Lunch Report, Thursday 7 APR 11

Today is a big day. My 17yo son turns 18! YAY! It's also Thursday, so it's bowling night...last night of the season. Whoopee!

Lunch is a green salad. Lots of lettuce, raw/fresh (yeah, right) broccoli, grape tomatoes, egg, cucumber, a bit of shredded cheese and peas. Dressing is some sort of raspberry vinaigrette. I'll probably go snag some pretzels or chips or something crunchy out of the vending machine, too. Ice water is the libation of choice.

What a bunch of thought-provoking replies yesterday. It seems to me that the majority here are not typical 'consumerist' Americans. That's great news! At least it is to me. Alan Watts made the observation that Western societies, and Americans in particular, are not really 'materialists.' (I'm not going to go into his argument in depth, so don't leave yet!) In general, we buy things not because the things themselves are very high quality (they rarely are), but because they have become symbols of high quality and elicit a particular emotional/psychological response when we own them. One example of this phenomenon is clothing, where certain well regarded brands are manufactured in sweat shops alongside unbranded lines which are considered inferior just because they lack the right logo. The good is the same, but by affixing a brand, it becomes a symbol of quality and worth (and the price jumps for no reason; which has the interesting effect of reducing the actual value of the item, although the perceived value skyrockets...amazing). Watts was writing in the late 60s, IIRC. How much farther have we 'progressed' since then?

There are items, though, that buck this trend. G&L guitars are a good example. Heritage is another. There is evident pride in workmanship, a commitment to quality and, perhaps the most important piece, a desire to connect with the customer on some level beyond the simple transaction. In my view, that is what marks true value in a good and I think Dave & Co. have done and are doing a great job. I think that they've adhered pretty closely to Leo and George's approach, albeit with a little bit of BBE spin (damn four bolts!).

How about today we play a little "Back to the Future II" and prognosticate a little bit? This could be interesting...

Close your eyes and imagine yourself 20 years from now. When someone mentions G&L, you immediately think ________.

I'm pretty sure that I'll still know what G&L is up to in 2031, and I fully expect they'll still be around. So, when someone says, "Hey, did you see the press release from G&L?" I'll immediately know that they're talking about Dave The Third's announcement that the new G&L QuantumCaster is fully compatible with the BBE SubSpace multi-effects unit, allowing unrivaled control over every nuance of sound and tone that you can squeeze out of a guitar.....by thinking about it! No more tweaking knobs or tripping over cables, it's all connected by psi-power, adjusted and manipulated just by concentrating on the parameters you want to change, played by relaxing, letting go and just letting the music flow.



OK, maybe not. What have you got?

Speaking of birthdays, what is your take on them? I've never been big into the birthday thing. It's more or less another day to me. It's nice when people wish me a happy birthday, but I don't feel depressed or neglected if nobody does. My family (parents, sisters), on the other hand, make a huge deal out of birthdays. Big party, everyone there; food, cake, ice cream, presents. And that's for everyone, from my parents on down to the youngest nephews (I only have one niece, but four nephews in addition to my four boys). I don't begrudge them their birthday circuses, I just don't "get it," though.

Are birthday's a big production at your house?

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. I sometimes wonder, though, how far off the center of the bell curve I've slid.

Sorry, no Bell's with lunch today. Maybe I'll call in "sick" tomorrow and do the report from home.

Hey Dixie.

3 paragraph rule. Just sayin' Congrats on raising a child 'til "out the door" age.

Lunch: Cheese peanut butter crackers. Had a breakfast sandwich, so no real lunch. Maybe dinner before rehearsal, tho'.

G&L 20 yrs from now: I figure my Oldhimerz will be in full bloom by then. So I'll be lucky to even remember ........... uh .......... hmmmm. Oh! Hi Dixie, how are you?

Birthdays: They used to be Birthweeks. Wanted something special for the 7 days surrounding. Then it was Birthweekends. Then ........ hey, wasn't your birthday last week? I mean, my own mother missed my bday a couple of years. And I always thought I was a good son. Oh, well. I am, however, taking this coming Monday off (gov shutdown or not), since it'll be my umpty umpty birthday. Thanks for asking!!

did you give your son until midnite to move out?

i'll have to read some of Watts...sounds interesting...
brand names and logos mean nothing to me unless i've researched something and a particular brand got good reviews, etc...then i'll be more likely to buy that brand...but i mostly buy the cheapest that will meet my needs...unless it's a guitar, where i will spend more for higher quality in general and sometimes better resale value, etc....yes, i have 2 kinds of buying methods....guitar...and everything else...

many were predicting the demise of guitar...techno produced music was to eliminate it...but instead of that happening, guitar playing came back strong...while commercial trends come and go, i think there are enuff appreciators of a musician manually playing an instrument that it will never die...kinda like the difference between using a sex toy and real sex with another person, lol...

i've always thought birthday celebrations were for the kids and unnecessary in adulthood...

