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Old 06-30-2017, 06:23 AM
 
1,333 posts, read 876,698 times
Reputation: 615

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Quote:
Originally Posted by jacqueg View Post
Day in, day out? Acoustic guitar. Folk guitar, classical guitar, blues guitar...

BTW, if we're talking about guitar gods, I find the omission of Eric Clapton or Tommy Emmanuel to be faintly heretical.
I certainly like some music Eric Clapton has played but for me, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan are almost mesmerizing to watch. I feel like Jimi Hendrix almost tastes his music (he might, actually). Stevie Ray Vaughan is always interesting to watch because he's doing very very difficult things and it looks effortless.

I play guitar some myself, and I thought "I'll learn Scuttle Buttin', sounds cool and can't be that hard..."
I sat around for a few hours learning the notes and I was just thinking to myself "Alright, I'm starting to get fast at this" when I realized I was playing under a quarter of the speed SRV was

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHEVIWpX2XM
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Old 06-30-2017, 06:57 AM
 
Location: Valencia, Spain
16,155 posts, read 12,800,052 times
Reputation: 2879
Quote:
Originally Posted by TRANSPONDER View Post
Sorry mate..I always think of the neighbours, and the most I can stand at my age is a CD of Borodin Piano music and a cup of weak tea.
Sad mate! As we say...if it's too loud - you're too old.
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Old 06-30-2017, 02:35 PM
 
1,333 posts, read 876,698 times
Reputation: 615
So I just wanna talk about something for a second. I know this is the A/A section, but I almost feel like that makes this more relevant.

This is my dog. His name is Bailey. We call him Bailey Beagle because my dad thought he was a genius for coming up with it because it sounded like Beetle Bailey.

Anyways, we just put him down yesterday. He had bleeding in his spleen and wasn't likely to live another 24 hours. It was insane to me because one week I come home and he runs over to the door and wants me to give him a hug and the next week a came over and he could barely move. He just kinda looked at me and wagged. It was totally uncharacteristic and I knew something had to be seriously wrong. Less than 4 days later he's gone.

There was a lot of hard moments leading up to putting him down. The two hardest parts for me were watching him and knowing all that personality is just locked inside him because of his physical conditions. And also watching the rest of my family and especially my younger brother deal with it. I am sure some of you know how this feels, it's just awful.


But what I really wanted to talk about was something I think we all need to remember. Life is temporary. If there's no after life; then you've got to maximize every moment you spend and cherish every experience you have. The good, the bad. Everything. Because once it's gone, those experiences are all you have left. Don't ever leave yourself in a position where you could regret not taking an opportunity.





PS. I know he's just a dog, but damnit. I loved that dog.
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Old 06-30-2017, 10:09 PM
 
Location: Ontario, Canada
31,374 posts, read 20,025,917 times
Reputation: 14068
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyl3r View Post
So I just wanna talk about something for a second. I know this is the A/A section, but I almost feel like that makes this more relevant.

This is my dog. His name is Bailey. We call him Bailey Beagle because my dad thought he was a genius for coming up with it because it sounded like Beetle Bailey.

Anyways, we just put him down yesterday. He had bleeding in his spleen and wasn't likely to live another 24 hours. It was insane to me because one week I come home and he runs over to the door and wants me to give him a hug and the next week a came over and he could barely move. He just kinda looked at me and wagged. It was totally uncharacteristic and I knew something had to be seriously wrong. Less than 4 days later he's gone.

There was a lot of hard moments leading up to putting him down. The two hardest parts for me were watching him and knowing all that personality is just locked inside him because of his physical conditions. And also watching the rest of my family and especially my younger brother deal with it. I am sure some of you know how this feels, it's just awful.


But what I really wanted to talk about was something I think we all need to remember. Life is temporary. If there's no after life; then you've got to maximize every moment you spend and cherish every experience you have. The good, the bad. Everything. Because once it's gone, those experiences are all you have left. Don't ever leave yourself in a position where you could regret not taking an opportunity.





PS. I know he's just a dog, but damnit. I loved that dog.
There's no such thing as "just" a dog.

I'm very sorry for your loss. He was a beautiful boy.
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Old 06-30-2017, 10:15 PM
 
Location: Valencia, Spain
16,155 posts, read 12,800,052 times
Reputation: 2879
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyl3r View Post
PS. I know he's just a dog, but damnit. I loved that dog.
Sorry for your loss old chap. I'm not a dog lover, it's cats for me but I understand how you feel. I've had to put a few of my cats down because of illness and damn it's bloody hard. My last cat died of a heart attack and now I swear I will never have another pet. They give you love when they are here and just rip the heart out of you when they go.
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Old 06-30-2017, 10:18 PM
 
Location: Valencia, Spain
16,155 posts, read 12,800,052 times
Reputation: 2879
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyl3r View Post
But what I really wanted to talk about was something I think we all need to remember. Life is temporary. If there's no after life; then you've got to maximize every moment you spend and cherish every experience you have. The good, the bad. Everything. Because once it's gone, those experiences are all you have left. Don't ever leave yourself in a position where you could regret not taking an opportunity..
"I do not regret the things I've done, but those I did not do."
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Old 06-30-2017, 10:48 PM
 
Location: Elsewhere
88,136 posts, read 83,978,350 times
Reputation: 114418
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyl3r View Post
So I just wanna talk about something for a second. I know this is the A/A section, but I almost feel like that makes this more relevant.

