One year ago today: March 2017, a generic day.
Five years ago today: March 2013, quoted in Michigan.
Nine years ago today: March 2009, early e-shopping comments.
Random years ago today: 2016, March , useful real estate sites.
Here’s the picture I mean. This depicts a carpenter installing a pre-hung door using the little clips that up till how I appeared to be the only person in this city who ever heard of them. I don’t recall the brand name but it was nothing fancy. I’ll find it again now, and notice the guy is not messing around with shims. There are six clips per door, two go behind the hinges and match the screw holes. I always knew there had to be a better way. The brackets have slots that can be adjusted up to 1-1/4”, enough to square and plumb almost any door.
Man-o-man, you should have seen the blonde that walked into the donut shop this morning. The humidity rose to 100 because all the men’s eyes were watering. Nineteen years old, a farm girl in a summer dress. Millions of years of evolution flashed before my eyes. As long as such creatures exist, there is hope for all mankind. And the LA Times crossword was so tough I only got eight words before giving up.
The coffee was lousy this morning. Don’t ask me how franchises manage that sometimes. I’ll be grumpy till noon now. I drove to the motorcycle shop and dropped off some money for parts, the significance is that without a decent morning java, I was zonked by the time I got back. So much for my big Saturday. Until I get that motorcycle back in use, I have no effective way to counter such moods. Got the blahs? Gimme two wheels and an open road. Hilly, tree-covered, some curves, light traffic, speed limit 55, no trucks, but let’s keep it within reason.
There, that was the whole morning. How did it go for you?
Crab overpass.
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Did I get you a photo of my last stop at the Olga Mall? Not sure? Rather than risk such a momentous occasion be forgotten, here is Unit 31 parked outside the premises last month. If Spock had known about this place, he would have changed his mantra to “Live long and prosper and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the Olga Mall.” Closed May to November, or something like that. If this is a repeat, good. Because they make a mean sandwich. And I needed a picture in this section. It’s extra work but you are worth it. (I couldn't find the mall photo, so here is a (repeat?) of the sandwich. Yes, the photo is carefully posed. If it continues to draw, I'll leave it put.
There’s one group of real estate people who meet and I think they are serious about refusing to meet clients at Starbucks. Which hasn’t opened yet. I listen to the radio news, which is embarrassingly biased as in pro-liberal. Our 51st and most powerful state nationwide, Israel, is kicking out their illegals. Around 40,000 Africans are being thrown out of the country or its jail time. And from what I’ve heard of Israeli jails, being sent to Africa is preferable. The liberal press is having a conniption, screaming that the Africans are, at the end of the day, just job-seekers. Like they are all engineers and architects or something. Interesting, because Israel has a wall, a pro-Israeli immigration system and now a deportation policy with teeth. The bad news for the liberals is that it seems to be working. Just fine.
Or how about the press screaming the new trade war will begin? Before it’s even been tried, they’ve become experts. The soybean farmers will suffer, they say. Some 40% of the US soybean crop goes to China. Yeah, well it is either the soybean farmers or the steel workers, it depends on who you want to listen complaining. I’ll be watching for repercussions, but isn’t like steel workers can switch to some other crop. Besides, I did not think China had a domestic soybean industry that needed protecting from imports. My take was they were buying from the cheapest source and if so, putting a tariff on such an item means they have those same soybeans for brains.
Now look at these student protests. It’s centering on gun control after the school shootings in Florida. These people will soon be of voting age and I detect a disjoint with the establishment that exceeds well beyond the gun issue. They may be more indoctrinated than educated, but they will be a force to contend with. Americans have elected one of their own generation before. Are we soon to see a 25 year old president whose values are the most un-American in our history? Don’t rule anything out.
The question remains, did I learn anything about turbine blades? Yes, but indirectly. I was curious why drones used propellers instead of something more powerful. I found, instead, a possible explanation of why helicopters get so noisy when they are hovering. It is because they need more lift to hover than to fly forward. It has to do with the air turbulence. When stationary, the copter blades create a downwash of turbulent air. This generates backpressure, so the engine has to work harder. In forward flight, where the nose is downward, the blades are moving away from the downwash into undisturbed air.
