Kevin Bresnahan

Thanks everybody. What a birthday... hot & sweaty with the wife... even got light-headed... Working in the yard! Hey, the Turley Zin was awesome with my favorite meal, my wife's spaghetti. Tonight me & the girls are having cake. Life's good. Later, Kevin

As I said in this thread, limiting the sales to one per customer didn't save this for the catalog customers. I think there's just too many of us rabid Mosaic fans hooked up to the Internet. If they're really concerned about their catalog customers, they're gonna have to wanr them earlier. If they have a set that they think might sell out soon, they should list it in the next catalog. BTW, this set selling out is a good thing for Mosaic. If you missed out, just remember that and it might soften the blow. Kevin

Once again, this thread was started because someone tried to buy two copies of this box, not 10,000. I doubt anyone on this thread would advocate Mosaic doing what you're suggesting. BTW, understand that Mosaic has and continues to sell large blocks of sets to companies. How do you think Classic Records lists these sets in their catalog? Mosaic will sell large lots of their sets. The whole thing I don't like about this is that Mosaic could have waited until after they mailed their latest catalog and warning their customers that the Byrd/Adams set was going fast before "lighting the fire" on the website. 30 per day didn't start until after the web notice. I bet they would have had plenty of sets for their catalog custimers if they hadn't done it this way. Later, Kevin

Before anyone thinks I'm blasting Mosaic for this goofy policy, has anyone thought, "Well, why the hell didn't they just hold off on announcing "Last Chance" on the website until they send out a catalog telling their customers that it's going on "Last Chance"? Well, I have. I think it's fantastic that Mosaic thinks of us poor sclubs and holds back some sets until the catalog comes out. But the real question is, will it make it? There's no guarantee, even with a "one per customer" limit. I've seen posts here at Organissimo, Jazz Corner and The Steve Hoffman forums. It's likely that this is what's driving the "30 per day" sales. Instead, they risk alienating Internet mavens like us loonies, who check the "Last Chance" area daily. I think they should let 'em fly out the door. But then again, I ain't the boss. Kevin

I really, really wish that some single purchaser would call Mosaic today and buy all of the remaining stock of "The Complete CBS Recordings of Eddie Condon (#152)"!! It might be the only way they ever get those things off their books. Kevin

And by the way, this Byrd/Adams is a very good set to give away as a gift. It's not too big and has some great music. It had certainly crossed my mind to order another copy of this as a gift for the future but obviously, I couldn't call up today and order a few. And FWIW, I bet I could call and order 50 copies of any other set. Speculation is a result of their popularity. Would Mosaic want it the other way around? Kevin

People posting this thread seem to be missing the first post... Dmitry tried to order two sets. That's it. Just two. That's not someone speculating, just someone who wants a second copy. What's to say that if I call and try to order one set today and their computer shows the other one I ordered 4 years ago? Do they tell me, "Sorry, our records show that you already bought one"? Put a limit, sure, but a limit of one? No way. Kevin

Still pretty damn weird. They've never done this before... I wonder if this set isn't being speculated on? Maybe they've been getting some big multiple-set orders? That's about the only thing I can guess. Even then, it still doesn't make much sense to me from a business point of view. Why alienate a good customer like Dmitry to protect a "potential" sale for a customer who hasn't gotten the latest catlog? It's not like the Byrd set just got added. You snooze, you loose. I guess I can forget about that 5 set order I was planning.

I've never heard a sound difference between gold and aluminum CD-Rs. YMMV. BTW, the science seems to say that you wouldn't hear a sound difference between the two. The main reason the CD-R manufacturers started with gold is because it doesn't oxidize easily. Oxidation would render a disc unplayable over time, not bad sounding. Kevin

After doing a bit of research, and watching some ebay auctions where copies of this software have gone for over $40, I dicovered that Microtek included Adobe PhotoDeluxe 4.0 in their Scanmaster 4800 scanner. Guess what? It's a very cheap scanner. I found one on ebay that said included PhotoDeluxe and I got it for $22, including shipping! I may just throw the scanner away. Kevin

The best way is to download the free shareware program DVDShrink (http://www.dvdshrink.org/). Using this, there are several on-line tutorials. This program will allow you to re-author the movie which bascially means stripping off all the "junk" (YMMV) and leave behind just the movie, which is very important to minimize compression. Once you use DVDShrink to create files on your hardrive, you simply use your burning software (set to "data dvd") and burn the two folders that DVDShrinik created to a blank. It's very easy. Kevin

BTW, for those unaware, the TOCJ of "Off to the Races" is stereo. The Mosaic box is mono (even though the booklet says it's stereo). I think the stereo TOCJ sounds better than the mono Mosaic. My 2 cents. Kevin

Please tell me that the Bennie Green CD is still available. I have been wanting to get this one for a while (without having to buy the Mosaic Select). Kevin

If you like domestic RVGs, the Leo Parker is on a short list for the next batch. I think if you hold out, you'll be able to get it with the extra track. Kevin

Jim, I've tried several freebies and all of them have their pluses and minuses but none of them have gotten the simplicity that I loved about PhotoDeluxe. I could scan, fix the red-eye and export a picture to .jpg in about a minute. It is really simple that way. I was given a copy of Photoshop a while back and I couldn't figure out how to do these "simple" things. I'm actually tracking some scanner auctions on ebay. I figure I can get a scanner with PhotoDeluxe bundled in for a lot less than the software. Weird, huh? Kevin

