Each Christmas season, our tradition is to get our Christmas tree the first full weekend of December and to take it down the first full weekend after January 6th (aka: the “Feast of the Three Kings” or “Epiphany” or “Little Christmas”). We have a secondary tradition of purchasing a representative decoration for each year. Sometimes they are religious (angels, stars, etc.), sometimes they are Christmas but humorous and sometimes they are topical (StarTrek, StarWars, Harry Potter, Dr. Who, etc). This year’s ornament was a Santa riding a red fire engine. Anyway, we are getting ready to take the tree down the weekend after this, so I thought I’d post a few pictures of this year’s tree and ornament… (You can click on the image to see a larger version.) | |
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On This Day In: | |
2022 | 2021 Tree And Ornaments |
2021 | 2020 Tree And Ornaments |
My Bag | |
2020 | Still Looking |
2019 | Too True |
2018 | Simon Says |
2017 | Next Cell |
2016 | Important Knowledge |
2015 | Are You Still The Exception? |
2014 | In Answer |
Days Are Passing | |
2013 | Opportunity |
2012 | Appropriate Qualities |
2011 | A Place To Hang My Hat |
Posts Tagged ‘Pictures’
2022 Tree And Ornament
Posted in Family History, Pictures, tagged 2022 Christmas Ornament, 2022 Christmas Tree, Family History, Pictures on January 3, 2023| 4 Comments »
Happy 38th Anniversary, Hil!!
Posted in Faith Family and Friends, Family and Friends, Family History, Pictures, tagged Family, Happy 38th Anniversary, Picture of Hil and Me, Pictures, SF City Hall, Wedding Anniversary, Wedding Photo on December 3, 2022| 4 Comments »
When I wake up to you every day, I’m reminded that saying ‘I do’ was the best answer of my life. After all these years, I’m still happy that you said it too! | |
Happy 38th Anniversary, Hil! | |
Love Always, Your Kev XXX 00 X |
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— kmab] | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Happy 37th Anniversary, Hil!! |
2020 | Happy 36th Anniversary, Hil!! |
2019 | Sampling 3:16 |
Happy 35th Anniversary, Hil!! | |
2018 | Happy 34th Anniversary, Hil!! |
2017 | Happy 33rd Anniversary, Hil!! |
2016 | Happy 32nd Anniversary, Hil!! |
2015 | Happy Anniversary Hil!! |
2014 | 30th Wedding Anniversary |
2013 | Number 29 (And Counting) |
2012 | Hammer ‘N Roses |
Happy Anniversary | |
2011 | I Can Hear It Now |
Veterans Day – 11 November 2022
Posted in History, Pictures, tagged 2022 Veterans Day, History, Pictures, VA.gov on November 11, 2022| 4 Comments »
Fesley (Mostly) Full Scale (Electric) Strat Style Guitar (G.A.S. == 9)
Posted in Guitar, Guitar Stuff, Music, Pictures, Reviews, tagged Amazon.com, Fender Guitar Corporation, Fesley Guitars, Glarry Guitars, God Save The Queen, Guitar Review, H-S-S, Highly Recommended, Humbucker, Images, Jimi Hendrix, Ode To Joy, Pictures, Reviews, S-S-S, Stratocaster, Taps on August 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Warning: This is LONG post… It won’t hurt my feelings if you’re not interested in my guitar reviews and go now… (LoL) | |
[Disclaimer: I have not received as a promotion any guitar or music related product, nor am I mentioning anything in this post to secure compensation / income for myself or the manufacturer(s) of the products mentioned. I am only posting about this / these item(s) because I personally purchased it / them and am excited to be learning about music and playing guitar. — kmab] | |
* Guitar Acquisition Syndrome | |
Background: For the last 19 months, I’ve been trying to teach myself about music and playing guitar. To date I have now purchased nine “inexpensive / cheap” guitars. This is the review of my latest: a Fesley “Strat” style Electric Guitar (Sunset color)… What is a “Strat” style? If you’ve ever seen a picture of Jimi Hendrix playing guitar, it was probably a “Strat”. Strat is short for Stratocaster and is one of the two “main” styles of electric guitar. It is characterized by two “cutaways” (one on either side of the neck where it attaches to the guitar body); “horn” shapes which are more reminiscent of bulls horns than of devil’s horns; and, the guitar body is solid (not hollow) with six steel strings. The “horns” are usually of slightly different shape and are normally slightly offset (not mirror images) with the more forward horn on the base-string side of the guitar. The “Strat” was created in the 1950’s by the Fender corporation. The Strat usually comes with three single-coil pickups and may also come with a tremolo bridge. The “pickup” is what translates the steel string vibration in front of a magnet and converts it to electrical impulses which are amplified into the sounds you hear coming from the amplifier. | |
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Anyway, as stated in several prior reviews, I’m retired and I have a significant price point and life time (mine) limitation when making discretionary purchases. I haven’t found my music / guitar sound or style (or hero), so I’m playing around at the bottom of the market in search of one, both or all three. For those of you readers who are unfamiliar with the price of music instruments, a decent quality, name brand guitar “probably” runs near USD $1,000. (If you are lucky, you can find the same model used for half that.) At half that price (USD $500), you can also normally find the same name brand (or their subsidiary) selling a new entry-level model of substantially lower quality. You can also go (quickly) the other direction to many times that price before you even get to custom guitars. Specific historic guitars sell in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars! | |
