March 17, 2014

           Look close, it is the Phantom quadcopter being checked out by a bird of prey. It looks like a hawk but whatever it was, evolution quickly said this wasn’t food and it lost interest. See, that’s why we like this blog, you learn lots of details without spending a penny. Here’s another gem. The craft has two flite regimens, free and GPS guided. In a crosswind, GPS is mandatory or lose your ‘copter. Which is better?

           Certainly, the GPS setting quickly stabilizes the motion. It stops the swaying that keeps the operator busy and is pretty much the only way to get it to fly in a perfectly straight line. Is there a drone in your future? Probably. It is only time until these things are used for evil. Close up they sound like a hornet, but from anywhere else they are washed out by almost any sounds, like the wind.
           I know for certain that most people like this blog best when I’m traveling. Readership peaks. But even the lightest of trips costs money. I’ll tell you my plans, but first, the money part. Living well on a budget means devoting time to calculations in advance. You find out the darndest things sometimes. Like for example how my social security check is only going to be a $1.19 more than will be deducted [in taxes] from my future income.
           And you wonder why I don’t trust the authorities and their records. Coincidence, my eye. I’ll say it again that by obeying all the rules, you are just disqualifying yourself should the day come when you need any help help. One of the worst myths out there is that the government has all kinds of social programs to help you. No, not until you’ve liquidated everything you worked for in life. Only then do they hand you the golden chains.
           Can I travel? I could just afford a small trip in early April. A word of caution here, I do not mean “afford” in the same sense as many people. I’ll give you one example of “desert island” accounting, the method I use. (Imagine yourself on a desert island where everything has to be imported and paid for cash.) I am keenly aware of every travel cost to zip out of town for the weekend. Consider, however, the chances I don’t take. I make sure I have access to enough money to get back in case of emergency where others would just whip out a credit card. I would not leave such things to chance. In the long run, my way is better. But that is just one additional cost I consider when I say I can afford something.
           One town I won’t be visiting is Hampton, FL. What’s special about that town? Nothing much, it is a backwoods city of just over one square mile on the bus route between Jacksonsville and Gainesville. It has a totally corrupt political system, applies for federal grants and keeps the money, has 17 police for an adult population of around 300 and generally does what they please. Most everyone with a job was on the town payroll and drove around for free in uninsured vehicles. But, is any of this illegal? If so, most of Florida is suspect.
           Their undoing was setting up speed traps on Highway 301, which is well outside the city limits and issuing 6,000 speeding tickets per year, dividing the money amongst themselves apparently. They issued one to a state representative, oops, who promptly decided to pull an audit. (One should audit what state reps are repping if they need a this kind of slap in the head to look into things.) Tallahassee is out to revoke their articles of incorporation. Watch out, for the Tallahassee goons, armed with such a precedent, would be out for blood. Hampton’s real crime was not sharing the money with the right people.

           What’s this? Well, we know for certain that slab of plywood belongs to me. How can you tell? The neighbor up the lane wants a wagon for his axle, shown here. He knocked my door and offered to pay me to build it. The entire subdivision here knows I built that camper pod from scratch. And there were plenty of naysayers.
           We went back to his place and took the dimensions, 40” x 27”. Hmmm, I said, I just might have a piece left over about that size. I dug it out of my shed and it was 39-1/4” x 27”. Talk about sheer dumb luck. Now he’s convinced I build anything just by looking at it. In fact, it was just a good memory for numbers. He needs it so, get this, his wife can haul home the groceries. When she isn’t transplanting the rice or chopping the firewood?
           Which brings me back to my camper pod. I liked that train trip to Memphis, but it was three times as expensive as driving there [would have been with the pod in tow]. If I took a mid-week train trip in April, say to Charleston or Wilmington, it’s $150 round trip. But accommodation then rapidly takes the total price out of my range. The cheapest safe and quiet motels are still hundreds of dollars per week. And that kind of money pumped into the camper pod would make it near luxurious. I am not the type that needs or wants fancy sleeping arrangements. And every dollar saved while I’m sound asleep is that much more fun for when I’m not.

ADDENDUM

           Here is a repair to the red scooter saddle. That is fishing line. Why this is blogworthy has to do with the many emerging tell-tale signs that these scooters are not expected to last this long. Tires, belts, brake pads, and now the upholstery. The decline in all these areas begins the downward slip at around 6,000 miles and begins to spiral down at 9,000. The only way to keep these Chinese “Vespa copies” on the road after that is to be or know a good mechanic.
           And so you know, you have to regularly go over the scooter, especially anything connected to the motor, and tighten up all the nuts and bolts you can see. The gasket where the muffler joins the motor needed attention every month, even since brand new.