Mule

I read a book by Mark Divine and in it was this quote. "Burn the boat." The point was committing to do something before you knew how to do it.  Arrive on shore, and then burn the boat.  Not as a test of strength, but...

Yesterday I saw a video of Christopher Porterfield playing Away in A Manger on his Mule, his new baby sitting in his lap and his wife filming. Yesterday I also read an interview with a maker of stuff who used a lot of words...

I heard a really great phrase the other day. The context was chemotherapy medication but I think it can be applied elsewhere usefully - the "Optimal Minimum". Because chemotherapy can have negative consequences you can't...

Ever bit off more than you can chew?  Work 80 hours in a week? How was that for ya? I read something in regards to repeat-ability in regards to physical effort and working out that struck a chord. Eighty percent of your...

If building guitars has 1,00 steps, probably 800 of them are in teh locating/setup. Smithers does them all, very well.   ...

Gee golly brass is nice. This one is headed over the pond to James Home of Tone. ...

Brass resonator guitar start to finish ...

I love building resonator guitars. LOVE.  Every day the feeling will find it's way to the surface, " Why me?" It's just awesome. ...

Everyone wants authority. Taking responsibility is more important.  It's our gut reaction to walk into a meeting/work place/internet forum and want to be the one that everyone nods their heads to, but being the guy who says,...

The buzzword in business podcasts I listen to these days is "gratitude".  Big shot business guys, motivational speakers all want to show people the power of gratitude.  But listening to the last couple I hear a common theme -...

    (Above) My first set of spun tricones. Let yourself be a beginner. It's been said before. But....how?  Why don't you?  I think we skip the beginner stage because we have good taste.  We know what's awesome, what we...

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about The First Equation.  The idea being that if you want to go venture out and do something you need to find the math equation that tells the story.  We want to hide our heads in the sand and...

If you buy a Mule it was made by these three people. Me - on the left, my twin brother Phil, and the mighty Smithers. The metal resonator guitar has been done the same way since 1928. There was of course a 60 year hiatus...

Answer this question first. What do you want from work? You will get more than nothing and you can't have everything, the rest is up to you. Stay thankful. You've been given an opportunity. You are entitled to nothing....

"The Fighter" is one of my favorite movies. Great acting by everyone involved. One of the best scenes is the one where Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams sit down with his family to tell them he's going to train in Las Vegas with a...

The progression goes like this: See someone do something awesome. You like awesome and also want to do it. They've been doing it for a while.... a long while... and you have not. Emulation is a way to learn so you...

If you work with other people or have people who work for you or work on your own - so everyone- remember: there are things only you can do. Why spend your time doing things everyone else can do? You have a skill set,...

Owners- if you show up to a supplier with money and they don't get back to you, or take your money and don't get your stuff, or say it will "be done next week" but isn't they are holding you hostage. And you're letting them....

When you work, work. When you rest, rest. When you play, play. If any of these mix you end up just dinking around. Often times we find ourselves resting while at work. But for the majority of us our jobs are not as hard as...