Staying Sane @ Home

Posted on April 2, 2020 by mfna

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.

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.

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

Posted on March 28, 2020 by mfna

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.

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.

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

If Six Was Four

Posted on December 4, 2019 by mfna

Jimi Hendrix once sang, “If Six Was Nine.” But this is neither a post about Hendrix, nor about his songs. This is about instruments.

And, before you jump to conclusions (which may make sense, given that I’ve written about bass guitars before), this is about ukuleles and not bass guitars!

Let me give a little background: Every time my six year-old granddaughter comes to my house, she gets enraptured by my KLŌS travel guitar. I don’t mind, as it’s made of carbon fiber, so there’s little chance she can damage it, even if she were to drop it or sling it about.

So, I was walking through a newly-opened Lidl, when I saw they had beginner guitar sets for sale. I stopped to think. This might be a nice Christmas present for her, if she really wants to plunk away. Then, right next to the guitars, were some boxes of Ukuleles. Right size, right price, so I bought one.

Okay, so it’s a cheapie. I figured that if she lost interest quickly, no great loss. On the other hand, it’s my hope that she’ll get interested in it enough to attempt to learn some basic tunes (the bundle I bought includes a beginner songbook and online tutorials). Then it struck me: What if she liked playing ukulele, but was disappointed in the cheap one she received?

That’s when I thought perhaps I’d get a better instrument. And my plan was hatched: I’d give her the Lidl uke, and in seven months, when her birthday came around, I’d gift her with an “upgrade.”

I found a bundle on Sweetwater and ordered it. The bundle includes the Kala KA-15c Mahogany Concert Ukulele, strap, clip-on tuner, and gig bag. A concert ukulele is slightly larger than a soprano, but given the diminutive nature of a ukulele, I don’t think the size will be a detriment for my granddaugher.

And, of course, I get to play with it for the next seven months!

Fall/Winter Sets In

Posted on November 25, 2019 by mfna

It’s been almost a month since the Washington Nationals made this little boy happy! After the World Series, the reality that baseball was over for the 2019 season began to set in. I made sure to add a couple of t-shirts and sweatshirts and a cap to my collection to commemorate the event.

Since then, the colder, darker weather has begun settling in, and, like the leaves from the trees, browns, grays and subdued hues dominate. My running, which I resumed in July continues, and I average 12-13 miles per week, taking it 5 kilometers at a time.

I’ve also updated two of my other collections. I purchased a new SIG SAUER P365 handgun, after reading and watching the reports of this ground-breaking pistol from its early stages and rough spots, to being one of the most popular pistols in SIG’s catalog.

While not as aesthetically pleasing to me as the SIG P938, the size is quite similar, and its major feature is that it is capable of hold 10+1 rounds of 9mm ammunition in its micro-compact form. A new magazine design makes that happen. I also purchased a 12- and 15-round magazines for use at the pistol range. It feels very comfortable in my (small) hands, and I’m aiming to replace my P938 as my carry weapon.

I also added to my guitar collection. In my twisted way of thinking, I felt I was one Telecaster short, since I have five Stratocasters and only four Teles. One of those Strats is a G&L Tribue Legacy (G&L stands for George and Leo, the latter being Leo Fender, who, with his partners George Fullerton and Dale Hyatt, founded the company after Fender sold his original company), so after I spied a G&L Tele-style guitar called an ASAT, I fell in lust.

Besides the color (honestly, I’m not a “red guitar” guy, but two of my Strats are red!), I was taken by some of the specs: a pair of specially designed P90 pickups, and the 12-inch radius neck (the Brazilian Cherry looks an awful lot like Rosewood, which is currently on the CITES restriction list). Those two features made it read like a Gibson Les Paul, many of which boast those features. Indeed, plugging it in a playing it have already convinced me that P90s are pickups to be reckoned with. They’re awesome!

Incidentally, the name ASAT has a weird backstory. Yes, it’s all-capitals. Believe it or not, it’s a military acronym for “anti-satellite,” and not, as some people believe, “After Strat, After Tele.” The name was suggested by author Richard Smith after he read an article about the Air Force’s ASAT missile. Apparently Leo and Dale liked the image of a guitar shooting down things in space, and so the name “stuck.”

