William N. Law Blog: April 2016

Friday, April 29, 2016

My Spicebush Is Blooming! Wildflower Wednesday April 2016

My spicebush is blooming! Only a mother–I mean, a gardener–could be so happy about the blessed event. See: Well–ahem–yes, they are rather small. Try this:Okay, let’s really zoom in: What’s so great about spicebush? I saw my first spicebushes in 2009 in the Mundy Wildflower Garden on the grounds of Cornell Plantation in Ithaca, New […]

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OSHA finds Republic Steel exposing workers to fall, machine hazards at Ohio steel mill despite 2014 federal safety agreement

U.S. Department of Labor | April 27, 2016 OSHA finds Republic Steel exposing workers to fall, machine hazardsat Ohio steel mill despite 2014 federal safety agreementLeading steel bar manufacturer fac

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2016 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition Overview

AIHce 2016 will run May 21-26 in Baltimore, Md.

The 2016 Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce) runs May 21-26 in Baltimore, Md.

Adam Steltzner of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover Project on May 23 will deliver the opening keynote presentation, “The Right Kind of Crazy: A True Story of Teamwork, Leadership and High Stakes Innovation.”

Steltzner for a decade led the group of engineers who created the Sky Crane landing system used to land the Mars Rover Curiosity on the planet in 2012.

[CHARTBEAT:3]

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Thursday, April 28, 2016

Duke Ellington: Denmark, 1970

On Jan. 23, 1967, Duke Ellington was in Copenhagen where he filmed two programs at TV-Byen Studio. The first was an octet of band members playing Ellington hits. The second was a trio featuring Ellington with bassist John Lamb and drummer Rufus Jones. One of the songs they performed was The Fringe of the Jungle. Also known as Eggo, the Ellington TV performance marked the first time he recorded the song. On the 117th anniversary of Ellington's birth, here's the trio footage...

A special thanks to Nasir Abbas.

Difference between Blinds and Curtains

Before you start looking for window coverings, it’s important that you understand the difference between binds and curtains. Read below to learn more.

Blinds – Blinds are not just about keeping heat in but they are a means to filter light in and out of the room. Blinds are a great way of stopping direct light coming into the house, without blocking out the view or making it feel like night time. Blinds are mostly installed inside the home but they don’t have to be. Blinds can be made of Wood, Aluminium, Fabric and plastic. Blinds usually come down across the window horizontally from a cord or pulley
Curtains – Curtains are all about keeping warmth inside the home, blocking out the sun from over heating the house, privacy and protecting your house and furniture from fading. Curtains are about light, keeping it in or keeping it out.
Curtains are always installed on the Inside of the House and comes across the window vertically. Source: Quora

Blinds -From translucent roller blinds to romans and timber venetians, the enduring beauty of blinds is their ability to control light – and disappear when required. “Roller blinds are a great solution for achieving light control with minimal design impact,” says Andrea D’Cruz. A less-formal style of window treatment, they tend to be relegated to family areas, where blockout styles offer UV protection by day and added insulation at night. Motorised roller or panel glides also make them easy to control over large spaces. While see-through styles diffuse light without losing the view, in winter, “The most important thing is to make a large room feel cosy,” says Paul Hecker, who often layers blinds beneath curtains. He prefers soft roman blinds, which can be sheer, textured or bonded with a blockout fabric.
Curtains – Whether you like heavy drapes or soft sheers that billow in the breeze, “Curtains can be used to frame a window, layer a room or add warmth, movement and texture,” says Paul Hecker, director of Hecker Guthrie. Traditionally kept to bedrooms and formal living areas, there’s a growing trend for sheer and motorised curtains in open-plan living spaces. The most style-savvy homeowners are also embracing muted colours and folk- and floral-inspired prints. “We will be seeing a shift towards ‘beautiful’ fabrics and a softness that moves us away from minimalism,” says Toby Gray, director of BQ Design. Organic grey shades now offer a modern update on cream and white, and richer hues can be introduced to complement a room’s colour palette. The only rule? “Curtains should always touch the floor,” says Paul. Source: Homelife

If you want to enhance your home’s interior with new window coverings, make sure you come and visit us here.

