Category: blood

Family, easy!

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mostly about old stuff

Vintage.Happy Monday folks.

Sunday night and we were all just kind of sitting around doing nothing.  Sharaun had the TV on for a bit, but none of us were really paying attention.  Since I hate that kind of time-sucking activity, I called a stop to it and instituted some family banana-bread and popsicle making (two separate activities, mind you).  A double batch of bread (lots of overripe bananas hanging out in the freezer) and some still-freezing lemonade popsicles later, and everyone agreed it was much better than stinky ol’ television.

This week, I’m going to try and post some pictures from our recent scanmyphotos.com experiment each day.  Personally, I find near all of the 1,500 images interesting in one way or another (which is good I suppose, since I chose to pay to have them digitized) – but I’m trying to pick and choose some which might be the most fun to post on the old blog.  You can find those later down in the post, but now I’m gonna talk about music.

Y’know, the more I think about it… the more excited I’m getting for the upcoming release of the remastered Beatles catalog.  Finally, the powers that be have awaken to the fact that the current CD masters are outdated and poor-sounding, and on September 9th (09/09/09, how numerologist of them) we get the entire catalog, in both stereo and mono, by way of two elaborate (and wholly separate) deluxe box sets.

You may think it odd that someone would buy, then, perhaps in the same click of a mouse, turn around and re-buy, all the Beatles albums just to get both the mono and stereo mixes… but it’s something that us Beatles fanatics have been doing now for years.  In fact, the bootleg marketplace is awash with  different needle-drop remasters of the original vinyl releases… you’ve got the “Mirror Spock” releases, the “Millennium Remasters” versions, there’s “den0iZer,” “Sir Esquire,” “Silverking,” and “McCanno.”  Most, if not all, of these grey-market releases have improved sound (and some sound far better) over the 1987 mixes on all  commercially available CDs.

But, probably the most famous of these many grey-market needle-drop masters are the so-called “Dr. Ebbetts Sound System” versions.  Over the past ten plus years, those folks who live double lives in the world of underground Beatles’ recordings have come to adore the Good Doctor for the amazing sonic pieces he’s able to produce.  Like the other needle-droppers mentioned above, the Doc gets his stellar results by simply recording, then “doctoring,” pristine pieces of vintage vinyl.  I, too, collected the DESS versions of the Beatles’ canon, and also rejoiced in the amazing “warmth” that’s plainly missing from the current CD mixes.  Oh, and, lest you doubt… they really do sound better than what you’d buy on CD today… even you could tell the difference, I promise.

I bring up Doc Ebbetts’ efforts here for a reason.  See, the other day, the Good Doctor announced his retirement from the homegrown Beatles’ remastering business.  And do you know why?  Well, apparently he was able to hear a sneak preview of the forthcoming September remasters and he decided that, because they sound so damn good, his work is no longer needed.  And, for all the Beatles purists who put the DESS remasters on a pedestal above all other mixes – this is fantastic news.  Since so many folks consider the Doc to be the fella who’s been able to make the Beatles sound just about as good as they ever have (albeit only by re-showcasing the warmth and presence which has been in the recordings all along), to hear him say he’s  been outdone is like a promise of heretofore untold sound quality to come.

Better then the Ebbetts stuff?  Yeah… I’m getting more and more excited – and the Doctor’s retirement is like a big log on that fire.  I better start saving money now… to buy these CDs twice ain’t gonna be cheap..

OK, music-talk over.  Let’s get on to those pictures I was talking about.  Here are twelve hand-picked images from the batch.  I tried to do some minor color-correction and touch-up, but I’m no good at it (at least I somewhat removed the orange cast from some of the worst of them, albeit likely only exchanged for a bluer cast).  I took some time on the commentary for each one, so if your browser has problems flashing them up or offering the next/previous/close links let me know and I’ll change the way their posted tomorrow.  Enjoy!

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OK folks, I’m outta here.  Goodnight!

