Dave James

Harold Land - Peace-Maker Sun Ra - Spaceship Lullaby Archie Shepp - Ballads for Trane Up over and out.

Adam, That's it. Sounds simple. It isn't. Up over and out.

Does The Grateful Dead count as its own category? Up over and out.

I made up a grid that provides lots of extra space to write in possible numbers. I will also write missing numbers in the margins to the right of the rows and underneath the columns. However, I never write these in until I'm down to no more than three missing numbers in a given row or column. My opening gambit is to indentify what I call intersections. SS, in the puzzle you reproduced, look at the 5's in the upper left and upper center segments. If you extend those into the upper right segment wher you know you need to have a 5, it eliminates all but two of the boxes. There is another 5 in the lower right hand segment. If you extend that upwards, it takes care of one of those boxes so you know that the 5 can safely be entered in the one remaining box, the one right above the 2. You can usually fill in a fair number of squares using this technique depending, of course, on the level of difficulty. It kind of kick starts the process. After you run out of the slam dunks, that's when the going gets tough. I've found the more you work on these the more techniques you identify. The biggest problem I have with Su Doko, though, is if you make a mistake, sometimes you don't know it until it comes time to fill in the very last square. That happened to me last night. When it does, you've just wasted a boatload of time and have nothing to show for it. I've tried quitting, but once you get the bug, it's hard to stop. Hmmm. Sounds a bit like another kind of addiction, i.e. the musical one. Up over and out.

I do these all the time, but I'm not very good at it. I think I got one three star puzzle once. My SO's 15 year old daughter, on the other hand, can do whip these out like there's no tomorrow. The degree of difficulty doesn't seem to bother her. Of course, she's a whiz at math. I'm not. These puzzles drive me crazy. If you're interested, there are hundreds of these that can be downloaded off the net for free. All different difficulty levels. Just Google the word "su doku". Up over and out.

OD, Any specific recommendations with regard to the double keyboard band? Don't think there are any DP's, but I'd definitely check out any other material you think is worthwhile. Thanks. Up over and out.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Dead web site to order Dick's Picks #36. Like many of you, my preferences tend towards earlier iterations of The Dead and this one is said to be a pretty good representation of that place in time. At any rate, I thought as long as I was getting one DP, I might as well look for another, you know, why get just one when you can have two. To make a long story short, I wound up adding #27 to my order. This is the first of the DP series to feature Vince Welnick. It's from a 12/16/92 concert at the Oakland Coliseum. I must say, I've warmed up big time to this iteration of the band. I know Jerry was having health problems around this time, but the band is just bang on. They do some tunes you don't normally associate with The Dead as well as a terrific reading of "Playin' In The Band", but I think as much as anything, it's Welnick who carries the day. His backing vocals just seem to kick Garcia's and Weir's up a notch. He takes the high harmony parts and, I don't know, it all just sounds real good to me. In addition, Garcia is starting to fool around with various guitar effects and I think that adds some pop to his lines as well. This is one I would highly recommend if you haven't heard it before. Wish there were more DP's out with Welnick. Not only can he sing, but he's no slouch on the keybords. Up over and out.

This one was in the Collector's Choice music catalogue I got last night. If you can't read the title, it's a testament to poor taste: Pearl Harbor and the Explosions Up over and out.

Hockey jerseys are very slimming, especially so when there are no pads underneath. It's just the way they're made. Did you know that Shilling's wife is a biscuit short of 185? You'd never know it looking at this picture. Up over and out.

Happy birthday, Andy. Don't know why, but I've always thought Andy Bleadon is about the perfect British name. Up over and out.

It's ridiculous that Goose Gossage is not in the Hall. He's the best closer baseball has ever seen. That includes Mariano Rivera. You'll never see the likes of him again. I guarantee it. For comparitive purposes, this is cadged from the EPSN website: During his 10-year prime, Gossage allowed fewer hits per nine innings (6.1) than Eckersley (7.5), Rollie Fingers (7.8) and even Mariano Rivera (7). Gossage's ERA in that golden era was a mere 2.03, which is better than Bruce Sutter's 2.62. Gossage averaged 2.1 innings per relief appearance in 1978. In 2005, Rivera averaged just one inning. Only once has Rivera struck out more than 83 batters in a season. Gossage did it eight times, and fanned 100 batters six times. Sutter and Gossage average 4.73 and 4.72 outs per save, respectively, while Eckersley averaged 3.33. Up over and out. Up over and out.

DC, I think, in general, wireless headphones are a work in progress. Doubly so at the price point you're considering. Up over and out.

Patricia, Better late that never...Happy Birthday. We left wing whackos must stick together. Makes me wonder about the connection between jazz and liberalism, a.k.a. open mindedness. My gift to you to ponder. Up over and out.

