A little more information

The two main activities in my life: Helping the hungry in the late hours of the night and helping guitar players sound better one amp at a time.

I always try to remember that in order to do good one has to take action and actually do something.

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I have watched the city and Southern California change for well over half a century.

I can be found on facebook at www.facebook.com/mylesr or on twitter at www.twitter.com/myles111us

As of late 2019 the music related links and prints noted on this page which had their links to by GAB (Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting) website are no longer accessible. I grew weary of updating my GAB website and let it go away. You can contact me on Facebook. Saunders Stewart Models continues full operation but we are not accepting new clients without a referral.

Los Angeles Architectural History

Los Angeles Architectural History
1935 Art Deco at some of its finest: No. 168 - Griffith Observatory- (click on the photo for information)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Tea Party Experiment



I thought I would combine two of my activities into a little study.  Maybe I would learn something substantial or maybe the results or data would not tell me much in a scientific way.  Either way I would probably learn something.

I have written about my thoughts toward our ineffective government.  I have written about the homeless situation.

I had been taking notice of how vocal members of the Tea Party seemed to be.   Was this true compassion for the people of our nation or was this just talk?  Perhaps little more than climbing on a band wagon of some sort?  Perhaps a desire to be a part of something ... anything?

I decided to reach out to a number of them directly.  I would use twitter and look at #teaparty and #tcot.

I asked each of them to take a few moments and help the homeless in our country.  They could pass along the word, pass along a link, feed five folks for $10 via a quick cell phone text or go to places like http://www.urm.org/ where they could learn more or help in many ways.

I have not seen a single re-tweet.  I have not seen a single mention.  I have not had a single reply. 

Perhaps as time passes this will change.

 I can only look at this in one way.  Not a single #teaparty member that I contacted lifted a finger to help the homeless.  Ineffective?  Only tuned into their own agenda whatever that might be?  Perhaps I am drawing an improper conclusion?

I will let others draw their own conclusion but I will continue to send out requests for help to these folks and continue my study.  If there is anything to report or mention I will update this post.

If you are one of the people who have received a post from me on twitter which sent you to this link and if you have helped in some way, please let me know.  I would love to post your twitter ID here or website, name, or whatever you wish.  Prove me wrong.  You can pass the URM link, donate to URM via the above link or the homeless shelter in your own area or if you are in a real hurry but wish to help you can do this: 

To donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944. You will receive a confirmation text message. Reply with the word YES to complete the transaction.  Takes less than 30 seconds and will feed a family of five.  Feel free to leave a comment on this post telling me I was wrong .... at least in your case.

To be fair it has only been a few days since I reached out to Tea Party folks.  Perhaps I will have to eat my words as they prove me wrong.  I would not mind at all if I had to eat my words as that would mean that some homeless people would also have something to eat as well, perhaps even have a place to sleep for a few nights rather than on the street.

Side note?  When I sent the same request to Democrats and Republicans there were responses, re-tweets, mentions, questions, donations, friend contact adds and information was passed along.

Thanks to the folks below that are proving me wrong by passing the word.  Hopefully the list will continue to grow.

8/10/11

@hughhewitt - thank you for the RT.  You are the first,  @Jackson902, @marinemajor, @mahilena, @foundersweb, @dansden, @TheRiverWanders, @seriousfun830

8/18/11

@GrowlGirl

Sunday, August 7, 2011

S&P Downgrade?



Finally some slight credibility from somebody in our country.  S&P steps up to the plate and states in their own way that the Emperor has no clothes.

Last night on the news there were stories of argument and blame in Washington that ranged from who is at fault to stories faulting the S&P for not using accurate figures when they made their call.

I said slight credibility above because I feel the downgrade from AAA to AA+ was a step in an accurate direction but not accurate.  This nation deserves a much lower credit rating.  The reason we should have any credit rating at all would be based on goods already in inventories and the spirit of the American people, NOT on the leadership, performance or action in Washington in America.

For those who want to argue the point let me ask you this.  If you were looking at a business or corporation to invest in yourself would you pick one who had a track record of such bad performance which continues to decline?  A company with a board of directors who put all effort into their personal agenda rather than in the company?  A company where nobody could or would work together in concert for the good of the company?

Next week we will probably hear many stories on why the move by the S&P should be challenged. 

The S&P pointed out that it is dark.  The folks in Washington are now starting to argue how this was calculated based on the time of dawn and dusk.

To you assholes in Washington, open your eyes.  It is dark.  It matters little if the hour is late and the sun went down or if you are stuck in a closet and cannot find the door.  Bottom line, it is dark and the reason does not matter anymore.

8/9/11 update - US Closer to Junk Bond Status Than Triple-A: http://t.co/HrQ6jtg

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Something uplifting for a moment


I thought I'd take a moment and write this quick little blog post with a photo from yesterday from Dr. Tim Wilkin, Michael Burks manager.

Michael Burks (Iron Man) is playing one of his two new Empire amps from the folks over at http://www.65amps.com/

If you don't know who Michael is, check out the Michael Burks website at http://www.michaelburks.com/

Pretty amazing player and pretty amazing fellow.


Michael Burks - fast hands

Monday, August 1, 2011

Invest in Gold?

Personally, I think investing in gold is not the best idea.


I think the price has gone too high due to panic and uncertainty in our government.




Personally, if you want to invest in metal you may want to consider an investment in another heavy metal - lead.

Support Our Troops


Members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul conduct a key leader engagement with village elders in Arghandab, Afghanistan, July 30, 2011. PRT Zabul's mission is to conduct civil-military operations in Zabul Province to extend the reach and legitimacy of the Government of Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Grovert Fuentes-Contreras)

This photo can be looked at in very different ways. If one is in support of America's actions or against our actions.

I strongly support our troops. That does not mean I support our government.  These are two very different things.

I have written more on the subject of our troops and veterans -
http://la-economy.blogspot.com/search/label/military

For me, this photo took me back to my days in the military when young children dressed in local attire, while I was dressed to kill, would look up at you with eyes that questioned why this was happening to them.

I had no answer then and I have no answer now.

The shot above was taken by a cool fellow and friend, Grovert Fuentes-Contreras.  He has taken a lot of terrific shots and I keep an eye out for his work.  Side note .... just because you carry a camera and are in the Air Force it does not keep you out of harm's way.  All it means is that you have one more piece of gear to carry and one more job to do.





The slide show below - from the jungle to the desert over five decades

America - a brief history

Many Americans have lost all faith in our government whether Democrat, Republican, Tea Party, Independent or whatever. 

People such as John Boehner have shown no leadership and there have been many pieces published which point to the facts. 

Some of my own thoughts on the economy can be viewed from the link - http://la-economy.blogspot.com/search/label/economy

The video at the bottom of this piece shows many of the points which are of concern to Americans.  In the end, the video turns out to be a political statement.  I overlooked the political aspect of the video and just let some other aspects of the video stand on their own.