The Sunday Thread For June 28, 2020

Before I sat down to write this, I wondered: Who created the Sunday thread, and when? Was it before I came aboard? What was the thinking?

All I know is that it's become a bit of a tradition, and someone always seems to start one. So, here I go...

June was a very busy month for me, and I'm agog that it's almost over! Right now, July doesn't look as if it's going to be as intense. I have started planning a project to update a server at my office. The OS (CentOS) on it will reach end of life this November and there is no upgrade path, so I'll have to perform a fresh install. While doing so, I'm going to add memory to it, which means pulling it out of the rack it's in, connecting a keyboard, mouse and monitor and getting out some tools. I'm not a hardware type (you don't hear me talking about tinkering with my guitars and equipment, do you?), so while some might think this is a trivial task, it's not something I take lightly.

Back to topics of interest to the forum: I have been getting to know my new Little Martin, and I'm becoming quite comfortable with it. It's got a surprising depth of sound for small guitar, but it's a Martin, so anything else would be a surprise. I continue to learn and practice Robert Johnson material, and having never been a true finger picker before, find it both a challenge and a reward.

Church this morning (we are doing "parking lot communion" these days), then mow the lawn. After that, it's anyone's guess. Scattered thorms in the forecast, so I'll get outside when I can. I'm training for another virtual 5K, so I have to stay in shape.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the summer (if you're in that part of the world)!

I'm getting fat because of the isolation, and bygard, tomorrow I'm going back to eating healthy stuff, like I did before stupid isolation. I've never given in to my sweet tooth so much--cakes, chocolate, pies, etc.

But today is the last hurrah.

Homemade biscuits, gravy, a little Karo syrup with butter to sop my biscuit, eggs, sausage, oj, a second pot of coffee. I'm going to eat enough calories to keep an entire village alive for a week.

Later, I'll distract myself from guilt by setting up my pedalboard--Strymon El Capistan delay, Strymon Lex Rotator pedal, Boss looper, and TubeScreamer have to be integrated. I'll post a catch-all review in the FX Loop in the next few days.

we are awaiting in trepidation for the closing on the house. Will it be this Thursday? Will they push it out to next Tuesday? I hope not. I want it over with. The final severing of the connection to my old life. The point of no return. I want to look forward.

It's strictly psychological but I can't help it, even knowing there's no reason to not get stuff done. When we sign those last papers and get the check, there's going to be a dam burst of activity around here. I did actually get some cleaning done and it was like pulling teeth. I hope I don't hurt myself in the rush to do things when it's finally done :laughing:

we are looking down the barrel of a thunderstorm gauntlet that stretches from this afternoon well into tomorrow. This morning is the time to get out and do stuff so I've got to get off the computer before it's too late.

Our daughter graduated with a Master or Science in Nutrition at NUNM yesterday. The ceremony was done on Vimeo then that had a tassel turn and toast on Zoom afterward. I wish I had thought to shave and put on a nicer shirt! It wasn't as great as being there, but they did a good job.

We're going to work on the bathroom some more today and have a Zoom meeting with family later.

The Sunday thread has been going a long time - not sure exactly when it started but "years" isn't out of the question. I'm going to try and connect with a guy who repairs keyboards today. I have a Roland XP-50 workstation that has extremely low output. A visit to the google tells me that a couple capacitors need to be replace. I've started revisiting a bunch of "keyboard songs" (as compared to "Guitar songs") and wouldn't you know - the darn thing isn't working. Anyways, the guy comes highly recommended and a new keyboard would set me back a bunch of $$$. Who knows - next Sunday I might be asking for recommendations on a new keyboard. :up

Another lather-rinse-repeat weekend here. Hot, humid and thunderstorms on the way. It was my wife’s 50th birthday on Friday and we had a very small gathering of her closest friends for a few hours that night. Even so, still made both of us a bit nervous wrt virus transmission. I guess we’ll know in 14 days.

finished my garage floor rehab project, finished with landscaping. We’re looking at putting a hot tub in the back yard. That means more landscaping, shovelling and concrete work! Yay! Oh and plumbing and electrical work! Double yay!

So, I’ve been on an analog synth kick in recent weeks. Been looking at all kinds of hardware - window shopping = GAS! There was one unit up for sale locally at a reasonable price but I managed to control myself.

as an alternative, I bought the Repro-1 and Repro-5 VSTs so I could get a sense of what sorts of features and sounds I would want in a hardware synth. The soft synths are cool, but if I ever get into performance with a synth, I’d want hardware. Nothing more aggravating trying to use a mouse during a performance! I think what I’d really need is a sample trigger piece of hardware. But the options there that don’t require a computer get fairly pricey as well.

rain caught us much earlier than expected so I unpacked all my guitars. The tower of guitar boxes on the porch is somewhat intimidating. I'm going to have to rearrange that room ... again.

They reopened the range, but I had to pass on today's shoot. Woke up to low water pressure, and the sound of water under our bathroom. Found a connection on the hot water line to my shower leaking, and had to fix it. Way to start a Sunday!

Sigh. The buyer wants to push out the closing until Monday because of the holidays. Yeah, thanks for ruining ours.

Dan, I think buying (or selling) a new home ranks right up there with death of a loved one, divorce, and lost of employment as high stress inducers.

Breathe deeply, and keep telling yourself, "This too, shall pass..."