Two very cool things happened yesterday.

1. I fixed my guitar, sorry Stephen. I removed the neck, made a shim which I then inserted between the neck and the body of the guitar. It isn't perfect, but its much better which is awesome and means I don't need a new guitar.

2. Since I didn't need to replace my guitar. I ordered my own little home recording setup from Musicians Friend. I picked up a Fostex X-12 4 track for $80 brand new just blemished, and a microphone package for $30 includes a Nady sp1 mic, cable and stand. Add $10 shipping and I have my own home recording studio. I can't wait until it gets here. Kim is excited too because I promised her long ago that I would help her record disco versions of Richard Marx songs, a dream she will now be able to realize.

Up next I have to replace a few frets on my electric guitar and then I'm golden. The bass works, the guitar works, the keyboard works. I'm almost home.

In my inbox:

"Some of you may already have heard the news that Sigur Rós have now left
FatCat. Since coming to an amicable agreement with us, they have decided to
sign a deal with EMI. Having discovered the band from being virtually unknown
and helped build them up into a position they now find themselves, we wish the
band all the best for the future and hope that EMI will provide them with the
both the creative freedom, nurturing care and attention to detail that they
received here."

First of all I detect a tone of hurt in the email, but most importantly this is probably a mistake. EMI is the same label that dropped the Sex Pistols, and will more than likely not give Sigur Ros the level of artistic freedom they have been used to. The band was doing quite well without the backing of a major label, and I find the signing confusing to say the least. Hopefully, this move will not destroy the band, as it has so many other independent acts. See Jawbox and Jawbreaker for examples. The bworst part is that they will more than likely see a decrease in income. Major labels always take more from an artist's royalties (points) than an independent label. I'm sure they had there reasons and this post has nothing to do with viewing them as sellouts, I just think they might be changing something that didn't need changing. Oh well, who knows? After all I am just a fan, and not a band-member. In the grand scheme of things, I could really care less as long as their music continues to be amazing and they tour sometime soon. Emphasis on soon.

Snow is fall, fall, falling and I am interested in purchasing a new, new acoustic guitar. Not new as in from the factory, but new to me. My epiphone is not really cutting it anymore. If anyone has a suggestion or is interested in selling one/know's someone who is, feel free to contact me. Not picky about color, brand or style. Condition is also not important as long as it plays fine, sounds good, and the neck is not warped. Warping is the main problem with the epiphone. Thanks in advance or go to hell in advance (if you can't help). Either is fine with me.

The lj is updated too.

In anyone is interetsed I recently acquired a copy of Mario World originally for 8-bit Nintendo for PC. I can send it to anyone who wants it.

Never order a book from ecampus.com they are apparently complete morons. I purchased an item from them through Amazon.com. Here is some my recent contact with them as proof.

My first email:
Hello.
I purchased the following item: Methods for Effective Teaching (3rd Edition) [Paperback] by Burden, Paul on December 31st and I would like to inquire about the status of my order. Unfortunately I need the book for a class and have not yet received it. I was hoping you could tell me the date the item was shipped and where it was shipped from. I realize that the item is likely caught in transit, and am just trying to find out a little more information. The order information is as follows:

Date: 31-December-2003
Order #: 058-8902121-1586729
Methods for Effective Teaching (3rd Edition) [Paperback] by Burden, Paul

Thank you in advance for your assistance, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Scott D. W$$$

Their Response:
Hello:

Thank you for contacting Customer Service.

Unfortunately, the availability on that item changed after the order was placed.
The original supplier had previous orders that took their inventory. We are
still trying to get a copy from alternate suppliers and will continue to do so
for a period of up to 30 days. If we cannot get a copy in that time, the order
will be cancelled and we will initiate a full refund back to your credit card.
You can also choose to cancel the order now and try to find the title elsewhere.
Simply contact us as to what you wish us to do.

We do apologize for the inconvenience in this matter and thank you kindly for
your patience. We will do our best to keep searching for the title.

Thank you for choosing eCampus.com and Amazon Zshops. Have a great day.

Sincerely,

Christina D.
Customer Support Specialist
A Book Company, LLC

My Last Word:
Christina D.,

Please cancel my order immediately. I find it simply ridiculous that you waited until I contacted you to explain to me the problems relating to my order. I understand that it is not the fault of your company that your supplier did not update their inventory, but you should have let me know what was happening immediately. I ordered this book on December 31, and I finally receive information about my order on December 20, and only after I write to you. That is terrible customer service. I just ordered the book through another company and paid for 2 day shipping to receive the book in time for next week's class. I am already unprepared for my class tonight as your organization was unable to provide me with information about my order so I could make other arrangements at an earlier date.

