...Izee's Thread

[Izee]

Being a H.S. Computer 'Nerd'.....

In Jr H.S. I just 'knew' that I would become a Scientist when I grew up, so I focused my attention on Math and Science Courses, and also had Chemistry as a Home Project.  I did experiments that I laughed at when I was told to do them in H.S., I said that I had already done them at home.  So, when computers came out, my friends and I did all we could to get to work with them.  The Teachers created an After school computer club, and 7 of us were regulars.  We mostly worked with a 'Monrobot', it was a computer the size of a large desk, and you would program it with 'punched tape'.  That was a pain, after you wrote out the program on a sheet of paper, you then had to type the characters into a machine that would punch holes in a long roll of thick paper.  The tape was about two inches wide, and you would wind it onto a spool, and feed it into the computer.  In the following years we graduated to 'punch cards' and that was fun!  We had these long narrow boxes that the cards would fit into, and we thought that we were the School Brainy Kids 'cause we walked around campus with a box of cards in addition to books.  I was ALWAYS eager to open the box and show it to younger kids.

We were excited when we were allowed access to the School District Computer Center at the Administration Building.  We had to wear nametags that had metal borders that had some sort of sensors in them that would make it impossible for us to open certain doors, or would set off an alarm if we walked down a wrong hallway.  So, we entered through one back door, and stayed in the hallway that directly led to the computer rooms. 

Back then, computers were HUGE things that had a lot of dials and lights, and the printers were very loud.  I spent a lot of time in there, and was attracted to one printer, it was almost musical.  When printing fast it made high pitched buzzing sounds that were at various musical pitches depending on the characters being printed.  Over the course of a few months, I would experiment at what notes the printer made when it typed characters.  So, I worked hard, on the side, on a special program, and didn't tell anyone what I was doing.  I got the program done, and spent a long time at the machine making the punch cards, they almost completely filled a box.

One afternoon they brought in a bunch of Big Shots to view how we 'gifted children' were learning a useful skill.  The men and women smiled, seeing us, and asked to see a program run so they could see that we knew what we were doing.  The Manager pushed me forward, saying, "This girl is one of the most creative and skilled in programming."  They asked to see a program run...so I got out my 'special box'...no one had seen the program, yet.  The Big Shots were impressed seeing me load a huge stack of cards into the feeder, and then push buttons, and the cards disappeared into the machine.  The Printer came awake, and then began furiously printing sheet after sheet of paper...The characters it printed completely filled the sheets...and the pitch of the printer changed as it played, as it typed...

The Marine Anthem...."From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli..."

The Manager turned the printer off, and told the Big Shots who were hiding smiles..."She CAN do serious stuff, but has a bit of an attitude..."

The Manager told me to inform him whenever I was going to run a program, and NOT to waste time with silly stuff...

...I just nodded...

[Izee]

...Burros...

In Girl Scouts, our Troop would go to a nice Summer Camp for two weeks in July.  The Camp had a large Mess Hall, with REALLY lousy food...except for Sunday dinner, we would EACH get HALF of a BBQ'd CHICKEN!  We wouldn't stay in the Cabins, we would set up an outdoor camp on the facility, and sleep on cots that held our sleeping bags.  But, we would go on a five day outing, which was an Event.  We would hike for about 7 miles, and get to a place where there was a small lake.  Since we were away from public humanity, well, some of us would get naked to swim and bathe, and just to sun ourselves.  The Adults tried to stop us, but we would go a ways away and swim, so they let us, but told us older girls to stay by ourselves.

Since we would bring a lot of cooking gear and food, we would check out two burros that were in the Camp.  The Camp had a bunch of burros for people to borrow to carry supplies, and also so the City Kids could see a farm animal.  The burros were very tame, and I would often go to their corral and feed them carrots that I 'obtained' from the Mess Hall.  The woman who supervised the burros just let me visit them when she saw that I stayed out of the corral.

So, when we headed out on our five day hiking trip, I 'volunteered' (demanded) that I be allowed to lead one.  The Adult Leader agreed, she knew that I would get onery if she had someone else lead the burro.

