Shane_B.

100% correct. I lost almost 50% of my body weight and have kept it off now for years, without even going to the gym like I had to in the beginning to lose it. I'm embarrassed to say how much weight I lost but it was more than the average person weighs. Had to have corrective surgery afterwards. But fat was not one of the things I avoided. Sugar was, and not totally. There are new natural sugar substitutes that do not spike your insulin like most substitutes and I can barely tell the difference. I think it's called Swerve iirc. It's used 1 to 1 like cane sugar. I also should have pointed out before that I have had zero problems, that I'm aware of, from having my GB removed. I've read horror stories about people having the runs when eating fatty food after GB removal. That never happened to me. I never changed my diet. It was like nothing had happened except the excruciating pain was gone. Lol. Now I worry about my Appendix and have heard that it's not uncommon for doctors to take the GB and Appendix out at the same time even if there are no signs of trouble with the Appendix. But that's all stuff a real doctor should be asked. Do not take my advice. It's just something I read somewhere.

I had mine removed in my 20s. 52 now. I've also had kidney stones. The GB was horrible. I drove myself to the ER. At the time I didn't know what it was. I would get an attack once a week and thought it was just something I ate so never went to the doctor. Then one friday night it hit and wouldnt stop. The surgeon was gone for the weekend and they wouldn't let me leave in case it ruptured. Only then would they call him in for an emergency operation. I think I had 30 bags of Morphin that weekend. It was a living hell. He took a picture of it and showed me. Said he'd never seen anything like it. It was black from gangrene setting in and packed solid with these round bumpy nodules. That was when I was on my first weight loss kick and I lost a lot all at once with the help of meds a wholistic doctor put me on. It was caused by the meds. My kidney stones were caused by dehydration. One of my dogs died and depression set in. I couldnt eat and barely drank for over 2 weeks. I walked for hours every day and lost over 50lbs in those 2 weeks. And yet another trip to the ER ... by myself. That was another hell but it wasn't constant. They gave me meds to widen the duct from the kidneys to the bladder and made me drink enormous amounts of water. They said the worst part would be when I tinkled them out but I never felt that part. I guess they had a large enough passage to get through at that point. (Blowing my breath on my fingernails and rubbing them on my chest. Lol). The pain was equal but not constant like the GB stones. Drink plenty of water or milk. Milk hydrates you better than water so I've read. Eat the small meals throughout the day. They also say you shouldn't drink anything at least an hour before, or after you eat, or during. It neutralizes your stomach acid and you don't digest properly. Anyway, good luck with it. It sure can be miserable. Ask about your appendix too if you need to have the GB removed.

It really doesn't bother me. I lived in a place smaller than this till I was 13. I know what having nothing is. 26 years down the drain, but it was my decision. Actually I'm going back and forth between a friend and family. Technically I'm homeless at the moment but that will change. It's been going on well over a year now waiting for things to "finalize". Anyhoo ... Material things never mattered to me. That's why I was happy with my old i5 and SD cards. When my main drive died I initially dug out my old Tascam 8 track. That was a blast and I have a lot of great recordings I made just switching back to the basics. I know it's not high end analog but it still does 'something' to the sound that I have never been able to replicate in the full digital realm.

I recently moved from a 4400 square foot house with a studio to a 700 square foot apartment. I give up on everything. Lol.

I wouldn't say "stole", it's more like they "listened", to their customers. S1 won me over when I was able to run it flawlessly with low latency, low enough to track guitar and vocals with vsts with no noticeable latency, on an i5 650 iirc using SD cards after my audio drive died. I did that for years until I eventually built a new DAW. I still miss the look of SPE 8.5 and how you can customize the look but I got past it and moved on. That said, I'm pretty much done with music so I really don't care one way or the other about Avid or any of them anymore. It's all turned in to a money grab. My DAW has been boxed up for quite a while now and my gear is in storage.

Nevrmind. It's ficksed now. It's right there in plane sight again.

How do you get in to your messages on the forum from a cell? I can't seem to figure it out.

Lol. Not to drag it further off topic, all I can say is, I read about all these tips and tricks for setting up guitars. I've tried a lot of them. In the end the best setup techniques I have ever done were the setup instructions readily available from the manufacturer. By the book. Did that to my beloved MIJ Strat after years of frustration having tuning problems. It played better than it ever did before with the manufacturers setup specs. The guitar is a beauty. Happy for you and it's great you got a deal on it! Let's hear a nice recording or three. 😁

Last I heard he still lives in Woodstock NY. I was a few miles from there working last summer for a week. I really wanted to go there and seek him out but didn't have time. I would love to meet him before it's too late.

