The Red Brick Times

After finishing my last concert last eveing, I am able to take a moment to tell you about marching in Elyria's Memorial Day Parade.

Well, we did it! We marched 36 strong, with one drummer. We were scheduled to march behind the Bookmobile, but a Harley Davidson group was there, so we took our places in FRONT. No way could our sound, dissipated as it was, carry over the sound of the motorcycles. We were stopped right before we turned into formation, and several classic cars were moved in line ahead of us. Still not bad for sound, but we tended to stay several feet back to avoid the exhaust fumes. We got several surprised looks, LOTS of applause, and generally felt as if the march had been worth the effort.

Things I learned: 1) Do not assume that the parents know the parade route. Print a map for them. 2) Practice marching MORE. 3) Don't spread out so far. We marched 3 across, and should have clumped together more. We DID put the chimes with melody in the middle of the pack, so that was good. 4) March with the cases. It was a real pain to get them to the end of the parade site. I had a volunteer transport them, but by the time they were able to leave the assembly site, all the "good" parking places were taken. I'll decorate them with our school name, and ask marchers if a younger brother or sister can carry them. I figure they won't weigh much empty. 5) Do it again next year!

(Time to vent.) By the way, we had three no-shows. This was all contracted last September, and I don't see how parents can allow their children to skip a commitment. One missing student is leaving the group because he's moving on to high school. The other two missing were 7th graders who won't be on the roster next year. One of the 7th graders sent word that since the weather was so nice, the parents decided to go to Cedar Point. Fortunately ALL the parts were doubled, and the melody was actually tripled, so the sound didn't suffer terribly. Oh, we played a REALLY SIMPLE arrangement of "Yankee Doodle" that I wrote. Strict quarter notes, even on "Yan-kee Doo-dle keep it up."

Thanks for listening.

p.s. The weather was PERFECT!!!

Sally Dellman
Westwood Junior High School

Posted 6:30 PM by Sally D. 0 comments

Anybody looking for ecologically sound automotive project for the summer, Andy? Try this I think it might satisfy a number of your urges. Build a Water-fueled Car.Perhaps not as erotic as a Vaseline -powered Car, but much less polluting.
Posted 12:07 PM by A. O. Gutierrez 0 comments

HIGHER PRICES FOR RAW STEEL RIPPLING THROUGH THE SUPPLY CHAIN: HAVE YOU BEEN AFFECTED?
The price for domestically produced raw steel is rising as a result of President Bush's decision to impose significant tariffs on most raw steel imports. While there is a global
glut of steel in inventory, a worldwide slowdown in production is also permitting many foreign manufacturers to hike their prices as well. Furthermore, local steel shortages are being reported as a result of marketplace disruption. Some suppliers of finished or semi-finished products are passing along the price increases; other suppliers, however, are locked into contracts that force them to absorb the higher raw material costs.

Extracted from the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association, SEMA eNews, Vol. 5, No. 22 - May 29, 2002.
Posted 9:29 AM by Andy Allan 0 comments

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is our friend. It is here to help us. Why, just this year, they showed us that 'RESTORING LAKE ERIE'S SANDY BEACHES IS A
COASTAL MANAGEMENT GOAL OF ODNR' in a release dated February 27, 2002. Not to worry. The OEPA standards for sediment pollution levels are being followed, and all will be well.

In fact, things are so rosy that it is nothing to build a natural gas pipeline across Lake Erie to make our lives better. Millenium Pipeline has a Questions and Answers page that answers just about every concern possible. Gee, I am so glad that they are being careful.

To round out the pollution question, another government branch, the US Geological Survey - National Water Quality Assesment Program "show that (in the Lake Erie/Lake St. Claire drainages) certain organochlorine contaminants were 10 to 100 times more concentrated in fish than in the streambed sediments of streams and major rivers. DDT, chlordane, dieldrin, PCBs, and the trace metal, mercury were the most frequently detected contaminants in fish in these drainages. Fish-consumption advisories are posted in the Lake Erie Drainage due to the prevalent contamination by mercury and PCBs."

It has to be coming from somewhere. Oh, by the way, the Millenium Pipeline Q&A page tells us that "On the Canadian side, Lake Erie also holds an extensive network of gas and oil pipelines."

