Saturday, January 28, 2006
Variax update
Well nutboy is in process and sent me some pix to drool over.. looks like he's doing an awesome job.. I gave him full creative control so....
Friday, January 27, 2006
In memory of
20 years ago today the Challenger space shuttle was destroyed as millions of Americans watched in agony. I wanted to make sure to post about this today because it had significant meaning to me. I most certainly remember that day very clearly as it unfolded on television..
The reason it is of an importance to me is because this was to be the flight with the first civilain, a teacher whose name was Christa McAuliff. Christa was from my home state of NH and lived about 25 minutes north of my town. It was big news here that she was doing such an exciting thing and it was a whole state who mourned her loss along with the crew that accompanied her on that fateful trip ...
Please take a minute to remember these brave souls.
on a side note if you want to read a bit here is an article about the 7 myths of the challenger disaster that is pretty interesing and thought provoking ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11031097/
The reason it is of an importance to me is because this was to be the flight with the first civilain, a teacher whose name was Christa McAuliff. Christa was from my home state of NH and lived about 25 minutes north of my town. It was big news here that she was doing such an exciting thing and it was a whole state who mourned her loss along with the crew that accompanied her on that fateful trip ...
Please take a minute to remember these brave souls.
on a side note if you want to read a bit here is an article about the 7 myths of the challenger disaster that is pretty interesing and thought provoking ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11031097/
Lot and a little
Well it's been a relatively quiet week for the most part. Obviously I picked up the mustang last friday and I'm loving being back in a car again I forgot how much I missed actually driving and not just going through the motions.
On sunday we had a bit of bad luck as the wife's 2005 PT Cruiser's transmission crapped out. After having it taken by flatbed to the dealer she ended up with my new car for the begining of the week .That sucked on 2 levels!! 1st off the fact that I had a brand new car that basically I couldn't drive and 2nd I hate feeling trapped at work. Not that I take off everyday but not having the car there really gets stuck in your mind and you feel trapped!!
We got the PT back Tueday night after getting dicked around by the dealer on monday. I was assured because there was snowfall monday that they would be able to look at it as they had a bunch of cancellations. Not only was this not the case but they didn't even bother to let us know that it wouldn't be touched which left us without the car Tues.
All in all it wasn't too bad as it turned out to be a faulty line and the car appears to be back to normal..
Next up was a guitar project that I had under taken about a year ago. I love to use line 6 gear (http://www.line6.com) and they have a guitar called a variax. The variax is what is considered to be a modelling guitar. This simply put isa guitar thaat emulates all different types of other guitars. It doesn't do this perfectly mind you, but it does it well. It does everything from Teles,Strats,Pauls,Ricks but acoustics and some steel guitars ..
My only issue with their guitars are that they feel cheap (korean made) to me in my hands and I'm not fond of their neck profiles. When Warmoth guitar parts decided to start offering variax parts and I noticed they were offering up their 1st prototype strat body for sale I decided to grab that and a neck more suitible to my tastes. The result was a strat body made of adler and a maple neck ebony board strat neck with a thin profile which is almost similar to some of my charvels. I then stripped out the variax guts and retrofit them into the new guitar for testing
This is the end result
Well I have to say I'm more than happy with the results and swore I'd get the guitar painted up. Well just recently I spoke to my buddy Sull and I was given the ultimatum. Send it soon or it wont get done because my house will be ready soon and I'm movin. I've had so much fun with this guitar that I really avoided tearing it down but now it was time. I've recently decided to take it one step further and add a passive pickup to it so I took it to work and routed it out for a bridge humbucker.
The guitar was finally sent to the ole nutnoose for finishing this week and I'm exctied to get it finished and I can't wait to see the final product. Once I get it I'll most certianly post pictures of it .......
Saturday, January 21, 2006
The big time
Todays read isn't about me or my thoughts but about some friends of ours who have hit the big time. Last night on 20/20 a segment was done about Norah Vincent who went undercover as a man to get inside their lives and write a book entitled "Self made man" about her experience.
We met Norah several years ago through her spouse Lisa M. I've know Lisa through my entire relationship with my wife Diane and she has known Lisa since they were youngins.. Norah is a brillant journalist and very well spoken so when she told us a few years ago of the project she was about to undertake we were all impressed and intrigued.
Yesterday was the pinnacle of all of her hard work and her story debut was aired on 20/20. You can watch an excerpt here http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1528001
The experinece ended up resulting in an 18 month undercover journey as a man named Ned who joined a bowling team, dated women and even went to a monastary. Ned (Norah's) experience and point of view of men and their world is detail in her book and while we haven't had the chance to read it yet, knowing Norah we are really looking forward to it ..
Diane and I wish Norah and Lisa the best of luck with the book and their happiness together. If you wish to learn more about Norah you can vist her website
http://norahvincent.net/
I'm out
We met Norah several years ago through her spouse Lisa M. I've know Lisa through my entire relationship with my wife Diane and she has known Lisa since they were youngins.. Norah is a brillant journalist and very well spoken so when she told us a few years ago of the project she was about to undertake we were all impressed and intrigued.
Yesterday was the pinnacle of all of her hard work and her story debut was aired on 20/20. You can watch an excerpt here http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1528001
The experinece ended up resulting in an 18 month undercover journey as a man named Ned who joined a bowling team, dated women and even went to a monastary. Ned (Norah's) experience and point of view of men and their world is detail in her book and while we haven't had the chance to read it yet, knowing Norah we are really looking forward to it ..
