tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91492651506628410842012-02-20T17:01:14.882-05:00Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.comBlogger881100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-13109050248828651552012-02-20T17:01:00.000-05:002012-02-20T17:01:14.891-05:00

Hamy V update.  Shot another four very thin coats of color on top of the sanded undercoats, and then about five thin coats of clear.  There are many theories about how long to wait between the color coat and the clear coat, usually discussed by the obsessive-compulsive-crowd in terms of weeks.  Well, the cans I had recommended waiting thirty minutes.  So I'm sure we blew their minds by waiting

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-63866795006115686022012-02-18T11:38:00.001-05:002012-02-18T11:50:15.214-05:00

Slab mahogany body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard. 25" scale cutting the line between Gibson and Fender Full-bodied yet articulate, snarling P90s One volume, one tone Quality hardware Made in USA Peavey Firenza $102 It needed a clean up Oops, missing something.  Good thing I have some stock parts in my bins. Now aint that pretty?  Trans-purple, black P90s, and orange knobs. "

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-88794871804028935162012-02-18T10:43:00.000-05:002012-02-18T10:43:23.521-05:00

Project Hamy V continues.  The pearl blue paint has dried over the last few days, and this morning I took some 2000 grit wet-sanding to the splatter on the neck. One small test led to another larger test and more confidence.  I ended up wet sanding the whole thing, lightly, with progressive 600 to 1500 to 2000, smoothing out all the rough spots.  You can see the dull areas where the sanding

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-6567486102941325652012-02-16T16:32:00.000-05:002012-02-16T16:32:59.612-05:00

It was Christmas 2010 that I gave the Hamy V body to Henry and we've chipped (and filed and sanded and planed) away at it in fits and starts ever since.  Sometimes seasons would pass while the guitar sat in the corner of his room or my office. The time has come to take the risk of painting it. The worst that can happen is it comes out ugly. So here goes.  Over the weekend, Henry and I did the

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-4928207783737458902012-01-07T12:33:00.000-05:002012-01-07T12:33:22.125-05:00

I've been having a blast fiddling around on a number of small projects.  This morning, for example, I fixed a pair of AKG headphones I've had for, gosh, twenty years or more.  This past week, the right earpiece went flaky on me. A quick search on the internet yielded  advice on how to take them apart.  Some fun with the soldering iron and I was back in business: My brother and

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-61386767738253473982011-12-29T19:25:00.000-05:002011-12-29T19:25:15.437-05:00

Here are some quick reviews for some of the books I read this past year. I've always got a pile of books I'm working on.  I read most fiction to completion; with most research and political/economics/self-improvment, etc., I tear through the first eighty percent and then out it back on the shelf a year or two later. T.R. Pearson.  A short History of a Small Place. His first novel with his

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-22038331142132626532011-12-20T09:40:00.000-05:002011-12-20T09:40:53.410-05:00

In just about a month, I'll achieve ten full years of owning what I intend to be the last car I ever buy with debt, my 1997 Audi A8. Funny how a tenth anniversary is a 'tin' anniversary.  The irony. For its part, it has decided to celebrate the occasion by presenting me with an $800 bill to replace the fuel pump.  The fuel pump is, like many parts on this odd duck of a car, unique.  It's not a

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-59462887023329805242011-12-19T11:23:00.000-05:002011-12-19T11:23:39.709-05:00

Over the last few years I've discovered how much I enjoy the spotlight.  I'm coming to embrace opportunities to grab it. I enjoy the moment, the responsibility, the execution, and, of course, praise.  The spotlight combines the excitement of risk and passion into a period of time where I, for my audience, am the focus for helping them move forward.  In my career, I lead the engagement and

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-28609601847188807552011-10-05T17:16:00.001-04:002011-10-05T17:52:15.818-04:00

Last Friday I picked up a new cell phone from the office, the new Blackberry Bold Touch 9930.  Fancy it is; probably the best that RIM has to offer and an impressive stat sheet it has: 1.2ghz processor and tons of RAM 8 gb built in storage with a slot for my 32gb micro sd card (for holding music and podcasts, you know) touchscreen and a very nice feeling blackberry keyboard every kind of radio

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-4556958520993235232011-10-02T20:17:00.000-04:002011-10-02T20:17:59.761-04:00

In the summers somewhere around my freshman and sophomore years of college, I did building maintenance work in the Jefferson mill building in Manchester, NH.  If you've driven through Manchester and past its mile of century-old textile mill buildings along the Amoskeag river, you've seen it.  The Jefferson is the one with the clock. My father worked for a technology company that occupied the

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-38182154013124174192011-10-01T07:55:00.000-04:002011-10-01T07:55:55.704-04:00

