A somewhat random thought while at work

Thought of this today, while at work:

I've known Old Roommate for over 30 years.  Yow.  (I am old.)

Which means that I've know him for longer than I've not known him.

Furthermore:  in a few years, I'll have known him for two-thirds of my life.

That's pretty cool.  :)   (He's a good guy.)


--GG

Good lyrics by Kevin Adams

This is a bit of an "open letter" to "Captain Crash" Adams -- Kevin G. Adams:  if you ever Google this, please ping me.

What prompted this is that I've have our album in heavy rotation on my car's mp3 player, and "Rose in the Sand" has the line "It's like I'm wishing on a rainbow // And there's nothing at the end".

That's a good line.  Nice one, Kev.


--GG

A gift knife

Back in April or May of this year, I had a dream that I was at work (but not my "real life" work) in the break room, cutting up an apple with a blue-handled pocket knife.

When I woke up I decided that I should pick up a Cub Scout pocket knife from eBay.  I asked Old Roommate to bid on it on my behalf, since the shipping costs would be cheaper to send it to him than to me in Australia.

When I visited him in June, I retrieved the knife, and I asked him what I owed him.  He said it was a gift -- which was very nice of him.


As I've mentioned before, I collect pocket knives and small-to-medium-sized multitools.  And I "rotate through" each of them for three months each, just so when my kids finally inherit my things, they'll know that the pocket knives were all "user" tools that I actually used -- rather than simply things that I collected and threw in a shoebox.

So, here's a photo from a few days ago, with the Cub Scout knife entering into its rotation:

(That's my "pocket knife" pouch, on my work pants.  To the left is my -- yeah -- harmonica pouch.)


Most days at work I eat 1-3 apples; sometimes, a pear.  And although I usually eat frozen veggies, sometimes I'll cut up a zucchini or broccoli or some-such, and microwave that.  For all of these, I use my pocket knife -- although there are actual "kitchen knives" at work.

So:  hat tip to Old Roomate.  Thanks for the knife!  :)


--GG

Dreamed about a play

Dreamed that Old Roommate was directing a short play, and I was assistant director, as well as acting in a medium-sized part.

It was the day before the dress rehearsal -- and for some reason I had failed to arrange an understudy for the main role in the scene that I was in charge of. Old Roommate chastised me for that.

AND, even though it was the day before the dress rehearsal, I hadn't even **looked** at any of my lines. In fact, I didn't even remember what role I was!


This is probably a variation on the traditional ''I'm at school and there's a test I forgot to study for'' dreams.


--GG

Thx for reading my blog

During my travels, I was pleasantly surprised at all the friends and family who actually read my blog. As Old Roommate would say, "I'm honored". :)

This includes a tip of the hat to Kansas Lutheran. She mentioned in her Christmas card to us that she, too, reads my blog. Thx! :)


--GG

Too focused on the wrong thing

I'm going to Seattle to visit friends and family in a few months. It's always busy, and fairly highly-scheduled, trying to fit everyone in.

So, last night I dreamed I was staying at my parents for a few days. I was in the guest room checking e-mail, while a series of friends and relatives stopped by.

I eventually emerged from the guest room, to discover that everyone had given up and left. Dangit!


The message: Don't spend too much time on e-mail or other "administrative" tasks while in Seattle?


--GG

Cool like Slag

I have an inexpensive violin from my Grandfather: he didn't play, but himself inherited it from his best friend, whose wife played it. But I haven't used it yet, as it needs a bit of tidying -- and more importantly, a new bow (or, the existing one to be re-haired). Either way, it would be AU$50-$70 for a bargain basement bow, and a similar price to get it re-haired.


On August 5th I was running errands, and made the rounds of some of the local pawn shops. Saw a no-name electric guitar -- no strings, might or might not work -- for AU$69. Tempting: use it for parts?

Later that day, I stopped by Aldi (vaguely like an intersection of Trader Joe's and a **very** small Costco), and saw that the "student violins" at were on the clearance table, marked down from AU$99 to AU$69 (US$59). Two were 1/2 size, but one was full size. The box indicated that the full-size one was white: not my favorite color, but better than red (the original colors available seemed to be white, blue, black, and red).

My dad has a saying that "you can only spend money once". Debated it a bit, and decided that I had more immediate use of a functioning (but inexpensive) violin than a set of spare guitar parts that I wouldn't use for 2-3 years, anyhow.

So, went back later that day and got it. Figured that at that price, not much different than getting my existing bow fixed.


Checked the contents of the case before buying. Curiously, the bridge was separate in the violin case, wrapped in tissue paper: gotta install it yourself. Luckily I have a few reference books on violins, which tell you where to line it up.

Livingstone brand, FWIW. Came with rosin, bow, and (as mentioned) the bridge wrapped separately in paper; blue nylon cloth hard padded case; also a spare set of strings.


Finally got around to setting it up on Aug. 11th. Oddly, it turns out to be a brown stain color (i.e., you can see the wood grain, but the actual wood was originally a lighter color). Funny that when I opened the case to check the contents that I didn't notice the color!


Today's August 14th, and have dabbled with it every evening since then. For various reasons, my guitars are tucked away and hard to get to; two of the three keys on my trumpet keep sticking (need to get that looked at); and the trombone is just too loud to play after everyone's gone to bed.

But, the violin is accessible (right next to my desk), and not too loud (my desk is at the other end of the house).

We'll see how long I manage to keep practicing -- and how long before I become adequate. :)


--GG

Slushie of destiny

A friend was inspired by my post on Slushies, and sent me this photo:



At first, the photo reminded me of The Lady of the Lake, offering up Excaliber:



But, then, I took a closer look at the Slushie cup:



"Whoever shall pull this straw from this Slushie cup shall be the rightful King."


Dig it. :)


--GG

Paging Captain Crash

I'm looking for Kevin Adams, drummer for the defunct band Quiet Storm. Or, Captain Crash Adams, of the band Quiet Storm.

I've put up this blog post, just in case he ever Googles his name.

Kev -- if you see this, plz post something in the ''Comments'' section, with an e-mail address or something so I can contact you.

Thx!


--GG

Two versions one song

As I mentioned a few days ago, my cousin did a cover version of one of my songs -- I'm flattered!

He's just posted my original version alongside his, on his webpage. I suggest you listen to my version (the original!) first (the bottom one), and then his version (the cover version) second (the top one). Both are streaming audio.

The differences between our two versions intrigue me. I think my cousin (nilSonance) is more of an oil painter, whereas I'm more of a cartoonist. In general, his songs are more intricate, whereas mine are looser (and more fun or less serious).


Of course, I like 'em both. :)


--GG

Daughter likes my music

My guitar cousin has ''covered'' one of my songs (''Don't Bare My Leaves'') -- go here to stream it. Once I figure out how to FTP my audio files to him, he'll host and/or post a copy of my original version, and I'll link to it.

I played my cousin's version, and the original, and my daughter liked both -- to the extent that she played them several times on my laptop. That's flattering. :)


--GG