One year ago today: May 29, 2015, at the Desert Inn.
Five years ago today: May 29, 2011, counting country bands . . .
Nine years ago today: May 29, 2007, computer talk.
Random years ago today: May 29, 2012, food & music.
MORNING
This calls for breakfast. The impact of my first yodel last evening was so psychological that I had a dream about it. I still believe it was third grade music class that blocked me from learning to sing as a child. The class where the teacher made me “sing” and it was so bad, I knew right there I’d never get Sheila, the best-looking gal in the room, to run away with me. I’ve toyed with the idea of yodeling before, but never got anywhere.
Seizing the morning, early on a holiday, I was up at the big box pricing out a few items. You know, one cannot help but notice the businesses that are open on Sundays have a distinct non-Christian non-American taint in the crowd. Anyway, I purchased one of those brackets that fits into the concrete to support a 4” x 4” post. It is sturdy and has a gap to prevent water from touching the wood. They are ten bucks each, but the most I’ll need is 18 of them
Shown here is the item, note that it is adjustable within limits. The base fits over a bolt sunk into the concrete support beneath. I don’t know what the tabs are for. But I’ll find out.
I’ve calculated that new tools and materials will quickly run up to $1,000 each, but will taper off after that. Other prices were a roll of reinforcing wire at $107, a digital deadbolt for $140, and the dryer vent hose is $10 for every four-foot length. Nothing out of line. I could not find any double headed nails or anyone to show me where they were. Mind you, when I walked back through the major appliance section after pricing the hose, two salesmen jumped on me.
Here’s a chuckle. You might say I drew the line at spending $9 for a spool of string.
Here’s where I get to point out the difference between experience and logic. Pay attention, this is a good lesson for the day. JZ and I are going to level the foundation ourselves. He’s done it before and I have not. He wants to make the exterior walls of the house horizontal. (Experience.) I don’t. He thinks that is crazy and so do you. Until you hear me out. I want to make the interior walls of the house horizontal. (Logic.) And don’t hand me any of that, duh, I-know-that’s-what-you-meant. I recognize construction-think and it’s a beast to get over.
Mind you, this logic doesn’t always work because often you get those yahoos where both their experience and the conclusions they’ve drawn are dead wrong to start with. Right, Wallace? Theresa? Just walk away, you can’t both teach them the ABCs and introduce them to logic all in one lifetime.
England’s most beautiful village.
NOON
Most fun to investigate were the digital door locks. The variety is good and some of them advertise up to 19 combinations. I don’t know, but that indicates there is a memory to record which is used. I’ll look that up. But one style I’ll steer clear of is the keyless type that use a smart phone combination. Not only are the phones basically a tracking device, nothing they are ever used for is ever a secret. And secrecy is kind of a big influence on why people lock their doors. I guess they don’t teach that in Millennial school.
I got home limping to find a masonry nail in my shoe. How’d that get there? I also tried to price out the fancy light fixture from last day. Except for the rare glass globes, similar styles all seem to be in the $180 price range. That makes it no antique but that’s still a pretty good find for free. And I can pretty much tell you I’m going for a used washer-dryer set if possible. The other prices, Chinese or not, have gotten right out of control.
Next, the thrift, for some reading material. As with the other places in town, I’ve already gone through and picked out all the good reference and technical material. So I settled for a story on police violence. Mr. Trump, please make a rule that it is unconstitutional for police to stand in front of a vehicle of a person who has a legal right to drive away. They should have to clear out of the way as soon as the driver starts the vehicle. As it stands, the situation is a setup. And also, step up the rights of people who are falsely arrested, simply because being arrested can taint a person’s entire life and the cops know it.
Another thing to look at is the police confiscation of sums of money they deem “excessive”. The public knows that even when the purpose of the money is proven, the victim rarely gets it back. I mean, what if I was stopped with $5,000 on my way to buy a house? I’m saying the police already know who the dealers are and should not be applying the same law to regular citizens who have legitimate business.
AFTERNOON
It’s getting close to 90°F out there, so I practiced singing to give me nothing to do all afternoon but sit in the sleep-magnet chair and read. “Blue Yodel” is the definitive song of the style, I don’t like the term “genre”. It sure looks like I’ll have no other way to sing the correct notes except to memorize them. I’ve done it before with regular vocals and it is so much work for a talentless one like me that it will restrict any yodeling I do to two, maybe three, songs.
