NYC Journal

[Calzone]

Durable goods orders had a “tepid” increase, meaning the domestic manufacturing slump in the U.S. continues.

No surprise with the household debt loads at record levels.

Meanwhile it is suggested that consumers purchase certain items like durable goods, clothing, shoes, cars and trucks, before expected future price increases due to shortages and inflation promoted by tariffs.

Seems like that advice can’t be taken. The money has to come from somewhere, and most households are tapped out or maxed out. This window of opportunity can’t be exploited by many it seems is my takeaway.

Know it is said that dealers have too many cars in their lots. They say that Harley Davidson dealers also complain that they have an oversupply too in their showrooms.

So I’m buying supplies to support my guitar fetish. These items in my case are durable goods that I intend on keeping the rest of my life, and during my lifetime will not be consumed, but maintained. These items have the potential to be used every day, provide utility, happiness, and joy…

So not really a bad or foolish shall I say the word “investment.”

Cal

 

[Calzone]

The alder body is a nice slab cut, but in person their are 4 knots: one would be hidden under a pickguard; the same knot on the other side would get covered under the black in a burst finish; on the top by the bridge the knot would not be a detraction; but on the back it kinda would get accentuated because it would be in the boundary of the transitional part of a burst.

The workaround is a solid color, not a bad thing. Pretty much an oh-well.

The color will not be translucent.

“Maggie” went for her 5 mile hike at Blue Mountain, so I took advantage of the time to plug in. Seems like that 1960 Fender Brown Super is the most favored amp, truly plug and play. I decided to tweak the pickup heights to optimize for that amp as my standard. What great tone, to die for, and this is an amp I bought for little money and had to repair.

Pretty much a very lucky find…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I now have an appointment for my PET scan: Friday the 13th at 8:30.

No worries because 13 is my lucky number. Superstition is that the number 13 involves changes, and I am never fearful of change. In high school 13 was my football jersey number.

I take this as a good omen…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

The alder body is a nice slab cut, but in person their are 4 knots: one would be hidden under a pickguard; the same knot on the other side would get covered under the black in a burst finish; on the top by the bridge the knot would not be a detraction; but on the back it kinda would get accentuated because it would be in the boundary of the transitional part of a burst.

The workaround is a solid color, not a bad thing. Pretty much an oh-well.

The color now opens the door on a gold anodized pickguard.

It is really great to have different guitars to pull sound from.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

A Thanksgiving miracle happened. I was hunting down guitar parts in my basement, and somehow I stumbled into a 1500 watt electric heater that I knew I had, but could not find. Imagine that I moved to Peekskill now 4 years ago and pretty much my basement is a crowded mess. Now I don’t have to buy one.

How thrifty is that? I’m a mighty cheap bastard. I can brag that I’m proud of it.

Then add on top of this that this heater harkens back to my days at Grumman about 30 years ago. I held onto this item for decades knowing one day I will need it. 1500 watts is what I need to heat “Maggie’s” She-Shack.

The story is our office’s were in a rundown trailer that abutted a research building and our lab. The floors were not insulated and pretty much while we had heat and cranked it, our feet would be cold.

We complained, and our boss gave us each their own heater. Know that this gift was likely tax payer money.

The heater has a muffin fan as a blower, there is a thermostat and I can select 750 watts, or 1500 watts. Draws 12.5 amps.

I don’t have to buy any bone nuts, I found three that I bought about 3 years ago. The only thing I have to buy is a Switchcraft Toggle switch. I found in my stash a black switch tip, so I don’t have to buy one.

This unit is compact, about the size of a 6 inch cube.

Happy-happy…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

“Maggie” will be making a Martha Stewart Mac and Cheese. Pretty much a $60.00 tray enough for 12 people built with mucho expensive cheese. Pretty much “Fat-Food.” This is mighty good. Kinda deadly, but what a way to die…

The man of the house where we will be attending formally was a heavy metal bass player. I think I will bring over a vintage Stingray bass over.

