ksdaddy

I was going to come in tomorrow and clean my office out, but I opted to do it today. I had a display over my work station of an old violin, mandolin, guitar, banjo and tremoloa (zither) plus an old Italian accordion on one of the shelves. All came down and the holes spackled. We moved into this building in 2006 (new at the time) and I got transferred in 2014, and came back in 2017. Amazing how much crap we accumulate. I've been culling for weeks, seems like. Business as usual though, phones ringing, customers coming in. I have 42 minutes to go and I fully expect someone to walk in that wants to talk about applying for a grant for a high tunnel or something. Someone who moved up here from the city and wants to grow organic asparagus on a POS farm that some real estate guy said had 86 acres tillable.... tillable, yep. Hasn't been farmed since the 60s and it was hayground then. Now it's poplars. I'm burned out. I will miss this place. But not right away. I will be coming back under ACES (Agriculture Conservation Experienced Services) at some point, one day a week or so, whatever doesn't screw up my Social Security. So it's not like a death or divorce. I'll be around. And they will pretty much let me pick the tasks I want to do, depending on what's on fire. I will play that by ear.

Next to the last day. My boss is away for training, a couple others are out on training or maternity leave. Just me and an engineering technician in the office..... and Friday is a deadline to sign up for one of our cost share programs. So of course the phone is constantly going, people are coming in to sign up, I did my exit interview this morning, I'm getting calls from the state office asking for help in fixing screwed up contracts.... no "phoning it in" the last week.

My favorite is America Guitars by Tom Wheeler.

Three more days!

I weaned off coffee but the weaning was fairly steep. I only had one cup in the morning and then I'd have green tea sometime in the early afternoon. I did that for 2-3 days, then switched to one green tea in the morning. The first day I had a caffeine withdrawal headache. The second day less of a headache but it felt like my brain was swelling and pushing my eyeballs out. The third day, just the eyeball thing. A few days into it I drank one cup of Irish Breakfast black tea and I thought I was going to jump out of my own skin. No more of that! Tea has caffeine of course, but less than coffee. Green tea is like 35 mg vs 100 for coffee (or so). I fall off the wagon occasionally and I will pay. I had waffles with syrup for breakfast and I can feel my hands swelling up from the sugar. But I guess I need to do that once in a while to remind myself to avoid it. Twisted logic but we use the tools we need to use....

I’ve had PAF forever but didn’t actually go to the hospital about it until 1983. Some called it Wolfe Parkinson White Syndrome, then they called it PAF, but nobody has ever given me a gilt edged document to that effect. I’ve been on beta blockers since ‘83.

I retire in six days and I am a constant putterer and tinkerer. My “9-5” is mostly sedentary desk work. I get lots of exercise on the weekends and I’m a slug during the week. I’m bound to get more exercise if left to my own designs. I gave up alcohol in 2003 and smoking in 2014. I want to live a while.

Okay, not “fun” weird. I quit drinking coffee on July 12. It was bothering my stomach, making me queasy like motion sickness and the muscles or tendons (whatever) that go from your ear to your shoulder would tense up and I would then have to take 4 Advil. I switched to green tea and it all went away. That’s also about the time I stopped eating junk. I would go through a half gallon of ice cream in two evenings. And chips all the time. And candy… I’m almost 62 and I ate more candy than a rich fat ten year old boy. Now I stopped all that, I use hummus instead of mayo, turkey sausage instead of pork, I snack on grapes and grapefruit, zero ice cream, and my only candy indulgence is imported black licorice. I’ve lost about 10-12 lbs and I feel better. I drink one, sometimes two cups of green tea a day. Because I eliminated most of the caffeine from my day, I cut back my beta blocker from 100mg to 50mg with no ill effects. A few years back I was getting out of breath easily. Walking to the mailbox in the winter, pushing a mower in the summer, any uphill walking. They informally diagnosed it as bronchial hyperresponsiveness, gave me an albuteral puffer and bob’s yer uncle. I only use it as needed. I might go several days without it and then need it 2 or 3 times in one day. Except…. Since I made those changes, I haven’t had to touch the inhaler. What’s the connection?