Leading the burro was harder than I expected.  They can be onery, and the walk out of the Camp started with a hike up the side of the Mountain that was almost vertical, there was a switchback trail we had to use.  I had to pull hard on the harness to get it to keep moving, but we made it, and I was exhausted.  The rest of the hike was pretty level, so it was uneventful.  At the camp we set up at the Lake, I had to visit the burros several times a day to check on them, and to bring them grain, and grass after they ate all of the vegetation in their area.  So, I was happy when we headed back.

Thing about burros, they are VERY smart animals, and they KNEW that we were heading back to the Main Camp as we left, and they were very familiar with the trail.  And they REALLY wanted to get home!  So, the burro was PUSHING me along a I led it...I really mean it...if I slowed my walk it would push its' nose against my back and push.  It was probably also saying, in Goateese, "Keep YOUR ass moving, little girl!"  I actually got tired, and a little pissed off, so at the second rest stop, I appointed my Assistant Leader to handle my goat, and I just stayed in the back of the Troop.  But, we all got back, fine.

[Izee]

...Drawing 'Sex Signs' all over Audit Papers...

When I was practicing Public Accounting, I was often assigned to audit the books of businesses that were struggling.  I had been taught to use signs to show that I had performed a certain task.  For instance, I would draw a little 'w' under the bottom of a column of figures to show that I had verified that the sum was correct.  I would also use a check mark to show that I had traced where the amount was placed elsewhere in the records, and a reversed check mark to show that I had verified that the number came from somewhere in the records.

I came up with an idea to simplify when one sheet of paper had a lot of numbers that needed to be verified.  I would draw a little circle above the number, and then a little arrow on the circle pointing at where the matching number was.  I would then draw a circle beside that number and a little arrow pointing back at the other number.  I would also write a number inside the circle, and then on another sheet of paper a list of the numbers and a brief explanation of what it was.  I thought it was very clever...

Back at the Office, after I had audited a company, I got summoned to the Partner's Office who had that company as a client.  He demanded to know why I had drawn 'sex signs' all over the audited records.     (We all know that a circle with an arrow at the top is 'male', whereas a circle with a cross under it is 'female'.  The guys used to say that the female symbol was Venus's 'Looking Mirror'.)  I did my best to explain, and he finally just dismissed me, saying, "Just write a number, no need to draw sex signs all over the official audited records."

Being me, I continued to use my method...except when doing an audit for that partner...

[Izee]

...Being a 'Drama Queen' on the cello.   

I really enjoyed studying the cello when I was in the Conservatory.  Spending hours every day in a closet sized 'practice room' was something I got used to.  It was also very challenging to figure out which finger to use to play a note.  Any finger can play any note, but my little fingers are abnormally short, (I have 'mutant hands,)' they only come up to halfway between the first and second knuckles of my ring finger, so the tip of my little finger is almost two inches lower than the tip of my ring finger.  My other fingers are only about 1/2 an inch shorter than my middle finger.  Anyway....

When playing music on a string instrument, you have to figure out which finger to use, and you want to keep your hand in the same position as much as possible, sliding your hand around can lead to landing in the wrong place and ALL the notes you play will be out of tune.  But I enjoyed shifting into different positions, and practiced very hard on getting the hand into the right place.

The fingerboard, the jet black wood that the strings get pressed against, is about three feet long on a cello, so you are moving your left hand a lot when you play advanced works.  There was a Sonata that I was working on where you had to move the hand very far.  You were playing a D natural in 1st Position on the A string, and then you had to move up an octave to play another D natural way the hell up the A string for the next note.  So, I would play the lower D with my 3rd finger, and then quickly slide my hand up to play the higher D with the same finger.  So, there would be a slight squealing sound as I slid my finger between the notes.

My private teacher was a prim and proper Englishman, and he said that the sliding was not 'acceptable', and wrote out a fingering where I played the lower D on the D string.  That put my hand way up the fingerboard, so I just had to move my 3rd finger across to the A string to play the higher D.  He said that it was more precise, and sounded better.  So, in lessons I used his fingering.  But...came my recital...

I liked the excitement of sliding up the A string, and the passage was very quick and powerful, and marked 'play very loud', so at the recital I did it my way, and slid up the string.

The audience liked it, but I got scolded by my teacher who said that he would not write out fingerings if I was not going to follow them.  I just hung my head, and said that I got carried away during the performance and wasn't thinking about fingerings.   

