Pictures, places, my thoughts

In this blog post are some of the photos I have taken in the last few weeks. Most were taken from my cell phone.  There are a few photos which have sent me from some of my friends as well.  The photos were put together in a little slide show rather than post them individually in a very long post.

The photos show a bit about some of the things I have been up to.   Some of my thoughts are posted below which are from comments on facebook in response to news items or in response to the comments of others or posts of others on my page.

There are many photos so I will post them in a single slide show below.  Some of the dialogue from facebook I will just cut and paste in this blog post. 

Every blog entry has a photo tied into the identification of the particular blog entry.  I thought this shot of Mike Franceschini would be about as good as it could get for an initial photo!  Mike is a great amp designer and amp tech.  I am a bit older than he is but I still learn things from him almost every day whether it is about amplifiers, life or humor.  If you have an amp that needs a bit of help you can find Mike in my friends list on facebook and send him a message.

I suppose I can be talked into some drinking since she is driving. - my thought on the night of 3/4/11.  My friend Cindy was driving.  She is a very bad influence.  Since I was just talking about Mike Franceschini I will comment that Mike has some of his own feelings on some of my friends.  He likes some of them.  He has some disparaging comments on some of the others.

There are about 70 photos in the slideshow below.  Not a lot by my standards.  You can view them all in a few minutes.  If you click on any individual photo you will be directed to the photo on flickr in my album where there may be more info.

On 3/7 I updated this post as I had received a comment to something I posted on Facebook.  On Sunday evening 3/6 there was a show on 60 Minutes about the number of children in poverty today.  A story of the homeless and the economic situation.  I posted the link to CBS piece that was posted on the Internet.  I was asked:  How do you think the situation would have been with a republican president? Better or worse?

The short answer?  Probably no damn difference at all.  Perhaps the biggest fault in my eyes of our system of government is that nobody is in a position of responsibility.  The buck doesn't "stop here", it never stops anywhere.  I am not talking money.  I am talking about leadership. 

If something goes wrong does the President take responsibility?  No.  He may be blamed by some but the news media and press will tell the story how one direction should have been followed but it was not possible due to Congress or the Senate or ....  

It took this country decades to fall to where it stands today.  Both parties held office.  Both had their high and low points.

In the past I have written about America.  We used to produce some of the finest products in the world.  Our cars were some of the finest.  Our electronics such as television and stereo equipment were some of the finest available anywhere.  Our design and engineering was at the pinnacle of the industry. 

Over the decades our elected officials cut education.  They removed art classes, vocational classes, music classes.  The classes that taught our youth to be creative.  Our education scores dropped in all subject areas. 

Schools became areas where parents expected teachers to watch over their kids.  School was a place to send a sick child as they could not be left at home alone.  Discipline was left to the teachers.  In the sixties teachers could punish students who were disruptive or misbehaved.  The tools of discipline were taken away.  Now kids bring weapons to class, listen to their iPODs and text in classes.

We grew into a nation that expected to be paid much more than an honest day of pay for an honest day of work.  $50 an hour with full benefits to turn a wrench to produce a second or third rate product.

We lost our basic education that taught us to be artistic and creative for the most part.  Thankfully there are some younger generation people who are developing their own technology via their own education via the Internet.  There are still some artists, writers and musicians but as a collective nation we are not in a very good place.

You can argue to me all you want but I have a lot of proof.  Look at the jobs which have been outsourced.  Look at the car in many of your driveways.  Where did your guitar or amp come from?  Your television, washer, furniture?  Most of you will be able to illustrate my point. 

This is not a government issue of Republican or Democrat.   None of you have taken responsibility.  Too many people on both sides of the political fence spend too much time defending some obscure position and stalling rather than working together for a solution to our nations problems.

It has taken decades to sink to our current level as a country but there are people in America that have spirit, ability and the desire to move forward.  Hopefully they can overpower the polical machine.  Seems as if that is being done in other parts of the world right at this moment.  Then again, it may take a bit longer to fix things here because there is no single person to blame as nobody takes responsibility.  That is a bit different than things are done in Libya as an example.  Perhaps that is why nobody in America is willing to lead the country by taking responsibility.  Safety in numbers.  Business as usual.

