One year ago today: February 8, 2015, studious & well-groomed.
Five years ago today: February 8, 2011, Ooo, look, new scooter.
Nine years ago today: February 8, 2007, to “emphasize my plight”.
Random years ago today: February 8, 2013, crossword clues.
MORNING
What has changed in the past 24 hours? I’ve put out twelve low-ball offers on a series of properties in the $33,000 range. All two bedrooms, because once again I’m old school and still believe if I have a room I can rent, I’ll never starve. These are a variety of locations from Mulberry to Winter Haven, what I call “the corridor”. Don’t go concluding I’m shafting some poor buyer. If they had bought it with real money, they would not be forced to sell. They shafted themselves.
That’s the opposite of most people, where money gets locked up when they buy. Not me, it would mean first that I no longer pay rent, which is now over $500 per month here. Not only do I not have to lop that off the top, I would no longer have to continue saving 66% of what is left over. Taxes around Lakeland average $50 per month. Less than my electric bill.
Note that if this guy takes my offer, I will have enough left over in cash to seriously consider that trip to the Smithsonian. This is a three bedroom, and you cannot see it but there are two work sheds and a small cabana around back. It is perfect for me, situated on the dead end part of a dead end street that nobody finds the first time. The place is a little neglected, but it has lots of potential. Got to love that car port. It’s about a fifth of an acre with a big back yard.
Later, we drove out to Lakeland to take a look at the place and were the victims of another unscrupulous seller. I had specifically asked if the place was inhabitable while we completed repairs. The answer was yes. But after we got there, we discovered the electric company had disconnected the power and taken the meter. To get this connection back working, a licensed contractor is necessary, and that can run into a couple of thousand dollars. When asked about that, the seller said he meant inhabitable AFTER the repairs. Lies, I have no difficulty asking precisely the right question.
Crib death, or “infant sudden death syndrome” is now a green topic. Why? Because the cribs had tested okay. It’s a tragic, unexplained catastrophe—but only in societies that use infant cribs. Did you know there is an emerging explanation? Part of the difficulty in finding the cause has been that the cribs themselves pass the most stringent safety tests. Nobody could find a thing wrong with the crib design or materials used. Until somebody clued in that the cribs are treated with fire-retardant chemicals. Normally, these are safe. But when they are combined with ordinary household mold and fungus, the result is invisible, odorless, poisonous dust and fumes.
This morning’s Wiki photo (below) of a chorus line got the can-can polka in my brain. I believe the real title is “The Infernal Galop” from some opera called Orpheus. Anyway, guess which song I learned as a solo on the bass? Well, I had to get it out of my mind. I’m aware tune fragments that stick in your head are often called “earworms” but I dislike that term somewhat.
Chorus line.
NOON
So, let’s sit back and wait. Twelve offers is a lot and I only need one answer. Is this my lucky day? All of these places are in the semi-country and some are near large tracts of undeveloped land. I have to seen the Milky Way for years and none but the brightest stars. I’ve already budgeted for a used Ford Taurus station wagon. It would again be nice to have a big travel allowance.
Ah, yes, it just came to me. Judy, the doctor’s daughter. And she put that minty French green liqueur on pancakes. She liked those fruity drinks where you could not taste the alcohol. But I don’t ever recall any desert wine, so at only ten bucks a bottle, I think I’ll give it a sip.
Meanwhile, why don’t we all freeze our Florida butts off. One can always get warmed up listening to politics. That always generates more heat than light. Did you see that clever wise-ass try to outdo Donald Trump on the issue of conservatism. Trump gave a seat of the pants answer, that he took it to mean conserving resources, money, etc.
Then this jackass says that is only one of three side of conservatism and rolls off this noble-sounding but rehearsed diatribe about the limitations of Federal power. He was some politician, all right. It was a great speech, but it was not about conservatism and did not give any type of real answer. That’s the establishment for you.
NIGHT
You know one of the things I would do if I had the skills, or at least knew where I could get the skills? Find out how Skype is able to capture so much bandwidth and I’d build a router that did that for regular traffic. It is noticeable which times of day the Frenchies all plug in their Skypes, and it slows down the service for the entire area (the company falsely claims it makes no difference). Yet, you never hear the Frenchies complain of slow or interrupted phone service. But the computer links slow to a crawl. I would find out how Skype takes priority and do something about that. On shared Internet service, I say first come first serve. I say that mainly because I’m an early riser. Otherwise of course it is unfair!
The spikes in silver prices over the past week have an explanation. The big international banks are stockpiling silver and other metals in anticipation of a currency collapse. Thus when they see silver beginning to climb at free market prices, they immediately begin transacting silver between themselves to establish a lower price. Any buyers who see that price won’t pay anything more “than everyone else is paying.” Neat scam, as long as the pot never boils over.
So that’s why as soon as you see a leap in price, next follows a quivering set of squibbles as the banks beat the price back down. Sooner or later, everybody, even the banks, will run out of money. Come on, silver, if you can make a hundred dollars an ounce, you can make a thousand. Help me out here.
Last Laugh
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