I am not one to moan. At least, I try really, really hard not to moan. But this week, in no particular order: I’ve had to make two separate hospital appointments with a stroppy teenager. I’ve had to content with more massive hospital bills (despite having good health insurance). Our RAV4 EV has finally given up…
Fixing a Seemingly Dead Drive… Thanks to TestDisk
Well, that was a fun afternoon (can you detect the sarcasm?) Those who know me well will know that I do like myself a little hardware and software fun from time to time. Fun equates to getting some program or other working, learning some new snippet of computer hardware fu, or perhaps getting my (now…
Because Organists are awesome
You may not know this, but I was, for a while, an organ scholar. I guess I was okay at playing the usual stuff and I did (for many years) play organ for Church services. It, along with Starbucks barista duty, was the way I supplemented my student loan (and parental contributions)*. Anyway, a fine tradition among…
I can’t think of any better way to pay tribute to David Bowie…
Than this. One of the few musicians in the world to have their music performed live in space. Here’s to your very own amazing space oddity, David.
U.S. Healthcare Isn’t the NHS. But Neither System is Perfect.
Watching my friends make their own trip from Bristol, UK to just a few hundred miles further north on our side of the U.S., I’ve been reminded how quickly we humans adjust to things. We’ve only been in Portland since the end of August, just three and a bit months ahead of our friends, but…
Safe Travels Dear Friends. We’ll See You On This Side
So today — or rather yesterday if you’re reading this from the UK — my dear friend Pyoor and her wife Kathryn started the second (or perhaps it’s third) stage of moving home. They’re following in our footsteps. With visas acquired for Pyoor (her wife happens to be American too) and their house sold, they have spend the…
Darth Trump. It Is Beautiful. It Is Amazing. And We Should Share It Around The World
Because comedy is always the best way to make really scary people look like complete and utter fools. That’s what Trump is. A complete and utter fool, who has enough money to be heard. And that makes him a really scary, xenophobic fascist who needs to be shown for what he really is. After all,…
Now Upgraded With Shiny, Small Things!
Dear people of the Internet, You’ll have noticed in the past few weeks that the www.aminorjourney.com domain has been somewhat missing from the Internet. This is because this site is hosted on an old MacMini G4, complete with a thoroughly ancient spinning hard drive which has, it seems, completed its useful life in this world.…
Resurrequiem – Part of the Four Year Harvest
So, in the past few weeks, I’ve found myself talking about my previous life — as a classically-trained oboist — with several different people. And one of the pieces that I’ve never got around to sharing is Resurrequiem by Julia Usher — a piece commissioned for my final graduating recital at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.…
The Vanity Fair Cover
I’ve kept quiet on the Caitlin Jenna thing. I wish her all the best, but I also had some problems when I saw the cover. It felt too… suggestive. Too posed, as if sex is the only reason someone transitions between genders. But thanks to my friend Jenn Dolari, there’s now an amazing social media campaign…