One year ago today: December 3, 2015, we found the $829.01.
Five years ago today: December 3, 2011, playing with microprocessors.
Nine years ago today: December 3, 2007, this blog is under-commented.
Random years ago today: December 3, 2013, leaving Memphis.
MORNING
Who’s tired of yard work? Yeah, well my hand went up first. I’m taking it a little at a time and this AM was frustrating. In two hours, I got two bags raked. The slowdown was the vines, particularly the ones that creep along the ground. They are too flexible to break, too strong to yank out, and won’t sit still to be sliced with a shovel chop. They foul the leaf rake, so it’s down on hands and knees to cut each stem with tin snips.
This is unpleasant work, so I took a lot of quick breaks, which I used to eyeball the house. I see the putty on my windows is crumbling. Fortunately, I’m a pro at that repair. Who remembers that glass stapler I found at the flea market? Do they even make diamond points and window putty any more? Remind me to pick up some up. How do I know I’ll be shopping this morning? Easy, I’m completely out of tea. That will get me over to Save-A-Lot pronto when nothing else will.
New Orleans street car.
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NOON
No problem, I thought. I’ll fix the window beside my desk. It is one pane that was puttied in without the proper undercoat of primer. This causes the oil in the putty to gradually leak into the wood and in around ten years, the putty begins to crack and flake away. But then I ran into Millennial marketing and Chinese inflation. Not familiar with these terms? Relax, I’ll explain.
They can order the stock for you, but want top dollar. The alternative is to buy the glazier’s points that have the little angles that require a special tool to push in right. If you use a screwdriver, the points can work loose and you risk cracking the glass. The smallest pack is 50 points, about a twenty year supply. Like I said, small-scale.
And putty? No way. They only have silicon or window glazing compound. Twice as expensive as putty and both will dry out in the container long before you use it up. Also, silicon will wrinkle if painted because the wood in the window will expand and contract with weather. I also wanted a pair of sash lifts, you may not know that one. Those are the little hooks on the bottom edge of the pane that you hook your fingers under to raise a double or single hung window. See photos.
But what’s Chinese inflation? You don’t know because I invented the term, though I don’t much use it because it is more of an effect than something you directly experience. Over time I’ve often predicted woeful inflation, such as the ten-dollar loaf of bread. Yet this has not happened. Why? Allow me to explain. (There is probably another name for Chinese inflation, but I like mine better.)
Why have prices not shot up to reflect the pent-up inflation from the government overprinting billions of fake dollars per year? Because the factory processes that would cause inflation have been exported along with all those American jobs. When the job goes to China, you are not paying for any worker benefits. Prices and inflation say low. Problem. Just like the Arabs finally caught on they can charge what they want for oil, the Chinese will eventually overcharge once they learn America can no longer produce its own gadgets.
It works like this. If producing, say that sash lift, had remained on American soil, it would cost a fortune. The factory workers want a raise every year, plus medical, dental, pension, sick leave, and paid holidays. Maternity leave, the soccer mom thing, two weeks vacation, and weekends off. You get my point. If all this production had remained domestic, that little sash lift would probably cost who knows what by now. Thirty, maybe forty bucks? When this Chinese inflation strikes, it will do so with a vengeance.
For now, we Americans are in a long lag period where those who still have jobs or credit cards can benefit from low prices despite the looming consequences. When the dam bursts, there will be not only inflation at home from all the paper money, but price inflation that always occurs once the suppliers realize the demand for most consumer goods is inelastic. Put another way, once the Chinese undercut us to the point there are no more factories in America, then just like with oil, the squeeze begins. Welcome to reality.
We are already well along that path. I’ve read that the US has not built any new steel mills or oil refineries in forty years. And when I was younger, I subscribed to the theory that in a competitive system, prices would fall over time as workers became every more efficient and productive. I missed the mark on that one. Within my own lifetime, I can remember when only doctors made $30,000 per year. That is now near the poverty level for a family.
