Informal Drop In OT Thread

[Phil W]

Wow!

Firefox 3 is very fast!

[Tom Capasso]

The piano bar will be more bar than piano. I'm stripping out the guts with a tentative plan to put an ice trough where the keys are where we'll plant beers. Rest of the space will hold the glasses and various bar accouterments. The hammer assembly will likely be mounted above the fireplace as an art-thingy, and the big huge brass thing that the strings mount on will likely become a garden sculpture.

Sounds interesting. Will you use the entire hammer assembly as art? And the huge brass thing is called the harp (not surprisingly) - that's where most of the weight is. I think you should leave the strings on it when you plant it.

 

Nice!

Tom

[Paul K]

Will use the entire hammer assembly. It looks way cool, but will be a monster of a dust magnet.

 

Unfortunately, I've removed most of the strings in order to get at the screws and bolts that hold the harp onto the soundboard. I had to get the free piano out of it's old home in a hurry and just kind of went crazy with the demolition phase. It's a real heavy piano and I needed to lighten it up to get it moved. I originally thought I'd be bringing the harp to the metal recycling plant, so didn't consider in time it's usefulness as is....

 

That, and I'm going to Europe tomorrow. Wife and I are meeting up with my sister and her family (from Seattle), gonna rent a houseboat on the canals in Alsace region of France for a week, then mooch off of my mother's side of the family near Frankfurt Germany for a week. Two weeks without a bass in my hand...

 

Peace

Paul K

[Phil W]

Two weeks in France and Germany should be neat though!

 

I'm in a happy mood today. Saw my nephew (on Skype) and his father had bought him a nice new Epiphone Viola Bass and he is working his way through the bass clef in the complete Beatles book - not McCartney's lines exactly but a great way to start! What a great father!

[TimR]

Some good things and some bad things have been happening.

 

Small wasps nest in shed. Think I can deal with it using some powder.

Small leak on toilet cistern has ruined bathroom carpet, carpet was going anyway and I've replaced it with vynl flooring.

I've been relieved of my duties as first call bass player with Nadir Rising, they've finaaly found a permanant guy. Think I've got another project ready to go

TV Blew up. Too expensive to repair so I now have a nice new shiny one.

Daughters School won 1st place in the Inter Village sports day. Six schools competed. Got sunburned doing carpark duty

Been off work with the bug cleared up now

Wife's car steering fluid leaking.

Sold Trace Elliot and got more than I wanted for it.

Went to dentist for root canal and crown, after 1 hour of drilling and scraping it was decided the tooth was beyond all help and has now been removed. More work to come :(

Just got my brand new spanking car with 8 miles on the clock today. :)

 

 

 

On balance not too bad really. 9x 10x My kind of month. I hope July is not as mad.

[Brocko777]

Dang TImR, I thought I spilled a bunch of yellow bean bag fill on my screen.

I am sitting here in the middle of the night, got a daytime 4th gig and I have had a sinus infection for the last week.

I am on my 3 day of amoxacillen for 10 day. Coughing in what seems 5 second intervals. Not breaking any of it up. Throat and head is pounding, drinking and gargling EVERY concoction known to man with no relief. Oh, and I am "scheduled" to be singing tomorrow as well.... we will see about that one.

Phew...

Happy 4th to all!

 

Brocko

[moot]

Get well Brocko.

I have had a busy week. I started a huge siding job Monday and decided to do all the stuff that needs to be done from the roof first. I always do the hard stuff first, anyway it is hot and steep and I'm now a sunburned mess but the money's good and it will probably take at least a month to reside and paint the place.

I did manage to ride my Ducati for about 2 hours last night. I am starting to trust this bike more and more and now realize that it is indeed a Monster.

The house is still coming together slowly. The painting goes on and every room has a pile of boxes in it but we're gaining on it.

 

Happy 4th everyone!

[Chewbubba]

Ah, I wished you lived closer to me, I need quite a bit of roof work/repair. I need to rip the gutters down and replace the boards behind them - in some places they are rotting quite badly.

 

Heck for that matter, I need to rip the whole roof off, including most of the decking.

 

I've got a class next week out of town (on Arkansas geology - woo, exciting... ), so I took my Jeep in for $750 worth of repairs yesterday. The dude didn't even fix the overheating problem...

