Whenever Lin walks into the house cackling with glee and holding the mail, I know something is afoot and it likely involves me. This time was no exception.

I just got a jury summons.

Dammit. I wonder if I can be my usual opinionated self and get tossed out of the impaneling. It’ll probably be something dull and boring I can’t even muster an opinion on and I’ll get stuck getting paid $10 a day to be bored to tears. $10 doesn’t even cover gasoline, parking and lunch. Cheapskates.

Though I suppose it would be a good experience for me to serve on a jury just once in my life. I get called every few years or so. I never get selected. It’s as if lawyers can tell, without me even having to open my mouth, that I am going to be a problem child. I take that back, it’s always one of the lawyers that wants me gone. The other one usually thinks I rock.

The last time I got called, they asked me if I was would be willing to convict with a life sentence with a single eyewitness to the crime. Um … no. What if the eyewitness was a cop, they asked. Um … no. Cops are human too. I’m not putting someone in jail for life because one person, a cop or anyone else, said they did something to do deserve it. You’re going to have to have more than that!

Anyway, I guess I’ll do the first step on line rather than go in, though that means I will miss out on getting a huge $6 check. Oh woe is me.

Hey, wait … I do a good deed and give a guy some money he says he needs, and this is what the universe hands me?! Something doesn’t seem fair about that. Who do I complain to?!

“What is this thing on the floor?”

“What does it look like?”

“Like half a bug … half an outdoor cockroach.”

“It could be a half a bug. Ronin is fond of eating bugs.”

[silence]

“I can’t tell what it is.”

“Fine … FINE … let me look at it.”

This is the sort of silly conversations we have around Casa de Orb. In this case, Lin has seen something on the floor, and he can’t identify it. Rather than get closer to it or turn on a light and get a good look at it, he pesters me until I get up and have a look. As it turns out, it was, in fact, the back half of an outdoor cockroach. I guess Ronin ate the head end and got full.

Then, since it was a bit of nasty, icky bug, I was the one who had to get rid of it, because heaven knows Lin won’t touch a bug … even if it’s a dead half-bug that had apparently been laying under his computer desk long enough to be thoroughly dessicated. I had the urge to tell him it had likely been there at least a day or two before he saw it, but I decided it wouldn’t be nice to totally gross him out. He’s got this thing about bugs, you see … really, really, really doesn’t want any bugs, dead or alive, anywhere near him. He most especially has a thing about giant cockroaches. I swear, he was getting flipped out a little just standing there looking at half a dead roach.

Since this totally reminded me about a famous bug-related incident in our relationship, I have to share. Not like I have anything else to babble about today.

Way back when we lived in the apartment, we’d get about one of those giant flying outdoor cockroaches in our living space about once a month. Fuzza usually took care of them for us, but sometimes he’d miss one. One night Lin got home from work and decided to take a shower, so off to the bathroom he went. A few moments after he closed the door, I heard a little ruckus from that general direction. The door flew open, and I heard a HUGE ruckus in the bathroom … screaming, stomping, jumping, things getting knocked over. I turned around to look over the back of the couch, and saw a sight that will stay with me until my dying day.

There was my husband, buck naked, wielding a broom like a battle ax, and trying to kill a flying roach by swatting at it … screaming in fear and dancing like he was standing on hot coals. I know it’s not nice to laugh at people’s phobias (though Lin laughs at mine, so turnabout is fair play in this case), but I almost fell off the couch and passed out from lack of oxygen from laughing so hard. Just thinking about it makes me laugh just as hard all these years later.

When he finally fled the bathroom area and caught his breath, I asked him what the crisis was. “Roach. Big roach.” “Well, did you get it?” “No, it’s still in there. I think it’s in the bathtub!” Keep in mind, I am having this conversation with a big and burly, completely naked man holding onto a broom for dear life and gasping for air. I tried not to laugh, but I lost that battle. It was just too funny to resist.

