Author Archives: mfna

Re-skinning the Site

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I’m reminded of a saying I use frequently when discussing IT (the common abbreviation for Information Technology — a label that has evolved over time): “If it ain’t broke, break it! Then fix it!”

Although I frequently use it while finger-pointing, I confess that I’m guilty of the same thing from time to time. This is such a time.

For years — since I turned this site into a WordPress blog site, in fact — I have used the same WordPress theme. I didn’t customize it other than use my own header image, and it’s worked pretty well for me (given that I don’t promote the site, and so only get the occasional drive-by reader). Now that people are housebound due to the Coronavirus lockdown, new projects start taking shape. I’ve acted on a few.

One example is that I completely cleaned up and reorganized my guitar and photo “studio.” Putting guitar hangers on the wall has stalled, since I’m researching the best solution. I also bought and assembled a bookcase that I’ve put into my living room, giving me some much needed storage space for guitar and computer gadgets.

Back to the topic at hand: Looking at the site, it began to seem to me to be in need of a visual overhaul. There are so many great WordPress themes to choose from, I started exploring. This is a more emotionally wrenching experience than I would have thought, because not every theme works well with my idea of layout, content, posting style and so on. WordPress has a “live preview” capability, but even that doesn’t always render a final verdict. Activating and publishing a new theme has been my solution. So far.

I’m not convinced that the current them is the final product, yet. But this form of experimentation is good for whiling away some time. And right now, that in itself, is a good thing.

Guitar Pro 7.5

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As I wrote in my last post, I’ve been spending a lot of time learning Duke Ellington’s hit song, “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” Not only do I find this song timely, in the age of COVID-19, but I like the tune itself. I’m finding it has launched me into another phase of my learning to play/playing guitar.

When I took lessons last year, I realized that there were fundamentals of playing that I had either neglected or ignored. Now, trying to master this latest piece, I’m finding that my past playing has been sloppy. By that, I mean that when playing chords, I looked at the entire width of the guitar neck — all six strings. Oh sure, I knew that some chords required me to mute a string or two, but my right hand didn’t care even though my left hand was forming the shape. My teacher and this song have made me realize that sometimes only two, three or four strings are played to generate the desired sound.

Yup, my jazz guitar, a 1957 Gibson ES-225

Now, I’m online looking for additional songs I of this type I can add to my practice routine. “This type” tends to lean toward jazz standards, and one I’ve looked at is another Duke Ellington piece, his signature song, “Take The A Train.” More complex than the first, but it’s a catchy and recognizable (to me, at least) song, so while I may defer trying to learn it, I’ve at least bookmarked it.

One of the sites I’ve used for finding chord arrangements (and more now than before, tablature), is Ultimate Guitar. I’ve collected a variety of mostly pop and rock arrangements from there, generated and submitted by users. The site also offers downloadable Guitar Pro files. What is Guitar Pro, I wondered?

It turns out a French software company, Arobas Music, is the author of Guitar Pro. The latest release as of this writing is version 7.5. Several online reviews (one is here, which offers a 10% affiliate discount as well) are claiming this latest version is head and shoulders the best software available to write, listen to, and learn stringed instruments. The company offers a 30 day free trial, so I downloaded it (Mac and Windows versions are available), and I’m exploring it now. My tendency is to pull out my wallet and immediately plunk down the dollars ($69.95 US), but I’m at least going to wait until I’ve tried it for a week or so before doing so. But already it seems likely I’ll be adding this to my software library!

There’s an added enticement to buying this software now: FREE access to mySongBook until May 31. A quick site scan shows there are some awesome guitar tabs there, and they all have Guitar Pro downloads! This may be the greatest side-effect of the Coronavirus lockdown!

Easter Greetings

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He is risen. He is risen, indeed.

In my church, this is how we greet each other on Easter Sunday. Today is the most unusual Easter, since everyone is self-quarantining due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Easter services will be held still however, thanks to the advances in technology. Online is better than nothing, but it still doesn’t replace the experience of face-to-face gathering. Which brings me to the purpose of this post.

Having given my Easter greeting, I find I am still sitting at home, sheltering in place, and today is just like the day before it, and the day before that. I actually put “Saturday” on my to-do list to remind me what day of the week it was yesterday! Thus, it was a bit of synchronicity that I received an email. And acted on it.

