One year ago today: May 12, 2015, Everglades, pallets, Shuckers.
Five years ago today: May 12, 2011, Goodwin’s Theory.
Nine years ago today: May 12, 2007, internationally meaningless words.
Random years ago today: May 12, 2006, everything should cost more.
MORNING
It’s 9:00 AM and I’m waiting for primer to dry. The new sidecar chair is framed and welded so it has to be primed. And the only kind I’ve got is the green anti-fungal type from the camper. It’s a slow process, so over to Fred’s for some repairs. Fred has gotten out of the business, same as I did years ago. Smart phones and tablets drive the repair shops out of business. That, and MicroSofts campaign to force all users to switch to Windows 10, is enough to gut the computer repair trade.
If you’ve seen those incredible acrylic sculptures that were so popular in the 80s, chances are you’ve seen Fred’s work. Here’s that photo of the horse and wagon team I told you about. That’s a team of six horses, all hand carved as a unit (the whole sculpture is joined at the base. The driver and reins, also carved from the single block. You can see some of the wine barrels just behind him.
The neatest sculptures have recessed lighting that makes lighting and strobe effects. This horse team will rest on long narrow neon light base that highlights the figurines as if they are glowing internally. Nobody does this kind of art anymore, so maybe Fred is on to something. You know he used to make a living at it. And there’s your one-of-a-kind photo, not uncommon around here. Unless you know a ton of places that get from sidecars to sculptures in a single bound.
The robot club met at the Senor Café, there are no projects scheduled. Our shop equipment is showing signs of wear, but it was always understood the tools would be used for repairs and household projects as our skills increased. It is long since delineated that the rough work is done at the clubhouse, the fine work and programming is in-house over here. This entails there are no uniform safety standards. I wear safety glasses to cut thin plywood, but Agt. M is shown here welding without even goggles. I’ve been known to wear a hardhat to spray paint.
There was further discussion of this “$100,000 house”, and I’ll be part of the team that heads out for a look soon. It simply cannot need that much in repairs or it would not be standing an uncondemned. We’ve looked over the 14 available photos which to not show any damage, but they cover most of the exterior, enough to show the repairs may be confined to one part of the structure.
Also not known is what component of that number is materials. Even if it was $30,000 in materials, the labor is not going to cost us a cent. The team to get even structural work done is already in place, so the reluctant but unanimous decision is that we at least take a look.
[Author’s note: sorry to drop this $100,000 house on you without explanation. It is one of the places turned up by our search. The seller said it needs "a hundred thousand" in renovations. Impossible, since houses in that neighborhood barely sell for that.]
Commodore 64, best-selling computer model ever.
NOON
Here is the stump of Fred’s tree, the one picked off by the tornado. It has started growing again. I advised him to leave it, since the way it fell forms a sort of natural alcove in the corner of his back yard. Since it was a shade tree, in a few years he’ll have a great feature that would probably cost a fortune to have built professionally. I don’t know if you can see it, but in the upper left, you can just glimpse the old tree trunk curving around a shady spot.
Stay out of the Florida summer sun, advice that cannot be often-enough repeated. Inside, I mapped out some potential trips I’d like to take if I can get away. The motorycle is a glorious machine to drive through the mountains. The nearest mountains are the Appalachians. And that’s the northwestern tip of Georgia, where I have never been and have no idea. The iPod has to be raised before I’ll make that trip, as I would like to stay away a couple of weeks and really tour the area. The money for this trip is already set aside, that’s the “covered bridge” trip that I did not take when I turned back in Ft. Lauderdale because of a piston misfire. (It was the alternator which as you know has been replaced.)
Donald Featherstone: Award in Art, 1996. Inventor of the plastic pink lawn flamingo in 1957, Don and his wife dressed alike for his last 35 years. And likely still would be, had Don not died of dementia in 2015.
This picture of me holding a brick of cane sugar is here totally for balance. I have no idea what a block of sugar is for, I didn't buy it. What, do you like shred it or something? Or saw it? In which case, why not just buy the granulated. Don't ask me. I told you, I didn't buy it. The whole sugar aisle smells like it.
My show tonight was sub-optimal. This was annoying to me as some of the contributing factors could have been hammered back if I’d decided to do so. For instance, the house now has a PA system, but the emcee still treats it like his own. He sets it funny and won’t let anybody who knows how change the settings. What I’m saying is he would back down if you confronted him on it, but that is not the musician’s spirit in an open mic. As usual, my method of handling it is to bring my own system and optimize it for my sound.
The microphone was turned so low because of the screamers that I had to get right up to it. It was sticky and I didn’t notice until too late. The couple that never rehearses, the potato lady, gets their really early so they are first in line. I think that might be why the PA is set to badly when the others show up. They do a screaming set of tunes nobody knows, but as for their act, I’ve seen enough of it before to know they are copying somebody.
That guitarist from the first night returned, I’ve seen him twice and he’s repeated music. His music is technically great but it doesn't slice through the crowd. He cleverly waited until the emcee left the stage, then quickly set the PA to his liking. Hmmm, so that’s how it’s done. Was there anything good about tonight? Well, yes, mine was the only real sing-along set, there were a few imitators but they didn’t come close. I didn’t make any mistakes on stage and of what was there, mine was probably the only set that drew people closer. Those screamers, from what I see, will never be hired by the house.
Getting the gig is my motive and yes, there are a few people around beginning to notice my music is geared toward that. This has always been contentious to some people, whether one should be there solely to play the best possible music or to be there to play what gets the gig. But that’s dichotomizing a complex issue, most are somewhere in between. That includes the “pure” musicians who, if they had no eye on something else, could just go home and play on the couch.
The most enjoyable part of the night was the 24 mile round trip on the motorcycle. I see there is a new disco club and a couple of new pizza franchises on the main drag. Two commodities I have no use for. I was home by 10:30 baking ham and raisin bread sandwiches and getting ready to curl up with a good book. In this case, a text on often misdiagnosed conditions. I don't have any of them.
ADDENDUM
For studies these days, I’m working closer on my concept of “go fetch” robot navigation. Under the right circumstances, it would be very reliable. This is where the main module of the robot, maybe during descent phase, or by directed fire, sends a sensor transmitter to the surroundings. Maybe scatter them by the hundreds, or sling them to the destination vicinity. Then, the robot is left to autonomously get to the sensor. I watched training videos for the Mars landers and I agree with the on-board camera system, but steering it from Earth is sluggish.
Now that we know there are large and flat plains on Mars and we know it supports the weight of the rovers, this should be taken advantage of. Say there is an interesting formation a few miles away, as viewed by camera. Patoot a projectile as close as possible and let the robot make its own way. This would require plenty of sensors to protect the vehicle, but that’s what a proper robot can do.
These sensors, except for those which bounce light or sound off the target, all have short range. That, I’ve found, is usually around 8 feet. Hall effect and feelers have far shorter limit. But they can react in microseconds. Anyway, “go fetch” is just an academic workout, maybe I’ll actually come up with something. The concept is to get around the weight and complexity of having to sense distance and motion. Since the projectile has a chip, it can be used for a number of clever feedback signals to the rover. And these chips are cheap, there is no reason a properly designed unit could not carry them by the hundreds or thousands.
The way it is done now, by camera scenes relayed back to NASA, is too expensive. It has to use the most advanced capabilities of the entire system even when such is not called for. Imagine a terrain that was studded by a million tiny sensors released by the capsule a hundred miles above the surface. All falling to ground, then networking themselves into a terrain map instead of relying on signals from millions of miles away. Then, if even one chip survives the Martian weather, the “map” is remains available for the duration of the mission.
Last Laugh
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