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Archives for February 2010

Why I’m not writing that many posts lately

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Hello there everyone! I’ve been a busy boy as of late attempting to help kick start our fragile economy back into shape. No it’s no that we won the lottery but it’s due to just plain bad luck, it had to happen sometime, AHHH!!!!

We’ve been hit by the everything must break down all at once syndrome. Our washer, God bless it’s soul, was made in 1974 and it had it’s last spin a couple of months ago. It was a Kenmore washer and it worked great! It obviously not Energy Star rated by any stretch of the imagination but it worked. It came with the house and it did look well … rather dated? Like all older appliances it had some weird quirks. You gotta talk nicely to it or it produces a wild grinding like sound.
I had to lift the washer up on one side and drop it to get it going from time to time.

For around 4-5 months I had to head on over to our local laundromat and did the wash there and then came back home to use the dryer. It was great meeting people and talking about the neighbourhood and sharing stories. My wife thought that I was bent, as usual but it was fun! I just love meeting new people … maybe that’s why I love my job so much! Not many people can say that.

laundrypair_frontload So now we have a new washer and dryer! It cost a few bucks but in the long run we will save money. We purchased a Inglis front loader washer & dryer. The reviews in most of the forums we read were great. The only problem was with mold in the washer. You have to dry the washer down after using them and some people thought that they were too loud. My wife got a steam cleaner with this in mind but we haven’t had to use it yet. We found the exact opposite when we fired ours up. I have to say that going through forums to find out the pros and cons about products before you get them is A MUST to do. I realize their are so many forums out there to check out but take your time it’s really worth it.

We received them on Saturday and had lots of things to do to prepare before using them. We got the risers for both and had to level them before placing both appliances on top them. This is VERY DIFFICULT to do in the basement where the floors are not level. We plan on finishing it later on when we have the house payed off in a few short years. Why go in more debt when you don’t have to right?!

After taking for what seemed like an eternity, we had both risers leveled off and had to make sure that we placed them exactly in the correct area of the floor after we attached both washer and dryer on top of them. I had to call my cousin to help us out on that one and here’s to you Jeff, thanx again!

I also had to install a dryer receptacle which was a piece of cake but going all over the place for some parts was a real pain in the ass.

In total it took use about 15 1/2 hours from start to finish. I didn’t count all the time spent on forums and going to stores to get a better look at what it was that we were going to spend a good chunk of change on. Damn I’m tired just thinking about what we did!

So that is only a small part of what was taking up all of my precious time on. Next thing to talk about is our old 52″ DLP TV, AHHH!!!

Keep on Jammin’





If I was only born with four hands

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Imagine if your a guitar player with four hands? I know if your a guy, some women may either be afraid or intrigued by you? Think about the unlimited tunes that you could pull off (no pun intended)! Well I know that from time to time everyone comes across weird and wacky things that guitar player do but this one will help put a smile on your face and a little more hop in your walk, I guarantee it! These two guys take the cake … for now that is. Enjoy!

Keep on Jammin’

Do we really need guitar teachers?

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Do people, those who want to learn how to play guitar for the first time, honestly need teachers to show them the way? Well most new guitarists feel that they can learn this very tricky art form on their own. On the internet there are some fantastic sites out there that can steer you in the right direction. Locating good guitar sites is the first big obstacle to overcome in this process. To those of you who just want to pick up the guitar for their own enjoyment, then this is the way to go and hats off to ya!

After a while of checking out sites and finding which one that works well for you at the beginner level, you should then start to think about getting a guitar teacher that is right for you. I think that you should search for great instructors in your area on line or better yet, ask some of the guitar players that you know where they took lessons from and get their true feelings about their teacher.

I was fortunate enough to be blessed with a natural ability to both play and picking up songs by ear at an early stage in my development as a guitarist. I was also blessed with having FABULOUS parents, who both supported my love of guitar, that gave me the financial backing in which to do so. They honestly watched my progression and my level of interest very closely. After proving to them that I could advance to the next level of playing they/we proceeded forward.

Everything came to a head for me when they found the best and most influential teacher that I ever had in Brantford. His name was Chris Peterson. He didn’t push me too hard, he saw the flaws in my techniques and was not afraid to tell me. He had this great quiet demeanor about him that I really respected.

The best starting point in finding a proper mentor for you is to get one that shares the same style of music that you both like. If you choose to sign up for lessons at a local music school, then go and talk to some of the guitar players who are just waiting around for their lesson to start and ask lots of questions about how they like the teacher and if the teacher shows a genuine interest in the students well being as a player! This will really pay off well for you later on down the road.

Plan a meet and greet with the perspective teacher, always money well spent. This will show them that you are interested in their ability to teach and this is also something that a good teacher likes to see in a student. Tell them what you want to get out of lessons and what little things they will show you that will help you out in your journey.

Having a good teacher correcting your path to becoming a good/great guitarist is very essential! If this person does not show you tons of technique then get ride of them! What I mean is not only finger but hand positioning of BOTH HANDS for example. If they just fly through lessons with you, always looking at the clock waiting for their break before starting the next lesson then F–K THEM! (hope my mom isn’t reading this post or out behind the shed I go!!!) Find a teacher who challenges you in nice ways. MOST IMPORTANT, never let teachers talk down to you! Your guitar ego is very sensitive during this phase of your development, so don’t wait too long to turf this clown if this is the case between you and your instructor! If you wait too long in an abusive relationship like this, you will give up because you feel like a failure and that is not what you’ve signed up for!

So I hope that I was helpful for some of you new guitar players that are serious about taking it to the next level of guitar playing.

If your interested in guitar lessons at the level that I am referring to in this post, then write me back and I’ll see what I can do. I tend to have 5 students at one time. If I have too many then I feel like some manufacturing plant for guitar players! I use this approach because I also love to watch the learning progression of people. The best thing about teaching to guitarist his the look in their eyes when they finally pull off a song that they never thought that they could play! It’s just good karma baby!!!

Keep on Jammin’

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