Piano Progress Update, Nook Study App, and Beloved's LJ Name
Just a quick note while my Beloved is getting ready and Wee Hob is cleaning his room, that today we should get to the last of the Luke Jerram "Play Me I'm Yours" Pianos I need to hit before the 27th. There are actually 42 total-- 7 of which will be put out after August 27th. Some of the ones up now will also be available later, which is good, because it rained most of yesterday and we had to adjust our road trips to only go to pianos under some kind of roof. The one on the porch of an old house turned community arts center was probably my favorite.
Anyway, I have played 24 pianos around town so far, and by day's end it will be 29. Then I will have until the 27th to play the other 13. I have also managed to play one of them every single day since they went up, a streak I intend to keep going.
How do they keep indoor instruments in tune and playable, you may ask? Plastic covers are placed over the instruments when it's raining. Each piano has a designated "Buddy" who watches over the instrument, at least to protect it from the elements. Sadly, it does not prevent all damage, as a cigarette burn on one key on the cool piano by the Library attests. There are also a legion of piano repair/ tuners are out there - I've met a couple. One piano I meant to play last week was taken apart when I got there, so I could not get it then. It's one of the extended play ones, though, so I have more time.
In other news, I downloaded the new Nook Study free software for reading ebooks and studying on my mac, and I have to say it looks like a rip off so far, even with the "free" price tag. They are supposed to send a free "College Kick Start Kit" with it, but so far I have yet to receive it, and a quick search reveals this is a common complaint. Secondly, the few "free e books" are pretty worthless, and the many "classic Titles" in which I have some interest are $2.99 per book at Barnes and Noble. But most of them are free on the Kindle, and many of them are no longer under copyright and can be found for free at Gutenberg.
I have neither Nook nor Kindle, but I have the Kindle reader and Stanza on my iPhone. We also have an iPad, but I don't use that much for anything but recording grades. I just downloaded the app in the first place to see if any of the tips in it might help my students, who are much better this term but still struggling. We'll see if demand just exceeded their expectations or it was all a scam to get people to try their eTextbooks.
Finally, since I am more "back" now as a denizen of LJ, I have been casting about for a name for my Beloved. I wanted to call him "Saint Patrick", as anyone who cheerfully drives all over town with an obsessed Hobgoblinn deserves the title, but he objected that such a name put too much pressure on him. He'd prefer "Sinner Patrick." I shall call him SP and let his actions speak for him. Have I mentioned how very lucky I am?
Anyway, I have played 24 pianos around town so far, and by day's end it will be 29. Then I will have until the 27th to play the other 13. I have also managed to play one of them every single day since they went up, a streak I intend to keep going.
How do they keep indoor instruments in tune and playable, you may ask? Plastic covers are placed over the instruments when it's raining. Each piano has a designated "Buddy" who watches over the instrument, at least to protect it from the elements. Sadly, it does not prevent all damage, as a cigarette burn on one key on the cool piano by the Library attests. There are also a legion of piano repair/ tuners are out there - I've met a couple. One piano I meant to play last week was taken apart when I got there, so I could not get it then. It's one of the extended play ones, though, so I have more time.
In other news, I downloaded the new Nook Study free software for reading ebooks and studying on my mac, and I have to say it looks like a rip off so far, even with the "free" price tag. They are supposed to send a free "College Kick Start Kit" with it, but so far I have yet to receive it, and a quick search reveals this is a common complaint. Secondly, the few "free e books" are pretty worthless, and the many "classic Titles" in which I have some interest are $2.99 per book at Barnes and Noble. But most of them are free on the Kindle, and many of them are no longer under copyright and can be found for free at Gutenberg.
I have neither Nook nor Kindle, but I have the Kindle reader and Stanza on my iPhone. We also have an iPad, but I don't use that much for anything but recording grades. I just downloaded the app in the first place to see if any of the tips in it might help my students, who are much better this term but still struggling. We'll see if demand just exceeded their expectations or it was all a scam to get people to try their eTextbooks.
Finally, since I am more "back" now as a denizen of LJ, I have been casting about for a name for my Beloved. I wanted to call him "Saint Patrick", as anyone who cheerfully drives all over town with an obsessed Hobgoblinn deserves the title, but he objected that such a name put too much pressure on him. He'd prefer "Sinner Patrick." I shall call him SP and let his actions speak for him. Have I mentioned how very lucky I am?