December 4, 2013

           Here’s the cabin I didn’t buy. Two bedroom, private acreage, two creeks, two fireplaces, love that sagging porch. City utilities and only $261 annual tax. Solid cedar with a possible third bedroom and a private well. Appraised at $118k, I have the guy down to $23k, but I’m not going to buy. How come? Well, the guy is advertising the place where he lives, in Nashville. But the cabin is itself is 243 miles away in Pigeon Forge, better known as “Dollywood”, population 3,000. Instead, I called JZ and suggested we do another trip to the Ft. Meyers area for a look-see.

           Rip-off? Relating to my finding that I could not get eyeglasses without a prescription, I went into Dania Eye Center, who claim to be “committed to professionalism”. Why did I wait until I returned to Florida? Because that is where I had my last eye exam just over a year ago, and I wanted my prescription renewed. Notice, I said “my” prescription, not “their” prescription. I paid for that exam and a prescription. Don’t argue with me, prescriptions are renewed all the time. I did not ask him how often he recommended an eye exam—a smokescreen he kept throwing up instead of answering my simple question, “When did it become legally compulsory to have another eye exam to get a prescription renewed?”
           It is not like my vision went bad. I was there because my glasses got stolen at the library. I’ve had the identical eye condition since I was eleven years of age. So I was naturally antsy when both the receptionist and doctor kept referring to my “eye exam”. I did not want an exam but these people kept trying to buffalo me like I had no choice.
           Wrong, I have a choice. When I questioned the “doctor” on this point, he gave me three evasive answers. All this did was convince me he was pulling this scam on every patient. When I stuck to my guns, he refused to renew my prescription because my eye exam “was more than a year old”. That folks, is what corruption smells like.
           I dislike liars. I dislike scam artists. I dislike doctors who rip off the medical system via over-treatment. I dislike fat oafs who imply their crooked business policies are some kind of law the patient must obey. I don’t like medical practioneers who abuse their position to pull stunts like that. And now I dislike Dania Eye Center. Professionalism? No way. He’s in it for the fastest buck he can con you for. Your prescription at Dania Eye Center is held hostage until you pay for an unwanted and unnecessary eye exam every time.

           The scooter won’t start. It cranks but sounds like it is dry-firing with no gas. Following my pledge to learn the basics, I pulled the carburetor and will take it to Miguel for cleaning. While under the hood, or seat actually, I examined the wiring and found it to be mostly intact and well protected with rubber sheathing. This would implicate the wiring behind the headlamp cavity as the source of troubles. That’s where all the handlebar controls and lighting is stuffed. That lesson alone makes getting all greasy and grimy today worth it.
           Another revelation is the physics behind the increased piston capacity. The increase in displacement from 150cc to 180cc is partly accomplished by a somewhat shorter piston rod. I can’t tell the difference. But Miguel did the same and his scooter, identical to mine, can hit 68 mph. He adjusted the valves for the new piston. My maximum is 45 but after a few minutes overheats. We are looking into it. I think it is time for a new scooter.
           The [robotics] club meeting tonight was impromptu, in that everybody [kind of] showed up at the same time. There is an unspoken fraternal kinship that says if any man needs a place to stay, it is provided. The concept goes back much further than the club. Any man, friend or enemy, who shows up destitute would be given a place to stay. Free. But only for enough days to get back on his feet, which is sixty days max. Not so for women. With women, circumstances always matter. I’m not the Salvation Army. (Women can generally stay indefinitely, but they pay rent. Any other arrangement and they start getting ideas.)
           I once more have guitar player woes. It may turn out that even paying them in advance is not enough to get them to try anything different than what has not worked for them since forever. When music is arranged as opposed to copied note for note, it is wise to have each musician slightly underplay each part. Guitarists are inculcated with the notion of cranking everything out at the edge of their ability and too often it sounds like it. But, I’ll go through the motions hoping one of them, Billie-Bill, will tone it down for money. In other words, I’ll pay him to do it my way. This involves another hurdle. Getting a guitarist to agree he is only worth ten bucks an hour.
           My lady friend, Alaine, has the same birthday foible as I. A date too near Xmas means many times you never really get a special day of your own. Sigh, but that’s why I was on stage in Memphis on my birthday last month. Four years ago that could not have happened. Well, because I could not sing back then. Alaine tends toward the traditional and familiar so it is turkey dinner next week. These days, I must sing for my supper and she wants me to bring the guitar along. One day I’m going to learn how to play that thing.