The Greatest Invention. Ever.

Posted on August 23, 2018 by mfna

Of course, the title is a bit hyperbolic. After all, one can argue the wheel was the greatest invention. Or fire (is fire an “invention”?). So, maybe let’s narrow it down to the greatest invention of the past 150 years, okay?

Take a moment and think of what you might consider the greatest invention of the past several generations might be?

Here’s my take: The battery.

The Common Battery

That’s right, the means by which electric power can be stored, transported and disbursed. Where would we be today without the batteries powering our cell phones, watches, laptop computers, iPads and the like? Think about it.

I bought a battery-powered electric vehicle (BEV) a year ago because the house I purchased had a charging station. My internal combustion engine (ICE) car sits in the garage most of the time, because the majority of my trips are short (< ten miles). My EV is one large battery on which a car has been attached.

When the lights go out, what’s the first thing we reach for? A battery-operated flashlight (or torch, for the British English speakers). I run with iPods, powered by batteries. In fact, I have battery backup power systems for computers, smoke detectors, security devices, and more.

Can one argue there isn’t a more important invention in the modern age? For the record, the invention of the modern day battery is usually credited to Alessandro Volta (from where we get the term “volt”) in 1800. A great, brief history of the battery may be found here.

UGHpdate

Posted on August 22, 2018 by mfna

Two days after my previous post, the owners of the Washington Nationals all but admitted the 2018 season is lost. They did so by trading away two of their more prolific players, Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams.

It’s weird how things work. There is this thing called “revocable waivers,” which means a player placed on this list can be obtained by another team, but the owning team has three options:

Work out a trade deal with the claiming team.
Pull the player back off waivers (thereby revoking it).
Do nothing, and let the player negotiate a contract with the claiming team.

In this case, they let Murphy and Adams go by negotiating with the claiming teams. The Chicago Cubs took Murphy in exchange for cash and a minor league player, and the St. Louis Cardinals took Adams for “cash considerations.”

Pulling a layer back off the baseball “onion,” this is all business. Both Murphy and Adams would have been free agents after the end of the season. This frees up money the Nationals can use for next year.

It also signals surrender. The Nationals have now given up hope of a 2018 postseason, and are looking toward next year.

Ugh.

Posted on August 19, 2018 by mfna

My apologies, but I’m in somewhat of an “I told you so” mood, and since this is my place to spout and spew, I’m gonna do just that. And what do I want to spout and spew about? The Washington Nationals baseball team.

Washington Nationals “Curly W” Logo

I’ve been a baseball fan since I was a kid. I remember sitting out on our screened-in porch, in the dark, with my dad, listening to Washington Senators games on a transistor radio. Every so often we’d go to a game at Griffith Stadium, where I’d watch Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Gil Hodges, Camilo Pascual, Eddie Brinkman, and others. I still remember the saying, “Washington: First in war, first in peace, last in the American League!”

Washington, D.C. lost the Senators not once, but twice. The current Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins began their existence in Washington. For years, D.C. had no professional (or even minor league) baseball, and many locals adopted the nearby Baltimore Orioles. Not I, however. I want baseball that’s a “home team.”

In 2005, the Lerner family, wealthy from their real estate works, brought the Montreal Expos to D.C. It was a rocky start, and for the first few years, it wasn’t certain if this was going to be a D.C. team or a transplanted Canadian team. Some people latched on quickly, and when the Nationals drafted University of Virginia’s Ryan Zimmerman, things began to look up.

This isn’t supposed to be a history lesson. The above is simply background. The recent history is that the Nationals developed into one of the game’s top teams. They won their division (NL East) twice. And lost the league title twice by one run in game five. They were on the brink.

So, now this is a eulogy. There are 37 games left to play in the 2018 regular season. The Nats are 62-63, and have been hovering around the .500 mark since about July 3, when they hit 42-42.

Statistically, they could still make the playoffs. Yeah, and there’s a statistical chance that I could be elected Pope.

Today (August 19, 2018) the Nationals got drubbed by the last place Miami Marlins, 12-1. This, on the heels of a tenth inning loss to the same Marlins the night before. To say the Nationals are foundering is to say the Titanic has sprung a leak.

