I’m enjoying the snap of warm weather that we have here in TC, and I’m also enjoying a resurgence of activity on the blog. The Lear 45 Project, my other and more active blog, chronicles the activities and exploits of Tom Kimball and me, as we work to create a high fidelity Lear 45 simpit in my basement. Check us out at http://builder1.wordpress.com!

Other things, spring is in the air, and my seeds are in the mail! Planting a lot of cool stuff this year, hopefully without interference fromt the ubiquitous mint!!!!

My son, Spenser, has just completed his run as “Nathan Lukowski” in the Traverse City Old Towne Playhouse performance of “The Full Monty”. He is a gifted actor, and had an absolute BLAST in the production. The director, cast and crew of this play were the best ever, and he and they had a wonderful rapport and relationship. He’s tearful that it’s over, but we’ll post some pictures from the closing night cast party to share. He’s looking forward to many seasons with OTP over many years. He’s 13yrs old, and the stage is his thing!

Finally got off of Nextel!!!!! Moved to Alltel, and got me a brand new Treo to play with, abandoning the BlackBerry. The Treo is Windows Mobile 5, and is wonderful so far.

Well, enough for now, enjoy the weather and thanks for looking. Hopefully I’ll have more portraits to display soon!

T

Do you own a weedwacker? You know, you’d think that one of these contraptions would be a tremendous help in lawn care. While we are at it, I think that lawns in themselves are significant proof that man is FAR from being the most intelligent animal on this planet. It’s not enough that we all work 3 jobs, 999 hours a week and spend the time to and from these jobs shouting obcenities at others doing the same, from the comparative safety of our motorized deathmobiles. However, in order to allow us to relax when away from our jobs, we have decided to create a tradition which involves planting a non-native species of plant in a ground cover arrangement all about the perimiter of our property, and allowing said ground cover to mature into what we happily refer to as ” a carpet of despair”. Since this plant is hardy but not THAT hardy, and because of it’s great number of enemies and diseases, owning such a carpet allows us to perform, at regular intervals, the dreamy, restful activities of mowing, dethatching, de-grubbing, weed and feeding, trimming, patching, aerating, top-dressing, liming, mulching, bagging and rolling. We utilize mechanical and motorized tools to deal with the TLC that our green enemy requires, and yet they don’t really seem to save us any work. At best, the tools themselves become, rather than a means to an end, and end in themselves. And so here we go, back to the weedwacker.

You have to add oil to the gas. I mean really, you HAVE TO ADD OIL TO THE GAS! Does it get more messy and smelly? Ah, the fresh smell of cut grass…no, wait….it’s ON MY HANDS….oh, crap. It’ll never come off. Now I smell like, well….like….eh…….MONEY. Yes, folks, gas and oil are now more currency than the ol’ dollar. Last gas price? $2.69/gal. I HEARD YOU. You said “Hey, that’s down quite a bit. Good price”. ARE YOU INSANE? That’s just what the companies want you to think. Yeah, hey, let’s jack the price up on the FEAR of total destruction by the Katrina/Rita team……then, when we bring it down from “unreal” to just “insanely high”, they’ll say…”Hey, that’s down quite a bit. Good price”. DON’T SAY STUFF LIKE THAT.

Ok, ok, I’m better now. It’s September, and that means that it’s COLD here in Northern Michigan. I hate snow. I mean I REALLY HATE SNOW. It should never snow. Never.

The school year has started. The kids are in school, and of course, that means sports. Soccer, mostly. I love to watch them play…it’s just that it is always 2 playing simultaneously on opposite sides of the town. WHY IS THIS? I think someone is trying to annoy me.

My parents have gone to Europe. London, Paris and Italy. First time EVER. I am so glad they went, and they are so excited to go. More about their trip when they return.

Coffee Bulletin: I’m now trying a lot of new coffee from Sweet Maria’s. For the best in green coffee, and all coffee paraphenalia (however you spell it) look no further. Tom and Maria are the best. As are the Yellow Bourbon, Bugisu and Pacmaral.

Ok, yes MIKE, I’m going to get back to the portraits as soon as is practicable (FAA Speak). Congratulations to Mike Hyrman again, both for being represented by galleries and by getting to teach his very own WaterColor Portrait Class at the Traverse City Art Center. Well worth the time if you can make it, he’s a dedicated artist and teacher.

Pocket PC is my new thing. More later.