So now as the days continue to get shorter and the dark nights longer, I’ll have the opportunity to spend time at the range lighting things up, or at home, shaking things up!

Strike Three. Arghhhhh!!!

Posted on May 29, 2019 by mfna

The God of the Universe apparently doesn’t want me to have a new mp3 player.

I rarely get upset about things, but this is one of those times when I’ve just about reached my limit.

I’ve been around long enough to see technology replace technology. Remember floppy disks? From 5-14″ to 3-1/2″ to CDs to DVDs and now to “cloud.”

As the late Paul Harvey used to say, “Not all that we call progress truly is.”

When I first started running a few decades ago, I liked to listen to music while outside, giving me some relief and distraction from the sometimes-boring miles I was putting down. Believe it or not, I started with a Sony Walkman, a cassette player, strapped around my waist in a neoprene holder, earbud cable poking out of the back. When the cassette gave way to CD-ROM, I tried those, but the bouncing of the running movement made it impossible to track music smoothly. Then came mp3s.

Technically, mp3 is a shortened form of MPEG-3, the Motion Picture Experts Group standard (3) for coding digital audio (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3 ). It has become the ubiquitous format for audio files. Pretty much everywhere (there are other formats, but they aren’t the subject of this post). A whole new industry took off, with pocket-sized devices designed to store and play audio files. “Mp3 players” they were called.

Fast-forward (you can read my previous post if you want more background on my experience). The state of mp3 players is nothing short of an unmitigated disaster, in my opinion.

I am about to return the third — yes, third — mp3 player I bought to replace an iPod that finally gave up the ghost. All three were manufactured by different vendors (although they’re Chinese, so maybe not). This last one, a SanDisk Clip Sport Plus, I thought was going to be the winner. Each device I’ve bought has cost a bit more. The SanDisk tipped the scales at $50. And I didn’t buy it through Amazon. 16GB of storage, Bluetooth, and FM radio. All of the features I wanted in a portable music player. And I’ve been quite satisfied with other SanDisk products I’ve bought!

For the third time, I waited for delivery, then removed it from its shipping container, plugged it in to charge it, and then plugged it into my computer.

Nothing.

Well, even though the box and SanDisk’s web site claim it’s compatible with macOS X 10.3 and higher, I’m always a bit skeptical. However, I have two Macs, and neither would see the device, I decided to take it to work and plug it into a Windows PC.

That’s when it all went south. No device recognized there, either. Sigh.

I’ve sent an email to SanDisk and to Adorama, where I purchased it. SanDisk says they will “get back to me,” and Adorama says they’ll contact me regarding a return. This is where Amazon shines — they’ll take an item back without question. Yes, it’s going back.

And this is really the last time I’m trying this. I have an iPhone, I have an Apple Watch, and I have several iPod Shuffles. Neither the watch nor the Shuffles will hold 16GB, but I’m just going to have to play “swap the files” when I want to update the music on them.

I’m so disappointed in the state of manufacturing these days. I think the time of carrying a portable music player are going the way of the Dodo.

The World of Amazon Crap

Posted on May 21, 2019 by mfna

Amazon‘s growth has been nothing short of spectacular. From its starting days as an online bookseller to the mega-behemoth it’s become today, Amazon is now everywhere. Trucks sporting the “Prime” logo are everywhere on the streets. Whole Foods is now an Amazon subsidiary, and Prime members supposedly get discounts others don’t (disclaimer: I’m a Prime member and I shop at Whole Foods. Whether I get a discount or not, I haven’t checked). The web site Woot! is now an Amazon subsidiary (so why shop at Woot! anymore?). Everywhere you turn these days, it seems Amazon’s got its fingers (tentacles?) in the pie.

Unfortunately, such unparalleled growth has its darker side, and for me, this comes in the form of “junk” products being sold on the site. It didn’t seem necessary to issue a warning — caveat emptor! — when shopping on Amazon as it did when shopping on eBay. Interestingly enough, eBay has become much more reliable and safe, whereas Amazon has gone the other way.

