What happened to robotics? Why so little about it lately? That’s easy, we are taking on larger projects which require more time before there is anything to report. For instance, now we know to make a robot move, we need much more than the motor. We additionally need as a minimum, a dual H-bridge, transistors, and a flyback diode, and that doesn’t even get into controls, sensors, software and a power supply. Each item must be mastered. It’s not like the fairy godmother leaves these things under your pillow.
This is the chassis of a 99 cent toy from Goodwill. When it became counterproductive to find any useful information about gears on the Internet, I decided to leave that for the engineers. I purchases several of these toys to provide the running gear. Upon inspection, this chassis seems ideal for robot control. The drive and steering, see photo, are basic DC motors just begging to be attached to some smarts. The new band will play somewhere shortly. We have most of the material for a full set ready for stage, though we need stage time to sparkle things up. First dibs go to all my old contacts, especially the beach area, then inland toward Dixie. Last, I try west side of I-95 where dwells the Lost World of Neighborhood Pubs. It is no longer a question of if, we will play soon and often even if we have to undercut to get established. That was my management decision.
Mind you, I am hearing from several sources that some clubs are having trouble finding musicians and for the first time, I heard a complaint about what I’ve been saying for years: All the local rock and blues bands play the same set list. That might be good news for I put out some of the most eclectic music in town. Who else plays Nancy Sinatra and Mary Chapin Carpenter?
But why can’t pubs find players? I predicted as the economy imploded, more middle-aged men would dig out the old Strat. Maybe I did not look far enough, for there is a point past collapse when even playing for tips won’t help. That must certainly be true in many cases, as proof I point out there are 260,000+ foreclosed houses in Florida. The mortgages that are solvent owe an average of $161,800 each and according to the Sun-Sentinel, average credit card debt is $6,445. Them’s mighty grim numbers to wake up to every morning. But that’s what they get for borrowing and spending when times are good.
We will never be the band known for authentic copies, but compared to what else I’ve seen, we are a model of organization, efficiency, and cooperation. I’m playing ever more root stomps, JJ is learning to tack on distinct intros and outros. It is a working formula, and a keyboard-bass duet in this town is beyond one-of-a-kind. If only because nobody else had the guts to try it.
JJ’s first instrument is a trumpet. We may be doing a little Herb Alpert. Trivia, Herb was the “A” in A&M Records, which he sold for half a billion (with a b). Herb’s was one carefully managed career, did you know he wasn’t Latino? Nope, the guy was Ukrainian and his band, the "Tijuana Brass", never existed. Although later he hired some people to fake it--all his early hits were himself overdubbed. Moral: having your own recording studio in 1964 proved a real plus for producing hit records.
I spent a few hours mastering new bingo music. Now that Limewire is gone, it takes a little longer. I left the TV on in the chance I’d find a NOVA channel but instead the cable is clogged with old Elvis movies. You know, back in 1964, all the women wanted to marry him. Everywhere he went, nothing but women who wanted to get married hard and put away wet. So I can finally say it, “Did you know going through university, I married 35 women?” All top echelon stuff, too. Officer material.
Another ugly scam appears on the Internet. I know it’s been around a while, but I was usually able to work around it until today. The scam is companies that no longer supply their drivers for free, so if you need them, you become the victim of resellers who charge for them. For non-computer types, drivers are the little software programs that make things like your printer and webcam to work, software that should be rightfully included on a chip inside the device since it won’t work without it. My optical disk drivers need replacing and all searches lead to thieves who advertise “free” but want a credit card. If you still haven't figured out that the word free is being abused then stay gullible. Nobody will say anything, ahem.
A poor showing at bingo means a quiet weekend at home. Encouragingly, there were some new people but the core group shrinks in the summertime. As a distraction, let’s look at some trivia. Did you know the downtown of Los Angeles is 75% foreign-owned. Not that they aren’t welcome to it, but it changes the character of the town. Like Miami, the city becomes a liability instead of an asset.
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