I don’t recall precisely but the first full year I worked in my life, I made around $5,800. At a union lumber mill. Big money.
AFTERNOON
I was not pleased with Trump’s deal with Carrier. He did not convince them to stay by imposing the 35% tariff he proposed. Rather, he gave the company tax breaks. Bad move, Don. Once a tax has been imposed, when you cut off the source, the money still has to come from somewhere. And that means the lost tax revenue from Carrier has to be picked up by the taxpayer. We talked about this long ago, so this is just a rewording. Most taxpayers would prefer the tariff on the grounds that it is a direct tax and as such can be avoided by not purchasing from that company. I’m disappointed with Trump on this one.
Does having to go it alone make you any tougher or smarter? Absolutely not, that’s complete old English doohickey. I’m reminded of that old saw about the Scotsman who decided to train his pig not to eat. The experiment worked fine until the pig died. My grumble was never the work; plainly I have no aversion to work. My loathing is people who try to force you to do things their way without paying you. Oooo, did I just describe the government?
Here’s a photo of expensive window glazing. At the end of the day, I could not find any ordinary linseed oil putty. One guy told me, “Try Lake Wales.” Hey, thanks buddy.
I’ve always been a big believer in self-reliance regardless that it isn’t the easiest path. But then you realize how many people out there don’t want you to achieve any real independence. Ann Coulter says it right, the government now reaches 70% of your life. That’s who controls your pension, your banking, your passport, and now even your medical. Most people should pause to consider what is the driving force behind all that? This is not the government of Eisenhower, or Kennedy. Starting with Nixon, there has been a fundamental shift of policy. I know who I suspect is pulling the strings, but it’s better people realize it than be told it by another. Because they are afraid to think it, much less say it.
NIGHT
Before I talk music, here’s a shot of a nice tree out on the Florida central plain. Note the dark-leaved orange grove along the horizon. This is the flattest, driest farm land in Florida, but even then, plow furrows more than a few inches deep will often seep full of water in just minutes. This is also excellent cattle country, far more humane than those “cattle farms” out west. This area is northeast of Fort Meade, Florida. The area has never been force-subjected to multi-culturalization and is therefore prosperous and hard-working.
The good news is from a phone conference late this afternoon, we sure as hell are on the same page. Only another bassist knows the true extent of the bullshit that guitar players put you through on their personal climb to illustriousness. Yeah, on your back. Refreshingly, it was evident off the bat there was no guitar player “ego-drama” between us. It that important? Darn tootin’.
Now pay attention. I like to over-document anything to do with music. I have some readers that rely on my doing so because it lets them know they aren’t swimming alone. I now regret the stretches in my life when I wasn’t in a band or trying. I think the way I go about music is the best insight into my character that exists. It is so rare to meet another musician on the same wavelength that each opportunity must be followed up. Here are my impressions of what has happened so far.
The guy instantly glommed onto my song list, he stated that was his major reason for calling back even though he doesn’t start the new job until next week sometime. You know I carefully choose my song list from underplayed classics which importantly have interesting parts for all the instruments, not just the bass. He detected that because it is the opposite of how guitarists go about selecting tunes.
The new guy has done some stage work with acoustic guitar before, but has zero concept of forming a (bass-acoustic) duo as a deliberate project. I get that a lot. To any novices, the difference is one of arrangement. Formal lessons gear musicians toward learning “their part”. You can’t have that in a duo. One of the instruments must supply the rhythm. If that ever stops, the music loses audience appeal. You might ask then why would the rhythm ever stop? You got it—some guitar hero wants to play a lead break.
Here’s some circular reasoning for you. As a bassist, he won’t clash for the spotlight because if he clashed, he would not long be in a band and thus would not have as much stage savvy as he has already exhibited. He pointed out he has not arranged music before, but the fact that he was amenable to learning is another indication he’s not a guitarist. I have a lot of mileage and rpms with this enterprise, so I expect we’ll have a “sound” right away.