Several recent experiences are the basis for this post. The last was simply frustrating, disappointing, a waste of time, and a loss of confidence in Amazon’s offerings and policies. (For the record, Amazon is great when it comes to returning products. If it weren’t, I’d be long gone from ever shopping there again!)

My iPod died. Well, one of my iPods died. The one I clip onto the back of my running shorts. When I exercise, I don’t want to be carrying a phone or a device that’s as large as a brick. Just give me my music, and let the technology get out of the way!

Apple now only offers the iPod Touch, an iPhone-sized brick that’s loaded with features, but short on compactness. I have a phone; I don’t need another brick to carry with me.

Well, I don’t HAVE to have an Apple product, right? Any compact mp3 player should do. Or so I thought.

I searched Google. I tried a number of values, including “compact,” “bluetooth,” Every result presented me with Amazon results. Egads, are these two in cahoots? Sigh. Off I went to Amazon.

After searching a bit, I found something made in China by a company called KLANGTOP (seriously? Seriously!). 8GB capacity with clip, FM radio and Bluetooth. $29.99, with 199 customer reviews and a 4/5 star rating. Sounds ideal, right?

Well, not so fast. The product arrived, and when I pulled it from the box, I felt like the packing material was of better quality than the device it held!

I charged it up, and went about setting it up. First, none of my computers would recognize the device. Worse yet, its Bluetooth wouldn’t recognize any of the bluetooth speakers I have.

Back in the box it went, and off to the UPS store to return it.

So, I decided to find a better quality device. I found an “Amazon Choice” Soulcker (pronounced “soul seeker”) D16. Included arm band, earphones, USB cable and a 4.5/5 rating based on 279 customer reviews. It arrived, and I went through the same setup process. This time, with a little coaxing, I managed to get some music on it, and even got it to recognize a Bluetooth receiver. A promising start.

Not so fast there, buck-o! After finding the controls less-than-intuitive, I felt I would grow to learn them. After all, it was (relatively) inexpensive — can’t have everything, y’know?

Except that, when I went to add more music, the soul-killer absolutely refused to detect any computer it was connected to. I changed computers, I changed cables, I changed computers and cables. No joy.

I printed out another return label. I don’t feel I have to “live with” a device whose main purpose in life seems to be wanting to be a target downrange for a .45cal round!

Which brings me to the “Amazon trust” issue. There are reports of massive “fake reviews” appearing on Amazon. The company itself says it polices items and reviews, but now every Tom-Dick-and-Harry can be an Amazon “affiliate,” how can these sellers be monitored?

Say what you will — Apple seems to have mastered the ability to manufacture quality products in China. The rest of the world? Well, it appears on Amazon as crap, it seems.

The Ambient Zone

Posted on May 20, 2019 by mfna

I first created this site in 1995 as a way to learn the concepts of this new medium called The Internet. What started as a way to self-teach myself HTML quickly became a way to store my favorite hyperlinks for quick and easy access. Of course, those links were to music sites and musicians, primarily. One day, the snowball affect occurred, and I started getting requests to have links added to my site. For a short while, this site was on the Google landing page when “new age music” was the search term. The dormant site still exists at the base URL, but I haven’t updated it in what, twelve years?!

My interest in music has never waned, and neither has my interest in things technological, so I simply transformed this site into a personal journal — a web log, or “blog” as the term has come into being..

Nowadays, there isn’t as much need to keep bookmarks of record companies, radio stations, artists and streaming audio sites, as those can be found by using one of the many search engine sites (Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc.). That doesn’t mean I don’t still have interest. I do! And that’s the reason for this post..

Some time in 2005 I came across a new offering. Something called “podcasts” had been introduced by Apple in their iTunes product, which made it possible for Mac users to subscribe to broadcasts, have them downloaded to their computer, and listened to at one’s leisure. One of those podcasts was hosted by a Dutchman who called himself “TC” (or, as I came later to find out: // TC //). The music was an astounding blend of mixes from artists whose names I had never heard before! I was hooked!

