I'm trying hard to believe this

Courage
It takes only a bit
To unclench the fist
To open the palm to offer or accept
To put down the weapon
To stand and face the love
To stand and deliver your own
It takes only a bit
To open the door
And see a friend
Where once stood an enemy

Bike trip

Last saturday, the 22nd I rode my bike from Rainier beach to Bothell. I have been wanting to bike around Lake Washington for quite some time snd this trip was a way of measuring the lake. I for years have had the notion that the lake was 56 miles long. This turns out to be wrong. It is only about 26 miles long. perhaps I doubled it long ago as an estimate of the length of the total circuit. It took me just about 2 1/2 hours to make it to Bothell, so the complete circuit should be an easy day.
Esay time wise, that is, my legs were abit rubbery by the time I got to Bothell and my butt is still sore. However, I got to Bothell 9:30 AM, so I'd have the rest of the day to do the other side.
My bike is a '65 Peugeot that I got in L.A. in '65. I no longer can reliably get to use the lowest 5 gears, but it seems to me that it is harder to flail up a steep hill in granny gear than it is to walk. Of course, it does seem kind of wimpy to not ride all the way, but then the Tour de France was going on all the time I was doing my little jaunt, so all things in proportion, wimpy is relative.
I'm thinking of giving it a name. My first car was Lucille and my amphibian is Gokwiis. Perhaps I'll call it "Fidelio"
Bike tips from Lance Headstrong:
Clothing Tip#1; The reason bikers wear those colorful tight fitting suits is because they are so in shape and so good looking that they make themselves look ridicolous as a courtesy, so you and I won't feel so bad when they go whizzing by like a blurred rainbow. You and I can wear normal clothing, so long as it isn't likely to get caught in the chain.
Clothing Tip #2 You might consider wearing a light, reversable shirt or jacket, bright red or orange on one side, and camoflage on the other. This way, you could wear it bright side out while pedalling and turn it inside out when pushing. This way, no one would know that you wimped out.
Clothing Tip#3 I like to wear a loose fitting shirt and leave it unbuttoned so that it flaps out behind like Superman's cape. This also has the benefit of announcing to aforementioned fast riders that you do not take all this very seriously, or that perhaps even that you are not completly compos mentis, and they will try to avoid you as they zoom by like popsicles on meth.

Cosmic Connections ?

I've just gotten my first comment on my site; A beader and a musician. Not a suprising combination, there is a BEAD in the middle of the circle of fifths.

A concise dissertion on the mathematics of music and it's practical applications

I have been studying music composition for five years now, and I still don't quite get how a FOURTH and a FIFTH can add up to an OCTAVE; which is made up of TWELVE things. I mean, go figure.

Sunrise, a true story

Over coffee this morning, I look out the window at the southern tip of Mercer Island, the green gray hills, the gray skies, the wisps of fog, the mottled lake surface, the expensive real estate, and belch. Not what I had planned

Amphibian again

Having had my youthful sanity warped by an early exposure to Mecanics Illustrated and similar publications, I grew up with a desire to build somethihng silly.
In 1975 I decided that this was that something.
It is based on the engine, transmission, wheels and brakes of a FIAT 850.
The rest is my own design.
It is powered in water by a berkely jet,
The wheels retract
These pictures were taken in 2001
It works, now what?
Or better;
It works, SO What?

Seattle Symphony Doomed?

The Seattle Symphony seems to be suffering from a bad case of the Peter Principle. Too many decision makers have been promoted beyond thier level of competence. This is not about overpaid artists, this is about the ability to maintain a happy and motivated work force.Where fear and terror reign, competent, talented, and confident personnel flee, leaving only the arrogant, stupid and bemused.
Due to the drying up of grant monies, the symphony is undergoing stress. One way of dealing with this stress is to panic and start scapegoating, punishing and threatening competent workers for percieved disloyalties. Unfortunately, the Seattle Symphony has chosen this path.
Seattle Symphony employees have been ordered to sign an agreement not to talk to any "outsiders" without permission from human resources. Technically speaking, that is a human rights violation. (Nobody can be asked to sign away thier constitutional right to free speech, no matter how badly they need the job)
The Seattle Symphony is a publically funded non-profit organization.
What have they got to hide?
Unheeded lessons of history show us that this kind of environment often leads to destruction.
Goodbye Bryan, goodbye Bruce, goodbye Patricia, goodbye Paul, goodbye ( ), you are the kind of people who made the Seattle Symphony the success that it is; or was.
There is a lot of good music in Seattle. The Seattle Symphony will be missed, but it is not irreplacable.