Diane and I wish Norah and Lisa the best of luck with the book and their happiness together. If you wish to learn more about Norah you can vist her website
http://norahvincent.net/
I'm out
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Like guitars
So ..the title say it all , do you like guitars? This week is the 2006 NAMM show and alas I'm sitting at home while some major anouncements were made regarding charvel guitars. Charvel is back to what it was 25 years ago.. full on stratheads and that is something the fans of these guitars have been begging for over the last 20 years. It is sad that I was unable to attend this year as there were friends I had hoped to see and some I wanted to meet but it just wasn't in the cards this year ....
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Car dealers/saleman suck
Yep that they do ..more in the never ending quest to move from truck to car!!
I found a sweet 2006 mustang pony at a dealer not far from me. After some internet negotiating I got the sticker from $22,005 down to $20,658. Edmonds.com says the invoice on this car is $20,341. This would meant that I would be paying the dealer $317 over the invoice. Obviously this precludes any hidden incentive they get from Ford.
Before I ever walked onto the lot this seemed to be a fair and acceptable price for me to pay for the mustang. My next step was to ask many dealers what they use as a price guide for determining trade values on used vehicles.. The answer was NADA or Kelley's
My truck is a 2004 4 door supercab Ranger edge edition. in only has 15,000 miles on it as we speak (or as you read) ..BTW dead mint.. NADA says trade in value is $14,500 and Kelley's Blue states $13,500.. So off to the dealer I go ..
I always love when the salesman starts the pitch with "what do I have to do to put you in the car today" routine don't you? After the test drive that is EXACTLY where we started and I slid a manilla folder across the table with the quoted price and the name of my contact at the dealership.... His eyes dropped and smile dropped ..
Next up was to deal on my trade and asked what I needed to drive the mustang out today. I opened my folder and slid a paper across the table with a highlighted number from NADA that showed the $14,500 and off to his manager he went to as he put it get me a great deal!!
Ever notice they are always your friends? The offer came back at $11,900 and my only responce was it aint happenin.. Now he explains to me that my trade is only realistically worth wholesale value and not true trade. Not bad consideirng he can throw my truck on his lot with no reconditioning, 1/2 a warrantee left for between $16k and $17k huh?
To shorten the story a bit when the manager finally comes down to "reel" me in because his inept salman couldn't do the job I had a great laugh as they waddled towards my wife an I.
I often beleive car salesman are people who never mad ein in theatre because they are really bad actors. As Daryn and his GM wandered towards me I could see him waving his arms and saying very loudly "I know boss I tried to explain it to them and they just don't get it, maybe you could help them Boss"
All I can tell you is I had flashbacks to Bugs bunny cartoons and the 2 dogs... One is bouncing around the other as he walks asking "Duh .. Whaddya wan't me to do now Boss? "
The manager explained to me exactly how it works..see because I got them to discount their car to their "sticker" price they aren't making any money off the purchase so I need to be flexable on my trade in. Note I said their sticker price.... Yeah they would quote me a price at their cost to make a sale ... no profit my ass...
What they were trying to do to me was inevidibly steal my trade in.
From the bad acting to the belittling that salesman do to emarass you into doing something stupid it shows the mentality of the old time grifters. They will act like your friends while they are trying to phish the money out of your pocket and not feel bad about putting you into a bad situation .. as long as they get their cash ...
In the end the final offer on my truck was $12,300 and I owe $12,900 so I explained that there was no way I was going upsidown on my loan. The sales approach to that was hillarious.. just put more money down and you wont be upside down. Yeah so that solves it all, I either eat it up front or in the ass.....
I made a comment about working with the dealer that I purchased the truck from and assured them I could get what I wanted from them. After all if they can try and play me I might as well play the game back right.
The sales dude pitched back to me about if he had a nickle ever time he heard someone was going to get something from another dealership.. . I replied with if I had a nickle for everytime a salesman treated my like he was my friend and working for me I'd be rich...
In the end I shook the guys hand and left after all it's just business and not personal right?
If ya want to learn more about the tactics car dealers use read this article...it is about a jounalist who went under cover to work as a car salesman to learn all the scumbag tricks. It helped me in identifying EXACTLY what was going on and what would happen next... even my wife had a good laugh as it unfolded before her eyes ...
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html
Hopefully the more people that read this the more educated we all become about shady tactics! BTW .. Car dealers do not like educated buyers ..they are harder to grift...
I found a sweet 2006 mustang pony at a dealer not far from me. After some internet negotiating I got the sticker from $22,005 down to $20,658. Edmonds.com says the invoice on this car is $20,341. This would meant that I would be paying the dealer $317 over the invoice. Obviously this precludes any hidden incentive they get from Ford.
Before I ever walked onto the lot this seemed to be a fair and acceptable price for me to pay for the mustang. My next step was to ask many dealers what they use as a price guide for determining trade values on used vehicles.. The answer was NADA or Kelley's
My truck is a 2004 4 door supercab Ranger edge edition. in only has 15,000 miles on it as we speak (or as you read) ..BTW dead mint.. NADA says trade in value is $14,500 and Kelley's Blue states $13,500.. So off to the dealer I go ..
I always love when the salesman starts the pitch with "what do I have to do to put you in the car today" routine don't you? After the test drive that is EXACTLY where we started and I slid a manilla folder across the table with the quoted price and the name of my contact at the dealership.... His eyes dropped and smile dropped ..
Next up was to deal on my trade and asked what I needed to drive the mustang out today. I opened my folder and slid a paper across the table with a highlighted number from NADA that showed the $14,500 and off to his manager he went to as he put it get me a great deal!!
Ever notice they are always your friends? The offer came back at $11,900 and my only responce was it aint happenin.. Now he explains to me that my trade is only realistically worth wholesale value and not true trade. Not bad consideirng he can throw my truck on his lot with no reconditioning, 1/2 a warrantee left for between $16k and $17k huh?
