Locate the new blog here

This blog is done - technical difficulties.

New blog is Sybling Deux.

Re join the party

I'm not sure what has happened but just to be sure that everything is working, I'm going to send have the blog re-invite you to participate. That way, all the recent drama (I accidentally deleted the blog, converted it to the new google stuff, blah, blah, blah).

You don't have to be a 'member' to see the blog. But you do have to be a member to post an entry. If you don't want the added overhead of joining then you can still see the blog whenever you want. You can also subscribe to the syndication (so you see any new stuff).

So don't be surprised to get an email.

Big Brother a.k.a. "le boulot"

Marc's class is on TV

http://www.king5.com/business/stories/NW_061107WABseatacparisnonstopTP.393ef96b.html

Close up on Marc!

Blog was gone

I foolishly deleted the blog over the weekend. Not intentionally. Actually I was deleting (I thought) the dumby blog I set up. I was quite surprised how easy it was to delete the blog especially when you consider that there are two other administrators whose permission wasn't even needed ("the favorite" and "le boulot" [le boulot is Big Brother again so that I have two ways to access the blog]).

Anyway, all is back to normal. I hope. And I hope never to do that again.

On the other hand, all it took to fix it was a brief email to tech support. Nice going, Blogger.

Music Heroes

Victor Wooten - has played with Dave Matthews - dude kicks ass

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9a4ThBNacY&mode=related&search=

Also, I've been listening to the jazz singer Ian Shaw.

Check out Alone Again, Naturally. You'll have to find it on Rhapsody or something.

Lack of Appreciation

I recently had this exchange with Dad. I ain't telling you what to do but...

Hi, Dad. Now that I have a (nearly) teenager, I want to apologize for all the times in my life when I was ungrateful.

Nathalie is fundamentally a good kid, but there are times now when when she doesn't appreciate anything we do for her. Boy, that is really getting on my nerves. I know that we weren't spoiled as kids, but I can also imagine that there were times when it wouldn't have hurt us to appreciate all the things you and Mom did for us.

So straight up, thanks for doing all that stuff and making sacrifices when I was a kid. Would it have killed me to say thanks? No.

Getting Old

I've shied away from talking about getting old because it always sounds whiney. I remember certain aunts and uncles doing complaining. I thought it was a lot of crap. Dad, for one, does not complain about it. I like his attitude toward age. He's just 29. Maybe that's a little bit of denial but it seems like a more positive view than just getting old.

However, sometimes it's good to share these things for the sake of broader health concerns. I lived with my own denial that I wasn't a tub of goo. I didn't have any other health concerns when I had the heart surgery. I was made aware of my weight in a very real way for probably the first time in my life. At the end of my stay in the hospital, I weighed 248. You track your weight every day after surgery like that to make sure that you are not retaining fluids, which is a sign of something bad. By the end of that summer, I weighed 208. Prior to that, we didn't even have a scale so it was easy for me to think I weighed 195 - but clearly that was denial.

Since then, my weight has been around 215 but it started creeping up again this year, according to my cardiologist's records of me. Also, since then, my doctors have been tracking my cholesterol. You should all get yours checked. Mine appears to be getting worse. In particular, the HDL (good, or Happy) is low, which tends to be genetic and not easy to change.

My overall numbers were not bad, until this year. I hovered around the top end of normal, at 208. This year, they seem to be creeping up. I think it was 224 with elevated triglycerides. Not good.

Worse yet, I changed my diet this year, in January. I'm turning over a new leaf, I told myself. I didn't like the trajectory of my weight and neither did my doctor. He says, "because you have already had an invasive heart procedure, we might give a little more weight to some of these numbers." Translation, we already cracked you chest once so don't be an idiot.

I changed my diet in accord with the realage.com guidelines. I eat more fruit and less starch. My gut (measured at my navel) has gone from 45 to 40, I'm happy to say.

You, siblings, should get some base line numbers, if you don't already know your numbers. We could be genetically okay with below average HDL. The fact that our grandparents did not have heart problems is very good news, too. And while you don't want to overreact and get anorexic, you don't want to live in denial like I did. Facts can be just facts, I suppose.

Yamaha tuba

Every once in awhile you find out that a myth is actually true and it changes things for you. I thought it was something of a myth that better horns are easier to play and sound better. I got a better tuba from my supplier and it is definitely easier to play. I'm not sure you could hear a difference between my old Miraphone and my trial Yamaha on easy, flowing material. But because it is easier to play, the Yamaha would sound better when pushed in its range. I've always known this with guitars but I didn't want to believe with the tuba.