I now have nine “cheap / inexpensive” guitars of various style / types, and, not counting books and accessories (tools, tuners, picks, cables, gig bags, straps, etc), I’m just over the $1,000 “all-in” mark. My wife believes I’m a hoarder and while she supports my trying to learn music / guitar, she does NOT approve of my continuing guitar purchases. I (on the other hand) still feel the need for one last guitar before pausing to concentrate on the “right” one – which I may never find / buy. I will probably get that “last” inexpensive one before the end of next year (2023). I actually have my eye on two types I don’t already have. After that, I will be playing them each, and, over time, upgrading the bits and pieces on them until I’m more or less happy with each. Some, like my three-quarter size acoustic are so minimalist it really can’t have much changed out. Of course, as my luthier skills improve, there is a seemingly endless pool of tools to spend (my wife would say “waste”) money on. And, there are also amplifiers. On the issue of amps, I only have my initial 20-watt amp from the purchase of my first electric guitar. I’m sure it’s “crap”, but I very rarely use it, so it may be some time before I get a second / replacement amp. At the moment, I play my acoustic guitars in the day and my electrics sans amp at night. The main time I use my amp is when I get a new guitar and want to verify the electric bits work. Because I just starting to gain an ear for electric sound, I still can’t tell if the electric guitars are good or not – only if they play at all. As an aside, in my prior reviews, I mistakenly said my amp was a 10-watt amp. It turns out it is a 20-watt. Not that it matters, as it is NEVER turned up, and still rarely used. | |
Start of review: | |
Ordering: I ordered the guitar on Amazon.com. The general price on Amazon varies from $169 to $119 (depending on the color chosen), not including tax or shipping. I have NO idea why the price varies by color!!?! But, of the colors available, the one I wanted was the least expensive anyway. I purchased the item via my daughter’s Amazon membership, so shipping was free. The price ended up: $131.54 (delivered). I “earn” $100 gift cards for Amazon about once every six months by answering questions on a marketing / polling / survey site. Although this is “real” money, it does not come out of my retirement money, and since I’d be answering the surveys anyway – it’s “free” money (to me, but not to the IRS). The price of a “moderately” decent padded guitar gig bag is $20-$30 on Amazon. So, basically, I got an electric guitar and gig bag for the price of a gig bag: $31.54!! (LoL) | |
Delivery: I ordered mine on Thursday 28 July 2022 (evening) and it arrived on 4 August, mid-afternoon. Amazon’s delivery estimate was spot-on. On delivery, the exterior box was slightly crumpled on several edges; the interior box had no damage at all. On opening the interior box, the guitar was inside the padded gig bag and there was no damage at all to the guitar. This is the first guitar I’ve received “double-boxed”. My only comment is the interior box was free-floating and slid around inside the larger exterior box. All-in-all, I am very happy with the delivery. | |
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What you get: (Specifications) | |
Brand: Fesley | |
Model: Fesley ST Electric Guitar Morandi Series | |
Style: “Strat” with tuners on one side of the headpiece | |
Price: $119.85 — my price was $32 including tax (out of pocket). | |
Orientation: Right handed | |
Guitar Color: Sunset (Front and back) | |
Weight: 9.73lbs | |
Number of frets: 20 | |
Number of strings: 6 | |
String Material Type : Nickel Steel | |
Guitar Pickup Configuration: H-S-S (humbucker / bridge, single / middle, single / neck) | |
Guitar Bridge System: Cold-rolled Steel Block Bridge with tremolo system (push-in “wammy” bar) | |
Controls: 4 – 1 switch (5 positions), 1 x Volume, 2 x Tone; the three knobs are black plastic with no numbers | |
Color – Black: Zinc Alloy Tuners, a Single String Guide, Cold-rolled Steel Block Bridge, Wammy Bar, Volume and Tone Controls, Inlaid Fret Dots | |
Body Material: Poplar | |
Neck Material Type: Poplar | |
Fretboard Material Type: Hard-maple Neck Info: C-shaped neck profile with satin finish; 20 frets, marks (dots) on the neck and top of the fingerboard help guide / play; 430mm radius |
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Tuning Peg Material: Metal, Kidney Bean shape | |
Nut Material: Unspecified (I think it’s plastic) | |
Pick Guard: None | |
(Package Includes) | |
1 x Guitar | |
1 x Wammy Bar (pop-in style, not screw-in style) | |
2 x Spanner Tool (for adjusting the neck / truss rod and one for setting intonation) | |
1 x Padded Gig Bag Double boxed for delivery |
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First impression: right out of the box, the guitar has a beautiful, dark, rich sunset (sunburst) front AND back. It is thin and feels small and light. I run my left hand up and down the neck. The edges of the fret board are smooth and fret sprout is non-existent! I could NOT feel the frets from the side of the neck. I had to slightly curl my fingers around the edge. They are not rounded on the ends – ball-bearing style – so you still have to be a bit careful running your fret hand up and down the neck, but this is among the best fret work I’ve ever gotten on any of my guitars. It remains to be seen if this continues after the guitar has had a chance to acclimate for a couple of weeks. I don’t think it will be an issue… The guitar was in a plastic bag with the wammy bar and tools rubber-banded to the neck. The strings were paper bound for their protection. There is a little card indicating the guitar was inspected and listing the action height at that time. I will compare this info later when (if) I do a full complete setup with action and intonation. It’s also a useful reference for future string changes… The frets are shiny and smooth and the fretboard looks moist without being shiny. NO crud comes off the frets on my fingers as I check them (sometimes you can get a bit of blackening on your fingertips) and there is no gritty sound on string bending at a few test points. (I’m laughing to myself!) This is the best looking first impression of a fretboard of any of my guitars!! | |
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Visual checklist: | |
• neck – straight, flat and not visibly warped or bent; | |
• nut – discolored plastic. Not white, so you almost think it’s bone. The string groove depth seems fine to great. | |
• strings – strum… not in tune, but string ends are not excessively long or wrapped around the tuning pegs. It tuned up very easily. | |
• body – again, beautiful color and shiny (matte NOT high gloss) finish. I don’t see ANY dents or faults!! | |
• pickups – are all magnetic. I can’t tell much else visually. The “visual test” is to hold something metal near the pickup and feel if it is pulled to the magnetic pickup. I would say there is an “unsightly” gap around the pickups. My other guitars’ with single pickup slots are covered by the pick guards, so you don’t see the gaps. | |
