I love Thanksgiving. It’s coming soon. This is some Turkey Day attire that you can relax in. Wear it under a nice cozy flannel. It appears to be on sale at both my TeePublic and RedBubble shops currently. You should take advantage of that if you’re so inclined.
You can get this design on an apron, a coffee mug, a tote bag, a hoodie, a blanket, a pillow… or all kinds of stuff really. You can change the clothing color with a bunch of options & styles at each site too. Poke around & see if you can find something you like!
Also, you can print this out & try to solve it for free. Or do it on your phone/tablet/whatever. You can post it on social media & tag me@AiXeLsyD13.
Of course, I have a buch of other Thanksgiving themed mazes too:
Hey, this pumpkin maze works for Halloween and Thanksgiving if you ask me. And, you can get two versions of it on all kinds of stuff too:
You can get the full color orange one on stuff at TeePublic and at RedBubble. You can also get the black & white one on stuff at TeePublic. I thought that might look cool on an orange T-shit.
I felt like drawing another Halloween sort of maze. I will probably do some more. I wanted to give this a bit of color too. As always, I’d love it if you solved the maze on paper or on a screen, posted it so social media, & tagged me.
Have fun with this. Print it for your Halloween parties, to pass out with candy, or just for fun. Free to use, just don’t steal & sell it.
I really used to be super creeped out by spiders. Perhaps I should make a series of different kinds of spider mazes. The fly is kind of a blob here. I may do a cleaner version at some point. Still working out if I want the next book to have a theme or just be chaos (again).
You can get the black & white version on all kinds of stuff like stickers, T-shirts, mugs, & wall art at TeePublic & Redbubble.
You can also get the orange version on all kinds of stuff like stickers, T-shirts, hoodies, & aprons at TeePublic & Redbubble.
Have you noticed that I like Halloween? I made some more Halloween-themed mazes. I felt like doing a haunted house and a graveyard. My drawing skills have waned, I need more practice. Third book? Maybe. I have sold 10’s of copies of the others so far. If you try these mazes out, be sure to post your solution on your social media of choice, and tag me. I’m @AiXeLsyD13 just about everywhere. You can even listen to one of my Halloween playlists while you do it… or the monster playlists, or the newest one: Halloween | Certified Bangers 💀🦇🕸️🕷️
I try to not plug my books or T-shirts too often. You know the art (one guy even tried to steal the art). You know the links to Amazon, RedBubble, & TeePublic & the links up top here. There’s even the Linktree. It’s a fun creative outlet for me, and I would appreciate a few more sales, just like I appreciate all that you have purchased!
TeePublic is having a sale, you can get these shirts & more for $16 thos weekend! Should I upload some more Halloween themed mazes? May be time to draw some new ones! You can get stickers, hats, pins, & other cool stuff there too. #TeePubic @TeePublic #TShitts#Mazes#Guitar#Food 🤘🏻 https://tee.pub/lic/AiXeLsyD13
Well then, it’s finally here. I finished maze book number two! This one is better than the last one, I promise. The first was sort of a test run just to see how Amazon KDP works. I wholeheartedly appreciate everyone that bought that book, but this one just objectively looks better and much more time was put into its creation. It ought to be much more challenging and enjoyable, IMHO.
This book a collection of a bunch more larger mazes, and a few small ones that I have been drawing since late 2023. There’s no common theme other than most of the mazes have a silly vibe. A few have no vibe at all. There’s aliens, rodents, yard work, holiday stuff, rock n’ roll, a treasure map, food, retail aversion, gross stuff, & more.
You Can See Yourself Out: A Collection of Fun, Irreverent, Festive, & Wild Hand-Drawn Mazes (Front Cover)
I hope you consider picking up a copy for yourself, & maybe even one for a friend? If not, just sharing the link to someone who you think may enjoy it, or just sharing it in general would be awesome.
The link is https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9Y7SFXS and I’d love if you could share it, review it, favorite it or save it to a list… anything to help even if you’re not interested in a purchase. You could give me a good (or terrible) review or add it to your list on GoodReads too, if that’s your thing.
I had fun making a collage with punk ‘zine vibes for the cover. I busted out the mixed media, printed on weird paper, got two cutting, ripping, & coffee staining… and unearthed the leopard & cheetah print tape.
