madmax
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Posts: 828 
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Post by madmax on Aug 11, 2014 19:34:56 GMT -4
Fuck, I forgot to mention at "tornado" that the D-20 was marked down to $149, and the other thing was $199
Again, got a late start.
The first place, a gun shop, was gone.
Then after stopping at the thrift store that once smelled like a restroom, I saw there was a music store across the street. They are more oriented towards pianos and orchestral inst, even though they had some kid-sized acoustics. There was a Roland XP-80 for $425. There was also some digital piano with a buttload of buttons like a modern organ.
At the flea market next to a Salvation Army thrift store, one booth had a Maestro electric and a Hannah Montana electric, and another booth had a classical guitar and a Rouge guitar(didn't note if elec or acou).
Next was Legacy Music. This place pretty much deals new stuff, so I don't paly anything. They had some Orange amps. They had some EVH guitars and an amp(head/cab). They primarily deal in Fender, but sell Ibanez and Sivertone too. There was a Korg digital piano with a cover on it.
In the $$$$ acoustic room, they had 2 fender amps with fancy wood bodies, and 2 with the Kustom-style vinyl, one green, one orange.
At the African thrift store in the same shopping center, there was a console piano with a closed lid. I went here before LM.
Gotta go!
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Aug 12, 2014 19:27:20 GMT -4
Today, I'll have close to 3 hrs to type this up.
First, "the other thing" that was marked down was the Arturia The Laboratory 61.
Now back to regular programming
Next up is the Raytown CA. They still had the MSV and the mystery goo strat there. There were 2 Ch squires, one a lefty. There was an HH Ibz RG that might have been less than $100. There was also a $$$ Ibz HSS with 22f that I think had the word custom on the truss rod cover.
They still had the Roland JX-3P there, but cut the price by $50 to $249(whoop dee doo).
Amp-wise, there was a Marshall TSL 122 combo for $599.
As I was flying down the highway, I saw the sign for a gun shop and pulled in. They had 2 of those Cobray M11's, but they were the normal color. There was some form of mini-Uzi for $425, and a full-size one with some butt-ugly wood stock for $1000. I think the mini was not an authentic Israeli, and I didn't ask about the big one.
Next I went into the pawn shop next door. They were relatively new. There were 2 Casiahas, and a Korg for $399 which I think was a T3. There was one of those Silvertone PS's, and a Gremlin electric for $99 that I'm only mentioning because that is the same brand of the acoustic guitar my parents originally got me.
At the next thrift store, there were 3 organs, One was a Yamaha HC2, one was a Baldwin Encore, and the other was some Kimball.
Then I went downhill to the "hole in the wall" pawn shop. They remodeled and got rid of some of the counters, including the ones in front of the guitars. There was a PV T60 that they wanted a retarded $549 for. They also had one of those Fender Teles with the LP electronics setup for, I think, over $500. The next guitars I mention are ones I did pick up and play. While none of them were dead, I don't recall any standing out either. There was a PV Vandenberg covered with Superman logos for $379. There were 2 Jacksons; one a black HSH and the other an HH with some kind of blue wood finish. |
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madmax
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Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Aug 12, 2014 20:15:41 GMT -4
The last guitar there was some kind of Fender superstrat with a honeyburst finish for $329.
At the thrift store in the shopping center that I take a piss behind, they had 2 bullwhips, which was odd.
Next up is Guitar Center. I forgot to check out the $$$$ room. In the drum area, there was girl that looked like Mercedes from Glee playing on an electronic drum kit. Even though she had headphones on, I could still hear her doing a good job from the actual sound of the pads being hit.
First I went over to the guitar area. I played with a Squire Tele that had P90's and the LP electronics. Then I messed with an Epi Zakk LP for $399. I think the LP might have been louder. but it was very trebly. The Tele had a more balanced tonal spectrum.
The last area I checked out was the kb area. First, I checked out what I think was a Roland synth. I put it on an organ preset and tried to play the intro to 'Heep's Stealin. I then turned around and something more interesting caught my eye. They had a used DSI PS12 for $2499. This should have been fun to play, but it had that problem where I couldn't figure out how to initialized it. I then went to Bank 1(of 4) of the factory presets. I was expecting to find some classic Sequential Circuits sounds, but they were pretty much the standard "lookee what I can do" crap. I didn't check out the other 3 banks.
