I get asked a lot of questions. Some questions I get asked more than others. Some of the questions listed here are some that I have been asked in the past, while others are questions that I am anticipating. Questions will be added as time goes by. If you want to ask me a question not listed here, or if the answer to your question here isn't detailed enough (that shouldn't be a problem), please feel free to e-mail me.

Where are you guys?
Yes, I have been asked this before. Then, as I was rebuilding the site, I realized that I only list our location once, on the Info page. We are in Austin, Texas, and go to LBJ High School, which is in northeast Austin. Unfortunately, we are still under the reign of terror that is the Austin Independent School District. Don't get me started.

I'm having some sort of problem loading pages on the site. What should I do?
Click on the "E-mail" link to your left to send me an e-mail describing the problem (broken link, the page looks weird, etc.). If you're seeing it, it probably means that I don't know about it, so I really would like to know if you encounter a problem. I would also appreciate it if you include your OS, what screen resolution you run at, what web browser you use (and what version it is), and anything else about your system that you think might be causing the problem.

I'm thinking of buying a new trombone. What brand and type should I get?
Without a doubt, the question I am asked the most. As you are no doubt aware, there are many brands of trombones that you can buy. But since you're asking me, I'm going to tell you which one to buy: Bach Stradivarius. The Bach Strad series (actually manufactured by The Selmer Company) is the trombone of choice among many of us. It combines exceptional quality with reasonable price. The least expensive F-attachment trombone in the Bach line is the 42B, priced anywhere from $1300-1500. Chris Harren and I both have 42B's; I got mine for $1400 plus tax and instrument insurance. The next step up is the 42K, priced at $1600-1800. Daniel and Donna both have 42K's. The difference is that the F-attachment on the K is supposed to provide less air resistance than that of the B. Personally, I've tried both and haven't noticed any difference, but it's your call. If you're an absolute nut and have a deep wallet, the 42T (approximately $2500) may be right up your alley. Rather than the cylindrical F-attachments of the 42B/K, the T has a cone-shaped attachment (Thayer valve) which supposedly creates even less air resistance than the B or K. Good luck getting one soon, though - Selmer has back orders on them for the next two years or so. It's your call.

Where can I get a trombone?
My best recommendation would be a music store in your local area. If you're buying a Bach, Selmer's website has a list of all authorized Bach Strad dealers. However, if you're not looking for something really new or of great quality, you can find one almost anywhere. For example, Daniel found a peashooter at the Austin City-wide Garage Sale a while back for about $50. Checking eBay might not be a bad idea either, because they have a musical instrument section now.

This website is great! What software do you use?
Surprisingly, I get asked this question a lot too. And I love questions like this. Up until I made this design, I used a program called HotDog from Sausage Software. HotDog is a fine program if you don't mind working with the HTML code directly, which can also take up large amounts of time (which was one of my main reasons for ditching HotDog). There are purists who just use Windows Notepad or an equivalent to make their websites. I used to be that way. I now pity them.

This site was designed using Macromedia Dreamweaver 2. Words cannot describe how much I love this program. Making the raw design for this site (minus JavaScript coding, content, etc.) took me just over an hour in Dreamweaver. The previous version of this site (done in HotDog) was less complex and took me a good 2-3 hours, and I'm what you would consider an HTML expert. I am honestly at a loss for words. While Dreamweaver does have a standard HTML editor for quick editing tasks, I use Allaire HomeSite 4 for all my heavy coding needs, such as JavaScript code (the date/time you see below the band logo is a result of JavaScript). It has an HTML syntax checker, just in case I do something stupid, and a lot of other neat features. For all the graphics on the site, I use Jasc Paint Shop Pro 6. PSP is a great program for my needs, but if you want to put down $900 on a REALLY awesome program, get the latest version of Adobe Photoshop. The only drawback is that you'll have to live in the software box after spending that kind of money.

Whatever you do, for the love of God DO NOT USE MICROSOFT FRONTPAGE!!! FrontPage is the worst excuse of a web editor that I have ever seen, and was the first program that turned me off from WYSIWYG web editors (WYSIWYG = "what you see is what you get"; MS Word-type editor). I am a neat freak when it comes to efficient code, and the code that FrontPage generates, eating up byte after byte with redundant tags, should embarass Microsoft. Another WYSIWYG editor is Netscape Composer. However, my experience with it is limited to the version that came with Netscape 3.0, which was years ago. I passionately hate Netscape, though, so (warning: biased view ahead) anything having to do with Netscape must be bad. Much like my love for Dreamweaver, I am at a loss for words when I try to describe my deep, almost sinful hatred of Netscape. In a pinch, you can use Microsoft Word's "Save as HTML" feature. I have used it at times, but it is an inefficient way to build an entire site.

Why do you hate Netscape so much?
I anticipate this question after screaming bloody murder about Netscape in the last question. My hatred for Netscape has run for a long time now. Of course, since the web was introduced, the two main competing browsers have been Netscape and Internet Explorer. I did favor Netscape while IE was still in its infancy (versions 1 and 2). However, this was also before I started making web pages myself. Netscape is so anal-retentive about interpreting HTML (meaning that it enforces good coding, which I don't have a problem with) that it often trips itself up and causes problems. Every single page I have ever made has consistently looked worse in Netscape than in Internet Explorer. In fact, the single reason that I still have Netscape on my computer is for the sole purpose of ensuring web page intercompatibility between Netscape and IE. Netscape is slower than IE, both in execution and in page loading. It doesn't support Cascading Style Sheets (which this site uses), and it even screws up JavaScript sometimes, which Netscape Communications created. As I'm writing this, the new site is a little more than half-done, and I've been doing all my testing in IE 4.0 (not 5.0!). Today, for the first time, I loaded the site in Netscape 4.7. While IE4(!) loaded the page EXACTLY the same way that it looked in Dreamweaver, Netscape completely butchered it - messing up fonts, font sizes, columns, JavaScript, and in general being it's dumbass lame self. Bah.

How would I go about making a website for our trombone section?
Another question I get asked a lot. My best suggestion to you aspiring webmasters is to base your early website off of pictures of your section. That's how this page got its start. Then you can branch out into other areas. Feel free to use this website as an example. If you're not able to afford Dreamweaver, HomeSite, or HotDog, buy a book on HTML and use Notepad. I also highly suggest that you develop a hatred for Netscape. If you don't voluntarily, it'll happen over time.

What is that "Slim-Pfat" thing on the banner?
Slim-Pfat is an idea that we came up with over the summer for us to get our own T-shirts. That logo was what we decided on. The purple thing on the can is Grimace (see the Glossary), and "pfat" is a word that we came up with (again, see the Glossary). I went out on the Internet and found an image of a Slim-Fast can. Then, using Paint Shop Pro, I colored over the word "Fast" and substituted in "Pfat". Using a picture of Grimace we had taken, I superimposed him on top of the can. And voila - your new logo for a T-shirt.