January 2, 2014

           Of all the ways to see something new, the rarest is probably after years of study and hard work. But you also appreciate it more. So that’s how I felt when today I saw these electrical components for the first time. I can sort of guess what some are for and others appear to be combinations of discrete parts. But what you see here is not shown in the hundreds of books and articles I’ve read on electronics to date. No, that piece in the foreground is not a resistor. If you look close, it is a wire coil. But much to small a coil to be a choke.

           This is part of a trove found on Craigslist for the rock bottom price of $35 and $8 in gasoline to Westchester, west of Miami. That’s where I met Rick, who had some boxes of components that turned out to be extremely high quality. The switches alone were worth the trip through the south Florida traffic. Much of the rest was Archer, the Radio Shack brand back when the parts were made in Japan. Today all you get is Chinese manufacture.
           Rick had a tale to tell. He took his immediate family on a trip to the Carolinas last November and got a tummy ache. Checking in at the local hospital he finds out he’s got a form of appendicitis. Folks, you are never too old for appendicitis. He showed me the battle scars and reports the bill came to around $35k. And no food for five days, which, I think, is much harder on adults than children. Get well soon, Mr. Rick.
           Some of the pieces are destined for the rebuild of the memory control panel. If anyone had the impression we gave up, that is not how business is conducted here. A careful review and endless cups of coffee show that for some reason I was trying to build the panel as small as possible. The size, within reason, should not even have been a consideration. Another revelation is that to finally redesign the panel (on paper) I realized I was taking the opposite approach from the rulebook. Where they leave microprocessor programming until last, I found I was thinking from that level back downwards to the circuit. Goes to show you that at some point, all learning is interrelated. And once a programmer, always a programmer.

           Here is a photo of some of the actual parts as advertised. Later in the day when testing this new stockpile of components for dimensions, I discovered that the jack pins inside old computers have tenth-inch spacing. Put another way, motherboard jacks will fit breadboard pins. That’s another of those little gems of knowledge never mentioned by the experts. Today has definitely been one for progress, I’ll say that.
           I drove the batbike to Westchester but the traffic and road condition was so bad, I did not stop on the return to visit in the Gables. From what I’m hearing, some would-be landscaper botched cutting down a tree in Alaine’s neighborhood and this is causing considerable disruption over there. I don’t know the details but I heard Corey was up on the roof. Now I really want to hear the story.
           Here’s another one for you. When Alaine viewed the bakery web page, she instantly picked out the photo of the coffee and crossword as my handiwork. What happened is the poppyseed cake made a real impression at Xmas. (These are gifts, not exactly “Xmas presents”, remember my upbringing.) Yes, the cake is that good, as with all the bakery food. I was sold after a single plain slice of bread over two years ago and I’m still there most every morning. (Later, I realized the crossword photo was not on the bakery website, but my Yelp review.)
           Sunday will be two years since Dad passed away so I hope to see Alaine and JZ at St. Jude’s.

ADDENEDUM
           Starting next Wednesday, the 9th, Billie-Bill and I have a scheduled practice. This is risky business, forming a band with two acute extroverts. But the payoffs in such a situation can be so immense that it is worth a try. Ah, I hear all my critics blurting: haven’t I learned my lesson about guitar players? Have I not wasted enough of my life on them? Are there rocks in my head? Yes and no. Billie-Bill has specifically stated he will learn only my music at first. That means nothing to lose for now.
           Think. This means he has walked through the situation from a bass player’s perspective. That is unusual for anyone, much less a guitarist. He thus knows all the music [that] I play he can’t sing and good luck trying to find anyone else who will. So I won't be the one stuck if this doesn't pan out. And I see where this is leading. Billie-Bill is a multi-bander (plays in many bands) and undoubtedly knows that doesn’t work. Now factor in that musicians tend to cling forever to what worked in the past. Conclusion? For people to change, things must be worse out there than even I imagine.
           Tread carefully and don’t over-commit, I say. What’s in it for me? Easy answer. I know that Billie-Bill has his heart set on a four piece group. (Singer, live drummer, bass, and lead.) I know that will fail. Will my plan work? Nothing changes a guitar player’s mind like making some money. If he still wants a big band, I will have an expert rhythm player ready to go, won't I now? If not, I fall back on my experience, which is a duo.
           From years ago, I already know all the songs Billie-Bill can sing, so no new effort is involved on my part.