Friday 12/21 Lunch - Still here!

Well it is dark and stormy here....looks pretty ominous outside...

Thanks guys for all the welcome backs and for a great week!

I have had a very tumultuous year, and another 6 months or so of unrest/change coming up. Lots of change at work, got to go out on the road a little, with more opportunities coming next spring. For a while I didn't have a desk to sit at and that was the main contributor to my absence, but I'm glad to be back. This is the only board I frequent and I think we have a great community here.

Lunch: Company Christmas party/lunch today, not sure whats on the menu but I baked some dark chocolate chip cookies last night for the party. I almost always bake from scratch, even though I don't make good food choices a lot of the time, I still try and eat as cleanly as possible (meaning avoiding additives, chemicals, preservatives etc.)

It's really not much more work than a packaged mix and yields a better cookie, in my opinion anyway


G&L Topic: There are a lot of good deals on used G&L's, especially this time of year they really come out of the woodwork. Just in the last couple of days I've seen Legacy's for around five bills, and some decent prices on asats. Oh the higher but rare end an asat JD-5 is on ebay currently and an HG-2 just ended yesterday, not to mention the lacewood commemorative recently (sorry Jos). Aside from the used stuff I'm also noticing some great looking guitars coming out of the factory, the work they do at G&L keeps me coming back. I'm looking forward to the day I can place those custom orders I have in the back of my head.

Thanks G&L for producing a fantastic product and Happy Holidays to all the staff and folks there that make it happen


Off Topic: Car parts (and not the fun kind)

Merry Christmas honey I got you....TIRES!!!

Brought my wife's car in for inspection yesterday, other than tires the car just needs one new tie rod. Not too bad, but even so the total is going to be in the $600-700 range when all is said and done. My enthusiasm for working on cars is really waning. A few years ago I would have done the tie rod myself, the car needs brakes as well, which I will do. But I'm down to brakes, oil changes/air filter and spark plugs as far as the services I do myself. I know at least a couple of you guys do your own work, how do you keep up with it? I think lack of a garage and lack of turbo chargers has been detrimental to my mechanical hobby.

Car trouble will certainly put a damper on my amp wheelin' and dealin'. Regardless, I'm heading up to check out the Vibrolux tomorrow, won't be able to buy it tomorrow but at least I'll know if it's worth pursuing.

I'll round off the week with a couple of pics of me being an idiot (as promised)

I just couldn't decide which gourd I wanted!


This is typically how I shovel snow... none yet, so far, this year


Happy Holidays to you all, I hope everyone gets some time to relax over the next weekend/week whether you celebrate them or not.

-Dave

Hi Dave,

I've been lurking and enjoying your posts over the last week. It's good to have you back on the board. I hope things improve for you in the New Year and the amp acquisition syndrome resolves soon.

Great looking cookies!

It's a splendiferous summer morning here today. Who'd have thought the end of the world could be so pleasant?



I'm with you on the car repairs. I drive past a big construction site down the end of my street on the way to work. So far this year I've had 2 nails, a screw and a hex key pulled out of my tyres. The hex key ruined the tyre so I required a new set of front tyres. The rubbish the construction guys leave on the roads is incredible. While the tyres were being changed the repair guy also found I needed a new rear wheel bearing. Car repairs make guitars and amps seem like a cheap hobby.

Our company Christmas lunch was at Melbourne Zoo this year. We had the standard Aussie Christmas fare of grilled seafood on skewers, some barbequed lamb, and seasonal salads and fruit. Oh, and plenty of beer! I've got a feeling I'll be looking for work in 2013 as our company is relocating to Atlanta, GA in the next 12-24 months.

Can't wait to see what G&L will be serving up in the New Year, or how low the used ones will be going for. I went for a tour of the Maton guitar factory a few weeks back and was impressed enough to think I might need one. More G&L's may have to wait for a while.

Happy New Year / Happy Holidays to everyone on the board. Hopefully Santa brings some guitar related goodies this year.

I'm with you on the no additives thing. I was recently offered a 'muffin bar' that was in the storage container for an aid organisation we work with every now and then - the things didn't 'expire' for at least a year after they were first made. Thats incredible, a home-made muffin would be bad by lunch time the day you baked it! I declined.

The gourd on the left would be my choice, it could be painted to look like Gonzo.

I had car trouble this time last year - firstly my ignition barrel went about 10 days before xmas which cost $500, then on the way to the airport the clutch cable came loose and we missed our flights and had to buy new ones, which cost $600. This year Im driving as little as possible

Hope the amp sucks and you don't want it! I picked up this '70s Peavey Classic the other night for $20. Other than a problem with an overheating tube (something in the bias circuit is playing up) it works absolutely perfectly.


Have a great xmas!

It's been a great week, Dave! I hope things settle down and go well for you in the coming year.

Food:
My wife considers baking to be her favorite hobby. She's very good at it, but this time of year cookies and treats pile up daily. There's always a mixed feeling of guilt and relief when the last of them are gone in January.

I don't care for most food additives either, especially as I have to deal with some of that stuff at work. Unfortunately, there is quite a bit of stuff that can be added without needing to go on the label.

Thanks G&L for producing a fantastic product and Happy Holidays to all the staff and folks there that make it happen

+1. Same for Fred and his former colleagues who built all of that Leo-era goodness so many of us still enjoy!

Off Topic: Car parts (and not the fun kind)

Merry Christmas honey I got you....TIRES!!!

I just put $600 into my wife's car this week, and need to add another $400 in tires to the total next week. I really wish it could have happened sometime other than heading into the holidays!

Ken

Phil, good to hear front you! What a gorgeous day you're having down there. That legacy of yours is looking chic on that white couch.

Sweet score Jamie! Can't beat that price. I just finished cleaning my amp up so it's ready in case I want to sell it. I think I will anyway just so I have the money aside for the next time I find something.


Ken , I can sympathize with you on the baked goods, I feel like I can't get back to normal until after the holidays. It's always a relief.

My lunch ended up being catered by a BBQ place. Ribs, chicken, pulled pork, corn, beans, cole slaw and a vast array of desserts. Best company party yet, it included several cases of beer, some football outside, a poker game and shots.

Off until Wednesday now, have a good night

-Dave

KenC,
Thanks, if you would have told me 30 years ago we would be having worldwide conversations about what we were doing, I don't think too many of us at the factory would have believed it. It's great to see that there is a lot of folks out there that realize that Leo, George and Dale were truly out to build the best guitars they could. I am very thankful to have been a part of it.
Fred

Believe me, we're thankful too! ;+) - ed

Best of everything in the New Year, eh?!