TapperMike

I never use it. I haven't bothered to even turn on my laptop in the last month. Right now I'm content running vista on my desktop.

Our options are little. Eventually every windows user will have to face win10 I've read a lot about the challenges of working with various incarnations of OSX and their planned obsolence modeling which basically forces one to buy a new computer every 5 years. I'm not ready for that, nor am I ready to endure the issues with various releases not working with Apple's software and third party software. Really? Is that what people are willing to take for having a mac? Regarding software compatibility and anonymous snooping. Microsoft scans the computer for identifiers. Not like your name and address more like what type of hardware you are using and what your hard drive id is. Then when you do go for hardware or an operating system change or recovery/reformat that collected data changes. MS peeks under the hood and updates the computers identity to mark the changes made to your computer. Been that way since 98 and isn't going away. It's also how they catch people using pirated operating systems (though rarely prosecute, usually they just remote shut down when / if it is worth the time for the effort. I know this because... It's part of the piracy protection we use with our software. (as well as several other software companies) When someone changes something big the software is disabled and it takes a few minutes to re enable our software but we make them go into their account to get the key. Most of our users also know the drill. It's always better to do a fresh install of the program then attempt ghost transfers. Ghost transfers can wreak havoc with the registry. It's a lot of work to clean up.

I used to run cross country. Yes it's even lonlier when your the shortest guy on the team. Run 20 miles, come in dead last and there's no one left to watch you puke as you cross the finish line. Long Distance runaround - Yes Okay what's up here. I can't paste or even type a url into my reply.

I'm your captain - Grand Funk Railroad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8MYsii4DZY

Okay. Get this. about 25 years ago my PL/PD (no fault) car was legally parked along the street. Multi-car accident and my car is near totalled. I talk to the cop about getting all the information because I wanted to make a claim. He was hesitant and finally agreed. I went to the insurer for the person at fault. They claimed that the damage to my car was only worth 1000 though it was considerably more. Further they claimed that because it was a multi-car collision that I would have to go after each of the other four drivers for the rest of the money. I got $200 from the insurance company of the person responsible and I got zip, zero, zilch from the other drivers insurance. The car was worth about 3K and the work easily would go over 3k.

Thanks, at least I have my health. I've had more than one friend who's had the same experience at hospitals as you did. And I had a minor stomach infection which all it took was some antibiotics to cure. But I had to wait 8 hours in an emergency room and it took me years to pay off the debt. One thing I learned 12 years ago.. There is a large black market for prescription drugs to those who need it but can't attain it via regular methods and it's not surprising why. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/d-brad-wright/the-price-of-prescription_b_379918.html

Laws very from state to state. If your part time state legislators are receiving kickbacks from insurance companies then yeah they'll make it a law. My health insurance is like hi risk no fault. It doesn't cover anything without outrageous deductibles paid first. And it only lasts for six months at which time I have to pay more from them or someone else. Doctors at the top make all the money. I knew a brain surgeon who made $1.2 million a year. His contract specified that he only perform surgery 8 times a year. He would put in less then 10 hours a week of office time. With the occassionally surgery which could last longer. The only big difference between for profit and ngo hospitals in the US is where / how they spread the money. An NGO cannot show a profit ergo they work hard at hiding profits via investments. More property then they'll ever need, not all of it going to satellite operations. My sister is a hospital administrator. You wouldn't believe how much they jack up everything (not just the meds). But hey they have you were they want you. Doctors regularly prescribe medicines that have no effect whatsoever in regards to the ailment simply to help out big pharma. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQZ2UeOTO3I In regards to accidents.... I was walking on the side walk in front of a strip mall with a bar years back. Some drunk woman who didn't have her headlights on decided to pull into the parking lot without bothering to use the entrance. Instead she does a lawn job and hits me. All I can remember about it was that she was blond and her car was newer and red. ( these two as my face bounced on the hood to look up at her as I was projected away from the car. I didn't have insurance and she vanished into the night (hit and run) I got up and felt scared and the energy level fooled me as to the damage. I walked home and it took two days before I could lift myself up. I couldn't identify the woman or the car. I couldn't afford an ems / ambulance and I couldn't afford a visit to the emergency room. Guess what,,, Now that I have insurance I still can't because the deductibles are too damn high.

