The good news of today was the totally successful club meeting, where we have finally broached the topic of logic gates. We don’t know the formulas or designs but the photo shows a successful logic circuit that we both built and understand. Plus, we were able to discover and test both digital and analog input into a transistor and discover they behaved differently. Funny how not one genius in the 600 articles I’ve now read bothered to even mention there was a difference.
It’s been raining since before dawn. That makes me growlie on days I need to get things done. It is near impossible to hit a train anywhere and the more in Florida since it is flat and all crossings are controlled. Somebody managed it and the traffic has been diverted down the road in front of my place. Tell me, numbskulls of the world, how do you hit a train? Set up your picnic table on the tracks?
Then I put on the rock station and what do I hear? That stupid spinning wheel song, ride a painted pony my ass. You call that rock? Oh yeah, like ZZ Top is going to remake it as a title on their next album. That song sucks, period. It sucked on day one and it still sucks today. Rock stations must get bribed to play that pathetic track.
And another thing is those knuckleheads who are now complaining about how auto insurance companies check their credit ratings. Serves them you right. Didn’t they always say they got nothing to hide? Oh, I see. They didn’t mean it like that. I remember you and your type. Maybe the drivers expect us to believe that although they are irresponsible with money, their driving is perfect. That would be like those dunces on the Internet who can’t spell but claim their thinking is spot on.
We have another guitarist trying out, but this time I don’t let up on my independent guitar studies. He’s 35-ish and plays “The Race is On” which I told him we’d play if he can sing it. Remember that one? Fortunately he is a fan of the pre-198 music and you can play that stuff anywhere if you do it right. He admits to very little duo experience. I guess we all want to play in a big band at some point. I don’t. Who remembers the band of Simon & Garfunkel?
That chick singer seeking the guitarist has not been in touch. This is expected from the half-serious types in this town. Along comes any distraction, like Turkey Day, and they lose their focus. Remember the monkey hunt? How they can only act as a team when the prey is in sight. As soon as the food runs behind a tree, the monkeys degenerate into a squabbling mob. Florida musicians.
Always read the “Business Monday” section, it’s better than the comics. They can get creative with their use of stats, so focus on the stats. Housing has leveled off with sales far below historical That tells me people who are underwater are refusing to sell at a loss, or false pride. But I suspect many of them have “refinanced” and soon they will start retiring in batches with no hope but to unload the property. And move into a trailer. Make sure it doesn’t have a leaky roof!
JZ is talking about a fixer-upper. I’m not convinced. Contractors are creeping back into that business and like the “Enron crowd”, the average American has not allowed for the 40 million illegals they let into the country. Joe Average though it “adorable” how all those poor Mexicans ran the border on the six o’clock. Why, they just wanted a better life and who can blame them? Let’s hear the tune Joe whistles when he realizes the Mexican took his retirement job. I say [to JZ] the better plan is to wait just a while longer. Something is not right enough yet with housing.
In closing, the big event today was those logic circuits. It does no good to stare at diagrams, so get out and build one. If you are fortunate, you will have everything you need to do just that. We, on the other hand, had to grub around to even find somebody who knew what we were looking for. I’ll give you the big hint: you want to start with a 4011 chip (NAND gates). If that proves too complicated, well, let me think, yep, you are plain sh*t out of luck. Go sell popcorn.
