fortyearspickn

"water maybe 4 or 5 DAYS //// This story is definitely 'fishy'. Weren't those 2 brothers who connived with Jussie Smollett's fake story also from Nigeria ?

I think the major things impacting a home's electric bill are the Heating Cooling system, washer/dryer, and all the kitchen appliances. A half dozen light bulbs you use only for a few hours at night - not so much. it's like when they tell you to buy an new $2,000 refrigerator - so you can save $3 a month on your electric bill. Saw an article that said the average home would only save $5 a year switching from Incandescent to LED, but it factored in the cost of buying all new bulbs.

Definitely the social trend - significantly more GenXers do not want to get married of have kids.

"worth it" is a quintessential Value Judgement. Depends on how much "Disposable Income" you have compared to all the other things you'd like to spend it on. Wine, women and song? Cars, jewelry, gold coins ....! Most are not willing to spend a premium and wait longer, just so they can have a one of a kind guitar. But, obviously, enough are that it makes the program worth having. I would think a Limited Run or a Signature Model would hold value longer than a one-off. But, that's me.

Saw the article and a photo showing 2 of the geniuses on the rudder. Ship must have been unloaded because, as Sgt.Pepper pointed out rudders are suppose to be 100% under the water. And, even if it had been partially loaded, waves would have washed over the rudder forcefully if they hit even moderately heavy seas. From the photo, I couldn't see where they would have tied themselves off. They said they barely talked and only in whispers so the ships crew wouldn't hear them and throw them overboard. You wouldn't hear someone talking on the other side of a ships steel hull with the propellors (screws) churning and the water sloshing. They either lied there, or are supremely stupid. I thought you would DIE if you drank saltwater, especially for 10 days. I'd think you would for sure if you also had no food. I find the claim of the men impossible to believe. Either that, or Darwin missed a golden opportunity.

i found company picnics were a good opportunity to get to know a few people from other departments you only interacted with by phone or memo. Yeah - 'memo' as in before email and txt messages. I (successfully) resisted pressures from staff to let them work from home, 20 years ago. I knew there was no way to measure or evaluate work performed, let alone performance of someone I might only see twice a month, sitting in a 'meeting' to discuss generalities. I retired 10 years ago, but it seems those who now work at home now are not very productive. Drop off and pick up kids from school - and arrange work schedule around it. And, since staff will either know or think they know - who the slackers are, if you as manager do NOT - you'll lose all credibility. They will expect you to not only 'know' but to do something about it. Otherwise, water will seek its own level and they'll become slackers too. There use to be a term "Management By Walking Around". It worked well, along with being 'available' with an open door. Professionals want to do a good job, and realize they have to be able to demonstrate that they are. It is easier for them to do that if they can talk with you. The 5% who do not want to do a good job - either perform at a 'satisfactory' level, are evaluated as such and accept it, or eventually fall below 'acceptable' and your job is then figuring out how to move them out. That all has to do with 'staff'. Co-workers, peer managers , etc. will mostly be OK. But you can be sure there will ALWAYS be a few looking to step on you to elevate themselves. A good director or executive will be smart enough to deal with that. If your boss, at any level, isn't smart enough (or ethical enough) - you are screwed. It's just a matter of time.

I'm guessing you can find chicken fried steak in the freezer section of your grocery store, and it would include a packet of gravy. All pre-cooked, you just have to stick it in your microwave.

It's all just 'conditioning' so we'll not get upset when they ban gasoline powered cars. Remember those funny looking pig-tail light bulbs that were suppose to last for decades? Save the planet...

Can't wait for school to start up again.

I've got a J-45 Custom Shop. Limited. Run of 50 I think. Bought new from Rainbow Guitars in Tucson 5 + years ago. Spec sheet says Koa b/s, Sunset Burst and Rosewood fretboard & bridge. Although the bridge is rw - the fretboard is ebony. I embrace the diversity of all Gibson acoustics, fully understanding the difficulty of putting together a myriad of different models in a fast paced town like Bozeman, which is adjacent to the John Dutton Yellowstone Ranch and Train Station. "A rose, by any other name..." The guitar stands on it's own merits - the paperwork is irrelevant. Close your eyes and imagine you had lost all the labels, serial numbers (did you get the checklist/spec sheet?) and strum the guitar. Now open your eyes with the papers in front of you. Strum it again.

