Skywriting Today

I can't remember the last time I saw any skywriting. It's been many decades. At some time back in the day it was a fairly common way of promoting events when we were growing up and as a young person. Today I was surprised to be sitting in a chair under a tree in our backyard when I heard a strange buzzing sound coming from the sky. It sounded something like an aircraft but different. We had been hearing a lot of airplanes flying over our house this summer because of the runway construction and diverted flight paths at the Buffalo airport but this was something different. 

I had only been sitting outside for a few minutes when that weird sound made me look up. The buzzing was coming from a very small airplane very high in the sky with white smoke trailing behind it. The movements of the plane were making letters and there were lots of them across the sky. Apparently the plane had been doing this for some time but it was a windy day and the white cloud letters were getting blown away. Only the very recently completed letters were readable and that was just barely. There were a lot of letters but the earlier ones were just more white clouds in the sky. I watched for a bit and then went back to reading my book. Every now and then I looked up but I still couldn't read the message. The letters were also backwards from my point of view. The Parkside neighborhood in Buffalo was obviously not the target for the message.

Then a little later the plane stopped writing letters and started making smiley faces. I then took my phone and looked online for skywriting in the Buffalo area and saw that it was a promotion of the upcoming Batavia Air Show this coming weekend. Later I saw some people were discussing the skywriting on Facebook but few people seemed to be able to read the message. Most just saw the smiley faces.

Taking Pictures

I went into my Google Photos this week to get a picture of the Trinity College Library for my Facebook cover photo when I saw that there were 700 photos in my album for our 2019 trip to Dublin, London and Edinburgh which was a little less than two weeks. I realized that I took about 30 times more pictures on that trip that I too during my entire 4 years of traveling around the world in the Navy. 

Through most of my life taking a picture took some thought and preparation. You needed to have your camera available and it had to be loaded with film. If you were going on a trip you had to make sure you had extra rolls of film too. Then of course you had to later on take the used film to a store to get processed and then wait until it was ready before you could see the pictures you took. Hopefully they turned out. 

One time I grabbed a roll of film and loaded it into my camera. I hadn't realized that it was a roll of film that had already been shot. When I got the pictures developed I was surprised to see all of the double exposures. I was upset at the time for my stupidity but many years later they are actually interesting to look at.

So these days I am constantly taking pictures with my phone camera. All the time. It's been fun to actually have a camera with you all the time because now days we seem to have our phones with us all the time. I take pictures of everything... well except people in social situations unless they are our grandchildren. I'm not the only one taking pictures all the time. I often sees folks on Facebook posting dozens of pictures of an event or gathering. Yes, we all usually take multiple pictures of a situation but that doesn't mean you need to post every single one of them. So many similar pictures over and over. I usually only post one or two at a time about anything.

I take lots of pictures of our garden and many of Becky's nice dinners. When we go out to dinner I often take a picture of our meal and sometimes the restaurant itself if there is something interesting. 

One of the things I like about taking pictures with my phone camera is the instant gratification of seeing the photo immediately. I can also take multiple shots to later determine the best one. All of my pictures go straight to my Google Photos app in he cloud where I have editing tools and folders to organize the photos. I can also do some basic editing right on my phone. It sure makes things easier. It's also nice to be able to directly share the photos in your cloud app.

Young people coming up today with this photo and video technology are totally immersed in it.

Cole's and a WOW

It was a cold, damp dreary day which was so much different than the great weather we have been having this August. There was a Parkside Wine on Wednesday scheduled for this evening but we were not thinking that we would go because of the weather. We decided to go down to Cole's for some dinner.

We had a great meal. They had some wonderful sandwich specials today. Becky had a chicken caesar sandwich and I had a chicken parm sandwich. Both were outstanding. We went over there at 5:30 and were surprised at how busy they were. Maybe it was the weather. It was so chilly walking over there from our usual parking spot that when we ordered beers I got a Great Lakes Octoberfest. Becky got a hefeweizen. We got home a little before 7 and video chatted on the phone for a bit with Katie and the kids, The weather got a little nicer and we decided to walk over to the WOW and hang out for an hour. It was just around the corner and we had one drink and talked with some neighbor/friends for an hour. Then it got dark and chilly. We have a busy day tomorrow getting ready for our trip this weekend to Sean and Ashley's house so we went home at 8:30. 

Overall it was a good night. 

Trouble Bound - Back Porch FV

I first made this mix or something very close to it on CD back in 2004 where I posted it to the Art of the Mix site.  Later I reworked this mix around 2012 and had it in my Porch Sittin' series. This mix is now part of my Final Version series in the Back Porch group. All of the mixes in this group are folk and country flavored but this one has a particular menu of whiskey, weed and women. There is a theme of murder and mayhem. Americana murder ballads and songs about people going bad or just getting into trouble.

I've played this mix for friends while sitting on the back porch. It's a lot of fun and they have always loved it. From the opening line of The Blasters you know what is going to happen and it's going to be a blast. The mix runs for about an hour and a half.

