Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms

Over the past year, I have been slowly working on a photo booth box. What started out as a simple cardboard box inspired by a photography forum post, has turned into a very over-engineered 30-pound wooden box. I am not a seasoned amateur photographer. I have not even reached the beginner level to be honest. But I do have an interest in photography. And I like to build things.

I took some sample shots today and the photo above is the best I could do. I can’t figure out how to get the background completely white. It may have something to do with my light source. I will continue tweaking the box and experimenting with lighting techniques. As my photography skills develop, I will post more photos here on the blog.

In the photo: A bottle of 80 proof Wild Turkey. A fine Kentucky Bourbon that is waiting for me to break the seal. The cigar is a Gurkha Titan. He has been hanging out in the humidor since March of this year. The Titan has become my annual birthday cigar and it was nice seeing the Smith & Wesson model 669 again. We have made plans to head to the range together in the next few days.

Mark

Rusty Old American Dream

The early 80’s. Modern guitar tones screamed out of my speakers. Eddie Van Halen was full of energy, rock radio stations were pumping out great tunes and live shows were adding fuel to the fire. I had to learn how to play like that. I struggled, but was persistent - using a cheap acoustic, a borrowed fender and a black Ibanez roadstar (which was my first electric six string). These training tools took up quite a few hours of my day for several years. It was not until around 1986 that I saved up enough cash to walk into a guitar shop and get what I considered to be my first real electric guitar. I rolled the dice and walked out with a brand new magenta-colored Ibanez Power 540. It had a small fast neck, full-floating Floyd Rose, and a hum-bucker bridge pickup that screamed almost as loud as the brighter-than-bright magenta finish. Mothers, lock up your daughters! I was ready to ROCK!

And rock I did. For several years, I played that thing for hours on end; learned cover songs; and played with any other guitar player that had the time. I played in several bands and at the top of my game ended up in a local, all original, 5-piece metal band. It was during this time that I met Dave and we have been friends ever since. But I digress...

I stopped playing the guitar once I started college but never sold it. Two years ago (2007), I pulled that guitar case out and opened ‘er up. Oh my! My heart sank. I had not opened the case in probably 12 years. Every metal part was rusted. I must have put it up after an all nighter of alcohol-inspired jamming. I wanted to play again. But that was obviously never going to happen.

Never say never… I decided that I would bring her back to life. I stripped off all the pieces that needed to be replaced and made sure that I was able to buy parts that would fit. I found resources for every part needed. As hard as it was to do, I took out the 80 grit sand paper and went at it. This photo represents the current state of my restoration project. I started last year and currently have sanded off all the paint and finish. My next goal will be to fill in the dents and scratches and get the body as smooth as possible. I plan to use this blog to document my progress. As a side note, the image also shows an ad representing the guitar and the color as it was originally.


Mark