Beginning A New Chapter

I’ve been working my way up to going camping again. But I went out to our Airstream that we bought together, just to inspect the state of readiness; and I got a whiff of her perfume…

And I had to sit down for several minutes, wiping my eyes, unable to see, barely able to breathe.

When we bought it, we were delighted with it, and enjoyed taking it camping. She especially loved it, because we’d dreamed of having an Airstream for some 20 years.

And then she got too sick to go.

I’d asked once or twice on good days if she’d like to go camping, and she had replied that she just didn’t feel up to it. So I chose to concentrate on the things she could do, rather than the things that she could not do.

And so the Airstream sat, in the upper meadow.

For six years.

I began to pray for wisdom for what to do about the trailer, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this particular trailer was WAY too much for me. It was fine for us and her, as she loved the luxury and the size, and the way that she felt safe to move around inside, even with her reduced mobility. This is something that Airstream does not advertise, yet they should; for people with reduced mobility, these trailers are an excellent fit.

Several good friends helped with wisdom, most especially my best friend since college days, who lost his own wife many years ago: “You have to live your own life. We mourn what has happened, but we have to move on. “

But in considering what to do now, I realized that I needed a serious downsizing. At 8-1/2′ wide, the trailer was difficult to handle on our narrow country roads; when my wife was with me, I could ‘talk out’ my nervousness (and we could pray together) when a semi was approaching from the other direction, taking every inch of his lane. There is also the length – I want to go back to some of the wilderness areas where we used to camp, and a bigger trailer can be a drawback, to the point of excluding you from some places.

I took a look through other manufacturers’ offerings, and their mantra of ‘bigger, taller, longer’ doesn’t fit with my worldview (it never did, actually). And then there were the sacrifices of quality in going with most of those manufacturers from Elkhart, not to mention how difficult it is if your mobility is compromised. I came right back to Airstream because they’re more accessible, and the consistent quality is a known factor.

I began talking to the dealer, finally making a visit. They told me they had just gotten in a 19CB, and it was being prepped and pre-delivery inspected. But, as I was interested in that very size, I would be welcome to take a look at it.

I stepped in, and it was like meeting an old friend. The layout was almost exactly like a trailer we’d owned many, many years ago, that one built by a Northwest manufacturer. We went just everywhere in that trailer, having many good years with it.

I was sold; THIS felt right, was right, IS the right path forward. This new Airstream is EIGHT FEET shorter than the Airstream that I traded in. It pulls and tracks beautifully, like an Airstream.

Most people name their Airstreams, and we were no exception. You register with Airstream, and they send you a nice medallion with your VIN number and the name, ready to mount in a spot on the skin, specifically made for this.

I originally thought of naming the trailer “Song 16″, in honour of my wife and our epic love affair, and the way we would periodically watch (and sing along with) her favourite musical, West Side Story. Song 16 is from the original score, and is the song, “Somewhere”:

There’s a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us, somewhere.

There’s a time for us,
Some day a time for us,
Time together with time to spare,
Time to learn, time to care.

Some day,
Somewhere,
We’ll find a new way of living,
We’ll find a way of forgiving.
Somewhere,
Somewhere . . .

There’s a place for us,
A time and place for us.
Hold my hand and we’re halfway there.
Hold my hand and I’ll take you there
Somehow,
Some day,
Somewhere!

Steven Sondheim

But, I’ve reconsidered. I want to be looking forward, not back. When I was looking at this Airstream, a name had popped into my head, and I’d dismissed it. After spending a few days out with it, I’m going to name it “Dot”. Fits better. A couple of photos in the upper meadow, back from one trip, waiting to go on the next.

The first place I went was the special place we’d been going for decades, but we never got to visit with the Airstream together. We were making preparations, and she had a major setback; so that special trip remained incomplete.

And I saw something in the comics that was especially touching, given that I’m bringing my buddy Thunder with me on these adventures:

When someone asks me, ‘where to, next?’ the old Trekkie in me can’t resist vaguely waving and adding, in the words of Captain Kirk, “Out there… Thataway”.

