True, the longer I spend at home, the more investigative the blog becomes. That’s why we have a balance here. Not everyone enjoys reading blogs about kittens and weight loss, a little brain spice once in a while is neat. For me, that can mean anything new and what have we here? It is a bicycle headlamp touted to be as bright as a car headlight. The downsize is it costs as much as a new bicycle, $300. So be careful where you park it.
Here is the photo from this month’s Pop-Sci. Called the Taz, they claim it runs and hour and a half, but doesn’t say if it is rechargeable or batteries. Also, we were quick over here to spot the USB button behind and under the lens, see it? This item is not described, so I’m still looking. I stumbled on another site with the same “light and motion” logo that sells interesting underwater cameras.Moments later. Got it. The battery is a rechargeable, which never live up to their claimed lifespans, and the USB is the recharging plug.
I went to a Starbucks and reminded myself why I don’t like that outfit. The coffee is overpriced and brackish, and although the clientele can be eccentric, today they were mostly abrasive or mentally disturbed. Yes you, lady, making telemarketing calls. And you, the Cuban spitting over the railing. And you, the douchebag with the raspy voice talking about your sister—you are just telling the world with those problems she must be ugly. Once again I was the only person reading a magazine. I confess I have never really gone to a coffee shop just to watch who else is there.
The sidecar returns tomorrow and I have a few words on that. For all my digs about low mileage, the sidecar is a tremendous bargain compared to a car. It doesn’t eat up money when it is parked. In fact, it is so economical even including the recent upgrades, that I’m considering a $25,000 insurance policy and installing a second headlight on the sidecar itself. And the new front end with windscreen is going to be customized with a lot of chrome. Bling is okay on motorcycles. I’m shopping for some real Russian cargo racks or carriers as well.
These racks are correctly called “panniers” although often they are referred to as ammo boxes. That’s fine but while they may be used for ammo, that was never their primary purpose. (Some versions have a clip for an AK-47 inside the tub.) Colorado showed me the need for a large spare gas can. The Russians have produced a cruise control but it is a beast. I use a big pair of those spring loaded plastic carpenter’s glue grips.No, we have not forgotten 3D printing here. I’ve watched it closely and one of the major holdbacks from purchasing now is the ongoing cost of operations. I have no data, which in Internetspeak means it runs into money. I am also not happy with the files needed to print objects, there has to be an easier way. Some items people are now printing that impress me:
Guitar picks, drywall plugs, guitar nuts, door stops, eyeglass nose pads, drill bit holders, house numbers, doll house furniture, and fermentation locks. I see soon somebody will be printing credit cards, fake fingerprints, and I wonder about countries that have the new plastic money. Note that what is being printed are still mere substitutes for the regular plastic articles. But 3D printing is in its infancy.
Basically, the “reform” on immigration means allowing 11 million illegals into the country, most of them Hispanic. It is clear this will continue until the Anglos in America are a minority in their own nation. Anyone who doesn’t want their family to become half-Latino is to be labeled a Nazi racist redneck. It is another sad day for democracy. By that I mean the authorities will never respect the wishes of the majority to cut off all immigration and begin mass deportations. My view is that the Second Amendment applies only to children born in the US if the parents were here legally and only those with hidden agendas would argue otherwise.
ADDENDUM
While this blog is not primarily human interest, it is probably more interesting than many humans. Generally things move along efficiently but then there is JZ and I together. We are a team, and a team of opposites to boot. Today you get a description of the aftermath of my big birthday fiasco of November. That’s when JZ’s truck broke down and he missed the party and he didn’t even have a cell phone to let me know.
Here is the complicated situation which I’m given to understand that however unusual this confusion is for me, other people think nothing of it. JZ has not yet had his wake-up call from Mother Nature so he has not slowed down the way I have. Then again, he is traditionally difficult to get going. I want to take a trip out of state for a few weeks, he has no experience traveling on a budget. I say the way to learn is by doing.
He wants to wait for a new truck. His Mazda is getting old with 230,000 miles and no routine maintenance. Plus it has two complicated fuse boxes even I would not touch. So he’d rather go to the Keys, a place we have already been often enough. Nothing new over there. Ah, but Georgia, that’s just a day’s drive and they are having a spell of perfect weather. Everything would be new and fun.
So this is a log of the prevailing discussion we’re having. His truck has a tow bar but no hitch. I say that is $10 for a ball at Home Depot. JP says we stay for free at the condo on Marathon, I say it isn’t really free because it is family-owned. We cannot realistically bring home women overnight because we don’t know who will show up. Better we find a nice coastal town, say Savannah, and rent a fancy place for a month. He hesitates to be that far from home for so long. How are we doing so far?
JZ likes the tried and true familiar, while I suggest that is only because he has never experienced the thrill of the open road. He has traveled only with family, the last thing I would do is get stuck on a road trip with my relations. He thinks everything is expensive, and so do I but I know how to get around all that. I’ve had women leave the fancy-pants soiree to walk over and join me when they saw me with a sandwich in the park across the way.
JZ can have a selective memory, he’ll completely forget a great time unless I remind him of it. Like the women flashing us in Naples, the forest rangeress sidling up to him in the Everglades, and the lady trying to drag him into her hotel room in the Gables. Myself, I recall every moment of every good time in my life. That’s why we are a team and I don’t understand how he can ignore the fact that together we meet all manner of classy women and that rarely or never happens when either of us are stag.
Then again, retirement seems to be tying him down rather than the newfound freedom I’m gaining every passing moment. I allow that he has family obligations but those can be worked around. We are opposites there, as I don’t negotiate with my family, I instantly hire a lawyer the moment they start an argument. I’m thinking that JZ is still interdependent more than he’d like. So, let’s get in the truck, tie the sidecar behind, head the hell up to Charleston, and party for a month.
What are we waiting for?
Return Home
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
