Yep, it's different.

There are a couple of changes I might make, but I spent several hours today changing the code in all the documents that make this site function.

I like a black background with white text, but it can be hard to read. I'll give it some thought. I may widen the text areas too.

Randomness...I made the move to OSX Leopard (10.5.4), and upgraded Pro Tools to 7.4.x (whichever one works with Leopard). The reason I did was that my original Admin account (on the studio computer) had gotten corrupted, and was becoming increasingly weird. So I thought I'd just go ahead and update everything, and that might solve the problem. Now, you'd think I'd fooled around with computers long enough to not be so incredibly naive...

Anyhoo, it was a gigantic pain in the ass, involving several hour-long downloads and massive aggravation trying to get both Pro Tools and Leopard to play nicely, in addition to struggling with account ownerships of programs and documents. I made a new Admin account, and am in the process of transfering ownerships of everything to it, away from the original one.

At this point, things are finally behaving as they should, and I've learned a couple of things...nothing heavyweight, but handy.

As for Leopard, it's big features are not even ones I'm interested in. They changed a couple of things, naturally, and not necessarily for the better. It's always the little things. What the hell, I'll adapt.

Cloverbottom received a recording of the Exit/In performance, and it serves as an excellent reference of areas that need attention. We discussed these things at yesterday's rehearsal, and will address certain factors in the coming weeks, collectively and individually. The good part is that the essence of our original sound and energy is standing on its own, and with some improvements, we will become a force to be reckoned with.

"...while fireworks may splatter the sky with every neon hue Chinese chemists can summon from strontium and copper chloride, they exist in a legal and moral gray zone. They’re kind of safe and sort of permissible, but also sort of dangerous and kind of against the law. All of which, of course, makes them immensely appealing."

Read article here.

Today, I rode bikes with Nanette at the Shelby Bottoms greenway. I've wanted to go see the pedestrian bridge for a while. It is an awesome use of taxpayer money.

Some photos here.
Note: They're all on one page and fairly high res, so the page takes a few seconds to load.

I'm laying plans to build a new web site for Le Studio, and will likely implement some layout changes for this one, too.

I'm going to need a camera, so I found a nice point-and-shoot from Canon. Also, I'm wading back into Flash programming - more on that as things progress.

This camera has some limited manual control, but it's best for me to automate most shots. I'm no photographer, so technology beyond a point-and-shoot would be generally wasted on me, and would put the cost well beyond my intentions. However, it will do closeups, which was a big selling point. I had some fun with the familiarization process, and shot some blooms around the gardens.

More cycling. Did an early Saturday morning ride down to the Shelby Street bridge. A very cool civic feature, and not far from the house. Maybe twelve miles; I don't know the actual distance. (I put my bike computer away for some reason, somewhere in the past, I cannot find it anywhere, and fear it is gone.)

Out at 5:40 this morning, to ride the shorter loop through Percy Warner park. That one's maybe 4.5 miles. You'd think I'd know for sure by now; I frequently traversed that particular loop in the fall of 1973, after I got my first serious "ten-speed" bike, and have ridden the route often over the years. But I've never cared much for mileage data. I'm usually more impressed by actual time spent.

I'm waiting for the delivery of a pair of shoes to stash at the external account, at which point I can make it official. Leg strength still has quite a way to go, but overall balance has improved.

Some car drivers are still self-centered shitheads (this will never change). To be sure, there are many precious, arrogant cyclists out there who are practically begging to get pushed around. Unfortunately, their actions make fair game out of people like me who consistently follow the rules of the road.

Happy June, the unofficial beginning of summer. For many of us, summer starts when school stops.

It looks like there will be a significant upcoming workload at the external account, so I've been gradually re-entering the world of bicycle commuting. The bike has undergone a good cleaning and tune-up, although Lynn at the bike shop said it was in great shape. Points to me for stashing it away clean. It rides as beautifully as it ever did, all components working like a dream.

I've been riding some, mostly in the evening or early morning. Today, I got out into traffic for the first time since fall of '04. Well, it was six-thirty A.M. trafiic, nothing hairy, but there were a couple of reminders of the inherent perils.

My balance is improving, and it won't take a long time to get some decent strength back. I need some skin tone; the legs are a little pale.

A couple of mega-mansions (ostentatious, oversized, unoriginal, grotesque) have gone up along the old route. Otherwise, things haven't really changed.