Guitar Center Revisited

I don't know for sure what it is about Guitar Center in Roy, UT that I like so much. Perhaps its the rustic "acoustic" room that has nothing but acoustic guitars. Perhaps its the fact that one can sit in there and play to one's heart's content. Whatever it is, I like it a lot.

Well, having been there a couple of times in the last couple of weeks, I got the crazy idea that I should pass on my own views on the 6-string wonders that I found there.

One of the first brands I picked up was Gibson. Guitar Center has a nice cross section of the Gibson line, and I had the chance to play them both fingerstyle and flatpickin' If I were to describe the Gibson guitars in two words, they would be "solid" and "stable". They had a good sound, though perhaps a bit muffled or held back. They seem to be a bit reserved, as if they are saving their sound for a later date. Overall the action and necks felt good on the models I played. As they are manufactured just north of here in Bozeman, MT, I may have to head on up there some time and really get a good idea of what they're like.

Another brand that I had been interested in, especially after Matt said he liked them (if I remember correctly) was the Breedlove guitars. These have a very distinctive headstock and seem to be offered in anything from a first time guitar to more professional models. The ones featured at this particular Guitar Center seemed focused more on first time buyers. Personally I was not very impressed with the guitars or their sound (though I'm definitely open to changing that opinion at a later date). This being said, I was impressed with the build quality.

Once in a while Guitar Center will take a guitar in on trade that they normally don't sell. This was the case with an $1800 Morgan that I found in the corner. Visually this guitar was impressive. After close inspection however, I wasn't too impressed with the finish work on this particular model. The frets were not filed down smooth, and my fingers seemed to catch on them slightly as I played some chords. While not "cheap sounding", this guitar didn't impress me with anything special or out of the ordinary.

Well, in an attempt not to bore you with too many of my opinionated reviews, I'll only deal with two more brands. The first of these would be Taylor. Taylor makes some of the nicest looking guitars...IMHO (in my humble opinion). I am sure there are a few of their models that they don't spend as much time on as others, but they have definitely turned their guitars into pieces of artwork. I will say their bridge shape is my favorite, and their headstock is nice looking as well. I suppose one could say they are modern looking guitars.

This being said, I personally would not prefer to own one. Why? Simply the sound. What I mean by this is that the Taylors have a very distinctive sound. They have succeeded in making a line of guitars that has a definite sound and tone quality that is fairly unique...and I do congratulate them on that, for it doesn't appear to be easy to differentiate guitar tones (at least as I've judged on the different brands I've played).

The Taylor sound to me is too bright. Of course this varies depending on the woods used in the construction of the guitar and the strings, etc. This being the case, it still seems to be a distinctive of Taylor guitars which I tend dislike. This is one reason I would not like to own one. The second reason is that the sound to me seems very "peaky". When I play them, I hear strong bass and strong high's but not a lot of blended mid's. This may be exactly what they were aiming for, so I don't fault it for that, but I prefer more of a blended sound.

One final note about the Taylors...I can't ever seem to get comfortable on the neck. It is a thin cross-section and could be labeled a "fast" neck for playing, but I always feel awkward on it. So, if you like the Taylor sound and the neck, you will absolutely love these guitars. They are well built and distinctive. I, however, have a more traditional favorite...

To anyone who knows guitars, D-28 or HD-28 have special meaning. They are built in the little town of Nazareth, Penn, and if imitation is indeed a form of flattery, than these guitars should feel very honored...for these are none other than the prodigy of the Martin Guitar Company.

I will say I am extremely biased when it comes to guitars. (ok, maybe opinionated is a better word). The very first Martin that I played live (apart from maybe one or two in captivity...aka...guitar stores) was a Martin DM acoustic-electric cutaway. It was out at Clover Pass and was just sitting there, waiting to be played. Being interested in different guitars, I asked if I could play it...

...it was love at first sight, sound, chord, etc. I instantly became a believer in the Martin sound. When chording, that little mahogany and spruce gem blended the notes perfectly, yet when individual strings were played, they sounded out distinctly and with a fullness that belied the size of that instrument.

