'm still pondering the details of getting it done. Once I feel certain I know what I'm doing, and how I intend to get it done, I get right on it but I do sometimes spend rather a long time thinking it over. Like an artist waiting for the muse, I'm a slightly challenged handyman waiting for a clue.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Time, life and distributions.
The days cascade into one another and I look up once in a while to discover that another week, few weeks, month, few months have passed. It seems impossible, I was only distracted for a few seconds. Where does the time go? Does it swirl away, in a counter-clockwise spiral, into some mysterious rabbit hole? Am I really so terribly late?
Mom's just gotten re-certified for Hospice care. It's somehow very significant to medical people (I don't waste time trying to fathom that); what it means to us is that a nurses aid comes in three days a week and bathes mom (we love our "bath lady"!), a nurse comes in once a week and takes mom's vital signs and. best of all, a social worker drops by about once a month and listens to our troubles. I don't suppose there's much of anything she could do to help us but she listens, she's sympathetic, she commiserates with us and I always feel better afterwards. Lisa was born Catholic so it's probably not a big deal to her but I think maybe I understand how it feels to have gone to confession and "unloaded". I expect Catholic priests and social workers are far more cognizant than I of just how similar their jobs can be. Carol (the social worker) doesn't cross me or mutter words of absolution but the net effect is probably about the same.
One of the fellows on the SATLUG email list insists that we Linux users should all give thanks to saint iGNUcious. My response is "Ok, but first, what distro is he using?".
A friend was complaining about the fact that there are hundreds of different Linux distros making it very difficult to figure out which one is best suited to your needs. My only comment was "Have you bought a car lately?". Too many choices can be awfully confusing but it's vastly superior to the alternative.
Mom's just gotten re-certified for Hospice care. It's somehow very significant to medical people (I don't waste time trying to fathom that); what it means to us is that a nurses aid comes in three days a week and bathes mom (we love our "bath lady"!), a nurse comes in once a week and takes mom's vital signs and. best of all, a social worker drops by about once a month and listens to our troubles. I don't suppose there's much of anything she could do to help us but she listens, she's sympathetic, she commiserates with us and I always feel better afterwards. Lisa was born Catholic so it's probably not a big deal to her but I think maybe I understand how it feels to have gone to confession and "unloaded". I expect Catholic priests and social workers are far more cognizant than I of just how similar their jobs can be. Carol (the social worker) doesn't cross me or mutter words of absolution but the net effect is probably about the same.
One of the fellows on the SATLUG email list insists that we Linux users should all give thanks to saint iGNUcious. My response is "Ok, but first, what distro is he using?".
A friend was complaining about the fact that there are hundreds of different Linux distros making it very difficult to figure out which one is best suited to your needs. My only comment was "Have you bought a car lately?". Too many choices can be awfully confusing but it's vastly superior to the alternative.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Hillary Who?
This is a significant day in Texas. Why? Because it's election day and why, you ask, is that significant? Because it means no more canned telephone calls from Hillary on behalf of herself, Bill on behalf of Hillary, Sally Fields on behalf of Hillary, legions of nameless campaign workers on behalf of Hillary and no more glitzy junk mail from the Clinton campaign.
I don't know squat about politics but I'm certain that nothing presented to me by the time honored tradition of media blitz can be trusted. I'll admit that I don't watch television or read newspapers so I don't know whether or not the Clinton campaign has gone the entire distance with their campaign but I do know that I've been awakened at least four times in the last couple of weeks by automated telephone calls in support of Hillary and I foresee many more such calls if she wins the nomination. I'll do whatever I can to prevent that.
Heck, I don't even know (or care) which party I'm registered with but I do have a voter registration card in my wallet and I'm darn well going to use it this evening to vote for whomever is opposite Hillary Clinton (if she's on my ballot) simply because whomever that is hasn't awakened me from a sound sleep in the attempt to promote their campaign and I fully support anyone who runs a peaceful, quiet campaign. I'm not hard to get along with as long as you don't disturb my sleep.
Ok, there are other reasons, like, how can I support a woman who "just lays there" when her spouse in unfaithful? She kept totally quiet in order to distance herself from his indiscretions but she should have thrown his arse out of the White House. Some women keep quiet because they're afraid but I'm pretty sure Hillary isn't afraid.
My wife says "Hillary already had her chance in the White House and she blew it".
I say "If she doesn't lose I'll have to become a campaign worker for the opposition".
Nuff said.