One of my co-workers and fellow brass players sold me a Miraphone tuba last year. I love it. It re-kindled a lot of good feelings for me. In a strange way, it even offered me another way to connect with Dad because he used to take me to my tuba lessons and always thought I was pretty good. You can't beat that. You do something you love and you get to have a moment with your father. Rare, precious.

My co-worker, Matt, sells instruments as a sideline. He is a tech writer like me and has even written a book on programming. He went to Oberlin where he studied trombone. Matt and I are very different in some ways, but I've grown to like him despite the fact that he pushes instruments like drugs.

I've waxed about the Yamaha tuba before I didn't have much of a lip and sounded pretty thin last year when I played a big Yamaha tuba. Sounding thin is a cardinal sin in my own training. Hank used to stress (like other teachers of his ilk) that sound is more important than anything, e.g. technique, range. He said if someone walks in a room and you sound crappy, nothing else matters. Yhey are going to think that you sound crappy.

He stressed "air through horn" as the cure all and mostly, he was right. Arnold Jacobs, the great tuba player of the Chicago symphony, would have loved Hank for that reason.

My problem at Lowell was that not all teachers are like Hank. I didn't get along with the guys who were all about technique and repetoire. I had very good tone. I had good technique, but it was in a narrow band of music. I smoked any kind of march or circus music. Most orchestral music isn't that challenging so I was content with my ability. I had a closed mind.

The closed mind led me to to distrust the idea that the horn itself does matter that much. It isn't only the quality of the player. I never played a lot of tubas.I didn't want to experiment that much. Perhaps, I knew in the back of my mind that we could never afford a high end instrument so it was a convenient bit of denial.

That led me to the contrary belief that the horn didn't matter that much. I was wrong. I'm playing a CC tuba today, thanks to Matt, my pusher. It is a Yamaha 5 valve tuba. Now that I have my lip back I can really appreciate the difference between this horn and my Miraphone. The low notes sound especially good and are remarkably easy to produce. The horn does matter.

This is a more expensive horn. Most players would expect it to sound/play better. I want to be wrong because I used to make fun of guys who had really expensive tubas - just like guys who have really expensive golf clubs. I was right to make fun of them - most of them were idiots - but they probably did have easier horns to play and I was just holding myself back by not having a more open mind about it.

Whining on Saturday night

Couple random things -

It is sssooooo much easier to play the tuba than it is to record anything with the computer. I'm sure it's easier on a Mac. blah blah blah Where's my mouthpiece? Oh. there it is - see? I'm playing already. My computer is still booting.

iPod is a great tool. iTunes on the PC is a pain in my ass. I'm getting used to it. Yeah. Yeah. sooo much easier on the Mac. I know. Note to self - think like a Mac user - just click and drag everything. Don't even think about something as pedestrian as a directory.

Call me crazy. xcopy still kicks 'cut/copy/paste drag or the elusive right-click move any day.

Thanksgiving thoughts

This blog has occasionally been a cathartic mechanism for me (and others). Today it is a bit more of that for me.

A year ago this week, we had visits from Nicole, Dad, and Christine. We started some projects, had some great meals, and went to some cool places (like Salumi and the Frye Museum). It was an amazing way for me, and by extension, my family to mark our territory. On a side note, the sink hasn’t backed up since Dad and I fixed it last year. Knock on wood.

We had the holiday of a lifetime this past summer. I could not have wished a better one.

Having the house now for a little over a year, I see the point. I’m proud of the things we’ve done, and I look forward to the things we will do. But those are just things. The more dear impression is the act of observing the calm and comfort it brings to the people inhabiting the house. I’m glad I could get beyond my reservations to enable that. It’s not that there wasn’t comfort before, but this is a bit more intense.

Looking back to the past, as far back as Mom’s illness, there has been some tumult. And in recent years, we’ve experienced a great deal of turmoil. Moving into this house, and feathering the nest as we have has been a curative act. While I still can’t quite fathom the finances of it all, I’m okay with that. It takes awhile for some things to leave an impression.

