Recently I got a dubious invite on this very site regarding the possibility and potential for engaging in a relationship, this message came via my 'gossip pad'. Then yesterday morning I got the same message sent to my email address by the same person! This morning on another music site I run yet another invite for frolics appeared on my message board claiming that I might be fun or cute….and asking me to forward details so a dialogue could be initiated with endorsement from photographs!

Give me a break why don't you? If people would bother to read users profiles, namely mine, then they would see that I am already in a relationship and quite happy with it. I wouldn't mind but the very same messages were sent out on this site a couple of days ago across a wide spectrum of users only to be deleted the next day. I know some people are very lonely in their lives and looking for companionship etc..and if in my case that was true and I was looking for any such relationship then why would I start a blog to find it? I would surely go to a dating site wouldn't I?

It's all insincere bullshit! I've seen it before…..people flood the net with the same invitation, prospecting to see what is out there, and some have got malicious motives too! Do you think I was born yesterday? Well I can assure you I was not. I have been blogging now for many years and have seen quite a lot of nasty people or people just out for a laugh, or people who just want to abuse others with disgusting comments.

If people reading my blog got the impression I was fair game for such activities then they are not a very good judge of character at all! I write to spread knowledge and to interact with people of similar intellect in order to engage in intersting discussions, I don't do it with a view of meeting someone so I can drop my cacks!

I hope this answers any further or future invitations from said people….read my f***ing profile why don't you.

As the days of the week pass and a new one begins, have you ever thought for a moment why does the week consist of 7 days? Apart from the religious angle that can be applied the number 7 is recurring throughout our lives and is also a special number universally speaking.

The number 7 has significance both for our planet and the life that exists on it.

I have not arranged the lists below in any particular order or sequence! They appear as they did in my brain. Although you might think this list is extensive, let me tell you that it is just the tip of the iceberg!

7 a mystic or sacred number. It is composed of 4 and 3, which, among the Pythagoreans, were, and from time immemorial have been, accounted lucky numbers. Among the Babylonians, Egyptians, and other ancient peoples, there were seven sacred planets. The Hebrew verb for "to swear" means literally to come under the influence of seven things; thus, seven ewe lambs figure in the oath between Abraham and Abimelech at Beersheba (Gen. 21:28); and Herodotus describes an Arabian oath in which seven stones are smeared with blood. The three great Jewish feasts lasted seven days; and between the first and second were seven weeks. Levitical purifications lasted seven days; Balaam would have seven alters, and sacrificed on them seven bullocks and seven rams; Naaman was commanded to dip seven times in Jordan; Elijah sent his servant seven times to look out for rain; ten times seven Israelites went to Egypt, the exile lasted the same number of years, and there were ten times seven elders. Pharaoh in his dream saw seven years for each of his wives; seven priests with seven trumpets marched round Jericho once every day, but seven times on the seventh day. Samson's wedding feast lasted seven days; on the seventh he told his bride the riddle, he was bound with seven withes [sic], and seven locks of his hair were cut off. Nebuchadnezzar was a beast for seven years. In the Apocalypse, there are seven churches of Asia, seven candlesticks, seven stars, seven trumpets, seven spirits before the throne of God, seven horns, seven vials, seven plagues, a seven-headed monster, and the Lamb with seven eyes. The old astrologers and alchemists recognized seven so-called planets.

In biology…our bodies regenerate every 7 years, we have 7 layers of derma (skin to you) which is constantly being shed as a new layer is formed. On a more base note…the male and female of the human species has 7 individual orifices or holes if you like! Think about it for a moment! yes it's true eh?

The number 7 is special to most, if not all religions.