I saw a short video last night that said it was Prostate Cancer, but it wasn't from an official news source. I highly recommend the documentary Once Were Brothers. It will change how you look at him, for the better. He wasn't the bad guy ...

It felt like someone punched me in the stomach when I read your thread title. I'm so sad right now. Truly the end of an era.

I'm so glad I learned to use stock, freeware, and a handful of stand alone vsts.

"The English Leather really stung the pores." 🫡

Time to update your profile pic. 😁

Yep. I tried to play righty. Something's wrong in my brain. My fingers freeze on both hands. I physically can't move them. Lol. I learned how to play on my brother's right handed guitar with the low E on the bottom. When I finally got a real lefty I had to relearn how to play, but it was a quick process.

The nicest one I've ever been to was in Des Moines IA. The employees handed out business cards with all their personal contact info, what instrument they specialized in, and they were very professional. My last guitar purchase was at a GC in Kansas City. I bought a used Epi Sheraton II. I paid almost nothing for it because it was a lefty. I just happened to walk in one day and it was the only lefty in the store. They said it was sitting there forever. I told them I'd buy it if they threw in an actual Epi branded case and they did for free. It's got stock everything and I wouldn't change a thing about it. I'm right handed but have been cursed to play guitar left handed. I've only ever purchased 2 guitars online. A MIM Martin and one of those Fender hybrid guitars, which ultimately got returned and the order canceled. The Martin was never set up and never got the 55 point inspection or they would have found the G string tuner is bad and the nut sticks. After 10 plus years I still haven't taken it in to get worked on and at the time I was so busy with work I never contacted Sweets to get it rectified. That said, there is still nobody else I would trust other than Sweets for online buying. I've had damaged stuff arrive and they sent me new equipment overnight and didn't charge me a penny before I even got a chance to pack up the damaged stuff and send back. I love my Epi Sheraton II. It has stock pups and pots. I did have to set it up and clean the pots, but it plays like a dream 100% original. FWIW it's MIK. I read a while back that they stopped making them. I don't know if that's true anymore.

Not quite the same as the other pics here, but I always loved this nature shot. I was walking on a trail somewhere in Utah iirc and he was just sitting there like he was waiting for someone to take a pic. This is the RAW unedited shot I got of him.

Banned Aid? Y/N/M?

... come on join together with the banned ...

I guess this falls under the heading, "Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.".

I would go to a doctor asap for that one. I wouldn't try all the Harry Potter sounding stuff until I talked to, uh, they. One thing that helps me a lot is walking barefoot in the grass. Best when it's wet in the morning or at night. I read a bunch of stuff one time about it grounding your body to the earth and your energy and all that blah blah blah, but in reality I think what happens is you simply sink in to the earth a little and your feet are fully supported at all points and the moisture naturally cools your body, reduces inflammation, and all that. It helps my feet, knees, legs, back, cures ED, makes it bigger, etc. etc.. It sounds awful Bit. Please see a doctor as soon as you can. Could be a clot, poor circulation, something serious. But you ain't stoopid. You know that.

Even their fast shipping you pay extra for sucks. I've driven around town many times looking for the fedex truck. I used to make them go through their truck to find parts I had shipped for morning delivery that I needed for down machines ... at 2pm in the frikkin afternoon. I hate being forced to use FedEx. I'd rather use DHL and they are terrible too.

Guitar Center had a distribution center in Kansas Cty when I lived near there. They screwed up a shipment of a new amp twice so I called the store and asked if I could pick it up at the distribution center and they said sure no problem. I called the distribution center and the guy on the phone got cocky with me and asked why I wanted the amp so bad. I replied, you know what, I really don't want it that bad. Hung up, called the store, canceled the order. I havent bought a single thing from G.C. since and never will. Funny story about FedEx. I thought of this thread right away when I saw what I saw. I was at Dunkin Donuts the other morning and the FedEx driver was there getting a coffee. She had spandex pants on and they were ripped, bad, right up the back, no undies on ... I wanted to say something but I didn't want to get slapped or accused of being a perv so I just let it go. I get home 30 minutes later and low and behold, there comes the FedEx truck behind me making a delivery to one of the neighbors. I had a female friend go over and tell her. She came back and said the driver knew and she wasn't worried about it.

Does that new 10 year long exit tax they are passing in to law apply to visitors too?