Naturally, I grabbed a shoe, walked to the bathroom, snuck up on the monster hiding in the shower, and squashed it flat. A quick swipe with a bit of toilet paper and a flush of the toilet, and all was safe for Lin’s bathing needs. Did I get a “thank you” for slaying the mighty beast? Of course not, but I did get to laugh myself silly while he was in the shower, tell all my friends about it the next day, and give myself a hearty chuckle every time I think about it (every time I have to kill a giant roach to protect my big, burly man … or see or think about roaches).

I better stop thinking about it now. Lin will be home in a little bit, and it wouldn’t do for me to have to explain to him why I am laughing so hard there are tears running down my face. Being a manly man, he’s a bit sensitive about that incident.

My mother now has speakers on her computer. Let the rejoicing commence!

OK, rejoicing period over. Back to the housework.

I visited one of my favorite digital scrapbooking web sites and noticed they were having a sale, so I looked up the few things I have been absolutely drooling on for the last month or so, put them in my basket and talked myself into going ahead and spending $8. As I moved through the checkout process, I stopped to read the Terms of Service. It’s generally a good thing to do so when buying digital files like brushes for Photoshop or fonts and such. I decided I don’t need to spend $8 there. In fact, I don’t ever need to buy anything there. Any retail establishment run by creative people who are THAT clueless about copyright law, don’t need money from me.

I could go into detail and tear the TOS apart sentence by sentence to point out the completely ludicrous beliefs these people have about copyright law and copyright violations, but I’m too grumpy about not getting to enjoy some shopping therapy (and new Photoshop files) to feel like bothering. Let’s just say I would advise all creative types and all those who plan to use purchased files from other creative types to create things themselves should learn all about copyright law and read any Terms of Service they run across very carefully. While it often annoys me how very little your average human knows about copyright law, it outright disgusts me when a business in the business of helping people create things knows so very little about it.

I’d email them and suggest they have a lawyer look over their TOS, but they claim to have already done so. Methinks their lawyer is as clueless as they are … or, you know, they didn’t get a lawyer to look at it at all.

Oh well, I’ll guess I’ll just go do the housework now and save myself some money I didn’t need to spend anyway.

I took a moment to read their commerial use license as well. It’s just as clueless.

We had a rather boring weekend. A little bit of lazy, a little bit of yard work, a little bit of housework, and a whole lot of watching movies. The only interesting thing that happened this weekend was a middle-aged guy knocking on our door Sunday afternoon saying he and his wife were just trying to get together a few bucks for gasoline to get home. Lin was going to blow him off (and, in fact, did), but I, being the way I am, ran after him and gave him $5 of my mad money.

Lin is skeptical of everyone and doesn’t trust anyone he doesn’t know, but I judge things a little differently. From my seat in the living room, I could see him on the porch, so I couldn’t just him by appearances (which I don’t do anyway), but he apologized for how he looked, so I imagined him to be rumpled and sweaty (he was — he’d been walking a ways, it looked like). I listened not to what he was saying about his wife and family just trying to get home and listened to his voice and how he was saying it. I could tell he was embarrassed and a little nervous … in the way you might be if you knocked on some stranger’s door and asked for a few bucks for gas. Then there was the fact that he had knocked on our door to ask for $3 for gas. I’d say that takes some measure of both balls and desperation. Anyway, he’d made it about a half block away before I got back to the door with the $5, so I ran and called after him. He very genuinely seemed grateful, and when he reached out to shake my hand, I took his, and I felt nothing but thankfulness. I do read people very well, and this man truly needed some money, and it didn’t seem like he needed it for drugs or drink. He was just a nice normal middle-aged man who seemed to be having a crisis.

