May 28, 2015

Yesteryear
One year ago today: May 28, 2014, Florida women!
Five years ago today: May 28, 2010, doggie wigs . . .
Six years ago today: May 28, 2009, Alice's Restaurant.

MORNING
           Big discussion late into last evening. JZ totally likes the cottage, I am the hesitant one. He’s gung-ho to head back there for a look, I’m conservative about any decisions over $500. He’s ready to move in, I think it the shed needs a new roof. So play this by ear, it is not a question of money, we have that. My original plan to move to Boynton was picked out of thin air as well, I have no connections to either place.

           One undeniable thing, JZ had the time of his life. It isn’t difficult to spot how a smaller town has advantages for the guy. Women are necessarily more sensible and have a harder time plying the wrong trades. The first while is like making a clean break and a fresh start. It’s trying later to get out of town that isn’t quite so easy. Never, for that reason, invest in anything small-town that you can’t unload in a hurry.
           That applies to property and relationships. This situation makes me wonder what I have created. We toured quite a large swath of territory while on this trip. Above the frost line, the forest is more to my liking and the summer weather around ten degrees cooler. Um, that’s still too hot for most of you, in case you are wondering.
           Who recalls my celestial navigation stopwatch, the Sportline 240? These engineers never seem to get anything totally right any more. No matter how many times you hunt up the manual and try to follow the directions, this timepiece has the most annoying habit of turning on the hourly beep by default. The goof manual and all sets of published instructions are wrong or for a different model. There is no convenient combination of buttons to turn off that noise.
           I vaguely understand some slope-head people may find a beep somewhat helpful when using the stopwatch function, but that utility is completely quashed by that infuriating hourly “chime” they call it. Imagine the fun when it beeps in your suitcase going through airport check-in--and you cannot demonstrate the requisite familiarity to turn it off. So, I have tested the best way to silence the alarm and have published the results here, see photo. Unlike eHow or Fixit, I can guarantee my method always works.

                           Step 1: Remove back of stopwatch case
                           Step 2: Cut that goddamned speaker wire.

NOON

           “Overnight success normally takes around fifteen years.” --Anon.

           And core your apples before you peel them. I have the extra data on the cottage, but beyond this we’ll have to go up there to see what is wrong with it. Why is it the cheapest in the area, an area next to a shopping center? Bad zoning? Band neighbors? Bad foundation? Here’s a picture less appealing than the real estate blurb.

           That’s one big yard, which the first thing I would do is plant shade trees and a privacy hedge. Lots of parking, though it is on the dirt. Are those dead trees on either side? Look at those low-hanging wires.
           A check with the agencies that do such things indicates that, if this place were spruced up, it would rent for $47 per room per night. The reason is Disneyworld. It is impossible to get a budget hotel there. The total the liars will get you for is always over $200 per night per person.
           Nearby cities like Kissimmee have gone the same route. What you save on accommodation you waste sitting in the 22 miles of traffic into Disneyworld. Of course, that will shift around over time. But I needed to know what this place, 35 miles distant, could potentially be worth in that category. Most people I know don't go to Disneyworld specifically because it costs so much for the stay.
           Personally, I always check with Airbnb because they are closest to the true supply & demand situation. In this case, I got nothing, that is, not enough input data to run the numbers. The entire bnb market near the cottage seems to be sewn up by one lady who rents rooms in what looks like a large old house. I drove through that district, an experience best described as scary. Yet she has plenty of reviews. The ad describes the neighborhood as “diverse”. Sure.
           She is described as a gracious hostess. I would rather rent out the whole cottage for a week at a time for $400 and give the people some privacy. Airbnb has a great reputation for damage control, and like you’ve got their credit card number even if they pay cash. But I’m getting weary of this research already.
           Last, Agt. M is fine, just lying low and broke at month’s end. Did I mention we found a remote control airplane somebody flew out of range. A thorough examination shows it to be a cheap model. Since we have no remote control, it is slated to be dissected to see how they got servos and such into such a confined space. We do not know radio control because it is one of those areas you wait until you can make friends with somebody who already does it.

AFTERNOON
           Am I never to get away from this cottage? By now I’ve been talking to Deland and the neighborhood checks out. Peggy has a friend in the same area who thinks nothing of leaving his property alone for months at a time and leaving town. (However, I seldom trust unsupported advice.) This update pretty much slates the place for a visit and JZ is ready in about a week. It is barely four hours away along I-95 if you go to New Smyrna, then cut inland.

           Agt. M is also in the loop, since he can build decks and lay tile. Folks, it is ever prudent to have someone in your immediate circle who can lay tile. And lacks a day job. And lives near the train station to Deland, or at least within bicycling distance at both ends. Was it ever easy to hack the real estate computer to find the non-published data. Like the floors are linoleum, it is built on stilt pilings, the closet is walk-in, the dining area is a small nook in the kitchen, and it has no heating.
           Apparently the workshed is empty. Now you're talking. It is difficult to find, no wonder we drove past it twice. We are talking 80 feet back on a narrow lot surrounded by forest and canopy. I do not know if it has city services, either way, I don't care. Living off the grid is fine by me.
           Ergo, it was somebody’s summer home or fishing cabin. We can live with that. And, it is all front yard, there is nothing to the rear but the property line. The lot is around 1/6th of an acre. JZ says we leave asap, I say we hesitate and err on the side of caution. This thing is sweeping all before it. I just hope the neighborhood is not “diverse”. Nomsayn?

EVENING
           Tank restoration, that’s one expensive hobby. Tank Overhaul accurately depicts the process, I was impressed. Now I know each project takes two years and costs $4,000,000 minimum. One such outfit is in California, and the rarest of tanks is also the best: the German Panther. That explains why I’ve never seen one. You have to make a special trip, see below. The picture is of the owner.

           I learned the kill ratio against Shermans was 5:1 and against T-34s was 9:1. I find that suspicious, since the T-34 was significantly superior to the Sherman. It would seem the most recoverable of Panthers are those which somehow wound up at the bottoms or lakes or rivers. Of great interest to me was the workshops which, on a far larger scale, fabricate parts using similar methods to my self-learned robot techniques. So of course I watched it intently, I was fascinated.
           Want a challenge? Watching those experts fly at it tells me that serious robot buffs have an understanding of hydraulics. Up to now, I’ve assumed all robot functions could be electrically powered and I should have pondered how much of the mechanical activity mimics or resembles hydraulic motion. The work crew is extremely knowledgeable. I was amazed by the articles they found inside the tank, from pistol parts to live machine gun rounds.
           Anyone who has been taught that the Germans were the “bad guys” should watch this video. It takes a highly motivated workforce on a national scale to create such a tank, so any notion that it was built by slave labor and political crackpots is pure propaganda.

           For those who care to look further, the tank above was part of a private collection in Portola Valley, CA. Owned by a deceased millionaire and ex-Hewlett-Packard executive engineer named Littlefield, the museum and workshops are slowly being broken up and auctioned off. Alas, Portola is in the Sierra Nevada, miles away from anywhere I’ve ever driven.
           It is a pity these type of restorals are not done on a larger scale since they represent an irreplaceable part of history. It is even difficult to find information on the Littlefield collection any more. Unless another private collector comes along, things do not look good for that outfit. Don't look a me. Littlefield was described as “unassuming”. Much like the type of character I would be if I, too, had inherited enough money to collect 220 tanks. Why, people would go out of their way to call me Mr. Mellow. I think we can all agree on that.


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