I paid for the car from the garage. The relative (sister) is listed as the purchaser of record on the title. Here's why. In order to get car insurance one must have health insurance first. What is supposed to happen (even if they employer doesn't pay for it) is that the employer signs the employee up for health insurance and then either the employer (as a benefit) pays the insurance or the employer withdraws the amount for the insurance from the payroll check... Well, my employer refused to offer me insurance (either way) so I had to go out and buy my own health insurance separately. But....It takes about three to four weeks of processing until I have the proof of health insurance. My sister already has health insurance and car insurance on another car. So if the car is put in her name and I pay her to pay for the insurance. It's not only cheaper it's also a faster way for me to get into a car. The odd part about car insurance. I have no points on my record. I've had no points on my record since 1985. But because I was without a car, auto insurance companies can put me into "the pool" (of high risk drivers) which means the rates skyrocket. The news of the day is no news. Apparently it's one of the computers but they don't know which one. So they have to pull the computers out and test them to find the one that isn't functioning.

Finally huh. Starting on Gibson type tone/pot controls I was very content until I got my strat. I like the one volume does it all. and I've had the one v/one t systems and I find them fine. I can imagine that push/pull top hats (gibson style) pots would be a pain.

Yeah couldn't resist on Marmalade I was laughing hard on that one.

Reflections of my life - Marmalade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTeI65yrhGw

Oddly I've turned into a hand to the wheel and nose to the grindstone type guy. Seems like whenever I have an idle moment my boss wants me to clean something not in my department. Still it's nice to converse with my coworkers. So it has been seven days of owning the car. And on the 6th it died on me. Saturday night I cut my finger doing food prep. Sunday I went to a blues jam but couldn't play because of the finger. Still it was good seeing an old friend and the band put on a great show. On the way home.... My car died. No apparent reason it just stalled and I couldn't restart it. Called a friend for a jump, that didn't work. Had the car towed. And now I'm waiting for the garage that sold me the car to open. They should fix it without charging me.

Way cool. I just can't take the noise to much with my tele. I sit in front of the monitor with my guitar facing the amp and the desktop computer sits under the desktop. Those traditional single coils pick up everything. It's tolerable (noise wise) if I'm further back away from my computer and point the guitar in a different direction. I've replaced various guitar electronics before (pickups, switches, pots etc) It's just to easy to let someone else do it. That's the deal I get when I go to favored guitar stores. If I buy it they'll install it for free, often while I wait.

I'm keeping the jx16 just getting rid of the JX17 The telecaster I have is CIC (Crafted in China) It's a fine guitar but the pickups are also CIC as such they don't have the output or character found in Fender pickups (American or Mexican) While the bridge in humbucker mode is okay. In coil tapped mode the output is considerably lower. The neck pup also has a much lower output and there is no way to adjust the height. All Three are noisy as all get up. I find myself playing in positions 2 and 4 most of the time. I really really want to hotrod it a bit. First and foremost the wiring. It's a 5-way stratocaster type switch currently. I want to convert that to a 7-way system. If I convert the 5way to a 3way switch I'll get the true tele middle position back. Then I intend to replace the current mini-toggle for another 3way switch. Middle Only, Middle and N/B, N/B only. That would give me 7 different variations out of the box. I also want a Seymour Duncan triple shot pup ring for the bridge. A triple shot ring on a four lead pickup allows one to select. Both coils in series, Both coils in parallel, and either the front or the back coil as a single coil So to recap. Bridge only is four variations with the triple shot. Bridge and neck is four variations with the triple shot. Bridge and middle is four variations with the triple shot. Bridge middle and neck is four variations with the triple shot. Add one for the middle alone. Add one for the middle and bridge. Add one for the neck only 4+4+4+4+1+1+1 That's 19 different combinations from a three pickup guitar. So the pickups.... I want SD stack for the neck position and middle positions. It's meaty without getting two dark and still looks like a tele neck pup and I want a SD Stag Mag for the bridge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQC1GJLPuf4

