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One day after coming home from somewhere I don’t recall, having done something unrelated, we were greeted by something we couldn’t believe: the wonder of snow inside our house.
I was pretty sure that snow wasn’t supposed to fall indoors – at least not in the summertime. Yet the floors were dusted with snow, as were the piano bench, the walls, the dog toys, and the ruined canister of bread crumbs resting at the top of the stairs.
Wait, what? (more…)
According to typingtest.com, the average speed from some 15,000 people tested is 36 words per minute. Five years ago my typing speed was probably half that, and that speed was only a result of sitting at a keyboard eight hours a day for 25 years. It was simply repetitive use of a tool that led me to be barely proficient with its use. So how did I improve my typing speed so dramatically? (more…)
Annie has a towel problem. We’re not sure why, and we’re not sure how it started, but it’s pure Annie. If you’re like me, then you’re probably assuming that Annie’s towel problem would be as simple as a bad dog stealing towels. An overgrown puppy stealing stuff from the hamper is far too pedestrian an activity for Miss Annie, Ferret-Dog of Newfoundland. Annie has a far more peculiar problem, that I had to be shown first hand. I simply did not believe the stories my lovely wife and children were telling me. I had never seen Annie’s towel problem, and I have a pretty strong suspicion as to why that is. You see, I too have a towel problem. (more…)
While most people associate the name Guild with beautiful vintage and modern acoustic guitars, Guild electric guitars are also wonderful examples of fine US-made instruments. I’ve owned more than a few, and it all started for me 30 years ago.
Back in the halcyon days of the very early 80’s, I took my 17-year-old self into a local music store and bought the guitar that I had been lusting after for a year. It was a Guild S300A-D, and it was the coolest looking guitar I’d ever seen. Had I enjoyed the gift of prescience, I would have probably bought the old Gibson 1959 Les Paul in the store across town, but that was just dumb old guitar – this thing was the future! Fast forward 30 years and the Guild S300A-D is worth what I paid for it – about $1000. Not bad. That Gibson though, in good condition might fetch a cool quarter of a million dollars. Ah the decisions of our youth. (more…)
The hair band style of music made popular in the 1980s generally requires guitars called super-Strats. These are guitars shaped like Fender Stratocasters that have been hot-rodded in any number of interesting ways. Usually they include at least one humbucking pickup in the bridge position, and are often adorned with neon colors or flashy designs. You have to remember that in the 70s, most rock bands played either Gibson Les Pauls, Fender Stratocasters or Telecasters. These hot-rodded super-Strats were a statement that the same old boring thing wasn’t good enough for us. Of course today, those “same old boring” Les Pauls, Strats and Teles from the 50s and 60s are worth a pretty penny, but back then, it was all about the look on these shredder guitars. (more…)
I am an admitted gear-hound. I like stuff. While that in and of itself isn’t a problem, I suffer from a more sinister condition; I like nice stuff.
I blame my dad. I can remember him telling me that if I had narrowed my purchase down to a particular model, I should always buy the next better model. He advised that I would only feel the pain of the increased cost for a short while, but I’d enjoy the better item for years to come. Additionally, the better model often meant better quality as well, which would help to ensure an even longer lifespan for my purchase. Sage wisdom.
Today it seems that purchasing the “better” item rarely buys increased quality, but instead offers increased functionality. In the world of electronics, that can make sense. Electronics though, has become the epitome of mass production. Not only are hand-made electronics now the realm of boutique builders, those boutique builders are becoming more scarce every year. (more…)
I thought that I would share the story of Annie coming to live with us, since people who were not members of Newf.Net at the time don’t know the tale. You see, Annie was a mistake.
No, I don’t mean that it was a mistake to get Annie, though some days I might grumble otherwise. What I mean is that we did not plan on getting Annie, or any dog for that matter. At least that’s what we like to tell ourselves. Or should I say that’s what Lauren likes to tell me.
I had decided that we would not get another dog until I had finished my book about Cozy. Cozy, who’s page on this blog has remained empty as I struggle to write the perfect piece about her, was our first dog as a couple. She was our first baby, years before we had human children. Cozy had died a few years before, and I had still not recovered. (more…)
There are zombies afoot. Our woods are full of the shambling undead. Of course we’ve never seen them, but we know they’re there. My Cozy first noticed them many years ago, but to read that story you’ll have to buy the book I wrote about her. You know, the one that hasn’t been picked up by an agent or publisher? Yes, that’s the one. Let me know how you like it.
To summarize the most wonderful zombie-dog story ever written (but not read), I’ll just say that there were zombies in our woods, and Cozy kept them at bay for eight years. How do we know there were zombies in the woods? Well, they never got into the yard, so they must have stayed in the woods. The logic is irrefutable. I should warn you though that I have been told the operative word in my previous sentence doesn’t mean what I think it means, so draw your own conclusions. (more…)
I like bagels. In fact, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t. I know two people who don’t like cheese, but that’s just weird. Bagels, on the other hand, seem to be universally adored. Of course now that I’ve put that in writing, I’m sure I’ll get a flood of comments such as “I find your wanton disregard for those of us who dare to dislike bagels, much like bagels themselves: distasteful!” These comments usually appear in a more succinct “you suck” format, but I’ve learned to read between the lines. Allow me then to backpedal and say simply that I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t like bagels. But wait… that’s a double negative, which will get the pedants on my case, provided Annie isn’t already sitting on it. What was I talking about? Oh yes – bagels. (more…)