Oh I chose that because it hit me so hard, it was economical. I got hammered cheaply and quickly and fell asleep before I could get in too much trouble. Never cared for the taste of regular beer anyway. Colt had some lidocaine in it or something, numbed my taste buds.

I had my last Colt 45 malt liquor in December of 2003. Never looked back. I can make bad decisions without alcohol but seems like I never made any GOOD decisions WITH alcohol. Haven't touched a drop since. People offer me a beer and when I say I don't drink, they get all weird, hiding their beer behind their back and looking at the ground. I'm not an alcoholic, ffs, I just choose to not drink. Big difference. I hit 43 and the hangovers FAR outweighed any enjoyment I got. As to wine coolers, I used to call them "KoolAid with a hardon".

Fake.

Over the last ten years I’ve owned one cherry red SG Standard and three SG Fadeds (stupid name) . All were 2002-2010 ish The Fadeds all had nice beefy necks I could dig into. Not so the Standard.

I was married to a redhead for 22-1/2 years before she died. I fear nothing.

I prefer Roger Miller's version of 'Me and Bobby McGee' to any other version. There, I've said it.

First set I had were Pickering OA-3 (open air), in 1975. Loved them until I got a pair of Koss HV-1LC in 1978. Loved them stupid. Since then, I have owned countless pairs, mostly cheap junk. I just use wireless earbuds now.

I’m not smart enough to listen to music like that.

I do too, that’s mainly what prompted my homemade guard comment. Some were horrible. Tons of D-28s on that show, with several non cutaway L-5s off to the side. Lonzo (Lonzo and Oscar) had a D-18 and George Morgan had a J-50. Little Jimmie Dickens had a J-100. Chet shows up once in a while with either a stock 6120, a solid body cowboy Gretsch (6121?) or the black prototype. Lots of old Fender steels too. Paul Yandell used a 6120 backing up the Louvin Brothers. They were supposed to record something like 50 songs for the show but Ira got into a fight or ran his mouth and queered the deal. hijack, sorry….

Back to the ugly guards, back in the 50s it seems like every Martin seen in the hands of country artists had been replaced with something larger and with zero character. They sometimes looked like someone took a mud flap off an 18 wheeler and cut a new pickguard with aviation snips.

We drove down to NH and saw Steve Miller and Jimmy Vaughn last night. We’ve turned it into a 3 day mini vacation. My wife bought the tickets. I have no idea what they cost.

I've had my day with a tri-five. I've known this car since the 80s and owned it since 2013. I won't miss the lack of power steering or power brakes. I look at old cars for sale and get no warm fuzzy. I had a Corvette for 5 or 6 years and always felt like a D-bag when I drove it, same as I view anyone driving something like that. By contrast, everyone loves that Bel Air and it makes them happy to see it. I don't really want an old car that I need to worry about getting scratched or driving in bad weather. Doesn't leave me much. I guess "no action" is as legit a choice as any. I do like the newer Mustangs and they're not as slimy as Corvettes. The only "old car" that might stir me to reach for my wallet would be one that I would have owned as a younger man. I had a string of '67 and '68 Impalas, with tin riveted onto the quarter panels and trunks, and some painted with DeRusto by brush. I would be just nostalgic enough to be stirred by one.

I didn't even go. My daughter and her husband took it so they could socialize and talk cars.

Try this:

41-46 Chevy farm truck.

I’m not one for car shows. I did take it to one in 2018. I’m in the process of handing it over to my son in law. He’s already handed me the money with the understanding that I hand over the keys when I’m ready. He’s taken it to one parade and two car shows, plus they can “borrow” it anytime. My only hesitation is that I haven’t found a “summer car” to replace it with. You’ll see it in the video, hard to miss that turquoise. https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/07/12/presque-isle-fly-car-show/?fs=e&s=cl&fbclid=IwAR1pN8I-r24dNKMNKdwIknw_Lj7RRlZx6JuiuItF89OB7l_vkVVHIAw_vNs

If I were him, I’d create a new profile/account. I know that’s not the answer everyone is looking for.