On my way to the next CA, I saw a gun shop, but I didn't stop in.
At the CA, there was an Oscar Schmidt 335 for $119. There were 2 Schecter Amerian FR's. There was a Korean Squire, a Chinese Starcaster, and a $249 Mexi Strat. They also had a bunch of Washburn and First Act stuff.
Behind the counter, there were 2 LP's. One was wine red, and I think a studio. The other I think had a flat top and a non-clearcoat rust finish. The truss rod cover had big letters of LPS or LPJ.
At the "crazy" pawn shop, there were Dean Dime and Mustaine V's, and BCR KKV and superstrat. There was at least one WTF gun I didn't ask about.
I forgot to mention at the gun store with the Uzis, there was some kind of WTF shotgun I didn't ask about.
At the last CA, they had so many guitars packed in, that I didn't even want to attempt to pull them off the wall. I remember seeing a Starcaster, and Epi LP, and a Yamaha Pacifica that might have been HSS. There was also a Carvin guitar that was 24f, had 2 knobs, 1 pu switch, and 2 smaller switches. I don't remember if it was HH or HSH.
They also had a set of Kenton MIDI footpedals, a Boss BR-600 for $149, and a Casio Privia 88-key for $599.
Next post covers Friday.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Aug 12, 2014 20:30:12 GMT -4
Friday, I got a late start yet again. I found out on Google Maps that there was 2 thrift stores and a pawn shop in the town where I was getting my car worked on.
There was nothing in the 2 thrift stores that were actually next door to each other. I can't remember much about the pawn shop except I think there was an Explorer-shaped thing that might have been a Jackson, and a Yamaha Pacifica. I actually pugged the Yamaha into one of those small Behringer modeling amps they had set up. The sound kept cutting out, so I just left.
The one junk store had the cruddy organ that's been there for a long time. Upstairs was some other musical equipment. I won't get into details about that right now.
At the nearby Salvation Army in the as-is area, I think there were 4 pianos. There was also some organ I either forgot or couldn't see the brand name. There was also a Farfisa home organ that had a bunch of controls, including drawbars. I think the model nameplate was broken off.
The only thing mentioning in my town was the one crappy thrift store had a pump organ.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Aug 12, 2014 21:36:23 GMT -4
Now it's time to start talking about food and drink. I think I only have 10 min.
On Wed, I was going to stop in at Church's to see what time they close, but it was pissing down rain. When I got home later, I called them and they said 10pm. I drove over there and got there around 9:30. I went to the front door and it was locked. An the employee motioned at me to use the drive-thru. When I got to the ordering thingy, I said I wanted those sandwiches they had for 99c. The guy said they ran out of buns, so try back tomorrow. I then went over to BK and McDonalds. thankfully I brought cash with me because the credit card things were out at McDs(maybe from the storm).
At BK, I got the Mushroom& Swiss and Big Fish sandwiches from the 2 for $5 menu. At McDs, I got 2 large fries and 2 of the Bacon Club sandwiches. The Mushroom & Swiss wansn't as big as I thought it would be. It was ok. The Big Fish was also alright, and also smaller than I thought it would be(even though I've had it before).
I'll have to wait till tomorrow to continue!
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Aug 20, 2014 18:17:40 GMT -4
Damn me and me need to be complete!
I forgot to say that at GC, after messing with the DSI, I went back over to the Roland. I then started messing with the kb below it, which I think was a Yamaha Motif X8. I was checking out the organ patches while playing 'Heep again. I did mess with the presets on the Roland, and found one that was supposed to sound like the solo on ELP's Lucky Man. Since I don't know how to play it, it didn't do me any good.
Now back to the food.
The sandwiches at McD's are called Bacon Clubhouse. I got the burger and the crispy(aka breaded/fried) chicken. Both of these were good, but they are pricey.