Trouble Bound - Back Porch FV

1. Trouble Bound – The Blasters, 1985
2. I Feel Alright – Steve Earle, 1996
3. I Feel So Good – Richard Thompson, 1991
4. State Trooper – Bruce Springsteen, 1984
5. Put Down The Gun – Peter Case, 1989
6. Fatally Beautiful – T Bone Burnette, 1983
7. She’s A Runaway – The BoDeans, 1986
8. Tennessee Plates – John Hiatt, 1988
9. Gunslinger Man – The Long Ryders, 1987
10. They Caught The Devil and Put Him In Jail – Tony Joe White, 1971
11. The Mercy Seat – Johnny Cash, 2000
12. Henry Lee – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, 1996
13. Fish in the Jailhouse – Tom Waits, 2006
14. Black River Killer – Blitzen Trapper, 2008
15. Methamphetamine – Old Crow Medicine Show, 2008
16. Jailbird – M. Ward, 2009
17. Tillamook County Jail – Todd Snider, 2004
18. 1952 Vincent Black Lightning – The Del McCoury Band, 2001
19. Drunken Poet’s Dream – Ray Wylie Hubbard, 2010
20. Concrete and Barbed Wire – Lucinda Williams, 1998
21. Handcuffed To A Fence In Mississippi – Jim White, 2001
22. How Will You Meet Your End – A. A. Bundy, 2007
23. Gallows Pole – Led Zeppelin, 1970
24. Whiskey, Weed and Women – Hank Williams III, 2002

Perfect Day - Covers FV

This is one of my more recent covers mix. Many of these songs have been used on previous mixes including the mega cover mixes but this is a new configuration. It is part of my Final Version mixes and runs for an hour and a half.  There are a lot of great songs and interesting cover versions. I think it makes a really good listen.

Perfect Day - Covers FV

1. Perfect Day – Chris Whitley (Lou Reed)
2. Between the Bars – Madeleine Peyroux (Elliott Smith)
3. Gimme A Little Sign – Shawn Colvin & Marc Cohn (Brook Benton)
4. Only Love Can Break Your Heart – Nils Lofgren (Neil Young)
5. All Apologies – Sinead O’Connor (Nirvana)
6. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) – Yo La Tengo (Eurythmics)
7. Heroes – The Magnetic Fields (David Bowie)
8. Jean Genie – The Dandy Warhols (David Bowie)
9. I Wanna Be Your Dog – Katy Goodman & Greta Morgan (Iggy & The Stooges)
10. Dancing Barefoot – Allison Moorer (Patti Smith)
11. Sundown – Jesse Winchester (Gordon Lightfoot)
12. I Won’t Back Down – Johnny Cash (Tom Petty)
13. Sing – Glen Campbell (Travis)
14. Positively 4th Street – Bryan Ferry (Bob Dylan)
15. Summer Wine – Evan Dando & Sabrina Brooke (Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra)
16. Maggie May – Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs (Rod Stewart)
17. Nobody Told Me – Jen Chapin (John Lennon)
18. Heart of Gold – Tanya Donnelly (Neil Young)
19. Simple Twist of Fate – Jeff Tweedy (Bob Dylan)
20. Pink Cadillac – Graham Parker (Bruce Springsteen)
21. Help! – Alejandro Escovedo (The Beatles)
22. I’m Looking Through You – Steve Earle (The Beatles)
23. Only The Lonely – Chris Isaak (Roy Orbison)
24. I’m Your Man – Nick Cave (Leonard Cohen)
25. Oops!... I Did It Again – Richard Thompson (Britney Spears)

Another Dinner at The Steer

Becky and I had dinner at the Steer this evening. Again. It's close by and one of our favorite places to grab a nice dinner. And have a couple of good beers on tap too. We've been going to the Steer regularly for years, for decades even. We first started going there when we lived on the West Side and then from our house on Shirley Ave which was only a few blocks away and now from our home in Parkside less than ten minutes away. It's an old standby for a good nearby bar restaurant. The food has always been outstanding.

Tonight we saw a few tables of students with their parents. It's been moving in day this week for students from the several nearby colleges and universities. The Steer has always been a good place for students and their parents because of the huge variety of good quality food including many vegan offerings on the menu. It was that way once again today.

We started off with a nice salad and Becky ordered one of there wonderful classic pizzas. I had a chicken sandwich along with sweet potato fries. Of course I had a slice of that great pizza too. I also had a couple of draft beers. A Harp Lager and a Hazy IPA from Goose Island. Becky had a Stella. 

It was a wonderful evening there as usual.

Annual Physical and Another Covid Vaccine Shot

Today I had my annual physical exam with Dr. Charles, my primary doctor. All went well and there were no surprises and no major issues. I'm fortunate. I recently had my annual checkups with the cardiologist and the urologist over the past couple of weeks.