I don't know squat about politics but I'm certain that nothing presented to me by the time honored tradition of media blitz can be trusted. I'll admit that I don't watch television or read newspapers so I don't know whether or not the Clinton campaign has gone the entire distance with their campaign but I do know that I've been awakened at least four times in the last couple of weeks by automated telephone calls in support of Hillary and I foresee many more such calls if she wins the nomination. I'll do whatever I can to prevent that.
Heck, I don't even know (or care) which party I'm registered with but I do have a voter registration card in my wallet and I'm darn well going to use it this evening to vote for whomever is opposite Hillary Clinton (if she's on my ballot) simply because whomever that is hasn't awakened me from a sound sleep in the attempt to promote their campaign and I fully support anyone who runs a peaceful, quiet campaign. I'm not hard to get along with as long as you don't disturb my sleep.
Ok, there are other reasons, like, how can I support a woman who "just lays there" when her spouse in unfaithful? She kept totally quiet in order to distance herself from his indiscretions but she should have thrown his arse out of the White House. Some women keep quiet because they're afraid but I'm pretty sure Hillary isn't afraid.
My wife says "Hillary already had her chance in the White House and she blew it".
I say "If she doesn't lose I'll have to become a campaign worker for the opposition".
Nuff said.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Born again eh?
It's really hard for me to relate to religious extremists. The only thing I'm extreme about is being tolerant. A person's religious beliefs, or lack of religious beliefs, is no more or less important to me than the pigmentation of their hair, eyes or epidermis. A couple of times I've had this mental flash of standing in line as a bodiless soul, with a large group of bodiless souls, in front of the fabled pearly gates while a fellow who looks like a cross between an Army drill sergeant and an angel is saying "You have the right to remain apostate. Nothing you say will make a difference. You have the right to a messiah. If you cannot select a messiah one will be appointed by the Deity." I suppose some folks might find this to be a frightening thought but I'm a veteran. I can stand in one more line as many times as it takes. No big deal.
Let's see, where was I? Oh yeah, I was talking about religious extremists. This morning one of our neighbors made a comment about a mutual acquaintance being a "Born Again Christian" and before I could stop myself I commented "Ooh, that's gotta hurt!".
Don't get me wrong here, I don't mean to imply that everyone who considers themselves to have been "Born Again" is an extremist but it's certainly true that a fair number of them are and it's equally true that, for the rest of my life, any time someone tells me they're a "Born Again Christian" I'm going to have to bite my tongue.
When I hear a funny one-liner or short commentary it's really hard for me to avoid using it at inappropriate moments and it's even more difficult when it came from my own dubious gray matter.
Here's an example from someone else "Jesus loves me but he can't stand you". I don't know who wrote it, but I love it. I can't think of another sentence I've worked so hard to resist repeating. If you repeat it, remember, you've got to use a whiny, facetious voice, ok?
Lisa says I'll probably get death threats for posting this but I figure most people are smart enough to see the difference between a little ribbing and being hateful. I'm not hateful, I don't have it in me. Am I religious? Yes, sorta. Can we discuss it? No.
Nuff said.
Let's see, where was I? Oh yeah, I was talking about religious extremists. This morning one of our neighbors made a comment about a mutual acquaintance being a "Born Again Christian" and before I could stop myself I commented "Ooh, that's gotta hurt!".
Don't get me wrong here, I don't mean to imply that everyone who considers themselves to have been "Born Again" is an extremist but it's certainly true that a fair number of them are and it's equally true that, for the rest of my life, any time someone tells me they're a "Born Again Christian" I'm going to have to bite my tongue.
When I hear a funny one-liner or short commentary it's really hard for me to avoid using it at inappropriate moments and it's even more difficult when it came from my own dubious gray matter.
Here's an example from someone else "Jesus loves me but he can't stand you". I don't know who wrote it, but I love it. I can't think of another sentence I've worked so hard to resist repeating. If you repeat it, remember, you've got to use a whiny, facetious voice, ok?
Lisa says I'll probably get death threats for posting this but I figure most people are smart enough to see the difference between a little ribbing and being hateful. I'm not hateful, I don't have it in me. Am I religious? Yes, sorta. Can we discuss it? No.
Nuff said.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Good morning poopy diaper.
