Registry Redeaux Tuesday: Lunch Report for August 7, 2012

First, I’d like to once again thank all of you who helped make Mug shot Monday so successful yesterday. I really didn’t know how that would go, and you all came through in a big way. Glad to know all of you!
(btw, if you didn’t have the chance to post a recent mug yesterday, it’s not too late to join the fun)

So that we might continue to get better acquainted, consider sharing photos of significant others today.
My wife HATES having her picture taken, so I don’t have a recent one of her. This was taken a couple of years ago.



Also, feel free to post snapshots of our next generation of G&L Enthusiasts. Here are my kids in this year’s swim team photo:



Can you guess which one takes his swimming seriously?

Here’s the older kid at a music camp this summer performing with “our” 1st style SB-2 and making his daddy big proud!:



This boy actually has some natural ability, but lacks dedication and the will to practice.

So here’s our first question for the day: How does a parent (or mentor, etc.) get a talented kid to want to develop his god-given abilities? Seriously, the more I bug him to practice, offer to play with him, etc., the less fun we tend to have and it becomes counterproductive. If you have any insights here, please share them!

G&L Question: I’m going back to the Registry thing here. I admit that I’ve always been kind of fascinated by the whole personal information public/private thing. I’m interested in what went (or goes) through your mind in deciding whether to make your registry entries public, or to keep them private.

I have to confess here that I am not on Facebook, I don’t tweet, text, nor do I participate in other discussion boards (except occasionally on MLB’s Washington Nationals official web site). I’m not interested in the minutia of the lives of numerous people. Still, I like to feel free to share moderately with friends and folks with whom I have common interests. I suppose I’m hoping we can discuss how best to balance the instincts to protect ourselves with those that compel us share our lives online with our friends in a responsible way.

Again I really do appreciate your participation. Take the poll. Post some more photos. Help me help my kid with the music thing, and let’s discuss privacy concerns with regard to the Registry and online in general.

Oh, I almost forgot about lunch! Let’s have a tuna salad sandwich on two toasted slices of Elwood’s remarkable sourdough bread (red leaf lettuce, fresh garden tomato slices); reduced salt potato chips, sweet seedless grapes. Cold mineral water. Mmmmm. Have a great day! - ed

Here's a pic of the better half,



32 years married (8 happy ones, lol.....we even disagree on which 8)..................................

We don't have any kids, so I can only comment on my personal experience. I had an overbearing, sometimes very mean father. When I has7, he forced me to take accordian lessons. I did this for 4 years, hated every minute of it. I was good in math so I actually loved the theory lessons and they have helped me immensely with my guitar playing as I can read the music and understand the notation. Learning Tabs was easy but I am learning to read both at the same time as TABs doesnt give note values and other features that music notation does. Its a good lesson to be able to read both at the same time...

The discipline of music theory is great, not sure if they teach it anymore. I had 2 classes, just the instrument and just the theory.

Then he forced me to take music in grade 9(start or high school). Everyone was learning violin but he called the school and told them that's <censored word> and I should learn something else, so I did clarinet for 2 years. So,how did I feel, lol Again the music theory really helped.

I gave it up cause I hated it all. Why, cause my dad was forcing it down my throat and yelling all the time about practicing, I stink, I'm a loser, etc etc.

So, somehow they have to find the passion to practice themselves, maybe with other kids in a band situation. Something to turn them on, rather than just scales and stuff all practice long...

Ha, Alf's $.02 worth.

My passion all started when I quit school and got a job, money was the motivator for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't get me wrong, I loved my dad, miss him tremendously, but he had a grade 4 education from europe and he had lots of struggles in his life, it was hard. He also had no patience nor time for children. I understand that now. In his own way, he was a really good guy and took care of us!

Great pics guys. I would post one of Ginny but she is not here and I would not do so without her permission. I just had a big bowl of Chicken Noodle soup, something that I do very often for lunch.

A relative of ours was here last week and posted the pictures that were taken while here on Facebook. I was shocked by the insensitivity of not asking our permission to post them. I think that is an indication of our new society. I do not use Facebook.

I think that we all have to have an interest in something we are trying to learn. No one ever pushed me in music. I never pushed my children although they were in band during the school years. Kari just became interested in guitar 3 years ago at age 38. She has become quite accomplished in this short time. She is a great chart reader and that is what made it possible for her to join our band a year ago. She had to get up to speed quickly and the charting was the trick. She also has great feel and a sense of timing for music.

