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PRS SE Signature Paul Allender aka Fanihi

By
Edel Alon
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3

Riddle me this, riddle me that, who’s afraid of the big, black bat? Apparently, not me! I finally have a PRS all to myself and I named her Fanihi. I’ve been looking at PRS guitars since my wife and sister-in-law purchased a PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow body for themselves. While I was tempted to do the same, it isn’t the guitar for me.

The other day I voyaged into my favorite Guitar Center and by some crazy random happenstance I came across a PRS SE Paul Allender at a price I couldn’t refuse. For years, I’ve been watching the Paul Allender series and I’m glad I waited for this one.

First of all, why did I name her Fanihi? One of the main things you’ll notice about this guitar are the bat inlays. PRS usually has bird inlays while other guitar makers have a circle or a square. This guitar has 7 bat inlays. Fanihi is the Chamorro (native language of Guam) for fruit bat. Naming her “Fanihi” seemed like a logical choice. I also had to get the scarlet red burst.

Back to the guitar, this is the first PRS guitar that I’ve seen without PRS pickups. Well, after doing more research, it looks like they are loading more of the SE series with EMG pickups. The soap bars also threw me off too. This was a change from the original with humbuckers. I had to try it out. I was absolutely floored (I think I started drooling or crying or both)! The tone was amazing and just like the Custom Semi-Hollow it has several voices and acts differently depending on how you hit the strings.

I tried a couple of settings by playing with tone and switching pickups and I heard nothing but amazing results. This guitar is definitely better than its purple predecessors.

Here are the specifications:

Body

Back Wood: Mahogany
Top Wood: Flamed Maple Veneer

Neck

Number of Frets: 24
Scale Length: 25″
Neck Wood: Maple
Fretboard Wood: Ebony
Frets: Jumbo
Neck Shape: Wide Thin
Inlays: Paul Allender Bat Inlays

Hardware

Bridge: PRS Designed Tremolo
Tuners: PRS Designed Tuners
Hardware Type: Chrome
Treble Pickup: EMG 89
Bass Pickup: EMG 81TW

Oh, it gets better. Just when I thought I geeked out the look, feel, and sound, I discovered the push/pull volume and tone knobs. What do they do? So far, magic. I haven’t figured out the volume portion but my guess so far is balancing the pickup volume. But here’s where the magic comes into play. When you pull the tone knob, you can easily make the guitar sound like it’s using a single humbucker…and these are soap bars!  Push/pull knobs rock! This sweet feature makes this under $1,000 guitar and turns it into a $3,500 guitar.

Secure Connection Failed in Firefox

By
Edel Alon
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0

If you get this message on a website that you used to have access, this means there’s a problem with the certificate. To bypass this, follow these intructions:

Click on Tools, Options, Advanced, Encryption, Validation. Unckeck Use the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) to confirm the current validity of certificates. Click OK, OK. Restart Firefox and try again.

Senate Committee Cuts $300M Slated for Guam

By
Edel Alon
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0

Wow. Cut money and add more people. I love it.

The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee last week slashed $300 million earmarked for a U.S. military buildup on Guam because the money was requested “ahead of need,” according to a news release from the committee.

The cut more than halves the $567 million approved last week by the House for the massive military buildup planned for Guam.

The money, part of the Pentagon’s proposed budget for 2011, is meant to jump-start construction required for the move of 8,600 Marines from Okinawa, expand Guam’s port for long-term aircraft carrier stays, and install an Army air defense unit on the island.

“I am concerned by the cuts in the Senate’s version of the defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2011,” U.S. Rep. Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Guam’s non-voting delegate to Congress, said Thursday in a statement.

But she also said the Senate committee’s changes were similar to cuts it made last year involving the Guam buildup that the full Congress later restored.

It was unclear Thursday what Guam-related projects the Senate committee cut. In the House version of the bill, the construction included a readiness center for Guam’s Army National Guard, wharf improvements at Apra Harbor, and site work on the proposed site for the Marines’ new base.

The statement from the Senate committee said only that the money was requested ahead of schedule.

The buildup on Guam is slated to be completed by 2014. Local officials have questioned the ambitious timetable, saying the estimated influx of nearly 80,000 people, including temporary workers, to the island of 178,000 would overwhelm the island.

As of this week, the project remains on the 2014 schedule, according to Marine Corps Maj. Neil Ruggiero, spokesman for the Joint Guam Program Office.