Even my worklife has improved. I have found ways in which to keep in perspective. I’m playing with ideas. That technique is one of the single most useful techniques that I’ve learned in recent years. And while I could get all nauseating about “therapy” let me just say that I’m grateful for the kind and gentle healing of all my doctors, but especially Maryetta, my therapist. She is kind. She is intelligent. She understands how I think about things and offers very useful guidance to a person, me, I can’t help but think can be a difficult customer. So just ‘play with the idea.’ Don’t act at all. Fight the urge ‘to do’ and simply play with the idea. It’s low cost, low risk and it might help.

My thoughts have also turned to Amy’s family. Her mom is getting forgetful and, in recent visits, both Carl and Ginny have shown their age. It’s inevitable isn’t it? You want to take care of yourself and live a good life but eventually life takes its toll. Ginny herself has changed a bit but the bigger influence is on Paul, Karen and Amy. Carl is affected too but in a different way. The kids have to face both their parents mortality and, in a way, their own as a consequence. It makes you realize, like you needed another reminder, to appreciate the moment, notice the little things. Just go help out with the dishes and spend some time with her.

Mom’s death was untimely and made me very sad. It still does. But sadness is right next to happy in the emotional spectrum. You are sad because you loved so much. Emotions seem paired like that. And I can move from sad to reflecting on the not sad at all.

Aging is a little different. Cancer gives you a firm contrast. It is bad. It is fought. Aging doesn’t seem as serious, but it has an inevitable outcome. You don’t beat it. In that way, it is worse than cancer. It overcomes hope. I feel bad that my wife has to experience that. I hope that she can draw strength from her family and from mine.

It has been a strange realization that we are now entering a new phase of our adult lives. It’s news to me. Despite losing people who were dear, and some who were old, I’m seeing a different side of life now. The challenge is to find a way to get through to another year, because another year will come.

My other blog is a Datsun B210

Just to let you know, I’ve extended my professional writing to include a blog I’m presently calling SDK Writer. If you look here you can see my thoughts about what I do. You could even call me names in the comments if you are inclined.

http://blogs.msdn.com/franla

Despite the lack of the letter X, it is I, your frère. While you might find it odd that I omit such a bad ass letter, knowing my affection for my middle initial, it is a subtle tribute to Microsoft’s apparent need to eradicate all formality. In almost all official communication, they refuse to use it.

I might change it later but that’s the state in which we start.

Hyuk.

Step 1: Go to Google.com

Step 2: Click on Images to do an image-search.

Step 3: Search for "cornea surgery kansas"

Step 4: Enjoy!

Capt. John. Arghhh.

Capt. John. Arghhh.

Summer vacation

We spent a great vacation this summer in France. Odd for me, I don’t know what to write about it.

It was just great. Relaxing. Fun. Rejuvenating is perhaps the best word I can find.

The first part of the vacation was spent with Paul, Katherine and Dylan - our local Seattle relatives. That middle part was spent with our east coast relatives: Christine and Doug, Nicole and Derek, and my dad, Red. The last week was with the inlaws: Karen and Molly, and Carl and Ginny.

Most of the time was spent in Brittany, the northwest part of France. It was July so it was hot in all of France. It was a heat wave, canicule in French. We were near the coast so there was a breeze often enough. The heat was bearable for all but a few days.

Brittany is very beautiful. Inland, it is rural France, filled with farms, old towns, etc. At the coast, it is very flat with sections of beach and rocky coast line.

Really nothing is needed from me to describe it. You can look it up. I’m not saying anything new.

We saw my good friend, Yannick, who was the kindergarten teacher for both Nathalie and Marc at the French Immersion School of Washington. Yannick is a good friend. I miss seeing him more often. I got the chance to play golf with him, Doug and Red. It was a good day but not a great round of golf for most of us. It is always a compromise to play rented clubs at a new course. The course was nice though the drought and heat made it a bit of a challenge to figure out. And, there is plenty of water on the course so we lost a lot of balls in hazards.

I played golf with Yannick another time, too, which I enjoyed for the solitude and chance to chat.

Pets

I don't really get pets. Can anyone explain to me the role of pets in their lives?

Why does anyone want a pet?

Strong Bad

Strong Bad's latest email.

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail152.html

This guy kills me.

If you need an explanation about the characters just go to the main web site.

Pressure?

Playing the tuba again has been a very mixed experience. Overall, it is good but it has produced some moments of 'why am I doing this?' From the expense of lessons and instruments, to the weird feeling of sitting next to someone who is clearly judging you as you have paid him to do, it can be a bit demoralizing.

