no coffee zone
Please, I beg of you, do not drink coffee when viewing this video of an Australian politician interviewed about the front falling off of an oil tanker. I swear Monty Python couldn’t have done it better.
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Please, I beg of you, do not drink coffee when viewing this video of an Australian politician interviewed about the front falling off of an oil tanker. I swear Monty Python couldn’t have done it better.
I just filled out an online survey of musicians, conducted as part of his research for a doctoral degree by a musician studying at Penn. The survey is supported by the local musicians’ union and is definitely not a marketing scam. It turns out he wants to survey 1000 musicians and needs more of them to fill out the survey, which is why I am posting it here.
The survey is intended for professional musicians and semi-pros who work part-time as musicians. Here’s a quote from his site:
Musicians of all kinds are needed (i.e., classical, jazz, rock, pop, country, folk, Latin, Broadway, fusion, soul, R&B, worship, hip hop, reggae, funk, dance band, rap, etc.), as well as all musical occupations (i.e., composers, instrumentalists, vocalists, educators, arrangers, music directors, producers, songwriters, conductors, etc.).
I must say the questions in the survey indicated a good understanding of the stresses and strains of the musical life, and I’ll be looking forward to the results. All responses are anonymous and are for statistical purposes only.
You can reach the survey from the AFM Local 77 site, the author’s page at UPenn, or go directly to the survey. It takes about 30 minutes and should be completed in one sitting.
Excellent New Yorker article on reforming health care. A quick snip:
Yes, American health care is an appallingly patched-together ship, with rotting timbers, water leaking in, mercenaries on board, and fifteen per cent of the passengers thrown over the rails just to keep it afloat. But hundreds of millions of people depend on it. The system provides more than thirty-five million hospital stays a year, sixty-four million surgical procedures, nine hundred million office visits, three and a half billion prescriptions. It represents a sixth of our economy. There is no dry-docking health care for a few months, or even for an afternoon, while we rebuild it. Grand plans admit no possibility of mistakes or failures, or the chance to learn from them. If we get things wrong, people will die. This doesn’t mean that ambitious reform is beyond us. But we have to start with what we have.
That kind of constraint isn’t unique to the health-care system. A century ago, the modern phone system was built on a structure that came to be called the P.S.T.N., the Public Switched Telephone Network. This automated system connects our phone calls twenty-four hours a day, and over time it has had to be upgraded. But you can’t turn off the phone system and do a reboot. It’s too critical to too many. So engineers have had to add on one patch after another.
The P.S.T.N. is probably the shaggiest, most convoluted system around; it contains tens of millions of lines of software code. Given a chance for a do-over, no self-respecting engineer would create anything remotely like it. Yet this jerry-rigged system has provided us with 911 emergency service, voice mail, instant global connectivity, mobile-phone lines, and the transformation from analog to digital communication. It has also been fantastically reliable, designed to have as little as two hours of total downtime every forty years. As a system that can’t be turned off, the P.S.T.N. may be the ultimate in path-dependence. But that hasn’t prevented dramatic change. The structure may not have undergone revolution; the way it functions has. The P.S.T.N. has made the twenty-first century possible….
In designing this program, we’ll inevitably want to build on the institutions we already have. That precept sounds as if it would severely limit our choices. But our health-care system has been a hodgepodge for so long that we actually have experience with all kinds of systems. The truth is that American health care has been more flotilla than ship. Our veterans’ health-care system is a program of twelve hundred government-run hospitals and other medical facilities all across the country (just like Britain’s). We could open it up to other people. We could give people a chance to join Medicare, our government insurance program (much like Canada’s). Or we could provide people with coverage through the benefits program that federal workers already have, a system of private-insurance choices (like Switzerland’s).
Happy birthday to Chuck and Abe! And a belated shout to Felix!
Man, 1809 was a hell of a year, wasn’t it?
YMMV, of course, but as a long-time techno-geek I laughed until I was sick to my stomach at this piece from the Onion News Network: Sony Releases New Stupid Piece of Shit That Doesn’t Fucking Work. Thanks, Charley!
