Vorrei e non vorrei

Woke up to rain after a long semi-somnolent bout of inner debate about a ride I wanted/not wanted to take along the very route that M and I walked last evening.
But up the Cedar river to Flaming geyser park and on through Auburn to the Green river trail is a 60 mile jaunt.

So the rain washed away the guilt and I don't have to do that

Now that summer (sic) is over, the nice weather should kick in for a couple of months.

I may ride today anyway, just to work off the nervousness of the upcoming show.

But then again, see the Mozart quote above.

I think I'll probably try again and again to link to Magpie, but it still won't work.

I think I'll drink more coffee, but that won't work either.

I think I'll put coats of lacquer nos 3 and 4 on the ukulele. That might work.

I think I'll spend too much time fooling around in Duke land.

All about Duke land

But, one never knows, does one?

After

a day of fooling around in Duke Nukem's world I got quite used to the fake dimension and cheezy 3-D effects. Especially the depth perception parts.
The perspective is just a trick on the flat screen, out there there is real depth, things actually are far away, it takes time to get from one place yo another.
And even more time to get back to the Whistle Stop for a delicious 'burger and a pint o'Guinness.
So this evening when M and I took a 3 mile stroll along the Cedar river trail it was nicely reinvigorating to see the real thing.
I did kinda miss not being able to jump ten feet in the air while carrying 200 pounds of dangerous weaponry.
But, in retrospect, not having those weapons with me was probably a good thing.
It seems that there is no reset button out there in the wilderness.

Wednesday I have a rehearsal for the violin/piano piece.

Friday it's show time.

Then I can quit being nervous.

Anas Platyrhincos, the Red Menace.

There, that's all the cars I built.
I have one more picture of this butt-ugly thing. But it's a slide and I don't want to go to the trouble to get it turned into a .jpg or whatever.

I think I might spray some lacquer on the ukulele today.

Vale

splog

Got off my butt and...well got back on my butt but on the bike this time.
34.7 miles
10.6 average
36.9 max speed
3:15:35 time
564.7 + 1307 odometer = 1871.7.
Nothing exciting or significant happened except for the unexpected appearance of Ursula.

This is all Glenn's fault

Inside/Outside

Inside the house she's -
Playing her cello.
I can hear it, faintly -

I am but a ghost to her.

We used to ...

-

Outside the house -
I walk slowly by.

She is but a ghost to me.

Today, today and today

Got into a fight with my computer this morn.
It refused to save an Mp3 then refused to shut off.

Makes me wonder about driving a car that is totally controlled by the damn things.
the gas pedal isn't hooked up to the engine and the computer controls whether the brakes work. It's called "traction control" but the few times I've felt it kick in it's pretty rough, I could, and have on many occasions, done a better job of driving on slick surfaces.

Couple gentile taps from a sledge hammer rectified the little bugger's attitude all right.

Fooled around with my video editor, but still haven't figured out why Youtube won't upload it.

Sic semper video mundi.

M. just sent me to a BBC site to listen to a carynx (sic), a Scottish trombone all straightened out to be about 7 feet tall. Used to frighten off Romans. Apparently it worked.
Looks a bit like an alpenhorn.
Not too bad a tone actually.

Found out how to make "Chat" work on Facebook, spent some time schmoozing with Glenn.
Loads of hilarity ensued.

I'm going back...

Post Script

‎
The service was wonderful, and so was George, I gather, by the size of the crowd.
1200 music lovers make an awesome choral; they can actually can sing!

The home concert was mucho fun. All 20 of us jammed into a living room with a Double bass and a cello being played adroitly.

The food was good too.

Today

I'm going to a memorial service for George Shangrow who I've never met, but he did say he enjoyed my music.
A much beloved local musician and will be missed.
I wanted to hire him to play the violin/piano work; he was not available for the concert, and now other events have intervened and he will never be available.

Later I'm hoping to attend a house concert put on by a local bass/cello duet.
If I can find out where exactly it is.

Tristan and Isolde, the opera we heard last night is a great work of art, but it's better not to pay much attention to the words, the music says it much better than the words.
It's about a form of hormone poisoning commonly known as "Love on the spiritual Plane"
A plane best known for it's spectacular crashes.

I continue

to practice lethargy.

My energy -
has gone away from me

My inspiration -
Is on vacation

My urge to do -
Has got the flu

My impetus -
Got hit by a bus

My ambition -
Doomed to perdition

I savor the flavor of a total lack of labor.

You finish it...

