I did laboring today, that’s a change. The downside is that it is not the type of labor I like, and yes, I do like some of it. I like the one where you give me a task and go away, not the kind where you stand there, urging me on to work ever faster. It was not like that, but the point is that some people need everything done with a sense of urgency, which can be much the same thing. What makes it interesting enough to mention is that I was moving wigs, around 200 of them.
The wigs of ages. I mean, that is my guess from the style of printing on the boxes. A month ago I did not know you could bring your wig in for a haircut and shampoo. The plan for today was to make room for other things, which is not easy because the shop is already filled up. While another nook can be found for anything, it is worse than treading water because each move makes something else less accessible.
I did a couple of minor people-finder moves on the Internet, checking my own files for verification. Sure enough, every place I have ever had a telephone is listed on the Internet, mind you with the fake information I was wise enough to provide at that time. You are dumb if you think it is okay to spread such information around any more, so I won’t waste my time giving you examples to the otherwise. My point is that at no time did the phone company clearly state they would give out this information, I believed it was only to be used to hook up a phone.There is group that does covers in Ft. Lauderdale advertising for a bassist. I sent for their song list, but I can already tell they play a whole lot of 1980s and 1990s techno-rock ballads and such. Nothing I would enjoy or recognize. Still, they are a working band according to the ad. If the list is tolerable, I’ll take my chances because I know how little really gets done with “originals”. I can’t even recall the name of the last band I played in that did those.
Later in the day, I had my first real brush with iPod. Don’t misunderstand, I’ve been using MP3s since day one (I never could figure out why they designed a CD that would hold only the same amount of music as an old LP). Nor is it physically possible to listen to 15,000 songs in a lifetime. I was also reminded why it is practically impossible for most adults to learn anything from a teenager, but that is another story.
iPod has attempted to automate the process so that even a dummy can operate the system. While this is going on, the user loses the ability to understand what is happening or communicate it in words. iPod has that ridiculous “playlist” feature, but it seems a lot easier to use than the MS counterpart. There is a library, which is a master list of all the tunes, from which each user creates their own individual playlist.
Myself, I care not for that system. Each user should be in their own file or folder and not even have access or knowledge of the complete library unless designated to do so. Also, playlists allow changes to be made to the titling and other data fields, and in fact they encourage these changes. Anybody who has had to go looking for a file with two names can appreciate my reluctance to use playlists even when they are present.
This was a typical computer lesson, in that each part often surprises adults who tend to blend activities together in streams toward a goal. The intention was to show an adult how to use Limewire. In no time at all, it was discovered the adult did not know how to search, download, install, locate, move, modify, copy or burn files. If this had not been a regular client, all of those aspects would represent a different and expensive lesson. In some cases, they are unsure of what a file is or how files relate to music on a computer. Most of them do not even know to ask because they have no idea about the different steps involved. They are not a stream of events, they are individual tasks that must be individually mastered.
Wallace emailed to say he scotched the idea of taking a $4,000 cruise through Panama. He has asked about the distances to Ft. Lauderdale (14 miles to downtown from here) but I’m certain he’ll quickly get over wanting to go there. Except for the beach, there is nothing to do in that town. Same as here, but why pay the higher prices. It’s not like anything is classy up there, unless you consider eating overpriced food to be some kind of worthwhile experience.
The city council up there is having a big discussion about putting parking meters along the last stretch of beach with free parking. It is so boringly average, the arguments that support the meters. The usual tired ignorance that all other places charge, that the city needs the revenue, that the locals don’t use it. Dumb beyond belief, are they too dense to figure out that they will be chasing away people who would otherwise never go there?
Worse in my eyes is the fact that only an Englishman cannot stand to leave something alone, constantly seeking ways to gouge others for money to put in a pool. Englishmen love placing money into collective pools, where it becomes up for grabs for those with the biggest sob stories, who invariably are other Englishmen. Pretty soon their entire economy is based on people keeping tabs on each other’s “ability to pay” and the days of Empire are over.
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