BFlat Systems

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Welcome to the virtual home of Steve Keller, musician and computer programmer.

Here you will find information about me and my music, as well as anything else I think is interesting. Please feel free to poke around, and, if you want, send email to me with questions, comments, jokes, or anything else you may think of.

Why BFlat Systems?

Well, B^b is a nice note, after all. Many musical instruments (some of which I play, such as tenor and soprano saxophones, and clarinet) are pitched in the key of B^b. Also, it's quite a common key signature for music; many compositions, both popular and classical, are written in this key.

I named my DBA company BFlat Systems primarily because we had this cat... We called him BFlat, he was a wonderful cat, but unfortunately he died at a very young age. So, when I needed a DBA name to do some consulting work under, I chose BFlat Systems.

But there is more: the phrase "B-Flat" has taken on an additional meaning, at least in the music world. "B-Flat" has become an attribute of objects and actions (or, for those grammatically inclined, an adjective and an adverb). It means "common" or "ordinary" - not in any bad sense, but in kind of a blue-collar way.

So, one can say that a particular thing is "B^b", and mean that it is a "regular" or "standard" thing. Not a bad thing, but not quite a superlative thing either. It gets the job done. A Toyota Camry is a B^b car. A Dell is a B^b PC. A condo, however nice it may be, is a B^b domicile. This is a B^b web site (at least, I hope it is!).

The best way to summarize the concept of B^b (the word, the concept and the cat) is to quote my old friend Carl Ladley (a trumpeter, by the way - remember that a trumpet is a B^b instrument...), who once said, at the conclusion of a very spirited rendition of a taxing piece of music:

"Perfect. Not flawless, but perfect."

So, in the spirit of B^b, enjoy your stay at BFlat Systems. And BFlat, where ever you are, I hope your soul is happy.