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• controls – the switch is responsive without being resistant, the volume and tone(s) both turn smoothly. I am able to hear the differences between the pickups on the switch (after it’s plugged in and the amp is turned on). One slightly disconcerting thing is the knobs seem to turn past “0”. I don’t know what that means. All of my other guitars fully stop at “0” and “10”… | |
• tuning pegs – all are smooth and don’t appear to have dead spots. They are the smallest tuners I have ever felt! They are functional, but they feel “tiny” between my fingers and thumb. | |
• action and intonation – the strings seem fine (eyeball test). I will measure them (for action) in the future. The intonation is WEIRD! The intonation is perfect open and at the 5th and at the 12th frets. All up and down the neck with no dead frets on any strings, but ALL of the other frets are slightly sharp. To me, this (probably) means Fesley took extra care to get the open, 5th and 12 frets exactly in the right place but were slightly less exact on the remaining frets. I should point out the difference is similar (if not exact) for all of the other frets and for all of the strings AND I can’t actually hear the difference – but the electronic tuner can. Just slightly… | |
Strum… the strings are all loose and there is no hope this is tuned “out of the box”. I attach my Snark tuner and tune the guitar. Nothing significant to report. (Except the intonation issue mentioned just above.) I’m a happy camper…!!! | |
I plug in the amplifier and plug the cable into it and into the guitar. Both connections seem solid enough. I turn on the amp and increase the volume on both the guitar and the amp. All the knobs on the amp and the guitar seem to work. The slippage on the knobs doesn’t seem to affect anything. When the knob gets to zero (unmarked), whatever is supposed to be changing stops changing. | |
Strum… I play for a few minutes – chords and scales. I spend a few minutes practicing “Ode To Joy“, “Taps” and “God Save the Queen” and then noodle a bit before deciding to pack it in for the evening. The main thing I notice is the guitar is VERY comfortable to play. The neck seems short, I don’t have to stretch to play open chords and the body (depth / width) seems to be made just for me. Mainly the thinner body means it’s easier to hold the guitar body under my strumming arm and against my body. This guitar has a slightly different cut out angle (from the Glarry) at the elbow which seems to make it even more comfortable for me. Now, a point of clarification: This is not a “Full Size” strat style guitar. At least judging by my Glarry 38.6 / 39in strat style it isn’t. Just eyeballing it, I’d say the Fesley is almost an inch (maybe only 3/4in) shorter. FYI: Glarry says their strat body size (38.6in) doesn’t include the strap button on the bottom of the guitar. Standing the Glarry and Fesley face to face, the bodies are the same length, yet, the tip of the head-piece is clearly shorter than the Glarry’s. The difference “seems” to be the bridge on the Fesley is larger than on the Glarry AND it is set farther down the body than the Glarry’s because the Glarry’s pickups are S-S-S while the Fesley’s are H-S-S. The double thickness of the humbucker requires the bridge to be set down the body. I also point out the Glarry is a 22 fret guitar. The Fesley is only 20 frets. Interestingly, this (moving the bridge back) makes it easier to right-hand strum mute the strings on the Fesley than it is on ANY of my other guitars – acoustic or electric! Go figure… | |
Next? | |
Nothing out of the ordinary… Just tune and noodle. | |
Check the fret sprout for about a week and do the light maintenance on it for playability. Then it’s add to the rotation and enjoy!! | |
Final Recommendation: LoL!! Are you kidding me? Very Highly! A beautiful, almost perfectly playable instrument for under $35!!! (Okay, $135 to you…) I’m laughing all the way to the bank. (And, still practicing about an hour a day…) | |
Thanks to anybody who made it all the way through this lengthy post!! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Born Again |
Begin Writing | |
2020 | Nah… I’m Still Chuckling |
Squeaking By With “C’s” | |
2019 | Consider Me A Phony |
2018 | Last |
Day 10: Double Digits | |
2017 | Could You Repeat The Question? |
2016 | Still Busy? |
2015 | Why, Just This Morning… |
2014 | Just Kindness |
2013 | Now Shaking |
2012 | Absurdity, n. |
2011 | Minor Changes |
Things I’ve Learned From Life – Nana Carter | |
Acting Out | |
Happy 13th Anniversary Of Blogging
Posted in Guitar, Guitar Stuff, Health, Music, Pictures, Science and Learning, tagged Blog Anniversary, Guitar, Happy 13th Blogging Anniversary, Health, Images, Personal Goals, Pictures on July 29, 2022| 2 Comments »
This post marks the first day of my 14th year of blogging here on WordPress. A great deal of this post is a repetition of last year’s post… (And, yes, it’s a long one…) | |
With almost no change from last year… The number of countries who’ve visited this site continues to (slowly) grow and the number which haven’t continues to decrease. North Korea and Cuba are still among them (the latter…) I’m also still missing a belt across the middle of Africa (but it’s no longer coast-to-coast) and a few spots in Asia. (Slowly, slowly… Resistance is futile.) | |
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On reviewing my content over the past year, I’m mostly back to one post a day. They are almost entirely just quotes with occasional political opinions, infrequent film reviews and rarely book reviews. I haven’t added near as many posts about learning guitar or music as I thought I would. I’m not terribly sure why. | |
My blog is continuing to be part of my “normal” retired life (since 2017). I routinely receive about 20 to 60 emails (per day) from the roughly 300 blogs I follow. I say “roughly” because I don’t check how many I follow. I just looked, and I (still) have fewer than 2,000 followers myself. Every year there is a trade-off: you pick up a few steady followers and a few drop off. Those who actually post about leaving (their own sites) say they are simply moving on to other things. Most, don’t bother and just stop posting. A few come back after some period of time. Many do not. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve stopped blogging. Some just move to a hosted service to try to monetize their thoughts and don’t provide me a way to follow them. Or maybe they did and I simply missed the link… | |