Sure, maybe he didn’t need it to get gasoline as he said, and to me that doesn’t really matter anyway. I think he was being truthful, but maybe he was hungry. Maybe he needed a few bucks for something else. He didn’t seem like a druggie or drunk, and that’s all that really mattered to me … and I’d determined he was neither of those just by listening to his speaking. He spoke well and clearly. So whatever his need was, I hope I was able to help him fulfill it. I felt a little silly running after him, but I don’t know, it felt important that I do this thing. I felt really good walking home … so light and happy. It felt like a good thing to do, therefore, I feel certain it was.

Oh yes, of course, it is entirely possible Lin is right and he just wanted to case the joint and see who lived here, but I didn’t get that vibe, especially when I handed him the $5 bill. Besides, even if that was his actual purpose, maybe by me showing him compassion and understanding he might think “What a nice lady, perhaps I shouldn’t screw up her life.” You never know, right?

Doesn’t matter anyway, because I know I did the right thing, and even though a few minutes later I was inwardly grumpy about having $5 less mad money, I got over it. That money will come back to me in another way, or maybe I was just passing on some of the help I have gotten from strangers in the past.

This morning I decided I was sick to death of looking at that large sheet of foam insulation board we have in the hall to block the kittens from getting around the furnace/AC unit, and so I took it down and watched what the kitties did. Naturally, they both ran right up and stared sniffing around and trying to climb in beside the furnace … only to find that the tight little space they once got into when they were teensy-weensy was now far too small for their more adult shapes. They have already grown bored with it, so no more pinkness in the hall. Yippee!

Of course, I took a moment to open the door to the Box Room of Death, something I honestly hadn’t done since we got the kittens, and after a quick look at all the junk I was aptly able to ignore thanks to the door being blocked for many months, I closed the door again. We really have to do something about all those moving boxes of junk we haven’t seen in over three years. Ridiculous. Amazing how easy it was to completely ignore a moving truck’s worth of boxes stacked floor to ceiling in your spare bedroom when you can’t see the door thanks to a 1/2″ thick piece of insulation board. Outta sight, outta mind is so true.

I was going to go to the grocery store today, but it’s all rainy and grey again, so I don’t really feel like going anywhere. We have food, the sell-by date on the milk is today (so it’s still going to be OK to finish off), and I have enough laundry detergent for the last load of laundry that needs doing, so it can definitely be put off. I think I’ll do last night’s dishes, vacuum and straighten up the living room, and be a slug the rest of the day. I haven’t been sleeping all that well the last few nights, so I feel some video games and naps are in order, especially since it’s so dark in the house due to the weather it feels like late evening. Blech.

This morning I got up and sat at the computer as I usually do, and I opened my news readers and browser windows as I usually do, and I opened the pages of about 20-30 news stories that I would read throughout the day as I found the time. This is my normal routine, and after going through those selected stories during the day, some get bookmarked or saved for later checking or posting, some just get closed, and some sit in my browser window and I dig a little deeper. Today, I did what I usually do, and one story in particular caught my eye, so I had it at the top of the heap for reading. I read the first few paragraphs, realized I wanted to really take my time reading it, and went back to doing the things I usually do on Sundays, which is watch movies with Lin and take naps.

When I remembered I wanted to get back to that story, I sat down again as soon as dinner was in the oven and read the first page. It was a story posted at the International Herald Tribune (not a news source I tend to read often). I clicked the link to go to the second page … and the story, sometime during the day, had disappeared from the internet. I hate when this happens, especially when it’s something big and the story seems to have some new information about, say, the whole China/food imports/illegal ingredients thing going on right now. No explanation for why the story disappeared was given. It simply disappeared. It was a good story, and I wanted to research it some more.

