The Last Bass Outpost

The Last Question by Issac Asimov... "Can entropy be reversed...?"

In 2003 I witnessed the last flight into Heathrow of a Concorde...

... A motoring journalist invited to be on the last flight out of JFK quoted on stepping back onto the tarmac, "This is one small step for a man, but one huge leap backwards for mankind..."

Today, the USA witnessed the last flight of Discovery, with Atlantis and Endeavour left to make their last flights...

There is no replacement on the horizon - the dream of the stars is all but dead...

We are presently paying £1.40 per litre ($10.32 at todays prices for a gallon) for diesel and I don't see the price coming down, ever again...

I'm feeling a bit depressed...

Not the first time I've had this file go west but I let my back-up slip and the only file I have left to recover the (jackie's work) emails goes back to August last year...

Right...

Our OUTLOOK.PST file is corrupted and will not let me move/defrag/copy (cyclic redundancy problem, so stuffed). Anyway, I tried MS's SCANPST which fell over as-soon-as-tried - no fix from the makers - Mr Gates and his merry men - what a nice bunch... I then did some searching and found a fix-it tool on a recommended site...

Program downloaded (no names, no pack-drill) and set it to run (crikey, this is slow) and it continued to run (crikey, this is VERY slow), and run, and run, and run...

27 hours... 27 flipping hours...

Okay, so then I went to save the recovered file... and it asked for registration, so... then, and only then, did it ask for the fee... $129.00 and that is a discount price...

In my naivety, I thought freeware meant freeware, not con-ware - shut-down a system and let it run forever and give you no clue and then hit you with the bill... nice...

ps... not quite out of the woods... and no, I did not pay the ransom...

Driving up a Willys' Jeep, taking it to pieces, putting it all back together, and driving it away, all in about 4 minutes...



Anything else catch your attentiion people...? Inspirational videos please, nothing just for shock value... (oh, okay... as long as its in reasonably good taste...)

Nofi's Jam Room thread made me think of something I had forgotten...

I have owned Frampton Comes Alive several times but not on CD, same goes for the 1st Boston... for some reason they don't stay in the collection... the Zeppelin LP's were all the same... something I keep putting aside when it comes to getting them on CD...

There have been several records I've purchased over the years for a couple of songs but when they didn't get a regular "spin" the got converted at what used to be called the R&T in London (The Record and Tape Exchange to those not in the know - get about a 1/5 what you payed and buy something for 1/2 price, unless it's collectable, then they would usuallly pay you 1/2 market value) but what has haunted you...?

Another POV is how many times have you worn out a record - my top one on this was the Allmans at Fillmore East - 10 vinyl copies - I kept my personal fave copy - pink Capricorn label and one of those gorgeous big thick cardboard US gatefolds - even wore out a Japanese copy...

With my conversion to MP3's (and my lack of taste when it comes to audiophilism) the "one-track" dilema has ended...

This has bothered me for some time...

Has anyone here ever taken a P or a J type "unfinished" body, fitted a really tight "unfinished" neck and "set it" with glue (then locked with the screws for "functional" reasons)...?

I can understand that certain woods make a difference to overall playing qualities, with a through-neck, more-so... but can the "functional" constructional issues of "standard" set-necks make that much of a difference to the overall "tone" of an instrument...?

Anyone have any opinions or knowledge...?

Would the "P" still be a "P"...?

Something has occurred recently that made me think seriously about how prolific can a luthier be...?

Someone who is effectively a one-man-band, or maybe with an occasional assistant, working full-time out of their shop... how many quality instruments could they build in a year, in a lifetime...?

This is a genuine question of curiosity...

Does anyone know anything about this...? we have some people with experience of building and of the industry...? anyone ever thought about this...?

Well, it's not far off now...

Anyone know what we have as the first biggies scheduled for the up-and-coming new year...?

The Coen Bros have this interesting remake coming in February...

I was using Roto 66's - yes I know, a heinous crime on a fretless, but this is the new caring me... (honest...! why do you doubt...?)

I screwed up on my Jazz and bought 35" flatties (Roto 77's 45-105) and had issues with the E and A but I'll live with that until I need to replace them...

Any ideas or recommendations...?