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I've been watching this storm shortly after Hurricane Fiona formed. The early predictions and trajectory from the National Hurricane Center all appear to be correct.
Tropical storm Ian will pass to the East of Jamaica on Sunday, cross over the Cayman Islands early Monday as it intensifies to Hurricane strength, strike the Eastern coast of Cuba, strengthen when it reaches the Gulf of Mexico, then hit the West coast of Florida centered around the Tampa area Wednesday.

Florida's sun coast residents, you've got plenty of warning... prepare and don't panic. I've heard reports of long gas lines already.

Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in several counties in preparation of the upcoming storm.

There are a few different stories over the years of how the invention to the distorted guitar sound called 'fuzz tone' came about. I'll go with Nashville studio engineer Glenn Snoddy's accidental invention Maestro Fuzz-Tone manufactured by (the guitar company) Gibson.

When guitar amplifiers were invented, it was typically low wattage (around 3 to 5 watts) using electron tubes (called valves in England) and small speakers. As guitarists began to play larger venues, they required bigger amplifiers. Jazz and Country Western music relied on a bright clean sound. If you were playing Rock & Roll, the desire for more volume often pushed the tubes beyond their wattage capacity of creating their natural ability to reproduce the incoming signal. When checking this on an oscilloscope, what would normally be a smooth sine-wave shape, would flatten the tops of the sine-wave.
Usually the circuits were based on a push-pull design with 2 tubes in unison. If they were capable of 10 watts each, the total output would be 20 watts. As you increase the volume, the clarity of the notes would disappear and a harsh sound would be created.
This coloration of sound actually became popular in the 1960's and if your amplifier didn't get 'dirty enough' I've hear stories where guitarists would use screwdrivers and poke holes into their speakers and crank the volume up to get their signature sound.

Eric Clapton playing with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers was notoriously disliked by the recording engineers. His studio volume was so much that it was getting into the mix of the other instruments. He wanted a sustain that could only come about from over-driving his gear. They had to put barriers and blankets around his amp to control the volume in the studio.

Enter the fuzz tone. It's a transistor device that plugs between a guitar and an amplifier and has circuitry to emulate an over-driven amplifier. Usually manufactured as a small metal box that rests on the floor and has a footswitch to activate it. You get the saturated sustain with harmonics like a large over-driven amplifier and not kill your audience of everything turned up to ten!

Who used a fuzz-tone? Nearly every electric guitarist on the planet. Since the device had controls for saturation and volume, every guitarist could dial in their very own sound and be the same as each other.



60 years later, there are several dozen versions of the fuzz-tone. Some change your tonal settings, some add reverb, some add tremolo, some have deeper and more distorted selections. It's mind-boggling the endless combinations.

I listed to a video today demonstrating some different models.
The guy doing the video is the owner and inventor for JHS Pedals. He goes through various sounds and can give advice to who used what fuzz so you can cut through the BS and purchase the same one that your guitar hero uses.



I'm not saying I dislike the sounds of Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bonamassa, I don't like listening to some ultra distorted metal bands where there is no clarity in their sound.

I'm reading an article this morning that defies gravity...
Trump claims presidents can declassify documents ‘even by thinking about it’

What... are you kidding me?

Former President Trump in a new interview asserted presidents don’t have to go through a formal process to declassify sensitive documents and can do so “even by thinking about it.”

The former president’s comments came as he has repeatedly argued that he declassified secret and top-secret documents he took with him to his Florida home after leaving the White House in 2021 amid a Justice Department investigation into his handling of classified materials.

“There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying, ‘It’s declassified.’ Even by thinking about it.”

“There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be. You’re the president. You make that decision. So when you send it, it’s declassified,” Trump added. “I declassified everything.”


The frightening part is some people will support him on that statement.
This man was president and wants to run again in 2024.

Story link:

Nobody does it better...
The queen's funeral was yesterday. Joe Biden and the first lady were the only American diplomats invoted. Yes, I know it's invited.

Anyway, Joe sat in the 14th row. Was it a big deal? Were seats assigned?
It's suggested Biden's late arrival may have been a factor in not getting better placement.
I don't really know. But I do know that Trump claimed it was a lack of respect for Joe and he commented he would have insisted a better spot "If I were president."
Well, it's good Donald. You're not the president, so it's a moot point.

