Friday, December 29, 2006

Something new

Question: Do we know how it will affect the band blog if someone switches to the new Blogger? I'm just wondering because I'm considering switching, but I don't want to lock anyone out or make it so that everyone has to switch whether they want to or not. Anyone out there using the new Blogger who might be able to lend some assistance?

And now for the Really Big Shoe:

Flute 12
Clarinet 12
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 22
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 4
Harp 12

trpt++; fhrn-- // For any of you who are not programmers, the ++ and -- simply mean add or subtract 1 respectively. :)

And have a very happy New Year, if I don't post on here before then. Also, please be safe in all of your celebrating. Don't drink and drive. :)

Saturday, December 23, 2006

GREETINGS one and all

Hmm... I thought I posted before, but it doesn't seem to have appeared. Too bad.
So I suppose there's a reason that only the veteran band citizens have continued posting. Just imagine what it will be like when (1. Jon is nimptopsical, I thought that was funny) you are an old man...

Well, I send my greetings to all and play "taps" for the funeral of the string family in your game. No vote at this time as I can't defend an instrument I haven't played for almost 2 years now. But oh well. PS there is a recent post on my blog for a change.

If any of you be wondering, I will once again grace the VBC with my presence starting next semester. So be prepared for the new, updated Jarrett Wheatley experience - the world will never be the same.

All sarcastic boasting aside, I wish you all the best, a Merry Christmas ('n Geseënde Kersfees) and a Prosperous New Year (n' Voorspoedige Nuwe Jaar) in all aspects and languages.
But I must hie. Salani Kahle!

Thursday, December 21, 2006

The Ultimate Answer...

...to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything:

Will It Blend?


Ooh, a site dedicated specially to turning ordinary household objects into dust (another ordinary household object.) It's almost like alchemy, but with more horsepower.

Happy Holiday-type-days for you all.

Add one for my wife and minus one from that wooden woodwind.

Flute 12
Clarinet 12
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 21
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 5
Harp 12

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Rollercoaster

Flute 11
Clarinet 13
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 21
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 5
Harp 12

Well, darn it all if you guys aren't just the best friends a guy could have
*sniffle* I mean, seriously. I just don't know what I'd do wivoutd awl of you... *sob* I just..... BWAAAAAAwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....

(My impression of what I think I would blog like if I were plastered. Sorry, I had a glass of eggnog for dinner last night and it made me think of what I'd be like if I were inebriated).

I am locked out of my office right now, so I'm sitting in my old/Ben's new office blogging. I didn't have time to make rice pudd'n yesterday like I was supposed to for our office party today, so my ex-/Ben's new boss will be mad at me. Oh, well. I'll just have to bring some in later this week.

And speaking of Ben, yeah, I agree - a clarification on the no-undo-previous-move item would be good. <opinion>I was under the impression that you couldn't undo what was just done by moving the point directly back from where it was put (undoing both moves), but that moving another section's point to a recently-deprived section was ok. </opinion> Anywhoo.......

Yay for elipses.
Yay for adventures.
Yay for my spider plant in my office not being dead like I though it was (I watered it not enough, then way too much).
Yay for summer that is drawing closer every day.
Yay for Atari.
Yay for the stuff.

Kaybye.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Flute 11
Clarinet 13
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 21
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 5
Harp 12

I'm scared........that's all.
Flute +, French Horn -

Friday, December 15, 2006

.5

Well, ok, you undid half of what I did. I took from the trumpets and you gave back to the trumpets on the next move. So then, are we able to undo half of the previous "move"? An answer to this would 4 shore change the way I play da game. I just understood it as we couldn't undo any part of the previous "move" but I did look at the other moves and there are 2 times (that I noticed) where this has happened so I'm assuming it's ok?? Either way it's not biggy cause it's just a game.

I did not undo what you did. Notice that you took from trumpets and gave to french horns. I took from tubas and gave to trumpets. That's how it works. Look at the older posts...

Flute 10
Clarinet 13
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 21
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 6
Harp 12

What happens now??

"Rules: 1) You can't undo something that someone just did" I'm guessing the score stands as it was? Not sure though, it was never talked about.

Flute 10
Clarinet 13
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 20
Trombone 12
Tuba 16
French Horn 6
Harp 12

I am incredibly offended.