I have two Stingrays, and one is likely the first fretted rosewood Stingray ever made, and it dates back to 1980. What makes this bass unusual is the body is alder and has a burst finish. Stingrays were made with ash. So this guitar is a freak, and on the Dude Pit Stingray registry it kinda stands out as a likely prototype and possible one off.

How cool is that?

Then I have a 1977 white Stingray that has all the early features.

The bass is an amazing instrument in capable hands. Should be fun plugging these bass’s into an amp and shaking the house and rattling the windows.

These Stingrays have active electronics, so I have to install a 9 volt battery, and might have to set them up. Rosy has flat wounds, and this Stingray has a very woody sound of an upright bass.

Not sure if I will bring both, I might only bring Rosy because dead flat wounds is a sound of its own. Very old school and pretty much more like a drum, but with a thud that can hit you in the chest that you feel.

The white Stingray will have dead round wounds and that is not so exciting.

Should be fun and interesting.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

For you lurkers who are guitar players Did you ever want a Fender Custom shop quality guitar?

I have the skills, but a good starting point is BloomDoom Guitars for nitro finished bodies. Pretty much a head start.

If you have the skills/experience or know someone who does this is a good head start for getting a body that’s finished. The bodies are made by Wildwood here in the U.S. and this guy at BloomDoom applies a retro nitro thin finish like in the oild days.

I save money by not custom ordering and buy “Ready-To-Go.”

On the to Cabronita’s I bought I used a lead pencil to darken the places where there are chips in the finish to add some filth that accumulates over decades. A little olive oil is used to work it in.

Right now relic’s guitars from the Fender Custom Shop are the rage, but they cost mucho money. Pretty much this is not so hard to replicate.

BTW I bought these BloomDoom bodies at a lower price, and now there have been price increases.

I’m kinda done for now. I will let the dust settle. After I get “Red” my arch top back from Cris, I’ll figure out if I want to build a Charlie Christian Tele with only a neck pickup next year.

Share the wealth, but also keep it secrete. LOL.

Cal

 

[DownUnder]

Just noticed you've hit the Big 200 Milestone - 200 pages on this thread. Congratulations!!

Keeping a blog/thread going for that long - and that far - is an art in itself. Me, I reckon I would have run out of topics before the first 50 posts.

On you go to the next 200. And far beyond.

 

[Calzone]

DU,

Some people read my rants. LOL.

Sometimes mundane things make my day. I saw one of my yard rabbits today. They pretty much hide in their burrows. I actually did some research to find out if they hibernate. They do not, but they are less active and lay low.

I also saw an owl in a tree when driving along on Route 202.

Thanks giving was without Rosy the bass. Was kinda in a rush to get going, but at some future date we will get together to make some noise.

It seems every day ideas evolve in my head. No shortage, and I guess this is why I am a bit crazy.

I have some more ideas about the Charlie Christian solid body I want to build. Some remarkable creative ideas that I will keep secrete for now. My mind wonders and wanders in an engineered manner. I have a notebook and a journal.

That Vintage 47 VA-185 amp is not so different than the VA-20 I own currently. They use a lower gain driver tube, and pretty much that is what I run currently in this amp. I use the low power setting and it is claimed to be “half-power” of 20 watts, but it kinda sounds like a 15 watt amp because of the headroom, the breakup, and the tonal response. This is with 5881 output tubes for less headroom and early breakup.

I did some research and the Alnico speaker in my amp is rated for 30 watts and has an efficiency of 95 db. I could replace this speaker with a 125 wall Neo speaker that has 101 db. Know that 3 db is a lot, and 6 db is much louder. Hmmm… I checked the speaker sizes and the highly efficient speaker will fit. Kinda crazy because this amp is so simple and small.

Anyways my mind is kinda maniac…

I have the 2 pickup relic’s white Cabronita gathered together for assembly. It will look kinda stunning. I’m kinda excited. The classic TV Jones pickups will be brighter than the Duo-Tron I have in the single pickup Cabronita. Both Cabronita’s are alder bodied. Should be crazy-good.

