Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[fnordlyone]

Anyone else have trouble just letting things roll off of you? I got a call from a regular that a bud of his needed some repairs and couldn't afford a regular shop much less the drive and wait time. So I took in his old Peavey 300 monitor amp and Roland JC120.
Peavey just needed basic maintenance to bring it back, the Jazz Chorus was a different story. The JC burnt down one power amp, parts OBS and board was/is pretty charred. He saw smoke but just kept playing it. He also decided to test the one speaker that quit working (blown power amp side) himself and broke the terminal board. Already long story short, made a strip to remount the terminals on the speaker and hooked up the two in series as he requested. He did not want to attempt repairs on the burnt channel so I disabled it.
Knowing he was low on funds (as my regular had clued me) I charged him $60 for both as a one time courtesy. He said "Well I'll be lucky if I can make that back this week." Really, REAlly. REALLY! I looked at him and said "Okay maybe next time you should drive the 175 miles each way to the nearest decent shop, wait the 2 to 4 weeks to pay a minimum bench fee of $65 on each without a repair."
Not going to be nice anymore.

Anyone else have trouble just letting things roll off of you? I got a call from a regular that a bud of his needed some repairs and couldn't afford a regular shop much less the drive and wait time. So I took in his old Peavey 300 monitor amp and Roland JC120.
Peavey just needed basic maintenance to bring it back, the Jazz Chorus was a different story. The JC burnt down one power amp, parts OBS and board was/is pretty charred. He saw smoke but just kept playing it. He also decided to test the one speaker that quit working (blown power amp side) himself and broke the terminal board. Already long story short, made a strip to remount the terminals on the speaker and hooked up the two in series as he requested. He did not want to attempt repairs on the burnt channel so I disabled it.
Knowing he was low on funds (as my regular had clued me) I charged him $60 for both as a one time courtesy. He said "Well I'll be lucky if I can make that back this week." Really, REAlly. REALLY! I looked at him and said "Okay maybe next time you should drive the 175 miles each way to the nearest decent shop, wait the 2 to 4 weeks to pay a minimum bench fee of $65 on each without a repair."
Not going to be nice anymore.

Yeah, I'm almost angry rather than a normal grump (could it be too much flowers and sunshine?). I'm not letting things roll off me like I should. B, I would have cussed the bleep hole and told him to fix it himself next time. I would have pointed out that he was an idiot and a loser, etc… just to be sure he'd never call me again (not that I would answer).
Not always so angry, but maybe it's just Spring Fever.
Fnord!

 

[B-string]

Yeah, I'm almost angry rather than a normal grump (could it be too much flowers and sunshine?). I'm not letting things roll off me like I should. B, I would have cussed the bleep hole and told him to fix it himself next time. I would have pointed out that he was an idiot and a loser, etc… just to be sure he'd never call me again (not that I would answer).
Not always so angry, but maybe it's just Spring Fever.
Fnord!

I guess the funny part is he said he needed to load quick and go as his "little puppy" was in the truck? Didn't see or hear a puppy, but I could have sworn his wife asked as he was getting in the cab "What was that puppy crack?" She did have a menacing tone in her voice as far as I could tell? I hope I was the least of his "troubles" that day.

He gigged both last night, didn't hear of any troubles. Tomorrow I might just block his number.

 

[Stank56]

With spring and the half ways decent weather in Michigan I can't be too grumpy. Next week my wife goes in for a knee replacement so the grumpiness level may be a bit higher the next few weeks.

 

[fnordlyone]

Man, I am steaming right now.
It was bad enough that the idiot neighbors to the east have consecutive City Street Lights, with the immediate neighbor's pole an acre from the gravel road.
It was bad enough until said light quit working and the new bulb (SuperNovaSun) was installed. My property is lit up like a Fellini set.
Granted I don't get the best views in the world of stars out here, but now I might as well be living next to a gas station for the quality of country living I'm getting… They move down a gravel road in the middle of crawfish/rice fields to install blinding sources of light?! The immediate idiot eastern neighbor only recently (like 3 years) developed the land and installed Light.
It is taking all of my will power not to take out that city light out permanently.

 

[Passinwind]

At least the snow has finally melted.
This past winter and slow spring put me over the edge into geezedom.

I mean cabin fever central with nothing better to do than watch birds!