Ed, you ask how I consider privacy or a lack of on the internet. Here is a good test for all of you. Google your own name and you will be amazed. A couple of years ago Kari (my daughter and bandmate) called me and asked me if I had ever googled my name. I had not but did so and I was blown away by what I found. Many of my references are Kensington Runestone related and any reference or statement that I have ever made to the press is out there. That is fair as it is Public Domain. Anytime you post anything on the internet is will be available for the world to view. I thought about the registry and decided there is nothing to hide. About the only thing to remain unknown is your s.s. no and credit card numbers and they are not always secure either. I use a Mac as I believe it is more secure than a Windows platform. This is still no guarantee. I use Google Earth and for those of you that want to remain elusive, you had better be living in a deeper cave than I do. I was almost sick when I first discovered was was available about me including my G&L's. After thinking about it I am okay with it as there are some great benefits that can be gained. If ever lost in a blizzard the cell phone could save your life just by being able to locate your signal. Many have benefited from On Star. In the end it is what these things are being used for. For those of you that like to take a whiz in the back yard, someone up above could be watching and you may end up on Google Earth. If that happened to me it would not wow anyone but create tons of giggles. We are truly living life in the fast lane. Maybe Google needs to develop Google Guitars and we can view all the finest in the world. No Ed, I haven't thought about this too much, and have said a hell of a lot more than most of you want to know. Just consider yourself lucky that I did not do this post tonight after happy hour!!! -- Darwin

Here is a good test for all of you. Google your own name and you will be amazed.

If you want to be even more amazed at what "public" information is easily available, go to http://www.zabasearch.com and plug in your name. This site is a search engine that utilizes many different databases filled with personal information.
It lists my name and age and every address and phone number I have had since 1986--It also includes addresses of my ex-wife after our divorce and an address of my daughter--even though I have never lived at either of these addresses. For just a few dollars you can get 'premium' services from many sites to provide even more personal info.

How does a parent (or mentor, etc.) get a talented kid to want to develop his god-given abilities? Seriously, the more I bug him to practice, offer to play with him, etc., the less fun we tend to have and it becomes counterproductive. If you have any insights here, please share them!

All I can do here is relate my own experience as a child.
I come from a musical family and I began taking classical violin lessons at 7 years of age and apparently I showed a natural talent. This was originally my idea and initially I was enthusiastic. In addition to private lessons there was a small school orchestra. When I entered Junior High (grades 7-8) there was no orchestra so my parents forced me to take up a band instrument and I played the clarinet for two years. I hated every minute of it. I was now practicing the violin and clarinet every day. My enthusiasm for both was dead. It was interfering with my social life and it was definitely not "cool" in the mid '60s to play the violin. Daily practice became a battle with my parents and they repeated over and over that "I would thank them later". At age 14 they finally gave up and I put down the violin and the clarinet. Then came the Beatles and the Stones along with Bob Dylan and the Byrds with the whole California music scene. We had a classical guitar in the house that I picked up and after learning a few basic chords I was excited to realize that I could play many of the songs I listened to on the radio. It was also liberating to realize that you could play music that wasn't written on paper and I didn't have to stand in the formal violin playing position. I was hooked--I took a few months of lessons and started to learn to read music on the guitar and got some basic finger picking techniques down. I eventually quit the lessons and as a backlash to my earlier violin training, I never did study scales and exercises-- so to this day I am still pretty much a hack. In spite of this I don't regret forcing my parents to relent and allow me to quit the formal lessons.

So I don't know what the answer is--I don't believe it is productive to force your kids to practice. They will learn if there is a natural enthusiasm.

I don't know, which advantage "private" could have.

But beside that, I strictly avoid posting pictures of mine or my family for public access to the Internet. I'm on the net since 1993, there wasn't even WWW at that first time. But there was Usenet and everyone felt free to sign their postings with real name, address and even phone number, me included.

But then the golden age of Internet was over, as the first Spam mails appeared because bastards of any kind got also access and we had to hide ourselves behind nick names and had strictly to avoid our new mail addresses being displayed anywhere in the net.
And like that, I keep it with every personal stuff, which can be brought in conjunction with my real personaliy and when I search my name on Google, there's no match regarding me and that's good.

I would not think, I'm paranoid, but I just do not want any kind of people, including them who personally do know me, especially "not friends", having the possibility to follow every single step I do in the net.

But everyone may know, which real G&L guitars the virtual person "Miles Smiles" has registered.

As pictures are welcome in this thread: Since I came back from holidays on last Saturday, without having played any guitar for more then one month, I already played a lot, but just touched this one only:

Howdy Ed,

When I got my first G&L, I found the Registry thinking that is the way you register an instrument instead of mailing in the warranty card. When the collection grew I gave it some thought on whether to hide my identity, especially with my wife being nervous about it. But then I thought the better of it. I am proud of my collection and am not shy about that. And I can appreciate that sometimes somebody might have a question about an instrument in his/her collection and the availability of your email address might help them out.

Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are different beasts all together. With the Registry at least I have full control over what PII (Personal Identifiable Information) will be public. The Social Network sites are not as prudent because their main money maker is advertising which is entirely predicated on the availability of PII: the better they know your profile, the more they can target 'appropriate' ads, the more money the Social Network gets per click. Funny how everything starts to revolve even more around ads. For instance, I have a hard time watching the Olympics having this sinking feeling the sport is merely a means to carry a viewer from one ad to the next.

My wife is very picture shy so I won't be showing a picture of her.

Off to lunch ...

- Jos

Hi Ed

Those are great pics of the family. As for the web, social media, etc. I'm not on any of em except Linkd-In which i use for work purposes. having worked in the industry since the text and early web days, or what we refer to as the "/tilde" era, i've pretty much kept a low profile. although as the "suave one" says, there's plenty of public information about all of us that's accessible these days. while you can google me and find out some of the records i've mastered, etc., there's not much else. there's a new Comcrap commercial running that shows 5 guys hanging out all in the same room and all holding a device. yeah, they're all "connected" to each other in their own cocoons. what a joke. the net is really good for many things but give me a guitar, a good book, or time with friends and family (face to face whenever possible) and i'm good to go. as for pushing kids to take lessons, etc. i wish my mom had done that for me, but it's a fine line between encouraging and pushing a child into doing something that in actuality, your'e doing more for yourself, or to make up for past regrets.



P.S. re: The TA Atom - - it was listed on TGP as being "brand new" and the asking price was more than Mass St. sold it for. I wrote the guy but never heard back. Figures.

pic of me and my pal Laura at a Bottom Of The Hill (SF) gig a while back:

Last edited by jonc on Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Great pics guys. I would post one of Ginny but she is not here and I would not do so without her permission. I just had a big bowl of Chicken Noodle soup, something that I do very often for lunch.

A relative of ours was here last week and posted the pictures that were taken while here on Facebook. I was shocked by the insensitivity of not asking our permission to post them. I think that is an indication of our new society. I do not use Facebook.

I think that we all have to have an interest in something we are trying to learn. No one ever pushed me in music. I never pushed my children although they were in band during the school years. Kari just became interested in guitar 3 years ago at age 38. She has become quite accomplished in this short time. She is a great chart reader and that is what made it possible for her to join our band a year ago. She had to get up to speed quickly and the charting was the trick. She also has great feel and a sense of timing for music.

Ed, you ask how I consider privacy or a lack of on the internet. Here is a good test for all of you. Google your own name and you will be amazed. A couple of years ago Kari (my daughter and bandmate) called me and asked me if I had ever googled my name. I had not but did so and I was blown away by what I found. Many of my references are Kensington Runestone related and any reference or statement that I have ever made to the press is out there. That is fair as it is Public Domain. Anytime you post anything on the internet is will be available for the world to view. I thought about the registry and decided there is nothing to hide. About the only thing to remain unknown is your s.s. no and credit card numbers and they are not always secure either. I use a Mac as I believe it is more secure than a Windows platform. This is still no guarantee. I use Google Earth and for those of you that want to remain elusive, you had better be living in a deeper cave than I do. I was almost sick when I first discovered was was available about me including my G&L's. After thinking about it I am okay with it as there are some great benefits that can be gained. If ever lost in a blizzard the cell phone could save your life just by being able to locate your signal. Many have benefited from On Star. In the end it is what these things are being used for. For those of you that like to take a whiz in the back yard, someone up above could be watching and you may end up on Google Earth. If that happened to me it would not wow anyone but create tons of giggles. We are truly living life in the fast lane. Maybe Google needs to develop Google Guitars and we can view all the finest in the world. No Ed, I haven't thought about this too much, and have said a hell of a lot more than most of you want to know. Just consider yourself lucky that I did not do this post tonight after happy hour!!! -- Darwin

i googled my name and nothing comes up about me. my address does not come up anywhere as i use a mailbox, more than welcome for anyone to google earth that.

i googled my name and nothing comes up about me. my address does not come up anywhere as i use a mailbox, more than welcome for anyone to google earth that.

I see you don't use your real name here and that reduces your internet "presence" . I also utilize a P.O. box but that came up on Zabasearch.com almost immediately after I obtained it. I think if you've ever owned a house or use multiple credit cards your personal info gets broadcast more.

i googled my name and nothing comes up about me. my address does not come up anywhere as i use a mailbox, more than welcome for anyone to google earth that.

