Scattered Thoughts . . .

Today, we (Sheila, Nan, Pop, her fiancee John, and I) had the honor to be guests of Liza at Johnson State College. Liza graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology this morning! We all had a really great time. Liza was visibly excited and quite proud of herself... as she should be! I have to say that Sheila and I are also quite proud of what Liza has been able to accomplish. Today was sort of a special day for Johnson... this was the last graduating class from "Johnson State College" before they begin the next school year consolidated with another local state college under a different name. It was definitely a special graduation ceremony for us but, in some ways, it was a special graduation for all those associated with Johnson State College as well. Congratulations to Liza! I have a few video clips (I had no plan to shoot video but once the bagpipes started during the processional, I had to capture a few video clips) and many more photos to share but, for

I previously wrote about designing and building my own grand piano using a Yamaha keyboard as the base for the keyboard and sound. In that blog entry, I wrote about designing my own piano around a Yamaha digital piano but I didn't provide any samples to back up my claims. Below, are two short videos which I find to be excellent examples of today's Yamaha digital pianos.  The first is a video of classical pianist, Dominic Piers Smith, performing and providing some of his thoughts about Yamaha's current digital pianos. The second video features a beautiful and moving performance by pop singer Susan Albers. Both videos are impressive and certainly showcase today's Yamaha digital piano.

As if my current 'to-do' list isn't long enough, as I've been recovering from a foot injury over the past month, I've been sketching some designs and plans for a new digital grand piano to add to my 'to-do' list! I've been thinking about designing my own piano for many years. Long ago, I accepted the fact that I would never be able to afford to buy a new commercially manufactured grand piano so I've been creatively designing my own piano. The truth is, this plan has been simmering in the back of my mind for quite some time but, lately, I've been more persistent and detail-oriented in figuring out dimensions, sketching ideas, and working out design issues. Some of the many sketches of a bored maniac... For the most part, I've been laid up with my foot elevated for at least a month now. While I installed that new flooring and new ADA toilet in our master bathroom a bit more than a month ago, I somehow injured my achilles tendon and my