 

Today, though, I'm going to relax most of the day. Got a soundcheck at 2:30. After that, I'll chill, cruise the midway for junk food, check out the helicopters and stuff going on at the (double) gig. I'm told that of 6 licensed pyrotechnics in Arkansas, two of them will there for the biggest flippin' fireworks display in the city tonight.

 

Brocko, you can take or leave this advice, but it works wonders for me. I have chronic sinus problems, and when my doctor retired, he told me to mix 1/4 tsp of salt with 8 oz of warm water and squirt it up each side of my nose (over a sink or in the shower) once or twice a day. I promise it works. If I feel sinus crap starting, I'll start doing this. Most times, it kicks it in the teeth and I don't get sick.

 

Happy 4th!

[Phil W]

Happy 4th guys!

[Phil W]

 

Brocko, you can take or leave this advice, but it works wonders for me. I have chronic sinus problems, and when my doctor retired, he told me to mix 1/4 tsp of salt with 8 oz of warm water and squirt it up each side of my nose (over a sink or in the shower) once or twice a day. I promise it works. If I feel sinus crap starting, I'll start doing this. Most times, it kicks it in the teeth and I don't get sick.

 

I do something similar - it's called a neti pot and I got it from Whole Foods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_irrigation

 

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/simplesahm/neti.jpg

It cuts down on my snoring too.

 

[Chewbubba]

I've seen those. Never tried one, though. Dr. said to either use a syringe, or one of those infant-bulb-syringes.

 

Currently, I'm using this, but I don't care for their saline concoction. Salt works better.

http://a1061.g.akamai.net/7/1061/5412/home/www.walgreens.com/dbimagecache/356698.jpg

[DavidMPires]

Happy days.....

 

Today I passed my first of 3 exams to become a mortgage advisor. Todays exam was the hardest of all because involved taxation, uk regulation, benefits etc.... Big stuff.

The second one will be pretty easy, as it is mainly types of mortgages and they caracteristics, and i'm ok in that, that's what I do for a living, setting up mortgages and check their details, the 3rd one will be case studies, and i think i can manage that, i have quite an experience with brokers on helping them to find the most suitable product for their client.

 

2nd thing on monday it's my birthday and my lovely lady bought us a ticket and booked the hotel in dublin, i think we are going for musical pub crawl, with irish music. I can't wait.

 

Well this is all. I'm happy today

[moot]

Have a Happy Birthday David and have a great crawl.

I love Irish music!

[Phil W]

Congratulations on the exam and have a great birthday David! Enjoy Ireland!

[Paul K]

So Im away for two weeks and the discussion turns to nose douche?

 

Well, here is as good a place as any for this post:

 

What I learned on my summer vacation:

European eggs are better than American eggs. Deeper and richer yolk color and flavor. I will be hunting for the least expensive American counterpart in the supermarket, and may consider growing my own. A pure culinary delight.

 

European coffee is good, real good. But coffee it aint. Its closer to a long shot espresso.

 

The McDonalds in the Frankfurt airport puts out good breakfast grub. The aforementioned eggs and coffee were complimented by a crisp and flavorful muffin on my Egg McMuffin with bacon sandwich. Much better than the chewy Canadian bacon of the traditional Egg McMuffin. Scoff if you will. But if youre doing Europe on a budget, McDonalds should be your breakfast stop.

 

European toilets can often flush with the violent fury that makes it a good idea to stand back before you pull the lever/push the button. And it is not uncommon for you to need to negotiate far too many doors to get to the water closet. Yet even with all these doors, its still often a clear visual shot from the bar cause all these doors are often left propped open.

 

Staying on the bathroom front, bullnose tiles are not to be found across the pond. I had originally thought this to be a Caribbean phenomenon, what with everything needing to be shipped in from overseas and the apparent fact that Caribbean clocks run slower than their American counterparts. But no. Its something else.

 

My niece is an uptalker? Do you know what I mean? Its very hard to listen to? But theres not a damn thing you can do about it?

 

Traveling with family members who are lactose intolerant is hard, but not because of their dietary needs. Each and every time you reflexively ask if they want the cream while youre filling up their coffee, you get a long diatribe about how theyd love cream in their coffee, but are lactose intolerant and what it does to their G.I. tract and how their spouse is lactose intolerant as well, as is their first daughter, but the younger daughter is just a little lactose intolerant and its all such a shame cause they really love cheese and miss pizza so much, yada yada yada. Really. I was just being polite. I dont care how you take your coffee. Heaven forbid that I accidentally bring home some cream filled pastries from the patisserie because the lady didnt speak German and I dont speak French, which they ate anyway..

