Rain is forecast for the next several days, and I'm praying for rain first thing in the morning. I won't say I'm not ready to start another week of practice period, but I'd be so very happy to wake up at 5 in the morning and find it raining, thereby triggering the only condition I've allowed myself to not go to SFZC for the morning sitting - arriving there soaking wet.

I'm glad about the rainy forecast. With a new chain and rear cluster on my road bike, I've been spending time on the trainer preparing for the riding season, and rain is motivation to sit on the trainer watching music DVDs, piping the audio through headphones. It also gives me the satisfaction of riding without getting the now-squeaky-clean chain all mucked up, as it tends to very quickly on my bikes. I've just been sitting in my living room admiring my drive train.

I just rented The Beatles First U.S. Visit on DVD. I can watch that over and over. It's fascinating historical stuff now, too. It also makes me think that our current times will be the quaint and simpler times 40 years from now. It's a wonder to watch thinking about how much has happened since then, and that the film-makers had such unprecedented access to shoot them candidly for 10 days. They're icons now, but this is actually them, the real deal.

The Beatles are simply one of the best rock bands ever. Incredible talent, charisma, character, personality, humor, and professionalism. At the Washington D.C. show, Ringo feels like he's speeding up, but they're so tight that the other three manage to hold the tempo back and keep it from getting out of hand. It's still apparent why he was considered the best drummer in Liverpool. And Paul McCartney performs the most incredible bass lines with seeming effortlessness.