The good – Maybe citizens will finally wake up
The bad – Our government & corporations really don’t care about the environment
The ugly – Incompetence & corruption is the status quo
I was an Environmental Manager for a large worldwide corporation based in the U.S. The opinions expressed in this blog post are based on my 16 years’ experience as an environmental professional, and 50+ years of life experience as an American citizen.
The good – They enjoy it, & so do I
The bad – Twilight doesn’t like the harness
The ugly – Buddy gets spooked easily
You may have seen my previous post about taking my cat Louis for walks on a leash. Louis begs me every day to take him outisde. He is an old pro now. Cold, rain, and even snow do not deter him from going out, although he tries to find clear spots when there’s an inch or more of snow on the ground. He also doesn’t like being pelted with steady rain, and will stay close to the house, under the roof’s overhang, or on the covered deck. Of course, we always stay on our own property, walking up and down the driveway and around the front and back yard.
We rescued Louis from an animal shelter in 2007. Although Nancy wanted Louis to be “her” cat, he has definitely chosen to be loyal to me. We were told his previous owners allowed him to run outside, and it shows. He’s very comfortable outside, and has been since the first time I took him out. The only thing he shies away from is traffic. He doesn’t panic—that just doesn’t fit “The King’s” personality. He simply turns and starts walking back up the driveway, away from the street.
Posted in Cats, Stupid human tricks
2 Comments 
The good – Keyboard synth is okay
The bad – Lost recording time
The ugly – I thought the keyboard was toast
The other day I pulled my Kawai K5000S digital additive synthesis keyboard out of storage to use in my recording session. I plugged in the power cord, turned it on, and plugged in a pair of headphones to make sure it was working. All was okay. I found a few sounds on it that I thought might fit a song I was working on. I turned it off, grabbed two MIDI cables, two audio cables, and connected the keyboard to my Pro Tools rig.
The good – It can save your bacon
The bad – It’s inconvenient, time consuming, and expensive
The ugly – Even the best plans can fail
The other day I was retrieving Pro Tools session and audio data files for a music project I’m working on. I loaded the first of four CD-R discs which held the backup data. I successfully transferred all of the data files except one audio file, which contained a recorded instrument track. The error message said that the file could not be retrieved due to data error. In other words, the file was damaged. I made note of the name of the missing file, then loaded backup disc two. This time all files were retrieved except two audio files, both containing recorded instrument tracks. The error message was the same as before. I made note of the file names and moved on. I successfully transferred all files from discs three and four without issue.
The good – A great new discovery for me
The bad – I didn’t discover her sooner
The ugly – Absolutely nothing
I first became aware of Imogen Heap when I read an interesting interview with her in the October 2009 issue of Keyboard magazine. But I’ve read a lot of interesting interviews with musicians whose musical talents or vision didn’t impress or connect with me. So I didn’t give Imogen Heap a second thought.
Posted in Music
4 Comments
Three polls about how you listen to music, and where you get the music you listen to.
The good – Nancy is learning Pro Tools
The bad – Not the best recording setup
The ugly – I’m out of practice
Nancy and I finally got our first chance to record my vocals for my new song, “A Stranger In Your Town,” yesterday (Thursday, October 22, 2009). Nancy has never used Pro Tools, or any other audio recording software. But she is an advanced computer user and picked up Pro Tools quickly.
Posted in My Music
2 Comments
The good – I’m enjoying myself
The bad – I’ve neglected music far too long
The ugly – My chops are rusty
I started working on music again a couple of weeks ago. REALLY working on music—again. SERIOUSLY working on music—again.
I’ve been writing and recording music since I was a teenager. That’s more than 40 years! Gasp! It’s something I’ve always enjoyed, and has been my #1 priority during several periods of my life. But, unfortunately, not lately.
I’ve yet to finish that album—or CD, to use modern terminology—that I keep telling myself I’m going to do. I’ve got dozens of excuses why I’ve not finished it. Some of them are even valid. 
But now I’m inspired, once again, to work toward achieving that goal.
The good – It’s fun and he enjoys it
The bad – He begs for it every day
The ugly – We’ve even gone out in the rain
For about 6 weeks now, I’ve been taking our male alpha cat, Louis, out for walks every day. I put a harness on him—one that goes around his neck and chest—and he’s attached with a leash. We stay on our property, walking up and down the driveway several times, and checking out his favorite spots in the front and back yard. The walks usually last around 15 to 20 minutes, although he would happily stay out much longer.
Louis is very well behaved when we’re out for our walks. He’s learned to go where I want him to go, most of the time. When it’s time to go back in, he’s even started to walk right up to the back door, willingly. He’s so cute when he’s outside. He walks up and down the driveway with such purpose, like he’s on a mission. He occasionally stops to roll on the driveway and sidewalk.
It all started when I would carry him outside with me when I’d retrieve the mail. He really enjoyed it, so I’d take him out for a “carry” almost daily. We’d stop and sit on the back deck sometimes, while I held him on my lap. We rescued Louis from a shelter, and we were told that he was accustomed to spending a lot of time outdoors, even though he had his front claws removed. We don’t let our cats (current or previous) outdoors, because bad things could happen to them.
Posted in Cats, Stupid human tricks
1 Comment
The good – Friends can find you
The bad – Even people you don’t want to can find you
The ugly – Someone could use the info maliciously
Last night I received a phone call from an old friend I last talked to over 20 years ago. I was totally shocked, to say the least. She said she found my phone number and address on the Yellow Pages web site. This morning I checked, and sure enough, there was a listing for me on yellowpages.com.
I’ve never advertised in the Yellow Pages, and don’t have an account on yellowpages.com. I do work out of my home, when I’m fortunate enough to have work, which lately has been VERY rare. But I have never registered my address or phone number as a place of business. I do have business class phone service, only to have better ADSL service. So I suppose that’s how my info got into the databases at yellowpages.com.
Posted in FYI, Internet, Privacy, Stupid human tricks
3 Comments
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