Sounds like you dodged a bullet, FSB. I'm glad to read that you solved your audio problem.
Yes, 16GB is way better than 4GB. My computer is happy, my DAW is happy, I'm happy. I had to take my son to the Emergency Department early this morning. He has asthma and could not breathe. Thankfully, the hospital is only 10 minutes away. They are giving him a second one-hour breathing treatment right now.

_________________
Marky

Remember the music is not in the guitar

Sorry to learn of your son’s asthma, but I’m glad that help is nearby, Marky. I have a cousin that had severe asthma causing my aunt and uncle to get a posting where it was more controllable. Long story short luckily the asthma was not only controlled, but, I’m guessing as advances were made, he later became a goalie for the Las Vegas Nuggets. He then went on to teach kids.

As for computers, I can hold my own fairly well, but these days the troubleshooting and repair has pretty much been taken out of the hands of the owner. It’s always iffy when accepting a fix from the Net unless you have some knowledge, and even then many solutions can compound the problem adding areas of concern that may be untraceable. Don’t ya love it when suggested to reformat your hard drive or reinstall your OS because it makes their job easier? It’s like a breath of fresh air when everything works with a lesser fix. And just like the satisfaction of more memory, there’s satisfaction of knowing how to tackle the problem if it happens again. That’s if the memory works.
FSB

Time to continue the amp and pedals tweaking.

Ciao

FSB

_________________
Hello, big guitar. Meet my little fingers.

Did some clothes shopping and got a couple of pairs of workout pants. We're planning on joining a 24 hour gym that's opening in town. Sometimes, it's difficult to go for a walk because of bad weather, and this would be good thing to have.

_________________

Having fun learning and playing with my recording software.

_________________
Marky

Remember the music is not in the guitar

I had my breakfast, and now I'm going to go for a walk.

_________________

Having home made hot raisin bran muffins straight from the oven.
FSB

_________________
Hello, big guitar. Meet my little fingers.

I made a Greek salad and Greek seasoned chicken for dinner. No ouzo or bouzoukis, though. But seriously, those bouzouki players rake in some serious bucks playing, at least where I've seen them perform in Florida. There was/is a large Greek community in Tarpon Springs, that had all kinds of restaurants, shops, and sponge divers. I haven't been there in almost 20 years, though.

_________________

Going to the pharmacy to get prescriptions for my son who is now back home.

_________________
Marky

Remember the music is not in the guitar

Mmmm. That sounds delicious, Paul.

We have a large Greek community in this neck of the woods as well. I always find it interesting, since I am a huge Greek food fan, but here the truly good stuff in restaurants is missing. Many of those establishments have food made by non Greeks. Much of it is made by Asians, where Asian food by Greeks would be an oddity. That’s not to say Asians couldn’t make good Greek food, Asians can make fantastic meals, but when stir fry is adjacent on the menu the Greek is usually mediocre. Moussaka usually suffers if available. Many Greeks make awesome pizza in this town, however. I had a friend by the name of Nick (good Greek name LOL) who ran a family restaurant next to my work. His family including cousins and an uncle ran the restaurant, and the ownership and staff had a revolving door that brought family to Canada to keep the restaurant going until each made their way back to the old country. Sadly, that restaurant is gone now; but, boy oh boy was it good. Especially when they asked me how to make Cuba Libres which amounted to free ones every so often. Haha.

I have a theory that when our large group of local Greeks make such good food fare at home, there may be less desire to have an authentic Greek restaurant. We do have an annual two week ethnic festival that includes food from over 80 nations. Beverages and food are brought in specifically for the event. The Greek pavilion is, needless to say, one of the most popular as are the Italian and German.

When I want the best Greek food, I’ve found some in establishments far from the maddening crowd of Greek communities. That probably holds true with a lot of other ethnic restaurants, but, not always. I’ve found that a some of the food trucks can also be dynamite. YMMV

And then there’s the tried and true home made. Enjoy yours, Paul.

