After a few centimeters of snow overnight, we are now going above zero and seeing a ton of rain. I went out with the dogs this morning to shovel the back step and could barely move the shovel through the sludge it was so waterlogged. I can honestly say this is the heaviest snow+rain I’ve ever tried to move. Ugh.
Category: Family
Pups
It’s been a while since I’ve posted current dog photos (with the exception of the tails showing up in the New Kitchen !!! post. 🙂 Here’s George Lucas in all their “glory”:
New Kitchen !!!
Not a lot of backstory here. Our kitchen has been largely unchanged since we moved into this house in 1988. We finally bit the bullet and did a full reno. Here are some pictures:
Despite fitting in basically the same space it took up before, the new version has close to 20% more storage space. And because it has more large drawers, it’s possible to actually find the pot you were looking for now, instead of hunting through piles of cookware.
There are many other upgrades too, with my favourite being integrated dog food storage in a pull out drawer. The new sink is pretty awesome too.
It’s official. I’m an old fart.
The family are coming over for my 60th Birthday party tonight.
Divertimento Fall Concert
November 8 & 9, 2019
That’s this Friday and Saturday!
Program:
- Jacques Offenbach — Orpheus in the Underworld Overture
- Johannes Brahms — Variations on a theme by Haydn
- Camille Saint-Saëns — Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah
- Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov — Caucasian Sketches, Op. 42 “Iveria”
- Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov — Caucasian Sketches, Op. 10
Venue:
Woodroffe United Church
207 Woodroffe Ave.
Ottawa,
Ontario
Concert starts at 8pm. Tickets available at the door.
My dad
I don’t have a lot to say here… He was a tough old guy, and he had a good run, longer than he expected. He was up in the middle of the night, playing with his computer and he just tipped his head back, fell asleep and… stopped. Given all the health issues he had, … Continue reading “My dad”
I don’t have a lot to say here…
He was a tough old guy, and he had a good run, longer than he expected. He was up in the middle of the night, playing with his computer and he just tipped his head back, fell asleep and… stopped. Given all the health issues he had, I expected he was going to be in the hospital with tubes sticking into him for months, so he got the best outcome he could have.
I’m going to miss him.
Divertimento Spring 2018 Concert
[man, I really have to blog more often] The Divertimento Orchestra in cooperation with the Embassy of the Czech Republic, is proud to present a program of Czech music, this Thursday and Friday (April 20 & 21, 2018) starting at 8PM. The concert venue is: Woodroffe United Church, 207 Woodroffe Ave. The program is going … Continue reading “Divertimento Spring 2018 Concert”
[man, I really have to blog more often]
The Divertimento Orchestra in cooperation with the Embassy of the Czech Republic, is proud to present a program of Czech music, this Thursday and Friday (April 20 & 21, 2018) starting at 8PM. The concert venue is:
Woodroffe United Church,
207 Woodroffe Ave.
The program is going to be great:
- Smetana — The Moldau
- This piece, originally titled “Vltava”, is a beautiful tone painting that charts the course of the Vltava river. It has a very busy and difficult cello part.
- Dvořák — Slavonic Dances, Op. 46
- These dances are wonderful, exuberant splashes of music. They contain numerous parts that are extremely difficult to play.
- Dvořák — Symphony No. 9 “from the New World”
- I love this symphony. The oboe part at the start of the second movement is definitely on my “goosebumps” list.
Tickets prices are…
Adults: $20
Students/Seniors: $10
Children 13 and under: FREE
Please come listen to some wonderful music, including my minor contributions from the back of the cello section.
Divertimento Spring Concert
It’s that time again! I’m very pleased to say that I will be playing in the Spring Concert of the Divertimento Orchestra, April 28th and 29th, 2017. We’re playing three pieces: Halifax Harbour by Elizabeth Raum As part of the Canada 150 celebration, we will be playing this fun piece (with a great cello part … Continue reading “Divertimento Spring Concert”
It’s that time again! I’m very pleased to say that I will be playing in the Spring Concert of the Divertimento Orchestra, April 28th and 29th, 2017. We’re playing three pieces:
- Halifax Harbour by Elizabeth Raum
- As part of the Canada 150 celebration, we will be playing this fun piece (with a great cello part 😉 ) by Canadian composer Elizabeth Raum. Shhhh! Rumour has it that depending on the night, you might see her in the audience.