Luckily, I knew after reading the first few paragraphs it was something big that needed more reading and research, so I had saved it to my desktop in its entirety. Normally, I wouldn’t copy and paste entire news stories to my web site, but then normally, things don’t disappear before my very eyes either. I haven’t had time to verify any information. I have no idea if the story was pulled for factual inaccuracies … or because it was too accurate … or because some lawyers feared a lawsuit. Who knows really what the reasons for it being pulled are? Only the people who posted it and then pulled it can answer that questions. All I know is it provided some very interesting information, it contained information I believe needs to be looked into and verified, and it is no longer available at its original source. And so … behind the cut, you will find the full text of Feed Sellers in China Routinely Use Protein Substitute:

Continue Reading »

April 27, 2007 — Because of the pet food recall initiated today by American Nutrition Inc., Natural Balance Pet Foods has announced it is issuing a nationwide recall of a number of canned products manufactured by American Nutrition. This action is limited to four specific Natural Balance canned formulas: Chicken Canned Dog Formula 13 oz , Beef Canned Dog Formula 13 oz, Lamb Canned Dog Formula 13 oz, and the 3oz and 6 oz Ocean Fish Canned Cat Formulas.

Natural Balance had previously recalled some of their dry foods, assuring everyone as they did so that all the rest of their products were A-OK. I guess that wasn’t true, now was it?

In fact, upon looking a little further into the FDA web site, there have been a whole slew of new foods recalled the last two days. Interesting to note that Blue Buffalo, who recalled one production run of their kitten dry food last week, also assuring everyone that all the rest of their foods were A-OK, have a bunch on the list. Make sure to read through them.

Oh wait, there’s been one more too: LiveSmart Weight Management Chicken and Brown Rice Dog Food.

Gods, I sound like a single note flute with all these constant posts about pet food recalls, but the fact of the matter is … this information is not coming TO me. I am having to seriously search it out, and I listen to, watch, and read tons of news every day. You’d think I would run across it without having to go looking for it, wouldn’t you? I just want to pass it all along, because everyone I know is a pet owner (at least almost everyone — or they at least know people who own pets), and the word needs to get out on this recall business. I know most people probably do not consume the volume of news I do every day, nor do they spend time keeping track of the things no one is splashing around on the TV. The media isn’t keeping up with this, not that they were ever really on the story all that much anyway. I guess poisoned pet food isn’t nearly as sexy as story as whether Phil Spector killed a woman in his house (which I have heard FAR too much about) or what Playboy Playmate got busted for dealing cocaine.

A long article about the investigation into the tainted pet food … but all you need to know is this:

MacIntire said his office is investigating a shipment of rice protein concentrate imported to Illinois and potentially used in a human product.

A throwaway sentence near the end of a long article, a sentence that would have gotten edited out had there been a little less space for the story, and yet … one of the most important ones, don’t you think?

As much as I hate being an alarmist, I hate it even more when my paranoid delusions of coming to a bad end thanks to eating preprocessed, “fortified” … and poisonous … food starts entering the realm of reality. Maybe that is why I have been on a major veggies-only eating kick lately. I’ve really, really been on a fresh fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds kick this last week. In fact, I feel the need for a snack, and I think I’ll go have some more salad from dinner right now. Yum!

Also, more recalls:

•Doctors Foster & Smith Chicken & Brown Rice Formula Adult Lite Dog Food. It was sold in containers with net weights of 5, 12.5 and 25 pounds, with code dates best used by Jan. 24, 2009, Feb. 8, 2009, Feb. 26, 2009, April 10, 2009, and April 17, 2009.

•Doctors Foster & Smith Chicken & Brown Rice Formula Adult Lite Cat Food. It was sold in containers with net weights of 3 and 7 pounds, with a code date of best used by March 13, 2009.

•Lick Your Chops Lamb Meal, Rice & Egg Cat Food in packages with a net weight of 4 pounds and a code date best used by April 29, 2008.

•Bulk Chicken & Brown Rice Formula Adult Lite Dog Food sold to one consignee, SmartPak, in a 2,000-pound tote with a ship date of Feb. 9, 2007.

