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Wish I was there --- Samara Joy was a good set. Dan Tyminski Band was a treat, watched the end of the Rose City after Samara. Sam Bush was fun. Watching some Cash until Tweedy. From yesterday I really enjoyed: Reverend Horton Heat ALO The Mother Hips Enjoy local team.

After the morning jaunt, the plan was to start with Dan Tyminski but I took a nap instead. Claire went and enjoyed it. I arrived at the blanket one minute before Cimafunk started, which was pretty ideal. They are from Cuba but live in New Orleans now apparently. Fun stuff. Made our way to the adjacent stage in time for Tweedy to come out and bore the snot out of everyone. The sun was in his face and his deathly pallor clearly indicated that was not routine. When he finally spoke, he said that he didn't know the sun would be here and "that's not cool, man." Wilco's California Stars was the only song that got the crowd going. At the end of the show he said that it was the first show touring for his new triple album, and thanked us for listening to a lot of new stuff. Definitely the weakest of many Tweedy shows I have seen with Wilco, solo, and with this band with his two sons that he used to call Tweedy. Oh well.

So I've been there myself. I had no idea what was happening to me, but it was the worst pain I've ever had. I finally called Al, who took me to the emergency room. The first thing that they did was to take my vitals. I remember the look on the Doctors face as he took my blood pressure. All of a sudden the initial reason for me being there (I think they already suspected a kidney stone), everything switched to reducing my BP. I was quite literally in the stroke zone. Once they gave me some BP medication, and got that down a bit, then they switched back to the kidney stone. However, the kidney stone that caused that incredible pain was the size of a grain of salt. I actually thought at one point my appendix might have ruptured. I thought it was possible that I might die. That's when I decided to call Al. The good thing that came out of that experience was that the ER Dr. made me an appointment to get more thoroughly checked out. That's when I discovered my hypertension. A week later my diabetes and elevated cholesterol. The meds that I take now are working fantastic at controlling those issues. I just can't imagine a lentil sized stone! I thought I was dying from a salt grain sized stone. The stone passing through my penis was painless (insert large penis joke here). It's whatever vein or artery it initially traveled through that was excruciating. I understand your pain and your panic! I did not have any blood in my urine during my event, however 10 years earlier I woke up and went to pee and my urine was red. My Father had this happen several times. He also had hypertension. So I understood the gravity of blood in urine. My panic completely left a few minutes later as I discovered the Red Velvet cake I had made the day before, and consumed some of had started bleeding the Red color through the cream cheese icing. Thankfully it was just the Red dye from the cake. That was the first and last time I ever made or ate Red velvet cake. Just take this as a warning to be thoroughly checked out. If something is made aware from this, it can be treated. Don't be a dumbass like me and wait until your almost 60 to finally go to a Dr. We're never bulletproof. Not at 60, not at 40 or even 20.

I caught parts of Earle - but I got caught up in Courtney Barnett and just rode that out. Tomorrow is about clearing my calendar to make sure that - I'm With Her - is my priority.

She and Leventhal are pretty great. Smiled the most so far with Albert Lee.

About sixteen hours after returning to California, we sauntered down to HSB in person for Corey Harris, a bit of Shawn Colvin, Margo Price, a tad bit of War and Treaty, and then Nathaniel Rateliff and the Nightsweats. Going to head back in later this morning for the Watson Twins...

Posted on FB, had an awesome Music and Audio day yesterday. A vendor demo visit to a local dealer, met new people, listened to a near-$500K system, and reminisced with some old coots like myself who loved the Boston music scene in the 70's and 80's. Re-connected with an industry guy who I hadn't seen in maybe 25 years....got a hug of support when we shared our spouses' cancer history. His wife is still living, and I stressed to him to be ever-vigilant and monitor as much as possible; I'd rather scare people a bit and have them advocate than to keep losing lives thinking "I'm 100% cured." I just hope she never has to go back to treatments. But was a wonderful time. I won a raffle item of a McIntosh-sponsored Johnny Cash audiophile LP set. From the original Sun Master Tapes, 45rpm 180Gram vinyl, yada yada. Looking forward to trying it out! On the live music scene, last night an Audio Buddy and I saw Hiromi on her Sonicwonder tour. Just a stunning and engaging show! I last saw her in 2013, and both times were just fantastic. The venue was lovely as well....and an Angel's Envy neat in an "adult sippy cup" (plastic cup with plastic cover to help reduce spills) topped the eve off well.

