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Here are some of my better photos from the 2024 solar eclipse. I had some equipment failures, many of which were mitigated by running two cameras, though I can’t discount the possibility that the failures were the result of running two cameras from one laptop. Such is the way of technology.
All photos were taken on April 8, 2024 in Lake Placid, NY and are copyright 2024 Gary A. Donahue. And yeah, that’s me looking at the sun with hard plastic eclipse glasses from American Paper Optics.
One of the most viewed pages on my site is One Man’s Quest for Gas Cans that Don’t Suck. I wrote that after Hurricane Sandy and it’s been shared widely around the Internet on hobby forums ranging from off-roading to disaster preparedness along with mainstream social media such as Reddit and Facebook. Why? Because 10 years later most gas cans STILL suck thanks to ridiculous laws written by pencil-neck legislators who don’t have a clue what they’re legislating. But today’s scribblings are not about stupid laws. Today I’m here to write about war, Covid, and the possible death of the NATO gas can. (more…)
I have an Ultimaker S5 as my only 3D printer, and it was a substantial investment for someone who doesn’t use it in a business environment. When I got it I desperately wanted the Material Station, but it was just too damn expensive, and that’s on top of the printer’s price which was also too damn expensive! I did buy the Air Handler, though, because my home office is small and I’m not a fan of breathing microparticles.
After a year of owning the S5, I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase the Material Station. These are my impressions as someone who paid their own money for one and who’s actually used it non-stop for a couple of months, along with some of the things I’ve learned that surprised me due to none of the marketing material or paid reviews having covered them. (more…)
Today’s guitar is a relatively uncommon Guild S65D that I sought after for years. While only seen rarely, sometimes with a ridiculous price and almost always with a fair bit of hyperbole, these guitars are beloved by those who own them and misunderstood by those who don’t (and some who do).
I’ve finally got my hands on one so hang on tight while I give this guitar the complete tear-down and review treatment.
This glorious piece of ’80s goodness is the fairly uncommon Burnside (by Guild) Crossbow guitar, and thanks to a tip from a user on The Gear Page I scored this rarity from Guitar Center for the princely sum of $500. Was it worth it? How’s it sound? How’s it play? Read on while I answer all of these questions and more in the only detailed review of the Guild Burside Crossbow headless guitar you’re ever likely to find.
Today’s rare guitar is the Guild X92 Citron Breakaway from the depths of 1984 which was a rare time in history when guitarists actually seemed open to new ideas.
Follow along while I tear this Guild/Citron collaboration down to see what makes it tick while also delving into the history of a fascinating guitar that was only made for a very short time in the mid 1980s.
This is a quick and dirty article on why you should never use bubble wrap inside the case when shipping a guitar. More specifically, you should not use bubble wrap in any way that allows the bubble wrap to touch the finish on a nitro-based lacquer-coated guitar. (more…)
As I sit here in July of 2021, the latest cheese grater Mac Pro (released on December 10th, 2019) has been out for just over 18 months, since then I’m sure you’ve seen, read, or heard everything possible about the Mac Pro wheels. From the fact that they don’t lock, to the fact that Apple charges seven hundred freaking dollars for them, they quickly became the latest Apple product on which the Apple haters could focus their rage. In an odd twist, though, this time even the Apple fans like me thought they were stupid. There was just one problem: I have one of the new Mac Pros, and the simple truth is that I really needed the wheels.
This gorgeous piece of red-hot goodness is a 2020 Guild Newark St. X350 Stratford guitar. It is the pinnacle of the current 2021 hollow-body offerings from Guild along with X175 Manhattan Special that I reviewed here. While clearly built to resemble the vintage Guild X350 from the 1950s, this guitar has no push-buttons like that iconic guitar, so follow along as I dig into this beautiful instrument and learn how it manages to control three pickups with only a 3-way toggle and four knobs.
Here’s a rare Guild from the mid-1990s that looks like a Telecaster, is built like an acoustic guitar, and kind of sounds like both while not sounding entirely like either, all the while allowing the combination of both in a single baffling beautiful guitar that was probably 20 years ahead of its time. Read along while I dig into the mysterious magnificence that is the Guild Crossroads CR01.