I don't think that he bought my excuse, but would suggest fingerings in later lessons.

[Izee]

People engage in amazing pastimes, but this...

https://youtu.be/4CSOwxhGvmY?si=QD8El_Mz_JVtnKSa

Color me NO F---ING WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Izee]

...Captains...there are 'Captains', and then there are 'CAPTAINS' in the US Military!!!!

I got to know two very well when I was younger.  One was 'Dennis', the other was 'Charley'.  Dennis had served as a US Navy Carrier Pilot in Vietnam, Charley was, well, a Lawyer who had never seen any action.

Dennis was also attending the night Law School I studied at, and we lived in a town that was about an hours drive from the School.  So, we rode together and alternated driving.  His Corsair was badly shot up during a mission.  He said that he knew that he had been hit badly, and on the attempt to return to the Carrier, he asked his wingman to check out the damage.  The other pilot flew close, describing what he saw, and when the other pilot flew underneath, the other pilot QUICKLY banked away and said..."And you are ON FIRE!!!"  Dennis was able to nurse the Corsair back to the Carrier, and was advised to bail out.  But, Dennis wanted to bring the Corsair back, and obtained permission to attempt a landing.  The Captain of the ship had the deck arranged for a crash landing, and set out nets and such.  But, Dennis was able to land the plane on it's wheels before ending up in a net, and had the record for the fastest Carrier Landing.  He was a very formidable attorney, he actually hired me as an Expert Witness in Business Litigation, and he intimidated ME even though I was on his side.  He was also a very generous and kind man to his friends, and was a blast to party with.

Charley went through the ROTC Program in college and Law School, and never saw ANY action outside of a Courtroom.  He became a Captain when he joined the Army in their Law Dept.  He was the son of one of the Partners of that awful firm I worked for Four years, and I was often called in to help him in a difficult case.  He treated me as if I was just one of the 'help', and I took off when the Firm kept assigning the messy jobs to me, and gave him the easy ones, and kept telling me to be more like him.  I encountered Charley on the other side a few times...and I took NO PRISONERS!  The Firm would assign his cases to another attorney when I was on the other side.   

[Izee]

...Cruisin tha Seine...

My Parents sent me on a European Trip between my Jr and Sr years of H.S.  It was supposed to be a Spanish Language Experience, we did spend most of the Summer in Lecaroz and Madrid, Spain, but we had the first week in PARIS, FRANCE!!!  (I think my parents figured that sending me to the other side of the Globe would keep things calm at home... )  Anyway, I was DELIGHTED to be in Paris, and DELIGHTED that the adults allowed we teens to go out on the town on our own!  A few times I was one of five kids stacked in the back of a Parisian cab that dumped us back at the Student Hostel at 2:00 a.m.  The adults did lecture us, and I got grounded one day, but no problems ever arose.

Those were different times, I am sure.  Nowdays, if I was a cute American teenage girl out late at night with other girls in Paris, I'd probably wake up in another Country and discover that I was now a sexual playtoy for someone.

The adults did take us on supervised trips.  One of the first was to have a dinner at a VERY NICE RESTAURANT, and then have a ride in a tourist boat in the Seine river.  We kids were all excited, and we girls dressed well, and were very impressed at the Restaurant.  It was very high class, with round tables that sat 8, with white tablecloths and silverware.  The dinner was wonderful, and we were ALL served wine!  Some of the kids were Jr. High age, I was one of the older since I was 17. 

I was excited over getting a glass of wine, and it wasn't just a little caraffe...it was a large goblet that WAS FULL OF RED WINE!!!  There were three of us older girls at the table, and we told the little girls that they shouldn't have wine, so we set their goblets with ours.  So, during the dinner, I had THREE goblets of wine.     Europe doesn't have the restricted alcohol laws that we have, children could buy wine and beer at stores.  I did buy a bottle of Anisette later, I had read about Anisette in reading 'The Godfather', so I wanted to sample it.