Back story: Almost nine years to the day, I subscribed to a web site, JazzGuitar.be, a site for and by jazz guitarists. I have downloaded lessons and songs, and I receive periodic emails, but I’ve rarely followed through on any of the information I’ve received. That all changed a couple of days ago.

I received an email with a lesson on Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” a song I have a passing familiarity with. I looked at the music sheet and tabs, and thought, I think I could actually play that!

Arranged by Dirk Laukens, of jazzguitar.be

When I was first learning guitar (self-taught), tab — or tablature — did not exist. Or, at least it wasn’t formalized, so I had to either learn from chord charts or by reading scores (sheet music). But I saw this piece and said to myself, “I can read — and play — this tab!”

Which is what I’ve been doing. Between yard work and routine chores, I have found that having a guitar on my sofa makes it easy to pick it up whenever the mood strikes. And the mood has struck often these days! In two days, I have gotten to the point where I can play the main portion of the song all the way through, without mistakes!

Jazz guitar. Just before I broke my elbow at my daughter’s fourth birthday party, I was studying and practicing jazz guitar using Mickey Baker’s “Complete Course In Jazz Guitar” (volumes I and II).

Mickey Baker’s Complete Course in Jazz Guitar

But the injury caused me to stop playing, and for a long period of time, never touched a guitar. When I finally picked it up again, I felt like I had to go back to my “roots” and start playing the songs I’d taught myself at the beginning.

The circle has been completed. I’m now back to where I was when I was “guitar interrupted.” In fact, I’m further along now, thanks to lessons I took, and the availability of online resources that didn’t exist back in my early days.

So, now not only can join in Easter services with my church online, I can also learn and participate in playing guitar with people online I’ve never met, and can only share my experiences in a virtual space. “Social distancing” may not be the most fun in the world, but thanks to technology, it doesn’t have to mean isolation!

Staying Sane @ Home

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The Coronavirus, COVID-19 as it’s now called, has put the world into a never-before seen situation. All around the globe people are being told to stay indoors, as this new strain of virus makes its way among us. Since it’s new, no immunities or vaccines are known to combat it, so the dire predictions of mass fatalities continue to grab the headlines.

From what I understand, “coronavirus” is a name for a group of respiratory diseases that can affect birds, mammals and humans. The “common cold” is a mild form. SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 are more lethal forms.

COVID-19

That the world has been shut down is remarkable. That it is/was necessary is debatable. At least to me. All the talk is about “flattening the curve,” which suggests a more drawn out infectious time frame, but fewer casualties as a result.

I’m not in the position to debate. Like most people, I think, it’s better to be safe than sorry. So, I’ve resigned myself to staying in my home for the most part. Going outside only for exercise, a quick grocery shopping trip, or a walk to the mailbox. But you know what, that’s pretty much what my life was like before this quarantine. Except for the working at home, that is.

So, how do I get by day after day without going completely bonkers? First, I turn on my Apple TV (fourth generation) that is connected to my 55-inch TV and fire up the EarthCamTV app. This is a fabulous app I’ve used frequently in the past, but now it’s on my screen daily! As the name suggests, it’s a site/app that displays live webcam feeds from around the world. The scene changes every few minutes, and is a virtual “window to the world.” What I find most amazing these days are the scenes of locations that are usually teeming with people that are now desolate. The Las Vegas Strip, New York’s Times Square, L.A.’s Hollywood & Vine. Eerie. But fascinating!

Check it out: https://www.earthcamtv.com/

While I’m watching the world go by, I’m usually listening to, or playing music. I enjoy the four-hour radio program Night Tides, which is broadcast live every Sunday night, but is available for streaming immediately after until the next program. I’m also a subscriber to Ambient.Zone, a podcast that is created by a Dutch expat living in Cyprus. I’ve listened to TC’s podcasts for nearly 15 years — good stuff! Available also on Mixcloud and where podcasts are found.

Since I have a lot of time at home due to not having to commute, I’m always able to take a minute, pick up my guitar and spend a few minutes playing. I’m learning a bunch of new old songs (or old songs new to me), and I can’t begin to describe the joy I feel when a new song comes together under my fingers!

I have some guitars to choose from, and each one inspires me in a different way.