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got our pictures back

StackedYesterday we got our pictures back from scanmyphotos.com and I have to say: I’m beyond satisfied with the results.

I ordered the “fill it up” box for around $120 (searched around on Google and found some coupons too so maybe it was a little cheaper than their list price) and Sharaun and I jammed that thing with pictures.  And, even with all the prints we had from her collection and my raid on the folks’ old albums – we were still shy of really topping off the box.  I shipped the thing the Thursday before the Independence Day holiday and I’m almost certain that, were it not for that three-day weekend, these guys would’ve had the prints scanned and back to us in a couple days (they are just south of us, after all).

Getting the photos back, we learned that they scanned 1,525 images for us.  Amazingly, out of all the images we sent, only ten were not scanned – and this was because there was a little too much residual stickiness on the backs of them from years stuck in those old albums at my parents’ place.  However, when you consider that 10/1,535 is something like 0.06%, that’s a really amazing working percentage.  Honestly, I can scan those ten loose images myself and everything will be fine.  They were also able to scan all the odd-sized images Sharaun took with that stupid stupid fake “panorama” style film that was popular back in the 90s.  You know, the ones that make prints that are like 13″ long and stupid?  Yeah those.

The images themselves are scanned at 300DPI.  I’m happy with this resolution, and having tried to scan some images myself in the past (although by no means being an expert) at higher resolutions, I know there was (at least in my experience) limited gains by scanning a printed image at 600DPI or higher.  Anyway, the 300DPI scans from them look great as far as I’m concerned, allowing for the understanding that you’re only gonna get so much from the print anyway.  You can pay extra for color-correction, having the images rotated to the correct orientation, or having them scanned in named groupings.  However, since I’m cheap and I want to flip through them one-by-one anyhow, I’m just doing any touch-ups as I go for free.

Anyway, for my money, you can’t beat this service: it’s super fast, the prints look great, it’s cheap, and you don’t have to do it yourself.  And, I mean… seriously… how else are you going to get pictures like this WTF gem into your digital collection?:

Whoa...

And folks, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  Watch the blog next week for some better-written and more cohesive reviews of some of the better images we were able to have scanned.

For now, enjoy my Dad above showing (perhaps) how much larger he is than those two older ladies.  Wow.

Have a good weekend.

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a bitter elixir for the aged

Some kinda fire.Monday again.  Well, not now… but tomorrow, when you read this, it will be.

Back from another weekend of camping.  Back-to-back tent-hotel with us plus the wee one.  Perhaps not for some, but for us a real spot of light to be among friends and nature with the family.  Yeah, set-up and tear-down never seem to have as many hours betwixt them as I’d desire, or, rephrased: I’m wasn’t ready to leave the woods and come back to work; but… we’re back and I tried to be productive with the couch time.

What did I do?  I published some four months of pictures to Keaton’s gallery.  No; really.  I did.  So, if you’re among my many recent detractors, those in the, “When are you going to publish new pictures,” or, “I can’t beleive you haven’t updated since February” camp – you can kindly stuff a sock in it now.  Click this sentence and let’s get it over with; we at sounds familiar will be waiting for you when you get back – and we better see a grin so wide on your face that it gives away your internalized joy at the new snapshots.

OK then, let’s do some writing.

In a disturbing trend in our tiny, oft debris-strewn household, the odds that either Sharaun or I will brew a pot of coffee around 8pm have gone from an almost never 100:1 to something nearer 3:1 in recent months.  I don’t know when this change happened, but an early-evening cup of coffee has become something of a delectation for me.  I call this trend “disturbing” because it’s just another indicator to me that the normal human process of aging is progressing just well and fine within me.  As a child, coffee seemed a bitter elixir for the aged, a lifeblood so essential that it could be sucked in hard candy form when not available as a fluid.

Old and me, we ain’t strangers.