Yes, I was hooked. After a lot of research and a few e-mails back and forth to a guitar shop in Kansas City, I was soon the proud owner of a Martin DRE. The DRE differed from the DM I had played in that it was not a cutaway, had a Fishman Prefix blender on board, and had Indian Rosewood sides and back.

I still have that guitar, and I have to admit, to my ears it is one of the nicest sounding guitars I have ever heard. Personally I think it can hold its own with its two thousand dollar siblings. Anyway, to bring this to a close, I played several Martins there at Guitar Center, and they still sit as my favorite line of guitars. If I ever have the chance to go back and tour the factory again, I'll do it in a heartbeat.

New Mailing Address

I have recently closed down my P.O. Box, so my new mailing address is just here to the apartment. It is:

Derek Linder
672 N 500 E Apt 3
Logan, UT 84321

From Bethlehem to Moab: Studies in Ruth

I have been continuing on in Sunday School with lessons from the book of Ruth. For the last several Sundays, we have been following Elimelech and his family from Bethlehem to Moab, going along the most likely route they traveled.

The reason for this is that I believe there were lessons and reminders along the way which should have pointed Elimelech back towards Bethlehem. But more importantly, they serve as reminders to us as well of God and his faithfulness.

I started out thinking that the first stop after Bethlehem would be the city of Jerusalem. After all, at 6 miles away, what could be closer? Well, on the way we come upon Rachel's tomb. The lesson here is God's faithfulness. Rachel's tomb reminds of all that God had done in the past, the promises that he had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and how that the presence of God's people in the promised land (during the days of the judges) was a direct and visible proof of our covenant keeping God.

After Rachel's tomb comes Jerusalem, and this was an interesting study, because at the time of the judges, Jerusalem was not an important town in Israel. It was inhabited by the Jebusites. We looked at the promises God made of victory and how that initially it seems the Jebusites were driven out. However, as time went on, they came back and were found dwelling there once again. In our study we briefly considered and asked ourselves what "Jebusites" might we have allowed to creep back into our lives, even things which God had promised victory over.

Well, we left Jerusalem, and traveled the dangerous road which descended down to Jericho. While there potentially were lessons along this route, we instead turned our attention to Jericho. Two weeks ago, Sunday, we considered the archaeological excavations which have taken place at Jericho during the last century, and how that each one has succeeded in finding evidence that points to the Biblical account (the ones who disagree don't have a problem with the evidence but with the dating...which in my mind is a fundamental weakness in archaeology anyway).

Two days ago, we continued in our study of Jericho. This time we looked at the passage in Joshua 6 from the perspective of the inhabitants of Jericho. The message was about misplaced trust, and it is interesting to note that those in Jericho didn't rely on alliances, they didn't depend on military strength or strategy, but instead they relied on the walls of the city. In the natural these were impregnable by Israel, but the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, across the wilderness and into the promised land could not be stopped by an "impressive" wall. The lesson to be learned is that there is only One who is deserving of the trust of His people, and that is God Almighty. Our source text and study was found in Prov 3:5-6.

So, there you have it, a short summary of where our study in Ruth has been going. It has been a blessing for me to be able to present some of what God has been showing me via the Sunday School venue, and I trust is an encouragement to all of you that God's word is a living word and can be studied and learned from , even from one of the shortest and smallest of its books.

The Gadget Guy! - Part Deux

So, why the Gadget Guy post? Well, before I answer that, let me give a little more history and perhaps a glimpse into the dementia known as "gadget-i-tis." There are several manifestations of this disease. In the absolute worst cases, gadgets are the end in themselves and the sufferer bounces from one gadget to the next, almost in a "keeping up with the Joneses" state of mind. These are the ones who must have the latest and greatest, even if there is no appreciable difference between their current device and the new shiny one on the shelf.