Apparently the birds here have nothing better to do than watch me:

Link Removed

 

[MarcusPHagen]

Apparently the birds here have nothing better to do than watch me:

Link Removed

The Return of Psycho-Jay ?

Marcus

 

[MarcusPHagen]

Man, I am steaming right now.
It was bad enough that the idiot neighbors to the east have consecutive City Street Lights, with the immediate neighbor's pole an acre from the gravel road.
It was bad enough until said light quit working and the new bulb (SuperNovaSun) was installed. My property is lit up like a Fellini set.
Granted I don't get the best views in the world of stars out here, but now I might as well be living next to a gas station for the quality of country living I'm getting… They move down a gravel road in the middle of crawfish/rice fields to install blinding sources of light?! The immediate idiot eastern neighbor only recently (like 3 years) developed the land and installed Light.
It is taking all of my will power not to take out that city light out permanently.

I can certainly understand your frustration. Some people move to the country to escape city problems, and then insist on bringing the city with them. Hope you can find a workable solution, short of dynamite.

Marcus

 

[Passinwind]

The Return of Psycho-Jay ?

Yep, but it's impossible to keep track of all the generations these days.

 

[FFTT]

As long as buzzards aren't circling overhead, you're good!

Great shot BTW!

 

[FFTT]

I want to get my amps and guitars and mic's set up ready to record again, but I've been dog sitting my neighbor's 90 pound rescue
Akita mix and their other rescue pup. When Sky and my Jack Russell Mini get rolling, its chaos!



Now that spring has sprung, everyone is shedding too, so it's a non-stop battle against critter fuzz.

Dad Gummit!

 

[rust_preacher]

Apparently the birds here have nothing better to do than watch me:

Link Removed

Maybe old grumpy birds become people-watchers, rocking on their favorite branch?

 

[beans-on-toast]

Apparently the birds here have nothing better to do than watch me.

That's a money shot!

It's true, that bird looks ticked off. I wouldn't park the car in the driveway.

 

[FFTT]

The one critter I have not been able to capture on film is the great brown owl that cruises through here once in a while.
It has to have a 6 foot wingspan. I still hope to see it again when I can get to my camera.

 

[Passinwind]

That's a money shot!

It's true, that bird looks ticked off. I wouldn't park the car in the driveway.

Those Scrub Jays are smart as all get out, and definitely unafraid of pesky humans. One morning First Generation Psycho Jay landed on my wife's travel cup that she left on the fencepost for a moment and tried to figure out how to open the sliding lid to get at her latte -- this with her standing a few feet away berating him mightily. They're also very goofy and kind of endearing in a lot of ways, but I guess I can't really admit that in this thread. Where's my Wrist Rocket anyway?

I have a whole page of pics of the family Link Removed.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Wonderful shots Charlie. Those guys are inquisitive and they do seem to like watching us as much as we like watching them.

I was recently feeding some rye bread to some Mallards at a port. We walked away down a path and one circled around and skidded into the water in front of us. He liked my bread. I gave him what was left and then showed him my hands and said that it was all gone. He seemed to understand. He flew out of the water and sat down on the other end of the bench that we were sitting on and started preening himself. After several minutes, he looked at us, quacked as if to say thank you, and flew off.

 

[FFTT]

This is one of the 3 yearling cubs that were hanging around until I ran them off.
Easily 200-250 pounds.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

As big as they are, they were no match for my stupidly brave 14 pound Jack Russell.
She ran off two of them running circles around them, nipping at their hindquarters.

Now that she's almost 12, I do worry hearing of new bear sightings, because she's still just as cantankerous.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[beans-on-toast]

Dogs just love doing things that they ought not do. Makes them grumpy if they don't.

 

[Passinwind]

I helped my sister run a huge Jack Russell trials event one year, it was one of the funniest experiences I've ever had.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I will claim to be the oldest bass player still working. I am 70 (71 in a month), still kickin' it and lovin' it. My wife says I'm a grumpy old fart, but what the H*** does she know?, she's just a fiddle player.

 

[FFTT]

As much as I miss performing live, I just can't do the cover band thing again.

I've spent most of my career playing someone else's music and now I finally have the time and the gear to work on my own stuff again.

Now if only I could just find the motivation to dig in and stay focused.