Prior to the season opener, many in the media were crowning the Nats the obvious World Series Champs (Sports Illustrated cover jinx, anyone?). These same prognosticating experts should be eating their words. They won’t, of course.

Technically, I think part of the problem is that opposing teams got better in the off-season and the Nationals didn’t keep pace. There was a pleasant surprise in the activation of rookie Juan Soto, but he’s been the bright spot in a year otherwise marked by injury and less-than-stellar play.

That a team which can boast as much talent as the Nationals can be a mediocre .500 speaks volumes about sports, human nature and relying on predictions.

I Sold A Photo!

Posted on August 10, 2018 by mfna

https://flic.kr/p/rwaGrs

On Tuesday I received an email from a woman whose email address I did not recognize. She wrote, “I’m [at the exhibit] and interested in the canvas, Keanae Splash. How much is it?”

She added that she and her family were visiting from out of town, and “it’s beautiful.”

I replied to her that I hadn’t posted prices on my photos as selling them wasn’t my primary intention. But that I was open to discussion. I calculated my cost of printing, mounting, shipping and taxes, added a percentage, and asked her if that was acceptable. It was. Deal done. I asked her to write a check to the church, or to just pay the folks at the coffee shop, which is what she did.

The photo, above, is the piece she purchased. It was an 11″ x 14″ canvas wrap (sans copyright watermark). It was taken on my trip to Maui three years ago, and remains one of my favorites from that trip!

One nice thing about photography is that I can make another. I ordered a replacement canvas from my original source, and it should be arriving today. I’ll take it to the exhibit and hang it back in its original space, which right now is being occupied by another of my favorite shots.

https://flic.kr/p/BYc5uw

I confess, I never thought anyone would be interested in buying a photo. If someone likes one or more and compliments me on it, that’s an ego boost in itself. But to actually pay for one with the idea of hanging it somewhere? That’s just out of this world!

Now This Is Cool

Posted on August 7, 2018 by mfna

An email I received yesterday made me realize I hadn’t posted the pivotal event here, so I’m going to make up for that with this post, and tie everything into a nice bow.

On Friday, July 20, 2018, my friend Nick surprised me by giving me a guitar! He told me his sister had purchased it from the guitar-maker in 1977 thinking she was going to learn to play. According to Nick, she never did, and he wound up with the guitar, which was put away in his basement. During a recent clean-up, he and his wife came across the guitar and said to themselves, “We need to find a home for this instrument.” Knowing I play guitar, Nick said, “I know just the person.”

The first impression I had when he pulled the guitar case out of his car trunk was that this was no “eBay afterthought” guitar.

Opening the case, I spotted a nicely crafted classical guitar.

I couldn’t do much in the parking lot, so I took it to work with me, where I examined it (and took these pictures). It was out of tune, naturally, but it tuned up nicely, and held pitch. I noodled on it a bit and was impressed with how straight the neck was, and how rich the sound. I laughed when I saw that someone (Nick’s sister?) had placed masking tape at the 5th, 7th and 9th frets, as the fingerboard has no fret markers.

(I have since removed the tape, as I don’t need fret markers).

The workmanship of this guitar is undeniable.

The tuning machines are nicely done. I don’t know their make, but they aren’t “plain.”

I did notice some small cracks in the barrels of the tuners. Probably not something to worry about, but I’m going to watch them.

By any estimation on my part, this is a quality guitar, and not a basement-dweller for 41 years.

Did I say 41 years? Yes, the guitar’s date of manufacture, and the maker, is listed on the interior label. James D. Fellows, April 15, 1977.

Now, here’s the kicker: James D. Fellows learned of my obtaining this guitar and contacted me! That’s the email I mentioned at the beginning. He told me this was the seventh guitar he’d built, and the first since he’d returned from Spain. Nick’s sister was his first customer, and he built this for her.

James is still a custom guitar maker, located in Connecticut. He plans to build two guitars a year. I promised him I’d get him some photos of the guitar, and this is my first effort at doing so.

And now that I know more about the guitar and its maker, it’s become a keeper, and a prized addition to my collection!