FSB


Here’s an original recipe I make at home. This uses sausages, but will work with lamb, pork, or beef burgers as well.

I think I posted this elsewhere, nevertheless here it is for anyone who can use it:

1) In a baggie toss lamb sausages with a touch of olive oil or other cooking oil or if you prefer 1/2 of each oil just enough to coat them. No more no less. (Other sausages could be used I guess, but make sure they don’t compete with Greek seasoning).
2) Sprinkle Greek seasoning (I used Safeway’s brand, but others will do) liberally on the sausages
3) Let marinate in the fridge while preparing the garnish.
4) In a large bowl toss (dry) cabbage slaw with or without some sliced (julienne) onion.
5) Add tzatsiki sauce (just enough to flavour the slaw to your liking) . . . Don’t make it mushy! A little garlic is optional.
6) Add and toss a little Feta cheese . . . reserve some for topping dogs later.
7) Add a little pepper to the slaw (I omit the salt because of the Greek spice, but it’s up to you)

- Now fry, bake, nuke, or BBQ the sausages. (I fry or BBQ them).
- Line your large hot dog buns with the slaw, then the sausage, and top with Feta.

Opa!

_________________
Hello, big guitar. Meet my little fingers.

I think you'll often get the best stuff away from the touristy areas, where you'll find more of the locals. I remember even in Tarpon Springs, where that Greek Community is, there was a main road where the touristy places are, but then there were hole in the wall places away from that which were really good. I've also known Greek people, so I've also had homemade stuff. That can happen with a lot of different cultures, depending on the level of tourism, I think. Most of the Southeast Asian places I've been to in Florida (Vietnamese and Thai, mainly) catered to those cultures and not tourists, so they were pretty authentic. I've also known a lot of people from there, so I've also had homemade stuff, being over people's homes.

Thanks for that recipe. It looks pretty good.

_________________

We went out early and did some grocery shopping and went for a walk. We're supposed to get a blizzard rip through here tomorrow, so we're ready for that. Who'd think you'd have to deal with that in the middle of March?

_________________

I can relate to you culinary experiences. In Chicago's China Town, there are a couple of big touristy restaurants that we rarely went to. The best Chinese food, in China Town, that I have eaten came from a small maybe ten table establishment. Man I miss that now.

_________________
Marky

Remember the music is not in the guitar

That sounds about right.

_________________

Glad you liked the Greek Dog recipe, Paul.
You guys are right about the home and hole in the wall places to eat. Musicians, roadies, camera crews, shift workers, cops, and the like have a knack for finding those places, and after hours hideaways, making friends that always want to feed you.
I used to grab a quick lunch across from the bigger tourist Chinatown restaurant in in Victoria, BC. Like you said Marky, just a few tables. We always ordered the same thing in the 90s. A load of fresh hot Peking duck on white rice for $5. I never let on to the owner that I would have gladly paid double for it.
One lesson I did learn about eating outside of one’s ethnic zone is that you should be prepared for anything. I had a manager whose older Chinese father took a liking to me. He once owned a successful restaurant, and his son gave me a message that his father was going to make me authentic birds’ nest soup. It is the gem of all Chinese cooking, very rare, and expensive if available. The commercial soup doesn’t resemble the original. Unfortunately, I knew where and how it came from so I declined the cliffside birds’ regurgitated saliva in a bowl (that was likely illegal here in Canada). It was an offer of a lifetime and, sadly, culture differences found disappointment from the generous gentleman who reached out to me. I truly felt bad, but I stayed with a different bird - Peking Duck and specially presented Shark Fin soup which is no longer on the menu.

I think I’d like grabbing a meal with you two guys. Greek and Asian mmm. Beats going to franchises, huh?
Cheers!
FSB

_________________
Hello, big guitar. Meet my little fingers.

Peking Duck and specially presented Shark Fin soup sounds way better than regurgitated bird saliva. I couldn't eat that either. I pass on the franchises as much as possible too. I think I'd like grabbing a meal with you guys too. Maybe someday.

_________________
Marky

Remember the music is not in the guitar