Contact:
Universal Blinds
601 – 1550 W. 10th Ave
Vancouver, V6J 1Z9
Canada
Phone: (604) 559-1988

The post Difference between Blinds and Curtains appeared first on Universal Blinds, Shades & Shutters.

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Types of Bathroom Vanities and Their Benefits

Bathroom vanities are extremely useful and are the best addition to bathroom decor. If you’re planning to have one of these, then here are a few ideas for you.

Glass Bathroom Vanity
At any clear finish or frosted tempered glass provides a single, sleek and modern, as well as the set of bathroom vanities. This is one of the easiest surfaces to clean and has very good tolerance of heat does not dissolve or burn, if you forget the curling iron out! Tempered glass isalso a non-porous surface, bacteria and germs have no place to grow, which is hygienic and resistant to stains. Another advantage of glass is that you will not need to worry about communication with your bath or color, because it is a different material, each device color (white or bone) game. Finally, the most dramatic for the bathroom remodeling project to install lights beneath the surface of tempered glass to add. Source: ModernBathroom

Double Bathroom Vanity
Double sink vanities are often seen in home design magazines. They are extremely stylish and provide a fantastic combination of form and function. Double sinks look great when they fit the dimensions of the room nicely; they also provide personal space in the bathroom for individuals living together in the same house. A bathroom vanity with two sinks is very practical. Two people can save a considerable amount of time just by having two sinks in one bathroom. The basic components of a double sink vanity include the countertop, cabinet, basins, fixtures, and hardware such as knobs and drawer pulls. You have two options, you can look for each item individually or you can look at furniture style complete vanities. Source: Ezine

Floating Bathroom Vanity
The main advantage of a floating vanity is the illusion of space it creates in the room; the room seems bigger because of the light that passes beneath it. In a small bathroom where space is already a premium, adding strip or spot lighting beneath the floating vanity helps to enhance the illusion of additional space. It also makes the bathroom less cluttered and simpler, rendering it easier to keep clean, a plus in any home. Source: Home

While selecting vanities for your home, you need to consider several things such as the size of the bathroom, as well as your budget along with the rest of decor. If you want more suggestions, please contact us here.

Contact Us:
Perfect Bath
Phone: Toll Free 1-866-843-1641
Calgary, Alberta
Email: info@perfectbath.com

The post Types of Bathroom Vanities and Their Benefits appeared first on Perfect Bath Canada.

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OSHA National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health schedules fourth meeting of the Emergency Response and Preparedness Subcommittee

April 28, 2016 Contact: Office of Communications Phone: 202-693-1999 OSHA National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health schedulesfourth meeting of the Emergency Response and Preparedn

from OSHA News Release http://ift.tt/1N40T6t

Contractor's serial disregard of fall dangers underscores the necessity for National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, May 2-6

April 28, 2016 Contractor's serial disregard of fall dangers underscores the necessity for National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction, May 2-6 South Jersey's Berlin Builders fails 21

from OSHA News Release http://ift.tt/1NXSIDJ

Deadly Distractions: Advice to Stay Safe in Highway Work Zones

Motor vehicle accidents claim more workers' lives than any other cause, and injury claims from motor vehicle crashes are some of the highest. But as expert Daniel Brown tells us, a few simple changes in the way we drive – and a little patience – can save lives.

We've all been there: rushing to get to work or an appointment and all of a sudden, traffic stops. We find ourselves out of time and out of patience. Despite increasing levels of frustration, Daniel Brown, technical manager of Travelers Transportation Risk Control Group, cautions against doing anything rash.

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Sandy Says: Road Rage – Don't Be THAT Driver!

Amidst calls from the Federal Highway Administration for a safer construction season, tempers flare and patience wears thin. And that's just me.