Back to my previous writing...

Rule number one. Always associate a name and a face to any target if you want to take things to the highest level of proficiency. ;-)

latimes: Dow off 88 points, or 0.7%, to 12,169. S&P 500 off 10, or 0.7%, to 1,321. Nasdaq off 14, or 0.5%, to 2,784.

Dan Boul of http://www.65amps.com/ loaned speakers to my son. They sound great.

Darryn - once you run out of benefits on unemployment you are no longer counted. I once published the number at the time, I believe it was between 250,000 and 450,00 people EVERY TWO WEEKS that became what are dubbed "99ers", no more benefits after 99 weeks of unemployment.

What did I say the other day about stock prices falling sharply after a big rise?

What did I say about our government leaders and country having no direction as the economy flounders? There is some nonsense about the employment picture getting a sliver better but by now you might all know that these reports are shown to be nonsense as real information comes to light.

Long marinated but cooked fast - Caption on a meal one of my friends cooked for me.

latimes: LAPD seeks felony charges against school police officer who faked shooting http://lat.ms/dKFpTj

Where's Donna? If you want to take a guess where Donna is go to the post at http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2011/02/lookin-for-donna.html  and put your guess into a comment.

If folks are wondering what the #music type of stuff is doing in my post it is a "hash tag" as this is also sent to twitter.

Mike Franceschini with timecopter radio. The console radio in Timecopter was developing a bit of static around 1954 or 1955 broadcasts. Mike did a bit of tweeking. It looks as if he is happy with the results of his magic. Before you ask, the answer is YES, he can make your guitar amp sound terrific too.

Okay ... I don't get it. Where would somebody wear this? Banquet? What if you dropped your bread? The theater? Looks difficult to sit in for a few hours. Social situation such as a party or event? No peripheral vision.

Pure nonsense. Read the comments at the bottom of this article. One more story in this never ending news nonsense that I point out week after week. Question: How many people do YOU know that have been out of work have jobs now? Shame on you AP for not looking at what you posted in the last month, or year.

I have adopted a new technique when it comes to dinner photos via cell to upload to facebook and twitter. Whoever has the best cell with a flash takes the shot and sends it to my phone and then I can post a better shot. I experimented with this with my boys when they got updated HTC phones.

Unrest in the Middle East and Africa -- country by country - http://bit.ly/ge321D

Keeping Up With The Auto-Tune: Kim Kardashian Premieres Her Pop Song - Reality Rocks

Will the producer ever live this down? ..."work for other artists includes Beyonce's "Single Ladies," Rihanna's "Umbrella," Mary J. Blige's "Just Fine," and Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body." But sadly, it seems like Kim just dragged The-Dream down to her nightmarish level. He really should have known better."

איך זאל זייַן ייִדיש אָבער קיין רעליגיע וואָס טוט ניט לאָזן שרימפּ, קראַב און בעיבי צוריק כאַזער - פלייש ריבס האט אַ שווער צייַט בעכעסקעם מיר אין שורה.

Đó là một con chim què bơi ngược dòng để điều chỉnh một mũi tên sủa.

Economy Improving? A few folks out of work yesterday and today
J&L FARMS, INC SALINAS 110 (people laid off)

LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CAMARILLO 2
LIFESPARC HOLLISTER 12
SUNDANCE SPAS, INC CHINO 92
HINES NUSERIES, LLC IRVINE 33

Lunch with Dan Boul of 65amps Special Guest Mark Loughman from BAE  Location: Ustream - http://www.ustream.tv/channel/london-pro-info

‎19 more days. I am posting this here for Tammy Knight Gibbons and Ludovic Pierson who will be running. I will NOT be running, walking or doing anything associated with the event. I will be eating prior to the event. I will probably eat during the event and probably eat after the event. Yeah ... a tuna shashimi marathon.