Thursday, before I went to Church's, I stopped at the library. I spent a few minutes too long there because when I got to Church's, the clock in the car said 9:01, and they had already locked the doors. I hate using the drive-thru. It was a pain trying to explain to the guy that there were 4 different sandwiches(technically, it's one, but you can get it plain or with 1 of 3 different sauces). I also ordered a small container of gravy. When I got to the window, the guy had forgotten my gravy, so I had to wait a min for that. I also stopped at McD's again.
At McD's, I got that Jalapeno Double burger that was being advertised. It was ok. You could taste the jalapenos, and it was a bit spicy. I also got the third Bacon Clubhouse sandwich, the grilled chicken. Like the other 2, it was good.
With the Church's sandwiches, I got all 4: Classic(aka plain), Honey BBQ, Spicy, and Buffalo Wing. I had them in that order. The Classic was good. I got the honey BBQ for the sake of completeness and thinking since it said "Honey", it would taste different than regular BBQ sauce. I was wrong. It tasted like regular BBQ sauce. I wouldn't recommend this one since I'm not a fan of BBQ sauced stuff. Next was the Spicy. I don't recall it being that spicy, unless they didn't put enough sauce on it. With the Buffalo Wing, I could taste the classic bw flavor, but it wasn't spicy. Note that these sandwiches are a bit on the small side. Oh yeah, the gravy was good.
Friday, I took the durian challenge. I went to the Asian markets in the River Market area, including the one I'd never been in before. I went back to one with the most dessert items and bought some of those and a frozen durian. I bought the dessert items so I would have more to eat and in case the durian was unbearable to eat. I also bought some snack foods which I'll eat and review in the future, a plastic Chinese spoon, and a six pack of coconut soda, which I didn't have with the durian and desserts(I had a jug of chocolate milk). Since the durian was frozen, I asked the checkout girl how long it would take. She said it would be thawed by tomorrow, even if you left it outside(it wasn't that hot out). I left it on top of the dashboard of my car, and when I was ready to eat it, it was thawed. I then carefully cut it open. Durians are notorious for being stinky, even when they are not cut open. While it did have a distinct odor, it wasn't nasty or overpowering. The texture of it is best described as "gloopy", which was a bit unappetizing. I didn't think it tasted that good. I kept the seeds, which are edible if baked or boiled. I think I'm going to boil them on Sat.
After I make a list of the desserts I also had, I'll post them up too.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Aug 29, 2014 17:44:04 GMT -4
A quick update.
I boiled the durian seeds for between 15-20 min. They actually have a veggie flavor that I can't put my finger on. I tried using some condiments like soy sauce and salt & pepper. I maybe also tried paprika. There were 7 seeds, and I've eaten 4 already. I'll hopefully get to the Asian dessert next weekend.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Sept 8, 2014 12:07:11 GMT -4
Well, I've had a shitty few days, but I'll now post about those Asian desert items. I didn't finish all these with the durian. It took me several days of snacking, and I still haven't had all the coffee candies. It seems with the stuff I got this time, it was a little hard to tell if what I was looking at was the product name, the name of the manufacturer, or the name of the distributor. The first item on the list is (Happy Promise) Choco Pie from a company called Lotte. When I looked on the back, the first thing I saw was Cyrillic writing, so I thought they were made in Russia. It turns out it was just stuff like the ingredients, which was also listed in other languages: English, French,Spanish, and for some reason, Azerbaijani. They are actually made in Singapore. These are like something from the Little Debbie family. These were ok. They seemed a little dense, in that you don't feel like eating a lot of them in one sitting. Next up is Taro Flavour Wafer made by Dragonfly. These are made in China. These are an Asian version of sugar wafer cookies that in the US look like this: www.cookiemadness.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/sugar-wafers-hill-country.jpg These smelled like buttered popcorn, but I'm thinking they didn't really taste like it since I recall them tasting ok. Next is Snow Crackers by Hello Bee Bee. They are made in China, but the distribution company is in Taiwan. These are more of a cookie since they are sweet. They are much lighter than a cracker. With these, I had to eat a few before I felt they were decent. Next is Rice Crackers by a company called Bin Bin. They were Coconut Milk Flavor. These also were more of a cookie and very light. They did taste like toasted coconut, and were good. They are from Thailand. There were a bunch of distributors listed on the back, including 2 from the US, 1 from Canada, and 1 from Brunei. Finally is these coffee candies by I think Kopiko. The back had a logo of Inbisco, but I think that was the distributor. These do taste like coffee, but I don't remember if it is regular, or with cream/sugar added. For some reason I thought there might be some other flavor components like chocolate, so that's why I bought them even though I'm not a coffee fan. I wouldn't have though, if I knew they were hard candies. |