Remember a year ago when I had all those problems with birds eating my backyard fruits and veggies?  Well, I’d almost put that frustration behind me, mended those fences between the fowl and I.  Almost, that is, until their voracious appetites dredged the whole emotional issue to the surface anew this year.  So far they’ve ruined ripe tomatoes, plums, and one of only two apricots my young tree managed to produce (I was so indignant on that last one, I proceeded to eat the remaining fruit around the peck marks).  Stupid hungry birds.

Goodnight.

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off again

Machinating.Friday and, even though I took a vacation day Monday: it’s about time.

We go forth into the not-really-wilds of white-people car-camping this weekend (yes, again).  Closer to home than last weekend’s Yosemite jaunt, we’ll be up north somewhere at a lake we’ve never been to.  Keaton is excited, and truthfully, despite the feeling that I’ve not had a weekend at home in nearly a month, I am too.  I have aspirations for the trip: Frisbee in the right hand, Newcastle in the left, maybe a pipe and book while wearing my silly old-man brimmed “camping hat” that Sharaun hates so much.

Yeah, camping.  Oh and…

While we were in Oregon last week, I took the opportunity to thumb through my folks’ vast collection of family photo albums.  On a mission, I tore at every picture I found which interested me: family photos of us growing up; old photos of my ancestry; past vacations; baby pictures; pictures of my Mom and Dad when they met; before the met, etc.  I pulled them all from the albums and placed them carefully in plastic bags to transport them home.  Why, you ask?

Well, because I’m planning on sending them off to a bulk photo-scanning outfit I’ve read decent things about online, that’s why.  For pennies a picture this place will run as many of your old prints as you can send through a machine, scanning them and sending them back to you on DVDs.  The reason I’m doing this is simple: archiving as much of my family’s photographed history as I can.  Secondly, however, I also think these images will make excellent blog material.  For instance, there’s a series of pictures taken in my Dad’s bachelor pad (pre Mom, I hope)… and they are much too awesome not to post and write about.

So, coming soon, some interesting old-timey type photos we can all enjoy together.

Goodnight.

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back to reality

We made it.Monday night and sore.

Back from Yosemite, and with Monday as vacation it’ll be another abbreviated workweek.  And, due to some scheduling oversight (or not, I forget) we’re off camping again this weekend.  It’s cool; although I do miss having a weekend at home to actually do some things (or no things, for that matter).

The trip was fantastic.  The Sunday Half Dome hike turned out better than I could’ve hoped.  The weather was amazing, the trail wasn’t overcrowded, and I felt great the whole way.  We got a late start, arriving at the trailhead about a quarter to seven in the morning.  The crew made good time for the first seven or so miles, bringing us all from the valley floor at about ~4,000ft to above the treeline at about ~7,800ft to the east of Half Dome on the famous trail.  At that point, some threatening clouds had begun to ring the valley, hanging above the granite walls that rim it, and there was an increasing amount of separation amongst the crew.

Worried at the weather, and with Mike and I still feeling relatively fresh and strong, we made the selfish decision to push hard for the summit and leave the other three behind.  I felt a little bad about it, but we tackled the exposed part of the hike to the saddle before the cable-climb with such vigor that the thought soon left my mind for the burning in my calves.  We had agreed that we’d make a gametime decision at the base of the cables, based on how the clouds looked – and, when the time came we opted to go.

The cables were crowded and the ascent took much, much longer than I’d have liked.  Without having to hold up for all the slowpokes and panickers, I really do think Mike and I could’ve pressed to the summit in fifteen or twenty minutes; but, as it was it took us more like forty to get to the top. Once there we ate the Lunchables I’d hiked up to refuel, took a couple pictures, and rested just a bit before heading back down.  After another twenty minutes waiting in the queue heading down we were on the granite steps again and, before too long, on our way out.

All told the ~17mi trip took ten hours, and I haven’t felt physically better on a long hike, ever.  My legs were fresh longer than ever before, and, even though I started to crash at one point on the descent I was able to pull out of it with a Cliff bar and some good conversation.  Mentally, I like to attribute this to my new weight loss and increased stamina – but that makes me feel somehow arrogant.  But, it sure did empower me along the way.

