Hanging On By My Fingertips…

In my continuing efforts to learn more about playing guitar and making music, towards the end of last year, I began trying some  “finger-picking” styles.  Before that I was either using a “plectrum” (guitar pick) or just casually strumming with my thumb / index finger.  There is an obvious tonal difference between the two: using a pick tends to be louder and with individual notes better defined;  no pick (to me) sounds “fuller” but softer (muffled isn’t the right word to describe the sound, but it’s all I can think of).
Finger-picking is used the most extensively (exclusively) in Classical and Spanish style guitar playing and frequently in Country (“Travis Style”) and Jazz.  As these styles are all far beyond my basic skill set, I have (to date) paid little heed of the physical requirements of this / these style:  Fingernails.
As I began exploring these styles (yes, my reach exceeds my grasp), I kept stumbling on advice for how to maintain appropriate nails – length and shape.  And, in turn, I’ve tried growing my nails out…
“PIMA“: P = pulgar (thumb); I = indice (index finger); M = medio (middle finger); A = anular (ring finger)
Traditional “Classical” style uses the thumb (“P”) and three fingers (“I”, “M”, “A”).  The “pinky” is unused.  Traditional “Travis” style uses only thumb and index finger, but most guitarists nowadays use at least two fingers (and usually three).
1 – 2 mm past your finger / nail join point
The traditional “strike-zone / sweet-spot” for finger-picking is the point where the nail and finger join.  This allows the guitarist to both deaden a moving string (using the finger pad) and get the most precise release point for the string (the edge of the finger nail).
Of course there are a variety of individual factors which determine how long and what shape your nails need to be, including: the shape of your fingers, the width of your nails, the shape of your nails, the distance from the join point (finger and nail) to the top of your individual fingers and the angle of “attack” you use to pluck each string.
Poorly shaped, but approaching the correct length
Bottom line?  Too much, too soon.  Yes, I can feel the difference when playing, and yes, I can hear the difference, but this is a LOT of hassle.  I have a LONG history of OCD with my fingernails.  I don’t bite them, but I keep them VERY short and just going a few weeks to grow them out this far is driving me crazy!  LoL!!
So, no, I won’t be keeping my right hand nails long…  And, so, my dreams of becoming the next Andrés Segovia / Merle Travis must fall by the wayside…  (Just kidding.  I have NEVER dreamed that!)  Now, where are my clippers?
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On This Day In:
2022	Do People Know What You Stand For?
2021	The Republican Party Can Survive Trumpism (If It Wants To)
	Don’t You Ever Ask Them Why
2020	Art Work
	One Person (Republican) Can Make A Majority
2019	Hopefully, Closer To Noon
	Can You See The Bottom?
2018	Stock Market Sets Another Record Under #DumbDonald
	#LyingDonald: About That Special Prosecutor Testimony
2017	We Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
2016	But You Have To Learn It Feels Good
2015	Never Stop
2014	Caution
2013	Treat Her Like A Lady
2012	Build New Worlds
2011	I Grok Elegance
	Standing Relish

