VIDEO HAS SOUND.
===============================================
THIS BLOG IS NOT FORMATTED FOR ANDROID.
DOES NOT represent any average American life-style.
Tales From The Trailer Court™
Thursday, June 11, 2026
THIS IS A HEADER - scroll down one page to begin blog--->
VIDEO HAS SOUND.
===============================================
DOES NOT represent any average American life-style.
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
June 10, 2026
One year ago today: June 10, 2025, why I hate MicroSoft.
Five years ago today: June 10, 2021, that unknown Private.
Nine years ago today: June 10, 2017, remember the lantern?
Random years ago today: June 10, 2007, love slim uppers.
More than a few people are holding their breath over Ireland. Is this the spark? It will be violent when it comes. Initially the immigrants win because they are a tribal mentality, where the Irish have that strong individualism—until they are given a spark. Where is the IRA, with all their experience. Grabbing another coffee, I carefully examined the wood which I applied poly to y’day. I find the claims it is “fast-drying” a bit phony. What I wanted was a clear finish that does not seem sprayed on. This may not be as easy as it sounds.
It was five years ago today little Sammie had surgery, I was never his favorite, but I miss the little man. There he is doing his cushion imitation. A big breakfast got me going enough to put another layer of poly on anything that looked unshiney enough. Some days we get that weak [radio] station from Bushnell that has the phone-in sales show. Where you can sell anything except what you can’t.
Today, it was hayseed time. While I’m probably just as guilty at times, there are few funnier things than oldsters who try to sound “hip with the lingo” and this morning was comedy hour. Parents with teenagers were the best laffs. That’s “on” the Internet, not “in” the Internet, and so forth. They also have call-in advice shows but honestly, some of those are not at all funny. That sick program where they contact the person who left the situationship, and ask for an explanation is called “Closure”. Oddly, enough people go for it to keep the program going. As I’ve said before, folks, there is a reason people have not spoken to you for fifty years. It doesn’t mean they owe you an explanation.
I never thought of it that way, but if the Earth was the center of the universe as some contend, the stars would have to be moving at faster than light speed.
A rehearsal is penciled in for late this afternoon, remember to record the mileage. I’ve got most of his material ready, and in some cases, better than ready. That means in tunes like “Questioningly”, I know he has never really listened to the bass line, so I have some leeway with fills and runs. It is only mid-morning, so I got in some reading on a weak point in my navigation. It is the charts. I can draw the basics, including dead reckoning (DR) and line of position (LOP), which show where you are. However, like most people in the middle of the ocean, I would also like to know where I’m heading and roughly how long this will take. Am I right?
This factors in things not easily measured, such a current, wind, drift, and magnet compass behavior. The job seems mostly done when you can provide a course twelve hour ahead, or probably 24 hours if you are really out there and have good people standing watch.
Here’s a good one, and another demo that Trump has learned the Democrat game. The left made a big kerfuffle about ICE agents being near the entrances of voting stations. Fine, ICE went around back and arrested them after they voted (illegally) and deported them. Classic. I’ll add again that I’m not really a Trump fan, but that I totally love it when he or anybody beats commie pinkos at their own game. Let me put this into perspective.
You see, the Leftoids just spent major money and effort on a campaign based on two premises. One, that ICE agents at the entrance would stop legitimate voters (duh), two, that there is no such thing as illegals voting in American elections. Thus, ICE, an agency the public associates with Trump, has not only bypassed their objections, it puts them in an even worse light if they react. Classic Trump.
Fossilized mammoth tooth guitar pins.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
It’s been a long time since I last put a band together. I was lucky to meet the Prez, my bluegrass mandolin player, who went the distance. On guitar, and yes, that matters. Today was the notoriously bad “second practice” this blog has made infamous. (Yeah, then if so, and it was as intense, why have none of them written in down like I am about to?) This was the worse ‘second practice” in my experience. Yet I warn everyone this is NOT any indication good or bad as to the way anything turns out. Repeat that back to me. Dammit, I said repeat that.
Here is a rundown of what went wrong, which is most everything that could. And it is 90% logistics, 10% music. My intention is to get playing gigs in a working band, not create masterpieces. First, I recognized the relocation of this rehearsal to his digs is an assertion of “guitar player” authority. And that is what happened. From the wonderful acoustic session here last week to a pseudo-electric sequence like tonight. He plugged the acoustic into a tray of pedals that he tromped on 30 to 40 times, cursing that it would not obey. But, he’s got you on his turf, right Glen? So you wait. (He also has that annoying tendency to try to spice up tunes that are famous for their simplicity.)
You would have admired my patience. Back at 2:00PM we confirmed the appointment, but his guitar was not tuned when I arrived at 5:00PM, duh. At this point I remind you this is the guy who says he has 55 (count ‘em) years stage band experience. I asked him, before I left home, if he had some place I could plug in and he said yes. It was a 4” Karaoke box, which tells us the guy has never once plugged in a bass. He stated he had a computer and he does, it was in six pieces in a box with the Xmas ornaments. He does not even have a stereo to learn the music, and no, you cannot properly integrate with the bass line using headphones. I’ve been around computers my entire life so don’t tell me you can hear proper bass on a laptop.
So this will not be the band I hoped, but it will be a band because I met his woman and she insists. It was clear he had not touched his guitar since last week and has no transportation other than a motorcycle, which needs parts. He has played in a band, but must have had somebody else in charge. It’s a story we’ve heard before, he can play great guitar but that is it. He leaves off intros and endings and often tried so lead solo over just the bass line. He also tried to fake it by trying to follow my left hand, a sure sign he’s used to lousy one-note bass players.
The telltale sign is that he cannot chord. When asked to chord in E, he started to pick a lead break. No, no, Rick, strum in E. So he arpeggiates one chord and stops. He has no clue what I’m talking about. Nor can he recognize the pattern or the chop if I fake it on the bass, I actually have to grab another guitar and literally show him—hardly the mark of a 55 year music veteran. We then get a repeat of a curious behavior I will always associate with Florida. He says something can’t be done.
