Product Reviews; part 722012

After a little checking online, I decided to purchase another Dewalt sander. The one I have has done fairly well. The Makita I used for awhile was great in many ways, but the clips which hold the paper fell apart because the metal spring clips are poorly attached into the molded plastic sides, and when that plastic bit breaks off, it is not good.

The Dewalt has OK clips to hold the sandpaper, but it is kind of a pain. They didn't fall off after much extended use, so that is a plus.

We are talking 1/4 sheet finish sanders here. I do, however, use them for pre-finish work a lot. Sometimes you can't go the random orbital route.

OK. So it seemed that Home Depot was as good a place as any to get the sander. I checked various places online and prices were about the same.

Before I forget, the Makita did not come with any sort of carrying case. A big minus--but it was fairly cheap.

Alright. I went to the power tool section of my favorite Home Depot--the one in Poway, CA. They had the display model, but were out of stock of the Dewalt sander I wanted. Then I noticed the Ridgid sander--whoever named that brand was a master of subliminal messaging--which was priced the same as the Dewalt. Both are at the upper end of HD's selection.

The various specs were about the same; amps, rate of vibration or orbit, etc. But I noticed the Ridgid unit had a different setup for holding the sandpaper. It looked as if it was less likely to pinch or annoy fingertips, and it seemed an easier and possibly more durable design.

So, I said forget bothering with waiting for the truck and all the things the helpful store rep suggested so I could get the Dewalt. I took the risk and bought the subliminal tribute to my masculine virility. For me, the Ridgid is most suitable, I decided.

This unit has seen hours of constant use--earplugs are worth their weight in gold. Some practice is required, but the system for attaching the paper is far quicker and easier than other sanders I've used, and it seems to be hanging together. The thing functions very well.

I ended up buying another one* so that my helper and I could both be sanding simultaneously. They have worked out well, and believe me, they have endured a little bit of abuse.

They come in a soft case made of heavy fabric of some kind, which I prefer to the hard shell case which houses my Dewalt. The case is no larger than it needs to be, the zipper which closes the top works well, and the pouch is useful.

I'm very pleased with this device and would recommend the Ridgid 1/4 sheet sander without reservation unless you are one who goes for the stuff that costs hundreds of dollars. In that case, you are on your own.

Oh, I like the Ridgid sander's on-off switch setup much better than either Dewalt or Makita.

*part of the deal for me doing this job is that THEY would pay for the sanders.

Another Pic someone sent me

sent to me with the caption, "Harmonica Whore" because I play with a variety of people--almost all who ask--local joke and nickname. shades due to sun shining through storefront as it was setting, causing unpleasant glare. Not sure who took this or others. They make the facebook circuit then a friend clues me in

For once, I really hope to get the video of something I played last Sat. and the big open mic gala/fundraise. Actually, I was part of a contingent of people who were specifically asked to come play and do more than the usual ten minute set. That was nice.

Anyway, I wonder how that one thing turned out. It can feel one way when you run a solo for a few minutes, but you can't know how it projects. Especially because half the sound when playing diatonic harmonica is rumbling around in your head because that crazy thing is in your mouth. Sounds obscene. Could be wherein lies the appeal.

Finally, a day without a big work push. Plenty else to do.

I am lucky for at least two reasons, maybe more. One is that the powers that be tend to smile upon me at unpredictable times for unknown reasons. Another reason is that I realize my good fortune and don't blame you or Bush or Obama for my shortcomings. That doesn't mean I agree with what I see as the slow erosion and increasingly rapid progress of our nation toward a thing of little liberty and personal breathing space. Be that as it may. I still know the important aspects of what gets in my way aside from that, and it is I.

Lately, though, I've been finding the little victories approach working so that I'm surprised I am less bogged down and unproductive. Anything I do becomes a small accomplishment in my mind--laundry, maintenance, work today instead of putting it off until tomorrow, etc. Even tiny things, like washing a dish.

I was very bogged down for awhile. Most of my life, on and off. I'm enjoying the unusual feeling of being alive enough not to crave escape every waking minute. It doesn't feel like a manic swing this time, but who knows if it is or not. It has lasted for about two weeks. Two weeks in which taking that first step toward anything wasn't a huge obstacle and an unpleasant chore.

I don't remember that happening since one time when I was 28 visiting my brother with my then wife. He had some minor projects around the yard that had been put off. I immediately started moving rocks and such rather than analyze the amount of work, the dread which my father instilled in me, etc. I gave that up a year later and got drunk for several years.

