These are side-by-side photos of the original 50cc scooter and the 150cc. I was about to trade the Taurus across for the 50cc when I learned about the $275 licensing fee. The two machines are only superficially alike. The 50cc on the left is a bit of a toy, the 150cc on the right is a real vehicle that I would drive the 33 miles to JPs for a visit. The 50cc units have trouble climbing the drawbridge ramps with two passengers.
How long has it been since I dug out my warm clothing? Fishing through my old jacket, I see I bought $17.00 worth of premium in Burlington, CO on June 24, 1999. Another $20.00 of super at Junction City, KS at 10:09 AM next day and took out $40.00 cash in O’Fallon, MO at 4:00 the same afternoon. I was really traveling. I have no recollection of those towns. The only place I remember in Kansas is Salinas because their water tower once made this blog.Another long session on the Internet shows that plenty of mobile homes are for sale in this area, and prices are dropping. One of the few things keeping sales low is the generally higher pad rental (usually $466.00 monthly) in the areas along Federal, Hollywood, and Hallandale. As stated, prices are dropping so I have nothing to lose playing the little waiting game around here, but the shoe is on the other foot now.
Anybody who’s received an unemployment check will tell you the first one is spent before you get it. Knowing this five years ago I began “practicing my retirement”, so my routines are already beginning to return to normal. The new scooter, I’ve talked to Jag, and been in contact with Big Al. Jag and I are slated to jam with Ray-B the next time he is at the Walkabout, possibly as soon as next Saturday. Let me dig out Ray-B’s song list and sharpen up.
Ray-B is an interesting musician, in that he has not quite finished paying his dues and he knows that. When he does, he will instantly team up with a bassist like me and we’ll do great. Most guitar music tends to emphasize that instrument as solo. Unless you’ve spent as much time with classic bass lines as I have, they can sound “funny” and I am not surprised when Ray-B says that. I’m betting he’ll catch on to it a lot faster than certain other people who think a bassist who wants to share the stage is hogging.
[Author's note 2015-11-18: just my luck, as Ray-B and I approach the point of putting a duo to the test, his situation changes so that he has to go out and play solo.]
Two more “free” video players that fail are FoxTab FLV Player and RealPlayer which say they are installs but require an Internet connection. Pieces of junk, what, am I supposed to lug my computer tower up to the library? Speaking of unreasonable, I’ve received numerous reports that people being stopped by the police are now being asked for their e-mail addresses. Spooky. When I find an honest player source, I’ll put in one of the rare links in this blog. I was looking at an Arduino operating a remote web cam. I have the video, but can’t watch it.
Bingo was another success, keeping in perspective that the average take is only half what it was a year ago when tourists were evident in the audiences. Florida is full of people looking for a job rather than people looking to make money and that creates their own little hell. Sucky newspaper articles on their plight don’t help for these people did not heed the warning signs. Most are getting what they asked for and I’ll bet they still sit around watching talk shows instead of learning a new trade. Ninety percent of what I do on a computer didn’t exist five years ago. Some would say I’m “playing” on the thing all day long and who knows, maybe I’ll pass by them when I go out for a fancy restaurant breakfast in about a half-hour. At the bus stop, I mean.
I’ve acquired an 1100 page book called the “All New Joy of Cooking”, and it is pre-empting my other reading. This book is extremely well written. I have the $119 hardcover version, with silk ribbon. It is the more appealing to read as it goes into the background and processing of food, including what happens to it before you buy it “fresh”. If I can’t cook fish, maybe I can cook fish cakes where most of the ingredients aren’t fish?
All eyes are on next Wednesday, December 1, 2010. My first “pension” budget kicks in. If all goes well, I have a tentative plan to make an inaugural trip on the scooter shortly after that, maybe around the lake. I believe that trip (120 miles) will only cost $8 including stopping in town for a hot dog around noon. The entire route there and back can be done without using any freeways by taking Federal up to Lake Worth on the first leg. A whole day trip, sunup to sundown. A trip like this takes a motor scooter, a few dollars, and an open mind. I’ve got the motor scooter.
ADDENDUM
[Author's note 2015-11-28: below is the section of material I lost track of when I needed it, that is, when JZ and I began attending auctions. What I had noticed is that when the properties actually sold for the reserve bid of $100, it was because nobody was at the auction. I was to learn later that the bank agent at the auction is considered a "nobody". He is there to discourage others from bidding. If you show up, he is authorized to bid against you up to what the bank originally wanted for the house. Auction, my eye.]
Sunday addendum: look back far enough and you will see me following local real estate since it has been put on Internet auction. For the seventh time I am aware that a single family dwelling in this vicinity sold for $100. Look nearby for documentation, but you can take my word for it. I’ve been aware of these sales, but had no way to investigate the locations. Today I rode my bicycle eleven miles to check out this property. Soon, I want the scooter.
This building sold for the said $100. It has 1,090 square feet and is in a fairly nice part of town, a few blocks west of Federal. It isn't the fanciest house on the street, but as long as it isn't haunted or underwater, I'll buy it in Dania. (Careful, I did not say Dania, but Dania Beach.) I've watched these market from a position where buying was hopeless, but I've also been waiting for my turn. There are probably a bunch of Catch-22s to buying these properties and my task it to find out what they are. If you must look it up, the address of the $100 house is 265 SW 6th Street, Dania Beach, Florida.Temp: 76.5 Press: 30.01. Humid: 100 (It happens here.) I may cease these measurements as I’ve figured out how to do the conversions in the Arduino. On the other it has been curious to match the spot readings to those given on the radio with a 10% difference.
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