1) What gets wetter the more it dries?

2) What grows bigger the more you take away?

3) What is both light and dark at the same time?

4) What kind of ear cannot hear?

5) What walks all day on its head?

That'll do for starters, lets see how you get on with these….

'Answers now in comment section'

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.

http://jda-islandadventures.blogspot.com/

THE SECOND KEY:
The next day painted the sky blue but I remained in bed till late, by my reckoning mid morning, I got up and drifted downstairs and went out the door….no rain last night by the looks of it, I could see a heat haze way over by the stone steps, today will be hot I thought. I ate breakfast and realised I had begun to weary of eating grapeapples, but they are keeping me alive and healthy so I should be thankful. As I eat I wonder what I am to do with myself today, yesterday's questionable revelations have no proof or evidence to their support, my head needs time to digest all the theories fermenting inside it, so I shall not be reading the book today unless out of absolute need, but that won't stop me from thinking about it….and think I did. The picture of the triangle, symbols and keys is foremost in my mind, especially the key. I got the key from from its place in the drawer, now I wonder what door or lock this gains an entrance to? I twisted it through my fingers back and forth staring at it, but I do not know, or remember seeing any other locked door in my travels, but there has to be! all events so far have been provided through logical progression, the discovery of the pedestal, the first book, the message of invite to the tower, the map in the tower. I could not access any of these things if I did not follow a preordained sequence! a sequence of events that has led me here, now, to this point. I am thinking hard…think…think, I am sure there is something missing but I am finding it difficult to lock on to it, my memory has not been at a premium lately, when three or four days have passed I find it increasingly exhausting to drag the memory out of myself to relive it, to remember. I can remember the pedestal better than anything else, it is as clear to me now as was the moment when the pit opened up and I looked down into it, then there was the lightning strike! How could I have known about that without by chance being there at the time, there certainly was no prompt, nothing I had found had given me the slightest clue that lightning was the answer to the power source required. The people who were here seem to have developed a kind of harmony with nature whereby, anything that required energy was realised using natural resources, I wonder if they had solar power? or steam powered devices? they understood electricity enough, but could they store it until needed I wonder?….I was drifting again, I pulled my attention back to the key. I began to think back as far as I was able to, my arrival here found me on a beach, a beach…with…it is hard to remember!…it may be easier if I begin from now, I thought, I went backward in my mind, yesterday is still fresh and the few days beyond that are relatively easy to recall. I found everything to be a blur, slowly coming into view and sharpening until I could focus on it, but even then they proved hard to hold onto long enough to remember. I focussed on the pedestal, that might be a better staring point as it is crystal clear in my memory, I revisited all my interactions with the pedestal, the experiments with the books, the three symbols….the thr..thre…three! I suddenly had a new clarity, why didn't I think of it before! I already decided the number three was special here, but that also must have become lost in my mental meanderings. I looked at the key again, three keys..three books..three symbols, and three…I could see the beach, deserted and barren, the jungle was ahead of me, I am looking around wondering where I am? a bird flew overhead, I looked up, watching as it flew past and into the jungle, I lowered my gaze and was staring at three buildings…that's it! three buildings! the memory came flooding in like a tidal wave, there were three buildings, two had no doors, I had slept in one of them, I also remembered that strange noise that had stirred me out of my slumber only to find nothing there, but there is one building with a locked door, I couldn't open it, I had remembered, "at last" I muttered, still deep in thought, this must be the key for it, it has to be. I stood in amazment as the entire memory of all the days I have spent here returned with a vengeance, I could picture the odd contraption I found outside the buildings, I had pulled the lever attached to the side of it only for nothing to happen, what was it for? the excitement of an explorer was inside me again, I had broken my mental stalemate, I had remembered.