It's October in Maine and that brings a dichotomy to the weather.  It's either a beautiful clear day (yesterday) or endless drizzle (today). This morning, my ears slowly became awake to the gentle patter of rain on the trees and the "shhhhhhhh" of wet streets in as cars rolled slowly passed.  I've cancelled the soccer games once again.  I'd rather not; it's 45 minutes of emails and phone calls

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-58905113908475091722011-09-30T21:21:00.000-04:002011-09-30T21:21:56.430-04:00

You know, it generally takes a long time to be a millionaire. Granted, we all have visions of sugarplums danced before our eyes in the form of rock stars, celebrities, athletes, business tycoons who were in the right place at the right time, even lottery winners.  But in general, it takes a long time to achieve that measure of wealthy we think a millionaire to be. Is this news to you?  Do you

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-18803816784886777302011-09-29T11:22:00.000-04:002011-09-29T11:22:26.911-04:00

In business, the investors (be that one person with an idea and some capital, or you and I as stockholders) take the risk towards a reward.  If the venture fails, it is the investors who lose. This is the risk.  If the venture succeeds, it is the investors who gain. This is the reward. How to reduce the risk and maximize the reward?  Two-edged swords: Succeed. Success can and should be achieved

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-55181505696590369722011-09-28T18:38:00.002-04:002011-09-28T18:40:24.157-04:00

A rather gung-ho CEO of a rather aggressive software concern I used to work for had an interesting turn of phrase for things he considered a waste of time. "A walk in the woods."  As in, "I'm not out here, doing this, for a walk in the woods." While he was being witty and even charming, with his nebulous English colonial accent,* I have to disagree.  Most times, a walk in the woods is a good

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-91968692179953983182011-09-27T20:26:00.000-04:002011-09-27T20:26:59.332-04:00

I'm the shy outgoing prominent member of the community who hates to deal with people. Example:  I run the rec soccer program for my town, which includes the whole registration and marketing process of sending out emails, making a few hundred phone calls, coaching at least one team of kids; all of which I'm pretty happy to do, and parts of which (the coaching) I really enjoy. But you know what?

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-80162373844639618402011-09-26T16:30:00.000-04:002011-09-26T16:30:05.995-04:00

Professionally, I feel the most dread when I'm unprepared.  Like most anxieties, it comes from the overwhelming sense of too many things to do and my very own special brand of productive procrastination.  I've got so many projects and obligations that I can pick one (or two or three) and invest the time and depth to advance my knowledge or completion of them, forsaking the others. My best

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-89961991100418111872011-09-25T19:35:00.000-04:002011-09-25T19:35:55.961-04:00

Last fall, they asked for volunteers to teach Faith Formation in our parish.  Kindergarten or third grade. I'm not sure that I wanted to, but I knew that I had to.  And so began a journey with a group of eight year olds who I am sure, twenty years from now, will still be eight year olds to me when I see them and their children. I went from teaching in a classroom style to gathering around a

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-22723312944567658882011-09-24T18:08:00.000-04:002011-09-24T18:08:03.258-04:00

I was out running errands last Saturday afternoon while my ten year old was attending a friend's birthday party. I stopped by the local mom and pop guitar shop for a chance to experiment with some American Fenders from the top shelf. The Teles were good; the Strats were so-so.  Plucked them through a used solid state Princeton 112 plus and got some good tone from it. Moving down to the used

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-53290352240306099812011-09-24T17:53:00.000-04:002011-09-24T17:53:44.412-04:00

My experiment is paying off.  Levi trapped the ball on defense, waited, carried around an oncoming player, passed it up-field and then dropped off the play, settling into the precise position a defender should be in for the next ball to come his way. This spring I watched my 7th grade daughter's softball team play a forty-five minute first inning.  Neither team had a put-out on defense, a hit,

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-54614593969192066762011-08-06T23:40:00.000-04:002011-08-06T23:40:07.762-04:00

This has been a week of depression for me. I saw our elected representatives bicker and argue and finally decide on the side of… not even what is right or wrong… but rather to further the status quo on the road to doom, kicking a large can a small way down the road. This, as a nation, we shall soon revisit. Personal finance talk show host Dave Ramsey best articulated our national challenge (and

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-65186532338567926962011-03-21T13:13:00.001-04:002011-03-21T13:15:16.400-04:00

I needed a software tool from our IT department to view some demo documents that our IT department had created.  I went to download it and, after following the white rabbit through a number of internal web-sites and links, I discovered I needed to download a downloading tool in order to download the tool I wanted. Sigh. So I downloaded the downloading tool.  It next needed to be configured with

