saturnalian stuff

Less of me and more of you is always good on the Blast. Love it when you send your photos and stuff in.

The accent mark is up in San Francisco seeing one of her brood and rented a house in this neighborhood. She sent this picture today of a house that she says both Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin lived in on Fulton Street. Place still looks pretty psychedelic if you ask me.

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I sent a very expensive box of silver to the Arts and Crafts conference at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, N.C. Sent it out Thursday, USPS express, guaranteed no later than three o'clock today. Never showed up. My client is leaving the state tomorrow, if it ever does show up, they will be gone. I called up the USPS today but they were as worthless as tits on a boar. A civil service toadie from level two kept telling me to lower my voice in his best passive aggressive voice. Said that there must be a problem with my phone's audio. File a claim in your local post office, he tells me, which of course is closed until monday. Quite aggravating. Typical don't give a shit public servant. Once upon a time we could trust our public institutions. That bus has long left the barn.

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R sent this picture from her recent trip to Cuba, this one is from Trinidad.

I don't have any desire to visit Cuba, not on my short list. Patagonia, Wyszkov, Poland to scout out the family shtetl, New Zealand, Thailand, Berlin, London, could always go back to Andalucia and maybe Portugal next time.

Would love to houseboat on Lake Powell, but need someone to join me that is mechanically handy since I am so deficient.

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Ken had an aunt die in Dodge City, drove back and got caught in the storm. Holed up for several days at the Motel 6, should be getting home soon.

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Had a great meeting with the Fallbrook Shutters this morning, my photo group. Good, creative bunch.

I don't need it but the new Nikon D7100 looks like just an amazing camera. 24.1mp, they got rid of the optical low pass filter and the pictures are supposedly incredibly sharp.

They have also stuck a better Expceed 3 sensor on the camera and a 51 point af system. Rockwell says best Nikon ever but he says that every time. Don't need it, can't afford it, would love to have it.

I can't justify throwing $1200 bucks away on a camera that I don't need at the moment but would recommend it to anyone looking for a great piece of gear.

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Blast friend Mike Finnegan is playing with Bonnie Raitt tonight. Reardon saw them last week and said Mike tore it up. Unfortunately they are sold out. I waited too long.

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KJ took this shot of Sheriff Joe in Phoenix. I believe that like most arizonans, KJ is a big fan.

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KerryB loaned me the four disc Rhino compilation titled Where the action is, Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968. Great early stuff by some very cool Los Angeles Bands, Music Machine, Rising Sons, Sons of Adam, The Everpresent Fullness, The Garden Club and more. Great liner notes. Two of my friends play on this compilation, Bob Zinner's W.C. Fields Memorial Electric String Band with Hippy Elevator Operator and Larry Robinson's band Things to Come playing Come Alive featuring Russ Kunkel on drums.

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Family Tree DNA reran its whole database with newer and more advanced tests and criteria. A few things changed. My buddy Stanley is back on top as the person sharing the most common DNA with me, a 25.03 longest block.

The table at right shows where our DNA matches. It still cracks me up that the guy that buys me the test turns out unwittingly to be my closest relative genetically. Amazing! Out of a hundred and nine full pages of relatives.

Family Tree is running a $39.00 Y dna 12 allele test. Not nearly enough but if you want to get your feet wet with genetic testing and you are a guy you might take a look.