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable". John F. Kennedy

Feed 5 people for $10 in seconds from your cell phone - donate $10 to Union Rescue Mission, text the letters URM to 85944 #hunger @urm

latimes: Dow off 168 points, or 1.4%, to 12,058. S&P 500 off 21, or 1.6%, to 1,306. Nasdaq off 45, or 1.6%, to 2,737. Not a good day.

I guess he is covering all bases?  Mr. Bernanke says while the turmoil in Libya is having an impact on the price of oil, it should be temporary and modest.  But he warned if commodity prices remained high they could threaten economic growth and price stability.

Just a few folks getting their final paycheck today:

CITY OF HOPE MEDICAL GROUP DUARTE 185 people
HITACHI GLOBAL STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES SAN JOSE 148 people
SUNDANCE SPAS, INC CHINO 92 people

Some things in life just come apart

latimes: DUI suspect accused of killing cyclist kept driver's license despite 15 traffic citations http://lat.ms/gh1BVK - Sometimes I can actually find one example of our legal system working. Not this time.  With the banks, investors, scandals, Lohan, and stuff like this it seems I have not been able to find a single example of "the spirit of the law" working in a very very very long time. As far as "the letter of the law", even using that criteria things don't look acceptable either.

I think you get an idea from the above dialogue clips.  There is a lot more on my facebook wall.  I also post a lot of things to twitter as well.

- - -

Sprint versus AT&T

It looks like we are going to be able to see how Sprint customer service stacks up with the worst in the industry, AT&T.  Perhaps it will be learned that customer service is also something that cannot be expected from Sprint as well.  Perhaps Sprint will shine.

Vacuum tube post from the past - where they are made

I initially posted this as a note on Facebook in June of 2010.

There has been a bit of discussion on the post so I thought that some folks that subscribe to this blog might find this of interest.

Older photo which shows GT "made in USA" silkscreen. Aspen was called out on this with legal action so the silkscreen was changed to eliminate this statement.

Today I received an email from my friend Rob Hull over at TubeDepot. Rob is is their technical director. He is a great fellow and has produced a lot of terrific videos about amp service and videos on many technical subjects.

 

Below is Rob's letter and my reply. Feel free to write Rob with tech questions as he is a great resource.

Perhaps the most impressive person I have ever met?

Update on February 7, 2011.  Andrew Bales has been named Fundraising Professional of the Year.  The story can be seen here: 

http://www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com/article/meet-2011-fundraising-professional-year-andrew-j-bales/1

Most anybody who has read this blog has seen me write about Union Rescue Mission and their CEO Andy Bales on many occasions.

I would guess that most folks that have met Andy through nothing more than my blog entries and the reposting of his blog entries are pretty darn impressed with the man.

I thought I would take a few minutes to post the last two pieces written by Andy Bales.  I will also post the direct links.  Some folks don't follow links so that is why I will also post things here.

Skid Row in Los Angeles is a tough neighborhood to say the least.  If you talk to the L.A.P.D. they will tell you that San Julian Street between 5th and 7th just might be the most dangerous street in Los Angeles.

Yes, it is a rough area.

Two parents that have the magic

Last weekend, one of the daughters of two of my friends had a birthday party.  My friends are Dan and Wendy Boul.  Dan is the co-owner and founder of http://www.65amps.com/ but this is not abount amps.

This is really about how two people can raise children in today's world that are such amazing kids in so many ways.  Rather than elaborate on the qualities of Dan, Wendy, their children, their dogs and their home which has made so many feel so welcome I will just take a moment to mention the birthday party.

Dan and Wendy's daughter is in elementary school but has more empathy and is more observant than many adults. 

Her daughter requested that she did not want conventional gifts for her birthday.  She asked for donations for Union Rescue Mission to help the homeless.  Today I spent a bit of time telling Dan the best way to accomplish the donation.  Going to http://www.urm.org/ and hitting the donate button would step him through the process where he could put his daughter's name in the form so she would receive the thank you letter from Union Rescue Mission herself.

