tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66392688976845194352024-03-13T04:53:05.025-04:00Scott's ShoeboxScott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-34558170897425387502015-03-27T13:21:00.002-04:002015-03-27T13:26:02.033-04:00Mountain biking in Moab and cliff dwellings in Mesa VerdeMy parents and I met up with my sister in Salt Lake City, for a family vacation to Moab, Canyonlands, Arches, and the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde (May 2012).<br />
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Pictures on:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150964094087103.451059.636697102&type=3&l=c78766d074">Facebook</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/sets/72157630171421134/">Flickr</a></li>
</ul>Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-14275341943797265882012-04-10T18:05:00.001-04:002015-03-27T13:20:13.095-04:00New recording: AlaskaA new recording! I've been playing around with synthesizer sounds on my Yamaha MO-8 keyboard and ended up putting this together:<br />
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<audio controls="controls"><source src="http://teresi.us/resources/audio/originals/Alaska.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" autoplay="false" controller="true"></source>
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<a href="http://teresi.us/resources/audio/originals/Alaska.mp3" style="font-size: 75%;">(Link to MP3 file, 3 minutes)</a>Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-67766018317038416042011-10-01T00:29:00.006-04:002012-06-20T12:23:15.067-04:00Living on the roadI'm currently on an extended road trip to New England, living and working on the road! I'm posting <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150317985787103.368032.636697102&l=9d2fee77da&type=1">pictures and updates here on Facebook</a>. (I tried this experiment before, <a href="http://scott-teresi.blogspot.com/2009/08/on-road.html">traveling into southern Ohio</a>, for <a href="http://scott-teresi.blogspot.com/2009/08/chillicothe-and-athens-ohio.html">10 days</a>.)<br />
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I also just took a three-week plane trip to visit my sister in Salt Lake City, and friends in Colorado and Seattle (and a short trip to Vancouver). This involved a lot of mountain climbing in Colorado and hill climbing in Seattle. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150269555567103.353882.636697102&l=598be54e50&type=1">Photos here on Facebook</a>.<br />
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td>Boston / Vermont / New York City - on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150317985787103.368032.636697102&l=9d2fee77da&type=1">Facebook</a> or <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/sets/72157630171260850/">Flickr</a><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150317985787103.368032.636697102&l=9d2fee77da&type=1"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://www.teresi.us/external/2011_travels/boston_skyline.jpg" style="display: block; margin-top: 5px;" width="435" /></a></td><td> </td><td>Colorado / Seattle / Salt Lake City - on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150269555567103.353882.636697102&l=598be54e50&type=1">Facebook</a> or <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/sets/72157630170452530/">Flickr</a><br />
<img border="0" height="204" src="http://www.teresi.us/external/2011_travels/mt_neva_climbing.jpg" style="display: block; margin-top: 5px;" width="435" /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-16300059576774496412010-11-11T22:42:00.008-05:002010-11-11T23:30:30.064-05:00Juggling in the Circleville Pumpkin Festival, 2010 EditionEach October, the <a href="http://www.jestjugglers.com">Jest Jugglers</a> head down to Circleville, south of Columbus, Ohio, and show off their skillz in front of the crowds during the Thursday Pumpkin Festival parade. <br /><br />Most of us aren't entertainers, so you'll see a lot of dropped balls/clubs as we try to do the fun tricks that don't always come out right!<br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9F6109DFE654D997">Ten videos from this year<br/><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUy1D6JG-w_wwcyHAJKef5vXsf7Q52uNekJhiwYWMzlZqA9Ej5js0ONCQ3jz1a3-TxtamEhBKij7SsZGM-x71sKJ2AtbRlY23Z5gUaL3uOvIgD9JYhCEV-ns34ICnxr3FFqQQVxusfgQA/s1600/circleville_2010.jpg" width="360" height="270" border="0" style="margin-top: 5px; display:block;" /></a></td><br /><td> </td><td><a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CDE246C8EDA73018">Last year's videos<br/><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyupfcK9nkuCAlnyRLZ0nFedfD8-3kkvRwwgf7H7_aJxxTzJdefA48As8Kx6axbFjWAkzLrz7X8_Laj4rgytNdpcUbDdzLFK9rNOIUEc28PkFJh_9fPuzfenkwDQVM6OuC7uprrtsopSR/s1600/circleville_2009.jpg" width="360" height="270" border="0" style="margin-top: 5px; display:block;" /></a></td></tr></table><br />(<a href="http://scott-teresi.blogspot.com/2009/11/juggling-in-circleville-pumpkin.html">Last year's blog entry here.</a>)Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-70071337383638185782010-09-19T20:52:00.003-04:002010-10-17T00:04:46.537-04:00Joined a bandI've been playing piano in a band since last spring! We're called Vox Voronet. (We got the name "Voronet" from an ancient monastery in Romania.) Our singer and guitarist, Andy, I've known since we were in elementary school and he was so far ahead in reading he was in a reading group by himself. Chris plays bass and synth and Matt plays drums, and both are excellent musicians from Youngstown.<br /><br />We play all original music and each make up our own parts. On the weekends we converge on Andy's living room outside Garrettsville and generally make an organized ruckus. In between there's a lot of practicing and composing and recording to do, and working on promotional materials, and emailing and networking to get in the door and play shows across northeast Ohio, Pittsburgh, and soon, Columbus. Being in a band is amazing but a lot of work!<br /><br />We're really rockin' if you can make it to one of our shows! Our online recordings don't do it justice. There's nothing like live music (and even better when you get to play it!!)<br /><br />Vox Voronet:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.myspace.com/voxvoronet">Show dates and video on MySpace</a> (or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/VoxVoronet?v=app_2405167945">Facebook</a>)</li><li><a href="http://voxvoronet.bandcamp.com">Download our first sampler album</a></li></ul>To join our mailing list to find out about upcoming shows, go to our <a href="http://www.myspace.com/voxvoronet">MySpace page</a> and scroll down on the right.Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-5414098791729976812010-01-27T18:00:00.013-05:002015-03-27T13:19:48.646-04:00New recording: Groove 3I sat down at the keyboard and this was the third of some piano grooves I came up with. I worked on it for a few weekends. My first new song in years!<br /><br />
<audio controls="controls"><source src="http://teresi.us/resources/audio/originals/Groove_3.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" autoplay="false" controller="true"></source>
