Fun before the rain began

I managed to get in a nice 75 mile easy ride this morning between the raindrops.  For most South Florida summer days, a little rain is a good thing.  I like to remind myself – imagine how brutally humid and hot it would be if it didn’t rain every hour or two.

Yesterday I got in a 40 mile ride. I went back to my normal Saturday bike store ride.  The guys were willing to take it easy on me if I wanted, so the pain was self-inflicted.  In the afternoon we went to a fund raiser picnic for a few hours before it poured.  Later than evening Jen and I got to hang out on the couch and listen to the Kate Bush (Hounds of Love) re-release that came in the mail.  It sounds great.  Jen then insisted on listening to the first Go Go’s album, Beauty and the Beat.  The cd doesn’t sound great, and I was too lazy to go into the garage to get a vinyl copy for comparison, so I instead abandoned ship and took Jake to the bookstore.

As a result of the weekend of riding and the humidity, my whole body aches.  I may try a hot tub soak before work tomorrow morning.

I got in my oft-threatened record shop visit this afternoon.  Jake had an afternoon playdate, so Jen and I got to take a trip to Fort Lauderdale.  It’s a split trip – Dillards for her and Radio-Active Records for me.  We spent $60 at the record store, but came home with a decent stack (12) of records.  Jen enjoyed it as much as I did, and that’s about the only shopping joy we mutually share.  Jen leans toward 80s stuff, which is a little hard for me because I already have much of it in one format or another.  However, our Kate Bush listening session led her to agree that vinyl can sound better than cd if done right. She picked out a Kate Bush album and a Kate Bush 12 inch single, and a Modern English album.  Just think – if she becomes a high quality stereo music convert, I could get some bad-ass speakers for the living room.

She also picked some oddball records.  She picked out a $4.00 sealed album of wild frog sounds in the forest.  I have no idea what it sounds like, but the cover is pretty.  She also picked up the Broadway cast album of The Wiz, starring Stephanie Mills (not Michael Jackson or Diana Ross).  Finally, she got the “Singing Nun” album.  I tell myself that if I can listen to Josephine Baker, I can listen to the Singing Nun.  We’ll see.

I picked out my usual, which is a trove of different items with no unifying theme.  A few jazz albums, some classical, and even a country album.  The music of the moment is an eclectic triple vinyl threat:

Gary Burton, Picture This, 1980.   An excellent jazz ensemble album.  Gary Burton is a vibraphone player, so he’s usually “happy” sounding.   I presume it’s hard to make a somber vibraphone record. The album was released on the ECM label, which is known for a Windham Hill kind of clear pure sound, so it’s a good mix.  Recommended, although it was never released on cd, so you won’t be able to find it.

Henry Thread gill, Easily Slip Into Another World, 1988.  Experimental jazz from one of the founders of “Air” – not the current Air, but the one from the 1970’s. It’s very listenable for an experimental, and not too dissonant.  It’s kind of funky from a bass perspective, which is surprising.  Recommended, but very hard to find.  Threadgill’s new album was in most reviewer Top 10 lists last year, so I’m planning on getting it soon.

Van Cliburn, Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1, 1959 – I found a nice original “shaded dog” Living Stereo original release for $2.99.  It’s a little noisy, but some of that may be static from a very deep cleaning.  I’m too cheap to buy an anti-static gun for $90.00, because it’s not usually an issue for me.  It’s an excellent recording, and is easily available on cd.  It’s the album released right after he won his award in Moscow in 1958, and it’s what made him a star.

The new normal

Jake had to come home from school because of a bad tummy.  This happened a lot last year, and the last trip to Gainesville was supposed to result in a solution (or at least some suggestions).  Of course, by the time I get home from work his stomach has long-since calmed, so I don’t have a full appreciation of the bad phases.  I’m really saddened that it started back up.  He really likes school, so I know it’s disappointing for him too.

I skipped biking because of the morning rain, and have an early morning hearing tomorrow.  I try not to skip two days in a row, because it makes me cranky.  Ooops -  I forgot that I’m always cranky now.  I feel and look like a 45 year old retired running back. Only some people understand that reference, but most people nod sympathetically.

My final cassette deck came in the mail.  It’s a Denon 730.  It was only $9.99, but it took forever to arrive and required an eBay/PayPal dispute to finally get sent.