I’m coming up on 200 miles on the new bike and still very much in the honeymoon phase. I did a 35ish mile ride today and had a blast. This thing is a riot to get out and ride. I love how much distance I can cover, and it feels like a proper machine. The farm roads where I live are infinite, and with the radar I’m not caught off guard when motorists do want to overtake. I’m starting to get used to the clipless setup. No wipe-outs since the initial one. As I’ve developed a more deft touch on the brakes it is easier to dismount under control. I still have close calls every now and then so not ready to crank the pedal tensioners up yet, but I’m getting there. I’m ready for a bike fit and booked one with a local place that a co-worker recommended that uses the Retul stuff. I don’t know what I’m doing outside of going by feel, so hoping they can help me out. I’m not sure if my saddle is right or not, and I do get some shoulder soreness on longer rides. I can see fit being more and more important as I do longer rides. I’m also going to bring the bike back to the shop for a break-in adjustment and cleaning. She is getting filthy and I don’t have access to a hose to spray it off.

That is the weird stuff Steve. I've never felt any pain except while I was shooting the stone from my urinal canal. I literally felt it's pressure on the canal as it went through. The ER doctor and my father wouldn't believe how I endured the pain but, as I said I didn't felt any unusual thing till I peed with blood. Cannot compare as I haven't experienced kidney stone but as I read, bladder stones aren't as painful as kidney stones. There wasn't any bad reading about my vitals too, except my elevated heart beat. The stone was like small red lentil, like a 1.5-2mm size like oval shaped. I'm going to visit an urologist next week. Thank you Steve, for taking time and educating me on possible health complications. Gonna take a full Check-up after urologist too.

Sorry, I was remote. I would have definitely reached out Al if in person. Hope you and Claire had a good time. Anyone catch Steve Earle? I don’t pretend to be objective there, but was messy fun, especially in the shadow of the Dukes breakup at HSB years ago. Will throw on The Mountain in a few minutes. Will miss tomorrow, unfortunately. Hope everyone enjoys.

I wish I knew you were there. We could have connected

Samara Joy and jumping back over to Rose City Band here (sadly overlapping).

So sorry for the image of that faux butter. Rini brought it out, then promptly put it away after seeing the look on my face. I used a little EVOO and slightly grilled the bread.

Surgical strike to walk Penny and see the Watson Twins. We'll go back later for more.

Day two - really enjoyed Tophouse so far...

Yesterday, Joanne invited me to a work event to celebrate the completion of a project that has been almost three decades from initial conception to completion . Marin-Sonoma Narrows widening project hits 'huge milestone' https://www.marinij.com/2025/09/29/marin-sonoma-narrows-widening-project-hits-huge-milestone/ Major Bay Area highway project started 13 years ago to reach milestone https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/major-bay-area-highway-project-milestone-19392283.php There was themed schwag And carbs A roster of relevant speakers Who mentioned all those "without whom this would not have been possible" plus federal, state and local funding sources. Then onto the photo ops And the ribbon cutting Note the last minute CHP entry. It's not often you get to see CHP in their dress uniform ties (or bow ties and boots in the case of the Motor Cycle riders) And yet some people are never happy Bay Area drivers still furious after Highway 101 widening https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/bay-area-drivers-still-furious-highway-101-21074054.php

Joanne spotted this in the local paper, at the last minute, so ... A full, if "mature" audience. Our e-tickets were "General Admission 2" rather than the earlier sold out "General Admission". But they let us in and we had seats at the back. And we had the question "what is a cajon" answered.

Chase by Giogio Moroder from the Midnight Express (1978) soundtrack:

thx...