A Week Of Firsts

Posted on August 6, 2018 by mfna

Okay, it’s time for a little chest-beating and peacock preening. I can do this, of course, because this is my blog, and no one reads it, anyway.

I am happy to report that the past week saw two personal firsts. On Wednesday, August first, my first photography exhibit made its debut. Fifteen pieces that I curated, had professionally printed, framed (except for the stretched canvas pieces) and mounted went on display at Ridgetop Coffee and Tea, a community gathering place, and a coffee shop in the old, traditional sense. I had been asked as late as last winter if I would be interested in a show, and my time slot arrived. The exhibit will go through the end of September.

Many of the photos in the show were taken last year during my photo tour of southern Utah. I added a couple of others that I think represent my best work, and I have a few that I might rotate out/in as time passes.

Creating the labels for the photos was one of the hardest parts. I finally found a template in Apple’s Pages page-layout program that worked with Avery labels, and from there it was easy. I do not have prices listed on the photos, as it isn’t my intent to sell them, but I’ve said I will entertain discussion if it comes to that.

The other first of the week was my performance debut on stage playing guitar with the worship band at Riverside Presbyterian Church. I credit the band with re-igniting my interest in guitar playing, so after chasing them for a while, and being frustrated by my schedule not permitting me to practice with them, that all changed when I stopped working at the running store.

A short back story: The band/worship leader was recently burned in a grilling accident, suffering first and second degree burns over a lot of his body. That put him out of commission for several weeks. At the same time, one of our pastors is on sabbatical, and the other on a mission trip to Kenya, so church has been running short-staffed. It was fortunate that I was able to step up to fill in for Sunday’s three services. I had a ball! I’m looking forward to doing it again.

StumbleUpon Becomes “Mix.” And It’s Not An Improvement.

Posted on August 3, 2018 by mfna

For many years I enjoyed surfing the ‘Net using web site StumbleUpon (no link provided – keep reading). The site was a combination of web site aggregator, social network and randomizer. One could specify topics of interest, and click a “Stumble” button and a random web site of that topic would be displayed. You could vote up or vote down your opinion of each, if you so chose.

I found an enormous number of interesting web sites through StumbleUpon. For example, one of my interests was Linux, and many sites I found had tutorials, explanations, tips, hints and advice on Linux-based topics. Far easier (and more fun) that using Google to search for “Linux.”

StumbleUpon is gone. The company “shuttered” its doors in June, 2018. Replacing it was a new site, Mix.com. From the beginning, Mix has been a confusing plethora of snippets, and noise. There is no instruction on how it works, so the user is left to guess. Once an account is created, you can plug in your interests, but the “mix” of sites presented often have little or no bearing on those interests. I have no interest in baking, so why do I get items that show me how to bake tasty cakes, cookies, torts and such?

There seems to be no way to limit the results to items of a specific interest. So if I want to restrict my results to only photographic web sites (as I could with StumbleUpon), I cannot seem to do so.

I signed up for Mix when StumbleUpon was shut down. But I find using it frustrating and irritating, and may soon be sending it to the big bit bucket in the sky. It seems the emphasis on Mix – moreso than with StumbleUpon – is on the “social networking” side. In other words, it’s designed to show you things your online friends find interesting. The trouble is, I’ve already tried that, and I have no interest in a lot of the things my online “friends” do. I prefer to seek my own interests.

Back to the drawing board?

And Now, For Something New…

Posted on July 1, 2018 by mfna

Yesterday was my last day working at the running store. Nearly seven years have passed since I first took the job — almost on a whim.

Well, not quite. I got divorced in 2010, and found myself with time on my hands. I volunteered to work a race packet pickup for the company in 2011, and soon found myself applying for part-time employment. I was hired, and over the years became a reliable, trusted and valuable employee. I was given a set of keys to the store, and a security code, that enabled me to open and close the store without supervision.

It was a lot of fun. I learned about running shoes and other facets of running and running gear. I met a lot of really nice people, and have had numerous customer compliments.