Bachelor Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

We have snow coming tonight, here on the side of the mountain. The calm, bright day we had yesterday has today become windy with the temperature beginning to plunge, and the sky is becoming ‘that shade’ of gray that indicates there’s soon to be snow. At this time of year, I’m always making sure that I’m ready for snow, while watching weather models; and everything (including NOAA) says ‘snow tonight’.

I have everything here to make a nice, warm, comforting soup that will remind me of my departed love, who was an amazing, intuitive cook. Nothing ever tasted the same way, twice; although some general rules were always followed. But beyond that, hey, anything goes. Totally in her style, I found a recipe on the internet where I could sub in a bunch of frozen stuff; meaning I can keep it all handy for whenever I want it. And because I’m not her, I’m doing it in the crockpot, which allows me to keep working on the book. (I’ve just completed one of the major chapters, and am beginning the next one.)

And because I HATE scrolling through 50 pages of preamble, here’s the recipe:

Bachelor Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

Frozen Stuff:

• 1 ea.      2-pound bag of cut-up chicken breasts
• 1 ea.      Bag of peas and carrots mix
• 2 ea.      Bag of sliced mushrooms (2^nd bag is optional, but recommended)
• ½ ea.     Bag of sliced onions

Odd Stuff:

• 1 ea.      Refrigerated biscuit dough
• Montreal CHICKEN (NOT STEAK) seasoning (this stuff also goes great on eggs and potatoes)

Pantry Stuff:

2 cans   Cream of Mushroom soup (if using low-sodium, you’ll need to add salt to taste)

Anything else you want to throw in that might make it ‘interesting’ like celery or such
(I offer this in remembrance of my sweetheart, who was an incredible, but intuitive, cook, and would find all kinds of things to add – ‘Oh, the celery’s a little limp? Let’s throw all of that in there.’)

Method:

Throw all the frozen stuff except the chicken into the crockpot, dump in the soup (rinsing out the cans with a little bit of water – I am my Mom’s child, after all).
Add no other liquids, no matter how tempting it might be.

Add 2 Tbsp. Montreal Chicken seasoning,
at least 2 heaping tsp. black pepper (like McCormick’s, from the can – this is what brings that ‘old-fashioned-like-Granma’s-taste);
1 rounded tsp. of onion powder.

Give it all a good stir, THEN dump in the frozen chicken and stir all together. Because the chicken comes out in big frozen lumps, there’s no way you could have properly stirred together all the other stuff with it already in there.

Cooking:

Cook for about 3-1/2 to 4 hours on HIGH. Give it a stir at the 2-hour mark, because the chicken will finally have defrosted and will now come apart. Remember, that first hour and a half is literally ‘defrosting’, so you need the extra time. Here’s where individual cookers will differ, so you need to ‘temp’ the chicken for 140°. (It’s not USDA-safe at this point, but you’re going to be cooking it for a while longer.)
My cooker takes the full four hours, plus a little.

Last Step:

Once you hit that 140° mark, open the biscuit dough and cut the rounds into quarters; top the soup with the quartered biscuit dough and cook on HIGH for another hour and a half to two hours – depending on the thickness of your biscuit dough. If a skewer or a sharp knife goes into the ‘dumplings’ easily, they’re not done yet.

That’s it; easy as can be.
All that’s left is to say grace and thank God for good tools, a warm house, and a godsend of a canine companion.

Slaves of the Metronome; Slaves of the Repeat

I read an article about how younger people are less interested in church and traditional worship nowadays.

One of the tiny things that jumped out at me in a big way were inferences about some of the music.

I put some time into thinking about both contemporary and traditional music, and both have some flaws, which are like that chip in your windshield that you’ve ignored for a couple years until someone points it out, and now you can’t quit looking at it.

I’d like to offer some clarity, because I’m a solution-oriented person.

When hearing traditional music played at traditional tempos, great hymns can … drag. For instance, let’s take the first fifteen notes of Beethoven’s Hymn to Joy, words by Henry Van Dyke; where the words sung to it are: ‘Joyful, joyful, we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; Hearts unfold like flow’rs before You, Op’ning to the sun above.’