I also had another Covid vaccine shot. This was my sixth shot. There is a new variant vaccine under development that should be ready later in the fall. There is no date yet. My doctor initially thought it would be fine for me to wait until October for that shot. I then expressed some concern that there so many people that we know that have been contracting the virus in recent weeks and that we were planning to travel next month. He saw my uneasiness about waiting for the next shot and agreed for me to have the latest shot now. Afterall it has been ten months since my last vaccine shot. Within ten minutes I had the shot. Becky gets her shot at CVS tomorrow.

Trenchtown Rock - Reggae Night FV

The Final Versions of the Trenchtown Rock mix from the Reggae Night series. This is the first in that series and goes back many years. As with all the FV mixes this one is about an hour a half.

I wrote a series of post about my reggae mega mix Reggae All Day last year where I described my experiences with reggae music over the years.

Reggae All Day: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5. 

Trenchtown Rock - Reggae Night FV

1. Trenchtown Rock (Live) – Bob Marley & The Wailers, 1975
2. Concrete Jungle – Bob Marley & The Wailers, 1973
3. Stepping Razor – Peter Tosh, 1977
4. Rasta Man – Bunny Wailer, 1976
5. Funky Kingston – Toots & The Maytals, 1973
6. Old Marcus Garvey – Burning Spear, 1976
7. The Harder They Come – Jimmy Cliff, 1972
8. Israelites – Desmond Dekker & The Aces, 1969
9. Stir It Up – Johnny Nash, 1972
10. War & Fiction – I Roy, 1974
11. Tenement Yard – Jacob Miller, 1975
12. Two Sevens Clash – Culture, 1977
13. Police & Thieves – Junior Murvin, 1976
14. 1865 (96 Degrees In The Shade) – Third World, 1977
15. Why Me Black Brother Why – The Mighty Diamonds, 1976
16. Westbound Train – Dennis Brown, 1974
17. Roots Natty – The Gladiators, 1977
18. War Ina Babylon – Max Romeo & The Upsetters, 1976
19. Chant To King Selassie I – Augustus Pable, 1977
20. Chalice In The Palace – U-Roy, 1975
21. Back To Africa – Aswad, 1976
22. Forces Of Vicktry – Linton Kwesi Johnson, 1979
23. Youth Of Eglington – Black Uhuru, 1981

The Covid Kids

The kids were supposed to be with us in Buffalo this week. Katie, Todd, Henry, Clara and Violet. But they got Covid and won't be here. It breaks our hearts. We were so looking forward to spending a week with them. We had a wonderful time with them on vacation in the Adirondacks this summer and were excited to have another week with them now. They can't come and we really don't want them coming here to infect us too.

Apparently Todd contracted the virus while at an academic conference in Boston. He was gone for five days which was difficult enough for Katie home alone with the kids but then he came back and immediately became sick. A few days later Katie got sick and tested positive for Covid. Then it was Clara and Henry's turn to get sick. On top of that they both got a bad rash too that may or may not have been related to Covid.

So now we are putting off our visit to Philly to some time in September when we can safely see the family. In the meantime we will try to get over to see Sean and Ashley and Andrew. We are also getting another Covid booster shot scheduled. There has been an upsurge in Covid lately in our area. Last week our neighbors and their family all contacted Covid while on vacation in the Adirondacks. Another new normal. We will be treating Covid like the flu and getting regularly annual vaccination shots.

Under The Boardwalk - Oldies FV

Under The Boardwalk. Another in the series of oldies dance mixes of songs from the late 50's and early 60's. Songs we danced to at Wagner's Ballroom and the many teen dance hops around the city of Philadelphia back in the mid 1960's. They were oldies then too. This is part of part of my Final Version series of mixes. Lots of great stuff on this one. Classics. Everything here is in my collection.

Under The Boardwalk - Oldies FV

1. Under The Boardwalk – The Drifters, 1964
2. The ‘In’ Crown – Dobie Gray, 1964
3. Out Of Sight – James Brown, 1964
4. Duke Of Earl – Gene Chandler, 1962
5. Sweet Talkin’ Guy – The Chiffons, 1960
6. You’re No Good – Betty Everett, 1963
7. Take Me For A Little While – Jackie Ross, 1965
8. A Lover’s Concerto – The Toys, 1965
9. I Will Follow Him – Little Peggy March, 1963
10. Leader Of The Pack – The Shangri-Las, 1964
11. He’s A Rebel – The Crystals, 1962
12. Be My Baby – The Ronettes, 1963
13. Tell Him – The Exciters, 1962
14. The Way You Do The Things You Do – The Temptations, 1964
15. Where Did Our Love Go – The Supremes, 1964
16. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) – Marvin Gaye, 1965
17. Baby I Need Your Loving – The Four Tops, 1964
18. Stay – Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs, 1960
19. If I Can’t Have You – Etta James & Harvey Faqua, 1960
20. Don’t Say Nothin’ Bad (About My Baby) – The Cookies, 1963
21. She’s A Fool – Lesley Gore, 1963
22. I Only Want To Be With You – Dusty Springfield, 1963
23. Like A Baby – Len Barry, 1965
24. I Know A Place – Petula Clark, 1965
25. My Boyfriend’s Back – The Angels, 1963
26. People Say – The Dixie Cups, 1960
27. Beechwood 4-5789 – The Marvelettes, 1962
28. Another Saturday Night – Sam Cooke, 1963
29. Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye) – The Four Seasons, 1964
30. Will You Love Me Tomorrow – The Shirelles, 1960
31. Love Is Strange – Mickey & Sylvia, 1956
32. A Fool In Love – Ike & Tina Turner, 1960
33. Goin’ Out Of My Head – Little Anthony & The Imperials, 1965
34. I’m The One That Loves You – Jerry Butler, 1962
35. I Want To Walk You Home – Fats Domino, 1959