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<br /><a href="http://teresi.us/resources/audio/originals/Groove_3.mp3" style="font-size: 75%">(Link to MP3 file)</a><br /><br />Last year I bought a <a href="http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail.html?CNTID=5015193">Yamaha YPG-635 digital piano</a>, with weighted keys and a great piano sound. It's plugged into my MacBook which runs GarageBand. I used to use a Fostex 4-track tape deck, and then a version of ProTools on my Power Mac 8600 (bought in 1998). Andy and I worked on a few recordings with these setups, but they were hard to use, and we weren't even doing anything that complicated. Now multi-track recording is so much easier.<br /><br />This instrumental is mostly piano and bell sounds but has some organ for the exciting parts and a little saxophone. I also had a hi-hat cymbal in the basement that's fun to play. I don't know anything about drumming but it sounded better than something canned for the drum track. Hope you can enjoy it even though it's a little rough. I'd make a lot of changes if I had more time, inspiration, and experience.<br /><br />Inspiration came from my friends and from music I've listened to over the years like MMW (Medeski, Martin, and Wood), the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison, and even some Japanese music. Early Beck albums opened my eyes to the potential of badly played percussion.<br /><br />For my recordings from years ago, <a href="http://teresi.us/html/main/music.html">see my old Music page</a>.<br /><br />Here's a screenshot of most of the song:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnuSTxr2bEY6hdaGMGj3btSO1xQ1MqowKcC_f0H9aL514yAbqE6yCUbcn3sOoN1Zf2W2zhpHi3w2y3k2maStpb_9ULivaIWbN1b_Qvb6MSOePBzsvNH-9bikYQY34O5ldwlynA8Eq4AX5P/s1600-h/GarageBand+screenshot.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnuSTxr2bEY6hdaGMGj3btSO1xQ1MqowKcC_f0H9aL514yAbqE6yCUbcn3sOoN1Zf2W2zhpHi3w2y3k2maStpb_9ULivaIWbN1b_Qvb6MSOePBzsvNH-9bikYQY34O5ldwlynA8Eq4AX5P/s400/GarageBand+screenshot.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432296079575971938" /></a>Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-52669729928438422232009-11-01T23:52:00.009-05:002009-11-15T14:50:57.421-05:00Juggling in the Circleville Pumpkin Festival<div style="text-align: left;">Every year the Jest Jugglers (<a href="http://www.myspace.com/jestjugglers">MySpace</a>, <a href="http://www.meetup.com/JestJugglers/">Meetup.com</a>) head down to Circleville south of Columbus to join the parade for the Pumpkin Festival. My skills probably barely register as entertainment-level, but it's lots of fun to be there with the rest of the folks.</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NwZnpgibM-WoC6oE9iux2hxA_uv8ibjrdd1GLlvZZ-3Waa1_gAL_l-XoZD4dADSxn9S8o2XHEZKb3hNKAV4-ED6MwtXLZDKpQshtWUYucbjintmcfn61PKIHrqfk-XZga1aMSyT9u-mA/s1600-h/IMG_2405.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px 0px 10px; cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; width: 374px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NwZnpgibM-WoC6oE9iux2hxA_uv8ibjrdd1GLlvZZ-3Waa1_gAL_l-XoZD4dADSxn9S8o2XHEZKb3hNKAV4-ED6MwtXLZDKpQshtWUYucbjintmcfn61PKIHrqfk-XZga1aMSyT9u-mA/s400/IMG_2405.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399368365616616882" /></a><br />Above: crowds gather in amazement at my three-ball cascade.<br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/jHRvPuXAZgo&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/jHRvPuXAZgo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />The Columbus Jest Jugglers warming up before the parade. Featuring: Evan, Jesse, Wes, Lamar, Tony, Nick, Liz, Owen, Ginny, Lynn, and Tom (above, or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHRvPuXAZgo">YouTube link</a>).<br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/pYMzmLbA19A&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/pYMzmLbA19A&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />Barely controlled chaos of jugglers in the parade (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYMzmLbA19A">YouTube link</a>).<br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/f-NaC_6ehZM&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/f-NaC_6ehZM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />Lynn's-eye view of parade, Wes doing three-club tricks, Jesse getting up on the six-foot unicycle, Lamar juggling five balls, Owen orbiting on his unicycle, Evan passing out balloons (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-NaC_6ehZM">YouTube link</a>).<br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/H9ws2FvtiLY&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/H9ws2FvtiLY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />The jugglers pass by as we near the end of the parade (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9ws2FvtiLY">YouTube link</a>).<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmM4WAi_298SMBhhLKJsMDOz2BGCrJUCAaRjHgBEiG_2ITiGNhpP2tdy4TL5i8WFpYLMrMVIBpJn5r3zV2YHqKFld_T3AFx7gHWKN_EN16b_3EcLQ1Qe96A7d3KiY99nF1mooNZ83I8Ya5/s1600-h/Pumpkin+festival.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px 0px 10px; cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmM4WAi_298SMBhhLKJsMDOz2BGCrJUCAaRjHgBEiG_2ITiGNhpP2tdy4TL5i8WFpYLMrMVIBpJn5r3zV2YHqKFld_T3AFx7gHWKN_EN16b_3EcLQ1Qe96A7d3KiY99nF1mooNZ83I8Ya5/s400/Pumpkin+festival.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404418882392468690" /></a><br />The crew, back row: Tom, Lynn, Tony, Liz, Nick, Lamar, Evan, Jesse. Front row: me, Wes, Owen, and Ginny.Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-34666001839202749512009-08-28T02:42:00.005-04:002009-08-29T22:06:50.990-04:00Chillicothe and Athens, OhioContinuing with my <a href="http://scott-teresi.blogspot.com/2009/08/on-road.html">Ohio road trip...</a><br /><br />Each day I've been pretty good at making work the first priority so there's daylight left when I'm done. On Thursday and Friday after work, I took evening drives into surrounding Chillicothe farmland, where cows graze over rolling hills. The cow pictures didn't come out, but here's three others I like.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogSWsN1BY3APi864WwI-9K3nDQiCwGQsFL9UEPGHejDnYoPDc9htAfAxPcbVP2NgeeCZh2CgNlJ9Fs8QGVjhRZLbPDhDVdo64aIdKuPsQqropHYBPKAi0ZfkxEfK10ikcoeNvpQ5HJuaL/s1600-h/IMG_1542.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 281px" src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08_ohio_road_trip/chillicothe_farmland_through_trees_(small).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375511932040908834" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGkgxCiMN8zbBdwV4Cy3RO4zcx_ZPfqW1XoFT7ypTfCC2drTuEFoyC6QdGof_vucwYY4svpfCsyeMKJPuRBd8oTtVDLP4ByU1IBQLmX7Yq4QpjWCmRhZNGYaPmDPjzyLdYVZTRB8Jxase/s1600-h/IMG_1401.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGkgxCiMN8zbBdwV4Cy3RO4zcx_ZPfqW1XoFT7ypTfCC2drTuEFoyC6QdGof_vucwYY4svpfCsyeMKJPuRBd8oTtVDLP4ByU1IBQLmX7Yq4QpjWCmRhZNGYaPmDPjzyLdYVZTRB8Jxase/s400/IMG_1401.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374903145677954258" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNDvs8-pB5rhZSBixVrXsaC-0-g370wrZhlvbccPHOAoaFHAsfoxA_S2ntQQ62WKRnjP9RrBl4_cZn7UW7sVPTAWAEAaLh2zf08q9Z9dFy-ZPYMidtpfW2oVnjQmKGtwfbq-QW-OsJtpg/s1600-h/IMG_1243.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNDvs8-pB5rhZSBixVrXsaC-0-g370wrZhlvbccPHOAoaFHAsfoxA_S2ntQQ62WKRnjP9RrBl4_cZn7UW7sVPTAWAEAaLh2zf08q9Z9dFy-ZPYMidtpfW2oVnjQmKGtwfbq-QW-OsJtpg/s400/IMG_1243.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375511921868565858" /></a><br /><br />When we were traveling to the <a href="http://scott-teresi.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-trip-to-ija-juggling-festival.html">juggling festival</a> last month and took an inadvertent detour, we drove through this countryside so I had to go back!<br /><br />My 500mm zoom captures a "hot road mirage." The hot air on the road surface and the cooler air just above it create a prism effect that redirects light from nearby objects:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73NX2B_e7agKRS3F62nlPleAOg3EUT9dNzWkO9lsFvhmN86-kL2QWrkx-a6WPmKF4FDoqHhkrLZiPT5RNeKFMJUC1N6WiXN51HRgvPu7R8GeR-j3T_py_iGqbnm79iSid1jeytM0WT-FD/s1600-h/IMG_1364.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73NX2B_e7agKRS3F62nlPleAOg3EUT9dNzWkO9lsFvhmN86-kL2QWrkx-a6WPmKF4FDoqHhkrLZiPT5RNeKFMJUC1N6WiXN51HRgvPu7R8GeR-j3T_py_iGqbnm79iSid1jeytM0WT-FD/s400/IMG_1364.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374903136019782610" /></a><br /><br />At night I'm tired and don't care too much where I park and sleep, as long as it's safe. Travelers line themselves into rows in a corner of the Wal-Mart parking lot in Chillicothe. I'm last so I go to the back of the line.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxePqt54F7rkd6gL0hXEMH_dLezxzbdWov_ee2lDWWngk1Vowkefh_upkjcVQTfJAhSG_YTeLeJkp3zyQ8pvJNCpydkivSCYvc8iUAvk0JWxx0F7ULPK5k_wuZr6ca1vBVMFo-LzgO-VIA/s1600-h/IMG_1238.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxePqt54F7rkd6gL0hXEMH_dLezxzbdWov_ee2lDWWngk1Vowkefh_upkjcVQTfJAhSG_YTeLeJkp3zyQ8pvJNCpydkivSCYvc8iUAvk0JWxx0F7ULPK5k_wuZr6ca1vBVMFo-LzgO-VIA/s400/IMG_1238.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_53755119 10758125506" /></a><br /><br />I didn't think sleeping in a car would be that comfortable at first! I have a Toyota Corolla station wagon and the back seats are folded down so there's a big flat surface. It's just big enough for me to stretch out diagonally. There's also room for a duffle bag and a tent and an as-yet unused sleeping bag and big jug of water. (Snacks, maps, cooler, and electronics are on the front seat.) The bed is made of stacks of foam pads, and on top is a thin sleeping pad like hikers use, and a sheet. That works about as good as I need. Probably the worst thing is you can't sit up, and it has windows! I can hang stuff in the windows if it gets too bright. On the plus side, it never leaks rain.