Yep, Mike is gone from the shop and it is going to be tough till we get a replacement. I was in all day to complete some extra anti-virus work as the heat is keeping customers away. Even in the A/C, I have to stay in front of a large portable fan as my section of the shop faces south into the sunlight.Anti-virus work means a lot of sitting round and waiting. So I looked up one of those things that is very hard to look up because nobody knows what they are called. Have you ever seen those wire frames that the metal balls run down in different patterns? You know what I mean. A ball starts rolling down the track and the next ball follows a different route, all cascading down to the bottom.
They are called “rolling ball sculptures”. Great to watch, but they are damn noisy. I found today’s trivia so it was worth the look. Okay, the trivia. What is the difference between brazing and soldering? The basic principles are the same. Brazing is stronger and looks better, but the difference is the temperature. Brazing is 854 F degrees and above, anything below is soldering.
Bingo was another success, the system is now refined so that a smaller crowd of solid players still brings in the money. Two weeks ago, a stranger came in and won 60% of the money herself. Tonight, two husband-wife teams bingo’d on the same number thus splitting the pot with themselves. It has become routine for me, but it consistently pays more than playing music at that location on a Saturday. Of course, should another location come along . . . .
One of my students called about an assignment from BCC (Broward Community College), and she brought back memories of my school days. Sure, when I was 17, the ways of the campus were unquestioned, but when I returned years later, the scams were evident. Scams at a college, you say? Try these. How about the professor that writes his own books, then changes the questions at the back of the chapter each semester so you cannot buy or sell a used text? (Each student had to buy a new $80 text from him every semester.)
Or the professor that only accepts assignments on software that match the latest versions that she gets for free. Or the 101 instructor that assigns 60 hours of reading material the first week, as if his entry-level course is the most important thing in your life. Or the course that has 5 expensive textbooks of which you use only a couple of chapters from each. Let me tell you about corrupt colleges, my friends. And they all seem to be the same.
As mild custom has become, I stopped to see Laura’s show at Buddy’s place. Dumb luck is fickle and for some reason, that joint gets packed on Saturdays. And there can be no doubt now, I plain like to sing. And I’m getting the required feedback from compliments, particularly the ladies. I must knuckle down and start experimenting with what I can sing, kind of find what music is best for me. Then learn to like that music. Please, don’t let it be jazz.
Bumping into Eddie, he is going to buy some contraption that corrects singing to match guitar chords. Seems to me they had these things twenty years ago, though he assures me this is different. He is also buying some powered speakers, another item I have been looking at closely (see blogs on Bose and Fisher). He’s also offered to buy the drum box and I can pay him back over the next two months. This is against my better judgment but I may have no choice. I’m wasting prime unemployed time over that lousy $100. I could be programming eight hours on some days.
Today I rate as nearly perfect from a viewpoint of say, myself living in Washington. I rode my bike ten miles, worked on a computer for a few hours, played music, sang some Karaoke, made a few bucks, and came home to macaroni salad I made y’day. I usually don’t say, but I met an excellent lady via the music show, and the evening weather made up for the day. It don’t get much better.
I suspect tomorrow, I’ll hang around the bookstore. You know, grouse about how the women there are so standoffish. Drink the bad coffee, have the $2 cookie, hog a table and never buy anything else. Sounds like fun to me.
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