Here’s another picture of the bracket shown above. I think it too difficult to imagine how it works for many people, so here is a demonstration. The picture is upside down, but it shows what will happen. Those posts are only $9 each, so I have virtually an unlimited supply to get the job done right. I went on to price numerous items for the upcoming renovation and repair and I’m pretty satisfied with what’s happening.
If I proceed right away, this will not be a summer off. If I don’t proceed, then I’ll be doing a few major projects after I’ve moved my tons of junk into the place. I supposed a lot will fit in the storage sheds for now, although they are shot and ready for the scrap wagon. They are just old. Get ready for more photos this time, I’ll try to spread it around so you see a variety of different aspects.
The new place is not big, but it is over twice the size of this place. It is a house, not a mobile home. I don’t want a McMansion that I can’t keep up with. Oddly, the number rooms is the same, but they are individually quite a bit larger. The bedroom along is 2/3 the size of this whole place. Face it, folks, soon the tales will no longer be coming from a trailer court. But the title is unlikely to change so relax on that one. Originally, the title was supposed to convey the irony that not everybody who lives in a trailer is a couch potato.
And when you order a pizza from Domino’s with the tracking system, remember that it is really Domino’s tracking you.
Jack Leo Van Impe: Astrophysics, 2001. Jack, the TV preacher, likes to be known as “the walking Bible” because he likes to memorize passages from the King James. Anyway, Jack, without a single real physics course under his belt, has declared that the inside of black holes “fulfill” the requirements of Hell. We can’t wait to see what Jack cooks up once they discover life on Mars.
Here’s the masonry nail from my shoe. I told you that thing hurt. Don’t panic, it was lying on its side. They resemble old hand-made nails from long ago. I’ll find a use for it.
Which is about the same. It took just under 8 minutes to order and get a coffee and an oatmeal cookie. And Starbucks suffers from the Florida effect, where it takes stupid people twice as long to spend $20 as to spend $10. So finally I’m settled in with my book and the phone rings. I thought I knew Dania Beach, but where is the Land Crab Lounge? I’ve heard of it. It could be one of those places I stopped once. Usually when that happens it is due to high prices or hovering staff.
Anyway, I’m semi-invited to show up there for an open mic tomorrow, the holiday Monday. But I haven’t touched my bass in a month. Still, the place is a lounge, and although I don’t like the lounge crowd, it is where I prefer to play when the tips are good. The two other things that chase me away: if the place is really a high-priced restaurant masquerading as a bar, or if the crowd is a fixed clientele of locals who have known each other since the Civil War.
Here we go, I found a photo on yelp. Eight men, two women, and six televisions. And that’s just one corner of the room. I looked at some of the seafood on the menu. It amazes me why seafood is so expensive on the coast. We know it is frozen anyway and everything else is from GFS (Gordon’s Food Supply), the only supplier in the area.
Lounges are my eventual target, largely because most women I care to meet don’t hang around at bars. It’s the “higher class of bum” concept. Don’t laugh, in America that extra fifty cents a bottle really does scare away most of the riff-raff. The problem is, you’ll never find an unattached woman in a lounge. If she looks single, trust me, she’s the barman’s squeeze hoping you’ll buy her drinks until he gets off duty.
No doubt, with all those TVs, the music will be in the restaurant. Now my curiosity is kindled and I must see what gives. I’m informed they have a lot of acoustic guitar players. Good, for until further notice, that means a big contingent of Guitar Center clones and their musty lists, all of past its sell-by dates. On the other hand, I found Jimbos, did I not?
Let’s be fair and give this place an honest chance.
ADDENDUM
The Libtard Washington Post reports that marijuana use has not dumbed down American teens. The study involved 13 states that have allowed “medical” marijuana and/or recreational use. It has not had the disastrous effect on society so many experts predicted. And for the teens not being dumber, I can agree with the results by stating from personal experience, there is absolutely no detectable difference between teen potheads and those indoctrinated by the public school system. None.
Last Laugh
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