Federal and state officials are urging people to drive safely as fatalities climb in highway work zones. Here in Ohio, digital signs flash the numbers of fatalities for motorists and motorcyclists. They're lucky one of my best friends and I don't carry guns, otherwise the total surely would climb precipitously until we were arrested.

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Culture Is the Cop-Out Culprit

Successful turnarounds don’t focus on fixing the blame but rather on fixing the problem(s).

When a tragedy is caused by complex factors, experts tend to blame the culture. The Challenger disaster and the Texas City refinery explosion resulted in commissions finding fault with and making recommendations for improving the cultures.

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Worker loses part of finger in unguarded machine at Kansas battery manufacturer; OSHA finds multiple machine, electrical hazards

April 28, 2016 Worker loses part of finger in unguarded machine at Kansasbattery manufacturer; OSHA finds multiple machine, electrical hazardsExide Technologies also receives alert letter for lack of

from OSHA News Release http://ift.tt/1NDvHLy

Workers Memorial Day: 150 Workers Killed on the Job Every Day

Increased fatality rates for older workers and fatality rates than the national average for Latino workers are two important findings of annual Death on the Job report.

More than 4,820 workers were killed on the job in 2014, according to a new report by the AFL-CIO. Additionally an estimated 50,000-60,000 died from occupational diseases, resulting in a daily loss of nearly 150 workers from preventable workplace injuries and illnesses.

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Workers Memorial Day 2016: National COSH Says More than 100,000 Workplace Deaths Can Be Prevented

According to National COSH, workplace fatalities are increasing and a leading cause of work-related death also is the most-violated OSHA standard.

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), one of the nation’s leading workplace safety organizations, on April 27 released “Preventable Deaths 2016,” a report outlining the more than 100,000 annual deaths due to acute workplace trauma and long-term exposure to on-the-job hazards.

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Workers Memorial Day 2016: Presidential Proclamation

According to President Barack Obama in a proclamation released for Workers Memorial Day, “The story of America is the story of its workers.” Here is his proclamation in its entirety.

“The story of America is the story of its workers. With faith in one another and hope for what their country could be, generations of laborers fought, sacrificed, and organized for the rights and protections that workers across our Nation have today -- including requirements to protect their health and safety. Today, we honor this legacy by reflecting on those who have lost their lives in the workplace, and we reaffirm our dedication to ensuring that people can work knowing the fullest measure of stability, security, and opportunity.

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OSHA cites Irvington convenience store, where employee was killed in October 2015 robbery, for lack of employee safety protections

U.S. Department of Labor | April 27, 2016 OSHA cites Irvington convenience store, where employee was killed in October 2015 robbery, for lack of employee safety protections Employer name: Jay Managem

from OSHA News Release http://ift.tt/1VURYYh

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Bill Evans: Sweden, 1970

In the spring of 1970, pianist Bill Evans was in Europe on tour with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell. They made stops in Finland, Denmark, Germany and Sweden. In Finland, he visited the home of composer Ilkka Kuusisto, where Evans was filmed by Finnish TV in conversation with guests and performing three songs. For more on this video, go here.

In Sweden, Evans performed in Stockholm, where the trio was filmed for Swedish TV playing Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight. While the camera always seems to be in the wrong place (not to mention wasting time panning to boring, nonsensical exterior footage), this video features Evans in color for the first time that I'm aware of...

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JazzWax note: You'll find 'Round Midnight and two other songs from this Stockholm gig on the DVD Jazz Icons: Bill Evans Live in 1964-'75 here.

Dangers of Sleep Deprivation [Infographic]

Most accidents occur during the hours people typically want to be asleep.

Plagued by insomnia, sleep apnea, long hours and unnatural work shifts, 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders.

While unhealthy, poor sleep habits also impact worker safety. Workers experiencing sleep problems are 1.6 times more likely to be injured on the job and represent 13 percent of work injuries.