The grandson we will have for a little while tomorrow.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

2025 will be a transitional year for us I figure. While I decouple from the world more, I expect my universe to grow as I focus closer in my Macrovision.

Certainly I expect vast changes in the world that are becoming more complicated, but external conflicts are having less effect on me. I am like the rabbits hiding out in my burrow that are not so visible.

You see how something that would be insignificant like seeing one of my yard wild animals could have significant real meaning in my life. I can thank the rabbit for an important reminder and lesson, to kinda shelter in place and stay close to my burrow or safety.

I also have enough goods to sustain me, small projects to occupy me, and pretty much the heavy lifting already has been performed on the house. Taking off and replacing a garage roof is a job I can do by myself. Insulating the attic is another. More gardening and landscaping…

Point is no big job I can’t handle alone. The heavy lifting all has been performed…

So I can kinda live in a bubble of sorts, safe and somewhat insulated from the world which is not at peace. I see my situation as being sustainable, and I have a few years of austerity to bridge till I’m 70 (little more than 3 years) when a time of abundance will happen. I have to make financial my bridge last…

Unlike most Americans I feel I have a sustainable future, and the key to that was and is living below my means. All I need to live is a positive mental attitude and a few simple pleasures. I created a small universe to live in that is my burrow.

My life is simple…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I am a bad boy. Spank me, and don’t tell “Maggie” I bought another guitar body.

This one was from www.BloomDoomguitars.com where they do thin lacquer finishes like in the old days of Fender. Candy Apple Red, so it already is a loud guitar. LOL.

So if I build out all my Tele’s I will have something like 9 of them. A bit OCD, but this time I bought a Strat because I don’t own one. Pretty much I didn’t need much of an excuse other than I don’t own one…

I was just minding my own business when I got an E-mail advertising free shipping, so all I really needed was a $22.00 savings to go take a look and dig in. They had two different Strat bodies that held my interest. They were both advertised as “Closet Classics” meaning like as if new or very-very close to it, and for either $365.00 or $340.00 I had to choose between Sherwood Green Metallic or Candy Apple Red which could be metallic, maybe not, and was not advertised as metallic.

Back in the day Fender offered “custom colors” that were basically DuPont car colors as an option. These guitars today are worth many tens of thousands of dollars today. Mucho crazy.

A custom order today from the Fender Custom Shop starts around at least $4K and go up rapidly from there.

So pretty much I might be able to build a comparable guitar in qualty and components for maybe under $1K using all top shelf components that in a certain way could be judged as higher or better quality than a Fender Custom Shop Tele or Strat.

I figure this Strat would be about $5K if bought from the Custom Shop, so think of all the money I will or can save, even if I don’t really need another guitar.

Already I’m pleased with just saving $22.00, and pretty much a Closet Classic means any wear and tare imparted was actually made by me as legit wear over time and usage.

I can get the Fender water slide decals from Cris to forge the Fender look. No-problem.

So now I have to spec out and acquire parts to kit out this Strat.

There is a coupon code of “BDshipfree” to save on the order. This only applies to the “Ready To Go” bodies.

In the 50’s Fender used Swamp Ash for bodies but then in the 60’s used Alder which was closed grained cutting out a process of grain filling the pores in the wood that is in Swamp Ash. Leo Fender was a cheap bastard. LOL.

I can get a faded mint green Fender pick guard to provide that Fender 60’s vintage look. Back then rosewood necks were popular, so this would be vintage correct. Maple could be ordered, but was not as common.

I can get a gold anodized aluminum Fender pick guard that is a 50’s vibe and a maple neck would be period correct. I think this is what I favor…

So I’m planning ahead and stocking up.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Callahan sells the Strat hardware as a kit for $268.00, add in $3.00 for the pickup screws needed if you want to have all stainless steel hardware. This stuff is jewelry.

A custom neck quarter sawn, custom radios, and custom back profile for $277.00.

