Music News

Photo: Aztech New Media

If you are on the road to nowhere, find another road. (Ashanti Proverb in Acts of Faith by Iyanla Vanzant, 7 June)

A shortcut is often the quickest way to some place you weren't going. (Classic Crossword Puzzles in Touchstones, 7 June)

If we do not think we have to be perfect, then we can accept our mistakes as learning experiences and be willing to try again. (Food For Thought, 4 June)

Every moment of your life writes a line for your obituary. Perhaps now is the time to consider how you are living and what you want to be said about you when you are not. Today I am devoted to writing a powerful history of myself and my life! (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 10 May)

• Yesterday I attended the computer club meeting. I talked to someone while I was using one of the two computers in the hallway. I invited him to attend the meeting and he accepted the invitation. One of the members demonstrated the robot he is building. It was amazing to see the robot stand up after he fell down. The talk was a big success.
• I took the thumb drive, loaded with music in the WMA format, to the senior center. I spent about an hour using the public computer. I selected albums by Luis Miguel, Gloria Estefan and Gilberto Gil from the thumb drive. I think there were forty-one tracks. Once the music was selected I used Microsoft Media Player to burn all but four of the songs to two CDs. I was surprised when I realized that the songs from the three artists shuffled together. In the evening when I tested the CDs in the car I was surprised again. The format indicator said the CDs were in the CDA format. I thought they would be in the WMA format. This morning I tested one of the CDs using the CD player in the bedroom. This player only reads the CDA format. The music sounded great. I put one of the CDs in slot six of the car CD player so Melva will have new music. Because the computers at the senior center are newer than mine the Internet Explorer and the file managers look quite a bit different than what I'm used to. Now I need to understand what made the songs shuffle together and why they were converted from WMA to CDA format. At any rate I'm pleased with the progress I made and I'm looking forward to creating more CDs for Melva to listen to in the car.
• In the evening I watched part of a very good PBS show about the trolley and overhead cable car (What are these called?) systems in Portland, OR. The program was particularly interesting because Cyndi and I used the trolley system to move around Portland when we were there.

Mr. Dickie