Thankfully my case of "gadget-i-tis" is not of this strain. It is usually content with merely learning about the latest and greatest, and taking the opportunity to try out the newest toys as I come into contact with them. As an example, were I to suffer the most acute symptoms, I would absolutely HAVE to have an Apple iPhone. Is it over-hyped? Of course. Does it make better phone calls than my Motorola Q? I doubt it. Is it ridiculously over-priced? Yes it is, even after the price "reduction." Yet it is different...it is new...it has chic appeal. (BTW, I personally feel the same way about the whole iPod family as well, but since I am aware that several of my readers have iPods, I'll reserve my comments to myself.)

No, my particular strain could be called the El Dorado strain (see this definition of El Dorado from Wikipedia: used sometimes as a figure of speech to represent something much sought after that may not even exist, or at least may not ever be found) As such, the El Dorado strain contents itself with the quest for the "perfect" gadget. The "perfect" gadget may not be the same for everyone, but is unique in its mission to meet its owner's needs in a more complete and thorough way than any other previous gadget (whether personally owned or not).

So, what is that "perfect" gadget? Well, here's where the history part comes in. Back in the early 1990's (I know, that's so last century...and yes, they did have computers back then!) I came across an advertisement for a small subnotebook built by Gateway 2000 called the Handbook.

The advertisement was actually a "real size" printout in the middle of a computer magazine (probably PC Magazine or Computer Shopper...back when Shopper was printed on newsprint and was about an inch and a half thick!). I removed the printout and left it around for a few days, pondering the unique computing platform that this ultraportable had to offer. The price was out of my league (hey, I was still in high school and 486 computers were the cutting edge at the time!), so I finally archived that ad in a nondescript manila folder...(where it probably is still sitting today, tucked between other carefully selected articles of computing from a "bygone age.")

I kept my eyes peeled as the years went on. There was the NEC MobilePro, which really was more like the HP Jornada 680 that I ended up with than an actual notebook PC.

There was the ZEOS Contenda. I had spent many hours reading about ZEOS computers and the Contenda looked pretty good. However, I was not in the place to purchase one, so this too passed by me.

Then there was the Toshiba Libretto, to which I took more than a passing fancy, though my daydreams were limited to advertisements and reviews in computer magazines.

When the time came to actually purchase my first computer, I had wandered away from the subnotebooks and ended up with a Gateway laptop, complete with docking station. Aside from a graphics card error that they could never fix for me, the laptop was a good one. They ended up refunding my money after I had a chat with the Better Business Bureau, and I headed a different direction.

This time I picked up a Dell Inspiron 4000, though instead of purchasing it from Dell, I got it off of eBay. It was only a couple of weeks old, and the owner had realized that he wanted something different. So, soon I was the proud owner of a "new" Inspiron, complete with a transfered warranty and a copy of the "birth certificate." (If you don't believe me on that one, I can post it here on Bent Ear.)

The Inspiron was my companion during Air Force tech school at Sheppard AFB in Texas, and I even figured out how to use my cell phone as a dial-up modem so I could check e-mails, etc. It followed me to Shaw AFB in South Carolina and served as my main computer until I built a desktop machine which replaced it.

Fast forward to the present. I still have the Inspiron...(in fact it is sitting on my "kitchen" table as we speak...er...type...er...read, running a distro of Linux called openSUSE 10.3) I also still have the HP Jornada 680 (which, by the way, is sitting next to the Dell on my "kitchen" table.) The Dell's battery is toast, the victim of old age and some neglect. The computer itself doesn't have built in wireless (WiFi), so it cannot really be used as a laptop. Instead, it is simply an extremely low profile desktop computer.

Since, during the last few years, wireless hotspots have sprung up practically everywhere, I was eager to get a device that had wireless capabilites so that I could get on the 'Net at other locations besides my apartment. Batteries are still available for the Inspiron 4000 and I could have purchased a wireless card or adapter for it, but, a Pentium III 800MHz machine with 192MB of RAM and a 10GB hard drive sounds more like money down the drain than a wise investment. (Sorry old girl, I still luv ya!)