Doctors Foster & Smith, huh? Yet more of that pricey, pricey pet food getting recalled. It’s all made with the same crappy ingredients, but some of it you pay more for. Well, at least we finally know who that fifth company is the FDA didn’t want to tell us the name of until they informed them they had used the damn crap in actual product. I don’t hate to say it, but I did tell you we would be hearing another company recalling food in a week, and sure enough we have.

Next I guess we can look forward to whatever human food it is they are investigating being recalled. Isn’t that nationwide panic attack going to be exciting? Yeah … I just can’t wait. More people should have been panicking sooner. So far, it’s just been the pet owners freaking out, and not everyone cares about the well-being of pets or pets at all, and they are also incapable of drawing conclusions that if crap is getting into pet food, chances are good there is some crap getting into human food too. I realize I tend to be paranoid, but sometimes I am actually paranoid with good reason.

Just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you or that danger isn’t about to smack you up side the head.

The journey of learning about modern keyboards has continued. I’m getting a better idea of what I want (and need). Today I decided to eliminate any brand that wasn’t 100% Mac compatible. Though I don’t think I will be plugging a keyboard into my computer right away, I do want that as an option for a later date, and I don’t want to have to deal with Windows to do so or miss out on important features either because their particular midi-loading software won’t run on my computer. That’s going to be the fussiest thing, so that’s the thing all decisions must rest on.

So far, that one criteria has eliminated all Yamaha and Casio keyboards. Sort of a shame, because I like Yamaha keyboards (Casio not so much), and they both tend to have models with nice features and lower prices. Oh well, won’t work 100% on my computer? Might as well be junk, as far as I am concerned.

I’m also unwilling to have fewer than 61 keys. Even that number will eventually annoy me, but I think I can learn to live with it.

The current front runner for my love is the M-Audio ProKeys 88sx. It’s a stage piano. It does seven piano and organ voices, and it does them well. I can plug it directly into my Mac by USB, and it’s 100% OS X plug and play compliant. It will work with Garageband. Of course, it’s also pricey, and I would need an amp.

There are also some Rolands I like, but I haven’t been able to figure out whether or not there’s going to be a problem using them with a Mac or Garageband yet.

It all sort of hinges on whether or not I feel I will want hundreds of instruments and drums and accompaniment at my finger tips without being hooked into a computer. I am not sure where I stand with that yet. It’d be fun, but I can tell you, I’ll use the regular piano settings more than all that other stuff. But yeah … would be cool to have all that just in the keyboard, wouldn’t it?

Well, we are months and months and many hours of in-store fondling away from this decision being made and a keyboard being bought. Plenty of time to change my mind a thousand times.

What’s your drug of choice?

Tough call. Different drugs of choice for different occasions, you know?

In the process of answering this question, I discovered my drug of choice. Margaritas. Nope, really … it even beat out caffeine, which we all know I love too. Why it even out absinthe, and I really love that stuff. When I say here thinking about which mind altering substance I would most like to have right now, it ended up being a nice, large, cold frozen margarita made with loads of fresh lime juice and a thick crust of salt on the glass edge with a huge chunk of lime tossed in for good measure. Margaritas make me relaxed and happy. I have never had a bad experience while drinking margaritas, though the same cannot be said for any other mind altering substance.

What’s odd is I have never made a margarita at home. Not once … ever. There’s something wrong with that, isn’t there? I just don’t drink much, or really at all, at home. If Lin is having a beer or has some schnapps, I might take a sip or two. Every rare once in a while I’ll have a glass of wine. Margaritas though are that thing I drink when I am out and playing. Same with Cuba Libre (rum and coke with lime), except the only reason I drink those sometimes when I am out is because bottle shelf rum doesn’t bother me, and it’s a cheap drink to buy everywhere … and it’s really hard to make a bad one too. Actually, I think I order those more often when I don’t really want to drink, because I know I can nurse it forever if I want to. I don’t nurse margaritas, and I only order them when I really want a drink and plan to have fun. Thus, it looks like the lowly margarita is my drug of choice.