To shorten the story a bit when the manager finally comes down to "reel" me in because his inept salman couldn't do the job I had a great laugh as they waddled towards my wife an I.
I often beleive car salesman are people who never mad ein in theatre because they are really bad actors. As Daryn and his GM wandered towards me I could see him waving his arms and saying very loudly "I know boss I tried to explain it to them and they just don't get it, maybe you could help them Boss"
All I can tell you is I had flashbacks to Bugs bunny cartoons and the 2 dogs... One is bouncing around the other as he walks asking "Duh .. Whaddya wan't me to do now Boss? "
The manager explained to me exactly how it works..see because I got them to discount their car to their "sticker" price they aren't making any money off the purchase so I need to be flexable on my trade in. Note I said their sticker price.... Yeah they would quote me a price at their cost to make a sale ... no profit my ass...
What they were trying to do to me was inevidibly steal my trade in.
From the bad acting to the belittling that salesman do to emarass you into doing something stupid it shows the mentality of the old time grifters. They will act like your friends while they are trying to phish the money out of your pocket and not feel bad about putting you into a bad situation .. as long as they get their cash ...
In the end the final offer on my truck was $12,300 and I owe $12,900 so I explained that there was no way I was going upsidown on my loan. The sales approach to that was hillarious.. just put more money down and you wont be upside down. Yeah so that solves it all, I either eat it up front or in the ass.....
I made a comment about working with the dealer that I purchased the truck from and assured them I could get what I wanted from them. After all if they can try and play me I might as well play the game back right.
The sales dude pitched back to me about if he had a nickle ever time he heard someone was going to get something from another dealership.. . I replied with if I had a nickle for everytime a salesman treated my like he was my friend and working for me I'd be rich...
In the end I shook the guys hand and left after all it's just business and not personal right?
If ya want to learn more about the tactics car dealers use read this article...it is about a jounalist who went under cover to work as a car salesman to learn all the scumbag tricks. It helped me in identifying EXACTLY what was going on and what would happen next... even my wife had a good laugh as it unfolded before her eyes ...
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html
Hopefully the more people that read this the more educated we all become about shady tactics! BTW .. Car dealers do not like educated buyers ..they are harder to grift...
Monday, January 16, 2006
OMG 2 in a row
Now either the stars are aligned or the end of the world is upon us... not really but bloody hell how often do I post in my blog let alone 2 days in a row.
Today was Martin Luther King day in most of the country. In NH it isn't recognised as such but is called "civil rights day" I only hope that someday we can rid ourselves of these types of holidays. Not because I'm against civil rights but because I hope to be alive to see tolerance of all people whether it be race,religion,sexuality or gender.. Maybe someday we will just be ...
Which brings me to the next new thing. I've added a new link to my page to Annah Moores site. Annah fits in with exactly what I was just mentioning about just being. If you decide to click on her link (And I think you should) please go there with an open mind and learn about diversity. Beyond the preconceived notions one might have about gender and sexuality Annah shows it is simply about life and trying to live it happily and at peace with ones self. Beyond that this chick plays a mean guitar and hell anyone who plays a Jackson can't be 1/2 bad!
I spent my holiday driving from ford dealer to ford dealer lookng at mustangs. I was supposed to be at work today but well ...I was sick! ROTF! Anyway I haven't made any decisions yet but I'm tossing around the idea of trading my truck in on a car. I've narrowed it down to the mustang or the pontiac solstice and the only issue is that the pontiac is tougher to find.
The rest of my day was spent veggin .. the sad part is that as the day has progressed I actually started to feel crappy!! Ya think it's karma? LOL
Anyway I hope if you are reading this life finds you healthy and happy ....
Peace out and keep rockin!
Today was Martin Luther King day in most of the country. In NH it isn't recognised as such but is called "civil rights day" I only hope that someday we can rid ourselves of these types of holidays. Not because I'm against civil rights but because I hope to be alive to see tolerance of all people whether it be race,religion,sexuality or gender.. Maybe someday we will just be ...
Which brings me to the next new thing. I've added a new link to my page to Annah Moores site. Annah fits in with exactly what I was just mentioning about just being. If you decide to click on her link (And I think you should) please go there with an open mind and learn about diversity. Beyond the preconceived notions one might have about gender and sexuality Annah shows it is simply about life and trying to live it happily and at peace with ones self. Beyond that this chick plays a mean guitar and hell anyone who plays a Jackson can't be 1/2 bad!
I spent my holiday driving from ford dealer to ford dealer lookng at mustangs. I was supposed to be at work today but well ...I was sick! ROTF! Anyway I haven't made any decisions yet but I'm tossing around the idea of trading my truck in on a car. I've narrowed it down to the mustang or the pontiac solstice and the only issue is that the pontiac is tougher to find.
The rest of my day was spent veggin .. the sad part is that as the day has progressed I actually started to feel crappy!! Ya think it's karma? LOL
Anyway I hope if you are reading this life finds you healthy and happy ....
Peace out and keep rockin!
Sunday, January 15, 2006
NH in Jan ........
Funny I always piss and moan about how much I hate the cold weather in New England and especially the winter. It's funny because there are things that stand out so vividly to me at this time of the year
Ever looked out over a snow covered landscape in the full moon? Well tonights isn't exactly a full moon but it is as close as can be .. maybe 15/16 full .. If you have never seen snow I'm sure it must be tough to imagine, I guess the closest thing you could equate it too would be when you see a white ceiling that has the silver sparkle mixed in.
Looking out over the landscape at night with a full moon is one of the most calming sites the soul can take in~ Even if your freezing your ass off! The most amazing thing is that as dark as an open field without lights can be, with the moonlight glistening across the sparking snow there isn't much that you wouldn't be able to see. The light bounces off the snow and creates a glow that anyone who has even seen ..it would always remind them of home in N.E. The snow sparkles like looking out over a clear starlit night. I'm not sure what the difference is at this time of year but looking up into the heavens it never ever seems as crisp and clear as it does at this time of the year.
