ProfessorTomoe

I am on the cusp of completing my first piece for a solo instrument. Due to a severe lack of works for this particular instrument, I have chosen to write for the Alto Clarinet. It's a horn I've played on in concert myself, and I enjoyed the experience. I've got two movements out of a total of three completed, and the third is rolling along nicely. I should have it done within the next day or so. Side note: I thought that the hardest part of the whole experience would be writing the piano accompaniment, but as it turns out, it's been no more difficult than writing for almost any other instrument so far. I'll find out how true that statement is when I set it in front of a piano player.

I'd like to use this thread as a way to highlight new releases of my music. Anyone else who has any music coming out is welcome to do the same. For starters, I've just released a song called "Ant Farm Melee" to my Bandcamp account. You can read all about it on my latest blog post. Please grab a copy of the song today!

I shall mourn. It is a moral imperative.

I played my first notes of live ensemble music in over 35 years last night. I joined the Rockwall Community Band and played in the percussion section. The last time I did something like that was with the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble in the late 80s. Boy, was I rusty. I made it about halfway through the 90-minute rehearsal before I had to sit town and rest. Next time, I bring liquids for drinking. Phew. https://rockwallcommunityband.wordpress.com/

If things go as planned, Mrs. Prof. will be purchasing a new laptop for herself about now: https://www.microcenter.com/product/649163/acer-aspire-5-a515-57-52yq-156-laptop-computer-gray She does not need a huge multimedia machine. She just needs something she can use to do spreadsheets, communicate, and watch streaming content. Please tell me I haven't steered her wrong.

Let's see if we can consolidate some of the "what are you eating/drinking/breathing" threads into this one. I am currently ingesting Crystal Light tea. Just had some hummus & pita chips beforehand. I'm considering getting a glass of Bulgarian buttermilk (I was shocked that my local Albertson's actually had the Bulgarian style! Nom.).

I'm experiencing a bit of grief from my 4TB Thunderbolt 5 external drive. I get occasional messages saying that the drive wasn't ejected properly when I didn't even eject the thing in the first place. I'm not sure if this is due to the thing overheating (it is getting quite warm), or if it's due to something with the cable (there have been messages flying about non-Apple TB5 cables being wonky). I decided to try treating the latter problem first by getting a replacement cable straight from Apple. I got onto Apple's website and went to their store. Turns out they have a grand total of one (1) Thunderbolt 5 cable available for sale, that being a one-meter cable for $69. The one that came with the drive is closer to one-foot in length. Since it's got to provide power as well as transmit data, there's a possibility that it won't work due to the excess length. In any case, I've got to give it a try, so I ordered it. We'll find out if it works at all come Tuesday the 1st (no fooling). If it works but doesn't solve the problem, I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't provide much in the way of better ventilation. About the best I could to would be to elevate it off of the particle board surface it's sitting on now and maybe get it onto a heat-dissipating metallic surface. I could use suggestions and/or links for that.

THAT CAT IS STARING INTO MY ***SOUL***

FINALLY!!!!! "Bohemian Galop" is published, online, and available for purchase, at last! Direct link (shortened): https://tinyurl.com/ma7cthc4 Story behind the link: https://dleejackson.lbjackson.com/2025/03/published-at-last-real-world-music/

I've lost count of how much time has been spent copying files from the old Win11 laptop to the MacBook Pro. All totaled, it's been the better part of a week to get 5 TB copied, and that includes just under 1TB copied via the Bluetooth "Windows Migration Assistant" protocol and just under 4TB copied via plain old Wi-Fi copying. I'm at 85% of the last 1,037 GB of that lot. Sheesh. Most of the last 4TB is going to the external Thunderbolt 5 drive, which has a 4TB capacity. (Just wait until Time Machine runs with that drive included for the first time - whoa nelly!) In the background, I've been doing what I can to get Dorico Pro set up to run without issues. I've got the correct fonts installed (I think), and I've got everything configured properly for my projects. My first project out of the gate will be an unnamed one I've been working on for a couple of weeks prior to purchasing the MacBook Pro. BTW, I need a better name for my laptop than "MacBook Pro." I tried "Mao," since it was built in China, but I decided I didn't want to work on a system with a communist moniker. Tell you what - the person who gives me a better nickname which I choose for my laptop will win an autographed trading card with my picture on it. The winner will be chosen purely at my discretion, so no complaints if you don't win, please. However, if you come up with a *really* good name, I might send you more than one card. I'm also stretching this contest across my Facebook group (the "Lee Jackson Audio Community Discussion Group") and my Doomworld thread (the "Everything Else\Essential stuff for fans of Lee Jackson" thread), so expect a little bit of competition. Good luck, and please give it your best shot!