I gotta go and think of some more weed-wacker stuff.

T

Coming up to that time of year when the summer dies and fall begins. Bad for me because I can’t stand winter. FALL-SPRING-SUMMER should be the progression of seasons.

I am still in shock and mourning over the absolute devastation of our southern coast by Hurricaine Katrina. My thoughts and prayers are with all of the refugees and their families. Were I able I would travel to those ravaged communities as a medical practitioner…at this time tho, monetary contributions will have to do. This is a tragedy of gargantuan proportions, and one that should NOT quickly disappear from our minds or our prayers after the media decides that the story is over. The story will not be over for years.

More later

T

I don’t think that many of you (if there are any of you) reading this blog will have missed the fact that I’ve been off for a bit. It’s just very very busy here right now, and I’ll soon be back to regularly blogging. The weather is great right now (although there were tornado watches last night), and I’m sipping an espresso of homeroasted Brazil Cravo with some Indian robusta thrown in for crema. Fabulous.

I’ll be back…weather notwithstanding.

T

Well, it’s been a long time since I updated this blog…no, I haven’t stopped blogging, just been incredibly tied up and busy…too busy to produce a podcast as yet, and not feeling well right now. I just wanted to provide a little update.

Things are ok, I’m working on getting a new book to read, not sure which one yet. Still working on a portrait in Charcoal/Graphite. I had a couple of my portraits in a showing at the Public Library here in TC, and got several favorable responses.

More news later….off to work some more.

Man, why do I have to be RIGHT all the time???? This weather sucks. I mean REALLY Sucks. After the last post, our weather has turned to 36degreesF, snow and wind. Accumulations of 6-9 inches. WUWT? I mean, I know I predicted it, but I really didn’t want to see it come to pass.

Had to change my cell phone, more on that later.

Hope you who are reading this have had a happy day so far (whatever day it turns out to be).

T

For those of you in the Traverse City area be sure to drop by North Peak Brewing Co. and have a look at Mike Hyrman’s work. He’s a fabulous watercolor artist, and has created some particularly evocative images. Rather than try to describe them, I’ll just recommend that you go down and look at them. Mike’s work will be on display for the next month and a half in the back-room/gallery at NP. Do try and get down there to see Mike’s work…it’s really remarkable.

Finally got some work done on my own portrait projects…currently doing both a graphite and charcoal portrait and one in soft pastel. The subjects are interesting and fun, and I’ll probably figure out a way to post some here on the blog….I’ll probably post a couple of works in progress, but the majority of the WIP postings will be at my favorite artist hangout, Wet Canvas.

Great weather…sunny and 70 deg today….that can only mean 1 thing…we’re in for a blizzard. Well, I changed the oil in the tractor anyway. Ok, wait…now in good blog tradition, I’m going to begin monaloguing regarding this tractor thing:

So the Deere lawn tractor (L110 for those who care) has been stored empty of gas all winter. So I goes and buys new gas, fills up me tank…and turns the key. Plans are to warm the oil enough to change it. Key seems positioned in the wrong place (don’t we ALL leave our keys in the ignition over the winter?), and no sort of sound comes out of the tractor when it is turned properly. Hmmm…battery is dead, methinks. So I check with the dealer to make sure a 2 amp charge is what it needs, then it’s off to Sears. I’m at Sears, picking out a new battery charger that I can’t afford, but that I need because I have a track record of discharging every battery in every conveyance I own at the precise time I need the frappin’ thing. I’ve picked out a nice moderatly priced behemouth, but for some reason the clerk won’t sell it to me after I discover that I’d left home WITHOUT MY WALLET. Crap. I drive home. I retrieve my wallet, which is smirking at me from the piano bench. I sit down hard on the smug leather pouch as I cruize back to Sears, and this time the clerk sells me the moderately priced beheamoth. I drive off happily, return home and hook up the moderately priced beheamouth, preparing to bask in the amber light of the 2 amp 10% charged indicator. The red light is on. Oh, no problem, that means to check the connection of the cables. I seat them more thouroughly in their appropriate places (remembering NOT TO CONNECT THE NEGATIVE CABLE TO THE NEGATIVE TERMINAL, as the owners manual shouted at me from within it’s scholarly text…). Hmm..the red light is on. I changed the cables again, unplugged the unit, plugged it in again….and VOILA….the red light is on. It is now beginning to dawn on me that the BATTERY IS DEAD. Really dead. I take it out, look inside, and I see that there is juice inside. Not electricity…juice…electrolyte….bad, scary stuff that should, according to the dire warning embossed on the battery, NEVER be splattered on your skin lest you do an impersonation of those two bad guys at the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Ok, so I test the charger on my car. Cute amber light. Well, it’s off to the dealer to get a new battery. Wallet in pocket. A quick trip and I’m back and installing the battery into my sleeping green and yellow beast. Hop on, turn the key and……the sound of an engine that has not run in 6 months suddenly being defibrillated back to life…belching smoke like a bullemic cigar smoker……..and I smile..life is good.

