Californiaman

Idaho is the same way. Although, before I do something like that, I'm wanting hours and hours of practice on the range. That was actually something I enjoyed doing when I lived there. Jaxson50, he was a member here, he and I went. I had a great time shooting a .357 Smith&Wesson and a Glock 20, 10 mm. But I wouldn't carry openly without more practice and a feeling of utter confidence that I knew what I was doing.

I agree with you on concerts being a great way to blow off steam. The arena shows, outdoor venues, and stadium shows were great for that, especially in the OC and LA area. Being that I'm a little older now it's the more intimate shows that I prefer. Thinking about Richie Kotzen May 17 in Agoura Hills. I like places like San Juan Capistrano's Coach House, The Canyon in AH or the Celebrity Theater in Anaheim. It's worth the travel when you get great seats. I think the last big show I went to was way back in the mid '90s. That's when I was an A&E writer for a newspaper in OC. Might have been the KROQ Weenie Roast and before that Lalapalooza, both at Irvine Meadows. Still, some of the stadium shows at the LA Coliseum were epic. U2 and The Who were two great shows. Some of the all-day shows back then, where multiple bands took the stage well into the night were so memorable. One in particular featured, Cheap Trick, Molly Hatchet, Black Sabbath (Dio) and Journey wrapped it up. I remember rolling into the Coliseum parking lot around 8:00 in the morning. We then proceeded to go looking for beer. All we could find at the local liquor store was Malt Liquor. Yikes! That was day to remember. Talk about blowing off some steam.

Yes, I agree.

Yeah, not funny anymore. Although it does have it's moments. It's become a reflection of the woke world, a dark shadow that has crept across our land. I did recently watch a Youtube collage of the late Norm MacDonald's Nightly News skits especially during the OJ Simpson trial. Now that stuff was brutal social commentary on the trial and Simpson.

I took a mythology course once. The professor wanted us all to choose a mythological figure who we would be called by in the class. Since Californiaman is close to the beginning of the alphabet I hoped nobody would take the name I was hoping for. When he called my name I was stoked I got to pick the name I wanted. I told him and the rest of the class, "Ulysses". His reply was, "Clever choice." Ulysses, is the Roman name for the Greek mythological character, Odysseus, one of the cleverest characters of the ancient world. We were told that when he takes roll for the next time we meet that we needed to quote our character in some meaningful way that relates to our character. The next time we met, I was ready when he called my name. I couldn't wait because it was such a classic quote. "How my naked ears were tortured by the sirens sweetly singing." That lit him up. "Oh yes! Cream. Of course. Very Clever."

I'm really liking putting a quality pedalboard together. Most of the front end stuff on my board is going to Fulltone products. Here's a photo from NAMM this year. Brad Jackson from Jackson Audio has taken over the build process for Mike Fuller. Jackson Audio builds some quality pedals too. Brad Jackson, Californian, and Mike Fuller

Duane, I've had several students who were able to graduate at the end of their junior year. I think the best was one of my juniors was so caught up in the gang life that he was on the verge of falling headlong into that lifestyle. After working with him consistently and after days of encouragement he started to move away from the gangs and the street life. He became the first person in his family to graduate high school. He enrolled in the local jr. college and is now an auto mechanic. Sometimes a little encouragement and persistence pays off. So my question to you is, did you stick around for your senior year? Or did you graduate early?

So... one of my economic students a few years ago was actually told by another teacher that he would "never amount to anything". This was the brightest student in my class. He aced the class and the final. It also turns out he Navy wanted him to be a nuclear engineer in the submarine fleet. He signed on as a sonar tech. Anyway, that's it. Not someone told me, but what one of my best students endured.

Yes it is.

Oh yeah, classic SNL.

Buy the other and hang on to the traditional. It might grow on you.

LiMu. I'm surprised at you. You dirty bird!

I love the dark humor in this skit.

So here's my take, for what it's worth. Whether a guitar is painstakingly hand carved, wrapped in vinyl, or tooled leather, burned with a wood burning tool, or pinstriped and painted by an artist, it's up to the individual who owns the instrument, as to what they want to do with the guitar. People can do what they want. It really isn't you, me or anybody else's opinion that counts. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. At NAMM this year, there was a man's company who did vinyl wraps on guitars. He had great stuff. Everything from cartoons to personal scenes can now be easily done in a vinyl wrap. You can chase these down on the interwebz if you're so inclined. The last time I visited my luthier in Boise, Idaho, John Bolin, was working on Billy Gibbons' newest guitar, the red peeler Esquire. It was a complete wrap, even the neck. It looked like an old piece of barn wood salvaged from some old barn. I know that this is not John's handiwork, but you get the idea. Guitar players have for years put stickers on their guitars. Jerry Cantrell's pinup girl comes to mind. Look it up, pretty cool. I don't want my post censored as I've been censored before for posting a picture of his G&L. Most of you know about Jimi Hendrix's Monterey Strat, and his Gibson Flying V. Do a Google search if you're interested in seeing either one. But recreations are out there. I don't think it's up to us to judge what someone does with their guitar, after all beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Dub, so I found a pedal I've been wanting to try for some time, it's an HBE Paradrive. I've heard it's based on the tube screamer circuit with an added boos that can work independently of the od section. Is that accurate? Is it originally based on the TS circuit? What do you know?