So you grab a guitar and show him, that’s correct, a non-guitar-player showing the grand master how to do things. I showed him how to strum “boom-chicka” on an E chord. And saw for the nth time that wide-eyed shock of amazement on the guitar player’s face. As if never in his born days or universe had he ever seen anybody do such a thing before. Pure infantile stunned astonishment. 55 years, right? Wait, there is more.
Even when shown what to do, he still could barely manage it. And half-way through a tune, he could not sustain the strum. And five minutes later, he needs to be shown all over again for the next song. Yet here is an individual that can ace lead breaks. Remind me to bring my own guitar to see if rehearsing that way brings any improvement. Of course, his solution will be to add more members or resort to backing tracks—which was his intention all along.
Later, yep, he’s already wanting a drum box to flesh out his solos, which have always been his plan. I did not object, having already surmised he cannot afford one, nor operate it, and I would pretend I can’t manage the thing so it is 100% up to him. The same with backing tracks. You can go ahead with that and I hope you have the $20,000 just to get started. Overall, I got the impression that like so many, this guy has played guitar, but he’s done it in some manner of self-imposed isolation whereby he only knows the guitar parts.
And I do have an alternate explanation why these guitarists are stunned when shown the most basic strum. They must necessarily have played it at some juncture, but (and I did this myself), rejected it as too simplistic for band work. These guys went on to spend years learning guitar licks and ignoring generic strums. So what is really the shocker is when they hear somebody do it right. (I have tight chops and exceptionally good timing, really.) They realize that they could, in a live band, be bested by somebody with a few hour’s experience. For clarity, it is not the first time they’ve heard it, only the first time they’ve heard it done right in a setting where they are forced to hear it as a direct challenge and comparison to the way they arrogantly presumed things would be. And they are suffering oxygen deprivation.
ADDENDUM
Google’s messing with the blog system again. Don’t worry, I have every digital post backed up. What I don’t have would be the time to re-post 8,000 of them when Google finally does a screw job. And they will. They are messing with the modules again, those millennia brain-farts that carry “inherited properties”. Usually, the screw-ups start small, in this case settings that used to persist now revert to other settings every time you open that window. That’s “object-oriented”, where you cannot change one setting without going through the entire code listing to find every instance of an object of a class blah-blah that calls it.
And that horror story is why you get so many websites that get completely re-written rather than maintained. Classic example is Gab. They kept getting sunk deeper and deeper into bad code that they had it re-written. But that was even worse, so they reverted to the earlier version. They could have avoided all this by taking my advice, you know. I even texted the owner, Torba, a list of his coders that were screwing him around, but that is not material for this blog.
Don’t read me wrong—the concept of object-oriented would work IF and ONLY IF you had people smart enough to use it. My deep and lengthy experience with programming tells me that is never going to happen.
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
June 9, 2026
One year ago today: June 9, 2025, medieval speeds.
Five years ago today: June 9, 2021, a generic day.
Nine years ago today: June 9, 2017, splinters on my roof.
Random years ago today: June 9, 2018, they are bureaucrats.
The most nothing Tuesday on record. I awoke with a tugging sensation near my shoulders. So I made porridge and crawled back in the sack till 2:00 PM. After that, I managed to stain a couple boxes and made two saw cuts. I repaired some older boxes and barely had the zip left to stain a couple boxes. I wish I had more for you but nope, I’m that tired. Worse, it was what I recognize as “hospital tired” so don’t wait around for things to pic up.. Today is a goner.
I texted the Reb to get the car A/C fixed out of my account. Whereas I have no aversion to sweaty gals if they are slim and pretty, I can’t have that on my watch. Not with that recording contract in effect in the background. Car repairs have to be okayed by me, but I thought it over and it’s probably a small repair, probably a leak. We will not have time to visit this trip, so at least I can make things comfortable. With just the one doggie left, now a registered companion, he now travels with her. So I may not even see my own dog, well, actually, half-mine.
The good news is Ricko, the guitarist, and I have arrived at a song list, 28 songs. He is also a convert to the three set gig, important because many oldtimers still want four sets. Not for me, not in the past 20 years. We went over the list by phone, and the good news is that he confirms me sings every tune on his list. Good, around a third of them are “specials”, which is just another term for tunes that I have already arranged for duo work, which gives his presentation a big boost. To get things running, over half the tunes will be his but that includes the overlap of tunes I could sing if I had to.
We slated a rehearsal tomorrow, but no sure thing unless he can get the car. Or I could got there, he’s just north of Ariana where Randy the drummer used to live. Dang, why did I not jot down the name of the community center lady? I’ll drive past, but their hall is kind of big for a duo, we’ll see if something can be worked out.
That’s it. I’m too zonked. Nappies, but I woke up around 8:30PM and watched a documentary on tea, a kind of weird but captivating story with excellent animations. I’ll pass on the original brew made with onions and ginger, but I’ll put some on, maybe perk me up. Perk, ha-ha. This video marks the first time in Internet history I have heard anyone correctly pronounce the word “codify”.
Overall, the video was too much about Asian rituals and not enough tea story. I don’t buy the legend it was discovered when leave fell into a boiling pot. Knowing Chinese history enough, I would guess that there is nothing over there somebody at some point did not boil in a pot in a fit of starvation.
Inca terrace farm.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
It remained a perfect 78°F, so I worked in the kitchen giving every handy box a layer or two of poly finish. Here are the three largest, once again “junk” boxes, meaning they hold whatever fits because they were not built for any specific purpose.
We have a new mystery bird and the auto-focus on the Vivitar cannot be disabled. So no picture. It is a brownish-orange bird, around the size of a large robin. It does not use the feeder, but seems to spear the ground with its beak, then flip the dirt.
