February 14, 2018

Yesteryear
One year ago today: February 14, 2017, except it won’t pull nails.
Five years ago today: February 14, 2013, on alimony & school cops.
Nine years ago today: February 14, 2009, I experiment with Karaoke.
Random years ago today: February 14, 2001, from the hand-written original.

           Jarte. That’s the new word processor I’m toying with on the laptop. It works, but it strips away the formatting when the document is returned to the Word. It might be some setting but for now that makes Jarte for emergency use only. The best good it did was direct me to a converter file that MicroSoft no longer supports, god bless those little darlings from Redmond. Why, they are not only defining “progress”, they gonna come by and shove it down your throats. This converter is the few lines of code that allow doc files to be opened by docx software. You’d think MicroSoft, with their massive web presence, would leave that code available. To me, MicroSoft is the pooch in the picture. (The pic is a 'Last Laff' reprint, but it captured my meaning so well.)

           I’ve looked at several alternative software offers that are touted to replace MicroSoft 10, which it turns out I am not the only person who hates it. The two major apps I use for this blog are Word and Paint. Both require an online account, which is unacceptable. It really is not anyone’s business if you use software or not. The problem is, the replacement programs, even when they appear to work and have the same look and feel, they alter the file format.
           The next time you re-open with XP (still the world’s most popular software) the appearance has changed and no easy way to restore it. I’m looking for something I can use on the tablet that saves the files so when I get home, they are XP-ready. Pay attention to my gripes, they have a consistent tendency to be years ahead of their time. Like now, magazines are filled with advice on privacy that was old hat here back in 2000.

           A perfect weather day and I’ve got the slumps. Check back later. I used the time for research, and for soundproofing material, I’m sticking with R-13 insulation. The stuff even three times more expensive does not justify itself. Agt. R says the wall is overkill. That’s because it is supposed to be. I’m learning how to soundproof exterior walls by doing an interior wall. It’s more comfortable, see.
           I further rejected other suggestions like a floating drywall barrier, though I may add a strip of cardboard over the studs on the side opposite the major sound source. In this case, that will be the kitchen. The dining area is slated to be for two people, with one edge of the table right against the sound wall, or pretty close to it. There is a Restore closer than the one on the Plant City road. No wonder I’ve never seen it. The address is on Recker Highway, probably the worst named route in the state. Where do they find these people? In a fashion reminiscent of Canada, the highway does not go to, from, or near any place called Recker. But to keep it all-Florida, both ends of the highway go nowhere. They just peter out into nothing fringe neighborhoods in Auburndale and Winter Haven.

Picture of the day.
Wisteria, age 144 years.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Do I look tired? I should. Half a day [needed] to move that wall 5-1/2”. The work was successful, converting the new bedroom from visually slightly cramped to visually slightly spacious. I also tested a section of the soundproofing until I ran out of tarpaper. That stuff is $30 a roll these days, and that whole room is being papered under the drywall. I spent time researching sconces and the type I want are $200 a pair. I tried to find some innovative house skirting designs, no luck. I may be forced to use my imagination. Or some of the oak flooring pieces that are too broken to recover.
           Another school shooting, this time near Ft. Lauderdale. Another geek social reject. Another search for a motive. Why? I can tell you the motive. The guy was a big shot online but a loser in real life and his little mind couldn’t deal with it. In my day, society constantly reminded these duds that they were losers and they learned to accept it fast. You watch, when the pictures come out it will be some dork you take one look at the bastard and you know he’s a basket case.
           But political correctness says nobody can turn these creeps in because these creeps have rights. The ones that grow up become prison guards and bylaw inspectors, the ones that never grow up become millennials. Now, media coverage provides them with a shortcut to fame, and in America you can’t blame the media for any of the evils they propagate daily, or you’ll be accused of you-name-it. By the you-know-whats.

           By late afternoon, I’m on a break listening to the country rebroadcast station, this time with their showcase for local talent. Dang, there is an entertainer calling herself Lady Z, which is too similar to my Lady Nik. The station plays covers and originals, today’s fare was remakes of ‘Orange Blossom Special’ and ‘Back In Baby’s Arms’. The difficulty with this programming is that all the music is too slick, like it was made for the purpose. I would rather hear a recording of them playing live. The studio recordings remind of the Hippie and his demo tapes. They are complete fakes compared to the stage sound he is capable of producing. That’s the first Florida guitarist I met who would not, even as an exercise, try to play a strum that I asked him to along with my bass playing.
           The renovations are really making the interior swank again. But an examination of the kitchen area shows that entire section has to be redone, right down to the studs. There is no convenient place to mount an air conditioner that is not in direct sunlight at least a few hours per day. And the plumbing, although I’ve long since had the long sections of piping sketched out and may only need minor help to cut things over. That is not going to happen very soon.

           Overall, the rate at which work is progressing is satisfactory. It is adding to the value of the place and so far has not been that much more strenuous than normal upkeep on other places I’ve been. But this time I’m more incentivized to keep at it. I’ve got enough leftover drywall pieces to pretty much cover the kitchen side of the wall, so it won’t be long before we have something habitable. Rustic, but habitable. Next, I put on a DVD called “Baby”, the Secret of the Lost Legend. I was expecting some half-baked Disney yarn, but so far it has been real quality and plenty of seriously accurate scenes. And I’d date more brunettes if they looked like the actress in this number. What a hottie, even if she plays a housewife.
           Oddly, though she is the co-star, she is not listed in the credits, unless Sean is a woman’s name in England. I doubt it, but in secondary credits there is name Julian Fellowes, maybe that’s it. Who knows, we’ll go for Sean since the movie copyright says 2013, she might still be around. Funny, though, the style of the movie points to around twenty years earlier. Vehicles, acting style, fashions, haircuts, scenery, stuff like that. There is no Internet access where I write these posts.

ADDENDUM

           Here’s more on music. Since the lessons work better than the rehearsals, I’ll stick with that format for a bit. Possibly me directly telling her what to play has bolstered he confidence where I would definitely be getting back talk from a dude guitarist by now. And band-making is where I know very well how to gauge the rate of advancement. There are a few new country tunes that fit what we are doing, though in general, the music these days has too damn many instruments. Mind you, that’s a feature that like classical piano, or jazz, which signals the end times of a musical era. The artists go for complication when the majority of what they can compose has already been used up.
           Thus, I’m listening more closely to what the radio stations are plugging. They seem closer to being a determinant of what’s going on than the game driven wild numbers that appear on the indie sites. And forget the top ten or top hundred un[less you like slow musical ensemble. There are a few, maybe one in thirty, tunes that have some originality. I’ll pick out few, the assertion here that if my guitarist responds so well to instructions on the classic tunes, the relatively benign rhythms of contemporary music may be no challenge at all.

           [Author's note: maybe Lady Nik will be okay. Further research reveals Lady Z, or as she is known, "The Fabulous Lady Z", is primarily totally outdated jazz music. Good jazz or bad jazz, it is not something that's really going to compete with my little country duo. This is a Lady Z promo photo.
           One thing about Lady Nick and I is we don't wear stage makeup and don't really need to. I mean.]


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