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-51189610427009055632011-03-20T21:22:00.000-04:002011-03-20T21:22:31.584-04:00

Over the last week, Henry and I have been experimenting with brush-on/rag-on oil-based polyurethane finishes.  We've glues some of his final veneer to a sample wood block and experimented with that block and a chunk of Mahogany left over from project Junior. We've sanded, cabinet scraped, sealed, applied layers of poly, and sanded some more.  Thge results are okay... but I think two or three

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-10644073763014323422011-03-02T17:36:00.000-05:002011-03-02T17:36:52.383-05:00

This year's budget: $ 3,700,000,000,000 divided by the current US population 310,000,000 equals: $11,935.48 from every man, woman, and child in the country. Of which... $ 1,700,000,000,000 (or $5,322.58 from each man, woman and child) is, um, unfunded. That's a $47,741.52 tax burden for a family of four.  I can't wait until next year!

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-15358666363945827932011-02-26T13:46:00.001-05:002011-04-02T20:48:31.303-04:00

Henry and I have been making progress on the "Hamy V" project guitar. When faced with a roadblock, I'll ponder for a while, be that days, weeks, or months.  I'll come up with a few solutions and then get up the guts to try it.  Doing the work usually takes all of fifteen minutes, but I'm so afraid of screwing it up permanently that I put it off. At first, we were going to put mother of pearl (

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-42918649477554151202010-10-08T10:48:00.000-04:002010-10-08T10:48:54.250-04:00

While reading through next year's health plan coverage from my employer, I came across this simple explanation of a dependent: "In general, an eligible dependent is any individual who received over half of his or her support from you and is your: 􀂃 Spouse 􀂃 Son or daughter, or descendent of either 􀂃 Stepson or stepdaughter 􀂃 Brother, sister, stepbrother or stepsister 􀂃 Father or

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-48222639571141583132010-09-26T18:56:00.001-04:002010-09-26T19:26:06.970-04:00

You're looking at my Christmas present, a Nelsonic Starliner Les Paul clone. Years ago, at the local guitar shop, I picked up one of these, used, in absolutely mint condition, for a whopping $150. Other than having a bolt-on neck, which is, admittedly, against the grain when it comes to Les Paul style guitars, the thing was extremely well executed:  it weighs a ton, has a great sound, and

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-66099177616912059202010-09-02T23:29:00.001-04:002010-09-02T23:32:22.185-04:00

I love raisins, "nature's candy." But over the last few years, and partly due to the volume based discounts available at Sam's Club, I've become partial to Craisins.  Cranberries are from my region of the country; Maine/NH/Mass(holes).  Craisins are the cranberry equivalent to raisins.  Dried cranberries?  Dried grapes?  Not much competition, honestly. If you've never been to Fresno, California

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-23307635063143810002010-07-19T17:55:00.000-04:002010-07-19T17:55:17.951-04:00

Every once in a while I'm forced to resign my hermit lifestyle to venture and stroll among the rest of America in all its secular glory.  Last week I spent time in Washington DC and San Francisco, CA, with a couple of layovers in Denver International Airport en route.  Here are some of my observations of spending many hours dealing with airlines not named Southwest: JetBlue was able to notify me

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-35658452381454443362010-06-29T14:06:00.000-04:002010-06-29T14:06:18.515-04:00

Mr. Thomas Sowell, editorialist and clear thinker, wrote a simple to understand piece about the dangers of government re-distribution of wealth and determining how much money was "enough" for someone to earn. http://patriotpost.us/opinion/thomas-sowell/2010/05/18/enough-money/ As expected, there were comments to the piece and I, fool that I am, decided to respond to some of the insanity. 

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-169019868418285072010-05-07T08:40:00.000-04:002010-05-07T08:40:28.497-04:00

So, the stock market took a nosedive yesterday afternoon, dropping almost 10% in the course of an hour or so. It was co-incidental (and mayyyybe cause and effect related) with riots in Greece over the passing of "austerity" laws. Greece is over-burdened with debt and entitlements obligations. So they came to the EU asking for help. Help was offered under the conditions that they cut back

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-13983909911542757042010-04-03T18:20:00.001-04:002010-04-03T18:30:15.329-04:00

I washed and waxed the car today. It was the first time in over a year. It thanked me by being shockingly shiny. I'm going to vacuum the interior tomorrow.  If I feel fancy, I might find some Armour-All for the tires and dashboard.   The sky was clear and blue. Our house is orange.