I love that hike.

And, as for the non-hike part of the trip – we had a great time with friends.  Our little tent cabin in the valley was cozy and the camp meals were delicious as always.  In fact, the post-hike pizza and beer were about as fine a meal as I can recall having in any recent time.  Keaton had a blast playing with Gracie and even got to do a hike of her own the day we did Half Dome: All the way to the Vernal Falls footbridge (which is, honestly, quite the accomplishment for four women, two three year-old girls, and an infant).

So yeah, Yosemite was great.  I’ll post some pictures soon (including a long-overdue update covering the last few months – I promise).  And now, back to work tomorrow and I don’t want to go.

I don’t want to go.  Goodnight.

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working? working.

Conference room?Monday from the Pacific Northwest; greetings.

Even though I traveled all these miles to work here in Oregon, we left Saturday so we could spend the weekend with my family.  And, since the work event I came here to participate in is two all-day sessions Tuesday and Wednesday, when it came to going into the office Monday morning… I opted instead to work from my folks’ kitchen table.  So, odd as it seems, I crossed state lines to telecommute.  Not bad.

As a Springtime telecommuting perk, I took my afternoon meeting while laying in the green grass at the park downtown.  Keaton was playing in the fountains and on the swings and I was reclined lookin’ nerdy with my headset and cellphone talking about electrons and alpha particles and current densities and inductance.  Sure, I looked like a tool, but it was actually a really nice experience.  I was able to get some appreciation for just how cool the non-constraints of my job are.

I mean, I’ve always known I have a “flexible” job – being that the bulk of the work I do is less tied to one physical location and more tied to being “connected” via phone, e-mail and instant-messaging.  So, really, were it not for the goodness I derive from being at the building – the job is relatively decoupled from my three-and-a-half gray fabric cubicle walls.  Me, though, I tend to be a lot more productive when I’m actually at work… so I don’t take advantage of telecommuting as much as some might. On days like today though, it was a pretty sweet bonus feature of my employ at the sawmill.

Tomorrow begins the first day of the all-day two-day meeting I traveled here for.  Located at a hotel instead of at the Oregon sawmill, it’ll be the familiar cast of characters gathered together to make decisions.  I enjoy meetings like this a lot, when there’s plenty of time for academic pursuits in attempt to figure out the best options and you have the chance to meet people in person you may have worked with for years upon years.  Plus, I feel more important when people ask my opinion on things (and I actually have one).  So… that’s good too.

OK, I’m outta here.

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the blog lay fallow

Can we grow again?Happy Monday from Portland, internet.

Boy did the blog lay fallow last week or what? As usual, I stutter-started several entries only to give up within the hour.

Y’know, it was a pretty mediocre week anyway: Work was busy and we did the same kind of things we always do. Saturday morning though, we took the short flight north to Oregon and are now enjoying the warm Springtime of the Pacific Northwest.

Today we played heathan and skipped church at the little congregation down the street that we visit when we’re here, and instead got an early start on the day’s planned activity: heading down to the river to a big carnival. We took the train down, Keaton always likes that, and arrived at really nice typical midway-and-rides setup.

Now, me, I have a lot of love for carnivals. For some reason, I really enjoy them. And it’s not just the “stuff” I enjoy, it’s the atmosphere. The smells: straw scattered on the ground, exhaust from ride motors, a myriad of fried foods. The sounds: a cacophony of barkers calling rubes to their games, the pssshhht! pssshhht! of the pneumatics, and the din of voices and music. It’s all fun to me, and being there I remember how much I used to enjoy it all as a kid.

And now, watching Keaton enjoy it lets me experience it all again. Keaton wasn’t quite tall enough to do the Ferris wheel with me, and I was a tad disappointed since I’d really wanted to do that together. But we did ride rides together, do the mirror-maze together, and eat bad-for-you foods together. All under a cloudless blue sky and hot bright sun. But, don’t take my words for it, have a look for yourself:

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Looks almost as fun as it was!

Goodnight.