I was not used to drinking, my parents were strict, my drinking experience was just sharing a can of beer a few times with two other girls that one of them had scored from somewhere, so, well, I got 'happy'.  I am AMAZED that I didn't puke...but my memory of the boat trip is not very good.  I seem to recall some bridges and the Eiffel Tower, but not much more.     And I wasn't the only one feeling 'happy', the boat operator must have been amused steering the boat with a load of intoxicated children on it.  The Mormon Adult Counselors watched over us much better after that and didn't let us imbibe heavily, and actually didn't let the young ones drink.

Anyway, I was much better behaved the rest of the time.  A few times I took the underground Metro to the Lourve Museum, and just walked around, astounded at what I was seeing.  Seeing the Mona Lisa was a thrill, but I was a bit underwhelmed...it is a small painting.  I must have walked around the 'Winged Victory' for 30 minutes, it is an amazing sculpture, and it brought out emotions for me.  There was another painting, not gonna say what it was...but my knees got weak as I gazed at it, and I started sobbing.  A kind older local couple came over and got me to sit down, and comforted me.  It was mostly non-verbal...they didn't speak English or Spanish...and I didn't speak French...but they made me feel better and I recovered.  They kissed my cheek when they left, and I made my way back to the Metro and got back OK.  The only French Phrase that I used with regularity was 'Ou Ei El Metro'...("Where is the Metro?")

[Izee]

...Movie Music...

https://youtu.be/9ZqZ3is9tpk

Ennio Morricone, what a MASTER!!!!  He wrote the music featured in many very famous 'Spaghetti Westerns' and did so well.  I would be on the edge of my seat and my tummy was all agitated when a climax was building up in a Western, and Morricone's music was setting the mood...(Or maybe it was because I drank too many cups of coca-cola while eating my bucket of popcorn)...it was WONDERFUL!!!  He was very clever in using very unusual instruments to add interest to the score, not to mention the voices.  Many times I wished that I could sing, listening as I watched a film, the musicians, especially the Soprano, had a real workout and it added so much tension.  When a singer is singing a long theme, it is easy to zone out, but when the singer is jumping an Octave from note to note and going off in an unusual direction, it is mesmerizing.   

Please enjoy...

[Izee]

Playing the National Anthem...

Many Community Orchestras will perform the National Anthem at the start of a Concert.  The Semi-Professional one I played in would do so, and the musicians would stand as we played it...EXCEPT for the Cellos!  It is difficult to play the cello while standing unless you REALLY practice and get some tips from a String Bass player.  So, when I played with the little Music Teachers Orchestra that played at a different Elementary School every Friday, I sat, I was the Principal Cellist, so the other Cellists sat, too, as we played the Star Spangled Banner at the start of each concert.

But, some teachers at some of the schools began complaining that letting the cellists sit while everyone else stood was confusing to the children.  I got exasperated, saying that you CAN'T play the cello very well while standing, but, as everyone KNOWS...it is IMPOSSIBLE to REASON WITH A TEACHER!!!

I finally just gave in, and would extend the end-pin on my cello so it was fully extended, so when I stood the instrument was at the proper height to play, and stood when we played it.  I would have to quickly retract the end-pin to the proper length as I was sitting.  It was a pain...

I believe that I have seen musicians in rock groups playing a cello while standing, but they we just pumping notes, they were not playing a melody.   

[Shylina Marie]

I've been reading your threads Izee and I can see the beauty in your words and in your talent.   I played the piano and numerous other percussion instruments for years and then stopped.  You have inspired me to want to try to regain what I have lost.

[Izee]

...Thank-you for your comment, Shylina, it made me happy.   

And, GOOD FOR YOU!!!  Yes, do get back into music again, it really does fill one's life, the emotions performing or just playing music is unlike anything else in this World. And it fills ones soul...

Hey, a little bit about what it was like the last time I got back into the cello and the piano after leaving the cello in the case and the cover on the keyboard down for a number of years.  I had to change my attitude at the start.  I have very high expectations of myself, and I VERY easily got discouraged at first.  I could barely hold the cello and the bow very well, and my fingers just went where they wanted on the piano.  I would get discouraged, looking at the sheet music that I used to be able to play very well, and just stop...angry at myself for having quit.