<br /><br />Here's a view looking back from the driver's seat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdT-y8y8pZstYwiFInGopUTpS1wDb1dTfT-7j7-kmKD4di0xWQ0JPMcPDs6zWW3hRgriyFif1gsHXe9jCdPabQ35n4vED99SnqneX9KBVWTHQWzpnpV_d3po2E13Qsjq8v6XLShgmO9hE7/s1600-h/IMG_1582.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdT-y8y8pZstYwiFInGopUTpS1wDb1dTfT-7j7-kmKD4di0xWQ0JPMcPDs6zWW3hRgriyFif1gsHXe9jCdPabQ35n4vED99SnqneX9KBVWTHQWzpnpV_d3po2E13Qsjq8v6XLShgmO9hE7/s400/IMG_1582.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375511938941264610" /></a><br /><br />I can do work in the car on the laptop (using cellular internet and cigarette lighter). I try to find interesting parts of town to park in. I'm also on the lookout for free wi-fi and an outlet. One time my laptop saw a network near a donut shop. "We don't have internet cafes in Chillicothe" the lady almost proudly informed me when I strolled into her place with the laptop. Visions of gooey donuts faded. Then came an acute awareness of a collective gaze of rebuff from the customers. On my last day in town I eventually found free wi-fi at a local bar, which was strange because I couldn't imagine any of the customers bringing a laptop.<br /><br />Friday I said goodbye to Chillicothe and got a tinge of excitement as I hit the road. It seemed like kind of a depressed town, though not without its slight southern charm. I also was in dire need of a shower and was starting to feel homeless. Surprisingly I couldn't locate any truck stops without driving back to the Columbus area! I washed up in a men's room. You can get a sense for places with good restrooms, and sometimes you want to get something to drink or snack on there too.<br /><br />I drove on to Athens with plans to get a nice hotel room. But I didn't need a whole room and bed, just a shower. So I opted for a $26 camp site. It was a lot better than a Wal-Mart parking lot. The bathroom was grungy as expected but they had hot water and the next morning I got cleaned up! And it was nice to be outdoors.<br /><br />More farm pictures:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8sVQ3Wz4J7JSEsOe0ODGPncTLR6SbOAt330grr2ZAFv9R22I323FrBGVqhIZJR6iWG2P3qo1XdLPJdE0f2mNcZvIdJBipYEiNuLOiMh5LDj8oj4XD5lUo4GTgOW74AojM4lvev0s5UEP/s1600-h/IMG_1431.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8sVQ3Wz4J7JSEsOe0ODGPncTLR6SbOAt330grr2ZAFv9R22I323FrBGVqhIZJR6iWG2P3qo1XdLPJdE0f2mNcZvIdJBipYEiNuLOiMh5LDj8oj4XD5lUo4GTgOW74AojM4lvev0s5UEP/s400/IMG_1431.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374903159876142338" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebUIfJj0TfsIHfSTJkempvJy_WpUIxIwIuPiUe0aqoowVcBirlj1-f7HneSHDM6frU-RTyUFhcMiC3AEGGYWQrc13zecQbBUmj54DDt-xftMz7oceYLRQEoJ35UyPdjlHCCzwIktK79RQ/s1600-h/IMG_1425.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebUIfJj0TfsIHfSTJkempvJy_WpUIxIwIuPiUe0aqoowVcBirlj1-f7HneSHDM6frU-RTyUFhcMiC3AEGGYWQrc13zecQbBUmj54DDt-xftMz7oceYLRQEoJ35UyPdjlHCCzwIktK79RQ/s400/IMG_1425.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374903152955806978" /></a><br /><br />Hello, Athens!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHfqxSks9iAvPW7Q7ZxGIPnjEJ6O-x8i-hjy4PNimZfqGUe51N95VOcE-9uj1QXBnWFll7_1nkMeiumYArC8_UmXcN_v_fbKfHqawAwpIEQX_r9N6Vjp7liyXjQU8txyIthpv08RCHk3s/s1600-h/IMG_1607.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHfqxSks9iAvPW7Q7ZxGIPnjEJ6O-x8i-hjy4PNimZfqGUe51N95VOcE-9uj1QXBnWFll7_1nkMeiumYArC8_UmXcN_v_fbKfHqawAwpIEQX_r9N6Vjp7liyXjQU8txyIthpv08RCHk3s/s400/IMG_1607.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375533650037712658" /></a>Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-1289406848395038342009-08-26T12:38:00.019-04:002011-10-01T01:13:07.926-04:00On the roadA question keeps coming up... since I can work anywhere from my laptop, why not get out of Columbus and travel the country? Good question! So figured out some of the practical matters:<br /><br />* Motel bills can add up to a lot, so maybe I can avoid them most nights. Besides, they're kind of dismal places when you're traveling alone. I can try camping, staying in hostels, sleeping in the car (I can fold the seats down), or connecting up with people through <a href="http://www.couchsurfing.org">couchsurfing.org</a>. Sleeping in the car may be about as comfortable as the tent, and without having to set anything up late at night or worry about rain (my tent leaks in heavy rain), so I might do that even in campgrounds.<br /><br />* I can maybe save on food by going to grocery stores and using a cooler.<br /><br />* I have a stack of road maps of just about every state, accumulated from AAA over the years.<br /><br />* With an AC adapter for my cigarette lighter and "internet tethering" through my cell phone, I can work from my car practically anywhere.<br /><br />* Besides comfort, and getting work done, my biggest concern is getting lonely. I'm a little shy to just strike up conversations with strangers.<br /><br />I finally had a week and a half free, so yesterday I got clothes together, packed up the car, and headed south! That seemed to be a good direction. The land isn't so boring and flat, and everything looks a little different which is helpful for feeling like you're on a real trip. Also the people are maybe friendlier, and it won't get too cold at night.<br /><br />Can I actually fit in there? Just barely.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSdwlhmiEGyOpIxTPB5OO9KxduFRjvTS3-yaoDd91iYOYTx6UsvxUL3HyVfurJs2QPIjolQmnvBsxG51lz2-y28dOyf-Qzwqt-05S6XqhRIVr0YAvlsqntwJsOErlU6oPveASE5suMIai/s1600-h/IMG_0971.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSdwlhmiEGyOpIxTPB5OO9KxduFRjvTS3-yaoDd91iYOYTx6UsvxUL3HyVfurJs2QPIjolQmnvBsxG51lz2-y28dOyf-Qzwqt-05S6XqhRIVr0YAvlsqntwJsOErlU6oPveASE5suMIai/s400/IMG_0971.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374513766658644530" /></a><br /><br />I'll be back in Columbus to help my friend Ray with the <a href="http://www.bikethecbus.com/2009/">Bike the C-Bus</a> event Labor Day weekend and go to a family get-together. If nothing else comes up, maybe in October I could take a longer trip. This is sort of a trial to see how painful it is to live like this!<br /><br />I decided to go to Chillicothe since I'd never been to Ohio's original capital city. I stopped at Samuel's on the way out of Columbus. He happened to have a free evening so he followed me down separately, and we had a great time exploring the town. We stopped at a bar with a country band and a few people dancing but needed to get food faster so we just went to Applebee's. I saved some leftovers for lunch the next day.<br /><br />After Samuel left I went to a convenience store and asked to put some ice in ziploc bags for my small cooler. The cashier helped me and we talked about my plans. She said I could probably sleep at Tar Hollow state park overnight and told me how to get there. Good info!<br /><br />However, that was almost an hour away in the middle of nowhere, and it was already getting late. So, as much as I hate Wal-Mart's labor practices and how its sweatshop-made merchandise has contributed to the decline of small towns, I decided the easiest thing to do would be to stay overnight in their parking lot. I won't be living very sustainably on this trip! I'd heard you could sleep there, but I was still surprised to find a couple semis and motorhomes way in the back of the lot. I parked alongside and was excited and wondered how I'd get to sleep. But once I did, I slept like a rock. I think trains even went by about 100 feet away and didn't wake me.<br /><br />The sun got really bright at 8 a.m., and then it became more and more difficult to sleep as the car started getting ever gradually hotter. I finally got up at 10:00 and rolled the windows down and checked e-mail.<br /><br />I ended up spending the afternoon at an overlook above downtown Chillicothe and worked from the car.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha1PghiZaxDxmjBAYLXQNJcrMBYGHW8S2yoE0uXh_dSyqV86zwYN1VK-ic1VEdxbn6BjNFYB7sJLFmhvZCM2OhGP5_jp5D4ExbVnHPWyS0WVCqvpp_pYmbm6LDVvAB8cfykTj8655_ZhiX/s1600-h/IMG_1093.