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-88826037718242168362010-03-25T19:27:00.000-04:002010-03-25T19:27:41.214-04:00

The House passed on Sunday night,  and Obama signed on Tuesday morning, government control of healthcare into law.  As if on queue, the sunny, gorgeous, pre-spring weather hitting the sixties and seventies turned into cold heavy rain, and finally let up here on Thursday.  Dark, gray, windy, and cold.  I've wondered for more than a week (as the impending gloom circled and became reality) how I

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-49172742583933410472010-03-18T16:54:00.000-04:002010-03-18T16:54:31.019-04:00

That is all.  You may carry on now. Bumper stickers will be made available soon.

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-20436251244789445212010-02-27T08:23:00.000-05:002010-02-27T08:23:55.047-05:00

I can't believe it's been ten days since I wrote. We have been so full time busy with work or travel or moving that I haven't had time. Gosh, where to begin catching up? I can't remember that far back! Let's see, on the 17th I flew into Philly for a demo. Up late, up early, all morning the 18th in the demo and a strange sence of confidence came over me- which I had bee working towards. What a

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-25575482793383658622010-01-26T23:09:00.010-05:002010-01-27T10:55:00.888-05:00

I put stickers with my house number on the side of my mailbox today.  Not so much to help people find the house as to help me identify the mailbox as mine when the snowbanks melt away.  It's kind of like tagging the webbed feet of migrating waterfowl.  Once the plow sends it flying, you might not see it again.  I've been playing with the idea of putting a shooting target on the mailbox as well

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-23863553800367564712010-01-22T13:31:00.000-05:002010-01-22T13:31:14.469-05:00

I travel on business quite often and, therefore, have to submit expense reports. My company has transitioned from a process of filling in an expense report system and mailing in your receipts in pre-paid-postage envelopes with your receipts neatly taped (not stapled, no!) onto sheets of paper to a process of filling in an expense report system and then scanning in your receipts - neatly laid out

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-11766909397492195002009-12-27T22:10:00.002-05:002009-12-29T20:24:42.893-05:00

I presented the 'Hamy' Flying-V to Henry on Christmas Day. Since then, he's been asking (pushing) me to make some headway on it. From his perspective, it must seem almost done, ready to play.I know the difference- It's got a ton of work left to make it playable, but some portions of the work are being achieved faster than I expected. Over the weekend we glued on the fretboard, shaped the

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-22937336943627739062009-12-22T08:20:00.002-05:002009-12-22T08:54:04.266-05:00

I understand less and less of the world I live in. Congress marches forth on its battle against free markets and liberty. I don't want to take the hours to write about how wrong the healthcare bill is, how much lying is being propogated, how dissapointed I am with senators across the nation who are ignoring their constituents and bellying up to feast at my table*, bringing back to their

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-92229321554418289072009-11-09T20:17:00.004-05:002009-11-09T20:50:12.456-05:00

measure twice, cut a few times, see what you get; don't paint yourself into a corner.I thought I'd offer a little proof of the effort I've been putting forth on the luthier front. Effort? Heck yeah. Success? To be determined. Learning curve? Steep. Mistakes? Oh yeah. Victories small and large? Absolutely. Under and over estimation? Verily.I've been using (I almost typed 'leveraging,'

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-66943906500794594092009-10-05T15:11:00.007-04:002009-10-05T15:59:16.694-04:00

Here, with just a few choice modifiers left out of the dictionary term, is a fairly good description of where all this Change is headed:A political ideologically based on centralized government, government control of business, repression of criticism or opposition, a leader cult and exalting the state and/or religion above individual rights.Sound familiar? I don't know if you can say examples

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-78641538180389024492009-10-05T11:46:00.006-04:002009-10-05T12:15:10.139-04:00

Jack, it turns out, does more than shoot droids (or hold his daddy's guitars).In the last couple of weeks he's matured at an amazing rate. His speech is very articulate (going from "No! Me have cereal" to "No! I will have Rice Chex"). He's playing more complex and imaginitave games with Henry and Sam. And he's spending a lot of time in the upstairs playroom, sitting on the floor, floating in a

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-59825730586981035272009-10-05T10:33:00.015-04:002009-10-05T14:02:22.670-04:00

Shame on me.Early this morning, from 4:15am to 5:00am as my car floated down I295 in Maine from Augusta to Portland on my way to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (that's MHT, y'all) for a 7:30am flight, I did something I should have done sixteen years ago. I listened to Maria Mckee's "You Gotta Sin to be Saved" for the first time.It started off with soul, as only Maria can deliver, and drifted

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-19753855832341362512009-09-29T11:34:00.002-04:002009-09-29T11:38:06.175-04:00