One day at work I noticed an old HP laptop sitting on the top shelf of our damage cage. It caught my fancy, so after doing some inquiring about it, I found out that it was a laptop that didn't exist in our inventory, and therefore didn't exist as far as the store was concerned. Well, it just so happened that the next day was my day off, so bright and early the next morning I showed up at work, coffee in hand, to see what that old laptop was all about.

Well, to make a long story a little bit shorter, I did check out that laptop, and it would have worked ok for me, but in the process, I noticed another laptop that was sitting on the top shelf of the damage cage, a little further back than the first one. This was also an HP and as I pulled it down, it dawned on me that I knew the story of this one.

Back in March, I had transferred an open-box HP laptop from another Staples. It was one of the first set that came pre-installed with Windows Vista, and as such, after the introduction period, wasn't available (having been surpassed by the new 2nd quarter laptops that were waiting in the wings). Well, I had a customer that really wanted this laptop, so I decided to transfer this one in, even though it had been opened. The associate on the other end did tell me that it had been opened, but that the customer had decided against it and that it was still factory fresh.

Well, it arrived several days later and we called the customers to let them know it had arrived. I explained why the box had already been opened and we went up to the customer service desk to start it up for them. Much to our surprise, it came to the login screen and showed a guy's name and prompted us for a password. This turned out to be too much for my customers and they respectfully declined to purchase that unit.

It bounced around for a while in our back lockup, and apparently was never keyed to us. So, here was another laptop, neither in our system nor the other store's. It simply did not exist. I was very interested in this laptop. It was an HP Pavilion dv9205us. The case was a two-tone black and silver and sported a big, bright and beautiful 17" LCD screen. It came with 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, and Windows Vista Home Premium.

To shorten this down a little, I ended up purchasing it for a cool $150! Imagine that, a 17" laptop for $150! It would seem there ARE some perks to working retail! A couple of days later we had a good deal on some RAM, so I installed another 512MB for a total of 1.5GB of RAM, and picked up a clearance laptop case for a couple of bucks. So, for under $200 I had a pretty sweet machine (and an early Christmas present).

Now...recall if you will, that my particular fascination with gadgets has tended to center on those that are small and portable. So, what was a sufferer of "gadget-i-tis El Dorado" doing with a 17" laptop? (Any bigger and it'd be the size of an attache case!!!) That was a good question, but how could I argue with all that technology for under two bills?

The apparent solution to my dilemma appeared in the most unusual and unlooked for circumstance. While down with my friend Derek a couple of weeks ago, I was in the process of telling him about my sweet laptop deal. He expressed strong interest in getting a laptop and made sure that I would keep out an eye for any other deals like that.

To be honest, at the time I didn't think much of it, but in the last week or so I realized that I might be able to help Derek and myself (no, I'm not referring to myself in the third person) with a wonderful little solution that I came up with...

Of course, if I did sell my new shiny HP laptop, what would I use to replace it? Do you remember my absence from blogging during November, mostly due to being buried in penguin...I mean...Linux, up to my ears? Well, in doing some research online, I came across what may very well be THE EL DORADO gadget itself! It is built by ASUS, a company of some familiarity to me, as I have used their motherboards in several of the computers I have put together. Its name is the Eee PC.

The Eee PC is a very small ultraportable notebook, about the size of the Gateway 2000 Handbook, but much thinner and of course much more powerful.

It runs an Intel Celeron processor humming along at 900MHz and doesn't have a hard drive. Instead, it has a 4GB solid state drive, similar to the memory that is used in digital cameras. Since there are no moving parts, the machine is very durable. If this were running Windows, I would start laughing hysterically at the occurrence of "Celeron" and "900MHz" in the same sentence. However, the beauty of this thing is that IT RUNS LINUX NATIVELY! And very quickly at that! It has built in wireless and a host of open source software that makes this more featured than a full notebook computer from any major retailer.

I won't bore you any longer with computer terminology or the mundane specifications of this little gem. After calling Derek, it looks like he is very willing to purchase my HP laptop. He'll be saving about $400 dollars from what he would have to pay for my computer on Amazon, and I'll be making about $400 on the whole deal. This will get me the Eee PC and I'll have some extra left over. (And yes I've explained to Derek about why I'm changing computers and the cost differences). So...it looks like I may have Christmas yet again...possibly some time in February!!!

