Turbines have largely replaced pistons when it comes to steam power. I learned they run faster on the same steam and don’t require any engine oil. I found a place that builds steam boats. Go to Rappahannock to see. That is why I conclude this is a vertical firetube boiler for a boat. If you go to the site, note you can buy a real steam engine for not much more than the cost of the fancier toys. It is the boiler that costs.
The boat builder sells kits, claiming that the steam engines can be built by anyone “reasonably proficient” with a machine lathe. Boy, he has no clue how inept I am. See his steam boat gallery for interesting pictures of these watercraft. These vessels will not be popular with me because unlike my sidecar, you will see that they are plainly constructed to carry funny-looking old men who watch the engine instead of the water.
How’s my diet coming along? In 21 days previous, I have lost neither pounds nor inches. My size is constant but my weight can fluctuate as much as four pounds per day, probably fluid retention. I consumed 24,445 calories in that period, most of it the healthiest food available. That a deficit of 17,455 calories is based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet.
I’ve rode the bicycle 85 miles in that time and worked many full days on the wagon. I walked 22 miles, which is difficult for me. I’ve been to Zumba class. If my system was the same as everybody else, I should have dropped at least five pounds. As before, none of my nutritional experts believe me.
This AM I had the pleasure of wasting a half-day at the Motor Vehicle office. Yes, concerning the camper. I’d phoned ahead to ask what documents were needed. When I arrived, they cooked up another I didn’t have. A weight certificate. They gave me a lengthy explanation of where to drive, how much to pay, and it is lucky as I left, I noticed the weight was stamped on the Country of Origin certificate, which is the type of thing I like to keep. They were trying to send me on a wild goose chase.
Does anyone out there believe me when I tell you these people are mean bastards? Let’s have a show of hands. Okay! I’m not alone. Am I angry? Nope, it was a setup. You go to the branch with the worst reputation and get the runaround. I do this on purpose. Then once you know what to expect and say, you drive over to a branch in Miami where they don’t give a hoot. And that is where you spend your money.
Mind you, I never got to the other branch. Across from Aventura, my scooter died. Took me two hours to push it home. But part of that was I met an interesting dude at a bus stop and we talked a while. He was 43 and had a tale to tell. He got in trouble at 18 and computer records have dogged his life since. This morning he was declined a mortgage “because of his background”. He’s worked a steady job over 20 years and has otherwise perfect credit. I told him to put it in his wife’s name. At least he will eventually lose it to somebody he used to love. As opposed to a bank.
Here’s some “bad” advice. When shit like that happens to you, go to a job fair. Right? These people are supposed to be looking for people to hire and nothing else. Well, it don’t work that way, so fill out around six different resumes, each one with your correct name and birthdate, but everything else fabricated. Do this with the creepiest companies there that you would never work for anyway. Some of my favorites are a birth year exactly ten years too young. Or list yourself as the wrong race. Falsify where you grew up and went to school. Use your imagination and spin a few wild episodes.
Trust me, all of this spoof information will find its way into the system. This won’t cure your ills, but the other person can never be sure it is you without asking, which blows their cover. If you get flak, just shake your head and mutter about the growing problem of identity theft. Because, after all, you just stole your own.
It’s the carburetor again. Do I fix it or leave it until I get back? The bill is $160 and that’s a chunk of my vacation “mad money”. And of course, this being Florida, the bike tire is flat. Replacing the rear tube involves dismantling the electric motor mounts and chain drive. I’m trying that green slime goop overnight. Meanwhile, I pedal around with a tire pump in the side basket.
I didn’t get in my bakery time until late afternoon. Dee-Dee was there, we chatted about the shut-down. She feels they are useless because the workers eventually get all the back pay. I think this time is different. There is no possibility of paying them out without totally inflating the money supply. I also hope people begin to realize that most of the government is huge and expensive bureaucracy that contributes nothing to the average taxpayer. What about the roads? Those are paid for from fuel taxes, not income taxes.
Later I went to Laura’s Karaoke, which was not remarkable except for the bass player I met. No names, but he was stunned that we did not share his enthusiams for the guitar-player-mentality. He rattled of the names of “famous” bass players that met with our blank stares. Entwhistle? Bentwhisltle? He’s only the greatest bass player who ever lived. Sure, okay, if you say so, may I have a refill? The greatest? That is precisely the type of rhetoric you’d expect from a guitarist. He claimed he could not play guitar, but it was clear this is the first time he ever met an opposing point of view on the subject.
Memorizing names instead of playing the music is a dilution of the energy needed to become great instead of merely good. He was taken aback that we knew this, and that it was not a situation that he could assume we had missed the point and he would clue us in. No, we do not like the average guitar player and we have very, very good reasons for it. This was not confrontational but it was plainly his first encounter with talented people who did not possess the stereotyped attitudes toward guitar music. And we were by far the most talented people in the place. Careful, that might not be saying much.