I ordered an awesome box of 60 “Living Stereo” Classical music albums through a new Japanese reissue.  I’ve been trying out some 1950’s mono classical albums, and they’re not bad.  The 1950’s early stereo classical recordings (RCA Living Stereo and “shaded dogs” and Mercury “Living Presence” come to mind) are famous for their great performances and great sound.  I met a local audiophile who is into ultra headphone audio, so that should be interesting.  I like headphones, but have never sprung for (or experienced) state of the art.

The dog is home after getting fixed.  He’ll have the collar on all week, so he’s kind of gawky.  It’s very disconcerting when I hear a fast plastic scratching sound in the middle of the night when he itches the collar.

The State of Better Rock Music

It’s got to be hard being a record executive of a certain age.  I don’t mean from the “these kids and their music stealing are killing us” perspective; I mean from the “most of the stuff we put out is Auto Tune crap, so we need to put out a few critically acclaimed Rolling Stone/Paste fodder albums, but this is all we have” perspective.  Remember when a recording label signed R.E.M. to a kajillion dollar contract in the 1990’s just so they could have a prestige artist? Since the few remaining critically acclaimed major label prestige rock artists (U2, R.E.M., Beck, Weezer, Beastie Boys) only put out an album every few years, the labels have to take a shot on some new Paste-fodder artists and see what sticks.

This week, nothing sticks. First, I listened to the JP, Chrissie and the Fairground Boys album, Fidelity.  It’s Chrissie Hynde – instant credibility.  That said, the guy with her sounds like a Welsh version of JT Fortune (the guy who won the Rock Star TV show and got to sing for INXS) mixed with some Ben Folds.  Every second that doesn’t sound like a Chrissie Hynde solo album detracts from the record (although the lyrics are pretty good).  It’s OK, but not as good as it should have been (and not as good as a current Pretenders effort).

I also downloaded the new album by Ray Montagne and the Pariah Dogs.  It’s folkish with a little bit of a funky rhythmic beat. (an acoustic Little Feat??)  I never liked Wilco, and I don’t like this. It’s well recorded, but almost too much so.     

On the brighter side, I read that a live album from a Yaz 2008 reunion tour (that I didn’t know about) comes out next month. 

Two very busy days of work.  Jake loves school – so much so that he’s exhausted at bedtime.  The dog is getting fixed today.  Bummer for him.

Not a lot of bone pain today.  My lungs still aren’t perfect.  During my all-day mediation yesterday, my client (a physician) noticed that I start to wheeze as the day goes on.  I’m supposed to try a longer group run tomorrow evening.  That thought gave me all the excuse I needed to hop off the treadmill this evening after only 15 minutes of slow miserable jogging.

The Good Stuff

Today was the first day of 4th grade.  Jake’s friends have all come back into town after their summer vacations, so we spent the weekend with Jake and his friends.  I had a full work day today, so I didn’t get to go to the first day of school.  I normally love the first day, because it’s a good chance to see what plastic surgeries the mommies got over the summer.  I feel cheated (although I’m told that the most noteworthy surgery was male).

I went for a long and eventful bike ride yesterday.  We got lost a few times, and ultimately one of my friends got an unrecoverable flat.  Word to the wise – if you’re going to ride a bike with oddball size wheels, make sure you have the correct replacement tube.  On the other hand, on the two hour trip back home I had the inspired idea to stop at the Frosted Lemonade truck in Coconut Grove.  It was a world-class experience.  Truly the perfect break at the perfect time.

There was supposed to be a record store visit yesterday, but I gave it up so we could have dim sum with friends.  That was worth it.  On the other hand, I allocated time to watch the Aston Villa game on TV, and they got crushed 6-0 by Newcastle.  That wasn’t worth it.

Music of the Moment – Gerry Rafferty, City to City (1978, on the original vinyl).  I frequently use Baker Street as a test song to try out stereo components.  The sax solo is one of the more memorable moments in 1970’s album oriented radio (“AOR”).