DISCLAIMER: I REALIZE THAT THIS IS PROBABLY THE LONGEST BLOG POST THAT YOU HAVE EVER READ. I UNFORTUNATELY CANNOT MAKE ANY REFUNDS AS TO THE 5-10 MINUTES YOU MIGHT HAVE SPENT IN READING THIS. HOWEVER, THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST AND YOU CAN DEFINITELY FEEL UP TO DATE WITH SOME OF THE LATEST HAPPENINGS IN MY LIFE.

The Gadget Guy! - Part One

I don't know why, but a natural side-effect of being involved with computers and computer equipment is a phenomenon known as "gadget-i-tis." Gadgets do fall in many categories, and in my particular case, I found myself gravitating towards gadgets that were small.

Now I will say this, I have always like small things...well, at least some things. For instance, I have always liked small airplanes and small cars. I have a travel guitar which is about half the size of a "real" one. I even had a twin size bed while growing up, and my sister had the queen.

Before we continue, I must admit that there are some things that I don't like in a small size. Steak, for instance, should be larger than 12oz if at all possible! Clothes also should not be too small.

As I said, however, I do like small gadgets. My particular case of "gadget-i-tis" began, if I remember correctly, with a small PDA (personal digital assistant) known as the Palm III.

From the time I first laid eyes on this little beauty, I knew it was one that I "needed" to have. So, after doing quite a bit of research and reading up on this product, I was soon the proud owner of a III. This was a great little machine and introduced me to the world of Palm and the Palm OS (operating system).

It was not long before I decided that a great addition to my new gadget would be the GoType! keyboard by LandWare. So, in due time another box arrived at my door (well, my parents' door to be exact) and I was soon typing away on my Palm.

Well, as any true sufferer of "gadget-i-tis" will tell you, once one becomes familiar with one's gadget, the time comes that one must consider upgrading to a better gadget. As I began to feel the constraints of the tiny amount of memory with the III, I chose to upgrade to another similar model called the TRGPro. This device boasted the Palm OS AND a CF (compact flash) card slot so that I could add additional storage capacity.

Well, time passed and I began to realize that it was time to go to a color gadget, for technology passes as do fads. I had been eyeing the Palm IIIc, one of the first color Palms on the market. The reviews were really good and I had a buyer for my TRGPro, so it wasn't long before yet another box arrived at the doorstep.

Now I will admit that I really, really liked this new model. It was great to finally see all the icons and text in color, and the Bible program that I had installed on it (after all, accessorize, accessorize, accessorize) looked really good.

After some time, I began to notice another breed of gadget called a "palmtop." This device ran a version of Windows called CE and could get on the Web as well as type up Word documents and Excel documents. One model in particular, the Jornada 680 by HP caught my eye. Well, the Palm IIIc was sold on eBay and from eBay came a spankin' new Jornada.

The Jornada was a great little device and I found that with practice I could actually type quite well on the keyboard. I actually took it to church for Bible study and found I could keep up with Pastor Kevin. It was great to have my notes accessible in a Word doc instead of leafing through the pages of a notebook.

Well, the Jornada lasted me until I joined the Air Force. I had to leave it behind when I left for BMT (basic military training) and while in tech school found myself wanting some sort of gadget to goof around with. Well, another guy at tech school had a Palm he was not using and wanted to get rid of, so soon I was the proud owner of a Palm m125. While I didn't use it as much as I had thought I would, the m125 proved to be a great digital companion.

Well, fast forward to this last June (of 2007). My cell phone battery was getting really short, and I had a $150 upgrade bonus with Sprint for being with them so long, so...it was time for a new gadget...er...phone. With the PDA market headed nowhere in particular, I decided that a PDA phone was in order. So, as I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I am the proud owner of a Sprint Motorola Q. I now have the Bible on it and actually use it as my main Bible for church. The black ruggedized case that you see in the picture above is the one I finally settled on for mine as well.

