Sat 12/7/02

You know how in life there are some products that are just darn good products? The first thing that comes to mind is Rubbermaid.... I've never been disappointed with a Rubbermaid item... Of course I have their trash cans, and a cooler, and some shelving units, and a broom.... and I'll bet 10 or 20 other things... And, although there are many other fine manufacturers out there, I have to say that I've always been happy with something made by that company. I mention this because in daily life you use a thousand different products... things as small as your toothbrush to as big as your car... and some products just always come through... they're there for you... they do what they're supposed to do and do it well...

Well, that's how I feel about the Fender Frontman 15G Amp. It's not a big amp, only 15 watts... you couldn't use it in a band (at least not a band with a drummer)... but it doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is. It's a solid, great sounding practice amp. It's got fabulous distortion, and nice clean sound, and it's plenty loud enough to annoy the rest of the family.

Why am I telling you this? I don't know. I was just walking by the amps, and I looked down at the old 15G and I said to myself, "I like that amp." We have cheaper practice amps, but you just can't beat this one.

So I'm going to put it on the special this week, in case you know anyone who needs a practice amp for Christmas. It's not real big, but it does what it's supposed to do and does it well. I like those kinds of products.

See You soon,
Carl

PS: This week's Customer web site:
Get Hip

Sat 12/14/02

Every year, as I'm driving to work on December 26th, I look at all of the decorations along the way, and I say to myself, "I can't believe another Christmas got by me so fast!"

Of course, life itself is going by pretty fast... but Christmas, a holiday that I really enjoy, is usually so hectic that I never get time to savor the season. This year I'm making a concerted effort to slow down and smell the roses, or poinsettias, actually... Sure, the store is tremendously busy... and I still have the yearly Flashcat Christmas Record to finish... and I haven't started shopping for Mark and Scott and Young Bob yet... but, still... I'm making a point to, every now and then, stop and clear my head of the hundreds of business details rattling around in there, and just let the calm joy of the season in.

Last night at 2AM I was drinking wine and watching the Christmas episode of South Park with two friends of mine, Bill and Amy, when Amy spilled her wine. She was worried that I'd be concerned about the rug... I believe she said "Ohh, gulebna foshellesna gloobniaglob!" (she had a little more wine than I did...) and I said, "Don't worry about it! It's Christmas, and I'm having a great time hanging with my friends. That's what life is all about. In the grand scheme of things, the rug is certainly not as important as a good moment with people you love..."

I guess that's what I'm getting at here... Christmas is a time to slow down and enjoy the people who are important to you. I know we have to get out into the hectic shopping world... so you can't totally slow down... but whenever you can, take a moment and enjoy the season. That's my plan.

Speaking of slowing down, this week's email special is the Sabine Zip-Beat 6000 Metronome.

See You soon,
Carl

PS: This week's Customer web site:
The Asylum Street Spankers

PPS: I never tried it before, but remembered that Betsy once said, "Pour salt on it!" So when Amy spilled the wine I ran to the kitchen, grabbed the salt and poured it on the wine spill. And much to my amazement, the salt soaked the wine right up out of the carpet! Then I just vacuumed it away. It was impressive!

Fri 12/20/02

Happy Holidays To All!!

from Pittsburgh Guitars:

-Carl
-Mark
-Scott
-Young Bob
-John (the new guy)
-Paul (our guitar teacher)
-Betsy (who designed and handles our web site)
-Rick Marsh (our good friend who hangs out here...)

Sat 12/28/02

I really liked Christmas falling on a Wednesday this year. We had family Christmas stuff last Sunday, the store party on Christmas Eve, and then more family Christmasing on Christmas. I hope you had a nice time too.

It makes me wonder, though... why ARE dates on different days of the week each year? Is it because 365 is not evenly divisible by 7? Then why not make the year only 364 days? Wait a minute! 7 (days in the week) times 52 (weeks in the year) equals 364! So by making the year 365 days we're actually ADDING a day each year.... Hmmmm.... Then when Leap Year comes, shouldn't we be subtracting four days instead of adding one???? What's going on here????

By the way, if you'd like to watch the rest of the year tick by, you could count every beat with this week's special, the Fender MT-1000 combination Metronome/Tuner.

See You soon,
Carl

PS: This week's Customer web site:
Dancing Queen