   [Trade War Over Intellectual Property] I bought a great knock-off guitar from China via eBay. I can’t believe how well it plays and looks for the price — $320. I think it’s supposed to be a copy of Gibson’s $7299 ES-335 (That’s the only Gibson hollow-body that has that tailpiece). It makes sense that if you’re going to copy a guitar to copy the most expensive one. It looks like every part is counterfeit down to the “Gibson” pretend inlay on the front of the headstock and “Made in USA” stamped on the back of the headstock. The shipping label attests to the fact that it is made in China at the Xingyu Musical Instrument in Shandong.This great guitar has the longest neck I’ve ever seen, with 22 frets. The strings are so long they vibrate forever. It’s so easy to play and has a wonderful versatile sound, unlike my old Stratocaster that is better for rock and roll. The worst part is that the body is made of laminated wood (plywood), but I can’t tell the difference in looks or sound. I’m afraid it might delaminate because of the high humidity here, but in the meantime I’m in love with this thing. If you’re going to buy one, do it now before they are caught for stealing the intellectual property of American companies. The Bigsby tailpiece, Grover tuners, and Humbucker pickups all appear to be most excellent copies. This is a perfect example of China stealing American companies’ intellectual property. In the meantime, I’m glad I gobbled this deal up! |
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| [FantasyFest] We had a great time. The parade was fun. We got drunk. We had sex. We’ll be back next year. |
FWC is more than a little out of control. TheBluePaper.com has reported on FWC boarding liveaboard boats without a warrant, breaking down doors, searching, and in one case shooting the owner multiple times. His crime? He had not paid a $73 fine for not removing an expired registration sticker. They are calling some pretty nice boats “derelict”. One boater found that FWC had seized her boat home, towed it ashore and destroyed it. Then they charged $8,000 for stealing her home. See the entire report at the Blue Paper. Video |
| [FantasyFest] “Fat, naked, old people” So what. They are going there to have fun. You’re going there to get a hard-on. There’s a difference between a voyeur and a partier, pervert. |
House of Music is just a song of the past. Dick’s Bayside, Captain Annie’s, House of Music and the short lived underground bar without a name (until they got caught), then some church that never got going. |
| [Snowbirds] The New Jersey fat chicks are finally “woke” and are getting concerned about the environment. I saw a small herd of them grazing on the side of the road last week next to the iguanas. Now if they can just get their methane expulsion under control… |
In 1923 the United States Quarantine Station used the barge Wistaria anchored in the harbor for a disinfecting station. Acting Assistant Surgeon J.Y. Porter Jr. was in charge. Is this the vessel Wisteria Island, nee Christmas Tree Island named for and the spelling got changed along the way because the island was never officially named? |
| [First Internet Message] Fifty years ago, two letters were transmitted online, forever altering the way that knowledge, information and communication would be exchanged.
Hi Deer Ed, we’re glad they did! Keep up the great job connecting us all. Peace! Video |
 [How Many Key Deer] Interesting fact from Save Our Key Deer Inc. Many of us are familiar with the noble efforts of Jack Watson in the 1950s and 1960s to save the Key Deer from near-certain extinction. But not much publicity has been given to people that also cared much for the deer in the following couple of decades and helped him stabilize and grow their population. One of Save Our Key Deer’s Board members is a National Geographic archivist and just yesterday happened upon the following report and advertisement in an October 1972 issue of National Geographic. It features Dr. W. Klimstra from Illinois, who did much research on Key Deer in the 1970s and 80s that was financed by National Geographic. The ad asks for you to support his studies for $7.50 per year (magazine subscription included!) Here’s the 1972 text: Tracking Florida’s tiny deer. Roving radio station – a Key deer wearing a transmitter in its collar – crosses a highway on Big Pine Key. The cattle egret tags along to dine on insects stirred up by the collie-size cousin of the common whitetail. Signals from the collar relay the deer’s movements to Dr. W. D. Klimstra (right). Director of the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory of Southern Illinois University. In an on-the-spot study supported by the National Geographic Society, the scientist and his assistants eavesdrop on the Nation’s only herd of Key deer to understand their habits and habitat needs.”Unlike these days, back then and through the 1990s the federal organizations and outside scientists really cared about the Key Deer by supporting so many research projects. One thing hasn’t not changed though, reporting the estimated total number of Key Deer. That figure has always been way overdone. The National Geographic article states there were 600 Key deer in 1972, which is ridiculous. Subsequent studies and reports put that number at only 201 in 1971 and 482 in 2001. |
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I think that we must have celebrated FantasyFest incorrectly. We dressed up, people watched, enjoyed the parade and in general had a good time. After reading posts on this site that couldn’t have been right. We’ve lived here for over thirty years, so please don’t tell on us. |