I'm taking a chance, a risk, plunging in.I'm undertaking a project beyond my current skillset. I'm full of excitement and aprehension.I'm making a guitar. Actually, truth be told, I'm making two. Ambitious? You bet.I knew I had something boiling in me. Since the beginning of the year, I've had a feeling it would be making a simple tube amplifier. Truth be told, that would probably be a much

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-15781470239627531842009-09-20T21:42:00.002-04:002009-09-20T22:22:09.502-04:00

Anyone know anything about the time value of money?Let's assume a mediocre college education (let's call it vocational training for professionals) costs 20k a year, totalling a smooth 80 grand. I know, it costs more than that, but bear with me.And let's assume you're prudent and wise and you've saved that 80 grand by the time you're twenty. I know, I know, you're laughing now. But wait- it gets

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-32306316909341718952009-09-20T12:08:00.004-04:002009-09-20T21:42:35.882-04:00

Driving home from Church this morning, more than a little irate at the retired priest's sermon, of which I quote "you have a right to a job, home, and health care. Please call your senators,"* I tried to focus on something else, anything else... and this is what came to mind.I'm a huge fan of "live like no-one else so you can live like no-one else" financial advisor Dave Ramsey. My favorite

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-22112458474305743192009-09-11T12:41:00.004-04:002009-09-11T12:52:47.289-04:00

I haven't done a guitar post in a long time, so here's a quickie.It's a Korean Hamer Studio with Duncan Designed humbuckers, a beautiful blue burst maple flame top, binding. All the usual Hamer import superlatives apply. The neck and fretwork are fabulous, though not quite the same feel as Goldie. At some point I'll replace the pickups with something more fun or purposeful. Why? Because tweaking

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-24956600246928148272009-09-11T11:57:00.002-04:002009-09-11T12:03:33.206-04:00

What do you get when you let the government run something like, say, social security, the auto industry, health care?School Lunch. Oh, gross.Given that, does everyone see the (pathetic) irony in the following interview? Pack your own damn lunch, Damon!

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-92057397737063062972009-09-03T11:45:00.009-04:002009-09-11T15:46:48.201-04:00

Kermit the Frog: We will also see a rousing finale from Sam the Eagle. What's it called, Sam?Sam the Eagle: It's called "A Salute to All Nations, But Mostly America".I've always felt an affinity towards solid Sam the American Eagle. What is it about him? He's built of simple stuff. He's not dim, mind you; rather his beliefs are founded in fundamentals instead of confused by complex obfuscations.

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-11419918101530458572009-09-01T14:02:00.002-04:002009-09-01T14:21:49.951-04:00

Gwennie-Gwen-Gwen...is a guilty pleasure. And she's not for the kids. But damn if this syntho-pop ear-candy woofer-work out doesn't make you scream really loud when you're cruising down the highway all by yourself at 75 mph on the way to or from the airport.To quote one of her songs, "The sh*t is bananas- B.A.N.A.N.A.S." What the heck does that mean? I don't know. I don't care. Some of the

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-299922266960108982009-09-01T12:34:00.006-04:002009-09-01T14:00:39.316-04:00

The door banged open and slammed the wall, rattling its hinges and recoiling from the hole in the wall where the knob had been impaled so many times before."I've got it, lads, I have f-ing got it!" came the bombastic shout."What's that, Freddie?" Brian inquired, distractedly, unable or unwilling to separate his intense focus from the knobs, dials, meters and guages on the board in front of him."

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-41308766358326884772009-08-31T16:07:00.003-04:002009-08-31T16:20:13.118-04:00

Derek Trucks-has, in my opinion, two claims to fame. He's widely regarded as the only one to closely approximate the tone and style of Duane Almann. And his wife is Susan Tedeschi who, of course, is widely regarded as using Derek as a claim to fame.But I gotta say, southern rock rarely does it for me. Derek really should be claiming relationship to Susan. Despite her lesser skills with the

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-86218657432168829482009-08-31T15:04:00.003-04:002009-08-31T16:01:19.037-04:00

Ah, the J. Geils band. The great band that never quite made it to the top tier of classic rock fame.But. But. But! Everyone knows Whammer Jammer from the opening Magic Dick harmonica lick. It came from this album, a frenetic over-energized collection of boys from Boston cranking out electric blues in what must have been a beer-soaked, smoke-filled, couple-thousand seat armory somewhere in the

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-10219088318087441702009-08-31T14:35:00.003-04:002009-08-31T15:04:21.775-04:00

I've always loved music. I have 500 or so record albums (yes, in a box in the basement. What of it?) I have 500+ cds. Hundreds of mixed tapes. If I had spare time and spare change in a spare town on a business trip, I'd find record shops and pick up a few missing pieces now and again.Then, well, it all stopped. It was the perfect storm of other distractions -golf and kids and, come the mid

