madmax's thread about looking at stuff and eating other stuf

Hello again. This time, last Wed, I did a mini run of 4 of the 6 pawn shops north of the river. This was after work, so I was in a bit of a hurry. I didn't play with any guitars, partially due to being rushed, and also, I forgot my pick.

At the first place, most of the guitars were still there, and there wasn't anything really new to mention. The Bass Station was gone, but there was some Casiaha, and some higher-level Yamaha kb. There weren't any amps worth mentioning. For fx, there was a BOSS Bass Enhancer pedal, and another pedal that was yellow, but I can't remember what it was, though I think it may have also been from BOSS.

I had one other thing to mention. When I was walking out, this older fuck pulled into the spot right next to me so close that I couldn't open the door far enough to get in. I was right next to my car, so he knew I was going to leave. I had to get in through the passenger side. As I was pulling out, he got in his car. I sat there for a minute so that he couldn't leave.

The next place was the pawn shop in Riverside. The first thing was that you had to be buzzed in now. There were no kb, and no fx(or just a few). I didn't see any interesting amps, unless one of the big Peavey ones was there from previously.  It seemed a lot of the same guitars were still there, including a few Squires I didn't check out for that reason. There were 2 new LP copies from a company called Effin Guitars for $249. This brand is apparently distributed by a music store called Butler Music, which in a town south of here. I read somewhere that they are rebadged Stagg guitars, which are a cheap line that get a full spectrum of reviews, so buyer beware/try before you buy.

The next place was the tornado pawn shop. Again, a lot of the guitars(behind the counter) were still there, including the $1900 snakeskin Charvel. There was a green hollwbody by Aria for $499, that might have been one of these: www.gbase.com/gear/aria-diamond-1960-green-burst There was also some kind of (semi-)hollowbody by Paul Reed Smith for $3199. On the floor underneath the guitars was some Marshall amp head. I didn't catch the model number, but it looked like a Plexi reissue. One of the guys working there said it was a limited edition, with only 300 being made, and they wanted over $2k for it. I don't recall any interesting guitars of note, except I think one of the neon-colored superstrats was still there. The only fx I remembered was a Line6 DL4. I can't remember if there were any kbs. The only I amp I remember was a big Peavey. I don't know if I mistakenly got confused and also placed it at the previous place.

I did pass the Guitar Syndicate, but did not stop by.

The final place was the pawn/jewelry shop. The counter and wall where the guitars used to be is now more guns, in addition to the original gun counter. At this counter, there were a bunch of new guns from a company called Cobra. They were under $200, so I'd be wary. I walked to the other end of the pawn area and found the guitars. They were behind the counter. I think I saw a Yamaha there from a previous visit. There was some pink guitar with some pattern that I assumed was some Hannah Montana crap. I think there was an Epiphone LP there too. For amps, there was one I didn't recognize, but I wanted to go home, so didn't check it out.

I am planning on making trips the 24th and 31st, so look out for those.

Well, this Christmas weekend for me has been filled with food and drink to review, but let's first start with a trip. I didn't play anything, even though I had my pick with me.

Thursday at work, we had a half-day, so I decided to go to some of the places I was planning to on the 31st. When checking Google Maps for the right street to exit on for one pawn shop, I saw there were 2 others in the area. Since I was already going to call places to make sure they were open, I called these also. The one was a little bit out of the way was closed for Xmas.

First I went to the "new" place that was open. It is actually on the way to the one I was originally planning on going to. It was the same size and configuration of the one I went to where the fucker parked too close to me. Be hind the counter was an LTD, a Gibson SG, and a custom guitar from a local builder named Oscar Cross, whom I've never heard of, and neither has Google. On the main wall was a Chinese Squire, a Washburn guitar, a jazz guitar by a company called Stellar, and a bolt-neck LP by a brand called Lady Luck. On the floor was a Yamaha Motif ES7, and that was sitting in front of a Fender amp and a Laney acoustic amp which I think was a GC80A.

Then I went to the other one, I forgot to check on the map where it exactly was, so I went way past it. I saw that there are 2 thrift stores over there, but I didn't want to visit them. I first went over to the gun counter. There was a .22 rifle with a long magazine. There was a FN FAL. There were 3 double-barrel shotguns with short barrels that were expensive, and a coach gun for $400.

I then went over to the counter that has fx, and the $$$$ guitars behind it. There were 2 Gibson LP's, a Gibson ES-335 or 330, a PRS, and an Ibanez Joe Satriani chrome. There was also a wood finish guitar that I couldn't tell who made it. I think there were also 1 or 2 Schecters. I just remembered there was also 2 Fender Strats(don't know build country) and a Musicman Stingray bass.

In the case itself, the only interesting thing was a Korg PME 40X. This was a modular effects system where you had a master box that you put 4 different modules into. I read there was a selection of 14 different modules. 2 of the modules were the Octave V and the Waveshaper. The Waveshaper apparently looked more interesting than it actually was. I think the other 2 modules were some kind of distortion and either a flanger or phaser.

For a huge pawn shop, they don't have many keyboards. All they had was some Casiaha, and a controller kb.