"The adventure continues" I said under my breath, what a relief it is to have unlocked that one from the depths. With a child like excitement I raced upstairs and picked the calender out the drawer and studied it, the last entry was for the eleventh day so I updated it to thirteen, I looked up thinking…yes that is right, it is the thirteenth day. It is a good thing I remembered the calender, my plans now were for travel and nothing else, I would be away for the best part of the day and I did not want to lapse back into bad habits of forgetting to do the important things such as the calender. I enjoyed the views from the attic for a moment and then hatched my days itinerary, no need to take food, where I am headed there will be lots to eat, but what to take with me? well the key for a start! but should I take the book? no that is pointless, besides it may get damaged and wet if it rains, but a time will be coming when I will need to visit the pedestal with all three books of that I am undyingly positive. The glow bugs! yes, I will take one of those, I did not know how long I would be away for so this is a good idea. I looked around the attic and spotted the bed sheet, I had not used it yet in its clean state, I grinned….I had forgotten, but never mind it was not crucial, I went to the bedroom and put the sheet on the bed so I would not forget next time, back in the attic I put all my recently acquired possessions in the drawer and locked it with the dowel rod, whizzed off downstairs to check the ground floor, I had left nothing out except the fruit which still sat on the table waiting to be eaten. I can not think of anything else I need to take with me, so with composed thought I began to mentally mark out my route, I new the path from the plateau back to the pedestal alright and from there to the hut, but I never returned to the beach at all so I will have to rely on my own sense of direction as a guide, but if the worst comes to the worst, I can spend the night at the hut but I do not imagine it being necessary, I can be back here by nightfall if I leave now.

I ate a hasty breakfast and was off, with the keys and glowbug in my pockets I locked the stairway door and closed the main door (for whatever reason) and was soon climbing the steps. Once up, I followed the usual pathway, I could hear the sea slapping up against the base of the cliffs below and a short while later I had reached the rope, up I went to the top, I am definately getting better at this I thought as I ascended. Having made it to the top I pressed on away from the plateau's edge toward the boulders and beyond, I had made good time so far and was pleased with myself. Shortly, I came to the spot where the rains had forced me back when I was seeking the tower, I passed along the route and on toward the jungle, I started to think why I called it a jungle? it wasn't a jungle really, just a forest of sorts with huge trees dominating the skyline. I had reached the jungle's border and pressed on, I looked skyward in an attempt to locate the sun's position in the sky, but it is difficult when it is hidden from direct view, I would have to guess the time, time is unknown in this place it's like a mystical woodland where all time has been paused, a sound proof canopy enveloped in a biosphere of silence, it must be midday or slightly later I thought. Through the jungle I walked, on and on, I came to the big clearing that I had rested at a few days before when I was in search of the tower, in some ways it is nice to be back here again, this area was one of the first impressions of the island that had endured in my mind, it is stunning and possesses a rugged beauty I find very peaceful and relaxing. I paused for a moment, and now that the sun is visible I noted that it is past it's midday zenith, so mid afternoon it must be, I absorbed the terrain and then set off again through the next part of the jungle. The other smaller clearing would be just up ahead about half a mile away and on from that stands the pedestal, I am wondering if everything is still as I left it, namely, the open pit that lead me down that awful tunnel that I had to stoop to pass through, I did not ever wish to experience that again under any circumstances, the memory is bad and claustrophobic, but it proved important in showing me a part of the island that I would otherwise had not known existed. My feeling is, I have made good progress so far, everytime I tread this path the mileage seems less and less, so much so that the walk turns into a mild hike that you might partake in on a sunday afternoon! but this is a jungle and more foot work is required, I must admit, my legs are somewhat tired but my anticipation level is so high at the moment that nothing short of a broken bone would stop me in my mission. I have reached the second clearing and the pedestal is not so far now, my pace quickened at the realisation of this and a short time later I found myself standing once again over the open pit looking down into it. Nothing has changed, all is exactly how I had left it, which lead me to believe that the pedestal had to be physically closed, but as to how this is done I could only guess, maybe you had to do everything in reverse when lightning struck again, who knows? with an affectionate look round I moved on and was soon nearing the hut. I came to a spot where grapeapples are growing, picked one and ate it on route, I walked a bit further and there it was, the hut, I went inside and looked around, the stool is there, I bent down and there is the stick! and to the side were the grapeapples I had picked and brought back, they are still ok by the looks of them, I picked one up and examined it, it felt alright and smelt alright, I had to know, so I opened it up and looked at the inside…it is fine, these fruits then have a long shelf life as it were, rather then waste it I ate that one as well and sat on the stool while I did so. The time is now to put my thinking cap on and find the beach area where my first memory is of this place, the direction to go is directly opposed from the path to the pedestal, so if I walk in a relative straight line away from that, I will not stray too far if I do go wrong. With my best foot forward I marched on, taking a backward glance every now and then to make sure I am headed in the right direction, all seems new and unexplored as I walk and look round me, the ground is rising slowly and I begin to remember where I am, if I am not very much mistaken there should be a br….id….g…there it is, the bridge! Oh how I had forgot, the bridge, I remember it now, I was dubious about crossing it at the time for fear of it collapsing under my weight…the joy of memory! the beach is very near from here, very near indeed. I crossed over the bridge, it wobbled in my wake and I was soon across, I looked back and then continued on and began to walk faster and faster without realising it, trudging through bushes and high grass, but they started to thin out and I could hear the roar of the sea, the surf foaming to the beach, I ran towards the sound and tumbled onto the beach, there is nothing here! I looked around anxiously, but I could see the buildings way down the beach to my right. I approached eagerly, the buildings came into view, how strange they are, I never took any notice before, but the buildings are beyond perculiar and more in the realms of bizarre in their appearance being slightly raised above ground level, probably due to the fact that the tide may from time to time wash deeper in beachward and splash the buildings, this then would offer some protection against the onset of sea water and the rotting of wood through the course of time, for wood they are…three of them, all in close proximity of each other and all askew slightly, it is hard to describe them in the conventional sense because I have never seen anything like them before, they stand about twelve feet high and have a walkway around the base, they are round in shape and they have windows, lots of them but they are very small and arranged in two rows one on top of the other and remind me of port holes you could find on a large ship.