Yep. I've got one of those. The older the guitar gets - the better it sounds. The older the strings get the better they sound ! Maybe I need to dig out a really old pick ! And - that NGD photo - could be a covergirl, or a pin-up. I've read in several places - many feel the H'Bird overall is the nicest looking acoustic on the planet ! Congrats !!!

Yep. Fortunately - for the Blue Nose 'certification' - there was not 'ritual'. No "keel hauling" !

I am a lazy, visual person. So, my 3 guitars (all acoustic) are hung on the wall. Otherwise they'd not get played. I know this because when I only had ONE - I kept it in a case and, for 20 years, rarely played it. But, we're all different, with different climate environments. If I had more than 3, I'd likely be casing some.

Yep. I was fortunate to have been stationed on 3 different ships in 3 different ports in the Atlantic Fleet. Furthest Flung place we sailed was way above the Arctic Circle. Hard to drive there. Especially in summer.

Puerto Plata - north coast of the Dominican Republic... spent a week there. Very Cool! Great place to retire with that "Yankee Dollar" if you can feel safe... Born in Brooklyn. "Dragged up" just outside the City Limits - in the 'burbs. Which, in the 60s was rife with 'Folk Music'. So, I got in line and took guitar lessons for a year. Rewarded myself with a new '64 LG1 I was barely able to afford from my grocery store job - at $1.25 an hour. Left NY to college in Gaston County, North Carolina. Navy in '68 at 21. Got to see PART of the world and get married. Discharged in '72 in Key West. Finished school in Miami and got a job. Then we moved to Central Taxachussetts. After 5 years - back down South to Texas in the mid-80s where we've been since then: Houston, Bulverde, Waco, San Antonio ...where we are now retired.

(sarcasm on) Yeah. Some people are deplorably un-self-aware. (sarcasm off)

They use to have an expression here, probably in other places - "He needed killing." Probably one of the reasons "Yellowstone" is so popular. Then there's 'Dexter'.

I read somewhere that a big part of haute cuisine is “the sauce”. I guess for many of us, it’s the condiments. I do like mayo on French fries. Or vinegar.

Really! Almost makes a person want to refrain from participating in "light hearted banter among friends."

Yep !!!

That's why it's so hard to pronounce !

Think many of our 'quirks' come from some deep-seated, latent fears. Which we may have either been born with or got before we learned to walk. Fear of dying - aka Mortality has got to be up there. Making us afraid of snakes and spiders and heights. Ghosts, Aliens ... Wanting to keep a guitar or a car in pristine condition - to prove that WE are ding-proof ?? Avoid damage to your prized leather jacket ... controlling the risk to it. Keep it in the closet 99% of the time. Can controlling people fall into that category? Arguing about 'stuff' ? The other possible extreme - buying pre-distressed jeans is apparently normal today. Wasn't 40 years ago. How about a brand new but 'relic-ed' guitar ? Would that ward off the fear of more 'real' dings? Or your own body getting real dings ? Fear of death? Acquiring a 60 year old 'classic' sports car and keeping it in a climate controlled garage... driving it twice a year on perfect weather days on back roads? Warding off rust, dings and mortality? Denial ? I've come to the conclusion that I'm a garbled bunch of phobias that I can only keep in check by realizing there is a little part of me - in my brain - my ego, that uses then to make me feel fear. And, every time I smack it down - it becomes easier. I try to laugh instead of curse every time my zipper gets stuck. Or my guitar gets dinged. Was a challenge last time - my careless 10y/o granddaughter did it after a 'music lesson'. Hopefully, she came away less worried about dings. ( But a little more respectful of other people's 'stuff'. )

I think the 'woken up' thing refers to people who, upon waking up in the morning - look for something to offend them, and then write about it on the Internet. Hoping some blog will pick it up and propel them to their 15 minutes of fame. It was that Aldean song that Sheryl Crow commented on which I referred to earlier in criticizing her inability to mind her own business. Singing.

Fun Fact: Worcestershire Sauce's secret ingredient is ANCHOVIES ! Sparky - we have very similar DNA.... Wife did the "Ancestory" thing. Every six months they change our makeup. At one point she was related to a very unusual tribe from a South Pacific Island with blonde curly hair. i'm serious ! Oh - and here, we have a Hot Sauce Shortage: This from NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/06/17/1105477224/sriracha-shortage-chilli-climate-change

SC has been opening her yap for decades. But, no, I do not like Green Eggs and Ham ... or any un-naturally colored guitar, even a J-45 !! Electrics - are a horse of a different color though !