Now isn’t that a pretty sight. Welcome the new member to my musical family, the Godin Nylon SA. Yes, its a nylon guitar with a beautiful lush sound of a classical / flamenco guitar. The electronics in the guitar , basically EQ boosts, allow you to setup for more Flamenco tones i.e. boost the highs to the richer medium tones of the classical nylon guitar but all amplified and built to play amplified and without the terrible feedback that one can get from mic-ed guitars or hollowed body guitars. Apparently, according to some of the artists using the Godin SAs one can go directly into a board and record beautifully. That in of itself is a compelling reason to have this guitar in one’s collection i.e. if one is into Spanish guitar / jazz / world fusion. The neck is a beautiful and extremely playable. Essentially, the neck of a steel string guitar. The fretboard is ebony which is the only wood I can really play on, so ebony is a must in my guitars. Folks, that is not all though. Far from it. What makes this guitar a particularly interesting guitar is that it was built from the ground up to be a synth controller. It has a built-in RMC hex pickup which can individually track every string. Every aspect of the guitar was built with trackability in mind. The woods chosen , the placement of the bridge, neck position , everything. Finally extensive testing particulary on Roland Guitar synths, make for a guitar that tracks very well. So not only will I now be able to sound like a sax but more importantly I will be able to drop some lines that my single hand keyboard skills can’t cut. Also instead of using a computer mouse to transcribe my melodies into software such as Finale I’ll be able to use the Godin to input notes directly into the notation software , Finale mostly.

I like to buy my guitars brand new. Mind you not that I buy many. The new addition has to serve a specfic purpose which is why I probably can’t see myself buying an electric guitar anytime soon. My Ibanez Artist has served me well for many years. The Ovation that I bought almost two years ago provides a very specific sound and also is more demanding. The Godin most definitely will serve a unique purpose. The nylon strings will also place a different demand on my hands which is all good. The playing of other types of instruments i.e. via the Godin will certainly require adaptation i.e. I can just feel a ton of new synapses popping up. But I digress, this time I did not buy this guitar brand new. I actually gave Ebay a try. I actually had purchased a guitar amp modeller (PodXT) through eBay but these type of things are different than guitars. Guitars are more like girlfriends which wife’s can’t rationally get jealous off. I get pretty attached to my guitars. I could never sell any of them. Anyhow, I think that I lucked out on this transaction. The guitar is only six months old, still under warranty, and depending on how one looks at it I saved anywhere from $350.00 to $450.00. I also bought it from a guitar player which makes me feel more comfortable i.e. not from some music instrument/ gadget pimp.

I must admit I’m nervous. I hope she has a smooth ride home.

Many eons ago I remember having a philosophical discussion on IT strategy with an upper management type. He said to me: “good developers do not use their tools as excuses”. I quickly replied: “well, I can open a can of tuna with a screwdriver but a can opener would surely be a lot less messier”. The guy was basically telling me to shut up , stop whining and get back to work and use what I tell you to use. My point was that he was dumb, shortsighted and that tools do matter.

Some tools are just inherently better at something than other tools. Some tools just fit a particular individual better. An example of this is found in the art of grilling. I recently purchased a Weber Genesis Platinum C grill. What a joy. Starting the grill is just a matter of a couple clicks on a startup button, once on the heat is perfectly evenly distributed and there is nothing I have do to maintain heat consistency, the shutdown and maintenance is just as easy. This Weber gas grill allows me to keep focused on my problem i.e. grilling. My old charcoal / wood grill was the total opposite, at least half of the time was spent on keeping the grill happy and the maintenance what a chore.

So what are the lessons gleaned from this experience with my new gas grill?

• Tools are important
• The Weber Genesis Platinum C is a great gas grill.
• Smalltalk is a great can opener.

Every year we make an excuse, oh the rowdy crowds and this and that, but for some reason this year we dragged ourselves out and got on the subway and in 30 minutes got to our spot. The spot was in Long Island City right across the river from 34th street. New York is such a great city and we just don’t take enough advantage of it . The fireworks were spectacular, beautiful. We will be making this a tradition. One of the coolest things about watching the fireworks in NYC is that within my immediate radar there were couples, and families of just about every possible race, ethnic background, all enjoying for 30 minutes the tremendous spectacle Macy’s puts out for the 4th. Supposedly, 1000 shells per second were launched. These fireworks were the second largest in NYC history second to the millenium celebrations. Here are some shots, I did not take them , I figured somebody would.