One year ago today: September 22, 2014, fancy pistols.
Five years ago today: September 22, 2009, lizard faceoff!
Ten years ago today: September 22, 2004, WIP
Here is a completely unrelated photo that has no purpose but to catch your eye. I call it, "The Usual Suspects". But readership peaked at 11:00AM this morning, so I'm leaving it just in case.
I had to show you a picture of the DrawBot. This busy photo shows a brown clipboard with the robot rails mounted in the lower right corner. I'll try to get more descriptive photos, but how to take such a picture with something most people have never seen before is tricky. It is essentially some small electrical motors bolted between aluminum rails.
The lack of wiring normally associated with robotics is missing because the supply voltage and the ground is supplied by the aluminum. This is not a kit, but it is assembled from a set of plans I found at Radio Shack. And those plans are pretty bad unless you already know what you are doing.
Now that I have my weekends back, I’m looking at another trip or two. The carburetors on the Honda need setting but, we know from experience that lasts 8 to 10,000 miles and we are not planning anything that extensive. Why? Because of real estate. Interest rates will rise again if the Feds stick with their policies. The housing market will retract while other prices may double again. Did I say double?
Yep. Have you bought a bag of groceries lately? Scary. I budgeted in 1991 for the $10 loaf of bread during my time. We may not be all that far away already. But I said real estate and that means hard money. Cash on the barrelhead. If prices dip again, this time I’ll be ready. If people had kept their promises to me, everybody would have a place of their own by now. But you can’t fix stupid.
A trip for me is now determined by the now-well-known cost per mile. My general level of inactivity during this hot summer means that the extra cash for tuning up the Honda will allow for a trip without diminishing my house fund. But where to go? I’ll run the spreadsheets over the next few days, but let’s not rule out a trip to Texas for the late fall.
I’m not a candidate for saving money by "not doing anything", but in a sense, that is what is going on. Funny, though, why it works for me and not other people. The bakery, the writer’s club, the band, the bingo, the robot meet-ups, and the library don’t cost me much at all, so I should not say I'm exactly doing nothing. Even the morning movies are what, $6.50. I’m saying that since I keep busy without spending a fortune, I'm again operating at a surplus. Others, not so. The few people I know with any money came into it via reverse mortgages.
Reverse mortgages I do not trust because they sound too good to be true. Somewhere, the borrower must be spending the equity of their home. Talking to them, they seem to have been told only the good parts of the deal. They can’t name any downside. That’s suspicious right there. And if you think it through, home equity is like the most expensive type of equity anybody ever bought. They spent 30 years paying back twice what they borrowed for dollars that buy 10% of what they used to.
For a month, the choices here were rain or intolerable heat, so I’m primed to take a holiday. I’ve never seen Tallahassee except to stop for gas on the way through. I’ve never seen Zephyr Hills or spent time on the Florida west coast. Like today, other than breakfast, I’ve been here reading. I’ve been in this situation before. I have an adventure fund and most others do not. Well, some non-standard tour or trip will emerge from this and that will keep me happy for another month.
How was my weekend? Better than most. I ate health food the whole time, had my three free drinks at bingo, and watch Dr. Strangelove. Nope, never seen it before. Told you, I was not raised on television. I have no history of the movie, but I see it was a milestone for its day. A very well-written script and dern good acting for that era. Who can’t spot the influence on “Star Wars”? And back then, they knew how to cast an actress. No
NOON
Next on my agenda was examining ways to make the cPod difficult to hi-jack. The quick background is that while towing along my own sleep quarters makes great sense, there is a reason why many dislike a wagon. Parking and reversing are headaches.
And pulling a load does change the handling characteristics from what you are used to. A three-wheeled towing vehicle does not alleviate things. I don't attempt to back up the trailer, I uncouple it and walk it into position. I would like some way to securely park the rig at a Walmart parking lot (or similar) while I take the sidecar around the town. This means leaving it unattended during the day. The alternative is find a trailer park, but that obviates the primary directive of not wasting money on accommodations.
This evolves to a triple deterrent. One, some type of physical restraint that prevents access to the wagon hitch and disables the wheels from turning freely. This is pending, as we have now worked with aluminum up to a half-inch thick and possess the broken tools to prove it. Second, there must be some type of proximity sensor. And ordinary infrared with keypad will work fine. Third, some way of tracking the wagon if it get’s moved. The three together, plus padlocking the unit to a handy lamp standard is, I think, a reasonable deterrent.
Then I talked to Billy-Bill, the country blues guitarist, you remember Billy-Bill. Alas, he is not in a good way. He is also not one to talk about his health, so nobody knows a thing until, like me, they call up up randomly. I’m telling you, the man is in a bad way. The best I can do is extend the offer to get him anything like groceries or such. The thing is, he’d die before he’d ask. So I informed him I would check in at times until at least he starts sounding better. (He was later to have a remarkable recovery. Good as new.)
In related news, the new band still has not called back, but the guy did say I was third in line. Don’t give up easy. You can’t make a country band out of unemployed rock musicians. Trent and I have no scheduled a jam yet and he reports he has some bass experience. I know what some are thinking, that’s a startup. Yes, but remember, Trent and I have gone over the “layering” concept and have already heard the results.
