One year ago today: March 2, 2018, with aloe vera lube.
Five years ago today: March 2, 2014, when Norton fails: DOS.
Nine years ago today: March 2, 2010, the problem with tribes.
Random years ago today: March 2, 2003, I hate this picture.
What is blogworthy about today? Not a thing. Let’s see if I can conjure something up. Okay, how come that Australian-style licorice doesn’t freeze? And don’t make any jokes that’s because it‘s the hot season over there. I put this in the freezer next to the Twizzlers, which freeze solid like glass, but not Willy Wallaby. What’s Aussie about it anyway? The picture of the kangaroo? Let’s examine the label. Made in MN. What’s that? Minnesota? Who cares? Let’s see if there is any anti-freeze in the mix. Trace elements of glycerine, that’s it. It’s probably wise to make products that don’t freeze in the Atlantic Northeast. But let’s not go there, physically or comically.
Shopping should not take all day. But factor in the fat ladies who hold up the checkout for 20 minutes each trying to get a $2 discount with an expired coupon. These people’s desperate quest for some kind of self-importance is grotesque in proportion. To show how urbanized I’ve become, I even spent $11 on one of those watering wands. My blossoms and blooms shall not suffer drought. While all this was going on, I boiled up another ten pounds of chicken. Did I vow to tell you about my pie crust? I use store-bought which is just as good as home-made. And if you ask me, it browns a little more evenly. I secretly like the taste of pie crust and would buy pastries made from it if I could find any.
Admiral, Arvin (sold by Sears catalog), CBS, Crosley, Du Mont, Emerson, Firestone (yes, the tire company), Gamble-Skogmo, General Electric, Hallicrafters, Magnavox, Montgomery Ward, Motorola, Olympic, Packard-Bell, Philco, and Victor (a.k.a. RCA). Honorable mention to Raytheon, Sylvania, Travler, United Motors, Westinghouse, and Zenith.
United Motors appears to be the brand fitted in Chevy autos. The book contains schematics and now that I can read them, 1957 was big on tubes. Only a few transistor units were available from Admiral, Motorola, and Philco. My older sister got a transistor radio in 1963. Back on the farm we had one hour of “teen” music daily, from 4:00 to 5:00 PMs, to ensure the broadcasts did not interfere with teenager’s chores, supper, or study time. It was on a radio at the pool hall, where I was allowed in under age to deliver the newspaper, that I first heard The Beatles on the radio, “Can’t Buy Me Love”. The major appeal at the time was that the music was so unlike stale crap the other stations played for the rest of the day. What? Explain what? Okay, millennials, chores are work you are required to do for free under threat of punishment or deprivation. You were entitled to nothing, yet our economy was strongest in the world because if you didn’t work, you didn’t eat. Talk to the hand.
That’s correct. A tube radio gets 700 operating hours per battery set. Seven.Hundred.Hours. Yes, I know that a million transistors have different power requirements, but so what? They’ve had forty years to do something about it. Nothing in my generation took forty years except politics and other forms of stupidity. My question remains, where are the breakthroughs of the last four generations? I hope none of them suggest the researchers and scientists of earlier times had things any easier. Because that would be double stupid. My counter-suggestion to this current generation of excuse-mongers is so dumb the Nobel people had to invent new snowflake categories. If I’m wrong, prove it.
Chinese straddle bus.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Nothing else happening, I inspected the wooden box that I built. It’s crude, but it is sturdy, a product mainly of the new sliding saw. I’m gaining experience and I should be able to produce something more cosmetic. But my boxes lack lids and that means hinges, which I never got right in my life. So, how about I turn the Internet into something useful? Somebody out there knows the easy way to mount hinges and he’s made a video. He took the course in middle school instead of business poetry the year before the latter became mandatory for college admission. He then used $10,000 worth of home equipment to produce the how-to video, compared to my $400 setup, which produces some 600 videos per year.
This box is intended for used string. I have too many nooks where I stash string and the result is I can’t find them when needed. Nearby I’ve kindly included a photo of used string, you know, to give future readers, a perspective on this, the way things are going and all, with Popular Science magazine now reading like a Japanese comic book. How in blazes this picture got past the censors with those marked calendars in the background will remain a mystery for the ages. Inventory shows I have several books on shelves, cabinets, and joinery. Yet nothing that goes into any real detail on boxes. Ordinary boxes, what, people don’t find them handy any more? My most common box lumber is dog-ear fence panels. Cheap and thin, with an unfinished exterior that amplifies the quality of my work.
Just you leave me and my boxes alone.
ADDENDUM
Here’s the new garden hose and wand. Stick around and I’ll get you pictures of the right way to condition a hose for use, maybe tomorrow. How’s that for thrills. Well of course there’s other things I’d rather be doing, but at my age they cost a lot of money. Because there’s nobody to do them with. You know, these hoses carry a five year warranty if you use them right. I’ll know by 2024 if my own warranty doesn’t expire. As for the box above, the rejects might just make good planters. I have a generous supply of that green trim wood.
The guitar player e-mailed, saying he is out of town. He sounds interested, this being the guy who originally wanted a steel guitarist. I’ve plowed through the list he sent and can now play 22 of the tunes, with another 22 that can be ready in a matter of hours, not months. I’ve been singing harmony thirds to some of the numbers, though I’m a far cry from doing that on stage. It demands concentration I can’t muster and play decent bass at the same time. Where there is conflict, I’ll opt for the bass every time.
And buried way down here is another mouse report. Another, looks like a different family. Tawny colored and tough. The Dollar Tree traps are not strong enough to ensure a quick kill. I have to drown the little buggers and this one took three minutes to kick. There are still others and they’ve grown trap-shy. Another thing, inflation continues to creep into my budget. My daily gasoline consumption is up from $8.61 to $9.21 and I’m averaging $57.61 per month going for coffee, many times to get the free WiFi. I have the option to get service here, but first I think I’ll ask about sharing with the neighbor. The only item I’m way under budget is for books.
I allow $60 per month, which includes newspapers. This month I’ve spent like $7.49 on books, and I have a stack of unread material I’d like to get to. And if I don’t read, you don’t get trivia. It’s not like Florida is a bustling hive of stimulating conversation. What I do hear is in passing and most of it is television-grade. My spending pattern indicates I’ve been patronized the coffee shop instead of the librar for nearly a year. They don’t restrict the time you can be on-line.
