This castle is for sale. I don’t know where it’s located, but I don’t really care. I want it.

I didn’t know people built castles, but I stumbled onto this company, Castle Magic.

They’re experienced in architecture, physics, woodworking, stone masonry, but they don’t know crap about building a clean coded website. No matter. Take a gander at their work. Be amazed. Be very amazed.

Here’s the details of the castle that’s for sale.

Built in 1999 as a snowy mountain retreat, the two foot thick stone castle walls were built by laying up double walls of split ashlar rock to create a permanent formwork for the hidden steel reinforced concrete core and layers of waterproof insulation. Hydronic floor heat hidden in the stone and hardwood floors throughout the castle keep the interior toasty warm in addition to two stone fireplaces. Stone arched handcrafted walnut windows,stained glass, torches, and hand forged light fixtures. Includes 4-car garage, indoor pool, 3 towers, and real stone & carved hardwoods. You can ski in & out to the chairlifts from the castle.

They’re asking $1,632,000. I’m a little bit short. If I sell everything I own except a few changes of clothes, I figure I only need somewhere around $1,617,450.

My subtle desire to learn to play the guitar goes back to my youth. I never acted on it though. When I was still in my 20’s I did somehow end up with a nice little Martin guitar. Good intentions to learn to play never materialized, and I sold it to a friend who did play. It was a rather expensive guitar and I remember hating myself for parting with it. I think I hated myself more for failing to give learning to play a go.

About 3 years ago I began saving my money $5 at a time. I’d stash away a little bit here and little bit there. Never anything more than $5 and usually doing it a dollar at a time. My objective? To purchase a guitar and learn to play. I had no idea what guitar I wanted or needed. I had no amount of money in mind, but I figured it might require about $500 or so.

My failures of the past were due, in part, to my inability to properly fret a guitar. The action (the height of the strings off the fretboard) of acoustic guitars seemed awkward and difficult for me. I could fret an electric guitar easily. But I didn’t want an electric guitar. Amps and all that stuff? No thanks. Not that I wouldn’t love it, but it’s just not practical for me. Even so, I was often tempted to go that route because electric guitars typically have a lower action than acoustics.

I kept saving my money. I stumbled onto Zager Guitars.

“EZ-Play” Guitars are modified by Master Guitar Luthier Denny Zager to play easier than any other guitar made. The EZ-Play modification process involves: Lowering the strings closer to the fret board so you no longer have to press hard to form a chord. Adjusting the string spacing so there is more room for your fingers which enhances speed and reduces buzzes and rattles. Modifying the bracing, bridge, and saddle in harmony to amplify the tone and resonance. The result is a guitar that is 50% easier to play with a sound that compares to guitars costing 5 times the price

First, I must brag about their customer service. I’m a customer service fanatic. These folks perform extraordinarily well. And they make a fine guitar that is admittedly easier to play (fret) than any acoustic guitar I’ve held, and I’ve held Taylors, Martins and many great ones.

Well, I’ve had the guitar since November 2007. I even got 6 months of Zager’s online guitar instruction. I’d love to tell you that I’m strumming away with great success, but I’m not. I tried to follow the instruction, but after a month I become incredibly discouraged and stopped. No, I wasn’t even able to get my money’s worth from the 6 months of online instruction.

I don’t blame the instruction though. A number of things sabotaged me. One, the instruction was online and if you don’t have constant hi-speed Internet access, then you don’t have access to the lessons. To just sit and noodle (practice) away from a computer is practically impossible. Two, I struggled to get into it. I take full responsibility for that. I just couldn’t seem to make progress. Day after day I would try to practice for 30 minutes so I could chord more comfortably and apply what few things I was learning. Truth is, I got very bored. Three, my boredom won. And I surrendered. But not completely.

Enter my next phase. I began to talk to people and ask lots of questions. I began to research taking lessons. I began to research other instructional programs. While almost everybody said personal lessons would be beneficial, they also indicated that the instructor made all the difference. Well, I suspected that. So I began to ask around about various instructors. For every recommendation I got, I got a handful of people who suggested somebody else. Then other questions began, “What style do you want to learn?” Style? Are you kidding me? I don’t have a style. I suspect I won’t live long enough to have a style. Blues? Rock? Gospel? My answer: Yes. It was all becoming so complex.

