Freshening Up

Light Rain Falling

Todays rain washes away the mud spots left by the last rain. 9/8/10

We had a little treat from the weather today, rain. Some lightning, thunder, and maybe enough rain to wash the dirt off the Buick. The last rain we had was just enough to turn the dust into mudspots. I considered getting the car washed, but the forecast called for rain, so I waited. Good thing.

What's The Problem?

The lampshade makes the CFL have a warmer tone. 9/8/10

When I hear people complain about the light from the new energy efficient lightbulbs, I have to wonder what their house must look like with bare lightbulbs. The only place I can imagine using a bare bulb would be in the pantry or the garage. And even in those places, I would have some sort of fixture to protect the bulb. The people who complain that the light is too harsh evidently have never used a lampshade, or more likely have never used a CFL.

Anyway, there was an article about the last incandescent lightbulb being made in America and after reading it and the resulting reader comments, I got to thinking about the changes in letters to the editor over the last 50 years or so.

I have always read the letters to the editor. (That's not really factual, or possible, since I didn't begin reading until I was 4 years old, and I didn't develop an interest in readers letters to periodicals until I got the Weekly Reader in grade school. So, to be more accurate, I have been reading, and writing, letters to the editor for over a half a century.)

I still read and write letters to the editor, but now with the Internet and the many people who are using this new form of communication, there is an additional means to state ones opinions; Readers comments.

Yes the comment section gives me, and millions of others, an instant place to add my two cents worth. The instantaneous expressions often are not supported by thoughtful composition or conscious scrutiny before they are posted to cyberspace to be read by others.

Today was a good example. There was an article about compact florescent light bulbs, and the phasing out of energy wasting incandescent bulbs. (HERE)

After reading the comments, I had to respond;

I see that some of the comments state that CFL's are all made in China. This is not true. We even manufacture them in California!

The mercury thing. Coal fired power plants produce more that 100 metric tons of mercury waste every year. All the mercury in all the CFL's is less than one percent of that.

The statement that WalMart only sells stuff made in China. Why would someone feel the need to make such a broad sweeping false claim? (That's another subject.) From organic food to Hollywood movies on DVD, there are many made in America items for sale in WalMart.

To state that CFL's don't last longer than florescent bulbs is not based on reliable facts. Nowhere, in my search for information about CFL's have I run across any study that doesn't show CFL's lasting many times longer than florescent bulbs. In my personal experience, I have been using CFL's for 5 years now, and not one bulb has burned out yet.

And finally; The color of the light that the bulbs produce. You can create different hues based on the lampshades you use.


I don't know if my comment will effectively insert some factual information into the heads of those who are so vociferously spewing erroneous responses, but I think it will help to balance the discussion with some positive input.

Selection Process

John listens to a customer try a selection of violins. 9/8/10

Today, I had the opportunity to assist in the selection of the 'perfect' match of violin to violinist. My participation was to use my equipment and expertise, to record the different violins being played so that the customer could hear and compare the differences from the recordings to help in him decide which one best expressed what he was hearing and feeling in his heart.

I was really pleased that the combination of equipment that I used was able to capture the little things that comprise the sound of a violin being played. There was a particular harmonic that showed up in one of the notes of a passage that he played on all 5 violins that, to my ear, was perfectly balanced on just one of the instruments. I was really happy to hear it in the playback. It was something that happened because of his individual skills and bowing technique, and that would not be there with some other violinist. The same violin exhibited many other complimentary characteristics when he would play it, so I think he will probably choose that one in the end.

Patch Of Blue

My mother used to say that if there was a big enough patch of blue to make a pair of pants, the sky would soon be clear.

Today's Relatively Appropriate Song;



Hear Ye