Oh, you meant illegal drug of choice? I don’t have one. That’s not to say I am some sort of saint as far as illegal substances go, but I really don’t have a illegal drug of choice. I can’t think of one that ranks higher than any form of booze, which is saying something, because I am not really all that into booze in all it’s forms either. All the illegal drugs I have encountered are all sort of nasty, and I don’t like the way they make me feel, which is usually just like a brainless lump. I’m brainless enough without help, thank you.

Though there is one semi-illegal drug I am especially fond of, but I’m not going to tell you what it is. All I will say is … don’t leave me alone with a can of pressurized whipped cream. Some of you will know immediately what I am talking about, and some of you may have to do some research.

And I missed this question the other day because I hadn’t been checking that email account the last few days:

Should we go swimming or ice skating tomorrow afternoon?

A little late, but for future reference when deciding whether to go swimming or ice skating, always go ice skating. Trust me. Swimming is over-rated.

I’m about to get dressed and go to Souper Salad to pick up some dinner, but this just popped up on my newsreader, and I just HAVE to share it.

ANKENY, Iowa - Several classrooms at Des Moines Area Community College were evacuated after college officials became nervous about a suspicious package.

College officials called police and postal inspectors after the box was delivered Thursday. What they found inside wasn’t a bomb — it was a box containing 500 condoms.

The package was sent to a teacher of a human sexuality class, and was sent by a person who had been a previous speaker at the class, said Rob Denson, the college’s president.
–source

Do we live in a culture of fear or what?! Someone you have met before and likely still remember sends you a package (of condoms), and it leads to a freak-out?! What in the world made them think it was a bomb? I guess the next time someone I know sends me something in a box, I better have it exploded first, just to be sure.

I guess I remember more about manual camera settings than I thought I did. Only two photos didn’t turn out. Most of them were totally boring, but they looked good!

Here’s the most interesting one of my iPod-wearing lawn-mowing husband. Look at those WHITE LEGS!!!!

Now that I have finished making a filtered post full of griping, let’s talk about something fun: cats and husbands.

This morning, after Lin got off to work, I decided since there wasn’t anything pressing I needed to do, and the things I needed to do I didn’t feel like doing, I was going to go back to bed and sleep for a few more hours. While in that hazy period between wake and sleep when I am still aware of noises around me but not quite aware enough to pay attention to them, I kept hearing a very annoying noise … like fingernails on a blackboard. For about five minutes, that noise seeped into my slowly fading brain and got turned into all manner of images, ideas and whatnot, the way a brain does when it’s mostly asleep and it hears something. Eventually though, the annoying noise got loud enough and bothersome enough that the little part of my brain that was still aware of the world kicked the sleeping part of my brain and told it to get up and investigate. It was obvious the noise was being created by a cat taking part in what could only be assumed to be a truly unauthorized cat activity.

I sit up in bed and look into the hall. I see Myu sitting and staring into the bathroom. OK, the guilty party and location had been ascertained. Ronin was doing something in the bathroom. My first attempt to handle the situation involved screaming “Ronin, what the hell are you doing?!” Silence fell in the bathroom. It remained silent long enough, I figured that was it and laid back down to snooze some more.

I had no more than closed my eyes when the fingernails on blackboard sound started again. I quietly and calmly crawled out of bed, crept to the hall, and looked in the bathroom. All was silent. I looked in the direction of the mirror first, because Ronin has a thing about clawing at mirrors. Nope. No cat there. I looked in the direction of the shower, because cat claws on plastic shower might make that sound. Nope. No cat there. Then a bit of movement caught my eye … a flick of the end of a cat’s tail. I looked in the direction of the part of the bathroom window that can be seen from behind the shower, and there, to my amazement was a cat.

