(This picture is embedded using the new Google command panel. It's about time they delivered. Note how this blog kept up a consistent appearance throughout the period when they screwed everything up. This blog is mainly prose and consistency in the face of "updates" is your mark of quality. The new panel still has problems, such as the extra line on the bottom border, which I will remove by tomorrow in future posts.)
The Ampeg [bass amp] is another matter needing attention. Verticle jacks attract crud and are always a bad choice. But back in 2000 I bought what I could afford. When I think of it, I’ve always utilized cheaper gear over the years with perfectly good results. Thus, I checked out some second-hand amps but could not find anything at the prices that mattered.The new amps have an unpleasant “boing” to them even at full bass settings. Incidentally, the tone knobs that control volume rather than the actual tone have become standard. The salesman seemed put off as I checked the low note sounds, as if I don’t know the old trick of selling an amp by playing one song really well through it. Most salesmen can ace one song.
My decision is to gut the amp and see if I can find anything obvious. The music store had another identical amp with the identical problem. And I am not a believer in coincidence. This, plus other goodies that came along this month, puts a serious dent in my finances which will continue through the end of summer. I'm broke again, but this doesn’t mean I have to cancel anything such as my Tuesday date and horoscope reading at the bakery.
I’m reading this funny but not hilarious account of the British airline industry titled, “Air Babylon”. It’s an expose. Equally amusing are the terms used, such as trolley dolly for the food service crew. The preflight CPA for check personal appearance. The stewardesses are allowed a very narrow range of jewelry and makeup options, so you don’t get the coke hooker look. They cannot get or be fat, or “chub up” and VPLs are not allowed. Visible panty lines.
But one thing is no different. The ten percent of sexy gals get all the pilots who have uniforms and power. And, usually, wives and kids. The rest of the women become a twittering mob of wannabes. The men of all other ranks have equal status to the lowest baggage handlers. It turns out the airlines and flight crews don’t like “special needs” customers any more than I do. Give them their special meal, but then send ‘em their special bill. Not one penny of it tacked onto the other guy's ticket.
As you see, I’m still recovering from my five days cooped up. I try to keep limber and wish I could find a line dancing class. There is always a shortage of men at those things. It’s not like I can get my exercise humping my amplifier up the stage stairs these days. I need a good sustained hour of aerobics before it does me any good. And such good nearly kills me. I tried jumping rope but after five minutes it gets as boring as the free dating clubs.
The rule book here means a story is not always something pleasant, so if you are eating, put the sandwich aside while I tell you what I saw. The grocery with the free coffee in Aventura is the setting. There is a crew of Mexicans who buy hot food at the deli and have lunch at one of the tables. I was on my way back from the music place and parked my guitar on another empty table, there is lots of room, and walked to the coffee dispenser. I noticed an older couple hunched over a laptop at the counter thirty feet away. Then, I saw the store manager approach them, and if I can read any lips, he told them they had to leave. That’s out of the ordinary, I thought.
The couple, in their late sixties, were well-dressed, quiet, and by themselves in one far corner. But then, I had observed the Mexican crew move tables. The couple made big issue of the inconvenience of packing up to leave and then it hit me. Whoa, did their diapers need changing. Hock the laptop and get some new underwear. It was clear they were homeless and the store had chucked them out before.
ADDENDUM
Last, I’m not worried about the US snooping on private citizens. But most others should be. First company to partake was, of course, MicroSoft (2007). I think secret searches are wrong, but I have always assumed they were going on and behaved accordingly. Warnings about illegal surveillance are common in this blog and the recent revelations tells us who was right all along. I spotted it not because I’m secretive, but because as a programmer I know how easy and tempting it is. The surface has just been scratched. When MicroSoft advertises “your privacy is our priority”, they mean it.
It has always been the policy here to never discuss or transmit sensitive data or create on-line histories. Nothing potentially harmful was ever been uploaded in the first place from this end. All the big companies were involved in illegal invasions of privacy. The government orchestrated criminal charges against those who did not “voluntarily” comply. Do you think the g-men stopped prying just because they’ve been caught? Dream on. They know most people are afraid to protest. The innocent questioning of today becomes evidence used against you tomorrow. Learn history or repeat it.
Isn’t a blog itself a security leak? The answer is not necessarily. It is a well-known counter-tactic that when your [potential] adversary knows everything about you, you begin feeding him disinformation. But this is hardly a tactic that the foolish can pick up in a few hours—they’ll just shoot themselves in the foot. There is an entire attitude and category of behavior to protecting privacy that they never heard of. They were too busy calling everybody “paranoid”. And trying to cover a trail after it is already being followed just sets off more alarms. You have to not give them a reason to look the first time. And only “paranoid” people seem to be that smart.
Let me clue the trusting bastards of America/Canada in on another dirty little secret I learned early in my career. When the man decides to do a sweep, human nature takes over. They are basically as lazy as the next employee—they pick the easy targets and they hate paperwork. I’m saying when you get pulled over, you are much MORE likely to get a citation when your instant record shows you are not a lawyer, not a reporter, not somebody who can fight back. But the other guy, whose background check comes back blank with not even a credit score, well, it becomes too much trouble to pursue. So they let that guy go with a warning. Sad, but true.
When are you going to make the switch to ixquick?
