One year ago today: December 16, 2014, potato—what’s that?
Five years ago today: December 16, 2010, if I can open it . . .
Nine years ago today: December 16, 2006, three, by name.
Random years ago today: December 16, 2013, money, music, murals.
MORNING
Unless you want editorial on the second day of water tank repair, you get mostly current events today. First, I must say I’m glad the Starbuck’s CEO is such an idiot, telling straight customers the company doesn’t want them. Only queers and other weirdos. Why? Because I’ve always hoped Starbucks would fail. Not because things will ever go back to the good old days, but because Starbucks destroyed the American tradition of the free refill. For that, they deserve to collapse, or even die. It is so typical of Millennials that they cannot leave other people alone.
Like the community that elected Obama a second time to get a free cell phone. Only to become outraged to learn they had to pay for the service. Typical.
While this is going on, yeppers, we did complete the installation of the new water heater. Yet, although it cost just $75, I’m not so sure it gained us all that much. JZ dragged the job out to two full days until I put my foot down and said let me have a go at it. Done, 40 minutes, no leaks. We went for chicken sandwiches to discuss the difference, and unlike other construction types I won’t name, we are two old dogs capable of learning new tricks. The difficulty mainly arose over “tradition”. I don’t have any. Thus, I do not see soldering each joint four or five times as normal. Or hooking it up and turning on the water to find the leaks. That is not how you build anything.
Overall, the money saved is enough to make another trip. I got the invite to Xmas dinner (I will not attend without an invite), but after that, we are contemplating, as JZ puts it, “getting the hell out of Dodge, chasing women, and hopefully both”. I know some think I exaggerate, but I swear to you, we are always the center of attention with the women wherever we go. That is largely my doing, but with JZ along to play the fall guy, the process is honed to perfection. Of course, no pictures. It isn’t that sort of blog.
Thought of the day: Free people are not equal; equal people are not free.
As for Trump’s recent statement that his election will be the biggest voter turnout in history, that will surprise nobody who has read this blog the usual Trump-delay of nine or ten weeks ago. I don’t have to look, I know what I say here will appear in his campaign in some way in that time lapse. I said the biggest landslide in American history, but rewording it does not change the facts.
What I say Trump should do is begin refusing to deal with blatantly adversarial media people who play devil’s advocate. Like that moron, Tapper. Well, Mr. Trump, what if you alienate a 22-year old Muslim with your statements on television. What the hell is that kind of Muslim doing over here, Tapper. You go a better idea? Didn’t think so. But that smug attitude that he’s found something the other man won’t answer and thinking he’s a pro. What a joke of a reporter.
And to those who say Trump swore not to run as an Independent, I remind you he did not say that in isolation. The deal was that he would not do that as long as he was fairly treated by the Republican party. Ain’t nobody can claim the other Republican candidates or their kiss-ass media supporters have been at all fair. They have already ferociously voided and breached their part of that contract. Trump could run Independent tomorrow, and I think he might yet.
NOON
The new tank seems to work perfectly, although I have not had a chance to test its limits. JZ likes oysters, so we tried to get served at G’s place. For reasons unknown, the place was packed. I used to play that club and I’ve never seen it like that. No football game, no holiday, no nothing—including no service so we left after waiting 15 minutes. We headed for the local Burger King, which JZ happens to like, this is the one on Hollywood, where Silly Sally hangs out. It is closed, and it does not look like just for renovations. That would be another landmark down the tubes.
I also learned the trick to making a “tradesman” reveal his lack of true knowledge. While I can easily describe to a bystander both what I am going to do next and how it will work, it seems on average others have more than the lion’s share of difficultly with that. “Okay, next I am going to cut that pipe and solder in a new splice, and when I’m done, the leak is going to move from that joint you made over here to that joint you made over there.” Sure enough, Every. Damn. Time.