Next I went over to the shelves where they have heads and small combos. There were so many there that I forgot a few. In this area also was a Crate halfstack and a Marshall JCM 2000 halfstack. The Randall was still there, as was the Carvin. There was another Randall combo, a Laney combo, and a Marshall G50 series combo. There was a Mesa Dual Rectifier for $999. There was also a Marshall MS-4ZW Zakk Wylde Edition Microstack for $54, which is too much for a used one.

Finally I went over to the wall where there were guitars you can play. There was a fuckton of them; more than many music stores even. There were so many that I didn't even feel like trying to remember any. At the bottom of this wall was larger combo amps. There was a Kustom that a guy playing an acoustic guitar was using as a footrest(don't get me started on this). Right next to it was a large silverface Fender(maybe a Twin) that may have been there before. There was a Peavey Austin 400 and a Randall bass amp. There was a Lab L5 that I think was $389. There was a Mesa/Boogie that 44 in it's model name; prob a Rocket 44.

Then I went to the pawnshop in Grandview that was closed last year went I visited on Dec 26.

There was a Peavey combo whose model name started with "Chorus", but I don't remember what the number was in the model name. There was a shelf rack full of strat copies. It also had a Chinese Squire. On the floor was some kind of Washburn. On the wall was 3 LP copies: an Epiphone, a model from Keith Urban's guitar line, and a model I forgot the name of, but wasn't a known brand. There was a Peavey T-15. I didn't ask the price since I figured they'd want too much for it. Right next to it was an Ibanez Talman. The guy said it was an old guitar. They were made between 1994 and 1998. In the guitar universe, you wouldn't consider those old guitars, so I don't know if the guy thought he could convince me it was older than it was, or just doesn't know much about guitars.

Then I went over to the 2 pawn shops in the middle of the hood.

The first place is large, but there is a lot of open space. I first went over to the gun counter. The only interesting things there were one of those semi-auto shotguns with a magazine(prob a Saiga-12) and something that looked like a MAC-10 with a silencer.

I then went over to a wall with some guitars, and there was a Dean Dime with b&w cammo. I then went over to the amps. The only interesting one was a Peavey 5150 combo.  I then went over to where most of the guitars were. They weren't on the wall; they are on, what is apparently in the industry known as, slatwall gondolas. Think something like this www.machine--tools.com/By-Type-/Mill-/Custom-made-store-shelving-gondolas-and-cash-wrap-img-3.jpg but with guitar hangers instead of shelves.

As for the guitars, there were 2 Chinese Squires. There were 3 Washburn guitars: a superstrat, a general model, and what I think is a WV40. There was also a BC Rich Bronze Series Mockingbird.

On the keyboard shelves, besides the regular Casiaha fare, there was an Alesis QS7, and Yamaha MM6 and MM8.

I then went to the nearby Cash America. Most of the guitars looked kind of scuzzy. There was a Korean Squire II there that I want to say was $129 bucks. They had a few Casihas, including a Yamaha PSS120, that I think they wanted $29 for, which is too much. There was a Roland XP-80 for $499. There was also a Williams digital piano. I don't think I've heard of that brand.

Finally I went to the Cash America at the edge of the hood. When I first came in, there was a Yamaha MM8 with some controller kb sitting on top of it. That is a no-no, because you risk damaging buttons, knobs, display, etc. On the shelves where the keyboards normally are, there was a buttload of Casiahas. But on the bottom shelf, there was a Casio Privia digital piano. I do not know why it is on the bottom shelf. It should be higher up so 1. it doesn't get damaged, 2. It is a higher priced item, so you want people to see it, 3. it is a bit heavy, so it would be easier to move if it is higher up. Opposite of these shelves is the guitar wall, with amps on the floor.  The Marshall and Gibson cabs are still there, as is the Tubeworks combo.  This time there was an old Randall combo. As for guitars, there were 3 Washburn superstrats, 2 Epi LP's, and an Epi ES-335 or Casino. There was also a really odd guitar. It had a LP body, but the neck looked it was from a strat. The name on the headstock was Global. This company did make strat copies. I'm thinking someone took a Global strat neck and attached it to a LP body. I'm assuming the neck and body are bolted together. If it has a neck plate, it might have to company name of the body.

If the weather cooperates, I should be going to the other one on the same road on the 31st.

Finally I visited the other Cash America on the same road as the one on the edge of the 'hood. Behind the counter was a hardtail Michael Kelly superstrat. There was also a Dean Dimebag Razorback. In the main area, there was a Chinese Squire and a Dean V. There were more guitars, but apparently nothing of interest, or stuff I've seen before. There were a bunch of Casiahas, but there was also a Roland RS-5 for $329. There was a tiny Randall amp with a metal grille. There were 2 Peavey blue trim amps where I remembered the number part of the model name, but not the word part. One had 75 in the name; the word part might have been Bandit. The other was 112; and the word part might have been Bravo. There were 2 Marshalls from the Valvestate series. One was a 15R, the other was a 20(the actual model number is 8020).

