Ten years of the L.A. Ampshow

Needle in a haystack? A good politician.

I use social media a lot.  Most of you know what amp or guitar folks I like, what concerts or artists I am working with, where I am at a given moment in time and what I am eating and who I am with while eating.

I generally don't write much on this page that is of a political nature unless it is a link back to my L.A. Blog where I bitch about political issues, companies that give poor service, the homeless, the latest reports in on my testing in the vacuum tube market, and at times offer some advice on things I like. 430,000 folks read my blog last month in August.  My blog is followed by organizations in both parties and I am followed on Twitter by these folks as well who can be found in my twitter followers.

One piece I wrote received enough attention that John Boener included it in his newsletter.  Guess they only looked at the one piece and thought they had me figured out.  I guess they used it as fodder in reference to the economy.

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My piece is "Financial Repression Coming to America". 

My political posts focus on the inept actions of our Government, at all levels.  No state has a monopoly on lack of sense, lack of participation on the part of our representatives, folks we have elected that end up being prosecuted for criminal behavior, or just doing things that we would not expect from a twelve year old.

I am not what some would label as a political person.  I focus my attention on things I enjoy and watching political antics are things that I don't have to seek out.  A few minutes watching the news is enough to disgust anybody.

I apologize my habit of not getting to the point.  I digress, as typical.

Mike Gatto.  California State Assembly. Does the guy just phone it in?  Nope.  Does he miss meetings?  No. Are there photos of him on the internet playing solitaire during session or dozing off?  No.  Does he go along for the ride and do little or nothing?  Nope.

I guess I could list all the things he does not do.  I will also say that I might not agree or disagree with everything he has done or is doing.  But .... yes, the proverbial "but", if you look at his 2014 legislation (heck, go back to 2010 if you wish),  you will find he is very active and has done a lot of really great things for the people that put him in office.  Look at his record at http://asmdc.org/members/a43/legislation/2014-legislation.  Stuff that actually makes sense, well to me anyway.

Many of you reading this in California are not in District 43 so why should you care?  Two reasons.  

1 - Here are some facts that give us hope that not all folks in politics are crooks, lazy, liars, lack leadership, stall the government like a six year old when things don't go their way, folks incapable of working with others, or just plain criminals like Senator Yee right here in California.  There is that needle in the haystack.

2 - If Mike Gatto can be convinced by others to run for Governor of California then many of you can vote for the man and would be making a good call. 

Check the man out.  He is the real deal.    

Mike Gatto - Firearms Friend or Foe?

I have written a number of pieces on politics and some of the leaders that run this country.  I have been following Mike Gatto, my assemblyman.  I have been happy with many of the things he has done. ... most of them.

I am now watching him closely in regard to a particular bill in process, SB53.  You can read the full context of SB 53 here if you want to take a crack at figuring out what is actually happening in this mess at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB53

In any event, the Principal coauthor, Yee has been found to be a criminal as a side note.

Recently I wrote Mike Gatto.  I am waiting for a response.  What I wrote and the rest of the story can be seen if you click on "read more" below.

Toyota Financial Services - Inept

One more group found filled with inept people who are ineffective and whose customer service department is a roadblock to problem resolution rather than a solution to the problem.

As of today there have been over a half a dozen calls placed to not only TFS (Toyota Financial Services) and to Toyota Corporate on three occasions, the first call to my dealer, Keyes Toyota in Van Nuys.  At this point in time the problem remains.

To read the entire story click on "read more"

Moments of time captured as I venture through life

If you have an hour or two to waste, time you will never get back, and want to get laid off or fired from work for messing around at work just watch the slide show at the bottom of this piece.  Heck, leave it running on your computer and work when you leave your desk and people will never again look at you in the same way.

There are over 3,000 random snapshots in my Coffee Table Book collections.  I am creating this blog post to bring my sanity into question based on my lifestyle as depicted in these shots as I live my life.  I am posting this in honor of one of my favorite amp techs in Los Angeles who has commented more than once about some of my antics.