The doorways I noted all faced out to sea, but only one door remained, the locked one! The nearest one to the sea is different to the other two in the fact that it has a aerial like arrangement on top of the roof, how odd it looks, if I didn't know better I would say that they all looked like strange boats, the associations with maritime are obvious because they are on a beach, but come to think of it, this is a island and logically you would think that there must have been water going vessels of some kind to travel round in? maybe this was a port or a trading post if they did such things? I could only guess and wonder. Back when I arrived here I could never have known the significance that these buildings now hold in my quest for answers, I remember thinking how odd they looked and that first impression has not changed, what the hell are they! I shook my head in ignorance. As I neared the locked door I spotted that strange looking victorian contraption with the guillotine handle on the side of it and thought, what a weird place this is, I walked over to it and studied it a while, the memory I now had of it was true, it is so much like a lectern in a church…it's uncanny! it's almost like these people had visited a church and taken it with them! it is old there is no doubts as to that, but at the same time it has retained a preserved look as if it were only a few years old, but on closer inspection the wood grain does look old and dry. I could not resist pulling the handle down again, and did so, a grinding noise came from somewhere underneath the lectern as if something were trying to engage a mechanism but had ran out of fuel! curious…the sound just died away and all is silent, it is the same as before, but I am now filled with intrigue as to the true function of this device. I knelt down at the base and began to dig the sand away from it trying to establish how far into the ground it went, I soon gave up! it went deep, I stood up and held the top of it and tried to pull it over, it is absolutely solid and unmoving, these people, I thought, knew how to build things that last! gazing out to sea I wondered what is out there? more land perhaps, or is the island so big it is the only land mass on the planet?…I am drifting again, I turned round and went back to the locked door.

I had become totally distracted by the lectern that I had forgot what I have come here to do. There it is, right in front of me, I felt in my pocket for the key and pulled it out, I stepped up on the walkway and I tried the door, yes, it is still locked so I pushed the key through the hole praying "please be the key" , I gently turned the key and there was a click as the key engaged the levers followed by the sound of the barrels rotating, it is unlocked! the door pushed inwards and I stood there peering into the gloom, the smell of musty air hit my nose, who knows the last time this door had been opened and why? but I knew something was to be found in here that would prove advantageous to me. There is sufficient light coming in from the now open doorway, but I had the glowbug ready in reserve if needed, I stepped over the threshold and entered, I then pushed the door as far open as it would go in order to maximise the light coming into the cabin, or whatever it's true description is, and stared at two pieces of parchment pinned to the wall, one next to the other…I moved closer, my foot hit something hard, it hurt, I looked down and saw that I had in fact just kicked a metal…a metal what? it looked like a huge cog for a gearing device! interesting I thought, I knelt down for a closer look, it is half buried in sand and dust I picked it up and stood it on edge, it is quite heavy but not excessively so and Rust is spreading around the cog as well "what is this used for" I spoke, as I looked round for a clue but nothing obvious was to be seen. I placed the cog carefully back down on the floor and looked at the wall where those two drawings are, I walked up to them…"Oh my"…on the left there is a diagram, on the right a map, the map is showing where I am at present I can make out the beach, the jungle and the sea, I see a pathway leading off the beach to what I can only assume is the pedestal, there are three little blobs drawn on the beach, these then would be the buildings I guess and to the left of them there is a circled smaller blob…I wonder if that is the curious lectern? it also has writing above it, damn! I wish I could read it. This is either a roughly detailed instruction or a general area map, but I don't think it's nature is general somehow, it has that same look as the map in the book of brarg, it is faded, but readable and quite beautiful in appearance, it is not torn and tattered either, probably due to the fact it has spent most of it's existence hanging on a wall and not suffered from constant handling. Although the omission of the bridge is quite evident I do not consider that a mistake, but just not that important…coming here with the key would mean that I had already discovered the bridge. One odd thing though, well not odd but seemingly pointless is the pathway drawn from the pedestal to the beach, why? the pathway is inclusive of all the knowledge I have acquired so far, on the other hand it may be trying to tell me something that I do not know. I studied it a bit more, but nothing else could I find that is of interest, I moved on to the next picture, now this is definately a diagram it has to be, but what is it's instruction…damn that writing.