Ok, I'm back. Posting was a pain last Fri, but I won't go into that, so back to the food.

On Christmas Eve, I did an other do-over. This time it was the Indian food. When I got there, I opened the bag and made sure I got all my items. The fist item was Chicken Biriyani, spicy of course. It was good, but didn't seem very spicy. I didn't eat it right away, but did leave it in the bag with the other items, so it was warmer than room temp. The second item was Mulligatwany Soup, spicy also. It was good, and did seem spicy. It seemed there were less veggie(and meat?) chunks than last time. The third item, which they forgot last time, was Paneer Pakora. This wasn't so good, due to me not eating it right away. Maybe I should have popped this in the microwave before I ate. When I was waiting at the place, the guy gave me a piece of Vegetable Pakora. I didn't eat it then, but waited until I had the rest of my stuff. It was good.

As for condiments, I got three things. I got the container of white liquid again, so I guess I should assume it was to be used with the CB. I was dipping forkfuls of it in the liquid, but I dumped the liquid on the CB then there was just a little left. I also tried it with the PP and the VP(this was big, so I could break it up into smaller pieces). I cant remember what the liquid tasted like, but it looked like the liquid you find at the bottom of a container of coleslaw. The second item was hari chutney. This did have some spiciness to it and was good. I tried with the three items I mentioned previously. The third item was a brown liquid. I don't know if it was tamarind chutney, because it didn't taste sweet. It might have had a bit of spiciness, but I can't remember. I also tried it with the 3 items, and I guess it was ok, since I do remember not having a negative impression of it.

I also got the dough ball with honey. I put that in the 'fridge for the next day. It was good.

I'll get to the beverages from there next time.

Today there is some snow on the road, so everyone is going slow.

Last Wed, I tried the second of the new lay's Flavors. It was the Greektown Gyro. It is the Kettle Cooked variety. I don't know how the hell it is supposed to taste like a gyro. I've had gyros from the one gas station, and the Arby's variety, and the chips didn't taste like those. I guess they were ok, but again, I wouldn't go out of my way to get them or pay extra.

I think I'll try the last one in 2 weeks.

Last Wed had me doing a kind of redo. This time I had my sense of taste back.

I went to the Burger King that's right on my way home, but I didn't go to Arby's right across the street. I'll get to that in a bit.

At Burger King, I got the Chicken Burgers. These were good. Sometimes I was able to taste some of the grill marks on the chicken patty, which gave it a beefy flavor, which was a positive. I would like to see how this would be as a basic burger. Since chicken is cheaper than beef, it shouldn't cost that much.

At Arby's, I wanted to get the Flatbread Fish Sandwiches. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to call ahead. The one across the street from BK did not include them in the 2 for $5 menu. I called another one in the area, and they said they were, so I went there. When I looked on the map, it wasn't where I thought it was. It was much closer on the same street. I never really paid attention to that area when driving past, so I don't know how long it's been there. I should have asked if they used to be in a location further up the street.

As for the sandwiches, they were good. I think I like them better than the regular ones. Oh yeah, I got 2 orders of onion rings, which were again good.

I do have something else to mention. I recalled having waffle fries from Arby's once and liking them a lot. I went to the website to make sure that is where I got them from(I thought it might have been Hardee's instead). They had the curly fries, onion rings, and other sides listed, but no waffle fries. When I got there, I was having some anxiety, so I just wanted to order my stuff and leave. After I paid for my order, I saw on the counter menu mat and the overhead menu that they did have waffle fries. If I had just stopped to catch my breath, I could have checked out the menu and saw they had the waffle fries. In that case, I would have gotten an order of those and an order of curly fries. I have to remember next time to get those instead.

I was planning on trying the third and final Lay's flavor tomorrow night, but I seem to be sick with something today, and don't know if I'll feel like having them tomorrow.  Also, I don't know if my sense of taste will be offline again.  I guess I'll get to them when I get to them.

Also expect another booze review in the near future. 

On Tues 2/16, I went back to Subway and got 3 more sandwiches. They were all footlongs on white bread, and had mozzarella and parmesan cheese. The first was called something like Piziola. The meat is peperoni and chicken chunks. They also put tomato sauce on it. I also had oregano on it. I might have had them put some oil on the cheese. While it was good, I don't think I'd have it again. I think this sandwich is featured at this place because they also do the flatbread pizzas, thus have tomato sauce. The second sandwich was the veggie patty. This is the vegetarian option besides the regular veggie sub. I had them put oil on it. It wasn't that great. I can't really describe what the actual veggie patty tasted like. It would probably be better with veggies and other condiments. The third was the seafood one again. It was good again.

I will either post this on Tues or Wed, so I will have gotten another 3 sandwiches, which I will review. I think you already know what one of them will be.

Getting a bit off topic, it sucks that Subway didn't start the $6 Feb deal until Thur 2/4. If they had started it on 2/1, I would have had an extra Tuesday to get subs. As it is, 2/23 will be my last day of Subway.

I have not gotten around to opening a new bottle of booze, which is just as well, since I have been taken ibuprofen because my Achilles tendon has been bothering me.