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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Charlie Parker: Old Folks

It all started with Charlie Parker's walk-on solo during Neal Hefti's recording of Repetition at the tail end of 1947 just hours before the start of the second American Federation of Musicians' recording ban. Producer Norman Granz loved the results of Parker's bop backed by Hefti's moody strings. So in November 1949, Granz brought Parker into the studio for a session featuring standards and strings, a date that produced two jukebox hits—Just Friends and April in Paris. Granz had Parker record again with strings in the studio in 1950 and 1952.

By May 1953, Granz grew more ambitious. Instead of backing Parker with strings, he decided to let arranger Gil Evans score a session with woodwinds, French horn, Parker's rhythm section and a vocal choir—the Dave Lambert Singers, who were arranged by Lambert. Parker knew and liked Lambert, and everyone knew and respected Evans. But an idea that may have sounded nifty in conversations groaned under the weight of delivering perfect tracks in the studio. The problem wasn't Parker or the woodwinds. There were simply too many David Lambert Signers, increasing the odds of errors. [Photo above of Neal Hefti]

Here are the musicians on the session: Junior Collins (fhr); Al Block (fl); Hal McKusick (cl); Tom Mace (oboe); Mannie Thaler (bassoon); Charlie Parker (as); Tony Aless (p); Charles Mingus (b); Max Roach (d); the Dave Lambert Singers (vcl group) incl. Dave Lambert, Annie Ross (vcl) and Gil Evans (arr,dir). [Photo above of Annie Ross in 1955 by Walter Hanlon]

And here's the construction of Old Folks, which took nine takes. But don't go anywhere after you've had a listen. Back in 2008, I interviewed the late Hal McKusick, one of the last surviving musician from the session, to find out what went wrong that day. First, here's the audio struggle to capture a master take of Old Folks...

Now here's my 2008 interview with Hal:

JazzWax: Where was this recording session held?
Hal McKusick: At Fulton Recording Studios, at 80 W. 40th St. in New York, on the fourth floor. The building is across from Bryant Park. It looked like a mansion inside. William Randolph Hearst had had a bachelor apartment there. The room where we recorded had huge ceilings—about 30 feet high—with thick curtains along the walls running from the ceiling to the floor to keep outside sound out and the music in. The engineer’s booth had a large glass window and was up high. You had to climb a small staircase to get to the control room’s door.

JW: How were the musicians set up in the space?
HM: The room was gigantic. The Dave Lambert Singers—10 or 12 of them—were on one end and the woodwinds and French horn were on the other. Both groups faced the rhythm section in the middle—drummer Max Roach, bassist Charles Mingus and pianist Tony Aless, who had played with Woody Herman for years. Bird played in front of the rhythm section. Twenty feet separated each group to keep the rhythm section from bleeding acoustically into the mics on the voices, and the voices from bleeding into the woodwinds' mics. [Photo above of Hal McKusick on clarinet]

JW: Who wrote the instrumental charts?
HM: Gil [Evans] wrote the arrangements for the woodwinds, French horn and whatever if anything was needed for the incredible rhythm section. Dave Lambert was responsible for the vocal charts. We recorded three tracks that day—In the Still of the Night, Old Folks and If I Love Again. [Photo above of Gil Evans]

JW: What was the big problem on that date?
HM: The voice parts were way too complicated. Gil’s charts were beautiful and complex, as always. His arrangements always could push your buttons, musically. But Dave’s vocal charts were heavy, and by the time everyone realized this, it was too late. The recording session was already underway. [Photo above of Dave Lambert in 1948 by William P. Gottlieb]

JW: Was Dave aware of that?
HM: I'm sure he was. But in all fairness to Dave, he was in over his head. First, there were too many singers. Dave could have accomplished the same goal with better results if he had used four. All of us in the woodwind section knew it at the time. Second, Dave wasn’t skilled enough as an arranger to write for so many singers. What's more, the singers weren’t polished enough as a group to pull off what Dave had in mind and had written. [Photo above of the Pastels, a short-lived vocal group Lambert put together for Stan Kenton; from left, Dave Lambert, Jerry Duane, Wayne Howard, Jerry Packer and Margaret Dale by William P. Gottlieb in January 1947]

