2024 or the "year that still may not happen"

[Sassy Hatter OZFL]

I actually had a pretty awesome season last year, but in the middle, My new boat was purchased the first of August but then delivered the Friday before Idalia, I didn't even have a hitch on my truck to move it yet and had the dealer put it in the water for me, bad choice, cause here is my mailbox 24 hours AFTER the flood 6925, so we had to rebuild our adult kids bedrooms which are downstairs which fema doesnt cover. Heck, my house even made the paper, (my wonderful wife was helping tear down the bottom 4/8 feet of our home in cutoff shorts and a tank tape, the reporter was very interested in her story, didn't ask me nuthing lol) well in short, I lost about 6 cases of single shots, 7 cases of consumer shells mostly 76 nova cans and hellcats, a few cases of slices and 200g cakes that where really colorful and stinky clumps of cardboard. etc. not a massive loss, but the neighborhood and tourists are still finding and mostly returning my HDPE tubes, but the racks etc, i just dont trust, and I dont really trust the wooden plugs in the tubes themselves yet so will likely buy a case of cans just to test my tubes before a show. all 4 72s check good, even though they lived underwater for about 48 hours. (patience, corrosion remover, stock in isopropyl and acid brushes), so GJ COBRA, they lived 6926.

Been pretty broken mentally, and physically (I'm disabled), but I rebuilt the house damage myself, over 4 months, as its a very very very weird area I live in, and even the shady handy men (mid tier here) where booked 3 months out and charging double as even the green help is getting 20 an hour off shift), but we managed to pay off our last rebuild credit card Friday, and my family said I could use basically the "points" for a show this year. We have decided to make it more of a cake runner since I lost 12, 12shot sequencers, most of my cobra series and parallel boards etc. and all of the remote 4-cues and the little orange cube for them, but had some song sin mind as always and was able to get an order in and am working on the show now, (gonna be thin, but my last few shows have been good, but too pukey so I'm taking the opportunity to unlearn stepping on my own effects. ).

So now the real real point. Im just really glad to be standing and able to shoot anything this year, so as we all start our stashes and our late night micromanaging 1/100th of a second of a song to see if that effect we just gotta have will fit right, and/or not get us copyright stricken, remember that its for a celebration be it for any day of the year, any reason. Bon Chance and happy shooting.

[PyroFL]

Wow one hell of a story

My wife’s cousin lives just down the road from you and had the same thing happen (not a pyro). The river came up 5’ deep and wiped out everything on the first floor.

If for whatever reason you can’t make your show work we could always use extra hands on our show day. Bring the family, meal and day time events start at 4pm.

Rick in Tampa is our safety guy this year, we have a handicap parking area and have golf carts on hand to shuttle to the seating area.

Only 70 miles away

[KDirk]

Ouch, a whole series of tough breaks there, it hurt just reading it. I've been hit with some personal setbacks recently as well, but nothing on that scale. It's good though that you have found the determination (and enough funds) to put on a show this year, and if I were in your shoes, it'd be a double celebration; July 4 and a "victory over a whole mess of suck" party.

I suspect my show this year will be a bit smaller than the last couple, as funds are now going to be constrained owing to the unexpected loss of my work truck (and cost of replacing it). The funny part is I've vastly expanded my Cobra hardware late last year - by acquiring some very clean used pieces and some new accesories - in preparation for a bigger, better show this Independence Day. Modules, cases, slats, bases, cables, all of it. Even picked up a lightly used audio box. Whether or not it will see full utilization now is somewhat in question, but there will be a show regardless. I haven't ordered my product for this year yet, but need to do so very soon.

Best of luck to you in getting a show off without a hitch.

[BMoore]

Wow, I can't even imagine going through that. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family and I really hope you can get your show off without a hitch. Absolutely amazing that the cobra modules survived, but I'd still be inclined to send them off to Cobra for a a complete diagnostics. Water damage to electronics sometimes doesn't reveal itself right away so better safe than sorry. I'm guessing your racks and mortars are probably good to go unless you see any visible cracking in the plugs.

[Birdman]

That would be enough to break my will to put on a show......I think :confused:

[Sassy Hatter OZFL]

Thanks all, it looks like its gonna work, or at least the pyro showed up. I need to fix one cue on one module that is not firing. I can handle that or just not worry about it. (in my pre disabled days I was a component level repair tech/high reliability(black cat) soldering certified etc., my body and brain don't work as well as they used to but I trust myself in this. as to sending it in, I love cobra and harbor no ill will(even bought an audiobox this year), but after the 2 yr battle with DMX that ended in them realizing they never notified me that they put a bad port in my module (they had a recall, but it was happening as I ordered, so they both put the bad part in, and didn't account for it), the inner stubborn headed mule in me, says to do it myself if able.

[Sassy Hatter OZFL]

That would be enough to break my will to put on a show......I think :confused:

It was, it really really was. I mean, The world was on my shoulders for months and months and we had consigned ourselves that we just wouldn't be able to pull it off. I even noticed I was moping like a whipped puppy, but blamed it on quitting smoking and stopping the quit smoking meds. but when I let the finance committee (i kid) know we were clear on the "big card" and could maybe afford to do at least enough that I felt it worth the effort of scripting etc. and notifying the community there would be a "show", we've all been in a better mood and working together on it.

[Sassy Hatter OZFL]

Oh jeebus, I just learned that the other neighborhood pyro enthusiast, not a scripting etc. guy, but couple dozen shells a year for the neighborhood and added some cakes this last year in what the neighbors felt was gonna be a "pyro arms race" passed away in march after a very short 5-6 week battle with cancer. So now I gots no choice but to blow some shit up and probably even add a couple "air burst" and an announcement recognizing him, even though we never actually talked one on one lol.

[Sassy Hatter OZFL]

Still chugging along., gonna force lockdown my audio track today, no really, i swear, for real.