Time and again the Internet was recommended as a great source. Like I didn’t already know that. So I continued my search. This all began in earnest around March. In the meantime, I was barely taking the guitar out of the case. I had little idea what to do. Correction, I had NO idea what to do. I did, however, reach a few conclusions. I knew I needed help. I knew I needed somebody who could show me what to do. I also knew I needed somebody who wouldn’t just teach me how to chord a song. My quest to learn the guitar was sparked because I really wanted to learn music. It seems lots of people taught how to parrot. I wasn’t so interested in that, even though I wanted to see myself able to play real songs. And I also concluded that I needed something not tethered to being online. I wanted video or in-person. And I wanted some written material to boot. I also knew I needed a community of other people - guitar players - where I could ask questions without looking as stupid as I really am.

After months of doing more research on learning to play the guitar than practicing or actual learning - I finally made a purchase. I’ve not received the program yet, but I’m anxious to get it. I’ll keep you updated on my progress. It’s a highly touted program, but it may be all hat and no cattle. I’ll find out if I can at last get the inspiration to keep after the goal.

For starters, I intend to practice at least 15 minutes a day. I can find that much time every single day. And I hope to increase it to 30 minutes after the first few weeks. If I find myself enjoying the process (and making progress) then I’m liable to sit for much longer practicing. It’s more important to start out with a lower expectation. After all, when you consider all the drug-addicts capable of playing the guitar (and other musical instruments), surely I’m able to learn it. Or, maybe I’m too sober to ever learn!

I’ll post a weekly update. Look for me on YouTube in about a year.

This guy has a problem many audiophiles have, including me. A love of music, some nice audio gear and no place sufficient to set it up and enjoy it. He appears to have negotiated a closet and he’s been pretty inventive in assembling components that hopefully work well for him.

Not all audiophiles have this problem. For instance, this fellow seems to have all the space he wants. There are lots of guys like this, but I’m not one of them. And I suspect there are more of us, but we just don’t post pictures of our closets or small spaces. Tricked out Hummer owners post more pics of their rides than those forced to ride around in 1978 Honda Civics. The same is true in audio. Or anything else I suspect.

I’m going a different route. For starters, I’m selling my loudspeakers and the amp designed to run them effectively. The combination is very magical when they’re set up in a room that can be properly configured. But I don’t have a properly, or even improperly, configured space. And the set up represents quite an investment that seems wasted sitting boxed up.

I’ve taken a few steps to remedy my situation. It’s probably an unwise strategy, but it’s the only one I’ve got (for now).

1. I decided to sell the components that need a proper room. This includes a set of speakers and one amp (yes, I have more than one amp). The amp I’m selling is designed to drive single-driver speakers. So, it’s not the most versatile amp out there, but it’s incredible with single-driver speakers that have no crossover.

2. I’m keeping the components that can be engineered to work in a very small space. This includes another amp that will work with most any speaker. It’s a high quality amp that is pretty “speaker friendly.” I’m also keeping my source component, a heavily modified DVD player (used only to play CD’s, DVD-Audio or SACD’s) with a tube output stage, and a buffered-passive preamp (a glorified volume control). I’ve also got a cheap CD changer, for just grins and to use when background music is more the goal.

3. I purchased some mini-monitors to use in a nearfield situation. I may have to play with the placement when the speakers arrive, but I think they’ll be fine. I’m not worried about lack of bass because I’m not a low frequency hound anyway. And there are always subwoofers that can remedy those concerns.

4. But my primary move is the most space saving of all - headphones. I’ve been the longtime owner of a pair of Senns HD600. However, I’ve never owned a headphone amp before. So I bought one. A portable one. Battery powered, or wall wart powered. And it works like a champ! It even makes my iPod or iPod Shuffle sound terrific - and I’m a huge opponent of compressed music.

In the end, that last item may be my final state. I may wind up selling all my audio components knowing that wherever there’s room for my head, I can always slap headphones on and hookup to an iPod or my Mac laptop.