JW: But Dave led a group of singers.
HM: Dave was terrific when singing take-offs on jazz instrumentals and writing for small-group things. But to write structured charts for so many singers behind arrangements by a guy like Gil Evans requires enormous skill. When you're writing for 10 or 12 singers, you have no choice but to double up voicings. This means two or more vocalists need to sing the same notes. It’s the only way a vocal group can be heard clearly. But doubling up parts means greater room for intonation error, since you’re more likely to hear somebody wavering off the written notes. When a voice wavers, it throws everyone else off, or the producer catches it and calls for another take. It’s like two people walking a tightrope out of synch. Someone’s likely to fall. That happened quite a bit that day. The vocal charts were too hard to sing. The result was false starts and re-takes. [Photo above of Dave Lambert by William P. Gottlieb]

JW: Why did Dave get the job to write for voices in the first place?
HM: You know, I don’t know. I never understood why Gil didn’t’ write the vocal charts himself. I know he would have written for four singers and kept the lines simple—accompanying Bird rather than competing and running all around his solos. Or he would have scrapped the vocals entirely. Gil’s woodwind writing alone was good enough to have sustained the date. My best guess is that Dave pitched Bird on writing for a vocal ensemble. Bird had already recorded with strings, of course, and the voice approach was probably for contrast. Bird in turn must have spoken to Norman [Granz] on Dave's behalf, insisting that Dave be allowed to do the vocal writing. That’s the only way that could have happened. Gil's and Norman’s hands had to have been tied to some extent. It was a risk, but an experiment that fell short. [Photo above of Gil Evans and Peggy Lee in 1953]

JW: Bird and Dave were close, weren't they?
HM: Yes. As you know, Dave and Bird had a good working relationship since the late 1940s, when the Dave Lambert Singers appeared with Bird at the Royal Roost. Besides, the Dave Lambert Singers were extremely popular in the early 1950s as vocalese became popular with jazz listeners. For Norman [Granz], adding vocalese was probably a commercial decision. I just don’t think he realized how hard and costly it was going to be to pull it off musically. He probably just thought he had to worry about Bird on the date. That day, Bird was the least of his troubles. Bird played beautifully, as he always did. [Photo above of Charlie Parker in 1953]

JW: What happened on In the Still of the Night? It starts out almost chaotic.
HM: In the Still of the Night was the first tune we recorded that day. On the first take, Bird counted off the tempo. But Max pushed it way up. I’m guessing it was a competitive thing between Max and Bird. Or Max may have been frustrated by the commercial sound of the date. He also could have been unhappy about his role as just a timekeeper and wanted to test or challenge the singers. [Photo above of Max Roach and Charlie Parker]

JW: So Bird just ramped up following the tempo?
HM: Bird being Bird, he responded to Max with majesty—and wasn’t going to be outdone. So he took the first take fast, too. But the poor singers, they could barely get the words out. We had several incomplete takes. At the session it was very funny. It broke up the musicians. Little by little, the later takes slowed. Norman was losing money and patience. By the seventh or eighth take, the pace was perfect for the singers, who had become more comfortable—or as comfortable as they were going to be.

JW: Was Gil actually there?
HM: Oh yes, he was conducting. Dave was standing with his singers. Gil was always very calm and concerned at record dates. When he wrote for Claude Thornhill’s band in the late 1940s, we rehearsed at Nola Studios on Broadway. He’d conduct and take us through the phrasing and dynamics. Then he’d go to the back of the studio and lie on the floor and listen to us play with his eyes closed. To shut everything out. But he didn’t do that on record dates. It was too expensive. Time was money. [Photo of Gil Evans above]

