June 29, 2018

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 29, 2017, an inspired post.
Five years ago today: June 29, 2013, when you see it.
Nine years ago today: June 29, 2009, that's my version . . .
Random years ago today: June 29, 2012, how much to Atlanta?

           Today was short and not so sweet. All the money that went out the door could have been for my summer trip to the Smithsonian. Instead it was all about bribery and taxes over these hotdogs. What? Oh hell, you can call it what you want. If I have to pay it, it’s a tax, if it is required to do business, it is a bribe. Here, I’ll give you an example of corruption and bribery. To run a food cart in this state, membership is required with the restaurant association. The fact that it is required tells you what? That standards are higher? Don’t make me laugh. That was $397 for one year’s “membership”. Is that corruption? Of course, if you’re not a member you can’t do business, and membership consists of one single qualification, that is, coughing up $397.

           As for forming the business, I chose the LLC, a limited liability company in Agt. R’s name. A cursory look at the number of things that can go wrong tells you right away to limit your liability anyway. That was another tax of $135. Basically, you fill out some forms with information they already have on you anyway, but they need to show you who’s boss. The form states several times that they require a street address. A P.O. box won’t do. They’re not about to let some slipshod crooksters run a corporation out of a P.O. box. Besides, you can’t raid a P.O. box at midnight and embarrass the hell out of it. If you have any questions about this sordid policy, you can write to them in Tallahassee at P.O. Box 6327.

           The puss-puss? That’s Vina, pronounced Veeeee-nuh. I could never have another cat after Pudding-Tat, so Vina is semi-adopted. She is catered to by the trustee of my estate. Both of them thus live a life of unmeasured ease, as pictured here. And this, as they know, will continue for them long after I’m gone. In another 18 months, I will have outlived my father. He drank himself to death when I was 20.

Picture of the day.
Downtown Sydney, Australia.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           This is the bolt-on grill, a field modification. I never could grill anything, but that is why we have trained staff. The reason for the picture is this is the first piece we found missing, the grill part is gone. Note the burners and knobs show that this part of the wagon was well used. Not so for the remainder. My guess is therefore that this is from another source and added for some kind of effect.

           We are also missing the brass burner rings on the main pans, which I will attempt to find tomorrow. With my luck, they’ll make you buy a whole new grill. The guy that sold us this was a shifty character in the sense of he would know if these pieces were missing because they are the key to the operation. He said nothing except that “everything was there” the way he bought it. Hmmmm.

           Another six hours in the library and I could not find two things. A definitive answer over whether or not a “self-sufficient” hotdog cart requires a commissary (licensed kitchen), any examples of correctly filled out LLC application forms. In the end, the directions were so vague, I opted for the $200 service by Dreamcarts. They’ve done it often enough that they make a profit at it, and after twelve wasted hours, I went for it. Actually, because they have a certificate already required, there was a $150 I did not pay, so in a sense, the service cost me a difference of $50.
           And, I got a straight answer about the commissary. The website wording is wonky. It says you need a commissary where your food is prepared and to dispose of wastewater. You cannot pour the waistewater down the drain at home. But you don’t need a commissary if your cart is “self-sufficient” by virtue of having a freshwater supply, two sinks, and a drain pan for the wastewater. Confused? I was. The way it works is like so:

           You are required to have a commissary, and that is that.
           If you have a self-sufficient cart you do not need the food prepared at a commissary.
           But you still must have the commissary to dispose of wastewater.

           Got that? Either way, you need the commissary. The average bureaucrat has severe mental shortcomings explaining it simply like that. The good news is we know somebody who has a licensed kitchen. First person I ever met in this area. And she is family, a term meaning she’s on the good side of the robot club and a friend of Agt. R.

Last Laugh

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