Waxlight II

Tonight we went back to Waxlight Bar a Vin for dinner for the second time in a month. We enjoyed it so much the last time that we invited Dave and Donna out to dinner on us to celebrate their recent retirements from both their jobs. They had never been to this restaurant. We had a spectacular dinner and lots of great wine.

We started dinner with several appetizers that were amazing. Anchovy toast, pork brioche, borscht arancini, summer squash toast, rice shrimp chorizo. We split everything. Then we had a couple of main dishes that we also split amongst us. Pork maccheroni and chicken roulade. Everything was delicious. We also had lots of wine. Becky had a couple of glasses of a German Rose while Dave and Donna both had three glasses of a Riesling from Seneca Lake, NY.  They've always been big on wines but I was a little shocked that here we are with a great wine list of wines from all over the world from a restaurant that has Wine in it's name and you order wine from down the road. I'm sorry but NY State wines can be OK but I certainly wouldn't waste an opportunity to try some good carefully selected wines from around the world. I did. I had three different wines. A Sangiovanese from Tuscany, then a Malbec from France followed by a Monferrato from Italy. All reds. All delicious and different.

Overall we had a wonderful evening and it was great spending some time with Dave and Donna and celebrating their retirement.

You're Not The Only One - Late Night FV

I keep cranking out the Late Night Final Version mixes. I have loads of them that I've made over the years and it's been fun to look at them again and create these final versions. The original mix with this title was actually a collection of songs from 2007. I found a cool image for the mix back then and I'm still using it. Then in 2019 I made an eight hour decade 6 mega mix with this title and the same opening song. The title is actually the opening line of the first song.

It's been fun making these Final Version mixes and particularly this one which includes a lot of my favorite groups of that sixth decade of rock and roll. 

You're Not The Only One - Late Night FV

1. Song For The Fields – Fields, 2007
2. In Context – Field Music, 2007
3. Nothing Ever Happened – Deerhunter, 2008
4. I Saw The Light – Spoon, 2010
5. Psychic City – Yacht, 2009
6. Mirror – Lightning Dust, 2013
7. Artifact – Allah-Las, 2014
8. Dread Sovereign – Shearwater, 2012
9. You Don’t Know Me – Polyphonic Spree, 2013
10. We Exist – Arcade Fire, 2013
11. Circuital – My Morning Jacket, 2011
12. Devil You Know – Pinback, 2007
13. M79 – Vampire Weekend, 2008
14. Round and Round – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, 2010
15. Two Weeks – FKA Twigs, 2014
16. September – St Lucia, 2013
17. How Can You Really – Foxygen, 2014
18. One More Time – Psychic Ills, 2013
19. The Hours – Beach House, 2012
20. While You Wait For The Others – Grizzly Bear, 2009

Physical Therapy This Time

I asked for it. Going to physical therapy at this time was my idea. My left hip had been bothering me for a couple of years and had recently flared up with some serious nerve pain. I had been taking some pain medicine from my primary doctor for a couple of years. I was prescribed Meloxicam for the pain and also Pantoprazole to protect my stomach from the pain meds. It had mostly until recently been under control. I've aways kept moving continued to get some exercise. Becky and I have been walking a couple of miles through the neighborhood almost every day and I have also been riding the standing exercise bike.

After the recent flareup of pain I contacted my doctor through the patient portal and asked for a referral for physical therapy to get the pain under control. This was in mid July before we went on vacation with the kids. The doctor required me to come in for an appointment to evaluate my hip which was then done by the PA. I was given steroid meds to hold me over on vacation and an X-ray was scheduled for my hip which I got in late July. They determined that I had arthritis of the hip.

Then I started physical therapy at Advanced Care Physical Therapy on Main Street in the same building at my doctor's office instead of the place out on Maple that I had gone previously. I went to five sessions and they worked me out for an hour each time. My back was feeling worse. I continued to do the exercises at home but my back and the hip pain was making it harder to do anything. It was even hurting more taking my walks. I had to cut back.

