Since I was out of town over the weekend, the update was delayed until today.

In today's update I have a list of 33 favorites of his and hers (obviously the old Feature has been archived). Also, I have updated the "Birthdays in Music" and added 2 new recordings from 1996 (one of my best pieces and one that is most sentimental).

Well, well, well... It's a 3-day weekend in honor of Memorial Day. So, first I'd like to take a minute to pause for those who have sacrificed so much for our country and freedom.



For today, I have updated the Images page with a few items of "Hers & His" Additionally, I have added to the Links page 4 new URLs and changed the featured link.

Lastly, depending on how the weekend goes, there might not be an update tomorrow, but rather on Monday, as The Wife and I are heading out to visit some friends and look at a house in Rhode Island.

We wish everybody has a fantastic, sunny, 3-day weekend!!!

It's a beautiful day here and I just took Dustie the Cat out on the balcony for some fresh air. What does that have to do with "words"? I have posted the first writing I have done in ages. It's very simple and light, mind you, but Dustie the Cat inspired it, so I had to post it. I hope you are all having a great day as well!

Tuesday night our water wasn't working starting about 8pm. A couple pipes burst according to the water company. Wednesday morning still no water at 8:30am and was time to get out the door for a few things. So had to wash with our drinking water warmed up on the stove and conserve flushes.

Dropped off my car for the windshield to be replaced. The repair shop was faxed the incorrect paperwork, so I had to call the referring company again to get it taken care of. Headed to the Spine Guy, made it on time, but the radiology department didn't send my MRI film to him. ARGH!!! His nurse was yelling at them over the phone as I went in to see the doc. He said the report he received was good enough for us to talk. Um, I guess I need to start some stretching and exercise. Personally, I think it's a conspiracy between him and my primary care physician. At least nothing is seriously wrong with my back.

We needed to hit BJ's Wholesale (like a Costco selling bulk), but were passing by the house so we could check on the water. Woohoo! Water was runnin'. Took time to take showers (felt much better than the sponge bath). Hit the post office and video store (rented "Return of the King" and "Radio"). Got to BJ's and bought a bunch of stuff for the house (um...and 2 DVDs ... Disney's"Alice in Wonderland" & Ralph Bakshi's "Wizards") and hit the local grocery store for a few items.

Finally back at home, made lunch and watched the first half of RotK and let some bread dough rise. The Wife made the bread and then it was off to pick up my car. When we got back, we finished watching RotK, then we hit Pogo for about and 30 minutes while the cornish game hen went into the oven for dinner. Phone calls occurred, then before I knew it dinner was ready. Watched "Radio" during dinner, cleaned up and played more Pogo. The Wife got 1 of her 2 badges and went to bed. I got both of mine and am now finishing this posting.

That might not have been all that exciting for you to read, but hey, I told you it was a long full day.

It's been one of those days when I just can't get anything to work the way I want. My back hurts like I was just hit by a truck, I can't seem to get a cohesive sentence to paper, or a significant musical idea recorded. My mind has been kinda slow today, so reading hasn't worked either. Oh, and for once I cannot get into playing a game. I don't know why, just one of those days.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I have to drop my car off for a new windshield as a pebble came up off the road and cracked it on Sunday. I have a doctor's appointment to discuss my MRI from last week. We need to pick up a couple things from the grocery store, and The Wife is off tomorrow, so maybe we can go to or watch a movie.

Anyway, we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

While finishing up my "To-Do" list, I realized that today is the 20th anniversary of my college special project performance, Some Crime. It was the opening performance to the 1984 Undergraduate Arts Festival.

It took me 2 days short of a year from conception to performance. I wrote, choreographed, designed, and directed the show. With members from: Some Philharmonic Synthesizer and Dance Ensemble; Guy Goode and the Decent Tones; and friends, it had a cast of 10 musician/dancers, sound engineer, lighting technician, and some backstage assistance.

The instrumentation included: Synthesizers, Xylophone, huge assortment of Percussion, Tuba, Trombone, and Saxophones.

I have updated the Writings page with links to the lyrics of three of the tunes from the performance.

I will try and locate a recording of the show and see about placing a tune or two on the site at a later time.