I have tried to convey to Nathalie that, in music anyway, that you are first bad then good. Despite the stories about Mozart and other geniuses (who were purportedly never bad), you have to be bad at playing something first. It's just part of the deal. Eventually you might become proficient; you will surely improve. For people who have natural talents at anything or demand that they never embarrass themselves in public, this can be non-starter. In other words, it can prevent you from trying something. This is the biggest barrier when adults learn for the first time.

I've been trying to overcome some of this myself. As I have said before, I initially repel much of the tuba music and orchestral situations that I've experienced in the past. But in a sense, I'm short changing myself. It is okay not to like that stuff. But, I don't know if it is all that simple - a negative subjective judgment.

I've tried to allow myself to have an open-mind and occasionally, I've been surprised. I've really improved in the short time I've been playing. I have some very different thoughts about playing (now versus college years) and find it very easy to practice for more than one hour. I even enjoy some of the stuff that I really thought I would hate. It might simply be that there is no pressure. Was there pressure before? I felt it but where did it come from?

I don't know but I've even considered upping the ante. I've considered getting an 'orchestral' tuba (a CC not the BBb that I have) . I'm not sure where this is going but that seems okay for awhile.

Practicing

There is a long, more reflective post in my about music, but for now I'll stick to something a little more pragmatic.

Artists figured out that they need studios, and musicians should replicate this kind of workspace for themselves. Musicians have other problems that artists don't have (and vice versa). A musician has to periodically move his axe to the gig so you need enough room to move around, pack up and you might need two of some things in the case and in the studio - valve oils, or other things that you don't want to have to hunt around for.

Here's what you should have if you are going to practice an instrument:

1. Access to a keyboard. A keyboard makes replicating the sound of a piece (or scale) very easy. It is both visual and aural. When you don't know what something sounds like, play it on the piano (easy and slow) to put the sound target in your head. The idea of seeing notes on a page and envisioning (with your ears) the sound is very advanced. Putting the musical idea in your mind's ear is important and one of the most overlooked parts of instrumental instruction.
   
2. A metronome. Tapping your foot is considered gauche. It is also unreliable. You must develop an internal metronome, but you do that by having an external one to start. I have excellent 'time' but this single addition to my practicing makes it possible to focus on other aspects of my practicing and later integrate the sound and meter.
   
3. A recording device. Also overlooked. A simple dicatation machine can suffice. You must listen to what you are doing. You develop ticks such as audible gasping for air that must be heard in order for you to believe it because your mind is so engaged in other things. You will hear whether you are playing in time. I was surprised to see how many teachers use laptops for this now. Why not?
   
4. A music stand and a desk (or bookcase) where you can keep your music and get at it easily as long as a place for water, rag, and other supplies (valve oil, cork grease, etc.) It's gotta be easy or you don't do it. Playing a difficult passage in the key of B (five sharps - remember?)? Go find that method book and play some B scales for a bit. Loosen up those fingers.
   

Just some thoughts.

Concerts, work, and the house

I played in my first couple of concerts last week. Three of the 7 pieces had tuba parts.

Finlandia - Sibelius
Overture for Romeo and Juliet - Tchaikovsky
Name unknown - Gabrielli brass chorale

The second concert was better than the first. Overall, we played pretty well. The kids and Amy probably had never seen me play in a real concert. Paul, Katherine, and Dylan came too. It was a fun time.

Work is going well for me. I've complained a lot about it in the past so I'm just lending an update. It seems to go better when I care less about it. I have other interests in life and that seems to provide me with some needed balance.

The work on our house is finally done. We have some clean-up and painting to do. It looks great. At some point, we will put up some before and after shots.

I hear that Nicole and Derek are living at 39 Plantation. That's kind of weird but cool. I hope that Worcester can handle them. ;-)

Graduation and Tuba lessons

Congratulation Kid-Rolla on graduating. You are all edjumacated now. Officially, the way we count in our house, you are smarter than me. Why? Because you went to more school. I'm the smartest in our house because I went to my school.

I took my first tuba lesson in 20 years. That's right, you heard me. I said twenty years. It went okay. Also, I played my first concert in only slightly less time. And I didn't suck. In fact, I played pretty well. The orchestra sounded good for a bunch of amateurs. On all but one piece, I think we played our best.

It is the first music lesson I've ever had from someone younger than me. That too was a little weird. I am back to a lot of basic stuff. But that's what I want. I want to go back to the basics and build up a little. Later, I can think a little more about artistry and skillz.