Thanksgiving, and it was not a nice day out there. Good thing I’m stocked up with tea and cookies. I’ve decided to stay in to enjoy my hobbies. Reading and small repairs or maintenance especially. I’ve had a habit for years whereby when I buy something, I write the year somewhere on the article. That’s why you may at times here me say the rechargeable battery I bought in 2006, or my tape measure from 1999.
So, I ask, how does the cow keep dry? The good news is these parts start at $28, the bad news is that price is from the Ukraine. I’ve had nothing but bad experiences trying to import items from laundry soap to doggie wigs. Getting the article here always raises the price to a level that you wish you had not started. Nonetheless, this is a situation where I have to try.
I also located (also in the Ukraine) a set of lens covers and two new seat cushions. Since this was on eBay, I’m going to conclude these places have arrangements to ship to the USA. Chances are, somebody is already importing these things. With pricing in Euros, they would still represent a bargain, but of much more interest to me was the availability of side car mounting kits in Ohio for just $365. Another pleasant discovery is that a BMW windscreen will fit on the Ural for about $90. In case some have not figured it out, I am a complete sidecar enthusiast with thousands upon thousands of miles experience under almost all conditions. Here are the lens covers and the cushions.
I’ve spoken with Billie-Bill and asked him to bring his acoustic guitar over next week. My doubts about guitarists who are already entertaining are real, but Billie-Bill is still the best bet. Why? Because he plays but is not getting the gigs. I believe I stated recently that when a band is not making money, it is a management problem. The difference between Billie-Bill and I is that he won’t play except for a known payment, while I prefer to play totally for tips. I’m trying to find a formula that satisfies us both. That will involve us admitting the old days are gone. I’m considering offering him a fixed rate of pay to learn my songs, knowing full well once he learns them, he’ll play them for money.
The motorcycle electronics study is halted until we get something to work on and a place to do that. Maya, the scooter place that drags its feet, used to have a pile of wrecked units in one corner. I’ve got a few bucks that says some have an electrical problem and might be for sale cheap. I forget his name, but he will not touch electrical. The club also needs to learn what the parts look like, where they are attached, and the general layout of the wiring. Information not included on the diagrams.
I watched some documentaries on Iran. Historical material mostly, but most Americans do not realize that Iran is the next superpower. Didn’t I read they would surpass Saudi Arabia in oil production by 2015? It is the middle eastern power that will throw the US military out of the area and they will do it with or without nuclear weapons. Many Americans thing Saudi Arabia is the major power, but the fact is their population is so small they keep it a secret. They are only pro-American because they are afraid of being invaded by their neighbors.
Iran will take these countries over: Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. They learned from Israel how to fight and win small wars at a time. They are already propping up dozens of regimes in the area. They are allowing the American troops to create a power vacuum when they finally pull out, broke, tired, and at least as embarrassed as in Viet Nam. But what good is a huge military unless you got a war or two going on?
The searches brought up the topic of piracy just outside the gulf where all the oil heads out. The pirates hijack cargo ships. What gets me is the lack of protection by the governments of the countries that own those ships. Most of them sit there and let the piracy continue. But the real mystery is the police. They post countless videos about how hard it is to catch the pirates, and how impossible it is to retake the ships. What a load that sounds like. The pirates managed to board the ships with rubber dinghies and small weapons, did they not? So don’t tell me fully armed police on an armored ship or helicopter can’t do the same.
Here is an interesting map from the Ottoman Empire in 1803. This is from Imgur, and one of the comments correctly says to compare it to European maps of the same period, full of sea monsters, fictitious islands, and missing entire continents. Note that America is on the right side and the guesswork on the south coast of Australia. But still.
It says here the Canadian dollar, the loonie, is about to plunge to 88 cents US. I told you it was being propped up because there is no way the productivity in Canada is high enough to keep parity. Every third person is on welfare of some kind and the income tax rates are nearly 50% on your marginal dollars (the last dollar earned in each pay period). No incentive equals no production equals no parity.
I completed my property price search for the area around Boynton Beach. Generally, manufactured home prices are slated for a slight drop in the spring and mid-2014, right about the time I’ll be poised to wave cash under their noses. I could kick myself for missing that three bedroom for $39,800, but the came on the market right as I was unable to make an offer and it was scooped up fast. One of the bedrooms was in a separate part of the building. What Wallace would call an ensuite. Either way, I wait for spring, when prices drop anyway.
Last, anyone recollect that Jewish doctor lady (psychiatrist) I refused to visit with after the episode at Quizno’s where she would not get out of analyst mode? Well, folks, I called that one right. Nothing to do with her occupation, and I enjoy a women with a certain mystique, but females do not confuse me. She was off-balance so now I can say phooey to all those who suggested it was me being defensive.
That’s the old lady where no matter how casually you mention your past, it must be a fixation that you cannot defeat without professional help. Worse, she’s raising her already funny-looking daughter to be the same. I just got the word today that she turned psycho. But let me tell you, she is not psycho. That is nothing but a cover for her creepy personal frustrations and refusal to consider anyone but herself. It is a nasty personality trait, but it is not a mental aberration. If she was male, it would be called “just being a real prick”.
ADDENDUM
I read the new profiles on my dating site since I left. Man, this planet is full of dweeby women. Gals, if you ain’t at least a little on top of things by the time you hit forty, give it a rest. Two hundred pounds is not “a few extra”. At 38 or over you can forget your age and height preferences—men don’t want to hear them. Having grown children living at home smacks of your poor parenting skills. A dating blurb is not the place for your political views or a description of how much you love your dog/children/garden. I scan the photos like any man would and the current batch are one rough-looking crowd. There isn’t one I’d approach in a club.
A good question. Could that be why I just spent Thanksgiving at home? Naw, there’s other reasons for that. Like how much I dislike Thanksgivings with “the family”. One big back-stabbing episode that generates gossip for the upcoming year. And you realize how plain, set in their ways, and unaccomplished your entire family is. And not that themselves being losers ever stops them from criticizing you. But rhetorically, that is a good question.
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