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-62057052089507622732009-08-27T19:13:00.002-04:002009-08-27T19:20:27.144-04:00

Initial reaction?Good.The first public benefit of this blessed event is that the skyway bridge from the parking garage to the terminal at Boston Logan airport has been rendered suddenly serene and respectfully quiet. Those of you who have travelled through Logan will recall Ted’s warm and cheery, if garbled (Teddy did slur his speech- sauced or not) welcome to “His home town,” encouraging you to

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-42110013588759196002009-08-14T11:27:00.002-04:002009-08-14T11:31:34.949-04:00

Not only is Liberty worth defending to the death, it's also worth all the little inconveniences (you know, saving, paying your own way, caring for your family, failing when you fail, picking yourself back up...) that come with being responsible for oneself.Yes, you can!

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-13586333464300839212009-08-13T10:58:00.003-04:002009-08-13T11:11:51.807-04:00

This was on my coporate travel reservations site:"Go Green • Consider Your Environment • Offset Your Emissions"My office is painted green. After much consideration , I have to say that I like my environment. I don't know how much I can offset my emissions- I like to eat baked beans.A disposable coffee cup recently implored that"only if everyone does their part, every day, can we succeed!"

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-77914970758063271152009-07-30T09:29:00.002-04:002009-07-30T09:32:57.471-04:00

"In the year 2274...the survivors of war, overpopulation and pollution are living in a great domed city, sealed away from the forgotten world outside. Here, in an ecologically balanced world, mankind lives only for pleasure, freed by the servo-mechanisms which provide everything. There's just one catch: Life must end at thirty unless reborn in the fiery ritual of Carrousel." "CARROUSEL IS A LIE!

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-2442211791758396602009-07-30T09:08:00.004-04:002009-07-30T09:24:59.109-04:00

They repealed prohibition, didn't they?Just a reminder that foolishness can be undone if necessary. Like, say, Sarbanes Oxley, Cap and Trade, Cash for Clunkers, Nationalized Healthcare, Social Security...I'm just saying that our constitution (at least for the moment) lets us slap our collective foreheads and say "what were we thinking?"Keep smiling!

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-70692118478878986602009-07-30T09:04:00.002-04:002009-07-30T09:07:02.114-04:00

I feel like an ant in a country that's gone grasshoppers.

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-59096342478755696912009-07-02T11:08:00.000-04:002009-07-02T11:09:33.104-04:00

“Capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom.” —Milton Friedman“Our economy rests on a three-legged stool—political freedom, economic freedom, and moral restraint.” —Michael Novak

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-68204128655602305902009-05-27T12:17:00.003-04:002009-05-27T12:22:55.990-04:00

This post is probably long overdue. Here's the collection today. Starting in the upper left and going down the first collumn, we have:Hamer Stellar 1 (HH) KoreanKramer Striker 422 (Quad and 2 dual rails) KoreanKramer Focus reborn as a Strat parts-o-caster (SSS) Korea and parts unkownPeavey EVH Wolfgang Special (HH) MIAHamer SATP90 (P90s) Chinese (my number one)Second Column, top to bottom:Hamer

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-25647986419936920412009-05-27T10:31:00.006-04:002009-05-27T11:11:59.049-04:00

This was one of those "well, duh!" moments which be came a "way cool!" moment. Here's what led up to that moment.I don't drive much but around town. When I take a business trip, however, I'll drive to the airport in Portland, Manchester, or Boston, trips of one to three hours depending on traffic and rest stops. In those long drives, I like to catch up on music or audio books. More specifically,

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-91613561738940049352009-04-29T08:43:00.004-04:002009-04-29T08:55:28.321-04:00

Here's a photo I'm proud of. (click for full size) I noticed (it's hard to miss) the sun on my daughter Bridget's legs, so I took a few different shots. The picture is as framed, without any cropping or post processing. I suppose a little cropping wouldn't hurt, but I give thought to the framing of a picture when I take it and am generally pleased with the results.

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-16605045474933111872009-03-31T21:15:00.003-04:002009-03-31T21:47:55.456-04:00

Over the last month or so, I've been practicing scales. Sitting with a metronome and running up and down different modes of a scale might sound boring (and it can be), but ten to twenty minutes at a shot is bearable and builds a solid base for the future.Besides, I'm not crazy. I'd change it up: I'd make up little games like one finger on the left hand, jumping all over the fretboard- up the

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-14802701107179554842009-03-27T16:14:00.002-04:002009-03-27T16:46:34.727-04:00

Just as rust never sleeps, wood moves. Right in step with the spring equinox, in the last week I've noticed some of the doors around the house emerging from their winter sticknicitude* while others are reverting from winter freedoms to their summer catchy stations. A sort of changing of the guard for the doors.It also reveals itself in my guitar necks. As fall sets in and leaches humidity, the

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-54399544797856459172009-03-26T10:05:00.003-04:002009-03-26T10:11:23.114-04:00

It might just be okay to leave a child behind once in a while...There are so many things I could say... but I think Julio speaks volumes by himself.

