Upon further discussion, we’ve decided the price on the potion has to be $10 billion. It is a good thing we invented the $10,000 bill or one man could not carry so much money. We aren’t after an Academy Award but we’ll make the odd concession to believability.Jackie walked into the shop today. Of all the times, it was the busiest we’ve been in months so I could not give him the tour. I was caught between translating a computer sale, helping a couple get a phone ordered and downloading Halloween sounds. The most difficult was the phone. Now they do a credit check before they connect, a severe intrusion into privacy I predicted long ago. (The phone company charter states they are required to give service to everyone who requests it and pays their bill. It does not allow them to refuse service on any other grounds, such as a credit score.)
It is more proof that the empire of the USA has passed its apex and this took around the same amount of time as all others in history. Now begins the slide to oblivion that will last probably another 150 years at most. The land is still productive and the resources are present so barring a breakup, the country will always be here, minus the greatness. Did you know China produces ten times as much steel as the USA? We can do it faster and better, but we can’t afford the labor costs. What’s missing is the social infrastructure to weather bad times. Once the initiative is lost here, nobody is willing to risk their necks to get it back. The average American has seen too many people get away scot free to put his life on the line for anyone but himself. And that spells the end of freedom, the one and only thing that once set America apart.
Carpal tunnel. I’ve got it. A visit with the family physician confirms I have “bass player’s elbow”. It is controllable and I’m to buy one of those plastic splits to immobilize the joint for several months. (It went away and never returned.) In a way, I should be glad that is all. My thoughts raced to arthritis, one of the few things that scares me. I would not be able to play the electric bass, the instrument I should have learned as a lad. But where was my role model on that? My sister got a piano, so I played the piano. (She didn’t. Couldn't be bothered. I had to beg for lessons.)
Speaking of careers, one of my students turns out to be a recruiter for the local community colleges. During the record longest DSL setup (around 4 hours), we got to talking. When I mentioned my reasons for not pursuing that career, she indicated there is a way around it. The problem is I do not have the exact qualifications needed. And they are very exact, starting with a teaching certificate. I’ll see what she comes up with. Either way, it will be tough to get in. She mentions that not long ago a teaching assistant position came up and among the applicants were two PhDs.
Back home, I began creating the Halloween mix for Friday. That’s the music mix, not spiking the punch. There just isn’t all that much scary music out there. I had to add items like the theme from Adam’s Family, and Ghostbusters. I put backing tracks of everything I could find to suit the occasion. Wolves, witches, cats, wind, far off bells, maniacal laughter, chainsaws, hounds, even wind in the graveyard sounds. I’ve come up with just 27 minutes of music after two hours of work. Somebody help me out here.
