TIGER X OS

Okay, I installed the new Tiger OS X and all went well. Very smooth, no problems whatsoever. Didn't I say that? Thank you Mac.
Now first look around I don't see a lot of different, but that's just on the outside. Though they do have their little widgets which is what they are. Widgets, little things like a clock, temp, stock market prices, etc. So once I delve into the system I'll be able to see what's what. Those with more computer savvy will get more out the system than I will I'm sure.
So anyway you look at it I now have a Tiger in my computer.

WISH ME LUCK

This morning I am going to install the new Tiger OS X new from Mac. Yes, I have a Mac and I love it.

I am hoping all goes well and it usually does as Mac make things simple, though sometimes there are some screw-ups but most times it's the person doing the installing, me, not the software. Read the instructions dummy!!

So I'm reading the instructions, this time anyhow. I'll let you know how it goes. Wish me luck.

Celebration Now......C'Mon

My son is celebrating his 4th year with his Redsneaker Blog with having around 26,000 hits in one year. Congratulations!!

Me? I'm thrilled with the 26 hits I get a week. Of course 25 of them could be coming from my wife. The other one coming from me looking at what I wrote. I don't know.
My Redsneaker son is a web master in his own right. I mean, that's his job so he should be good at it right? He is.

Me? I'm a music teacher who has picked up little tidbits of computer know how here and there but mostly from my sons. Yes, they are both computer nerds and they are darn proud of it and so am I. Even though their jobs entail them to be in front of computers most of the day, my computer time is couple hours a night. I still need to get at least an hour of TV. So I continue to meander.

Oh yeah, no Chicago(the band)this year, we were a little slow on purchasing tickets, the only thing left were the nosebleeds. Maybe next time. They get through CT every year it seems. We will be quicker next time.

Neverland

Nope, not talking about Michael Jackson's Neverland. This one is the movie "Finding Neverland". A very touching movie and if you haven't seen it, please put it on you list of "videos to see". Johnny Depp does a remarkable job portraying the author JM Barrie who wrote "Peter Pan". And the film tells how Barrie came about writing the story of Peter Pan. Now, I don't know how much is truth and how much is the film makers liberties, but I found the story very entertaining. Now I gotta go find the video or videos of Peter Pan. I know there are a few out there, namely the 1953 cartoon and then there is "Hook".

THE 45 RPM

I've rediscovered the 45 rpm record. I picked up a stack-o-45's at a Tag Sale last weekend for a couple bucks and now I'm reliving my youth, sort of. Though I'm just starting to listen to these classics I can also envision what I was doing at the time those records were hits and thankfully most of those memories were good ones. I mean who even wants to think of the bad memories.

A couple oldies I ran across were "The Cover Of The Rolling Stone" and "Hang On Sloopy". Then there is I Am A Rock by Simon & Garfunkel. Anybody remember The Buckinghams or The Jefferson Airplane who later became The Jefferson Starship who again later became Starship. What ever happened to those guys? Retirement? I think not. A couple years back I did see the Buckinghams in concert as well as The Turtles aka Flo & Eddie, Tommy James & The Shondells and Gary Puckett without his Union Gap (and has been for some time). I think Starship also came through the area to play at one of the casinos a couple years back.

I can't think of any big new group out there today that will still be performing 30 to 40 years from now like a lot of groups from the 60's and 70's are now. Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr of The Beatles are still out there, in fact Paul will tour again this Fall I believe and I'm always looking for Ringo to start up his All-Starr Band again.

I plan on seeing the group Chicago this summer also. I've seen them a number of times already and will probably see them many more times before one of us call it quits. They always put on a great show. This time they are touring with Earth Wind & Fire, yet another group from the 70"s.

Nope, don't see Britney doing her thing 40 years from now, the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync couldn't even hold it together for just a few years. I think they are already relegated to the oldies circuit now. Too bad, as I did enjoy their music.