| November AARP calendar is here online here: Full Menu > Ongoing Events |
[Pet Deer] Licking cat. Where can I get a pet deer? Do they pee on the couch? Do they sell them at the new refuge office? Video |
| [Key West Film Festival] Due to high demand, the number of passes sold is nearly triple normal volume. Don’t get left behind. Buy yours today! Link |
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| [Electric Trucks] Amazon announced Sept. 19 it was buying 100,000 electric trucks from US electric—vehicle startup Rivian as part of its effort to eliminate the carbon footprint of the company by 2040. The order represents the largest purchase of light duty electric Vehicles (EVs) in history, and a turning point for the EV market which will now likely see fleets electrify faster than ever before. Amazon’s move came as part of a climate pledge to ensure its operations emitted net—zero greenhouses gasses before the middle of the century through its use of EVs, reforestation, and renewable energy. |
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 I have already eaten all the Halloween candy so this year trick-or-treaters are getting ketchup and soy sauce packets. |
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| Dick Capri Roasts Drew Carey. Video |
[Water Nazi] Key West FWC shoots liveaboard boater on his houseboat. Some people’s boats were towed away and destroyed while they weren’t home, and now they’ve been billed for destruction costs. Video |
| [Dead Terrorist Leader] President Trump’s Statement on the Death of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. Link |
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| [Mass Shooting of the Week] This week’s prize goes to Greenville, Texas where a manhunt is on for a party pooper opened fire at an off-campus homecoming party, killing two people and sending 14 more to area hospitals. Video |
 [The Answer is More Guns] Background checks for gun transfers almost doubled between 2000 and 2009, yet firearm homicides and all non-fatal violent crimes dropped to its lowest level since the CDC began publishing data in 1981. No predator of any species wants to get hurt in an attack. 42% of US homes are now reported to have firearms. If I was a predator and thought I had a 4.2 out of 10 chance of getting shot when invading a home, I would think twice. If a predator needed an easy victim, he might just follow a anti-gun protester home.
That petite single female with the NRA sticker in her window would probably not be a good choice of victims. It doesn’t take brute strength to pull a trigger. |
| [Facts] If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell. ~Carl Sandburg |
Buy your Halloween candy from the girls at Keys Fisheries on Stock Island. |
| The water Nazis are boarding boats that they don’t personally like. If the boat doesn’t fit their image of a standard lifestyle, they board it, shoot the owner and make up some phony charge, then destroy the boat. |
Halloween again. Oh joy, to teach my already misguided off-springs to see the world in a daze and confused manner and to dress like a mutated welfare recipient, then go out and scare hard working people into giving free useless candy so they can get back to watching more commercials and junk TV. Maybe I should teach my children about religion and other mysticism cons to make a living with. Oh joy! Christmas is next, Mr. Merchant. |
| Fantasy Fest 2019 in Key West told me one thing, why bar stools are brown! |
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| FWS is out of control when they invade your liveaboard without warrants. I thought boaters had the same rights as other residences. If an FWS agent has a hair across his ass for you, you’d better pack it up an leave. They don’t have anything better to do so they go out of their way to screw you into living like their image of boaters should be. They decide what rules to enforce or ignore. |
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| Fluoride is presumed to be a cognitive neurodevelopmental hazard to humans. This conclusion is based on a consistent pattern of findings in human studies across several different populations showing that higher fluoride exposure is associated with decreased IQ or other cognitive impairments in children.” So contrary to FKAA spin, tap water is NOT “the best drink in town”. At least whiskey only produces temporary cognitive impairment. With tap water’s fluoride, it is lifelong. |
[Diet] nutrition myths debunked. Link |
| Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured. ~Mark Twain |
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| [Police] Key West and Monroe County Police Department are out of control. Jail conditions are dirty, unsanitary and inhumane. Minor offenders are charged with felonies so the system of bail bondsmen, lawyers, and police departments can thrive. Keep electing commissioners and government overseers that dehumanize, denigrate and bring great suffering upon your fellow citizens. Of one thing I am certain, you will be next! |
Now that food has replaced sex in my life, I can’t even get into my own pants! |
| This years’ FantasyFest is finally over and good riddance! Next year at this time we will take a two-week cruise so we do not have to suffer with this mess. Since the holy rollers ruined it, FF is useless for fun and party time. |
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