I didn't get much sleep last night, but that's not all that unusual. However, today I have a "To Do" list that's as long as my ... er ... um ... well, it's a long "To Do" list ok? So, I best get started.

Yes, it's Sunday and here is the site update...

Your future visits will more than likely contain fewer clicks of the ol' mouse. Why? Well, if you haven't already noticed, you didn't land on the "Home" page like you were doing before. I decided to make this page the landing page since it will change more frequently than any other page on the site. So, what are all the changes? There are only a couple really.

The top navigation is the main change. "Home" has been renamed Feature and moved one link to the right, while the Journal has become the main landing page and the first link in the navigation system. Of course last week's Journal has been archived. And so has last week's feature on spring planting.

Also, I have made some cosmetic adjustments to the Recordings and Writings pages.

There have been no updates made to the Images or Links pages this week, as I am trying to space out my updates to minimize the amount of time I have to spend doing a single update. Last Sunday, it took way too long due to all of the writing, the recordings being converted, images being saved and sized, etc. This is a hobby, not work. hehehe

Goodnight.

Whoops, I forgot to post my TGIF picture yesterday. So, here it is as a TGIS picture.

Um, you know for the weekend you've got to get dressed up to go out and party, so here's one way to do it.

Also, I have added two "Comment" links to the site. One on the Recordings page, where you can make comments about any of the recordings you hear, if you like. And, one on the Writings page to do the same.

I'm still not sure if there will be a new Feature story tomorrow, as the restructure I described here yesterday might take significant time to complete. We'll just have to see.

I went to sleep on the couch this morning at 4am, so as not to disturb The Wife who had to be up and out the door for work by 6:30am today for inventory. I woke as she kissed me goodbye and wasn't able to get back to sleep. Since then, I got a bug up my ass to do a quick update to a couple pages on the site.

The Recordings page has 3 more recordings on it. There is one of the first pieces I ever wrote on a PC (not including other computers like my old Commodore 64), a piece that captured a moment in time for me, and the promised other version of Piano.

The Writings page now has the entire series "A Passing Dementia". I have added the final 3 works completing the 1985 - 1990 series.

And then of course there is this Journal entry. I have been thinking about the structure of this site a bit more and will be making a structural change on Sunday. I have decided that the Home page will become the "Weekly Feature" page and the Journal will become the new home page. This will make it so that you folks don't have to land on a non-changing page, and then click a link just to keep up with the Journal. I will not be changing the graphic for the Journal as I have really grown to like it. As for the "Feature", yes, I might drop the weekly part depending on how I feel Sunday, I'm not sure if I'll have a new graphic for it by then. Hell, I might not even have a new feature story by then. hahaha

Anyway, there ya have it. New stuff this morning on the Recordings and Writings pages, and a shuffling of pages for a better user experience potentially to come Sunday.

Oooh! I almost forgot, I also have made it so that when you open a second recording or writing while one is already open, it replaces the content of the already opened pop-up instead of opening additional ones. Now I need to figure out how to keep the pop-up always on top.

The frustration continues to build with regard to my Asus graphics adapter. I received mine back from the manufacturer last week. It worked for approximately 3 days and then produced those Windows errors I mentioned on Monday. Now after speaking with Asus, they want the card again so that they can do more testing. I have just about had enough of this. I could have bought another adapter for the amount of money I have spent on shipping, my time and computer downtime.

They decided they would pay for the shipping this time and promise to have a resolution at the conclusion of this test period. They are actually having it tested by some folks that are in direct contact with their technologists in Taiwan. I sure as hell hope they can either fix this problem or replace the board with a model that doesn't have this conflict with their own motherboard.

I just want to be able to have a computer that runs problem-free until we buy a house and move, to be able to take a couple hours and play some EverQuest, to be able to have my computer set for the resolution I am most comfortable with and to just not have to deal with this manufacturer again. I seriously doubt I will use their products again if this issue is not resolved soon.

Oh, and if you are wondering why I didn't post here yesterday, keep wondering....LOL Actually, it's because The Wife was off work, I had lots of phone calls to make, and we rented a couple of movies ("Intolerable Cruelty" and "Master & Commander").

noun
abbreviation: MRI
The use of a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer to produce electronic images of specific atoms and molecular structures in solids, especially human cells, tissues, and organs.