I see you don't use your real name here and that reduces your internet "presence" . I also utilize a P.O. box but that came up on Zabasearch.com almost immediately after I obtained it. I think if you've ever owned a house or use multiple credit cards your personal info gets broadcast more.

i looked on zabasearch, and the latest they have on me is 1994. that is the last time i had a credit card. nothing since then. they claim it's the current info. i have had at least 9 addresses since that one, i was still in school then. i despise banks and credit cards.

i despise banks and credit cards.

There's not a lot to like about them, and if you can operate without them then more power to you. Unless you can get by on pure trade and barter, it's difficult to do without them in this society.

i despise banks and credit cards.

There's not a lot to like about them, and if you can operate without them then more power to you. Unless you can get by on pure trade and barter, it's difficult to do without them in this society.

i definitely barter, both for goods, services and cash. i stopped accepting checks since the banks started charging to cash the very checks their account holders write.
i tell them, if you want to write a check, that will be 10 bucks extra. they get pissed at their bank, since cashing the check is supposed to be a service to the account holder. but they always choose to withdraw cash instead of paying the 10 bucks.

Appreciate all the responses today. Here goes:

astutzman: great "better half" photo. You did real good Appreciate your sharing your insights and experiences from your childhood with us. Not always easy, I realize. I will take them to heart. Clearly worth more than 2 cents to us. Thanks so much.

darwin: Wow! I didn't realize that Kari took up guitar so recently. Your advice is good though (as usual). Enjoyed your little rant, too. Tomorrow, I hope you DO post after "happy hour." Ha!

suave-eddie: I was temped, but decided not to click on your link to learn what info might be available on me out there. I'd probably lose some sleep over what I'd find - and I really need my sleep these days!
Regarding your childhood musical experience, I can certainly relate. My folks started me on piano when I was four, and I endured two-hour daily practices, weekly lessons, recitals, etc., until I was almost thirteen. Long story short, I got real good for my age, but came to hate piano. I discovered guitar in my mid teens - on my own terms - and I still enjoy it. The fact that I will always be a hack notwithstanding....

Miles: I admire your privacy precautions and instincts, but I suppose I've traded a bit of my anonymity for sharing a bit of my humanity. I'll let you know how it works out (but by then it will be too late if it is not so already). But what I really admire is that Legacy of yours. Wow, that sure is some classic beauty. Enjoy!

Jos: Your knowledge, utilization and nurturing of the Registry - and your willingness to share your knowledge and enthusiasm - are truly fantastic. Thanks too again for sending me that "top hat" switch tip. Was that fast or what? Back at you soon. Much appreciated!

jonc: Great pic, jonc. What are you playing there, exactly? And your pal Laura is obviously beautiful, talented and has rhythm to boot. Good on you! And yes, that is a sick commercial you reference and I agree with you totally as to what' really important in this world. With all my heart.

Louis: Don't really love banks either but I LOVE my credit card!!! I have only one and use it to pay for virtually everything. I pay it off entirely at the end of every month, so I pay no fees or interest. And at the end of the year, I have a good record of all my spending for tax purposes (my wife is a CPA, btw). Plus I accumulate a ton of of bonus points which I can convert to money or things or tickets or whatever. I just don't see the problem here.
Oh, and though banks can be pains in the butt, you can negotiate with them, especially if you are a good customer. I regularly get better (unadvertised) interest rates, for example, by (nicely) threatening to take my business elsewhere. If you can get to the branch manager's boss, you're home free in many cases.

- ed

Ed, you sly fox, you got us going today. I have to admit that after a nice evening with Ginny at Big Louies, life doesn't get much better. We are celebrating Sam getting much better. I hope that Google Earth didn't get us tonight as we were sitting on the deck having some cold ones. If anything inappropriate shows up, do not judge me as it was innocent fun!!!! -- Darwin

How about that! I come home, my wife has sent me a beautiful picture of herself and she wouldn't mind me posting it. So here is my soul mate for more than 30 years; my truly one and only:


- Jos

P.S. Ed, what a difference. I put that switch tip in the mail last Saturday and it goes all the way cross country on a Sunday to be delivered to you yesterday. At the same time, a tweed G&L case I got on eBay only arrived yesterday too after a trip in the other direction that took a good 15 days. Oh, and both using the good ol' USPS. Go figure

that's my old Hagstrom 1 with the fancy "plastic" top and vinyl covered plywood "slab" back . Hagstrom "the fastest, thinnest neck" in the business. on a slightly related note, the Hastrom trem's ended up on some 60's Gretsch guitars like the "push-button" Impala. and yes, laura is not only easy on the eyes, she is quite the drummer, keyboardist, guitarist, bassist, yada, yada, yada. she's one of those who can pick up an instrument and be really good on it in a short time. i hate her. lol