I fully understand what’s going on. We’ve all got experience with self-proclaimed experts and have a built-in BS meter that, after X number of years, gets jammed on “Full”. Then again, I’ve always maintained that while experience is valuable, unless it is coupled with brains, well, let’s just say I’ve met many people who have done things the wrong way for forty years. Nobody can be around me very long and genuinely refuse to believe that despite a lick of experience that I don’t know what I am doing. In the case of JZ, he has to let it be put to the test.
And now we have a semi-working system. We will not work together, but everyone agrees to the one problem-solving principle I took away with me when I left the phone company. The “second pair of eyes”. It not only works, it is a perfectly acceptable compliment to the other man. Call somebody over, let them take a look. “Okay, Phil, it’s no big deal, your Caps-Lock key was stuck on.”
Having said that, I watched how JZ could solder a joint in just over three minutes, which is almost twice as fast as I can. But so what if the joint leaks. I noticed all manner of bad habits from leaving the torch on, a quick way to get a haircut, to laying small pieces all around where I put them in an empty Baltic smoked herring can. I’m going to buy some copper pipe and get my soldering speed down to an average of four minutes per joint, a speed that with my 100% track record of no leaks, will be undeniably several times faster than the other guy.
It was with some interest I watched a video of an expert who made his own pipe joints, shown here, and he also deftly soldered pipes together at 0 and 90 degree angles without using a splice. He butted then, soldered by hand, and showed they were strong and leak-proof.
I am not likely to forget that time I saw Wallace turn patching a door-knob hole in the drywall into a major four hour operation that would up knocking the hole to a foot square and using fifteen different tools. I patched the second hole using an old piece of screen-door mesh and a bent nail. Wallace, 0 minutes prep time, me 10 minutes prep time. And then just 8 minutes to do the repair. But, I understand. Prep time means having to think the job through in advance.
These people can’t tell you what they’ll do next because they don’t know. They have to wait and see. That, folks, is the trial-and-error monkey approach that never works well.
NIGHT
Here’s some food for thought lifted off Craigslist:
1. We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.
2. Seems we constantly hear about how Social Security is going to run out of money. But we never hear about welfare or food stamps running out of money! What's interesting is the first group "worked for" their money, but the second did not.
3. Why are we cutting benefits for our veterans, no pay raises for our military and cutting our army to a level lower than before WWII, but we are not stopping the payments or benefits to illegal aliens.
That third item, I disagree with. We should be cutting our military to the bare minimum required for immediate self defense. No pay raises, the only proper incentive for people to consider a military career should be patriotism. An army of 100,000 officers is probably enough, German-style after World War I. End all foreign entanglements. Defend only those allies who pay for the upkeep. Still, it is interesting to compare.
ADDENDUM
The neighborhood is being canvassed by some makeup lady sales types. They walk into a store, like the bakery, pretending to be customers. Then make a sales pitch instead of ordering anything. Disgusting, really. And several of them hit the same store, so I asked the third one to quit, please, I’m busy doing my crossword puzzle and they are a distraction.
So, she gets smart with me, asking if I thought she was wearing any makeup. Yep, toots, you’ve got it plastered on. And I prefer natural, wholesome good looks. Ut-tut, ma’am, I don’t usually even talk to women who wear makeup. Makeup is manipulation. She was dumb enough to let me hit her with all the clichés and then stand there as I went back to the puzzle and was not listening to her memorized retorts.
Some people are just plain that dumb. Show ‘em, Patsie.
And consider these conundrums:
Conundrum 1. America is capitalist and greedy - yet half of the population is subsidized.
Conundrum 2. Half of the population is subsidized - yet they think they are victims.
Conundrum 3. They think they are victims - yet their representatives run the government.
Conundrum 4. Their representatives run the government - yet the poor keep getting poorer.
Conundrum 5. The poor keep getting poorer - yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.
Conundrum 6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about - yet they want America to be more like those other countries.
Last Laugh
Scarred for life.
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