Dear Tom....

One thing that really grinds my gears is those people who do those really lame, even juvenile, card or coin tricks. It is like they have never been able to accomplish anything in life any better than a stupid slight of hand trick.

The other day I was hanging out with a good buddy of mine Colin "Bob Hoskins" Heskin while he was working at our local prairie town gas station (which my roommates family owns). I walked into the store I noticed that the store owner (my roommate, Martials' dad) was talking to a fat bald man named Tom. Tom is the man who orders all the candy and chocolate bars for the store. For some reason he thought he would easily impress me with his petty, slight of hand, coin trick.

Tom showed me two coins in his hand and said "watch my hands now" and told me to guess how many coins were in his hand. I went on to say "two" which was followed by his response, "wrong! You obviously weren't watching, were ya kid." This went on probably three rounds before he gave up all the while I was contemplating telling him that I had a less than great week and didn't need his shitty trick to cheer me up.

Thanks, Tom

Guitar Modifications....

Aside from playing my guitar, I really enjoy trying new and different modifications on it. I have tried many different strings (always coming back to John Pearse non coated and Elixir Nanoweb mediums), different bridge pins (sticking with ebony pins now), and most recently a bone saddle replacing the old plastic Tusq version. I had heard many different arguments for and against both bone and tusq saddles. I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to guitars, every guitar sounds different and you must try it for yourself.

I finally put the bone saddle in and I have to say, I do notice a difference. It took a while to sand the saddle how I wanted. I do not know how many people have sanded a piece of bone before, but let me tell you that it smells terrible.


Pros: louder, more sustain, and much clearer notes.

Cons: less responsive, a less "woody" tone

I think I will keep the new saddle in for now and put a new set of strings on it soon to really hear what it sounds like.

Here are some pictures I took of my guitar.

Realization....

Father, help me realize that your plan is bigger and better than mine.

Amen.

Haiti....

I have been thinking much of what has happened in Haiti lately. The country of Haiti will unfortunately be in shambles long after the headlines disappear from the news. My church and friends are very close to this country. God is gracious, faithful, and He answers the prayers of His people. Pray.

Amen.

Almost every year at Christmas my parents and I hike into somewhere we can't drive due to the snow. Usually we hike somewhere near Madge Lake and this year was no exception. For some reason I was given the boots that have nearly one and a half centimeters of rubber between the foot and the ground - so warm....not. Anyways, it was a good time.