Comparing this pic with the one in prev post, it is clear I was working the mic according to what was appropriate at the time. A friend played Orange Blossom Special, his way but kind of like C. McCoy, and sounded really good. Very good guitar player and harp player--much more the bluegrass/country player than I am. You can bet, as much as I do not even care for the tune, I will learn OB Special and be able to do it fast one of these days soon. I hope to play it once and then forever put requests for it to bed. It is like asking me to hit my head with a hammer for your enjoyment. But after hearing Les play, I just have to do it. Once.

Phase 1 of Project Teakagain Goes As Planned

Today was the last day of the big work push. I have no finger prints. Hours of detail sanding will do that. Fortunately I had help part of the time.

In addition to doing the normal routine I do when someone is coming into town at the house in trophy-wife-big-bucks village (nothing against trophy wives--I'd have one but the purchase price is too steep), I had to finish some of the project, deal with plumbing issues and cabinetry drama, and some other things I forgot.

I ran full speed from 8 AM until 3PM today, then headed over to Valley Music for an event that started at 1pm. Copper Creek played at around 6. We did well.

I also played with a guy called Jonathan. This time I passed on two invitations play. It turned out my instincts were right. Both performances were outstanding and due to circumstances of the moment, I'd have only been in the way. There are times when jumping up on stage is more awkward than it ought to be.

I've never seen so many good players at this place. Really goo people showed up. It definitely put a nice finish to a lucrative day.

Busy Days Begin==not so many posts--Yay for you!

Got lots of work ahead so I won't be writing 25417 posts per day after this.

Perhaps I am becoming more serious about improving my playing and versatility. Periodically, I tend to listen to great players, mostly diatonic harmonica players. For the most part I prefer the sound of the diatonic over the chromatic, especially when playing chords. And with the recent breakthroughs in technique and harp customizing, and even many out of box, you can play it close to chromatically. Maybe not you, but it can be done, and I have figured out I am capable of most of the bends it takes.

Not sure how it happened but I found myself on a page with lots of info on John Popper of the band Blues Traveller--which is no longer. Guitar player died and a new band formed and who knows.

It was a shock to me to discover that not everyone likes Popper or Blues T. But then, some people don't like me, so what can you do? Harp nerds (henceforth harp will mean harmonica) tend to rarely mention John Popper, although they do often idolize Jason Ricci. They typically talk about Little Walter and such, and some of the great players who are regulars at harp festivals and teaching workshops. Some players make their living off of harp nerds.

Harp nerds are the people who buy all the right gear, ask for tabs on things real players play, and travel from festival to festival collecting T shirts and attempting to play exactly what their idols play. Most are not that good but they have fun and manage to complicate, dissect, and analyze the simplest technique and riff.

Harp tabs are a form of written music which tells you what hole in the harp is being played and whether you blow or draw--or suck, if you prefer. Like a guitar player recently said of me, in my presence--sometimes he sucks and sometimes he blows. All in good fun.

I like Popper because he is very good, very original, not a copy, and he manages to play such upbeat flurries. He doesn't see limits. He uses effects to their max and experiments. He even makes a song, which I never liked, The Devil Went Down To Georgia, rock. His version is so much better that Charlie Daniels'. I like John Popper's cover of it. I don't care for Charlie's.

Anyway, JP is definitely one of the best and I watched a series of very short videos in which he gives a few basic tips. I did pick up something about the technique called overblows in his fifteen second discussion of them. Just the way he referred to it opened up a path to simplicity. He never actually said how to do it. Yet in a way he did.

I guess the current players I find the most inspiring and worth my serious attention are Lee Oskar, John Popper, Jason Ricci, Tim Gonzales, Mickey Raphael--Willie Nelson Band, and maybe Sugar Blue and Rod Piazza. Not necessarily in that order. There are many other super good players, but I can only pay attention to so many without getting bored. I go for unique and accomplished. Tons of bluesharp players are very good, but not as much in a style of their own. I like the ones who tend to break ground and whose style I can generally pick out of the crowd.

So, Popper deserves more notoriety among the harp nerds than they have wisdom to give. Ricci does give him mention, though, in some of his workshops.

update; just watched a video with Dan Akroyd and John Popper from the nineties. Maybe Dan got better. Judging from the comments, Akroyd is highly overrated as a harp player. So, it was the most overrated harp player sharing a stage with a guy who seems to be underrated, yet he's among the greatest.

What's Done Is Done

***Short story: I ordered the Kelty tent online

Because I have to wait to make another online deposit, because I can only deposit so much through the post at one time and one has to clear before mailing more, I spent the time on this tent obsession.
It is often easier to do deposits that way rather than drive to a full service credit union and do it. I heart my C/U, and have banked many places in many states, so don't think I'm a poor soul who is terribly inconvenienced because my financial institution of choice is in Georgia. But my great experience with them, especially as contrasted with banks, is another story and doesn't relate to sleeping in a small dome made of high tech textiles of unknown composition.