The Guitar “Studio”

Maybe the next project I’ll undertake, since I’m spending so much time at home, is cleaning up the “studio” so it doesn’t look like a disaster area!

Love In The Time of Coronavirus

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It had to happen. Everyone else is talking about COVID-19, as the novel coronavirus has been designated. So I might as well join the crowd.

First, I’m writing because this slate has been blank for a while, and it needed updating. Second, because I went on vacation, which meant that I was supposed to self-quarantine upon my return. Which is what I’ve been doing. For the most part.

So, to rewind a bit…

Every first Saturday in March is the annual Salvador Dalí Museum dinner. I’ve written about it before, so no point in re-hashing that part. Since I was making the trip, I booked a Caribbean cruise to extend my vacation time, and thus, off I sailed. Two of the ports of call I’d visited before, so I had no desire to go on any excursions there. Two others were new to me: Mahogany Bay (Roatán) and Belize. I booked a visit to the Mayan ruins in Xunantunich in Belize.

Belize is the former British Honduras, and as such the official language is English. Given that all of the neighboring countries are Spanish-speaking, the majority of Belizeans speak Spanish. The signs are all in English, however. The ruins at Xunantunich (the “X” is pronounced “SH”) are spectacular! I was glad I made the trip. Getting there meant driving the full width of the country (about 68 miles!), since the ruins are near the Guatemalan border.

Xunantunich Pyramid

Two days out from Tampa I learned that due to the spread of the Coronavirus (I still don’t know if it’s supposed to be capitalized or not), the major cruise lines had suspended operations for 30-60 days. I had no doubt I was going to be allowed to disembark, and as I did, it was strange to note there were no passengers waiting to come on board for the next sailing!

The flight home — on a full flight! — gave me no reason to think things had changed, but once I arrived home and went to the grocery store to re-provision, that’s when I noticed the empty shelves! Since I’d been overseas, the CDC recommendation was to self-quarantine for 14 days. I had no problem with that, because I had planned to spend the next two weeks at home conducting online training, so it was a nice synchronicity.

Here I sit, on the eve of my fourteenth day. I have taken the opportunity of being home to spend more time playing guitar and adding songs to my repertoire. While on the cruise (I took my KLŌS travel guitar), I started going back to my “roots” and learning or re-learning songs from one of my favorite bands of the 1960s: Love.

Love was kind of a hipster band. They had only one minor Top 40 hit (which I believe made it to #37), they refused to tour, and their leader, Arthur Lee, was quite idiosyncratic. But I loved the music they made, and their third and final album, “Forever Changes” has been ranked as number 40 on Rolling Stone magazine’s The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Love – Forever Changes (1966)

Thus, there is rhyme to my reason. Or method to my madness, if you will. The title of this post is a play on “Love in the Time of Cholera,” a 1985 book by Nobel Prize-winning author, Gabriel García Márquez

Let’s Talk AR

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Whether intentionally or not, the initials “AR” are believed by many to be simply an abbreviation for “assault rifle.” This is not the case. Armalite is a small arms manufacturing company. The original company was founded in 1954 in California. It produced the original “Armalite Rifle,” a lightweight survival rifle designed for downed American aviators. The AR-15 (the AR stands for “Armalite Rifle”) became the military’s M16 standard. The history of the AR-15 can be read on Wikipedia as well as elsewhere.

For people not keeping up with technology, the term “rifle” brings to mind the Old West, with scenes of John Wayne brandishing a Winchester level-action, wooden stock long gun.

John Wayne, in The Searchers (1956)

Lever-action rifles are still being made. The Henry Repeating Arms company makes some very highly-regarded “traditional” rifles.

Henry Rifles, Made In America

But this article is about modern rifles. This is what today’s “ordinary” rifle looks like.

A “Typical” AR-15 (source: CNN)

Believe it or not, the two are more similar than they are different. In fact, I’d posit that the Henry-style rifle is more difficult to build than the AR. That’s because parts for an AR abound, and the ability to mix-and-match parts is one of the reasons it’s the most popular rifle in America today!

One of the reasons it’s so popular is that it’s customizable, and the entry-level cost is relatively inexpensive. By the way, both rifles shown above are SEMI-AUTOMATICS. Put another way, 1 trigger pull = 1 bullet fired. When the military had them made, their version was FULL AUTOMATIC, or more accurately, SELECT FIRE (full or semi). Fully automatic firearms have not been legal in the USA for decades! So, once again, the lever action rifle, and the AR-15 are FUNCTIONALLY EQUAL.