7 has meaning in mysticism and the occult too…

7 Rays…

1st ray, Will - Power:

2nd ray, Love-Wisdom:

3rd ray, Active Intelligence:

4th ray, Harmony through conflict:

5th ray, Concrete Science:

6th ray, Love-Devotion:

7th ray, Ceremonial Order:

7 Chakras…

Muladhara… lower body:

Swadhisthana… reproductive parts:

Manipura… navel:

Anahata… heart:

Vishuddha… throat:

Ajna… eyebrow or forehead:

Sahasrara… top of head:

There are more but these will suffice for an example.

There are 7 colours that make up the visible spectrum…

Red:

Orange:

Yellow:

Green:

Blue:

Indigo:

Violet:

There are 7 wonders of the ancient world…….

Great Pyramid of Giza:

Hanging Gardens of Babylon:

Statue of Zeus at Olympia:

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus:

Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus:

Colossus of Rhodes:

Lighthouse of Alexandria:

There are also 7 natural wonders of the world…

Mount Everest:

Victoria Falls:

The Grand Canyon:

The Great Barrier Reef:

The Northern Lights:

Paricutin:

The Harbour at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

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The number 7 is the 4th prime number:

7 is also a centered hexagonal number.

There are 7 fundamental types of catastrophes:

When rolling two standard six-sided dice, 7 is the sum of any two opposite sides on a standard six-sided die. It has a 6 in 36 (or 1/6th) probability of being rolled (1–6, 6–1, 2–5, 5–2, 3–4, or 4–3), the greatest of any number.

There are 7 deadly sins…

Vainglory, or pride:

Covetousness:

Lust:

Envy:

Gluttony:

Anger:

Sloth:

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There are 7 Seas…

The Arctic:

The Antarctic:

North and South Pacific:

North and South Atlantic:

The Indian Ocean.

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The last 7 words uttered by Christ were "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

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Seventh Son of a Seventh Son:

Seven is the most mystical and magical of numbers, and in the lore of folk magic, the seventh son of a seventh son is believed to be born with formidable magical and healing powers: he is clairvoyant, capable of casting powerful spells, and possesses the ability to heal by a laying on of hands.

According to the Islamic faith there are 7 Heavens.

7 Senses; according to ancient teaching the soul of man, or his "inward holy body" is compounded of seven properties which are under the influence of the seven planets. Fire animates, earth gives the sense of feeling, water gives speech, air gives taste, mist gives sight, flowers give hearing, the south wind gives smelling. Hence the seven senses are animation, feeling, speech, taste, sight, hearing, and smelling.

There are 7 Viziers.

There are 7 frieze groups, the groups consisting of symmetries of the plane whose group of translations is isomorphic to the group of integers…(work that one out)

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As I said before this list is just a sideshot, a glance at some of the ways that the number 7 manifests itself, and I am sure that anyone reading this will recognize one or two elements and see it in themselves either through character type, religion, or any other aspect of their daily human existence.

I report with great sadness the death of Pink Floyd's self taught Pianist/Keyboard player Richard Wright. Richard (65) died a few a hours ago from cancer. He was a founder member of 'Pink Floyd' when they emerged in the mid 60's, and he, along with the group became a major influence within the psychedelic rock scene and their popularity grew amongst other musicians working in the same milieu.

His finest compositional moments (and there were many) to name but a few were on the 1973 seminal album "Dark side of the Moon" the album is a classic in its own right but richard's "the great gig in the sky" and "Us and Them" demonstrated his command and virtuosity on the keyboard and helped the album attain the status it has enjoyed since its conception. Richard's total contribution to the band can not be measured or justified in words, his input transcended these mediums, but every one who knew and experienced his music could not help but be touched by it on some level. 

Richard was never a show man in the true sense, he always showed a sobriety and devoted concentration when ever he appeared on stage, and his conduct and demeanour were impeccable, he was an embassador for music. Pink Floyd in later years experienced rifts within the group and Richard left for a while but later returned after Roger Waters left.

I grew up with Pink Floyd, the first 'Floyd' album that I ever bought was "Dark side of the Moon", it blew me away at the time and in my teenage years some of my most frequently played vinyl was by the 'Floyd'! In the 70's whether you liked them or not…Pink Floyd became giants of the rock world and when they took America by storm they became rock Gods, no other band sounded like them, they were spell binding.

