October 7, 2017

Yesteryear
One year ago today: October 7, 2016, where’s the free rides?
Five years ago today: October 7, 2012, simpler than religion.
Nine years ago today: October 7, 2008, 14 years today.
Random years ago today: October 7, 2006, the old neighborhood.

           Dawn found me in Winter Haven. Another $70 into the car. Things will improve as these small items get attended to, but this car has wreaked havoc on my finances. My gas budget has gone from $6 per week to nearly $32.60. My old habits returned instantly after 13 years of not driving a car every day. I think nothing of hopping behind the wheel to go downtown, where last month I would have used the scooter. Or getting the spare keys cut, I drove to the Wal*Mart that has the blanks, an 18 mile trip each way.

           Next, Agt. R wants to make some table legs from cedar logs. The legs have to be cut first and none of us knew how that is done right. I decided to take each log, drive a small hook into the top center, and let it hang until neutral. Then dip the bottom into a pan of water and mark the level spot. This will also prompt me to go buy one of those log saws, the funny shaped one that’s like a triangle. Scalene.
           Up in Winter Haven, I stopped for toast and eggs at the old Greek place, now called the Lake Shipp Café, or similar. By reaction of the waitresses, I deduce there are no other customers like me that ever go in there. Food servers obviously don’t see it all, but if only one of these were single. Since I forgot the camera, here’s a picture of my sandwich at the bakery a few years ago.

           Here are the operational daily average expenditures this year so far:

                      January: $28.72
                      February: $27.23
                      March: $35.69
                      April: $27.62
                      May: $30.74
                      June: $40.89
                      July: $36.52
                      August: $25.42
                      September: $59.79

           This shows the unmistakable impact of operating a vehicle. Whether I drive or not, the cost of insurance alone is $3 per day. Let me go check why June was so much. Ah, that’s the month I got rained in at JZ’s place and we spent $375 on groceries and a few beers. Well, okay, more than a few. Miami always was a pricey place to find women who won't shtupp unless you got the big bucks. I worked enough years at the phone place to know the over-21 type of women who think they've got the rich husband-hunting routine down pat. They turn 28 before they figure out two can play that game, and then they hit the on-line dating clubs, the last resort of the desperate.

Picture of the day.
Clermont County meth sweep.
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           This was also a run for office supplies, the printer ink was $28.86, replacing the cartridge bought just last May 15. Why hasn’t some government watchdog looked into this rip-off? The HP ink factory Mafia. State-endorsed racketeering. Years ago I read an article about alternative printer technologies, the most promising of which was a laser that burned the paper black. I found that concept appealing. And never heard of it again. This Canon printer I’m using was something like $40 new and has used up close to ten times that in ink. That, Mr. Trump, stinks to high heaven. There is just no way the ink is worth that much.

           There has been increased printer traffic, such as song lyrics and more letters. I judge by the paper used and I’m not getting even 500 pages per cartridge. That’s black ink with maximum 15 percent coverage. It sounds light, but 2¢ per page adds up damn quickly. Later this month, there is a Maker Faire up at the public grounds in Orlando. If you are not familiar with these events, think of them as a combined science fair and trade show. The last one in the Miami design district was a side show and I liked that except for their demanding my identity to enter.

           I believe the admission is $25 per day, so it is not really a family event. You also get a lot of exhibits that are not big on science or technology. Hey, as long as there is a decent coffee shop on the premises, I’m find with people selling t-shirts in the aisles. Maker Faire has carefully build up a reputation for catering to things innovative better than anybody else. My immediate plans are to attend at least one day, probably a Sunday. Maybe bump into Becky Stern and put the squeeze on her. I have a soft spot for successful women. I moan about how grueling it is to find a woman who isn’t a sleaze-box or a prude, but fact is, I cannot imagine what a demanding woman has to go through. But, if Taylor would care to sit down and explain it to me, I’d be a willing listener.
           The picture, that’s Becky, the ‘after picture’ and she’s wearing her LBD. She’s the gal who’s behind Adafruit electronics. What? Oh, I think it is pronounced “AY-du-froot”.

Quote of the Day:
“Never interrupt your enemy
when he is making a mistake.”
~ Napoleon Bonaparte
           That was the Hippie on the line for nearly an hour. The guy is okay to talk to about most aspects of music, but there is a demarcation on that. His views remain as introspective as twenty years ago, he tries to read the audience from the stage by judging their reactions. He plays a list of songs he personally likes and see who applauds, end of research. I’m the opposite, I look at myself on stage from what the audience sees. I play what they want to hear, and experience has taught me not to play a whole set of Blues, or Reggae, or Rock. And not to play any ballads or slow songs if you want to keep the crowd fired up. Explaining this to a guitar player is like talking to a brick. If 1% of the room claps, he thinks that’s a vindication of his superior taste in music.