Because the AR-15 has become so popular, it’s not surprising that gun-grabbers want to ban it, as it has shown up in some of the mass shootings that have sadly made the news. But the fact of the matter is, and while it’s a common “slogan,” guns don’t kill. People kill! According to Statista, in 2018, rifles accounted for only 297 of the total murders committed. Blunt objects (443) and personal weapons (fists, hands, feet, etc.) 672, each accounted for more. Yet politicians don’t seem to want to ban clubs, hammers, fists or such.

So why the continued focus on banning “assault rifles?” Dana Loesch in her book “Hand Off My Gun: Defeating the Plot to Disarm America” (Loesch, D. (2015), Center Street, Reprint Edition) claims that ignorance of the technology makes “black rifles” scarier and “shootier.” There is also an underlying belief that anti-Americanism drives the desire to disarm and subjugate the American populace.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been researching the technology that makes up an Armalite Rifle. Technology fascinates me, and I find myself amazed at how all the little pieces add up to make a rough, tough, instrument of destruction. The number of grains in a bullet can dictate the proper twist rate of a rifle barrel (don’t worry if that sentence makes no sense to you; trust me). Stainless steel, chrome lined, nitride… there are so many possible variables and pieces. A fully custom-made AR can cost thousands of dollars, and the components that make it up can be as intricate as the pieces of a watch (the old style, not the digital kind).

The purpose of this post is to outline some of the thought processes that I’ve been going through, as I consider getting my first AR.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some of the sweeter ARs I’ve looked at:

Marblemouthed Metro

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Sometimes I have a need or want to ride public transportation. My recent trip to Vienna, Austria found me traveling all over the city aboard Vienna’s fine subway system, for example.

Yesterday, I had need to use the (Washington) D. C. Metro system to go into the city to attend the annual Auto Show. Side note: I remember when the D. C. subway system was built, and when it first opened, it was the model of a modern, efficient, clean transportation system.

No longer.

Besides the delays caused by single-tracking (an effect of much-needed repairs being performed) one thing that I found both sad and humorous at the same time: The inability of train operators to clearly enunciate over the train’s P.A. system. Not only were the stop names unintelligible, but even the delay announcements. A short lesson in how to speak clearly over a public address system should be mandatory for drivers.

To be fair, some of the newer trains have automated voice-overs, which seems to be the standard in places like Vienna, Toronto and other subway systems I’ve ridden, as do the commuter buses I need to take twice a year. But my point is that if I were a tourist and didn’t know the stops, I”d be looking at signs out the window and worrying about how quickly I would need to exit the car at my station. Fortunately, I’m familiar enough with D. C.’s Metro to simply find this humorous.

The Lost Art of Automobile Design

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Lately as I’ve been driving it’s occurred to me that most vehicles on the road today are indistinguishable from one another. This is particularly true in the “sport utility vehicle” (SUV) class. If this were a super-popular blog site, I suspect many would accuse me of either posting “click bait,” or of having lost my sense of taste, if not my mind.

But honestly, I have noticed in traffic the outline of a vehicle and thought to myself, “I wonder what make that is?” I suppose the need often influences the design, so when a multi-passenger vehicle with lots of storage room is needed, things like lift gates and such are automatic. Yet, it seems to me that often the only distinguishing feature on a vehicle is its grill or front-end look.

Some brands have iconic grills. BMW, for example, has the “double-kidney” grill.

BMW’s iconic grill design

Mercedes-Benz is recognizable by its three-pointed star, which sometimes makes it to the grill, but is almost always present on the hood of the car.

The Mercedes-Benz star

But the rest of the automotive world is an ever-changing jumble of looks and frills, most of which are forgettable the moment they’re introduced.

Some makers provoke in me a “what were they thinking?” response. Audi, for example, went the way of what I’ve referred to as an “Ox Collar” look.

Audi’s now familiar, but ungainly grill

In personal disclaimer mode, I will confess that nearly every car I’ve purchased has had some type of “distinctive” look to it. My two present cars straddle that line a bit. My yellow smart fortwo electric drive is easy to pick out in any parking lot. My Mercedes-Benz coupe not so much.