Lunch: White Chicken Chili. Which started out pretty healthy, but I did add a modest amount of cheese and sour cream. Then of course read the calorie count on the blue corn tortilla chips AFTER I was done with my bowl of chili. Not terribly bad as I had a pretty moderate amount, but cripes!

G&L 20 Years From Now: I'll probably say "Oh, that's the OTHER Leo Fender company, the one that is lesser known, less expensive, and has a more progressive mindset, produces great guitars, and not grossly overpriced relic'd guitar replicas of actual vintage-worn gear." Of course, it could be worse, they could be run by a certain Henry J.

Seriously though, overall I think G&L and Heritage (and Hamer) are run better than their Big Brother companies (although I have less against Fender overall to be honest) and tend to produce a better product for less that I have a warm fuzzy feeling purchasing and supporting. Unfortunately, that does not translate to popular appeal which drives me a bit nuts. So I'll probably still be saying how I think they are a better company than the big names, and most people will still be ignoring that opinion.

Non-G&L: Birthdays are not such a big deal to me. Mine are not at least. I do enjoy seeing my daughter light up for that stuff, and love surprising my wife or doing something nice for her on those big events (birthday, Christmas, Anniversary, etc.). We are both pretty low-key though, but even then making a huge deal about it once in a while (whatever "it" is) does seem to go over well. Still, I just like to avoid the spotlight by and large, so thanks for the Happy Birthday wishes when I get them, but it's not a real important thing in the grand scheme of things.

-Cheers

In 20 years, I'll probably be dead. Next question! LOL!

Okay, what will come to mind when someone mentions G&L?

Oh, I know!

"G&L? Say, didn't that BILLIONAIRE Dave McLaren used to run G&L before he became the President of the United States?"

You know, I don't like wearing company logos. I don't like providing free advertising. and I don't like walking around with guitar logos, cause some yahoo will follow me home to a house where he thinks he can make a big score.

And if you walk around with a gun logo, you are seriously asking for trouble of the worst kind.

Of course, if you are not wearing a Polo pony on your shirt or the Izod croc--you're bebeath me, scum, and I don't want to be bothered by you!

(Just kidding!)

As for B-days, last October was about the big Six-O for me. Celebration went on for about two weeks.

But no big whup. I still feel like I'm 93...

...and act like I'm twelve!!!

(And I'm NOT KIDDING!)

Bill

Close your eyes and imagine yourself 20 years from now. When someone mentions G&L, you immediately think ________.

"I should not have passed up on that 2010 eBay opportunity to buy that Whipper Snapper G&L amplifier. One of a kind!"

Birthdays: I don't like celebrating them personally. We're all a day older every day. Yippie. To make matters worse, I'm married to a woman (and I'm not making this up) who comes from a family that not only celebrates birthdays big, but also celebrates HALF BIRTHDAYS for gosh's sake! So, when, six months from the date of my wife's birthday I forget to appropriately honor her half-year, I get dirty looks (and NOTHING else - if you get my drift).

So Dick, let us know how you rolled your balls tonight, and whether you got your boy inducted with beer, wine or better. Regardless, congratulations. Time to fund some higher education either way. - ed

Close your eyes and imagine yourself 20 years from now. When someone mentions G&L, you immediately think ________.

I'm pretty sure that I'll still know what G&L is up to in 2031, and I fully expect they'll still be around. So, when someone says, "Hey, did you see the press release from G&L?" I'll immediately know that they're talking about Dave The Third's announcement that the new G&L QuantumCaster is fully compatible with the BBE SubSpace multi-effects unit, allowing unrivaled control over every nuance of sound and tone that you can squeeze out of a guitar.....by thinking about it! No more tweaking knobs or tripping over cables, it's all connected by psi-power, adjusted and manipulated just by concentrating on the parameters you want to change, played by relaxing, letting go and just letting the music flow.

LOL That's funny! Indeed has that Back to the Future 2 aura over it. Funny in that context that 2015 is only 4 years away

Most likely my thoughs would be on how much fun and pleasure the brand and its products have given me. Right now I am completely obsessed with them (see answer to next question) in trying to collect what I deem to be the quintessential ASAT collection and most likely I'll reminisce about that and have lots of happy thoughts ...

"G&L? Say, didn't that BILLIONAIRE Dave McLaren used to run G&L before he became the President of the United States?"

Given Darth expose elsewhere on his views of how he would like to run G&L that might not be a bad choice.

Are birthday's a big production at your house?

Had mine yesterday and it was fun. Worked the morning and then my colleagues took me out for lunch. Then spent a wonderful afternoon with my wife and soulmate who gifted me an ASAT Classic III. Have to wait for its arrival for a week but who cares! And then we were joined by 4 of our best friends and enjoyed a wonderful meal (some Surinam/Indonesian dish we loved to eat in Amsterdam) prepared by my wife as well. I've had enough birthdays that just went by and those were fine. But the last 2 have been memorable and I surely appreciate that. I will not be able to look at the Classic III and the C.L.F. Centennial she gave me last year without thinking back to these days.

- Jos

Happy belated birthday, Jos! - ed

Happy belated birthday, Jos! - ed

Thanks Ed!