Vacation

OKAY, I've been on "vacation" all week. I use that term loosely as I've been working my butt off. Not really a vacation in the general sense of the word, but isn't that what usually happens? You have all of these little jobs or big ones in some cases to get done during you vacation. So there is some truth in going back to work just to get some rest. I don't even want to begin to tell you what little jobs there are for me this summer vacation.

I HATE THIS!!!!

I hate this!! I'm on vacation this week, which means I can sleep in a little. Not gonna happen. 5:30 rolls around and I'm wide awake. WHY? I don't even wake up at 5:30 normal days.Topping everything else, this is Sunday!!! GRRRRRRR.

Yeah, I'm crabby already and I haven't even talked to anyone yet today. In lighter news, my bowels are still regular so I'm not full of it.

THE UKES OF THE WORLD.........UNITE!!!

I'm a music teacher. I teach music. All sorts of music. Not just vocal, or instrumental. Not just classical or jazz or rock. I teach ukulele. I started about three years ago looking for something that would grab my interest and also my students.Boy did it grab me and I'm surprised at the following uke's have. Maybe not so much here in CT but elsewhere it's big.
I started very slow, I was able to buy 13 ukuleles with a grant from my school and the following year I bought another 13 with another grant. This year I expanded my teaching to include grade 3. Up to this point it has been only grades 4& 5.
Here's the dilemma I'm in. I want the program to continue but the ukuleles I bought a couple years back are starting to show their wear. I need replacements.
Now you may wonder why I need replacements already. Well I've been lucky so far, but I need to be prepared as I teach in a school of about 750 students of which half of those students are 3,4 &5th grade. They get a lot of use, a lot of hard use especially when you put a uke in a little boys hand and right away he starts flailing and the uke like he's Eddie Van Halen or Pete Townsend.
Anyhow the search is on as our district has no extra monies to spare I'm gonna have to start begging. I refuse to borrow or steal. I wonder if VH1 has a "Save The Uke" Program someplace.

DO THE HOKEY POKEY- THATS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

We went to the memorial service for Dougs' brother, Carl last Wednesday and I'll never look at the Hokey Pokey the same again. Everytime I hear the song I'll think of Carl. Long story short, Carl was "the life of any party". We saw that at Doug & Katy's wedding. He was a hoot to say the least. A very fun loving guy. The minister said the we should celebrate his life and not mourn his death and therefore we were to dance. And we did...... to the Hokey Pokey during the Memorial Service in the Funeral Home. This was the first time I've ever seen smiles at a Wake. I'm sure Carl enjoyed every moment of it.

THOU ART GOOD

I see that my Day Off Blog got repeated a few times so i will fix that later.
My lovely wife and I attended our first Art Auction Friday night and I must say we had an excellent time. The auction was a fund raiser for our church.
We attended only to fill a seat as each seat filled meant more money for the church. Now how they do that I have no idea, so we went fully prepared not to buy. That was our first mistake.
I am not an arty person, though my son, Redsneakers is. He has a degree in Art. His beautiful wife also paints wonderfully. Me? The only painting I do is on a house and the paint comes in gallons.
Well I saw a painting called "Three Folk Musicians" by Romare Bearden. I do not know the painter but I liked the picture. Thankfully no one else liked it, as we were the only bidders. Actually my lovely wife bid and won and also paid for it. So now the fever hit. Thankfully the other paintings we liked after that were way out of price range. Thus staving off and financial crisis.
Next year we decided to put some money aside just for the Art Auction. Yes, we've been bit.