What the above definition does not state is that the machines are very noisy. Fortunately mine has been completed, but I won't know anything about it until next week. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Asus did not call me back this morning. ARGH!!!

Ok, things started out pretty good this morning, I woke up, ate a couple of scrambled eggs, kissed The Wife before she went off to work, and started to play an adventure in EverQuest since I hadn't played in about a month. Um, then things turned to shit.

During an hour and a half of game play, I was dropped out of the game 4 times. Windows generated a "serious error" message about my graphics adapter twice and then I couldn't even boot the machine up. I have now put back in the computer my very old S3 card (I think it's from about 9 years ago). Asus says they will let me know what they can do for me tomorrow before noon, since this has been an on and off problem since about December.

I had some phone calls to make and was told I would be called right back. Three hours later nothing. I have since called them back and told receptionists that I'd hold because their staff obviously will not return calls.

Now, I still have lots of research to do today. I need to look into the mortgage process, so The Wife and I can purchase our first house. Also, I need to plan out our vacation that starts the week of June 12th.

Anyway, I feel a bit better, because my computer boots (albeit with an old video card), all but one call has been taken care of, and it's time to eat lunch.

The weekly Homepage has been archived and replaced, the Journal archived, 3 new Recordings, the Images page is now up to snuff with regard to the site revamp, 3 new Writings from 1989, and a few new Links (the "Featured Link" has been replaced too!).

I have also gone through and completely resized the site to fit in a window resolution of 800x600. There might be a few graphic glitches here and there. If you see something that doesn't look quite right, please use the "Contact" link at the bottom of any page to notify me of a potential bug.

What the hell does this title mean? Simply that I cannot seem to focus today. I don't think there is anything magical about that, except that it is like my mind is doing slight-of-hand with my thinking process.

I decided to come downstairs and finish my Pogo challenges. That didn't happen, I ended up thinking about the bugs left in the web site. Well, for a couple minutes anyway, then I got sidetracked into what tomorrow's posting will be. I was confused why I was thinking about that when I hadn't even made a Journal entry for today. So, I started thinking about what I was going to enter in the Journal. Of course, I got sidetracked again when I remembered that I was never called back by somebody yesterday regarding a timeshare The Wife and I own that we are trying to sell. Um, that led to thoughts about the fact we didn't get into a timeshare for our vacation next month (we wanted to go to Tennessee) and now have to make plans for a different location. We are now planning to drive to Ohio where we have friends. I then called the friends to get info on places to stay and things to do......on and on it goes......

I just can't seem to focus. Anyway, I really hate when I get like this. I like being focused/centered in my thoughts. Now, the end result wasn't too bad though: I, managed to find a solution to one bug, have tomorrow's posting pretty much worked out; managed a topic for today's Journal; started plans for vacation; and can now go Pogo for my final challenge this week. So, I guess things always do work out in the end. Isn't the mind a wonderful thing? I got all this accomplished just from not being focused. Funny how things always seem to work out in the end. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

It certainly was a full day yesterday...so much so, That I didn't even do a Journal entry. So, what made it so busy?

First, and foremost, The wife was off work, which is always nice to have her home with me. We got up in the morning to having the power out. Oh, that's always fun. Then I received a call from a friend from Ohio, that just happened to be in the area. That was a surprise, so we made arrangements for lunch. The wife and I did the usual morning routine, power came back on, and then we headed out the door.

I had a doctor's appointment for my lower back pain. This guy was really nice, he's a spine specialist. Turns out that I'm actually doing pretty good. Although people start to develop arthritis between the ages of 30 and 50, I have very slight signs of the beginning and I'm 42. However, due to my pain he wants me to go for an MRI next week.

After the time spent at the doctor, it was time to meet up for lunch. We love this place called Rosy Tomorrows, so that was the place to go. If you ever are in the Danbury, CT area, stop by and at least grab a small bite just to experience the place. You'll be glad you did. A spicy asian beef salad and a few drinks later, we headed for home.