Don't assume that the Boul family are strangers to the homeless situation.  I stopped counting how many times they have helped me buy the snacks and items I take down to skid row in the evenings.  I'd like to take a moment here to just once again say thank you to the Boul family and to the folks at 65 Amps who have also helped individually and collectively.

Wendy and Dan Boul

Thank you again to Wendy and Dan.  You are darn impressive parents.  I cannot impress on you how impressed I am with both of you and your entire family.

School Shootings - was there a plan?

Update 2/1/11 - Officer accused of shooting hoax says gun accidentally went off

My thought - Accidently? Just the sort of person folks want walking around a school with a gun. And, it took this long for either him to come forward or the media to report this? I don't know which to question more.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/lapd-skeptical-of-school-cops-story-about-accidentally-firing-his-gun.html

Another story from today:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/02/lapd-detectives-skeptical-that-officer-accused-of-shooting-hoax-wounded-accidentally.html

Update as of 1/27/11 - The news is reporting that this event was a fake.  One would find it hard to count all the folks that were impacted by the individual who faked this.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/school-police-officer-shooting-.html

Even though this event was not true it still pointed out holes in the response and action taken by the schools which were locked down.

In the last few days there have been shootings at three Southern California schools.  Here are the links to a few of the stories.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-school-violence-20110120,0,5697218,full.story

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/bell-high-school-student-shot-near-campus.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/01/woodland-hills-manhunt-is-one-of-largest-searches-in-recent-lapd-history.html

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/18/california-school-shooting/

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0119-school-security-20110119,0,243783.story

I am big on safety and caution but the way this situation was handled created chaos, additional worry and concern for many and threw a little more gas on an already emotional fire.

I heard directly from people in the school locked down that if a student tried to go to the bathroom and did not follow the direction of law enforcement there was something of an over reaction on the part of law enforcement.  Don't people realize that students who are already tense, have not eaten and have not been allowed to "hit the head" might just adopt the plan of .... Hey buddy.  I am walkin' out of here for a minute to go to the bathroom.  What are ya gonna do about it?  Hit me with a club?  Taser me?  Shoot me?   

I heard many direct reports of bad judgement of many of those in charge.  Students were texting CNN until they were told to stop.  Did that sort of activity put the students in danger?  Nope.  But not allowing students to eat, drink or go to the bathroom was probably news that some did not want reported. 

Over reaction?  If this had happened in a South Central L.A. neighborhood or in Central L.A. they probably would have sent a half a dozen units and a command unit, maybe a bit more but nowhere close to what was deployed in West Hills.

In West Hills they sent dozens of units, an army of police locked down seven square miles. They locked down students where they had nothing to eat prior to lunch and were not allowed to go to the bathroom. The 101 freeway was even shut down for a while. Busses could have been deployed to bring students in geographic groups to sensible geographic locations hours earlier. In the case of El Camino High School most student had to find their way on foot to a McDonalds parking lot south of the 101 freeway which was a parking lot itself. 3,000 plus students walking down a street at night to a parking lot that was jammed, students who had to eat and go to bathrooms. Great thinking on the part of those who orchestrated this plan.

Over reaction? In my mind, you bet. No rational plan in place? That's a 10-4 as well. Overly sensitive due to the Gardena shooting the other day? Perhaps.

A lot of folks dropped the ball on this one and acted as if they really had no idea of what to do other than just fall into a reactive mode of response.

It is clear to me that when things start to come apart so did a lot of people making the decisions.

Here we go again. Unemployment rises UNEXPECTEDLY?

Today there was a story in Reuters by Pedro Nicolaci da Costa.  The story contained those magic phrases and words ... seasonally adjusted.  Unexpectedly.  

1930

2010

I have watched the unemployment picture since mid 2008.  I have been in the middle of the situation during EVERY season almost three times now.  I don't understand why the situation always seems to be seasonally adjusted.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. jobless claims jumped to their highest level since October while food and energy costs boosted producer prices, pointing to lingering headwinds for an economic recovery that had been showing renewed vigor.

A surge in exports to their highest level in two years helped narrow the trade deficit, however, an encouraging sign.