JW: What was it like playing with Charlie Parker on this session?
HM: Fantastic. It was one of the most precious moments in my career, being close to the musician I admired most. Bird could play with anyone—strings, vocalists, it didn’t matter. You could put just a tuba in the room, and Bird would play beautifully with him. But there were only so many takes of a song Bird or anyone could record before becoming frustrated, especially when the problem had nothing to do with him or the musicians. Bird was always a gentleman, and he liked Dave, which is why you hear him calling for additional takes. He could hear the problems, knew the session was having trouble and wanted Norman [Granz] to have solid master tracks. [Photo above of Charles Mingus and Charlie Parker in 1953]

JW: So Bird must have sensed the session wasn't coming together.
HM: Oh that was clear from the start. To keep Bird focused and relaxed, Gil put a bottle of vodka behind the heavy curtains that lined the walls and told Bird about it. At one point, during a break, Bird went searching for the jug. He went behind the heavy curtains, and you could see his round form feeling his way along. Then you saw his form behind the curtain pause when he discovered the bottle. He was there for about a minute. When Bird was done, instead of going back the way he came in, he kept moving around the room, inside the curtains, hunting for an opening, which took a while. The guys in the woodwind section remained respectful but we were hysterical inside. Finally, Bird burst out through an opening, and the session continued.

JW: Gil Evans's writing for the woodwinds on the intro to If I Love Again is blistering. Did the ensemble rehearse that?
HM: Rehearse? No. You never rehearsed for a record date back then. You were hired because you could sight-read charts cold and play them perfectly the first time. If you look at the personnel, you had the best session musicians on that date. These guys didn’t make mistakes. Plus a rhythm section of Mingus, Aless on piano, and Max [Roach], whose brush work was great and remains overlooked on there.

Back in the 1950s, top record producers didn’t have time for musicians to rehearse. They didn't want to go into overtime because overtime meant money they didn't want to spend. Besides, most of the musicians on these dates had to leave by a specific time to make other recording sessions. You came in, the parts were on the music stands, you sat down and went to work. I never rehearsed for a single record date, except for some of the tracks on my Jazz Workshop album for RCA. [Photo above of Norman Granz in 1947 by William P. Gottlieb]

JW: Was Bird distracted by the Dave Lambert Singers' vocalese style of singing?
HM: No way. Bird blew through everything. Every take was a beaut. The vocalists were trying to get it together and Dave was struggling. He'd rehearse them the best he could in between takes to get them on track. Simplicity would have been better for Dave—a unison line with fewer singers rather than so many harmonies. It was too ambitious. The vocals wound up stepping all over Gil’s instrumental charts—but not Bird’s solos.

I think Dave knew the charts were a mistake. But there was nothing he could do about it once we started. They could have removed the vocals completely, of course. Actually, I’m surprised Norman and Gil didn’t at least try a take or two without them. We must have been running out of time, and without the vocals in place, Norman wouldn't have had the commercial effect he wanted. But just the instrumentals with Bird on top probably would have made for better listening today.

JW: On the alternate takes, when Norman announces numbers, he says the word “speed.” What did that mean?
HM: Back then, when a producer said “speed,” that was the engineer’s cue to hit the button on the tape recorder to start recording. By the time the musicians began playing a few seconds later, the tape-recorder reels would be up to speed. [Photo above of Norman Granz]

JW: Rumor has it that there was supposed to be a fourth tune recorded that day. True?
HM: I don’t know. But a fourth tune would have made sense. Four tracks were the norm during recording sessions to cover both sides of two 78 rpm records. Three tracks is odd. But those three took so long to record that day—false starts, alternate takes and breaks. The session was probably over on the clock before we could record the fourth song. When you ran over the three hours of time customarily used to record, the producer had to spend more money. Norman must have decided against this.

JW: Did you see a fourth arrangement?
HM: As I think back, I don’t recall seeing a fourth chart on the music stands that day. Maybe Gil and Dave hadn’t finished it. Or maybe it was supposed to be recorded on another day with more arrangements. Since Norman wasn’t exactly thrilled about the first day’s work, I suppose there was little incentive to bring us back in to record.