One year ago today: May 30, 2014, scary crops.
Five years ago today: May 30, 2010, on gov’t pensions.
Six years ago today: May 30, 2009, endless Blues.
MORNING
How does FPL know? That’s Florida Power & Light. They have an uncanny knack for turning the electric off and back on again. Just for a moment, long enough to kill everybody’s connection. In this case, I was watching a Willie Nelson movie, “Where’s the Hell is the Gold”. But FPL likes to do this later on Fridays, when there is nobody in the office to reset the modem until Monday morning. And no, the office will not send somebody over to do it. And they can’t figure out why nobody likes them. Yes, they really are that stupid.
Good old Willie, sings and acts and says the neatest things. “When a man starts telling people his business, pretty soon he don’t have any.” It’s a 1988 movie, when they were just beginning to portray prostitution as just another occupation. It’s the movies that’s new, the portrayal goes back beyond the Bible. The concept of it [successful hooking] as a career explains all the millionaire hookers that live in Brentwood. That's a joke, son. There are no rich old hookers, in case you have not noticed.
As for Willie, the suspicion remains whether he's that home-spun in real life.
In case this new property is a go, I took inventory of this joint. It bears every hint that this place was originally planned to be temporary. The only thing out of place is the bedroom air conditioner, which I liberated from Wally's Folly. And that is justified, because I sunk thousands into the repairs of that place up to the time he went sour. I have copies of the e-mails informing him months in advance prior to purchase that the place needed work. He never said a word that such repairs required his almighty approval. Again months, and not hours, in advance.
Which is why I took the air conditioner and not certain tools that were more valuable. It belonged to me and I needed it for the bedroom of this place. Did I ask for permission? No. It belonged to me so permission was not necessary, and like Khrushchev and the United Nations, try that no-answer stunt on me and the jokes on you. By the way, if I buy this new place, Patsie, half the cash came from what I promised Wallace. I presume you'd come get it, but I heard you are not allowed across the border much any more.
If you have not had any difficulty with that, don't worry, you will. If not you, then your offspring. And everyone else you considered in advance before you tried to shaft me. There, I'm in a better mood already.
NOON
“Overtip breakfast waitresses.” –Farm wisdom.
I went downtown for a haircut. Give me a while to hunt up some photos. They don’t grow on trees, y’know. What, you’re back already? Don’t worry, not a moment has been wasted since we last met. It appears that yes, I can afford the place on my own, but there are no available mortgage calculators that allow for a 50% down payment. When you type in 50%, the screen rejects it as “out of range”. Testing the limits, it would appear that in Florida, anyway, nobody ever has more than $10,000 ready money.
The property has its own private well and a septic tank, making it almost off the grid as it stands. How do you like that green paint? And that tin roof?” It would appear this space takes up the “garage” as viewed in the photographs. I wonder if there is still a separate workshed. Or do they refer to this same structure?
We’ll know shortly, as the budget for a June trip is already set aside. If JZ can’t make it, I leave on my own for a look-see. Which raises the question: does a second or more trip to the same destination count as my monthly trip out of town? Answer. Well, of course it does. What a silly question.
Am I getting any advice? That’s a popular question over this piece of property. You bet, I get plenty. Against it say it is a major move if I change my mind. For it say it is a sure thing now, which beats anything that’s cropped up nearby or in Boynton since late 2012. The unaccounted factor is the ease with which I can move. I arrived in Florida in 1999 with nothing but what fit in the trunk of my Cadillac. For me, relocating is not a big deal. I can be packed up and ready to vacate in a couple of hours.
And that is today’s noon entry. I heard a snicker in the back row saying this place is not as fancy as other retirement cottages. Which is probably true, and I'll bet when my critics bought theirs, their father leaned over their shoulder and repeated the exact same thing.
NIGHT
I’m in my easy chair reading up on anemia. I heard it was a temporary condition and I did not know that. Let’s see what I find. I doubt I’ll ever have dietary anemia. I like the foods in this picture, though I’m not a big fan of salads. But I’ll eat a bowl of radishes by themselves. Another avenue of research was that 10,000 hour rule, the source of that saying you need that amount of time to become an expert at something. I know I read it somewhere because the same source said working an 8-hour day took five years or thereabouts.
My conclusion is the next breakthrough has to come from sensors. The robot micromotors and controllers are everywhere, I think what is holding back progress is lack of development in the sensors. The hardware is basically updated versions of what was available in 1960. And generally, those sensors are designed to mimic human senses, or translate things like magnetic fields into human detectable modes. Is this the best approach? Are human senses even correct for a robot destined for Mars?
My secondary conclusion is that we are still using outdated technology on existing robots by building them marginally capable. I can find no robot that exceeds it’s designed chores by a huge factor. I predict the next round of successful robots will be those designed with overkill. That is, smart enough to do ten times or a hundred times more than is actually required.
Gladwell, that’s the name of the author. He’s the guy who studied why the best hockey players are born early in the year—they are generally older—and bigger—than players arbitrarily grouped by age in the same league. His book is famous but not all that popular because it maintains that successful people never make it on their own. I tend to agree with his statement that success is “grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances”.
Author's note: that last paragraph is not clear. The athlete does not succeed because he is bigger, but because early in each season, he gets the lion's share of available resources like extra coaching. An imperfect environment will prevents most smart or gifted people from ever achieving success. You might want to read the story of Christopher Langan. There's your absolute proof that the way the world works, the overall environment favors the average over the brainy. The same law that protects the weak from the strong protects the stupid from the smart.
Last Laugh
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