One year ago today: February 24, 2016, Roman numeral day.
Five years ago today: February 24, 2012, ‘unusuality’?
Nine years ago today: February 24, 2008, half-way to Cuba.
Random years ago today: February 24, 2007, they grabbed the A/C.
Come on, guess what I was doing all morning. There’s a twist to this tale from the trailer court, which makes it top story. Take a look at this rather busy picture. I had to make one of those executive tier decisions, so let’s step through it and see if you come up with the same result. Look closely at the windows. Are they level? I ran into this at dawn when I stepped back to eyeball my work. (The cross braces seen here are holding the windows in the cutouts, that is, the windows are floating in this photo and not fixed in place yet.) You see, they did not look right at first glance.
You get to cheat a little by seeing what I did here. I went with measured level. Early robot experience tells you to trust your instruments. You can’t see it, but I used a variety of tools, including levels on the inside (not visible here) and the laser level to make reference marks. In the end, I chose mechanical level over visual level. Final answer, Bob.
Visible are some of the spots I’ve begun to repair on the siding. The piece above the windows shows the yellowish wood repair compound. Everybody says not to scrape the siding because it takes too long, but I’ve got the time. I’ll at least scrape the bad areas. I mean, so what if it takes time? I’m following Agt. R’s advice to always paint the back of the house first.
And thank you for your executive decision. Keep up the good work and come Xmas, there may be a little something extra under the tree. Now that we have a place to put a tree, type of thing.
Europe in 2000 A.D.
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Another example of inconsistency is the strip of lumber I’m designating in this next shot. You can see the repaired weight rope on the far end, so you can be assured I was very careful to reassemble the pieces back to spec. Yet, once I got the windows side-by-side, it became clear this whole pane was backward. That strip is supposed to face outward, where there is a corresponding lip on the outer window that seals the seam when the window is slid down closed.
This means I have to dismantle the frame and flip this window inside out. Not fun with those ropes in place. At first I blamed myself, but then I noticed the window lock, which I have not touched yet. It is also backwards. Same with the mating piece on the other frame. This window has been installed contrary-wise for a long time.
“Hmmm, the Roman numerals for 40 are XL.”
ADDENDUM
Feeling like I really accomplished something with that window, I went out on a Friday night. Yes, there is some adventure to report. To me, adventure is not a trip to Vegas or pretending bungee jumping is fun. The fact is, I don’t believe adventure can be bought and paid for. Since ever, for me adventure is young pretty women, music, and traveling the open road. The experiences I have with all three cannot be purchased, although for the frat boys, facsimiles are always available.
Ah, it’s the same band, but the only original members are the mother and daughter. This is the young one I said was rumored to be between 14 and 18 or something. Well, she’s 18, and she was carrying the band with her acoustic rhythm guitar. There was a drummer who followed along, and an electric guitar player who contributed nothing. Back up a bit, before they started playing, I naturally asked if they knew any bands looking for a bass player. I did know at this point they did not have one.
Yes, indeed, they are looking. And when I heard them play, I could hardly agree more. Turns out the bassist I’d seen them with last October was “from another band”. The mother also played rhythm then and the two guitars clashed. This time, it was different, so I cornered the mother and pumped her for information. I got a partial song list and gather that they have been trying to hold this band together for some years. She had ditched the second guitar and was now singing harmonies, which were lacking last time I heard them.
So I listened in for a set and indeed, that daughter is precisely the type of rhythmist I’ve been seeking. I asked her how she felt about carrying the band, letting her know that at her age I’d had much the similar experience, and didn’t like it any more today. She instantly glommed onto me, knowing what I was talking about. She’d love, she said, to let the singing get shared. My impression is that tons of men latch onto this duo thinking they’ll get the daughter—and quit when they find out mom is not to be fooled.
Also, this band played the club on New Year’s had showed up with just a drummer to accompany the guitarist*, and I heard it was pretty bad. It was the same band. I cornered the manager of the place, who’s known for six months that I’m looking to play bass in a group. But it was like asking your sister if any of her friends want to date. Huh? They never think you meant the most obvious choices. Same here. Even though this guy knows how often I’ve said I’d love to meet a Taylor Swift to play acoustic, well, wait until you see this one.
It’s making more sense now. The local musician’s pool is kind of limited and I can vouch right now that no guitarist with a guitar-attitude is going to put up with standing next to that blonde bombshell on stage. But a self-confident bass player is another matter altogether—if you can find one. And who do we know that has a ton of experience playing in all-girl groups? Who do we know that is likely to already know most of the chick songs this band would play. I noticed Miranda Lambert on their list, nomsayn?
I will make a foolish prediction here. This is a band that would have to be developed. It was evident they were playing what they could with those other musicians, as opposed to maximizing their own sound. Those guys need to be weeded out, or at least minimalized. I don’t need a drummer or a lead player. I listened closely to the style of the younger woman’s strumming and I can work wonders with that. Remember, to me, appearing “amateur” is just another musical style and it can take real expertise to get that sound. Give me three weeks with that guitarist and I’ll take her to the next level. Either way, that band without a dedicated bassist is lacking an important dimension.
*this is common. New Year’s Eve is the holy grail of gigs, and I can’t tell you how often some member of the band he plays all year quits that night to team up with his old buddies for the big bucks. I fire such people on the spot. And the five-piece band I just quit had a similar issue, if you’ll recall. They wanted me to commit to a $450 New Year’s gig in August or the keyboardist was going to go play that night with his old band. No way, I wanted to hold out until the middle of October for the best price. He had a conflict of interest, not me.
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