When you go out at night in the snow the most bizarre thing is the sound or the lack off. It is like all the sound becomes asorbed by the snowcover and it is eerily quiet and dead sounding. It is almost as though all reverberation has been sucked into a black hole ... LOL ..
I guess as much as I have a negative opinion of winter, my life just wouldn't be the same without the experience ..
Ever looked out over a snow covered landscape in the full moon? Well tonights isn't exactly a full moon but it is as close as can be .. maybe 15/16 full .. If you have never seen snow I'm sure it must be tough to imagine, I guess the closest thing you could equate it too would be when you see a white ceiling that has the silver sparkle mixed in.
Looking out over the landscape at night with a full moon is one of the most calming sites the soul can take in~ Even if your freezing your ass off! The most amazing thing is that as dark as an open field without lights can be, with the moonlight glistening across the sparking snow there isn't much that you wouldn't be able to see. The light bounces off the snow and creates a glow that anyone who has even seen ..it would always remind them of home in N.E. The snow sparkles like looking out over a clear starlit night. I'm not sure what the difference is at this time of year but looking up into the heavens it never ever seems as crisp and clear as it does at this time of the year.
When you go out at night in the snow the most bizarre thing is the sound or the lack off. It is like all the sound becomes asorbed by the snowcover and it is eerily quiet and dead sounding. It is almost as though all reverberation has been sucked into a black hole ... LOL ..
I guess as much as I have a negative opinion of winter, my life just wouldn't be the same without the experience ..
Monday, January 02, 2006
Happy 2006
Well here we go another year over another about to begin and of all things ..Tax season is here .. I think I remember reading it takes the avg american 4 months of work to pay for their taxes. So as usual we are a slave to the man again!!
Not much new in my own world other than my vacation is just about done and i have to go back to work. The funny thing is we are supposed to get a snowstorm tonight!! so maybe I'll go in late tomorrah.......
I've been pretty quiet in internet circles over the last few weeks between the holidays and the fact that I had gotten a pretty good cold... special thanks goes to my Mother in law for giving it to me!
Overall the holidays were good and uneventful as usual but the nice thing was that I got to take time off work and just try and relax. Some people shudder to think that downtime from work should mean anything but being busy but I most certainly needed this quiet time
I hope and trust all of my friends had a good holiday season and I wish all of you nothing but the ultimate in happiness and prosperity this year. While I don't subscribe to the whole New Years resolution school of thought I do plan to work on being a happier person this year.
I had already started working on myself over the last few months with some direction from an awesome friend and it has made some difference in my life. I only hope with more work I will finally be able to get out of bed and embrace everyday as it should be and not what my thought process once was ... As my wife and I contantly remind each other .. small steps to change..
Anyway good luck to all of you this year ....
~K~
Not much new in my own world other than my vacation is just about done and i have to go back to work. The funny thing is we are supposed to get a snowstorm tonight!! so maybe I'll go in late tomorrah.......
I've been pretty quiet in internet circles over the last few weeks between the holidays and the fact that I had gotten a pretty good cold... special thanks goes to my Mother in law for giving it to me!
Overall the holidays were good and uneventful as usual but the nice thing was that I got to take time off work and just try and relax. Some people shudder to think that downtime from work should mean anything but being busy but I most certainly needed this quiet time
I hope and trust all of my friends had a good holiday season and I wish all of you nothing but the ultimate in happiness and prosperity this year. While I don't subscribe to the whole New Years resolution school of thought I do plan to work on being a happier person this year.
I had already started working on myself over the last few months with some direction from an awesome friend and it has made some difference in my life. I only hope with more work I will finally be able to get out of bed and embrace everyday as it should be and not what my thought process once was ... As my wife and I contantly remind each other .. small steps to change..
Anyway good luck to all of you this year ....
~K~
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Ok it's official
The world is coming to an end....
Johnny Damon is a Yankee~ that's right after talking smack and saying he could never play for them he left for money as most of these primadonnas do..
next up ..
I'm old~ yes ..I'm officially old .. I'm 40 today and dammit I need metamucil ....There's something to be said for being born a Christmas eve and trust me ..it's not good.. yea yea I got robbed more than you know as a kid and even sometimes as an adult.
Having a birthday around Xmas was always an excuse for relatives to get cheap on you. When I was a kid my Uncle George showed up for the holiday with a Christmas and a Birthday gift for me. I got a walkie Talkie for my birthday .... Yep ..I got the other as a Xmas gift..
I guess the only thing i can't complain over is the fact that birthdays aren't PC yet. I point this out because all of the PC B.S. is killing the holidays for all of us. All of the traditions we have grown up with are slowly being stripped from our lives because of non denominational people feeling we are infringing on their rights... people..within 10 yrs Dec 25th will just be another work day ...People need to lighten up ..
I was born in this country Dec 24, 1965 and I feel like I have less rights than the people migrating here do now .... go figure!
Johnny Damon is a Yankee~ that's right after talking smack and saying he could never play for them he left for money as most of these primadonnas do..
next up ..
I'm old~ yes ..I'm officially old .. I'm 40 today and dammit I need metamucil ....There's something to be said for being born a Christmas eve and trust me ..it's not good.. yea yea I got robbed more than you know as a kid and even sometimes as an adult.
Having a birthday around Xmas was always an excuse for relatives to get cheap on you. When I was a kid my Uncle George showed up for the holiday with a Christmas and a Birthday gift for me. I got a walkie Talkie for my birthday .... Yep ..I got the other as a Xmas gift..
