How hot and dry has it been this summer in Columbia? I did a little checking...

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Looking at Jun-Aug only, we've had 59 days 90 F (32.2 C) so far with 2 more forecast, and 23 days 100 F (37.8 C) with no more forecast. That makes this the 7th hottest or 5th hottest (by those measures, respectively) since they started keeping records in...
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Bleh - it continues to be stinking hot here on the prarie. 106 (41C) forecast for today and tomorrow - 6th longest streak of 100+ days in history here, will be nearly two weeks without a break if it ends as forecasted on Sunday (only 95 then, and lower 90s or upper 80s next week - we're going to need to break out our parkas!)....
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I decided to take a studio picture of my old Martin tuba - it dates from sometime in the 1930s, I think, and is a monster tuba (very much oversized) - this model was apparently designed for the Navy band for outdoor performances, with a very large bore and a front-facing bell to project better. Anyway, it's my old war horse, and I love it...
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"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."

-Roald Dahl

Last Thursday was the spring concert for the ShowMe Brass Band - an 11-piece brass ensemble with which I have the joy and honor of playing. Video of most of the concert is up on You-Tube (the tape ran out in the middle of the last piece, so you don't get that or the encore). I even did a solo in the concert - the...
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Happy Zombie Jesus Day!

Just a reminder, this Friday, February 10, at 6:30 PM Central (7:30 Eastern, 4:30 Western, 12:30 AM Saturday UTC) my 30-minute radio drama "The SNAFU" will be presented on KBIA (91.3 FM in Columbia, MO or streaming anywhere at kbia.org) as performed by the Maplewood Barn Radio Theatre. I was really honored that they chose my play for their weekly series, and had the...
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Not a lot going on right now. This past weekend we did our annual haggis-making. We're going to a Burns Supper on Sunday, so we prepared the haggis. As seems to be typical, we went overboard and ended up making 34 lbs of it! It's so yummy, though! [Note: to those of you who are vegetarian/vegan, you might want to skip the rest of this...
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Hello friends!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday - whatever holiday you choose to celebrate at this time of year. Ours was quiet - just my wife and I at home, didn't even put up a tree, but it was nice to just relax and spend time together. Something we don't get enough chance to do.

The season was busy - I did my...
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Happy Veterans Day! We are, as I write this one hour away (local time) from 11:11:11 11/11/11!

I just got back from delivering 9 dozen roses to the Occupy Columbia folks to hand out today. The cool thing is that they do good twice - the roses were bought as part of the Columbia Northwest Rotary Club rose sale, the proceeds of which go to...
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Well, goddamit! I've apparently gotten my FOURTH brown recluse spider bite. They seem to like me (or maybe dislike me... :confused. Neither my wife nor my son have been bitten in the 20 years we've lived in this house (well, 17 for him, I guess), but now I've been bitten four times.

It's not that big a deal - just a small ugly wound...
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Gotta do a shout-out for one of my absolute favorite SG's - both as a Suicide Girl (and all that entails) and as a friend. Apathy has a new set, Bryddja, and you all need to go show it some love. Seriously, this is a delight for the eyes and the soul. While you're at it, tell Dwam what a great photographer she is,...
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