A mystery solved, always a good way to start. It took that “second pair of eyes”, if only in context. This is the bike tire that would only go flat when nobody was looking and that is actually a valid observation, gang. I’ll explain. An inflated tire cannot go flat unless the air leaks out so therefore, leaking air should be detectable when immersed in liquid. This tube did not cooperate. Cooperate is a police word meaning you confess under pressure to some wrong-doing.
You inflate the tire to 40 psi and ride for an hour, the tire stays full. Park the bike, same thing. Walk away and return, it is flat. Here is the explanation. When you get on the bike, the pressure is higher. When you ride, the air inside the tube heats up. Thus, when you are riding and have just stopped, the pressure inside is over 40 psi. Suppose there is a little road grit inside the tire and the tube, and it wears a tiny hole. Just big enough to leak unless there is any extra pressure forcing the tube against the tire to seal the hole. So this time, I went in to the shop and had Fred watch. It leaked.
As Yoda might put it, happy enough was I. This got me to ride around, where I snapped this irrelevant picture of a metal culvert. You see, the wig lady has figured out to call me at the office for help with more of her deadlines. Today she needed an Internet search for dog mannequins. That is correct, these stuffed toys are needed in various small sizes to hold the wig steady while it is being designed. I take this to mean that real dogs won’t stand still enough when you stick pins through their foreheads.
As usual, it was yet another last minute scramble, she needs the toys by Monday. I could not find anyone who would promise that on a Friday afternoon, so I gave them her number. Else, she would expect me to keep going until I got it done for her. Although I could, I have to wean her from relying on me to conduct her business. I could not get some of my own work done. She also has that Theory X style of thinking people always take longer to do things than necessary.
So I got over to Granny Barbara’s for a lesson a half-hour late. We went completely over the process of logging on to email and sending messages. She has noticed I do not wait for people to catch up so she has done some homework. One extra that impressed her was my non-intimidating way of reminding people of their grade six and seven literature classes. She is easy to teach and often has to smile at my reminders because she finally sees why it was important. I know that until I began to write every day, and several years after, I never knew the significance of literature class, either. Next lesson is scheduled for Monday. She left me a $5.00 tip.
Dickens called to say the AC has been fixed. It was a burned out switch, maybe $200 parts and labor, but it put us out of business for nearly a week. We are on for Sunday. Hey, it pays my rent at the store. I took the evening off and went over to Borders to read for free, er, I mean, to pre-evaluated book purchases. There were a few good-looking gals in there but also twenty guys on the lookout. This causes the women to not dare make even a sideways glance or the wolves will pounce. There was one who watched me study for a few moments, but why should she bother? I was outnumbered.
Do not get the impression I merrily tour around South Florida on my bicycle. The sidewalks here are in terrible shape, even if they were not regularly blocked by wrongly parked vehicles. The roads are smoother, but never smooth for long stretches and far more dangerous. County road repairs are so bad it is no joking matter. Every ride means you must be on the constant lookout for obstacles, potholes and simply things that cause a bone-jarring bump every minute or so. I’ve got quite a collection of pictures of sidewalks that go nowhere.
What? I didn’t mention that? Too bad, and besides, there are too many pictures to print here anyway. These are strange Florida sidewalks that go for say, two houses in the middle of a block only. Or run right into bushes or a brick wall and stop. Yet there are brand new sidewalks in places nobody ever walks, like to the east of 203rd Street and Federal Hwy. Even sidewalks that go for twenty feet, stop for twenty, and start again for another twenty.
Here is a sample. This is not a sidewalk under repair. This is on the north side of Hollywood Blvd, the major artery through town. See how the sidewalk just stops for no reason, and yes, that is a good eight inch drop you can just detect at the end, enough to rattle your fillings loose. No, there is nothing on the other side of the street. Not easy to see is how it picks up again in the distance, but staggered a yard over to the left. This is not unusual in Florida. Same with bike paths, now that I notice them. It will go for two or three blocks and stop. No, not turn into something else, just stop.
I spent several hours going over CSS books to find the wraparound problem [with the business card web page]. It figures that not one edition, not even the ones that purport to address Quirk mode, even mention anything like this situation. Quirk mode is slang for browser default behavior when they don’t correctly execute a command. Authors love to say the browser does not “support” a command, but that is because the majority of them are geeks. You see, geeks would not know that support is what a bra does for breasts, know what I’m saying?
I’m back home with an incredible craving for chocolate. That is another flavor you can’t get. While you can buy artificially flavored chocolate, you cannot buy artificial chocolate flavoring. At least I’ve never seen it. I’ve got a mug of Postum and that will have to do. I received a chain letter saying I would be visited by wealth if I sent it and poverty if I did not. I was too busy to dwell on either consequence. What, with dog wigs and such.