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Sept 8, 2014 12:29:25 GMT -4
Saturday, I went to the Thai restaurant. Here is their online version of the menu: www.kctastythai.com/menuThe first item was the Thai General's Chicken. This was ok, but I probably wouldn't get it again. The chicken pieces are prepared(battered/breaded, deep-fried) like fried chicken, but are not crispy because they are in sauce. The next item was called Tiger Cried Beef. It came with some kind of Thai hot sauce This was pretty good, even without the hot sauce. The final item was Pot Stickers. These came with a sweet soy sauce. I did not like the soy sauce. The pot stickers tasted good plain, and also using the hot sauce from the TCB. Sunday, I stopped at Arby's. I got 2 orders of onion rings and all 3 of those Mega Meat Stack sandwiches. I also went to KFC to pick up a small container of gravy. They didn't charge me for it; I'm assuming because it was close to closing, and they were going to toss it anyways. I might have gotten something else, but I can't remember. I'll check if it's on my previous credit card bill. That's it for now. |
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Sept 19, 2014 18:39:37 GMT -4
I guess I didn't get anything else that night. The Arby's sandwiches are the Reuben Super Stack, the Triple Stack, and the Club Stack. With the reuben, you can get either all corned beef, all turkey, or half and half. I can't remember if I got all beef or half. I didn't taste as good to me as it did other times I've gotten it. I did like both of the other sandwiches. The KFC gravy didn't taste as good as it usually does; like I said earlier, maybe they gave it away because they were going to toss it. The Church's gravy was much better.
The next day(Monday), I went to this Asian restaurant that is labeled as fusion. This means that they have stuff from various countries, and they have Asian versions of other kinds of food; in this case, I'm pretty sure it was tacos. I'll check the menu tomorrow. I think I got beef bulgogi, some Vietnamese soup, and the two soups(egg drop and I think lemongrass) under the appetizers/sides section of the menu. I got the side soups for free because the bulgogi came with one, and since it was their grand opening, there was a free soup with purchase of $10 or more. Like I said previous, I'll check the menu and give a more accurate post.
I guess I'll go for now. I'll try to update on Wed.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Sept 26, 2014 18:26:57 GMT -4
Well, the one library I was planning on going to Wed was closed to put security shit in, and I was fucking around at the end of work yesterday and didn't post this. And, away we go!
I went and checked the menu, and the fusion menu also included burritos and 2 noodle dishes.
The side soups were Egg Drop Soup, and something simply called House Special Soup. The bulgogi dish is called Korean Beef Bulgogi with Kimchi and Rice. The other item from the Vietnamese/Laotian section of the menu is called Golden Egg Noodle Soup. Some of the ingredients were listed below it: chicken, eggs, green onion, cilantro. It looked like they used ramen noodles in this. I actually saw them finishing it up when I came in, and it looked like the tell-tale "brick".
And as for the taste. The egg drop soup was fine. I don't know how it compares to the other 2 places I've gotten it from: the Chinese restaurant that recently closed, and Hy-Vee(local grocery chain). The house soup was ok also. It had some kind of different flavor, which many times seems to be the case with authentic Asian food. The bulgogi was ok*. I seemed to recall them asking if I wanted it spicy, and I of course said yes. It didn't seem to be that spicy. I think those Asian and Indian places think us honkies can't handle spicy food. I thought the golden....soup was really good.
I think I'll have to try those fusion items next time.
* What is really odd is that I seemed to like more the bulgogi dish they served at the college cafeteria once which was just the beef served over plain rice. The meat looked dry on the outside, but was tender and moist on the inside, which usually indicates marinating.
