Choosing a Piano Keyboard

This blog is different from the others I have placed.  With the onset of winter, my time is devoted to more indoors activities.  One in which I am very interested is piano playing.  As all pianists, I hope to improve my playing and increase my repertoire.  My training is classical, but I am trying out some pop stuff and am expanding into jazz this year.  My gear is both self bought and inherited.  My experience spans several decades, but this means nothing as I have heard children under the the age of 10 play incredibly and adults who despite years of training still have difficulties.  Kudos however to those adults, because piano playing isn’t just about being great… it is the enjoyment in creating sound and facing the challenge.  The discipline required in the systematic and continued practice demands a lot from a person.  I hope to provide my opinion on some of the gear a pianist may consider.  I believe that each person has their own requirements and therefore some variability is expected.  This blog may be a little hard core.  My bent is more toward improving one’s technical and artistic aspects of piano playing rather than trying to acquire a real piano equivalent. To that end, my suggestions may be geared toward the piano student (hopefully all of us) rather than a homeowner looking to improve the ambience of a living room (ok too… pianos look awesome).    

An Opinion about Sound

Having played on a variety of uprights and grand pianos and knowing the vast differences in their sound production, I think this aspect of the electronic keyboard may be a little overblown.  There are very cheap electronic keyboards which sound better than a lot of uprights I have played, and these include the legions of pianos in the studios of music schools across Canada and United States.  I came from an era when electronic keyboards were rare or actually quite bad (70’s and 80’s), and music students from this generation actually prefer those out of tune muddy sounding uprights in the practice rooms than the vintage keyboards.  Yet, despite the junky sounds and decrepit nature of the pianos, these students were some of the best pianists I have ever associated with and I can guarantee that despite these pianos, they improved while at the conservatory.  

The second point is that sound from the electronic keyboard is totally different from headphones and from their speakers.  If you don’t care to use speakers (ie. you live in an apartment), the sound quality of the even lower priced keyboard is not that bad.  There aren’t any manufacturer who purposefully choose a junk acoustic piano to get their samples.  There are however manufacturers who use cheaper electronic parts and circuits. Can’t blame them… they are just trying to make money.  Using headphones allows us to bypass a lot of bad electronics and speakers.  My advice is to buy decent headphones.

Something to ponder over...  Some say that Rachmaninoff was the greatest pianist who ever lived.  For six week during his trip from Russia to United States, he practiced on a wooden soundless keyboard.  Personally, I prefer a junky sounding piano to a soundless piano! The reasons why he did that may be many.  It is hard to imagine any decent ocean liner in that era that didn’t have a piano, but from what I understand, he was a very reserved man.  Maybe he prefers to be out of the limelight; his concert career didn’t really begin until he moved to America.  Another reason may be the prodigious amount of practice he did.  He was an extremely hard working man.  It may just not be practical any other way.  The point is that it’s not the piano, it’s the thinking and the practice.  There are innumerable things that make up piano playing, ie. ability to do the jumps, moving the thumb a certain way, burning in the rhythm...  We tend to get focused on one aspect and forget that there are so many things that we could improve on.  Get over the sound! Fix your runs instead!

Whether a keyboard is quiet or not is irrelevant

Now imagine the Rach sitting in his little room in his ocean liner practicing his concertos and preludes.  That wooden keyboard would be clicking and clacking away.  If you were to listen carefully to a concert grand or for that matter any piano, it has an intrinsic noise to it.  Put a blanket on the strings and play.  You will hear the noise.  It is unavoidable... the dampers landing on the strings, the keys smacking the felt on the bed, etc.  Take a look at a piano action.  It is very complicated with parts falling and rubbing against each other.  These sounds are part of the instrument!

Whether the action is weighted or not

I agree that that the variation of the key weight should be somewhat similar to an acoustic with the lower registers being heavier.  Once again, you would be amazed at the variation that exists in real pianos!  Some gradation should exist from the lower to the upper registers.  How the piano does it (weighted, semi-weight) doesn’t matter.  It’s easy to adjust your fingers.  Playing a scale evenly is much much harder. Focus on that!

There is also the demand for heavier actions among some reviewers I see online for keyboards.  Did you know that V. Horowitz actually had his tuner lighten the action on his Steinway? (by a lot!)  Horowitz was extremely picky about his pianos.  In the last several decades of his career, he only played a couple of Steinways. He had them shipped (concert 9 footers)  to his performances.  The gram weight of most of his keys were only in the 20’s.