I guess the only thing i can't complain over is the fact that birthdays aren't PC yet. I point this out because all of the PC B.S. is killing the holidays for all of us. All of the traditions we have grown up with are slowly being stripped from our lives because of non denominational people feeling we are infringing on their rights... people..within 10 yrs Dec 25th will just be another work day ...People need to lighten up ..
I was born in this country Dec 24, 1965 and I feel like I have less rights than the people migrating here do now .... go figure!
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Damn internet
OK so this am was a big morning. Maybe not for you but it was for me.. REDSOX TIX WENT ONSALE! Ol Mayday got into the webpage early with the idea that he was going to score SoxPac tix.
SoxPacs are sets of 4 tickets sold in bundles. The problem is the webpage is like standing in line @ f'in ticketmaster! How so? You have to go into this room early and your broswer gets assigned a position in line and refreshes every 30 seconds until your turn.. Close you browser and you lose your place in line.
So got in line for the Sat ticket pac and sat there for the better part of an hour. At some fukkin point my browser window got fukkin CLOSED! Yes you guessed it I lost my place in line and lost out on my F'in tickets....
Next up an hour later on tickemaster Queen/Paul Rodgers tixs went onsale @ 10am! Well I'm happy to report I was lucky enough to get good tickets for this show. This is awesome for me as I've always regarded Brian May's guitar playing very highly and even list him as an influence to some extent. Brian is one of the smartest guitarist of his time. Smart as in not being a flashy guitarist but a guitarist that could play within the bounderies of his band and know what to play Know not only what to play ..but when he shouldn't play..which is one of the hardest things for a guitarist to learn ... As guitarists we all tend to want to cram as much of our talent into a small space and not allow the songs to breath, Brian knew how to let that happen and magically.
Anyway I got my tickets so my Sat morning wasn't a total bust!
~K~
SoxPacs are sets of 4 tickets sold in bundles. The problem is the webpage is like standing in line @ f'in ticketmaster! How so? You have to go into this room early and your broswer gets assigned a position in line and refreshes every 30 seconds until your turn.. Close you browser and you lose your place in line.
So got in line for the Sat ticket pac and sat there for the better part of an hour. At some fukkin point my browser window got fukkin CLOSED! Yes you guessed it I lost my place in line and lost out on my F'in tickets....
Next up an hour later on tickemaster Queen/Paul Rodgers tixs went onsale @ 10am! Well I'm happy to report I was lucky enough to get good tickets for this show. This is awesome for me as I've always regarded Brian May's guitar playing very highly and even list him as an influence to some extent. Brian is one of the smartest guitarist of his time. Smart as in not being a flashy guitarist but a guitarist that could play within the bounderies of his band and know what to play Know not only what to play ..but when he shouldn't play..which is one of the hardest things for a guitarist to learn ... As guitarists we all tend to want to cram as much of our talent into a small space and not allow the songs to breath, Brian knew how to let that happen and magically.
Anyway I got my tickets so my Sat morning wasn't a total bust!
~K~
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Expectations
Are we as human beings defined upon our own indivuality or are we defined by others? Something that seems to be such an easy question to answer becomes incredibly complex by virtue of the people that we involve in our lives.
I certainly have my own expectations, desires, goals about who I am or how I want to be perceived. I am generally a giving person who at the drop of a hat will be there when asked. I consider myself to be compassionate, intelliegent and most of all I am not a follower.
On the surface it would seem these traits define who I am and my own expectations of who I want to be, am I correct? Not so fast, when do those expectations get superceeded by the people we allow into our lives be it family, friends etc.
for instance~
I make plans Friday that on Sunday I want to have a peaceful quiet day at home. I've had a rough week and simply feel like I can use the rest. I can always count on my Inlaws deciding after the fact that they want to have a family dinner on that day. It should be relatively simple to just say sorry I cannot make it correct? Not so.. A no will result in hurt feelings and a sign we do not want to be part of the family we are EXPECTED to be available.
We have had days where we have seen my inlaws Sat, Sun and are asked to dinner on a Tuesday. This would even be viewed negatively with a simple sorry can't make it.
My father inlaw loves to get on his motorcyle and "Stop" by in the summer months. No big deal right? Again on the surface it may not be but lets look at the layers. My father in law stops by constantly without ever calling to see if we are home, busy, entertaining or maybe even being intimate. Yet I've been told by him my expectation of him calling makes him feel unwelcome in my home. His expectation of feeling welcome over rides my expectations of my own privacy within my own home.
My Sister, Brother etc....
My Sister has been in and out of my life from the time we met (we are 1/2 siblings by my dad) The last time my sister came back into my life she made the statement that she would ever let me go again. Last Feb for my wive's 40th birthday I invited her friends and family to celebrate by limo to a dinner theatre in Boston. There was a limited amount of room in the limo andat the table in the theatre (12 people tops). This was further restricted by the amount of money I had to spend on the event. By having such a limited amount of resource my best alternative was to have the people closest to my wife attend. This meant HER family 1st, then her friends.
My sister took this as being disloyal to her and has not spoken to me since. Her expecations of me superseeded that of my desire to do something nice and memorable for my wife.
My brother Roy has never really had expectations per'se of me but he has never gone out of his way to make me feel like we were brothers. I guess this has always bothered me a bit as my biggest desire was to have a full family~ To date I am simply alone and an only child... When my brother moved from Mass to Maine his wife mentioned how he misses me and wants me to come up and spend time with them. My brother still works in Mass and during the week lives 5 min from my home yet never calls to get together with me when he has time.