Add in an anodized pick guard made by Fender $40.00

Total so far is around $940.00 and all I need are pickups, but there are three of them…

My friend Dave suggests a friend of ours who is a pickup dude we know personally for perhaps 40 years. Bobby does restorations and recreations. I happen to have a set of 1960 vintage Tele pickups that need a rewinding anyways…

So I know I will get the friendly discount.

This Strat will be brutal.

I figured out that the Vintage 47 VA-20 I have set up and tubed out for low power and less drive to push the amp and get breakup at low power. Using the half power switch it still is mighty loud and likely loud enough to gig with. Then again use it at low power and mike the amp for the sound.

This amp is a darling: small in size, light in weight, has a mucho cool retro style and look, thick mids and bottom, chime top, and weighs about 27 pounds which is really a great feature. Pretty much I kinda approach the sound of a VA-185 perhaps close enough. Happy-happy…

Just wanted to share some joy. This gear gets used a lot, and I get a lot of pleasure from this gear. It will be interesting playing a Strat. It is a very different animal.

Did some more research on our rabbits. I could put out some Timothy Hay as a fed, and also putting out water for them would be a kind thing to do. They likely suffered during October the dry month.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I just made a big discovery. I went to the Vintage 47 site and listen to this guy play a harmonica using two different mikes: one demo was using a VA-20 which is the amp I own; the other was the VA-185, the Charlie Christian amp.

I noted the lower gain driver in the VA-185 for a smoother driver for the power tube section. This 6SN7 is interchangeable with the normally specified 6SL7. No big deal because I have both, but I use the low gain driver in my VA-20 although specified as a substitute, but not the normal spec’ed tube fo the 20 watt output.

There is about a 50 volt more drop on a 5Y3 over the full spec 5AR4 rectifier.

I know my VA-20 is speced for 20 watts, and the VA-185 for only 15 so some of the added power comes from a higher voltage feeding the tubes for more gain, but I dropped in a 5Y3 rectifier to drop the B+ voltage to lower the power.

So by lowering the voltage I kinda simulate a VA-185, and by lowering the gain of the driver I think I get pretty close to the VA-185 sound. My amp has a more modern sound, so some grid stop and grid feed resistors on the power tubes are used to smooth out the breakup and tighten the sound.

So after doing this research, studying these videos of the same harmonica player, the forensics reveal that my amp is more similar than different. Pretty much I don’t need a VA-185 and can save the money. Oh-yeah…

The difference I hear is actually my VA-20 has a bit more depth and a more articulate attack. I hear more detail. The contrary though is the VA-185 is softer and smoother. Pretty much if given a choice it would be a coin toss.

So then there is that Eminence Neo speaker that has that 101.2 efficiently and flat response. This speaker is 6 db louder, and that is pretty meaningful. The speaker although can handle 125 watts actually is a pound lighter because of the UBER strong rare earth magnet. Because this speaker is so colorless it is said to more closely capture the sound of the original Gibson 185 amp that had a field coil speaker.

All this is mighty-mighty cool if you are a guitar and amp nerd. I love it.

Did some more research on Strat pickups, and I’m leaning towards Lollar 64 Strat pickups. He kinda designs his pickups to Fender eras. Since I have a Brown Fender Super it fits and suits what he call the “Blonde” era and that is 1960-1963.

The Vintage 47 amp is clearly 1950’s and before…

Blackface era is 1964 to 1967 or 1968. The thing for me is the midrange boost of the 64 to compensate for the higher gain and scoop that the Blackface amps employed that promoted higher gain.

The added midrange suits my style, especially since I do not use effects or signal processing. Remember I’m a plug and play player.

So a lot of learning today, even though we had the grandson.

Off to practice the guitar after a snack.

Cal

 

[DownUnder]

Cal, so you've decided your way to deal with the big consumer crisis in most of the West is to buy more stuff. Guitars in your case.

Ha! to that.