All of the mazes were hand-drawn, scanned in, edited (& “solved”) in paint.NET, & put together with Open Office. I haven’t stepped into the world of digital drawing yet, and I like my free programs. Someday, I’ll probably dive into GIMP a little more.
I love drawing the mazes, and it’s a great creative outlet like blogging or making music or playing out live. I’m sitting on a pile of old ones that I can convert into a book… but I need to make sure they’re all solvable and do the solutions.
Some are too big to fit on my scanner, and scanning with my phone has less than desirable results… so I’m gonna have to go somewhere like a FedEx Office store and hope they can help before they all disappear. I have a problem picking up any notebook that catches my eye and is the right price, regardless of size & paper type. I like the feel & the calming of pen on paper.
Because I have been excited about this, and I made a small collage with leftover bits, I popped up some new merch designs in my TeePublic & RedBubble stores with that new collage & the book cover images. I do have some older designs there with a few of the mazes that are featured in this book too. If you have an account & follow me on either of those sites, it may help my stuff get seen a bit more. I’d appreciate any form of liking/sharing/tagging if you’re so inclined!
In fact, check out all these designs from or inspired by the book, you can get them on all kinds of merch at each store! (I ordered a sticker, a magnet, a coffee cup, & a hoodie so I’m already in the hole.)
• AC🗲DC • PWR🗲UP • Acrisure Stadium • Pittsburgh PA • Thursday May 8th, 2025 •
So, I have been a casual AC/DC fan for as long as I can remember getting into music. They were always there, always a mainstay, always the butt of “same sounding songs” jokes alongside fellow icons the Ramones. I believe I bought Razor’s Edge& Back in Black about the same time in Jr. High. I really dug “Big Gun” from the Last Action Hero soundtrack, and of course, loved the older stuff with Bon Scott as I got into them.
My kids heard me playing “Big Balls” when they were younger, and of course glommed onto it as the most hilarious song ever. I think I created a rock fan with my son, as he has really dug into the AC/DC catalog.
He wanted AC/DC tickets for his birthday, so we got some… then later traded up when a good friend said he wanted to come to town to catch the show with another buddy, as the speculation spread that it may be their last tour and they weren’t playing out his way.
I prepped by making a playlist of suspected tunes on Amazon Music & Spotifythanks to Setlist.fm. I also have one called 100% Certified Angus on Amazon & Spotify that we rock sometimes too! And my son has been spinning Back in Black on vinyl of all things. (I refuse to get into vinyl or guitar pedals, because I already have a guitar problem.)
Off we went for my son’s first stadium show, first time seeing Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium, & first time seeing AC/DC live! We did catch The Aquabats! at the Roxian last year and that was super badass. That was his 1st concert (if we don’t count the incredible & talented Laurie Berkner for a Christmas concert when the kids were super small) and 1st punk rock show!
🤘 For those about to rock, we salute you! 🤘
Just a mashup of clips I got that evening of my dude enjoying his night:
If you follow me on the socials, you probably saw a few signs that we were there. It’s super exciting to me to bond over music as it has been such an important thing to me over the years, as a creative outlet, a place of joy, and comfort.
I can say he said it was “the best night of his life,” so I think he had fun! Ha ha. I am glad I got to see Angus & Brian perform. Man, the band are tight, but with a nice loose groove. I knew they were powerhouse rock icons, but to see it? Absolutely amazing. The show production was crazy with the infamous bell, canons, fireworks, huge LED screens, pyrotechnics, confetti, on-the-fly graphics enhancing live video… but at the same time it all seemed very simple. I’m not sure how to convey it. The frills were not the focus. Obviously Angus and his SG’s are the focus. Even Brian knows this, and he looks like he is having the time of his life up there, knowing he has the coolest job in the world.
I think Angus may be slightly slower now that he was in the 80s or 90s, but at 70 years old… he is undeniably crushing it skipping, shimmying, and duck-walking around the stage while playing rambling angry blues licks, goading the crowd into cheering, stripping off parts of the schoolboy uniform, & taking 17 minute extended guitar solos. At one point, he even defiled the fretboard with his necktie as a slide. That is how you put on a show. Some sources online seemed to think Brian’s vocals were low in the mix. I think that was the case where we were at on the floor… but videos from elsewhere have it perfect. His voice is amazing, and again, at 77… he is running around belting out these immortal songs like it’s nothing for 2 damn hours.
