March 8, 2017

Yesteryear
One year ago today: March 8, 2016, LEDs – the way to go.
Five years ago today: March 8, 2012, now it was 23 years ago . . .
Nine years ago today: March 8, 2008, we need stupid lights.
Random years ago today: March 8, 2013, the day the scooter died.

           A reminder this is Florida, the $21 GFCI outlet I bought y’day was a return stuck back on the shelf. One of the mounting screws was missing and part of one flange was bent. Consumers beware, Florida is full of small time operators. Although occasionally you hear of one who gets his ass kicked real good, this type of scam is not illegal, in the sense that nobody ever gets fined or does jail time over it. Hence, there is an underclass of artists who make their living ripping off people just under the limit of being charged with anything.

           Next thing you know, a pilot light switch gets top billing. (The picture is the pilot light, not the GFCI.) I spent over three hours on this and a lot of that was back and forth to the breaker box at the far end of the building. I’m pointing to the connection that fixed the problem. The original diagram was wrong, it is included here for reference. If installed as shown, the circuit is always on and the pilot light is always off. I need that pilot light as the yard light cannot be seen from where the switch is located.

           So I spent three hours eliminating the impossible. I finally found a Black & Decker wiring diagram. When in doubt, always trust your Black & Decker. The problem is this type of research takes time that is not billable. The problem turned out to be the original diagram shows the white or neutral wire spliced in the wrong location. The load, as indicated in the drawing, must be located after the splice. Here it shows the load is between the switch and the splice.

           It also indicates a small black jumper wire between the load side of the circuit, which does not need to be there as a small metal tab serves the purpose. Another alert is the lack of standards in the electrical industry. The back of this switch has one side labeled “line” which normally indicates the incoming power. Right, from the “line”? Not this time.
           It’s up and working after a total of nearly five hours on that single leg of the circuit. The consolation is that you know the people who screw things up like the instructions also get it back from their own kind, bunch of jerk-offs. Have you ever worked with such people? I have. It is amusing to watch how neither side will agree to change their position, but also neither will agree to adopt a third standard that removes the cause for objection. They enjoy being wrong.

Picture of the day.
Saskatchewan
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           Big deal, I got the switch working but I’m not at all happy with the time it took. By mid-afternoon, I scootered up to the library and spent three hours relaxing. That’s an unusual place to do it, what with the human swine and sneezing kids untrained to cover their mouths, but I managed. Scanning my usual list of technology sites shows nothing has come close to being new. PopSci even has an article stating if your job performance is greater if you have regular sex. What’s become of that magazine?
           The way Millennials think is not science, it is childish, and for their own sake may they prove me wrong. I mean, your job performance is greater if you have any regular habits, but how Millennials love the portrayal of sex as just another a diversion. After all, they know they are the very first generation to get sex, fapping, pimping, porno, and AIDS into their proper proportions. What do you expect from the crowd who’ll pay full price for half a helping if it’s pretty enough on the plate.

One-Liner of the Day:
“Don’t you love nature despite
what it did to you.”
           Here’s something many people have seen lately, and even fewer know what it is for. Yes, it is a single plug outlet, but why? Everybody knows even two isn’t enough. It dates from the time when 15 amps was the maximum and it is also a holdover from the days the electric company charged more for electricity if you used it for lighting. It is, from what I’m given to understand, meant for outlets at the end of a long wire run. That’s why I’ve got it. The red shed is 105 feet by wire from the power source. This receptacle is meant to operate a single 20” fan and that is it, buddy.

           It was still light so I went over to the donut shop to write letters. This is, you know, a conspicuous activity in this day and age of thumb-typers. I ran into the east end guitar player and his wife, who inform me the club in the south end is talking about trying a jam session. Yes, I know it is a typically mindless non-inspiration for a club owner, but the clever entertainer can turn these into a goldmine. Guitar players are famous for overcharging and under-delivering on this. I advised him to hint we were interested for a price. He’s the guy who’ll play for free, but that never works out for a regular gig. Now, I’m the guy who played for tips only for six years last time around, so I understand why most guitar players won’t do it. You get paid what you are worth.
           There’s a happy medium. I just finished figuring out what the club could afford, and I also know that none of the recent entertainers they’ve had in there could begin to work the crowd like I can. I say “I” and not “we” because the guitarist in focus here cannot keep up with me at the bar, much less on the stage. And we all know what two unrehearsed guitar players for the most part sound like. I’m an advocate of just being out there. I know jams are excellent advertising for a bassist. I’m watching.

           What’s the name of that Spanish movie about the matador lady? It’s been stuck in my mind all day. Especially that opening scene with that disturbing portrayal of the two crazy sleepwalking ladies in underwear who randomly thrash about an empty restaurant where this poor guy has to move the tables and chairs out of their way. Myself, I’ll stick with playing bass.

ADDENDUM
           This is controversial. I’m not into donating money for veterans. I appreciate them, though I don’t necessarily buy the line that they are in the Middle East for my benefit. They should leave statements like that to politicians. You see, like many, as long as the forces are voluntary, I don’t experience any obligation to pay extra for psychological side effects. Did you get that--as long as the forces are voluntary. I’m not saying the conditions are not real, but when you enlist, what, did you think this was all play-soldier stuff? Every boy’s a soldier until it comes time to do soldier things, which is to kill people and bust their stuff.
           I’m even worse when it comes to beggars and complainers. It is not as if these people are destitute, particularly the minorities. They get welfare and food stamps, and free assistance to become anything they want. They don’t even have to become anything, they only have to pretend they are trying. So if they choose not to amount to anything, they should quit blaming it on everbody else. As long as there is taxation and welfare, I don’t feel sorry for many people in America.
           Paradoxically, I do blame everybody else, but collectively rather than individually. Because they support a system where by not everybody can get ahead, a system where the best average approach is to be a conformist. The hardest thing for many people is to conform, I speak with great experience. It is so wrong to expect everybody be the same. That’s just my Planet 107 libertarianism showing. Why should I have to pay taxes to support people who don’t support me? Who don’t think like I do, who disagree with me? Careful here, I’m not telling anybody what to think. You can think any way you want, I just think you should have to pay for the consequences yourself. And, I was saying that long before Ann Coulter.


Last Laugh
Washington, DC.

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