But, one evening after I stopped, I had a couple of 'beverages' and on the third one, REALLY thought about it.  I actually started laughing, telling myself, "Who do you think you are?  Pablo Casals?  Hell, you aren't going to get it all back in a few weeks!  Just take it a note at a time, and rather than focusing on bad notes and mistakes, be GRATEFUL when you hear a good note, or your hands do a passage OK!  And, Life had other things that you needed to do more back then than play your instruments!"

So, I just set 30 minutes a day for each instrument, and picked exercises, scales, or simple works to practice, and I would actually feel good when something went well. I also made myself ignore when things weren't going as I thought they should. So, as the days, weeks, and months passed by, I heard MORE good notes and nice passages...and my hands weren't sore, they got loose again and calluses grew on the tips of my left fingers. So, after a number of months, I did get back to where I had been.  I helped found a new Community Orchestra and was the Principal Cellist...until it was taken over by a bunch of Armenian Refugees and they kicked me out.     And, I felt good about myself...re-learning a skill does take effort.  I have met so many adults who used to play instruments who say that they just won't do it again, even though they would like to.

So, play on....

[Izee]

...Law School Exams...

Taking a Law School Test that requires Essay Responses, is quite different than most exams.  Often it is because there is NO right or wrong answer.  You are given a situation, and you have to figure out how the Law would apply to it, which Laws are pertinent, and then explain your reasoning.  I just LOVED questions that presented a complex factual situation, and had you imagine that you were a Justice of the Court and had you explain your ruling.

In one question in Constitutional Law, it was just that, and it was a complex situation with a lot of facts, most of which were irrelevant, we had to answer as if we were on the US Supreme Court.  I started the answer by saying that I was the Honorable Wilma O. Douglas, Esq., (daughter of probably the most lunatic and liberal Justice who has ever sat on the Court), and went to town.  I had a blast...

I cited the Fundamental Rights in the constitution that applied, and also the Penumbral Rights that Justices have made up.  (The Rights to Privacy and Marriage are NOT specified in the Constitution, but are 'Penumbral Rights' that emanate from the Fundamental Rights...like the penumbral light from the Sun)  But, I took it further, it was a very unclear exam question, so I made up TWO PENUMBRAL RIGHTS on my own, saying that they emanated from the right to Counsel and Self-incrimination.     I then used them to come up with a rather unusual ruling on the exam.  Of course, I had the "Chief Justice" write a dissenting opinion on my ruling...

The Professor read my opinion to the entire class, and said that he was going to accept it, this time, but that no-one should EVER make up Laws on an exam!!!  I just slumped in my seat.

But, of course, I did it again, but as a DISSENTING opinion, so I did take the existing Laws and applied them to the question, so I felt it was OK...

...and had FUN!!!!!!

[Izee]

...California Politicians...

I see that our beloved Governor, who is starting to campaign to become President of the U.S., is STILL trying to get the 'High Speed Rail' project going here in CA.  The price of the job keeps getting higher, FAR higher than the initial budget that we, the enlightened citizens of CA approved.  The plan was for it to travel between S.F and L.A., which is ambitious but could be a good idea.  With stops at all of the major Cities between, it could attract people who have to travel to the big Cities to use it.  But now, after a LOT of expense and delays, and cost overruns, they just have the outline of the line between Merced and Bakersfield!!!    Ah, having lived MOST OF MY LIFE in the Central Valley of CA, I can attest that there is NOTHING in Merced, and we all call Bakersfield the armpit of the Valley.  I was living in the Fresno area until the last few years, and saw all of these tall overpasses being built along the Freeways so the trains could pass over them...and they are just as they were years ago...NO connecting roadways!!! 

But, our Governor is seeking more funds, and I read that Trump cut off the Federal funding, so Newsome is suing Trump!  Hopefully the Courts will shut down such Lawsuits...I mean...where in the U.S. Constitution does it say that the Federal Gov't (Actually we, the TAXPAYERS) have to support such inane ideas?

But, Liberals don't use their heads when such ideas are brought up...and I BET that a lot of the funds got diverted to people who didn't drive a spike or do ANY actual work on the project.  And, we in CA, have a very high population of Liberals who do NOT think.  Like the one who shouted at me...

..."I DON'T CARE IF THE STATE FAILS...AS LONG AS THE DEMOCRATS ARE IN CHARGE!!!"...