Now that I have a car again....I'll be cruising the local blues jams. My fingers have to heal (they are still very tender) And while it's not the music I prefer to play (I don't hate it but I'd rather be playing jazz) It will get me in the mood for possibly playing live again. Oddly I'm getting rid of a bunch of guitars. My Parker, Godin's and possibly one of my jazz boxes (the Eddie Durham JX17) Sadly they are just clutter in my life. I'm hoping with the money from the sales I can invest in upgrading my Fender Modern Player Plus Telecaster with Seymour Duncan pickups.

Oddly I've had more doors slammed in my face in the tech field then I can shake a stick at. About the only thing I haven't tried is Data Entry. Most data entry jobs locally are very low paying with the exception of medical. That's another job market which has been swallowed whole by India. As a whole the software field is dying. The only consumer software market still thriving is ... Music creation software. I've built a few softsynths in the past but it's not my forte. While Native Instruments is hiring the only thing I'm qualified for is an internship. Working for free for two years really doesn't interest me. I'm going back to cooking. It's a field I know well and it gets me out in the public. Cooking even at a very busy restaurant has a social aspect to it that you can't get in office work. The food is usually free or at a deep discount and it keeps me physically active. I'm not the athletic minded type and I could use the activity.

On to some more positive things.... I've finally got health insurance however the documentation won't arrive for 3 weeks. I can't survive financially with health insurance but I need it for taxes. My employer wouldn't offer it to me (which is kinda illegal) so I had to go out and find my own. The ACA (also known as Obamacare) doesn't offer single payer. Instead it makes each state "Pair" clients and providers. In Michigan this is done via MiBridges. I've been fighting with MiBridges for the better part of a year trying to get health care. I finally gave up and went searching for health care providers online and found "Temporary" health insurance at 200 a month. This is way beyond what I can pay and half as much as it would cost for me to insure myself with full. I'm approved but it will take three weeks for the final completion. Meanwhile .... I got a car. One of my sisters was kind enough to allow me to buy a car in her name. The reason for this is I've not been driving for many a year. As a result that means I go into the high risk drivers pool even though I've had a clean record for the past 30 years. Another reason is that while I do finally have health insurance I've yet to receive the paperwork. I just got home from driving around town. Drove around my old stomping ground, then decided to quit while I was ahead. There's still much for me to do including.... Look for another job. Now that I can drive I can be more choosy about the place I work.

Also there appears to be a wiring issue with my Ztars. The midi no longer transmits to my computer.

And now we've hired 6 more kitchen employees and my hours are being hacked to death. As well apparently asking for insurance is a no no. I've worked 40+ hours a week since I started which means as an employer they have to provide me with insurance. They don't have to pay for the insurance they simply have to get me on a plan where I pay the insurance. So I've had to go out and find my own health insurance of which I'm hoping the response will come quickly. Now that I have to pay for insurance and I don't get a group rate discount (like you are supposed to when you work for a company) It has pushed me beyond my means. So I'll have to find another job, possibly two in order to survive. On the plus side of things I'll need a car and I just might be able to afford one in the short term. Hopefully it will be long enough to find two jobs so I can pay for my health and car insurance and feed myself with.

See my post with Sonic Talk. You can have great hardware but that will only be as good as the OS which is running it. MS has made huge progress in regards to audio latency and audio throughput. As well as how it handles midi....which can often be a challenge considering how midi works on ALL Computer Operating Systems.

Will Do, Now it's just a matter of pay and surviving the last month or so.