I am going to awaken the gas-powered weed-wacker……but that’s another story.

Leave me a note if you have used the KEL HM-1 mic….i’d be interested in your comments.

Next time! T

Well, this is an interesting story. Apparently, it’s possible to get dumped in the slammer on the word of a Best Buy cashier alone. It boggles the mind to see how the system can break down in all of the infinite ways that no one ever suspects. What’s going to come of this? I don’t know, but it bears watching.

Angola is currently being decimated by the Marburg Virus. This pathogen is a deadly relative of Ebola, and has shockingly similar symptoms and a very agressive course. Let’s hope things improve….it’s a scary proposition at best.

Hey, I just noticed how long it’s been between posts. Been busy with my podcasting hardware lately, and been working on a new portrait….no excuse, but well, there it is. Beautiful weather has slowed things down as well..sunny and 60’s is great for this time of year. Gearing up for all that is good in the summer, and it’s been a very trying winter…nonetheleast of which is the fact that this cold I’ve had for the past several weeks has STILL got hold of my ability to taste and smell coffee. How irritating.

The MOHO, the demarcation point between the Earth’s crust and mantle, has been approached by an undersea drilling program. Interestingly, if the sea-floor penetration had been 1000 feet to one side, they would have penetrated the mantle….I’m not sure how I like that……I’m a scientist, but I’ve seen to many scifi movies to be completely calm….

Congratulations to Paul Figgiani of podcastrigs.com and The .Point.. He’s been a HUGE help to me in setting up my podcast hardware, and the forum on the podcastrigs.com site is turning out to be a great place to hang out. Paul’s been chosen as a member of IT Conversations’ Audio Engineering Team, where he reports that he’ll handle the post-production engineering for Tech Nation. With his expertise, this should be a killer show.

Well, enough for now….

T

Super work in describing the hardware techniques of PodCasting. I’ve been reading very closely, and working mainly on content ideas for my podcast(s). Content, Content, Content…unique content is where it’s at. I’m not sure exactly what the schedule will be, but I’ll come up with something soon.

Just a short note for now….more later!

An applematters article discusses the current state and ultimate fate of podcasting, and, dismayingly, discusses the probability that Podcasting as we know it, with it’s warm, human and grassroots feel, is destined to be edged out by the pro’s, who, with an ever-tightening grip on the medium, will do what they do.

I don’t necessarily disagree, but I HATE to see things go that way…the medium is rich, and I believe that there is a demand for the humanistic, bare bones aspect of podcasting that removes it from the mass-produced realm of the networks, ClearChannel and Cable TV. With everything on commercial feeds now sounding so mass produced and cookie-cutter similar, podcasts, yes even the HORRIBLE ones (and I havn’t really found any that are totally without merit) are refreshingly candid and immediate.

I hate to think that another grass roots effort, so promising for the average person, is destined to be snapped up, sanitized and drained of spontaneity. Yes, there is room for the pros (vis NPR), but let’s peacefully co-exist.

A big welcome to the Sweet Maria’s list members that may stop by and say hi!! I feel like you guys are family, and you’re certianly welcome here! Here’s hoping we get this podcasting thing going as an adjunct to the list….perhaps some of you could create contributions and I could begin to edit them together into a “show”. Probably be pretty rough to start with, but I’m sure it will improve with time. Besides, the warmth and humanity of the grassroots effort is what podcasting (and homeroasting) is about!

See you soon!

An excellent site for new podcasters (like me, sort of HYPER-NEW as I’ve not started yet!), with a new forum that will hopefully allow those of us keen on the idea/techniques of podcasting to congregate. Excellent audio presentation on the Kel HM-1 Mic, as well as recommendations for entry to professional level gear.

Highly recommended!