Last edited by jonc on Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ed, i don't need to negotiate with banks, i don't want money from them, and i sure as hell am not giving them any, at the current interest rates it makes no sense. i only use cash to pay for things, if i can't afford it i don't buy it. it also works well when stores try to up sell, with a credit card you can't really defend with i have only this much with me. there is also a difference to me counting out bills, with a card it is one swipe one signature regardless of the amount. i also get a discount paying cash, more than the credit card company gives you, they just give you part of money they charge the seller, i get the full amount usually, 3-5%. while you may not pay fees and interest, the people you are buying from sure pay for you using a card. the last thing i want is a record of my purchases that uncle sam or anyone else can see.

Louis: I love you, man. Yeah, I do use cash for purchases that I don't want known to all. Also, I've adapted my "this is all I have with me" stance to reflect more of the reality: "This is all I'm willing to pay."

jonc: Marry this girl and share pictures of the stunning children with us someday, eh? Ha! Truly a "rythmic miracle" indeed (or so I suspect). That Hagstrom neck tag thing is precious - and not irrelevant as it turns out!

What I really wanted to say is that is one of the coolest old funky guitars I have ever seen. I'm betting it has a unique sound and vibe which sets it apart from everything everybody else is playing. That's kind of refreshing.

Jos: Ah, she came around. That's always a fine thing! I don't need to tell you that you are a gifted man. Wish me and mine had some real hay to roll around in.

darwin: You and Ginny can pee on my lawn any time. When I do, the dogs seem to really get a kick out of it for some reason Ha! - ed

btw, you want photos of significant others, here is one



as you can see, nothing is revealed.

Only thing I do not understand is why the book she clearly is reading is retouched out of the picture. Is the photographer afraid that 'Fifty Shades of Gray' is too revealing?

- Jos

Only thing I do not understand is why the book she clearly is reading is retouched out of the picture. Is the photographer afraid that 'Fifty Shades of Gray' is too revealing?

- Jos

i was the photographer and i promise you no reading took place

What freaking book are you seeing there, Jos? - ed

btw, Louis, I might take issue with your "nothing is revealed" crap.

What freaking book are you seeing there, Jos? - ed

btw, Louis, I might take issue with your "nothing is revealed" crap.

his wife was looking over his shoulder and he had to pretend he was looking at something else btw the book is there ed, look harder

What year is that?

Miles: I admire your privacy precautions and instincts, but I suppose I've traded a bit of my anonymity for sharing a bit of my humanity.

Not a bad deal I guess.
I know, I'm overdoing.

But what I really admire is that Legacy of yours. Wow, that sure is some classic beauty. Enjoy!

When I bought it, I was in the market for a red Legacy with maple fretboard. Then this Legacy appeared as the only good chance since a while, built in 1994 (as zandurian likes to know) and it has been a very good opportunity, as nearly unplayed. This has been six years ago for now and slowly my wish, it would be a red one with maple fretboard did fade, in the meantime I wouldn't even trade. And of course it plays and feels and sounds very good.

built in 1994 (as zandurian likes to know) and it has been a very good opportunity, as nearly unplayed.

It's crazy too because I bought a nearly mint '97 model for $700.00 (including tax!) and so much nicer than expensive strats I was looking at. So underated.

Here’s the older kid at a music camp this summer performing with “our” 1st style SB-2 and making his daddy big proud!:

That SB-2 is WAY bigger than the one I own! Not a lot of musicians play oversized instruments, but some of the people who do (Like Angus Young... ...man his SG is big) have made a good living at it.

Brock, I think it's just a small person (10 y/o).

Oh, I get it now, lol! - ed

Here’s the older kid at a music camp this summer performing with “our” 1st style SB-2 and making his daddy big proud!:

That SB-2 is WAY bigger than the one I own! Not a lot of musicians play oversized instruments, but some of the people who do (Like Angus Young... ...man his SG is big) have made a good living at it.

i know.prince plays some very oversized guitars too

Brock, I think it's just a small person (10 y/o).

Oh, I get it now, lol! - ed

...It's all Relative

Brock, I think it's just a small person (10 y/o).

Oh, I get it now, lol! - ed

...It's all Relative

especially that part of town

especially that part of town

LOL ...ouch

Yow! - ed