Soft and Sustain pedal

If you watch Horowitz play, he tends to sit low and keeps his elbows fairly close.  Moving from upper to lower registers, he would sometimes shift his whole body on the chair.  Watch his feet.  He made substantial use of the soft pedal.  I suspect it is to broaden his dynamic range (he prefers the range wide), and also because it allows him to keep control on the soft passages, which is hard given the light touch of his Steinway.  Most people don’t use the soft pedal and that is why most companies don’t have it for their keyboards, but probably not a bad idea to get as good as Horowitz.  Personally, I would prefer having a soft pedal more than having speakers on a keyboard, but that’s me. It’s not that I am good.  I just don’t have that much control using only my fingers.

I should point out the way a grand piano creates the soft sound is by moving the entire action to the right, thereby hitting the strings off the mushier part of the hammer. The sound is softer but also muddier… and this is true of the greatest pianos in the world. As I said, don’t worry about the sound. It ain’t that bad, and if you want a concert grand sound, get a concert grand.  In the meantime, practice like a fiend so that when you do, you can sound like Josef Hofmann.

Nowadays, there are some three pedal systems for electronic keyboards. I have used the middle pedal sparingly in my playing.   It has been useful in a couple of classical pieces I have worked on, but the vast majority of the time it is not needed.  There are grand pianos made years gone by with only 2 pedals.  By the way, Hofmann likes pianos with two.  My thought is that if you can have it, great!

Keyboard weight, durability, etc

I am not a big person and I do like to move the keyboard on occasion. Light is good!     

A durable keyboard is important. My Yamaha developed some broken keys a number of years ago.  Turns out it was made in a time period when it was a known problem.  Therefore, it was repaired under guarantee despite being many years out.  It still costed me over $100 to have it fixed, but my P80 is still kicking after 15 years.

Before summary, a comment about bias.  I use a keyboard to hone my technique and I don’t perform on it.  I already have an enormous grand.  I can use the keyboard with headphones and do move it around if I want.  I can make it sound better, different, and louder by hooking it up to various electronics and computers I have in the house.  I don’t know anything about funky sounds like chorus, strings, and church organs.  Finally, I am still learning.

So… don’t worry too much about the sound. Get the best you can but don’t get too wrapped up in it. It’s more important to just buy one and start practicing.  I wish all companies make the soft pedal an option.  If you don’t have one, that’s ok.  You just won’t be Horowitz.  Don’t worry about key weight and touch too much either.  Too much variability in real pianos anyway.  Durability is important especially if you are moving the keyboard around a lot.  Hope to catch you jamming one day and please let me know your thoughts!

Cutting Tools - Fixed Blade Knives

It seems like of all the tools used by outdoorsman, the knife stands out as far and away the one most carried, discussed, and utilized.  The internet is full of entries describing in detail the pros and cons of one over the other, reviews of the numerous options there are, and personal preferences as to what are the requirements of the blade.  Knives have been around forever. Ellsworth Jaeger recounts how a Cree Native American woman successfully survived a harsh winter with nothing more than a knife.  It makes for fascinating reading from many angles and certainly cements the extraordinary value of this basic cutting tool.

Once I caught a very nice small mouth bass using a minimum of fishing gear.  As a matter of fact, I had so little gear, I did not have a knife.  Here is a fish which I hoped to eat, and out of water much too long to be released back.  Yet, without a cutting tool, I was at lost as to how to clean and fillet it.  Fortunately, a resourceful kid immediately sat down and using his newly learned knapping skill, created a very functional stone knife.  Approximately 4 inches long, with a nice handle to maneuver the blade, it was perfect for the job.  Needless to say, the fish was especially tasty to all.  Since then, I have been very aware of the proximity of a cutting tool any time I am in the outdoors. 

It took a child about 15 minutes to make this.

So what can I bring to this enormous body of information already? There are chapters written in books dated decades ago by very learned authors already.  Actually the three points I make probably are not that earth shattering and are merely extensions of what are known already.