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madmax
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Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Sept 26, 2014 18:33:26 GMT -4
The last item was supposed to be the 2nd to last, but my bro had called me and told me our parents were coming home a day early. This meant I had to clean up the next morning, and got me a bit anxious.
What I did for dinner was buy the 40pc Chicken McNuggets at McD's. I put some cooking spray on a cookie sheet. I then put the Nuggs on the sheet. On top of those, I put 2 8oz bags of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Shit, it's almost time for me to go. I'll try to finish this up at work on Mon, since I already typed the whole story up for some coworkers.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Oct 2, 2014 16:19:17 GMT -4
RRRRGGGGGHHHHH! For some reason, I can't paste shit into the reply box. I'll have to try emailing my stuff to my personal account, and see if I can paste while using a different computer.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Oct 3, 2014 17:49:04 GMT -4
Now lets get back to my McNuggets.
After putting the cheese on, I then put some pieces of onion and tomato on top. I think I also added some parmesan, but I can’t remember if it was before or after I put it in the oven.
I put this in the oven which was set at 350deg.
I took it out when the bits of cheese that fell onto the cookie sheet were turning brown, since I didn’t want them to burn. The cheese on top of the McNuggs had melted.
Unfortunately, the cheese didn’t melt like it was supposed to. Instead of being nice and gooey and stringy, it kind of became one solid mass.
I suspect the problem was one or more of the following:
1. Oven temp
2. How long it was in the oven
3. Cheese maybe still to cool from being in the fridge
It tasted ok, but the cheese, besides the texture problem, was a little bland. I didn’t really taste the tomato pieces, but I did taste the onions a bit.
I think I’m going to have to try making this again if I can figure out the cheese problem. I’ll also add more onions.
It probably would have tasted better to me if I wasn’t anxious about my parents coming home the next day, a day earlier than expected. This also meant that I didn’t go to another place. I was planning on going to this local seafood restaurant. I was going to try frog legs, which I’ve never had before.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Oct 3, 2014 18:21:55 GMT -4
Now it’s time for the beverages.
The coconut soda I think is called CoCo and made by a company called Rico. It is a bit hard to tell when looking at the can, and the small print didn't help either. All that said was that it was made in Puerto Rico by a subsidiary of Schwepps. It seemed the very first sip from the very first can tasted the most coconuty. It seemed like it was kind of blah otherwise. I liked the blue coconut soda they used to sell at Walmart a lot better.
Before I review the alcoholic stuff, I have to mention something. My sense of taste is kind of weird when it comes to alcohol. When it comes to beer, I mostly taste the “beer taste”. If it has some kind of added flavor, I seem to only taste that on the first sip, then it’s back to the beer taste. With straight liquor, I mostly taste the burning alcohol. I'll talk about wine below.
The first thing I got was a triple bock beer called After before from a Lithuanian company called Rinkuskial. Like I said above, it just had the standard beer taste. The only interesting thing to note was the label. It had a drawing of an attractive woman, but when you turned the bottle upside-down, the drawing becomes an ugly old woman.
The next item was from an area winery called Pirtle. It was mead. This is a form of wine made from honey. When it comes to wine, the only other kind I've had is the teaspoonful I get at communion. The wine(s) they use just seem to have a wine-y alcohol taste. The mead had the same wine-y taste to it. I thought it would taste like honey, since that's what it's made from.
The last 2 items were airplane mini-bottles that were in a huge barrel for 99ct. I still haven't opened one of them, and will of course review that after I actually taste it.
The one I did open was Jim Beam Black. This is of course whiskey that's been "double aged", which I assume means twice as long. This had the same alcohol burn like I mentioned above. I did try mixing some in with some Coke I had. It didn't burn, but just made the Coke taste funny. I did have something else odd happen. I had taken I tiny sip of the JB, then took a drink of water afterwards. That produced an interesting taste. I did try the same with some root beer last Tues. All I remember is that the root beer may have been too old or was from a bad batch. I can't recall if I did the same with a bottle of cream soda I had a week before. I finally finished the bottle last Tues.
When I go on another booze run, I'm think of trying hard cider, blueberry wine, and picking up a few more of the airplane bottles if they still have them.
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