Things that make mass transit in Rome not so much fun.

This. We continue our unblemished record of causing havoc on every vacation we've been on. Fortunately, it seems that it's just today that numerous flights are being cancelled, and we're not flying out until tomorrow. So yay tomorrow.

Otherwise, the trip's been splendid. More, of course, when I'm not paying for Internet by the minute.

One of those things I ought to mention.

This is probably the last post for the next two weeks, as Kim and I are leaving for Europe in the next couple days. Here is a map to our house if you would like to steal our stuff.

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Richmond is the ninth-most dangerous city in the United States. Bad job, Richmond. There are reasons that, even though our address ends "Richmond, VA 23238," we're lucky if we go in the city of Richmond once every couple weeks. (Although both of us were there on Saturday, each for a different reason. We are thrill-seekers.)

To make you feel somewhat better about our locality, please note that the Richmond metro area didn't even crack the top 25 most dangerous, despite, you know, including Richmond.

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Bass handbells really get lost when you play outdoors.

Bell-o-rama.

The semiannual rankings of songs from JRR's upcoming concert, on a scale from terrifically terriffic to eh (with greatly great and okayly okay in between), and excluding the three I have a part in arranging:

TT:
"God With Us for All Time" (Garee)
"Greensleeves" (Moklebust)

GG:
"Carol of the Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (Larson)
"Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" (Gramann)
"Up On the Housetop" (Sherman)
"The Holly and the Ivy" (McKlveen)

OO:
"Blue Christmas" (Morris)
"Joy to the World" (Lohr)
"Silver Bells" (Dobrinski)

E:
"Carolers' Hoedown" (Stephenson)
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" (Wagner)

Italicized pieces we did last year as well.

That's probably the best breakdown of any concert I've had with JRR (spring concert was 1-5-4-2). It also brings up to five the number of TT handbell pieces I've played:

"Towers" (C. Moklebust; level 3+)
"Greensleeves" (C. Moklebust; level 4)
"Te Deum" (H.D. Wagner; level 4 or 5-, depending on the printing)
"Tempest" (K. McChesney; level 6)
"God With Us for All Time" (B. Garee; level 5)

Also, Ed should share his substitute experiences, assuming he has any yet.

My lovely wife is a Disney buff, so I'm reluctant to say anything bad about them, but...

...but this is simply obscene.

Film review of the week.

Shrek 2: ewww.

Cheap advertising.

I've been intrigued for a while about Google's "Ad Words" advertising, and since I haven't had a Silhouettist Music Press order in about a week, yesterday I decided to give it a shot, especially because:

a) It's as cheap or expensive as you want it to be: I have a $20 limit on advertising per 30 days that Google can't go over, and it'll actually probably be closer to $10-$15, based on the number of clicks I got in the first day. Speaking of which:

b) You pay per click, not per impression, so it's only when someone actually goes to www.silhouettist.com that I have to pay up.

c) And for each person who does go there, I'm only paying between $.05 and $.07 for their visit, which, as long as every 50th or so visitor buys a piece or two of music, is certainly worth it.

d) Assuming they buy online rather than through the mail, I can track people and see exactly what Google query it was that lead them to make a purchase, whether it was "handbell trio," "bell tree" or "matthew prins."

e) Similarly, I can track the different Google queries I have linked to my ad to see which ones draw in more people (two clicks from 47 impressions for "handbell music") and which ones don't so much (one click from 226 impressions for either "handbell" or "handbells" alone).

f) Similarly, I can design different ads and track which of those bring in more clicks (the headlines "Handbell Sheet Music" and "Solo/Ensemble Sheet Music" are doing better than "Handbell Ensemble Music" and "Silhouettist Music Press").

g) Similarly...dang, I'm out of similarlys.

h) If the campaign hasn't worked after one month, I can stop it and only be out $20.00, tops. And since not every handbell ringer is on the Handbell-L (which has been almost exclusively my advertising venue thus far), this might be a way to get in touch for some new clientele.

So, we'll see how well this works or doesn't work. I'm optimistic, though.

(Note: If you're trying to look at the ads, be advised that they come and go from Google based on how many hits visits I've already had that day [as that's their method of ensuring I don't go over $20 a month]. So, if "handbell music" doesn't bring me up the first time, try again later.)

How Perfectly Swell: Helping you pick who to cheer for since 2001.

Well. For the first time since ever, Iowa State has a reasonable chance of winning the Big 12 North -- so reasonable, in fact, that if they win their final two games, they will be the team so blessed as to get to lose to Oklahoma by four touchdowns. A quick breakdown of the 64 possible scenarios remaining for the final seven Big XII North games (and yes, 2⁷=128 rather than 64, but the Kansas/Texas matchup next week does not have any impact on who the North Champion is).

Iowa State: 36 percent (23 scen.)
Nebraska: 23 percent (15 scen.)
Kansas State: 19 percent (12 scen.)
Colorado: 14 percent (9 scen.)
Missouri: 8 percent (5 scen.)