And yes, I am completely serious too.

Flute 10
Clarinet 13
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 21
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 6
Harp 12

..............................................................................

yup, Version 2.156743857565645

yeah.....

Flute 10
Clarinet 13
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 20
Trombone 12
Tuba 16
French Horn 6
Harp 12

French fries are up, Donald Trump is down.

A fun poem

"There once was a Lady named Bright
Whose speed was much faster than Light
She went out one day
In a Relative way,
And returned -- the previous night!:

—Anonymous, early 20th century

This point change, however, is by no means anonymous. Nor is it vindictive. Or earth-shattering. Or edible. But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Flute 10
Clarinet 13
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 21
Trombone 12
Tuba 16
French Horn 5
Harp 12

Trumpet to Clarinet 2-point conversion. Ding!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

yup.

I know that this is in good fun and all, but I simply just don't like the trumpets and I think it's time to take them down a few notches. Join me, won't you? (Just kidding....well, actually, not really. I wouldn't lie about something like that)

Tuba+, trumpet-. Now somebody else needs to post so that we can end this trumpet lead and take them down. I mean, seriously, does anybody (besides trumpet players) actually like trumpets. They just sound so puny and weak.

Flute 10
Clarinet 12
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 22
Trombone 12
Tuba 16
French Horn 5
Harp 12

yup. This will be fun now :)

Merry Whatever-us

Flute 10
Clarinet 12
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 23
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 5
Harp 12

I must avenge my wife. No hard feelings.
Flue +++, Trumpet ---

Harppy Holidays Everyone

Flute 9
Clarinet 12
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 24
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 5
Harp 12

Harp +1, French Horn -1

Happy Birthday, Tycho!

No, not Tyco, maker of fine children's toys. Tycho, observer of the heavens. From Denmark, too. :)

Clarinet+ Horn-

Flute 9
Clarinet 12
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 24
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 6
Harp 11

So...............................
how's everyone doing? That's just great. Since the semester is (practically) over (for those attending classes), I think we need to have somewhat of a celebration by way of social gathering and food and games and such.

The other day my brother gave me a set of the original Atari pong paddle-style controllers which are now gracing my office desk here at the Stick. Isn't retro fun?

In other news, it's supposed to be 49 degrees today. Crazy, no?

Well, for anyone with any finals left to take, I wish you goodest luck.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

T minus 14...

...hours and Disneyland opens! Yay!!!

I just thought I'd throw that in there because that's where I'll be. Photos will be forthcoming. :)

And now on to bizz-ness.

Flute 9
Clarinet 11
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 24
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 7
Harp 11

trpt++; flt--;

It's not that I have something fundamentally against flute players; my ears are damaged and have a very hard time listening to high-pitched sounds. And really, that was more of a "--" against piccolos because they hurt so bad to listen to. I've spent too many years listening to loud sounds (such as being in a jazz band and marching bands). Do I regret my hearing loss? Not one iota. It's like a war wound. I'm very proud of it. But, it does call into question my ability to listen to mp3 players. :) I also revel in loud sounds like those from good old American muscle (Chevy 350 small block, Ford 427, and Chrysler 426 Hemi). Those are some beautiful sounds, something no Euro-lib car or Japanese rice burner will ever [properly] imitate. :) Speaking of which, the Corvette is the most beautiful 4-wheeled creation to ever grace the surface of the planet. Ever. Period. I think this one comes in near the top, too. ;)

Wow! I went from flutes to sports cars in one paragraph. I like to gravitate to cars, if you can't tell.

Anyhow, take it easy, y'all!

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

This just in...

...French horns are going down!!

Flute 10
Clarinet 11
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 23
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 7
Harp 11

Take that, Frenchie!

Flute +, French Horn -

Flute 10
Clarinet 11
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 22
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 8
Harp 11

Monday, December 11, 2006

Ajax can be fun

So can sending the violas to be with the violins. They will be happier together, I think.

Flute 9
Clarinet 11
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 22
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 9
Viola 0
Harp 11

Not much new here - just life in the fast lane.

Quote of the day:
"Never, never, never give up."
- Winston Churchill

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Meh

Flute 9
Clarinet 10
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 22
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 9
Viola 1
Harp 11

Trumpet +, Viola -

That is all.