Havn't got around

to the dig pics yet, I've been busy musicing around.
Got a facebook message from
the guy who played my clarinet piece "Garrulous Sparrow" at Soundbridge a few years back.
He wanted a score, just might play it again.
Said score is in the mail.
And... finally posted the clarinet/piano pieces on the jukebox.
First six together are called "Caprichino"
Recorded at Avast Studios here in Seattle by Tony Rondolone (Clarinet) and David Mesler (piano).
"Sparrow" is also on the j'box but it's just a computer simulation.

I've got to find more excuses for getting out of all the yard work that's building up.
Today it's that I've got some nice clothes on.

But what about tomorrow
and tomorrow
and tomorrow
.....?

Oswego

Meredith got back yesterday.
Pictures to follow.
I got a car again.
Will go get a blood test to see if I've still got to take the cholesterol pills that may cause cataracts.

And other things.

The scooter tire seems to have sealed nicely but I haven't checked it yet today.

Gonna go now for a shower and then I'm off into the wild blue yonder.

I tried a tame red yonder once but it just didn't have the same cachet.

At least, I was unwilling to give it mine.

Recycling

I got to answering a comment on yesterday's post and decided to post it as today's post because, because...who cares from because already?

Cecelia is the Vespa.
Aeolus refers to the air in the tires that I have been having trouble with.
I'm a little ticked off about the brand new Wheelbarrow wheel and tire that wouldn't hold air.
(made in India)
The '67 VW type 2 transporter abides in the driveway and serves as a mobile trash can that only goes to the dump and back.
Except this week when it was my only load carrying transportation.
Except for the ride to the hardware store for a
gallon of oil-based primer for the steps I rebuilt
(after the painters had already painted everything)
The VW deserves the sobriquet "Fidelio" more than the Peugeot, but life can be cruel that way.
The concert will be on Friday Sept 3; I will be presenting the piano/violin piece called "eight ball in the side pocket"
I don't know why it's called that.
It was called "dichotomy", then "soliloquy", then "aria", and maybe something else I can't remember.

Other excitements;
Last year I sponsored a friend riding in a benefit bike ride, and apparently there was a raffle or something and it seems that I have won a new bike helmet which I quite possibly might acquire when aforementioned bike buddy gets back from Alaska where she is riding up Mt McKinley or something.

This year I've sponsored two bike rides.
One the same as last year, and the other to benefit Darko Buterac's Missoula Symphony Orchestra.

Guess I'll have to go to Missoula some time and listen to them play.

Just realized that I forgot to answer the oxidation question.
The oxidation in the Vespa wheel is similar to Rust but is made of aluminum and oxygen rather than iron and oxygen.
Sapphire is a form of aluminum oxide.
There were no sapphires inside the Scooter tire, just a sickly-looking white powder.
How a sickly-looking white powder got into my scooter tire, I dunno.

The oxidation question that Glenn asked in the comment he made to yesterday's post.

Aeolus

The rear wheel on Cecilia is rotting out on the inside of the rim.
That's why it wont hold air.
I have polished out all the corrosion and treated it with Hammerite, which is supposed to stop that sort of oxydizational nonsense.
I hope so, the rear wheel has the hub and the brake drum built in and costs a bundle.
There is also a kind of glue that bicyclists use to glue their super lightweight tires to the rims.
So, I'll try that, too

I also recently and finally got the new wheelbarrow tire and rim to hold air by putting a tube in it even though it is supposed to be tubeless.

Now it's back to the horn sonata, which, being 90% complete, is about half done.

Primarily

Not much today.
I thought that with Meredith gone to the dig, and Keth gone most of the day, I'd have lots of time to fool around!!
BUT!
That's my job these days.

It's like what a cat does on it's day off; lies around the house; that's what a cat does; that's all a cat does.

But instead of fooling around I wasted my time washing dishes, trimming hedges, watering plants, and building stairs.

And having a headache all Wednesday because I watched late night television.
Jay Leno, that other guy, and even some Jimmy Fallon.
I'm amazed that I could even get out of bed next day.
Or wanted to, never again.

No series of long distance bike rides for me.

But, tonight, I stepped outside and it was nice, a short one to the hardware store for a gallon of primer for the new steps wouldn't hurt.

13.12 miles
11.8 average
1:06:25 time
29.4 max speed
530 + 1307 1807 odometer

Just got back, gonna git dinner.

Ciao

Damn, we hired a pest control service to get rid of the pigeons, and now we've got pterodactyls.

What next, velociraptors?

How would we get rid of them?

I fear for the future, would that I could pull a lever and bail out of this cycle of ever escalating combat against the slings and arrows, the pistols, the shotguns and cannons, the tanks, missiles and bombs of outrageous garden pests

Where will it all end?

