zerolight

Zee, our family’s film-maker has been at it again. This time she’s knocked up a nifty slide show – Christmas at my parents. Enjoy…

On the whole, guitar amp modellers suck big hairy balls. No point in beating around the bush. I’ve tried most of what’s on the Market, and they all sucked.

Back before I met my wife, when I had no kids and really didn’t give a rat’s ass about my neighbours, I went through a series of nice valve amps that sounded incredible and made your nipples vibrate. My favourites were the Peavey EVH 5150 and the Mesa Rectoverb. I used to play through those things for hours every day.

Then I moved into a flat, and shortly afterwards my future wife moved in too. That, understandably, resulted in me parting company with my valve amp. The guy who bought that Mesa got a bargain!

This was 2001. Digital amp modelling was taking off in the shape of the Line 6 Pod series. I bought one since they were quite cheap. Compared to the amp modelling that preceded it, the POD was terrific. Compared, to a real amp, the POD was pap. There’s a sterility to these modellers, combined with a slighlty unpleasant fizz, and a stiff feel. This feeling is the hardest thing to quantify, impossible to describe to a non-guitarist, yet the most important thing to a guitarist, even more so than tone. A good guitar amp does more than just amplify your guitar, it’s a instrument in it’s own right, and like all instruments feel is everything. So this failing on the PODs part is significant.
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Happy New Year Everyone!

Here’s my list:

Plus:

Rafi – He’s turned into a wonderful, chatty, loveable little guy. A really cute little toddler.

Ali – He’s doing really great at nursery, he’s coping surprisingly well with T1D, and he’s my little buddy.

Zee – My darling wife has had to cope with a lot of turmoil this year, not the least of which has been Ali’s T1D. She still manages to be a great mother and wife.

Parents – Zee’s mum visited again and was a tremendous help, as always, and promises to return in 2010. We’ve seen my parents and sister several times this year.

Tyler – my main (and only) guitar is still the perfect guitar for me. This is a first! I’m usually itching to sell by now. Of course an electric guitar without an amp is like a garage without a Corvette – to paraphrase Jim Tyler. Maybe this year will see me finally get that AxeFX Ultra.

My Xbox 360 didn’t die this year. That’s a first. I bought a new one anyway, why break with tradition?

I was promoted to band 8, got a meager salary increase, and a company car allowance. Goodbye to paid overtime!

Sleepless nights are a thing of the past, except when Ali has a bug / cold which plays havoc with his blood sugar. Rafi loves to sleep for hours and hours.

We had a nice trip to Paris in October, pre T1D, and enjoyed Christmas with my parents last week.

I got a nice, big, fast, quad core iMac i7 27″ for my birthday which I really enjoy.
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Nativity Play from Zee Hay on Vimeo.

Some weeks before 11/11 we had a brief interchange where Graham asked what could cause frequent urination and excessive thirst and I replied automatically, Diabetes. I didn’t know much about Diabetes back then only the most common symptoms.

Graham researched thirst and hydration and concluded that most don’t drink enough and that our 4-year-old son was now starting to drink more liquids in line with acceptable levels. Nothing excessive. Phew!

Since Ali was drinking more he was urinating more. Accidents on the way to the toilet were a chore but he always waited till the last minute.  Boys will be boys. He never wet himself at nursery or at night in bed!

A month before 11/11 Ali had a spectacular tantrum while on holiday. We’d been spoiling him with more than the usual amount of sweet treats and Graham’s dad mentioned that sugar could be the culprit. Yes, possibly, best we cut back.

Ali seemed a little leaner but we assured ourselves that he was stretching and growing, his appetite would return to normal as soon as this ‘phase’ passed.

Two nights before a weekend away to visit his grandparents, Ali wets the bed around midnight. After the linen is changed we wake the next morning to find he’d done it again.  Soaked through pyjamas, sheets and on to the mattress. Excessive! He seemed a little distressed about it too. Graham mentioned Diabetes again. After calling for an emergency appointment I was thinking along the lines of an infection during the 2-minute silence on Remembrance Day in the car.
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