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha1PghiZaxDxmjBAYLXQNJcrMBYGHW8S2yoE0uXh_dSyqV86zwYN1VK-ic1VEdxbn6BjNFYB7sJLFmhvZCM2OhGP5_jp5D4ExbVnHPWyS0WVCqvpp_pYmbm6LDVvAB8cfykTj8655_ZhiX/s400/IMG_1093.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374516038646405986" /></a><br /><br /><br />This old house was at the top of the overlook:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIcM5Xy4GOMZInNY9DGss9I8vmeoCrli00v2wggrjqr5OLgKGq_J6QoOeRT_rIx4MGKUuuPKRXYid17Kzk7RP5Ldnz26QkRD2wPcMWrlRca5GkOJR5DrZ_ENyqx9_X6Nw7LfpJlHLAmT4/s1600-h/IMG_1035.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIcM5Xy4GOMZInNY9DGss9I8vmeoCrli00v2wggrjqr5OLgKGq_J6QoOeRT_rIx4MGKUuuPKRXYid17Kzk7RP5Ldnz26QkRD2wPcMWrlRca5GkOJR5DrZ_ENyqx9_X6Nw7LfpJlHLAmT4/s400/IMG_1035.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374516032774396274" /></a><br /><br /><br />In the evening I discovered the Glatfelter wood chip factory. There were some serious three-story piles of wood chips:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAT26Pj43XIc_F1fQt3uTf59qyoKsFgsqjaQUtaiUlzqBNSW6ao_-82AaWdlRWs3VIAs5pG7JJqzVsF0jjLCeOAD_K6sFoGsntCHebkcZovEl8HKzS0vxA25a_TsODjhyBRqXH4e-Z-eOQ/s1600-h/IMG_1141.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAT26Pj43XIc_F1fQt3uTf59qyoKsFgsqjaQUtaiUlzqBNSW6ao_-82AaWdlRWs3VIAs5pG7JJqzVsF0jjLCeOAD_K6sFoGsntCHebkcZovEl8HKzS0vxA25a_TsODjhyBRqXH4e-Z-eOQ/s400/IMG_1141.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374513739466604818" /></a><br /><br /><br />I got some different perspectives on it. Here's the WWII battle zone and internment camp section:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WqhB-GvHPLiQDSUhJTG-R-xBNViFlHvcA5O76rt5X4IRLjSg56siuQX10Z5MYwky2UtENC5-850v_3uDjyChGXrpt5ZwvBR1SjMCgDBvjaT2GPZsS3xL7qwkWHFq-tFHmkBT_mBpmkzz/s1600-h/IMG_1128.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WqhB-GvHPLiQDSUhJTG-R-xBNViFlHvcA5O76rt5X4IRLjSg56siuQX10Z5MYwky2UtENC5-850v_3uDjyChGXrpt5ZwvBR1SjMCgDBvjaT2GPZsS3xL7qwkWHFq-tFHmkBT_mBpmkzz/s400/IMG_1128.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374513735812311042" /></a><br /><br /><br />I think it's a paper mill. It smelled really strongly like boiled cabbage, slightly on the sauerkraut side. I wondered how you could breathe that in every day and what kind of pollution it generates.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCBnEBBgJ_GNeHI58s3Pngy3A_gvUW6Qyj-01t4K4NLqlSFhfoG3N0FKhSQUeaGJKvTPwyDbvGRPHuItklEV6rq1I5f_Kxlna3rc1qUX-FpOrRWTMgLBP7Oh1nqSW1qCrtNieMQfOLf4F/s1600-h/IMG_1197.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCBnEBBgJ_GNeHI58s3Pngy3A_gvUW6Qyj-01t4K4NLqlSFhfoG3N0FKhSQUeaGJKvTPwyDbvGRPHuItklEV6rq1I5f_Kxlna3rc1qUX-FpOrRWTMgLBP7Oh1nqSW1qCrtNieMQfOLf4F/s400/IMG_1197.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374513747291505186" /></a><br /><br /><br />Moon setting over a rusty factory:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5k512IXCXRvVv09unY2qBrwbrrVkz4n2lXlvKNwW32HrLgsNgTOnj-KSuT6D3nxOSAhZwVIjGX-mPSxxcIxkYgqys4jTMuqdwT9D0Mq72K84RowHdlFr-xy0xHqMMZgtlWGXXIPbH8f7/s1600-h/IMG_1216.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 331px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5k512IXCXRvVv09unY2qBrwbrrVkz4n2lXlvKNwW32HrLgsNgTOnj-KSuT6D3nxOSAhZwVIjGX-mPSxxcIxkYgqys4jTMuqdwT9D0Mq72K84RowHdlFr-xy0xHqMMZgtlWGXXIPbH8f7/s400/IMG_1216.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374513760873456290" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://scott-teresi.blogspot.com/2009/08/chillicothe-and-athens-ohio.html">>> SEE PART II OF THE STORY <<</a><br/><br/>Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-66767979704236587232009-08-20T12:45:00.005-04:002009-08-20T16:54:21.281-04:00Why I don't read the newsNewspaper, radio, and TV news articles frustrate me with the way they present their information. I think newspapers are sealing their own fate as they decline.<br /><br />Newsless.org outlines <a href="http://www.newsless.org/2009/08/the-3-key-parts-of-news-stories-you-usually-dont-get/">three major things that most news articles lack.</a> I'll try to roughly summarize:<br /><ul><li> we do get bits and pieces of what just happened today</li><br /><li> we don't get the context of the situation (including longstanding facts of the last decade or two)</li><br /><li> we don't get a discussion of how we know the information (you're supposed to trust the unknown sources of an institution like the N.Y. Times)</li><br /><li>they don't talk about the unknowns, or open questions</li></ul>I think good bloggers often address all of these things. They need a strong connection with their readers because they don't have the institutional momentum of an old newspaper. And they're usually directed at people especially interested in a given topic. I've found some blogs written by experts I trust and use them to get the news, but there's no reason newspapers can't adapt to what readers want.Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-50338846826601155882009-08-12T23:06:00.011-04:002009-08-20T16:45:05.740-04:00The U.S. School of the AmericasI've been enjoying the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570754349?ie=UTF8&tag=scottteresi-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1570754349">Disturbing the Peace: The Story of Father Roy Bourgeois and the Movement to Close the School of the Americas.</a> The authors, <a href="http://hodge-cooper.net/">James Hodge and Linda Cooper</a>, left New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and now live here in Columbus, Ohio. They're very friendly and helpful people, and time flies during their <a href="http://columbuscatholicworker.blogspot.com/2009/06/book-study-disturbing-peace.html">twice-monthly book study</a> at the <a href="http://columbuscatholicworker.blogspot.com/">Columbus Catholic Worker</a>!<br /><br />The book is about Roy Bourgeois, a priest from a small town in Louisiana. With a hawkish political outlook, he joined the Navy and fought in Vietnam as a lieutenant. There he worked to help orphaned refugee children in Saigon, becoming acutely sensitive to the havoc the U.S. can cause those in poverty outside our borders. Later, as a Maryknoll missionary, he traveled to Bolivia and El Salvador where living conditions were pretty extreme. He had a few brushes with arrest, torture, and kidnapping as right-wing governments started cracking down hard on dissent.<br /><br />Death squads were targeting priests, nuns, teachers, health care workers, union leaders, cooperative members, and human rights advocates--anyone speaking against poverty and oppression. As he followed the trail of influence backward, Bourgeois found that many military officers involved had links to our very own country. One clear link was the U.S. School of the Americas training facility.<br /><br />The School of the Americas is a U.S. military base at Ft. Benning, Georgia, which provides training and networking for high-ranking officers of militaries in Latin America. Hundreds of its graduates are linked to paramilitary death squads responsible for disappearing tens of thousands of "subversives." They're even behind many of the coups in Latin America, especially in the late 70's and 80's, and the Honduran coup of 2009. Bourgeois founded <a href="http://www.soaw.org">SOA Watch</a> to monitor and demonstrate against the school.<br /><br />The School of the Americas has earned a reputation in Latin America as the "School of Coups" or the "School of Assassins." People in charge insist that it promotes human rights, and that countries involved should value human rights and democracy. However, "countries with the worst human rights records had the highest school enrollment, including Bolivia under Hugo Banzer, Nicaragua under the Somozas, and El Salvador during the regimes of the 1980's." (p. 143) <br /><br />The U.S. trains around 150 foreign militaries throughout the world, using our massive military budget. The School of the Americas has come to symbolize the worst of our government's international ambitions.<br /><br /><h4>EXAMPLE: NICARAGUA</h4>Looking at 1980's Nicaragua provides a good case study of how the U.S. sponsors human rights abuse and terrorism. (Page numbers reference <i>Disturbing the Peace,</i> itself thoroughly researched.)<br /><br /><h4>BACKGROUND</h4>* For decades, the Nicaraguan people suffer under dictators in the Samoza family. They are supported by U.S. presidents from Roosevelt through Carter, as well as U.S. business conglomerates such as United Fruit (now Chiquita).