....and that's the thing about LP's of that era. You go through 10 or more just to find the right one. When you do it makes all the difference. If you buy a Gibson Les Paul from this era even though the necks vary they vary to a spec. As far as the variety of tone and models it's really up to the player. I've read all the horror stories about Epi's and experienced a few of my own. Where by no matter what you do it still doesn't sound / play right. Sometimes I think it's a marketing thing. They get you into the store with the "Gibson authorized: LP copy and then you find that no matter what it just can't play/sound right so then you upgrade to a Les Paul.

I have little time for playing these days. Even today. I'll work support for an hour followed by 12 hours of cooking followed by more support work when I get home. Right now I'm saving for a linnstrument.

Here's something interesting. As many of you know I've gone back to cooking and still working tech support. The cooking job is killing my hands. Between the dry heat of the kitchen and constantly burning myself and rarely getting any playing time in.....I can't play the guitar anymore. My hands and fingers have been burned so many times it's not funny. Thank goodness I still have the baby z to play with it's rubberized strings or I'd be out cold.

Really it depends on era. I saw a lot of lousy gibsons during the 80's and 90's. Every few years the CEO gets replaced by a new one who may have no clue about guitars or the guitar market. He lasts for about 5 years and gets replaced by someone else. The CEO's job is to line his pocket with as much money as possible. Damn the company, damn the brand name and damn the consumers. It takes awhile for the rank and file to knock some sense into the guy (If they can) and generally the CEO will make pronouncements to the public from on high which trade magazines love to print and won't try to fight (because Gibson pays for advertisement) Honestly I still believe that they are making the best production instruments they ever have...If you stick to the mid to top of the line Gibsons. The CEO isn't the one building the instruments and maintaining standards. I've had two les pauls. A 50's gold top and a 70's custom. The 50's one had terrible output from the bridge pickup and less then desireable tuning stability. The 70's LP was amazing and both were heavy as all hell. I've played more then 100 les pauls working at guitar stores and trying to find "The One" Up until 2013 I'd regularly play new Gibson Les Pauls in stores. I'd always check out standards and customs. Each time they were right as rain. The tuners functioned as they should without irregular stiffness and held in place where I could play in tune for hours, The nut was correctly joined to the neck at the proper angle and proper distance on either side. It was precisely slotted. The fretwork was perfect all the way up the board. There were no "dead zones" due to hollowed necks. the relief was spot on. The action was pristine across all the strings and the tuneomatic bridge had the proper radius and height with the tailpiece having the correct angle for the string travel. Everything was perfect. I've noticed this from 2005 to 2013/ Then I'd have the heartache of price. I rarely saw that in 80's gibsons even some 90's were shoddy. The only other brand I've ever seen which is that detailed for mass production is the American made Fenders. MIM's and CIC's don't come close. I've got a MIM fender and a CIC fender and a USA fender. The MIM and the CIC I had to do work on for them to play properly. It's little problem for me as I've worked in guitar stores and can do basic guitar tech. Guitar stores rarely do more then intonate guitars and some won't even do that for a new guitar unless a customer requests it. I used to be a fan of Ibanez but even with Ibanez I'd always have to do a full setup. If the factory doesn't have the time or skill to do a proper setup then it goes to the store. If the store does the full setup then they have to increase the price to pay for the labor. You are not going to get a full setup from online sales places or chain stores or even most ma/pa brick and mortars. If someone who doesn't know enough about guitars to know what a full setup can do to improve playability and comfort (fret overhang etc) Buys a guitar online because they think they are saving money...Well they'll never fully realize the difference. So many times through the years I've played other peoples guitars which needed a proper setup and begged them to go get one. I've even offered to do it for free. I've handed them my guitars and shown the difference in playability. It's a hard thing to ask of them when they have this new guitar or this guitar that they love. It's like saying "your girlfriend is pretty but you'd enjoy her more if I fixed her"