I talked with my doctor who recommended taking a break from the PT and then get evaluated again later when I was feeling better. It felt like the PT people were treating me for one part of the back pain but not the overall nerve pain. My leg was getting more painful and numb at times.

So I'm taking a break from the PT even though I was scheduled for several more sessions. I am still doing my stretching exercises and trying to walk as much as I can. We'll see how it goes. The doctor says I might get an MRI of my hip to determine what else is going on besides the arthritis. I am sure at some time I will go back to PT but not at that place again. I will go back to the PT center on Maple that previously helped me and Becky with back problems. I just really just don't trust the ACPT guys right now. We'll see how it goes.

Sound System Rocking - Night Chill FV

Another mix in the Night Chill FV series. There are a few songs here that go back many years together in an old series of dance music. Now they have resurfaced along with a lot of remixes of other songs from that era. The title comes from the opening chant of the lead off Moby song Feeling So Real. The mix really does rock.

Sound System Rocking - Night Chill FV

1. Feeling So Real – Moby, 1995
2. Galaxy Bounce – The Chemical Brothers, 2003
3. Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix) – Phoenix, 2009
4. Stupid Girl (Dreadzone Vocal Mix) – Garbage, 1995
5. Just Dance (Tony Arzadon Remix) – Lady Gaga & Colby O’Donis, 2008
6. Move Your Body (Alan Walker Remix) – Sia, 2016
7. I Need Your Love – The Raptue, 2003
8. Banquet (Phones Disco Remix) – Bloc Party, 2004
9. Emerge – Fischerspooner, 2002
10. West End Girls (Dance Mix) – Pet Shop Boys, 1986
11. Kids In America (Blank & Jones so80 Remix) – Kim Wilde, 2010
12. Blue Monday (88 Remix) – New Order, 1988
13. O Superman – M.A.N.D.Y. Vs. Booka Shadow & Laurie Anderson, 2008
14. But I Feel Good – Groove Armada, 2004
15. Praise You – Fatboy Slim, 1998
16. Keep Moving – Jessy Lanza, 2014
17. Trash (Crookers Remix) – The Whip, 2009
18. Salome (Zooromancer Remix) – U2. 1992

All Is Full Of Love - Night Chill FV

Another recently made Night Chill mix. An hour and a half of grooves and remixes for late night. Image comes from a Bjork video of her lead off song.

All Is Full Of Love - Night Chill FV

1. All is Full of Love – Bjork, 1997
2. More Than This – Norah Jones & Charlie Hunter, 2002
3. So Nice (Summer Samba) (Remix) – Bebel Gilberto, 2002
4. Love Story (Blue State Remix) – Layo & Bushwacka, 2002
5. It’s a Fire – Portishead, 1994
6. California Soul (Diplo/Mad Decent Remix) – Marlena Shaw, 2008
7. Echo Other (MK Mix) – All India Radio, 2010
8. Aux Cyclades Electronique – Bertrand Burgalat, 2002
9. So Damn Beautiful (Chris Coco Mix) – Poloroid, 2003
10. Forcasa1 – Bola, 1998
11. Feel Every Beat – Electronic, 2008
12. Don’t Wanna Know About Evil (William Orbit Mix) – Beth Orton, 2003
13. Undertow – Ivy, 2002
14. Remembrance – Caia, 2003
15. Sweet Harmony – The Beoved, 2002
16. Grafton Street – Dido, 2008
17. Les Nuits – Nightmares On Wax, 2002
18. Hairy Trees – Goldfrapp, 2003

Woke Up This Morning - Reflections FV

The mix Woke Up This Morning came into being back in 2014. The mix title came from the opening lines of the opening song by Beck. Of course the mix was in a somewhat different configuration back then. Now it has been reworked a little bit and is part of the Reflections series of Final Versions.

It was also the title of an 8 hour mega mix. Here is a link to this playlist on Spotify.

Woke Up This Morning - Reflections FV

1. Morning – Beck, 2014
2. So Well – Dawes, 2011
3. Bicycle – Mark Olson and Gary Louris, 2009
4. Million Dollar Bill – Middle Brother, 2011
5. Cold Coffee – Assembly Of Dust, 2009
6. Cloudy Shoes – Damien Jurado, 2010
7. Let Her Go – Passenger, 2012
8. Actress – Jim James, 2012
9. The Greatest – Cat Power, 2006
10. Emmylou – First Aid Kit, 2012
11. All I Want – Dawn Golden, 2014
12. I Cry Everyday – Shelby Lynne, 2005
13. Chasing Pavements – Adele, 2008
14. Just Let Go – Sturgill Simpson, 2014
15. Into The Sea – Daughn Gibson, 2013
16. How To Be Invisible – Kate Bush, 2005
17. Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings – Father John Misty, 2012
18. Fireroad (For Two) – Chris Whitley, 2005
19. Dear God (MoF) – Monsters of Folk, 2009
20. Are You Alright? – Lucinda Williams, 2007
21. For Beginners – M. Ward, 2009
22. Nobody Knows My Name – Rickie Lee Jones, 2007

Broken Laptop

The hinge on my Dell laptop has broken. Nothing like that has ever happened to any of my laptops over the years and I've had about a dozen of them going back to the early 1990's. So I wonder how this happened now. I certainly do use it a lot but I never do anything that could possibly break the hinge. It just sits on the table all the time. It's not like I'm traveling with it and stressing it in various situations. 