Jimmy Buffett’s “Pirate’s Look at 40″ realized he was “an over 40 victim of fate, arriving too late.” He lamented that there was no longer anything to plunder because he arrived too late on the scene to be a real pirate. I’m an over 40 victim of fate with no space - no room for the music anymore. Except in the car and through my headphones. Thankfully, technology is on my side. The sound is pretty spectacular.

I do miss the days of being able to sit quietly and listen to a great record. But, that’s what happens to audiophiles like me and Pwfletcher. We just go back into the closet to listen to our music.

Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome. Ah, what a movie! Actually, I enjoyed it. Call me a connoisseur.

This week I was reminded of the line that seemed to epitomize this flick. “Dyin’ time’s here.” Thoughts of death sometimes sweep over me. This week I’ve spent an extraordinary amount of time working on the things I want to happen when I die. Morbid? Not really. Practical. Cathartic even. Extremely worthwhile and valuable. Even for now. Pondering one’s death is a grand way to get to what’s important in life. It makes you put everything in a different (hopefully, better) perspective.

I enjoyed another line in the movie. As the combatants enter the Thunderdome, they’re introduced and welcomed by the announcer who says, “I know you won’t break the rules because there aren’t any.”

When it comes to thinking of your death - there are no rules. Take the thoughts of your own death anywhere you’d like. My personal journey (which really began a few years ago) started with making some notes of what I wanted my funeral service to be like. It expanded from there.

Today, I downloaded all my notes onto a thumb drive, along with some letters I wrote. I suspect I’ll have to update it every now and then. At least I hope I’ll be able to do that. I honestly don’t want this to be my final version. I’d like to have a few more decades to work on it.

But, you never know when dying time is here!

I don’t always use my head wisely. That’s what brings about the pounding, ducking headaches. It began - the pounding, that is - yesterday afternoon. Not a good Monday. It wasn’t even noon yesterday and regret had already set in. And set up. Fully. In concrete.

People who claim stress won’t kill you - they’re idiots. It will. Last night I was watching the national news on NBC. Tim Russert’s doctor talked about how hectic Tim’s schedule was, and how much stress he was under - but he pontificated that because Tim loved his work, it wasn’t a negative stress. And in no way did it contribute to his sudden death. Well, I don’t know how he can be so sure. How could any doctor theorize such a thing? I have no idea the stress that Tim Russert was under. I’m only slightly aware of the stress I’m under.

When I was younger I didn’t think there was much to stress. Now that I’m older, I know better. Stress will kill you. But I’m burying the lead. Regrets cause even more stress. Like I don’t have enough without creating my own. But that’s how it goes with regrets. Regrets are stress that you create. Regrets are all your own. Nobody else is responsible for your regrets. That makes them even more stressful.

It’s only Tuesday - Tuesday morning at that - and already I’ve got regrets. Plural. As in many.

Regret comes in a variety of flavors. There is the regret of not doing something, or not saying something. There is the regret of doing something, or saying something. My regrets run the full gambit. There are things I’ve done that I regret. I’ve said things I regret. I’ve neglected things - and I regret it. There are even things I’ve not said, and later regretted it. That last one is hard because I probably tend to say too much - rather than too little.

For a few weeks now I’ve not been myself. I suspect my recent regrets have something to do with not feeling very well, but that’s no excuse! It’s why I began talking about stress though. I suspect stress is the culprit of my not feeling so terrific - for the past few weeks or so. Stress leads to not using your head wisely. Not using your head wisely leads to more stress. All the while the regrets are piling ever higher. Now, I’m like a hamster stuck on a wheel. Going nowhere fast.

Some days you eat the bear. Some days the bear eats you. For weeks now, the bear has a clear advantage over me. The bear has had me in a number of submission holds. I’ve been close to tapping out a time or two, but decided against it. I don’t regret continuing the fight. I do regret saying things I shouldn’t have said. Doing things I shouldn’t have done. And as always, the neglect is regrettable. It’s only Tuesday.

Thankfully, I’ve got a big portion of the week to make up for it. Or to spiral down even further. It’s up to me to determine which it’ll be. My hand is on the stick and I’m pulling up as hard as possible.