I was further behind by this evening than when I started the day. The only picture of interest is, well, it is a picture of a coffee-maker I disassembled a couple of months ago. My, these are exciting times, and you, too, may feel that way after reading the rest of today’s fare.
I couldn't find the real picture, so here is a picture of a whistle. Looks like a toy, but a tiny puff and it sounds like a train whistle. Loud or what!First, I got underway early to make it to Bal Harbour when that cancelled out. Never mind the details, but one of the reasons I dislike franchises is the level of control from headquarters too often approaches interference. Thus, when Ruth asks questions about such an arrangement, I can only give generic advice, the strongest of which is to stay away from franchises unless you really have no other choice. The last people I know who acquired one were out a quarter-million before they started. Few of us can manage that.
I advised to watch for more mundane parts like making sure you get a royalty on th profits and that your product is exclusive to the premises, things like that. I rode into the shop, where the first item was that Fred only recalls me giving him $260, not the $360 I handed him. I counted it right in front of him but as usual we were probably both gabbing away about other matters at the time.
Steve the cancer guy was in, he spent a week in the hospital. I found out that when you receive food stamps, you must renew your paperwork every six months. He sold me a five disk DVD player for the same price I was going after a single unit. Looks brand new but I had no way to get it home on my bike.
I’m making headway with the Linux operating system but have not had the serious hours needed to get right into it. I went next door to see what the lady wanted with her scanner, and fixed it. When I asked to get paid, she “remembered” that she had paid in full. Well, she did, but I was not going to argue. She paid for the repair of the computer only. When I came over and hooked it up, that is $40 extra right there, just to plug it in and turn it on. She obviously thinks until it is 100% restored to working on the network, the job was not finished, she implied that I had missed my “commitment” to return and finish as if getting all the printers and faxes back working was part of the repair job. We’ll see about that the next time she needs help, and she’ll find out I’m pretty good at remembering things myself. When it is in my favor to do so.
JZ called and I mentioned his registration papers for this place just went to Tallahassee this morning. Now my best buddy could evict me if he felt like it. My fridge, the one Fred gave me, has died. The walls get super hot to the touch and the ice cubes melt. JZ is planning to head out here on Saturday when we plan to bike over to the Taj Mahal, my nickname for Gulfstream Park. That, and the Greyhound track, are so packed with cars these days, there has got to be some vice taking place. His dad is keeping his fridge so it looks like I’ll have to spring for a good used model.
You see, JZ likes small fridges where I can’t stand them. I suppose they remind me of my destitute younger days. That is just a maybe. I like a big fridge that holds $150 worth of groceries. I also keep things like breakfast cereal in there because there is always vermin near salt water. Speaking of that, there is either a midget rat or a mouse on steroids got in behind my kitchen counter. The way they build things here it is impossible to keep all the pests out. I removed all sources of food hoping he’d go away but no luck. Tomorrow I’ll trap him. What next?
Oh yeah, Dickens called. He is dabbling with eBay, and I think it is an excellent plan for that back area of his store. Did I already talk about that? Yes, I did. A big part of my support is that he keeps control over what happens there, not something that would work if you outright sublet the space. I wonder what was there before, since there are three shower stalls. One complete room would be required just for the packing materials.
There has to be some good news today. Ah, how about biking? Where two miles used to be an effort, I now don’t even think about heading on a seven or eight mile round trip. When going downtown, I can now report that it is faster to ride the bike than to drive, however let me qualify that. Where I can bike door to door, you must add in the time it takes to park your car and walk to the entrance plus the other attendant parts of driving. That time is not free. Get a bike.
Remember Ringo Starr’s big hit, “Act Naturally”? I customized a bass line for it this morning. Got a video of me playing it that is a good demo of how a bass is properly played, that is, not like a guitar. I watched the video and instantly saw that I’ve become the image of a man I saw once thirty-seven years ago. I was dating a gal called Beverly “Angelface” Gillingham. We had gone to see a nothing band that once had an obscure hit. The band was called “Painter”, typical of the pseudo-psychadelic (how’s that for alliteration) group names back then.
I had, as much as five years earlier, taken a dislike to bass players who used their fingertips to play. I found it tended to muffle the sound. I know that is not true any more but that is what I thought. Also, I have always felt bass was a single-note instrument and did not like the sounds created by fluttering fingers. The band got on stage and the bass player looked like some 55 year old biker quite out of place and twice the age of the other musicians. The bass looked like a toy on him, he looked almost bored or distracted, but let me tell you when he began to play, that was something else.
I recall wishing all the people who thought fingerbass was the only way to go were there. Ha, this guy used a pick and they played Funk #49. Back then I never saw myself as playing any strings, but when I saw my video it was like watching that guy all over again. I doubt there is any link over the years. There are only so many ways to move around on stage but the degree of similarity was striking, I could easily but falsely claim I was copying him. I thought he stole the show but nobody else paid any attention.
Leo from Ft. Lauderdale. A research chemist. His lab is set up to study oil, as is petrochemicals. He has two computers and wanted to share a printer. More new information: Belkin switches do not work with multi-function printers. I tried everything until finally calling their tech support. When they told me that, I replied I hoped they were kidding, as I had just uninstalled the printer drivers. They weren’t. The best they could do is tell me that their web page carried a warning. Great, providing everybody who buys Belkin has Internet access and is inclined to look such things up.
He needs a small network. I’ll plan it out and see what Fred has to say. I had to leave him without a printer. Thank HP for that. The install is so difficult and slow that I gave up after 45 minutes when Leo had to lock up and go home.
Last, I looked up some of the tunes that Brian knows. At least one of them to be sure is so obscure that there is no MP3 of it on Limewire. It is called “Crazy Heart” by Hank Williams. I found the lyrics but no music. Now I’m home and I’m tired.Now, to those of you sensible enough to keep reading because you know I would not leave you with just picture of a broken coffee pot, yes, I do have something totally novel. If you’ve seen this before, then you get around more than I do so congratulations. This, folks, is a duct tape wallet. I did kind of sneak up on it and take a really good look. Actually, it is not really duct tape, just a tough plastic hide made to resemble it, but who’s to know? It retails from Northern Tools for $6.00.
Who said that South Florida would never make a fashion statement?
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