Shoot! Shoot!

 

No, we're not going hunting.  No target shooting, either.  This is about the feline babies.

Murphy and Stella were sharing a bar stool pulled up to the patio door - looking out into the courtyard.  Back in our studio days, I would call it a perfect double profile.  I reached for my phone to get the photo.  Joan said, "You aren't going to be fast enough."

Self-fulfilling prophesy.

Also back in our studio days, the mantra was: "Get the shot."  If you pause to make it perfect, you could lose the shot that was really good.  Especially when working with kids or animals.

Of course, Joan was right: by the time I got my phone turned on, switched to the camera, and rotated myself around to frame the shot, the two kitties were no longer in perfect position...

 They had both turned their heads (to see what I was doing), Murphy leaned back just enough to not be seen, and Stella had her tongue out.  Yeah, pretty much like photographing kids in the studio.  If "double teaming" the subjects, with one person doing the set up and the other on the camera, there was often the "Shoot!  Shoot!" being whispered.  Which would, of course, result in the subject looking at the person saying, Shoot!  Shoot!"  ;-)

That self-fulfilling prophesy was as expected.  Not only did the cats not look back out the window, but Murphy started licking Stella.  Joan said, "That's going to turn into a chomp..."

 Yep.  Which resulted in the latest episode of Saturday Morning Smackdown.  And now Stella is laying by Joan on the couch and Murphy has the chair to himself.  One of these days, I will get that perfect double profile.  They do it at least once a day... never when I have a camera ready to go.

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The Facebook Memory from 10 years ago today...

 That X7 was my first Emerald and changed how I consider guitars, both acoustic and electric.  That X7 is a keeper (they don't make that size/shape anymore).

 

Still Rock 'n Roll To Me...

 

If you said, "Billy Joel, 1980, from the album Glass Houses," you get 20 bonus points.

I had music today with my "local" guys.  Well, 3 of us are within 5 minutes of where we get together, the other 3 come from the east Valley.  It's been a month or so since we got together last.  I enjoy getting together with these guys - the music isn't particularly my style (mostly 70s to 90s rock with a harder edge), but everyone has a good sense of humor, and we all know we're here to have some fun playing music.

No, we don't play any Billy Joel songs.  Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zep, Allman Brothers, The Cars, Alice Cooper, Clapton... that genre is generally on the set list.  

Allan shot a short video today; I grabbed these as stills...

 

A file photo from the last time we played out...

 

Nothing Americana or easy listening about this repertoire.  Getting together twice a month or so is enough to take care of my inner band rat.

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And speaking of playing out, the Hip Replacements are playing a week from Sunday at a restaurant in Glendale (Arrowhead area)...

 Podge is doing some Facebook marketing.

 

Foot Pedal...

I have a cajon.  "Great," you say, "What's a cajon?"  Thanks for asking.  It is a wooden box, used as a percussion instrument.  There are various types of cajons, with most of them having areas you hit that sound like a bass drum and/or a snare drum.  If space is tight and the sound volume isn't loud, a cajon is a good option.  It works for us in the Hip Replacements.

The cajon Ron was playing Saturday night is mine.  (Ron added the hi-hat cymbals.)  I bought it years ago, after getting together with Mark and friends when we were in Phoenix for a couple months during the winter - 6 or 7 guitar players is about 4 or 5 more than necessary, so I thought some percussion would add to the jam.  After Joan and I left for the season, Mark bought one just like mine so those getting together would still have some percussion options. 

Why not just get a more typical drum set?  Thanks again for asking.  Typical drums are loud.  To "keep up" with the drum volume, our guitar, bass, and vocal volume would have to go up.  This limits where we can play out.  This cajon of mine has a built-in pickup so it can be plugged into the PA or an amp if it needs more volume.  Also, typical drums take up more space and take time to set up and tear down.  Plus, Ron being the one doing most of the percussion, doesn't want to be locked into only playing percussion; he also plays guitar and mandolin.  No interest in investing in a typical drum set.

Ron plays with his hands on the cajon.  I generally use brushes made for the cajon.  You get a bass sound by striking lower on the cajon - that means bending over.  That means a potential back ache when playing for any length of time.  I decided to add a foot pedal to the cajon to get the bass sound, eliminating the bending over.  I used the money I made from Saturday's gig to get the pedal - yes, "re-investing."  It's a musician thing to make sure you never come out ahead on money made from gigging.  ;-)

 It attaches under the cajon and you operate it by using your foot (toes or heel) - step down, the beater hits the cajon.  Just like a foot pedal on a bass drum.  The pedal came in yesterday; Ron still has my cajon, so it will be a while before I can try it out.  If I add a small snare drum to the kit...

