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First thing I noticed is my eyesight is a lot worse at 48 lol.....

Oy, I have to take my contacts out anytime I'm working on pedals. It's the only way I can read the tiny print on IC's!

Back 20 years ago when the Protone series came out (which were great guitars), they discontinued them because they were chewing into the MIM Standard sales.

Actually, the Protone series came out nearly 30 years ago in 1996. Yet another thing that makes me feel old!

Since 2020, it's been run by a Postmaster General who's done his darndest to kill it so that the services can be privatized.  So far he's failed, but he has dealt some crippling blows including shutting down several major sorting and distribution centers nationwide. 

This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy! Good, grief! Anyway, that package that disappeared on me finally blipped for a short while yesterday. They even claimed it was "out for delivery". But nothing ever happened. Now it says it will most likely be delivered today...or tomorrow...or maybe next year.
Now they're just messing with people!

I've recently had a USPS priority package disappear into the ether. The more I look into what might of happened, the more it seems the entire USPS network is self-destructing. TubeDepot.com has a warning not to use USPS if you want to receive your items in a timely manner. I've found recent news articles from all over the country of people complaining about lost packages, late deliveries, and no cooperation with tracking information. In fact the TubeDepot article implies their tracking is not working at all anymore. I tried to log in to USPS.com and it said my "account is disabled". I tried to create a new account and it said it's "unable to process the request". The city of Boston has even tried to subpoena USPS to testify in court over why there are so many problems...and they just blew them off!
How can this even be real? I thought USPS was part of the Executive branch of the US federal government. This is more like the behaviour of a drug cartel!

I wonder where they got the name?

Has this thread become an advertising platform for movie websites? Apparently, yes

By the way, have you checked out any new movies in theaters now? They're always a fun way to dive into new stories and spark fresh conversations.

Completely irrelevant and a bizarre way to end a conversation.
Then this one:

And here's a cool tip: If you haven't used 123movie  yet, you should definitely check it out. They have a huge selection of movies that don't require a subscription, and you don't even have to sign up or give any personal info. It's super convenient, and you can browse a ton of films.

We get this advertisement from a brand new "user" twice! Hello, bots. Nice to meet you.

Well...it happened. It's odd that most people I talked to don't seem to think it'll be that bad.
 

Seems like they chose the perfect time to close shop. Shipping and parts sourcing is about to become an absolute nightmare soon.

[$5 billion a day.]

Major U.S. ports on the East Coast and Gulf are very likely to strike on Oct 1st. Here will be the result:

"The ports that could close in a strike handle more than 68% of all containerized exports in the U.S. and roughly 56% of containerized imports, according to industry data. So even a short strike would cause significant disruptions in regional trade flows. One analysis estimated that could cost the U.S. economy as much $5 billion a day."

Who will pick up the $5 billion a day tab? YOU WILL
This will make COVID look like a cakewalk. At least during COVID essential products still moved around on a limited basis. This strike will bring everything to a complete halt. Zero. Nothing. It won't be, "oh, we've run out of some things." It's going to be, "we have nothing."

Had never heard of them before this thread. Thanks for the heads up!

plus the german post office custom costs doubled.

Good, grief. Why don't other countries just finally say, "We won't allow anything to be shipped here" and get it over with? I've only tried once to ship something to a European country. The item simply disappeared without a trace. No tracking information (even though it had a tracking number). No explanation. No questions. Just gone.
Yep, sounds right.

Thine shipment shall arrive by Pinta or Nina lest a Santa Maria taketh broadside in haste.

We've officially hit 88 mph!

This is from 2019.

Even if this thread was started in 2024, the title was asking for June and July travel tips. This is August!
What is happening?

Yep. It's a great example of why the notion that "Leo got it right the first time" does not really hold water, IMO.

The funny thing is, the main reason the metal cover is on a Tele neck pickup is to supposedly reduce noise. I found it's actually more quiet with the cover off! LOL. So it really serves no purpose whatsoever. And that guy Dumble...he seemed to do very well changing Fender designs a bit, even though they were "right" the first time.

We all know the classic pickup types/configurations that are tried and true recipes for great tone. But I'm more interested in what pickup configurations you've found that work great, even though they're a bit out in left field. I've recently come across this one for my Strat:
- Dimarzio Air Norton S wired with parallel coils in the bridge.
- Fender "player" series Telecaster neck pickup in the neck with the cover removed.
The real surprise was how great the player-series Telecaster neck pickup sounds with the cover off. It's thick and punchy (around 9K on a meter). Wiring the Air Norton S in parallel coil mode gives it a more Strat-like single coil sound, and the two together just sound fantastic. Full-range with punchy bass and brilliant Strat jangle on the top end. I'm definitely gonna stick with this combo for a while.