I went online and researched the problem and discovered that it is more common with Dell laptops than I would have imagined. I found lots of discussions about the broken hinge causing lots of other issues such as problems with the video because of the wiring going from the main part of the laptop to the screen. I also watched some videos of technicians attempting to fix the broken hinges.

There have been some issues with the video images on my laptop recently. I had been thinking the problems were caused by ongoing issues with memory and storage but now I know it could possibly be caused by the video signal being interrupted between the hard drive and the screen.

I'm not sure what I can do about this problem. I'm being very careful with the screen and pressing the hinge together whenever I see it starting to gape open. One thing for sure is that if I need to buy another laptop it won't be a Dell.

Another Ozzie Moment

Another like the other. Here is a previous post on my Ozzie Moment phenomenon. So the other day I was doing something around the house when I heard some beeping that was erratic. It also sounded different but was coming from the basement. I went down to check the smoke detectors as usual but the beeping had stopped. Then it started again and I was searching for the source. I tried to pinpoint where it was coming from but there was nothing there. It was coming from the the front corner of the house on the right side when in the basement. There was no device anywhere in the area of the basement. It almost sounded like it could have been outside. Then it stopped for good. The sound was coming from somewhere in that corner in the photo.

I spent some time trying to find the source device of the beeping. I even looked outside. The only thing nearby on the outside was the remote meter reading device on the side of the house but I had never heard that make any kind of sound. 

Then I saw a meter reading guy across the street going house to house reading the remote meters with a handheld device that he would place on the wall device. I walked across the street and asked him about the meter reading and if it made a beep when used. He assured me it did not beep. Then I asked him if he had read the outside meter in our house about fifteen minutes ago and he said yes. Did it beep I asked and he said no. He also had earplugs and had obviously been listening to music or something as he made his rounds. 

I figure that it was him reading our meter that made the loud beeping I heard coming from our basement which was actually coming from just outside the basement walls. Then he read our neighbors meter which is directly across the alley from ours and accounts for the second round of beeping I heard.

So much for this Ozzie Moment.

At Last - Oldies FV

At Last. It’s what we were waiting for all night… the slow dances. An hour and a half of some of my favorite slow songs from my album collection that we danced to holding someone close back in the day. At Wagner’s Ballroom the kids danced very close. At the Holy Child parish dances not so close. There were nuns in the room making sure the boys and girls did not dance too close.

These are all slow songs from the late 1950's through the mid 1960's. They are classics.

Here is a link to the Spotify playlist.

At Last - Oldies FV   The Slow Dance Mix

1. At Last – Etta James, 1960
2. I Only Have Eyes For You – The Flamingos, 1959
3. Oh What A Nite – The Dells, 1956
4. For Your Precious Love – Jerry Butler & The Impressions, 1958
5. A Thousand Miles Away – The Heartbeats, 1956
6. In The Still Of The Night – The Five Satins, 1956
7. Long Lonely Nights – Lee Andrews & The Hearts, 1957
8. You Belong To Me – The Duprees, 1962
9. Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things) – Martha & The Vandellas, 1965
10. Ooo Baby Baby – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, 1965
11. Forever – The Marvelettes, 1962
12. Look In My Eyes – The Chantels, 1961
13. Tears On My Pillow – Little Anthony & The Imperials, 1958
14. Only You (And You Alone) – The Platters, 1956
15. Sad Sad Girl and Boy – The Impressions, 1963
16. Sincerely – The Moonglows, 1954
17. Please, Please, Please – James Brown, 1956
18. Been So Long – The Pastels, 1957
19. Gloria – The Cadillacs, 1957
20. Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) – The Penguins, 1959
21. Crying In The Chapel – The Orioles, 1959
22. When We Get Married – The Dreamlovers, 1961
23. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You – Elvis Presley, 1958
24. Eddie My Love – The Teen Queens, 1956
25. Gee Whiz – Carla Thomas, 1961
26. Where Or When – Dion & The Belmonts, 1959
27. Since I Don’t Have You – The Skyliners, 1958
28. There’s A Moon Out Tonight – The Capris, 1959
29. Angel Baby – Rosie & The Originals, 1960
30. What’s Your Name – Don & Juan, 1962
31. To Be Loved – Jackie Wilson, 1958
32. Don’t Ask Me To Be Lonely – The Dubs, 1957
33. Thank You and Goodnight – The Angels, 1963
34. Bring It All Home To Me – Sam Cooke, 1962

Robbie Robertson RIP

Robbie Robertson, the lead guitarist and songwriter for The Band passed away this week. He was 80 years old. It seems like I've been writing up a few of these posts recently for deceased musicians. I first heard about him as the lead guitar player for Bob Dylan when he went electric. That was such a big deal at the time and there were many articles and stories about Dylan's move to a new sound of folk rock and of course I was reading everything I could get my hands on. I had certainly been aware of Dylan in the early 60's but it was after his motorcycle accident and his recovery time in upstate NY that I really started to listen to him. His new guitar player certainly helped and also his new backup band... The Band. Actually they started out being Dylan's back up band as The Hawks.