Goodbye Richard, I could type so much more about what you meant to me when I opened myself up to music, but I could never say enough….but as life must start, life must end, and the ultimate 'great gig in the sky' is a show which we must all attend someday…and I just know that where ever you are right now the house is rocking in anticipation of the emotional sonic experience that will soon overwhelm them.

Richard Wright 1943-2008 R.I.P 

If you didn't have the time to do all the things that you wanted to do in a day, or week, or in life generally speaking then would you buy time if it were a commodity? It would be like walking into your favourite corner shop and buying a lottery ticket only it would be a designation or a period of time. We all at some point in our needlessly busy lives wished that we possessed the ability or power to halt or slow down time even if for a second, and then ruminate over what we may have done differently in that relived moment. Alas though, we do not possess any such power or ability, it only exists in our minds and in there we can do whatever we please when we please. Time after all is a matter of perception! I can remember when I was a child…the school summer holidays passed by in slow motion and I didn't have a care in the world, they seemed to just go on and on for an eternity, but as I grew older and more responsibility was thrust upon me I began to notice time more, or should I say…lack of time!

A day for me just goes by now, all 24 hours of them and I hardly notice what I have achieved, all I notice is what I have failed to do when I have set out with the best intentions at the start of the day to accomplish something. Time goes faster when you are enjoying yourself (we all know that one) and when you get older it doesn't necessarily follow that because you are getting slower and taking your time over things that time is getting slower….waiting for you! In fact, time is passing by more quickly, or your perception of it is anyway.

So…the point of this self confessed admittance is to clarify why I have not posted an entry in this blog for a while, it is a question of time my friends and nothing more. I have so many interests all vying for attention at the same time and I find myself either too distracted or too tired to do any of them. Time management is complicated at best and I'm certainly not going to start it now, I tend to go with what I know I can accomplish and to hell with everything else! 

I like to create music, art, graphic art etc…and just lately it has been like a loud voice in my head progressively getting louder shouting……"DO SOMETHING DAMMIT!!" so after a while I tend to take notice of it and drop everything else until the creative spirit has been exorcised and laid to rest. Blogging I like, but I am no slave to it, I just need to take a step back from it once in a while so I can concentrate on other things of importance too me…..I'm sure we all can associate with that one.   

Having been in the fore front of home studio recording for many years, I am always on the look out for new or interesting bits of equipment that will enhance my operations or performances within the studio environment. A friend popped round the other day and showed me his new mini portable digital recorder by 'BOSS'. It boasted 8 track recording, on board stereo condenser microphone, direct in guitar jacks, headphone socket, built in multi-effects including drum patterns and much more, and I think I am right in saying that it is the smallest digital recorder of its kind on the planet. The only draw back if it should be called so is…being it is portable it must use batteries to provide mobile power and they don't last long, a couple of hours maximum. If a mains adapter is available I will certainly get one, or if not, then rechargable batteries will be a definate cheaper alternative to constantly buying new ones…..so other than that I can not see any other down falls.

After a while of mucking about with this little gismo I realised what a boon it could be for my acoustic guitar compositions! With this device I could rehearse, compose, record such compositions and hear them back instantly, no more would I have to power up my whole studio just to practice my guitar pieces and commit them to tape just to hear what they sound like.

So after a little research I discovered that 'BOSS' do a 4 track version (pictured above) with all the same built in functions. 8 track is fine, but a little over the top for my own needs when 4 does the same job! Apparently all the data is stored on a flash card, the same type of card you find inside modern digital cameras, so for instance a 1GB card would probably give me up to 8 hours of hi-definition digital sound…..way more than I need but the extra space would be handy sometimes.