For those unfamiliar with the technique, it is the arrangement of otherwise distinct musical tracks so that each contributes a bit to the rhythm. This provides the audience with a richer listening experience because it sound like more musicians. Think of it as instruments playing in harmony rather than in unison like most bands. We’ve all heard bands playing in unison, where everything is technically perfect. In my version, the instrumentalists don’t have to be that good. Just stay on time and on key.
EVENING
[Author's note 2015-09-22: I did not follow up with this new band being mentioned during this period. They did not follow up adequately. I need a band with positive inputs and an "ear to the future". No tribute bands again, even if that tribute is to an era instead of a group.]
Later, the new band called--so today's addendum will seem out of sequence. They have a studio to practice in and say they sent me their set list. It did not arrive, so I spelled out my addy over the phone. The guy has a naturally calm personality. His experiences match mine. He has noticed the effect of country music on crowds. And that the effect works best on Fridays. He’s also noticed it works well even in situations one expects blues or rock. But I was listening to his familiarity with the lingo and concepts of band management. He passed the grade.
He’s noticed the 40% country mix that sells and advocates the three-hour gig. These general items show he’s paid his dues. And he has the same caution I do about hiring rock or blue musicians to play country. He mentioned he grew up with country, so I kind of went along with that by not mentioning I only switched to country a few years ago. Until then, I could not stand country music, and I still can’t stomach the majority of it. But then I don’t care for bingo, either, now do I?
He, Mr. D. (so far) is keen on a drummer (meaning he is hesitant to proceed without a drummer). But once I get that song list, I can usually have a new guitarist note my timing is good enough to make a drummer optional. That two band members can form a musical nucleus. Then lead players and drummers come out of the woodwork. As long as that core group survives—and is capable of playing its own show—the band has endurance. And I find a duo works better than any other number in that state.
Then you know what I did? I went out for some beers, then came home and watched another of those English end-of-the-world movies. That’s where a few city types desperately set out for the countryside, an activity which takes the authorities, top to bottom, utterly by surprise. Throw in your low speed putt-putt car chase and a woman about to give birth. Can’t have a Brit movie without those. Meanwhile, my fortune cookie said I take an interest in all that is artistic.
ADDENDUM
In case there were any misunderstandings, I left the old band because I was not happy. You can’t talk anyone into being happy, period. Yes, there were a few personality clashes with the drummer, an impetuous fellow who would not wait until you finished talking, but this is nothing unusual. Bands are complicated or they are dull. He had a tendency to listen only to the first thing he did not agree with. I have an example.
Well, there was also their over-evident policy of rejecting everything I brought up because I am only a bassist and part of their burden is to keep the bassist in line. Even if he gets standing ovations and the rest of the band doesn't. Besides, not everybody stood up every time, the drummer would have pointed out. Still, if somebody told me I was playing something wrong, I’d fix it whether it made me angry or not. Always been like that.
Yes, I was the one who walked out. But I clearly stated at the time it was because I needed space to think things over. I’ll play out any gigs or commitments until they get somebody else up to speed. I closely examined their on-line videos and they seem happy with minimalist lines.
I thought maybe that was the root cause why [they] don’t consider a bassist an equal band member, but the band psychosis plainly goes much deeper than that. I see now the drummer's ego meant to make sure he was not, as is usual protocol, the lowest in the band food chain by exerting himself on the bassist. I doubt it altered the perception of the audience. They, too, have preconceived notions. (The picture is of my replacement, they may finally have found what they are looking for, a bassist that can "follow", despite the fact that is an outdated equation. Always remember, doing what you are told is, in some venues, a talent in itself. This picture and comment are out of sequence, redacted from later material.)
All songs decay over time, by overplaying them either on stage or at rehearsal. This is why I tend to replace songs. But said decay follows two paths. On stage, there is incentive to follow what the audience wants. At rehearsal, the decay follows the worst collective mistakes, which I call guitar rot. I automatically dislike changes that “follow the guitar” because they become impossible to correct. My thinking at this time is I’ll play 40 songs, no more rehearsals except incoming new material, and every band member gets 90 days veto power.
Does this make me a “hired gun”? I’ve put that type of musician down before because they want to show up only for the gravy. So right there, the name doesn’t apply to me. I put in 16 months with these guys and know everything they play note by note. I’m just saying it probably had to stop somewhere and band breakups are rarely gala events.
In related news, the new band still has not called back, but the guy did say I was third in line. Don’t give up easy. You can’t make a country band out of unemployed rock musicians. Trent and I have no scheduled a jam yet and he reports he has some bass experience. I know what some are thinking, that’s a startup. Yes, but remember, Trent and I have gone over the “layering” concept and have already heard the results.
For those unfamiliar with the technique, it is the arrangement of otherwise distinct musical tracks so that each contributes a bit to the rhythm. This provides the audience with a richer listening experience because it sound like more musicians. Think of it as instruments playing in harmony rather than in unison like most bands. We’ve all heard bands playing in unison, where everything is technically perfect. In my version, the instrumentalists don’t have to be that good. Just on time and on key.
Last Laugh
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