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Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Steve Jobs

Stumbled upon this page this morning, and had to keep going back to it.  From one simple request at the end of a man’s life… to a government program and an engineering piece of genius a century ahead of its time.  Kinda makes you rethink the amount of time you spend worrying about what everyone else is up to and what you could be capable of with a little less white noise and a little more focus, huh… I know it does for me.  

Rest In Peace, Dr. Purcell.  

Dr. Ron Purcell passed away Wednesday, apparently from complications arising from a stroke.   For those of us that were lucky enough to know Dr. Purcell, whether a friend or student, have lost a great teacher, mentor and companion on this journey.  I was fortunate enough to study under Dr. Purcell for a couple years at Cal State Northridge a few years back.  In fact, he was the sole reason I was accepted to the program from what I recall.  My audition pieces consisted of a few tab pieces in Guitar World magazine, and “Dee” by Randy Rhodes.  He told me a while after that although I was a long way off of their typical audition, he saw something in my playing and the department took a shot.  I never did become a professional performer, but that road of study shaped the person I would become in many ways beyond my coursework.  I’ll never forget my lessons, nor the things I learned from Dr. Purcell.  Compassion, humor, history, poetry, professionalism, and more.  What better than a legacy of generation after generation shaped by his passion for a guitar and life.  (Click on the picture for a rundown of the man’s career.  Not many have the impact he did).  Come to think of it, its hard to picture the man without a smile on his face.  

May your find yourself well in your next journey, Dr. Purcell.  You will be missed.  

Christian Frederick Martin, the founder of Martin guitars, moved his luthier shop from New York City to Nazareth, PA in 1839.  This past week, I had an opportunity to visit that original shop as well as the modern Martin manufacturing plant down the street.  While I wasn’t busy staring in awe of my surroundings, I did learn a few things and even snapped a few pictures with my handy iPhone.  Although there are quite a few automated processes, plenty of machines to handle big jobs, and even a few robots on the premises, a surprising amount of work is still done by hand at the Martin plant.  Everything from final touches on the neck and fret jobs to the fine tuning of the braces still receives personal attention from a real live person.  Favorite part:  I gotta be honest… seeing Clarence White’s D-28 with the expanded soundhole in the Martin Museum on the premises was pretty amazing.  

D.G. Yeungling & Son:  the oldest operating brewing company in the United States, out of Pottsville, PA.  

Two favorite facts… a) the generations of owners are required to buy the brewery from their parents, in order to retain a strong work ethic in the family business.  b) the current owner, in times of heavy snowfall, plows the streets behind the brewery himself at 2:30 am in order to keep the trucks coming and going, and without wasting manpower on the plow duties.  

Finally got around to watching The Right Stuff the other night.  It’s amazing to me the lives some people are able to pull off.  Military test pilots, not only willing to push the limits of human endurance and innovation every day, but actually standing in line and fighting for a chance to go head first into situations with a 25% mortality rate.  Makes me look back to a time that although I didn’t witness, I can steal some values and ideals from… especially in the political and economic times most of our country and world are in right now.  Sometimes you just need to stand up and take a shot.. you might surprise yourself.