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-14185385146871891912009-03-26T09:29:00.002-04:002009-03-26T09:35:38.678-04:00

"More than any time in history mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly."-Woody Allen

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-82662491222033143472009-03-23T22:24:00.003-04:002009-03-23T22:34:44.818-04:00

Mrs. Toadroller (I can call you that, can't I Cheryl? I don't want people knowing your real name) put up a post with pictures of my boy Jack's sundry expressions over at her blog.I thought I'd better respond with one of my favorite collage of the Pteryjacktal: Ain't he something?

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-1826598198401645132009-03-23T14:02:00.009-04:002009-03-23T14:47:49.422-04:00

She's a Hamer Stellar 1, probably 99/00 time frame, with a crimson hued burst to black with some great lines and carves. It's unique and will fight its way into rotation with my other Hamers- a China goldtop P90 and a Korean Standard. It's got two nicks on the front edges, a little rash and some bumps on the back, but overall, a great looking guitar. And it's a Hamer. You know it plays just

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-20714751353105955692009-03-19T17:11:00.006-04:002009-03-19T17:41:11.354-04:00

How successful has Obama's first 100 days been?veryHe's made us and our great grandchildren wards of the state with the debt he's enacted. Oh Dennis, you silly, our great grandchildren? Come on! This will be ancient history by then! Oh really? I'm a great grand-child of the depression and I know its effects on my life. This is roughly the same time-cycle as the great depression to now. And a

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-20277449326782693882009-03-19T15:03:00.007-04:002009-03-19T15:43:45.224-04:00

Don't let cash burn a hole in your pocket. No sir.My solemn vow was to stash cash for a genuine USA Hamer Studio. They can be found on Ebay or Craigslist or a few other guitar oreinted forums for under a grand and, at such prices, are well worth it.But dang if this Hamer Stellar 1 didn't show up with a Buy it Now for $150 delivered. This is the guitar from its crappy listing photo. It looks

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-85274796881813812732009-03-19T12:55:00.006-04:002009-03-19T13:48:03.941-04:00

Yesterday was a day of significance for Americans.I drove from Augusta, Maine to my regional corporate office in Burlington, Mass through mid-day for a meeting, dinner, and a late night return. The farce of Obama's outrage against AIG's executive bonuses was playing itself out in real-time on talk radio and I caught before, during, and after perspectives from a variety of sources.Sigh.A huge

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-3827278201027769452009-03-06T16:53:00.014-05:002009-03-13T12:14:35.582-04:00

More than bicycling. More than juggling. More than golf, for heavens sake, I've fallen for playing the guitar.And more than strats, teles, les pauls, wolfgangs and kramers, I've fallen for a simple, amazing guitar. A Hamer XT Sunburst Archtop gold-top with P90s.Now, to fall for a particular guitar and have it become your favorite is expected... right after you get it. It's the honeymoon period of

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-47804540044168216292009-01-29T16:00:00.003-05:002009-01-29T16:25:55.046-05:00

On a wintry and romantic day fifteen years ago, January 29th 1994, Cheryl and I married and committed our lives to each other and to God and placed a ring on each other’s fingers. It is together that we have taken on this rewarding challenge of life, dedicated through sickness and health, better and worse, times good and bad, and we have managed with some success to meet this challenge. While

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-58392279705636844772008-11-15T09:40:00.002-05:002008-11-15T09:42:51.791-05:00

Ouch!

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-31930379630902561092008-09-23T08:32:00.004-04:002008-09-23T08:34:38.370-04:00

You know those little remnants of soap after the bar has gone from brand new to working size to getting kinda small and now useless? Let's call them soap chips.There were two of them in the shower this morning. I threw them out after my shower and replaced them with a new bar. I've got a few theories as to why these things never seem to go away: Frugality- It's still soap, why waste any of it?