The first is that it should be accepted that there are many different kinds of knives for many different purposes. However, most bushcrafters only carried one or two (excluding pocketknife).  The knife therefore has to carry on multiple purposes.  As an avid fisherman, I am very much bias for a blade that can fillet and gut a fish.  This type of knife has been modified and improved over many years to its current long, thin, flexible version.  This is completely opposite to some of the modern concepts of a bushcraft knife should be.  Yet, a knife that can handle fish is very useful to me.

Seven inch Rapala fillet knife.  It's excellent for slab panfish among other fish. 

Similarly, a whittler has a penchant for small blades. Amazing objects have been created by these folks with miniature knives (artists in the truest sense).  I will write about pocketknives at another time as that seems to be the preferred tool for this task.  It should be noted that some of the best carving knives are barely an inch long with a bendable blade (see picture).  One important function of a bushcrafting knife is to create tools to supplement the basic carries. Hooks, cups, notches, digging tools and spoons can be created by imaginative woodsman with whittling skills. It would be very useful if a bushcraft knife can carve.

Flexcut carving knife from the home workshop. Very ergonomic, and considered one of the best carving knives around.  The blade is tiny.

Knives therefore have to fit your purpose.  You can't baton a fillet knife, but then again, some bushcrafters never baton.  A bushcraft knife with a flexible blade may seem bizarre especially with so much modern discussions focusing on the merits of 3/8" vs 1/4" thick blades.  For a coastal bushman though, maybe a flexible blade is not such a far out idea.  At the current time, a thick blade I can stand on is not something I personally want, but some knifemakers I am sure are push the research envelop and come up with interesting ideas.  Incidentally, the Cold Steel Bushman knife is flexible and can be mounted on a stick to be used as a spear! Bottom line... get a knife that fits your personal (multi-) purposes.

The second point is that the human body that is connected to the blade is just as important as the blade.  For example, I can't imagine a small young bushcrafter-in-the-making to carry an 13 inch Bowie knife for daily purposes.  My bias therefore has gravitated toward a blade useful for a mid height (5 foot 8.5 inches or 175 cm), mid weight (150 pounds or 68 kg), noodle armed (don't ask) middle aged man.

One of the modern award winning and good value knife is the Schrade SCHF51.  Curious of its reputation, I purchased one recently, having not used a robust heavy bushcraft knife before.

The Schrade SCHF51, a powerful bushcraft knife with a strong lineage. The seven inch version is the Schrade SCHF52.

At 1/4 inch thickness, and 11 inch length, it weighs by itself without the sheath 14.3 ounces (406 grams).  I bought the 5 inch blade version with the premonition that the 7 inch version would be really heavy, having used a short Vietnam War era machete before about that size.  When the knife arrived by mail, I was extremely excited.  However, when I started waving the Schrade around, I realized two things: 1) I am really weak! 2) This thing is huge!  It finally dawned on me that even though many large (and expensive) brands of bushcrafting knives are popular, many oldtimers used small thinner blade knives.  It also seems that the main purpose of a thick blade is to increase the durability of the blade to the baton.  A knife certainly has to be tough when encountering gnarly twisted hardwoods.  Yet, using one's knowledge as to the different types of woods, using one inner eye for viewing the grain and ring patterns from a log, and using one's understanding as to the shortcomings of his knife could probably get one out of most difficult jams.  Being the weakling that I am, it seems much less energy sapping than to have to carry an extra half pound of metal along your hip.  That said, for someone of large proportions, strong arms, a large Bowie may be just the ticket.  That knife has an extremely colorful history, and I would be very glad to be able to carry something like that for its intended purpose if I could.  Incidentally, it seems alot of folks carry those big bushcraft knives in their pack rather than on their belts.  Good idea.  Looking back, most logs I have batoned are quite small though and I have a suspicion that is the case of most folks.

The final point may be more controversial, and that is the need for a guard on the knife.  Many Moras do not have them.  I feel this is important because it prevents an extremely common injury that I have personally sustained.  This may be mitigated by wearing gloves and I encourage young ones to do so in the wild. If one looks at Mors Kochanski's book (he recommends the old fashion Moras) on northern bushcrafting, he actually feels that the injury (that is a cut on the index finger/phalangeal region from the hand slipping forward from a guardless grip) is rare.  Nevertheless, newer Moras are commonly seen with molded in guards.  The guard doesn't have to be huge, and a choil may be all that is necessary, but a reminder of some sort to the user can make a knife much safer and less painful to use.  A little prevention and inconvenience, especially with numb hands and brains, may well be worth the reduced incidence of wound infection, tendon damage, and nerve damage to a very important finger.