Not being crazy-mad serious here, mostly joking. It's a matter worth thinking about, but not stressing over. Planning is more important, and it's the way to go.

What I'm saying here is, welcome to the consumer club. For you guitars, for many of us cameras. Also, in my case CDs, cultural items and things of historical interest I pick up in my travels around Southeast Asia, and especially books - the latter used and mostly on Asian art, as I'm steadily building up a collection to donate next year to a small university here in Australia, one of very few nowadays specialising in what little top-level study is devoted to 'humanities' and to our northern neighbors and their culture. Not business - those Asians easily run circles around us Aussies in that.

It helps to keep one thing in mind, 'tho, when buying stuff. to be squirreled away for a future rainy day.

Many I know are investing in top-quality cameras (Contax, Leica Hasselblad, Rollei, you name it, if it's expensive they buy) and thinking when times are difficult and economies go bottom-up, they can sell for big money or do fantastic deals in bartering-trading. Well, forget it. In hard times the buyer calls the shots on prices, not the seller. As a few I know have found out during past economic downturns.

Better to put a little money in durables and perishables. We have two kitchen pantries at home, one converted into an emergency storage area with long-term unperishable basic food, a water purifier, and stocks of basic household essentials. The dated perishable items like canned food is regularly checked, old cans used and replaced with new cans. Also two guns (legally licensed) and ammunition. I hope we will never have to use those to stop our neighbors from plundering our house, but sad to say one can never predict these things.

For fresh food we have a few fruit trees but no garden, neither of us being horticulturally inclined. Two neighbors on either side are keen food gardeners and we have quietly agreed to a mutual understanding to share things if times go belly-up.

Only my thoughts. Not I hope, predictions. All written with the long-held wish that the future will turn out well for the planet, and such times will never happen in our lives.

 

[Calzone]

DU,

My guitar and amp consumption is for use. It is not really hoarding. Although I have a stockpile of more than what I really need, these are treasures that won’t be sold, and they are not investments even though some of my gear is vintage and collectible.

What I’m kinda doing is buying to keep, which is really how I consume. Know that my over 30 year old bikes, while not state of the art or modern are still held in high esteem. Kinda in the same manner that the old 1966 Chevy C-10 is mighty cool.

My Leica Monochrom is still a great camera…

My recent purchases are a hedge of sorts. I believe that inflation will be a serious problem in the future. Many of these small boutique companies might not be around in the future, supplies will dry up, and also I expect prices to go up. I know and realize that this is all speculation…

About 2 years ago I custom ordered a Santa Cruz Model “F.” I paid a massive premium to have wood used that was harvested in the 1930’s and was stockpiled by Santa Cruz. Because this is of a limited quantity, costly, and pretty much is a rather finite supply of precious wood I figured that not only will prices go up, but also I would eventually get priced out.

It took about 9-10 months for my guitar to be built, and upon delivery I speced and priced out the guitar with the new price increases I predicted. Pretty much a jump well over $2K and around $2.5K. I was right I would get priced out, but I did not think it would happen so quickly.

This guy Dustin, at BloomDoom Guitars I suspect is just one guy who is running a tiny business. I not only wish him the best, but I also hope he survives the future. His skill and pricing make these lacquer painted bodies a real bargain. The only alternative is for me to do the finishing myself.

My hard earned money is not heading to China nor am I supporting Jeff Bezos, or a big box store like Walmart. I see through that business model.

I will be sad if Dustin goes under. I bought three finished bodies from him. I am glad I did, and I feel an honor and that I have a relationship with him. Somehow there is a bond and in a way a kinship or friendship.

We have two friends who are shop owners in Peekskill. They are both winding down and will be closing shop.

Leica already has enough of my money… LOL.

My support of small businesses is both moral and financial. I can’t help everyone, but I pick and choose. As much as I am supporting them, they in turn are supporting me and my ethics.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I did a bit of research last night, and today. There are some finite resources of old supplies, and I mapped them out and shopped for pricing and availability.

