Random Ramblings

alldatndensum wrote:

Those door knobs are absolutely fantastic!  Perfect for a men's restroom.

It looks so nice now.

rockerVu2 wrote:

It looks so nice now.

Thanks!  I can't wait until we get the decorations for the ladies' room done so that I can show you that as well.  We will be doing some vinyl lettering in there due to it being a tighter space with two stalls.

Show us the result of the ladies room as soon it's done.

Looks like I'm back on-site full-time now 

This is the season of life where I was wanting to moderately disconnect from technology, and now here I am with online classes. Tuesday through Thursday, I'm spending up to 7 hours setting in front of a screen listening to lectures and tutorials. And that's before assignments and group projects and free time. I should be grateful I can continue education, but this setup is not great for me.

Driven wrote:

This is the season of life where I was wanting to moderately disconnect from technology, and now here I am with online classes. Tuesday through Thursday, I'm spending up to 7 hours setting in front of a screen listening to lectures and tutorials. And that's before assignments and group projects and free time. I should be grateful I can continue education, but this setup is not great for me.

With my ADD, I have trouble focusing for that long.  I would need constant breaks, and then I don't know if I would easily get back on task with my school work if I passed something else that piqued my interest.  Even when I am on the internet for fun, I am shopping whether or not I buy anything, checking Facebook, checking the message boards for new posts, etc.  I am always changing what I am doing.

I do believe that the black gentleman that was killed in Minnesota was done wrong by the police.  That was murder or at least manslaughter.

The black community wants the white community to be outraged with them right now, which I think you are seeing on social media.  However, why is there no outcry over the black cop that killed a white lady in Minnesota last week?  Why is there no outcry from black leaders over the video from last week of a black man beating the tar out of an elderly white man in a nursing home while someone else videos it with their phone?  Why is it the black community says that they don't want to be treated like animals by law enforcement but then go on rioting and looting binges that makes you look exactly how you say you wish not to be treated?

I just don't get it.

The great disconnect, we are being played. What happened was wrong but these social justice movements are more social Marxism.

Black Rider wrote:

The great disconnect, we are being played. What happened was wrong but these social justice movements are more social Marxism.

No doubt. Even though it was taken down, there was an ad on the Nashville Craigslist for crisis actors for this.  This is being paid for by someone who wants to get the focus off of COVID.  If the rioting continues, this will give Trump little choice but to declare a national state of martial law and finish converting the country to socialism/marxism.  The Democrats will fight hard to keep it that way, as well, while laughing that they got Trump to do it for them.

As for riots in your nearest city, how did things go last night, folks?  Even Nashville had several hundred rioters.  I refuse to call them protestors.  It all began with a planned protest against police brutality and was organized by Mayor John Cooper.  He has been a major butt with executive orders and the whole stay at home movement.  Churches are only allowed 25 people at a time but he had an event with hundreds of people not observing social distancing.  When the event ended, the protesting went to rioting and looting.  They set fire to a police station, the Nashville courthouse, and even city hall.  There was minimal damage, but I have a feeling that this will happen again until the National Guard that has been activated have no choice but to defend themselves and shoot back.  If the rioters come back for another night, they will come armed this time, I fear.

I almost don't want to have church today.  I know that is my fear.  We will have someone keep an eye since we are in a section of Hermitage, a suburb of Nashville, with many blacks in low income housing.  We would be an easy target despite being up the street from another police precinct.  We will be watching, and Pastor Chris (aka alldatndensum) will be wearing his firearm just in case.

Prayed for you. How did it go?

It went somewhat okay-ish.  We have one man there that has some form of special needs that has decided I am his bestest buddy in the whole wide world.  He follows me everywhere.  I couldn't even get away to go to the bathroom.  I kid you not.  He wants to joke around but does so in a negative way thinking he is funny.  I've tried to be quiet about it in the past but let him know that it made me feel like he either didn't like me or didn't appreciate me as his pastor.  He still didn't quite get the social cues of being mildly told off that he didn't need to piddle around everywhere I go.

Then, we have a homeless dude in the neighborhood named Andrew.  Andrew says he wants to join the church so we can give him financial help.  We have less than 30 active members.  With what money does he think he is going to get help?  Anyway, he locked onto me and followed me around while I was running around trying to put out little "fires" everywhere.  Someone wants to know why the coffeepot is dirty.  I don't drink or make the coffee, so I don't know.  Apparently they think it is my job.  One man even told me that.  Someone else wanted to know where the plastic tub that held things like spatulas and tongs and such was.  The utensils are laying on a shelf, but the tub is supposedly missing.  The same man told me it was my job to find out where stuff was when it was missing.  I politely told him to ask whoever oversees the kitchen.  He is one of those two people.