Well, this is the end of this part of my history with gadgets. There actually was a purpose for writing this, which I will reveal in the second part of this story...

Happenings in the first couple of weeks of '08

Well, it seems we've blown right into '08 and not had a chance to look back! As pastor would say, "I've been busier than a cat's tail in a room full of rocking chairs!!!"

Since STAPLES was open on New Year's Day, I was working as well...so that kind of shot down any "holiday feel." However, things have been going well at work. Our fiscal year ends this month, so February is the start of a new "STAPLES Year!" With that may come a step up into management, at least as things sit right now.

Last Friday the computer tech at work (Nate) and myself drove over 140 miles up to Montpelier, ID and back to install a couple of Brother All-In-One machines (printer, fax, copier, scanner) at a real estate business. We had just been told that we needed to set up the printers, but beyond that we didn't have any other information.

When we got there, we found out that there were seven computers that needed to share these two printers via a network. Three of the units were laptops which would connect wirelessly, and the others were desktops that were "hardwired" into the network. Not only that, but three of the computers were Windows Vista, while the other four were varying editions of Windows XP. To top it all off, several of the computers needed to have access to BOTH printers, while several needed to be limited to just the one in the front office!

After this had been explained and the lady had left, I turned to Nate and asked, "Have you ever set up a network printer?" He shook his head and asked, "Haven't you?" I shook my head, we both laughed, and then started working.

It all went very smoothly, though now with our newly acquired network printer skills we would do things in a slightly different order than we did then. The trip back was uneventful and we arrived at the store in Logan around 5pm.

As soon as I got home I threw my Air Force stuff in my bag and headed down to meet up with my friend Derek. He had just returned from 6 months in Iraq to find that his wife had taken off and his house was trashed. Not only that, but the majority of six months worth of bills and notices were left unopened in a big pile. So, I ended up staying with him and helping to sort stuff out. He's doing ok and is spending his "vacation time" refiinancing the house, changing bank accounts, etc.

Anyway, I came back up to Logan on Monday, stopping for a few minutes at Guitar Center in Ogden to try out any new guitars they had in stock. Just a few blocks from my house, the car ahead of me ran a red light and t-boned a minivan. Driving is dangerous here in Utah!

Well, that is just a short summary of the latest. I have taken quite a few pictures that I will be periodically posting on the site here. One of the upcoming posts will be "A Tribute to Winter." Talk to y'all later.

Levi and I

Levi Stonehouse has been a great little buddy ever since he learned to crawl. For whatever reason, he liked being held by me and even turned his mom down when she wanted to hold him.

Anyway, during our New Year's Eve party at the Schallenbergers' he started FEEDING ME!
He got such a kick out of it that he kept putting more and more in faster than I could chew. It was so funny I almost had to put him down...I was laughing so hard. Anyway, Kaitie was thinking and grabbed these shots with my camera.

Happy Birthday Popooshka!

A TRIBUTE TO MY DAD

My Mom and Dad at the John's just after I suprised them in December 2003

Awaiting Trista's arrival at the airport during December 2003

Christmas Eve at the Smith's

"I was lookin' back to see if he was lookin' back at me..."

Dad and Mom at Bear Lake, UT in July 2004

Rearview

Dad shooting footage of some elk in January 2006

Dad and I on the way to John and Trista's wedding in August 2006

Dad and John Gastkill at the reception dinner

"We're on our way to a wedding, a wedding, a wedding..."

Father of the bride - August 26, 2006

Down at the Ketchikan docks in October 2007

"Moss shots" October 2007

"Rock shots" October 2007

New Year's Eve

Since STAPLES is open both on New Year's Eve and on New Year's Day, I spent both working. However, we did close the store early (ie 6pm on both days) so I didn't miss the New Year's Eve get-together at the Schallenbergers.

As you can see, we had a pretty good group...

...and the food was good as well!

We followed up the food with games like Catchphrase!

Luke Stonehouse thought this New Year's stuff was ok...

...but it wiped out his dad (Duane)!

And...a very happy...

New Year...Welcome to 2008!