I also had to think and figure out how I will build out this Strat: would it be 50’s retro; or 60’s retro. Would I use a gold anodized aluminum pickguard (50’s) or a “Mint-green” pickguard (60’s)? What kinda pickups, and which brand/maker?

Things got complicated fast, then I make it simpler. I looked up when Candy Apple Red was first used by Fender as a custom color option, and it was in 1963. So then it focused me onto building out a 60’s style Strat.

The mint-green pickguard uses 11-screws to hold it down, but there is a difference between 1962 and before has one screw kinda in between the middle and neck pickup, and a post 1963 version with that screw close to the middle pickup. The 1962 version was used by the Fender Custom Shop for an edition of limited guitars, and the version with the screw close to the middle pickup is kinda current production.

So I decided to use the same guard that the Fender Custom shop uses, even though my pickguard predates the use of Candy Apple Red.

Along with this pickguard is a thin inner grounding shield that was a bit of a hunt. The pickguard and grounding shield were made by Fender and are NOS in original packaging.

I’m on the fence of either getting a “61” set of Fender Custom Shop pickups; or Lollar 64 set. The Fender units are less costly, but the Lollar has perhaps these enhanced mids I want.

I got to realize that Fender made amps and guitars that fit into eras. As amps evolved so did the pickups. Evolution happened together and the sounds grew together to enhance each other as sets: amp; and guitar.

The 1960 brown Fender Super I own comes from the “Blonde” era 1960-1964, but in 1964 Fender started making Blackface amps that had a scooped sound and had more headroom. In 1964 the pickups also changed with the amps so that both complimented each other as a set.

So basically the 1961 pickups complimented the brown and Blond amps that Fender produced 1960-1964, and the Lollar “64” pickups are meant to fill some of that amp scoop with added mids from the pickups.

Understand that the British sound came from Marshall amps that are very thick in the mids. My brown Super is an amp that was made louder through more gain, so adding another layer of mids is making a Fender amp closer to a Marshall sound. Hmm…

Basically I can add more thickness to te amp via the 64 pickups. If I want the period correct sound that matches the brown Supper then use the Fender 61’s.

So some big steps forward. I found a 62 Mint-Green pickguard and its period correct shield, delivery expected next week. Dustin says my body will get shipped Monday.

Originally the pick guards were white, but over the decades they developed a green tint as the plastic aged.
This guitar when completed could be mistaken as a Fender Custom Shop “Closet Classic” which is basically an old guitar that was stored away.

What I am doing here is assembling a custom guitar that looks vintage, and could pass as Fender Custom Shop.

I am pleased…

Cal

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I know of THREE DeRosas for sale right under $1000. One Colnago Master frameset for a few hundred. I've recently seen a Pogliaghi sell for a couple hundred (this is a super boutique frame made by one of two people in the company's history). And recently a complete ~66 Cinelli went for $900 of I recall correctly.
It is a buyer's market, not unlike when people were dumping tens of thousands of dollars worth in Hasselblad gear, to switch to digital for workflow, only now, there isn't a technology change, the market is simply collapsing.
I don't mean to poo-poo "locally owned" or "made in USA, but to be honest and candid, there is no getting away from putting money overseas, especially to Asia. Unless everything is used or NOS US production from days long gone by. Ones personal interaction with a locally owned business may feel like keeping money away from China, but somewhere along the way, is a commodity that they produce and is in the chain. Even consumable bike parts are almost all made in China, Malaysia, or Korea.
Like I said, almost everything at Home Despot and Lowe's (exact same vendors) is from outside the US. It's a global economy and aside from getting handmade wooden furniture from the person who grew the trees, there is no getting around that.
Phil

 

[Calzone]

Phil,

I can’t disagree with what you say: we live in a global economy. The clear pine I buy at Lowes comes from New Zealand.

Callaham is a machine shop in Virginia or Maryland. Dustin too is in the south east.

Fender has factories in Mexico, but also there are factories in the USA. Pretty much two different brands almost, and the premium version of course are made in the USA. I spent a lot of time sorting through these distinctions last night and today.