 

Yes, German beer is all its cracked up to be. And its often served in these real big glasses. Nothing wrong with that.

 

The autobahn is a hoot; amazing how fast you can make a cheap rental car go. Stop signs are in English instead of German or French. Two stroke scooters are annoying. Germans park like they are U.P.S. drivers; that is, anywhere they please since curbs are merely a suggestion.

 

Yup. Id go again given the chance.

 

Peace

Paul K

[slap-pop-karl]

Eggs.....Grow eggs! hahaha!....hmm what could you call it insted of grow though?

[Phil W]

European eggs are better than American eggs. Deeper and richer yolk color and flavor.

 

We still have awful battery ones over here too but there are many great ones. The colour thing isn't a guarantee of quality as it just depends on diet - just check for free range/organic

 

European coffee is good, real good. But coffee it aint. Its closer to a long shot espresso.

Yes, very different. Actually, last trip in Paris I couldn't find a decent coffee. Italy is the place, and a handful of London places.

 

Scoff if you will. But if youre doing Europe on a budget, McDonalds should be your breakfast stop.

I'll scoff. I guess it must be better in Germany. It's awful in the UK but better in France. There are so many better places to eat though - just get something at a bakery.

European toilets can often flush with the violent fury that makes it a good idea to stand back before you pull the lever/push the button. And it is not uncommon for you to need to negotiate far too many doors to get to the water closet. Yet even with all these doors, its still often a clear visual shot from the bar cause all these doors are often left propped open.

The door thing is a continental thing. Brits are ultra-private. Never met the violent toilets but been soaked by many a hand basin

Yes, German beer is all its cracked up to be.

Oh yes

 

Yup. Id go again given the chance.

 

Yes, you're making me feel like a trip back there!

[The Geoff]

You can get *great* coffee in Spain.

 

G.

[moot]

There's good (and bad) coffee everywhere!!

My kitchen is always good at 4:30 a.m.

Fresh burr ground Italian roast - mmmm.

[Phil W]

Oh yes, Spain!

 

I agree, good and bad coffee everywhere but in some countries/cities it is harder to find good coffee than others.

 

 

[Tom Capasso]

I have not had European experiences that allow me to add to Paul's post. My step-mom is from Germany, and she (and my pop) went there some years back. I will ask about the eggs (I found that interesting). I don't drink coffee, but my feeling is that it's a bit different all over the world. My brother-in-law's wife is Cuban, and they drink it stronger than Americans.

 

...bullnose tiles are not to be found across the pond. I had originally thought this to be a Caribbean phenomenon, what with everything needing to be shipped in from overseas and the apparent fact that Caribbean clocks run slower than their American counterparts. But no. Its something else.

I must admit that I didn't understand most of this, except about the tile difference in Europe. Given all of the decorating options, you're a sick man to have noticed this (and I would have as well). Interesting.

 

My niece is an uptalker? Do you know what I mean? Its very hard to listen to? But theres not a damn thing you can do about it?

I did not know, so I looked it up on Wikipedia. Clearly, this is your fault (:wink:) as it says "it seems as if it encourages the addressee to participate in the conversation" (you must have been concentrating on the beer). It also "subtly indicates that the speaker is "not finished yet", thus perhaps discouraging interruption", so you must have been trying to go to the bathroom after drinking the coffee, or trying to warn your party about going to the bathroom. :grin:

 

Traveling with family members who are lactose intolerant is hard, but not because of their dietary needs....

Interesting. My daughter is lactose intolerant, and keeps to a very strict diet. She has always been very good about it "in public" (immediate family is different - she's good with us too, but there's room for more discussion) and never explains the dire consequences of inopportune eating. I will call her today to thank her for that grace. At least your suffering will have some good result!

 

I drove through your town yesterday with my wife and in-laws. Had I known about your recent fun with relatives, I could have made sure we stopped for a visit. My in-laws (and my wife) are great people, and we'd all have loved driving you (more) crazy.

 

Glad it was a good time!