Attention cat people: the motherlode of cat-related weblinks is in this Salon article, “The Internet is Made of Kittens.”
Who could resist another MySpace or Facebook survey? Well, probably most people. But if you are bored or curious enough, read on.
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My grandfather, whose name was Henry but who was called Pat. As the firstborn grandson, a few years after his death in an oil field accident, my name was pretty much inevitable. But that’s okay.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
A couple weeks ago.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
A friend once told me it looks like I write with my feet. That’s about right.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Not really into lunch meat, but I suppose braunschweiger.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
No.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Probably. Most people seem to think I’m pretty likable.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Only all the time!
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Nope. Had ’em out when I was about four.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
No. I don’t think I need to be reminded how precious life is by doing something stupid, and I’m not an adrenaline junkie.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Oatmeal.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
The ones that are tied, yes.
12. Do YOU BELIEVE IN GOD?
Depends on what you mean by God. In terms of question #7, I almost said, “I don’t know—does he believe in me?”
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Probably Ben & Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Cookie, though Haagen Dasz Bailey’s and Vanilla Swiss Almond are right up there.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Depends on the person and the situation. Sometimes the voice, sometimes the smile, sometimes the eyes. Sometimes I don’t notice anything at all.
15. RED OR PINK?
Red. Especially slightly orangey-red.
16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Taking on more than I can handle. Close second: posting stupid MySpace or Facebook quizzes on my blog.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
No one in particular at the moment.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
It’s up to them.
19. DO YOU BELIEVE IN TRUE LOVE?
I’d like to, but I’m not sure I do.
20. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Faded blue jeans and gray/navy New Balance shoes.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
I just heard “Ozark” by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, from As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Definitely Burnt Sienna. My favorite.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Coffee. Baking bread. Rain. Fresh-mowed grass. Drinking coffee while baking bread and mowing the grass in the rain.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Richard G, setting up a recording session this afternoon. I think the Hidden Pictures album is going to be really good, FWIW.
25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO?
Playing drums with a good band doing original material for people who are into it. I seem to remember sex was nice, but I wouldn’t swear to that any more.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
None.
27. HAIR COLOR?
Brown. It’s in a dark phase now, though over the course of several years it can vary quite a bit, almost to a light brown.
28. EYE COLOR?
Brown. No variation there.
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Used to. Haven’t done so for ages.
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Too many to count. Indian and Thai in particular, though.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings. I love fiction.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
I dug out a DVD of Cold Comfort Farm recorded off the TV. I hadn’t seen in 10 years. What a funny movie!
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Light gray. It has a Charles Barsotti cartoon on it.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer, though I like Fall most of all.
35. HUGS OR KISSES?
I’ll take either.
36. WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF?
I don’t give up easily.
37. PEOPLE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
No one I can think of.
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Oddly, the same.
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?
The latest issue of Tape Op, a recording magazine.
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
No mouse pad; I use a trackball.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
From the DVR: the episode of Spectacle with Herbie Hancock (wow!) and last night’s Daily Show.
42. FAVORITE SOUND(S)?
I’m pretty fascinated by all sounds—that’s why I got into audio engineering.
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles.
44. WHAT'S THE FARTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME?
A little town in northern Finland where we played a festival. Can’t remember the name of the town now. Or maybe Tromsø, Norway—it’s far enough north (225 miles north of the Arctic Circle) that it might actually be farther than Finland. We played there three times. Cool town.
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I have the ability to ignore stupid questions.
46 WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Wichita, KS.
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Anyone with something interesting to say.
48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
Well, we’re divorced now, but I met my ex-wife through an email to our band’s website. It started a conversation that lasted about 11 years.
While this blog is no stranger to the ukulele, until Doug Luther’s email this morning I was unaware of Ukulelia, which claims to be the world’s greatest ukulele weblog. I have no idea if that’s true or not, but the entry “For The Benefit of Mr. Buffett” is hilarious. And yes, it includes absolutely the best interview with Warren Buffett ever.