Now, at last, I can sleep well at night.
Posted 9:46 PM by Andy Allan 0 comments

In keeping with memories and depths of history, revisit a place that has been closed since 1990, where I remember going as a child to stare at ... a bottomless nothing. The Blue Hole Watch Society contains remembrances and an article about the Blue Hole of Castalia. The owners closed the tourist attraction in 1990 due to declining visitors and new regulations that required expensive remodeling and construction to make the area ADA accessible. So since the time of the medicine camps of the Wyandotte, the Blue Hole and the surrounding 500 acres remains fairly untrammelled, by "modern" standards. Long may it stay that way.
Posted 9:23 PM by Andy Allan 0 comments

Here is a quick-reference graphic from down under about UV exposure as a reminder while we play away the summer (or at least at the FOWL picnic next week).
Posted 9:55 AM by Andy Allan 0 comments

Memorial Day involves the entire history of the United States. In Lorain County, we all grew up with the knowledge of wars near and far, from Viet Nam (us), Korea (older siblings or parents), WWII (parents), WWI (grandparents), Civil War (great grandparents), but there the direct knowledge filters into hazy history. There are many area monuments to the Civil War (Ely Square in Elyria, Ridgelawn Cemetery at the South end of Gulf Road, Pittsfield Cemetery between Oberlin and Wellington on Route 58, Johnson Island Confederate Cemetary where a POW camp was located). The Spanish American War, the War of 1812, and the Revolutionary War all come from history books. Since I was quite young, I have found quiet and contemplation in cemeteries. My father's infant sister is buried at Ridgelawn Cemetery in Elyria, and the Pittsfield Cemetary at Route 58 and Hallauer Road contains my mother's antecedants.

So on this Memorial Day, take some time to stroll and recall your ties to the past, and your influence on the future. It is not necessary to wave a flag or to shout brave "Huzzahs". Just feel the flow of time and respect the work of others as they did the best they could. I am going to go to the Avon Center (Mounds) Cemetery, at the SE corner of Route 254 and Route 83, in Avon. According to the notations at http://www.centurytel.net/lorgen/cemetery/AV-8Mounds.htm: "The largest public cemetery in Avon Township contains many of Avon’s first settlers. The earliest inscription is that of Lydia M., only daughter of Lydia and Larkin Williams, died January 11, 1818, age 15y 11m 11d. One Revolutionary soldier is buried here as well as veterans of the War of 1812 and other wars."

I am fortunate to have lived this long and want to think about those who couldn't.
Posted 2:12 PM by Andy Allan 0 comments

I'm taking all of next week as vacation time, my first full week off in almost a year. So far my only plan for the week is to spend at least one day fishing with Ben McGinnis at West Branch, his favorite nearby spot. We're thinking Tuesday at this point, depending on the weather, and maybe again Friday when Ralph has off. Another fun thing would be to go the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, but lots more fun with company. Your mission: play hookey for a day and come along. Really, I'm serious! Give me a call at home this weekend and let's plan a day-trip there. If you don't then that'll probably be another vacation day I waste just hanging around the house in a drunken stupor. On second thought if nobody volunteers then I'll pick someone at random and hang around their house all day in said stupor. It could get ugly so volunteer now.
Posted 11:30 AM by whatley 0 comments

Once the demon has been dispatched, nurse your canine back to health with a celebratory
Doggy Birthday Cake

Mix together:
4 lbs. ground turkey
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup minced parsley

Mix together & add to first ingredients:
2 eggs beaten
3 tsp chopped garlic
2 T olive oil
1/4 tsp vanilla

Add to above & mix thoroughly:
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

Lightly grease (4) round 8" cake pans
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees and bake one (1) hour.

Frost with 4 cups mashed potatoes. Serves 10.

Recipe can be cut in half, or make entire amount -
frost each cake individually and then freeze
in heavy freezer bags for future use.

Kind of like an omnivore's cake-loaf.
Its a meal in a bag! A cross-species treat!
Posted 10:16 PM by Andy Allan 0 comments

Now here's some info I think we all could have used at some point in our misspent lives

A Handy Guide To Demon Possessed Canines
One way to get rid of a demon is to smack a dog in the head with a frying pan.
Tell me more!>

In these troubled and violent times its nice to know that there are a few Real Christians concerned with spreading the true Gospel of the Prince of Peace.

BTW why is it that I always end up with the last comment in all these discussion threads?
Posted 12:48 AM by A. O. Gutierrez 0 comments

Just a reminder, the FOWL picnic is Sunday, June 9th. Here's an Acrobat pdf document that you can view/print with a map and ticket info. If you need a free Acrobat reader and browser plug-in to access this document you can get one here. Hey Russ and Shan! This would be a great way to break in those new rides!

On a related (sort of) note, has there been any talk of a summer solstice this year?
Posted 9:37 AM by whatley 0 comments

Hello from New York.