One story referred to Trump's comment as Biden's placement being 'Nose Bleed Seats."
Well, that sums up the relevance of her majesty's funeral and a baseball game.

Trump is still complaining about the FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago property. This time it was about them dirtying the bedroom carpet.

At a recent rally, he stated (without evidence) witnesses to the January 6th (insurrection) are being blackmailed by the government into saying bad things about him.

That could be... one story today referred to the insurrectionists as his foot soldiers, under his direction. So maybe it's not 'bad' things about him but 'accurate things' about him.
That depends on if you still support him or not.

Yesterday, Fiona was a tropical storm with winds around 50 miles per hour headed on a course to the Caribbean islands. During the night it intensified and is currently 85 miles per hour winds crossing Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic/Haiti, expected to turn north and move over Bahamas, intensify again and cross Bermuda while moving into the Atlantic Ocean.
Except for increased rain, the east coast of the US won't feel any tropical storm winds.

The map below provided by the National Hurricane Center updates every 4 hours until the storm dissipates.

Known for their inflight mischief designed to make passengers smile, Southwest Airlines outdid themselves this week on a flight to Honolulu.

After boarding the plane in Long Beach, California, flyers were delighted on Friday to find a ukulele waiting for them in their seat. They would soon learn that Guitar Center, the world’s largest musical instrument retailer, was behind the stunt, with instructors onboard to give them a free lesson

The ukuleles—arguably the world’s happiest instrument, and the one that conjures up the Aloha spirit of Hawaii—is also one of the easiest to learn to play. It is so easy, in fact, that passengers learned to play the song “Hello, Aloha. How are you?” from start to finish, during the flight. Each passenger received a Road Runner carrying case containing a Mitchell MU40 Soprano ukulele—and the first-ever in-flight ukulele lesson in the sky.

Passengers then flew across the Pacific Ocean, unified, one chord at a time. “I’ve taught students through Guitar Center Lessons since 2014, but never in an airplane. It was inspiring to see how quickly passengers of all ages picked up the ukulele – many with no musical background,” said Alexandra Windsor, educational specialist for Guitar Center Lessons.

Even if you weren’t on the flight, you can enter the Ukuleles Take Flight sweepstakes for a chance to win round trip air travel on Southwest for a winner and a guest, and two Mitchel MU40 Soprano ukuleles, here at Southwest.fm/ukuleleflight.



Nice!

I scanned a few stories tonight that discuss some changes now that Queen Elizabeth has passed and the possibility of some Commonwealths breaking ties with the crown.

Will the sun eventually set on the British empire?

The Queen, Lying-in-State outside Westminster Hall in London has crowds reportedly waiting 14 hours to see a closed casket and pay their respects.
Reports are due to the huge number of people, the queue was at capacity and entry had to be paused for six hours making wait times reach 14 hours as the line stretched 5 miles (8km) from Parliament to Southwark Park.

One woman interviewed said she got in the line at 4am Friday. Quoted as saying it's a moment in history to celebrate and would regret not being part of it.

I saw a reader comment about the lead lined casket being closed. He had suspicion her body wasn't inside.

There's a lot going on in the world this week. Preparation for Queen Elizabeth's funeral, Florida's governor Ron DeSantis sending 2 planes with migrants to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, My pillow guy Mike Lindell having his cellphone confiscated by the FBI.
Somewhere along the way, Trump was asked about a running-mate for 2024 and if his daughter would be considered. His reply was no.

Stories keep regurgitating about seized documents from Mar-a-Lago. We all know the story changes to fit the questions and somewhere along the way 'some' documents were returned... his lawyers took his word for it. This leads to a credibility issue and if said documents had actually been returned, a search wouldn't have been necessary... or as some like to say, Biden's weaponized police state would have searched and found nothing.

If his lawyers supported false claims, they become liable... sticky isn't it. At some point if a lawyer gets charged, he may rollover on Donald to avoid a risk of disbarment.

Already some of the Trump Organization top employees have pleaded guilty on tax fraud. If you recall Michael Cohen stated that Trump approved every decision in his companies, so only one person should be responsible to as they say in gangster movies 'take the heat'.

Regarding lawyers for all things Trump... If you don't get your money up front, there's a really good chance you'll be working for free. I was going to use the statement PRO BONO, that that refers to clients with a low income. Donald doesn't fall into that category.