What you see here is the settings to record the bass. Note how tiny and cryptic the display is, not user-friendly at all. Every menu has to be navigated several layers deep to get to the good things. It is labor intensive and the controls are not that great for an expensive Boss. The natural sound is bad so every track has to have effects applied, most unlike a Tascam.But, hot damn, I learned a lot. If I continue with the two tracks, bass and drum, I can add a hint of piano. I left a track free in case I can get a real guitar player to do some accompaniment. Here’s a trick I learned, stay with me here. I record my vocals on one track so I don’t have to keep a log or count measures. The plan was to erase it and sing live, but I’ve discovered if I adeptly use the fader slide control to leave a word or two at quarter-volume every verse, it becomes far easier to remember the lyrics. Since it is my own voice in unison, nobody is the wiser.
How close to stage work am I? Maybe 1%. Kids born with access to tools have no appreciation for what the rest of us endure. Where would I be if I had some decent equipment? It will be weeks before I get something useable with the BR-600 and I regret that I didn’t launch right into recording the moment the first Florida guitar player let me down eleven years ago. Look at the time wasted on other bands in just the past three years.
The American decline continues. I priced out a few things, such as the train ride to Atlanta and the City of New Orleans to Chicago. The price has doubled. And groceries, too. A gallon of orange juice is now six dollars. Apples are a buck-sixty a pound. It won’t be long now until we hear the squawking. Taxation through inflation. It may be the only thing that can make house prices go up this year. Think about it. Sell the house for 100k and only have 60k purchasing power. Those between 40 and 55 today should be very worried.
We’re talking $460 for an Amtrak round trip to Atlanta. And that is why I want a motorcycle. There and back on $48 in gas and for the money saved I could do some fancy food and accommodations. Same with Denver. The train is $850 but the gas only $150. I tanked up my scooter for $4 this morning. I never thought travel in the USA would become a luxury. It’s another 101 heat index day and I’d rather be riding.
Virgin Mobile, in yet another attempt to improve their cash holdings, now require up to 42 hours after the transaction before applying your payment. It’s the same reason Delta jets used to sit on the tarmac nearly an hour before takeoff. Their cash flow looks better the longer they hold on to your money before paying their bills.
The local fuzz are on a July 4th crackdown. Do drive carefully, they especially target motorcycles. Some confusion exists over the existence of a company that hires people to drive cars around the country. Yes, they really exist, and one is in Ft. Lauderdale, called Auto Driveaway. I’ve looked, but there are so few cars that it is unlikely you’ll get a ride back. They don’t pay, but give you the first tank and say, fifty bucks for the second tank. I leave it as an option down the line. I hitchhiked when I was in university, but it got too depressing to be picked up by a student younger on his way to the same class in a sports car.
There is always Ridester if you can, as I do, pay half the gas. The price quoted is usually that much at least. I always rent my own room when there is an overnight stop, but I generally prefer to shift-drive straight through. My record was Miami to San Diego in 41 hours in 2003, with one sleep stop for six hours in Deming.
Friday, my day off, and I did what the middle class called puttering. The eBike is flimsy, a light frame. At over a year old, it needs constant attention and today I dismantled the bracket that holds the battery. For the most part, the prongs are kept there by gravity, so hitting a curb or pothole bounces the battery, causing the power to flicker and catch again. Then the heavy battery slams back down on the plastic casing.
One thing led to another and I was in the front yard six hours, finding all manner of wear and tear. A $400 eBike is meant for a slow trip to the park twice a week, not the daily pounding I put it through. I should just rewire the thing with automotive cable and weld the brackets in place. The chassis is a 1960 design, as it took me around twelve different tools to work on it and often had to remove parts to get at what I wanted.
So, what did the rest of the world do or learn that was new or different today?
Travel
Relax
Make friends
Learn
Concentrate
