I am on every Saturday from 10AM-2PM and will be more than happy to take your requests and dedications!

The music lines are 231-571-WMUS (9687) or 1-800-222-WMUS (9687) or you can email me at jason@107mus.com

Thank you so much for listening!

On Memorial Day weekend, I decided to transform my 100+ year old, dirty, dingy, dark-stained, hardwood floors into their original state. White oak. I went out and rented a floor drum sander, an edging sander, and bought a bunch more sandpaper for my orbital sander. I moved the furniture around, and then went to work. By the first pass with the drum sander, I could already see how beautiful the floors were going to look! Then after working from 20, 36, 60, 80, and 100 grits, it's like a whole new floor! :) I went and did the edging with the edging sander and finally returned them to the rental place.

Since then, I've been concentrating heavily on the rest of the edging and the corners, meticulously making everything as close to perfect as I can. I'm just about ready to do the final cleanup on the wood and polyurethane it.

I've decided on a more user and environmentally friendly water-base polyurethane for my project. A couple of reasons for this include the fact that the water-base dries faster, doesn't have a long-lingering odor, and doesn't darken over time, as with oil-based polyurethanes. I've decided to not stain the wood, but I rather enjoy the natural beauty of the white oak floors. After all, I spent all that time getting rid of that dark color in the first place!

By the way, if you happen to refinish floors for a living, hats off to you! You work VERY hard for a living with lots of sweat, dust, people telling you to hurry up, etc. I honor all people who do this because this project has proven to be very time-consuming! However, I have enjoyed it and as I take care of the last details on my road to perfection, I'm looking forward to looking back on a job well done! (Or so I hope! :)

-Jason

I have always  been an amateur photographer, using ONLY film cameras and doing the fun part of developing and printing in my own darkroom, using nothing but black and white film stock and paper. I have often said that I would NEVER buy a digital camera. I love it the old-school way. To me, anyone can use Photoshop to create effects. (Some people don't however, and can turn out magnificant photos after only one take. I used to date a girl who was by far the best photographer I have ever met! Film-turned-digital, she had the PERFECT eye and did not own a copy of Adobe Photoshop.) I often like to challenge those same people to create those same effects in my darkroom!

Well, low and behold, it was time to upgrade my cell phone. This time, I opted for a camera phone. Yes, I broke my word to never buying a digital camera, but what's nice is that it's so handy and portable, I can take it anywhere. I don't much care for the resolution, but if it's a quick snap of something, it's there for me. From there, anywhere, I can send the pic on to someone else.

After playing around with it for awhile, I wanted to experiment in taking BETTER pictures with my camera phone. I wanted to see if it were even possible, muchless worth it. I've done a little research and some experimenting and here's what I have to offer:

1. Ignore everything written below. If following the steps below stops you from capturing a great moment, then take the picture. The technical and compositional minutiae do not matter. The most important thing in the world is that you take a picture that you will remember. With that said...
2. Clean the lens. Over time the camera lense can collect lint on the lens and create a blurred image. Just give it a good wipe.
3. Pick your subject carefully, bearing in mind the usual limitations of camera phones. To wit:
    
