The downside is the early models will cost $3,000 to $5,000. Otherwise, I would be first to get one, but with the intention to create the software for a thousand ideas I’ve had with no way to produce them short of a massive production shed. Like my “dinker” idea. Don’t recall that one? Well, get on it.I was up late last evening reviewing music, in this case the hits of the decade 1990-1999, to see what I could use. What’s this I notice? As the time moves closer to the “Internet era”, the number of bytes in hit tunes begins to bell curve. So I zipped ahead to this decade and sure enough. Show me a hit from a youTube band (Nirvana, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, Sound Garden) and its MP3 will be 4,165 KB (+/- 244 KB). Draw your own conclusions.
In another search, to see where Taylor Swift fits in the scheme of things, I yanked up a list of the top ten country performers of all time. Country as we know it is a relatively new form. One of the newest, in fact, if one ignores studio-generated styles like rap and hip-hop. I’d place the beginnings of country at around 1960. Over 75% of them got there before 1985. Oddly, most of the lists had Kenny Rogers twice, and there is a top nine, because there are dozens of contenders for tenth place. There is no way Swift compares with Johnny Cash, who is in a league of his own. Here is the highly suspicious list, supposedly based on requests, recording sales and popularity:
Kenny Rogers
Patsy Cline
Taylor Swift
George Jones
Charlie Daniels Band
Dolly Parton
Kenny Rogers (sic)
Tim McGraw
Johnny Cash
There was a tune I picked from my music review, Zac Brown’s “Toes”. That’s the “my ass in the water” song, vaya con dios, over four minutes long. The lyrics refer to a “PBR on the way”, so I’ll be nice and explain what that is, although I have my own version. It is a “professional bull rider”, one of those drunk idjits that ride the mechanical bull, although some people apply it to real bull riders. Not me, I root for the bull.
Millie was under the knife y’day. When Wallace goes all day without saying anything, I suppose he wants a quiet day off. I have no status report, except that she has trouble walking. And despite working in Canada for almost ten years, I still do not go around assuming everything I see or hear is automatically my business. So I’ll write about it, but I don’t ask. When you write, you can’t change your intentions later. I’m convinced that’s why so many people don’t write. They won’t dare.
[Author's note 2022: this material makes more sense if you follow some of the attempted humor. I know that PBR means Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. I did not live in Canada, I worked for a Canadian company, crossing the border thousands of times whenever I had to go to their offices, and I also went to school there because it was so cheap. (Government subsidized.) ]
How about that dumb broad who whacked her roommate in Italy? “I don’t want to be branded an assassin.” Typical woman, the other person is dead but all she’s concerned about is her own reputation. Gee, is her hair mussed? Do you think this will affect her chances of marriage? There’s a certain extra justice when rich brats get caught, although there is one thing she said that I can support. Although she should have shut up completely, she claims the authorities applied excessive pressure when questioning her while she disoriented by the whole arrest and jail rough-up. I believe her on that part.
My quest for a decent toaster may be over. I found one that is guaranteed not to burn out for two years and pops the first slice out in 45 seconds. Brand name, Warner. The bad news is that it costs $302. I stopped in at the store on Dixie with used restaurant equipment. They’ve got a million bucks of inventory and sell only commercial gear. I’ve recently seen stuff at Sears for the same prices, mind you, and that has got me thinking. Why buy the cheap stuff?