With that said, what I will carry in the future is what I already have in the drawer... two knives similar in nature and differing only by an inch in blade length.  I have had them for many years.  As an aside, I only carry one at a time, and they do have a history with me.  No, they are not full tang. They don't have indestructible micarta scales.  Being an amateur woodworker, I find the wooden handle very pretty despite the collection of dents and scratches on the wood. Yes, they are stainless steel and not high carbon.  The brass is starting to discolor and the blades have some rust mark (I know I just said they were stainless).  They are small and skinny, and I am sure someone can break them into bits by baton.  Personally, I haven't been able to, but I do avoid hitting the tips.

The Buck Woodsman (top) with the 4 inch blade and the Buck Pathfinder (bottom) with the 5 inch blade. Perspective of the camera makes the Woodman seem smaller then what it is.

In a pinch, they can fillet a fish, although with the acquisition of a new fillet folder that weighs close to nothing (3.1 oz or 89 g), I do it less and less.

The Rapala folding fillet knife

My Bucks make it easy to baton small logs for dry wood.  They can gut large game, and even the 5" one only weighs 5.8 oz (165 g).  They are not cheap, but not too expensive either. I did splurged to get the wooden handles awhile ago, and cheaper versions with phenolic handles are available with exactly the same blades.  Probably because I am pretty average, the pundits recommend knives which are similar to those two.  The well known Mora knives are about that long... stainless steel, with tough handles.  Incidentally, their most famous blades for bushcrafting are not full tang (they do make them though), and I am sure many different companies make similar knives to what I have.

There you have it.  I try not to mention handle shape, tip shape, blade grind, etc.  Lots of people already discuss that stuff, and I don't know enough about it.  Remember that you have to use the knife in winter and summer, with and without gloves, sharp and not sharp.  Looking over the knives used by expert bushcrafters over the years (centuries), I am sure you can discern which aspects of a knife are important to you (my guess is there aren't that many for the truly knowledgeable and flexible woodsman).

I have to admit that I like to carry other light cutting tools in addition to a fixed blade, which may not be the case for other folks.  I hope to add two more posts in the future concerning them.  As mentioned before, one would be about pocketknives.  The other would likely be about axes and saws.  To some northern biome experts, the axe is an extremely valuable tool, and after all, that is where I live.  Would you carry one? I would, but probably not for what you think.  Thanks for reading!

What Constitutes Bushcraft?

Bushcraft is without doubt the oldest form of sport/entertainment/profession of humans and pre-humans.  Even non human animals such as birds and monkeys make tools to be used in the wild.  Out of necessity, skills for the outdoors were developed and honed by our forefathers.  Some of the greatest outdoorsmen/women were those who were born and raised steeped into this tradition centuries and millenium ago all over the world, from the steppes of Asia to South America.  Even now, the profound knowledge is carried on by gifted Native American, Inuit, Australian aboriginal friends among others.  Some of these skills and knowledge have fortunately been codified into books and more recently, electronic format for anyone to learn and practice.  Not only does this lead to self satisfaction gained from study, but also appreciation for what has been learned through sometimes thousands of years of practice.  One of the most important aspects in the process is hopefully a deeper respect for the individuals who lives depended on these skills in the past.  Our brethrens from all over the world who have survived in extreme conditions using very primitive equipment, but who possess a profound knowledge of their land and water, are of all colors and races.  In no other sphere of human activity does the actions we take are as universal and go back in history as far back as bushcrafting. 

In modern times, our survival takes place for most of us in a much different environment.  Our day to day activities, how we are raised, what we consider important do not necessarily align with the ways of our forefathers. Yet when we go out to the wilderness, the timelessness, the beauty, the satisfaction of being able to be comfortable in harsh environment still ring in our genes and intellect.  This may manifest nowadays in a way no more than a pot of plant on the window sill or a patch of grass in the backyard.  Whatever the trigger, it conjures in our minds what are true basic abilities of a person and what are the natural wonders of the wilderness.

The fish laboriously formed from rubbing a piece of wood against a brick by a 6 year old.

A working can stove made in the kitchen (9 year old).

