I'm getting back into the swing of things for 2022, now that the Holiday Season has receded in the rear-view mirror.

I have a lot to tell you about, including Audio Note (UK), Triode Lab, analog, digital, SET, solid-state, music, and of course some other stuff.

Hopefully I'll be able to lightly touch on each topic in this post before I run out of time for writing. 

Other Stuff

Let's start with 'other stuff'.

Like many of you, the coronavirus with all its variants have changed what "normal" looks like in my life. 

The world has changed so much over the last few years that I barely recognize it, and at times I feel like joining in with Dorothy, Scarecrow, and the Tin Man, to sing a refrain of "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!"

The news each day has stories about the spectre of wars, extreme social unrest, pandemics, tumultuous economics, political weirdness, inflation, climate disasters, and lions and tigers and bears, oh my! 

It's like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have partnered with The Three Stooges in a semi-successful attempt to take over the world. Sigh.

I guess in some ways the world really isn't much different than it's ever been. I think about my grandparents and parents, who lived through World War I (1914 - 1918), the influenza pandemic of 1918, the Great Depression (1929 - late 1930s), World War II (1929 - 1945), and many of the world-wide calamities since then. They mostly survived, and we probably will too. Nothing new under the sun. 

Clarence Major, American poet, painter, and novelist. Open source photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

When times are tough my mind often turns to the words of the American poet, painter, and novelist, Clarence Major, where he wrote in Configurations:

""We are almost a nation of dancers, musicians, and poets."

And although we're more,

much much more,

let's have a revival -

Why not celebrate?

If nothing else,

it can't hurt to celebrate survival." 

So I ask myself, what can I do today to celebrate survival?

Options for international travel, and sometimes even travel in the USA, are limited at the moment.

Opportunities for social gatherings are also limited, but are starting to open up. 

Myself and my friends are all vaccinated, boosted, and wanting to get on with life, do a little adventuring, listen to a little music, and just have some fun!

Gathering at Jeff's Place: Left to right, Doc Leo, Chad, Ron, and Santos.

For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic started, social interactions have started to pick back up, although in moderation.

A little while back, Doc Leo, Chad, Ron, Santos, and myself had a little survival celebratory gathering at my place for an afternoon of hifi fun & games, listening to some good music, chowing down on some good food, and imbibing some adult beverages. 

It was good to see everyone, tell each other stories, and enjoy each others company. 

Doc Leo surprised us all by telling us that he had bought tickets for the upcoming Sergio Mendez concert at Jazz Alley in Seattle, and would we like to make an adventure of it? 

There was of course an unanimous "Yes!" in response. We decided to fly into Seattle early AM before the concert, and then to fly back home the next day after the concert.

Bacco Cafe in Pike Place Market: Left to right, Tom, Leo, and Santos.

We wanted to start off our day with a good breakfast, so we met up with Seattle pals Tom and Scott for breakfast at Bacco Cafe in Pike Place Market. 

If you get a chance to visit Seattle, give the Bacco Cafe a try, they serve a great breakfast!

Pike Place Fish Co. put on a nice demonstration of their "fish throwing" skills for us.

After breakfast we attended a Show Me Seattle "VIP Food Tour of Pike Place Market".

I know, it sounds like a food overdose, doesn't it? 

Beecher's Cheese factory, one of my favorite local cheeses!

It was, but it was a lot of fun and we got to sample little tastes of foods from different businesses, and got a great tour from our tour guide, "Lucky", of the Pike Place Market and its history.

The historic first Seattle Starbucks coffee shop.

We saw a lot of interesting historic sites in Pike Place Market, including the first Starbucks coffee shop location in Seattle. The line for coffee was two blocks long! 

Brouwer's Cafe in Fremont.

After our tour of Pike Place Market we met up with more friends at Brouwer's Cafe in the Fremont district of Seattle.  Brouwer's is more of a hangout for locals in Seattle, rather than a tourist spot. If you get to Seattle for the Pacific Audio Fest in July this year, stop in and check it out.

Santo's friend Mike joined us at Brouwer's, and it was great fun to meet Mike. Mike, Santos, and I all did a little boxing while at Washington State University, and had the same boxing coach, Bob Doornink, whom we reminisced about. 

Santos fought Golden Gloves, and so did Mike, who won two Golden Gloves titles. I was at WSU at a different time than Mike and Santos, so our paths didn't cross. Santos and Mike were great boxers, me not so much, but I served as a pretty good punching bag. Mike regaled us with stories of boxing, teaching boxing at WSU, ducking matches with Tomas Hearns as an amateur, and later working as a boxing promoter. 

Friend Chad also joined us at Brouwer's to give us a tour of greater Seattle, and a craft brew tour of the Ballard district of Seattle.

Chad's Seattle tour was awesome - Thanks Chad! - and we got a really nice overview of Seattle and its history.

If you've ever been to the Southern part of the USA known as the 'Bible Belt', you know there's a church on every corner.

That's what the craft brewery scene is like in Seattle, there's a craft brewery on every corner. They ought to call Seattle the 'Brewery Belt'! 

Chad walked us around all the craft breweries in the Ballard district. Its a rather amazing scene, and the locals are really into it. There's dozens of 'Cheers-like' establishments in Ballard, and throughout Seattle, "where everyone knows your name." 

Sergio Mendez at Jazz Alley in Seattle.

After Chad's tours it was time for the Sergio Mendez concert and dinner at Jazz Alley. Photo IDs and vaccination cards were required to attend the concert, so we all filed slowly in, got checked, and then were seated at our tables for dinner.

Sérgio Santos Mendes, pianist, composer, arranger, song writer, and band leader, is now 80 years old. You would never know his age by his performance, as he was full of energy and Sérgio and his band put on a stellar performance that had the crowd giving standing ovations and dancing in the aisles. 

We all had a ball with our little Seattle adventure. Many thanks to Leo, Chad, Santos, Tom, Scott, Mike, and of course Sérgio Mendes for such a great time!

Jeff enjoying a rare pandemic adventure!

It sure was nice to get together with friends again, and I hope you're able to do the same sooner rather than later. It is good to get together and celebrate survival.

Oops ... I'm out of time for writing, so I'll cover Audio Note (UK), Triode Lab, analog & digital adventures, SET & solid-state adventures in Part II in the not too distant future.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!