4. Avoid subjects in low light, at least if you want them to be consistently lit. The small sensors in camera phones cannot run at high ISO speeds (i.e. high sensitivity to light, permitting indoor photos without a flash) without introducing large amounts of noise. In most circumstances, this precludes indoor photos other than in the best-lit places.
5. Avoid bright reflections, and other "hot-spots". This will either force the camera to under-expose the rest of the shot, or cause the camera to blow out the highlights on the brightest parts of the shot. The latter is worse, since it is sometimes possible to extract details from parts of the image that are too dark, but impossible to recover blown highlights (since there is no detail therein to extract). On the other hand, this can be used to artistic ends, such as with bright light streaming through a window.
6. Avoid anything that requires tight focusing. Due to their very short focal lengths (the distance between a camera's optical elements and the sensor, again, owing to their small sensors), camera phones excel at shots where nearly all of a scene is in focus. However, this (and their typically weak auto-focus mechanisms) usually precludes focusing on objects very close to the phone, or having a very shallow depth of field to get a blurred background effect (which can, with varying degrees of authenticity, be faked in software later anyway).
7. Avoid "mirror shots", as well as arm-length shots taken by yourself. These drive me up the WALL!!! Aside from them being clichèd, they require taking photos indoors (see above), and mirrors also often end up confusing auto-focus mechanisms. Get outside and get someone to take the photo for you.
8. Set your phone to its highest picture quality and resolution. You might end up taking a good enough shot that you want to print it out; you won't be able to do this if you only have a low-resolution version of the photo.
9. Turn off picture frames. A normally great shot may be ruined by a cheesy frame or background; if you really must have one, add the frame afterwards. Take your pictures raw and then play with them. KEEP IT ORGANIC!
10. Turn off any other effects. These include black-and-white, sepia tones, inverted colours, and so on. I've seen that the built-in limitations on most camera phones do not produce very nice effects in the first place. If you're able to transfer the pics to photo editing software, I would better suggest that. Again, KEEP IT ORGANIC!
11. Set the white balance, if your phone supports it. The human eye usually adjusts for lighting, and so white appears white in any kind of lighting.^[2] A camera, however, will see that a given subject is redder than normal under normal incandescent household lighting. Better camera phones will give you the option to adjust the camera for this. If you have such an option, use it. If you're not sure what setting to use, experiment. Trial and error is key to getting just the right photos on that tiny little thing. 
12. Turn off the flash. If you find yourself using a flash because your whole scene is insufficiently lit, you're probably taking photographs indoors in poor light. Don't do this, and go back to the first step; a scene lit entirely by your flash will look un-natural, since on a camera phone it is not typically possible to aim the flash anything but directly ahead (i.e. you can't bounce it off ceilings or walls, as with dedicated flash guns for SLR cameras). This will also cause that common 'red eye' portrait we've all grown to hate. On the other hand, a flash is a good option for filling in shadows in harsh sunlight.
13. Frame your shot. Make sure that everything you want in the shot is in the picture, and ready to be captured. Some phones show the entire viewfinder, meaning that what is on the screen is exactly what will be captured in the image. Other phones, however, only show what is in the middle of the image, but will capture more than the viewfinder shows. Err on the side of putting too much empty space into your picture; you can always crop it later.  
14. Finally, take the picture. Keep your hand steady as you press the shutter button. After you take the picture, keep the phone in position to allow the picture to be recorded. If you move immediately after pressing the shutter button, often times you will just get a blur! The camera phone is very slow to react in most cases to the shutter release. Be perfectly still and when possible, I always brace my arm on something such as a railing or a car to prevent blur. It really makes a difference!

Taken during Summer Celebration 2008 with my Samsung Hue resting on a fence for camera stabilization

I hope these things help you to take better pictures overall! If you would like to share some of your new and improved work with me, you can email your photos to jason@107mus.com . Please limit to 3 photos per email, ok?

Now SNAP AWAY!!!

• Try Gargling with warm salt water. It's not very tasty, but it works for some people. 
• Take a decongestant, such as Sudafed, every 6 hours and continue for 24 hours after you land to shrink membranes in the sinus and ear. Follow the precautions on the label and the recommended dosage.
• Use a pediatric-strength nasal spray once as directed. This helps open the Eustachian tube, without giving you more medication than you need. 
• Keep the Eustachian tube open. To prevent your ear from popping uncomfortably or painfully, you need to stop the difference in pressure from building up. The best way to do this, strangely enough, is to repeatedly pop your ears on purpose. Opening your Eustachian tube deliberately will allow air to come or escape into your ear from the back of your nose and the upper throat. If you're diligent, the pressure difference won't be much, and your ears won't pop uncomfortably on their own. If you're flying, for example, and the plane is ascending or descending, don't go to sleep--stay awake and keep doing the following:
  Swallow!!! Chew gum, suck on candy nurse a drink, etc. These simple things will keep you swallowing.
• Sniff.
• Yawn. For a little extra push, place your index finger about 1/2 inch into your ear canal and press firmly towards the top and back of your head as you yawn as widely and openly as possible. You're going to look a little strange on the United flight, but it gets the job done!
• Pinch your nose and blow gently. (Known as the Valsalva maneuver, medically-speaking.) 
• Hold your ears shut. This will lessen the pressure difference, and air will slowly leak out.
• Breathe in and hold for three seconds, then breathe out again. It kind of sounds like you're trying to get rid of the hiccups, doesn't it?
• Get medical attention if the discomfort is severe, or if it persists for more than a few hours. You should also consult a doctor if you experience any drainage from the ear or a fever.

I hope this helps you on your next plane excursion. It's something that everyone hates to go through, but hopefully my how-to will help you prevent it. HAPPY FLYING!