Due to the complexity of earning a living in this burg, daily life has not changed so much as you might fear, listening to the news. Getting up and going to work every day remains pretty much the only option, even if it means living in a target zone. Most New Yorkers shrug off the danger as either overrated or unavoidable and therefore unworthy of attention. Personally, I'm working my little tush off, at the moment, and have little energy left over for paranoia. (Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't really out to get you.) New York's surly stoicism endures. Many people believe the government is engaged in some sort of "cover-your-ass" promotional campaign -- not wanting to get caught NOT alerting us to possible danger, especially when they just got caught doing exactly that, nine months ago. (Read: Shan)

On a personal note, Shan and I are the proud owners of new motorcycles (new to us, at least): a 2000 Suzuki Bandit 1200S for Russ (deep red) and a 2001 Suzuki Bandit 1200S for Shan (soft silver). (Sorry, Andy -- too good a deal to pass up.) We have yet to take them on an outing, as work and dog-sitting responsibilities have intervened. Perhaps in a week or so. I have been working 11-hour days on, at the moment, the set for the tour of "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife." Work promises to continue at this pace for awhile. Citing exhaustion, I must end here. (Plus, Shan wants to stop playing secretary.)

Hope you all are well. Keep the faith and keep smiling.
Posted 10:19 PM by Russ Stevens 0 comments

"Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine. Caffeine & theobromine belong to a chemical class of alkaloids called methylated xanthines. These are found in coals, coffee, tea & in chocolate. As a class of drugs, Methylated xanthines cause central nervous system (CNS) stimulation, diuresis (flushing of fluids through the body), cardiac (heart) muscle stimulation, & smooth muscle stimulation.
Methylxanthines are absorbed very quickly & easily from the oral cavity & intestinal tract. The liver is needed to metabolize these chemicals, & the waste products are excreted in the urine. These chemicals primarily affect the CNS & kidneys. These chemicals cause increased motor activity & also result in tachycardia (too fast a heart beat.) Because of the increased motor activity, seizures may occur. The kidneys may be affected causing diuresis & very high urine output. This may lead to dehydration. Respirations may become too rapid, & hyperthermia (too high a body temperature) may occur, resulting in death. There is NO antidote for these drugs."

And you guys wondered what I was doing all those years.


Posted 9:30 PM by Andy Allan 0 comments

This item has been zinging around the net for a couple of days now so you may have already seen it. I was going to post it earlier but for some reason didn't. The $20 Bill - 9/11 Anomaly (Hey Shan, another conspiracy?)

Posted 8:41 AM by whatley 0 comments

The Emoticon Version of King Lear:

:-)

.-|

-(

And, um, don't believe everything you see.

Posted 10:26 AM by whatley 0 comments

Kiss any thoughts of productivity goodbye this week. Why? The 100 greatest online games. That's why. (fyi: they even have the original text based "hitchikers guide to the galaxy" game here)
Posted 12:09 PM by whatley 0 comments

Proof that marriage exists in nature.
Posted 8:26 AM by whatley 0 comments

"[Ad skips are] theft. Your contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to watch the spots. Otherwise you couldn't get the show on an ad-supported basis. Any time you skip a commercial or watch the button you're actually stealing the programming."
Jamie Kellner, chairman and CEO of Turner Broadcasting

In that spirit may I present the Top Ten New Copyright Crimes, helpfully provided to us by Yale Universitys LawMeme site.
Posted 8:44 AM by whatley 0 comments

The pop-up ad from hell.
Posted 12:51 PM by whatley 0 comments

Common Weed Killer Disrupts Frog's Sexual Development“The researchers exposed larvae and tadpoles to varying levels of the chemical and found that concentrations of atrazine as low as 0.1 part per billion affected the sexual development of the animals.”

On Cemetary Pond, "In fact, it seems quite possible that scientists will not figure out what is killing the amphibians in time to rescue many species from extinction.”

Biologists figure out what accounts for certain side-show frogs.
“…scientists have been debating just why Kermit's kind is finding it less easy being green.”

Climate Warming Prompts Premature Frog Calls
“…the strongest indication yet that climate warming in eastern North America is affecting the resident species.”

Climate Change Linked to Amphibian Declines
“Amphibian populations around the world have been declining at alarming rates for years, prompting a confounding variety of explanations from researchers.”

Posted 5:42 PM by Ray Stewart 0 comments

The Red Brick Times is one year old today.


Posted 11:34 AM by whatley 0 comments

FYI: It looks like we won't be able to recover those wondrous comment threads that were building up under a number of posts before the server at Aletia (our webhosting provider) crashed. To quote Aletia "We have removed all data that could be safely moved from scorpion. We apologize for the inconvenience." Bummer. There's a way I can back up the whole 7393 site to a local machine here at work and I'll do that as often as I can from now on. I can't promise to do it everyday though.
Posted 3:48 PM by whatley 0 comments

Someone (who shall remain nameless) turns 50 tomorrow. Got ecard?
Posted 12:50 PM by whatley 0 comments