So, by the time service started, I was beyond stressed out and ready to flee.  Instead of normal services, we did a song program of 16 songs to a church empty enough that there were more on stage than in the audience unless you count the couples outside listening on FM through my little transmitter.  We don't have good singers, so I was stressed about how bad it would sound and did sound.  We have no business doing a program like this, but the church still wants to do things like they've always done.  I can't get them to see that doing things exactly the way they have always done it won't work when you are less than half that size, mostly older folks who can't or won't do anything, and to think outside the box to actually bring people in.

It isn't quite like this every Sunday--today was just a perfect storm that had the pastor wishing he was anywhere but at church.  Right now, my wife has gone to her mom's (just around the corner) so I can decompress in silence.

Sounds stressful, praying you get some relief.

Black Rider wrote:

Sounds stressful, praying you get some relief.

I tried working on the two most recent guitars I posted pictures of.  I am getting a lot of string rattles.  I can't solve it, either.  I am even more stressed out now.

Sounds like Alldat needs to set everything aside and read a book.  Hoping you get some peace brother.

Staybrite wrote:

Sounds like Alldat needs to set everything aside and read a book.  Hoping you get some peace brother.

You ain't wrong, brother!

I am taking a strong stance on commenting on news articles.  I quit!  I don't like the hatred slung if you reply to someone with a different opinion.  If I post news articles on Facebook or other social media, I am going to turn off commenting on my posts.  I think that will help me with my stress.  I am really angry lately and my patience is shot to hell.  Yes, I said that!  I know my wife is worried about me and so am I.

I did somehow solve some of my guitar issues.  I have reduced the neck buzz by about 95% on the one guitar of mine.  I am going to have to take it apart, though, to raise up the single coil pickup that will sound like a bass because it is too low to pick up the string.  That will take time, but it ain't the end of the world.  I can put it back together quickly and then try to reduce that last 5% buzz.  I am thinking of adding a piece of felt to the lowest string at the tension rod on the head stock.  Either that, or I am going to put a screw in the head stock to help guide that string and reduce buzzing by muting vibrations.  While the rest of the strings are from a pack of 9s, I may change this one to a 10 just to increase tension.  The string height is higher than I wanted, but still plays well in the solo range and will allow me to play slide as well.

After weeks and weeks of a blue sky and the sun, we finally get rain tomorrow.
Yippeee.

It's so dry here.

Praying for you for relief.
Wisdom in the situations that need wisdom.

Sometimes it helps to go out for a walk. Don't forget to take music with you so you can't think at all the stress.

alldatndensum wrote:

.....

I did somehow solve some of my guitar issues.  I have reduced the neck buzz by about 95% on the one guitar of mine.  I am going to have to take it apart, though, to raise up the single coil pickup that will sound like a bass because it is too low to pick up the string.  That will take time, but it ain't the end of the world.  I can put it back together quickly and then try to reduce that last 5% buzz.  I am thinking of adding a piece of felt to the lowest string at the tension rod on the head stock.  Either that, or I am going to put a screw in the head stock to help guide that string and reduce buzzing by muting vibrations.  While the rest of the strings are from a pack of 9s, I may change this one to a 10 just to increase tension.  The string height is higher than I wanted, but still plays well in the solo range and will allow me to play slide as well.

That sounds really promising (and yes, stay away from the news articles....seems like the comment sections on facebook is getting as bad as youtube).

Staybrite wrote:

alldatndensum wrote:

.....

I did somehow solve some of my guitar issues.  I have reduced the neck buzz by about 95% on the one guitar of mine.  I am going to have to take it apart, though, to raise up the single coil pickup that will sound like a bass because it is too low to pick up the string.  That will take time, but it ain't the end of the world.  I can put it back together quickly and then try to reduce that last 5% buzz.  I am thinking of adding a piece of felt to the lowest string at the tension rod on the head stock.  Either that, or I am going to put a screw in the head stock to help guide that string and reduce buzzing by muting vibrations.  While the rest of the strings are from a pack of 9s, I may change this one to a 10 just to increase tension.  The string height is higher than I wanted, but still plays well in the solo range and will allow me to play slide as well.

That sounds really promising (and yes, stay away from the news articles....seems like the comment sections on facebook is getting as bad as youtube).

Oh, no doubt.  The hatred that is spewed now over just a differing opinion is unreal.  Over the past couple of months, I have been told I am ignorant, I hate old people, and that I should get sick and die.  I've been told I am a racist, t I deserve to go to Hell, that not speaking out about a certain situation means I am in favor of it, and that I cannot be a Christian if I support Trump or if the government deems it necessary to use force to shut down rioting.  I seriously need to trim down my friends list.

It's hard to believe that other people say these things about you Chris.
Maybe it's really time rto leave those places on Facebook where others say things like that over other people.

I have also decided to help reduce stress to remove "friends" from FB if they openly declare that anyone should unfriend them over a certain issue.  I believe they are saying that the opposing people no longer have value or a place in their lives.  Just say it and I will give you what you wish.

Social media isn't real life.  I don't have to be connected to you through it to care about you.

Is it just me, or is the news nowadays starting to make Alex Jones look credible again?  

Starting to make him look tame.