My scooter is a piece of junk, shown here with the hood removed. There are many like her, but this one is mine. Those front lenses scooter were so yellow, they were worse than no lenses at all. So I lost them. Underneath were some ordinary round parabolic cavities which reminded me of trailer lens caps I’ve seen at AutoZone. In fact, that’s what I’m going up there soon to see about. You may note the tradeoff, that although the original covers were aerodynamic, the scooter is so economical I’ll take the less efficient option.
By now I can practically endorse “Cold Ridge” as better written than anything by Patterson or Kellerman. The writing is superior and more talented, the plot more consistent and believable. Also more intelligent. It is heavily worked on, not churned out of the mill. But it does not have the same mass appeal for it doesn’t spell it out for the masses. The one annoying aspect is the heroine, though not divorced, has far too many divorce-like notions. Everything about the author screams run, don’t walk, for the nearest exit.The heroine views the man who didn’t marry her as necessarily a weakling rather than somebody who decided late in the game she was not the one. Divorcees never question they aren’t a real catch for the “right man”. Plus, she has that emotionally fatal and rooted concept that is ubiquitous to older unmarried women: they don’t consider sex a given. It is only free until the man makes a commitment, instantly sex becomes a bargaining chip, a commodity to be withheld for ransom. Like it was a library card or something.
I’ve not neglected my study of electronics, or to be more exact, the basics of robotics. My goals were not defined but I certainly know a lot more on the subject now. It would appear I correctly guessed the connection between analog and digital, nevertheless it would have been kinder if anybody had simply once said it. Where analog uses resistors and capacitors to control circuits, digital uses a rapidly flashing on and off signal called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). If the signal is on 50% of the time, the light bulb appears half bright.
Don’t worry, you can’t see it flash. Think of it this way, the light bulbs you already use are flashing off and on 60 times per second and you don’t notice. Anyway, this PWM lets a digital signal manipulate analog devices like motors and sensors. That is the small part of the topic now in my mental spotlight. If nothing else, my concept of what to do is considerably more refined. I get a sensor to sense something, feed it into the computer, process it and have the computer get a motor to move something. Robotics. This learning has consumed half my bingo income since mid-December, a real bargain.
Another rehearsal tonight with Staci. I’m concerned to a point, for instance, I always cause an intentional delay between first and second practice. This ensures the other party isn’t riding on enthusiasm. We all know about enthusiastic first practices. She remains eager but that was the only major positive sign. I allow for the fact she didn’t know if I would ever call back, but she was not prepared with the lyrics as I’d expected.
Staci seems as totally disorganized as other married people. This, however, is a musical situation which requires efficient concentration of effort. I spent several hours creating that disk of all lyrics, chords and MP3s, not meant to be co-mingled with 300 sheets of other stuff lying around. Still, I allow for the human factor. It turns out she does not have a PA system, not a good indicator.
I’m noting these things for the record, as a manager I know starting a band is misleadingly easy. Especially for people who have walked into a working situation after all the hard work was done. They remember it forever and don’t understand all the fuss, to this day my brother things forming a band is easy because he joined my old one. Yet, Staci remained positive throughout the incubation period and I’ll be alert for how long that endures. She’s got a ton of work to do. She has no idea of the struggle of putting a band together, she has that unrefined attitude that all the singer has to do is sing..
I had forgotten my splitter, the pigtail that allows me to connect two instruments to my single input portable amp. What a dumb design, it has one input, but a headphone jack. Duh, build an amp and then design it to be listed to quietly. (Definitely guitar-think.) Tomorrow I convert the headphone jack into a second input. Maybe forgetting was a blessing, as I introduced Staci to playing tambourine on the backbeat. Some people never grasp the concept but the smile was upon her, that moment of revelation.
The look on her face was unmistakable, I know it well. It’s the “why didn’t somebody come along twenty years ago and tell me” mug. While I’m not sure a trio would work, I’ve talked to Jag about doing the rhythm section thing and he’s interested. As soon as Staci gets the backbeat in subliminal mode, we play out, ready or not. (In the end, she was never ready, just not a serious musician. Always taking the easy way out.)
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