[Trombone-l] Trombone is cool because it is simple

[Chris Tune]

We don't know how lucky we are with our musical instrument purchases. 
Generally we know if something is included or missing from our "kit".

I just got through a NIGHTMARE having gotten a port replicator (model 
xb2000) for my HP laptop. . . .the $150 port rep came without an adaptor to 
match my model of laptop. . .. and that was just the BEGINNING of the hell I 
had to face. . . .you see the HP website and literature makes it sound like 
you can attach a model zv5000 laptop to this port replicator ("NO!" . . .of 
course not. . .that would be too easy).  But the reality is that you need an 
adaptor. . .

I spent a fourty five minute pleasant session with a guy from the area 
somewhere not far from India (yes, you can judge these things by the sound 
of people's voices).  Nice guy. . .just didn't speak english (or American 
English for the academics) quite well enough to be doing customer service 
for a technical company.

After almost ordering an $85 power supply order. . . .which, when he was 
nice enough to say "AC adapter" . . .I then cancelled, cancelled, cancelled.

Imagine if you bought a trombone and you only found out after you got the 
order sent to you that no MOUTHPIECE was included and that you needed to 
order one from the online "PARTS STORE".

We don't do that in our world.  In our world, we almost invariably are able 
to simply disclose what is included and what is not included.  That brings 
us to why the Trombone is one of the coolest musical instruments in the 
world -- it is SIMPLE.

Simple doesn't make life easy, or make mastery easy, in fact it can make 
mastery very hard.  But it makes dealing with the details, the maintenance 
the stucture much easier.   We simpy need to be sure the tubes are not 
dented, and that they are parallel.  We need to periodically clean our axe. 
We need to practice.   Basic stuff.

LESSON

Always keep things simple [repeat - the simpler way is the better -- it's 
the way the Internet was invented  i.e. IP just works on getting packets to 
the next point in the network]

Always disclose everything totally, clearly and honestly.  [if I knew 
another part was needed, I'd probably just order it. . .it's the awkwardness 
of getting a runaround that is hateful] Sometimes it seems like disclosure 
is a burden, but in the end, it's the best policy.

The things that keep businesses from growing beyond a certain size often are 
hundreds and thousands of tiny ommissions, oversights and miscommunications.

Very large organizations are infinitely more bureaucratic than small 
organizations and this causes them to be massively more DISFUNCTIONAL in 
tiny ways that make working with them much more frustrating, and much less 
efficient. . . .this breeds a class of "experts" who know the "in's and 
outs" (e.g. your tax preparer)

Anyway, I hope everybody is having a good weekend.  I'm sitting here trying 
to calm down.

Chris