But times change. The company has had its ups and downs. The Internet has affected many brick-and-mortar businesses, and the running store was no different. Being locally owned, a “mom and pop store,” so to speak, the resources to compete against the giants are limited. What they do have is a community mindset, trained running specialists, and a real desire to satisfy customers. However, it’s a balancing act to keep costs low and grow or maintain a business.

Management has changed, and in my opinion, not for the better. There is a lot of turnover, which is understandable when you consider all employees (except managers) are part-time. It’s retail, so it’s mostly young people working for extra cash rather than people committed to the success of the business. Store management is non-existent. One man “manages” three stores, which in many ways means he isn’t managing any store. Employees aren’t trained, and policies and procedures are being twisted store by store until no one knows how things are done.

I have no desire to be a manager, even though for the past couple of years I’ve felt like one. So I decided to walk away.

Truthfully, I haven’t quit. Part-time employees are asked to submit their availability for each upcoming month. I have simply declared that I have no availability. I have said that I can fill in if there is an emergency or special event, but I don’t want to be on a regular schedule.

So… what do I do about this site’s name and focus? For now, I’m letting it stay.

The Collection Expands

Posted on June 19, 2018 by mfna

I was recently asked to provide evidence that I had some music expertise, so I used this blog as a reference. Which got me to thinking, I haven’t added my latest acquisition to the site.

Gibson ES335 Walnut

This is a NOS (new, old stock) 2017 Gibson Memphis Limited Edition ES-335 Walnut. I have long lusted after a 335. It’s an iconic guitar (to me, at least). Alvin Lee played his “Big Red” at Woodstock.

“Marty McFly” (Michael J. Fox) played one in the original Back to the Future movie. Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Larry Carlton — even Eric Clapton — have played the 335.

Red is (to me) the traditional color, but there are natural finishes, colored (Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters plays a blue 335), and then I came across the Walnut. I’m a sucker for wood looks, so I couldn’t resist.

A short back story: I’ve had and played a 1957 Gibson ES-225 since the early 1980s. It was my main guitar for years, and I played it unplugged as well as amped. It’s a wonderful guitar, but its one pickup is somewhat limiting, and it’s shown the signs of time and wear. It’s earned its place in its case…

So, enter the ES-335, and the from the moment I picked it up and started to play (without even removing the plastic from the pickguard), I felt like I was home again! Same feel of the neck, same heft of the body, same cradling sensation when seated — man, this guitar was ME!

I hesitate to call this my favorite guitar, as I have several that earn that appellation each time I strap one on. But it’s won a place in my heart — and an honored place in my “go to” spot.

¡ Pura Vida !

Posted on May 18, 2018 by mfna

I just returned from my first-ever trip to Central America (okay, I’m ignoring the several trips I’ve taken to Mexico). Costa Rica, to be precise. A wonderful trip with a Road Scholar group, which made it “extra” compared to the “beach and bistro” vacations taken by many.

Road Scholar trips are vacation tours with an educational “wrapper.” The trips include lectures and activities that are geared to enhancing one’s knowledge of an area, history, culture, people and more. All transportation, lodging, meals and tips are included.

There were lectures on Costa Rica’s history, biological corridors, chocolate, insects and bats, Quaker settlers, butterflies, coffee and more. Many of these lectures were performed while touring.

Arenal Volcano

Costa Rica’s major exports are pineapples and bananas, but their coffee is right up there with the world’s best!

Coffee Plantation

Did somebody say pineapples? A visit to a pineapple plantation yielded lots of information, not to mention tasty bites and drinks. Take-away: Pineapples are picked ripe and cooled to 45° immediately, where they will stay fresh for up to 40 days. Pineapples in your grocery are already fresh — no need to poke, punch, pull or tilt.

Pineapples nearing picking freshness

Costa Rica is one of the densest bio-diverse areas on earth. It’s a haven for researchers and scientists.

Blue Morpho Butterfly

I attended a fascinating lecture and demonstration on insects and bats. A side trip to a hummingbird sanctuary was included.

Hummingbirds are everywhere!

I’m still reviewing photographs, so I may post a follow-up to this article. But for now, Road Scholar has gone five-for-five in my satisfaction rating!

Running FROM Office

everyone is entitled to my opinion