The Joys of Pipe Smoking

I am reacquainting myself with the joys of pipe smoking. Aside from the pleasures of the act itself, it has other fringe benefits. For one, it sets me at odds with the Pharisees in our midst. Some people tell me they are allergic to pipe smoke. Me? I'm not allergic to pipe smoke, but I am allergic to sanctimony.

 I'm not one who enjoys arguing, but I find myself unable to not argue when people (the Pharisees) state that I shouldn't smoke because it causes cancer. This assumption on their part is founded in ignorance. They wrongly assume that pipe smoking and cigarette smoking are the same thing, and therefore hold the same hazards. The anti-smoking  zealots spread half-truths and whole lies to support their cause. All the while, no one really knows what causes cancer. Sure, you can make correlations ("Man A smoked for 25 years and got lung cancer. Cigarettes must cause cancer.") However, this is turned on its ear for every person that smokes for 30 years and doesn't get cancer. Truthfully, the hazards for pipe smoking are minimal and are outweighed by the benefits, assuming that cigarette smoking does cause cancer.


The one thing that usually turns off guys that try pipe smoking is tongue bite. This is when you scorch your tongue with hot smoke from the pipe, smoke which also contains steam created when it is cooked off the tobacco. This is usually caused by overzealous puffing, an act of which I am frequently guilty. Overzealous puffing is usually thought necessary when the pipe is packed improperly and requires such puffing to keep it lit. Packing a pipe is an art unto itself, one which has received much study over the centuries.


Here's to a good puff now and then!

My Life as a Bottom Feeder

Life is made more pleasurable by the small things we enjoy. For some, it's sports (not me). For others, it's books. And for a select few, it's books about sports. For me, it's the bass guitar.
I've been sporadically playing the guitar since high school, yet I was never a really good student and never actually took lessons. I had no one with any measure of skill to play with or to encourage me to get better. While I liked the guitar better than the piano or the saxophone, both of which I had played earlier, I didn't really love it.

I love the bass guitar, and I'm making up for lost time. Here I am, hopefully in the middle of my life, and I finally find my musical destiny about 2.5 years ago. How cool! So, in celebration of my Love of Lowdown, I want to tell you about my guitars.
The first  picture is of the guitar I actually own. It's a Fender MIM (made in Mexico) Precision Bass. I got it for a song on eBay.

This next photo is of some other equipment that I'm now using, with one small addition. The guitar is a Fender American Standard Precision Bass, a better quality version of my guitar. The piece of equipment on the mike stand is a first-generation Line 6 Bass Pod, an effects unit. The amp in the background is a Mesa Boogie Buster 200 all-tube head and a Mesa Boogie Diesel 2x10 cabinet. Even at its lower settings, it literally rattles things off the walls. The next picture is if me playing a Rickenbacker 4003. I had this guitar and played it for many months, but finally gave it up to have the Fender A.S. P-Bass shown above at my disposal. Both of these guitars and the amp belong to a friend of mine who had the money,  and in a generous spirit, purchased new high-quality guitars for his brother and a friend to use (he actually plays the guitar, not bass). I am indebted to him for this kind act, as I rarely have extra money to spend, and almost never have this much of it.

The next picture is the effects unit I bought to replace the first-generation Pod above. It is the most recent addition to the Bass Pod family, the Bass Pod xt Live. It's a fine piece of equipment, the depths of which I'm only beginning to plumb.

Now since the only guitar I actually own is the MIM P-Bass, I've been planning my next purchase for some time. Since I presently have a good guitar to play, I'm not in a hurry, but I've been searching for the Holy Grail of Basses so when I'm able to make the leap, I'll know in which direction to jump. This is what I found...

Music Man Bongo Five-String Double-Humbucker - When I discovered this guitar, I knew I was onto something. Every review I've read about it gave high marks on tone and quality, with the only complaints being directed at its looks (it was designed by BMW's design group). I think it looks pretty cool, yet it's unconventional looks might grow old on some. It retails at around $1400, which, believe-it-or-not, is middle ground for professional-grade production bass guitars. As the more astute readers might have surmised, this is the inspiration for my username.

Music Man StingRay Five-String Double Humbucker - Once again, a double humbucker (for more tonal flexibility) and a five string (that low B-string is awesome!). Music Man makes great guitars. Their first bass guitars were developed/designed by Leo Fender, the man who invented the fretted electric bass guitar back in the 1950's. This guitar is awesome. It is technically the same as the Bongo Five, but is more conventional in appearance. The double-humbucker is a new option for the StingRay. It has typically had a single humbucker since its inception. With the addition of this option to the lineup, I left the Bongo Five in a lurch, transferring my love to this guitar. The price is about the same. In my research period, I have frequently spent time at Guitar Center, playing these beautiful instruments. The other day, I went in and saw they had a StingRay 5 HH in stock, so I sat down and had some fellowship with it. We parted dear friends, promising to get together in the future.

So now you know. Having already established myself as "Bongo5," I figure I'll keep this name rather than adopt StingRay5("StingRay5" is taken, but I do own "StingRayFive").
Thanks for coming by...