Helicopters rank second to space rockets as the most expensive type of flight.
There is one other curious thing. During a quick review of my earlier stage performances, I ran what videos on-line I could find with my old five-piece group. The one that considers the bass player to be a fixture. They still have the guy who just got out of jail but it’s the music they record that got me suspicious. It is, as always, note-for-note exact cover material. The new bassist is good, but not A-room. The recordings are well done, but then it gets funny. At least several of the old Beatles tunes are a little too expertly done. I’ve endeavored to learn those pieces in my past and backed out when I found to much studio overdubbing to make a good job of it. Ain’t nobody good enough to play two basses at once like I’m hearing on those demos.
What I’m looking for is how I moved on stage in those days. I moved more than the rest of the band put together. I want to see if I can adapt a unique style. What I have in mind is the foxtrot half-step. It’s also called the half-box. It’s a dance step mainly used to avoid anything directly ahead by turning to the left. In my mind I can see adapting it for most of the music we do, which is mainly 4/4 or common time. I can move quite quickly on the dance floor and if I take small steps, there would be no upper limit. I already stress on stage, particularly when sexy women are watching, how detached I seem from what’s going on, that is, to appear clueless.
I heard what you were just thinking, but seriously, it is something I put effort into. It keeps the crowd thinking I sooner later have to make a mistake—but it also keeps them watching the band instead of the flat screen. In my mind’s eye, I see the half-step, if danced off-time, will contribute to this effect. For me that makes it a worthwhile pursuit. See, one is never too old to improve his act. But I caution the men of this world that it has to be a real improvement, meaning probably none of the first fifty things that come to mind are going to help any. Ask my brothers.
ADDENDUM
The hot dog cart is on hold, but I continue to run the numbers. As far as veggies go, the next contender is corn on the cob. The corn is so expensive that the margins are smaller. It’s something I looked at but would not consider selling because of the dangers of genetic tomfoolery. The latest is that I now have Agt. R interested in the hot dog cart. I’m advising him to not touch it until the situation with his mortgage is clarified. Stay focused, stick with the plan.
And my plan is to hire a journeyman electrician to put in that sub panel for me. Actually no, he is not a journeyman yet, but will be shortly. Until he has the papers, there is no stipulation for him to report any work he encounters that is not inspected and so on. From what I hear, his work is perfect. He lives just a block from here. He speaks Spanish. You check back with me on this in a few days. Over the months one of the many plans I’ve sketched includes a new distribution wiring system routed in a central channel down the length of the house.
This is a considerable improvement over the old wiring system, which I called the spider web. It was wired and fused for 20A but used 15 amp receptacles, which apparently does not present a problem. But don’t quote me on that. The electrician will know if it is okay to mount the sub panel in the hallway on the wall that backs to the tub enclosure. Myself, I wouldn’t know about that. Last, I settled back to do some welcome reading. I still don’t have a replacement for my old comfy rocker that I left behind. The new room, since I’m (sigh) putting a single bed in there, will have room for a good one.
What I was researching was that I’ve never heard a quality explanation of why Saturn has rings. I don’t buy the theory that it is a busted up moon. Accretion would have to work opposite sometimes for that to be the case. Knowing that Jupiter acts as a shield against incoming space objects, it made sense to me that Saturn would, at times, pass through the same gravitational influence. It would happen each time the faster orbital velocity of Jupiter caught up and passed Saturn.
This is where I learned that Jupiter has an outsized magnetosphere. The source I read told that if this sphere was visible, Jupiter would appear in the sky as large as the Moon. Hmmm, so Saturn definitely comes within range of that regularly. I’m trying to picture something in my head that I can’t quite get to stay still yet. There’s a connection I’m missing. I know the rings are composed on non-ferrous material, but what if something was there that isn’t there no more because of Jupiter pulling it away? Can you see my direction with this?
And I never did get to Ft. Meade for that haircut.
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