And Now for a Non-Musical Interlude: REGISTER YOUR STUFF!

Greetings, incoming Bostonites! As many of you know, biking is one of the fastest, awesomest, and most exercise-y ways to get around the city. It's important to remember, especially when you bike a long way, to lock up your bike properly (with a U-lock running through both the wheel and the body of the bike). BUT (and this is exciting), you can also REGISTER YOUR BIKE with the BU police department (and/or Parking & Transportation Services). This is important because if your bike did get stolen, the police would already have a record of the make and model, plus important identifying information like a serial number.

ALSO, you can REGISTER YOUR LAPTOP! According to the police department at BU, theft is the most-reported crime on campus, and laptop and electronic theft is a big part of that. So you can do a few things to safeguard yourself:

1. Don't leave your laptop alone.
2. Don't leave your laptop alone.
3. Register your laptop with the police department.
4. Don't (ever) leave your laptop alone.

Registering your stuff is a great mini-task at the beginning of the school year, when organization is at its peak. We are looking forward to a safe start to the semester, for both us AND our stuff!

And Now for a Non-Musical Public Service Announcement: Mice in the Practice Rooms (And Allston Rats)

Remember all the awesome things about Allston? All the sushi restaurants and proximity to BU and interesting, under-30 people living there? Remember how Aerosmith wrote their first song in their apartment on Comm Ave? Remember the rich history of comedians and actors who spent their student years in this wondrous neighborhood? Well, Allston has rats. (To be fair, so does Back Bay.)

This is a dramatic re-enactment.

Rats, like most living things, eat food. They tend to like food that people leave lying around, like in a dumpster or on the street. That is why rats tend to hang around in alleys. Eventually the rats eating the food begin to multiply, which can be expressed in the following mathematical equation:

Rat plus hamburger equals two rats. Or, less literally, rat plus food equals rats everywhere.

As the rats multiply, they eventually start to take over the human population. The good news? Rats mostly live outside. The same cannot be said for mice.

Don't be fooled by the cuteness.

The domicile of mice, particularly in the winter, is indoors where they can eat dropped crumbs from unsuspecting humans and partake in the free heat. The problem is that because mice live indoors, the threat is more immediate than that of a rat. In other words, when mice live in the practice rooms in the basement of the CFA, they leave droppings and generally create an unsanitary space reminiscent of that of the Allston rat. This can be expressed thusly:

Mouse plus CFA equals Allston rat.

This isn't the end of this dark equation, however. The real truth is that an indoor space acts, for mice, the same as dumpster food for rats.

Obviously the mice need a little help from us, however. Eating in the practice room and dropping crumbs is a fast and simple way to make sure that the entire building fills with mice. This is good for exactly nobody, including the practice room eater. It is worst, though, for the student who doesn't eat in the practice room, and just wants to have a nice, focused practice session free from rodent interruptions.

Here is a time-lapse of the worst-case scenario:

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

But wait! There is good news! Eating in the student lounge, where there are tables and open space that is vacuumed regularly, is an excellent way to avoid the Practice Room Mouse. The start of a new school year is a wonderful time to introduce habits into our daily routines. This year, let's eat in the lounge, with friends (instead of in the practice room, with mice).

And Now for a Non-Musical Interlude: The Remedy for the Common Cold That Won't Quit

The first year in a new place is always a treacherous time for airborne illnesses, even during the summer. A new environment brings new germs, among which lurks the common cold. A virus (and therefore not treatable by antibiotics unless there is a secondary infection) with over 200 strains, the common cold can knock wind- and brass-players off their feet for weeks, and can be especially devastating for vocalists. And obviously, while other instrumentalists may not play with their faces, feeling crummy is never positive for a practice routine.

The best cure for the common cold is rest and relaxation. The second-best is, we believe, this ridiculous concoction.

Your version of this will likely be pulpier.

You will need:
1 high-powered blender
1 strainer
1 mug
1 stove with pot, or microwave
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1 cup apple juice (water will work in a pinch)
1 whole lemon
1 one-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of honey

Now, this is going to sound crazy. Cut the lemon in quarters and throw it in the blender without peeling or removing the seeds. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the honey, put the top on, and blend until it's nice and liquid-looking in there. In reality, there will probably be a lot of pulp.

Put your strainer over your mug or small stove-top pot, and slowly pour your mixture through. If your outcome is anything like mine, you will have to push the final bits of stuff with a spoon to get it to yield all of its healing goodness. Then, either warm the mixture on your stove, or microwave until it's steamy. Stir in the honey.
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This mixture is full of Vitamin C, thanks to the lemon. And thanks to the cayenne pepper, it will sometimes leave unfortunate sinuses able to breathe for the first time in days. It takes a while to drink, but since this is the Chuck Norris of beverages, one would expect that it can't be quickly downed.

Do you have a never-fail remedy for the common cold?