The track meet murderer gets 35 years. 2061 is a good year, the cost to the taxpayer is $2.2 million in that time. His family should be cut off welfare for causing public disturbances, since they knew damn well he was guilty. Some smart aleck maintained the real criminal was the accused’s hair stylist. And news from Ireland shows hints of the old spirit, with protestors dressed in identical clothing, wearing masks, and targeting specific properties. Is this just the beginning?
The FCC wants burner phones outlawed, that all new phones must require government ID and be linked to a verifiable residential address. Between January and April, European ground stations report 75 instances of the GPS signal interference (jamming) that coincided with Russian satellite “constellations".
Monday, June 8, 2026
June 8, 2026
One year ago today: June 8, 2025,in the upper left.
Five years ago today: June 8, 2021, Squat-a in Guat-a.
Nine years ago today: June 8, 2017, I was 21.
Random years ago today: June 8, 2008, that Seminole chief.
The guitarist canceled until Wednesday. His unreliable vehicle situation means I’ll likely make a decision to go over there. After all, his girlfriend has moved out. He’s mentioned he’s living in a single-wide. All I need for rehearsal is a small amp, which I have. Over time, he sends me more tunes, which means he lands on some I’ve played before. Like any prehistoric musician he knows I’ll favor the ones I recognize, know, or have played before. Today’s batch included “Next Broken Heart” and “If You Got The Money”. That means we have enough to play out, what we don’t have is enough mileage on playing this as a duo.
It was still a fun morning, as I wound up at the office of my real estate lady, who has more smarts than the rest of this city put together. We were chatting an hour, the main conclusion is that China is likely to implode. She sees it as a national wrong path they’ve taken, I see it as a major character defect. That is, when you copycat everything, you have missed making the mistakes the originator had to. And, of course she gets a beautiful set of matching spice boxes. She loves them and she has not even seen the Fake boxes yet.
Then the Reb called. I’ve got to get up there soon but there is no window before August that we will both be in town. Some good news is my doggie has passed his blood tests. A small tumor in his mouth has posed no danger for years. The doggie and I have a favorite pastime, kind of like sitting on the sofa and thinking. As much as possible. No TV, no radio, just sitting.
We had time to chat, things are slowly looking up. It has been roughly since August last year, and certainly since November, I’ve told how the brakes got put on all extra spending. Now as we emerge from that, it’s into a world of tripled prices. I still hold back on repairing the KIA transmission and she reports her A/C is acting up. Can’t have that in a Tennessee summertime. Do I wait until I see it, or step in now? You know the answer, and my KIA can wait.
Ugh, yellow home mold.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
As noted, Ricko and I have enough material to gig, what’s needed is management to trim it back to what we can present the soonest and most effectively. Make that 15 tunes each, so we don’t play repeats every time. I still don’t know where some of his choices come from, but always wait to see how he plays them. I was going to burn him a CD of the tunes we’ve played, that is, the ones we can each sing. Turns out my best app will not run on a 64-bit computer and the damn install is a millennial link to a sales site that won’t easily delete.
Another thorn for me is the utility bill. It’s the electric that has ballooned. It is a screwy system whereby the city and commercial power are two different entities that appear on one bill. However, as long as the bill matches weather patterns, I’ve learned not to try making sense of them. For example of my $480 electric bill this year to date, $295 of it was that cold snap of last winter, something like a 15 year record. In a sense, I was spared the worst because I was gone for all of February and half of March. But while I was here, I ran the overhead heater in the comfort range 24/7. Just to spite some people I grew up with, possibly.
I knew I’ve be away so I hit the breakers for everything except the fridge. That’s how I know it costs $1.82 per day to run that appliance. A bargain by any standard. That heater is a different matter, because I need to install a second heater of slightly more capacity in the kitchen. I shivered through this time, but that was a most unusual circumstance. That heater cost $4.12 per day. Which beats the hell out of chopping wood, mind you.
The next few months are going to be hell on a lot of folks. I stopped for some basics at the grocery story, cost me $57. From the China conversation this morning, I think my friend is right about a major recession. The Hormuz blockade affects most of the world other than America. If they can’t get oil, they can’t buy things. And America is a huge exporter. Her prediction is a mass worldwide recession. I’m not so sure, it’s not like Iran is the only place to buy oil.
The entire British attack submarine fleet is out of commission. This surprises few, since that outfit went woke there is nobody left who knows how to maintain the things. You can’t vote a nuclear reactor to do your bidding. Last I heard, the Prince of Wales, their only aircraft carrier, had the Russians dying of laughter when it had to ask Norway to repair the thing. The Ruskies know anybody with any brains cleared out of England many elections ago.
What other news interests me? Pennsylvania may require smart glasses to display a recording light. Mexico passes a law forbidding employers to contact employees at home. The WHO has spent $6.3 million dollars over each ebola death.
Sunday, June 7, 2026
June 7, 2026
One year ago today: June 7, 2025, hmmm, Mars navigation.
Five years ago today: June 7, 2021, some empire.
Nine years ago today: June 7, 2017, rare, I talk method.
Random years ago today: June 7, 2012, he keeps offering food.
A generic morning but I have some results of an experiment. Remember the Vivatar cam that takes the time-lapse photos, but is too crazy to use for much else? This is a series of 316 photos taken from its AVI format. It runs and then shuts down by itself. It still has battery power and plenty of memory. These are the parameters I set out to test. It maxes out at 49MB per file. That is twice the capacity I can attach to an e-mail, so I use that as an arbitrary limit.
As ever, I’m testing for facts not in the manual, so I’ll aim the camera at a clock to see how long things take. If it will not capture clouds, it will probably do fine for medium distance crowd or nature takes. This may be the best I can get you unless my own battery gets to charging up a lot faster. Hang on a second, I just ran the numbers. Those clouds must be low-res, yet I am certain I set the icon correctly. This time I substituted the smallest 8GB card and triple checked hi-res. It is set up in the kitchen and I’m going back to sleep. I never totally awoke today.
