One year ago today: June 5, 2017, sue the Press!
Five years ago today: June 5, 2013, WIP
Nine years ago today: June 5, 2009, early mention of robo-dialers.
Random years ago today: June 5, 2015, Craigslist, a strange universe.
This is a paper cleaning tool. It consists of a handheld metal block that holds a piece of 300 grit sandpaper. The book says only clean such parts of the page that have no printing. Do they mean the coffee rings that are a trademark around my place? Anyway, the usual method is to rub the damaged area with up to four different types of erasure. If that doesn’t work, bring on the sandpaper.
Budget news, although May was my best month this year, my gas bill was the highest yet. The explanation is the trips to Miami and Punta Gorda, and back and forth on band business. For my overseas readers, here’s some typical bachelor costs in semi-rural America. I spent $92.74 on groceries (I’m on a diet) and $85.02 on coffee at the shop. I make it a point to get out of the house every day and that is not an old guy thing, I’ve had that rule my entire life. Running the household ran me $99.84. I spent $20.12 on books, newspapers and magazines. And $69.72 in restaurants, but remember that includes the day at the Ft. Myers dockside, which wasn’t cheap. All told, except for gasoline and entertainment, I lived well for $579 last month. But this is America, other people have trouble scraping by on 5 times that and still can’t make a go of it.
When I say temp lighting, I mean those pigtail sockets you see on construction sites, there may be a photo here is the camera charges enough. By temporary, I mean until I get some help handling the ceiling fans. They are heavy, a two-man job. They weigh 25 pounds each and I don’t feel like wrestling with them alone. Except for the closet lights, the wiring is pretty much done. The plan is still to get that room ready for occupancy, though the finishing work is nowhere on the books at this point.
'51 Ford Pickup.
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This time I gotta say something. You know how the New York Times and Tampa Bay keep telling us that our economy needs unskilled immigrants? Today I bought a bag of organic apples imported from New Zealand. The package said the product meets or exceeds US standards. I remember when saying things like that was unthinkable. And upon inspection, the apples were perfect. At $2.79 they were next to a similar bag of American apples for $5.49.
I watched some trailers, or as they were known in my day, previews. There is actually a Chinese movie named “Average Joes Can’t Achieve Great Things”. At least I think so. Here is a scene of some tankettes on a train. I could not identify the model, although they are consistent with Japanese design in the pre-WWII run up. Not the two barreled mortar mounted on the rear deck of the first vehicle. Pardon me, the movie is called “Train Tigers”. They got the titling right, just not where to place it.
What attracted my attention was the war depicted was in the northern part of China, where they speak Mandarin. The actors were speaking Cantonese. It was the subtitles that got me. They were both in Mandarin and English. The rate at which they flashed on the screen would indicate that Chinese, or at least the Chinese “alphabet”, is read at a far faster rate than the English translation. I wonder, is that true? At least it’s a movie about some other theme than the usual, you know, where the villagers rise up and overthrow a corrupt government and become the next corrupt government in the cycle.
Then feeling above par, I grabbed the bass and re-wrote the bass line to “Do Wa Diddy”, this time adding passing notes to smooth out the original, which was pretty sparse. I didn’t get out for morning coffee until late afternoon. To show either how good I am at relaxing or just how well I can tune out the nonsense, I was working the crossword when the fire alarm went off. Later the staff asked how I could be so calm in that situation, no panic at all. I explained that I thought it Dunkin Radio playing Lady Gaga. I had a refill and thought through the last few days.
My lawyer with the motorcycle collision wants me to write a detailed report on how the incident impacted on my life. A written report, huh? He’s asking the right guy. I’m six months behind and already lagging schedule and I can’t start by other motorcycle. My porch isn’t built and my bass playing just isn’t what it was thirty years ago. Ah, my biggest paid assignment to date. Hey, I’m just kidding, other than throwing off my plans and costing me a lot of time, I’m seeking mostly compensation for pain and suffering. Becoming the guy in the flame suit isn’t my idea of fun, especially when there is no suit. It took six months to heal completely and I’m in no mood to have an argument over degree.
ADDENDUM
I finished reading the kaleidoscope book. It is too fine work for me, but there are plans for a wooden model in the back. It uses only two mirrors, but I would not even know how to find these special mirrors with the silver on the front side of the glass instead of the back. Here, you take a look. The book does not show what effect these two mirrors produce.
As for the book about the guy who sailed the south seas, he’s a lot more open about his money. I’m reading the book in dribbles, what I really need is some advanced electronics or genetics or something challenging along those lines. I haven’t read a good textbook in months. Maybe there just aren’t that many topics left to study any more. Hmmm, that would force me to pick a favorite.
Did I lend out my 2018 Almanac? It cannot be found. But the looking located my little booklet on British railway facts. It contained a passage about our old friend, Isambard Brunel. He championed a wide or broad gauge track system. But apparently the popular thought was that rails separated by 4-foot-8 was based on the theory this minimized friction between track and wheel. And I’ve done reading on book restoration. Other than the variety of specialized glues and paper, it wasn’t any surprise. Just knowing how to do it is sufficient. Really, it is a task for people who like books more than they read them.
I’ve read around sixty books this year so far. I don’t really keep inventory any more.
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