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It Was A Very Good Year

At the start of each football season, I say the same thing:  “Two things define a “good season” for the 49ers – 1)  win the Super Bowl, or 2)  beat the Rams twice.  I don’t care if we go 2 and 15, as long as we beat the Rams twice.“
Today we were defeated in the NFC (National Football Conference) Championship Game by the Philadelphia Eagles.  It was not a close loss.  It was a resounding beat down (31 – 7) based on the final score.  Congratulations to the Eagles and their supporters!
As a LONG time 49er fan, I am (of course) disappointed in the defeat, but this was a VERY good year for us.  No, we didn’t win the Super Bowl – we didn’t even qualify to lose the Super Bowl.  But, if you look back at my earlier standard for a “good season”, we DID beat the Rams twice.  Please recall this is (was) the defending Super Bowl Champion Rams (last year), which beat us in NFC Championship Game to go on an play in the Super Bowl.  Last year, I qualified my original standard to insert: “Defeat the Rams in the playoffs” as #2 and the original #2 became number three.
After review, I added:  defeat the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs or defeat the Cowboys and / or the Raiders in the regular season.  Defeating the Cowboys in the playoffs is a borderline #4, but beating either the Cowboys or the Raiders in the regular season is really just a sweetener – nowhere near satisfying enough to make an otherwise unsuccessful season a “good” one.
So…  How did the Niners do this season?
1)	No Super Bowl win  – oh, well…  You can’t win (or lose) if you don’t qualify.
2)	Beat the Rams twice in the regular season – sho ’nuff!!  We smoked them twice within five weeks:  03 Oct (24 – 9) and then 30 Oct (31 – 14)!!
3)	We beat the Cowboys in the playoffs:  19 – 12, and,
4)	We beat the Raiders in the regular season:  37 – 34
5)	NFC – Western Division Champions
6)	Winner of two playoff games
Unfortunately, luck, injuries and good / bad calls are a part of every game and every season.  It’s hard to say which individual breaks / events were the most significant.  Obviously, losing your two suited-up quarterbacks was important, but the defense played (most of the game) well enough to win if a few of the other things had gone our way.
And so our team will watch the Super Bowl from their living room couches instead of from the sidelines – just like us…  There’s always next year!
And once the taste of this last game fades, we’ll all realize (remember) this was a VERY good year.
So, I’m offering a big THANK YOU to the team and all the staff of this year’s San Francisco Forty-Niners!!  Rest.  Recover.  And, let’s get ’em next season!
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On This Day In:
2022	A Murmuring Note
2021	Satisfied If Not Fulfilled
	You Don’t Know
	Urban Ballroom
2020	R.I.P. Kobe
2019	Looks A Lot Like #45
2018	Trying To Stay Young
2017	Seems Reasonable To Me
2016	We Can Get Through This Together (In Time)
2015	How Long Is A Piece Of String?
2014	Heathen, n.
2013	Wisdom’s Folly
2012	When The Student Is Ready
	Disconnected Leadership
2011	The Complex Richness Of Life

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Un-Wired

Today was a surprisingly emotion tugging day for me…  I received a notification of subscription renewal for Wired Magazine for just shy of $30 for the year (a monthly issue – hard-copy via “snail-mail”).  This is more than normal (at least in the past) and I just don’t believe I can justify the continued subscription now I’m into my sixth year of retirement.  So, I’ve canceled my subscription…
I started reading Wired back in 2000, when I got hired as a web-development manager in San Francisco (just before the “dot-bomb”) at a “dot-com”.  The company I was working at had a whole bookshelf of every back issue of Wired from inception to present (2000).  I started at issue #1 and read them all – cover to cover – during the time I was separated from my family.  After I got current, I purchased my own subscription and have maintained it all of these 20+ years – until today.  So, I am probably one of just a few people who can say they’ve read EVERY issue of almost 30 years of Wired.  Interestingly, (to me anyway), I was the only person at the company who EVER read the magazine.  I asked!  I also asked why we kept the annual subscription if no one read the magazine, and was told:  “We have a handful of subscriptions and we just renew them all each year.”
Now, in full disclosure, I have to qualify that I’m “currently” a few months behind in my reading, due to “life issues”, so you will probably see multiple quotes from 2022 issues in the future as I wrap up the outstanding reading.  My future son-in-law is also a hard-copy subscriber, and he’s promised to hold on to and pass along his copies.  Other than that, there’s always the public library…
Having cancelled my subscription to Time Magazine last year (June 2022 – after a near 50 year relationship), it feels strange to cut another string from my past primary written information sources.
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On This Day In:
2022	You Ought To Be Having Fun
2021	Democrats Talking To Republicans
	Talkin’ To Myself And Feelin’ Old
2020	You Are Not Late (Yet)
2019	Too Difficult To Try
2018	Hold Fast
2017	The Only Real Security
2016	Time Said
2015	If Only Common Sense Were More Common
2014	PTI
2013	What Now, Then?
2012	Big C, Little B
	Duty, Honor, Country

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Happy New Year — 2023!