California is gone. The nation witnessed total Democrat corruption with 33,000 votes for their candidate appearing at the last moment. They rubbed America’s nose in it, for they know they have the opposition divided into factions, with each one thinking they are alone. However, it is also proof the Democrats have no other tricks and will try the same thing in other States where it is unlikely to work, at least not peacefully.
Why is Trump seeming to ignore all this ballot-cheating? My answer is that he is not. He is very aware of what is going on and is allowing it to go unhindered. Why? Because he know Americans are disgusted by such a crime—but feel powerless to confront it. I say Trump is purposely allowing the process to continue. It exposes the pattern, the Republican candidate wins on election day, letting the Democrats calculate how many votes will overturn that lead.
Then in come the mail-in ballots. And that is exactly the point. Using the mail for criminal activity is illegal and can get you twenty years. I think it is called wire fraud. When you think about it, the FBI have raided several offices and grabbed such records. But, it’s just my guess.
The book, “Gold Coast Pioneers” may get another read from me. Not the boring plot, but because toward the ending, there are some real estate descriptions that I did not piece together at first. The industry is a racket and I’d like to know more. In the early Ft. Lauderdale days it was cutthroat. Agents did not care about selling to families, they wanted to flip and Hortt (the author) often talks of traveling thousands of miles by train to hook up with wealthy families he met on cruises and conventions.
There are several spots where he uses obscure real estate laws to shaft others as all part of the game. Such as the time he had a sale annulled because the owner asked his neighbor to accept a deposit if it arrived while he was away. Hortt had the transaction canceled because the neighbor was not a registered real estate agent. I think I’ll enjoy re-reading this from a different perspective.
Santa Fe Swap Meet Drive-in.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
I admit, my life has slowed down to the boredom point. Boxes and time-lapse, and I’m caught in this loop. I have two options, rest or mild activity and neither is producing results. Mind you, I’ve witnessed that in others neither of these are perilous to life, that is, for many that is their life. Was in Albert Schweitzer who said there are only three ways to assist others. Example, example, and example. I was in the shed again, then got some yard work done but not much. Raking and trimming, ho-hum.
The poly finish I picked up y’day is shown on these boxes. It sure spruces up what are ordinary wood. These units did not want or need any stain or poly, but my theory is all experience with this finish work is valuable down the line. These two boxes are for speaker cables and fresh batteries, that is, practically junk boxes. Pretty, huh? I slapped on a coat of the poly, which I sometimes call varnish just because.
Yet, we’ve been through periods of inactivity in this blog before, long medical recoveries and a few broke stretches. I wrote two letters and took a closer look at Jenga blocks. Jenga? Yes, it turns out to be the oldest items I have around here that were laser etched. The exact dimensions are 2.956” x 0.997” x 0.581” and the logo is burned 7/1000 of an inch deep. None of these observe the Golden Ratio. I have some similar size blocks from Dollar Tree, a quick drill hole and a Bible verse turned them into key fobs.
Here’s a glitch only money, imagination, or experience can solve. The key fobs shown were all cut on identical wood blocks on with the same settings. Never mind the slight misalignment, I’m concerned about the difference in color and clarity. While the top logo is black, which I wanted, the others are a faded brown. I will clean the lens and write some advice. The lens is quite easy to clean on the Wainux, just unscrew the cap and Q-tip the glass.
Advice. Once more, I step in with a warning that a millennial will NOT tell you what is wrong with a machine.or process. True, America has always been bad for that, but at least the seller could usually be compelled to honesty. GenXYZ has instead perfected the evasive answer. Some say go on-line and listen to the professionals. Ah, but that just leads you to liars of a different sort. My advice is go to a trade show like I did and see for yourself. Most people will finally just give up listening and buy a cheap laser like I did.
But I had an advantage—I knew in advance what material I wanted to burn, namely wood. I also knew I did not need the laser to make cuts, just burn a “brand”. At the show, I asked to watch the laser burn a pencil, so I knew how long for things like the setup, positioning, and time. These are elements you cannot trust most anyone these days to be forward about. One thing never mentioned was diode lasers (the one you can afford) will not etch clear or reflective materials. That’s my advice—have somebody show you if what you want is even capable.
Then, another look at COBOL. I aced that course though it was obsolete when I took it. Those were the days when you had to score above 110 to even get a job interview, a requirement few coders today could manage, even with their fake enhanced IQ marks. But the real killer was the psychological profile which I called the “astronaut test” because only one type of human being was ever able to pass it. What changed the criteria (for the worse) was object-oriented coding.
This was touted as “shared” computer coding, but it reality it meant the end product contained the accumulated logic errors of every idiot on the team. These came in two forms. The usual is the inherited property mistakes, and the equally invisible blunders I used to call “personality errors”. I meant it in the sense these were flaws that could not be fixed by smarter or more capable programmers later. One day, somebody will discover this and write a book.
The last factor is the complexity of banking itself. Each bank has its own internal system and the big banks have millions of hours of those quirks build into their code. The tendency of object-oriented code is, over time, toward the average, so there is no such thing as a contemporary language that could begin to address the understanding that programmers of the past required to generate the code.
There is no such thing as an object-oriented language that could begin to allow for those long-forgotten interrelationships in way COBOL was written. What's this picture about? Just now I’m looking at a catalog for college-wear, mostly t-shirts, cut-offs, and crewnecks. What you’d expect teens to wear. Except all the female catalog models are clearly in their late twenties and early thirties. They don’t know any COBOL either, I’ll bet.