In closing I will recommend to everyone who asks me about textbooks to never do business with your company, file a complaint with Amazon.com about your organization, as well as leave negative feedback. In the confirmation email from Amazon it was stated that I should expect and receive the same level of customer service I would receive from them. This certainly did not happen. Amazon has incredible customer service while that of your company appears to be sub-par. I would have been satisfied and understood completely if you had let me know there was a problem with the order, but since your organization did not do so you have lost my business forever.

Again, please cancel my order and refund my credit card immediately. In the future I recommend keeping your customers better informed.

Sincerely,
Scott D. W$$$

You think that they could have emailed me regarding my order. That makes sense to me, apparemtly their customer service skills are the worst I have ever seen. Never do business with them. At times like this, I love having a blog.

How to divide and conquer.

Kim wanted to go this store today which happens to be in the same shopping center as the Pepridge Farm Outlet store. That place is awesome. I picked up a bag of cookies, 2 bags of goldfish, a loaf of five cheese garlic bread, and a frozen German chocolate 3 layer cake. Combined it cost me less than $5. The garlic bread was awesome and the cake is great. Its on Forest Ave. in the West End in the same plaza as Plato's closet. The cake was $1.50--for a whole cake 8 x 8 inch.

I finished "Freaky Deaky" by Elmore Leonard which was great. Now I'm reading "The Switch" also by Leonard. It introduces the characters of Ordell and Louis who are two of the main characters in Jackie Brown & Rum Punch the book that Jackie Brown is based on.

This week is my last week teaching at the high school, next week I will be at a middle school, which will take me through the end of the year. Middle Schools are great because they force you to remember how much puberty sucks. Its incredible because even the "cool" kids are incredibly awkward and insecure. I of course exploit those insecurities to gain control of the class and crush their spirit. Sometimes I even play them against one another. Its like a big psychological experiment for me. In semi-related news, I found out last week that I made this kid cry earlier in the year. He transferred out of my class and didn't tell me--he's supposed to, so I tracked him down and asked him where he had been and made him prove to me that he was no longer in my class. I was firm but not mean at all. His current Math teacher told me that he was crying afterward. The kid is 14 and nothing that happened should have made him cry. Incidently that is the same student who complained to the administration about me-saying that I offended him. He likes to put his own spin on things, i.e. he's a liar.

I updated the Live Journal with a more serious post. You should check that out too.

I had my first class of the semster last night, and was surprised to see my old friend Keith is in my class. He was formerly of the band Clark's Ditch and currently of the band Down By Law. He's getting his MEd too. I was wearing an Elliott Smith t-shirt and he told me of an article he ahd just read on The Smoking Gun, relating to Elliott Smith. They recently puiblished his autopsy and the police report relating to his suicide. It appears that some evidence points to murder as oppossed to suicide. He had defensive wounds on his hands and wrists, and on his "suicide" note his name was spelled incorrectly (Elliot instead of Elliott). His live-in girlfriend Jennifer is also refusing to discuss the matter with the police, which the police indicate is a bit suspicious. Homocide has not been ruled out.

You should definitely check out the article, you can actually read the autopsy and see the diagrams etc... I really hope the report is wrong because I would much rather see him die by his own hand than through someone else's agression, at least he would have chosen the former. He had been fighting with his girlfriend prior to the stabbing. She claims she had locked herself in the bathroom while he stabbed himself in the chest, only coming out when she heard him scream. I hope that the police are actively working on the case.

Has anyone ever sat on the toilet in an elementary school restroom and played Tetris on their Gameboy? Has anyone ever sat in their car in a high school parking lot and played Tetris on their Gameboy? Has anyone ever played Tetris on their Gameboy in the teacher's lounge?

I did all of these things yesterday and I feel good about it too. I love that game. It is freaking addicting as hell. Belive it or not, I sometimes use the game to sharpen up my mind before teaching. It helps get the brain going. The toilet is by far the best place to play your Gameboy. I think that there is something in the porcelin that makes for higher scores, or perhaps it is having your pants around your ankles sharpens the motor skills. Maybe the smell of urine stimulates the brain.

9:00 PM Update -- I just got out of the bathtub which it turns out is another good place to play Tetris.

Does anyone out there have a 4 track recorder that they want to sell me? I am not picky about brand or condition as long as it works. Ask your friends too. I am trying to avoid going the ebay route as the prices on ebay end up going as high as new models. Just email me with any leads or ideas about where else to get one for a good price. Thanks in advance.

Head over to The Royal We to find out what Snoopy, Tom Selleck and Randy Newman have in common.

I have some sort of weird zit-like thing on my neck. Its one of those things that feels tremendous, but is in reality barely noticable. Does anyone want to come over and help with with it? I wish the thing would just come to a head so I can pop it. With a little luck maybe I can squirt the puss at one of the cats.

Enjoy your weekend.