If you’re reading this, it means you’ve survived 2022 and last night’s New Year’s Eve party…  Congratulations!
A new year full of opportunities awaits us.  Let’s all make healthy choices as we try to survive politics, climate change(s) and a dicey economy.
Happy 2023, everyone!!    —   kmab
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On This Day In:
2022	Happy New Year — 2022!
	New Year Changes To My Blog
2021	Happy New Year — 2021!
	Facing The New Year
2020	Happy New Year — 2020!
2019	Happy New Year — 2019!
2018	Happy New Year — 2018!
2017	Happy New Year — 2017!
2016	Happy New Year — 2016!
	Remembering My Brother
2015	Happy New Year — 2015!
2014	Happy New Year – 2014!
2013	Another New Year’s Thought (In Case It Rains)
	Happy New Year – 2013!
2012	Best Wishes For 2012!
	Where Did You Spend New Year’s Eve?
2011	Happy New Year (2011)!!

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Five Down, Two To Go

To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life.  The money is the gravy.
—    Bette Davis
[It normally takes seven to seven and a half years of retirement for the average American to “recover” all of the funds paid into their Social Security retirement funds during their forty odd years of work.  I’m well over half-way there and looking forward to the gravy!    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	Four Down, Three To Go
	It Still Ain’t
	Boosted
2020	Three Down, Four To Go
	Twenty-Four ‘Til You
2019	Two Down, Five To Go
2018	Year One, Done!
2017	First Day Of Retirement!
2016	Revere And Criticize
2015	Global Climate Change May Test This Statement
2014	Adaptability Won
2013	Disappeared
2012	Fuller
	Life On The Range
	More Classics
2011	Stoned Again?
2010	Insubordination… And That’s Why I Love Her!
	Losing – Week One

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The Natural Order Has Been Restored!

LoL!!  Yesterday, I reported I was shocked to find that for the first time since starting my blog a country other than the U.S. had recorded the most views for a day…
Well, it turns out I pulled a “#TrumpTheLoser” and created Fake News before the final tally…
The “next-day” / yesterday full view count is in and the “balance in the force in the universe” has been restored with the U.S. well over the view count of Australia.  No “Ashes” for the Ozzies, after all.
In my defense, I can only say nobody told ME in advance there would be a end of day surge – AND it didn’t occur to me until today.  (LoL!!  And now I’ll go back to almost never looking at meaningless blog numbers.)
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On This Day In:
2021	No Profit Without Risk
	And One For Me
2020	He’s Forgotten About Drugs And Rock ‘N Roll
2019	I Still Walk Daily
	A Windy Monday
2018	No Religious Test, Yes Religious Ban
2017	Looking At #DumbDonald
2016	No Great Thing
2015	Happy Memory
	Of Two Minds
2014	Sums
2013	Memories & Binging
	Admiration Due
2012	Choices Matter
2011	Acceptance Is The Key
2010	Just A Permanent Crease…
	Bodily Functions

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Shocked!

Shocked!  Shocked, I say.  For the first time (since starting this blog back in 2009) I’ve gotten more views from a single country which are greater than from the U.S.  Somebody pinch me…  🙂
Over the years, Canada and India have come the closest (Canada most often), but they never quite got there.  Thank you “Down Under”!
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On This Day In:
2021	The Truth Shall Keep Us Free
	Let Your Hair Down
2020	But What About Tomorrow’s Blog Post?
2019	Don’t Forget Obstruction Of Justice
	An Honest, Unvarnished Assessment
2018	#45 And The Republicans Are Pretending (So Far)
2017	Made
2016	Halves
	Accepted Fraud
2015	Even The Little Ones
2014	Who’s On First?
2013	No Equal Measure
2012	A Single Host
2011	No Exemptions
2010	Memories Of KSA – Inside The Fire