My 2015 smart fortwo electric drive (ED)

Sure, it’s opinionated. But this is my blog, where the subtitle is, “Everybody’s entitled to my opinion!” 🙂

Political Activism

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I received my Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in the study of Political Science, with a focus on International Affairs (in fact, my major was International Relations until that field of study was folded into the general GVPT curriculum). I credit my interest in affaires politiques to having grown up in a family where Dad was a diplomat.

During my late high school years, the Vietnam War was raging, and I, being of draft age, became more and more disillusioned with the U.S.A.’s lack of commitment to winning that conflict. The media focused on body counts, and the horror of the Mỹ Lai massacre continued to erode my faith in how the U. S. was pursuing that war, seemingly to add to the pockets of industrialists at the expense of American lives. I walked in the Moratorium March on Washington on November 15, 1969. I had graduated high school just months before.

Vietnam faded into memory, as I did not serve in the armed forces, and did not have direct experience with the war. I matriculated college while in Europe, and began my study of International Relations. I saw, first-hand, how communism turned countries into soul-less, grey landscapes, and how the free enterprise system allowed people to succeed. Even though I was no longer marching in protest, my political education continued. I even ran for student body president, and was defeated by less than a half dozen votes.

Then came marriage, a career, and family. I still read, watched and listened to political items; when you live within spitting distance of the nation’s capitol, it’s hard not to. But other than vote in elections, I stayed away from getting involved.

That all changed recently. Virginia, my adopted home, has been becoming more and more tyrannical, in large part supported by anti-American or control-freak types, George Soros, Michael Bloomberg, and others. One of the most successful states in the union one day, seemingly overnight, became another bastion of “progressivism” (I purposely do not capitalize the word). Following the 2019 elections (Virginia holds off-year elections) the entire General Assembly became Democrat-controlled. No sooner had they danced their victory dance, they began putting legislation on the table to reduce the “birthplace of presidents” to the “burial place of human rights.” I won’t go into the numerous bills proposed that will overturn Virginia’s history, increase taxes, and infringe on God-given liberties, but I will say that I’ve awakened to a movement I do not see being beneficial to Virginians.

On Monday, January 20, the official celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, I attended a rally in Virginia’s capital city, Richmond. The rally was a demonstration against the stated proposals that in many peoples’ opinion (mine included) were anti-Constitutional. I was taken back to that day 51 years ago. I wasn’t being rebellious, I wasn’t being threatening, I was being present. I stood up for what I believe.

Maybe this is a turning point. I think it’s too early to tell. What I believe is that if people like me just sit and expect other people to march, demonstrate and attempt to make a point, I will have surrendered my privilege as an American citizen.

The Sometimes Pleasure of Having a Snit

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“Old Glory,” the flag of the United States of America

I’m not sure why it set me off, but on one run I twice saw the American flag being disrespected. I confess to posting on NextDoor.com last year much of my same agitation over a display of this sort, but here I was (am?) in a location far away from home.

Realizing there is precious little I can do about this, I still felt compelled to do something. Knowing nothing about building ownership and/or management, or the companies (yes both of these were business sites) involved, I reached out to the local media with a letter to the editor. I was polite, and mentioned that as an out-of-town visitor, I was disheartened to see blatant disrespect for the flag being shown in public.

Wait a minute. What disrespect? Having flown the flag at home, I learned about the proper etiquette for displaying the flag, and since I didn’t have 24 hour lighting, I would raise and lower the flag each day, fly it at half staff when appropriate, and would replace it when it got worn. There are laws on the books (4 USC § 1, 36 USC §173-174) that specify how and when the flag should be treated, and even though these laws are mostly pro forma, I use them as my guidelines (as well as to stay legal, in case another busybody like me gets in a snit).

Applying a little research, I found the contact information for the companies I identified as the likely “perpetrators,” and sent them very polite emails. I mentioned I was an out-of-town traveler, and that the display of flags in serious disrepair was likely an oversight, but that I felt it sent a poor impression to travelers like me.

I did receive one reply, thanking me, and saying they would locate the building management and pass on my message. From the appearance of their web page, they seem to be socially conscientious, so their response was in line with that impression. I have not heard from the second.

So, I will likely never see the results of my very modest (but polite) snit. But I feel good about acting upon it rather than just shrug my shoulders, as apparently so many have.