Yay! Trumpets are legal now!!

Flute 9
Clarinet 10
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 21
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 9
Viola 2
Harp 11

Andrew, I can only think of a couple of people I know who actually like Microsoft. And I am not one of them. I use Windows out of necessity; it provides some services that other systems do not, that I have discovered to be difficult to live without. I forsook MSN messenger a couple of years ago because of its desire for constant attention. I use mostly Jabber for IM (Google chat, gaim), but if I do need to connect to MSN/AOL, I use Trillian. So yeah, I don't much care for Microsoft either. Except, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I do think the Zune player is pretty cool.

Y'know, a couple of years ago, I purchased some speakers for my computer so that I could upgrade the sound experience. I forked over about $50 and bought the Logitech X-230 2.1 speaker set. Previous to that, I had this fairly nice 2.1 system by Altec Lansing which I donated to Kristin so that she wouldn't have to listen to her old crackly speakers anymore. Anyway, when we moved to Ogden, we set up our TV and DVD player, but desperately needed some decent movie sound. So, I sacrificed and connected my nice speaker system to the DVD player. It really wasn't a sacrifice at all. Over the last year plus, we have really enjoyed the sound that the X-230 puts out. The subwoofer is enough to actually blow air across the room. The sound rivals some Bose systems for clarity. Just last night, we were watching "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and during the end credits, I went in the other room. I could still hear the music loud and clear through the concrete walls. I do try to keep the music down after 10:00 pm so we don't come off as being bad neighbors. But yes, those little speakers are really quite impressive.

Anyway, that's my product review for the day. Take it easy, y'all!

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Trombone +1 and Viola -1

Flute 9
Clarinet 10
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 20
Trombone 12
Tuba 15
French Horn 9
Viola 3
Harp 11

I looks like we'll have an interesting time once Viola goes the way of all that is Violins (violence).

Thursday, December 07, 2006

I am running out of post titles...

I must have just sat there for litterally minutes trying to think up a title for this post, but nothing is coming to me. Also, Messenger is not signing me in, and I am getting quite pissed at the little bouncing MSN icon in my dock. Which leads me to my next point, I hate Microsoft. Seriously, can't these people ever get anything right (granted, the XBox is pretty cool)?

On the better side of life, I finished one class completely and now just have two more to go. My cinematography class is all but finish. I just need to get a sound mix done, then fill out a picture log, then send the whole shebang out to Denver and pay $100 and pray I have the patience and nerve to wait six weeks. Then, I just have one measly little project to do for ASL. I'm just worried about my grade in sign language. I need a C- or better. Wish me luck!

Also, I decided that my neighbor is an annoying twerp who keeps his music up too loud. Good thing he's getting evicted from the dorms.

On to business:

Flute 9
Clarinet 10
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 20
Trombone 11
Tuba 15
French Horn 9
Viola 4
Harp 11

Tumpet +, Viola -

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

A first




Just Strong Bad's mask not on his head.

Flute 9
Clarinet 10
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 19
Trombone 11
Tuba 15
French Horn 9
Viola 5
Harp 11

Flute - Clarinet +

And if you want to see a video about a different look at wiki editing, check this out. (Click on #3)

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Trumpet +, Viola -

Flute 10
Clarinet 9
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 19
Trombone 11
Tuba 15
French Horn 9
Viola 5
Harp 11

Anyhoo, how's everyone doing? Us school people are all winding down for a nice, well deserved holiday break. As a fine arts major, I don't have to do any finals, just projects. I am split whether or not that is good thing. On one hand, I don't have the stress of tests, on the other hand, projects are large and take lots of time. Either way, the semester is nearly done. Happy semester break everyone!

KML != Camel

Cory, KML stands for Keyhole Markup Language. In other words, Jon wants to do some more stuff with Google Earth, like designing cool structures and placing them in certain places on Google Earth. That's what .kml means. But, if you like, you could create a really cool 3-D camel and place it somewhere and make everyone look for it. :)

Monday, December 04, 2006

Tired of meta tags? Try sketching it

If you've ever needed a CC licensed image to use for a website, flyer, or other purpose and you've tried searching flickr.com, but just can't quite find that perfect picture using search terms, you should check retrievr out. It's pretty amazing what they did. You basically sketch what you're looking for and every brush-stroke does a new search and returns more photos, narrowing the search.

