One year ago today: November 30, 2015, they shot him up the ass.
Five years ago today: November 30, 2011, woodie limos.
Nine years ago today: November 30, 2007, another Florida empty park.
Random years ago today: November 30, 2014, drying the money.
MORNING
It’s what it looks like. I’m out of blades this morning so I’m shaving with an axe. If you don’t believe it, you’ve never seen me sharpen an axe. I got several hours of yard work out of the way, including knocking down the vines, grinding rusty rivets on the shed, and taking the chainsaw to most of the branches that were getting away on me. I also tried and failed to get a wheel off the wagon, the tires will not grip the rim. I installed a heat sensor yard light over the side door and hauled a bund of leaves and limbs out to the pickup area.
I also took the building jack into the metal works to get the handle replaced. The handle will cost more than the jack but these folks come highly recommended by Agt. R so let's see how they do. Their shop is surprisingly clean, I'll say that for a welding outfit. Don't even look in my work room.
Those dead trees are far from lacking life. They are inundated with beetles, lizards, fungus, vines, sprouts, worms, who knows what. Walk up to one and peel the dead bark off the trunk and you’ll see cockroaches also like dead wood. Don’t worry, the choice pieces of wood are either painted, coated in insecticide, or varnished. The birds, contrary to what I was thinking, do not have a fixed feeding schedule. I thought they preferred dawn and dusk.
(I found this while searching for more
puzzle-generating software examples.)
Remember to use your BACK ARROW to return to blog,
or you won't get back to the correct post.
NOON
The red scooter has to go. Actually, it’s been more of an off-pink color for the past few years. I have a predilection for the Honda 250 Rebel, you can confirm that. The design has not changed much in 30 years, so parts are easy to find. It has always been classified as a “starter” or “beginner” motorcycle. Must be nice. Thus, often you see the reason for selling as the rider wants more power.
I’ve always thought that was the type of rider that becomes a statistic. The 250 has plenty of power for the city and although it is not a freeway machine, there are plenty of reasons I have an aversion to biking on the freeway. The 250 will cruise all day at 70 mph, but is that such a wise idea? Anyway, back to the design. It is a twin cylinder motor that has been perfected many times over and it sits low to the ground, looking a bit like a mini-Harley.
[Author’s note: besides the necessity for a newer machine, I also have to consider the changed driving conditions. There is no getting around the need to drive longer distances as the marketplace is more spread out. It is six miles to the lumber yard and two miles to the library. The Wal*Mart is half-way to Mulberry. It is not the gas that upsets the budget, but the fact that in the past two months, I’ve used a local ATM instead of taking the scooter to my bank. This has resulted in bank fees of $57.75, wiping out any savings in other operating areas.
Also, there are more and larger pickup trucks on the side roads. Where Broward has an SUV mentality, Polk is more high-axle half-tons. This means I can be riding down Ewell on the scooter, doing 40 mph and get passed by some farmer doing 70 mph. When you ride a two-wheeler, that kind of macho behavior is ordinary. I know, I used to be that way, har!]
What I did not know is around 1986 for a couple of years, Honda built a Rebel 450. There are a few of these on the market with low (<20,000) mileage in the $1500 range. I know nothing about this machine, but it would seem considerably more capable—and heavy—than the 250. The newest such bike would be thirty years old. While I rarely travel fast on a motorcycle, such a displacement would have plenty of power. Maybe I’ll take a test drive.
This photo is the bike, not bad for 30 years old. According to the blurb, it has never been dropped or rolled. I sent an email and I think the guy is serious, it was the bike his wife learned to drive on. She can’t get her leg over the seat any more. Don't laugh, your turn is coming. I’m interested because the bike is in such obvious good shape. It simply cannot have had a rough history and still look like that. Got that, Theresa? Patsie? I didn't think so.
NIGHT
Oh boy, let’s talk music and bands again. I’ll never learn. There is a local group looking for a bassist. Naturally, I go have a listen whenever there is opportunity, so this time I viewed a couple of videos on YT. I like to record my experiences with bands I try for, you may have noticed. This one would have more than a few idiosyncrasies. The drummer tends to gallop and it is evident the lady singer and guitarist are a duo in the making. That’s the part that gets my attention. History shows that I will play in a trio with a lady singer if there is no other musical option available.
So, I drove over and talked to the lady just before dark. It turns out they don’t play out as often as they would like. This doesn’t surprise me, two guitars, vocalist, bass, and drums, makes it a five-piece. Such bands are unwieldy. She said something that caught my ear. They are auditioning this week at a place where I know there is no room on the stage for five musicians. Ah, I figured it out. The bass player is leaving because he thinks he can play more often elsewhere (wrong) and that makes the drummer the weak link.
I asked for their song list. My traditional way of getting into an established band is to know enough of their material to carry a gig. My criteria is the same, if that list contains ten or more songs that I already know, that band is a candidate. She talked of adding keyboards, but this is the way amateurs think to expand their sound. It usually tips me off the musicians have maxed out their own stage abilities. Adding a band member at that point makes things worse.
On the other hand, I have considerable experience “improving” guitarists and arranging duo material to sound like more than it is. The videos show this band would benefit from such bass playing. The clearest tune posted was them playing “Sweet Home Alabama” and, well, suffice to say it is possible to be a professional musician in considerably different ways. And my way is not their way, not even close. I mean, they advertise their gigs in the musician’s section of Craigslist, which is about as obnoxious as it gets.
But once more, it has become a situation of play in any band now or stay at home.
PS: I play a deadly version of Sweet Home Alabama, spliced from bass tabs, notes, and a variety of Internet videos. Yes, I can play all the riffs and lead breaks, and my specialty, add in a few bass runs that aren’t really there but capture the gist of what the human ear is expecting.
Last Laugh
Camoflage truck.
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