The Day The Music Died?

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It had been a while since I spent the day in Hollywood visiting some of my friends and some of the music stores.  My thought many times during the day was a lyric by Don McLean in the song American Pie ... the day the music died.

Back in the mid 70s through the early 80s we were treated to Disco.  It took time (way too long from my personal point of view) for Disco to die.  

I talk about the state of vacuum tubes and how there has been a steady decline over the last decades.  Today there are more "types" than ever and the offerings are worse than they have ever been.  As sad as I have been over the state of vacuum tubes the state of guitar amplifiers seems even worse.

Click on "read more" to continue ....

Asshat of the day award - Fidelity Investments

Today I received a notification that there was an iPhone update to my Fidelity mobile app.  My app had been working fine in the past and I always downloaded the latest update.

Bottom line - big mistake.

I tried to log in many times.  It said my password was invalid.  I went to my desk PC and all worked fine.

I deleted the app and downloaded it again.  Same problem.

I called Fidelity.  They confirmed there was indeed a problem.  They had no estimate on when the issue would be resolved.  

This financial app is a bit more important than something like "angry birds".  People rely on the Fidelity tools for their investments.

Click on "read more" to continue

President Obama. One very smart cookie?

I am going to point out some FACTS.  Take this or leave this.  Put the pieces together or walk away from the compelling evidence.  

It is clear to me that our President and his administration are masters at working the system.  There are none better at working the media.  They have no equal in history at leveraging tragic events to put the nation back on track to prosperity and growth.

Click "Read more" to continue.

Rock Guitar Daily with Tony Conley: NAMM 2013 - Vol. I - 65amps, Myles Rose, Hahn Guit...

Rock Guitar Daily with Tony Conley: NAMM 2013 - Vol. I - 65amps, Myles Rose, Hahn Guit...: I recently took a trip out to Los Angeles to catch the 2013 NAMM show - for those of you unfamiliar with NAMM, it is the National Associa...

Thanks to Tony for the kind words.

Obama. Has he finally gone insane for real?

Say what you will about our President, Obama.  Was he born in the USA?  The debate continues.  But .... there is one thing that cannot be disputed.  He is now clearly insane and it may be time for Vice President Biden to step up to the plate.

What the hell am I talking about?

How many folks realize that our President is considering the Mayor of Los Angeles a candidate for Secretary of Transportation?  If this does not show that our President is insane I don't know where one could find a better example.

First off, our Mayor never had any education in traffic patterns.  All the work done here in Los Angeles has been done by others, not by him  We continue to have some of the worst traffic in the nation and considering the size of our city one of the worst public transportation systems in the nation.

Our Mayor also allows major streets such as Sunset Blvd to be impacted by road work during the height of traffic.  This is one more area that shines a spotlight on the man we have elected as our Mayor and the man we have elected as our President.

Well Mr. President, I am ashamed to say that I voted for you the first time and due to two horrible options in the last election I voted for you again BUT .... next time I may just vote Republican based on the antics of many of "my Parties" recent behavior.  As far as the Mayor of Los Angeles?  The guy is a media clown and I have personally seen him act one way when the cameras are not running and another way when they are turned on.  The guy is an asshat and fart face on more levels that one can imagine.

http://www.governing.com/blogs/fedwatch/gov-next-transportation-secretary.html 

Need Glock parts? Here is a bit of a warning.

You may want to think twice before

considering doing business with these folks

I have written a number of pieces on customer service in this blog.  I have seen some of the  best and some of the worst.  I may have found the worst at this point.

These folks advertise themselves as the number one parts supplier for Glock pistols in the world.  I will venture to guess that a year from now this will not be the case if this statement is even true at this point in time.

I understand with the current firearms issues in this country that certain items are hard to keep in stock by vendors such as this one.  The issue that they, the largest of these vendors, does not note on an item by item basis, what is out of stock when one places an order.  Folks like Brownell's and dozens of other vendors do this.  In face, I cannot find ANYBODY who has online ordering that does not do this, other than these folks.

But, that is NOT the main issue.  The main issue is their lack of customer service, lack of response, phones which are never answered and the general run around.

Yes, these folks in my book are currently the #1 folks in my book but not as a parts vendor. They are #1 in the position of holding the worst customer service award.

Here is a bit of dialogue I sent to these folks .... click "read more" to continue.

Media Quiet About San Antonio Theater Shooting

On Sunday December 17, 2012, 2 days after the CT shooting, a man went to a restaurant in San Antonio to kill his X-girlfriend. After he shot her, most of the people in the restaurant fled next door to a theater. The gunman followed them and entered the theater so he could shoot more people. He started shooting and people in the theater started running and screaming. It’s like the Aurora, CO theater story plus a restaurant! 

Now aren’t you wondering why this isn’t a lead story in the national media along with the school shooting?

There was an off duty county deputy at the theater. SHE pulled out her gun and shot the man 4 times before he had a chance to kill anyone. So since this story makes the point that the best thing to stop a bad person with a gun is a good person with a gun, the media is treating it like it never happened. Only the local media covered it. The city is giving her a medal next week.  http://tiny.cc/l4a3pw

My take on this?

Here in Southern California I patiently wait and count the days until all pens, sharp objects, liquids and other items are surrendered at the door of movie theaters. Perhaps this can extend to restaurants and other places?

Am I the only one smart enough to see that this is California's answer to the budget problems in this state after sales tax increases and business taxes have driven so many employers out of the state, reducing revenue?

