Plums!

Golden Delicious apples

MacIntosh apples

Peaches!

With all the trees looking so great, some strawberry plants that a friend passed on, and the raspberry bushes, it should be an amazing pie season in the fall!

From The Big Think

It was the use of the term ‘peak stupid’ that really caught my eye. I assume it’s a riff on the idea of ‘peak oil’- the idea that we will (or have) passed the point of peak petroleum production, and will then face adapting to significantly and rapidly dwindling supplies.

Peak stupidity, however, works in the opposite direction (I am assuming). If we achieve peak stupidity, then after that point the total amount of stupidity would have to decline, or at least stay stable. This assumes, quite hopefully, that human stupidity is a finite resource, like petroleum. My personal sense, supported by many observers much more erudite than I, is that human stupidity is regenerated at a very high rate, and is unlikely to decrease in the foreseeable future.

I love the use of language however, and hereby resolve to use the phrase ‘peak stupid’ at any and all opportunity.

Finally, Weve Discovered the Cause of All Our Problems…. : Casaubons Book.

The link at the bottom is to a Guitar International interview. The video of him playing with Williams in Germany is in the interview, but I’m posting it here because it’s, well, awesome.

Doug Pettibone Interview : Guiter Interviews.

This year the starts are safely in their trays. I did plant some seed in the ground this week, knowing that it wouldn’t be up for at least 10 days. The low last night was 40, so warmth is coming.

The beds are ready, and the apple trees are flowering.

Spring is almost here!

Passing of an icon. I owned a Marshall Artist series 3203 head with a 4×10 bottom back in the ’80s when I thought rock stardom was on its way (I was 16, we ALL thought rock stardom was on the way). At that time most Eddie VanHalen fans were getting the big JCM heads, which made massive power and screaming tube distortion available to the masses. I was running slightly off the beaten track with the Artist head- which had amazing clean tones and some very tuneful crunch- less screamy than the JCMs- I was a George Thorogood/ZZTop (before they went to crap) fan, so was looking less for the scream than for the really tasty crunch.

Loved that amp. I sold it in a pawn shop in the 90s when I was tired of hauling it around without really using it (buying it was an act of pure ego- I din’t really need something that big. But I loooooved that tone). I occasionally look on ebay. Last time I saw a 3203 head for sale it was going for almost $2000. I promise you I did not get that for it in the pawn shop.

Marshall is one of a handful of technician/musicians who made the music we play today possible. Fender, Les Paul. They made it possible to do what we do. Sad to see one go.

We just spent four days in the Bahamas, at  a place called Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos. The dive center we went with is called Brendal’s. I’m including a highlights reel for your enjoyment. I picked up a GoPro video camera just in time for this trip. So our diving was unusually well documented. Worked pretty well. I’m sure I will get better. The visibility was not optimal, so the underwater footage is a bit blurry that isn’t the camera, viz was about 50-75 feet at best.

Hope you like the highlights reel- it was done at high-speed on an old laptop that nearly had a heart attack dealing with so much video. Or you can curse me. Whichever is fine. I was diving.

Of course, now we are home in a place that most people see on vacation. Lucky us.

Here’s the video.

By the way, the video plug-in is called SublimeVideo- if you are in WordPress it is pretty great.

Nice beach.

Sting ray hanging around the back of the boat. Crew is cleaning fish for our lunch.

Beached starfish.

It hurts so good: the runner’s high | The Scicurious Brain, Scientific American Blog Network.