Years ago, I bought an HP scanner that came bundled with Adobe's Photo Deluxe. I loved this simple-to-use photo editor. I was able to upgrade it to 3.0 when my brother bought a scanner (he's since lost that install CD). I am now in the hunt for a 4.0 version. Ebay is nuts about this stuff. I mean, it's discontinued software and they're getting $50 for it? Heck, for $50, I'll go out and buy a modern package. Does anyone have an old CD of this lying around? Maybe an old scanner package? A reliable download site? I'm even thinking about buying a used Microtek 4800 scanner for the Photo Deluxe CD and throwing out the scanner! I wish Adobe still sold it but I guess they want everyone to pay $300 for PhotoShop. Kevin

Interesting list Hans. Pretty cheap too at only 1500 Yen. I wonder why the price dropped? I figured the last few batches were intros. So now the Japanese and the European fans of this session will have a chance to get this while everyone in the US continues to be denied access. I wish there was a way to contact Pete Sims... I'd let him know that I think he's being a fool. Kevin

Is there any way to get the server to recognize me from the cookie? I have to keep logging in every time I visit. No biggie, but it's a step that wasn't there before. EDIT: I just left the house for a while and it is not only making me log in again, but it's saying I last visited "Yesterday at 1:20 PM". Not by my watch. Kevin

Man, you guys gotta lighten up! Haven't you ever attended a high school reunion? Sure the 5th year reunion is stupid. "What do you do" and "What are you driving" is all you hear. But starting with the 10th, it's a blast to see people you knew as kids morph into these old people. Personally, I love to go talk with people I wouldn't have considered talking with when I was in high school (and that was a lot of people). Face it, we're mostly immature jerks in high school. Once we mature, we can actually talk to these people. We do have a lot in common. A lot of stuff goes down in high school. So I'm looking forward to my 25th. At the last one, I got talking with one of my friends from the marching band and I found out that her brother, who was always riffing on Coltrane when the bandleader walked in, is a big Jazz nut. I would've never known that he kept at it otherwise. Stuff like that makes going fun. There's also the bummer news when you hear of classmates dying. We're too young. Later, Kevin

Surprise, surprise! They actually responded. They say that I should have been able to respond. They say you can respond once to each member of your class. And guess what? When I go back to try and send a response now, the "Enter your credit card" screen has mysteriously disappeared! A glitch? I doubt it. I bet this "mistake" gets them about 20 sign-ups per month from people who feel the need to get their response through. Classmates ain't getting my money! BTW, I sent a response with my E-mail address in it. I wonder if Classmates runs it through a filter to strip it out? I guess I'll find out. Later, Kevin

These guys are slime. My high school reunion is coming up and the organizer decided to utilize Classmates.com to make it a little easier. Yeah, easier, but also a nightmare! They continually spam me to try to get me to become a "Gold Member", just so I can talk to the people in the class. This is a PIA but not the worst thing. This morning, I get an E-mail telling me I got an "E-mail" from a former classmate. I click the link and it brings me to the Classmates.com website, where I find a nice message from an old girlfriend. I see a link that says "Reply" (like any E-mail) and type up a reply. I hit "Send" and up pops a window asking me for my credit card before they can send my "E-mail"!! These scumbags want me to pay to E-mail someone who "E-mailed" me expecting an answer. Now if I don't reply, the sender's going to think I'm a jerk who doesn't reply to E-mails. The thing is, this ain't E-Mail! I'm steamed. I sent a message via their "Contact Us" link but I don't expect to hear back. Now, I have to hope that I see this person at the reunion so I can tell her what happened. Later, Kevin

One of the easiest ways to stop this is to swap the RCA phono cables. These cables do fail occassionally. If it doesn't go away, it could be a grounding problem. Most phonos don't have a three-prong plug so that trick won't work. If they still sell it, Radio Shack had a special RCA phono cable that had ground loop isolators in each signal path. I had one set up where this cable was the only way I could get rid of the hum... and I believe it may have been when I had my TT hooked up to my PC through a phono pre-amp. Kevin

Pardon, but I'm rather uninformed about quite a few BN titles that are pre-1955. Have either or both of these Elmo Hope titles been on CD before?? If so, where?? Can't imagine in the U.S. - otherwise there's no chance they'd be Conns (or else this'd be the first Conn ever that'd been released stateside before). I'm guessing they've been out in Japan before. Those 20 tracks were on the BN 1991 'Elmo Hope Trio and Quintet' release (CDP 7 84438 2). Nothing new under the BN sun! The CD had digital transfer by Ron McMaster. The photo on the cover of that one was the same as the Elmo Hope and dog that graced the BN 5044 ten-incher. Indispensable for fans of this awesome piano player! .... and then that CD was re-released as a limited edition in the Collector's Choice Series.

Well, I was told the October Connoisseur list was finalized. For October 2005: Don Cherry - Where Is Brooklyn? - 5 tracks Booker Ervin - Tex Book Tenor - 5 tracks Andrew Hill - Andrew!!! - 8 tracks Elmo Hope - Trio and Quintet - 20 tracks Jackie McLean - Consequence - 6 tracks Ike Quebec - The Complete 45 Sessions (2 CDs) - 26 tracks Of course, until the catalog numbers are added, it isn't a "done deal". I don't know why the Kenny Cox two-fer didn't make the cut. I'll ask. The Elmo Hope is a weird one. Who thought this was a candidate? I never heard anyone asking about this one. It caught me off guard. Just goes to show what some people ask them for. I guess the people requesting this title missed out the other two times it was out? BTW, I think "Tex Book Tenor" is the official title they're choosing for this title, which was previously issued in the LP double "Back From the Gig". I suppose it's better than "Gichi" or "In a Capricornian Way". Kevin