ADDENDUM
A.I. has invaded some of my favorite puzzles, not to be confused with games. Some of my current likes are Puzzmo’s Circuit and (when I have time) Spelltower. These have been corrupted by bots, so I play them not be the champion, but to see how many other champions I’ve beat. You can never be the champ when solve times are less than four seconds, less time that in takes to move the mouse around. Or people who get 18-letter words for 7,100 points (gentlemanlinesses) or the opposite clearing the board in four minutes using nothing but 3-letter words. However, it is possible to beat them some of them, so I no longer go for top score, but rather the number of "champions" I beat. It has never been less than 3 and one time I hit 100. Average is 12.3, I'm consistenly better than twelve millennials using A.I. apparently. That's me, IRL.
Few things reveal the decline of the American medical profession than surveys of second opinions. Tampa radio reports that 80% of second opinions now differ materially from the first. Anything above 8% is considered a major alert. I never had time for a second opinion. But I’m here with a mug of coffee to tell the tale. I bought what I thought was a pack of K-cup hot chocolate. Instead it was chocolate flavored coffee. It is pretty bad, but makes tolerable iced coffee. So I can ponder medical opinions with an 80% error rate in comfort.
Tampa is also some prize-winner for off-beat call-in programs. Today, it was about childhood trauma. This one guy was at a sleepover, but in the morning, neither of his parents wanted to go pick him up. He wound up staying with the neighbors for thirteen days. Harsh.
Hmmm, I went to back up some backups and noticed my flash drives have files that will not copy. Normally, this is an annoyance, since they themselves are copies. But now I’m curious which files and why. It is some file or files buried in large folders, I would have to isolate them by trial and error.
Saturday, June 6, 2026
June 6, 2026
One year ago today: June 6, 2025, women swooned.
Five years ago today: June 6, 2021, Sears wasn’t cheap.
Nine years ago today: June 6, 2017, so I parked.
Random years ago today: June 6, 2011, fans vs A/C.
Dang, there is no good radio left. Not one easy listening station on the dial. Religion, sports, shigga-boogah, and anti-Trump NPR. Over the past couple months I resorted to recording on-line European stations but lately all my favorites seem to have switched to techno-rock. Ha, you have not suffered until you’ve heard German pop with the electric accordion. I was up late reading the Gold Coast book, as old Hortt took several long vacations in Europe and South America. In this chapter, he’s riding trains through some desolate Andean countryside and staying in hotels with no heat. The trick is to bribe the staff to bring you old wine bottles filled with hot water and wrapped in towels. These actually work till morning.
I made an early trip to the doggie pound with fifty pounds of food. I had help lifting it, and across the way is the used paint store. The recycling depot. I got a whole bag of goodies, how is this significant? To avoid the weekend wait, I park near the mulch bin and walk over. The joy is on the way back with a bag, I walked full speed the distance without thinking. Ha, so that is a plus. Endurance will get you a job, but instant energy bursts will save you from the alligators. The span is almost a half a city block, congratulations.
The trade-off is by the time I got home, I was taking baby-steps up to my door. I was really dragging my ass by noon. But I know who is moving as fast as they can. The time and money wasting NASA people on the useless space station. Part of the structure built in Russia is starting to crack and leak out the air. Gosh, what a surprise. The Russians aboard want to use a hand saw to get at the cracks and fix them but the NASA people are horrified by that plan. My plan is to let the thing disintegrate and get the US space program back on the path to Mars. Happy D-Day. Unless you ask the vets, I mean.
I made two spice boxes, both with logos. The plan is to test some stains on the wood. This morning fronted me two of the sought-after clear or satin gloss poly finishes. I’m just not the type to spend a lot of money on those, meaning free is the correct price. The lighter stains work well enough with the laser, but the burn time is a real concern. A full-size logo, which is 3”x3” for my equipment, takes nearly 7 minutes for the burn, adding on setup and positioning, more like 10 minutes. So three labels per box keeps things hopping. The correct burn speed is 3500 mm per minute to get it dark enough to match the stain. This took months to discover.
The variability of the lumber is solved by making each box out of one picket. The timing is exactly one cup of coffee, I have tested this on numerous occasions. Today I set the time lapse on the sky again. That was India on the phone, I’ll pass on an invite to a wrestling match. Like car racing, just not my thing. She was out of the loop for almost two weeks with catching the flu from her kids.
Nor are my boxes her priority, she just happens to be a seasoned Etsy user. The roadblock for me is the need to tend to the computer at daily regular hours. That’s called a job and I don’t want one. Here are the ten tunes garnered from the twelve sent by Ricko, the guitar player. We played another fifteen tunes from experience. Those are expected to find their own way. One attribute Ricko has is he reacts to telegraphed bass lines, particularly song endings. The Hippie was just beginning to catch on to that when he went feral the final time.
QuestioninglyGranted, this is not A-side material, but he was very frank that he does not care for the overplayed standards. We can agree on that, but I’m old-fashioned in thinking the material you do play should be recognizable by the majority. Then again, maybe Ricko is deliberately choosing country songs because he knows my influences. I’ll run through the list again later, right now it is too noisy from all the plumbers and electricians laughing as A.I. replaces the people who went to college.
Hey Joe
Chain of Fools
Little Red Rising Hood
Lonesome Fugitive
Today He Stopped Loving Her
Dark End of the Street
Red House
Perfect CW Song
Today I Started Loving Her Again
Typical west-US historical district.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
The guitarist also tried to slip some originals into the mix. I leave those until last. Reasons? Easy, there is no local market for originals, the material is generally guitar-centric crap, and I regard originals as permission to over-play the material. Hey, you want original, I’ll show you original. What? You meant only insofar as it showcases your guitar? Darnn, now you tell me. I’ll have most of the covers ready by Monday, the next scheduled rehearsal.
