The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: john gibson
Date: 2005-07-21 20:19
Lower caps so as not to awaken Tony Pay's ire.
What about the air in your community? We here in the Phoenix area are consistently under "watches OR warnings" that the quality (or lack of it) of our air is suspect to "irregularities". Probably to exceed the federal standard for unhealthful levels.
I'm wondering if working the clarinet or God forbid the Sax is a threat to life as we know it because we have to "diaphragm" it and are taking in too much atmosphere? I mean those of us who've chosen woodwinds are essentially "breathing" more than the rest of the planet.
Could it be that we are "taking a risk" FAR BEYOND that of audtioning for a place in community orchestra? Is choking on unacceptable pollutants worth the price of perfect intonation? %$$#$% mouthpieces !!! Set-ups. ETC.
It's the air we beathe. Just ask the BeeGees.
Oh yeah....Mitchell Lurie Premiums RULE! So do Pomarico crystals.
JG
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Author: hans
Date: 2005-07-21 20:36
John,
Ontario's air has been terrible this summer too. That's why I had an electronic air cleaner installed on my heating/air conditioning system. It is supposed to strip out everything that does not belong be in normal air, like allergens, soot particles, and notes that are not in tune.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: edk
Date: 2005-07-21 20:47
"the air we breathe" - actually it was The Hollies in January of 1974 (The Air That I Breathe)
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Author: GoatTnder
Date: 2005-07-21 21:07
I've lived in Riverside, CA almost exclusively since birth (minus a 4 year stint in San Luis Obispo for "college"). I took a lung capacity test, and am proud to say I have the lungs of an 80 year old man! Which is pretty cool, because I'm only 24. I don't think it's completely because of the smog, but I'm sure that's a significant factor. I can get a long tone of maybe 35 seconds, if I really fill up big.
There were days in elementary school where we were allowed outside, but couldn't run around. And there were days where we were told just to go back to our classroom. That's fun.
Andres Cabrera
South Bay Wind Ensemble
www.SouthBayWinds.com
sbwe@sbmusic.org
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-07-21 21:20
Is 80 year old man lungs good?
I can breath out for 31 seconds while singing a G, do I have 80 year old man lungs?
I'm a 17 year old girl.
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Author: larryb
Date: 2005-07-22 03:19
I kept playing downwind after 9/11 and didn't notice anything untoward, but I also believe the Dodgers will return to Brooklyn
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Author: Tyler
Date: 2005-07-22 04:10
[ Please keep all personal chit-chat off-line -GBK ]
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Author: GoatTnder
Date: 2005-07-22 06:58
No, 80 year old man lungs is bad. Very bad.
Andres Cabrera
South Bay Wind Ensemble
www.SouthBayWinds.com
sbwe@sbmusic.org
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-07-22 13:46
If you're over 40 you breathed enough asbestos from auto brake linings in the past to make whatever you're currently breathing immaterial as far as your longevity is concerned. I routinely refuse to follow my physician's request to take a deep breath.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-07-22 15:09
Verring off topic:
Up here in the "uninhabited" area of North (not northern!) Idaho, the blue grass farmers up wind harvest their seed and then burn the fields. I watch our solar panel output drop 70% one day as the smoke blew into the Pend o'reille valley. One of the farmers is a WA state legislator; and both WA and ID have new laws that prevent complaining about this pollution.
The seed farmers claim that field burning is the "only viable economic alternative available." BUT, in Michigan, they first harvest the seed, then harvest the sod --so they get two crops. Of course, they have to worry about keeping a decent layer of top soil.
The auto industry has been forced into the use of metallic and NAO (Non-asbestos organic) brake linings. (Probably good, although the health risks of brake dust may have been overstated.) Interestingly, in the SF Bay area, an attempt was made to get copper out of brake linings. This was motivated by the discovery of high concentrations of copper in the tidal flats of the south bay. We wonder about the flow of printed circuit board etching from "silicone and copper" valley.
A fellow came to the SAE International Brake Colloquim a few years ago expounding the virtues of a synthetic mineral that had all of the nice tribological (friction) properties of asbestos --including the high finess geometry of real asbestos. The industry did NOT adopt the replacement.
For further study of asbestos pollution, look up Libby, Montana, one of our North Idaho neighbors.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2005-07-22 15:22
If you feel there is a concern, put an electrostatic filter in your heating/cooling system and/or buy a good air cleaner. (If you subscribe, www.consumerreports.com can provide some good recommendations. And just because Sharper Image air cleaners are popular, it doesn't mean they are good. Sort of like Acker Bilk and Kenny G.) Or practice at night when the pollution levels may be lower.
Ironic thing about cities in the southwest and Phoenix in particular -- Years ago, people with breathing problems moved to them because of the cleaner desert air; but these same people brought their mulberry trees and other sources of allergens with them, making Phoenix and other cities as bad, if not worse, than the places they were escaping from.
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Author: archer1960
Date: 2005-07-25 16:26
"The auto industry has been forced into the use of metallic and NAO (Non-asbestos organic) brake linings. (Probably good, although the health risks of brake dust may have been overstated.)"
The big danger of asbestos brake linings was not to the general public (though that was a minor factor), but to the technicians who worked on them. Many of them came up with asbestosis later in life.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-07-25 16:29
I took a breath test at Temple U's health fair when I was in college and the tester asked if I was on the Football Team.
Said no, that I was a wind player and she replied "that makes sense".
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-07-25 18:12
Archer 1960,
You are correct, of course, in that the brake techs had the highest exposure to asbestos, and that the concentration of brake dust in the air was low enough to pose little risk to the public.
As for being "forced" into ridding brake linings of asbestos --you can't believe how difficult it was for folks with a long history of asbestos property exploitation to come to terms with the problem and find alternative materials!
thanks
Bob Phillips
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Author: archer1960
Date: 2005-07-25 18:39
Bob Phillips wrote:
> As for being "forced" into ridding brake linings of asbestos
> --you can't believe how difficult it was for folks with a long
> history of asbestos property exploitation to come to terms with
> the problem and find alternative materials!
Oh, yes I can! There are some small places in naval engineering where asbestos is still used because no adequate substitute has yet been found (not many and not exposed, but they do exist).
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Author: rockymountainbo
Date: 2005-07-26 14:04
Talk about air problems....did y'all here about the dust cloud the size of the U.S. that came from the Sahara Desert and arrived on the U.S. Eastern seaboard other day? It's making sunsets quite stunning, but really affecting breathing for those who have probs.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2005-07-26 14:13
An electrostatic filter's a good idea - it's hard enough to find time for practicing without having to wait for a window in the air pollutants.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-07-26 14:23
"The big danger of asbestos brake linings was not to the general public (though that was a minor factor), "
Sez who? I personally have never read anywhere that this was proven to be true.....or that any agency not connected with the government or auto industry made such claims. Asbestos health problems are relatied to inhalation of asbestos particles. Asbestos containing brake linings were an excellent way to disseminate small particles of asbestos into the air. I believe "you" are doing a great disservice by making unsubstantiated claims such as this. If you have proof let's see the reference.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-07-26 15:05
BobD wrote:
> "The big danger of asbestos brake linings was not to the
> general public (though that was a minor factor), "
>
> Sez who?
Sez NIOSH; and let's not go any further with this, since it's not even close to being relevant here.
"Previous studies of the extent of asbestos emissions from automobile brake lining wear showed that only a very small fraction of the original asbestos content of the brake lining is found in brake drum dust 1-3. It was presumed that this is due to thermal degradation of the fibers during braking. The present findings indicate that enough asbestos is preserved to produce significant exposures during certain brake servicing procedures."
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