With some musicians, playing these fifteen notes takes well over twelve seconds! Ouch. Just imagine how much more alive it would sound if it only took a shade over six seconds, or about twice as fast! Don’t believe me? Try it!

And you know what? THE CONGREGATION CAN KEEP UP!

What I’m encouraging traditionalists to do is to quit being a slave of the metronome, and use your gifts to make the music come alive!

I had a piano teacher (five years!) who was a traditionalist. She assigned me the “Theme from Exodus”, and if you’ve ever seen that piece of sheet music, it has more notes on the pages than Mozart! It’s full of long keyboard runs, slides, sleight-of-hand, fluff, and flamboyant frippery. I tried practicing it the traditional way, and wow, was it ever a drag. I felt like the music was drowning me. So I tried putting a jazz twist to it, and it started to come alive! I asked my piano teacher to allow me another week or two of practice, but no, she thought I’d had long enough. So, okay, you asked for it. I started playing my jazz version, and after only half of a bar, she flew into an apoplectic fit! I’d had enough, I was tired of being drowned in the slow pace of so many pieces. I grabbed my sheet music off the piano, grabbed my coat, and walked out the door, never to return. (I still have that Seth Thomas metronome.)

Traditionalists, I’m trying to say that by going SO SLOW with the music, you’re drowning us.

Save us. Throw us a rope. We’ll grab it. Speed it up, and just listen to the music come alive. Please.

Don’t worry, we can keep up.

One last thing: There’s a reason that the slowest tempo is called GRAVE. Go slower with your tempo, guess what – you’re approaching the grave.

Okay, ‘contemporarists’*, you’re not getting away with your kind of soul-slaughter, either. Look at what you’re performing, especially the lyrics. HOW many repeats are you doing? Seriously, repeating “Holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the earth is full of his glory” EIGHT TIMES turns empty and hollow. Instead of feeding our spirits by the music, you’re emptying us.

Look, I’m just saying that we’re only humans, not mighty cherubim who have the strength to repeat these words day and night, without their minds wandering. So start asking yourselves the hard question, ‘Where is the story being told by the music?’ And listen to the music come back alive as a result.

All I’m saying is:
It’s a really bad sign when you can’t wait for the music to end.

.

.

*Apologies for the made-up word.

A Better Idea for Carbon Sequestration: Repurposing

I read recently about another company coming on line with another carbon sequestration method, and that tickled my memory about a question which I asked of my former employer, but which never received an answer.

The premise is this: There is a lot of concern (justified) about carbon being released into the atmosphere. And sequestration methods are proving to be expensive and of such complexity as to be worthy of the imagination of Ian Fleming.

What if that carbon undergoing sequestration could be diverted to current uses for carbon?

Although my former employer’s business was small, it was a tiny branch of a very large multinational Corporation. And the ‘mothership’ posted periodic Employee Information items about both their mundane and the exotic businesses. The mundane and not-really-thought-much-about stuff ranged from aircraft parts to flight systems, and the exotic included stuff like spacesuits.

But it was part of the aircraft business that grabbed my attention: They manufacture carbon-fibre aircraft brakes. In this case, the carbon-fibre is a component of the ‘wear’ parts, similar to brake pads on your car. I watched the operation of the vertical furnaces which burned ginormous amounts of natural gas to slowly create the carbon-fibre parts.

And because ‘I connect things’ as part of what I do, my mind went to this question, which I now ask of all who are in the business of carbon-sequestration, and carbon-fibre-based products:

.

Why can’t extracted-carbon products be used for creating useful materials like carbon-fibre instead of just shoving them into the ground and leaving them for future generations to deal with?

