Happy Thanksgiving - Check Melville, Dickinson, Delores & Amy 26Nov20

Carve those turkeys well my friends; it's a special day. So, reprising the posit that originals have it over covers in so many ways, a good friend recalled a quote from Herman Melville - an American stud of the late 19th century we’ve all read. He said: "It is better to fail in originality than succeed in imitation.” An apropos notion, for me. Some have offered the alt view but I’m sticking to my guns here. After hearing a glorious version of "Dreams" from top Irish songstresses (click through to videos), I had to refer back to the original from Delores & The Cranberries. Delores is the scream goddess of her own words… IMO. Baited and won again. Next effort.

 

Ok, with Melville settling that one another poet’s story comes to mind as recounted on Apple+; it prompted me to dive again on her work. Dickinson is the show and Hailee Steinfeld as Emily is awesome, as are the other players. So funny and so revealing. Then go again to her works: really just one book crafted from her locker of poems from home. It’s a very heavy trove of death & love & wild things. So cool. I highly recommend both.

On with the modern show however... I’ve taken in the very recent works of the fine Scottish contralto Amy Macdonald. “Popular,” especially in Europe, she recently has sung some songs again for us, released an album and even dropped a pandemic offer. She’s awesome.. great songwriting & spectacular voice:

• 19Nov20 The Hudson
• 19Nov20 Mr Rock & Roll
  

• 03Nov20 The Human Demands
• May20 A Piece Of My Heart

FlacBox iOS Field Review 26Nov20

With some experience with FlacBox now under my belt I offer some observations good and bad. Overall, this audio client for iPhone is excellent - gone is the constant offer to connect to AppleMusic, gone is the clutter, arrived is flac file support, arrived are custom EQ filters, arrived is streaming from any connected location.

The biggest initial glitch in my usage was my dependency on SMB for transferring music onto iOS from within the app. I searched and found external schemes for loading files directly within macOS's support for iPhones but that doesn't exist for Linux. Fortunately FlacBox directly supports WiFi Drive where I can simply use a browser on my server or Linux system which very quickly downloads selected tracks to the right location in the iOS file system. Whew, SMB took 20 hours for the same size as WiFi Drive took 10 minutes.

FlacBox quickly went to the Internet to scrape album covers, images and other metadata for my tracks and synchronize. I was quickly able to add custom EQ filters for various output devices I use with my iPhone: Ski Helmet, Crusher Too, wireless earbuds, etc. Very cool.

I know many use streaming apps from their iPhone and use services like Spotify or Apple Music but if you want to use high def files from iOS; if you want to not be bothered by streaming offers or ads; if you want to customize equalization for your various output transducers; if you want to be pleasantly surprised rather than often irritated ~ try FlacBox. I paid $5 for the PRO version.

UPDATE - Combining With The ODT Chips 2.0... 

I own these stellar Bluetooth ski helmet "headphones" (they actually are walkie-talkies, answer cell phone calls & provide notifications, etc.). I was struggling with the pause-play UI interfacing with FlacBox but got it all working. I need that feature to easily prep to hear my ski-lift mates babble on as we ride - having to go the the phone for pause sucked. :) FlacBox and the ODT Chips 2 are highly recommended.

 

Decent Vert And A Rope Drop With Sheldon 25Nov20

Dave Sheldon ran nearly his normal play leaving COS very early to meet me for runs in Summit Co. The variant on this occasion was our meeting at Keystone - a choice we made from early season experience at all the Summit Co resorts. Keystone does a great job, and did again today despite a little crowding mid-day. We still scored 8 runs and some decent vert but we really scored as we hit a rope drop on a new run opening and got to ski some fresh on our last run down the hill. It was very nice and there were other lucky folks spilled all over in front of me - apparently less aware of the necessary techniques in such a situation. The 6" or so of new stuff on this day (after 10" new yesterday) was needed and heavy. Thanks for joining Dave and congrats to him, after summiting the final of his CO 14ers two years ago he embarked on the 13ers and climbed some tough ones like Meeker and Ice Mtn, and at least 10 others. 

Some Runs & Some Food 23Nov20

I got out to KS for some more runs on a weekday... always fun. I also stopped at ORB & Brid Cafe for lunch... again, always fun. At the Nest I finally cooked up a sesame, peppercorn & cabbage Asian thing I wanted... my cooking is sometimes good, as it was on this day.

Hittin' The PT With The Hit Squad 18Nov20

The day was nice, hitting 70° in late November in Pueblo. I got to take Andy and Yoho in the new Crusher to the PT and while the day was far from epic fishing, and it was pretty crowded, we caught some fish like these (looks like I smuged my camera). I did best during a trico spinner fall but also caught 'em on purple reign midge. and Andy scored with a bling midge. "The Hit Squad" hit Brues for sloppers with Pueblo chilies and beers afterward. It was great outside on the Riverwalk. We'll do better next time.

Renewed Danner Boots & Field Use Report 17Nov20

Some know I've had issues with prior Patagonia wading boots. I loved the fit and the aluminum bar grabbing but the longevity of uppers was suspect and replacing the bars was a challenge if one waited too long. While I waited too long again, I did get my Patagonia-Danner boots' aluminum replaced. Sure I used a Dremel tool and vice grips to replace some of the bars but I did get it done. As for the new boots durability - awesome thus far. The fit and the hiking feel are good though they are heavy, but most importantly they are sturdy. It's an upgrade for sure that Patagonia went to Danner to design and build the new boot; I guess I can't get a new pair under warranty every year now. ;(

I Got It - New Drops & More 13Nov20

Happy birthday Kala! I got the Phoebe & Maggie Rogers cover of Iris (1998 Goo Goo Dolls) dropped today... it will evaporate. I also scored some RdC oldies and got here from Summit before the storms.

 

All proceeds went to Fair Fight... "Fair Fight promotes fair elections in Georgia and around the country, encourages voter participation in elections, and educates voters about elections and their voting rights. Fair Fight brings awareness to the public on election reform, advocates for election reform at all levels, and engages in other voter education programs and communications. "

But better yet is Atlanta's/Nashville's Katie Pruitt - complete emergence with songrwriting and much more on NPR... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDJWmG7d0AM or debut in NYC here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqljCaDBPK4 or her 1st album Expectations on Bandcamp here... https://rounderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/expectations or at SXSW emerging here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqljCaDBPK4. Amazing writing, playing and singing.