Tom

[Paul K]

Bullnose tiles are the ones with one or two rounded edges, for use at a corner. My wife said the Wiki example is rather phalic, which just adds to the fun:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullnose

 

It just makes the tile job look more professional to get rid of the exposed -and often sharp- cut edges of a tile on wall corners, stairs, etc. THe anal retentive part of me just wonders why a contractor would go to the expense of a really nice tile job, then cut corners on the, uh, "cut corners".

 

So you were in Ithaca and didn't give me a shout-out? THat's not right! Stop in for a beer next time!

 

Peace

Paul K

 

[Tom Capasso]

I remember many discussions of where to use bullnose during my bathroom renovation days in 1998 (I didn't do the work).

 

I know I know - it's tough to add time to a 7 hour trip - and then after driving 1.5 hours to say "there's this bass player that I've never met in person, and I'm going to call him so we can stop by ...." We don't make this trip too often, but one of these days you'll be getting the dreaded Madball-call....

 

Tom

[Phil W]

Went to a neat gig today. Free entry at the Royal Opera House. Only thing was it was in a stiflingly hot room with little air circulation.

 

There was a quartet of throat singers called Altai Kai

 

Great stuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm42DeGF3KE

[slowfinger]

We went to a show last night where a couple of these long scale instruments were being played:

(sorry about the big pic - it is a link on http://theorbo.com/Theorbo/Theorbo.htm)

 

http://theorbo.com/Theorbo/Confortini.jpg

 

It was a performance of Monteverdi's 'The Coronation of Poppea' using the original score and more or less original orchestration and instruments.

 

 

[rizzo9247]

Bummer...

 

I had my car window smashed tonight while I was in Guitar Center in Queens by some malcontent. My bag was stolen which contained my work cell, a few ID cards, and some paperwork. Being a gov't employee, these items are considered somewhat 'sensitive', so I "have some 'splanin to do" when I report in tomorrow.

 

Moral of the story: Don't shop at Guitar Center. Ever.

 

 

[Phil W]

That's enormous, slowfinger!

 

Man, that sucks rizzo!

 

I just got a headline (smallish) festival gig in September for Luna Kalamata!

[Tom Capasso]

Rizzo - sorry to hear that. Given it's NYC, there shouldn't be too much "splanin'" to do. It's happened to everyone in your office at some time.

 

Phil - headlining?? I thought you'd be out of that band by now.

 

Tom

[Phil W]

Tom, it's working right now. I know where I stand with them. They have their ideas and I respect them and have mine - which they respect. They're not interested in money (which I respect) and want to rehearse weekly and, as you know, I only want to do paid gigs on the whole and as little rehearsal as possible.

 

The solution, pending them finding a replacement bassist, is that they rehearse without me and try to find other bassplayers for the non-paying gigs. That's in theory; in practise they can't find anybody. I'm continuing to do occasional gigs with them and planning to record a demo this summer.

 

I got a contact with someone that helps organise a local festival and offered him three bands - the rock and roll covers; the jazz group and the Balkan thing. All featuring me, of course. They chose the Balkan group (partly for the ethnic ticket and partly because the guy loved the music I sent (particularly a Macedonian ballad).

 

Originally we were going to do an earlier set but they liked the video/audio so much they want us to headline. Neat, huh?

 

They are good musicians who haven't failed to get a great response at any gig we've played and the music is fairly marketable - just lacking a manager. I'm working on that.

[moot]

Rizzo - that stinks bub. One of the things I do not miss about city life.

 

Phil - I love it! Peddaling 3 bands. Shameless!

 

Our local music festival is set for August 16. Usually there is 10 to 15 bands and Quantum Soup has been asked to headline this year. I'm flattered but it makes for a long night too.

 

I got a call from Derrik Blackwood the drummer from the bar band I quit asking if I would be interested in an original project with a guy named Keith Orrman. They played a cover set at the county fair 2 nights ago so Heidi and I went to check this guy out.

Terrible bassist - played a 5 with a pick and never hit the B.

 

Anyway, this guitarist was smokin'. All the riffs and tricks, all the poses, all the tone, played excellent slide on a couple songs and completely shredded leads. Heidi looked at me and asked what the hell this guy was doing at this poedunk County Fair. I dunno but I pick up a CD with 6 originals to learn Monday.