Then it was the Music From Big Pink album released in mid 1968. Then I saw them in concert in 1969 in Philly and then Chicago in 1970. In 1973 I saw them at that one day show in Watkins Glen NY with the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band. A year later I saw the 1974 tour of Bob Dylan and The Band together on stage in Philadelphia at the Spectrum. That was spectacular. It was also one of the last times I went to a hockey arena for a rock concert.

Later on in 1994 Becky and I saw The Band minus Robbie Robertson along with Blue Rodeo and some other Canadian bands and a Canadian Invasion concert down at Griffis Sculpture Park in Ashford Hollow.

With the death of Robbie Robertson the only remaining member of The Band is the old guy in the band Garth Hudson.

The Band albums in my collection

• Music From Big Pink, 1968
• The Band, 1969
• Stage Fright, 1970
• Cahoots, 1971
• Rock Of Ages (Live), 1972
• Moondog Matinee, 1973
• Planet Waves w/Bob Dylan, 1974
• Before The Flood (Live) w/Bob Dylan, 1974
• The Basement Tapes w/Bob Dylan, 1975
• Northern Lights Southern Cross, 1975
• Islands, 1977
• The Last Waltz (Live), 1978
• To Kingdom Come: The Definitive Collection, 1989
• Jericho, 1993
• Live At Watkins Glen 1973, 1995
• High On The Hog, 1996
• Live At The Academy Of Music 1971, 2013

Robbie Robertson Solo Albums

• Robbie Robertson, 1987
• Storyville, 1991
• Classic Masters, 2002
• How To Become Clairevoyant, 2011

Afternoon on the Waterfront and Dinner Too.

It's been a weird summer with the strange weather and smoky skies. Today was the first time we spent the afternoon down on the waterfront all summer so far. We drove down to Canalside and then walked down the marina then back over to the Naval Park. It was amazing how breezy it was down there. At times there was actually a very stiff wind coming off the lake and almost blew my hat off. It calmed down after awhile. We continued walking the length of Canalside but we were disappointed that the access beyond was blocked off for some kind of construction. There were plenty of families playing in the gigantic sandbox and riding the merry-go-round. Such a family destination. We turned around and then sat on a bench for awhile before heading over to the Liberty Hound for dinner. It was a nice walk and we got some good exercise.

We were surprised how many people were down there on a Wednesday afternoon. There were lots of tour buses dropping off seniors for various boat tours. We had originally thought about going down to the Outer Harbor but decided to spend our time at Canalside instead where we were planning to end up anyway. There is still a lot of construction and road detours because of the Michigan Street drawbridge being closed. We just didn't feel like dealing with that mess. 

We eventually made our way over to the Liberty Hound and got a nice shaded table on the patio overlooking the Naval Park and the waterfront. We had a wonderful meal as usual. The Liberty Hound is one of our favorite restaurants and not just for the view and ambience but the quality food too. Today we had (and split) a shrimp po' boy and fish tacos along with a nice pile of delicious fries. I had a Resurgence Brewing Summer Ale followed by a Thin Man IPA. We sat there on the patio with that great view for an hour and a half. We could have stayed a lot longer.

Sweethearts On Parade - Reflections FV

This is another mix that has evolved over the years. It originally came together in

2012 as part of the Heartache series and then reworked in 2017 as part of the Love and Heartache series. Now it has been slightly reworked once again as a Final Version mix in my Reflections series. The main difference from the earlier versions removing some of the songs from the 60's and 70's and focusing on the 80's. 90's and 00's.

Some of my favorite songs of that era are on this mix and they sound wonderful together.

Here is a link to this playlist on Spotify.