The crowd was sedate, lots of people fist-bumping or throwing horns or thumbs up to my dude as we went through the crowd & got to our seats. There were obviously visible drunks, but nothing I saw got too out of hand, even the tailgating outside seemed to be chill.
It has all kinds of videos from promo stuff, to stage setup, to pyrotechnic stuff, vloggers, and nearly every song individually, from a bunch of different vantage points, and someone grabbed the whole show!
We have had a lot of craziness going on lately, so this was a fun respite and I think we needed it. Hopefully this will be a day long remembered by both of us as a highlight to this year.
So, were you there? Share your stories, pictures, & videos in the comments! I’d love more YouTube stuff to add to the playlist too. I think the only individual song I’m missing is “Rock N’ Roll Train.”
If you weren’t there, or saw them some other time, or in your city, or just want to drop some AC/DC memories or lore, do that too!
I don’t have a pedal-mobile like the savagely sardonic Pat Finnerty, but I do have some weird mostly cheap pedals. You’ve seen my guitars, you may have heard some of my musical output, but I need to set up a spot to rock again after letting chaos accumulate in my jam space.
Pedals-Schmeadals
I posited the following to social media, and AI:
How would you hook up the following components to maximize use/effectiveness of the given equipment for a guitar rig?
The Amps:
Gorilla TC-35 (Combo)
Fender Blues Jr. (Combo)
Positive Grid Spark (Combo)
Lil’ Smokey (Combo)
Orange Micro Terror (Head)
Laney 2×12 (Cab)
Yamaha MSR 100 (PA)
The Pedals:
D’Addario/Planet Waves PW-CT-04 Tuner
Ernie Ball 6185 Wah
Quinnamp Dirt & Ernie (Distortion/Boost)
The Spamp+ (Amp / Preamp)
Ammoon Pock Loop (Looper)
LiveWire Solutions ABY1 ABY Box
Joyo BAATSIN (Overdrive/Distortion)
Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtanium (Overdrive)
Mooer E7 Synth
DigiTech Trio Band Creator + FS3X Footswitch
Is there a good order to the pedals? Typically I have the Trio going out to the Yamaha PA, and the ABY going into the Micro Terror/Laney and the Blues Jr. Ignoring the Spark & (sadly) the TC-35. I’m not sure which way to order the pedals, though.
Also, do I split the signal early & put different effects to each amp? I have done that with the wah and it sounds neat.
I get that it’s all subjective, but I love to over-think things… so help me do that.
I did ask Perplexity, ChatGPT, & Gemini for advice, and they seem to provide pretty standard stuff that you may see in guitar forums.
From Perplexity:
🎸
To set up your guitar rig effectively, the goal is to optimize signal flow for tonal clarity while integrating the ABY box and DigiTech Trio Band Creator with your PA system. Here’s a structured approach:
Pedal Order Recommendations
Tuner (D’Addario PW-CT-04): Place first to ensure a clean signal for accurate tuning136.
Wah (Ernie Ball 6185): Follows the tuner, as wah pedals interact best with an unaltered guitar signal135.
Distortion/Boost (Quinnamp Dirt & Ernie): Early gain staging preserves dynamic response. Stack with subsequent drives145.
Overdrives (Joyo BAATSIN, Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtanium): Order these based on preference (e.g., lower-gain first into higher-gain)146.
Preamp (The Spamp+): Acts as a tone-shaping buffer. Place after drives to avoid coloring their response34.
Synth (Mooer E7): Position after drives for consistent tracking. Synths can behave unpredictably with distorted signals45.
DigiTech Trio Band Creator: Place here to analyze your processed guitar signal. Route its output to the Yamaha PA for bass/drum separation24.
Looper (Ammoon Pock Loop): Last in the chain to capture the entire signal, including the Trio’s guitar input. This ensures loops include all effects34.
ABY Box (LiveWire ABY1): Split the final signal to your Orange Micro Terror/Laney 2×12 and Fender Blues Jr.2.
Enable ground lift/isolation if using both amps simultaneously to avoid hum2.
Amplifier Configuration
Orange Micro Terror: Connect to the Laney 2×12 cab (ensure impedance matching).
Fender Blues Jr.: Use as a standalone combo.
Yamaha PA: Dedicated to the Trio’s band mix for a full stereo/backing track experience24.