How 'bout right here?

It's 2:33 AM

I just left two geological puns on Shapiro's facebook page so now I'm hiding out here where hopefully she can't find me.

Whoops, I just went back an posted some more.

Just love causing trouble, I guess.

She's gneiss
Don't take her for granite
Shale we dance?
I'm getting sedimental.
Never metamorphic I didn't like.
Bituminous and save even more. *

Go to anthra.com and open up your own anthracite.

Is that bad enough for ya?
Too bad if it's not, I'm quitting anyway.

I've heard that this king of mental activity is due to low blood sugar.

*not exactly geological but what the hay?

Well I

Can't show you the steps I'm repairing because Meredith is away to
N. California digging in some archaeological site.
Took the camera.
Cant imagine you'd be interested in that anyway.
I'm not all that interested myself.
So, yesterday, it was write music, it was saw and screw, it was a short bout of diarrhea, and read a book all night long.
Until I fell asleep anyway,
I still don't know who did it.

Sept 3 I present a new piece, (not new to you, it's the violin/piano one, you've undoubtedly listened to it many times on my little jukebox over there, but it's so much better live).
I've got my violinist (a genius) and my pianist (a veritable saint) so it's ready to go.
All I have to do now is spend a month agonizing over everything that could possible go wwrong

But what could go wwrong?

Just got back from driving the van to the hardware store for more lumber.
What is that steering wheel trying to say to me?
Why does it have 3 inches of free play when I can't find a loose joint or sloppy bearing anywhere?
No play in the steering box, new drag link (it [the drag link] did have play in the joints).

Annoying.

Also raining.
I could finish the steps today, but why get wet?
Hydro race tomorrow?
Blue Angels of mass destruction show?
In the rain and cloudy gloom?

We'll see.

I'm gonna eat lunch and get back to the music.

Ho Hum

Bored
Pulled weeds
Bought lumber
Put rack on Prius
Still bored
Sprayed varnish
Got scratched up
Got a start on the horn sonata Movement III
Watched TV
Bored
Stole an airplane and enough money to buy a senator and now I'm getting a small five hundred million dollar bailout.
Still bored.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

Went out and picked up a fine picture by David Allison took it to Allison and Ross fine art services to have the frame repaired.
Stopped in at a rug store to get a pad for the living room rug so that the living room rug pad can go upstairs under the bedroom rug.
Halfway through the purchasing process we became unsure of our memory of the required dimensions, so we paid up and agreed to hold until we got home and measured.
Then ate some food like substances at a nearby Jack in the Box and went home; sure enough, we were wrong.
Now it's right and I'll pick it up tomorrow when I go out to Jonathan Steven's studio to pick up a computer he's getting rid of.
Went to Facebook and read about the tragic loss of a beloved local musician.
Good by, George Shangrow, you will be missed.
I almost hired him for the upcoming salon but he was busy.
Did say he liked the music.
Nice guy.

That's why I'm trying not to be funny today.

Bushwhacker

Nothing yesterday did I.
Except mow the lawn and hack a hole in the hedge to dump yard waste through.

In doing so I inadvertantly visited the eerie, mysterious "other side" when I fell over the edge due to misjudging the load bearing capabilities of the seemingly solid path before me into the impenetrable morass of weed and stem, leaf and stump.
Fortunately, I held on to my hedge trimmer when I fell off the edge of my world of comfort and privilege into the teeming, steaming jungle.
One must never go boldly (or even accidentally) into an adventure without a way to defend oneself against the native populace.

I wandered for awhile in the inhospitable greenery, seeking the door that I had so impetuously created, that I might escape this (inadvertently) self imposed exile.

Would I ever see family and friends again?

Suddenly I was beset by strange, many legged beasts and multi-jawed fanged insects. And a rat.
Raising my weapon, I was dismayed to find that I had inadvertently pulled the plug in the fall.
(Not fall the season, for it is still summer, but the fall into this weedy hell.)

I was defenseless.

Not even saying that I had voted for Al Gore seemed to allay the wrath of this insensate,intractable and uncaring verdant wilderness.

Nothing to do but run.

After weeks of aimless wandering, I finally re-discovered the portal I had created and staggered bruised, bleeding and bushed.

Haw! bushed get it?

Anyway, besides the collection of scraps and scabs, the only thing I brought back from this wilderness sojourn was a case of mylaria,
(not the same as MAlaria but treatable with quinine just the same).

A perfect excuse for a large dose of gin and tonic.
Or two or three.

Excuse me, I hear the Banshee wail of the turbine powered race boat.
I must investigate.
Wish me luck.