Ready for the week to be over

It was hard couple of days.  I’m achy all over – mostly back pain (from the scapula) and gut pain (from the surgery). The PT also kicks my butt, as if I need that.  I’m athletically dejected, too.  My normal bike store ride has become so competitive that they’ve started racing from the outset. Neither my body nor my ego can accept having to struggle to stay on the back ten minutes into the ride. It’s gotten so bad I’ve decided to switch my allegiance to the ride sponsored by the competing bike store. Just to top off my mood, I have lots of work BS to deal with, which has taken away some of the fun of a job where you already spend all day listening to other people’s problems.

Jen’s feeling a little under the weather, too.  The correct prescription would be two days of backyard sun and relaxation.  Unfortunately, the weather report calls for rain, and I’m the only family member skilled in the art of indoor home relaxation. I am looking forward to another long and leisurely bike ride on Sunday morning, so a lot of rain would be a blow to my zen.

I’m hanging out on the couch, trying out my new DAC.  A DAC is a “digital to analog converter”, and converts the digital signal from your computer (via the USB port) into a two channel analog signal that can be plugged into your amplifier.  It’s a better alternative to using the mini-headphone output jack on the computer, because the sound amplification circuits on most computers really stink..  Like all nerdy stereo stuff, a DAC can be very expensive (i.e, thousands).  I spent $35.00 for mine (a Behringer A202).  It does seem to noticeably improve the sound of computer-output music.  I’ll get a nicer DAC when I someday upgrade my 15 year old speakers.  No rush.

Music of the Moment – Steve Miller Band, Bingo (2010). The new album is mostly blues-guitar rock, but not in a muddy way  It’s not as pop or synthesizer based as the mid-1970’s popular stuff.  I had just downloaded it on Zune Pass and figured it would be a good test.  Meanwhile, the record store in Ft. Lauderdale posted in Facebook that they just got in 300 new (for them) used lps, so that may require a visit.  Meanwhile, Jen and I ordered the special remastered colored vinyl pressing of Kate Bush’s Hound of Love. She wanted it more than I did.  I do realize I’ve now contradicted everything I said in the last blog entry about not being an audio cultist, but the remastering is supposed to be something special.  In any event, consistency is a vice of the small-minded.

A cromulent moment

A very funny work moment.  I had something (over)due for a few days.  I did a two page outline, and emailed it to my associate.  The email said:

“I did this quickly and roughly.  Please englishify it.   Look – I created a word.  How cromulent!”

I later spoke to her and received an absolutely blank expression.  It turns out that not one person in my office understood.  Where do they educate these people?

I then emailed the message to two of my former partners, with the message “This is why I miss you guys”.  Chris Carver immediately responded:

“You need to embiggen their perspective”.

I laughed so hard I spit up the coffee I was drinking.

If none of this makes any sense, you need more culture.

Music of the Moment – Stevie Wonder, Innervisions (on the original vinyl).  Just to clarify one point – I listen to a lot of vinyl because I own a lot of vinyl.  There are a number of new vinyl audiophile re-releases of classic albums based on the theory that they sound better.  While I like the sound of good vinyl, it’s not a cult thing for me.  When I occasionally buy a new vinyl album re-release at the record store (like the Blue Note $12.00 rerelease series), it’s because I don’t have the album in any format and the price isn’t substantially different than the cd.  Many of the new audiophile re-releases are $35 to $50, and that just doesn’t work for me.  What I do love is finding used minty vinyl albums that (1) I don’t have on cd; or (2) haven’t been released on cd. 

Good eatin’

Jen made ribs and rice for dinner, and it was yummy.  She noted that I once complimented her cooking on the blog, and hoped I’d do it again.  Here it is again.

Lunch was also excellent.  Wednesday is “unlimited free oyster day” at Casablanca restaurant on the Miami River.  It’s as good as it sounds.

It was a stressful few days because I had a big hearing early this morning.  It’s done until next week, so I’m relaxing on the couch and reading some of the many magazines that I apparently subscribed to when I was stuck in the hospital bed.  I’ve received the latest two issues of Stereophile and Shutterbug, and I have some bike magazines to read.  It’s geek bliss.

I did get in some more retro video game bonding with Jake. Tonight was Joust, Donkey Kong and Missile Command on the Atari 800, and Galaga on the Atari 7800.