I do have bone to pick with some (many?) of the posts I receive. Three bones, actually… First, I receive a large number of posts which don’t contain “Like” options. This means I have to click to your site and log into WordPress to give you a like. Most of the time, I will not do this. I’m just lazy and if you don’t want the feed back, I’m happy to not provide it. The second is an email with a title and five or six words from your post and then a “read more”. Again, sorry – PROBABLY 95% of the time, I no longer click through to your site. If you don’t give me at least a paragraph to hook me, you’ve lost me for that post. It’s different if you are running a visual / photo site, but not by much. If you give me one (or two) image(s) per post – fine. If you regularly have 10 – 15 – 20 images in a single post, I might view one post a week. And, lastly, in general I only view one post a day from a single source and it’s kind of random… Sometimes it’s the first. Sometimes it’s the last. Sometimes it’s just whatever… | |
At any rate, I easily spend an hour per day reviewing the posts I get (via email subscription) and sometimes that is simply overwhelming. It’s not always the average blogger’s fault. If you post something interesting, I (still) will go off and investigate it further: authors, artists, locations, books, movies, science / math / history topics – they will all lead me off down the rabbit hole. And that hole can be DEEP! There are a few (a handful) of sites which I know are visual and I more frequently click through to the actual site, because I’m interested in the bits which are not offered in the smaller / limited / text based emails I tend to receive. I apologize if my failure to click-thru affects your view stats negatively… | |
So, besides this blog, what am I up to? My health has been mixed. I’m still morbidly obese and none of my “lifestyle” changes (diets) have stuck. The problem I have is I’ve had some changes in my meds so I’m not sure if they are affecting me or if I’m just getting older and less motivated – or a combination. As always, one has to balance the good of the med versus the adverse (potential) effects. The two which seem the best (for me) are the juicing / blending and the “40hr water fast twice a week”. The former for losing and the latter for maintaining. If I can get my meds stable, I’ll probably go on an alternating schedule of these two for a prolonged period. | |
In January 2021, I purchased my first guitar and I’ve been practicing most every day since. (I miss about one day every other month.) I “know” my basic (C, A, G, E, D, F, Am, Em, Dm) open / “cowboy” chords and major / minor scales – single string and in first position. Strumming, finger-picking (Travis style) and chord changes are coming slowly (slower), but they are getting better now that I’m practicing them more consistently. I now own three acoustic guitars and five electrics, and I have another acoustic on loan from my brother. I had them on a monthly rotation calendar, but shifted to three weeks at the start of the year (2022). I’m planning to move to a weekly rotation. I’m looking into picking up a few (three) more inexpensive guitars and I’ve dropped the idea of basses (for at least a while). There is no time pressure. It’s all about my ability to save (here and there) until I can justify a purchase. [Wife: How many guitars do you NEED? Me: …One more.] At the moment, the plan is one more strat (type), one more tele (type) and a round-back acoustic. I didn’t really even think about round-backs before. I thought they were only over-sized guitars for Mariachi style music, but I’ve learned otherwise. Anyway, they “tend” to be plastic / fiberglass backs, and I’m interested in what that sounds like. I have a distinct memory of strumming an “Ovation” (round-back) guitar MANY years ago, but I don’t remember anything about it (sound or feel). We’ll see… I am also going to start looking into amps and pedals for the electrics. | |
The few things I’ve learned (mainly about myself) have truly been amazing (to me). I do seem to have a smidgen of musical ability (although it’s still buried under layers of doubt). I’m (still) finding the ability to concentrate on practice to be as relaxing as zoning out in computer programming used to be (in my youth). Sixty to ninety minutes can easily seem like five or ten minutes. There is also the complete exhaustion which results from prolonged concentration – however “relaxing” it may feel at the time. In a strange way, it feels good to be mentally tired at the end of a practice session. | |
But, am I getting any better at playing? An objective opinion would be: Yes! Am I any “good”? An objective opinion would be: No! Does it matter a whit? No. Why not? Because, like blogging, I’m doing it for the enjoyment of doing it and not for the expectation (mine or anyone else’s) of being any good at playing guitar. Again, like blogging, as long as it’s fun and interesting and fulfilling, I’ll just keep doing it… My not so secret goal remains to write a song (lyrics and music) for my wife. (LoL) | |
I posted a while back about my guitar goals for the remainder of 2022, but I can easily see them (the goals) extending into 2023. If I have ANY disappointments over guitars it’s that developing my luthier skills has definitely fallen by the wayside. I’m happy being able to change strings, round fret ends and play with action and intonation, but it turns out, if you buy inexpensive instruments, the decent quality luthier tools and better quality parts are almost as (or more) expensive as (than) a new instrument. | |
So, it’s guitar playing and blogging to keep me occupied (and mostly out of trouble). LoL!! | |
Other than that, we got one of our bathrooms remodeled back in February 2022 and we’re hoping to get our other one done in early fall. All things in their time (LoL – and with available funds!) | |
Once again… “Excelsior!!“ | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Happy 12th Anniversary Of Blogging |
We ARE… | |
2020 | Happy 11th Anniversary Of Blogging |
2019 | Happy 10th Anniversary — Thoughts On My First Decade Of Blogging |
2018 | Happy 9th Anniversary — Three Thoughts |
Day 2 – Notes On Progress | |
2017 | Happy 8th Anniversary |
2016 | Happy 7th Anniversary |
2015 | Happy 6th Anniversary |
2014 | Happy 5th Anniversary |
2013 | I Resemble That Remark! |
2012 | Happy 3rd Anniversary |
2011 | Is America Safe Tonight? |
2009 | Hello world! (See how it all began…) |
The Natural Order Has Been Restored!