Thus dawns the much awaited day of Llano's Heritage Festival. I'll be playing on the courthouse square with my favorite drummer (my daughter Lily) and my favorite bass player (the inimitable Mr. Pat Gibbons) beginning at 1:00 PM and my custom-made, left-handed guitar returned from Ohio (Jay Pawar is my hero, thank you Jay, the refret is superlative) yesterday so I am going to bring the house down.
Nevertheless, I still had to clean mom up and change her diaper this morning. Nothing brings you back to earth any quicker than a poopy diaper. *sigh*
Anyway, I made a nice quiche for breakfast, which is in the oven as I type this, and the momma-sitter will be here in an hour or so. Barring unforeseen catastrophes Lisa and I will have a pleasant day of love, laughter and lots of photographs.
Otherwise, we will cope with whatever comes along. Bring it on.
Nevertheless, I still had to clean mom up and change her diaper this morning. Nothing brings you back to earth any quicker than a poopy diaper. *sigh*
Anyway, I made a nice quiche for breakfast, which is in the oven as I type this, and the momma-sitter will be here in an hour or so. Barring unforeseen catastrophes Lisa and I will have a pleasant day of love, laughter and lots of photographs.
Otherwise, we will cope with whatever comes along. Bring it on.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Still muddling along
Mom broke her right hip about eight weeks ago and, following a brief stay in the hospital (in Fredericksburg, TX), she spent the next seven weeks mostly in a wheelchair. A few days ago she started physical therapy and is moving all over the house just fine with her walker, as long as she's supervised. I don't think she's quite ready to solo yet but things are pretty much back to what passes for normal around here.
My granddaughter Amanda posted something about a test at OkCupid so I went and took the one I could find only I'm not sure I got the right test because my results didn't look like hers (and she didn't give a link). They sent me an email to a link where they listed hundreds of potential mates. That's a little like winning the lottery after you joined a church that forbids gambling. I also noticed that one or two of those "potential mates" were men. I wonder what they're trying to imply?
Meanwhile, Lisa found the list of categories that men and women are sorted into by this test (at the bottom of the results page) and has been reading them aloud to me while I'm typing. Some of them are hilarious.
I'm so grateful to be happily married. Being single is the scariest thing I can imagine.
My granddaughter Amanda posted something about a test at OkCupid so I went and took the one I could find only I'm not sure I got the right test because my results didn't look like hers (and she didn't give a link). They sent me an email to a link where they listed hundreds of potential mates. That's a little like winning the lottery after you joined a church that forbids gambling. I also noticed that one or two of those "potential mates" were men. I wonder what they're trying to imply?
Meanwhile, Lisa found the list of categories that men and women are sorted into by this test (at the bottom of the results page) and has been reading them aloud to me while I'm typing. Some of them are hilarious.
I'm so grateful to be happily married. Being single is the scariest thing I can imagine.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Sometimes Love is a Boadacious Breakfast
I slept late this morning and when I did get out of bed, brush my teeth, comb my hair and get dressed I sat and checked my email even before I went looking for a cup of coffee. Sometimes I'm a slow starter. Anyway it occurred to me that Lisa had been up for a while and was busy getting mom up rather than working on breakfast, even though she always wakes up starving so I decided she should have some banana nut pancakes (a particular favorite). She saw what I was doing and suggested I add a couple of the fresh peaches our friend Pam brought us and, just for grins, I microwaved a handfull of dehyrated apricots in a half cup of water and threw them in too.
We got several batches of plums from our neighbor's tree this year and after I worked up the last batch I had seven cups of juice. It takes six cups to make plum jelly and I already had several batches put up but I hated the thought of having an entire cup of juice left over so I divided what I had into two 3½ cup batches, put one of them in the fridge in a covered container, added 2½ cups of unsweetened apple juice to what I had left and simply followed the directions for plum jelly. It didn't set so I wound up with four pints of plum syrup.
A few days later I made a wheat-free chocolate cake. Powdered sugar contains corn syrup and corn products are highly toxic to Lisa so a traditional butter cream frosting, consisting of powdered sugar and butter, is out of the question. We've tried to produce a decent frosting using regular sugar but we've had no luck so far with that. Then I remembered the "plum sauce" I got from my last attempt at jelly so I opened a jar and poured that over the cake. Wow! Serendipity is sometimes good stuff you know? So, yesterday I remembered the 3½ cups of plum juice which was in the fridge, even though I'd intended to throw it away when my last batch of jelly didn't set but, having discovered "plum syrup", I got everything together and made myself another batch and that's what we had on our peach-apricot-banana-pecan pancakes this morning. Life is good y'all.