He does not sing, but I got five bucks says as a bassist, he can “chant on key” and I know how to work with that. Of course, I’d rather be the one playing bass but stick around for the results. I’ve duo-ed before with saxophones, banjos, zithers, and keyboards, but the bass-acoustic concept is something I brought back from Texas and California on the great motorcycle trek of 2013. For clarity, I did not say I invented this, only that I have never seen anyone else do it. That’s correct, even out there, I have never seen it. I have seen instances where the bassists lingered on stage for a little accompaniment to an acoustic solo, but most guitarists won’t tolerate that. Sharing is not what acoustic solos are all about, right, Glen?
ADDENDUM
Let me get this written out for posterity. The concept formed out west when I saw so many clubs that had four and five piece groups, really excellent, but playing to crowd sizes half what they should have been. Bar owner after bar owner said they would hire duos if there were any because single guitar players no longer cut it—they all either played the same material or played something so whacked out nobody could follow along. In general, they further conveyed a disdain for backing tracks—and the whole concept around the solo guitarist with the backing tracks.
I ruled out keyboards for reasons I won’t delve into here except to say when it comes to popular music, it isn’t long before keys sound the same in every song. If the guitar work was already boring them, keyboards aren’t far behind. Save keyboards and jazz for the non-musicial types who drink in hotel lounges. In my mind’s eye, I began to see the possibilities of bass and acoustic as the actual foundation for a performing group.
By Arizona, I’d clued in that finding a guitarist who would only play rhythm wasn’t going to be easy, but I might get around that hurdle by finding a guitarist who could not sing. There’s a glut of those, god only knows. Follow my logic on that one, the US is full of wannabe guitarists who will never amount to anything. Hence, there must be a fragment of them that would rather play in any band than just sit there. I finally decided to follow through with bass-acoustic when I saw two guitar players dominate an open mic in northwest Beaumont, Texas. That was just over three long years ago.
They were excellent, but self-destructive. You see, they played the same boring guitar-crap that a solo act would play. Hence, they were good, but so what? Normally, two guitarists on stage will feign compatibility while each is looking to outplay the other. This Beaumont display got me thinking. While these guitarists did an admirable job of pretending to be a duo, the ego clash was still there. All they had done is re-direct it from between themselves toward any other musicians in the house who wanted a turn.
Back in Florida, I began a search for that acoustic player. Jag was okay, but he could not contribute more than what I taught him. Billie-Bill can only play rockabilly. The Hippie, Guitar Bill, Eddie, and Cowboy Mike have not, as long as I’ve known them, ever learned a single new song. Ray-B and Johnny Z are too sold on the guitar solo “troubadour” ideal to even try. These were the only musicians I know that stood a chance out there.
So now, instead of making a guitar player sound good, maybe I’m about to become the object of my own deviousness? In Karma-like fashion, is somebody else about to be doing my job? And making me look the incompetent? Then I thought, naw, nobody will ever be that good. More circular logic—if they were that good, my guitar playing would even sound better, not worse.
However, let’s be clear about a couple of changes. First, I’m operating in a more insular environment where fewer musicians have delusions of making it on their own. (This is significant because down Miami way even the bozos with full time day jobs don’t get it.) I cannot name one significant musical success story that came out of south Florida in the past half-century.
The other factor is that all along, I’ve been beavering away on the guitar. This time I can strum and sing a full 4 hours of material. Unfortunately, it sounds like it. I still require accompaniment. But this go-round, I know the bass-acoustic combination will work. The hold up is hubris, I’m leery of it. As I said, I could not find one guitar player to learn even one song and try it way I wanted it played. Thusforth, I’d never heard my own music except to tracks I’d made myself—and hubris says that will always sound right to me. Tomorrow, I give it the acid test.
Last Laugh
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