April 30, 2010

           A gold star for this 7-11 on Atlantic Shores Blvd, although that road itself is perpendicular to the beachfront and a mile inland. Notice the handicap parking is correctly placed near the front door, where all the handicapped get a break. It is not right at the front door where it would also inconvenience 100% of the other customers. You don’t comfort the afflicted by afflicting the comfortable.
           What’s this then? I plug in an old MS-DOS floppy and it triggers a Symantec Anti-virus error 1. I wonder why that is? Give me an hour. Great things have come from those who wonder about such things. There’s an old saying that all you need to succeed is brains, courage, and a computer. I’ve got the computer.
           Meanwhile, you never realize how many versions of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” exist out there until you try to find the one you remember. Even the chord patterns are not consistent.
           Y’day was a lost day, I barely recall it. That is thanks to a new cholesterol prescription, and don’t laugh, your turn is coming. Most people will never be able to adjust to the diet regimen I’m on. The food of the 70s through 90s was admittedly bad, but I never lived at McDonald’s or shoveled away the pizza. I never was a “bad” eater and look what happened. Let me say it, unless you drastically cut back to “cave man” food, your cholesterol will climb after you are 30.
           Theresa and I had a spat about the Coffeetime flyer. My understanding is (from what she said) that she had considerable experience hard selling this brand of advertising. She said or wrote this to me before arriving here, so I took her at face value. For clarity, she was to arrive here and commence selling this commodity, and I was to produce the flyer.
           Now, to me this means there has to be a flyer to sell. Although I had no spare time, I produced a sample to keep up my end of the bargain. Now she has now twisted that around as me preventing her from selling!
           She considers the sample a waste of her(?) time because she did not "authorize" it (she was quite aware I was doing it and repeatedly said nothing). She says we had no formal contract to produce the flyer (like who appointed her the boss). Oddly, this lack of a formal contract does not stop her from claiming for services in keeping the kitchen clean (which I repeatedly told her to stop if she was expecting to be paid).
           She also says I “promised” her a job in writing by mentioning Big Jeff, the disk jockey, was also in advertising sales. She does not explain how I could have promised her anything from a person I barely know. When asked to produce this promise, all she had was a couple letters where I was warning her against, repeat against, having anything to do with Big Jeff.
           Further, she gave me her old cell phone and I said thanks. I pay the $40 a month for service without which the phone is useless. That is the end of it. Wrong. She has mentioned that phone at around 30 times and shows no signs of backing off, like I owe her for life. What is with these people? Where is the $200 she promised me for driving her truck? I could have bought three cell phones.
           Last, every time I ask her for the rent, she starts a big insulting argument about whatever pops into her head. Like it is my fault she has no job and saying I invited her to stay here for free. She is not to be trusted with any personal information, she makes threats. She has also stated she does not have to pay rent because I am "not the owner". What an evil thing to do. That is enough, I have given her notice to vacate.

April 29, 2010

           Putting Theresa’s one-page [resume] on disk led me to test my 3.5 floppy. It is in perfect condition and I found jpegs from early 2002. I remind you that I did not acquire optical disk technology until 2005, some 23 years after it was invented. The reasons are simple: a) conversion costs, b) equipment and media costs, and c) distrust of read-only storage. If you are too young to remember the validity of these concerns, congratulations.
           I found this rare photo of myself eleven months before the heart attack. It is hard to believe I was that nimble and that skinny. I weighed 60 pounds less (see photo) than today, all of which was to change beginning that August.
           The picture has me in IHOP, counting toothpicks. The Marlboro cigarettes indicate Frank was also counting. Notice the small pile of rejects, toothpicks that were malformed. In the end, these numbered 135,000.
           For the record, I still have some 1,100 floppy disks, many containing very large amounts of unpublished blog material. The only greater collection of journals is my hand-written pages, which are very vulnerable to deterioration. It is pointless to even think about key-entering such huge quantities of files until my pensions start many years from now. Unless somebody perfects written character recognition, those millions of words may never be published, a pity because they are a revelation of the social injustice of poverty.
           Some readers may object to my use of the word poverty, since I’ve always had a good job whenever I worked. I state that poverty is relative, that I have never seen any true poverty in America, so I am largely referring to lack of opportunity. It is false that anybody can work themselves up in the world. Some gifted people make it, most don’t stand a chance. Sure, millions of others no doubt were as poor as I and went through the same meat grinder. But did they write it down?
           Maybe I am a thousand times ahead of where I started, but that makes assumptions of where that starting point was. I didn’t break even on my student loans until I was out of school twelve years. Borrowing for education is a stone around anybody’s neck, it prevented me from buying a house before prices went astronomical. It is not fate, but a telling comment on my parent’s values that, as one of six children, I had the highest school marks, worked the hardest on the farm, sacrificed the most, yet I was the one who received the least help.
           In my day, a decent education cost $15,000 including food, shelter and transportation to campus. I went through university wearing the same clothes as when I was 14, and in total received the grand sum of $20 from my parents. In all those years, when I should have been focusing on study, grooming future contacts and meeting the girl I would marry, I got a lousy twenty bucks. These are the people who swore they would pay for my university. Unfortunately, I believed them and had no backup plan. They were in the top 5% income bracket in the world. There are two sides to every story, you may say that you’d like to hear their side of it. Trust me, so would I.
           If I sound edgy, I’m having a day-long reaction to a new prescription. Or, maybe an adjustment conflict with an existing medication, at ten pills every day it is hard to tell. I ran into Hi, the guitarist of recent mention. He apologized for missing our scheduled Sunday practice and would like a second chance. I’m considering it, since he already has music in his blood. It never hurts to have two guitarists who know your material, and in this case, two guitarists who cannot perform solo.
           This sentence is simply to test the search engine. It is a quote from myself at age 21: "I've been out with hundreds of women who played hard to get--once each." Man, was I lippy back then. Here's another original from yours truly: "Canadian taxes make food so cheap a lot of people can barely afford it."

April 28, 2010

           Congratulations again to the team of Samsung and MetroPCS. I’m being flooded with text message advertising. There is no way to turn the feature off and I can’t text them back to get off their lists without paying for the service. But, here’s germ of an idea. Follow the money. Is there a list of places that text message so I can boycott them? Not the text advertiser, the people who hire them. Here’s a photo of the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk this afternoon.
           It may be that others know as little about Karaoke machines as I once did. I got a callout, seems the microphones will not work. It was one of those weird coincidences with two machines having the same problem for different reasons. This was also the first time I’ve seen a complete Karaoke system set up at home for private entertainment. Not those Radio Shack amps for kids, but a regular system.
           In the process, I met Barb, who has dealt with a good share of government lawyers and was able to give some very encouraging advice. Thus, I was in a good mood all day, staying at the computer shop until 7:00 PM. The English guitarist was in, he’s having awful luck with his second hand laptops. I can empathize for I surmise the reason somebody gets rid of a laptop is different than for other computers. I never trust used laptops.
           On the way, I stopped at the shoemakers to pick up some odd tools I’d left behind. The Russian guy is there to stay. After checking out what is available, he’s decided it isn’t such a bad deal after all. Alfredo insisted I stay for almeurzo (lunch), with Bolivian empanadas, chicken and rice. Is that good timing, or what?
           As a test, I posted an elaborate FireHow article, complete with pictures. Their web layout is not really good for pictures and only a few people use it. I believe they will eventually upgrade and my articles will be ready. For now, it is back to many small and correspondingly useless articles to beef up my ratings. Today, it will be how to sew a button back on for bachelors.
           I’m a little jealous of a (FireHow) newcomer. He posted dozens of Vista tips which fell to the wayside, but one of them collected 142 hits the first day: how to defragment your hard drive. Who was is said, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.” (Most sources say that was P.T. Barnum or H.L. Mencken.) I’ll wager the Internet has both of them laughing in their graves. Mind you, quality still has its rewards, as my account with 42 postings is producing ten times better than a month ago. Plus, I just noticed in Google, a search on that quote brings my post, not PT or HL, to the top.
           As promised, here is an update on the performance of FireHow. It is still a new presence, with less than a thousand members, many of whom appear to just sit there. Visitors can view the entire site except for other’s personal finance area. Soon, I’ll tell you the money part you want to hear about. When a post is uploaded, FireHow seems to pick out keywords and append Google-like ads to your article. Mercifully, they are not yet inserting them into the middle of your material.
           The posting system has no ratings, each new article shunts the others down the page. This means many of the early and best articles are at the bottom of the list. But, it appears the authors are too lazy or too dumb to figure out how to repost at the top, so leave them be. As people click on your posts, you begin to rack up money, which you can cash in to your paypal account whenever your earnings exceed $10.
           To date, I have had 1,161 hits generating $3.67. This took a month, but it was fun and now we have something to work with. What’s nicer is that the older posts continue to draw in money, a good argument for choosing timeless subject matter. The actual cause and effect is still mysterious, as some posts can collect dozens of hits without any income. Statistically, I had an average of 20 posts for the month (begin with zero, end with 40) indicating each post makes 10 cents per month. Be aware that none of these calculations is capable of showing the long term trend.

April 27, 2010

           Music, always a favorite here, means I had better get that drum box soon. Eddie has mentioned starting up at Jimbos again. That won’t work in itself because it would mean heaving my entire act overboard and learning Eddie’s material. We already know what happens when a guitarist gets his own way. Mind you, should he waltz in with his guitar while Fred and I were doing the show, that’s different. We’ll be playing the beach circuit in no time.
           Fred has no way of knowing it yet, but we will make a deadly backup band: bass, drums and rhythm. To do so, we had to avoid any input from guitar players. I am often the first person many guitarists meet who tells them their taste in music is unsuitable, and it does not matter how long they’ve thought otherwise. For example, Eddie never did learn even one tune from my song list, whereas I learned ten of his.
           Eddie refuses to play with Jim again, though I’ve asked him to wait and see. Eddie already forgot the intros we practiced last year. Like many guitarists, he leaves out the measures where there were no vocals. You can’t do that in a real band. He also informs me that “You Can Leave Your Hat On” is not a Joe Cocker original. According to Eddie, it is an old 1940’s blues tune. Either way, you must hear the customized bass line I’ve got for that. Hint: listen to the horn section and note what is played “in the cracks”.
           Today was taken up by some extensive medical tests, of which there will be more next week. Understandably, the topic was the defibrillator slash pacemaker. I’ve left it to the results of the tests to make the decision for me. I have the personal assurance of my doctor they will never allow me to go untreated, regardless of whether I can pay. That’s nice to know. Remember, running out of money is a probablity for all baby boomers—particularly those who’ve lived a life on credit. I’m merely setting things in place before I arrive there the hard way.
           Which led to a lively conversation between my doctor and I about the condition of the country. We are much on the same wavelength there. It is all too rare in Florida to have intellectual discussions and educationally I tend to have more in common with other graduates. Medically, it turns out I was very wise to defer the pacemaker operation until I got back to my own doctor. Make that extremely wise.
           One piece of good news is that my heart is now beating regularly, but not quite in unison. The description was to imagine repeatedly compressing a pillow between your hands. Unless you move both hands together, some of the motion gets wasted. This motion is the target of the defibrillator. It is a passive device, only cutting in if needed. It also sets off an alarm saying get over to the hospital. I am slowly getting comfortable with the idea.
           Last, I’m seeing a lot more Sony CDs that seem to be produced in India using a new copyright schema that attaches to the individual track. Usually copyright is associated with the whole disk, not the contents. You know what I think of Sony; 20 pages in English and 24 pages in French. You can look that one up. Now, although I would never do anything for an illegal purpose, academically I require all knowledge. I cracked that code within an hour, purely as an academic exercise. Forbidden knowledge is an excuse I associate with voodoo and New Age types.
           [Author’s note: Sony once charged me $44 for a missing user’s manual. When I got home, more than half the pages were in French.]

April 26, 2010

           Here’s a fat cat sleeping on the table. Right next to piles of maps and textbooks. I know a lot of people capable of doing the same thing. Sadly, this cat and Pudding-Tat do not get along. Must be some reptilian territory thing and Pudding, weighing in at maybe half this other cat, should probably vote with her feets.
           Another incredible downpour, Wallace is missing all the fun. This kind of rain all over the south means we are in for an unrelenting hot, broiling summer, the kind you tell the grandkids about. Both roadways are flooded out again, the police will soon arrive to tape off the back casino exit. The weather report says all day and night. It is not a hurricane, you can tell because in a hurricane the rain goes sideways.
           I used the time to put together a video for Big Jim up at Johnny’s last Friday. I still have never found a textbook with an explanation of how all the different video formats work. My videos are still produced with a large element of trial and error at the burning phase. Today it was just me and a big bowl of soup, and the rain.
           By late afternoon it was sunny, I biked to the office. Mainly, I like to check on my earnings and confirm that I’m getting plenty of legitimate hits. I differentiate between SEO hits and real hits. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) schemes are what cause all that crap to float to the top whenever you’re trying to find something. My hits seem to be from a steadily expanding fan club. I can’t be certain of that, but there is not much else to explain why I’m getting 19 or 20 times as many hits as before.
           FireHow itself is growing exponentially. This could be more a property of small numbers. Their web page still stinks, you have to scroll down to see the lists. The articles are squeezed between advertisements, which also limits the size of the pictures I can include as diagrams. They’ll work it out, I’m sure, and meanwhile, my slow accumulation of articles continues.
           Another strategy I may try is to post my articles a second time at another site. That is another idea where I cannot seem to get a straight answer out of anyone. The articles belong to me and they are written for money so what’s wrong with a little shameless self-promotion? What’s stopping me at the moment is I do not know the implications of doing such a thing. Would I simply be diluting my own market mix or doubling my income? No straight answers available, but for now, stick with the plan.
           I got a call from the marketing agency (CFS) that paid me to try on t-shirts and sip beer. They are in Virginia and were surprised I could talk to them about statistics and demographics. Ah, the benefits of a classical education. They seem legitimate, and as I pointed out, their checks all cleared. Is there a career for me as a professional tester in the stars? I gave them the directions to this blog.
           By late evening, I have a custom bass line written to “King of the Road”. It is quite another thing to sing it while playing that bass line. Fred is right on track with his guitar practice. When he points out the sore fingertips and aches and pains, I can assure him he is exactly right on schedule. He grasps the huge difference between what he is learning, and ordinary music lessons. I know the first week we make more as a band than at the computer shop will Fred crossing the Rubicon.
           I’ve finished Ehrenreich’s “Bait and Switch”, a title designed to sell rather than reflect the contents. The book is depressing, although she is describing events that I had warned people about some twenty years earlier. She complains about predatory employment help-groups, where as I view such outfits as confirmation of how useless and weak-minded the entire American “middle-management” had become. I cautioned people about placing hope in Monster.com the day after it appeared. Now all their personal information is in the hands of the enemy.
           When you lose your job and start spending money on webinars, social networking and personality tests, you are a loser idiot with no marketable skills. Why is everyone afraid to tell you that directly? Might hurt your feelings? Gee, go get counseling or go to church. Remember, I’m the guy who was “managed” by your type. I know exactly where you stand when it comes to intelligence. They let personality become more important than education and experience. Now they want what?

April 25, 2010

           Pudding-Tat, Florida’s most famous feline, has decided to honor us with her presence once more. She is a free spirit, and can disappear for a month at a time. Note the slight orange tinge to her back fur that was not present before. She’s around three years old now, which you can check if you’d like, using this blog. The neighbors were feeding a feral cat, and Pudding-Tat was helping herself. So she’s healthy.
           It has been a month since I began posting on FireHow. I have reached some interim conclusions. It requires 1,000 clicks to generate (a lousy) $3.00 in revenue. I have no idea why all these sites are so damn resistant to plainly stating that fact. My primary goal was to find out what really gives, and there you have it.
           I had to publish 40 articles over the month to generate those hits, slightly more than my goal of one article per day. Firehow gives plenty of stock advice on how to use social networks to drive people to your posts, which I consider akin to fudging. I’m not ruling anything out, but I personally get better results from writing well enough that the average reader will click on several more of my items. My sparkling wit, you see.
           The short 400-500 word articles on computer topics produce the best. I’ve developed a distinct style which others have already attempted to copy. So far, they’ve failed (since I make use of obscure embedded tags). Also, I’ve thoroughly tested FireHow’s upload system and may soon include a photo in every post. My top count is still the automotive blurb about troubleshooting your alternator. But I’m no mechanic so I can’t pursue that vein.
           We have far more information now to extrapolate authorship earnings. At this rate, it will take about three years of writing, or nearly 1,200 articles to produce a part-time income. This is not unrealistic for a full time author. To make a living, however, expand that to 10,000 articles, which takes a lifetime. I doubt there are many freelance writers in Florida making more than $20,000 per year.
           Contrast this with music, where the basic unit is the tune played on stage. I make an average of 46.23 cents per tune. That is, if I play “Spiders and Snakes” 150 times per year (about right), I earn $70. If I’m the only musician who ever made that calculation, fine, because it proves compared to writing, music is fast and easy money. So tonight, I’m finally going to write a custom bass line to Roger Miller’s “King of the Road”. Make it sound like the original would have if he’d had an electric bassist.
           Cowboy Mike called the other day; he’s struggling with his hand-made pipes. He’s got a web kiosk and is learning without massive presence, a web page just sits there. We talk a little music and tentatively agree to keep each other in the loop if any Blues comes up. There is no steady, paying market for Blues around here. I can rarely stand listening to it for more than a half-hour.
           According to Mike, the Hippie joined some group up in Boca [Raton]. These liaisons are temporary and the Hippie will be back soon enough. It’s too bad he goes on wild goose chases since we have a decent sound whenever we play music we’ve rehearsed. The difference of opinion between us is easy to follow.
           The Hippie feels that since he is singing and playing, that makes him the most important band member. To me, singing guitarists are a dime a dozen and if they want to join a real band, they’d best do what they are told. Who’s right? Nobody can say.
           But they can say I’ve done something that proves my side of the issue. I’ve just completed a two year house gig as a soloist without any need for a guitarist or a singer. Let me repeat that in case anyone missed it: A two-year gig without a guitar player or a singer. Don’t blame me if I keep forgetting how important they are supposed to be.

April 24, 2010

           How about today’s picture? She has the largest, most beautiful big round green eyes I’ve seen in just ages. She came in with her daughters to pick up a laptop. Holly and I hit it off great, talking for over a half hour. I asked if she could sing or play guitar. No, she said, but she was a famous porn star. On her okay, I went to her web site and so can you by googling Holly Halston. Yes, I have her private home phone number. No, you cannot have it.
           Arizona has passed Bill 1070, giving the police the right to act as immigration officers. The feds objected, saying it would lead to racial profiling, but it seems the feds haven’t noticed 95% of the illegal immigrants are from the same race. Therefore, no matter how you tackle that problem, somebody is going to scream “racist”, so quit shitting your pants and get on with it.
           The feds have failed for 50 years to protect the citizens of that state, so they will to protect themselves. Meanwhile the feds are contemplating the lunacy of amnesty. The state also claims, and rightfully so, that there will be less crime, less welfare, fewer gangs, smaller class sizes and lower taxes. Myself, I’m going to wait and see without taking sides, but the bottom line is 70% of the states residents support the law. Majority rules, provided they are permitted to vote on the correct issues while they still are a majority.
           Fred remains up in Orlando, but he’s going to be surprised at the amount of work I took in for him. That English chap who plays Blues guitar was in, and steered me to some hilarious youTube videos by the two Ronnies. It was a classic called “Four Candles”. See it if you haven’t, it’s a skit about this guy who walks into a store and orders fork handles.
           While on youTube, I caught a short documentary showing a WWII-era T-34 sunk in a swamp since 1944. Let me count on my fingertips, that’s 66 years ago. My Lithuanian is a little rusty, but that tank sure wasn’t. They hooked up a tractor and pulled it out of the muck, water flushing out all the gun ports. I saw the tracks (tank treads) were turning like it was y’day! I was stunned even more a short while later when they hooked up a battery and the tank engine started. It vomited diesel fumes, but that sucker was running.
           That was the good news. Bingo was a flop tonight, I worked for less than minimum wage. It is not prudent to play Jimbos near rent day. This seems to be the determining factor for all events at Jimbos, indicating most people there do not own their own houses. Bingo is now a major factor in my annual income, even with the bad days.
           Friday’s jam at H’wood Johnny’s was not inspiring. Eddie and I showed up to play around 6:00 PM to find other musicians already there and taking up all the available instrument jacks on Jim’s six-channel Fender Passport [PA system]. My bingo show alone uses five jacks. Anyway, we waited an hour and a half and had to leave because we only had a lousy ten bucks each. That’s one long wait. We were also dismayed it took all that time for the band to set up and tune. I can have my entire show set up and working in just under ten minutes, and I use more gear, all of it heavier duty.
           That excessive setup time has always been a red flag with Jim’s act. Everything seems to be slightly too loud or too quiet with occasional blasts, like a bad rheostat cutting in and out at full volume. Jim has very expensive equipment that never sounds balanced, seeming to require ten agonizing minutes of fiddling between each song. By comparison, my computerized show is totally sleek, with matched covers played three at a time, plus my show is far more “live”.
           The difference is explainable, however. I rehearse my entire presentation in two modes: solo and duo. It works so well, I once did a two-year solo bass act. Let me say it again: good guitar is played differently when a bass player is present. If you don’t agree, then you only think you can play “good guitar”. One of the quickest ways to a bad show is a guitarist playing studio riffs on top of the band he is supposed to be cooperating with.
           Yet, I was disappointed at not playing. It is a six mile bike ride up there and back.

April 23, 2010

           Notice the odd-shaped cloud in the northwestern sky. It is smoke. This plume is a sure sign of a wildfire in the Everglades. That means a forest fire where there is no forest in the middle of a soggy swamp, but Florida cannot put it out. Today I began reading the manuals for the CAVS karaoke system. The company is tightly guarding the cgc software for creating the graphics files, but they need not worry about me. My interest in their product is solely for research. My target is producing graphics on real MP3s, not the ho-hum karaoke versions.
           The first obstacle is that CDG burner. This goes by many names. One heartening find is that most CDG players will handle MP3s. I also discovered that CDs actually have a tiny groove or ridge in the substrate to keep the laser beam from wandering.
           The CAVS manual confirms another suspicion. Most users are such no-techs, they are not learning to use functions much beyond search and playback. Now that I’ve something to work with, I’ll be an expert on this system within the week. But one thing is already certain: If Jim and I team up, it will a one of a kind operation in this part of the world. I am quite aware that musically, I have been the orphan in the triad Jim, Arnel and I have been discussing for a year now.
           It turns out the CD burner Jim bought is not the recommended CDG for his karaoke gear. My task is to find a burner that works, thence to make it work. None of this is ever easy. I’ve located a Lite On and a family of Plextors (brand names) that make the correct claims. This is the necessary “baby step”, in Jim’s words, needed before any other plans make sense. Once I burn that first CDG, the only serious obstacle remaining is the graphics files. My first experiment will be to see if a CAVS ngc file can be transplanted to a new MP3. The words won’t match because the karaoke versions are not the originals, but just you wait.
           One early conclusion about the CAVS system is that it is very fragile. The manual is full of precautions that must be taken. I even suspect the files must be sequentially numbered or the searches won’t work.
           Oh, and the Jewish guy found another writer. I guess my offer to finish his project for $10 an hour was too rich for him. No problem, when he comes back to get it done right, it will cost $15 per hour. These newbies never learn writing is one field where you get exactly what you pay for. Fred is leaving town for a few days, and I have the keys to the shop. This is remarkable in that Fred has never before let out the keys to anyone, even his family. He’s going to a motorcycle show upstate.
           Several hours later, I’ve combed the CAVS manual. The bottom line is the software is basically a playback device, and most of the advanced functions are better performed on a remote computer. Then the CAVS is used to play back the finished product. The CAVS can burn live vocals to disk, but only if the microphone is plugged into the Karaoke unit and not the PA system. I’ll pass on that.
           Background videos or stills should be edited first, then placed in the JB-199 directories in AVI format. That is no mean feat for an amateur. The CAVS software is proprietary and all such systems carry the risk of instant obsolescence. I’ve also surmised that CAVS MP3 files are further compressed, another red flag. I suspect most of the work will be done on this computer, not the CAVS. Either way, this leads to an unprecedented amount of cooperation between Jim and I, two people who would never otherwise have anything in common.

April 22, 2010

           Just a couple extra views of Hollywood Beach, Florida, on a late winter day. On the left, looking northeast out over the Atlantic Ocean. This is five miles south of Ft. Lauderdale Beach. Temperature is 79F with a slight ocean breeze to keep things comfy.
           On the right is a typical Florida beach bar, in this case a Tiki. This hotel is called the Riptide, and it faces the ocean beaches. There is no need for walls or curtains year round. Most of the serving staff are Canadians working under the table, which is where most tourists drink themselves. That's not a problem, as the entire beach area is within staggering distance.

April 22, 2010

           Happy Earth Day. Except for this neighborhood. Some rotten French-Canadien has moved in and destroyed paradise. Typical half-brained loser brings a yapping Chihuahua into the middle of a residential community. Time to invest in a birdhouse. And to do a little checking on his Quebec license plates. And with the immigration department. And with Revenue Canada. Obviously, we were getting far too comfortable around here and that is something a Canadian cannot abide by.
           Big Jim called y’day for some tech support with his Karaoke machine, shown in today’s photo. This is a JB-199 Premier, presumably the JB means “jukebox”. He has 31,000 Karaoke songs in the memory and needed just one of them burned to CD.
           The attempt required three hours, many phone calls, and finally a visit from the vendor. Within moments, I had diagnosed the burner as not CDG compatible. Nobody would believe me because it was known I had never seen this equipment before. The other two and three-quarter hours was waiting for others to arrive at the same conclusion.
           Who remembers all that research on Karaoke formats I had so much to say about a few months ago? Yeah, I know, who could forget? Well, this is a classic situation where these things can pay off. Within moments I was able to determine the Karaoke Machine seen here is nothing more than a very expensive Win XP SP3 computer. The display, just visible in the background, auto-boots to something called the CAVS system. But far more captivating was the file structures (once I found the D: drive).
           Although the unit is billed as a CDG (compact disk graphics), all of the files were (ordinary) mp3s with a matching file suffix “.ngc”. Aha, if it is MP3, it is completely compatible with my existing gear, a smooth move. Plus, I figured out how the files are structured and located by the software. The vendor said he drove over was to meet this “mysterious” friend of Jim’s who had grasped the entire system so readily. He wants to talk soon.
           Thanks to my solo act at Jimbos, I may suddenly be 30 months ahead of the competition when it comes to creating Karaoke as backing tracks for “live” shows. No, not ticky-bop MIDI, but the real McCoy. Or better, the real McCartney, actually playing lead in my band. I now have the technology (and they don’t). To think how, back in 2005 I bought my first book on burning CDs, and the Hippie scoffed it as a bad investment. (I had taken the book along on a trip out to North Port.)
           Meanwhile, this just might propel me ahead into late August (based on my music planning schedule). Time to haul out that Karaoke machine a lady gave me last year. If I can burn even one successful MP3/ngc combination, I will be just a flat-screen TV away from one incredibly modern and impressive Karaoke show.
           From what I saw last night, nobody from the vendor right down to the performer knows a thing about duplicating or modifying those files. They are stuck with what they can buy; I would have no such restriction. And you bet yer azz I’ve got some great ideas on how to improve things. The giggling and rubbing of hands together nearly drowns out the sound of that Chihuahua right outside my window.
           I’m still reading Ehrenreich’s book, more out of momentum than anything else. She sparks your interest by presenting a few early facts, then drops to sounding like an O’Rourke wannabe, elaborating on the obvious. Seminars, networking and dress-for-success theories are all the proof you need that America is doomed, yet that’s all she’s done for the last 100 pages. In fact, she’s done pretty much everything except look for a job. The book’s a must-read for those who take twenty years longer than average to clue in.
           [Author’s note: Ehrenreich’s footnotes in “Bait and Switch” are actually more informative than the work. According to them, I am one of the few Americans left who will soon be enjoying a defined-benefit pension plan as opposed to a 401(k). I learned COBRA, the health insurance option, stands for “Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act”. It allowed the unemployed to continue their health insurance by paying 102% of the premium (or about half a maximum $550 unemployment insurance check). Only a politician could have come up with that one.]

April 21, 2010

           While toying around to find the least number of LEDs (in a grid) needed to display a reasonable set of characters, I came up with today’s jpeg. I learned that only four letters (M, N, Q, and W) cannot be faked on a 3x5 grid. That readout is hard on the eyes, that’s why I said “faked”. It is probably nothing, however I noticed it is possible to display all the hexadecimal digits with 15 segments. I didn’t want you thinking I’d overlooked that. Again, it’s probably nothing.
           My task is to learn to display one character at a time, then scroll if from four basic directions. In practice, you would need a 4x5 to allow for a space between the letters. See my article “There Are 27 Letters In The Alphabet”. As I said in 1996, if you don’t believe me, type a page of blank spaces and see how much memory it requires.
           Once more for the record, my goal is not to build a robot, rather to gain a proper understanding of the process before I croak. That gives me at least 30 years. Personally, I don’t care for the direction robots builders are taking, constantly striving for human-like performance and appearance. It seems to me if the focus was (where it should be) on getting the task done efficiently, very few robots would be humanoid. That’s not to say the corollary is true.
           No return word from the Jewish author, but I see he is still running an ad. It took over an hour and a half to redo the two pages he sent. The material is great, I understand the exact historic period; the fact is that I had to re-write every sentence. What is the name of that tense where the person is describing the past, but uses the present? Example: “It is 1492. I am in a small room with round windows.”
           What else is new? Fred is on his second day of learning to be Florida’s most perfect guitarist. Nobody said the best musician. And with Fred, it has to be all presentation. In equally important news, I’ve discovered the only way I can get my vegetable RDA is by drinking juice, and it turns out the expensive juice is actually cheaper than the same quantity of vegetables. There is nothing quite as thrilling as a fact-filled blog, agreed?
           I’m reading “Bait and Switch”, by Barbara Ehrenreich. I think journalism school basically teaches people how to spot things ten years after they first appear in this blog. Check it out. She and I are quite different people who drew a similar conclusion, the emphasis being on “different”, not “conclusion”. Don’t go stupid on me. She took her $5,000 and went out to find a replacement job where I took my $5,000 and retrained for a career. Can’t get much different than that. Then she wrote a book for money, where I wrote a blog for information. Mind you, I wouldn’t turn down some cash at the moment.
           Our perspectives are distinct. When she was still (2005) writing about Human Resources making decisions based 90% on emotion, I had already noted 19 years earlier that the very concept of Human Resources was originally intended to prevent that kind of hiring. Patience, I’m only part way done the book, so there’s still a chance she can catch up. Just not at the rate she’s going.
           I don’t think, as she does, that white-collar workers recently became disposable. I think they always were surplus and they ignored my warnings that they were going to get caught at it within their own lifetimes. The only thing dumber than office workers and school board employees making $70,000 a year is the fact that they actually think they are worth it; that they are “working hard”. Of course and certainly, getting canned hurts such people worse than others. They consider themselves victims.
           But you watch. Every one of those types who winds up on unemployment is going to fantasize about writing a book. Let me say this about that. They are not fired, they are “right-sized”. They are not hitting the bricks, they are “repositioning”. And when they realize nobody cares what they have to say, they are not azzholes, they have “writer’s block”.
           Last for now, that grid or matrix circuitry is exceedingly difficult. Try it. Unless some way is found to selectively operate LEDs in a pattern, the physical wiring becomes too large to individually connect the bulbs. Still, this is new knowledge to me and is therefore a brand of progress.

April 20, 2010

           Here’s a project for the more ambitious. This motel carried a $4.7 million dollar price tag recently. It is just behind a beach service road up in Lauderdale by the Sea. The copy does not specify if the owner’s apartment counts as one of the nine. Either way, if those units only pulled in two grand a month, you’d be living large. A ten year mortgage and it is yours for $10,000 per month.
           I’ve gotten some feedback about my comments last week concerning people turning 65 with nothing. If you did not spend five years of your early life doing intensive planning, yes, I probably mean you. If I had busted my ass in this life, I would have lost $76,000 of it over my second [uninsured] heart attack, another $72,000 over my preventative procedures, and faced another $60,000 over the planned pacemaker.
           No, it would not have made any difference if I’d continued working for that Canadian company, because in the 14 years since I quit, I would have had to pay at least $226,800 in taxes. I would have worked without ever getting ahead, lived worse off the entire time and wasted a perfectly good life.
           The biggest fallacy about Canada is that medical is free. It is not, it is paid through taxation. When you work, you aren’t just taxed for your own medical, you pay for all the lazy, the crooked contractors, and the welfare cases, which is about 2/3 of the country. Worse, being a payer doesn’t mean you get preferential treatment when your time comes. You wait in line; many die waiting. If you want to live that way, fine, but I think it honestly sucks. On the other hand, the way I plan ahead (the missing element in most people’s lives) I need only step forward to get the very best medical care in this world.
           Tell me again that story about working for a living. I keep forgetting that point you’re trying to make, you know, the moral. Remember to call me again when you are 65, if by then you can still afford a phone. Tell you what, take the idiot test and see if you can fathom this: while it is true that the system would not work if everyone was like me, if everyone was like me there would be no need for such an unfair system in the first place.
           Was it Voltaire or somebody much earlier that said Democracy will only survive until special interest groups figure out they can vote themselves benefits out of the public purse.
“Leave Your Hat On” is my newest tune. I recall the melody from way back but never played it. It stands out for two reasons. One, the distinctive bass line, which is too slow to play in most of my venues (although it is a perfect sleeper for some musicians I know). Two, the bass line is a good measure of a bad bassist, which is normally a lead player who “thinks” he can play bass. He’ll get barely half-way through the second verse and start riffing off in Ukrainian mode.
           You got several factors at work with a lead player on bass. First, he is usually too mentally sloppy to understand the requirement to play the same bass line throughout. If he’s a fried-brain (they usually are), he likely thinks his riffs are “neat”, that they spice up the song. In reality he is admitting that lead players lack the stamina to play a consistent bass line for three or four minutes at a stretch. It is not their inventiveness, rather their limited attention spans are what is causing them to “noodle” instead of lay down the track.
           Last, we have a major problem. The people next door, a Frog (French-Canadien) and his Peruvian wife, have brought in a Chihuahua that barks 24 hours per day. Not just at night, but constantly. While this is not a retirement community, people are entitled to quiet enjoyment and these newcomers are causing plenty of trouble. I am not prejudiced, because as long as they behaved decently, I never noticed he was a Frog. Get it?

April 19, 2010

           It’s not quite a Trump cottage, but here is a property six blocks from the beach in Ft. Lauderdale. Not a bad neighborhood at all. Asking $58,900, somebody who qualifies for the first home-owners grant ($8,000) could probably pick this up for $40,000. There are very few split levels in that town, hence the misspelled “split lever”.
           In a most unusual event, Fred was not in the shop today. We had a crowd waiting outside, but the rain drove us away. I’m an old Seattle hand when it comes to rainy days so I read a 40-page Arduino text, concerning intricacies of the coding language. It uses the retard C structure, which should be re-named the “sometimes yes sometimes no code for idiots”. (It is the most popular language because it was designed by morons to be used by morons.)
           One device that always fascinated me was those moving LED signs, the ones with a bulb or two always burned out. I think I could now program one, but not on the Arduino. From what I’ve learned so far, there is an internal limit of 30,720 bytes. Then again, that may be a challenge I can meet, in my day, we were trained to write code as compactly as possible. RAM and core time was very expensive in the old days, you could’t do the C+ trick of keep adding more code until you found something that worked that one time.
           My side project this week is to write the pseudo-code that would move a single letter across a small LED display. This is not as apparent as it sounds, does the letter move, or only a single row of LEDs? What is the minimum grid of LEDs? I don’t yet have an Arduino, but let’s see how close I make it to their solution. I plan to use an array with the letter “E” to begin. Will Arduino accept a two-dimensional array? Does everyone out there know what a two-dimensional array is?
           This is one of those situations where I truly miss Canan, the green-eyed Turkish girl I met in computer school. There was a gal that triumphed over barriers most other women can’t even imagine; by comparison other women’s biggest problem is primarily their own bad attitude. The Oprah sort, who think any damn good argument why they screwed everything up lets them off the hook.
           As long as there is a woman like Canan in this world, no other woman will ever convince me her problems are all men’s fault. (Their rotten choice in men, yes, but men, no. That stupid women’s theory that all men are alike cannot explain even a single instance of a person like John Lennon.) Canan is proof it is possible for women not to wallow in self-pity their entire lives.
           Ah, but, Canan! Always willing to participate in new intellectual challenges for their own sake. She could actually face a problem without spouting off that her parents tried to marry her off to a 70 year old man. Take a lesson, gals. Canan had a rare curiosity about new things. All I’ve met since I got to Florida are women whose total life focus is their own immediate personal luxury, as in “How can you even think about the letter E when I’m in a bad mood?”
           Canan would have been a welcome companion last year while I was toying with Morse code. She would have joined in just for the fun of it and today we’d both be receiving 60 wpm. With other women, you give up trying to explain learning is still important, like. The same other women who later in life make snarky complaints that you’ve got “all these things you can do for extra cash” [implying it is your fault they don’t]. Well, duh, again. The saddest thing about Canan was that I met her the same week I met Robyn.
           Canan Ozogul. That’s Canan rhymes with “cannon”, and Ozugul rhymes with “ozugul”.
           veryatlantic veryatlantic this is a test of the google search mechanism

April 18, 2010

           Here’s another view of last Friday’s gig. The front guy is “JustDave”, he can’t sing well, but he does all kinds of impressions. We talked later and he knows about 15 guitar chords. That’s 1% as many as the Hippie and 5 more than I actually need. Behind him is the reason I’ve given up on guitarists. This shredder kept on trying to slip in tunes that were not on Big Jim’s list, going on about how “real” bass players (and other second-class citizens) should be able to “follow” him.
           [Author’s note: a shredder is a guitar player who, instead of chording like he is supposed to, keeps riffing off on a continual distortion-driver lead solo. A 1970s type of guy. The ones who copy everything and invent nothing. They’re everywhere. I don’t know the guy, but I quickly picked up on his “bassists are nobody without lead players” attitude.]
           I could not get it together today. You’ve had such days, this was mine. It was like being off balance and I suspect it was from the overnight rainstorm keeping me awake half the night. It has been raining for close to 24 hours already (by late evening). This morning I drove over to see this new computer of Lance’s. Don’t worry, my work on a computer is not thrown off just by having a bad day.
           It is one of the Aspire units I was reading in the ads a month ago. They are an excellent $200 computer that does the job if all you do is surf and email. It is a compact unit around the size of a box of chocolates, covered with USB ports, video outputs, and all manner of peripheral jacks. Loaded with Win XP Home, I had not trouble getting the thing working in an hour or two.
           Gee, don’t these things work right out of the box? No. Most of the useful software is trial versions, including the McAffee anti-virus and Office 2007. The anti-virus has to be set up and all your (non-Windows) browsers and drivers downloaded and configured. Plus, I took the time to show Lance how to get pictures of his digital camera. Don’t blame the camera users, I have yet to see a decent camera manual that spells out the transfer procedure in readable form.
           Lance put a bottle of South Africa wine into the bargain. A blend of four grapes, which I am certain is great wine. But unless some special occasion comes along, I am just not a wine person. I have to admit, they make the kitchen look classy. One day soon, I’ll have cause to celebrate. My guess is once Lance gets used to the new computer, he’ll like it. These have no optical drive or monitor, but come with a laser mouse and 78% chiclet keyboard.
           On the way home, the roadways past Aventure were badly flooded, so the Taurus knew its way to Barnes & Noble. I read some Arduino books over a cup of really bad coffee. I didn’t stay, for some reason I could not shake the intense tiredness and disorientation, I’m beginning to suspect my new prescriptions. The store was crowded like the old days but that can also mean undisciplined brats running up and down the aisles. And you should have seen their children.
           One item that disgusted me and pretty much everyone within earshot was these two hefty 30-somethings, noisily reading movie rags at the magazine rack. “Look how skinny she was. She looks so much better now that she put on weight to play [insert fat broad role here].” On they went.
           I finally got up and walked to the other end of the building. The other day I was asked the difference between knowledge and gossip. Wish I’d recorded those two. Middle aged and the only damn thing they could focus their minds on was whether some other woman they’ll never associate with had an “eyebrow lift”. Yep, that’s really the kind of knowledge that will help mankind get to Mars; women whose biggest dream in life is getting paid to gain weight.
           Theresa left a book on the counter, which I am now reading. “Get Shorty”. Since I haven’t seen the movie, I don’t know if this is even the same story. About a loan shark who gets into the movies, sort of the theme you’d expect from a desperate hack writer. How convenient that every person he knows on this case has the right character to play some role. Chili, the hero, just arrived in town but already every woman he’s met used to shacked up with some famous actor, producer or director. And, as luck would have it, in the same order they would appear on the screen credits.
           The water is standing a foot deep in many places. Make that two feet on the road south of here. Most cars make it around halfway through that puddle. It must be fun to stall and watch the water seep in the car doors. There was no chance of getting anything done, even the Spring air is soggy.
           [It is] time to learn some bar tunes. While I am a lounge musician, I have to face the fact that most guitarists I’ll ever meet in Florida are saloon-grade. I pick “Sister Golden Hair”, “Keep Your Hat On” and “I Love This Bar”. I forget who does the sister song, but it remember it was almost banned because of the reference to, as it was then known, “living in sin”. I have nothing against living in sin, though I do have issues with women who do it and later claim they are single. (Just met too many of them, I guess.)
           As for Joe Cocker, well, he always was far too old to be a teenager.
           veryatlantic veryatlantic this is a test of the google search mechanism

April 17, 2010

           Here’s a number 7 bus. The sign on the front says “Young Circle”, which is my destination. See the bike rack on the front of the bus? I don’t know how to use it and cannot find any directions on-line. It must be easy, one day I intend to use it. But not today.
           Simply put, it is foolish to anymore consider bingo as a hobby. This was (just barely but still) the most successful bingo night ever. I can ride my bike down the pavements in this County and hear people toot and yell, “Bingo Man!” Frankly, I’d rather be known as “Bass Man” but I’m just sayin’. What’s more, tonight the lady who ran the jam at Johnny’s last night was in. She recognized me, saw the show, and remembers what things were like before bingo; then she won $80.
           Let the world decide the irony should I commence a bingo at Johnny’s on Mondays. It is their quietest night and I now know their “social coordinator”. Entertainment is a strange business to the newcomer, a lot of ropes have to be tripped over before they are learned, since that’s the only way to learn where they are. It ain’t right, but that the way it am.
           Take this example. After I left Jimbos, I rode my bicycle down Dixie. This is like 1:30 AM. I was passing Capt. J’s and heard the crowd chanting out my name. I had little choice but to stop in and sing. I’m no hero, my voice is mediocre at best, but I need my public. The show must go on. Sure, I want to be known as a musician, but I’ll take anything as long as it isn’t being a wage slave for life.
           On the aside, I got into some interesting reading this morning while watching the shop. I never set out to get rich (something my family was too innately ignorant to ever understand); I set out to get to the position where I didn’t have to bust my ass working for a living just because I was born poor. Technically, I accomplished that by the time I was 37. Yes, I still work, but I never dream of having a “good job” (which seems to be a job that pays more than one is worth). I take my chances with the marketplace, those who grind away for a paycheck will never know the thrill of a successful gig.
           Live proves to each generation you cannot get rich by working anyway. The numbers may go up, but that is an illusion. Most people who worked all their lives will not, in reality, have any more than I will at age 65. That is correct, including those who spent all their days paying down a mortgage to find they have an empty nest and cannot afford the taxes on a $400,000 detached dwelling.
           Did you know the most common cause of personal bankruptcy is medical bills beyond insurance coverage? It accounts for 75% of people who lose everything, and you ain’t seen nothing yet. There are 85 million dodos out there who think because they own a house their futures are secure. When the value plunges next year, they will find they don’t own either the eggs nor the basket.
           Worse than not having anything (actually, I will be doing quite well by 65), those proles will have nothing to look back on but a life of drudgery. I am the last person God could convince that a perfect 44 year work history is anything but a crock of shit. I can tell a working class hero the instant they open their mouths. Sure, I’m broke right now, but I’m also at the tail end of a six-year legal claim.
           This morning, I received some sample pages from Amnon, a fellow who has written his life story and wants it Americanized. That I can do, and we will shortly be entering negotiations on a per-page price. From what I’ve read, the tale begins during the Arab-Israeli war in 1974. Amnon doesn’t know it yet, but he could hardly have picked a better ghost writer for this type of subject.
           Here is your daily trivia. On average, an unprotected computer plugged into the Internet will catch a virus in 20 minutes. Lance called y’day with a seized up unit, it’s that nasty 2010 virus. Rather than repair it again, I advised him to go to Best Buy and just walk around; familiarize himself with what is out there. Several hours later he called, completely amazed by notebook computers. After a frank telephone discussion, I believe he will be buying one. As I say, just get out there once in a while.
           Later, I found out why the crowd was chanting my name. It turns out I’m not that famous. Some other singer was trying to sing my song. That song is the one I put back on the map, “Spiders and Snakes” by Jim Stafford. How dare somebody else try to steal my thunder, it just isn’t done. If you are going to copy, do something generic like “Folsom Prison”. But not the signature song the other guy brought back from 40 years ago. I had to dig deep to come up with that tune as my theme.
           veryatlantic veryatlantic this is a test of the google search mechanism

April 16, 2010

           And not a boring Friday over here. The quick version goes like first I saw my doctor, who wears the same brand hat as I, then I got paid $10 to try on a T-Shirt. Jack the data guy came around with a great idea for a web site (and I mean great), Vita was in to use the Internet, I posted an anti-AT&T article on FireHow, and got a call from Big Jim, the big guy in today’s photo.
           The other guy in the background is one typical example of “guitar-think”. Several times he made the comment that “playing bass was easy” and that he could “jam to anything”. Like most guitarists, he was saying he knew how to make every possible mistake and that he has no clue of how real bass is played. Guitar riffs on a bass do not a bass player make. Most guitarists totally suck on the bass. Big time. And they are the only ones who don’t think so.
           Then I biked home, got my bass, and biked up to Hollywood Johnny’s for a mini-gig until we got rained out. Next, I ducked inside to find a terrific band whose bass player was late, so I filled in with them for a half-hour, stopping at Buddy’s Place on the way home. Buddy’s pal’s friend’s brother-in-law’s neighbor’s son’s band was playing there. And they were fantastic, packing the house. Nix that gig for me, those guys were studio trained and managed.
           I was out at Pine Mall this afternoon, where I picked up another $10 for trying on a t-shirt. Testing these products makes one curious, but the studies are so blind even the staff is not sure what is being measured. Actually, you try on two shirts which are basically identical, but one of them was incredibly weightless. It was also incredibly soft and comfortable, looking like fine threaded glossy cotton. It seems the marketing company is swamped by females, but are short males in my age demographic. I gave them my phone number.
           Jack’s idea is kind of novel. For appreciation, first look at the problem, then the solution. He is right that this depression/recession is different, in that it is not the unskilled laborers losing their jobs. I can identify closely, because when I lost mine, I had no idea about anything except unemployment. I did not know about Food Stamps, Disability, Primary Care or any of these programs. Well, as my lawyer said, “That’s because you didn’t grow up in the ghetto.”
           Jack would like to put together a web page that tells ordinary people how to get help. That’s a great concept. I remember how slow it took me to get answers out of government offices and the blind way I had to wade through the entire process. You see, not only did I not know, I didn’t associate with anybody who did, either. Jack would like to see a web page that tells taxpayers, that is, people who were at least for part of their lives net contributors, how to get the things they’ve been paying for when they need it. I told him I’d help on that one. To this day, I still don’t understand some of the forms I filled out two years ago and that ain’t right.
           High point of the day was when I ducked in the back door of Hollywood Johnny’s, formerly Boston Johhny’s. I was waiting for the rain to let up, and there was a three piece group standing on the stage doing nothing. The lead singer said their bassist was late. Serendipity. You see, my bass is custom made and looks like I’m carrying an ordinary guitar. These guys were in their early 20s, but had a whole set of classics, including “Proud Mary”, “Folsom Prison”, and even “Last Kiss”.
           For me it was a trip down memory lane, and I really laid it on. A half hour later, I packed up to leave. To the band, it looked like what it was, a fully trained bass player, with a tuned instrument, walking in the back door at precisely the right moment, ready to play, and knowing all their material The singer was still stunned, shaking his head and saying over the mic, “What are the odds of that?”
           veryatlantic veryatlantic this is a test of the google search mechanism

April 15, 2010

           The windy weather seems to have the “roulette effect” on my bicycling. Every direction I ride, it is blowing in my face. This perception comes from the sensation that around a campfire, you are always getting the smoke. It was a quiet day again, I wound up at the library not able to find a single book on programming controllers. But I’m still learning a lot about them from secondary sources. This picture is a Siberian Larch. Read on for the skinny.
           I added another layer of data to my analysis of writing for a living. Over 7,000 readers have viewed my 35 product reviews, and produced (in revenue) about 1 cent each per year. But the figures show I have found a niche in reviewing products that are not leading edge or expensive. There is an element of snobbery in that the most prolific writers only want to assess the newest and trendiest items. Very few products under $50 are represented.
           These product reviews are easy, as my natural writing style (natural after decades of practice) is distinctly superior to the dehydrated babble that passes for prose. The catch is right now, I don’t have any more products to review. Still, I believe if I stick with articles under said $50 limit, I can get plenty more posts onto my account. I would need another 300 reviews to make that venture worth it. But all that is required other than time is planning ahead. At some critical mass, people will read me just to see what I have to say.
           FireHow is barely creeping along. I have around 10% as many readers. Mind you, FireHow has no rating system and I an unknown on that site. Two weeks is not enough to judge. But I’m finding new articles have to be longer and are already taking inordinate amounts of time to write. I’m also seeing that many other topics are too short to impart useful knowledge. For example, there is one place that says how to improve your boot-up time that is just three paragraphs. A lot of good that will do anybody.
           Right now it is only courtesy that stops me from re-writing short articles in direct competition with the others. I think the more complex the topic, the more detailed the instructions need to be. Many of the poorly written items seem to be posted just to up the author’s ratings. If so, I will figure that out shortly.
           That means time for some trivia. How about trivia that corrects trivia I found out was wrong. Remember that tale that the Interstate highway system had to have straight stretches to serve as emergency cold war airports. Wrong. That legend got started because when the project began, a different government work program also built 26 airstrips parallel to some stretches of the Interstate.
           I read an astonishing statistic about DDT. Apparently there is no real scientific connection to the danger. Some 130,000 people who were employed spraying the stuff before it was banned had no ill effects or unusual levels of the chemical. But it is estimated 3,000,000 people per year are sickened by malaria, the primary target of DDT. The same source pointed out that hysteria is nothing new when it comes to the media.
           For instance, look at Chernobyl. How many people died there? Ten thousand? One thousand? Actually, it was only 50, and all of them were inside the plant when the explosion occurred. As for the radiation scare, there was already an on-going epidemic of goiter in the area long before the accident. Animals have repopulated the surrounding land, including rare and endangered species.
           Oh, and due to new discoveries in the wild, despite extinctions there are more large mammal species now than before the conservationists began marching. I know, we can’t afford even one more extinction due to man’s activity, but I found the statistic amusing.
           Last, the most numerous tree on Earth is the Siberian larch. It grows slowly and by the hundreds of millions. Let's see how long that stays, since it is makes beautiful planks, which are waterproof and knot-free. I say Lodgepole Pine will take over,since it is reputedly useless for lumber, fuel, or paper, produces no fruit, and is too scraggly to be a windbreak.
           veryatlantic veryatlantic this is a test of the google search mechanism

April 14, 2010

           Today’s photo should make little sense to the average viewer. It is the guts of a dissembled digital camera. This is a realm where I have zero experience, but later, I was actually able to identify all the major working sections. It was a lesson in how, despite our wonderful digital world, electronics is still rooted in the plodding minds of engineers. Even at this late stage of development, this camera was still built up from primitive components. It contains one transistor.
           Are congratulations in order? At 9:18 PM y’day I successfully entered and compiled the first interactive code of my life. It is also the first code I’ve compiled in some twenty years, and the first code ever compiled on a PC (non-mainframe computer). I don’t have the Arduino chip to test it, but if it will compile, it will run. What’s more, upon seeing the binary information after all these years, it came back to me in an instant. (Why the twenty year gap? It is called having to work for a living.)
           By 10:33 PM, I have dismantled an older, but working, digital camera. Following the directions given by Arduino, I was able to identify and analyze the components that caused the camera to time out after 30 seconds of being idle. Then, it was easy to find the power leads and shutter switch. I have several old cameras for parts, so I do believe one of my first projects will be to convert one of these to a time-lapse model. The only thing stopping me right now is the cost.
           Mind you, nobody get carried away. I am an experienced programmer, it is the hardware I still need to learn. I can easily get miles ahead of schedule on the coding. I remind you, it is the interaction of the code with the physical world that fascinates me. Anything can be done by rewiring enough circuits, the trick is to get one circuit to do many things via the programming. Now, that is a worthy challenge.
           Before I found the Arduino, every project I thought of stalled at the prototype phase. That is, every time I required an engineer, none of them wanted to work on a prototype without being paid up front. Somehow I knew my plans were not so complicated. If I can program that time lapse, I can program Project 22, the automobile black box of 2003-04 semi-fame. Why? Because the cameras already exist, they just need a little interfacing with the proper code, sensors and actuators. See, I’m learning.
           My big plan, however, is the digital license plate. I don’t hate license plates, but I hate how the authorities abuse them. Still, that would not stop me from making money from that very corruption. My license plate design would begin to flash red if the insurance policy was expired, or when the speed is over the limit it would flash the MPH and freeze at the highest setting for 24 hours when the vehicle stops.
           It would strobe at a signal from a police car, making following easier, along with transmitting its GPS setting every 15 minutes. And I would do a lot worse, all for the almighty dollar. Remember, it is Joe Complacent, not I, who ever allowed the authorities so much power over us, and I owe him nothing. All to be controlled by RFID chips, which of course, I retain the password to overwrite if ever used against me. I believe this level of DMV intrusion is inevitable, so why not make my money?
           veryatlantic veryatlantic this is a test of the google search mechanism

April 13, 2010

           Most of us don’t mind a quiet day at work, but not over at my shop. Not one customer in all day. Mine or anybody else’s, remember there are three shops sharing the premises. I took a close look at my monetized publications (ePinion and FireHow), uploading one article each. I’ve broken the $2.00 barrier at FireHow and am totally out of material. Today’s jpeg is the ePinion input screen.
           What does one do when out of ideas? Plagiarize! Actually, it is research as in I only get the idea from elsewhere. Then I check if it has been covered in FireHow, if not I write a new article based on the topic. My style is now distinct, plus I’ve discovered how to link the articles to this blog and ePinion, hoping to pick up some extra clicks that way.
           Just maybe I’m somewhat too distinct. I began the first day by slightly altering the FireHow rule that all posts must begin with “How to . . .”. Mine do, but the words have been changed to a more stylized “How To:”. (How followed by a capitalized To and then a colon.) Today I noticed around eight of my posts had been changed back to the other form. That means somebody with edit capabilities has been tinkering with my account.
           Why is this world so full of peckerheads? I repeat my old saying, “Almost one hundred percent of my problems are caused by other people who want me to do things their way without paying me.” I went back in and changed things back to my format, after all, I am the author. I’ll be watching very closely for a while. Yes, my presentation bends the rules, but it does not break them. My titles stand out from all the rest, but hey, I didn’t sign up to be on a team. The writing world is dog eat dog, and music is the exact opposite.
           Nonetheless, by 30-some articles have produced 597 hits and it will be just two weeks tomorrow. The other posts getting hits showed me I was casting pearls before swine. I’ve given up on quality, and now go for quantity. Honestly, you should read some of the other crap. I still insist on very well-written posts regardless of the topic. I’ve also done some creative categorization all aimed at getting those clicks. For example, today’s post on how to calculate bra sizes was posted under “Sports”. We all know the types who like blubber also consider themselves sportsmen.
           The whole shebang is a free-for-all anyway. There are posts like “How to learn to type”, with two paragraphs of directions that basically says practice a lot. Thus, I am learning the value of a catchy title, but find it a pity the most advanced information system known to mankind actually encourages such behavior. I’ve also noticed only the authors who have been members for over a year seem to have all of their articles rated. That, I cannot explain.
           On ePinion, I rated my Jazz DV 152 camera. The one you’ve been getting most of your pictures here in the past six months. The thing has a fold out screen. It was not shown in the manual and thus I didn’t not find it until today, when I read the advertisements. I bought the camera at Big Lots, not from a camera store. My review was one of four; the other three reviewers reported having extreme difficulties using the device. Odd, since you turn it on, you point it, and begin taking pictures. How did they figure out it was a camera?
           Either way, I was instantly reviewed by seven of the top people at ePinion, all rating my post as “very helpful”. Good, because I have not yet entirely forgiven them for calling down my previous post. That was last September and they are lucky I even came back (to check my earnings, actually). I had lambasted the notebook in that post. Some people are dumb enough to not know you cannot review a computer without also reviewing the chip. It has taken a year and a half to make $72.20 on that site.
           Since nothing else will happen around here unless business picks up, I’ve got myself a pile of Arduino material and a good comfy chair. Pudding-Tat has been fed by the neighbors for over a week and never comes around much any more. The cats don’t get along, but are generally confined to their own areas. Pudding can’t complain because she is allowed outdoors.
           And that, folks, was my big Tuesday. How about you? Oh yeah, before I forget. The magazine people said they liked my work and will be sending me more work tomorrow.
           veryatlantic veryatlantic this is a test of the google search mechanism

April 12, 2010

           The rain returns, let the monsoons begin. It has been plastering down since four o’clock this morning. Cannot go outside or even leave the windows open. The intensity is similar to that 8-day storm last December. It has been at it five hours so far. Good, it cuts down on traffic near the casino. I’ll see if I can get you a picture of their new fancy fence, in the hopes they continue all round the yard and give us a better view as well.
           I’ve gotten a few snarky comments about my statement y’day that people older (32+) people should have something going for them before they get married. I stick by my words. I said “people”, not “women”, and I’ve already taken into account any differences in wage scales.
           Few people know better than I do that how much money you make has little bearing on what you accomplish in this life. I’ve met thousands of people who make more than I do who don’t have a thing to show for it. Call them what you want, but don’t expect me, with my background, to ever marry a woman who has absolutely nothing.
           JP noted (y’day) that he requires “just $50 a day” to live large, which makes sense since he doesn’t have to pay rent. In fact, he doesn’t pay phone or condo fees either. Hey, JP, are you braggin’? He comes from good family. I recall my mother constantly going on about how wonderful her family of 17 siblings was, how they never fought and always helped each other out. I wonder if that is why except for two ditzy aunts, one of whom stole my best pair of jeans, that I never saw hide nor hair of the other 15 of these wonderful people. I know they never wrote us any letters.
           Another thing. All JP’s relations are doctors and such. I probably told you this, but I once asked my mother if there were any successful people in our entire family. Even one. She mentioned she had a brother who worked at a garage in North Battleford, Alberta, Canada. Not owned it. Worked there. The question must have surprised her. The only thing that wonderful family ever helped each other out of was obviously the friggin’ door the day they turned 18 and not a moment later. My family is proof that while you don’t have to be smart to be rich, you do have to be stupid to be poor.
           Much later, I am finally prepared to give up looking for a guitarist. I don’t know what it is with those people. What is it about that instrument that makes them think they are special? Hi didn’t show up, nor did he know that he was the last chance I was prepared to take on a guitarist. I’ve always wanted to be a good entertainer, the important word being “good”. I’ve been ignoring that rule for the sake of getting a guitar player who can sing. No more guitaring unless something lands at my feet. I’ll be wasting no more time on those people.
           The worst guitarists turn out to be the ones who think their personal tastes in music are perfect enough to dictate what the entire band should play. The “Mustang Sally” type. Their idea of a band is you should sit down and learn their tunes. You should also learn harmonies so you can backup their vocals, you know, so that you don’t completely melt into the background of their awesome presence. Not all guitarists are like that, but the ones who aren’t already have great solo acts.
           There is no talent out there I can use if it is talent that wastes time and improves nothing. Good musical organization is more important and we already know too many guitarists who could not organized a hot dog stand. Thus, I don’t care if I spend the rest of my music career playing in pubs, I will sing what I can and ignore the experts in the crowd. Those who have been in the parade will understand that you can never go back to sitting on the curb.
           veryatlantic veryatlantic this is a test of the google search mechanism

April 11, 2010

           The April showers have arrived. Here is our flooded street. Last day of the Dade County Fair, and I missed it. I’ve been calling JP for a week and getting a busy signal. That’s too far to drive to take a chance he’ll be home, so we wait until next year. We’re not exactly regular customers, but that fair is well worth the long trip out there. Especially the student exhibits, there was nothing like that when I grew up, although once I went to a science fair.
           Bingo was mediocre last evening, so I did not go to the bookstore. In fact, I lolled around all day. Theresa and I had talked about going downtown to a symphony in the park but it started to rain. That is the one thing that keeps me off my bicycle, which is still the best way to get downtown from here.
           Sadly and expectedly, Hi did not call for our scheduled first music meeting. This is what you get in the music business. People only see the finished product as a priority. This pushes my new solo act, the one I’ve been planning for a year, back into center ring. While I can’t waste any more time, right now I don’t have the cash for the new equipment I need. I am finally admitting I have to sing myself, and find 30 songs I can sing regardless of whether I actually like any of those songs.
           Pudding-Tat has been outside for a week. Theresa gave all the cats a flea treatment and Pudding totally dislikes that. She’s disappeared before, only this time it appears one of the neighbors is feeding two or three outdoor cats. I doubt they are feral in this area, but they do get to fighting early some mornings.
           During the day, I had the TV on and watched a few programs. The number and quality of commercials has truly passed into the realm of disgusting. All time program lows must include “Axmen”, a series about fat lumberjacks, and “Deadliest Catch”, about fishermen in Alaska. Couple that with Andy Griffith, M*A*S*H, and Monster Quest, and it is no wonder the world sees America as mindless do-nothings. I cannot believe the number of talk shows with 30-something women talking about dates and relationships and generally behaving like teenagers. Worse, they obviously find men who put up with it.
           Theresa made dinner, with chicken wings and mashed. I love home cooking, maybe a little too much. She reports one of her exes went from a 29 inch waist to 39 in eight years. Hell, if I ever settle down, I could do that in eight months.
           JP has been working a steady job now for six years, meaning he is happy with it. Great, I knew he’d find something. That also means as soon as my ship comes in, we’ll be carousing about again. He likes the big women, I like the skinny ones; I’m reminded of the days we used to attend those “Lock and Key” events. For you newcomers, it is a private party where the women wear a small lock on a chain as a necklace, and the guys all get some random keys. If you unlock the right woman, your names go in for a raffle.
           Mind you, it is always somebody on the inside that wins the cruise, but what a great party. You see, over age 32, the women outnumber the men, and even better, the women pay something like $40 admission. (So if they don’t score, they learn what it is like to waste money trying, a lesson most of them desperately need in the first place, and they surely don’t like it.)
           In theory, the men pay $20 but as soon as bachelors like JP and I show up, they pull us in the door for free, even gave us free drink tickets. This is the party we had 19 women in a ring around our table begging us to dance (after I put on a show with the first one). JP and I made a pact to look out for each other. That’s the same party one of the ladies we had earlier nicknamed “Yogi Bear” was trying to pull him into her hotel room. Thank goodness I weighed slightly more than her and grabbed his other arm. JP is helpless around women.
           [Author’s note: my standards may be higher than average, in that I expect all people (male or female) over 32 to have a job, a car and a career before they go looking for marriage. The reality is if there had been even one decent woman at any of those parties, we would be together today. The prettier the package, the poorer the product, and while the women at these outings were probably the best this town has to offer, I was horrified by the lack of quality and accomplishment.]
           veryatlantic veryatlantic this is a test of the google search mechanism