My cousin~
I rarely speak to my cousin and it isn't anything more than our path rarely cross. I heard from her this weekend and she made it a point to tell me she wanted to get together. I told her the only time I would have for this would be after the holidays as Dec is a busy month on the weekends. She wanted to talk to me this day and I hadn't had time so told her when I got cance I'd call. Well to be perfectly honest I forgot to call and she feels as though I am intentionally avoiding her. Not bad considering I only hear from her 2/3 times a year ... So her expectations of my being available to her superceed my expectations to get my Dec chores done for the holidays.
My friend
I have a friend that I've known almost my entire life. He has always taken the high road when it comes to making plans. If I call and ask if he would go see a specific concert or a bike run and he doesn't feel interested then he simply will not do it. The flip side is that if it is something he is interested in doing he gets a bit put off if I say I'm not interested.
so what is the one catalyst in these few stories and believe me I could go all afternoon. Expectations always seem to be of what I can do for others and never what can be important to me. So at what point do my own wants and needs define who I m in other peoples lives? I've gotten to the point with the people in my life that I'm only as good to the as what I have to give and not simply who I am. In doing this I have now hit a crossroad where I am trying to learn to allow myslef to worry about me and not care if others expectations of me are to high...
Enough for now~
~K~
I certainly have my own expectations, desires, goals about who I am or how I want to be perceived. I am generally a giving person who at the drop of a hat will be there when asked. I consider myself to be compassionate, intelliegent and most of all I am not a follower.
On the surface it would seem these traits define who I am and my own expectations of who I want to be, am I correct? Not so fast, when do those expectations get superceeded by the people we allow into our lives be it family, friends etc.
for instance~
I make plans Friday that on Sunday I want to have a peaceful quiet day at home. I've had a rough week and simply feel like I can use the rest. I can always count on my Inlaws deciding after the fact that they want to have a family dinner on that day. It should be relatively simple to just say sorry I cannot make it correct? Not so.. A no will result in hurt feelings and a sign we do not want to be part of the family we are EXPECTED to be available.
We have had days where we have seen my inlaws Sat, Sun and are asked to dinner on a Tuesday. This would even be viewed negatively with a simple sorry can't make it.
My father inlaw loves to get on his motorcyle and "Stop" by in the summer months. No big deal right? Again on the surface it may not be but lets look at the layers. My father in law stops by constantly without ever calling to see if we are home, busy, entertaining or maybe even being intimate. Yet I've been told by him my expectation of him calling makes him feel unwelcome in my home. His expectation of feeling welcome over rides my expectations of my own privacy within my own home.
My Sister, Brother etc....
My Sister has been in and out of my life from the time we met (we are 1/2 siblings by my dad) The last time my sister came back into my life she made the statement that she would ever let me go again. Last Feb for my wive's 40th birthday I invited her friends and family to celebrate by limo to a dinner theatre in Boston. There was a limited amount of room in the limo andat the table in the theatre (12 people tops). This was further restricted by the amount of money I had to spend on the event. By having such a limited amount of resource my best alternative was to have the people closest to my wife attend. This meant HER family 1st, then her friends.
My sister took this as being disloyal to her and has not spoken to me since. Her expecations of me superseeded that of my desire to do something nice and memorable for my wife.
My brother Roy has never really had expectations per'se of me but he has never gone out of his way to make me feel like we were brothers. I guess this has always bothered me a bit as my biggest desire was to have a full family~ To date I am simply alone and an only child... When my brother moved from Mass to Maine his wife mentioned how he misses me and wants me to come up and spend time with them. My brother still works in Mass and during the week lives 5 min from my home yet never calls to get together with me when he has time.
My cousin~
I rarely speak to my cousin and it isn't anything more than our path rarely cross. I heard from her this weekend and she made it a point to tell me she wanted to get together. I told her the only time I would have for this would be after the holidays as Dec is a busy month on the weekends. She wanted to talk to me this day and I hadn't had time so told her when I got cance I'd call. Well to be perfectly honest I forgot to call and she feels as though I am intentionally avoiding her. Not bad considering I only hear from her 2/3 times a year ... So her expectations of my being available to her superceed my expectations to get my Dec chores done for the holidays.
My friend
I have a friend that I've known almost my entire life. He has always taken the high road when it comes to making plans. If I call and ask if he would go see a specific concert or a bike run and he doesn't feel interested then he simply will not do it. The flip side is that if it is something he is interested in doing he gets a bit put off if I say I'm not interested.
so what is the one catalyst in these few stories and believe me I could go all afternoon. Expectations always seem to be of what I can do for others and never what can be important to me. So at what point do my own wants and needs define who I m in other peoples lives? I've gotten to the point with the people in my life that I'm only as good to the as what I have to give and not simply who I am. In doing this I have now hit a crossroad where I am trying to learn to allow myslef to worry about me and not care if others expectations of me are to high...
Enough for now~
~K~
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Wow, Thanksgiving morning 2005
Well I never expected to be blogging anything this morning. I certainly expected to wake up, enjoy a cup of coffee and watch the parade that is the daily thanksgiving ritual for so many.
The difference is that we have awoken to several inches of the first snowfall for the season here. I love the first few snowfalls leading up into Christmas and early Jan and then I have pretty much had enough.
So here we begin Holiday season 2005....
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Happy Thanksgiving people!
Well here we are, T-day eve 2005 and another year almost down. I can't believe the holiday season is about to start already and another year passes like the gas from our german shepherd. As I get older I can't believe how fast the time seems to be going so I figured I take a moment for a little reflection in honor of the holiday..
I wanted to talk about the things I'm thankful for, I know that is a little cliche but all too often those little things tend to be a bit forgotten.
I'm thankful for:
The fact that I'm still alive after so many of my younger years thinking I'd never see the age of 30 and now I'm about to hit 40.