Enter Spacemusic.nl

For a number of years, TC podcasted under the title of his domain: spacemusic.nl (a full history of his early days is available through the link). Somewhere, on one of my computers or drives I have most of them still intact! Some of the older podcasts may still be available through iTunes, as well.

The podcasts ended after nine seasons. There was “radio silence” for a number of years, and then TC announced the arrival of “The Ambient Zone.” An extension of spacemusic.nl, the new shows featured all-new content, and offered a subscriber option, that let paid listeners download the programs (in several formats) for independent play.

The first means to do so was through the horrid (my opinion) Patreon site. Despite my reluctance, I signed up to pay TC for his shows. I like them that much! Earlier this year, TC embarked on creating his own member site, and The Ambient Zone was launched. I signed up as a premium member!

TC has moved to Cyprus, quit his job so he can be a full-time podcaster, and continues to present fresh, tonal peace for those like me who love listening. I realize few people come across this blog, but I’d like to support TC and The Ambient Zone by spreading the word. So, give it a try:

The Secret Life of Ambient

In Your Ears, Bud.

Posted on May 17, 2019 by mfna

As long as I can remember, I’ve cruised through life with radio or music in my ears whenever the time and opportunity allowed it. As a child, I was in the forefront of the “transistor” era, where advances in electronics technology made miniaturization possible. I went from having a radio with a handle on it tucked into the newspaper bag I carried on my delivery route, to a pocket-sized device with a tiny speaker and (usually) a single, wired earpiece. We didn’t call them “buds” back then.

The single earpiece gave way to the stereo earpieces, and that technology has pretty well persisted to today. Equipment, on the other hand, has continued to evolve. The cassette tape made carrying prerecorded music around with you a reality. The compact disc (CD) was a boon to record-scratchers everywhere, but its playback mechanism (a laser light on a movable arm over a spinning platter) made it susceptible to jostling, so it didn’t work well for runners and exercise enthusiasts.

Computer technology brought to life sound files, such as mp3, wav, ogg, FLAC, and so on. This birthed the mp3 player industry. I owned a variety of music players, including the nifty, but confusing Digisette Duo, an mp3 player shaped like to cassette that could be played through tape machines as well as via the now-ubiquitous earphones.

Apple shook up the music industry when it introduced its iPod in 2001. I didn’t buy an original, but when Apple shipped the “2nd generation,” I became one of the converts.

Miniaturization continued, and Apple gave us the iPod Shuffle (in numerous incarnations), the Nano, the Touch, and so on. I particularly liked the Shuffle, even the one that received media brickbats.

Earpiece technology also improved, but not as radically, and not as fast. Only recently has wireless Bluetooth made to earphones, eliminating the need to plug the sound “emitters” into the sound producer. Apple own Airpods are now everywhere, recognizable by the “handles” that jut from the wearer’s ears.

Perhaps I’m out of step. Or perhaps I’m just not “woke” enough to enjoy the current state of the art. By this, I mean that I haven’t yet found a pair of Bluetooth ear buds that suit me. For the record, I have thoroughly enjoyed my wired earphones. The Bose QC (QuietComfort) 20 noise-cancelling earphones have been a boon for air travel.

The YurBuds Ironman earbuds have lived up to their guarantee: they do not fall out, even during the most strenuous exercise

However, I have yet to find a pair of Bluetooth earbuds I like. I bought a pair of crowdfunded “air by crazybaby” in-ear, totally wireless earbuds. Oh, did I want to love these buds! They fit perfectly, and the absence of even a connecting wire was so nice–they fit well, and were all but invisible. The only problem was, they didn’t work. Battery life was pathetic, and the right earbud would simply die a few minutes after heading out the door.

I threw them into the trash last night

I have a pair of Jaybird X3 wireless earbuds, but their quirky design makes them uncomfortable to wear.

Finally, I broke down and purchased a pair of Apple Airpods 2. These are perhaps the best I’ve had so far, but they aren’t perfect. The left Airpod always seems ready to slip out of my ear, even though it doesn’t. They are the easiest to pair with any device, and the sound is good, although not exceptional.

