Month: November 2013

Solstice Cards All Mailed

Well, just to piss off Fox News, Sarah Palin, and all of the “War(mongers) on Christmas1,” I am informing the world that our Solstice Cards have all been mailed! Design and print the Solstice card; write, print and fold the Solstice newsletter, and then stamp and seal the Solstice envelopes. Finally: double check to be sure they all have sufficient… Continue reading

A Few Odds & Ends

Night at the Symphony A week ago tonight we went to the San Francisco Symphony: Till Fellner performed Mozart‘s Piano Concerto No. 24 in c Minor, K 491 (1786). Flawless, intricate voicing. And the symphony was at its best, with Semyon Bychkov conducting. The balance. The classical period restraint. The symbiosis. Gorgeous! I so wish Mozart had lived to be… Continue reading

Compare & Contrast!

You know, my father and grandfather (his father) were, much like those generations in general, really good men. Both were very generous with what little they had. They were both kind, compassionate men that had a habit of being quietly helpful. They believed that people, especially family, were more important than things. Unlike me, I can’t recall ever hearing my… Continue reading

Behold, I Wail!

Our poor hot tub! It is dead. I shot a 1 minute video (time lapse) of the funeral procession and turned it into a cartoon. I suppose it is a miracle that the hot tub ever worked at all, after the young children who lived here before we moved in decimated it with large rocks, pebbles, and slabs of slate.… Continue reading

Living in a Cool ‘Hood

Our next door neighbors Joe and Juline hosted their 20th Annual House Concert, Jazz by the Bay (window). Their window is called the bay window not because it’s a bay window. It’s not. It has an amazing view of the bay! Back in 1994 esteemed bassist, Bill Douglass, lamented to his friend Joe Paulino, that he wished he had a… Continue reading

AppleTV & Living in the Moment

Warning: venting! I have to wait! Every time I go to use an Apple product, something has either updated or wants to be updated. And this house has 14 Apple devices! God, that’s a lot of waiting!!! Today I wanted to listen to my music library jazz playlist via the AppleTV in the living room while I folded clothes. (Yes,… Continue reading

Process Versus Outcomes

I actually think that the way we go about (process) achieving goals (outcomes) matters. But, I probably generally believe that outcomes tip the scale and matter a bit more than the process. I mean, haven’t we all sat through meetings (process) where we felt like screaming, “Just make a decision, and let’s get on with doing it!” So, the Democrats… Continue reading

Napa Valley Film Festival

In its third year and hosted across the valley, the  Napa Valley Film Festival is awesome. These folks not only put together a great film festival, they also have a great web site. Check it out! I went this year, for a hurried trip, because I wanted to see Meryl Streep‘s new movie: August: Asage County. The film opens in… Continue reading

@Apple and Feature Regression

This Apple fan boy is growing aggravated with Apple coming out with new software versions that drop features, sometimes significant features, without much, if any, warning. Recent Example The most recent example is the new iWork software. I am a huge Keynote user. Yes, I guess I’m a power user, now that I think about it. The new software is… Continue reading