jvlgato

Seriously, I think that would be incredible! I hope I didn't come across as being sarcastic (except for the obvious American Idol part.) I literally did use to watch that competition on TV and wish I'd come across it again. It's the biggest and most important amateur music competition that I'm aware of, and the excitement and drama involved is amazing! Didn't Van Cliburn launch a huge international career by being the first American to ever win the piano side of that event? My college GF was a violin major, so I know very well the level of commitment of serious musicians. She and all her friends would practice literally all day and night in the music building, I'd go to pick her up at night, and she'd tell me to come back in an hour, then 2 hours later she would finally leave her little practice cubicle because I forced her, and she'd say she didn't practice enough. MPI, what would you choose to play for the non-compulsory pieces?

Holy Crap, that would be awesome! I used to watch the Tchaik (!) competition on TV all the time, but haven't seen it for a while. Is it still broadcast? How cool would it be to see MPI on TV? Granted, it usually public TV, and not American Idol .... but still ... BTW, loved the Hairy Banjo cartoon.

Keep me posted on this ... I'm curious how this will work out. There is discussion occurring at my VA hospital about how we would handle this if it comes to Illinois. We have A LOT of veterans asking about this already. Too many, considering how many people would really need it for medical reasons ... Heh. I always wondered what happened to that guy ... so now he's building DIY headphone amps. EDIT: Possible candidate for best first post award?

Yeah! Senior year! Good luck with the move and your last year! Then maybe some grad school?! )

'Gotcha Day' today. A party in celebration of the anniversary of our childrens' adoption 6 years ago today! )

I remember the infant days well! Typically each trip had one incident to remember the trip by. There was the 'blow out poop in the restaurant trip', the 'raging fever the night before we leave' trip,etc ... On the plus side, most of the incidents were caused by my son, rarely my daughter. Maybe you'll have good luck with your child ?! Steve, really sorry for your loss. I've lost several pets in my lifetime, and I still remember each and every one dearly. Over time, the sting was lessened, and the fond memories more prominent. I wish the same for you.

Thanks, Al! Ordered this AM! Have you gone vinyl, Mike? I still have a bunch of vinyl looking for a good home! Although happily, most of the good stuff is gone.

How do you like this? I like the few tracks that make it to the airways.

Tough week for me to be up in the mountains! Still on the long drive home. My best to everyone, esp to swt/boomana and their sick pets. ( Grawk, sorry to hear about the apnea. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions. While I don't consider myself a sleep expert, I diagnose and treat a lot of sleep conditions due to these often looking like psych conditions. Be persistent, follow up well and tell them if it's not working out. Lots of my patients do well, but only after lots of adjustments, masks, different machines and changes in settings. Check out CPAP Machines and CPAP Masks for the Treatment of Sleep Apnea. Can't stand typing anymore on this Blackberry ... Going to dinner for a steak somewhere in the middle of Kansas. Wakeeny? Something like that.

Dusty, Did you have a big old brown spot on your ass as a baby? It's called a Mongolian Spot, lots of us had them. You might have to ask your Mom.

Fu Manchu is all I get. And I might have one by the end of the next week camping. Currently am somewhere in the middle of Nebraska in a packed Prius. Bob Seger is pretty good road music. Corn fields as far as the eye can see. Great steak in Omaha. Didn't know there were so many windmills in Iowa- drove past a few hundred! Kids are holding up pretty well on the second full day of driving- thank god for portable DVD players!.

After work, leaving for a 10 day driving camping trip to the Rocky Mountains with the family. That would include our two 5 year olds, plus we're meeting another family there, and they have a 4 and 1 year old. Could be the basis for the next National Lampoon movie.

... and Bob's your Uncle! ... yesssss, I just always wanted to say that!

Mahler's 9th, Concertgebouw/Chailly

Caught a mouse. Took forever, though. For about a week, it was like I was feeding him as a pet. Still feel really bad for the little critter.

What are you, a morlock? I thought Nimh was a type of battery.

I was communicating w/ skylab since I live so close to him and I because I got water in my office. He had his new secondary system downstairs and lost his new used (?) Epos and I think a Denon receiver, as well as most of their clothes which were just washed and folded ... luckily not the big B+W's and main electronics, but still sucks ...

Ice cream with hot fudge, hot caramel and nuts on top?

Great album! Wish I had a copy.

Just fabulous, Al!

Sorry about your dog, man, that's really sad. FWIW, I have a dog that is about 80% blind (and likely to progress) due to pigmentary keratitis in one eye and an unknown trauma to the other eye from before we adopted him. He can only see out of the upper quarter of his right eye. My vet said this is WAY better than if he lost his sense of smell, since they rely on smell so much more. Your dog will memorize a map of your entire house and property in his head and somehow navigate from memory. He won't recognize you by sight, but as soon as he smells you, he'll immediately wag his tail like crazy in recognition. We hardly notice he's mostly blind now unless we move furniture, then he crashes into it, and after a few days, he's fine again. I've read that there are many dog owners whose dog had gone blind for who knows how long, and they didn't know it until they rearranged their house, and all of a sudden the dog crashed into everything. So, take heart, he's still the same happy dog. And as you've noticed, he probably doesn't miss his vision nearly as much as you would if you went blind. Just don't move the furniture often or leave things laying around too much, help him early on by guiding him around the stairs, make sure he knows where you are by sound and smell, approach him at his nose first (so he can smell you), make a sound before you pet him to avoid startling him, and make sure other people know to do the same. Good luck! We love our almost blind dog, and he leads a very full doggy life!

Alexi Murdoch Nice find if you like indie folk rock.

Really? Great to know! Thank you for restoring some hope in my internet life!

Sweet! Damn, I wish it was an option here. I've researched this at length, and the most consistent thing I've read is if Comcast already has a strong presence, then Verizon probably won't bother with my area.

Ouch! I feel your pain. I just got A/C and electricity back yesterday at 5pm after that truck took out our power line on Friday. I got through it ok, but it was NOT pleasant.