Therefore, I propose that bushcrafting is really an art that is a state of mind with a long, universal and distinguished history. There is very little requirement in forms of equipment and even the outdoors if we are so unfortunately constrained.  A young boy who makes a woodstove out of a finished can of beans in a kitchen is performing bushcraft.  Sleeping outside even if it is just the porch (especially in 5 degree F or -15 degree C weather) increases an enormous amount one's understanding of sleeping bags, heat conservation, head coverage, water content in one's breath, etc.  I suggest that these little steps are what form the foundation for bushcraft and link us to skills honed perhaps a million years ago.

Dangers from Living Creatures in the Wild

Perhaps nothing is more scary than the thought of being attacked in the wilderness by an angry large animal.  A ramaging moose during rutting season or a protective mother bear can be mortal to the hiker, hunter, camper.  While in the northern woods those animals exist, dangerous encounters with them are very rare.  Yet, there is a plethora of discussions as to what is needed to protect oneself in situations as such.    This post therefore hopes to sharpen my own concept as to what constitutes adequate preparations for this.  Furthermore, I hope to memorize the actions experts from books and magazines expound in preparation for such encounters and perhaps this would be my greatest tool.

The idea that an offensive weapon such as a 12 gauge shotgun to be carried on person for the encounter seems logical at a certain level, but a firearm can weigh quite a few pounds and takes some skill to use especially in non-ideal situations.  Even a sidearm takes up space.  In remote places where the danger is ever present, such as in certain areas of Alaska, it makes alot of sense.  For the majority of the states (I suppose alot of countries), it is so rare that carrying this stuff constitutes more a danger to oneself than to the animal.  Even with firearms safety courses, self inflicted injury is way more common than injury from a wild animal.  So, if the decision is to carry or not carry, I'd go with the odds.

This leads to the second creature that poses a threat to the outdoorsman, and that is another human being.  Being shot by another person is much more likely to occur than being mauled by a bear, wolf, or moose.  One can wear bright clothing, make lots of noise, and that may help to a degree.  However, even the color red is associated with turkeys and reflex shooting by hunters at bandannas and the like has resulted in injury to the outdoorsman in the past.  It makes sense therefore to wear blaze orange just as the DNR recommends during hunting season regardless of whether you are a hunter or not.  Better yet, stay away from hunting grounds during this time, especially if you hear guns going off every few minutes which is not that unusual during deer season.  A thought... if people are are such a danger to the outdoorsman, maybe we should wear bullet proof vest instead of carrying weapons to protect against wild animals when venturing out.  Statistics certainly tells us we should.  Just kidding.

The human being is not always the most logical creature, and that is to be accepted.  We are governed by a set of values and morals that hopefully would lead us to do the right thing.  We all have certain biases though and misconceptions that lead us to do strange things.  However, if it doesn't harm anyone or anything, then why not?  It may even help in that rare circumstance.  If I was going into bear country, bringing bear spray makes alot of sense to me.  You don't have to be super accurate, it works fairly well, and it gives me a sense of comfort that is very important.  When I see scratch marks on trees nine feet up and paw prints the size of my head, these things do weigh on me. Wolves have  been introduced back in my region of the country.  I am bigger than any wolf, but my children are not.  Maybe a stout walking stick would be helpful especially if you were to run into a pack.  Certainly a stick has other good uses as well.  As far as moose, I've never seen one in the wild unfortunately, but I'll take Les Stroud's lead in this situation and run away.  They're suppose to have poor eyesight.

Medical kit when hiking, camping, or bushcrafting

As this is the first content entry, I should stick with what I know a little something about.  Accidents occur frequently on outings and all experts agree that some form of a medical kit should be included in a backpack, bugout bag, or satchel.  What should be in the kit is subject to much debate, and probably will vary depending on the trip, the expertise of the person, the responsibility to others, etc.  Obviously, if you are going to snake country, some idea as to how to deal with snake bites would be useful.  If you are traveling with children or the elderly, understanding their needs and demands would be appreciated by all.  I live in the boreal forest region, where ticks, mosquitoes, and water abound.  Pesky and irritating, they probably occupy an inordinate amount of my attention. 

Probably the best foundation is to develop some knowledge of basic life support.  This will get you through some of the most critical aspect of your own and the victim's care.  Maintaining the airway and breathing, perfusion by blood to important parts of the body keep people alive.  Courses abound for this education and I encourage everyone, even the young, to take them.  In some occupations, they are required to be retaken on a regular basis.  Basic life support in its most rudimentary form does not require equipment, so you don't need to bring the operating room in your backpack. 