And it's actually slightly better for Iowa State then it looks there, because if Nebraska loses to Oklahoma (which they will), the numbers change to:

Iowa State: 44 percent (14 scen.)
Kansas State: 25 percent (8 scen.)
Colorado: 13 percent (4 scen.)
Nebraska: 9 percent (3 scen.)
Missouri: 9 percent (3 scen.)


Conversely, if Nebraska somehow beats Oklahoma:

Nebraska: 38 percent (12 scen.)
Iowa State: 28 percent (9 scen.)
Colorado: 16 percent (5 scen.)
Kansas State: 13 percent (4 scen.)
Missouri: 6 percent (2 scen.)

So, go Oklahoma!

Assuming Oklahoma beats Nebraska, the Colorado/Kansas State game has no impact on Iowa State's chances, so cheer for whomever you want.

More specifically, Iowa State will win the Big XII North iff:

a) Iowa State wins its final two games, finishing 5-3 in the Big XII, or
b) Iowa State and Nebraska both finish the year 4-4 in the Big XII, but no other team finishes 4-4, or
c) Iowa State finishes 4-4 in the Big XII, but no other team finishes higher than 3-5 (yes, it's possible), or
d) Iowa State beats Kansas State, Missouri beats Iowa State, Oklahoma beats Nebraska, Nebraska beats Colorado, Colorado beats Kansas State, and Missouri beats Kansas, which leaves Iowa State, Nebraska, and Missouri all at 4-4, a tie that ISU wins on the third tiebreaker. (There is also a scenario where Iowa State, Nebraska, and Missouri are all at 4-4 and Nebraska wins the tiebreaker, along with a scenario where Missouri wins the tiebreaker. Yes, is very it confusing.)

I am sure you all care.

The more I think about Priui, the more I want one.

First off, it's the cutest sedan on the road, especially with the little windshield wiper for the hatchback glass. Second, the energy monitor with instantaneous MPG is awesomer than awesome. Third, I don't like filling up my car with gas; it's one of those annoyances, like getting a haircut, that I put off and put off until the reasonable side of me convinces the lazy side of me that I cannot delay it further. Fourth, I really love Toyota's grayish blues ("Cosmic Blue" on the Matrix; "Seaside Pearl" on the Prius). Fifth, environment shmenvironment, but I think there are persuasive pragmatic reasons to reduce America's reliance on foreign oil. Sixth, I have this funny feeling gas prices are going to jump through the roof in Bush's next four years. Seventh, there's actually dealers who are selling it for MSRP, which is nice. Eighth, while the Accord has the lowest five-year True Cost to Own of any vehicle I'm interested in, the Prius, if purchased at MSRP, would actually be slightly lower. (The higher depreciation on the Prius is more than evened out by the fuel cost savings.) Ninth, if Ed and Annie buy one, too, I could say in everyday conversation, "Yeah, my brother and I both have Priui." Tenth, Rory has one.

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Elephanti.

Kim and I (more Kim) had an interesting conversation last night with a woman in our bell choir who spent the first 20 or so years of her life in the Congo. Most interesting fact, perhaps, from the conversation: The first time she'd ever seen an elephant or lion or any big game was...at the National Zoo, after she'd moved to America.

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Prayers.
Please keep my cousin Brenda in your prayers. She's been diagnosed with what might be multiple sclerosis.

Sometimes things that you are absolutely sure are never going to happen actually happen.

Like Steve Taylor starting to film his film. And Steve Taylor putting the finishing touches on his new album.

You hate to dislike getting in an order, but...

...my second-to-last order of the month was from Virginia. Which means that rather than being able to put it off for a month or two, I now have to figure out how to pay my sales tax to the state. Stupid order.

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I have this mostly done arrangement of "Where You There?" that is for Soprano/Tenor soloist and handbell/handchime quartet. It is slightly different than one might expect, as all six verses (each with a different musical texture) can be done together as a singular piece or the six verses can each be done independently. (Specifically, I was thinking of certain Ash Wednesday/Maundy Thursday services where, during the reading of the Gospel, a verse of "Where You There?" is sung at appropriate moments -- "...sealed it with a kiss" after Judas seals it with a kiss, etc.) Anyway. I need a name for this, and the best I have is "Six Meditations on 'Where You There?'", which is okay, but I'm sure someone here can do better.

Big XII North Update no. 1.

If the Cyclones win their final three regular season football games -- all of which are dead-even matchups according to Sagarin's computer rankings -- Iowa State will go to the Big XII Championship Game, either by winning the North outright or by virtue of head-to-head tiebreaker v. Nebraska. Even if Iowa State loses its sole remaining road game (Kansas State), if ISU wins at home against Nebraska and Missouri, they will still be the North's rep at the Big XII championship as long as (a) Nebraska loses at #2 Oklahoma (hint: they will) and (b) the winner of the Colorado/Kansas State game loses at least one of its other remaining games.

Big XII North Update no. 2.

Big XII North v. Baylor: 3-0
Big XII North v. non-Baylor Big XII South: 0-13