Music of the Moment – Suresh Singaratnam, Lost in New York.  It’s a fairly recent recording by a trumpet player who does both classical and jazz performing (a little like Wynton Marsalis). This is a pure jazz hard bop group recording, and it’s excellent.  If you loved the second Miles Davis quintet (Hancock, Shorter, Carter, Williams), you’ll love this.  It also has some vocal tracks and some electric guitar. Highly recommended.  I especially recommend the CD (as opposed to iTunes laziness), because the liner notes and pamphlet are excellent.  While I do subscribe to Zune Pass for the new music releases,  I almost never do paid internet downloads of individual albums.  I prefer to buy the cd because it sounds better, and it’s usually the same price (Thank you Amazon Prime).

Still sleepy, but with a full tummy

We’ve had a good couple of days.  Jake has had his friends over a few times for a lot of swimming (and a little arcade action), and he and I have had a little bonding time playing Atari 7800 games in the arcade.  He’s felt a wee bit sick in the morning and evenings, but is in good spirits.  He’s got a bunch of summer math homework to finish, but otherwise has a free ride for the next two weeks.

I rode a slow, hot and sweaty 80 miles on the bike on Sunday, and did a fast and painful (pain in aerobic sense but not the injury sense) 35 mile group ride this morning.  It feels good to be on the bike, but my normal 6am bike time is a bit of a challenge because I haven’t been sleeping well. 

The McIntosh MA6100 integrated amp arrived yesterday, and the house is full of tunes.  It really does have a distinctive sound.  A little bass-y, and a little tube-y.  Vinyl sounds great. Our main room is all tile and reflective, so the bass can be a little much on some of the more complex recordings. We really need to school the dog so I can put out a throw rug.

My appetite seems back, so I have to be careful to balance my eating with my exercise.  I like the feel of having slimmed down a bit, and don’t want to lose it.  Physical therapy is still very painful (a torturous and sadistic version of massage) but there’s not much aerobic to it.

Hot and sleepy

Jen and Jake are back, and her parents have left.  I resume the position of honor on the couch, and I have much less flexibility in dictating the home entertainment media formats.

I did the Bells group ride this morning.  It was the most intense Saturday ride we’ve ever had.  Much of that is my impaired state, but they were really cooking.  We averaged 22 on the way out and over 24 on the way back.  I came home and crashed in the hot tub.  Now that my riding is more aerobic and less muscular, I spent two hours at a 160+ heart rate.  I’ve been hydrating and sitting all day, and I’ve barely recovered. Tomorrow is my easy ride from Coconut Grove to Black Point Marina.

We went to Ikea.  There was a 15+ minute wait for their restaurant, and it was worth it.  We love their meatballs, and everybody was happy. We bought some pots, some throw rugs, and a narrow “Bennie” DVD holder bookcase (which is too small, but was fairly easy to put together).

My 1989 Luxman K-111 cassette deck ($20 on EBay) came in the mail.  Luxman was a pretty snazzy brand back in the 1980’s, so this deck goes into the main stereo and the Technics RS-B78 (which is probably a better deck, but Technics isn’t a snooty label) goes into the arcade sound system.

My Sony HD Radio tuner ($75 on Amazon) came in the mail yesterday, and it works great.  I only recently found out that our local NPR stations have music channels (“91.3-2”) that you can’t hear unless you have an HD tuner.  That means I can now listen to Echos at night instead of NPR news.  Echos is the successor NPR show to “Hearts of Space”, which was the old space music show.  It makes me nostalgic for when Cindy and I used to go to the “space stuff” store (the name escapes me) on Eighth and Broadway after school to look at the hologram stuff.  Maybe I can buy an Apollo 11 patch to sew on my denim jacket.

Today was the first day of English Premier League soccer.  My two teams get mixed reviews.  Aston Villa looked good.  Everton didn’t.  I’m now watching the L.A. Galaxy versus the NY Red Bulls.  Thierry Henry’s not impressing me.

Music of the Moment – Rachelle Garniez, Mesuline Years (2008). Kind of like Kate Bush doing French music.

A calm week, except for the darn dog

There's no dog calamities, but he is a pain in the butt. Puppy play involves the scratchy teething of his little but sharp teeth, so it roughs up my arms. He craves attention while Jen and Jake are gone. They come back from Gainesville tonight, so the dog will be off my back for a while.

The car broke down on the Gainesville trip, so now I have to fight Jen's subconscious urge to replace the "now unreliable" car. It's a 2009 Honda Pilot with 30,000 miles, so we ain't getting rid of it anytime soon. The breakdown was apparently due to a faulty Jiffy Lube air filter replacement, so there's going to be some follow-up on that front.