Despite the more positive outlook for growth in recent weeks, the job market still appeared to be struggling.

The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly to 445,000 from 410,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. It was the biggest one-week jump in about six months, confounding analyst forecasts for a small drop to 405,000.

U.S. stock index futures added to losses after the jobless claims data, while government debt prices rose.

"The jobless number highlights the patchy recovery we've seen in the job market and reinforces that it will be a slow process bringing down the jobless rate," said Omer Esiner, market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington. "The one bright spot was a further decline in the trade deficit, which should contribute positively to fourth-quarter" growth.

A Labor Department official did note the rebound in benefit claims occurred following the holidays, which may have hindered new applications and created a backlog. Without the seasonal adjustment, claims were up by nearly 200,000 to 770,413.

The story goes on to continue to spin the problem, add all sorts of "facts" that are the typical smoke and mirrors tactics which illustrate how our government has firm control over most big media.

The story went on to report:   The U.S. economy has been expanding since the summer of 2009, but the pace of growth has not been sufficient to put a significant dent in the unemployment rate, which remains at an elevated 9.4 percent.

I have lost count of how often I see the same phrase used ...

...filing for first-time unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly ....

Unexpectedly.

It is no comfort that our government, labor department and media have no view of the problem.

Almost a half a million NEW folks filing for unemployment each WEEK yet somehow the government publishes figures of 9.4 or 9.6 percent? The reality is that about 1 in 4 Americans are out of work. The 99ers are no longer counted as are those who just gave up looking for work.

I walk the streets of skid row in Los Angeles many times every week. I see the number of people on the street increase.

Stories like this turn my stomach. The word "unexpectedly" just make me ashamed of our government.

The crowd is growing.  Many EDD offices have added armed security people on the floor.

First post of 2011. Things have been busy.

It seems as if this is the first time I have had to post in 2011.  Life has been busy. 

My two boys were in Japan over the holiday season for almost two weeks.  Having them back home and spending time with them again has been a great activity.  While my boys were in Japan I spent a lot of time on Skid Row in Los Angeles and over at Union Rescue Mission.  I posted a few items on those activities. 

Even though things have been busy I kept uploading mobile status updates and photos to facebook and twitter.  Electronic media and social networks keep the information flowing to some degree.

There is a lot of activity at 65 Amps as they have two new amps; the London Pro and Empire.  The London Pro is the first amp in the Working Pro line, the red label series of amp designed around the working professional.  The Empire is part of the blue label series.  Since my own shop is within the 65 Amps complex I am generally aware of some of what goes on over there.

London Pro head on red label cabinet.  Empire prototype on the left in tomato colored head shell.

Both of these amps will be shown at NAMM.  Dozens of London Pro amps have been shipped in the last month.  NAMM is next week so things have been quite busy at the complex to say the least.

 

End of the year update from Andy Bales of Union Rescue Mission

Andy Bales; CEO of Union Rescue Mission.  I love this shot of Andy from Don Garza.  This was the hottest day in Los Angeles recorded history.  It was 113 degrees in downtown Los Angeles and Andy Bales was pushing the water cart in this photo, about 1500 pounds.  This is the sort of image that comes to my mind when I hear the name Andy Bales

I have posted these videos before but felt it warranted posting again on this last day of the year.   Click "more" to see this entire post with the terrific videos.

On the last day of 2010 things are as confusing as ever

Today there is a story in the National Examiner.  I would have posted a link to this story but there were so many pop-ups and spam when trying to read the article that I just copied and pasted the article and will not be looking at anything from them in the future.

Jobless claims drop; ranks of 99ers seeking tier 5 unemployment extension grow

All dressed up and no place to go.  People from all walks of life

This was a bit of a contradiction.  More smoke and mirrors on the way in 2011?

 

The seasonally adjusted number of initial jobless claims last week was 388,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 422,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported yesterday.

 

There was that phrase which is so commonly used in the media spin ... seasonally adjusted.

Thankfully the article went on to explain and stated the obvious; the unemployment rate continued to rise.