Ha, have you seen the Chase Bank’s bloody nose from their $5.00 debit card user fee? Credit Unions nationwide could not keep up with new applications. My thinking is it was not the five bucks that would bother JP Morgan, but that customers had a choice. (Morgan’s original strategy was to wipe out competition between banks by absorbing all the smaller ones.) Don’t delude yourselves, Chase customers. They’ll make up for the lost revenue somehow.For example, I recall receiving a note that Chase is charging $12 monthly for a checking account. I haven’t written a check in what, thirty years? The check is one of the most outdated of all negotiable instruments and I’m surprised people still use them. I do use Money Orders, but outside of superficial resemblance, they are not the same. I accept checks, but keep a large float in that account so I’m never pinched.
Speaking of bad product, IE (Internet Explorer) has dropped below 50% of market usage. Good, it is responsible for the spread of all major viruses. Sadly, the equally terrible Google Chrome is advancing, but second place is solidly held by FireFox, which I quit using because of so damn many quirks and updates. My browser? Opera all the way.
How are the guitar lessons coming along? Well, for openers, I’m not taking lessons. I tried once and they want to start you off learning scales and junk not used on stage. One thing I’ve proven is that my theory that every tune can be reduced to a simple guitar chop is right. No need for the fancy intros and picking, although they are a nice touch if you are into nice touches. I’m finding I have the rhythm, what I don’t have is the coordination to sing and play.
Let me rephrase that to I don’t yet have it down pat. I can do it but it needs polish and that will arrive with time. When it does, it will be like my bass playing, rather individual. Lessons are okay for producing clone players. My musical ability, such as it is, derives not from lessons or grades or hero worship, rather from a lengthy history of individually improbable events. Wow, did I just say that? The good news is I can practice inside my head and later pick up the guitar and do it. And I’m getting faster at learning each new step. Pun intended, “Stay tuned”.
My content writing sideline. It isn’t really a job, but the other party has described my work as “amazing”. I write short quips to inform the reader on the wisdom of investing in gold today as opposed to tomorrow. For me, gold is such a short leap from silver, know what I’m saying? It takes about ten minutes to compose each snippet with no deadlines. Of course, I will be comparing this easy work to the massive undertakings of the computer and medical manuals I have previously produced. Plus, I can churn these blurbs out faster than they can use them so there is some kind of opportunity brewing here.
For what it’s worth, their reactions indicate they’ve never met anyone like me. Gee, I’ve not ever heard anyone say that before. At any rate, my contact is arranging that I will soon have inside information of their upcoming releases, such as offering the gold below spot and permission from “Brinks” to incorporate their information into the ads. These people like me.
Last, that indecisive lady from BK talked to me again, which I’m finding not so pleasant. She figures we are nearly the same age, but you know how far that goes with me. Same planet, different worlds. She knows nothing of music or academic pursuits, or even how to balance a set of books. Having once been a good mother is not a substitute for getting other things done in life any more than once a good father. She has no career, no recent schooling, no intellectual interests. But she still thinks because of age we’ll find some common ground. Like what, I don’t know. If 50 is the new 40, she’s somewhere past 60.
[Author’s note: At 6:44 PM today the gold people tripled my rate of pay.]