The check mark just appeared when I tried to power up my i-Pod. It was accompanied by the "disk mode" message I referred to in my initial post. I had not been downloading any tunes. You're right about the check. When it's on, the battery drains very quickly. Not sure why that would be. At any rate, I have been able to get my Pod back in the saddle. Turns out I wasn't using the proper procedure for a reset. I'm still not convinced my problems are solved, but as long as the Pod is functional, I'm fine. The disk mode thing is still very curious, especially when the Pod appears to have done this on its own. Thanks to everyone who tried to help me out. I just think these little guys are cantankerous by nature. Don't get me wrong...I love my Pod, but it's been, at times, a stressful relationship. Up over and out.

This is my very favorite part of the Burns documentry. In one of the pre-flight interviews aired before the initial broadcast of the series, Burns talks a little bit about the first time he and his crew saw this footage. He said they were absolutely dumfounded. So was I. Up over and out.

Possible grounds for expulsion from the Organissimo community. Up over and out.

Tony, I followed your instructions, but the box you refer to is not checked. I think I have a serious problem here. Thanks for trying to help me out. Up over and out.

The check mark is bad because when it's on in combination with the Pod being in disk mode, it's completely frozen. I looked all over i-Tunes, and I can find no reference to disk mode or how one would go about disabling it. I bought my i-Pod just over a year ago, but I'm not sure what "generation" that makes it. If someone could walk a computer illiterate through the disk mode disable processs, I would be eternally grateful. Up over and out.

Over the course of the last month of so, my one year old i-Pod will occasionally display the following: To the left of the battery level "icon" it says "Disk Mode". There's a line all the way across the screen directly below this. Then underneath that line is a very large check mark. Right under the check mark it says "OK to disconnect". When this happens, the Pod is essentially dead. This behavior comes and goes, but its frequency is becoming annoying. The battery is charged, and it will charge when plugged into a power source, so this not appear to be a bettary related issue. Anyone have any idea what's going on here? Thanks. Up over and out.

Great stuff. Buy with confidence. Pay particular attention to pianist Billy Gardner. I think he's on the "Two Feet" session, Up over and out.

The NCAA should issue a formal apology to Texas and USC. I'm not sure how they go about selecting the crews that work these games, but I would think for a national championship, only the best would do. Instead, we're treated to a bunch of guys who looked like it was the first time they'd ever been on the same field together. Not only that, but they gave the appearance of being wholly incapable of independent thought. How many times did you see one of these guys looking around waiting for someone else to make a call? All I hope is that the NCAA/BCS doesn't use a game like this to reward their best officials, i.e. is it possible that these guys might never worked together before last night? Does anyone know how the referee selection process works? I guess the only saving grace was that this group was still way ahead of that collection of clowns that did the Michigan Nebraska game. That's the worst I've ever seen. Up over and out.

I would characterize "Tenorman" as a solid, workmanlike effort made more desirable by its lack of availability. Even in music, absense tends to make the heart grow fonder. Also, even though this has been noted in the past, it never hurts to reiterate that AMG's ratings are based on the other entries in a given artist's canon, not how it stacks up to jazz recordings in general. Up over and out.

As much as I hate the bowl based, no playoff BCS system, you have to admit, they got it right this year. With regard to Young, he's crazy if he doesn't turn pro. His stock will never be higher than it is right now. If he needs an object lesson as to why you don't come back for your senior season, look no further than Matt Leinart. Leinart would have been the first pick in last year's draft, no question. Now he's looking at "falling" to #3 if Young comes out. Not that Leinart is going to need the money, but the difference in the amount of the signing bonus and guaranteed money is pretty significant between a #1 pick and a #3. If he wants an even better example of what can happen if you stay too long, try Willis McGahee. If McGahee had come out when he should have, he's a top 5 pick. Instead, he plays one more year with Miami, gets hurt in his final game and falls to #23. He'll never get the money back he could have made if he'd left early. Just the possiblity that he could be injured if he stays at Texas should be enough of an incentive for Young to go pro. Up over and out.

Lon, I was purusing the Dragon site a couple of days ago. My understanding from a very old Penquin Guide to Jazz was that Lars Gullin recorded five sessions for Dragon as a leader. Turns out there are eight CD's of his available. The three I was unaware of are Vol. 6, "The Sidemen" (DRCD 391), Vol 7. "Silouette" (DRCD 395) and Vol. 8. "Danny's Dream"(DRCD 396). Vol. 6 appears to be more of a compilation of sessions Gullin recorded with others, but on 7 & 8, it looks like he's the leader. I will be pursuing these other CD's, as I have something of a Jones for Gullin's work. Of all the guys who have hoisted the big pipe (Mulligan, Chaloff, Adams et al) he's my favorite. Up over and out.

This group of miscreants could have separated Barry from all his worldly possessions, but the one thing they couldn't take from him is his dignity. That disappeared long ago. Up over and out.