I won't be able to make it in person this year, because: reasons, but Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2025 https://hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/ Is about to go live with streaming on the website and the dedicated App (HSB TV) Quite the lineup, as always. https://hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/HSB25-Print-at-Home-Schedule.pdf

I remember there was some of this here in times past. But I like that there's a whole FB group dedicated to this! "Things with faces"

Background The result

One of my young coworkers has had a very hard time of late. His Father just quit as a parent and moved back to Ireland, where he's originally from. His son Arlo just graduated high school. He's a phenomenal worker, especially for one so young. He's just the kind of young man that's always positive and always very well mannered. We bonded over fishing at first. He loves my stories of commercial fishing in the Bering Sea. More recently he was told about my woodworking. He's seen several pictures and is fascinated and is wanting to learn. His former principal is Al and Claire's Sister in law, which Al and I have done many projects for. If you want to befriend me, showing an interest in woodworking is a surefire way to be successful. Almost a year ago, I made my own macaroni recipe and took it in for the Saturday crew. When Arlo took his first bite he had the biggest grin on his face. He has hinted several times that more macaroni would be appreciated. I've made it 5 or 6 times now. I think he may actually like it more than myself even. A few months back his Sister started working for Fairfax Lumber too. She's in the Nursery. She's as well mannered and as pleasant as her Brother, and adorable too. About a week ago Arlo asked if he could sit with me at lunch and get some advice. That's when he told me that his Father abandoned the family. I'm a good talker. I can talk your ear off. But this time I just listened. He just needed to vent, so that's what I let him do. I did give some advice, but mainly I just let him talk and let him express his anger. Something I've never seen out of him. There's not much I can actually do to ease his pain or make the situation better. He's going to go through several stages of grief and anger. ATM he's focusing on helping his Mother. She's shocked and in a financial crisis. He's working full time and taking fire fighter training (His dream for many years). So he's overwhelmed, but still focusing on helping Mom. He said she's been working all of the overtime she can get. So, one small thing that I could do was save her a night of cooking, and make Arlo's favorite meal. I told his Mom that I'd be cooking and delivering Saturday dinner. I made a giant batch of Macaroni, enough salad ingredients to last a week, two loafs of fresh baguette and a giant apple/berry pie from Costco. And topped it off with enough disposable dishes and lids to freeze/refrigerate all of the leftovers. He didn't know anything about it, but was very surprised when I dropped it all off. His ear to ear grin was worth any laborious prepping tasks. I've had several texts from Mom, Arlo and Sister Nina. Very sweet family and I'm feeling like I did a good deed. The pic is not the macaroni I took them, it's the leftover ingredients that I cooked up today. Lunches for the future.

A couple of pies for dinner with friends from across the street. One with Mexican chorizo, red onion, corn and jalapeño, over cheddar, mozzarella and topped with grated cotija, which was the clear winner. The other with pepperoni, shaved fennel, mushrooms, and fresh basil grown by the neighbors over mozzarella, which was tasty but more basic. Working with a shitty oven and a pizza stone instead of a pizza steel was a handicap, but it worked out fine.

Tuna melts for dinner.

Ottolenghi's cheeseball lemon rice with chile butter, which is very much as it sounds and is delicious as well. Served with grilled asparagus for a delightful vegetarian meal.

Before: 2 After: Greek Sheet Pan Chicken Instant Pot Lemon Rice

So yesterday night, I had blood in my urine, like my pee was strawberry flavoured. Fucking freaked out, was thinking like "worst experience of my life". Went to ER immediately. After waiting half an hour and drinking lots of fluid, even before seeing the doctor, I passed the effing bladderstone on my next urination. That was THE WORST experience of my life. Nothing in solid form should ever pass from there. It was out of blue. I haven't had any pain or anything and within an hour I peed blood and passed a small red lentils sized bladderstone. I don't have any pain or burning but going to take antibiotics for a week. It was a wake up call like "you're not a young guy any more, should start take care of yourself better" TL;DR: I peed blood, shot a small stone from my penis and felt old.