November

As usual, Im behind in my posts and reading.

Im thrilled and relieved at Mandelbears new gig.

Im also bummed today, bigtime.
Its like a piece of me has been lost.
This morning, we lost Dave Bruebeck, one of the true geniuses of music.
Im told that his music was some of the 1st music I hummed as a toddler.
Its part of me.
Dave was fond of oddball time signatures.
"Take 5" was written in 5/4.  "Kathys Waltz" & "Raggy Waltz" are a couple other strange time signatures.
"Blue Rondo ala Turk" was used as the theme for the evening news in France for years.
We also lost Paul Desmond a while back.
Dave was a day short of 92.
Dave was also early into civil rights before it was cool.
He refused to play along with "Jim Crow" attitudes & policies.
He had mixed bands both in the miltary and in the jazz scene WAY back.

Pacificon was in mid Oct (HTTP://www.pacificon.org).
This year it was both the Pacific Division Convention of the ARRL and the ARRL National.
It was a blurr, I didnt sleep much the whole 3 days.
We conviened "The Midnite Order of the Wouff Hong" as is often done at National & Regionals.
Its a fun ceremony where we induct new members but i cant tell more or Id have to kill you.

Some dickwad sat in the front row and his cell went off.
After a while he answered it and had a lengthy conversation on it.
I was livid and if i thought the rest of the ceremonial team were able to ad lib along,
I would have come off stage, snatched the phone, hung it up and frogmarched the guy out of the room.
"YOU... will be leaving us now..."

I got some cool stuff this year, but I didnt end up bringing home another teletype strapped to the roof of the car this time.

Early November, I caught the annual "George Wright Memorial" concert at Grant Union HS in Sactramento (Del Paso Heights)
In the late 30s, an organ was installed in the Auditorium and it still works.
4 manuals (keyboards) and 20 ranks of pipes.
This is not some classical church organ type thing.
This is a full theatre pipe organ and it has some real sizzle to it.

This years organist is an ex of mine who I had 1 10 minute conversation with since 1985.
It was a thrill to see & hear him again.  It was kind of funny talking to him.
I said "You are still placing me arent you"
"I know that voice from somewhere"
"Ill give you a hint, my instructions were clear.
I was to fix anything you needed on the Chicago and to set your presets without telling Rexx that I fixed the preset system"
"Oh! YEAH!"
He commented that for his birthday, he aged when he got "readers"

Also early in Nov, we set up Lodemas booth at the Dickens Fair ( http://www.dickensfair.org ).
This year we run every weekend between Thanksgiving and Xmas.
I hate this time of year and alarm people by telling them that some year Xmas will prove fatal to me.
The fair has been running since 1970, but this is only my 2nd year.
It definitely takes the edges off the season.

When Im not working for Lodema, Im around the corner with the print shop.
Im usually operating a pair of late 1800s vintage foot powered letter presses.
Im not good at typesetting, though. 
First weekend, Sharon was running way behind in getting thigs going.
She had a few things typeset and we printed some of them.
1st Sat, while I was at "French Postcards"  the big press got put to bed dirty.
The next morning, I was able tio get the ink plate clean with alcohol,
but the rollers were totally glazed with solidified ink.
We ran all day on the small press.

It got worse. 
We inked up the small press with red around 11am and it was 6:30pm by the time we started stripping it.
By this point wed been running all day and the ink was starting to set up on the machine.
I did what I could with alcohol, but I didnt get it totally clean.
Over the week, I researched how to brew my own de glazer, and roller cleaner.

2nd Weekend:
It got WORSE YET!

It had been raining all week and the presses got wet.
There was a layer of flash rust on everything.
Sharon was beside herself. 
I recruited help and moved the presses a foot to get out of the roof leak.
A pint of kerosene and a scotchbrite and a half hour later, I had the red ink and rust off the small press.
Id gotten a pretty good "do" on the big press ink plate but I gave it a once over too.
Since we were running black on both presses, the residual red on the small rollers wasnt going to be a problem.
Sharon took on the big presses rollers while I printed up a batch of business cards for Lodema.
The blank paper bags for Cuthberts Tea Shoppe arrived (they were due before 1st day).
I spent much of the day doing about a third of the bags for Cuthberts.
I had to pedal the press very slowly doing paper bags.
Sunday of 2nd weekend, I finished the Cuthberts order.
By this point Id done 6 press cleanings in a white shirt with no ink stains yet!
The rest in the booth are more experienced than I am, but I have the beat on the press cleaning thing.  (sticks tongue out)

On fair weekend, I crash on Lodemas couch on Friday & Saturday nights to make for early departure.
Sunday, it was pouring rain, like from a firehose.
I was wearing t shirt, sox, shoes & basketball shorts with a trenchcoat on.
I had a box in my arms, a larch gym bag on the shoulder and the garment bag across the top.
I was going to change when I got to the booth.
I passed "Ye Olde Pass House" as I entered the backstage area and a lady with pink & purple hair asked me if Id misplaced my trousers, in victorian english style.
I replied that my 1st time showing up in a trench coat and my arms were too full to flash anyone.
I broke up the whole area. 
Once in my full outfit (proper kilt etc) I put the trenchcoat back on to go and flash a few people for fun.

1st weekend, I ran into Charles Babbage down at the Adventurers club.
We chatted about his difference engine and analytical engine and I was dismayed to find that I know more about them than he does.  I fed him all the details I could. 

I ran into Fred & Jeannie and a few others from Grand Central Starport, and a few more from the sci fi & fantasy fandom world.

On the Saturday before Halloween, I popped by the former Grand Central Starport for their party.
It was great to see people again.

Thanksgiving was at my sisters place and both nieces were there as well as Toms oldest brother.
Tom is the youngest of 4 boys, the odd numbered ones being the excentric ones and the even numbered sons the "normal" ones.
The nieces call me "the wierd uncle" and Toms brother Paul (number 3 son) the "evil uncle".
Hes not really evil, he just pretends to be so.  Its all an act to keep the world at bay.
The oldest of the boys just likes provoking people and this time was no exception.

Bonnie (ynger niece) finally lost patience with him.
She told him to knock it off and behave.  I was proud of her.
Then after he left the room, she commented that John & Paul were the same except that
"John lacked Pauls warmth & decorum"
Ive never heard anyone say that Paul posessed either of those attributes, and I think that was Bonnies point.
It was the put down of all put downs.  She can be pretty funny, and usually is.
I hope she ends up a college preofesser.  Her lectures would be hysterical.