I'm thankful that for all the times I've been an asshole my wife still sees enough good in me to continue being my best friend, regardless of what I put her through (Yes Sull Dutch ovens not withstanding)
I'm thankful for what family I still have in my life. While this seems like a logocal thing it hits home harder for me as Dec and the holiday season is always the most depressing time of year.
I'm thankful that I've made so many wonderful friends over the last few years through the JCF. I find it so amazing to know people so closely without ever meeting face to face. I hope to make many more lasting friendships.
I'm thankful that after a rough 2 years my love of guitar is slowly creeping back into my fingers and it's becoming an enjoyment to me again. It was like a long lost love I never thought I'd find.
I'm thankful that I'm finally working to be a better person within my own life and begining to feel more comfortable with who I am.
I'm thankful I didn't have to: Buy,Kill,Clean or Cook the fukking bird tomorrow...which mean there is no getting up at 5am for me.
I'm thankful for: Sam Adams,Heinekin,Black and Tans,Corona,Capt and Cokes,Jameson,Jack Daniels and any other tasty treat that'll make ya do stupid things....
I'm thankful for: Charvel,Jackson,Gibson,Line6,Marshall, and anything else that will help kill my hearing.
I'm thankful for blogs just so I can laugh my ass off ....
If you have gotten this far I'm thankful you cared enough to read through all my bullshit!!
Hope everyone has a great T-day
~K~
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Waiting for fedex,The Land of Em & Do you like catfish?
Not a lot to report today life is a bit mundane I guess. I'm sitting here wasting my Sat away waiting for the damn fedex guy to drop of a new piece of gear. The thing that sucks is that the shipper put signature required and stupid fedex wont give a time or a window that they will be here.. So they waste my day kinda like the dipshit cable company ...
RedSox news .. Gabe Kapler has been released! This is very depressing news to me because I was so happy to see him return from Japan this year. I was lucky enough to see him play in single A ball during his rehab which was cool even though he didn't do much ..
Weather.. It has turn cold almost over night. We had frost last night and had there been moisture in the air it wouldhave snowed dammit. I swear as I get older the stupid summers get shorter...
You'll note I've added some new links today.. to the land of Emtrax and to Catfish theory. Em is a way cool chick who I've met on the BB I help run. Her blog is always chock full of good shit that gets bounced between her and Sull unlike mine which usually sits stangnant. Anyway check this girl out, she's cool and she rocks on Jackson guitars which is always #1 in my book!
Catfish is a good friend of Sully and a fellow guitar enthusiest.. Check out his new strat!
it seems we have some blog circles going on so it's best to rotate and see who is up on things ..
Nough said!
~K~
RedSox news .. Gabe Kapler has been released! This is very depressing news to me because I was so happy to see him return from Japan this year. I was lucky enough to see him play in single A ball during his rehab which was cool even though he didn't do much ..
Weather.. It has turn cold almost over night. We had frost last night and had there been moisture in the air it wouldhave snowed dammit. I swear as I get older the stupid summers get shorter...
You'll note I've added some new links today.. to the land of Emtrax and to Catfish theory. Em is a way cool chick who I've met on the BB I help run. Her blog is always chock full of good shit that gets bounced between her and Sull unlike mine which usually sits stangnant. Anyway check this girl out, she's cool and she rocks on Jackson guitars which is always #1 in my book!
Catfish is a good friend of Sully and a fellow guitar enthusiest.. Check out his new strat!
it seems we have some blog circles going on so it's best to rotate and see who is up on things ..
Nough said!
~K~
Friday, November 11, 2005
Veterans Day
Please take a moment and pay respects to all the veterans who have given us the ability to live in the manner we do. If it wasn't for these brave people we would not have the freedoms that we have ......
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Politics,Christians and Human beings
Tuesday was a big milestone in several areas of our country. Some serious issues were put to vote mainly in Texas (gay marriage) and Maine ( trying to rescind gay discimination rights of employment)
Let me start of with a minor blurb about myself and my views.
Religion~
I grew up in Lawrence Mass and I was raised protestant. I went to church on Sundays, Sunday school and bible school in the summer.
While I remain protestant by denomination I am non practicing at the moment.
My wife was raised devout catholic and even attended catholic schools etc. To this day her mom is a volunteer for their church. Other than the day I got married I rarely attend church for several reasons, some are the views of the molestation cover ups all the way to the amount of money the church collects. IMO like any organization that gets too big for itself it suddenly becomes about power and money and not its intended purpose.
Politics~
I am a registered republican and share a lot of very conservative views on gun rights, welfare benefits and the way taxes are collected and distributed. I also have some more liberal views regarding abortion, Civil Rights etc. This sometime causes conflicts within myself when it comes to politicians and where they land on either side of the political line.
As we all know Tuesday was a big vote which lost in Texas that would enable gay people the right of marriage. It is beyond me why in this day and age we are allowed to discriminate in certain ways and criticize about basic human rights in others.
In Maine Tuesday there was a referendum on the ballot to repeal a state law. This law states tha tit is ILLEGAL so discriminate based on sexual orientation in regards to employment. In a nut shell what is so bad about that law?
Jeff/Work~
I work with an engineer here that is a devout Christian. He isn't the type of Christian that bible bumps whenever he gets the chance and usually reserves it for conversations that have already been initiated. Jeff is very much like me in believing that you should exercise your right to vote regardless of whether you feel it makes a difference or not. (Jeff is from ~ MAINE)
To take that a step further we are also of the belief that if you don't vote then you don't have the right to your opinion regarding the results, you've given your right to complain up at midnight on voting day.
