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Posts: 271
Joined: Sep. 19 2011
From: Louisville KY
RE: Scale Lengths: Bridge vs 12th fr... (in reply to Ruphus)
@ Stephen: yes, that's the maker, Warren White. You must be right about the salesman too, he said he had quite a few of his guitars. I looked Warren up after your post, what a sad story. Some people are just such great artists and minds that they just can't live with it. Makes me thankful that I'm not one of them. Not many understand the love people put into all aspects of music, and it comes from such depths that sometimes it can be deadly. Its sad we lost this man's talent.
I will be back in SF after the first of the year and will email you ahead of time. Lots of times I stay in Downtown Oakland, and if I recall, your shop shouldn't be to far from there. It will be a ball!
RE: Scale Lengths: Bridge vs 12th fr... (in reply to Shawn Brock)
quote:
I will be back in SF after the first of the year and will email you ahead of time. Lots of times I stay in Downtown Oakland, and if I recall, your shop shouldn't be to far from there. It will be a ball!
Yes my shop is in Jack London Square area. Please let me know when you come to town.
RE: Scale Lengths: Bridge vs 12th fr... (in reply to Ruphus)
The girl who gets gifts from birds By Katy Sewall Seattle 25 February 2015 From the section Magazine Gabi with birds In today's Magazine
Life in a town called Mongo Putting the Greek back into Stoicism How I was de-radicalised Why the Indian soldiers of WW1 were forgotten Lots of people love the birds in their garden, but it's rare for that affection to be reciprocated. One young girl in Seattle is luckier than most. She feeds the crows in her garden - and they bring her gifts in return. Eight-year-old Gabi Mann sets a bead storage container on the dining room table, and clicks the lid open. This is her most precious collection. "You may take a few close looks," she says, "but don't touch." It's a warning she's most likely practised on her younger brother. She laughs after saying it though. She is happy for the audience. Inside the box are rows of small objects in clear plastic bags. One label reads: "Black table by feeder. 2:30 p.m. 09 Nov 2014." Inside is a broken light bulb. Another bag contains small pieces of brown glass worn smooth by the sea. "Beer coloured glass," as Gabi describes it. Each item is individually wrapped and categorised. Gabi pulls a black zip out of a labelled bag and holds it up. "We keep it in as good condition as we can," she says, before explaining this object is one of her favourites. There's a miniature silver ball, a black button, a blue paper clip, a yellow bead, a faded black piece of foam, a blue Lego piece, and the list goes on. Many of them are scuffed and dirty. It is an odd assortment of objects for a little girl to treasure, but to Gabi these things are more valuable than gold. null null She didn't gather this collection. Each item was a gift - given to her by crows. She holds up a pearl coloured heart. It is her most-prized present. "It's showing me how much they love me." If you want to form a bond with a crow, be consistent in rewarding them John Marzluff, Prof of wildlife science Gabi's relationship with the neighbourhood crows began accidentally in 2011. She was four years old, and prone to dropping food. She'd get out of the car, and a chicken nugget would tumble off her lap. A crow would rush in to recover it. Soon, the crows were watching for her, hoping for another bite. As she got older, she rewarded their attention, by sharing her packed lunch on the way to the bus stop. Her brother joined in. Soon, crows were lining up in the afternoon to greet Gabi's bus, hoping for another feeding session. Gabi's mother Lisa didn't mind that crows consumed most of the school lunches she packed. "I like that they love the animals and are willing to share," she says, while admitting she never noticed crows until her daughter took an interest in them. "It was a kind of transformation. I never thought about birds." In 2013, Gabi and Lisa started offering food as a daily ritual, rather than dropping scraps from time to time. Each morning, they fill the backyard birdbath with fresh water and cover bird-feeder platforms with peanuts. Gabi throws handfuls of dog food into the grass. As they work, crows assemble on the telephone lines, calling loudly to them. Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue. Media caption Gabi feeding birds in her garden It was after they adopted this routine that the gifts started appearing. The crows would clear the feeder of peanuts, and leave shiny trinkets on the empty tray; an earring, a hinge, a polished rock. There wasn't a pattern. Gifts showed up sporadically - anything shiny and small enough to fit in a crow's mouth. One time it was a tiny piece of metal with the word "best" printed on it. "I don't know if they still have the part that says 'friend'," Gabi laughs, amused by the thought of a crow wearing a matching necklace. When you see Gabi's collection, it's hard not to wish for gift-giving crows of your own. "If you want to form a bond with a crow, be consistent in rewarding them," advises John Marzluff, professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington. He specialises in birds, particularly crows and ravens. null What food is best? "A few peanuts in the shell," he says. "It's a high-energy food… and it makes noise when you throw it on the ground, so they hear it and they quickly habituate to your routine." Marzluff, and his colleague Mark Miller, did a study of crows and the people who feed them. They found that crows and people form a very personal relationship. "There's definitely a two-way communication going on there," Marzluff says. "They understand each other's signals." The birds communicate by how they fly, how close they walk, and where they sit. The human learns their language and the crows learn their feeder's patterns and posture. They start to know and trust each other. Sometimes a crow leaves a gift. But crow gifts are not guaranteed. "I can't say they always will (give presents)," Marzluff admits, having never received any gifts personally, "but I have seen an awful lot of things crows have brought people." Not all crows deliver shiny objects either. Sometimes they give the kind of presents "they would give to their mate", says Marzluff. "Courtship feeding, for example. So some people, their presents are dead baby birds that the crow brings in." null Gabi has been given some icky objects. Her mother threw out a rotting crab claw, for example. Gabi points out a heavily rusted screw she prefers not to touch. It's labelled "Third Favorite." Asking her why an untouchable object is in the favourites, she answers, "You don't' see a crow carrying around a screw that much. Unless it's trying to build its house." Lisa, Gabi's mom, regularly photographs the crows and charts their behaviour and interactions. Her most amazing gift came just a few weeks ago, when she lost a lens cap in a nearby alley while photographing a bald eagle as it circled over the neighbourhood. null She didn't even have to look for it. It was sitting on the edge of the birdbath. Had the crows returned it? Lisa logged on to her computer and pulled up their bird-cam. There was the crow she suspected. "You can see it bringing it into the yard. Walks it to the birdbath and actually spends time rinsing this lens cap." "I'm sure that it was intentional," she smiles. "They watch us all the time. I'm sure they knew I dropped it. I'm sure they decided they wanted to return it."
RE: Scale Lengths: Bridge vs 12th fr... (in reply to Shawn Brock)
Thanks a bunch, man! Highly entertaining to read such lectures. :O)
Event though examples like with the lens cap don´t count to those where intentional action is being proven (like say when a crow pretends to be hiding a tidbit in order to mislead a fellow crow and then gets itself the actual snack, or when it prepares tools etc.), but they are fascinating none the less.
With time scientifical findings about animal cognition are rapidly amassing, proving Descartes wrong and menkind ignorant about advanced species and their mental complexity. Even humble specimens like insects already can be surprising.
Recently I watched mosquito larvas leaving the water straight when toxics appear. How they know, with such simple neuronal system, to purposefully leave the habitat for shelter when danger occures ... dunno.
It seems for certain that we tend to grossly underestimate creatures and to easily devalue.
Pepe the crow appears to have been shot just for fun (and very likely for targeting my affection for her) by numb fools who don´t give a dime about agony of thirds. Still thinking of Pepe every other time.
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