I recently roasted a batch of Les’ “Triple Blend” (for those of you who don’t know, Les Albjerg is a solid gold contributor to the SweetMarias Homeroast coffee list, and master lathe craftsman), about 20 seconds into second crack. I’m now using a Turbo/Crazy roaster, a cheap but massively effective setup for roasting up to 1lb at at time. What made this blend different is that I added about 15% good quality robusta (again from Tom!). After about 4 days rest this stuff is SUPERB. I can’t say enough good about the Americano I had yesterday, and I’m very satisfied with the several espressos I’ve pulled with this excellent blend. The blend is a combination of three Brazils…here’s #1 , # 2 was the Cravo, and #2 was Carmo, all Brazils…Tom seems to be out of #2 and #3. Bummer.

Anyway, this was a wonderful blend…..time, however to order more coffee……ALWAYS from SweetMarias.

Some scary politics related to blogging…..

I’m currently involved in the Einstien@Home Distributed computing project….using my water-cooled homebuilt beheamoth.

And the newest audiobook for me?

Later folks!

Well, the weather finally is sunny here in the Great White North….finally. Mood lifting, energizing…er….sunny. I’m going to drink coffee and look at it.

Interestingly, /. is noting that Microsoft is touting 6 tips on buying an mp3 player…….check this out. I’m so bummed……imagine finding out my iPod sucks when I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.

For the whole thing, here’s the /. link

Well, gotta go help yet another new iPod user begin to fill her poor choice of players…..hope to have some art news soon regarding my current work.

I’ll let you explore the main page of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia….

an amazing concept, but, I’m sure, very familiar to bloggers….more later, but just a note from the Wiki for now.

I’m impressed that Bill Nye the Science Guy (a student in the late Carl Sagan’s classes at Cornell) will be returning to the air with his own show, The Eyes of Nye, looking at pretty serious scientific issues, as is noted in this /. article. I’m very impressed with this man, and I was impressed at his speech during the dedication of the Sagan Planet Walk. He is a genuinely cool guy.

is the title of a /. article today, the full article is from the Telegraph. Basically, the gist of the article is that the less pupils use computers at school and at home, the better they do on international tests of literacy and math.

I’m a technogeek computer nerd vintage 1972, (no, I was born way before that…..) and for all of the use of computers I have in my daily life, and in my daily work…..I totally agree. As an avowed fan of Cliff Stoll, I see the folly in attempting to convince students (adult or child alike) that learning should be “fun, motivational and exciting”. Learning is NOT the glitzy, slick activity that they promise on the back of the software packages. Learning is hard work. Learning can be repetetive and dull. The REWARDS are great, but the task is none too easy. My kids utilize computers at home for a total of about 2 hours/month….in school, they use them more than that, but I see to it that they learn the manual way for everything first….BEFORE the “easy”, glitzy way.

For more on my attitude, check this out:

Or check THIS out:

He really knows what he’s talking about.

PodShow.com is a new site apparently in association with Adam Curry.. I’m not sure how this site is going to work. I usually HATE to see things start going commercial….I don’t have a clue as to how the service works. I’m certianly willing to give Adam the benefit of the doubt, and I’ve signed up for the service when it launches. Of note, DSC 3-18 is featured on the site in the “check it out” area. We’ll see how things will develop.

Still working on improving the blog technically……working on getting the calendar up and running.

A few of us on the ListServ at Sweet Maria’s have discussed the possiblity of creating a coffee podcast. I’m very excited about the whole PodCast format, and have been using PlayPod for some time (on the Mac) to listen to a wide variety of podcasts. I’m very interested in doing a semi-regular podcast, be it coffee, art, or whatever. I know content is what’s needed first, but I’m also working to develop the technical expertise and equipment cache that I’ll need.

I’ll probably do the actual recording and mixing on my hombuilt computer (Athlon 3500+, ASUS A8V Mobo, 2gb RAM, ATI 9600XT, dual Plextor 716A DVD-RW/CD-RW drives, Seagate 300GB HD, Water cooled processor, on-board 8.1 sound)

Anyway, I’m thinking about a Mic and Mixer to start, and to begin with, using Audacity

The mixer I’m looking at is the Behringer Eurorack UB802…seems to be very well reviewed. Still looking for a reasonably priced mic that is also reasonably good.

Anyway, it’s going to snow again here tonite, and it’s getting depressing. However, I think I’ve found a great reference picture for the next portrait I’m going to do, and I’ll post that pic up as soon as I am able.