Some say it is impossible to find intelligent people to do security work. Shows you what they know, if it paid right I’d do it. As far as finding smart people, it is easy. All smart people have a higher than normal concentration of zinc and copper in their hair, something no stupid person has. That well-suppressed fact may have to pass for today’s trivia.Because I’ve got some music news. The gig at the beach went amazingly well. The musicianship was roughly the same all around as ever, but for some reason this time the band followed the tried and tested rules most of the four hours. I can’t list those rules in entirety, but the major differences were playing to the audience instead of at them (in fact I was able to again get tips out passers-by), sticking to an agreed-upon song list (some still seem to find that difficult) and the whole band playing most of the time.
Let me qualify that last phrase. Most of the band did not play the whole time, other than the Hippie, I was the only one, but at least the other members were generally on stage or nearby. Wandering off is still beyond what I would personally allow, but then, I’d group the saxophone solos together a lot more. Due to the pre-determined song list, I was able to innovate a little better to tunes with weak or unknown bass lines. Like most bass players, I find it hard to be expressive with material only played every other six months.
By far, the greatest change was the presentation of country music. I remind the reader I am not a country music fan, but I am a fan of keeping the crowd happy. The two tunes that got them going were “Can’t You See” and “Folsom Prison” (neither of which are strictly country music, but have a strong country appeal). Next in popularity was “Sweet Home Alabama”. I know that I’ll be accused of favoring country, yet the fact is if things go much further, my fellow musicians are going to find themselves firmly in my camp. I took dead aim on forming a local country band many months ago.
To wrap up, there has been a surge of call-outs this month and these represent my primary source of income. While total revenues are still half what they were two years ago, I am more than happy these calls are coming in. But don’t jump for joy yet, because I have not yet received money that is expected and that represents a lot of eggs in one basket. Also, even if my income doubles again, it will still require close to a year to set right the logistics and deficiencies created by the previous four years. In the end, it turns out every last paper or document had to be filled out and my lawyer had to do everything the hard way.
Speaking of lawyer’s, the recommended crowd did nothing for me. As soon as they heard “pro bono”, they scattered. What? A misunderstood term? Allow me. Pro bono is a type of free charity work lawyers are expected to perform in the community each year. I believe it is hours they have to track and report in. So I would have concluded that something nice and easy like a patent would be desirable, if not ideal. Instead, I finally asked a customer whose business card said “attorney” to look into it, he’ll get back to me. I can’t figure those other lawyers, since I told them if the patent succeeded, I would pony up their entire regular fee.
If I might misquote Cervantes, “It is one thing to praise intelligence, and quite another to submit to it.”
