See the wonderful Jimbos buffet, more about that in a moment. First a surprise (for me). A movie has scooped my title. Planet 104, or was it 107. I didn’t catch the whole story, but there is a coincidental movie with almost my exact choice of title. How close is it in plot? I would consider it nothing more than another case of parallelism. And that event, simultaneous discovery or invention, can be pretty amazing. The point is, I described the title here months before I heard of their title, on the other hand, movies take much longer than that to create, so I recognize they were first.
But I’ll bet their choice of planet inhabitants will depart from mine. For instance, I doubt they would understand a planet of soccer moms who can’t drive, another of stupid jocks who patronize strip clubs, or a planet where only genetically natural blonde people are allowed. These are not consequential categories to most movie-goers, and the categories probably insult people stupid enough to think they aren’t categorizable. Taking the year-end results as my starting point, I’ll have fewer resolutions than tough decisions next year. I have decisively shown I have nothing to fear from retirement (and that most others do but don’t know it). One item that glares out is my “yob”, where small problems, for lack of big ones, are beginning to show. Mainly, despite a very clear initial understanding, the owner still wants an apprentice, not a helper. He wants someone to learn the trade and take over the business. That person is not me.
However, if that situation still exists after six months, it is not going to change. I had better start looking around just in case. My needs are undemanding, I am not looking for a real job, but rather something that pays for what I already do. Hey, I don’t watch much TV so that is not as restrictive as it sounds. Besides the pundits are announcing the recession is over, especially the pundits who have jobs announcing things.
New Year’s Eve. I stopped at Jimbos after work, then was home sound asleep by 9-ish, like a good kid. The club had a great buffet and larger than usual turnout, which I notice always happens at the psychological end of each decade. As a musician, I don’t have the same perspective on New Year’s Eve unless I am working, so I didn’t miss anything except having a gig. However, I am very disappointed. I’ve missed eight of the last ten years (not always my fault, mind you) and I particularly promised myself I’d have one today. Dare I state next year will be different?
I already have a callout, I need the money even if it means giving up New Year’s Day. It’s my buddy, Lance, who has the franchise for those rubber paving bricks, and who tips me those imported bottles of wine. During all those years I was a volunteer at the wine festival, I discovered that taste must be acquired, it cannot be learned. I met too many phonies who took a “wine appreciation” course to pretend they were classy. That’s why I don’t consider anyone a wine taster unless their parents and grandparents were likewise.
He will get me some samples for the shop. I am curious about whether they don’t rattle like concrete paving bricks (when you drive over them). Plus I think the Ft. Lauderdale airport should be using them. Makes for a softer landing. I’m only kidding, runway paving is an advanced study in itself; one of the richest men I knew made his money patching them.
How about some trivia? Yeah, the crowd yells. Okay, did you know that John Lennon, my hero, was legally blind without his glasses? The first domain name ever registered was “symbolics.com”. And for those who like numbers in their trivia, here is the exact wording of Roosevelt confiscating private property (in case you think the government would never do such a thing):
“All persons are hereby required to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, to a Federal Reserve Bank or a branch or agency thereof or to any member bank of the Federal Reserve System all gold coin, gold bullion and gold certificates now owned by them.”
I believe it was Voltaire who said when you make 10,000 regulations you destroy respect for the law. Only one person in five who had gold obeyed this stupid law. However, the government got the value anyway by removing the gold backing of paper money, then set at $35 per ounce. By 1972 the government went off the gold standard entirely, and the dollar has sunk to a value of around ten cents since then. Those who were around in 1972 will testify everything today “costs” ten times as much. How about that?
[Author's note 2015-12-31: the government did not confiscate the gold. It paid the redeemers the value of the gold in cash, that is, in paper money. They government knew the value of that paper was about to collapse. So, all you conspiracy theorists who say the government confiscated the gold are wrong. What a horrible thing to say about politicians. Heck no, they merely stole it.]
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