Another dog in the office

Here is a picture of Rocco. He's an English Bulldog puppy. In the picture, he is getting a nice scratch from one of his owner's office mates. You can tell Rocco is really enjoying it because he is not teething on her finger as he liked to do with the rest of us. It was gentle teething, though, and no one minded.

I talked about dogs in our office in my previous posts "National 'Take Your Dog to Work' Day" and "Dogs at work". I like having dogs in our office (and as I mentioned in "Dogs at work", I like having cats at work, too). I know there are people who don't appreciate having pets at work but maybe we need to rethink the idea of having those kinds of people in our company :-)

If you click on Rocco's picture to see it better, you'll notice that one of his eyes seems to be larger than the other. It's not just in that picture. That's the way it is. When his owner first told me about him and showed me a picture, I noticed it there, too. My suggestion was that she should call him Popeye. But it didn't happen. He's still Rocco. No matter what his name, he is a terrific dog. He is very friendly and energetic. He liked everybody. That's the great thing about bringing dogs to work. They accept everybody and make each of us feel welcome.

Christmas program

We presented our Christmas program at our church as four performances over Saturday and Sunday this week-end. I think it went very well. At least I know the people who saw it liked it. We played to four nearly-full houses. I only saw about 10 seats empty (out of a few hundred) in two of the four performances. The other two were packed. The choir (which my son and I were a part of) sang well and with great enthusiasm. The band that accompanied us was terrific. The children's choir had the congregation going crazy with a mix of a good song and the usual antics of a few of the kids during their song. I hope to update this post later with a link to a recording of the performance.

Of course, besides performing this for the people of our community, we also offered it up to our Lord. We are celebrating his birthday after all. It's almost like group prayer. A coordinated group prayer. To pull off a choral performance takes a lot of work. It also takes people who are willing to sing out - which takes confidence that you know the part. It also takes the ability to listen to the other singers in the group. You can't sing so loudly that you overpower them but you need to sing loud enough so that your part is heard. Our director asked that we memorize the music (45-minutes worth of music) so that we would watch her for cues and direction instead of staring into books. We all had to admit that we didn't have the entire program perfectly memorized. But each person had parts of it down so, again, listening to each other, we were able to get cues from each other.

I highly recommend singing in a chorus - for anyone. There are all ranges of abilities and many choirs (ours included) don't hold try-outs. If you can carry a tune, you are usually welcomed to join. Reading music is definitely an advantage but is not necessary. You can learn a part by hearing it over and over. Your singing will improve, you'll meet new people and you will be part of a group striving to make something out of nothing. There is a real thrill as you see the songs improving with each rehearsal. And if you are fortunate enough to sing to God, you may find that the results were pleasing to the Creator of music, the earth and everything.

The Critic

During this Christmas season and also because my son and I are singing in the choir for the Christmas program at our church, I was reminded of the time over twenty years ago when a much different church choir went to sing in our local town mall.

I was the accompanist for the choir and I was used to using the wonderful Baldwin piano we had in the church. When the choir director considered if we could sing in the mall, she asked if I could get a portable keyboard from somewhere. I had a friend who had one and also an amplifier so I borrowed it from her. I had used it before when the band we were in performed in places without a piano but I wasn't as comfortable with it as I was with a real piano. The biggest problem I had (and still have) with playing an electronic instruments is the lack of expression in the touch. Things have gotten much, much better since then and all newer keyboards will play louder when you press the keys harder. But back then, this particular keyboard did not. You could only adjust the volume with a foot pedal. But, as I said, I'd used this keyboard before and was pretty used to that.

