Furthermore, I have further decided to register the trailer before these panels are installed, as they technically are not part of the structure. The less “they” know, the better. And I learned centuries ago from the most incredibly stupid person ever to become a court official (Judge Baker, Surrey) that you must take steps not to confuse simple-minded people. Thus, the panels are removed from the equation and I will replace them after the registration process is completed.
That still leaves a test run soon, and I’m out of money. Yeah, that kind of thing still happens to me when I get hit with a grand in extra expenses. It is easy to forget that there are other aspects of my motorcycle trips that make them unique. One of those is something most people have never tried, namely long road trips without a credit card.
Don’t laugh, this is a daunting proposition that the majority of people would not even consider trying. I’ve got experience, and even I slip up. I consider it an intellectual challenge to defy the system since I am, after all, a mild libertarian. I believe that unless you willingly, consciously opt-in of your own free will, it should be illegal for parties unknown to track your travels or past travels. It is simple, if some wants to know where you were, they should ask you, not some credit card company. It says so in the Constitution, Amendment number four. Last year I was trumped twice. Once, the new Motel 6 database and once more when that toll booth on the Nebraska border snapped my license plate.
Mysteries. For the last few nights I’ve been awakened by a creaking noise in or on the exterior northwest corner of my domicile. It would be like a tree branch against the siding, but it has not been windy and there are no trees allowed in this trailer court. What gives? It happens so randomly I can’t move fast enough to find the cause. I like a good puzzle. I’ve already noticed it happens only on partially cloudy days but that this is not the cause.
I drove the tarp up to Agt. M, this is the tarp that will cover his work area. Odd as it seems, the guy is a master painter but does not understand types of paint. He redid the church apartment with stripes and matching paint colors that is really impressive. But then he managed to paint oil over latex on the kitchen cupboards and had to ask me why it was bubbling. However, it is this pooling of knowledge that makes the club a success even when we don’t actually build any robots.
I opted for flat black paint on the camper. There was not a gallon of used black paint left in the county so I had to shell out $20 and get some tinted. Wait for some photos but it won’t be long. I also hit Sammyford for a tow to the DMV but the hitch on his truck turned out to be one of those massive 2-1/2 inch pipes for a horse trailer. The adapter to take it down to wagon size is $40, which I don’t want to pay for a ten minute tow job. I’m scrounging the town to find one I can borrow.
We have a potential guitar player, Mel. She likes country music and can sing enough to make it worthwhile. But that is a figure of speech, there is not enough work in this town to do much more than break even in a band. However, she is a waitress and knows that. I’ve warned newcomers that being a talented musician is only one factor to performing, and for that matter it diminishes in importance as stage time approaches. I’ve had far more good musicians crack up on me than you suppose.
I’m going to lend her the Fender acoustic, see if she progresses well enough. But after years of meeting guitar players who don’t progress at all, I have infinite patience. In fact, let me tally up the score card here. In the slightly more than five years I’ve been seeking a guitarist, not including time off, I have met only one who learned a new song. That includes the Hippie, Cowboy Mike, Eddie, Billy-Bill and a host of one-timers. Between them they did not learn a single one of my tunes—yet expected me to learn theirs, which I did. The one who learned was Jag, but he was unable to carry enough weight to make a go of it.
On the other extreme, hang on let me check my records, how many new songs do I play today that I did not play in 2008? That’s completely new tunes learned from scratch that I never played before. And I don’t just comp, I learn the actual bass lines, which requires hard work to do right. Here we go. I got 168 new pieces. Most challenging were “Spooky”, “Sunny Afternoon”, and “That’s What I Like About You”. Easiest were “Wake Up Little Suzie” and a host of Elvis music that I still have trouble telling apart.
Have you noticed men who take bass lessons tend to avoid the upper frets unless they are doing some special riff? I play upper notes a lot as some of the tastiest bass lines involve this spread. Listen to “Knock On Wood”. It is as though lessons bias away from this combination and I’ve met more than a few guitarists who don’t like the higher notes either. That’s hypocritical because when they pick up a bass, the second thing they do is riff off on the higher frets. What? You want to know what’s the first thing they do? They say something retarded like “Bass is easy.”
Because they way they play it is.
That will make us an unemployable five piece unless we revamp the music we have just spent time learning. I’m okay with a chick singer but usually, I said usually, only if they play an instrument in a duo. I know nothing of this new person, but mark my words, she’ll be heavy set and into the Blues. Mind you, I’ve never doubted the band would make an excellent lounge group or rhythm section, if there was any work to be had in that field.
Wait, there is something coming in. Even as we speak. Yes, it is an e-mail from the drummer. This is a promo shot of the lady. She looks familiar, but then, all middle-aged ladies who pose for promo shots look much alike to me. The bottom line is whether this brings any gigs. To date, it has been all work and no play. I need a new amplifier but won’t shell out the money until we get something established.
ADDENDUM
Bricks. I finished the book on bricks. Now I know what I’m looking at and that’s enough. Let somebody else do the actual building. What did I learn? There are 10,000 types of brick and they’ve been used for 5,000 years. The brick should be roughly twice as long as it is wide and high. There are six basic patterns, the one on Taylor Street is called a basket weave.
