One year ago today: January 18, 2015, $20,000 bike crossings.
Five years ago today: January 18, 2011, let them spend cake.
Nine years ago today: January 18, 2007, a fateful day (for me).
Random years ago today: January 18, 2008,what-is-it photo.
MORNING
What the dickens? Is that a sheet of plywood tied on the back of the Chinese scooter? Looks like some boy scouts were practicing. Here’s the tale from the trailer court. You know that rear door on the new cPod camper I’ve been putting off? That’s because the plywood sheet cost $42. Got to buy the whole sheet. So imagine my glee when I saw this ¼-sheet on sale for $3.90. Darn tootin’ I got that thing lashed to the deck. And got home by every back road in town. Maybe people will just think it is my new "poor-man's" spoiler?
Myself, I hate yard work so badly that I have to tell you what all I did. Besides lending the neighbors tools as they found out I had them. But only small hand tools, like a saw or a pry bar. Nobody gets their grubby paws on my electrical gear. The lithium battery fits all my old gear so I finally got to trimming the local plant life. The tree branches were starting to make noise on my roof during storms. Keeps me awake.
NOON
“The IQ and the life expectancy of the average American recently passed each other in opposite directions.” -George Carlin
Here is the pepper tree. Um, that’s what people call it, don’t quote me on that. All I know is it grows several feet per year toward any open or sunny spot. Shown here is after I trimmed around forty branches away. It forms a complete shady canopy over my entire back yard. You can see me working on a battery case and painting the green camper box.
I had to climb up twenty feet in the air to slice off branches here. This tree has doubled in size in five years despite heavy trimming. It must come from a jungle area. I’d still prefer a good old oak tree. You can’t see to the left but that’s where the cactus keeps getting crowded out.
It got just barely past 70°F with a breeze. Before I knew it, I’d put five hours into the yard. Five bags of leaves (small bags) and I transplanted five cactus sprouts to see if they’ll take along the east wall. Other plants can’t tolerate the morning sun. I also de-rusted all my saws and metal tools, like my set square that I can barely read any more. Even trimmed the weeds.
That, folks, is why when I get a place, I’ll set about putting in plants [that are] as carefree as I can find them. Or let JZ keep them trim. The guy dislikes coffee and likes yardwork. That is so backwards, but did I say, after all these years when he does have coffee, he is putting evaporated in it. That’s my influence, because he can also tell when it is Carnation. There you go. Oddly, although he is lactose intolerant, the creamer doesn’t bother him. (Later, because Carnation creamer doesn't contain any cream.)
NIGHT
We’ve decided to take some of the budget money and make a day trip. You only meet married women on day trips, you know. We can confirm that a lot. I recall my day trip to Mayo, Florida, where I waited around for hours to meet this perfect lady, said the staff. Then I find out she’s married. Yeah, I take major motorcycle trips to meet married women. How did they know that?
Maybe their battery experiences differ. To me, each battery is a precious investment. This batter died after only two years, but will hold a charge for several hours. Long enough to shoot a movie. The cases are to keep the battery off the ground, particulary off any concrete. Take another look and see if you can spot why the Frenchies find it so enchanting.
The major reason for the case is not protection, it is for ease of transportation. Not shown are the side handles. The case will soon be painted the regulation fungicidal green, visible here on the camper parts.
ADDENDUM
Last day’s link contained a passage about Biosphere 1. I may have mis-called that one, because there is a Biosphere 2. Apparently Biosphere 1 was the planet Earth. Anyway, it is now just a showpiece because the experiments failed. And what failures they were. I have zilch to back up my opinions excpet my own experience living in confined quarters with people who lack respect for other’s space, property, and privacy. My view on that has not changed. “People who need people” should be sicced on each other, not on bystanders.
What happened is the volunteers were chosen over information on a questionairre about personality. To me that spells instant failure. Asking a New Age type if they are easy to get along with, well, that is like asking a guitar player if he has good taste in music. No, no, folks, you let others to the assessing. What happened is the Biosphere quickly filled up with a majority of New Age pundits, who have a total anti-social temperment except to their own kind.
The place was soon a powder keg and oddly, when they left the doors open for 15 minutes so whoever wanted to leave could do so, none of the unpopular people would go. They knew they were detested by the group, but stayed out of spite. They wound up blaming the problem on low oxygen levels and the site is now, by the looks of it, an expensive greenhouse.
Give me five minutes with each applicant, and while I can’t say who will work out the best, I can weed out 99% of the potential jerks on any space mission. What is the name of that short sci-fi story about the people stranded on Mars with limited radio contact. Most of the people wanted to save the radio time for emergencies, but one lady refused to give up radio time to chat with faher children back on Earth and the others “just didn’t understand” because they were single.
Folks, there is a reason Columbus and Marco Polo and Stanley Livingston did not drag married women along on those long voyages of desperation. In the story, that night somebody killed her.
Last Laugh
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