Yes! We are soon to be the center of the USA for not only being ground zero for the homeless BUT we are going to have our employment problem vanish as one resident it five will now work for the folks who supply the TSA folks at the airports! We just might find those folks at the entrance to every building which has public access! The side business will be coffee stands and snack carts to feed patrons as they wait in line for security checks for their turn through the detectors.

Yes, California will lead our great nation in safety and our economy will flourish (on paper) as unemployment drops to zero as the minimum wage task force of armed folks with GED educations rises to be the primary workforce in the golden state.

Reporting from the streets of Los Angeles - Skid Row

The political machine is back in full swing after the November election.  Maybe nationally it will be business as usual? Locally here in Los Angeles they are trying to raise sales tax... again.  Drive consumers to Orange County or Ventura to buy that big screen TV, appliance or your next car and save hundreds or thousands of dollars.

The voters in California approved a measure to give the public school system even more money even though our state government has proven themselves as totally inept at managing money.  California is 47th in the nation when it comes to spending per student and yet our government had the gall to ask for more money.  From my point of view they should have let the system fail and rebuilt it from the ground up.  We should have sent a message to our folks in Sacramento.  Guess we will get what we asked for, get what we deserve ... again.

Meanwhile, here is Los Angeles, the homeless mecca of the nation, things continue to get worse regardless of what the media reports.

No longer are the primary residents people with substance abuse, alcohol abuse or mental illness the primary residents of skid row.  They are now families, children, out of work people who have lost their jobs and run out of unemployment benefits, returning veterans from the mid east and folks who have lost their homes to big banks and big business.

I count folks on the street each month.  I see the number tell a heartbreaking story.  But, rather than trust my numbers let me use some numbers to compare two recent months, September 2012 and October 2012 from Union Rescue Mission, the largest mission in the nation.

Total Mental Health Clinic Sessions - 62 vs 110

Total Health Center Visits - 496 vs 537

Total Dental Clinic Visits - Individual Patients Seen - 453 vs 664 Total Legal Clinic Visits 53 vs 105 Total Meals Served 63,755 vs 65,968 Total Nights of Shelter (per individual) This does not include families which is another 2,232 people - 22,799 vs 23,445 .

The above are the figures for only TWO months and the increase from one month to the next.  From where I sit things are not getting better.

Feel free to pass this piece along to others via the link.  If you would like to help just go to www.urm.org.  There are many ways you can help.  You can donate in many ways in any amount.  You can even donate $10 from your cell phone and feed five people in a mater of moments.  (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. )

Thank you.

How do folks feel about Obama this time around?

A picture is worth a thousand words.  Maybe more?  The past ... USA and USSR.

I have written a number of pieces on our economy and government over the last few years.  You can find them in this blog.  One of them ended up in the newsletter of the Speaker of the House.

On November 14, 2012 I wrote this simple statement on my facebook wall:

Just because the election is over it is not a reason to slack off. Keep an eye on the antics of our Government closer than ever before.

The comments and debate are intense to say the least.  

This morning I took a look at the dialogue and posted my own comment on my original post:

Not to digress but ....

How we got here is not the issue, other than the history lesson that showed me that if I look at our nation as a ship I make the analogy that we have a weak Captain with a dysfunctional crew on something much akin to the Queen Mary now docked in Long Beach. A great ship decades ago but her glory days are long gone.

With a proper crew who could work together, some time in the yard for a refit, updated propulsion systems, updated electronics and the "right stuff" the restoration could once more attract attention and be an impressive craft.

But alas, at this point all I see is an outdated rust bucket with things that continue to break as they deteriorate with a dysfunctional crew and clown for a Captain.

There is little value in pointing fingers in regard to how we got here.  It is now time for all of us to keep a closer eye on our government and be more involved by making our voices heard via social media or whatever means one has at their hands.  We have all seen it countless times, grand restorations are possible whether it is a boat, car, airplane, even a country.

Obama or Romney?

Senior Airmen Kristian Robles Cruz and Amber Boyd from the 633rd Security Forces Squadron, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. are greeted at the Newport News airport by family and coworkers on Nov. 2, 2011 . The two were part of a group of Airmen that deployed in June, but returned a couple of months early after President Obama announced the withdrawal of all U.S. troops by the end of the year. They were among about 20 633rd SFS members who returned to Joint Base Langley-Eustis from deployment with the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron at Balad in the past week. About 10 633rd SFS members are still deployed in Iraq, but they are scheduled to return later this month, hopefully by Thanksgiving, although more are expected to deploy to Afghanistan in January. (U.S. Air Force Photo by: MSgt Jeremy Lock)

A few minutes ago I replied to a comment left on one of my posts where somebody apologized for a comment they left.  I told them, no apology necessary.

I tend to point out some of the Romney antics but bottom line are my brief thoughts below as copied from my reply.

Both of the candidates are awful options with little to hold in esteem by either party. 

If you are one of the troops on duty you can take pride in America for the job you are doing regardless of the stupid antics of you civilian leaders. 

If you are in government, the odds are you don't have much to be proud of. Most of you asshats are part of the problem rather than the steps toward an eventual solution. Shame on the lot of you for the most part. 

Obama is a weak leader, never one who would a picked as a Captain of a ship. 

Romney is a fellow so far out of touch with the majority of the population it borders on pure stupidity. 

Anybody who can find more good than bad in either case should go and put their head back in the sand.