A Decision on the Battery-Car

I’ve finally reached a decision, and I think that although I may be an ‘early-adopter’ type, this makes the best sense, given the state of the art right now. I’ll get to the result in a moment, but I’m just building the case; and I REALLY think that automakers should take notice; given that battery-car sales are down:

• The battery-car I was prepared to shell out for, is having serious consumer-level problems.
  • Watching their forums is revealing way more than average ‘teething problems’, although the car has been in production for over a year.
  • I can’t get an AWD (All-Wheel-Drive) version of the car without ordering one and waiting most of a year. (Deal-breaker)
  • Electrify America can’t get their act together, meaning that if I want to go more than a couple hundred miles, I can’t reliably rely on getting a charge.
  • The Manufacturer claims that their deal to use the Tesla supercharging network will be in place, but not until 2nd Quarter 2024. (Second Deal-breaker)
• A second battery-car that I was prepared to shell out for, has serious design problems.
  • I COULDN’T get into the thing!
  • I went to look at one in the showroom, and there is no seat adjustment nor entry method that I could use to get in. I’m the first to admit I have a long back, and my upper-body length is the same as someone who’s most of a foot taller than I. But still… to neglect tall people in the design, when the car is SUV-based already?

I believe I’ve made the best decision, and one that will fit the current state of the art and Consumer usage right now:

A Plug-In Hybrid.

It makes total sense for how I now use a car. I’m no longer commuting these tremendous distances, so I don’t need the range of a full-battery car. Things that this particular PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) offers:

• Roughly 30+ miles on battery alone, meaning I won’t have to run the engine for most trips, even to the dentist’s, which is about 40 minutes away.
• I don’t need to have a special, high-power plug installed. This car charges in 12 hours from A STANDARD WALL PLUG, and I can dictate the level and timing of power usage.
• Great handling, because I swore I’ll never buy another “slug”, no matter how practical. (The Subie was okay, just not quick nor a predictable handler, out ‘near the edge’.)
• Being a hybrid, the car is WAY lighter than a battery-car, and far more nimble.
  • This also means it’ll be way easier on tires, something that nobody seems to mention.
• “Sport Mode”, which sharpens up the handling and response amazingly, through dual-mode shocks and remapping of acceleration, steering boost, and braking. If you’ve ever driven a stickshift car, this is like leaving the car in Third on entry and exit of the corner. Power is RIGHT THERE when you ask for it, and when you lift your foot, you get what feels like great compression-braking. The Brembos grab reliably when you ask. This mode also gives you access to the “PowerShot” feature (which God knows I could have used when I drove the Gorge on the way to work, and… those little short, gray-hair-inducing passing lanes on SR-14!) – the mode gives you full output from the battery and the turbocharged engine for a net 30 HP boost.

This particular car is “outside the box” of typical hybrid vehicles, and will either be a game-changer or will go mostly unnoticed:

• A game-changer: for old hotrodders like me who love a car that really handles and who love performance and canyon-carving – for when there’s nobody in the car, and nobody around.
• Or totally unnoticed: for those who just want ‘an appliance’, completely devoid of any personality, except for an air-conditioner and a good-enough radio. Colors other than “beige” are optional, and probably cost too much.

Okay, so what did I buy?
A Dodge Hornet R/T.
(Everything beyond the R/T (Road/Track) designation is meaningless fluff, much like Ford’s comical name, “Merkur XR4TI” – which they never explained.)

I’ve tried to get a good representative photo of it, and have discovered that the styling isn’t ‘lens-friendly’. We used to say this about certain people; you could see the sparkle of their personality when speaking to them, but they were monumentally difficult to capture on film. For the car, I think it’s because of the curved lines, which tend to create a forced-perspective on camera.

This shot is from Car and Driver, and even their pro photographer is having a time with getting a good perspective. But the color on mine is the same as the above. Dodge calls it “Blue Bayou”, I think a nod to the MoPar color names from the ’70s, with which I am totally okay. Personally, I’ve been calling the color, “Hair-On-Fire-Blue”, although one of the kids up the road named it, “Sonic the Hedgehog”. I’m now having some difficulty deciding which I like better.

Hey, GM! Put a “Dog Mode” in your electrics and I’ll be a customer.

I’ve been evaluating BEVs (battery-electric-vehicles) lately from both the standpoint of build quality and value-for-dollar. This got started after my mechanic pointed out to me that I really don’t need the current vehicle; I would do better (and LOTS less money out the door) with a ‘battery car’. I don’t drive much at all now, with finally accepting retirement and the free time (yeah, right) that it brings.