<br /><br />* Left-wing opposition parties build up a resistance over a period of many years. The Sandinistas eventually win a landslide election in 1984 when Daniel Ortega is elected president.<br /><br />* The previous dictator, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, flees Nicaragua with $1 billion, much of it stolen from government.<br /><br />* The right-wing Contra rebels attempt to regain power, armed and led by School of the America graduates. Ricardo "Chino" Lau was a Contra--the man accused of assassinating outspoken but nonviolent Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980. Galtieri, known for leading Argentina and overseeing the Dirty War in which 30,000 were disappeared, trained Contras for Reagan.<br /><br /><h4>INSTANCES OF U.S. INJUSTICE</h4>* The U.S. Congress passes the Boland Amendment which prohibits military funding of the Contras. Instead, the Reagan administration secretly sells arms to Iranians, tries to free hostages, and uses the money to arm the Contras for a covert war with no accountability.<br /><br />* The Contras, under U.S. support, engage in terrorist activity--tortures, mutilations, executions, serial killing, destroying schools and hospitals.<br /><br />* The U.S. falsely claims Nicaragua tried to invade Honduras. This might ring similar to other U.S. propaganda efforts such as the false "attack" in the Gulf of Tonkin justifying the Vietnam War, or the false threat of nuclear war justifying the first and second Iraq wars.<br /><br />* The U.S. State Department, staffed with "psychological warfare" specialists, is cited by Congress for conducting "prohibited, covert propaganda activities" against Americans. The State Department plants false stories in the media about Sandinistas and discredits journalists who question administration policy. (p. 110)<br /><br />* The U.S. mines the Nicaraguan harbor and sinks ships, an act of war. The International Court of Justice finds the U.S. guilty, but the U.S. doesn't recognize the ICJ in cases where it rules against us.<br /><br />* The U.S. continues to impoverish Nicaraguan people with a full trade embargo.<br /><br />* Oliver North testifies under immunity that he had approval from superiors for his actions in the now-public Iran-Contra scandal, including the CIA director William Casey. North's former boss, National Security Adviser John Poindexter, "testified that he had destroyed the document signed by Reagan authorizing the arms deal with Iran." (p. 121)<br /><br />* The CIA wrote a manual on guerilla warfare tactics in use by the Contras. It contains, for instance: "how to justify killing fleeing civilians, how to seize power through acts of terrorism, how to create 'martyrs' by hiring criminals to kill Contra leaders, etc. The Reagan administration claimed the manual had not been approved and was the work of an 'overzealous freelancer' under contract with the CIA." (p. 108)<br /><br />* President Reagan conducts low-intensity warfare as a matter of policy in Latin America without accountability. A few Special Forces are used for training, but most of the fighting is done by proxy. By hiding our responsibility, this prevents media attention, prevents demonstrations, keeps Americans in the dark, and guarantees only foreign blood is spilled. Low-intensity warfare is described by Michael Klare as "that amount of murder, mutilation, torture, rape, and savagery that is sustainable without triggering widespread public disapproval at home." (p. 144)<br /><br />* The Contras assassinate a U.S. citizen, Ben Linder, a civil engineer who was 27 years old. (p. 117)<br /><br /><h4>AFTERMATH</h4>* In 1987, Bob Dole, who supported Contra aid and was a GOP presidential candidate, pressures President Ortega to free two opposition leaders who were arrested at a rally and got thirty days in jail. "Ortega said he'd release both of them if the senators would obtain the release of a U.S. political prisoner sentenced to nine months in jail for protesting Contra training. 'We don't do that in our country,' Dole told Ortega. 'You've got us mixed up with the Soviet Union.'" Ortega then told him about Roy Bourgeois who was arrested protesting in Florida against the Contra aid. (p. 122)<br /><br />* Costa Rican President Oscar Arias negotiates a peace accord between the Sandanistas and Contras, "sidestepping the Reagan administration, which had earlier sabotaged the Contadora peace proposal." (p. 122) Arias' plan, known as the Esquipulas Peace Agreement, is signed in August 1987 and eventually ends the Contra war.<br /><br />* Ortega and the Sandinistas lose the next Nicaraguan election in 1990. "When he freely gave up his office it was the first time in more than half a century that power was transferred peacefully in Nicaragua." (p. 128)<br /><br /><h4>WHAT MOTIVATES US?</h4>This is by no means an isolated example of U.S. humanitarian abuse. In fact Nicaragua is one in a long list, most of which happen under the public radar and don't lead to an Iran-Contra scandal. For more information, <a href="http://teresi.us/html/writing/us_wars.html">see my essay listing several U.S. injustices,</a> or check out the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1567512526?ie=UTF8&tag=scottteresi-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1567512526">Killing Hope: U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions Since World War II</a>. Linda Cooper also sent me a link to <a href="http://la.indymedia.org/news/2002/11/22725.php">an astounding laundry list of U.S. imperialist interventions</a>.<br /><br />To better understand and accept this picture of our foreign policy, it would be helpful to look into what would motivate our leaders to pursue these ends. Their motives stem from powerful interests at all levels, campaigning to maintain power, profits, and stability at any cost. Someday I may delve deeper into this here.<br /><br /><h4>WHAT CAN I DO?</h4>I think social justice and personal empowerment are worth fighting for. Some actions a regular citizen can take to call attention to this and put pressure on our government: <br /><br />* Find local activist groups which meet and talk about these issues, such as the Catholic Worker. Meeting new friends and contacts will provide support and motivation and generate new ideas.<br /><br />* Write a short letter or essay to a local newspaper or spread material online. The Catholic Worker may be running some writing workshops in the future for just this purpose.<br /><br />* Contact your representatives. <a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/extraimpact/extraimpact.tt">This site will let you print out a letter to all of your Congress people</a> or help you call or e-mail them.<br /><br />Powerful corporate interests are thoroughly represented in our government, yet they don't often reflect well on our country and its ideals. Shouldn't our country pursue a more honorable path? Who represents you? Who stands for democracy, empowerment, and social justice?Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-24098233759946808642009-08-07T00:36:00.017-04:002010-02-24T16:09:48.810-05:00My Trip to the IJA Juggling FestivalLocation: Winston-Salem, North Carolina<br />Participants: About ten members of the Club JJ - Columbus Jest Jugglers (<a href="http://www.myspace.com/jestjugglers">MySpace</a>, <a href="http://www.meetup.com/JestJugglers/">Meetup.com</a>), plus several hundred other jugglers<br /><br />Club JJ in Columbus is sort of an anarchist organization, a diverse crowd brought together by a common passion. Nobody wants to be in charge, they just want to juggle. The main rule is show up any Thursday evening at Schiller Park (or the rec center) in Columbus, and people of all skill levels will be hanging out, talking, and throwing things around, pushing the line in physics separating chaos and order. Generally at least ten or twenty people will be there.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.juggle.org/festival/">IJA juggling festival</a> this July was fantastic. It was a week-long juggling meet in a huge convention center room with gaudy carpeting. All these great jugglers would be practicing crazy stuff at all hours! I could go practice after a show or workshop, and someone I knew would probably be there to say hello. After practicing something hard and getting tired of dropping stuff, it was nice to relax and watch people doing spontaneous tricks.