The cranky summer weather caught me half-way back from my doctor, which means I spent half the day in Barnes & Noble. Or the anemic survivor of what used to be that store. Way out near Flamingo in mortgage estates, the building was empty except for a few seats in the coffee shop. You know, there is something unusual about coffee shops in Florida. Out west, as the place fills, new people walking in will naturally find seats as equidistant as possible from whoever is already there. In Florida, they will cram up into the tables around you. Especially they’ve brought along their special needs child to show off to the world. Especially that part of the world which is trying to read and study.
I stopped for a haircut up on the old boulevard. The new place that took over from the Hippy barber. This is the real estate agent who lost a bundle in 2006 and fell back on his fall back. He longs to get back into real estate. I can see it. One good sale keeps you flush for a couple of years. But in Florida, there is a bust every ten years. Prices are barely rising and another bust is due in the next 24 months. I’m glad I chose music as my backup. Did you know my father once said I should be a barber because they “made good money”. How in hell he knew that is beyond me. But since when did anyone in my family need any facts to dish out advice? Now, advising his own son with the second highest marks in the county to quit school and go barbering. That’s pure parental genius, that’s what that is.
Are you familiar with a hackerspace? In my day, we called it a club, and as far as I’m concerned we already have a good one. But every other meeting there is talk of a real hackerspace (I prefer the term clubhouse). We can pretty much guess who’d get stuck with being in charge. While I adore the idea of shared resources I question who would be guarding the fort. In electronics, most everything is small and expensive. Under whose watchful eye will all this sharing take place? In my opinion, our loose association of independent paths is already working fine, we just need better communication.
My conclusion is that we should accept some duplications and shortages over a commitment on a place to socialize. We regularly cancel meetings when there is nothing to report. You can’t cancel the rent. Still, the voices keep getting louder. I’m deferring any decisions on that until I get a new house, in which case I plan to dedicate one large interior room to a work area. With the educational level in Florida, Techshop won’t be opening anything here in my lifetime. But I’d gladly pay the $175 per month to use their gear.
[Author's note 2018: Techshop filed for bankruptcy February 26, 2018.]
Consider my experience with communal property. My brothers wanted a motorcycle from exactly and precisely the moment I got one, no sooner. This sounds so darling until you learn that the lazy pricks didn’t want their own motorcycle, they wanted mine. They learned early if they can get their grubby hands something, their gain is my loss. This makes perfect sense to their vulgar mind set. Why should they fill the wood box and deliver papers like I had to? They only want to “share”. Besides, my motorcycle was the clean one with insurance and helmets and the girlfriend and the friends and the gas in the tank. What’s not to like about that?
Oh-ho, what’s this? A series of ads for a bass player that amount to a written invitation. “Fast learner. No drugs. Must show up. Must learn existing band material. Audience connection. Stage presence.” Word for word, and in the correct order, too. Somebody is having a little difficulty connecting with a real bass player, it would seem. Allow me to do a quick mental calculation. Yes, it has been around the ten months it takes to audition all the flake-heads on Craigslist.
Ray-B, call me, you gotta see this. Remember my joke about playing bass in an all-girl band? It’s her, and she’s whistling a different tune these days. Through her capped teeth I mean. It’s sounding like she’s been through the south Florida musical meat grinder. Now she’s pushing 45, still wearing her daughter’s mini-skirts, and wants a second chance? What lesson has been learned here?
I’d call her, but I’m kind of busy these days. What with my new band and all. Bwaaa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
ADDENDUM
Circuit board design. I’m learning it the hard way because I left myself no other choice. Here is the result of my first attempt at a schematic. This was completed at 5:39 AM today. By now, I would recognize this pattern anywhere in the universe. There are software aids, but each has hard-to-master steps. The one I chose, ExpressPCB, has the primary benefit of being free. Later, my bad. I said schematic when I meant circuit board trace or circuit board layout.
I have to work with my sample board in one hand and the mouse in the other. Software is supposed to make life easier, but it does not allow for different levels of involvement. Put another way, most software only helps once you get beyond that certain level of complication which most people spend a lifetime avoiding.PCB design was underestimated when we began. It seemed just another of many steps along the way and there was nobody to tell us how involved it was. Even the differing diameters of component leads (the soldering wires) require different pad rings and drill-hole sizes. The software allows you to place components on the schematic that won’t fit on the board but won’t allow you to place the part diagonally.
The working model of my ROM took a couple hours to physically build. Now to go back and retroactively design it is going to take days. We had this coming. Our early designs were of necessity easy to draw on paper. This is a learning atmosphere hence there are no engineers in the club. That meant PCB design was on the agenda, but not having to learn CAD. (Where else but engineering could someone “forget” to mention you have to learn CAD?)
So, once again, we must learn the art of warfare on the battlefield. This brings into question the wisdom of learning electronics via independent study. The bright side is once you are done, you’ll have saved a bundle on “Thank you” notes.
