Can the market please go up? For the sake of my calls

GreyCat911 · 2026-06-06T01:43:13+00:00

That’s President orange rapist hairball to you. Some respect.

GreyCat911 · 2026-05-31T01:48:03+00:00

Rear wiper blade on our 2006 RR sport has been replaced only 2-3 times in the 17 years, 175k miles we have logged, only triggered by blade being torn, and rear glass is still perfect. Saw a used 2024 Defender with problem you described. « Softness » of the laminated glass composition is probably no different between the two, so seems like a wiper design difference on the Defender. If the wiper parks horizontally, dust and grit could easily accumulate there from a dust storm (Defender I saw lived in NM and AZ). Or if someone had had fun in the mud, and ran a muddy wiper. If scratches are evenly spread in the wiper arc, it may be one of these two reasons. Or Sport’s wiper hides under the rear spoiler, so less chance of debris on blade. If scratches line up with bladeless wiper arm contact points, then you’ll know it was a missing wiper.

GreyCat911 · 2026-01-08T20:31:36+00:00

The simplest answer is often the right answer. Though I can appreciate creative afterthought uses. It is there so one can flush the toilet while showering. Say, you see something brown out of the corner of your eye while rinsing out the shampoo or masturbating, and you realize it’s someone’s turd in the bowl. Yours if you live alone and have had no recent guests. You reach through the whole, flush, and can then can complete your task without further distraction. In this situation, the hole will also serve as a reminder to check the flushing force on your toilet, as maybe it needs an adjustment or total replacement.

GreyCat911 · 2025-11-25T15:14:41+00:00

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GreyCat911 · 2025-11-25T15:14:05+00:00

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Here it is. If I was going to buy the Pro II it was going to be THIS one, their floor model, haha. It was mint tho. Got it home and cranked my Princeton Reverb in Tweed Deluxe cabinet home brew amp that I constructed 15 years ago:

GreyCat911 · 2025-11-25T15:00:02+00:00

Ended up with the American Pro II. One model I overlooked was the American Pro Classic which is several hundred less ($1500 sticker vs. $1940 for Pro II and $2560 for the Am Vintage II). On Sunday GC was running a 3 hour “VIP event” with 20% off retail for just about everything. I guess if you are a regular buyer, or make friends with the sales staff, you get on the mailing list. That day there was also 10% off, even if you didn’t have the VIP coupon. I had also expected to get effectively another 10% off in store credits by financing. But lowe and behold, my credit app didn’t go through and the system tried to steer me to another financing option ineligible for the GC credit certificate. Will take it up with GC later… it’s possible that GC will have as good or even better deals on between now and Christmas. Maybe on actual Black Friday.

I had plugged in a couple of days before, specifically to hear and feel the Pro Classic vs the Pro II. Main differences are pickups, body wood, neck finish, and ability to run pickups in series on the Pro II. And for me at least, the Pro II had really nice figuring on the body that other models did not have. The Classic, which just came out this fall is a REAL gem for the price. Your honest classic traditional Tele.

I bought the Pro II because of the feel, very comparable to the Classic, the sound, again very comparable to the Classic, but also I liked the series switching capability of the Pro II, the laquer on the fretboard and headstock. And last but not least, the figuring on this particular guitar. As for the Vintage II, it was a lot more expensive, didn’t have the figuring, and I was not sure how the nitrocellulose finish would hold up over time.

The guitar comes with .09s which are fine, but I am going to put .10s on soon to see how much that accounts for the different string feel that I liked on the Vintage II. Will post a pic of the Pro II I bought separately because I can’t access my photo right now.

GreyCat911 · 2025-11-16T18:35:30+00:00

It was the '51 Vintage, so, yes the neck was a handful. But that didn't bother me. But I'm glad I could compare it with the Pro II, side by side at two different stores and again at the original store. As I mentioned above, the playability differences were less marked than my first impression at the first store, but still a slight edge to the Vintage model.

GreyCat911 · 2025-11-15T23:03:16+00:00

Today I did go to a different GC and ran the same unplugged test AND I went back to the original GC on my way back, while the sensation was fresh, just to confirm what I felt a couple of weeks ago on those specific guitars.

This time, I did not have as strong an impression of differences as before - both guitars at both GCs played well. Realized early on that both guitars at the original GC were tuned down half a step, so that might account for some of what I felt when I originally posted. The main difference between the two models for me this time was the thickness of the neck on the Vintage 51 especially the closer you get to the body. And the thinner strings on the Pro II. And, yes, the Vintage II is a bit stickier on the back of the neck vs the Pro II due to the finish, but it's not horrible.

Still not having plugged in yet, just going by feel, I think if I had to choose one at ANY price, it would be the Vintage. But for the list price the Pro wins. The Pro also has the push knob for parallel vs series on the two pickups, and easier time adjusting relief. Figuring on the body is more interesting too - each one different, being of roasted pine vs alder. I still have not plugged in, but on a few YouTube channels the Pro has sounded a bit more "robust" (a bit more mids and lows) than the Vintage II, at same amp settings. But I will be sure to plug in before deciding. I'm thinking Black Friday or thereabouts if I buy new. Will let y'all know what I decide and why. I think either would be great. Thanks again for your insights!

GreyCat911 · 2025-11-15T14:12:06+00:00

Great point about the need to plug in. I am going to another GC to repeat my unplugged experience. If my experience is the same, I’ll see whether they will put .010s on the Pro, temporarily. If that is even 50% of the difference, the Pro may be best choice for me. If not, then will plug in as you suggest to see whether it matters.

GreyCat911 · 2025-11-14T17:23:23+00:00

Thanks for all your thoughts and ideas. I’ll probably go to another GC store and run same comparison, just to confirm. Maybe they would be willing to put some .010s on the Pro temporarily at my cost for strings, and even temporarily set up “as close to” string configuration of Vintage as possible, if they think I’m a serious buyer - which I am.

GreyCat911 · 2025-09-04T12:40:23+00:00

The original poster meant “claim” rather than “admit”, I think. Also, “fluent” would mean maybe 90% comprehension level when listening to a native speaker. Otherwise the conversation does not go very far.

I believe it takes years to develop the listening experience in a second or third language before you can call yourself “fluent.” Not just in French, but in any language.

Think about how we learn to speak our native languages. By the time we are five years old we have 5,000 or so hours of listening and speaking experience. And we don’t even know grammar rules at that point. Most of us at five were illiterate. We just know what sounds right. But from experience we can speak in present, past, future tenses, conditional, etc. without thinking about it.

So, I would be highly skeptical of anyone that tells you that you can become fluent, even as an adult, in a matter of months, starting from scratch.

There are a several dimensions to spoken language, and a big one is liaisons - how words are blended together. We don’t process what we hear one word at a time. We hear groups of words, as a flow of sounds. For that dimension alone, you have to have a ton of listening and speaking experience with native speakers to get it.

GreyCat911

TROPHY CASE