Don Crowder
We got several batches of plums from our neighbor's tree this year and after I worked up the last batch I had seven cups of juice. It takes six cups to make plum jelly and I already had several batches put up but I hated the thought of having an entire cup of juice left over so I divided what I had into two 3½ cup batches, put one of them in the fridge in a covered container, added 2½ cups of unsweetened apple juice to what I had left and simply followed the directions for plum jelly. It didn't set so I wound up with four pints of plum syrup.
A few days later I made a wheat-free chocolate cake. Powdered sugar contains corn syrup and corn products are highly toxic to Lisa so a traditional butter cream frosting, consisting of powdered sugar and butter, is out of the question. We've tried to produce a decent frosting using regular sugar but we've had no luck so far with that. Then I remembered the "plum sauce" I got from my last attempt at jelly so I opened a jar and poured that over the cake. Wow! Serendipity is sometimes good stuff you know? So, yesterday I remembered the 3½ cups of plum juice which was in the fridge, even though I'd intended to throw it away when my last batch of jelly didn't set but, having discovered "plum syrup", I got everything together and made myself another batch and that's what we had on our peach-apricot-banana-pecan pancakes this morning. Life is good y'all.
Don Crowder
On the vagaries of domestic tranquility.
Lisa's been working on a website for her Llano Master Gardeners group and, naturally, she wanted to use all sorts of CSS tricks that I don't know anything about so I had to show her how to quickly and easily find CSS data by googling for information on specific features, anywhere you can find it, rather than a frustrating search of a single site when you can't find the keyword that leads to the data you want or a long and frustrating round of reading tutorials that never mention whatever it is you're looking for. Then, if she found information and couldn't understand it I had to read it and explain it to her and then when she got it to do whatever she wanted it to do I had to admire it and compliment her on it. I'm not allowed to be busy when she wants me to help her with something; I can help her with whatever it is she wants help with or I can pay, and pay, and pay for the next week or longer. Nor am I allowed to distract her when she's busy; I can quietly leave her alone or I can pay, and pay, and.... *sigh* anyway, I've learned all sorts of new CSS tricks that I truly didn't want to know and getting the most recent issue of our ezine and personal news page finished was fun and challenging.
She insists that I mention how distracting I was while she was working, constantly bothering her with questions or wanting her to watch some video on YouTube. I don't remember any of that but she did say that so I'm mentioning it.
I'm sweating bullets over the next post to my lockergnome blog. It's entitled "How You Can Try Linux" and it's supposed to be a simple, clear, understandable explanation of all available ways and means by which an average citizen can get a first hand look at Linux. There are lots of choices, enough to be really confusing, and I can't change that so I've got to explain each of them simply enough that an average person who knows nothing about Linux will have no trouble selecting an option that suits him or her. Nothing to it, but it may take me a few more days.
I made another trip (my third) to the clinic in Llano the other day and our favorite PA, Joanna Schork, loaded me up with advair, singulair, levaquin and nasonex. For the first time in months I'm starting to feel better. On both of my previous visits to the clinic I called in and took whomever I could get because I felt so bad and Joanna wasn't available on either of those occasions. She's certainly made a believer of me now; if she isn't available the next time I'm miserable I'll make an appointment for whenever she will be available and simply continue being miserable for as long as necessary. Nuff said.
Don Crowder
She insists that I mention how distracting I was while she was working, constantly bothering her with questions or wanting her to watch some video on YouTube. I don't remember any of that but she did say that so I'm mentioning it.
I'm sweating bullets over the next post to my lockergnome blog. It's entitled "How You Can Try Linux" and it's supposed to be a simple, clear, understandable explanation of all available ways and means by which an average citizen can get a first hand look at Linux. There are lots of choices, enough to be really confusing, and I can't change that so I've got to explain each of them simply enough that an average person who knows nothing about Linux will have no trouble selecting an option that suits him or her. Nothing to it, but it may take me a few more days.
I made another trip (my third) to the clinic in Llano the other day and our favorite PA, Joanna Schork, loaded me up with advair, singulair, levaquin and nasonex. For the first time in months I'm starting to feel better. On both of my previous visits to the clinic I called in and took whomever I could get because I felt so bad and Joanna wasn't available on either of those occasions. She's certainly made a believer of me now; if she isn't available the next time I'm miserable I'll make an appointment for whenever she will be available and simply continue being miserable for as long as necessary. Nuff said.
Don Crowder
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