One year ago today: January 20, 2016, $104 a bottle.
Five years ago today: January 20, 2012, graphs of voltage drop, finally.
Nine years ago today: January 20, 2008, . . . a question of dates.
Random years ago today: January 20, 2009, I analyze MIDI.
MORNING
Due to popularity of Russian warm spells, I’m leaving this link to the Siberian Times. Read past the “global warming” theories, the summers in much of the arctic can be surprisingly warm every year. Ah, these Russian women, so good looking until they are twenty. How nice that none of them are fat. It’s just kind of surprising to find so many people interested in the weather. All of a sudden, like, what’s with that?
They say he has “violated” decades of established diplomatic protocol, refusing to accept that that is a big part of why he was elected. Besides, established by whom? The damn entrenched bureaucrats, designed to ensure the establishment bloodsucking continued while they argued endlessly. The newspapers and TV go ballistic over any fragment of negativism toward Trump, all because he demonized them and got away with it. Ha, they thought they were above it. The wimpiest angle they have is saying Trump has “yet to win over the country”. Guys, he did that on election day. You’re living in denial.
About here I should remind all that I am not pro-Trump. I am against all the filthy tactics that were used against what he stood for—the will of the American people. And that will has changed drastically since the 1960s when the creeps in DC started flooding the country with the sort of people that, right or wrong, the majority of Americans never wanted here. Instead of respecting the people, DC labeled them bigots and racists. Now they are incensed because one man is fighting back. That person happening to be Trump does not mean I support him. I support the campaign promises he made and that’s what I’m watching for.
What’s going on in Miami? JZ has had his phone out of service for two weeks. It could be something like one of his exes calling him for money, everybody knows they do that. My exes would not think of even trying such a stunt, but then again, my approach to dating deeply differs from JZ’s. The thing is, I know if he got the new truck, he’d be here next day or two just for the R&R and he knows the women here are prettier. I wonder if it is because business has been bad?
From Dr. Zhivago.
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NOON
The screen door turns out to be a good selection for a beginner’s project. A box is simplistic, but a door teaches you lessons that might get overlooked. Like why it always takes twice as much glue as you thought and bought. Or the myriad ways that wood can bend by itself if it thinks you are not really paying attention. Or the experience that provides invaluable insights like why you need $100 worth of clamps to build a $30 screen door. Shown here is the door being dry fitted for some extra styles and rails. It doesn’t look like much progress, but the door is more elaborate than y’day.
And I’m still watching that Aniston movie, in segments. It’s a stretch to keep interested, I mean watching women who cannot analyze anything else trying to analyze men. That part where the cute one thinks the guy invited her to a party for himself, that reminds me of my junior high dating days.
Me: “Hey, babe, would you like to go with me to the dance this Friday?”
Her: “Not if I have to take tickets again.”
Anyway, back to this door. I’m finding it like driving, a chance to do some great thinking, to clear away the clutter of the world. The building takes long enough and is paced by letting the glue dry, that it becomes not work at all. I found that I have four router bits. One will cut a groove, like the kind that holds the bottoms of drawers in place. I read somewhere they will also hold door panels. I think I’ll take some time later and see if I can come up with some novel combination of these bits. Or just stick with something basic. Look at the picture again. See, to you it is just another door. To me, well, I’ll have you know I waited a damn lifetime to finally build something like this.
Router bits are expensive. I bought these to cut the plexiglass panels of the toothpick cases, so I’ve owned them a lot of years already. They never got used much, so they are like new. I inspected the kitchen door frame more closely to discover there is a section that has been heavily gooped over with paint, as if to disguise some damage. This is no longer a door. It’s a mini-adventure.
“Don't Cry On My Shoulders 'Cause You're Rustin' My Spurs.”
NIGHT
The “Londongrad” book is kind of side-tracked for now, I’m more into “Burma Road”. By now, it is clear it must be all true because of observations that could only be first-hand. I didn’t read that much today as the door was plain more fun. Here’s another view with that handsome model checking the structure for “flatness”. The door is only 3/4” thick until a set of screen rails on the interior are placed to act as stiffeners. The shirtless outdoor work should give a clear idea of what to expect by way of Florida winter weather. This lumber looks kind of nice and it will be not so great to paint it over. Hell, if it could be made to look right, I’d varnish it.
Without really knowing why, I got a craving to haul out that book I’ve got on cabinet making and read the chapters on how to fit those panels together. I think my tool budget is way unspent from the delay of that bottle jack, maybe I can afford more clamps and some nicer bits. Where did I put that book, the one with all the examples of dovetailing, but that shows all the tools I don’t have? It’s okay if anyone wants to give me a hand with this, you know. Come to think of it, there are several books around here with chapters on this trade. I can frame houses, you know. It’s this trim type work I don’t know.
I’m disappointed I didn’t meet up with the lady guitar player. I’m distressed enough over not finding a guitarist that I’m willing to audition anyone. My analysis of the jam session last night is that it is fun, but that’s all. I’m easily the oldest guy there, but that is not what makes any difference. It’s that everyone seems to have taken lessons at some point and can’t break the bad habits. Guitar lessons do not teach you how to play in a band, guys. Your worth as a musician is not determined by how well you play “Hotel California”, in fact, that has become an obstruction.
There is also a massive gap in stage experience. When one guy stops, they all stop. And most of them messed up when trying to “read” my bass hand. Sorry guys, that does not work with me. I’m detecting more of that stance I first saw in Demopolis back in 2013. Where the guitar player believes there are a core group of songs that determine how accomplished you are as a musician. I recognize some of the riffs, but could not name you one of the songs. It’s a paradox, people whose stage time is measured in minutes passing opinions on what is good music. “Why, you don’t even play guitar, so how would you know whether it is a good song or not?”
Okay, nobody actually said that. But too many guitarists think forming a band is you learning their song list. It’s neat, because I could show anybody in the place how to strum along to one of my tunes. In just a few minutes, we’d be playing an entire song. Not one of them could show me, even on the guitar, what they wanted for a bass line. I went on-line to find some rules on rap music, but no luck. There are tons of books that show you how to play rock or blues, but rap, well, nothing so far. If they don’t watch out, some people will conclude that rap isn’t even worth writing a book about.
Last Laugh
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