I haven't biked all week. I ran on the treadmill yesterday afternoon and went to spin class yesterday evening, so I'm particularly sore today. I have biking planned for both mornings this weekend.

No big new purchases. Bought a cheap ($25.00) eBay Luxman K-111 cassette deck to replace the eBay Denon deck that never arrived (and is the subject of a Paypal dispute), and a cheap ($16.00) eBay Sansui SE-77 graphic equalizer to try to fix the acoustics in our all-tile living room. Damon picked up our loaner hospital bed (and we are really grateful for the loan), so that frees up some acoustic space. The room sounds good for jazz, but bad for rock.

Music of the Moment- The new Tom Petty album, "Mojo." A little too bluesy, but excellent.

Good checkup

The orthopedic surgeon says everything is looking good, and that he's glad they didn't do the bone-joinder surgery. The ribs are still fractured (you can see it on the x-ray) and there's some kind of stuff that's growing (in a good way) between the separated clavicle parts. He says that I shouldn't do any strength training for the next five weeks, because the ribs aren't completely healed yet. He sentenced me to another 5 weeks of PT.

Jen and Jake went to Gainesville today through Friday for his kidney check-ups. I'd be bachelor (which involves lots of computer time and breakfast cereal as dinner) , but Jen's Mom is staying with us until Sunday.

Music of the moment - John Escreet, Don't Fight the Inevitable. Brand new free jazz album. Jen's Mom hates it. The dog hates it.

Animal cruelty

I took a day off from bike riding, and was hoping to sleep until 8. I rode in the rain for three hours yesterday. It was slow and pleasant. If it hadn't been raining, it would have been unbearably humid.

The dog has a floor button at the back door which rings a chime so he can go outside. This is what he allegedly learned during his three weeks of sleep-away training. He's long-abandoned any thought that he would limit the use of that button to "as-needed." He started ringing the bell around 6:30am. I go out with him (he won't go out alone), he sniffs around the backyard, and comes back in. He repeats this process every 15 minutes. I should have gone bike riding and left him for the family to deal with.

I have physical therapy at 2:00pm. Yuck. Everything still kinda hurts from last week's PT. I hope to jog on the treadmill afterward, but we'll see.

Lots of good music listening yesterday with the family. We stopped at Yesterday and Today Records after going for a great dim sum lunch at Tropical Chinese. Bought some corny 1950's orchestral jazz and some 1970's corny electronica. I think I like the Ft. Lauderdale record store better.

I've managed to fight off the used eBay equipment buying urge so far, but it's a day-to-day process. Today's recommended album- Gene Harris and Jack McDuff, "Down Home Blues." Great bluesy jazz for the car.

Back to the healthy blog

Now that I have declared myself healthy and recuperated, I’m switching over to the neglected family blog to express my nerdness.

The hernia site and the shoulder both still hurt (sometimes a lot), but I’m tired of acting like a patient.  Accordingly, I’ve ridden my bike every day:

Tues. – 38 miles

Wed. – 30 miles

Thurs – 38 miles

Fri. – 30 miles

Saturday – 55 miles

I’ve also been running 2 miles a day on the treadmill, but that sucks.

When I get on the bike, I have to will away the abdomen pain, but it deadens in 10 minutes or so.

Riding is different than before.  I can stay in the front pack, but it requires more aerobic work because I’m much less muscular than before.  That means I get more tired.

Getting back on the bike has allowed me to hold the stereo-upgrade urge at bay for the week.  I’ve had this incredible urge to buy an old pair of AR-9s, which were the mother of all speakers in 1980.  Is it worth $1300?  I stopped into one of the local stereo stores to see what $1300 worth of modern-day speakers sounds like.  Unfortunately, that store has converted 100% to computer based music, so they couldn’t play the cd I brought and couldn’t hook in my Zune.  The speakers sounded good, but I didn’t have my own music to compare the sound with home.

Jen’s Mom is staying over for a week. She’s great – the only downside is the inability to get a midnight snack in my underwear.

Today’s music- Gary McFarland Orchestra w/guest Bill Evans, on the original 1963 Impulse vinyl. (I had a record store visit on Thursday).