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The End Of Time

WAY back when I was starting high school (just before the meteor killed most of the dinosaurs), I signed up for a social studies / current events class.  As our homework, we were expected to become familiar with current events by reading at least one “national” publication (as opposed to a local newspaper with national news).  My mom always tried to encourage our reading so she signed up for three (four actually):  Time Magazine, Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report.  The fourth was more for herself and the whole family:  Life Magazine.
Thus began my (more or less) life-long subscription to Time Magazine…
We dropped the other two after the first year’s subscriptions ran out – but she kept me going on Time.  There was a brief lapse while I was in the military and in training, but I picked it back up when I got stationed in Germany for my last two years.  I was reading the “International / European” edition.  I didn’t realize there was a “different” version until after I’d already subscribed.  I just assumed everybody in the world got the same news – after all, our “national” version contained international and European news.  But of course, this was a completely different focus / emphasis and I – being the ugly American – resented I wasn’t getting as much American news.
Anyway, I kept it up when I got out and went to college and, in fact increased my subscriptions to include the Time / Life book series on “understanding computers”, the book series on history and civilization, the book series “Reading Program” – (kind of a mini-“Great Books”) secondary works of famous authors, and two music series: “Great Men of Music” (classical composers) and “Big Bands”.  I continued my weekly subscription when we moved to Liverpool and again upon returning to the Bay Area.
Now, however, my 50+ year relationship with Time has run its course.  My subscription ended towards the end of last summer (2021).  For whatever reason, they continued to send me issues until the end of January this year (2022), but I did not and will not be renewing my subscription.
There are three primary reasons for my non-renewal:  1)  As of five years ago, I retired and funds are getting tighter.  Now don’t get me wrong…  I can still “afford” the subscription.  I just choose to spend the limited discretionary funds on other things.  2)  the magazine has gone from a weekly to a every-other-week magazine.  They are under pressure to turn everything over to the internet and are apparently struggling to keep up staff, quality and quantity.  The practical effect was the weekly was getting thinner and thinner.  Their shift has “almost” restored the number of pages in any given issue, but it’s still only half as many pages of information.  And, 3)  the magazine has modified the typeface in their hard-copy.  I’m fairly confident they explained / justified their reasons for doing this in one of their editor columns, but frankly, it (the magazine) is just less appealing to look at now.  And so I’m moving on…
And just to make a long story (post) longer…  Why now?  If the subscription ended last year and the “bonus” issues back in January, why am I writing this (blog post) is the end of “Time“?
It’s purely personal.  I get the issue in the mail.  I take a quick glance to see if there’s anything I “NEED” to know about now.  I read that.  The issue then goes into my “throne” rack to be read cover to cover when I’m doing “something else”.  So, now, at the end of six months, I’m all caught up and “moving” to other things…
I am continuing my subscription to “Wired” magazine and I will be occasionally be posting quotes from that source.   I will miss the Red border and (regretfully) I’m sure my overall knowledge of current events will suffer / decline.
Back in the Principal’s Office of my high school, there was a framed question on the wall:  “Time is passing…  Are you?“
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On This Day In:
2021	Best To Be Trained And Educated
	The Great Relief
2020	Diversity And Uniqueness
2019	Ebb And Flow
2018	America: Paging #45
2017	Near By
2016	Maybe Someday
2015	How’s The Cow?
2014	Mind Made Up
2013	On Purpose
2012	The Dream
2011	What Could Be More Comfortable?

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5 In 6

About a month and a half ago I started playing a daily word / search / complete game:  “Wordle“.  It is a once a day game hosted on the New York Times news website.  Basically, you have six chances to figure out the five letter word of the day.  Incorrect letters appear as grey;  correct letters in the wrong location as yellow;  and, correct in the right location, as green.
As of today, I have only missed twice.  I have found it EXTREMELY addictive and also a great vocabulary refresher.  Highly recommended!
Here’s the link to the NYT site’s version:  Wordle – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
[Disclaimer:  I have nothing to do with the New York Times or the producers of the Wordle game.  I am merely offering this link / game as a suggestion of something I’ve enjoyed playing.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021	The Principal Difference
	Picture Perfect
2020	So Sad, Faux Crowd
	The Spirit Is Willing
2019	And The Same For Blogs And Posts
2018	The End Of Asgard (For Now)
	I Learn The Hard Way Every Time
2017	For Some
2016	Fragile And Explosive, Provocation And Privacy
2015	Bound Up
2014	Economic Engines
2013	Weren’t You Supposed To Be Reading?
	Absent Friends
	Where I Stand
2012	Hangin’ With His P’s
	Help Save
2011	Six Facets Of Good Leadership

