random details

I used this bio when studying my DMA at UT-Austin. Since then, I've finished the DMA, moved out to Australia, and done a bunch of other work. I need to provide a new one for 2008+! I hope you still find this one useful. Cheers - DLT

Mostly unpacked

Submitted by dentonlt on 23. September 2008 - 10:35

Cindy and I are mostly unpacked in our new, humble abode. Google doesn't have a happy street view for our new place, or I'd give you a stock photo. We'll have to put together our own. In short ... it's a 2b2b townhouse, and it's home.

On the side I've been able to keep up the practicing, so I have a long list of practice times to post. I'll also put up commentary on those.

And it's school holidays, too. So I have this week and next to get a little r&r, relax, and finish some unfinished business around the house.

Moving, off the grid

Submitted by dentonlt on 20. September 2008 - 8:22

Cindy and I moved apartments last week(-end), finishing up on Monday night about 9p. Wow ... lots of work. During that, my practice was pretty sparse. I kept up the timings, have those sitting around on my phone. I'll post a proper summary later. For the last few days, at least, things have been much more predictable.

Until Monday, at least (22nd, I think?), we're without internet or a phone. Gotta sit around at home from 8-5, waiting for the telecom van to show up.

MSBF 2008 Jazz Tutorials

Submitted by dentonlt on 20. August 2008 - 6:23

For the last few days (week), I've been driving back and forth to work (45-60 min) and Monash University (45-60 min) for the 2008 Melbourne School Bands Festival. MSBF is the largest school bands fest on this side of the globe, and growing yearly. This year, more than 300 concert bands, jazz ensembles, and string ensembles are involved. Some great music going on at the festival.

I'm fortunate that I had a chance to write tutorials for the Intermediate and Senior sections of the jazz performances this year.

Practice Journal

Submitted by dentonlt on 13. August 2008 - 11:55

Yesterday: 1 hr 46 min, slurs 66 bpm
Today: 1 hr 45 min, slurs 66 bpm

Yesterday (last night) was kind of rough. Much mental junk. Practicing was difficult, but I learned a lot despite. Played through the first 20 of the 24 Grigoriev/Ostrander etudes. Did the ff sections ... very ff. On the practice mute. I think that was good. I also changed a bit of how I articulate down low, moving my tongue forward a little more in my mouth. I've previously avoided that, but now I'm thinking it's worth a shot.

On life, practice, and 'balance'. This week.

Submitted by dentonlt on 8. August 2008 - 11:43

I've been gently reminded to post on my blog (thanks, Mom :) )

Frankly, it's been a rough week with the practice. I'm really depressed about that. Getting in enough time to keep myself at stasis, but ... if I'm not getting better, then it's likely I'm getting worse. At best, the people around me are getting better and I'm not! Against the community, I didn't make much headway this week. [sigh]

On the bright side, I did enjoy my second anniversary with my wife. We'll properly take a little weekend holiday this Friday/Saturday - I'm looking forward to that.

Networking change - Localhost / WAN details

Submitted by dentonlt on 8. December 2007 - 15:43

A little networking error has been deterring me from posting ... this post is a useful solution from the wordpress forum (http://wordpress.org/support/topic/135935).

I run wordpress from a laptop at home. This works relatively well, though I have to tweak my settings every time my ADSL modem gets a new IP address. I can handle that.

The problem: my server is behind the ADSL modem. I set the Wordpress server details to the modem, which is fine for everybody to access ...

Linux Installation: Evo N410c

Submitted by dentonlt on 13. May 2007 - 10:37

I purchased a new-to-me (used) laptop in preparation for my travel, and I'm afraid the hard drive is bad. It acts real funny (slow). So I've replaced the hard drive. If you're going to do this, you'll need some Torx drivers - the hard drive is in a caddy that has T5 screws (star head). The case opens most easily with a T8, though a slotted driver will suffice.

I decided to install Damn Small Linux before going for the full Windoze install. I booted the DSL Live CD and then ran the Frugal HD Installer from within Fluxbox. Unfortunately, the Master Boot Record wouldn't take correctly.

Blasting apology

Submitted by dentonlt on 24. April 2007 - 12:17

Some old friends called me up the other day (SMS is the new 'call') to get me on Facebook. Sorry to refer the 'notes' back to my blog via RSS - it's just easiest to make the "I was thinking about" postings all in one place.

You're obviously not obliged to pay attention.