Before we continue, I’m answering two questions from my readership, though I do not encourage this type of inquiry. First, does 3D printing work only on plastic? No, but for now, all the consumer models use plastic. At this time, all 3D printers are clumsy but that will change. There are metal printers which spray a powder onto a laser beam, but you can’t afford them. Second, the search engine I use is Ixquick. I do not know if their claims of not recording your IP are accurate, but at least they make the claim and thus respect the importance of privacy. My blood tests are back and I won’t be going back to work any time soon. All my bad levels have been climbing without any change in my lifestyle. This happened before, and we all know what ensued. So, they’ve signed me up for some kind of special testing. A new (approved) super-statin that does more than control, it may reverse damage. They needed guinea pigs, er, I mean study examples with people that have no other medical problems but the one targeted, and that would be me.
Next stop was the book store on Pines. Funny that one is still open. It never had the clientele or selection of the Aventura branch. And the coffee shop is always empty. Well, except for a couple of weird-looking ladies with books like, “Single and Somewhat Enjoying It.” I thumbed four books from the engineering section, nodded off for a half-hour and nobody minded.
On the way home I found a new Thrift. This one had an entire corner full of electronics parts. Some old German guy died and they had boxes of everything from the WWI onward, including maps after the wars hand marked with zones of where American troops were allowed. There are trays full of components that look well made, but are totally out of date, as in many TV parts. It all just arrived, so nothing was for sale yet. I’ll make them an offer in a few days. It’s nothing I need right now but the modern equivalents are heavily advertised [meaning I know the old ones are probably better built and worth something]. So I can’t go wrong. For example, they have a lot of expensive “fast recovery” diodes.
This prompted me to finish working on the fading feature of my ROM. I am amazed by the amount of logic that can be accomplished with diodes, the part that makes electricity flow in only one direction. I am not impressed by capacitors, those little blue cans that store electricity. It seems I need the larger (1000 microFarad) models for my work and these are not cheap.
Last, I’d like to commend Agt. M on a great idea. The club motto is “Two brains better than one.” We find two is the proper number of individuals to work on a project. I’ve expressed my dislike of components that don’t fit into a standard 0.1” breadboard. M came up with an idea I would never have thought of because it is expensive. But it works. Shown here are components plugged into integrated circuit mounting sockets. Without that socket, the parts shown (two pushbuttons and a DIP (dual in-line package) switch) always pop themselves out of the breadboard. Because they were designed by total dorks.Ingenious, Agt. M. I have never seen that solution anywhere else. I christen it the “M-anchor”: The useage of an IC socket to hold other devices in place.
ADDENDUM
Old Rolling Stones. It’s okay music but if the world were me, they would never have earned a dollar. It’s music I’d listen to, but not spend money on. I had been fasting for the blood test (see above), so I used the Internet and the Stones to distract me. They are good for that, but I never could understand how an overweight person [like me] could be so hungry. Invent the pill for that and I’ll spend some money. I dislike being so heavy set that my clothes look funny. Now that I’m in the band again, have to watch my figure.
That band is a curious adventure. As I’ve said, it isn’t my style but it is the best opportunity that ever came along in this town. A conservative estimate says I’ve put in 200 hours practice time so far. Highly skilled labor I might add, for which I expect a good return on investment. I found posted videos of some of the new band’s old gigs on youTube and FBook. A great sound without a stage full of sound equipment. That happens when you have experienced people in your band.
The stage arrangement is fairly limited with a quartet. Since there is a keyboard, he occupies one side of the drummer. The balance puts the guitar and bass on the other side. That means I get my favorite spot, one corner of the stage to myself. You see, the guitar players will always gravitate toward stage center, which is exactly the wrong thing to do if you want to be distinctive. (The audience cannot look at stage center without seeing the other band members. To watch me, they have to turn to one side. Or better yet, move to a position away from center. That’s my little secret.)
Of course, I watched the previous bassists. I would describe their performance as more than adequate. Their stage presence, however, is as lackluster as tradition permits. There is nothing wrong with this, so don’t misunderstand me. At the same time, it is just not up to my standards, where nobody in the band belongs unless, in addition to doing their job with a smile, they contribute at least equally to audience appeal. Good musicians without stage presence are holding back the band and belong in a studio.
One more item guys. On stage, cowboy hats, top hats, boulder hats, okay. But ball caps, please don’t. Unless you are like standing in with the Hippie or some crappy gig like that. The Hippie--isn't that the dumbass who played the marijuana song at the old lady's home? One and the same.