Some givens:

• Build quality must be stellar at these prices.
• Performance and range must also be stellar – 300 miles is easily possible, and 2/3 of that is unacceptable.
• Any ‘app’ that connects to the vehicle and controls state-of-charge while plugged in at home must work correctly. ALL. THE. TIME.
• The platform must be using second-generation battery technology – safer technology.
• Repair parts must be affordable.
• I need, and I’m serious about this – I really, REALLY, need a “Dog Mode.” My buddy goes pretty much everywhere in the car with me, and I’m NOT leaving home when I could be taking him along.

Some findings after a month of research, and some are surprising:

• One premium marque is actually less money than a “sporty” vehicle from a different maker. Seriously! By thousands!
  • Makes me ask myself, “Why not have a really nice car instead of feeling like I got (screwed again) by this other brand?”
• One marque known for reliability, good fuel mileage, durability, and AWD (all-wheel-drive) isn’t delivering on either range or handling. WAY shy on the range.
  • (Maybe that’s because of who they partnered with when developing the vehicle?)

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: I try to be open-minded, but I have made “A #1 Decision“: I won’t buy from an arrogant bastard (there, I said it) who gave his fledgling business a shove out into the world, then flitted off to other bright, shiny things without actually applying REAL MANAGEMENT SKILLS.

• Said person should have forced a design update after it was found that the A/C condenser drains right on top of the battery pack (in the most expensive model), causing the casing to corrode and battery packs and frame parts to need premature replacement. If you can get them.
• Said person should have forced work on basic fit-and-finish; both of which continue to be poor in $70,000+ cars.
• Said person should have forced BASIC changes in Manufacturing, instead of just allowing Customer Service to flimflam callers.
• Said person should have forced Manufacturing to build more spare parts, after having Customer complaints of waiting MONTHS for ordinary spares. And those spares are exorbitant, driving insurance costs up.

I used to be able to have long, overly involved, overthinking discussions with my wonderful and VERY PATIENT wife, but I cannot, now. The trick is going to be how to find someone to go through all the dollars and how to make sense (pun intended) of things.

When I find more facts (or even a decision) to report, I shall. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to overthink.

A Reminder of Hope

My wife had this big beautiful schefflera plant in our sunroom. It was one of her favorite things to look at when she went out into her spa.

It started out as this tiny little thing about 28 years ago, and it had really thrived out there; needing to be repotted four times, until the pot it was in was as big as an outdoor specimen pot, about 30″.

It had grown to over 4 ft tall, and had bushed out beautifully.

But apparently the extreme, sustained cold of last winter had gotten to it, and by April it had turned completely brown and somewhere way beyond sad-looking.

When the house is all quiet and you have no one around, something like this can be hugely depressing:

“…something else that’s died”.

Although it was looking like the house plant version of Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree, I saw that the branches weren’t dry and brittle, but still soft, and the foliage was still hanging on well, so I tried to revive it but to no apparent effect. I watered it a few times, put fertilizer and more water on it; no change.

I’m not out in the sunroom all that often, so I had just left it, thinking that I would eventually get to it and maybe ask a friend to help me empty the pot and dispose of the dead plant outside somewhere. Because the plant had been so big, the pot is almost impossible to move without help.

A few days ago, the outside weather wasn’t really favorable, so I went to sit out in the sunroom to do my devotions. With a heavy sigh, I glanced over at the plant, but…

Green! There were green leaves hiding in there! It was coming back!

As I stood and stared in amazement, I began to feel a single word of description: “Resurrection”.

And then it was God, placing his hand on his child’s shoulder, and speaking one single word into my loneliness – the devastating silence in the house which shouted of my loss, that gave me the most tremendous uplift:

Believe.

.

.

I WILL see her again. I know it now.

.

I went and got the rose pruners that she gave me for Christmas one year oh so long ago, and trimmed off the dead stuff; and stepped back (after moving a dozen handfuls of stuff away) to make a quick snap of the way it looked.

I will see her again.

Exiting Dark Days

I’ve said frequently (and will again) that grief is a journey.