That's why I can post this rather than be doing what I was going to do.

Finally, I just bit the bullet and ordered the Kelty tent. I called it Kelly in the last post. But now I'm an expert. Filtering the reviews, anyone who was using it as I would gave it 5 stars. Those who might be going beyond often gave it 4, and for varying reasons. I tossed a couple of the naysayer reviews because they sounded as if they weren't very knowledgeable.

The big deal is that I found a place which cut REI's sale price by about 70 dollars(US)! And cut recommended retail almost in half. It was about the price of a decent Coleman.

So, later, I'll see if I find the Coleman I like at Walmart or Target. You may think those places are not good for camping stuff, but you may not be correct.

Pictured is the house without the rainfly. That rainfly gives a large vestibule deal which means you can put your baby outside the tent and it will remain relatively free from being deluged with rain or other precipitation. Just a heads up for campy parents.

On Second Thought, or fourth, fifth, etc.

I'm not sure that tent I was considering is not lacking too much in ceiling height. I may need something more commodious like this.

In reviewing and reviewing, I think I'll come out ahead by ordering one Kelly tent that is on sale which has good reviews and usually is among the expensive stuff, and one Coleman which also has good reviews and is plenty big with great headroom. Max Headroom if you get the reference.

Anyway, for the price of one minimum headroom job, I can get two tents which will serve different purposes. I found in my excursions that I was happy to have a small tent and a larger one. It just depended upon what was what which one I would use. And I expect more excursions.

The kayak is on hold. I'd love to have it, but haven't yet achieved that point in fooling myself into thinking I can wisely swing it.

That Kelly tent is wearing the rainfly all zipped. It is actually a very airy unit when not battened down this way


I think a lot of stuff is priced high because it is lighter, and because hipster camp people and hikers will pay it.

Question or 2, irrelevant to my life, but give me a chuckle

All you can do is laugh and shake your head at some of the odd things that go on in the world of humanity. Be careful, though, you can throw your neck out and have one of those kinks if you shake too hard.

What caught my attention was a blurb about how Roger Clemens was found not guilty. The crime of which he was accused was that of LYING TO CONGRESS, from what I understand. WTF? Can an individual put them on trial for lying? No. And if you polled the citizens of this country, I am sure the vast majority would say they believe that lying is standard fare for the members of that body. For the most part I had not kept apprised of this demagogic political adventure.

In keeping with irrelevance, this is the tent I'm considering--sans rainfly

The other WTF moment was when I considered that this revolved around a congressional foray into steroid use among professional athletes. Really, if you were to pass the hat, how many people would kick in money for the purpose of having those clowns stick their noses into how pro sports people conduct their private affairs?

I do not care what athletes take, smoke, snort, inject, or eat. Even if I did, how would I justify using government and tax dollars to conduct inquiries? If you are of the Bloomberg school and believe this is a proper function of government because you are looking out for the long term health of strangers who requested no such help, then I guess we part ways here.

I've never understood the rationale for congress being able to meddle in things like baseball strikes, let alone athletic conduct. I'm relieved that Roger got a pass, and I have no opinion on his culpability regarding the charge. Under such circumstances I almost feel better if he did lie. Those people had no business asking in the first place, and the majority of them do not deserve the respect of satisfying their grandstanding efforts.

I don't get it. Why is it a huge crime not to incriminate yourself when being bullied by officialdom, and why do they pry into matters such as baseball players' steroid use? If it is a bad practice, the punishment is in the act. They are not bothering others---unless, of course, it helps them hit a baseball so far that it endangers the surrounding community.

In Tents-ity

Believe me when I tell you, I am the last person I ever thought would care to own, or even for a moment dwell in, a tent. I've had mucho many tent adventures since leaving Memphis on that red letter day four years ago. It was a matter of economics, and uncertainty about where I'd end up, or when.

I am still afraid of bears and almost every other wild animal that likes to make trouble in the west. That, I freely admit. If it was OK to carry a big gun and use it when threatened, then I might feel differently, and chances are I'd never fire a shot. There is some logic in there, but I won't attempt to prove it.

Anyway, as the big get together in celebration of my splendid nephew and his splendid new wife nears, I'm thinking I may need a new tent. I'll be needing this shelter at the event as I am not springing for a hotel. I also may have a chance to wander a bit and I'd like to be set up for it.

There are a billion choices. The best bet I found on the REI site is out of stock in every store for 200 miles. I may order it. We'll see.

Then there is that desire, which is becoming a slight obsession, for the inflatable Hobie kayak. Does this mean I am materialistic and greedy all of a sudden?