- Tres Danzas Españolas by Enrique Granados
- Enrique Granados was born the 27th of July 1867, 150 years ago. The three pieces that we’ll be playing are orchestral arrangements (by J. Lamote de Grignon) of three of the “12 Danzas Españolas” a piano work published in 1890. There’s a strong Spanish feel and some great solo playing (not by me <g>).
- Symphony No. 3 in Eb, Op. 97 “Rhenish” by Robert Schumann
- This Schumann Symphony is big, deep music, with complexities that you probably don’t hear on the first listen through. It really wasn’t until I’d played the cello part in context that I felt like I understood it. Very cool!
All and all, it should be an excellent show. And given my recent health issues, I’m particularly glad that I’ll be able to participate. By all means, come and give us a listen.
Here’s the poster for the show. Feel free to print this out and post it wherever people might see it. We love playing for a full house!
Yes, the 9.7″ iPad Pro is the iPad you want.
(This is an old post from June 9, 2016, recovered via the Wayback Machine…) If you’re looking for a tablet because you draw stuff for a living, then there’s no doubt the 12ʺ iPad Pro is the tool you want. It’s fast, the Pencil is as responsive a tool as you could ask for, and … Continue reading “Yes, the 9.7″ iPad Pro is the iPad you want.”
(This is an old post from June 9, 2016, recovered via the Wayback Machine…)
If you’re looking for a tablet because you draw stuff for a living, then there’s no doubt the 12ʺ iPad Pro is the tool you want. It’s fast, the Pencil is as responsive a tool as you could ask for, and it has all the benefits of being part of the iOS ecosystem. And I can say this as someone who also owns a MS Surface Pro.
The thing is though, if you’re actually in it because you want an iPad, you’re better off going with the 9.7ʺ. It’s almost exactly as fast as the 12ʺ, but its weight and form factor make it a tool that you will carry around with you all the time. By contrast, as Deb said, the 12ʺ is something you’d “always be worrying about bending”. It’s just too unwieldy to be anything but something you put in a laptop bag when you’re not using it.
The other side of the question is whether an iPad Air would be just as good as your main iPad. All I can say to that is, if you want that to be true, do not try the iPad Pro. The Air is a great device, but the Pro really is materially faster. Really, with the lighter weight iOS running on it, the iPad Pro feels like it’s faster than my MBP for many tasks. It’s definitely the best way to read Notes email now.
And speaking of which, I did indeed put the IBM security package on it, so I can now read my Notes mail and calendar, and get access to VPN, etc. To give you some idea of how much faster this is than my old iPad. My first gen iPad Mini took about 2 hours to install all the software. The Pro took just under 10 minutes. Very nice.
Anyway, the iPad Pro is too expensive to be an impulse buy. I was lucky enough to have my wonderful wife Deb give me permission to get one as an early Father’s Day gift. Thanks, love. It’s awesome.
Divertimento Spring Concert
(This is an old post from March 29, 2016, recovered via the Wayback Machine…) Please join me and the other members of the Divertimento Orchestra for a wonderful Spring concert: Donizetti! – Overture to Don Pasquale An exciting, rip-roaring overture with some brutally fast playing. Beethoven — Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68 “Pastorale” … Continue reading “Divertimento Spring Concert”
(This is an old post from March 29, 2016, recovered via the Wayback Machine…)
Please join me and the other members of the Divertimento Orchestra for a wonderful Spring concert:
Donizetti! – Overture to Don Pasquale
An exciting, rip-roaring overture with some brutally fast playing.
Beethoven — Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68 “Pastorale”
This is a deeply moving, powerful Symphony that paints beautiful images, from a shepherd tending a flock, to a ferocious thunderstorm. The more I play this piece, the more I discover in it.
Grieg — Symphonic Dances, Op. 64
Originally written for piano duet, and then orchestra, this is a cycle of four pieces founded on Norwegian folk dance melodies.
The concert dates are:
April 22 & 23, 2016 at 8 p.m.
L’Eglise St. Thomas d’Aquin
1244 Kilborn Avenue
Ottawa
Tickets prices are:
$20 for adults
$10 for Students and Seniors
$5 for kids under 13
Free for kids under 6
I hope to see you there.