It’s a shadow that is always at your feet.
On sunny days it’s perfectly visible, but remains firmly attached to the road.
On foggy days, it embraces you like a friend.
But on dark days, it tugs at you like a toddler, demanding your full attention.

This year, I am passing several major milestones: Another full decade of life, plus other things in which I cannot help but be reminded of her, the love of my life.

She was two years older than I, and it never, ever bothered me; but I think she thought about it. During the week between our birthdays, we would be within a chronological year of each other. My birthday would come, and she’d always say, “We’re (almost) the same age!” Sometimes, she added the ‘almost’. Some years, I would counter with, “I’m so glad I married an older woman,” which seldom went over well. She laughed the first couple of times, then after a while, she’d comment, “That’s not as funny as it was the first time.” And she could tell me how many times I’d tried the joke.

But on July 24, at 3:55:01AM, I was exactly one year older than her – an age she would never see. And then, on my birthday, I was officially … one … year … older than she.

I had always thought we’d be one of those smiling couples, obviously as much in love now as they were when they were married, pictured in the local paper on their 50th wedding anniversary; after all, we only had 3-1/2 more years to go. Not to be.

Back in May, I knew this darker time was coming, and wanted to have a quiet but active memorial that spoke of her. She liked wind chimes, but our weather here on the side of the mountain is vicious to small objects like wind chimes.

I thought more about what I wanted for a wind chime as a memorial to her.

It couldn’t be just any wind chime, especially not those crappy little ‘dinkity-dinkity-dink’ cheap-ass chimes. I was looking for something more subtle, and definitely not the annoying BLANG-KLANGITY-KLANG (Don Martin sound effects here) of larger, lightweight stuff that responds to every little puff of wind.

I wanted something with a deeper note, and something that would stand up to the fierce weather here on the side of the mountain.

I spent more than a month looking at, and listening to, a LOT of different chimes. There were people making chimes out of pressure vessels like fire extinguishers and scuba tanks; a couple sounded great, and others sounded like, well, junk. I found that these were *wildly* variable, much to my dismay, leading me into a bit of research as to why bell-making is such an art form.

Being a fairly ‘musical’ person, I began to find that the tone mattered a LOT to me. A lot of the handmade / salvaged stuff had really nasty overtones (let’s just call it the musical equivalent of a fart in an elevator), instead of a clear, single tone, with proper overtones. Metallurgy, then, plays a huge part.

I began to find that many sellers post their items with a “just pay this exorbitant price; trust me, it’ll sound just fine” attitude. In looking seriously into these, I found that even though some were charging considerable sums, they would get incredibly offended when asked two simple yet reasonable questions: “What does it sound like? Can you give me a video of exactly the item that I’m buying, as if I were standing in front of it at a store?”

Some ‘offshore’ (let’s just say ‘Asian’) vendors posted nice-sounding stuff with their offerings, but then video of the identical item from a different source revealed the reality to be highly unequal to what was represented. Cheat me? No thank you.

Getting truly serious, I even checked sources for single replacement orchestral bells, but Rolls-Royce quality carries a Rolls-Royce price. YIKES!

During Quiet Time, I realized that clearly this was to be a journey; once again to prove that God shows you what you THINK you want, then brings you to exactly what you need.

I finally came across something that ‘resonated’ with my spirit (pun intended) and realized that all along I was looking for a poly-tone chime, only a few notes, and something that sounded upbeat, and not somber.

I found my solution with a blue-collar artist in Phoenix who hand-builds chimes from cold-rolled steel, and the sound is fairly consistent from unit to unit. The cold-rolled steel provides the clean, bell-like resonance that I’d been seeking, the ability to stand up to the weather, and at last, affordability.

The chime will achieve its own patina based on the weather here, and as such will lend its own ‘note’, to the landscape while speaking quietly of the epic love we shared.

The artist also added a custom message for me, which also has its own short story: The text-messaging widget misinterpreted the heart symbol I’d sent, and the artist faithfully reproduced it.

Here are some pictures of the chime. I have hung it so the inscription is turned toward the mountains, in her honor.