Sweethearts On Parade - Reflections FV

1. Sweethearts On Parade – M. Ward, 2005
2. Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken – Camera Obscura, 2006
3. That Look You Give That Guy – Eels, 2009
4. The Only Way – Jim Noir, 2005
5. If This Is Goodbye – Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris, 2006
6. Volcano – Damien Rice, 2003
7. Sunflower – Low, 2001
8. I Don’t Want To Get Over You – The Magnetic Fields, 1999
9. Don’t Hide Your Love – The Rembrandts, 1995
10. Quiet Heart – The Go-Betweens, 1996
11. The One I Love – R.E.M., 1992
12. You Woke Up My Neighborhood – Billy Bragg, 1991
13. Big Heart – Paul Kelly & The Messengers, 1988
14. Perfect Skin – Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, 1984
15. Fearless Heart – Steve Earle, 1986
16. I Knew Love – Nanci Griffith, 1988
17. Thought I Knew You – Matthew Sweet, 1991
18. Only A Broken Heart – Tom Petty, 1994
19. Between The Bars – Elliott Smith, 1997
20. Lake Charles – Lucinda Williams, 1998
21. So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) – John Prine & Connie Smith, 1999
22. Something To Talk About – Badly Drawn Boy, 2002
23. Rise – Azure Ray, 2001
24. If I Never See You Again – Teenage Fanclub, 2000

The Club

We drove over to the Auto Zone auto supply store on Delaware Avenue yesterday to buy a steering wheel anti-theft club after we dropped off the rental car. We got a bright yellow high visibility device to deter and prevent car thefts that works with a key.

It's a little heavy and awkward but we will get used to it for now. We signed up to get the Hyundai new anti-theft software upgrade but it will take several weeks because of the backlog. This should hold us over for awhile.

Gentle On My Mind - Covers

Another mix in the Covers Final Versions series. This was has a more quiet folky feel with many classic songs from many different genres. 

Runs for an hour and a half as usual.

Gentle On My Mind - Covers FV

1. Gentle On My Mind – Alison Krauss (Glen Campbell)
2. Modern Love – The Last Town Chorus (David Bowie)
3. Danny’s Song – Tift Merritt (Loggins & Messina)
4. I Should Have Known Better – She & Him (The Beatles)
5. Waltz #2 – Minnie Driver (Elliott Smith)
6. Make You Feel My Love – Adele (Bob Dylan)
7. Wild is the Wind – Cat Power (Johnny Mathis)
8. Personal Jesus – Johnny Cash (Depeche Mode)
9. My Sweet Lord – Yim Yames (George Harrison)
10. Fool On The Hill – Bruce Cockburn (The Beatles)
11. Bastards of Young – Katy Goodman & Greta Morgan (The Replacements)
12. Talking In You Sleep – The Civil Wars (The Romantics)
13. Paranoid Android – Sia (Radiohead)
14. Diamond Dogs – Beck (David Bowie)
15. When Doves Cry – Patti Smith (Prince)
16. Love Will Tear Us Apart – Jose Gonzalez (Joy Division)
17. I Will Follow Him – Peggy Sue (Peggy March)
18. Ruby Tuesday – Colvin & Earle (The Rolling Stones)
19. The Kids Are Alright – The Raveonettes (The Who)
20. Cry Baby Cry – Winterpills (The Beatles)
21. Rock Me On The Water – Linda Ronstadt (Jackson Browne)
22. Hold Me Now – Duncan Sheik (Thompson Twins)
23. Bad – Luka Bloom (U2)

Car Fixed and Back

Around 4:30 this afternoon I got a call from the car repair shop telling me our car was all fixed and ready to be picked up. The shop closes at 5 pm but the woman in the office said she could wait for us a little while if we wanted to get there today. I said we would give it a shot and get there as soon as possible. We were really shocked that the car was ready this soon. I had talked with them a couple of days ago and they were still waiting on some parts. They had told us earlier that getting parts for these cars that were being stolen and vandalized all over the country was often taking several weeks to get and sometimes even longer. We had really been expecting not to have our car for another week or so. Just yesterday the rental company had extended our rental contract for another week.

Tomorrow morning we will bring our rental car back to Enterprise.

I Might Be Wrong - Late Night FV

This is a mix that has undergone many changes including the title over the years... decades actually. It was originally a CD mix about twenty years ago and has evolved over time. Now it is part of my Late Night series and a Final Version mix. I always enjoyed this mix in whatever form it had at the time.

I Might Be Wrong - Late Night FV

1. I Might Be Wrong – Radiohead, 2001
2. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) – Arcade Fire, 2004
3. When The Lights Went Dim – The Rosebuds, 2007
4. Please Remain Calm – Cloud Cult, 2007
5. Perception Room – Lilys, 2003
6. Hard To Explain – The Strokes, 2000
7. This Way – Jets Overhead, 2005
8. Help I’m Alive – Metric, 2009
9. Yeah – Lewis Taylor, 2006
10. Last Time – Black Dub, 2010
11. How Could I Be Wrong – Luke Haines, 2007
12. Servo – The Brian Jonestown Massacre, 2004
13. Autumn Shade – The Vines, 2002
14. The Crystal Lake – Grandaddy, 2000
15. Rave On – Over The Rhine, 2011
16. On The Edge Of – Low, 2005
17. NYC – Interpol, 2002
18. Disaster – The Besnard Lakes, 2007
19. Float On – Modest Mouse, 2004
20. Vaporize – Broken Bells, 2010
21. Season Of The Shark – Yo La Tengo, 2003
22. Round The Bend – Beck, 2002