There is an old saw about the worse the dress rehearsal, the better the show. It could be true.

Wednesday evening’s rehearsal was far from stellar. Nobody was singing well, and things didn’t look like they would ever come together.

Then Thursday evening the ladies seemed to have found their voices and energy! Friday was even better and the audience enjoyed both evenings.

I never got a quote from Bert Larson, but I did pick up one good one. It was from Wendy Mackenzie, but on second thought I won’t share it. It was too good.

We are pleased to announce that we will no longer ask for donations during the web casts.

In past years, due to the uncertainty of the donations received, we paid for the streaming in limited amounts due to budget restraints. The amounts of kbps purchased, has a direct relationship to the quality of the picture and sound received via the web cast. We are pleased to announce that we have given our provider the authorisation to purchase as many kbps as needed to insure the quality of picture and sound that you deserve. This should eliminate the annoying picture pauses, picture and sound delays, sound interruptions, and other inconveniences that have been present in past web casts.

We estimate that the streaming requirements for the extra kbps needed will probably double or even triple the usage from past years. Fortunately the kbps streaming price has been reduced, but the substantial increase in usage will increase our overall costs. We believe the end product will be worth the increased costs. To avoid losing money on this endeavour, an Audio/Video reproduction of the 2005 Web cast will be Pay For View.

Audio only dialup will continue to be free.

Access to the web cast will be through the Society Website. We will have four test streams that you can check out prior to your purchase. Each one will give you a five-minute stream that will allow you to test your Media Player, your bandwidth delivery and then let you decide which stream meets your individual quality standards.

The first option will be for dial-up Audio Only, 28 kbps; the second option will be for Dial-up Sound and Video, 39kbps (small video); the third options will be DSL, 250 kbps. You then click on the stream you prefer and what your connection will support, and then you will be directed to the payment-processing page.

• Dialup Audio is totally free,

• The Broadband Audio and Video is $20 per session or $50 for the entire week..

Veteran announcer Phil DeBar has again agreed to serve as the resident expert "anchorman". Since the daily routine gets to be a lot to expect for any one individual, we will be having guest announcers for every broadcast, perhaps even many guest announcers per broadcast.

Scott Wetle has agreed to assume the role of Producer/Director for this new version of our web cast. Scott brings great experience from past conventions, and we are excited with all the credentials that Scott brings to the table. He will be the on-site co-ordinator, and in charge of lining up all of the guest announcers.

The exact line-up of all the events that will be carried is still being formulated. We have to see how "mobile" all of our equipment will be in terms of transporting it from one venue to another. To keep up-to-date on our progress, check the Society Website, http://www.barbershop.org regularly.

We hope to be operational by June 15, (most likely sooner) in terms of pre-registration and pre-payment. All that we know will be on the Society website as soon as we know it, and can get it in print.