And, it also helps if you aren't left handed when Gibson barely ever make left handed models. (NB, Les Paul himself was left handed).

A situation made worse by the fact that Gibson build quality fell off a cliff in the early 70s and got progressively worse to the point where Epiphone copies (Gibson owned Epiphone to make "cheap" copies) were better than the ones Gibson made. So the second user market is full of tat.

Gibson's solution : Re-badge Epiphone and get them to make the basic models and then re-work production. Then when people started complaining, they reverted to the epiphone name. Except, of course, it helps if you don't deal in illegal timber.

So I'd more or less written it off as an unaffordable dream. Till I saw a pretty good looking lefty Epiphone Les Paul Standard in a shop at an affordable price (a fraction of that which a worse guitar with a Gibson badge would cost).

Reader, I bought it. Alright, it's not badged as a Gibson but, until I win the lottery and have £5000 to spare, it'll do

keep to the Fen Causeway

keep to the Fen Causeway

So, if a double negative makes a positive, does a double positive make a negative?

Now where are we going and what's with the handbasket?

keep to the Fen Causeway

Proposal by mayor of Rasquera to become centre of marijuana production gets only 56% backing; however, he does not resign

To many people in the small town of Rasquera in the east of Spain, it seemed like the perfect remedy to the economic crisis: a massive legal cannabis plantation that would give a new high to the local economy.

But the plan to make Rasquera into a centre of marijuana production for southern Europe appears to have gone up in smoke after the locals showed lukewarm support in a referendum.

What follows is the inaugural column of a person we are calling The Fox Mole--a long-standing, current employee of Fox News Channel who will be providing Gawker with regular dispatches from inside the organization.

keep to the Fen Causeway

The man was my hero.  Not only did he embody heroism and true bravery during his time with the French Resistance, he also also appreciated the human condition and all that made it worth living.

I will always remember the first time I saw him on television talking about his wife, Lucie.  I never thought a man could appreciate a woman so much.

He was not perfect, however, and when he was in a position of authority after World War II and was obligated to deal with the collaborators, he himself understood his own motivation, although he did not necessarily do what he felt he should, but what was practical and best for the population.

On the same day of the news of Aubrac's death, we hear that Tony Blair has "no recollection" of a rendition to Libya and I think how low we have all fallen.  

"HP has warned of a security vulnerability associated with its ProCurve 5400 zl switches that contain compact flash cards that the company says may be infected with malware. The company warned that using one of the infected compact flash cards in a computer could result in the system being compromised. According to HP, the potential threat exists on HP 5400 zl series switches purchased after April 30, 2011 with certain serial numbers listed in the security advisory. This issue once again brings attention to the security of the electronics supply chain, which has been a hot topic as of late."

http://t.co/BZ4iBYMb

Henri the French cat.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher