This is no exercise in pretty colors, it is a quick and dirty way to test various motor speeds and find the correct resistor in a variety of situations without resorting to formulas. I discovered there are around 65 common “sizes” of resistors, although I can’t really imagine any use for the very small and very large.This board used 30 resistors. You can see the “safe” range are indicated by red and green LEDs. Below, the LED would burn out because the resistor is too small, above, the LED would be so dim you could not see it in room light. It isn’t quite finished, but that’s what I did with my spare time today.
There was a care package on my doorstep this morning, somebody dropped off a small batch of electrical parts, probably Dave-O on his way to work. My big event was going shopping. Is it my imagination, or have food prices dropped in the last short while? I stopped for a cup of excellent BK coffee and asked the lady manager why I could not make fries at home that were as good as theirs. She says to put the potatoes in cold water in the fridge before deep frying. I’ll do better and freeze them.
I took a look at the route to Colorado. Since I have to go through Texas, it is 2,300 miles, or a five day trip for me by motorcycle. Oh, did I see some nice units for sale, including a Honda Gold Wing with sidecar. The soundproofed car had separate heating and stereo. Hondas are slightly out of my price range. The trip is dependent on the weather and financing. If it turns cold before I can afford the gas, we wait until Spring 2012.
More about music. It seems that nobody is really willing to give my philosophies an honest try which is understandable because it requires around 25 hours of rehearsal time to do it right. I would just need one set, an hour’s music, to demonstrate the audience effect. I’m not guessing, I did this show out on the west coast twenty years ago. People here have told me they don’t care what the audience thinks but I did not take them seriously. My mistake.
Since I do believe I’ve attempted everything reasonable, I must take the path of least resistance to get on stage. I am just not meeting the right people any other way. This means learning, or re-learning to play guitar. I know this will take me four months and 320 hours, split around half and half between learning the chops and putting the act together. Either way, I miss the season again. What’s changed is that I can now sing more than half of my carefully selected bass set.
I absolutely intend to use a drum machine. I have not seen one musician in Florida who knows how to properly program those things. On the other hand, I love using a drum machine in front of people who say it can’t be done, especially other musicians. Once I’m out there, maybe I’ll have more luck showing a bass player the right way to do things. The right way is when you make 2 to 3 times as much in tips as the house is paying. My west coast show did this all the time. My record was $330 for a $100 show. While I can’t remember the name of people I met this morning, I have a nearly photographic memory for what happens in front of my stage.