As with the thread from the previous incarnation of the board, I begin this one with a request that the information within remain confidential. This is a thread for those seeking support as they deal with very sensitive situations involving either their own or a loved one's health. Please let this be a thread where such information can be shared with a level of trust. Now, back to the topic at hand. I picked up my second filling of Brintellix yesterday—all $141 of it, for a month's supply. I find it odd that it is an antidepressant, yet the price is so high that it is depressing just to purchase it. As for its effects, I'm still getting used to them. I haven't been able to sleep for more than three hours at a time for a couple of weeks now. When I do wake up in the middle of the night, I'm not groggy. In fact, I feel for at least a short time that I've had a decent night's sleep. That sensation only lasts a few hours, though. I don't crash out—I just sort of fade to the point where I need to sleep again. Very weird. I've also lost weight. Not a lot, but every pound counts, and it's been a slow and steady drop. Some of this might be related to the small dose of metformin that I'm on (my A1C hit 6.5 again, causing my primary doctor to freak out). I seriously don't know. Whatever the reason, it made my cardiologist happy at my appointment yesterday. Speaking of cardiologists, mine determined that I am status quo as far as my PVCs are concerned. He hasn't seen them in the short 30-second EKGs he runs at every appointment, but the memory of my Holter monitor results from several years ago is enough to keep him on his toes. Still, he saw no reason to increase my lisinopril or to add a beta blocker to my shoebox full of medicines. I hope this thread will be as useful as the last one was. Thanks for any support you can provide.

She had no clue. So, I whipped out the pear liqueur w/cognac that I bought on the cruise and poured a finger or two. Here's hoping for some revitalization from it.

Well, I've got a home care nurse coming by in about an hour. Maybe she can help me figure out what's wrong with me.

I took my pills this morning, and now for some reason I feel wholly drained of energy. No clue as to why. It's like something has sucked me dry.

Duplipost. The thing took my post and didn't show that it had done so. Bleh.

It was a 4 night cruise. We boarded on Monday morning and disembarked on Friday morning. The rest of the trip was spent in the car or in a hotel.

It was a 4 night cruise. We boarded on Monday morning and disembarked on Friday morning. The rest of the trip was spent in the car or in a hotel.

We're home! The drive home from DeFuniak Springs, Florida was tough for Mrs. Prof, since it rained quite a bit of the way, but she fought the good fight and brought us home safely. We're here, at last!

Success! The presentation went off well, and the new MacBook didn't stumble for a second. It handled everything that was thrown at it. The audience liked the presentation as well, it would seem. The USB stick giveaway was a big hit, too. (I gave away USB sticks with all of my music on them.) All told, I'm happy with how things turned out. Now, if I could only stay awake during the other presentations. The medications keep taking over and knocking me out. It's embarrassing.

I love the chaotic gestalt. Anyway, fate tried to throw up one last block on our way to the ship - a bomb scare that shut down the tunnel leading to the PortMiami main entrance. Traffic was backed up for hours, but we made it! I'm onboard, here, in the middle of the night, in my Prime Time, typing away on the new MacBook! Everything seems to be working well. If it weren't for the 40mph winds and the rough seas, I'd say things are almost perfect. Thank God for scopolamine.

I'm in Miami, with the MacBook, not 100% used to it, but 99% used to it and ready to do my presentation on Jon St. John's King Con Cruise with it. Mrs. Prof and I have 5 hours before we board the ship to the Caribbean and the Bahamas. I may get another hour nap or two before I take a shower, since we intend on checking out at 10am. I've got to pick up a power scooter for the cruise before we board. Please wish us luck. Fate has been trying to throw every kind of bad luck at us since we stepped out the front door of our house. We can use all the counter-luck that we can get.

I *swear* that wasn't there earlier!!! Whatever, it's there now, and it works! Thank you!!!

The new MacBook Pro is here, and I am using it to write this message. It's quite nice. I'll be taking it and it alone on the cruise as my sole computing source. Now, if I could just figure out how to turn off the damned trackpad...

4300 Lovers Lane, Dallas, TX 75225

Well, my good luck streak didn't hold up. I'd entered another composition competition, this time for works for full orchestra. They announced the winners today, and I wasn't one of them. Oh, well. C'est la guerre. At least I can post it here, now. The piece is called "Vista" (no relation to the crappy Microsoft OS), and it runs about 5'40". It's built around "Americana" motifs, as the competition specified, so that should give you some idea of what it sounds like. Please give it a listen, and let me know what you think. Thanks!