Wanna go Kayaking?

Great Policy

It's Not Easy Being Green

Al Gore may have been all about saving energy and saving the planet at Sunday night's Oscars, but it appears he's not walking the walk. Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service. Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year. In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

Monday Notes

The snow continues today in one of the worst snowstorms in a long time. The kids are loving it, though, spending hours sledding down hills created by snowplows at our neighborhood school. It's the only thing so far that's gotten them off the new Nintendo Wii.
Speaking of which, the Wii is amazing. Very family friendly. The basic package comes with Wii Sports, a game with family style sports games such as bowling that all families can play. The Wii-mote is a new take on gaming, more of a virtual game experience than before - instead of just clicking buttons, you actually move the wii-mote as if you're really bowling or playing tennis.
Gets the kids off their butts, which can only be a good thing.
The cello maker sent me an email - my cello is nearly finished and will be shipped to me by week's end. I can't wait!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Winter has returned in full force, dumping well over a foot of snow on us in the last 16 hours, with up to another 8 inches expected this evening. Last night the driving conditions were almost impossible, even in my SUV. The snow stopped this morning for a few hours - long enough for us to blow out the nearly 3 foot snowdrifts that had piled up, but the snow has again begun to fall. After driving my brother to the ER last night to take care of a severe nosebleed at 3AM, I am even more thankful than ever to have a job that allows me to stay in my office and enjoy the beauty of the snow without the hassle!
Kind of makes the swimming pool I'm putting in the backyard seem like just a pipedream.

Numb3rs Fan?

Love the show Numb3rs, but you have no idea what the heck Charlie is talking about? This Friday night show is always fun to watch, and the math is fascinating - a partnership between CBS and MIT. One professor has a weekly blog to explain the math in the show. Check it out here: http://www.atsweb.neu.edu/math/cp/blog/

Cello

Getting back into the swing of posting (really, I promise) and to start things off I have to say how much I am enjoying learning to play the cello. I love how it sounds. So far I have gotten nearly through book one with the help of my teacher, Ally, but have realized that the student cello I've been playing on is not going to be a keeper. The neck is too thick and it's just not the quality I'm going to want if I will ever be good enough to play in the WSB's orchestra.
After much research, I stumbled upon Andy Fein's handmade instruments available through his store in Minneapolis, created in the Stradivarius style. After reading about his instruments, I was intrigued enough to look further, and I was able to email back and forth with Mr. Fein himself to come up with what we believe will be the perfect instrument for me.
An excerpt from the website:
"Stradivarius structured his cello making workshop so that six to ten of his apprentices and master artisans worked precisely to his cello forms. Stradivarius then did all the final work and ensured the highest quality in every cello. We use the same system today in all our hand crafted cellos from the cello making workshops of Rigidio Riva in Sardinia, Italy, D. Albert in Markneukirchen, Germany, and Francois Costa in Corsica, France.
Every hand made cello that we offer has been meticulously cut from aged high altitude Spruce for the cello’s top and rare, high altitude Maple for the cello’s back, sides, and neck. The cello’s fingerboard is cut from premium quality black ebony. We make sure the cello’s pegs, end pin, and tailpiece match the beauty of the cello with fine quality fittings."
I have ordered a 7/8 size cello, and it should arrive next week. According to the site.....
Wonderful Artisan Made French Cello. Handmade in the F. Costa workshop in Corsica, France. Hand finished by Andy Fein. Air dried, select quality tone wood. Nicely flamed Maple on the back, sides and neck. Deep, rich tone with good timbre and dynamic range.
Mr. Fein is so confident in his instruments that he is giving a 10 day approval period, and if I'm not satisfied I can return it for a full refund. Check out the photos - it's a gorgeous instrument and I can't wait to play it!

Devon's Violin

Devon has been having a great time learning the violin at the Wausau Conservatory of Music. Here's a photo of him with Michael Keelan, his instructor - and one of the cats, who love to hear him play.