FMS. This is the bond investing place that saved my skin for year after year. I invested regularly while I was working in tax-free munis (municipal bonds) and when I was unable to work, I lived off these bonds for nearly six years. I’d forgotten where their office was when I passed it on the scooter this week. I chose this broker because of the name, FMS. That’s the department I worked for at the phone company for six years. Facilities Management Service, or affectionately, “Effin’ Mess”.
A late evening investigating transistors again. I was interested in the most common configurations used by real industry. This led me to the discussion of relays, something I don’t yet own even as spare parts. But two months ago I did arrive at an important conclusion without being told. Both the load current and the transistor base current must be connected to a common ground. If you don’t know what those terms mean, it is easy to figure out. I had noticed this requirement when switching LEDs and thought it was a quirk, not a requirement.I’m also finding more instances of topics discussed in isolation where the discussion is pointless without information about how the object interconnects to the world. We saw a lot of this with antenna articles, often with thousand words about how to build it, not a single word on measure and test it. A new example is soldering copper perf boards. They show you how to solder the leads, but not how to connect the lead to anything once it is soldered. In fact, most show the lead trimmed flush with the solder, rendering the component totally useless. The world of electronics is full of such magnificent idiots.
And more time wasted adjusting the new computer. It is not the computer as much as the needed modifications. For instance, some USB ports are not compatible with some USB cables. USB is IBM talk for Universal Serial Bus. It has a left and a right, an up and a down and comes in two different plug ends, but other than that, it is “universal”. In IBM-think, that means it is universal enough for you, you dumb bastard, because not one of the millions of other users who don’t have a clue in the first place have complained. Why, they are so advanced, they wouldn’t dare. Besides, it was never intended that you actually learn what the plug is really supposed to do.Here’s my scooter parked next to a Harley. There are a few differences. As an example, mine was paid for cash. That was easier than it seems, since the base price of this Harley is 30 times more. The Harley has a faster top end, but that is not legal anywhere in Broward (the freeways are federal). As with the bicycle, I quickly learn to patronize businesses that have convenient parking for two-wheelers. In fact, I will drive a few extra miles to places that have such parking right out the window where you can watch things. Did you get that, Dunkin’ Donuts?
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