November 15, 2008

           What do I know about computer power supplies? Only that they vary widely in quality and I sold one for $75. Fred was happy about that. I was minding the store while he went to motorcycle practice. He is part of the team that drives in those figure eights during the local parades. They practice in the casino parking lot next door. So do these egrets. The casino is doing so badly, there is enough room for all.
           Later, I was over at Arnel’s for four hours. He’s got a Toshiba that just would not quit skipping. He uses two computers for his act and the problem cannot be ignored. After reinstalling Windows (he had the Portuguese version in there), I finally determined the problem to be RAM. It should work fine, but for some reason he only had 192 KB and the diagnostic said he had one 256 KB chip. I have no idea if part of a RAM chip can quit on you.
           Also, that laptop quirk where the sound stops working came back. It has to go into the shop and this time I have to learn why and how that happens. Even installing RealTek doesn’t fix it.
           On Arnel’s advice, I dropped into Boston Johnny’s to hear the guitarist. I’ve never met him but as soon as I walked in the door we both recognized each other. It seems we know all manner of people in common. His name is Gary and he goes by the handle “Chopper”. Didn’t I work on his computer somewhere along the line? Anyway, he is going to Virginia for two weeks and we’ve planned to meet up when he returns.
           Being still early, I stopped at Jimbo’s to say hello. And to see if Cowboy Mike was there. He wasn’t but I heard the craziest rumor. Yer darn tootin’ I’ll gossip when it comes to music. It seems on Thursday, he didn’t just pack up and leave over a broken guitar string. The word is some guy asked Mike if he could play a tune. It seems the guy was pretty fantastic. He played three tunes, and then Mike left. It could be coincidence, but still.
           Arnel’s lady made an excellent digital movie of our sessions on stage at Boston’s. Arnel has a laser light show. Say, remind me to check back at Guitar Center. They had a $1,000 system but Arnel reports he go his rig for $250. The footage is excellent and I may use parts of it for the movie. We still have several scenes to shoot. Arnel has donated an original sound track. Piano and guitar, named “Take Me To Paradise.”
           Young Eric lent some VHS movies, including the 1958 classic “The Vikings” with a cast of hundreds. When actresses were chosen for their fresh, wholesome good looks, sigh. When movies had a real plot. Make sure I mention that for the time the movie was made, they went through a lot of trouble over authenticity. Much of the footage actually was in Norway.