When I first opened the box, I was disappointed, because the inscription was not as I saw it in my head – I’ve done all my own illustrating for the last several years, and this was not what I had in mind. I could have reacted like a ‘Karen’, but there was a deeper message here that God was speaking to my heart, and I wasn’t hearing it – yet. I didn’t know what that was, but I knew I had to find a way to LISTEN, for this is the way it is to be.

I continued to struggle with accepting it, until…

A very wise person, who is our church’s admin, and has seen a lot of God at work, noted this:

“I did look several times at the heart symbol, and my first thought was ‘Why is there a 3?’
“And my next thought was that of course God has always been and is still at the heart of your life with her.
Not just the two of you, but three.
I hope this blesses you when the wind blows.”

PH

An Assisted Listening System for a House of Worship

Executive Summary:

When an Assisted Listening System (ALS) is deemed necessary for a House of Worship, there are several options and technologies. Most of these options come with significant negative aspects which greatly affect their user-friendliness and ability of Staff to maintain them. Research and Conclusion details are below.

Budget for device costs (as of July 2023) of approximately $1600. Budget for install time of 4 hrs. (assumes that Ethernet and power drops exist to broadcast location in the Sanctuary, and that a separate output from the audio mixer is available)

Required Components:

WaveCAST Wi-Fi (WF T5) from WAVECAST AV. Amazon URL
LUXUL XWR-3150 | Epic 3 – Dual Band Wireless AC3100 GIGABIT Router. Amazon URL
NETGEAR GS305 5-Port Ethernet Switch. Amazon URL
(Only required if splitting the Ethernet feed for existing PC in the area)

Cables and Adapters as necessary

Background and Details

Assisted Listening Systems (ALSs) are a way of providing augmented audio to a select group of listeners. Ideally, the listener can adjust the sound level to their preference.

It must be stated clearly up front that all ALSs WILL have an audible delay between the reinforced sound (the PA) and the listener on the ALS system – some technologies have more delay; especially those using server-based systems (which this paper does not recommend). Online reviews of server-based systems include mentions of “intolerable” delays – up to “½ second” – but those delays are server-caused; the recommendation here is to use a direct connection to the audio board, which will minimize audio delay for the user. (Not perfect, but less than above.)

Research was conducted several years ago at the request of one House of Worship into Assisted Listening Systems (ALSs). At that time, there were few options, all of them intrusive, cumbersome, and expensive (multiple thousands of dollars, plus install cost). Each encumbered the user with a special receiver and headset, which makes the user ‘stand out’, and when combined with the previous, was therefore seen as too high of a hurdle to adoption. There was also the maintenance aspect: there are batteries to be kept charged, headphones to clean and sanitize, and costly receiver losses because someone innocently forgot and accidentally left with the receiver.

Those “two-piece” (transmitter-receiver) systems are still available and in use, but fortunately technology has advanced.

The best overall solution would use existing technology that users would be both familiar and comfortable with; plus be as unobtrusive and “transparent” as possible.

As research progressed, it became clear that the best system would use existing cellphone technology. Hearing-aid users typically have their devices “paired” with their cellphones, making this a natural solution.

Jumping ahead momentarily to the best solution: broadcasting via WiFi. The user opens an ‘app’ called WaveCAST, which finds and connects to the WiFi broadcast in the house of worship; everything from that point onward is within the user’s control via their cellphone.

Negatives

ALL ALSs have an inherent delay. ALL ALSs have an inherent cost. ALL ALSs require some attention from the Sound Tech on duty that Worship Day: the ALS levels must be monitored, just like the feed to Facebook. The onus is on the Tech to pay attention, and do more than just ‘throw a fader up somewhere’; but to actually take time to monitor their feeds beyond the PA feed and levels.

Using the WaveCAST system requires the user to perform two one-time actions:

• Download and install the WaveCAST Receiver app before coming to use it at Worship
  • The WaveCAST and Wi-Fi system in use do NOT allow internet access
• Once at the House of Worship, add the local Wi-Fi ‘network’ where the ALS broadcast will be happening to their cellphone’s list of networks
  • It’s suggested to come to worship extra early to allow for the few minutes it takes to do this

After downloading the app and connecting to the Wi-Fi network, the user then goes to the app and chooses the name of the Wi-Fi “cast”. They then can adjust their own volume. The app is then used each time the user comes to Worship.