The Peanut

Speaking of addictions, I have a quasi-addiction. Peanuts. No, not the cartoon strip though I do enjoy it, I'm not addicted to it. Well for that matter I'm not addicted to peanuts either, unless they are sitting there right in front of me. Then I eat them and I don't stop until they are gone. Once they are gone my craving is done. I can go months on end without even thinking about a peanut but put them in front of me I can't seem to get enough.
On second thought, forget I even said I was addicted to peanuts. They are like potato chips."Bet you can't eat just one". I lose that bet every time.
I'm told that peanuts are good for you. They have some good nutrients I guess, good transfats and other things that won't clog up your arteries. I'm no dietician, just a teacher of music so this could be all wrong. Maybe I'm way off base and this won't be the first time. Right now I gotta go crack me a peanut.Next topic.....

ALL GROWN UP-KIND OF.....

Be true to yourself
Help others
Make each day a masterpiece
Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible
Make friendship a fine art
Build a shelter against a rainy day
Pray for guidance and forgiveness
Give thanks for your many blessings

I received this through my email and it made me to stop and think and I thought it would be worth sharing. There was a time in my life when I didn't adhere to any of those things and my life was miserable, though I didn't know it at the time. I was a heavy smoker and a heavier drinker and through the grace of God I no longer smoke or drink. Coming up on 13 years since I had my final and last drink and 7 years since I smoked. I've come a long way I feel.
My son-in-laws brother has just died from an overdose of drugs and when I hear of someone dying this tragic way always makes me think that it could have been me many years ago.Fortunatly I had a family that loved and cared for me very much which did help but I had to learn the hard way. I could have easily gone the way of Dougs' brother. Thankfully I grew up a little.
I feel very blessed in my life though I may not show it. I'm not one to brag or gloat over my accomplishments but I do know that without the support I receive from my family and my Higher Power I wouldn't be here today.
I'm not fully grown yet as I have a lot of kid in me but it's the kid in me that doesn't need artifical highs. I have a very loving and caring family and I have come close to my God who I know is always watching out for me.
My thoughts and prayers are for Carl Jr. as he made a mistake, a big mistake. It cost him his life which he cannot recover from. The family grieves and I would hope his loved ones would learn from this and not let his death be in vain.

IN THE CESSPOOL OF LIFE

The inevitable happened. No, I don't mean that the Pope died. I had to set-up our sump pump. We have water in the basement (Say this like "Elvis has left the building").
I knew it was going to happen with all the rain that was forecast for our area. I just didn't want to get it going cause I know it will then be there pretty much the rest of the year. I thought maybem just maybe we would dodge that bullet. Not so.
You may wonder why the big fuss, it's just a sump pump. Well I'll tell you. There is a 35 gallon plastic garbage can that sits behind our washer, that houses the sump pump as the water comes in from the septic tank through the disposal hose of our washer. Yes, that means water in the washer, which means "hello laundromat" until the water table subsides. I have to pull the washer out a bit for the garbage can to fit, but thankfully washers are light when empty. So far so good, all is running well and as long as we don't get flush happy with the toilet we shall survive.
Oh yes, the forecast rain of over 4" amounted to 2.1 inches here though others may have had more.

The Wet & Wild

We are getting rain.........AGAIN. We received a good 2 inches the first part of the week and now today we could get up to 4 inches.
So yesterday the septic was pumped out and I dug a trench from the cellar door to a runoff area in order to prevent my basement from flooding.
As I look out the window it is still raining. The one thing about spring/summer is that the weather men become more accurate on the weather forecasts so in a way it's nice to know what's coming down the pike but then again you have a few more days to either get pissy about the weather or feel good about it.
Give me a sunny 75 degree day with a light wind and I'll be as happy as a pig in mud. No complaints on this end. Now if you're a fish.....

OH MY GAWD THAT WAS FUNNY!!!

I just finished reading my sons' blog and I just got done picking myself up off the floor from laughing so hard. Check it out, the RedSneaker Page at http://thematthews.cjb.net/ This was the funniest blog I've read in ages. I should be half as funny but I think that gene bypassed me or maybe it's my age. Maybe I'm looking at life to seriously or maybe I'm to sensitive to not offend anyone. Anhow, check it out, you won't regret it. Funny, funny, funny.