Posted in General Comments, Pictures, tagged #TrumpTheLoser, "The Force", Ashes, Blog Views, General Comments, Images, Ozzies, Pictures on July 8, 2022| 2 Comments »
LoL!! Yesterday, I reported I was shocked to find that for the first time since starting my blog a country other than the U.S. had recorded the most views for a day… | |
Well, it turns out I pulled a “#TrumpTheLoser” and created Fake News before the final tally… | |
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The “next-day” / yesterday full view count is in and the “balance in the force in the universe” has been restored with the U.S. well over the view count of Australia. No “Ashes” for the Ozzies, after all. | |
In my defense, I can only say nobody told ME in advance there would be a end of day surge – AND it didn’t occur to me until today. (LoL!! And now I’ll go back to almost never looking at meaningless blog numbers.) | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | No Profit Without Risk |
And One For Me | |
2020 | He’s Forgotten About Drugs And Rock ‘N Roll |
2019 | I Still Walk Daily |
A Windy Monday | |
2018 | No Religious Test, Yes Religious Ban |
2017 | Looking At #DumbDonald |
2016 | No Great Thing |
2015 | Happy Memory |
Of Two Minds | |
2014 | Sums |
2013 | Memories & Binging |
Admiration Due | |
2012 | Choices Matter |
2011 | Acceptance Is The Key |
2010 | Just A Permanent Crease… |
Bodily Functions | |
Shocked!
Posted in General Comments, Pictures, tagged Australia, Canada, General Comments, Images, India, Pictures on July 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Shocked! Shocked, I say. For the first time (since starting this blog back in 2009) I’ve gotten more views from a single country which are greater than from the U.S. Somebody pinch me… 🙂 | |
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Over the years, Canada and India have come the closest (Canada most often), but they never quite got there. Thank you “Down Under”! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | The Truth Shall Keep Us Free |
Let Your Hair Down | |
2020 | But What About Tomorrow’s Blog Post? |
2019 | Don’t Forget Obstruction Of Justice |
An Honest, Unvarnished Assessment | |
2018 | #45 And The Republicans Are Pretending (So Far) |
2017 | Made |
2016 | Halves |
Accepted Fraud | |
2015 | Even The Little Ones |
2014 | Who’s On First? |
2013 | No Equal Measure |
2012 | A Single Host |
2011 | No Exemptions |
2010 | Memories Of KSA – Inside The Fire |
Memorial Day 2022
Posted in General Comments, History, Leadership, Pictures, tagged Arlington National Cemetery, General Comments, History, Leadership, Memorial Day -- 2022, National Holidays, Pictures, Sacrifice, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Thoughts And Prayers on May 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »
![]() Arlington National Cemetery |
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As we gather around our dinner and picnic tables enjoying the freedom you sacrificed your lives to provide for us, a grateful nation remembers and prays for you and your families… |
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On This Day In: | |
2022 | Three Treasures |
Memorial Day 2022 | |
2021 | How Trump Won The Fringe Right |
Hold My Hand | |
2020 | I’d Include Health Care |
2019 | Accustomed To It |
2018 | Booking My Trip Into The Expanding Universe |
2017 | Fear Instead Of Convictions |
2016 | Memorial Day – 2016 |
2015 | A Handful Of Reviews |
And You Can Quote Me | |
2014 | Get Wisdom |
2013 | Enjoying The View? |
2012 | Adam’s Rib |
2011 | I’m Sure I Remember That… |
Memorial Day, 2011 | |
Another LONG Post (Guitar Review)
Posted in Guitar, Guitar Stuff, Pictures, Reviews, tagged "Tele"-style Guitar, Guitar Review, Indio Retro Classic Electric Guitar Review, Monoprice, Pictures, Reviews on May 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Indio (by Monoprice) Retro Classic Solid Body (“tele”-style) Electric Guitar w/ Gig Bag — guitar review (Images follow the review) | |
[Disclaimer: I have not received as a promotion any guitar or music related product, nor am I mentioning anything in this post to secure compensation / income for myself or the manufacturer(s) of the products mentioned. I am only posting about this / these item(s) because I personally purchased it / them and am excited to be learning about music and playing guitar. — kmab] | |
Background: I am a rank beginner guitar player (particularly when it comes to electric guitars), so please take all of my advice / opinions with a healthy grain of salt… This is another in a series of reviews of guitars and kit I am writing as I learn how to play guitar. All of my purchases have been at the bottom end / inexpensive side of the market. (Obviously, this is not really a box-opening / initial receipt review like my prior ones. I just procrastinated…) | |
Start of review: | |
Ordering / Delivery: I ordered on a Saturday evening (11 Dec 2021), and received the guitar the following Tuesday (14 Dec 2021). I consider this pretty phenomenal service! | |
Price: $79.99 (Yes!! This is NOT a mis-type!) My son asked what I wanted for X-mas and agreed to go half with me. He gave me $40, and I paid the difference (just under $90, w/ taxes, but free shipping). So, I was all-in less than $50! (My wife is [was] still not happy as this is [was] my sixth guitar purchase in less than 12 months. LoL!!) | |
Buyer’s caution: Indio / Monoprice sells another “tele” style model which – at first glance – looks exactly like this model. However, it has no “through-body” strings and it has the three post / two string bridge (traditional) as opposed to a post for each string (non-traditional). I specifically wanted the individual posts because I want to be able to set intonation on each string, not balance between two strings per post. Does it matter? Probably not, I’m just OCD. (images below) | |
What you get: | |
(Specifications) | |
Guitar Brand: Indio (by Monoprice) | |
Model: 610264 | |
Orientation: Right handed | |
Guitar Color: Blue (Dark Royal) | |
Number of frets: 22 | |
Nut width: 42mm. | |
Scale length: 24.75″ (“full size”) | |
Number of strings: 6 | |
Pick-up Style: Single (lipstick); Single (standard / exposed / ceramic) | |
Guitar Bridge System: tele-style modified ash-tray | |
Controls: 3 – 1 x switch (3 positions), 1 x Volume, 1 x Tone; the switch and knobs are metal and mounted on a metal oval backing plate (traditional “tele” style. | |
