The red scooter motor is fried. No compression, says the mechanic. The oil had a slow leak and it overheated. Never could understand why nobody has invented a fail-safe cutoff mechanism that shuts the motor off before it can damage itself. It should be a standard feature on air-cooled engines. So tomorrow, I see if that spare motor kit is viable. Even if not, it [the spare motor] is a high-quality unit I could easily trade for the real McCoy. I sat on the porch and looked at the batbike, then decided it was too nice out [to drive]. I walked up to Dunkin and worked the crossword. Three women talked to me but set off my alarms. (One had tattoos, another was recovering from something or other, and the last was, I think, raised on a prison farm. But they were good-looking and slim. How many times I gotta tell you, the problem is not meeting girls. It is meeting nice girls.)
Feeling spry, I walked into the neighborhood and another two miles around the casino. Taking it easy, I can often get that distance these days, except when I have to. At the hottest time, early afternoon, I got back on the porch and read some tutorials on oscilloscopes. Do I need one? It seems so. But after watching what they actually do, why are they so danged expensive? The priority is still the Fishman [portable PA system] but this scope is becoming important.
I streamed a couple documentaries on conservation and global warming. Can’t those scientists agree on anything? I saw more statistics than facts, like how winters are warmer than ever in recorded history. Well, precisely how long, in the four and a half billion years in history, have they been recorded? Wow, a hundred years. But what I smile most at is these hypocritical third world big-mouths blaming the rich nations for their problems. Take India and China, on about greenhouse gases and rising sea levels hurts them so bad. You’d think they’d hate these things, the way they talk. And talk.
Yet, when I look at countries who criticize everything we stand for, what do I see? Countries adopting our methods and inventions as fast as they can. India pumping groundwater and China building coal-fired power plants. If their cultures are so damn superior, why the stampede to modernize in the worst ways possible? By that, I mean how they take the worst of our technology and do what we know hurts the ecology. Why aren’t these illustrious ancient societies going for renewable energy? The way they talk.
My chosen career, accounting, was not the wisest choice, but is still a skill I possess. So I peeked once more at what was available. I’m glad I got out of the field when I did. The recession has pushed the accounting jobs into the mud pit, allowing employers to get really pushy with job requirements, adulterating the job with clerical work. Real accountants don’t take typing speed tests, or have pleasant phone voices, or do collections. The profession has degenerated into unskilled labor. Worse, there are increasing requirements to “work well under pressure”.
You know how I made my first $100k? Not an ounce of pressure. I waited out each deal while others had their daily panic attacks. Sometimes I didn’t check the paper (that’s how it was done back then) for days. I let the others pull their hair out. In the long run, every commodity pays off. The only reason I know what silver costs is because I’m still accumulating it. I said it forty years ago and say it again—no investment is worth worrying about. Including emotional investments, see paragraph 2 above.
The blog graphs. I'd say look except you can’t. They are the traffic results for this blog, and no, I won’t publish them. But I sure can describe what works. Best bet is, as we knew it would be: CONTROVERSY. Downside is you never know if people think you are taking sides. Next best blog draw: mentioning porn and PVC beds. Downside is this blog is primarily concerned with neither. Last big draw is to update the individual posts more than once a day. Downside is the same people learn to keep checking, so the visits are not really unique.
Another popular topic is the real estate around here, it is one massive sinkhole waiting for the next biggest fool. So I have only guesswork why my little adventure gets so many hits. It could be anything, for what the graphs reveal, maybe a thousand people really do care if I get a place at a steal. Maybe people like to hear how dumb Floridians are or just like other people’s misery. Well, it is bad here and if the dam ever bursts there’ll be hell to pay. The spring price drop I refer to lasts from about now to about middle of May when the blistering summer heat waves begin. That’s the period to monitor.
Electronics has pulled in two thousand blog hits. Since I don’t cover the heavy details, it points to some must like my cynical observations and/or layman’s descriptions of what I find unintelligible. And today I have something new that followed the convoluted pathways to arrive at the simple explanation. During my study of logic gates I kept hearing about a Johnson Counter.
I glossed over the subject because every last author gave out information that was in some way incomplete or misleading. Now that I know when these no-minds are talking in circles. Counters are very common in electronics, everything from clocks to the odometer in your car. I will get right to the point. I’m studying flip-flops as memory devices which have an output of a zero or a one.
That means a trained person can look at the pattern of zeros and ones and figure out what decimal number is represented. In a “4-bit computer” 0001 is one, 0010 is two, 0011 is three, 0100 is four, and so on. But one has to interpret what each position means.
Then along comes Johnson, who says, “Stick that.” He says, “Transistors are cheap. So I’ll just count the number of ones. 1 is 1, 2 is 11, 3 is 111, and 4 is 1111.” It isn’t quite so simple, but that is the thrust of a Johnson Counter. Who cares how the transistors handle the internals as long as the end user gets the right answer? Johnson, go to the head of the class.
ADDENDUM
This morning I made myself a bet: Fifty bucks. The challenge today is to go out and spend fifty bucks before dark. Rules are can’t invest it, can’t buy anything for the house, no groceries or gas. But to blow the money just like other people seem to have no trouble doing. There’d be no problem if Estelle would call, but even the shop hasn’t heard from her. It is 11:20 AM local time, let’s see how I manage. Go!How did things turn out? I was back home by 4:19 PM with forty bucks left. There was nothing on which to spend more. Nothing but lousy movies this week and I don’t need any more clothes. When it cools a little, say 5-ish, I’ll bike over to the Ives Diary mall where they have a toy store and free coffee in the Winn/Dixie. (But buy your own creamer for the powder they set out is almost cruel.)
Later. The store is two miles from here, so the eBike is required. I like the place. The chairs are soft, the counter faces the street through the big window, there are tables, and a small sink. The crowd is far less pretentious than Starbucks, if only because all the shoppers there have a common purpose. It is not unusual to find strangers talking away. That’s where I was reading up on electronics, so you know it is quiet and secure.
This branch, so you’ll know, hires the handicapped and elderly. You want to get there after 7:00 PM when the old man makes the coffee. He’s pushing 85 so let him take his time. You have to ask special for decaf. There is room for twenty people and the clientele is more upscale than Hollywood (probably because it is so close to Aventura Mall).