He wasn’t sitting in the window, because there’s no sill at all and thus no room for a cat. He wasn’t even hanging on the wall by the tips of his claws on the lip of the window, which I have seen him do before. No, like a rock climber, he was all the way at the top of the window, having braced his back again the window frame and his paws against the wall of the shower … he had been slowly crawling his way up the window (and making an awful racket too). Have you ever crawled up a tight place by bracing your back against one side and using your arms and legs on the opposing side? If you have seen the Matrix movie where the good guys are crawling down the inside of a bathroom wet wall, or if you have done any rock climbing or cave exploring, you will know what I mean. I have seen many people do this maneuver, but I have never, not once, known a cat to do it. It seems rather un-catlike. I went to get the camera, but just as I snapped the photo, he fell ungracefully into the litter box. I wish I could have gotten that photo. It was the funniest thing I have seen in a while, especially because of the stupid little big-eyed innocent face he was wearing.

I’m going to start keeping my camera right near me at all times. Now that he knows he can do that, I am certain he will do it again, and I have to get a photo of it.

The other funny thing is that when Lin got home, he asked if he could borrow my iPod to listen to these three songs he is trying to learn on the guitar. Well, no, for three songs and for use outside while doing yard work, he cannot borrow my pricey and pristine Ipod. I loaded the songs on the my iPod Shuffle, showed him how to use it, and told him he could have it and load it off my computer with anything he wanted whenever he wanted. I am now an iPod widow. He has declared iPods to be “cool” and “sounding really great.” Yeah, well … been telling him that for years! As soon as he put the earbuds in his ears, I was tuned out. He’s been listening to the same three songs for hours. At the moment, he is zooming around the yard on the mower jamming away to his favorite three songs. He’s even dancing in his seat and singing out loud. I guess we are running with the plan to out-crazy the crazy neighbors.

I’ve tried to give him the Shuffle since the day he gave me the video iPod. It’s great, but when I can carrying my entire collection of favorite tunes with me at all times, I really don’t need to use the Shuffle anymore, and I thought it might be nice for those times at work when he wants to tune people out or when doing yard work. He said he didn’t need it and wouldn’t use it. Now he’s addicted, and I bet you he will end up wanting something with enough room to put all his favorite albums on before long. You watch. Then he’ll want his own Mac. Mark my words.

I played around with the manual shutter and aperture settings on my camera. Going to see how those turned out. What I remember about f-stops and shutters settings would fit on the head of a pin. I don’t expect any of the photos to turn out at all. There’s optimism for you!

How does one select a digital piano/synth/electronic keyboard? I’m totally out of my element. Even after a few hours today of reading and trying to figure out what it is I even want, I am no more enlightened than I was before.

Here’s what I think I want:

I would like there to be as many actual keys as possible. 88 would be wonderful, but I might be convinced to settle for a few fewer octaves, but not too few.

I want the piano to sound like a piano, but I also want to be able to play a multitude of “voices” like strings, drums, and whatnot.

I would like to be able to program it to play multiple voices at the same time so I could, say, have a drum track and maybe a strings track playing while I play a piano lead. Is this even possible?

I would like to be able to plug it into my computer, though I am not yet 100% certain I know what benefits that brings. This is where I really don’t understand what the articles I have been reading are talking about. I am out of my element, but this seems to be a feature that many others insist on. Maybe I should too?

It needs to be a playable instrument without being plugged into my computer. Some aren’t, and I am not 100% clear on what the differences are. Yes, call me stupid. Can I do composing on the computer and then transfer it to the keyboard for later performance away from the computer? That would be cool.

It needs to not weigh a ton. I have to be able to carry it. A few of the ones I have seen weigh as much as our TV, which means they weigh almost as much as I do.

It needs to not cost a zillion dollars. I’m thinking of spending something in the range of $500 (or less — less is always better).

And maybe there are things I would like to have or should have but don’t even know about.

