I was cleaning it for an application of NeverWet, but it remained clear after two weeks—and since NeverWet does not dry clear, I will wait to see how long this lasts. This represents an innovative approach to the problem, that is, instead of trying to scour the plastic, I apply whatever keeps it from getting foggy. Shown here, it is hardly perfect, but is a great improvement. Yep, 10,420 miles on the scooter.
My horoscope said I was fatigued and should incorporate a nap into my routine today. I can do that. This advice was at the bakery, now sometimes called the Kiss Singles Bakery because, well, you go there and figure it out. I arrived in the rain on the eBike, they brought a heated towel from the kitchen to warm me up. You don’t get that at the Hyatt. Six ladies were present for the horoscope reading today. Including the Russian babe who never speaks to anyone.
Stay back, however, as I am not over the flu. It’s unusual in that it spreads the symptoms out over time. Yesterday, the coughing, today the aching muscles. It doesn’t put you out of action, but slows you down. That’s why so many topics are getting the update lately—I’m staying home during the day more than usual. I’ve got the computer on, so I see the ads, and I’d like to inform advertisers that I intentionally avoid products that appear on “free” videos.
Trivia, from the local Tidbit paper. Grape-Nuts is the only popular cereal that doesn’t contain added sugar (it still contains natural sugar). You can look up the details but apparently the creator (Post) thought the flavor came from dextrose, which at one time was called “grape sugar”. Oddly, it is tricky to find side-by-side comparisons of true total sugar content on-line. Why do you suppose that is? Products like puffed wheat and puffed rice have zero sugar, but who eats that?
My faith in China has been partially restored. From the trailer assembly kit, there was a cotter pin missing, I didn’t say. But I found it, by feel rather than by sight. See that little blood spot on the floor tile over by the battery chargers? With my toe print in it? It’s nothing, really.
Now let’s test my faith in medical procedures. I’m slowly adjusting to the new cholesterol pills and my new diet starts on August 1. It seems a lot of food these days is labeled “natural” which means the ingredients are not man-made. The stickler with that is nature itself makes some awful nasty things. Lava, snake poison, rhubarb leaves.
My diet moves from natural to a specific list of what I may consume. Face it, if my extra weight was ordinary fat, I would have starved it or sweated it off years ago. Something is off kilter and it is time to find it. I mean, you just show me somebody else who stuck with an unsuccessful diet for seven years like I did. That's six and a half years AFTER I knew it wasn't working. Somebody else who really rode a bicycle 9,000 with no results. That's 8,000 miles AFTER I knew it was hopeless.
No BS, I need to actually meet such a person. Until then, no sense even discussing this situation with me.
ADDENDUM
How is our old friend inflation getting along? Badly, but the economy has learned how to disguise the matter. Smaller portions, cheaper materials, shop at Wal*Mart, and a government that calculates you lose 2% of your purchasing power per year. Didn’t know that, did you? There are now just 11.7 ounces in a “pound” of coffee. The CPI is so manipulated I don’t use it any more. The newest government tack is to claim inflation-based price increases represent a “recovery”. Real annual inflation is around 10% and about to get much worse.
Silver. It’s been hovering around 19 – 20 bucks for a few months. This tells us it is being totally manipulated so anything could happen there, something funny is definitely going on. One item being looked at over here is bitcoin, an experimental cryptop-currency. There are things I don’t like about it right off the bat. Bitcoin has no more basis in value than any other currency. The transactions are not secure and one operator has already been charged with a Ponzi scheme. Also, like paypal, bitcoin is not anonymous. I believe you should pay your taxes, but totally disagree with third party monitoring of your transactions. (An anonymous flat consumption tax is the only type of tax that meets my standards. The more you spend, the more you pay.)
The upside of bitcoin? There are not many at this point. They are an alternative to paypal and the transactions are irreversible. Some may not see that last point as an advantage, but it is. Despite all, the volume of bitcoin transactions is growing incredibly fast. My general feeling is that the inventors of bitcoin were obsessed with the money part and didn’t do much planning over the spending part. Despite their recommended 16 bit passwords and off-line storage recommendations, bitcoin isn’t ready yet
We know that the first some folks hear of new things is right here, so I’ll take a moment to describe a “hardware wallet”. It looks like a flash drive and clips on your keychain. I had a similar idea over a small reader that would always tell you your bank balance. The wallet contains your bitcoin information. Software cannot be loaded onto the device, which lets the inventor claim it is totally secure. I don’t know about that. It would not prevent the “millionaire’s ride”.
Through it all, I will look into the requirements for bitcoin to see what is involved. Bitcoin could, I perceive, eventually behave more like a secure place to keep money other than in banks, which are problematical, don’t require warrants, and have their own agenda. An electronic device that anonymously stored real dollars would be handy. Essentially, with bitcoin nobody knows you have money or how much. How to spend it is your problem (tax laws are broad enough to cover all transactions of value, whether or not it is actual money being moved). But the currency is very volatile at this time and the whole affair smacks of a bubble.