After this, survival manuals are a source of incredible information about the many mishaps that can occur in the wild... broken limbs, diarrhea, head injury.  They are meant for people like us who need to manage conditions at the acute time period.  The amount of equipment for doing many of the things in them is actually not that much... splints, braces, bandages.  Many of this can come from the field, the ordinary hiking gear, and small medical kit.

Beyond these medically important conditions are the pesky ones such as bug bites, cuts and scrapes, diarrhea, headaches.  While not acutely dangerous, they are a pain (literally) and can ruin an interesting trip to the outdoors.  Some bites such as from the deer tick can cause Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis and babesiosis.  I will likely write about bug bites some other time.  Cuts and scrapes can become infected and potentially life threatening.  Headaches can lay up a person so that other important functions such as gathering firewood is severely hindered.

So what should we have in a medical kit?  Mors Kochanski in his career as a master woodsman has only come across two severe medical emergencies.  This is likely because of his extreme expertise in the Canadian wilderness and bushcraft skills which include staying out of harm's way.  When they happen though, disaster could be at hand.  So does this mean we should be prepared for all of them?  No. We cannot perform brain surgery out in the bush.  We can barely set bone.  Therefore, the most important tool in a medical emergency is the cell phone.  When severe injury occurs, call and get help.  Even if the purpose of the trip is to exclude electrical devices, bring a phone and keep it off.  The cell phone can save your life.

One condition I wish to mention that may result from a variety of injuries is bleeding.  Bleeding from a major vessel can be a big problem.  Most people don't have the skills nor need to deal with it.  We can't really sew or cauterize in the field well, but we can apply pressure.  The key is to not get paralyzed about doing it, but to muster the courage and just press on the bleeding site.  Aside from bandages, you don't need anything in a medical kit for this. Press hard enough to stop the bleeding. You don't need to squish the bleeding part to a pancake. The same principles apply even in the operating room where some of the most sophisticated machinery is present for stemming hemorrhage.  The heart can pump an incredible amount of blood out of a vessel in a very short time, so try not to loss too much blood.

The vast majority of injuries are the minor burns, cuts and scrapes, blisters, and bug bites.  Bad burns need to be dealt with proper medical care, but  if you have gauze and tape, most of the cuts, scrapes and burns may be readily treated.  Bandages are meant to protect the wound and keep them clean.  They don't do much else, but don't underestimate their value.  Bandaids are convenient and can handle most skin breakages.  This item is likely the most used one in the kit.  Have 10 in there, but have some 4x4 gauze too for bigger cuts.  You carry some duct tape already right? Anyway, you can start a fire with them.

Antiseptic is what brought modern medicine to us.  A bottle of iodine solution can sterilize a wound.  In a pinch, it can help with your water supply.  Liberally applied to the wound, it can practically sterilize a wound.  It's used in surgery exactly for this purpose.  I put some in a small bottle about the size of those shampoo bottles from hotels.  If you are allergic to iodine, there are other substitute in the drug store.

Tylenol or ibuprofen for headaches. Some anti-itch cream.  DEET wipes if you consider that a medical item.  I try not to use packaged stuff if possible because of the excess garbage produced, but they are very convenient (alcohol wipes). Water sterilizing pills (if you can't boil).  That's it.  Tent poles and sticks can be used for braces. Bandanas, clothing, rope can be used for tourniquets, bindings and stabilization.  Notice that aside from phone, iodine and bandages, everything else is listed in this paragraph.  Not much really is needed... no needles, syringes, lidocaine, nor IV fluids.  If you need all this stuff, you are in trouble.  Everything can fit in a fly fisherman's fly box.  

I hope to continually alter this entry. If you think of anything else you think should be added or substituted, please leave a comment!              

Crosby Farm

Introduction

The world is full of beauty and wonders.  We should learn how to explore and preserve it.  This blog will contain random thoughts and opinions I have concerning this.  By no means am I an expert naturalist, scientist, hiker, camper, or fisherman, but hope to learn over time and improve. Similarly, I am quite new at this form of electronic media, so you may expect some hiccups especially in the beginning entries and I apologize ahead of time.  Please feel free to comment.  We can all benefit from shared knowledge.  I intend to keep content appropriate for all ages.