System and Technology Comparisons

Infrared (IR) systems are the oldest in use. They’re generally ‘bulletproof’ but are subject to line-of-sight-only use. Sit behind someone tall (or with an elaborate hat) – no sound. Installation considerations try to fix this by installing the IR emitter high up in the Sanctuary. The user must wear a cumbersome receiver unit with dedicated headphones. Negatives are as mentioned above; negative attention, sanitary concerns, lost devices, install costs, and continued need for replacement parts.

FM Broadcast (“Tour Guide”) systems have been in use for decades now, and also are relatively ‘bulletproof’; but like IR systems, the user must wear a cumbersome receiver unit with dedicated headphones. Negatives are as mentioned above; negative attention, expensive lost devices, sanitary concerns, installation costs, and continued need for replacement parts; especially batteries.

FM Transmitter (from the “COVID Parking Lot Ministry”) on the surface, seems like the ideal solution. However, if a user has an iPhone, they do not have a built-in FM receiver. Therefore, this becomes a non-starter. There is also the high Radio Frequency (RF) energy output (the same dangerous ionizing radiation as near a radio station transmitting tower), near the sound dais, which becomes an occupational hazard consideration for our techs.

Bluetooth (BT) systems are a complete non-starter: While the technology is terrific for sound quality, the nature of BT is that it was designed as a peer-to-peer EXCLUSIVE system. When you set up “pairing” in BT, then you establish an exclusive link to the peer transceiver. No other devices can “listen in”. If this method were adopted, a large number of BT transceivers would be required, along with a method to ensure they all get uniform audio levels. There is also the inherent RF output, right there at the sound dais, which now becomes an occupational consideration for our techs (one transceiver, cool; sixteen, no.). Looking ahead: there is a proposal for one-to-multi-BT under consideration, but presently it exists as only a White Paper.

Connection Examples

Fig. 1: Connections to Existing PC

Fig. 2: Connections to Router and WilliamsAV boxes for Wi-Fi Broadcasting

Coyotes

Last night, for the first time in many years, we had a coyote pack come through. There were a good dozen to dozen-and-a-half, from the cacophony.

The rat and mouse population here on the side of the mountain has really exploded this year, and now it’s time for the predators to come do their job. It’s all part of the circle of life; it’s not comfortable to be this close to a killing machine, especially since we lost two dogs to coyotes before we had fences up.

You think AI is scary? Try watching a pack of coyotes at work:

One of their favourite easy meals is a domestic pet. They’ll send one of the pack to engage a dog in what seems like harmless play, then lure the dog by using the dog’s ‘chase me for fun’ play. The loner will then lead the dog to where the pack has formed a pincer movement, and in moments it’s all over.

Cats are even easier for them: The cat will go into ‘fright mode’ and tend to run directly away from a predator in a very predictable way. All the pack has to do is form an unseen pincer with the cat being driven into the center by one or two of them.

A field full of mice gets a different treatment: They’ll fan out along the perimeter, then slowly close the net. Mice are only reactionary, so their instinct is to run (more or less) directly away from a predator. The coyotes herd the mice into a group, and have a feast.

I was glad that last night’s pack struck after we had come in for the night. Even though all the racket is disturbing to me, Thunder didn’t seem to take much notice, oddly enough. That could be because he was in his safe spot, next to the bed.

This morning after my shower, I was sitting on the edge of the bed and drying off, and I had a thought:
Ya know, they sounded a lot like that house about a mile away down the ravine that has all these loud parties on Summer weekends. Just minus the music…

And I know I’ve been ‘silent’ for a while.
I’ve been working on the book, plus getting my will together.

My beautiful, vivacious, and very smart wife never wanted to talk or even think, about death and wills and that sort of thing. Now I must deal with all of it alone, without her wise counsel. It isn’t fun to talk about, but if you’re of a certain age and you haven’t begun considering this inevitable part of life, it’s time to stop ignoring it.