References:
http://www.stripes.com/news/senate-committee-cuts-300m-slated-for-guam-buildup-from-proposed-budget-1.105647

Guam is Telecom-Ready for Military Buildup

By
Edel Alon
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0

The chief executive of GTA TeleGuam Wednesday assured more than 200 government officials, military leaders and defense contractors attending the Hita I Marianas Conference in San Diego that Guam’s telecommunications infrastructure is ready with plenty of growth capacity to support the $20 billion military buildup on the island

Speaking at the conference billed as “America’s Future in Asia,” Dan Moffat, president and CEO of GTA TeleGuam, described Guam as a natural communication gateway between Asia and North America.

“Guam is telecom ready,” Moffat declared. “Private investments have created a world class network on Guam.”

“Privatization and competition have worked for Guam,” Moffat told the audience, noting that all businesses and consumers are benefiting from “lower prices and better service.”

Moffat also said GTA TeleGuam would like to bring the benefits of competition to CNMI (Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands) which lacks competition and where communications costs are high.

Identified as one of the largest peacetime military construction and service investment in 50 years, the military buildup on Guam is drawing the attention of businesses throughout the United States. The buildup will create $20 billion in U.S. Federal, Department of Defense, Government of Japan, and local government construction and service contracts for the Marianas region over the next five to 10 years.

Moffat said Guam is one of the most connected places in the world. There are currently 12 separate submarine cables with landing points on Guam. The 212- square mile island also has more than 150 route miles of buried fiber optic network rings using the latest transmission technology. The fiber rings provide access to all major community anchor institutions, such as government buildings, large commercial buildings, schools and libraries on Guam.

References:
http://sanfrancisco.dbusinessnews.com/viewnews.php?article=bwire/20100527005598r1.xml

Great Sax Playing

By
Edel Alon
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0

Here’s a good friend of mine playing Sax. Play it again, Doug!

US Air Force Deploying F-22s to Guam, Japan

By
Edel Alon
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0

HONOLULU (AP) – The Air Force plans to deploy the world’s most advanced fighter jet to Guam and Japan this month.

The Air Force said it will send a dozen stealth F-22s from Virginia to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.

It will deploy another 12 New Mexico-based Raptors to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa in southern Japan.

Both units are expected to stay for about four months. They’re due to leave for their missions in late May.

The U.S. military first deployed the jets to Japan and Guam in 2008.

F-22s have unrivaled ability to fly at supersonic speeds for long periods and travel undetected by radar.

References:
http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12531052

Piano Cake

By
Edel Alon
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2

Here’s a cake I made for a friend. She’s plays keyboard in my church, loves coffee, and stars. Oh, she’s into art too.

The keys are made from gum paste. The bottom tier is two 2″ layers of 18″ cake covered in fondant. The top is two 2″ layers of 10″ cake.

This was the first time I used tiers.

Enjoy.

Snare Drum Cake

By
Edel Alon
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2

Here’s a snare drum cake. This was the first time I used a marbling technique to color the fondant. The color turned out great. I think in the future I’ll throw in some white. The crown that replicates a Remo logo is made from gum paste.

 

Barnes and Noble Fundraiser – April 24, 2010

By
Edel Alon
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0

barnes-and-nobleHelp support my kids’ school. Go to Barnes and Noble and ask the cashier to use this code during checkout: 10130417

All proceeds go to Ocean View PTA who support Ocean View School in Albany, CA. You can shop online too!

Today only!

Grilled Tomato and Basil

By
Edel Alon
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0

I love grilled tomatoes but for some reason there are always some causalities. I solved this problem by using the double skewer method (use two skewers instead of one). I tried using flat skewers but those don’t do the trick. I also find that the flat skewers let too many of the juices out.

In the picture above, I alternated tomato with basil and marinated it in olive oil and sea salt. The basil left a nice smokey flavor in the tomatoes.

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Welcome to the curated chaos of curiosity and creativity—brought to you by Edel Alon: maker, thinker, and hands-on problem-solver. This blog is part journal, part resource hub, and entirely dedicated to the art of doing. From culinary experiments and car tinkering to tech deep dives and DIY builds, you'll find stories, guides, reviews, and reflections designed to inspire, inform, and occasionally make you laugh (or at least raise an eyebrow). It's a celebration of learning by doing—with a few detours along the way.

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