This is my dog. His name is Bailey. We call him Bailey Beagle because my dad thought he was a genius for coming up with it because it sounded like Beetle Bailey.

Anyways, we just put him down yesterday. He had bleeding in his spleen and wasn't likely to live another 24 hours. It was insane to me because one week I come home and he runs over to the door and wants me to give him a hug and the next week a came over and he could barely move. He just kinda looked at me and wagged. It was totally uncharacteristic and I knew something had to be seriously wrong. Less than 4 days later he's gone.

There was a lot of hard moments leading up to putting him down. The two hardest parts for me were watching him and knowing all that personality is just locked inside him because of his physical conditions. And also watching the rest of my family and especially my younger brother deal with it. I am sure some of you know how this feels, it's just awful.


But what I really wanted to talk about was something I think we all need to remember. Life is temporary. If there's no after life; then you've got to maximize every moment you spend and cherish every experience you have. The good, the bad. Everything. Because once it's gone, those experiences are all you have left. Don't ever leave yourself in a position where you could regret not taking an opportunity.





PS. I know he's just a dog, but damnit. I loved that dog.
Not just a dog. I am sorry.
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Old 06-30-2017, 10:49 PM
 
Location: Elsewhere
88,136 posts, read 83,978,350 times
Reputation: 114418
Quote:
Originally Posted by TroutDude View Post
There's no such thing as "just" a dog.

I'm very sorry for your loss. He was a beautiful boy.
I should have read ahead.
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Old 06-30-2017, 10:58 PM
 
Location: Home is Where You Park It
23,856 posts, read 13,632,186 times
Reputation: 15481
Not just a dog.

A dog is a wondrous being. Just like a cat. Or a parrot. Or a human. Or an oak tree. Or a honeybee. Or a filament of spirogyra.

"...all my relations..."
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Old 07-01-2017, 05:25 AM
 
6,324 posts, read 4,300,124 times
Reputation: 4333
As other people have said --- there's no such thing as "just a dog."

Humans underestimate animals. Far too many think they're unintelligent, that they run on instinct alone like a biological computer program unable to deviate from its programming. Some even believe animals don't feel pain because they don't react to pain the way we do.

Last year I had to put down a cat I've had for almost two decades. She used to follow me every time I walked to the store, but when I had to cross a busy street, she sat there on the corner like a little statue and waited. When I came back out, there she was, still sitting on the corner, smart enough to know not to cross that street, and then she'd follow me back home. She was always there to greet me when I came home. When I was sick, she would lay with me in bed all day, all night, only getting up to eat and use the litterbox (normally she always wanted to roam outside, but wouldn't budge from my side when I was sick.)

I know some people think cats aren't loyal, that you can't really bond with a cat. Wanna bet? One day she wasn't there when I came home. She didn't come back that night to be let in. Or the next day. Or the next. A month went by. Then two. Then three.

Suddenly, I heard a meow -- and before I knew it, there she was, weaving through my legs and begging to be picked up. Her very long and fluffy fur was perfectly groomed, she wasn't in the least bit dirty and she appeared to be well fed. My guess is that someone kidnapped her and kept her in their own house because she was a very beautiful cat. It took her three months before she could escape, but despite being well fed and well cared for by her unlawful owners, she still came back to me.

When I had to put her down (she had massive tumors on her stomach) I thought I would be okay with it. But as I spent my last few minutes with her, alone in a little private room, she was able to weakly lift up her head and turn to look at me -- and something profound passed between us in that look. I won't even try to explain it, but when her eyes locked with mine for that last time, I knew then without question that there's no such thing as just a cat ... or just a dog.

You know, I've heard from many atheists that we only have this one life and therefore we must live it to the fullest, seize every moment, grab every opportunity to live large and do the things that bring us the most joy.

This is, perhaps, the only troubling aspect I have with my atheism. My life is more or less over. The constant, never-ending pain has limited my mobility, and the discomfort that is always with me prevents me from truly enjoying much of anything. I'm home-bound most of the time. I once lived a life filled with adventure, travel, friends, and new experiences -- and it was my mission to continue living that way as much as time, money, and companionship would allow.

Instead, I'm a prisoner in my own home with only the internet keeping me in touch with people these days. I really struggle with the idea that THIS is the only life I'll ever have because, if it is, then everything I was, am, or could have been is being wasted in this malfunctioning body. I wrestle with depression every day imagining all of the experiences I'll never have, the places I'll never see, the people I'll never meet -- all of the wasted opportunities. I swear I can sometimes feel every tick of the clock as my life slips away, knowing that the life I live no longer generates those precious memories that make this life worth living.

And, since I only have my mother now (sure, I do have a few distant family members, but for reasons that would take too long to explain, I want little to do with them), there won't be any more Christmas mornings, no more family vacations, no more backyard barbeques, no more Thanksgiving dinners, no more get-togethers, family reunions, movie nights ... nothing.

I honestly don't know what to do or how to feel about that. It's easy to be a healthy atheist and take the bull by the horns, so to speak, but as much as I rail against religion, I find myself, in the black dog hours of the early morning desperately hoping that THIS isn't all there is. If we're nothing but worm food when the final curtain drops, the story of my life will be about everything I never had the chance to do.

Don't worry -- no one is going to convert me or anything. But the atheist belief that this life is all there is, well, it's the one point where I hope atheists have it dead-bang wrong.
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