Body Material: Basswood; NO pits, gaps or faults. A surprisingly beautiful instrument for the price! | |
Neck Material: Basswood | |
Fingerboard Material: Maple | |
Tuning Peg Material: Metal, Kidney Bean shape | |
Nut Material: Plastic (well cut and trimmed) | |
Bridge Material: Metal | |
Bridge Type: Through body stringing with a modified “ash-tray” style metal piece | |
(Package Includes) | |
1 x Guitar | |
1 x Gig Bag | |
2 – 1 x Allen wrench (for adjusting the neck / truss rod); 1 x small Allen wrench (for adjusting the bridge intonation / action) | |
First impression: | |
Visual checklist: | |
• neck – straight, flat and not visibly warped or bent; | |
• nut – Plastic. Looks perfect. Well cut and rounded | |
• strings – strum… not in tune, but string ends are not excessively long or wrapped around the tuning pegs. It tuned up very easily. | |
• body – again, beautiful color and shiny finish. | |
• pickups – both magnetic. I can’t tell much else visually. My “visual test” is to hold something metal near the pickup and feel if it is pulled to the magnetic pickup. | |
• controls – the switch is responsive without being resistant, the volume and tone both turn smoothly. I am able to hear the differences between the pickups on the switch (after it’s plugged in and the amp is turned on) | |
• tuning pegs – no loose spots on turning (tightening or loosening) | |
• pick (“plectrum”) – none – a missed opportunity for marketing. | |
• strap – none – another missed opportunity | |
• action and intonation – the strings are high-“ish” and the intonation is off. Neither are “bad”, just not spot on. The guitar did not come tuned, but this is not unexpected. | |
Strum… the strings are all loose and there is no hope this is tuned “out of the box”. I attach my Snark tuner and tune the guitar. Nothing significant to report. I’m actually loving this at first touch…!!! Despite the neck looking pretty unvarnished, the slide is very smooth and comfortable. It is described as “fast satin”. I’ve no idea what that means. Okay, “nothing significant” ONLY means everything seems normal. There is “normal” fret sprout and the fret ends are not rounded (“BB” style). Both of these conditions ARE “normal” – particularly at a price point under $100. The sharp edges are much worse than the sprout. | |
I plug in the amplifier and plug the cable into it and into the guitar. Both connections are solid enough. I turn on the amp and increase the volume on both the guitar and the amp. Both switch and the knobs on the guitar seem to work. As always, the tone kind of changes the sound, but I still don’t know what I’m doing or what it should sound like, so I set both back to “0”. The volume is MORE than enough (perfect) for me to play in my bedroom or living room after everyone else goes to bed. It is quieter than an acoustic, but no louder than any of my other electrics. Maybe just a little “twangier” in the base strings. Not buzzy, but not like clean strings. | |
Strum… I play for a few minutes – chords and scales. I spend a few minutes “playing” Ode To Joy and then decide to pack it in for now. The guitar is very comfortable to play. The neck and the body seem to be made just for me. It is lighter than my Donner “LP” style, but heavier than the Glarry “strat” style. Also, the single cut top end of the body does make the higher frets more comfortable to reach (compared to full / acoustic bodies). | |
What’s happened since then? | |
Mostly, I played with the action and the intonation. I’ve set the action very low and the intonation is as close as I can get it to perfection – at least to my Snark. I waited a week or so and then filed of a bit of the fret sprout and rounded them, too. I also ended up raising the action back a little bit and then re-adjusting the intonation. | |
Next? | |
Check the fret sprout periodically and do the light maintenance on it / them for safe play-ability. The guitar has (since) been added to my rotation and I’m still enjoying it. | |
Final Recommendation: This is a beautiful guitar and once I sorted out the fret ends and added a strap, it’s been a pleasure to practice with. I still don’t know enough about electric guitars to comment about that aspect (using with amps). I am starting to tell differences in sound, but only on head to head comparison. If I separate the instruments by any length of time (even more than a few minutes), I don’t have enough perception / memory to say if one is “better” than any other. Please recall: I have a VERY inexpensive ($30) starter amp. I’m hoping to experiment more with this later in 2022 or get another “inexpensive” amp in 2023, to use for comparisons. I am VERY grateful to my son for going half on this with me (for my X-mas present). | |
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On This Day In: | |
2022 | Starting Over (Again) |
Another LONG Post (Guitar Review) | |
2021 | Allowing For Compromise |
Whoa-whoa | |
2020 | Why #LyingDonald Hurts The US |
2019 | Blow Between Your Ears |
2018 | Thinking Ahead |
2017 | I’d Like To Try |
2016 | Or Blog (And Bound) |
2015 | Welcome The Virtuous |
2014 | Closing The Gap? |
2013 | On Parenting |
2012 | What Knowledge Is |
2011 | The Indefinite Accumulation Of Property |
In Bloom
Posted in General Comments, Pictures, tagged Front Garden, Front Path, Home, Photos, Pictures, Pictures of Home, Roses on May 3, 2022| 2 Comments »
I mentioned in a post a few weeks back that the roses on either side of our front path were budding and would be blooming soon. Well, here they are! | |
It’s early May and today’s temperature is forecast for mid-80s and getting warmer through the week. This is probably as good as they’ll get as the 90° – 100° is very hard on them. We’ll enjoy them as long as they last… | |
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On This Day In: | |
2022 | Aim High |
In Bloom | |
2021 | Thrive |
Are You Still Here? | |
2020 | Perceived Wisdom |
Lessons Are Extra And Blondell | |
2019 | Live It |
2018 | Mostly Unconsciously For Most People |
Desperately Ginger Lass | |
2017 | Explaining My Equally Meager Results |
2016 | Every Tool And Every Chance |
2015 | Something That You Love |
2014 | Not Really At All |
2013 | Listening And Deserving |
2012 | I’m Still Not Certain |
2011 | True, False And Useful |
Spring Colors
