Medic Alert Bracelet

I had the unfortunate pleasure of having a blood clot in my lung in March which nearly killed me.  According to my doctor, I need to get a medical alert bracelet because I’m on blood thinners to prevent more clots from forming.  I’ve looked around and there really aren’t that many that look good.  Of course the ones I like are over $600.  If any one knows of a good place to get a deal on these, let me know. 

Pentatonic Minor (Blues Scale) Pattern #1

I’ve posted Pattern 1 of the Blues scale.  Work this pattern until you can do it forward and backward.  Move it around the neck a bit too while paying attention to where the root notes are.  I’ll be posting the other patterns for the Pentatonic over the next couple of days as well as some information about how to use them.

Major Scale Patterns

After posting the video of the guy playing the improvisation in Gmaj, I thought it would be helpful to post what the patterns are for the major scales.  Note that the red dot is the root note of the pattern.  For those new to using patterns, I should mention that these patterns are movable.  You just need to know where the root note is.  For example if you want to play in Gmaj you can play pattern 4 starting with the red dot on the third fret which is G on the 6th string. 

When practicing these patterns it’s important to start on a root note and finish on a root note.  This will help you learn where the root notes are in the pattern. 

You really should get good at these before you can even think of tackling the modes.  I pretty much use 3 of the patterns and need to add the last two to my arsenal.  So I’ll be doing a little practice and also start working on the putting together some graphics for the blues and pentatonic patterns.

Major Scale Pattern #1

Major Scale Pattern #2

Major Scale Pattern #3

Major Scale Pattern #4

Major Scale Pattern #5

Two Cycle Billing

If you’re in a position to close some of your credit cards, you’ll want to be aware of this practice. Most credit card companies do it - it’s called “two-cycle billing”.  What this means is that you get charged interest on balances two months back, not just one. If you pay a card down to zero in May, look for a bill in June, for April’s interest.  Almost all of them do it.  What this means is that you don’t have a closed-out card until you have two consecutive zero-balance bills. Not just one. 

So if you pay off the balance on your statement and then call to close your account, it won’t close because of the interest that will hit.  Even though  the person on the phone tells you they closed it, it won’t be closed becaused it’ll “wake up” when the interest hits the balance.

Your best bet is to pay off your card and then let it sit for two cycles until ALL the interest and charges are completed.  You can then call or write to close the card with confidence that it’ll actually happen.

Rich

Where’s my Stimulous Payment?

The IRS added this little feature to their web site that will tell you when to expect your stimulous payment.  It doesn’t work for everyone though.  Apparently if you payment is scheduled for more than two weeks out it may not show it.  Check it out here…

https://sa2.www4.irs.gov/irfof/IRServlet?app=IRACTC

Boss RC-2 Loop Station Pedal

Here’s another one for my wish list.  I watched this dude play guitar the other night at one of the local restaurants and he had one of these.  It was amazing!  He’d lay down a rythm track and then improvise on top of it.  He clearly had a handle on his scales and modes and was able to turn each song into something unique.

This guy played an really cool version of the Pink Panther theme.  He laid down the famous background track (da-da-da-dum) and then did some really cool licks on top of it.

Rich