I got early just to watch the solstice. Then I managed to drive non-stop at full speed all the way to JZ’s. That is how non-existent the freeway traffic has become. This busy picture shows the unlikely combination of house cat and chain saw. JZ lent me this electric model and of course, Pudding-Tat has to check everything out. That look on her face is not concern about becoming dinner, but because I had just slammed the gate.
JZ and I went for breakfast at Deli Lane, my treat. Even though he has a corner unit, his condo cannot disguise the aroma when he smokes in there. It is airing out for the day. ; We walked from the restaurant over to Sunset Place and spent an hour in the bookstore. It is back up to 80 degrees and we had to get out of that heat. So did a lot of scantily-clad women. JZ developed an instant interest in cookbooks. [Author's note 2016: I should have kept that chain saw. We'd still have it today. But like a fool, I returned it even though JZ said he only used it once every five years.]
We were looking for a book on carpentry stuff. No luck. I told you how these stores are confining shelf space to only what sells rather than a good selection. JP also remembers that line of one-third size power tools from years back, but not the brand name. From there we went over to his dad’s place to set up the Xmas tables for the feast. They have this monster flat screen TV so nice that I actually watched part of a football game.
That’s when he remembered he had a chain saw. We drove back to Tamara’s place (his sister) and picked it up. On the way he was mentioning property taxes. The locality around south Miami is a horror story. It seems a resolution got passed to base the tax on the most recent sale rather than the appraised property value. The result is houses that cannot be sold at any price because the taxes are too high. The annual tax on a house like his father’s is $28,000.
We passed that mansion on 42nd where that guy who lost $70 million last month blew his brains out. I say it was leveraging that caused it, not the loss itself. There you have it, if the stock market doesn’t get you, the property taxes will. By contrast, my biggest problem of the day was the way JP packs Xmas decorations. It takes too long to untangle them.
On return I cut down the tree stumps to ground level. Did I say how the previous owner cut them to shin height and left the stumps? So in the dark you can bash into them. I fixed that now, and pulled the wagon back across the property line to make the neighbor happy. Now that it is easy to get through there, time to go over to the casino and see of any single lady wants to rent the back room. The system at the casino is strange, for although we are within shouting distance, when the rear gate is closed it takes three-quarters of a mile to get there. Farther than the greyhounds have to run.
Another topic I could find any documents on is wireless printers. I got one to work, yet I don’t know how. In this case an HP [Hewlett-Packard] 7780. It shares the printer (but not the fax or scan, duh). These wireless printers are meant to operate off your wireless router, which you normally keep on all the time. This frees up the computer you may have been using as a print server. Yet it is far from plug and play. In the end, it required 16 hours plus a $45 call to HP support, who eventually created a new “virtual port”. It takes HP to maintain that such a process is user friendly.
Why can’t I find any literature on wireless printers? Could be because I’ve been looking mainly on the Internet. Trying to find information on the Internet is like trying to find free you-know-what in a house of you-know-what. Like Amazon, their job is to turn your request for info into a sales pitch. “Oh, you want to buy a book about wireless printers?” (I do?) (Do I?) And direct you to a sales associate. How long before those jerks become “information counselors”?
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