Posted in Family and Friends, General Comments, Pictures, tagged Front Garden, Images of Home, Pictures, Poppies, Roses, Snapdragons, Spring on April 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Last year, we had our front yard converted from mostly grass to drought resistant rocks (and some plants). Here’s a pre-change image… | |
And here are some shots of Spring’s colors… | |
The flowers on the immediate sides of the path are miniature roses, which have a surprising amount of size variety considering they were all bought and planted at the same time… The ones above are about mid-shin / knee height. | |
This is the tallest and next to it (on the lower right) is the smallest. There are probably a dozen more buds getting ready to blossom. You can’t really tell from the photo, but there are a half-dozen bees doing their thing on this bush. | |
Here’s a better shot of the poppies… | |
A better view of the snapdragons… | |
My wife spends a great deal of energy on the gardens (front and back), but it’s worth it for the up-lifting feeling you get when you see everything in the bright morning sunlight and full Spring colors… | |
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On This Day In: | |
2022 | Spring Colors |
Decisions, Decisions | |
2021 | In Pursuit |
The Music Of Her Laughter | |
2020 | Close, Sustained And Careful |
2019 | #45: Spread The Fear |
Fear The Beards | |
2018 | Slice, Nick, Cut, Bled |
2017 | Like Most Blogs |
2016 | The Window Left Open |
Free Experience | |
2015 | Reality == Perception / (Times Reported * 10) |
2014 | Tear Da Roof Off Da Sucka |
2013 | Exposed Spirits |
2012 | Ow-ow |
2011 | Focused Relatives |
2021 Tree And Ornaments
Posted in Family History, Pictures, tagged 2021 Christmas Ornaments, 2021 Christmas Tree, Family History, Pictures on January 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Each Christmas season, our tradition is to get our Christmas tree the first full weekend of December and to take it down the first full weekend after January 6th (aka: the “Feast of the Three Kings” or “Epiphany” or “Little Christmas”). We have a secondary tradition of purchasing a representative decoration for each year. Sometimes they are religious (angels, stars, etc.), sometimes they are Christmas but humorous and sometimes they are topical (StarTrek, StarWars, Harry Potter, Dr. Who, etc). This year’s “extra” ornaments were two electric guitars my wife got me as presents. (LOL) Anyway, we are getting ready to take the tree down next weekend, so I thought I’d post a few pictures of this year’s tree and ornaments… (You can click on the image to see a larger version.) | |
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On This Day In: | |
2022 | 2021 Tree And Ornaments |
2021 | 2020 Tree And Ornaments |
My Bag | |
2020 | Still Looking |
2019 | Too True |
2018 | Simon Says |
2017 | Next Cell |
2016 | Important Knowledge |
2015 | Are You Still The Exception? |
2014 | In Answer |
Days Are Passing | |
2013 | Opportunity |
2012 | Appropriate Qualities |
2011 | A Place To Hang My Hat |
Scratching A Persistent Itch
Posted in Disclaimer, Guitar, Guitar Stuff, Music, Pictures, Reviews, tagged Blues Music, Disclaimer, Firefly RE01 Resonator Guitar, Frets, Guitar Action, Guitar Review, https://guitarsgarden.com/collections/acoustic-guitar, Intonation, Louisiana, Missouri, Music, Pictures, Strings, YouTube on November 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Firefly RE01 Resonator (acoustic) Guitar — guitar review | ||
[DISCLAIMER: This product is being reviewed without compensation of any sort by the manufacturer. I purchased the guitar with my own personal funds. Also, nothing I say should be taken as anything but my personal opinion / observation, as I have VERY little knowledge of music or musical instruments. — kmab] | ||
Background: Since January of this year, I’ve been trying to teach myself how to play guitar – starting from scratch. And by “scratch” I mean I have (had) little to no actual knowledge of music or of the guitar as an instrument. Although I have owned a couple of guitars (and other instruments) in the distant past (back in my late teens / early twenties), I never learned how to tune them, let alone play them. I “meant” to, but life got in the way, and they ended up lost in the mist of time. I think I sold one and the other I simply left with a friend (who ended up junking it). So, the sum of my musical “knowledge” base is what I know of radio / pop music and playing “air” guitar (again, in my distant youth). … So next to nothing. | ||
In January, I got my first (acoustic / steel string / dreadnought) guitar and began physically learning – as opposed to simply watching YouTube videos – how to play. In (roughly) March, I purchased my second guitar (an electric guitar / stratocaster [aka: “S” type] knockoff) with a small amp. In late May, I purchased my second acoustic (third guitar). This one is a small (3/4 size) one with nylon strings. The intent is to have a time and location friendly guitar. “Time” friendly in that you can play a nylon string guitar for hours without seriously hurting your finger tips. “Location” friendly in that I can take it most anywhere without worry about it getting knocked about (because it cost less than $50). After this, at the very tail end of July, I got my second electric. This one is a “Les Paul” (aka: “LP”) knockoff. All of my guitars have been from different manufacturers and ALL are at the low end of the price range with “out of pocket” cost varying from $20 to $220. | ||
I also borrowed my brother’s steel string acoustic. It is not a dreadnought, but I’m not positive what type of guitar it is considered. It is the same body shape and length as my dreadnought, but it is not as deep (wide). I don’t know if dreadnoughts can have variable depth (so maybe it is). Anyway, it came with steel strings and I swapped them out for nylon strings. So, I now have a full-size acoustic guitar which I can practice on for extended time periods. Having said this, my “normal” daily practice is 60 to 90 minutes. This sounds like a lot (even to me), but it really isn’t that long. The longest I’ve “noodled” has been about four hours while watching football on TV. | ||
Start of review: | ||