Key Considerations
Experiment with Drive Order: Test the Joyo BAATSIN and Unobtanium in different sequences (e.g., BAATSIN as a mid-boost into the Unobtanium’s higher gain)14.
Synth Placement: If tracking issues arise, try moving the Mooer E7 earlier (post-wah)5.
ABY Ground Noise: Use the LiveWire ABY1’s ground-lift feature if humming occurs2.
This setup balances conventional signal-chain logic with your specific gear, ensuring the Trio’s band tracks and dual-amp rig work cohesively. Always test and tweak to suit your playing style!
Perplexity would not generate a schematic, but ChatGPT & Gemini did… or they tried. They look cool upon first glance, then get real weird when you zoom in… and they don’t even follow the advice of the chain setup. Clearly there is a disparity between the text generation & the image generation. Some of the pedal representations are really cool though, especially with GhatGPT. I can’t help but wonder where it is stolen from. Guitar mag/website rig rundowns?
I dunno when Fender started using orange tolex & separate heads… but the pedals look fancy.
It clearly used the Dirt & Ernie art for the Unobtanium, but it stole that gorgeous Micro Terror from somewhere… and WTF is a Crazy Tauloc? Sounds like an extra on Star Trek.
Granted, I am generally a plug-in, crank the gain, and keep the volume low kind of player. I don’t so effects much. I would like to monkey around with that I have.
Here is where I solicit your advice in the comments and on social media. 🤘
I was going to share some mazes for Thanksgiving, and I realized I have a bunch of them. I did some quick dirty coloring of some old ones. I am sharing new ones that will be in my second book, some from the first book, and I have some that are loosely related to fall or Thanksgiving dinner.
Please, use them to have some fun this holiday season! They could be placemats, an activity for those that aren’t cooking while they’re waiting for dinner or for company to arrive, or used as a game to see who finishes first. You could use them to make place cards too if you wanna get creative!
If you complete the mazes by printing them out & solving, or on your phone/tablet/PC with a drawing app, share it on you preferred social media platform & tag me! I’m @AiXeLsyD13 on pretty much all of ’em. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, BlueSky, TikTok, Tumblr, YouTube, etc.) I’d love to see a video of a race to complete the smaller easier ones… and I love to see solutions! I like to draw mazes, not so much solving them.
Mmm, Thanksgiving dinner. Stuffing is my favorite. I need to figure out how to do a stuffing maze.
You can solve these while listening to one of my Thanksgiving playlists on Amazon or Spotify, or while talking about what you’re thankful for! I love the reflection this time of year.
This year’s turkey maze:
2023 Turkey Maze
Thanksgiving-ish themed mazes from the upcoming book:
Turkey Giblets Maze & Corn Maze …Maze – from my upcoming second book.
Newly (& quickly) colorized old Thanksgiving themed mazes:
Fresh takes on old Thanksgiving Mazes
Random older related mazes:
<shameless plug> The turkey from this year and the “giblets” maze are also available on some cool merchandise from my RedBubble and TeePublic shops too. Why not get a turkey maze T-shirt or an apron with the giblets maze? You can get both designs on hoodies, pet bandanas, stickers, magnets, coffee mugs, and even a damn shower curtain if so inclined. </shameless plug>
🦃 UPDATE! 🦃
After posting this, I found an OLD turkey maze of mine on Pinterest, so I downloaded & edited it a bit. So, here’s one more:
I recently published my first maze book (via Amazon KDP), have sold a few copies, and thought some people here may want to support a local artist. I’m already working on book № 2!
The first book is packed with easy-to-solve mazes, and I think it would be enjoyable for kids as well as adults.
I had my youngest drop a copy in one of those free little library boxes nearby over last weekend. Hopefully someone out there locally picked it up & is enjoying it already!
I also put together some designs to be printed on merchandise, and I’m trying two different shops online right now. I’ll be uploading more themed designs as soon as I complete work on my 2nd maze book.
I have sold a few T-shirts, and bought some stickers and a magnet for myself. Between the two shops you can get everything from coffee mugs and pillows to shower curtains or clocks featuring my designs.
Check out my first #maze book! this was a test run, I plan to do more. can you spare $6 to help fund some art? If not, it’s cool… maybe just share the link? https://wp.me/pwqzc-3ba I am super excited to get this out there. How do you share a damn link on here?
World (and Lunar) Domination 