Yeah, that gear thing is ever-expanding. 

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Joan and I made a trip downtown (where Ron lives) to pick up the cajon.  Lunch out, then back home to try the pedal...

 I made a few adjustments to the pedal (for fit and sound) - works and sounds good.  Next, I wanted to try putting a wrap on one brush, to give the sound a bit more snap...

 Yep, that adds to the sound, too.  I sent a photo to Ron to show him what I was working on.  He is not a fan of the brushes because they don't project like it does when using your hands.  I explained to him in biblical terms the solution...

Man said, "God, my cajon needs more projection."

God said, "Let there be a pickup."

Paul said, "And that is good."  So did Ringo. (rimshot... yes, another drum reference)

Each of these things adds to the percussion sound.  And that is good.  ;-)

 

 

Why Don't We Do It In the Road...

 

If you said, "The Beatles, 1968, from the White Album," you get 15 bonus points.  If you said, "Something from PornHub," keep it to yourself.

Out on the Burgman 200 today.  I may not have mentioned this before, but... damn, that little scoot is fun to ride!  OK, I may have mentioned it a time or 20.  The CTX has been getting more attention, when I can find the time to give either of them some attention.

It was a cool morning (in the 70s qualifies as cool here), clear blue sky, and not much traffic.  The riding was good, the scoot entertaining.  I stopped a couple times to get a photo of the cute, but manly Burgman...

 That one above from a parking area.  I did find a spot to get completely off the road to get an angle with some road in it there...

 From the phone on the handlebar...

I mentioned "the road" and being well off it because of what I saw on the way down the mountain: it is a relatively narrow, twisty, 2-lane road.  Well down the mountain, on the other side of the road, an older woman stopped her car - in the driving lane (no place to pull off where she stopped) - got out of the car, leaving the driver's door wide open, then meandered across the road (I had to slow down because she didn't look before stepping out), and got her phone out to take a photo of the view.  Did I mention she left her car IN THE LANE?  With the door wide open?

There are a couple places with pull-outs when you can get safely off the road, and the view is even better; one less than a half mile from where she stopped.  Her behavior was stupid and inconsiderate.  I don't know why anyone would think stopping and getting out of the car while it is IN the driving lane is acceptable behavior?  No matter how pretty the scenery.

I saw more City/Park trucks on the mountain roads today than other cars.  Of course, there was no City Park Ranger there to write that woman a ticket. 

Didja See 'Em?

 

I'm talking about the meteor showers.  Last night was supposed to be the peak of the eta Aquariids - the eta Aquariids are a strong shower when viewed from the southern tropics.

From the equator northward, they usually only produce medium rates of 10-30 per hour just before dawn. Activity is good for a week centered the night of maximum activity.  These are swift meteors that produce a high percentage of persistent trains, but few fireballs.  Currently, a waning gibbous moon will severely affect this shower, reducing hourly rates to less than 10.

While the time each shower is best seen remains much the same year after year, the moonlight conditions change considerably from one year to the next. With 84% of the moon lit last night, the viewing conditions here in the Phoenix area were not ideal.  Combine that with the fact that the viewing is best after midnight (and this ol' boy is asleep before that), I did not see any meteors last night.

It was a clear night here; I did sit in the hot tub facing south, leaned back to get a good view of the southern sky.  Didn't see any meteors, but it was relaxing.

The eta Aquariids are active until later this month, but that activity drops off significantly over that time.

A file photo courtesy of NASA...

 Looking back, there are two memorable times getting to see significant meteor showers: one was while in Baja California, Mexico, on the beach in our motorhome.  No other light around, and a dark sky.  The other was while out on the net of the Corsair sailing trimaran we had at the time.  Similar situation with no other lights around, but even more comfortable while laying on the net, covered under a blanket.

 

Cinco de Mayo...

 

Yes, it's that day again.  It gives me the opportunity to re-run a post here from years ago...

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It is the 5th of May and everyone is Mexican for the celebration.  Much like everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.  Seems that a lot of people don't really know why the 5th of May is a day of remembrance in Mexico.  Allow me to explain...

Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England .

In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.  This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico.

But, as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York . The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.

The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss.  Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.

The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as -

Sinko De Mayo. 

 

Fire...

 

If I add: "Let me stand next to your..."

If you said, "Jimi Hendrix, 1967," you get 20 bonus points.

There is a wild fire in the far west Valley - in Buckeye, AZ.  It is over 1,000 acres currently, and is not yet contained.

 It has been burning for several days now.  The wind has been out of the southwest, so our part of the Valley didn't have the smoke.  Until today...

 It kept the sun from heating things up today: 78º for a high here.  More heat is coming, though.