           In my world, if 51% of the crowd doesn’t cheer, dump the song. He mentioned a changing music scene in Miami, which tends to happen to most neighborhoods when the Anglos abandon the place. Once again, he recognizes change only to the extent it justifies his choice of music. But he did say he had added Haggard, Williams, Cash, Nelson, and I think he said Jennings. My reaction? I definitely need to see the song the list or it didn’t happen. That would be too much like admitting the other guy was right.
Here’s an old picture of a street in Hollywood, Florida. Probably ten years old, but trust me, nothing has changed except the potholes are much, much bigger and deeper.

           He’s out to Sarasota this weekend and says if I find an open mic, we’ll play. As luck would have it, guess which part of Florida I have barely looked at since I got here? To me, the Gulf coast is Ybor City, and I’ve only ever seen one solo guitarist there. And he was worse than bad. It’s the same old tale from the trailer court. The club owners keep cheaping out on entertainment until it’s down to Karaoke or some third rate guitar hacker. The clientele gradually seeps away, and two years down the line, no act is going to bring them back overnight. The club always asks if you have a following. If I did, I’d go play where they are, not in Ybor City.
           Myself, I’d say just pile into a bar with no entertainment and play for tips. Strange, the Hippie will play for tips on the sidewalk, but hesitates to do the same in the clubs. The eternal question remains, why do I keep taking another chance on the guy. Could it be because he’s beginning to see the light I tried to shine on his act back in 2002? That just maybe he really did add some drinking music to his set list? That he might be willing to learn some music he doesn’t like? There’s no saying, but the music business is so fine tuned, so competitive, that passing up any opportunity is foolish. Ask the guy who got replaced by Ringo.

ADDENDUM
           Yep, replacing that old wiring is going to be tougher than I thought. It’s going to be slow and dirty, it surprises me that the last guy didn’t do it right. After all, he had to do 90% of the crawling around under the building, so why not do a proper job of it? For now, I’m just going to add a metal box and tap off the existing cloth-wound cable. But I’ll coil up enough wire to reach the main box when the dining room floor comes up. That will convert the cabin back to a two-bedroom. I can’t predict if I’d ever rent, but if so, the back room would be better for that.

           I’ve asked about the climate for rentals in this area. Agt. R says not bad, but he says rent by the week, not the month. Now, technically, what we are doing is not renting, it is sharing. (Read the rule book.) There’s a better set of rules come into play if you are sharing. Make sure there is no landlord-tenant situation or they can put the screws to you. More than one person forgot this when they tried to pull that squatter stunt on me. No names mentioned, Theresa. I don’t predict I’ll need to rent, but if I do, I’d like it to be with minimal prep time.
           Just so you know, the room is large for a cabin (12’x12’). It has a nice closet, the double window overlooks a beautifully overgrown back yard. It is quiet and the only contact with the main part of the house is sharing the bathroom, with no foot traffic since it is down a separate section of the hallway. The room has everything you’d normally find (dresser, mirror, desk, chair, books) except a television. But that’s an easy addition although I suspect the lack of it might be a selling point. Remember Homer Simpson’s crack about, “Oh boy, cable TV in a different state!”

           One item I can’t much get out of my head is AirBnB. It’s the same old story, when I need to talk to somebody who has actually done it, there is nobody around for miles. The reports from Tampa area disappeared after a few short newspaper articles. It was the classic establishment (hotels) fighting the upstarts (private renters). One side of the river was forcing the AirBnB to charge the 15% hotel tax, while the other side, same county, didn’t even require a business license. But I fault the former for even letting the authorities know they were renting rooms in the first place. You have to be nuts to tell City Hall about anything about you do inside your own house. Those people are politicians, dammit.
           What I have noted is the general lack of ads for that service [AirBnB] in the Lakeland area. There are some, which I’ll get you a rundown on later, maybe even by tomorrow. Some seem frighteningly expensive, almost hotel rates. This strikes me as doubly odd as there is near total tourist vacuum between Tampa and Orlando. No reason for anybody to stop half-way. Except. Always the except. A friend of mine rents to Europeans and reports they will pay top Euro for privacy and anonymity.
           That’s something you cannot get at an American hotel for any price.


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