Dad and I almost missed the Christmas Program at St Josephs. I knew it was today but not the time. Dad knew the time but the entire thing slipped his mind. We arrived just as it started. Mom came directly from work and saved us two spots at the corner of the stage.
I called Paul and asked when we could audit St Joseph’s. I was thinking some time this week and Paul was thinking the sooner the better. We went over this afternoon and counted all the lights in the school. We didn’t have time for the church or office and we also missed the boiler room. But still it was a good start. We even found a condensation leak under the stairs that threatened to flood their supply of paper and files. Cleve was on vacation but the other guy on maintenance staff was working in the school and Paul was giving him crap. Michael Heinzen, the parish administrator showed up as we were finishing. Mike is an older guy, with reddish complexion, but very tall and imposing. Everything was locked up, so having Paul and his master key was good. He also had Steve from C&B Electric on speed dial to ask questions about the new addition.
Char picked up tickets for the Alf Clausen in Concert at the Historic Fargo Theater. As a fan of ‘The Simpsons’ I couldn’t resist. The concert was a fundraiser for NDSU Bison Arts. It appeared to be a sell out with a mixed age crowd from little kids to old geezers. The depute mayor proclaimed June 23rd Alf Clausen Day in Fargo. Alf is Jamestown native and NDSU graduate. Char knew Alf’s mother from 4-H. Alf was introduced by BisonArt’s president Michael Warner, who in turn was introduced by NDSU president Joe Chapman.
I’m looking for a script to update the EXIF information on some photos. Namely those shot with my Vivitar 135mm ƒ2.8 M42 mount lens. The Focus Confirmed Adapters tells the camera I’m shooting a 50mm ƒ1.7, so I would like a drop and drag solution. It seems feasible using Applescript and ExifTool but it also seems like a lot of work. In the end I decided to just type data into the Instructions field of the IPTC Core.
My nephew Tim was in the school production of “Pirates! The Musical”. It was put on by the St Joe’s Drama Club- their annual Spring Musical. It wasn’t too bad. The musical numbers were pretty good. The kids sang well, and the story was cute and short.
My aunts Gladys and Judy came up from Minneapolis for Easter. This was pretty easy to arrange. Judy hinted they would like to come, and mom hinted she wanted company. My own hint was I wasn’t very excited about the Easter Ham. It has supplanted the Thanksgiving Day Turkey as my least favorite holiday meal. I suggested fish, “Aren’t fish synonymous with Christianity? Why do we eat ham- a meal that Jesus probably never ate.”
Elvis Presley is the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll but the Jordanaires are the court jesters. I could never understand why Elvis needed or wanted backup singers. He has the finest voice imaginable. To take that voice and match it up with classic rock ‘n’ roll is a dream. But then Elvis and his producers add-in some backup singers. They drown out Elvis, and the lame vocal backing track undoes the energy the band brings to each song.
For years and years I’ve fantasized about remixing Elvis’ songs without the Jordanaires. Recently I was listening to Essential 60s Masters II. I noticed the band was on the left, the Jordanaires were on the right and Elvis was in the middle. I knew I could make a mono mix of each song using just the left track- no more Jordanaires. LAME would make a mono track but it would mix the left and the right. I found Bladeenc, which would let you pick a channel, but I couldn’t get it to work. Finally I did it manually in a wave editor.
Elvis still sounded great, and the band was good. The band was nice and clear in my new left channel mono mix. Everything was good, but something was missing. Those damn Jordanaires. I have been hearing them for so long that Elvis didn’t sound like Elvis without them.
When I get cases of fluorescent tubes often they are wrapped in cardboard sleeves with foam spacers. To recycle the cardboard I kick the spacers free. I look at the foam and think, “I could use this for something.”
I want a good pair of headphones to use with my Mac Mini in the office. I’ve always wanted to try the Grado SR60 as they get rave reviews. (5-stars from Headroom.com) When they arrived from Headroom I was excited to try them out. The sound was crisp and very detailed. But the more I listened the more they bothered me. They were too detailed- the high frequencies were too bright and cause many unpleasant moments when listening. I really wanted to like this headphones but I couldn’t. I made a list of some possible replacements: Sennheiser: HD205, HD212pro, HD280pro, EH250, EH350; and Beyer Dynamics DT235. When I called Headroom they were very helpful. I spoke to Ben who told me the Beyer would be similar to the SR60s. He recommended the AKG 81DJ and the Sennheiser HD555. I love my Sennheiser HD580 and PX100 so I decided to spend a little more for the HD555. The HD555 have a very nice warm sound. Unfortunately, I didn’t find it nice enough. The HD555 are three times the money as the PX100 but the sound is only slightly better. I found the cans to be uncomfortable. Ben said was the HD555 would be more comfortable than the EH350, one reason I went for the HD555. I also didn’t like the 1/4″ plug. Sure it came with an adapter but I would rather have a 1/8″ plug with an adapter going the other way.
I would like another pair of headphones. The Grado SR60 in particular. It rates 5-stars on Headphone.com (Headroom) and it would be a good fit for my Mac Mini.
