One year ago today: March 11, 2014, movies in the Faulklands?
Five years ago today: march 11, 2010.
Ten years ago today: March 11, 2005, mostly music commentary.
MORNING
RFID chips. You can probably guess I don’t like them, but that has nothing to do with the chip. Agt. M installed a security system. It was hacked almost immediately. Those with a pass key can walk through the gate, others must enter a code. His first question was did I drop by. Yes, but that was in the afternoon. He arrived home early evening and found the gate open. It’s no big deal, it is only a trial, but somebody got that gate open.
Today is a milestone for me. Medically, I should not be here. This is year ten on the road to better health. My diet, habits, even my daily activities had to completely change. It wasn’t fun having to drop to a newer level and cut out all favorite foods. If I have any advantage to help me along, it would be my total immunity to television advertising. I purposely avoid products that appear this way.
Call me a liar if you like, but I’ve got fifty witnesses. This blonde lady tried to pick me up and obviously not used to being turned down. I have my reasons, not the least of which she hung out with the wrong people. I spotted that the instant I walked in an hour earlier. But everybody saw it including Billie-Bill, who brought the band. Man, were they lousy. But t’was that particular strain of lousy that the drunks shall always love. “Sunshine of Your Love”; “Preacher Man” without the bass runs.
I stuck around until midnight to give the band a good listen. It’s your typical bar band, hits of the 60s and 70s and absolutely nothing since. They were faking most of it and had a gal on stage playing conga drums. The Cuban style, not the African. That’s a nice touch but she didn’t add a thing to the music.
Careful here, I am partial to bar bands. I was in a band six years by the time I turned 18, and a week later they lowered the drinking age from 21 to 18. That killed our business unless we played in bars. And yes, I played the bars for years. And years. The funny thing about bands is that the very few who become successful are no better at planning than the rest of us. But after they survive, it outwardly looks as if they had planned it. Strange, I know.
NOON
I think summer is here already this year. Whew! Blog rules say the most unusual event was the New York Times crossword. Take a look at the clues. All the across are abbreviations where you fill n the word represented by the star. It took me aback but once begun, it turned out to be far easier than a regular puzzle.
He replied saying look myself, it was more than expected. Since I was expected practically nothing, he got that right. For the next few days, we can expect smooth sailing. But since I’m obviously not going to tell you the total, let’s get back to regular blog material. What you’ve come to know and love.
I stopped in to see Agt. M working on the monster bike. Never underestimate the value of a pal stopping in, it is good for morale. At my age, dropping in takes time and money, but a club is always better than random. It keeps the mind sharp. We plainly need a club air compressor. Nothing fancy, but not a piece of junk, either. I’m thinking it over. The unit would have to be kept over at the clubhouse and delicate tools don’t have a remarkable life span over there. Or in any community setting.
A trip to Home Depot shows my Ryobi is not a 5/16-24. This means another quarter-day trip up there to hope they have the right nut. This is your trivia. The 5/16-24 refers to the diameter and thread. Is it coarse or rough? The final numbers refer (in standard, not metric) to the number of threads per inch. I did not know that. 5/16-18 is coarse, 5/16-24 is fine. If you still think I’m dumb for not knowing this, here, pull my finger.
NIGHT
You get a mini-lesson in financial responsibility. I was out partying all night, so the picture here has no relevance to the article. I found it on the Internet, and gave it a name. I called this picture “Pay Per View”. Apt, wouldn’t you say?
If you are thrifty (most aren't but think they are) and forward-thinking (same), I’ve discovered one only needs a float of around $3,800 to stay ahead of the world. That’s right, if you have the self-control to manage one single float, the entire rest of your life begins to magically pan out. But I never said it was easy or whether I have one.
Fortunately, I can tell you how it works and where the screw-ups occur. We are taught from birth that you put money in the bank and then you take it out. Your balance goes up, then you draw it down. That’s logical, but wrong in practice. Too many people do not know or apply the most basic of accounting formulas. BB – TO + TI = EB. It stands for Beginning Balance minus Transfers Out plus Transfers In Equals Ending Balance. Too many folks have a natural tendency to invert the Transfers Out and Transfers In.
Notice that what changes your balances is the TO and TI. It is the order that is important. If you do not do your TO’s first, you are asking for trouble, and the trouble is called an “overdraft”. How, one might ask, does the order make any difference? Tell you what, try it for a month. It works because you quickly learn to do whatever it takes to keep your balance above a certain limit. (And I just said how much you will need.)
Now you are no long juggling fifty bills. You have one: to keep your float topped up. Successful business people have known this method for years. No longer are you living paycheck to paycheck. It is actually between three and four paychecks ahead, which is enough to shield you from most harm. You will still make mistakes but unless you are the victim of unprovoked circumstances, you will be in complete control.
There are significant spinoff benefits. You relearn to deal in cash only. You will learn to be not a borrower nor a lender be. You realize the world has to practically collapse before you even feel the pinch. And once in a while, when some big shot comes tumbling down, and you’ll have the cash to buy his estate at ten cents on the dollar. And you don’t worry about the ethics because you’ve learned not to feel the least bit sorry for the brand of trouble people who borrow money get themselves into.
That situation has many names, like “insolvency” or “bankruptcy”.
But it's proper title is “overdraft”.
Last Laugh
Tree House
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