Basically, I need a keyboard that will allow one person with a keyboard (and computer) and one person with a guitar to play music that is potentially stage presentable. You know, full, rich, vibrant and not dinky, I don’t know, cheap sounding. This has nothing to do with abilities, because I am going to suck at it for a long time, not having played piano in ages, but when I play a C chord, I want it to sound good. Does that make sense? Maybe not.

Anyone out there with a clue? Help? Please?

I think I know someone I could email to ask these stupid, stupid questions, but we haven’t talked in ages, and I know he’s probably super busy with his musical career. I’d prefer to at least have something of a clue before I start bothering people with emails full of silly questions. I also want to ask at the local Guitar Center, but I don’t know that they have sales people who are knowledgeable enough to help (though they might) since I don’t know what the hell I am talking about yet. I mean, I’m sure if I walked in with a list of things I want in a keyboard, they’d be able to point me at the ones that fill my needs, but right now, I don’t even know what my needs are. Boy, do I feel dumb!

And now I have something of a headache from reading a bunch of lingo and technical stuff I don’t really understand. Time for some aspirin and maybe bed.

Last night at Shady Grove was great fun! By the time we got there, the restaurant parking lot was full and the place was over-flowing with people. We managed to find a parking space on the road behind it, but we had to walk and walk and walk to get back to the restaurant. It reminded me why I love those sandals. I can slip them right off and walk barefooted, which I did for most of the trek. Since everyone was crammed into the outside area listening to Patrice Pike (who totally rocks), we got a table inside to grab something to eat. Lin ordered a huge chili cheese hot dog (really huge) and I got half a Hippie Sandwich and a big salad. Here’s a Hippie Sandwich:

Grilled eggplant, oven-roasted bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, arugula, tomato & mozzarella cheese served on our famous Hippie Bread w/ pesto mayonnaise.

So yummy, but I am glad I only got half on one. A whole one would have never fit in my stomach! It was so funny, as Lin was finishing up his chili dog, he asked me if I wanted a bit or two. I said no, and he gave me a silly look and said “But you haven’t had any meat at all!” Yes, my husband hasn’t yet discovered that it’s possible to eat an entire meal that contains no meat at all.

After eating, we ordered some fresh drinks and headed out into the crowd. It was really crowded, so we ended up standing in the back a ways, which was fine with me. I’m not so thrilled about being in tight crowds of people. We could hear the music just fine, and I could see the stage somewhat. We moved around a little as the crowd thinned out so we could see Patrice better. She’s such a cutie when she’s performing and has a really fun, energetic stage presence. We cut out as the last song started to avoid the mad rush of people leaving, and we found the shortcut through the parking lot to the road we were parked on. It wasn’t TOO much of a shortcut but far better than the route we had walked to get there. … at least two blocks shorter.

Then we got home, watched The Daily Show and Colbert Report, and both of us fell asleep in the living room. I don’t know what time I moved to the bedroom, but it was late and I was STILL woozy. I am just not much of a drinker anymore if two margaritas can knock me on my butt! When I got up this morning, I even had a bit of a hangover, so I went ahead and slept most of the day. Thankfully, the cats thought that was a great idea too and didn’t feel like being little terrors like they were yesterday. The best cure for a hangover is two aspirin, a large glass of water, and sleeping it off. At least that’s what works best for me.

We used to go to Shady Grove from time to time when we lived on that side of town, and I had forgotten what a great laid-back place it was. Now I want to go back again, but I want to get there early enough to land a space in the parking lot. The pre-dinner hike was just a bit too much. There is much to be said for relaxing evenings spent sitting on a patio listening to good music in the company of your best friend (my hubby). We both agreed that events like this are what make Austin so great to live in. You can go just about anywhere in town and find some excellent live music being played and good food and drink being served … and the weather this time of year is perfect for being outdoors at night. I really can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Oh, and the highlights of the evening aside from good food, drinks, and music? Being hit on by an attractive older woman (which gave me a bit of an ego boost) and Lin telling me I should start researching which electronic keyboard I might want to buy (because he wants us to start playing music together).