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Memorial Day 2022

Arlington National Cemetery The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
As we gather around our dinner and picnic tables enjoying the freedom you sacrificed your lives to provide for us, a grateful nation remembers and prays for you and your families…
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On This Day In:
2021	How Trump Won The Fringe Right
	Hold My Hand
2020	I’d Include Health Care
2019	Accustomed To It
2018	Booking My Trip Into The Expanding Universe
2017	Fear Instead Of Convictions
2016	Memorial Day – 2016
2015	A Handful Of Reviews
	And You Can Quote Me
2014	Get Wisdom
2013	Enjoying The View?
2012	Adam’s Rib
2011	I’m Sure I Remember That…
	Memorial Day, 2011

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Defeated: So Far (Anyway)

“The untold story of the election is the thousands of people of both parties who accomplished the triumph of American democracy at its very foundation,” says Norm Eisen, a prominent lawyer and former Obama Administration official who recruited Republicans and Democrats to the board of the Voter Protection Project.
…
“Every attempt to interfere with the proper outcome of the election was defeated,” says Ian Bassin, co-founder of Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan rule-of-law advocacy group.  “But it’s massively important for the country to understand that it didn’t happen accidentally.  The system didn’t work magically.  Democracy is not self-executing.”
From an article written by:  Molly Ball
The article is titled:  “How Close We Came:  The secret history of the shadow campaign that saved the election“
Appearing in:  Time Magazine
Dtd:  15 February 2021
[This story is not even close to being over.  Unless there is a massive turnout of Democrats this November, the Republicans will likely take both the House and the Senate.  If that happens, the treasonous insurrection of 6 January 2021 will be swept under the rug and the Republicans will use their dominance at the state level to guarantee the election of a Republican nominee, irrespective of the actual vote totals.  They will “find” the votes necessary to win.  Voter suppression and fake ballots?  You ain’t seen nothing yet…  After all, to Republicans it seems it is less important who wins the election at the ballot box than who actually gets to take office and rule.  (And, yes, I said “rule”.  Not “govern”;  rule.)    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Defeated: So Far (Anyway)
2021	Elections Have Consequences
	It’s Cold Way Down There
2020	Fearless Security
2019	I Prefer A Neat Single Malt
2018	Seeking Finer Fruits
2017	Something That Is Absolute
2016	Animate And Encourage
	Out Of Time
2015	In Time
2014	Robust Interconnectivity
2013	What Have We Here?
2012	Tributaries And Eddies
	An Honest Politician
2011	Penultimate

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New Year Changes To My Blog

For the last 10 years, I’ve been posting personal health / fitness updates on pages under my menu topic “Sweat Equity“.  I was doing this to create an open site for me to refer to if I ever needed to, while not having access to my home computer.  I have used the pages very rarely – no more than 2 or 3 times per year and I’m fully settled into retirement now so I don’t really have the need for this type of access.
As such, I will no longer be updating or adding to these pages.  If anything of note happens, I will simply publish a “normal” post.  Typically, it will be as an additional post for a given day.
I will be updating my “Tributaries and Eddies” section (on my sidebar).  Two of the blogs there have (more or less) stopped updating, so I’ll be removing them.  One has changed location, so I’m just updating the address.  I used to do this updating (removing and adding) every six months, but I’ve kind of let it slide, so this will be a bit of New Year’s housekeeping.
Third, for now at least, I will no longer be posting music videos every day.  I’ve been doing it for almost a two years and it started off as a “lark” – just to share music (lyrics) I’ve enjoyed.  Once I got past a month, I thought, I’ll just do it for year (365 days straight).  Then I thought, well, just do it for a full calendar year.  Now, that’s done, too…  I will post a music / song video every now and then, I just won’t be doing it every day.
Finally, I’m going to try to write more posts of my own.  I started this blog to practice my writing and to vent at the universe.  When I began to run out of bile I began using quotes and book / movie reviews more and more and using the post titles as my “creative” tool.  My intent was to express a view / twist of the quote / review with a pun or hi-lite of a few words from the quote(s).  This was my way of pretending to be a newspaper headline writer.  I feel this was mostly unsuccessful, but I’ve enjoyed trying, so I will keep at it (on post titles anyway).
I hope everyone reading this has a prosperous year and that you keep on blogging!  Excelsior!!
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On This Day In:
2022	Happy New Year — 2022!
	New Year Changes To My Blog
2021	Happy New Year — 2021!
	Facing The New Year
2020	Happy New Year — 2020!
2019	Happy New Year — 2019!
2018	Happy New Year — 2018!
2017	Happy New Year — 2017!
2016	Happy New Year — 2016!
	Remembering My Brother
2015	Happy New Year — 2015!
2014	Happy New Year – 2014!
2013	Another New Year’s Thought (In Case It Rains)
	Happy New Year – 2013!
2012	Best Wishes For 2012!
	Where Did You Spend New Year’s Eve?
2011	Happy New Year (2011)!!