Am I, at last, an evil member of THE ONE PERCENT? Probably not the mis-labeled, less than one percent who control currencies and nations. I'm not positive I know who they are. Possibly, I am indirectly working for one of them tomorrow. The whole teak saga again.

I know I'm not the ninety nine percent of anyone in how I live and think. I forgive that vast majority for this because they may miss the manic enjoyment I experience when the wheels turn just so in my mind. They also get to miss the difficulties when one of those wheels gets bogged down in the sand.

I'm almost positive I'll order this tent. I almost went for a thing called a tent-cot, but even the oversized one is really too skinny to suit me. It is narrower than the typical twin bed mattress, so forget it. Air mattress R us. I like the idea of being elevated, but the designs aren't there for my purpose ---yet.

Hey, that is something I could work on. Just hinge together a couple of saw horses and some plywood and put your tent on that. Bigger tent, more sawhorses, etc. A modular, outdoor elevation system. And it will fold down small enough to fit on the roof of your car without requiring a wide load permit. We'll keep it just under that.

Money Considerations, and The Court

I'm actually holding off on certain purchases and adventures because I wonder how I will handle it if the law goes forth which makes me a criminal if I do not have health insurance. I do keep a little set aside so I could pay a homeless guy to take out my appendix, should the need arise.

These are matters which do affect me.

edited to eliminate a bunch of blablabla

Who's Our Bagdad Bob?

This is the mug I gave a friend long ago, shortly after the Iraq invasion thing. I have to say, I was somewhat torn when that effort began. I've never been a fan of nation building wars or much of our foreign policy since at least the late 1940s. I wondered if maybe I was wrong, but I didn't go to the WhiteHouse and make them clear the thing through me. My bad.

OK. Forget all that because you most likely think I am wrong anyway. The cool thing was that during the invasion the Iraqi Information minister was on the airwaves assuring everyone that the US was being defeated and he had many memorable quotes about how they would roast our stomachs and such. Real name, Mohammed Saïd al-Sahaf, aka Bagdad Bob.

(Not too far from the time when Sean Penn visited what of Saddam's ministers would grant him audience, and seemed to feel that Hussein was a dandy guy. If scrutinizing Sean's efforts there and elsewhere doesn't crystalize the term 'useful idiot' for you, then nothing ever will. It was one thing to oppose the invasion, another to pretend it was a lovely, happy, free, peaceful place run by your kind, benevolent uncle.)

This is one of BB's quotes that applies to much of life and many of my days: "I must inform you that you are too far from reality". I chose the mug with that quote for Chuck because I knew he could relate. Besides, it was a somewhat ironic statement.

***Oh geez, I hope my idea of ironic is correct or the English majors will flog me. Flog away. I'd rather be educated than not. Because he implies that he is the spokesperson for what is reality, I feel justified in using the word ironic in the above context***

There were websites dedicated to his quotes. One site was called "we love the Iraqi Information minister"--all one word.

He became somewhat of a cult icon. People in the West loved him for his blatant disregard for fact and his colorful, confident manner. I think he ended up defecting to UAE or somewhere. My friend still enjoys starting the day with this celebrity.

Clearly he had to spin truth and lie if he wanted to survive, but he was great at it. I wonder if we aren't getting our official info from American versions of this guy. But who is closest to him in delivery, nerve and blatant purveyance of fiction as truth?

This guy could fill the bill were he more in the limelight. David Axelrod's Mr Potatohead eyebrow work when he talks puts him in the running.

The typical choice is always the White House Press Secretary, and Jay does deserve an honorable mention in our search for America's Baghdad Bob. But we have so many others in the media who spin things beyond reason, and have some air of officialdom about them, that they tend to make him seem mild.

Heck we have a congressman who, not so long ago, seriously asked a general in a House hearing whether moving troops to Guam would cause the island to capsize. Hank Johnson of GA. He was re-elected after this demonstration of his intellect was widely publicized. Go Georgia! If he were the press secretary, I'd say he could give Baghdad Bob a run for his money. http://youtu.be/zNZczIgVXjg

If Obama loses the election, more candidates for this prestigious title will surely surface. To be seriously considered, one must have some connection to officialdom, and considerable press time. Right now, since Rahm Emmanuel went back to Chicago, my money is on Jay or Mt Potatohead. When David explains things his eyebrows and mustache dance in an incongruous manner. It is as if they have a life of their own. I wish he was press secretary because then I'd watch more press conferences. As it is I can't really stomach them.

The somewhat peculiar thing is that most people know they are being fed lies from officialdom, even when being told what they want to hear. And they suspend disbelief because it is easier, all things considered. Where it takes us will be an interesting tale. A dark comedy, I suppose.