Upon arriving home from lunch, there was a box on the porch. Woohoo! My graphics adapter is back from RMA. However, instead of installing it right away, The Wife and I showed the place we rent to our guest. He needed to go catch a plane, so it was a pretty short, but pleasant visit. It's just too bad his wife wouldn't have been with the 3 of us too. We missed her. Anyway, back to The Wife and I, we played some of the Pogo challenge for the week. She managed to win the first challenge before me. Kudos to her! So, we have one complete and another to do throughout the week. Then we had dinner and watched the Peter Gabriel DVD of The Growing Up Tour. Great stuff!

I still was thinking about the graphics adapter, but we watched our usual for Wednesday night, "The West Wing" and "Law & Order". Finally, I could make my way downstairs and install the graphics adapter. I decided to install a sound card too. Now, that that's done, I need to reinstall EQ. I already installed my music software, so I can start writing again. That makes me happy. Anyway, it's late (or early depending on your point of view) and I'm rambling, so time to go.

I know, kind of a boring entry, but hey, it was a day in my life, so you can either enjoy it or not, I don't care. I know I enjoyed the day.

I just completed a 30 minute phone call with the cable company. (To get an understanding of my recent history with the cable company, check out the "Home Page Archives" final three days)

They called up to find out if I received the recent information they had sent me about options for services. I let them know that I did and that I was still not very pleased with the recent increase for channels I'll never watch. She said she completely understood as a consumer. Now mind you, this isn't just some person at Customer lack_of_Service, but actually an assistant to the Operations Manager of my area. I ended up going through the whole story with her again about how I was trying to eliminate services to keep my bill under $100/month (includes internet services). I explained how I kept seeing increases every 3 to 6 months during this process. And, how frustrating it was to be doing all this and still having my Internet connection interrupted for a year and then again due to an error on some technician's stupidity.

She finally came around and said that she too was not pleased to see how long I have suffered at their monopoly; how I had no choice for my TV or Internet unless I changed to a different technology. What was her solution?

She has requested that my Internet services be placed back on a special introductory offer of $24.95/month instead of the current $44.95/month for the next 6 months. I thought that was a decent thing to do. Hell, I have helped them to locate problems in their own systems, problems with their staffing, put up with disconnects in service for over a year when none should have taken place, and not once asked for a credit to my account. So, now I get to save 20 bucks for the next 6 months. I feel a bit better about them now. I still think it's bullshit that they have this monopoly, but hell I won't complain about them again for another 6 months, unless they renege on the deal.





Today is going to be a long day at the computer. Asus called and informed me that they were sending overnight delivery my graphics adapter back to me (yeah!). This means that I will not only have to install it and make sure the drivers are up to date, but also it'll be time to reinstall EverQuest

The EverQuest install is a very long process. I have the original game plus the 7 expansions. And, of course then they will all have to go through an online update. After it's installed, I'll need to see if it works properly, so, I'll have to play for like an hour or four. hahaha

However, until the board arrives, I am going to try and hammer out a few more issues behind the scenes here on the site.

I have gotten lots of errands handled this morning. So I feel really good about the day so far!

Maybe, I'll take a little break and play a round of Mahjong on Pogo. One round is 12 games and takes about 3 - 6 minutes per game, so I'm looking at about an hour break. Not bad.

After I complete the games of Mahjong, I need to write a couple of business letters and work a bit on the site fixing bugs.

I just placed the "Images page up. It still has several problems and needs a complete reworking of the code, but I wanted to get something there other than my "Under Construction" page.

I haven't been feeling all that well today. Must be from lack of sleep. We did our grocery shopping and found out that some Goldfish Crackers don't have any sugar in them and are made with unbleached wheat flour. Yippy! The Wife is very happy to have another snack item.

Dustie the Cat paid me to take The Wife out to lunch for Mother's Day. What a cat!





Ok, it's early in the morning, but I have finally finished the redesign of the site. I hope you all like it. I do.

I had lots of fun, some frustrations, and still a couple of loose ends to tie up. But, I'm happy with it. :) What I'm really happy about with it, is that I believe it'll be easier to maintain, read, and expand as time goes on.

So, enough is enough for tonight, I'm going to go to sleep now. :p