The other side I have written in posts is that pretty much one can question if an American car or truck an American car or truck anymore.

So there are some, very few American made components being made. Yes, clearly a rarity. I do mention them here. I also mentioned how I tend not o shop at Walmart, K-Mart, and pretty much avoid that kind of consumption and those kinda greedy businesses that are greedy and exploitative. To me they are oppressive institutions.

The JUKI commercial sewing machine I own, was one of the last made in Japan. Now pretty much they are made in China… Of course not the same quality.

You are right about N.O.S. The pickguard I secured on Reverb and the grounding shield are both items that were originally made for the Fender Custom Shop, and sold and marketed as Genuine Fender Parts. I spent last night and part of today avoiding the clones from Asia, bad imitations, and the forgeries.

Warmoth is another Made In The USA. The woods used in their production is mostly maple, swamp ash, and alder. Granted there is also other woods like mahogany, ebony, rosewood… that are not domestic woods, but the biggest amount is domestic supplied lumber. They are located in Washington state. Don’t forget that Trump impose a 20% tariff on Canadian lumber so it is doubtful that Canadian lumber is utilized.

I think the point here I am trying to make is clearly I think about not adding to our foreign trade deficits and I am very mindful of how the flow of my money impacts not only the oppressed overseas, the American workers here, and how not supporting billionaires like Jeff Bezos.

I am deeply thoughtful about my impact on the world…

How did I know decades ago that making China a favored trading partner was a mistake? Meanwhile ask the shopper at Walmart…

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Phil,

Thanks for the insight on the “buyer’s” market. This validates what I am seeing at this local music store that does consignments on Reverb.

Pretty much I see people selling to raise cash. My theory is that they are trying to stay afloat and many are struggling with debt.

You are seeing what I observed, but in a different market.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I’m still getting the reminders of my parole officer meetings… Next parole meeting is tomorrow in Colorado… I guess the Calvin thatI was mistaken for is attending his monthly meetings.

Yesterday also we drove 23 miles north to do some shopping at Adams, a farm to table supermarket that also is a nursery and garden center. Kinda worth the drive and the experience. We bough bird feed.

The world has been deglobalizing since Covid. I am taking note that travel and destinations are being pumped into my spam box. There seems to be a world wide slowdown underway, and the marketing has become more hard sell.

Free trade and the “disinflation” that gets promoted is breaking down. Cheap goods have a reach to cheapen lives. Remember that until recently wages were stagnant for decades. Now there is wage inflation, expect wage inflation to get worse, partially because of a labor shortage, and then the impact of proposed future immigration policies.

So deglobalization already has started, and tariffs and trade wars which were already underway and inforce get escalated further expect shortages, price increases, and inflation.

One way suggested to cope is to decouple and become more self reliant. Not many people can really take care of themselves, they do not have the experience, the skills, nor the will power. The Walmart crowd will still shop at Walmart though, they do not understand or know better.

“See no evil,” as they say.

So who really believes the myth of independence and freedom? Too many people are looking at our corrupt government, too many are thinking that immigration is not needed and that we should lock down our borders. Too many people are acting irresponsibly by exploiting credit and unsustainable debt loads.

So I’m calling it out: there is a housing shortage largely due to initially a lack of regulation, that led to “free-money” and record low and historically low interest rates, and now a chronic housing shortage persists that will take at least 10-15 years to abate.

They report the abuse of auto loans to people who have no credit or very low credit scores, and it is on the scale of the housing crisis levels. Here we go again: lack of regulation, loose credit, and irresponsibility…

So now expect the world to deglobalize further, and in a chaotic manner that likely will be more violent and retaliatory that is an economic war. Expect a lot of unintended consequences, surprises, and chaos as things unwind…

Pretty much a war economy will happen economically.

Too many Americans IMHO are the Walmart crowd. They voted away their independence and freedom, or rather they gave it away.

Cal