So, this (Firefly Resonator) is the fifth guitar I’ve purchased this year. It was ordered online with no “expected date” – for shipping or for delivery. (Yeah, I know it sounds shady…) I was hoping for delivery in less than two weeks. It was ordered on a Saturday and delivered on the following Thursday (yesterday). Five days: an initial good impression. The box had a small (two-inch) tear in the exterior, but there was no damage to the guitar. I add that I have grown increasingly concerned about shipping as I am constantly reading about damaged guitars being received. Knock on wood… I’ve been lucky so far. On YouTube, the reviewers frequently say things like: “Firefly is a very good company for shipping. They use double boxing and the guitars are packed in Styrofoam for safety.” Well, that may be true for guitars sent to YouTube reviewers, but neither was true for me. NO double box. No extra packing. The guitar did come in thicker plastic wrap (not see-thru anyway) and it did have a cardboard neck / head brace. | ||
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(Click on images to enlarge…) | ||
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Per their site (https://guitarsgarden.com/collections/acoustic-guitar), this is what I got for $216.91 all-in (including tax and shipping). Note: the item price on the site is $189.91; the difference is added shipping. | ||
Features / Specification: | ||
• Spruce Top, Mahogany back and side | ||
• Bone nut, and nickel String | ||
• Rosewood Fretboard | ||
The site doesn’t mention it, but you get a truss rod Allen wrench included. | ||
And, that’s it… No gig bag (dust cover). No strap. No courtesy (marketing) pic. Nada… Compared to my other “inexpensive” guitars, which came with some or all of these “extras”, this will add well over 10% to the real / final cost once they’ve been purchased. | ||
First reaction: The guitar is beautiful! | ||
Second reaction: The guitar is heavy! | ||
Strum… Sounds okay to me. Not in tune, but definitely different to a “normal” acoustic. The guitar is BIG and surprisingly heavy. To my mind it feels solid, but bottom heavy. This is not a stand-and-play instrument. At the very least, you MUST have a strap. All the metal in the resonator pan (I’m not sure what this is really called / named), makes the guitar look incredibly “art deco” to my eye. I’m loving it!! | ||
I extend the guitar out bow and arrow fashion and sight down from the bridge and then up from the head-stock. The neck is visually straight (no warping). From the side the action (string height) seems a little high, but I’ve been warned (on YouTube) this is frequently true on resonator style guitars because some players will want to use a slide. | ||
Strum… Run my left hand up and down the neck. Absolutely no, sharp fret ends sticking out (on finger or thumb side) and they all feel well rounded / smooth. The fretboard doesn’t look dry or in need of oiling. The strings feel smooth and new. The neck feels smooth, polished and maybe just a bit thick / chunky. (Note: this is a “playing” style / round neck resonator model. Firefly doesn’t seem to stock them, but you can get models with a square / flat-ish neck which are meant to be played on your lap or a table in front of you.) There are no scratches anywhere on the body or neck. The finish / polish appears smooth to the eye and to the touch. I look around the sound holes just to see what a “resonator” looks like. It looks and feels solid. I feel like I’m back on my first guitar because this is SOOOO different from my others. I do notice there is a white residue of some kind around the two screened holes nearest the neck. I don’t know what that’s about and I’m leary to give it more than a gentle scratch to see if it comes off. Some does. Some doesn’t. (see image) | ||
Strum… Okay, attach tuner and see how close it is to “shipped ready to play“. Result: not very. Half the strings require less than 360° tuner turn, two – a couple full turns, one – multiple turns. The good news is the tuners seem very steady / responsive and there are no dead spots or slips. I do all six strings and then go back through them a second time. All but the last are slightly off (expected). Total time: a couple of minutes (15 max). | ||
Strum… Open chords time… Sounds different, but great. A minor scale time… Hmmm… Something is not quite right. The strings don’t “feel” right. I look at the strings again from various angles (top and then up and down the neck). The strings are not parallel. The “D” string runs closer to the “A” string as it approaches the bridge. Hmmm. I thumb the string and it sounds fine, but it is definitely wrong. I hook my index slightly in front of my thumb just in front of the bridge and press… There is a slight “nick” sound and presto(!) the string is in place and running parallel between the “A” and the “G“. My guess is there is some slight groove the string is supposed to rest in and it wasn’t quite there when they shipped the guitar to me. Anyway, it’s fine now! | ||
Two additional points: Action and Intonation. Action is the height of the strings above the frets. I’m not sure what the action is supposed to be, but it feels comfortable to me on both chords and scales. Intonation is (as I understand it) if / does the guitar produce true notes up and down the neck – particularly at the nut and at the twelfth fret. To my ear (and to the tuner) it is perfect – at the twelve, five and seven frets. | ||
Final thoughts: This is a beautiful instrument and I look forward to learning its peculiarities. I already feel like I’m playing an electric guitar instead of an acoustic because the sustain is soooo long. And, yes, it does sound a lot like a banjo got crossbred with a guitar. I imagine myself doing (learning) some Missouri / Louisiana style blues finger picking and sliding with this baby. I can hardly wait! | ||
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On This Day In: | ||
2021 | Likely To Be Subtle | |
My Temp’s Pretty High | ||
Scratching A Persistent Itch | ||
2020 | A Word Of Assurance They Are Not Alone | |
Is #45 Still Crying? | ||
2019 | It’s Obvious | |
2018 | Passed Too Swiftly | |
2017 | On Our Wall (Part 1) | |
2016 | Or The Ripples From A Good Life | |
2015 | Titles And Reputations | |
2014 | Unfolding | |
2013 | Again | |
2012 | Needs | |
Damned | ||
2011 | Potter & Prejudice | |
Blink, Blink | ||
Memories Of The Road Once Taken…
Posted in General Comments, Pictures, tagged Bell Star Helmet, California, Cheyenne, Chicago, General Comments, Google, Google Maps, Kawasaki 900cc, NE, New Jersey, New York State, North Platte, Pictures, San Francisco, Utah Salt Flats, West Germany, WY, Z1 on February 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »
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