Sunshine Day March 10 2024

[ch willie]

9:30 a.m. GJ and OS--are you guys okay?

I'm still feeling puny with Covid. Although I feel crappy, it could have been a lot worse. It's in my lungs, but I've had much worse chest colds.

My job allowed me to work from home this week, and I've been working on some special stories. One was going to be a column, but my boss wants to use it as a feature story. My best friend in the U.S. is a Lithuanian. He was a teenager, and his father took him to Berlin to visit their friends. It just so happened that it was at the time that the East German spokesman mis-spoke, and the East opened to the West, and The Wall began its fall. I was there just a few weeks afterwards. There were still machine gunners in East Berlin. So my article deals with our very different but similar experiences.

We both chipped off and possess pieces of the Wall, a tiny part of its 93 total miles. I brought mine home and put them in a polyester resin block. It's hard to make it out, but the pic of the soldier through a hole in the Wall--his gun is lowered, and he's sweeping the plaza.

[DanTheBluesMan]

wow, everybody must be off their feed today, can't believe I'm only second to respond. I stayed up stupid late last night exacerbated by the time change to even later. Starting tonight, going to bed earlier. Made the mistake of starting the movie Dune at 1 AM. Like what I've seen so far, much more so than Lynch's Dune. Usually I'm not taken by remakes, the original versions often become canon to me. Not so in this case.

Got the bass neck filed last week, this week was new strings. Put them on last night. LaBella Deep Talkin' 760FM-P specifically made for the Squier mini P bass. Today I'm doing a set up as the tension of the new strings is quite different from the old, much lighter ones. Going to try to get some other stuff done while the bench is cleared. Some involves moving amps and for some reason my back has been very tight and twitchy of late. I think I might have aggravated something bringing in the #40 bag of kitty litter and case of water last week when my brother wasn't available.

Investigating revenue sources. Has anybody ever sold plasma? Also seeing ads for mock trial juries, allegedly WFH. Got to find some way to supplement the social security stuff.

[blackonblack]

Well winter hasn’t released its grip. The wind chill was high 20s when I left this AM. Had a couple early morning gigs on guitar. Went quite well. Played the SG Special due to lack of weight, wanting it to get more stage time, and it had the voicing the set lists needed. Played through the house Helix LT with my patches on it.

For the rest of the day, need to work on taxes more as I owe a sizable amount this year. Need to get my business stuff in then send off to my best friend (CPA with his own firm handling small/med businesses). Also need to gas up the truck for the workweek ahead of me. Also have yesterdays F1 race to watch.

[OldStrummer]

I hit the ground running this morning and am only now getting to my computer. I set my clocks ahead last night, but with modern technology in the mix, had to make sure the manual and automatic clocks were all correct (oven, microwave and coffee maker don't yet change automatically). I wake with the light, not with the clock, so it was an overcast morning when I opened my eyes at 7:30am. Today is the quarterly pancake breakfast at the local fire station, and it's the best meal in town and for a good cause, so shower, change, and off I went. To church directly from eating, where I was conscripted into serving (one of our greeter's sisters had suffered a stroke, so they were short-handed). My daughter and family are meeting me for lunch in a short while, so this is the calm eye of the hurricane today.

Inside news, for your eyes only: I wrote one of my two songs in 1972, and I've brushed it off, added an instrumental bridge to it, and hope to have its world premier during the open mic next Tuesday. Only 52 years late! And I actually feel it's still not complete, as I want to add some sort of chorus to it. But I've been playing a lot lately, and last week's performance was a lot of fun, so I'm hoping this is the beginning of a winning streak. I'll let you know.

Safe and happy Sunday, everyone!

[Laker]

I wasn’t sure if this is the official Sunday thread and have been afraid to start one since it seemed someone (can’t remember who) was complaining about who was starting that thread. I’m usually up between 4 and 5:00 AM so I check to see if the Sunday thread has begun before we head out for breakfast with friends.

Hope all have a good week.

[ch willie]

I wasn't complaining, Laker. I just noticed that GJ and OS often started two threads for Sunday and suggested they coordinate.

[blackonblack]

I hit the ground running this morning and am only now getting to my computer. I set my clocks ahead last night, but with modern technology in the mix, had to make sure the manual and automatic clocks were all correct (oven, microwave and coffee maker don't yet change automatically). I wake with the light, not with the clock, so it was an overcast morning when I opened my eyes at 7:30am. Today is the quarterly pancake breakfast at the local fire station, and it's the best meal in town and for a good cause, so shower, change, and off I went. To church directly from eating, where I was conscripted into serving (one of our greeter's sisters had suffered a stroke, so they were short-handed). My daughter and family are meeting me for lunch in a short while, so this is the calm eye of the hurricane today.

Inside news, for your eyes only: I wrote one of my two songs in 1972, and I've brushed it off, added an instrumental bridge to it, and hope to have its world premier during the open mic next Tuesday. Only 52 years late! And I actually feel it's still not complete, as I want to add some sort of chorus to it. But I've been playing a lot lately, and last week's performance was a lot of fun, so I'm hoping this is the beginning of a winning streak. I'll let you know.

Safe and happy Sunday, everyone!

7:30? I was setting up for my first sound check of the day. Why is it Retirees start slacking so quickly (just hacking on you). :)

[OldStrummer]

7:30? I was setting up for my first sound check of the day. Why is it Retirees start slacking so quickly (just hacking on you). :)

Your words just drip with envy.

[phantomman]

Your words just drip with envy.

+1000

[S. Cane]

Easy day here, starting with the sweet and heartwarming smells of Hoppe’s and Winchester Gun Oil (field strip and maintenance day for the .45) soon after breakfast.

Rewatching Dune while I finish my Sundaily 6-pack of beers. There are a couple of premium bacon cheeseburgers waiting for me in the kitchen.

I gotta play more guitar.

[blackonblack]

Your words just drip with envy.

Glad you took that in the manner I meant (thought you would).

[OldStrummer]

No worries, Mark. I have very thick skin.

I know there have been spats and some bad blood here, but I won't get involved with any of that. If I need to apologize to someone, I apologize. And if someone want to denigrate my guitar playing, interests or lifestyle, well, they're probably right!

[gibsonjunkie]

I checked in a couple times but was waiting for someone else to start the Sunday thread - and then things got away from me and I forgot. We had the weirdest weekend. My aunt died and ther was big family drama - which we found ourselves right in the middle of. I just wanted to say goodbye to my aunt but the cousins were fighting over everything. For some reason it was important that we side with each of them. I basically told them all I loved them all and so I wouldn't take sides. Anyways, a disaster was anticipated - they even had a cop on duty during the wake in case anybody started anything. Emotions ran high, but in the end, everyone behaved and we all got yhrough it safely. I was never so glad to get home at the end of the day.

[OldStrummer]

I'm sorry for your loss, Nick. And even sorrier that it caused so much friction, as these things too frequently do.