<br /><br />I've been getting in some practice at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_passing">club passing</a> and finding it mildly addicting. I think something about juggling stimulates my analytical mind in a way that complements abstract problems (like computer programming). Juggling brings the rest of your body into the picture--balance, coordination, focus, control, etc. It's a kind of real-time problem-solving between your body, juggling props, and gravity. <a href="http://jugglegood.com/blog/2009/11/27/8-reasons-normal-people-should-juggle/">This article summarizes some wide-ranging benefits to juggling</a>. I guess you can look at a lot of sports that way.<br /><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/WQbR2cAcsyU&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/WQbR2cAcsyU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />Here's a rare one-minute video of Owen and me passing clubs (above, or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQbR2cAcsyU">YouTube link</a>).<br /><br /><br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/RpTHoYbao3I&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/RpTHoYbao3I&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />Taking it a bit slower (half speed - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpTHoYbao3I">YouTube link</a>), here's the play-by-play. Note that I'm not really warmed up. First off I throw the white club with double spin over Owen's shoulder to an invisible person who drops it. Owen kicks up the club with his foot. About 45 seconds in, I throw another double to Owen's right hand, off target, but he catches it somehow. Then I try to catch Owen off balance putting too little spin on another double, but he catches it upside down and tosses it back. I try a third double which he again catches, and I drop one of my clubs in frustration at his effortless skill. Meanwhile an anonymous juggler goes to town with five clubs in the background.<br /><br />In the last third of the video I throw a double from my left hand to Owen's left. It lands on target and Owen catches it and silently acknowledges my supreme skill. Then Owen does the same to me, at the same time I throw him another double to his right hand, off target, and gravity takes over from there.<br /><br />Passing clubs with different people and learning various patterns was tons of fun and I could feel my mind expanding (sometimes hurts)! My reward for three days' practice was on the final evening, I was juggling three clubs and threw a double with my right hand and had enough time to do a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD8lQ0OvEOo">flourish</a> and keep going without dropping anything! It looks pretty cool and I've wanted to do that for more than a year.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3797823321/" title="Jest Jugglers banner (Scott, Tom, Lynn, and Owen) by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/Jest_Jugglers_banner--Scott_Tom_Lynn_and_Owen.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Jest Jugglers banner (Scott, Tom, Lynn, and Owen)" /></a><br /><br />Me, Tom, Lynn, and Owen drove down from Columbus at the same time. Here we are sitting quietly after a long day.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3797823741/" title="Tug-of-war - Tom vs. Scott at juggling festival by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/Tug-of-war--Tom_vs_Scott_at_juggling_festival.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="Tug-of-war - Tom vs. Scott at juggling festival" /></a><br /><br />That's a view of the convention room, with Tom and I playing tug-of-war on small platforms. You try to get the other guy to lose balance and fall backwards or forwards by faking him out by how hard you're going to pull on the rope. It's pretty tough!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3798640488/" title="Tug-of-war - Adam vs. Olivia by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/Tug-of-war--Adam_vs_Olivia.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="Tug-of-war - Adam vs. Olivia" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/circusexperiment">Adam</a> victorious against <a href="http://www.myspace.com/circusexperiment">Olivia</a> in tug-of-war. Laughter ensues.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3797824543/" title="Downtown Winston-Salem, NC by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/Downtown_Winston-Salem_NC.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="Downtown Winston-Salem, NC" /></a><br /><br />A shot of some people enjoying a beautiful evening in downtown Winston-Salem.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3798641272/" title="Tom's beer sampler, Foothills Brewery, Winston-Salem by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/Toms_beer_sampler_Foothills_Brewery_Winston-Salem.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Tom's beer sampler, Foothills Brewery, Winston-Salem" /></a><br /><br />Tom ordered the beer sampler at Foothills Brewery. I liked the People's Porter, and Total Eclipse Stout, which was also Tom's favorite (not shown).<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3798641608/" title="I-26 overlook, north of Asheville, NC by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/I-26_overlook_north_of_Asheville_NC.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="I-26 overlook, north of Asheville, NC" /></a><br /><br />After the festival, Tom and I take off and drive west toward the Appalachian mountains. Here's a view from an I-26 overlook.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3797825595/" title="Tom and me on Mt. Mitchell, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/Tom_and_me_on_Mt_Mitchell_Blue_Ridge_Parkway_North_Carolina.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Tom and me on Mt. Mitchell, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina" /></a><br /><br />Here we've wound our way up the Blue Ridge Parkway into the clouds on the highest mountain east of the Mississippi, Mt. Mitchell. Storm clouds ran around below us like marauding armies, attacking neighboring peaks. (If you remember the Undead Army finishing off the huge elephants in the third Lord of the Rings movie, it wasn't quite like that, but it's fun to think about.)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3797826249/" title="Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/Blue_Ridge_Parkway_North_Carolina.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina" /></a><br /><br />Clouds creeping among the ranges.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3798642274/" title="Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/Blue_Ridge_Parkway_North_Carolina-2.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina" /></a><br /><br />The sun started pouring out as we descended.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3798643112/" title="Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar, Asheville, NC by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/Battery_Park_Book_Exchange_and_Champagne_Bar_Asheville_NC.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar, Asheville, NC" /></a><br /><br />The next day we explored Asheville, North Carolina--a town-sized version of San Francisco. Tom and I were amazed by the Battery Park Book Exchange. I want to come back there and work remotely on my laptop.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3797827167/" title="Grove Arcade, Asheville, NC by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/Grove_Arcade_Asheville_NC.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Grove Arcade, Asheville, NC" /></a><br /><br />The elegant Grove Arcade where I got a quart of cherries for the ride home.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3798643962/" title="Chevron Trading Post and Bead Company, Asheville, NC by Scott Teresi, on Flickr"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/2009.08.07_juggling_festival/Chevron_Trading_Post_and_Bead_Company_Asheville_NC.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Chevron Trading Post and Bead Company, Asheville, NC" /></a><br /><br />The Chevron Trading Post and Bead Company. Without Tom's encouragement (and offer to run back to the car and feed the meter), I never would've decided among all the stars to by. I bought a yellow one and a blue one.