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~
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