See the tree stump? It’s not really the stump, but somebody did leave this outside the shopping center where I now troll for used books. It’s the corner of Hollywood & State Road 7 and the book selection is comparable to small library except it has more real books. The public libraries in Hollywood are a joke. Ten racks of useless books on what to name your autistic child and prevent your Jewish daughter from marrying a gentile, but not a single tome on robotics.
Besides library books, I also review my own books, an activity not often spotted amongst the proletariat, I see my music expenses have dipped below 15%. No, that’s not good, that indicates that routine maintenance isn’t up to snuff. I know from experience the ratio that has to be maintained. So I commenced to cipherin’ about ratios. Fort Knox. They say there is gold there, and they’ve been saying it for years. Without any projections, I’m right now going to calculate how much gold there is supposed to be in Ft. Knox for each US citizen, and see how that compares to other things. Stand by. Okay, back again, and here are the numbers (as opposed to facts):
Alleged gold reserve: 147,200,000 troy ounces.
Adult population: 206,000,000
Troy ounces of gold per adult: 0.71456
Gold spot today: $1,853 per ounce
Current value of gold in Ft. Knox: $273 billion
Current value per adult in Ft. Knox: $1,324.08
Jeez, I better get off my butt. That’s not very much money and the real inflation starts next year. Trivia: Ft. Knox isn’t the largest depository of gold in the USA. Nope. The big one is gold held for “foreign interests” and it is in an underground vault in New York City. At least it was the last time anybody checked. I suppose New York makes more sense than, say, Tanzania, but barely. There you go, folks. If you steal enough of something, New York will provide you a safe place to keep it.
The supercomputer is going back to the shop for the fourth time. Sorry, but it is not performing and is still full of software problems. Like forgetting all the drivers, or shipping a file into MicroSoft neverland, or taking eight minutes to boot up. I’m beginning to think it is the microprocessor. It is only my elaborate back-up copy system that saved me a few times on this one.
I scored a good one while at the used book place this morning. A practically brand new radio controlled toy truck for $1.99. The guts inside were nicely compartmentalized for ease of manufacture and therefore a boon to the club. I was getting dismayed by the prices for components, often in the $75 range for DC motors. I intend to use these toys as prime movers so as to focus on the servos, sensors, and code side of things. Why build mechanical parts if the price is right? Let me state I am content with the new band, but also spew out a few words of advice. Every musician I have met in Florida, JJ included, that wants to join or start a band has shown themselves to be woefully unprepared to do so. Playing or being a band member for X number of years means nothing if you are not prepared for the non-musical aspects of forming up with others.
When I show up and find you don’t have anything except your own instrument, trust me, you are still a scant novice compared to me. JJ writes his music out, but last session had no pencil, no paper, no photocopier or scanner, no nothing. I’d say it requires around $600 in gear above and beyond your instrument and amp before you can seriously claim you are ready to join.
This brought a funny coincidence to mind about George over at the scooter store. He must have went through ten mechanics who showed up without even basic hand tools. I’ve had singers show up that didn’t have their own microphone. Music is different in that a true professional will naturally hold themselves to superior standard of preparedness. But as long as things surge ahead, all is forgiven. It turns out JJ has two music degrees, so between us we have six university or college degrees. Between the Hippie, Wallace, and I, we have four.
Last Laugh
Return Home
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