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Happy New Year — 2022!

If you’re reading this, it means you’ve survived 2021 and last night’s New Year’s Eve party…  Congratulations!
A new year full of opportunities awaits us.  Let’s all make healthy choices as we try to survive politics, climate change(s) and a dicey economy.
Happy 2022, everyone!!    —   kmab
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On This Day In:
2022	Happy New Year — 2022!
	New Year Changes To My Blog
2021	Happy New Year — 2021!
	Facing The New Year
2020	Happy New Year — 2020!
2019	Happy New Year — 2019!
2018	Happy New Year — 2018!
2017	Happy New Year — 2017!
2016	Happy New Year — 2016!
	Remembering My Brother
2015	Happy New Year — 2015!
2014	Happy New Year – 2014!
2013	Another New Year’s Thought (In Case It Rains)
	Happy New Year – 2013!
2012	Best Wishes For 2012!
	Where Did You Spend New Year’s Eve?
2011	Happy New Year (2011)!!

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Boosted

Today my wife and I both got our COVID booster shots!!  We got same day scheduling at the pharmacy in our local supermarket.
Six(6) months and two days after receiving our second original vaccination.
No ill effects to speak of other than a slight soreness at the shot location which passed after a couple of hours.  (That was me.  Hil had NO effects.)
If everything works out, we should be good to go until next year when they’ll probably have an annual regime in place.  Time will tell…
If you have not received your vaccinations yet…  Get on it!  Protect your health and let’s get living our lives back to normal.  If you have received your initial vaccinations, but not your booster shot – get it scheduled as soon as you are eligible.  Life (and health) is too precious to risk losing it over politics.
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On This Day In:
2021	Four Down, Three To Go
	It Still Ain’t
	Boosted
2020	Three Down, Four To Go
	Twenty-Four ‘Til You
2019	Two Down, Five To Go
2018	Year One, Done!
2017	First Day Of Retirement!
2016	Revere And Criticize
2015	Global Climate Change May Test This Statement
2014	Adaptability Won
2013	Disappeared
2012	Fuller
	Life On The Range
	More Classics
2011	Stoned Again?
2010	Insubordination… And That’s Why I Love Her!
	Losing – Week One

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Four Down, Three To Go

I sent the club a wire stating:  “PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION.  I DON’T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT ME AS A MEMBER.“
―     Groucho Marx
I, on the other hand, will make a few exceptions to my own “no joining” policy…
It normally takes seven to seven and a half years of retirement for the average American to “recover” all of the funds paid into their Social Security retirement funds during their forty odd years of work.  I’m over half-way there!    —    kmab
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On This Day In:
2021	Four Down, Three To Go
	It Still Ain’t
	Boosted
2020	Three Down, Four To Go
	Twenty-Four ‘Til You
2019	Two Down, Five To Go
2018	Year One, Done!
2017	First Day Of Retirement!
2016	Revere And Criticize
2015	Global Climate Change May Test This Statement
2014	Adaptability Won
2013	Disappeared
2012	Fuller
	Life On The Range
	More Classics
2011	Stoned Again?
2010	Insubordination… And That’s Why I Love Her!
	Losing – Week One

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