I had more experience in performing outside the church than any other members of the choir because  of performing in a rock band and singing in a few other choral groups. I was more worried about how the singers in our choir, mostly older women, our pastor and a couple of men, would perform.We weren't going to be doing anything fancy in our performance. We would just be singing Christmas carols from our hymnal. The old mall had surprisingly nice acoustics, though, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well the singers adjusted to the different acoustics than they were used to in church. We sounded pretty good for a small group of about twelve people.  Most people just walked by and smiled. A few people stopped for a while but not many. Then I noticed an old woman who did stop and stayed. She didn't look happy but I thought maybe she was just having a bad day. We'd lift her spirits! I played my best and tried to keep the tempo up. Then I started to notice that she was looking at me. I tried to ignore that and concentrate on the music. But between songs, I couldn't help but feel the weight of her gaze. Whenever I snuck a peek in her direction, I'd see her: immobile, unchanging, accusing. I had played in a lot of different situations and I knew I was a pretty good pianist. I looked at it as a challenge to cheer this woman up. I thought the choir sounded nice. We performed together well and there was no reason she shouldn't like us.

Finally, I saw a little change in her face. She actually seemed to have softened a bit. Did I see the hint of a smile? Then I noticed she left her spot across the hallway and was walking toward us. We'd broken through. The wonderful words from the old hymn writers about our wonderful Lord's birth had melted her resistance. She was going to have a good Christmas after all! She came right over to me a declared, "They're doing a good job," motioning toward the choir, "but you're terrible." She continued, "You're dragging them down." And with that, she left. Everyone was stunned but I was devastated. I'd never had anyone say those things to me. Our pastor, who also sang in the choir, said, "Don't worry too much. She used to come to our church but she left years ago." Somehow, that didn't make it better.

C. A. L. M.

Do you remember this day, December 13, a year ago? You don't? It was one of the most important days in a long time for those of us that try to watch television in the morning but don't want to disturb our family members that are still sleeping. It was this day one year ago that the Federal Communications Commission passed the CALM act - Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation. Still don't know what I'm talking about? I don't blame you. It's a pretty silly name for the act but what it boils down to is that the commercials shown during a television program must not be louder, on average, than the show they are sponsoring. I wrote about it a few days after the act was passed here. The act was passed last year but the FCC decided to give the television stations and networks a year to comply with it. Well, time's up. From now on, they've got to watch the volumes. Here's a story on CNN about it.

So now, when I've turned the volume down enough to not wake my family but loud enough to make out what the newscasters are saying, I can rest assured that a vegetable slicer commercial will not come along at a louder level and wake my sleeping family. Unfortunately, this act doesn't get rid of the vegetable slicer commercials. It just guards against a volume change. And the other thing is that the FCC won't be checking for compliance. That's you and I. It's up to us to do the policing,

The Commission will rely on consumer complaints to monitor industry compliance with the rules. You may report commercials that seem louder than the programming they accompany to the FCC at any time. This information will help identify possible problem areas and will assist the Commission in enforcement of the rules. Specifically, the Commission will use the detailed information from complaints to identify patterns or trends of noncompliance for a particular station, pay TV provider or commercial.

So, put on you uniform and strap on your holster to hold you decibel meter. You can file complaints at http://www.fcc.gov/complaints. And be happy - we're saving the government money by volunteering our services. Maybe we could do that more and cut the budget deficit.

The return of Plantar Fasciitis

It's time to tell the whole story about my previous post, "An old choir injury". My foot didn't just start to act up when I stepped up high to get on the stage. I had been having problems with it for a few months and should have known that stretching my foot like that would cause a problem. I just didn't think.

I wrote about my run in with Plantar Fasciitis last year in this post. It took about five months but the pain finally went away and stayed away for over five days. That's my definition of being cured! Well, it's been over a year since I was "cured" and I think anyone would consider themselves cured. It turns out that the inserts I used in my shoes last year were wearing down. My feet started to bother me again. Interestingly, this time it was my right foot that bothered me. Last year it was my left foot. I left the problem go on too long hoping it would just go away (that's my number one method for dealing with trouble). It didn't. It just got worse. Just like last time.