I zipped over to Kooters for a couple and to see if the other guitarist was present. Nope, it was dart night and they are plenty noisy enough. I took this box, which was not ready, but the server loved it anyway. It’s the picket wood with pecan stain and the Kooters logo, which she loved. That is the effect of these boxes, you see it, you pick it up, you need it. If it does not sell at that instant, all you’ve got is another box.
Are you weary of hearing about boxes yet? Hey, at east I’m not on about billiards or hockey. Good, because the boxes are my representative of adventure these days. Face it, mountain climbing and the trampoline are out. The tale behind this box is that it is a reject. Nothing visible really, but the carefully chosen jig failed due to slightly differing wood dimentions. The pickets can vary in width, making the bottom panels hard to fit. Since the box bottoms have to be flat so they don’t wiggle, it also makes for uneven tops, but that is kind of a feature.
A glance around said all older couples in some degree of marriage, so I took out a pen an wrote a letter to Hersh, my pal in the frozen north country. A fellow musician, he’s made recordings, he will be amused by the list I sent him. My new guitarists list is right out of 1974, which was the last era we even listened to record albums of this music.
In other news, starting this September, Google will issue a silent update that blocks every app on your Android phone unless it has a signed contract with Google and government ID. You only think the phone belongs to you. No, you cannot disable or opt out, Google has been ready for you on that count for at least five years. I mean, think of the groundwork they must have done to infect hundreds of millions of cell phone to even accept silent updates.
ADDENDUM
I wanted a quiet day, but everything is dominated by the cheating going on in California. The radio stations are making excuses but it is evident Trump is purposely letting America see for themselves what Democrat corruption looks like. It’s the perfect tactic since the Senate rejected the America First bill that would require ID and proof of citizenship—and all this well-placed to sink in deeply before the November mid-terms. But, you knew all this years ago if you’ve been following this blog.
Few recall how many years ago I warned that most Hindu university “degrees” were bogus. This morning brings news that hundreds of thousands of visas and degrees are under investigation. It would not bother most Americans is these people were shipped back wholesale.
The stock market is not your friend. I took a look at some dividend stocks to test the waters. It is still very much a gamble, and now there are horrific rumors of government caps on capital gains at 140%. My research on this is a follow up of last day when I priced chip-making machines at nearly a half-billion each. My conclusion is the market is positioned very defensively, that is, nobody knows what’s going to happen.
Friday, June 5, 2026
June 5, 2026
One year ago today: June 5, 2025, five bedrooms.
Five years ago today: June 5, 2021, butter patterns.
Nine years ago today: June 5, 2017, 18% in one year.
Random years ago today: June 5, 2008, hand truck coincidence.
Today is shed day this week. Do a little catching up and see if we can rig up a DVD player. Have you heard of multi-patterning? It’s a technique that addresses the problem of transistors getting so small that they interfere with each other and the wavelengths of light needed to burn the chips is reaching a limit. So what they do is split up the burn pattern, etch half, shift chip plate a micron and burn the other half. It’s more expensive, but not the $400 million a whole new etching machine costs these days.
Today begins the Track Meet Murder Trial. But it is more of a shit-show, yet it reveals that in America, even if you are caught red-handed and confess, still get a trial at taxpayer’s expense. While the system won’t hang a black due to violence, he won’t last long in prison. The sad part is how protesters seem to have unlimited funds to show up and make a scene. I would cut them off welfare. The defense is claiming the killer was protecting himself against “White supremacy”. Let’s see how far he gets with that.
Ghost guns is a relatively new term in the media, but it’s been around to describe guns assembled out of parts that make the weapon untraceable. You can order the parts or the whole kit on-one, though the barrel and hammer are still hardened metal. The media regard these a defensive or dangerous depending on the holders political affiliations. That means it is okay to own one if you are a Democrat. This is what caught my attention.
And here’s an updated factoid: 25% of all Mexicans now live in the USA, and 70% of them are on welfare.
Soviet GAZ-13 Chaika.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
The “laser tower” as an easy project. It is an adjustable tray to compensate for how tall narrow objects can be etched. The focus range of the diode is not much more than two inches. Up to now, I would pile up a tower of books to raise the laser high enough, as books are mighty plentiful around these parts. I whoops deleted the original, so here is the European version showing how the tray can be slid into three positions, each 1-1/2” apart. Let me see, do I have time to be a smart-ass? Yes, I do.
A quick siesta, then I wandered back out to the shed. Is this my lot in life? If so, it sure ain’t bad compared to what’s out there. I overdid things a wee bit but the day was not squandered in front of a TV. That reminds me, I forgot to look for a monitor and I want movies in the shed. June is the sixth month of projected comeback and that shed was one hell of a good investment. If it was not so dusty, I’d put in a coffee maker. My physiology tells me the more hours in the shed, the faster I return. Movies would help.
What is it I can do in my condition? Have a gander at these pics, they show some short-term activities that involve minimal lifting. Mind you, caution that any one of these can tucker me in moments for hours thereafter. Today, I got a half dozen similar items ranging from easy to complex for me. Examples are painting the caps of my empty pill bottles, of which I have great surpluses contemporaneously. Why would anyone bother doing this?
Be aware that the extra stain needed to pretty up these boxes also means they retain the oily aroma much longer.
One unit you may recognize as the laser tower with the tray resting at the central position.. Anything wood painted red or green around here means never cut or throw away. I may paint this all over as it is already proving quite a handy accessory. The other box tells a tale. It is an ordinary box built from scrap over a year ago. What happens is they get used for storage because they pre-date the Z-box design and are thus differing sizes. This box was for storing speaker cables. Then the magic happens.
I find the box is the right dimensions for something else, it gets emptied, and I apply a coat of stain. This color is again, “Golden Pecan” and you may recognize the hardware as a draw pull and window latch. The result turns out almost too fancy for just storing cable. My place is full of such boxes by now, so many I have trouble finding things. Like today, where is my set of metric Allen wrenches? In a box somewhere.