Check it out.

I've been waiting...

Bwwwaaahahahahaha!!!

I get to destroy the violins! STOP THE VIOLINS!!

Flute 10
Clarinet 9
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 19
Trombone 11
Tuba 15
French Horn 8
Violin 0000000000
Viola 6
Harp 11

The violin gets one zero for each of its former points. Whoever goes next, feel free to just delete it from the list, also, feel free to add more points to trumpets.

Jason, I remember each and every single one of those people. In fact, I was just sitting down last night and thinking about the really cool arrangemnet Seth did of the Disney Electrical Light Parade for brass quintet.

Jon, I dig the events idea. Let's do it!

Jarrett, I had a strange experience the other day when I ran into your double here on the U of U campus. I swear, he looked almost exactly like you. Hope you have a pleasant journey home.

Okay peoples lets chip away at the viola and french horn...

Who's...

...scruffy lookin'? I mean, old?

So Jon, do you want Win3.1 to burn into your monitor? I have a copy of it if you'd like to use it for just such a devious purpose.

And why did I not know aboot the concert at St. Joe's last night? Geez! I played in that concert once. I had to fill in for Dave Cox who had some other engagement that night. Present was Seth C. Miner (Minor), Joel Green, Matt Moore (see him almost every week on Music and the Spoken Word), Chris Stubbs, and me. Well, and then there was the orchestra and choir. It was a cool concert. Now, anyone who knows all of the aforementioned people, raise your hand. I guess that would make me a little "old" now, wouldn't it. But, I'm not using the word "old," only "experienced."

Anyhow, I guess I have to do my civic duty to stamp out competition wherever its stinking corpse may lie. Oh wait, that's Microsoft. Never mind. My civic duty is to advance the cause of trumpet players the world over!

Flute 10
Clarinet 9
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 18
Trombone 11
Tuba 15
French Horn 8
Violin 1
Viola 6
Harp 11

And the "aye's" have it.

Old Computer Stuff and Other Stuff

I love old computer stuff. So nostalgic. My brother offered me a bunch of old computer stuff yesterday. I'm putting the Atari pong paddle-style controllers and a couple classic Atari controllers in my office as decor. And the CRT in my other office has the older Windows logo burned into it (95-2000 - not the 3.1 version). Yay.

Jarrett, good to hear from you. I hope everything is still going swimmingly. Can't wait to hear about S. Africa and all your adventures. Keep it up.

Flute 10
Clarinet 9
Saxophone 11
Trumpet 17
Trombone 11
Tuba 15
French Horn 8
Violin 2
Viola 6
Harp 11

Violin: one more nail in the coffin
Clarinet: TTL += 1

Everyone come to the Bell Tower at noon today and get a free hug.

There was a most excellent choirs/orchestra concert at St. Joseph's in Ogden last night. If you missed it, you really missed out. But then, I'm admittedly rather biased. Aside from my bias, though, it was still a very good concert.

I propose...

Summer Games



Hiking
Movies
BBQ's
Road Trips
Ultimate Frisbee
Stargazing
Boating
Rock Climbing/Ice Climbing
Concerts
Dancing
Breakfast
Volleyball
Ice Skating
Firesides
Game Nights

Starting when the weather warms up after this upcoming mini ice age we call "winter", I think we ought to have a communal calendar of events that we can all refer to and show up to as many or few of the events on it as we can or want to. Maybe a little .kml for each event that shows the meeting place and includes meeting time and/or other pertinent info. Each activity could happen once or more than once during the course of the warmer months ahead. Just an idea.

Hmmm....

this blog is starting to look like my Nelspruit district. They all called me "the Old Man". And it seems only the old men have continued to post lately. Funny how life goes on.

All I can say about your game is Bagpipes + 1, Panpipes - 1
or Accordion + 1, Nickelodeon - 1

I am not scared to fly... but I dread flights greater than 9 hours in length.

Well, I hope you're all doing well. And... well, that's all really

A. 2 J. W.
(or "wheatface" as some would have it).