So, I broke down and bought new arch supports for my shoes. I could tell right away they helped but the pain lingered - though not quite as bad. Then I had a thought. Maybe it's partly the old, worn out arch supports and maybe it's the new shoes I bought this spring. And I think that may have been the problem. I've switched the new arch supports into my old shoes and I feel a lot better. I'm still not cured (haven't had five days pain free yet) but it is definitely improving. I started noticing the pain a few months ago (back in September) so we'll see if it takes five months to be "cured" like it did last time.

But no more acrobatic entrances on the stage with the choir, either :-)

An old choir injury

My title is a joke on an often heard phrase used by someone explaining an obvious injury. Maybe you see a person limping or favoring their arm and you ask them what's the matter and they will say, "It's just an old football injury acting up." Or perhaps a veteran would answer, "It's an old war wound flaring up again." Well, I have none of those excuses for my limping around the office today. I may be the only person you'll ever hear complaining about an old choir injury. Other people get hurt saving someone's life or performing some amazing athletic feat. Some people hurt themselves doing good or battling against the odds. Me - I hurt myself getting on the stage for a choir rehearsal last night. Who knew singing in the church choir could be so dangerous?

My son and I have joined the Christmas choir at our church. I haven't sung in a choir for years and my son has never done it. But he has a very good voice and sings in the bass range as I do (as mentioned in my post, "Those dangerous Irish Tenors") so not only will he learn a lot but he will also contribute right away. For some reason, most mixed voice choirs always need men. Too many high voices can sound thin but a good bass section can add real body to the sound. Not to discount the other voices - all parts are needed to balance out the timbre and give it a fuller tone. It's also fun to see him interact with other people. He a nice guy and people like him. And he's just fun to be with.

Anyway, at last night's rehearsal, we were supposed to be getting on stage for a full run-through of the 45-minute performance with the band. The steps up to the stage were clogged with, frankly, a lot of people more interested in talking than getting on the stage so we could continue the rehearsal. So, my son, who is 16-years old and in better shape than I am, decided to jump up on the stage (about two and a half feet high) from where we were standing. He did it and headed for the risers where we would be standing. I knew I'd never be able to just jump up there like he did but I figured I could step up that high and not wait for the steps to clear. Well, I got my leg up there and stepped up but I immediately felt something give in my right foot. Why do I think I am younger than I really am? Why am I so impatient? So, there I was not able to put pressure on my foot and I needed to stand there for over 45 minutes. I didn't do my best singing and I was never so glad to get home and put my foot up.

It doesn't feel as bad today. It needs more rest and it will heal. But if you see me limping along, don't ask what's wrong. It's too embarrassing to explain.

Strength of materials

I remember first seeing something that was touted as being stronger than steel in a tire commercial. They showed how they were using Kevlar® in their tire tread and that, pound for pound, it was five times stronger than steel. After that, it seemed every few months someone was developing this or that material that was, pound for pound, stronger than steel. Even natural materials were being mentioned. "Spider silk is, pound for pound, stronger than steel."  I came up with a rule (trying to jump on the bandwagon started by Murphy) by stating,

It seems that anything, pound for pound, is stronger than steel.

What, then, was the use of steel? Why were we still building bridges, car frames and girders for buildings out of steel? Why not just create building materials out of Kevlar or spider silk? You can't build bridges or building from Kevlar for a few reasons, of course. One of them is bulk. The amount of material you would need to reach the strength of steel would be too large. Also, the cost would be prohibitive. Making steel is a fairly cheap process - pound for pound!

Another interesting aspect to this story is that Kevlar was discovered at the Du Pont Company by Stephanie Kwolek in 1965 (and patented in 1966). Yes, a woman developed this amazing, stronger than steel material. It's used in many places including body armor, drum heads (as in the musical instrument)  and in sports equipment. It was also used to make the retractable covering in the design for Olympic Stadium in Montreal for the 1976 Olympics but it was delivered ten years late and needed to be replaced only ten years after that. So, it seems, steel's place in construction may be safe for now.