Now….when the inspiration takes me and I feel in a composing mood, I can just reach for this little gismo, turn it on, set up the track and record away, play it back, add to it, or do whatever I want until I'm happy with it….and when I have written the composition to my satisfaction I can then crank up the studio and record it in a more controlled environment for superior sound etc….

The device (BOSS Micro BR 4) retails for about £135 but I have seen it advertised for £125 on certain web sites…..so I think I am going to buy one soon…..ya hay for me!  

This post may contain names similar to swear words! There is no intention by the author in part or whole that the said words be offensive. 

Well having spoke of an potential apocolypse in a previous post (read it here) it came to pass that I had one. My electricity supply went ape! A power outage in my area, this I discovered after calling the emergency services…..it came back on, then went off again, right now it's on, I hope it lasts.

Ridiculous you might think, or coincidence? Or, I tempted providence? You decide.

This picture is actually a glass filled with Cranberry & Raspberry juice, it has been somewhat modified and enhanced to look entirely different than its source material!

No, not quite the functions that spring to mind with such a post title as this. I just wanted to share a few facts about our internal workings that some people may not be aware of or have never considered? Take your forearms for example, most men have an abundant supply of hair there (women less so) and when your forearm is exposed to cold air or a sudden chill have you noticed what happens? The hairs begin to stretch and stand up don't they! But why is this? Well…it is a instinctive reaction caused by temperature change that tells the hairs on your arms to become as big as possible in a vain attempt to capture warm air pockets and so warm that part of the arm….and yes, it doesn't work very well but it is something we have absolutely no control over what-so-ever…it just kicks in when the appropriate moment happens.

Whilst talking in temperatures, when you are cold your body begins to shiver all over and your teeth start to rattle (hehe) but you can't stop it can you? Why? well, your brain is transmitting a signal for your entire body to shake or vibrate in an attempt to produce heat through movement but it don't work too well….it is just instinctive. 

When you sneeze for instance have you ever noted that your eyes close and your head plunges forward, but you can never prevent it from happening it just does. So what is the body doing in this case? Well, because a sneeze is an internal violent reaction produced by the body whether through allergy or other external stimuli, and as a defence mechanism your brain transmits the signal for your eyes to close because your head is plunging forward uncontrollably, so it does this to protect the eyes from any potential gouging from objects that maybe in front of you!

Last but not least, you have all heard of vitamin D complex haven't you? ok….and most people like to sun bathe whether on the beach during a vacation or just in general, but a lot of folk do it. Beacuse of the potential hazards with over exposure to ultra violet and infra red rays we dowse our bodies with sun blocker to prevent sun burn etc (depending on our skin pigmentation). We all know what happens to us when we sun-bathe, we start to turn red or darker in our skin colour! So again…..why is this happening? If you thought it was the sun slowly cooking your skin like an oven would and turning it brown just like a roast, you would be mistaken. The calcium phosphates found in vitamin D (salt etc..) form a protective layer that prevents your skin from burning, but the body cannot store this vitamin for long periods and when this begins to breakdown through over exposure to ultra violet rays your salt level will go down also. The body is using vitamin D to darken the skin in order to shield it from the sun, but when the supply has run out your skin will start to burn because it is now defenceless and you end up looking like a lobster! Take a mexican for example, sitting in the midday shade drinking tequila, do you know what the traditional method is for drinking tequila? well…..they place a small pile of salt in the well of the thumb after making a fist and then place the salt in their mouths, they then drink the tequila and take a bite from a slice of lemon (vitamin C & D) and thus so, replenish the salt levels of the body and adding vitamin C & D back into the system.

And they say that salt isn't good for you? Well it is for sun bathers in any case….see you.    

The first Academy awards (or 'Oscars') were presented on 16th May 1929. The most successful person in the history of these awards is undoubtedly Walt Disney, between 1931 and 1969 he collected thirty-five 'Oscars'.

The river Nile has frozen over only twice in living memory…once in the 9th century, and then again in the 11th century.