On Wed morning Jeff stopped in nd I asked him if he voted on Tuesday knowing full well where I would be headed with the conversation. Jeff answered by saying he hadn't which was a big disappointment to me given our views on the matter. He had decided it was more important to go have a pick-up basketball game Tuesday instead of hustling home and pulling the lever.
It was the next sentence that took me by surprise even though I shouldn't have been. He was disappointed his referendum had been defeated to which I inquired what it was. "Gay Rights!"
I could not believe someone who was a Christian could be that way. I certainly can understand his beliefs on homosexuality from a religious point of view even if I do not agree. I was taken back by the fact that anyone could be against a basic human right of not being discriminated against!
People it does not matter whether you are
straight,gay,transgendered,black,white,Christian,atheist,Satanist or simply just finding your way through life why should be be legal to fire someone for just being? This country has come a long way from where it was founded but I learn everyday that we have a long way to go in just treating each other with respect.
Last time I was involved with any type of bible study was years ago but I am of the belief it teaches about love and non-judgment, yet time and time again if you are not a Christian then you are treated like scum by these people. This is the biggest thing that drove me from religion
You want to fire someone from a job then do it for the right reasons~ incompetence,absenteeism,susbstance abuse etc...But not for being human ...
Kiev
Let me start of with a minor blurb about myself and my views.
Religion~
I grew up in Lawrence Mass and I was raised protestant. I went to church on Sundays, Sunday school and bible school in the summer.
While I remain protestant by denomination I am non practicing at the moment.
My wife was raised devout catholic and even attended catholic schools etc. To this day her mom is a volunteer for their church. Other than the day I got married I rarely attend church for several reasons, some are the views of the molestation cover ups all the way to the amount of money the church collects. IMO like any organization that gets too big for itself it suddenly becomes about power and money and not its intended purpose.
Politics~
I am a registered republican and share a lot of very conservative views on gun rights, welfare benefits and the way taxes are collected and distributed. I also have some more liberal views regarding abortion, Civil Rights etc. This sometime causes conflicts within myself when it comes to politicians and where they land on either side of the political line.
As we all know Tuesday was a big vote which lost in Texas that would enable gay people the right of marriage. It is beyond me why in this day and age we are allowed to discriminate in certain ways and criticize about basic human rights in others.
In Maine Tuesday there was a referendum on the ballot to repeal a state law. This law states tha tit is ILLEGAL so discriminate based on sexual orientation in regards to employment. In a nut shell what is so bad about that law?
Jeff/Work~
I work with an engineer here that is a devout Christian. He isn't the type of Christian that bible bumps whenever he gets the chance and usually reserves it for conversations that have already been initiated. Jeff is very much like me in believing that you should exercise your right to vote regardless of whether you feel it makes a difference or not. (Jeff is from ~ MAINE)
To take that a step further we are also of the belief that if you don't vote then you don't have the right to your opinion regarding the results, you've given your right to complain up at midnight on voting day.
On Wed morning Jeff stopped in nd I asked him if he voted on Tuesday knowing full well where I would be headed with the conversation. Jeff answered by saying he hadn't which was a big disappointment to me given our views on the matter. He had decided it was more important to go have a pick-up basketball game Tuesday instead of hustling home and pulling the lever.
It was the next sentence that took me by surprise even though I shouldn't have been. He was disappointed his referendum had been defeated to which I inquired what it was. "Gay Rights!"
I could not believe someone who was a Christian could be that way. I certainly can understand his beliefs on homosexuality from a religious point of view even if I do not agree. I was taken back by the fact that anyone could be against a basic human right of not being discriminated against!
People it does not matter whether you are
straight,gay,transgendered,black,white,Christian,atheist,Satanist or simply just finding your way through life why should be be legal to fire someone for just being? This country has come a long way from where it was founded but I learn everyday that we have a long way to go in just treating each other with respect.
Last time I was involved with any type of bible study was years ago but I am of the belief it teaches about love and non-judgment, yet time and time again if you are not a Christian then you are treated like scum by these people. This is the biggest thing that drove me from religion
You want to fire someone from a job then do it for the right reasons~ incompetence,absenteeism,susbstance abuse etc...But not for being human ...
Kiev
Monday, November 07, 2005
oh monday monday
Well,
I spent 3 hours this am making a part for a job I'm doing at work. It was the Aluminum bracket and I thought things were going really good. Then I was talking to my partner about the job and I nocticed on the drawing Material = STAINLESS STEEL!
WTF not not only did i waste 3 hours but cutting stainless takes so much longer than aluminum ... Fukkin mondays ..
On a lighter note I was looking at a Kahler Pro I have and thinking that I might be able to replace the springs under it with a solid plate and that would make it a psuedo apm 3310 mayday hahdtail. So I started to figure it out and damn I'm pretty sure it would be relatively easy to do ... wonder if there's a market for it ...
I spent 3 hours this am making a part for a job I'm doing at work. It was the Aluminum bracket and I thought things were going really good. Then I was talking to my partner about the job and I nocticed on the drawing Material = STAINLESS STEEL!
WTF not not only did i waste 3 hours but cutting stainless takes so much longer than aluminum ... Fukkin mondays ..
On a lighter note I was looking at a Kahler Pro I have and thinking that I might be able to replace the springs under it with a solid plate and that would make it a psuedo apm 3310 mayday hahdtail. So I started to figure it out and damn I'm pretty sure it would be relatively easy to do ... wonder if there's a market for it ...
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Dontchya just hate
People who think you have no life. I read this today on my buddies site. If I wasn't busy machining stuff for people then I'd be able to update my blog more often. Unforunately when you have to keep your friends happy there aren't always enough hours in a day.
"what's not nice is when you lazy fuckers don't update stuff! life is all
around you, man! fart out a sentence or two, sheesh! can ya help a brotha'
out?"
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