Looking at it from a left~right perspective does not work because it would be in conflict with two bold arrows, one pointing left and the other pointing upward, I can make out the three symbols in the picture on the left, at least that's what I think they are, the picture is degraded. The lectern is on the right, this is obvious, but in the middle is a picture of…of..the cog! I turned around and went to the cog and examined it once more, yes that is it, a picture of the cog! the shape is not uniform in the sense that each tooth is not regular in shape, the teeth get increasingly bigger or smaller depending how you look at it, I looked at the ring but found no sign of a missing tooth, so that leads me to think that it is totally serviceable in what ever function it performs? I stood there transfixed by the picture, trying to find something I have missed. It is now early evening and a cold breeze comes in from the sea, the light would go in a couple of hours or so and I have to decide what I am going to do, stay or go back, I certainly didn't wish to leave just yet. I continued to stare at the image on the wall, I noticed that there is the remainder of what is probably an arrow above the cog pointing to the bigger one above it! what does this mean? and looking at the lectern, there is something coming out of the underneath! this could be the mechanisms that make the strange noises when I pull the lever? another clue is the arrow pointing upward from the column with the symbols arranged inside it, exactly where does the arrow point to, is it pointing toward the pedestal, it would make sense. I even began to think of things in three again, but the only relation to that would be the fact that there are three images, so it didn't really help. logically, the sequence starts from the lectern and then the cog followed by the column with the symbols, this being what the diagram suggests to me, but what to do? the lever does nothing when it is pulled, so the cog must be the missing link, a link where? where does it go? I scratched my head, how perplexing this is, I looked around the room again, there is nothing else I can see here, I checked behind the open door, there is a pile of broken wood lying here, covered with an dirty old cloth of some kind, I picked it up and choked on the dust falling from it, I carried it outside to shake it, as I did this another piece of material fell out from the now open cloth and dropped to the ground…what's this? I picked it up and found to my surprise that it is a shoulder bag of sorts, this would come in handy, I shook both the cloth and the newly found bag until most of the dust had been blown away by the ocean breezes, they are still dirty but cleanable. I checked inside the bag, but as I thought it is empty. Staring around the beach, I became aware that evening is almost upon me, now is the time I had no choice but to decide what to do. I could stay and rely on moonlight and the glowbug to see, or go back to the tower which would mean a long four or five hour trek, or I could go to the hut and stay there again, I had not finished my research here, so staying I thought will be the best option, yes, I will stay on the beach tonight, it is something I had not done yet so it was an exciting prospect. It will get cold though, I thought, but that cloth will be of use if it does, dirty though it is I could be of use. I turned my attention back to the building and walked inside again, there must be something more, I thought, what the hell does this cog belong to? I am stumped! two more hours or so I studied the diagram and found I eventually had to employ the use of the glowbug, but I had to concede defeat for now. I wandered into the jungle to find some fruit and returned to the beach and sat on the sand to eat, the waves coming in were relaxing to see and listen to, I sat there wondering how far the tide would come in or out, I hadn't noticed any change since I arrived at the beach, but would have to watch out for it incase I slept and had an unpleasant awakening. With this thought I stretched out on the sand in front of the building and gazed at the stars, it had not rained all day, how unusual, a shooting star sped across the night sky and I was taken with it into the night.

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!  

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.