I’m getting closer to getting a pair of Bluetooth earbuds I like, but now the player device is becoming an issue. My iPod Nano just died, and Apple no longer makes a compact mp3 player. It seems the only small, portable clip-on players are cheap products from no-name companies in China that break the moment you remove them from the box.. I shipped such a device back to Amazon yesterday after only 15 minutes of trying to get it to recognize any of my Bluetooth earbuds. Sigh.

The quest goes on.

Trower Power

Posted on April 3, 2019 by mfna

Just to show I’m not single-tracking on one topic, I felt it necessary to post about last night’s concert.

Robin Trower is one of those musicians that often go unnoticed by the “trendy” masses. That’s too bad, because the man has produced over 40 albums and compilations in the 50+ years he’s been in the music business. From 1967 to 1971, Trower played for the band Procol Harum, which had recorded the hit “Whiter Shade of Pale” before he joined.

Striking out on his own, Trower formed his own self-titled band and began releasing albums. 1975’s Bridge of Sighs introduced the world to Trower’s Hendrix-like guitar stylings, and his mark on the music business was made. Still, he’s flown under the radar to the general public for the most part.

But he opened his 2019 tour at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia on April 2, 2019 to a sold-out crowd.

As this was the first stop on his tour, a number of songs from his latest album, “Coming Closer to the Day” were played publicly for the first time. This is the entire setlist, thanks to setlist.fm:

Too Rolling Stoned
Diving Bell (live debut)
The Fool And Me
Ghosts (live debut)
Somebody Calling
Day of The Eagle (segue to)
Bridge of Sighs
Truth Or Lies (live debut)
Confessin’ Midnight
Daydream
Tide of Confusion (live debut)
Little Bit Of Sympathy

Encore(s)

Rise Up Like The Sun
For Earth Below

While I haven’t heard the new album in its entirety (four of the tracks he played in their live debut), I’d say Trower is still on his game, producing outstanding, Fender Stratocaster-fueled dynamite!

Getting To The Bottom

Posted on January 22, 2019 by mfna

This past Saturday I met with the worship leader at church. For those not into the “lingo,” the worship leader is the band leader who kicks off worship services with music and song, and energizes the congregation into singing in praise.

I had previously informed him that I was adding bass guitar to my stable. Since the band has been playing without a bass for a while, I felt this switch might get me involved with the band.

And so, we met on Saturday for an audition/rehearsal. Let me say for the record that Jesse, the worship leader, is a consummate professional musician, a terrific singer, and a devout Christian. We spoke first, and he informed me that the worship band is not a place for showing off, or being the center of attention. Knowing that eyes are on the performers, the band members should appear professional, and not grimace if the make a mistake, and that the focus is on God and not the band.

I concurred, and so we went over two songs. We both are aware that bass is a new instrument to me, so he kept it simple, indicating that the most important thing for me, as the bass player, was to keep time. Play just the root notes of the charted chords, keep time, and that’s all that’s asked of me.

We practiced and agreed to meet every Saturday morning to refine my skills, and with the hope I’ll join the band on stage when he’s decided I’m ready. When I’m ready, I hope to publicly debut my newest, and premier bass guitar, an Epiphone Limited Edition 20th Anniversary Jack Casady Signature Bass.

Epiphone Limited Edition 20th Anniversary Jack Casady Signature Bass Guitar

Reading reviews on bass guitar forums, this guitar is considered by all who own one a top-notch instrument. It’s a semi-hollowbody, designed with Jack Casady’s (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) input and advice. Yes, he plays one.

The Bass Guitar Headstock With Signature and 20th Anniversary Truss Rod Cover

This is a gorgeous bass! I need to get used to the 34-inch scale, as my small fingers are creating fret rattle as I move along the fingerboard. I may need to have it professionally set up, but I have time to do so. In the mean time, I’m using my short-scale Ibanez to rehearse.

Running FROM Office

everyone is entitled to my opinion

Category Archives: Music