On a side note, his name is Mike Franceschini and if you need your amp worked on, fixed, modded or restored you can find him at http://www.yelp.com/biz/classic-amp-repair-north-hollywood  The photo below is Mike at work.

New Worst in Customer Service

Many of you have read my consumer posts on ATT, Sprint, BWP, and other customer service examples of poor service and general ineptitude. Well folks, it seems as if there is a new winner in WORST customer service that I have experienced.... Century Link

click on "read more" to continue

What I learned from the failure of a single tube

This morning I woke up thinking about my friend Dan Boul.  OK.  That may be a bit misleading.  I love Dan like a brother but ....   

I had a huge dinner which may have contributed to weird dreams.  Could that have contributed?  My Facebook friends are aware of the dinner I had last night as a side note.

The thought was about the day The Whiskey died a few weeks ago.  

Probably got your attention by now?  Possible man crush?  Amp failure?  Click on "Read more" below to continue.

I spent the evening on Skid Row

Last night I spent the evening on the streets of Skid Row in Los Angeles California.  Los Angeles is home to the highest homeless population in the nation.

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Oak Tree Gun Club and Armatix

Oak Tree gun club is a popular shooting facility in Southern California.  I shoot there a number of times each week.  Currently there is a dialogue on their Facebook page in reference to their business relationship or lack of a business relationship with a company, Armatix, who develops "smart gun" technology.

Maybe some of you have heard about "smart guns" or micro-stamping technology.  Some of you may be aware that at least two major firearms makers have stopped shipping firearms to California due to being required to use this technology in products sold in California.

In any case, I thought I'd take a moment to include my own thoughts on this subject of the relationship between Oak Tree and Armatix.  This Armatix incident is not the only example of the way Oak Tree does some of their business.  I like the place and many of the employees but they need to put attention toward some of the business practices, operating procedures and executive management. 

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Genalex - Gold Lion N709 / EL84 Power Vacuum Tube

Just when you thought vacuum tube production could not get any worse ....

Have I mentioned that I feel the current state of affairs regarding vacuum tubes is not very good?

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KT-150 Tung Sol vacuum tube

Test results and observations on this new tube offering.

Tube Depot ( great folks) says that a pair will produce 300 watts yet the max plate dissipation is spec'd at 70 watts.  I don't understand that 300 watt figure.  A KT88SV as a side note is 50 watts and a regular KT88 is 42 or so watts.  They run $90 per tube.  

I will be looking at these asking myself ... is there a reason?  How do they sound when driven to distortion?  (A KT88 distorts in a lovely way but a 6550 distorts in a quick and raspy way that is not too pleasant).  Do they last at voltages on the spec sheet?  Most tubes today do not.  How long will they keep going at full rated voltages?  (My standard series of life tests.)  What do their traces REALLY look like?  Design spec drawings are often not close to being accurate.

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Super Bowl Sunday and Super Bowl Parties

Andy Bales, the CEO of Union Rescue Mission just posted a few photos on Facebook.  His caption read:  

Starting on a batch of chili for 1000 for the big game today-should I say Souper Bowl? I'll post finished product!

Union Rescue Mission.  What a great organization.  Andy Bales.  Their CEO and one heck of an amazing man.

Superbowl Sunday will not see as many homeless folks go hungry, or miss the game if that is of interest.  You want to impress folks with your Superbowl party where you feed ten ... twenty .... fifty?  It won't impress me much.  Andy and is crew will feed over 1,000.

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Sale price my butt ....

In the past I used the products from these folks.  Last time I was given one price on the phone when the order was placed when I was told the amount my credit card would be charged.  A few days later the charge came which was higher than the amount I was told would be charged.  In four orders this was the first time this happened.  I was always charged the posted price.

Click on "read more" for the bigger story