Now grab the bass and run through the new guy’s song list. To the seasoned eye, it is evident he’s never listened to the bass parts. This gives up little leeway for innovation. Enhance that for Hendrix, who had guitarist on bass, which means he never plays the same bass riff twice. These can be amalgamated into a sold bass backing sound with super turnarounds, enough to get the people’s attention. Let me work on it, I have a bag full of “Mozart” turnarounds I’ve lacked the chance to get after.
My torso remains the center of my slow return and today I successfully avoided fatigue despite hours of fairly healthy moving around. More than once, it has the opposite effect on my brain, I get wide awake and stay that way. Using my ancient plan for insomnia, I read something boring. This time, I wanted to finally learn what “stressed skin” was with airplanes. Now I know, there are three general categories. One is where the skin itself is the frame, bearing all the weight and stress, and known as monocoque. At the other extreme, the skin is just the covering, bearing no stress, known as fixed-frame. In between, the skin covers braces and spars to carry part of the structural load, hence, is stressed.
While studying these types of aircraft, I found a 1930s film of a rare place called the DC-2. I looked again, because I believe as a child I traveled in one. I would have been maybe four years old but I remember two airplanes that were the same right beside each other, but one was smaller. I wanted to ride the big plane but mother said our tickets were for the other one. Well, there was only one plane in existence that looked like a smaller DC-3. And I rode in it
Thursday, June 4, 2026
June 4, 2026
One year ago today: June 4, 2025, failure to mention.
Five years ago today: June 4, 2021, a painful substitute.
Nine years ago today: June 4, 2017, seven hours today.
Random years ago today: June 4, 2009, 3,800 miles by bicycle, folks.
See that pic? Some smart aleck posted that on Gab this morning and got 812 hits in 15 minutes. Just like that. How can I do that with my blog? Smart aleck. Good morning, and it was indeed good here after 9-1/2 hours in the sack. Finally, some energy, maybe I’ll rig up an antenna. NPR, the strongest station, has pushed the limits with staff and programs that do not match breakfast time. They have this disgusting show featuring people who have been booted or rejected from long-term friendships. They actually interview the other party. Gag.
Samsung is pulling out of New Jersey, the next in a long list of major companies getting the hell out of high-tax states. As for the1,000 who will lose their jobs and careers, well, they can just keep on voting till they get it right. It’s a good day to get out and build some Fake boxes, hey, let’s be glad I did not choose pottery or floral arranging.
The 1911 automatic Colt pistol used the 45 ACP bullet, so I asked what ACP meant. It isn’t an ammos designation. It means Automatic Cold Pistol. Gee, now I know. And the DC movie showing Superman as a queer has flopped, big time. This is also Killdozer anniversary day, with the MSM still insisting the guy had no legitimate grievances.
The Mars atmosphere satellite launched twelve years ago outlasted its original mission and was used to relay messages from ground probes has gone wonky. Its orbit took it behind Mars, then late last year it re-emerged spinning rapidly and losing power. Another ice shelf is breaking away from Antarctica, stoking the climate change bunch who apparently think this has never happened before.
The creeps in New York have replace the words “mother” and “father” with the terms “gestating” and “non-gestating”. The local Democrats claim the change is needed to “be consistent” with how they now administer case law. Makes sense when you look at their recent behavior.
Here’s an unusual peek at some laboratory gear. These are a step in the process of enriching uranium. The isotopes have slightly different atomic weights which can be painstakingly separate by centrifuges. After than, further processing is done, from what I understand, chemically and magnetically. These tubes are similar to what the Iranians would be using to get the isotope to weapon’s grade, which is reported to be 80% enriched. I know nothing of the exact details.
I do know about drones and weather, and the Ukrainians have to be commended for their novel use of ideas, even old ideas. One is the weather balloon trick, where the Japanese used prevailing winds to drop bombs on the USA. The Ukrainians use them to float suicide drones deep into Russian territory. Pure genius. From five miles up, the range of the drones is immensely extended and they hit St. Petersburg y’day.
And that new drill attachment at cuts threads into plastic pipe. Brilliant. Cuts both male and female threads so the pipes lock together without any type of glue. I'll see if I can capture a video for you, I mean, how many blogs feature bacon and uranium for you?
Andernach, largest German geyser.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Not able to stand inactivity so much, I trotted out to the shed and completed a host of small projects. I put the new tires on the hand truck, the neighbor was so impressed he paid me $40. Appearances count, this is the dolly that somebody had half-repaired, where I used store-bought cotter pins and solid tires. I laid out some materials to build a small wire buffer, something with just the power to polish drawer knobs. Maybe tomorrow, as I looked out the shed window to notice the neighbor barely shuffling along. My brain said three hours was enough today, but I did get four Fake boxes cut. They are under the laser, which is the easiest step done sitting down.
Planning is paramount when this happens, for example, to getto the laser, the wood has to be carried across the yard and into the house. Four boxes at a time is the correct load, but it is too few to make it economical. This picture shows four cut sets of box lumber. The answer is a laser located in the shed but I can’t swing a dead cat in there as it is. Also, the large logo burn takes almost seven minutes which only works for me because I can get computer work done while it’s underway. The best boxes require four logos, one on each face, plus a small “tag” on the bottom plate. Might as well put on the coffee.
It’s like I cannot read of the next libtard screw-up without thinking of my family. Now, New York is going to clamp down on delivery contractors. That is, the drivers must be hired as regular employees. This typifies how out-of-date these bozos are. Amazon, fr’instance, will just pack up and leave, putting 5,000 people out of work. These politicians and their voters cannot see beyond what they can grab for themselves right now.
Two stories to follow for me. One is the track meet murder trial, where TV audiences will be treated to claims of self-defense via really bad acting. And the Nowak stabbing in England which could be the boiling point. Another hot spot is Ireland, where the New IRA have been conducted car bombings targeting police and prison guards. But confined to those known to be harsh on inmates with IRA connections. This is a change of tactics which requires immensely better information and organization—and they are getting better at it. They need only a reason to go after politicians.
