(Following is an example of a double-blog. Where somehow I write two blogs in one day. I included both so you can follow the order of events.)
This is the custom made barbeque. Note the lighted gas dials. Until Super Bowl, the last time I saw this was as an aluminum frame in the front garage. I regret being refused permission to take any type of shop classes in high school. There’s one for you. Where other kids needed permission to take matric courses, I was barred from taking shop. My marks were so high it was assumed my parents would put me through university, so I learned no skills that could have paid my own way through. It’s so sad I didn’t know that at the time.
The scooter has developed a rattle. It’s just as well it begins to show signs of age all at once, since a replacement is now very likely before summer. No panic, it’s a light sound, like some cover or flange the mechanic forgot to tighten down when replacing the clutch. I’m not worried. In fact, my biggest concern at the moment is I’m getting low on coffee. I bought 8 pounds of the good stuff back when it was on sale. With music practice, I go through coffee and tea. After these parties, I often get a care package to take home. Double great, because it is stuff I rarely prepare, like salsa and expensive fruit. I never could figure out why grapes cost more per pound than steak. The fact is, since the last party I haven’t eaten anything all that fancy. Plus, there are some things I’ve learned to like from a can, like pasta sauce, creamed corn, that sort of thing. Gals, at least I know how to open the can and heat it up. Line forms to the left.
I sat through a ten minute demo of the Boss DR-202 drum machine. It’s junk like this that makes modern music sound so monotonous. Like every other drum box on the market, the built in beats are 90% pure crap nobody uses. Only the totally anal build a drum machine that you need to be a drummer to operate. I was disgusted by what they call “bass patterns”. It’s another design suitable for shoe-commercial guitarists who think if 4 bass notes are good, 16 must be even better. It is a crying pity there are no more Patsy Cline's or Johnny Cash’s left in the music world.
Attempted theft right outside my front door. The scooter developed a rattle which sounded like a bracket the mechanic forgot to tighten or similar problem the day after the clutch was replaced. Upon examination, four mounting bolts had been removed. Somebody tried to steal my muffler, but quit when they realized they had to remove the rear tire. This, right under our security cameras in a safe neighborhood. The only better parking option is inside a garage, but that is unheard of in this part of town. Must be crackheads to be so brazen. That's me pointing to the shiny temporary bolt.This is now the fourth computer since last March. I've been jinxed and the constant replacement of the hard drives has made accurate backups a real task. Therefore, I am considering a switchover to external hard drives. That will make daily work more of a task as MicroSoft has never made it easy to use multiple drives. It's the kind of jerk thing that is helping them become last centuries news.
Speaking of idiots with high paying jobs, how about Fox News? Recall the Westboro Church issue? That's the group that protests at the funerals of soldiers. That church believes the bodies coming home are God's way of punishing those who do not obey His word and that we should not be glorifying those who die fighting wars. I'm an isolationist, pacifist, and libertarian and as such, I recognize the Westboro position as merely another point of view.
Until I saw Fox News attack the Westboro spokeswoman (Shirley Roper). I believe the Fox people were Hannity & Colmes. What a couple of total ass-clown big mouths, not an ounce of decency or professionalism between them. Aren't reporters supposed to suppress their own petty views for the sake of journalistic accuracy? Those two did nothing but rant, hurl insults, and make complete fools of themselves. Like cranky little brats, they tried to shout Roper down and ridiculed her person. I never had any respect for Fox and now I truly dislike them.
I might add that I am also a constitutionalist in a very defined sense of a word that is often used wrongly. I believe the American Constitution exists to limit, not to extend, the powers of government. I believe the Constitution prohibits income tax, foreign wars, and plea bargaining. I believe the Constitution guarantees personal freedeom and privacy over and against all forms of governmental authority. Governmental power is based on disobeying the law, not enforcing it.
Here's a nice tale to make somebody's day. You know how fast food joints ignore you after they hand you your order? Have you ever tried to get their attention when you notice they forgot your ketchup. Now, you can't yell or they act like you are being rude while you food is getting cold.
Today, a spigot fell off the soda dispenser. The diet cola was streaming down the aisle for almost two minutes. The staff blindsided around five customers who were trying to alert them. By the time one of them decided to look, it was a real mess. I hope, truly, that there is a message in there somewhere. I know the staff are overworked and underpaid. But that is never the customer's fault.
Another successful rehearsal. The extra practice works wonders and not necessarily because of the music. For material, it is worth remembering I am a proponent of duo arrangements, not an expert. I'm still learning, and one unexpected development is how some tunes I played solo are not adaptable to duo work. I know, it is the opposite of logic, but I've seen it happen.
Today's trivia is back to WWII. The V-1 was a cruise missile and today you get to guess how many the Germans (not the Nazis, the Germans) launched against England each day on average. The English, in contravention to all international war treaties, had been criminally bombing German cities for years by then. I've discovered most people think it was three or four. Nope, the daily tally was 53. Around a third were shot down, and another third never reached London. What I'd like to find out is what it cost to build one of those things.
[Author's note: I've always found it pointless how military writers will publish a weapon's height, weight, range and top speed but not its price. From the following data, I will, by tomorrow, calculate the cost of a V-1.
* Total cost of V-1 and V-2 program: $3 billion 1943 dollars
* V-1 cost compared to V-2: 4%
* V-1 total construction: 30,046
* V-2 total construction: 6,048
Now based on only that information, let's see who can come up with the cost of a V-1 in 2012 dollars the fastest. Ready, set, go.]
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