<br /><br />Great trip, and Tom was a valiant traveling companion and was great for putting up with me and a cold I just wasn't able to get over!Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-11499265599484497672009-05-28T14:22:00.009-04:002009-08-08T01:22:09.182-04:00Scott's Photo Gallery: Food<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/sets/72157616481359601/"><img src="http://teresi.us/external/small_vegetables_in_kitchen.jpg" width="191" height="131" border="0" style="float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0" /></a>I like healthy meals that taste good and don't take too much work. Here's a Flickr set of pictures of my favorite foods, with recipes. I hope to post more in the future!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/sets/72157616481359601/">>> Food Photo Gallery</a></p>Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-46231438157022173132009-04-19T02:12:00.005-04:002009-04-19T03:10:12.546-04:00Scott's Photo Gallery, Part II: City photos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/sets/72157616545854148/"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px; width: 395px; height: 654px;" src="http://teresi.us/external/thumbnails_city.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a>Welcome to my gallery of city photos! This set includes:<ul><li>shots around Venice and San Francisco<br /><li>various trains in Chicago and Columbus and Washington D.C.<br /><li>the colorful Short North district in Columbus<br /><li>assorted alleyways in Toledo and Columbus, Ohio</ul><br />Use the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/sets/72157616545854148/show/">full-screen slideshow</a> (also embedded below). I think it shows off the photos the best. I might suggest hitting pause immediately (lower left) and navigating at your own pace. Click on the right edge to advance to the next photo, and the upper right has links to show titles and descriptions.<br /><br /><object width="500" height="375"> <param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fscott-teresi%2Fsets%2F72157616545854148%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fscott-teresi%2Fsets%2F72157616545854148%2F&set_id=72157616545854148&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=70933"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=70933" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fscott-teresi%2Fsets%2F72157616545854148%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fscott-teresi%2Fsets%2F72157616545854148%2F&set_id=72157616545854148&jump_to=" width="500" height="375"></embed></object><br /><br />Details of each photo are available <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3426698492/in/set-72157616545854148/">here</a>.<br /><br />My <a href="http://scott-teresi.blogspot.com/2009/04/scotts-photo-gallery-part-i-naturerural_10.html">Nature/Rural Photos</a> were posted previously.Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-40688514754183930182009-04-10T13:53:00.006-04:002009-04-19T03:13:20.662-04:00Scott's Photo Gallery, Part I: Nature/Rural<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/sets/72157616533262262/"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px; width: 395px; height: 914px;" src="http://teresi.us/external/thumbnails_nature_rural.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a>After slaving over this for longer than I care to admit, I've finally finished gathering up my best digital photos. I've ended up with about 5,500 photos in iPhoto, most of them taken since 2004 when I got my digital camera. Out of those, I flagged 350 favorites and then chose the best 150 from that. I color corrected, cropped, and touched them all up (using iPhoto's nice nondestructive editor) and added names, descriptions, dates, and even GPS map locations. For some photos I added a short essay, and a few from Utah have quotes from Edward Abbey. Then finally I got familiarized with Flickr and uploaded them there. With this blog and a Flickr account, I've made the leap from my old static web site to Web 2.0!<br /><br />This is the first of three batches of photos I'll be uploading, in three loose categories: Nature/Rural, City, and Food.<br /><br />The Nature/Rural category includes:<ul><li>Utah desert<br /><li>the orangy glow of Bryce Canyon<br /><li>rural scenes around Ohio and the University of Illinois<br /><li>leafy green trees and calm water<br /><li>some frigid mountain backcountry in Colorado</ul>Later, I'll post my photos of cities and night scenes, and then finally a few photos of food!<br /><br />For those new to Flickr, photos are organized into "sets" (basically albums). All of them also appear in a "photostream," which is a reverse chronological list of everything I've uploaded, newest first.<br /><br />There are a couple ways to browse Flickr photos:<br /><br />* <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/3425234113/in/set-72157616533262262/">Start with the detail page for the first photo</a> and browse from there. Go to the next photo by clicking under the name of the set at the right. This is best if you want to read or add comments. However, you only get medium-smallish versions of the photos. You have to click "All Sizes" above each and every photo to see a large version, and wait for it to load. Much inferior to Picasa!<br /><br />* <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/sets/72157616533262262/show/with/3425234113/">Or view the full-screen slideshow</a> (embedded below). This shows off the photos the best, though the full-screen aspect is a little jarring at first. I say just hit the <b>pause button (lower left)</b> and navigate at your own pace. Also, there's a secret to this: <b>click the right edge of the screen to go to the next photo</b>, and this will also make all the clutter on screen eventually disappear. Option links at the upper right let you toggle the title and description (some photos have short essays or quotes).<br /><br />You can also scroll through all the photos condensed onto a few pages by browsing the photostream. This is good for a quick overview, but not good for looking at each photo. The first page will have medium sized versions, but each page after that uses a small size (confusing)! The <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-teresi/">photostream</a> is mostly good if you want to <a href="http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=35903175@N02&lang=en-us&format=rss_200">subscribe to any new photos I upload.</a><br /><br />So anyway, enjoy the photos!<br /><br />Click a link above, or use the embedded slideshow below. (Make it full screen with the button at the lower right. To browse at your own speed, pause it and hit the right edge of the photos to advance.)<br /><br /><object width="500" height="375"> <param name="flashvars" value="&offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fscott-teresi%2Fsets%2F72157616533262262%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fscott-teresi%2Fsets%2F72157616533262262%2F&set_id=72157616533262262&jump_to="></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=70717"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=70717" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="&offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fscott-teresi%2Fsets%2F72157616533262262%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fscott-teresi%2Fsets%2F72157616533262262%2F&set_id=72157616533262262&jump_to=" width="500" height="375"></embed></object>Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-35274111714815004402009-03-31T23:16:00.010-04:002009-04-01T16:51:02.206-04:00Moving a pianoNewly retired from teaching, my parents are undertaking a massive reevaluation of everything in their house that's not nailed down. Quickly they spotted a piano in the living room. I had played it for eight years, but I don't have space for it at my place, so out it goes. Fortunately Andy (<a href="http://kohlchamber.blogspot.com/">blog</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/andykohlermusic">MySpace music page</a>) had the space and the required venture capital. Why not pay for it with beef from a bull that had got a bit too unruly last fall!<br /><br />So the weekend came to move the piano. I got up early at 8 a.m. Andy had already been up many hours, in which time he probably ate a big breakfast, read the news, watched the birds, fed the animals, cleaned the house, and maybe painted a room or two and put in a new sink. And he got some scrap lumber and built a platform for the piano to bridge between the truck bumper and the front step of the house.