9:00PM on the button, I’m hit with fatigue, the kind from the ICU, but this round I know the signs are positive. Loss of appetite and thirst for ginger ale, I’m ready. Rather dry-feeling skin. Mild paralysis in fingertips. Slight aroma of caramel that causes things to taste that way. Not sleepy at night but if I sleep, it’s a good one.
Let me write down some bits about today that prove I’m still my old self. I found some ancient bird food favorites in the freezer, namely old pizza crusts. The cardinals truly like it. The guitar guy left some cables plugged in, expensive XLR models, and a pair of sunglasses. The way I forget things, I texted him so he won’t be looking for them. I read for an hour, did you know cinnamon is an insect repellent? But you have to grind it up and burn it. Some teenager 3D printed a model rocket that varied nozzle thrust, allowing it to hit 20,000 feet at Mach 3.6 but I clicked the wrong key and can’t find the story again.
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
June 3, 2026
One year ago today: June 3, 2025, $56 check-cashing fee.
Five years ago today: June 3, 2021, Ron, the disappearing guitarist.
Nine years ago today: June 3, 2017, twice as thick.
Random years ago today: June 3, 2013, my most-horrible photo.
Today it’s time to build the Fake box jig, or get some work done in that department. I’m motivated, in fact, the opposite. I awoke late with everything, including my coffee, wafting of caramel. I’ve hunted as best I can for a copyright of that “Fake” logo. Nor is it marked, so it is freeware far as I know. And instead, the whole day disappeared on me. I dropped downtown this morning to mail letters and it was game over. Tiredness hit me, hospital grade. I stopped at the Thrift long enough to buy this novelty, a metal “birdhouse” I wanted for decoration.
That’s when fatigue set in, just as fast as you read this. From reasonably active to home again in five minutes, where I slept until 7:00PM. That’s 15 hours out of the past 24. I’m not as healthy as I’d hoped—but overall I’m fine. Trust me, being tired is a minor factor in the past few months.
This wee house was meant to be full of flashing little lights, those LEDs you see everywhere nowadays. They must be robot built, as I remember when each “bulb” had a price tag. If I can, I’ll try to test the assembly later, but normally these consumer items are not reparable by us mere mortals.
Later, I did disassemble the electronics and tested it as not worth repairing. If there is a video, this is misleading, you cannot fix what is shown here, there are tiny soldering leads broken off inside the small plastic casing. All are now in the garbage as entire new units can be bought for a song.
A song. No call from the guitar player today, though I have no reason to think he is not putting in effort. He knows well he needs only to “hang” his guitar work on my bass lines and we can be out there. The going rate is $150 for a duo and I sense he could really use the extra cash. As it stands, this new group is identical to my ancient trio, “Three Good Reasons”. That’s the one with Annie, the elephant poop lady, where everything on that stage except the other guy’s guitar and chord belonged to me. That’s where it stands again today.
Ft. Knox vault door.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
While at the Thrift, I bumped into Wilford. It’s still old Florida so a good spot to check right after the first of the month. I got a lot of my tools there when I first moved to town. Wilford thinks I just need some art lessons to get fancy with the laser etcher. He does have art night and I was almost there last Monday. But the later the hour, the less my odds of having the energy. As for the hour, there is the new and repaired Westclox in my kitchen. Kind of lends a bit of class to what on a yacht would be a big kitchen.
You see, I like Cathy and we get along slightly standoffishly fine, doing great Karaoke duos. She does nothing actually wrong, but she ran the best local pub into the dirt, and she will do it again. Her background is big city clubs and this town cannot be made into a city. We went over the details before and she will do it again at the brewery, grab seven days business all onto her shift.
Then the club becomes not only dependent on her to an unplanned degree, the club can no longer hire local staff because they don’t make any money. This club will take longer because it has a more upscale clientele, moneywise, but it starts all over again. I stress that I am not taking sides, only that I have seen this many times before. Another factor is she calls the entertainment and her husband runs a Karaoke show. My duo will never work there over a vast difference in good old musical philosophy. Cathy does not care a twit if the club develops a following except that it enhances her shift and income. Makes sense.
I know this sound from hearing the Reb sing and I don’t have it. That is, each time I play any new tune with such a passage, I have to relearn the scale for the correct sound. I got lucky, the ascending scale is a third on the bass slightly before or after the guitarist plays a fourth. So that’s how Hendrix did it. Most bassist would play both notes, that is a standard blues walk. It isn’t. All I need now is some time.
My temperature temperature remains pretty constant, today’s reading was 96.6°F again. Nothing, that is, I don’t know what is wrong but that appears to be not it. I invested in an instant reader but will discontinue after the planned ten days, or at least cease recording it here. I am experiencing chills or cold spells which are not verified by these readings.
ADDENDUM
Here is a sad reality for many folks and it is not going away. An item hard hit with Bidenflation is restaurant food. This is part of an ad that’s appeared in local mailboxes this week, running a shock through a lot of people. Meat loaf and burgers priced at what was an expensive fancy meal a couple years ago.
I ignored the card until I heard people gabbing about it. Now I see it, how these ads are calling the $13.99 the new normal for burgers and breakfasts. Sort of, I did gripe myself, how they overcharged for coffee bringing each meal up to $20. Part of the shock is these are not gourmet meals at a swank restaurant. This is a local choke-n-puke, as we used to call upscale burger joints.
My gas budget for Tennessee next trip is $380 and we are not 35 miles away from the Thai sushi place that had become a favorite. It was not unusual for to spend $60 taking the Reb out, but that was an altogether different dining experience than grabbing a sandwich downtown at noon. The good news is by late next month (July) I will have begun investing again. It’s a long story.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)