Today was one of the toughest yet at Bonnaroo in the Build-a-Drum tent. I didn’t get as early a start as yesterday so I was stirred awake by the massive heat building up in my tent at around 8:30. Not much time spent at camp and we were all off to the tent to start [...]

Festival is, perhaps, a bit of an overstatement. However, there was a collection of artists who participated in the event held recently at the Rialto in Atlanta. My wife and I joined some acquaintances there to explore the culturally rich music of the Arabo-Andalusian. Representing the classical music were musicians from three cities; the Tunisian [...]

My wife and I like to think strategically about our future.  Planning and foresight can save you a lot of grief and work in earnest.
In the event that we should become multi-millionaires in the future, we want to make sure we know what we’re going to do with the money.  The following is an ongoing [...]

Tomorrow I attend a “Build-a-Drum” workshop. Very exciting! #
My son’s kindergarten teacher called me in to pickup a “sharp object.” It was a 3/4″ Forstner drill bit that he had forgotten in his pocket. #
First day of drum building was eventful! Tomorrow, I finish up and get to hear how it sounds. #
A mere 20 [...]

Our son recently contracted Streptococcus within his person. We’re all familiar with such things, but the signs of this particular infection alluded us. We knew he had a stomach ache, but little else. The stomach ache became chronic and Balthazar the harbinger used is poo oracle to let us know something was [...]

Guess who has the coolest costume on the block? Balthazar does! His best (and only) Uncle-figure went all out and got together a suit of youth Storm Trooper gear for Balthazar this year. He’s been working on it for a while now and it’s finally finished. Sunday, he brought it over [...]

In nine days, we’ll be a family of four, having welcomed a new baby girl into the Gradin household on the 24th of this month…at 6:00am. That’s how we role. My wife likes to plan for the unplannable. However, she has made certain assurances for this life-event, and I have little doubt [...]

I am imagining a better WordPress. For those of you who don’t know, it’s the engine behind Gradin.com, as well as countless other blogs on the Interweb. I have been using WordPress for several years now and I really enjoy it. Its many features have grown, and grown on me. Now [...]

Holy moley! You can’t go wrong with 2008 Tai Chi masters in a sychronized routine!!! #
Is it just funny to me that they have “tremendous national pride” having just gotten some astronauts in space a couple of years ago? #
I’ll bet the Bejing Olympics fireworks blow Disney World away! #
…they sure do! #
The Central African [...]

We’ve returned home from Philadelphia, though home is not exactly as we left it. There is a gray storm cloud hovering above us; perhaps still building in power and ferocity, or lingering remnants of a thunderhead. I’m not talking about the weather, though the hurricane located near Corpus Christi does invoke a palpable invocation of the mood.