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-49194004937486636652008-09-11T21:12:00.001-04:002008-09-11T21:13:59.881-04:00

Henry's creation reminds me of an A-10 Fairchild

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-40057746025844825722008-09-11T17:41:00.001-04:002008-09-11T21:19:25.066-04:00

If there is any doubt of my heritage, here is proof that I am a Ruffing.Grandpa and I had a blast strapping this 28-stepper to the roof of my car, recalling many other foolish things those with the name Ruffing have strapped, lashed, placed, welded, or otherwise moved with their vehicles.Towing a motorcycle through the back-streets of a Denver neighborhood to the repair shop. Cheryl up front

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-28704597249552230342008-09-11T09:23:00.003-04:002008-09-11T13:17:16.372-04:00

I'm sitting on a platform bench in the entrance atrium of Union Station in our nation's capitol, watching a slice of our country walk by. It's a calming, enjoyable experience. A class of college art students is pencil sketching the architecture about them, interrupted by their phones and flirting. I'd tease them a little, but I'm typing on a laptop with my mp3 player's headphones isolating me

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-43652795917463323822008-09-05T13:17:00.001-04:002008-09-05T13:23:40.394-04:00

Henry came into my office for a paperclip.I pulled one out of my little magnetic desktop paperclip holder cup and, hanging onto Henry's paperclip, trying not to be seen, was a large, bent paperclip. Now, obviously I had bent this paperclip in the past to fish something out of somewhere, or poke through a tiny little hole, or to, well, who knows what.Paperclips are handy little things that do a

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-81859399817681371282008-09-04T14:24:00.000-04:002008-09-04T14:26:09.261-04:00

Three Junkpiles in two days? This might become a problem. This is a quickie. I just went to clip my fingernails. I started with my thumb-nail and, oh my gosh, it was like cutting an over-ripe tomato with a dull butter knife. Mush and tear. So into the the trash with you, you horrible, horrible clippers! You shall not be lamented! You shall not be missed! You shall be replaced. How many worthless

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-43108682932856615102008-09-03T14:13:00.003-04:002008-09-03T16:58:46.018-04:00

Jack, the exceedingly busy two year old, will often visit me in my home office.One of his favorite things to do is grab the remote control for my mp3 player. He'll press the buttons; he'll stick it to the wall (It's magnetic, a great idea for remotes!); he'll mess up what I'm listening to. In general, a fun toy.And so he visited me about ten minutes ago,* doing his usual thing. A little while

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-42704557357097211882008-09-03T14:04:00.005-04:002008-09-04T14:27:38.865-04:00

Hot on the trails of Junkpile post number 001 comes Junkpile 002. I didn't think it would happen this fast.*A quick explanation of the numbering scheme: I figure if I get to over 1000 posts on this, I'm either going to be insane or they're going to have to start calling me St. Francis of Assisi, as I will have rid myself of my worldly possessions.Which brings us back to the prize that sits in the

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-39631167127083086412008-09-03T11:47:00.004-04:002008-09-03T12:20:25.988-04:00

And this is money in the tank.Being frugal and freaked out about the winter to come, I've been stocking up on money, in the bank, to pay for fuel oil. When we moved to Maine back in May of double-aught-five, fuel oil was expensive- something like $2.69 a gallon. We did a price-lock pre-buy of, oh, $2000.00 worth and it saw us through the winter. In the winter of 06/07, I spread my investment

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-8464501454058290482008-09-03T07:44:00.020-04:002008-09-05T12:34:30.229-04:00

This guy's been an adventure.Every guitarist at some point comes in contact with the classic Fender Stratocaster. It's as iconic as a guitar gets; even more so than its peers the Gibson Les Paul and the Fender Telecaster. Think Bruce Springsteen and you're thinking Fender Telecaster. Think Les Paul and you're thinking... Les Paul. Um, try thinking Jimmy Page and that new kid on the block, Slash,

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-83605230015066206392008-08-25T14:03:00.007-04:002008-09-04T14:19:41.622-04:00

On two distinct occasions in my life, I've laughed so hard it hurt. I mean, your ribs ache, the tears are coming down your face, others are looking at you funny, and you think you just might choke or pass out or lose bodily fluids out of one orifice or another and yet keep on laughing.The first near-death-from-lauging-experience involved my brother Matt, my business colleage Larry Bauer, chinese

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-56870849302389387632008-08-20T21:55:00.001-04:002008-10-30T13:23:18.565-04:00

The other day, Cheryl showed me some plastic toy or another that she was throwing out. Yes. It's good to clear the house and mind of clutter and junk. And believe me, when you have five kids, you end up with a lot of crap.So often we're asked what we're doing to be more green. Puh-lease. I personally can't understand environmentalism as the religion, political philosophy, and business process.

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149265150662841084.post-19641868606459029322008-08-20T21:29:00.001-04:002008-08-20T21:33:49.875-04:00

So the kids decided to put food coloring in the milk again.Which leads to cream of rice that looks like this:This has really got to stop.

Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17549719179950688118noreply@blogger.com3