<br /><br />The piano lifting crew included Andy, his brother Tom, my dad, and me, but three people turned out to be enough, and the platform made it a straight shot into Andy's 1985 Chevy K-10 pickup. Andy strapped it in, and I followed him down the street in my car, taking these pictures:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcx81Bl1zjcUL8-ET_Om1UohQJsKtNu9VyPMF1-CUUogp178tkkEcuLFF7p9g7tFTUihXCrX43FPxuSPuG-PZEsVmHxOHxrUB_yUnCRCI7VmvciWO4Fo0e8A8TCDu6THysfo1hpDSeltq/s1600-h/img087.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcx81Bl1zjcUL8-ET_Om1UohQJsKtNu9VyPMF1-CUUogp178tkkEcuLFF7p9g7tFTUihXCrX43FPxuSPuG-PZEsVmHxOHxrUB_yUnCRCI7VmvciWO4Fo0e8A8TCDu6THysfo1hpDSeltq/s400/img087.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319557352976366642" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSX3Gfmmz8AD_v6z2t5Va1c7PPd3XyD0TJWjDkuVGhBlrJSYuEsSwX_U007MouTKVIJ6pNIY8DsIVwHtOnp1uq5gmhLGWU_bLmzGNeiUkBN0y8Dnc1VnLWLD5Lx_ANJaBmq1Vpd5OzYzVc/s1600-h/img093.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSX3Gfmmz8AD_v6z2t5Va1c7PPd3XyD0TJWjDkuVGhBlrJSYuEsSwX_U007MouTKVIJ6pNIY8DsIVwHtOnp1uq5gmhLGWU_bLmzGNeiUkBN0y8Dnc1VnLWLD5Lx_ANJaBmq1Vpd5OzYzVc/s400/img093.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319557353615822082" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQ38E6OaOkPE3wA5qge1mK21prrNelmk8vluyjyI-nlirXNnPyaGRd_I4rcd0HwCB1DEWuno4G9D4CFY5s5cXC6mZPYjfMP43jTW5eUUDi-C6df_CHlKwFmJ_aP9ZcBl5jQdz6W9B_RD-/s1600-h/img098.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQ38E6OaOkPE3wA5qge1mK21prrNelmk8vluyjyI-nlirXNnPyaGRd_I4rcd0HwCB1DEWuno4G9D4CFY5s5cXC6mZPYjfMP43jTW5eUUDi-C6df_CHlKwFmJ_aP9ZcBl5jQdz6W9B_RD-/s400/img098.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319558951046560546" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center">Andy's platform:</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWMwkzFZroGzJPvPq4003H6MlwxfN0ZboEsffxOohVPbXifzLWlTP37MBvUypwUkz2YjvUW49R4E7087gejyg0PwgdA6vggSeE4LrI04TXttnwJWISxEEWtWHs_yXeDJS84YvRbtzVfj_/s1600-h/img099.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWMwkzFZroGzJPvPq4003H6MlwxfN0ZboEsffxOohVPbXifzLWlTP37MBvUypwUkz2YjvUW49R4E7087gejyg0PwgdA6vggSeE4LrI04TXttnwJWISxEEWtWHs_yXeDJS84YvRbtzVfj_/s400/img099.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319558950045353874" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center">Tom and Andy set the piano down. House still shaking when picture was taken:</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYpQ0x-0z0tetnptdO56ehyF4UxCNYeCQFVIS5yj-emXYTKva8ggNKQ9VtdEzAm1CgN6kpBS9hZp4_3DaWyPgL1EzW-NZbMzZqDjlsnpS5U3-81UucJ03ikQB7vf4qLoIr2qnv3I4-FYlS/s1600-h/img101.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYpQ0x-0z0tetnptdO56ehyF4UxCNYeCQFVIS5yj-emXYTKva8ggNKQ9VtdEzAm1CgN6kpBS9hZp4_3DaWyPgL1EzW-NZbMzZqDjlsnpS5U3-81UucJ03ikQB7vf4qLoIr2qnv3I4-FYlS/s400/img101.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319564394349594978" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center">Look at that, a piano!</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEV8oN71atQziBoBRMwSe2mGa0NGJAeiszgbFTTSbku6DX1mKX1oiBTvYUW7l4NJZ6I6s17zmAV6yzImDG6sRhlSz-uK-d9H3LojV587eQaoqrYFIIJpA9vFXZbmm-hFq-LzUySrXJ0ex/s1600-h/img102.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEV8oN71atQziBoBRMwSe2mGa0NGJAeiszgbFTTSbku6DX1mKX1oiBTvYUW7l4NJZ6I6s17zmAV6yzImDG6sRhlSz-uK-d9H3LojV587eQaoqrYFIIJpA9vFXZbmm-hFq-LzUySrXJ0ex/s400/img102.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319564398113757442" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center">Andy's truck: ready for the next thing my parents want to get rid of.</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdagx9MUjh4D9EUuY58o3zhnCzKbiszp9uRP2ItBldccHfYY5lIyLgyeZTg879P_vojnn1ZE6TSc0dYYqBcMixpHsEjp5cbbyhi2LsGJz0Eq-IdRszKv36wNHgUHsCRXUUyxP7AVrepNli/s1600-h/img103.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdagx9MUjh4D9EUuY58o3zhnCzKbiszp9uRP2ItBldccHfYY5lIyLgyeZTg879P_vojnn1ZE6TSc0dYYqBcMixpHsEjp5cbbyhi2LsGJz0Eq-IdRszKv36wNHgUHsCRXUUyxP7AVrepNli/s400/img103.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319564400424643586" /></a><br /><br />I asked Andy what's next. The piano (a Wurlitzer) hasn't been tuned since 1997, so that will be the first task. An important D key is out of tune, and if you want to play any of the other keys, they're out of tune too.<br /><br />Andy hopes to learn to sightread, play every scale, play some simple songs, compose his own music, and finally, entertain polite crowds from a revolving rotunda at the Eastwood Mall. He can already play A Long December by the Counting Crows.<br /><br />While I wait, I'm going to check out <a href="http://kohlchamber.blogspot.com/2009/03/popcorn-and-peacocks.html">Andy's latest study of local peacock behavior</a>.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4L4asAN788IvJ8FNqd0P92WkyygHEd_IdozlujJiqKGQbiLrmFi7VyK6ojtZubXe9Ur03TylGuUd8XyhjEENRBuvAiX1oXLYmiBF0GaJKfGxUT0CkBYAmGFUNTIXEwMvkh-087IA61uy/s1600-h/IMG_1733.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 321px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4L4asAN788IvJ8FNqd0P92WkyygHEd_IdozlujJiqKGQbiLrmFi7VyK6ojtZubXe9Ur03TylGuUd8XyhjEENRBuvAiX1oXLYmiBF0GaJKfGxUT0CkBYAmGFUNTIXEwMvkh-087IA61uy/s400/IMG_1733.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319564402679967090" /></a>Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-40444851465139443552009-02-28T16:21:00.001-05:002009-04-19T02:42:12.980-04:00Why blogs are bad for organizing informationOne reason I've avoided blogging was the way all blogs seem to be organized. They gather all your information in a sort of "stream of consciousness" format, regardless of which entries are infrequent but carefully crafted commentary and which are just short notes. Ideally, I might like my site to be more like a magazine, with the best essays highlighted front and center on the home page. Also, all content should be organized in a table of contents by topic, not by date posted! The latest posts could be shown in a "what's new" section. <a href="http://teresi.us/html/main/index_old.html">My old home page</a> and <a href="http://teresi.us/html/main/writing.html">my writing page</a> tried to accomplish this to a degree.<br /><br />If someone discovers a blog a year or two after it's been around, they have no idea what the best essays were from the past. I think this is a shortcoming of any blog that posts infrequent but substantial essays (like <a href="http://mike.teczno.com/notes">tecznotes's book reviews</a> or <a href="http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/">Aaron Swartz's essays</a>). It's as if instead of a book being organized by chapters, it was laid out in the order the author sat down and wrote each chapter! <br /><br />Actually, though, most blogs I read work fine in the conventional blog format. They deliver a consistent stream of tidbits or excerpts (like <a href="http://kottke.org/">Kottke</a> or <a href="http://delong.typepad.com/">Brad DeLong</a>). Each entry has about the same significance level. For those blogs, I can't think of any good way to help people dig into past blog entries, without spending way more time on organizing at the expense of content generation. Unfortunately or not, a reader might as well jump into the blog at any point and ignore past entries. The frustrating effect of this is to obscure a significant segment of the internet behind the serendipity of the search box!<br /><br />It's likely none of this matters, and I won't be posting many long essays, aside from maybe a few I've sent to friends in the past. Maybe I won't even post anything that deserves to be highlighted beyond the day it was posted! While waiting for the conventional blog format to evolve, maybe my thoughts have evolved into handy blog-formatted bits.Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6639268897684519435.post-20928408523261019312009-02-28T16:11:00.001-05:002009-02-28T16:18:51.813-05:00It finally happened!I finally have a blog! <a href="http://teresi.us/html/main/index_old.html">My old web site</a> is getting old. I'm not sure what I'll write here or how often, but I think I've needed something more like a blog for a while.Scott Teresihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548107075072066071noreply@blogger.com0