Random Thoughts...or...What's on Your Mind?

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Ah, no worries. All the international travel I've been doing lately has been US/Canada, so I'm just used to going through customs in Canada every time (both ways).

I haven't had to go through US customs in the US since I came back from Mexico (for my brother's wedding) but at that time, it was in Minneapolis, and we were the only people in line. So it went pretty smoothly there too.

I should point out that when my parents had that cluster-#%_#(6 at US customs in Newark, it was probably 20 years ago at least (I can't remember exactly when). So it may be better now. We can only hope...

 

[Tora Ziyal]

From what I've heard, it's only gotten worse since 9/11.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

My dad says it wasn't necessarily a security issue as such, they just happened to get the rudest airport officials they could possibly have run into (which I'm sure was a possibility even before 9/11). Plus the crowds were huge as well.

(Here's something I didn't know: Prior to about 2005, US citizens didn't need a passport to get into Canada or Mexico. )

Another thing: Customs doesn''t even stamp your passport anymore. Am I the only one who kind of waxes nostalgic for that sort of thing? I liked being able to browse my passport and see a record of all the places I've been.

 

[publiusr]

All humans start off as female in the womb.
http://www.menshealth.com/health/3-signs-you-started-as-a-girl
Playing the macho game is a tedious chore. Personally, I prefer to be asexual - much less complicated but many people don't understand that point of view either.

Good to live alone. I'm not lonely at all. Come and go as I please.

My relationship is with humanity as a whole--my family--here--and on other science boards.

 

[Jayson1]

Am I the only person who has problems looking at pictures of family members? Everytime I see a pic of my mom or sisters or nieces and nephews I want to kill myself. It makes me feel very lonely since I never feel like they care about me that much.

Jason

 

[Australis]

All humans start off as female in the womb.

Actually we all start off as arseholes, and the rest of the body is built up from there.

Mind you, some people never stop being arseholes.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Actually we all start off as arseholes, and the rest of the body is built up from there.

Well, we humans are all deuterostomes so that is true.

Mind you, some people never stop being arseholes.

Also true.

 

[Sibyl]

So...36-fret basses DO exist.

And I thought I was being clever.

...and now that I have a way of calculating the distance between frets...

 

[rhubarbodendron]

personally, I prefer a fretless. I have very small hands and sometimes have to cheat by bending a string if I can't span far enough. Bending is easier without frets (I wonder if they are called frets because one frets about them?)

Random thought: where is a crashing meteorite when you need one?! I'd be sooo happy if one would hit the moron who's using a leaf-blower in front of my office instead of taking a broom like any normal human being does. Leaf blowers are lethal to small animals and to people's nerves. They totally unnecessarily use energy that could be spent in better ways, are environmentally un-friendly, create air pollution, are ineffective and using a good birch-twig broom instead is much quicker and completely un-annoying, particularly in this heat.

Oi! The blower stopped! Profusion of meteorites or lack of gas, I wonder?

 

[Jayson1]

I now know a low talker like in that "Seinfeld" episode. She is my case worker and she was helping me out by giving me a ride to the food bank and when she talks I sometimes have to ask her to repeat herself and I kind of stick my head forward to try and hear better. I don't want to say anything though. Asking people to modulate their voice feels like it would be rude.

Jason

 

[Sibyl]

personally, I prefer a fretless. I have very small hands and sometimes have to cheat by bending a string if I can't span far enough. Bending is easier without frets (I wonder if they are called frets because one frets about them?)

I prefer fretless in most cases, too, but it really depends on the application.

I need frets to get the hang of it again after more than 20 years of not playing. I actually have a fretless right now, but I've pretty much lost all of the ability I ever once had.

My first bass was a BC Rich 4-string fretted bass, then I got a 4-string fretless Fender Jazz Bass. Later I had a 5-string BC Rich NJ bass, and finally an Ibanez 4-string. My Ibanez was the cheapest bass, but damn it played great! The BC Rich NJ had the best tone of any bass I ever had.

My current bass is an ESP LTD 4-string fretless. Unfortunately, it has the visible inlaid fret markers on every fret. I mean, the steel "frets" spanning the entire width of the neck. I hate that. I preferred my Jazz Bass that had a completely blank fingerboard with the common markers on the top side of the neck (3-5-7-9-12-etc.), visible only to the player.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I really want to learn how to play a Chapman Stick. Those things are so cool.

 

[Sibyl]

I really want to learn how to play a Chapman Stick. Those things are so cool.

Beautiful instrument. Sounds gorgeous being played by someone that knows what they're doing.

 

[Sibyl]

I now know a low talker like in that "Seinfeld" episode. She is my case worker and she was helping me out by giving me a ride to the food bank and when she talks I sometimes have to ask her to repeat herself and I kind of stick my head forward to try and hear better. I don't want to say anything though. Asking people to modulate their voice feels like it would be rude.

Jason

I deal with someone daily that walks faster than I do that talks, lowly, away from me, and generally when there is a lot of background noise.

Good times...

 

[rhubarbodendron]

ooooooooooh! That Chapman Stick looks interesting!
As for basses - I very much like the Fender Jazz Bass but I may be prejudiced because my first BF played one. However, I am no expert and play bass only very rarely. My main instruments are guitar and pretty much every sort of flute from Europe, Asia, Africa or South America

@Jayson1 yes, it's always a bit of a moral dilemma but a dialogue is by definition supposed to have 2 participants and so I think it's perfectly ok to ask the other party to speak up. Particularly in a loud environment.
Unfortunately, I usually find myself in the exact opposite position: my dad is almost deaf and cathegorically refuses to get a hearing aid. So when I visit my folks, I usually wear my hair open so as to hide the fact that I am wearing custom-made earplugs that reduce the tv-noise by more than 50 dezibel. A colleague has the same prob and keeps forgetting at work that there she needn't shout at the top of her lungs. (which, to be honest, is putting me under a lot of stress - I tend to start violently at any unexpected noise). I've yet to find a way to put it to her diplomatically..

 

[Finn]

Another thing: Customs doesn''t even stamp your passport anymore. Am I the only one who kind of waxes nostalgic for that sort of thing? I liked being able to browse my passport and see a record of all the places I've been.

I think one just needs to ask for one. Someone said something about that a while back, after a trip where I didn't get stamped...

 

[rhubarbodendron]

I'd have thought the stamp was compulsive. If they don't stamp it, how could they (or you) ever prove that you entered the country legitimally? You'd run the risk of being accused of having entered the country without permission.

 

[TribbleFeeder]

I just bought my first bass.

Making the switch from guitar. Because after 12 years I think it’s time to acknowledge that I suck at guitar.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

Congratulations!
I'd not give up the guitar completely, though. Everyone can play lead guitar but what's really in demand are good rhythm guitarists. If you have a sense for timing and don't get thrown off your rhythm, regardless of what the others do, you can have your pick from a dozen bands that want you =)
Also, leaving the bass away for 1 or 2 tunes and adding one more guitar instead can give new sound effects and harmonies and make a set more interesting for the audience.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'd have thought the stamp was compulsive. If they don't stamp it, how could they (or you) ever prove that you entered the country legitimally? You'd run the risk of being accused of having entered the country without permission.

I should think that simply having a current passport would be enough...