One year ago today: July 24, 2018, on frozen hotdogs.
Five years ago today: July 24, 2014, Nell’s went bankrupt.
Nine years ago today: July 24, 2010, guitar city?
Random years ago today: July 24, 2013, I don’t like freeways.
Who likes major screwups? It’s my fault. I measured from behind the wall that used to be in the way. Here is a photo that would represent excellent progress if not for the mistake. Neat looking double sink and such, a real upgrade to the old design. Except, the sinks have to come out, so does the cabinet, the drywall, and the plastic. Out with the sound-proofing. The far set of water lines are in the wrong place. They are offset 8” to the left instead of the right, where they out to be. Still, it’s a good idea of how the cabinet has become a vanity and you see the dual medicine cabinets instead of a large single mirror. It contributes to the “two bathroom” illusion that is quite important (socially) in my situation.
These sinks came without the drains or traps. That’s a hundred bucks each just for the ceramic. The logic is that it is chancy enough to find a good sink like this at the thrifts, and borderline impossible to find a matching set. And fantasy to think you’ll find them when you want them. I located a fancy shower head that allows me to leave the old parts in place. I’m okay with the cost, there will still be $500 in the budget for materials, and all that remains is a new toilet and shower surround.
That picture is hard to see, but it is two blue clamps with a wood block compressing some ill-fitting box joints into place. They had begun to separate from humidity, but caught in time. For company, we had Boss Hogg, and I think this Lady Z is becoming a fixture. It changes the format, causing the normally over-ripe disk jockeys to tone things down. I question if it is the right thing. A lot of the attraction of the show was the guys sparring over such topics as would not happen if women are in the room. Nothing drastic, hey, it’s radio show, but the afternoon shows are already losing that edge.
The news continues silent on the matter of deportations, but the Democrats have backed themselves into a corner. Political correctness doesn’t work and they get slammed by their own die-hards if they try anything else. It reminds me of the Tea Party situation. They were the first substantial public reaction to presidents that lie to get elected, at least in modern times. The Republicans back in 2012 put forward such a weak candidate, the Democrats could have won with Mickey Mouse. Obama could not have won against a strong opponent, not with his voodoo background and dodgy manner.
Hence the Tea Party. They wanted focus on the economy, immigration, and a repeal of the power grab called Obamacare. End the wars, quit policing the world, cut off foreign aid, quash bad trade deals, and STFU about climate change. The important development is that for once they did not side with one faction or the other. They blamed both parties for the rotten mess. And the stage was set for a populist, though I’ve said before that’s not the right word. I feel more people sincerely voted for Trump that, as the media bias goes, against an unpopular regime.
Rich & poor in India.
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Here is an earlier shot of the bad plumbing. See how the two sides seem symmetrical. That fooled me until I positioned the sinks to double-check. The furthest away set are 8” too far from the wall. Because of a bearing stud in the way, they can’t just be moved over. The plumbing underneath has to be extended, although I may get away with the drain remaining where it is. If not, that’s just one more cut.
Here’s a picture of the church chopsaw. So nice to just pop into the next room and cut a piece to exact size. I’m taking this with me next trip. Rather than start this late, I drove to Winter Haven for coffee. I just got the word to be ready to head for Nashville any time in the first week of August, meaning something else has gone awry. But that’s why I want to help out. The memories you make after you retire are the ones you’ll die with. All else seems so impossibly distant. So I contacted Dood, the band lawyer, and he’s already got some plans. This works for me because the band does a lot of concerts, video shoots, and talk about web promotions. Strange, how six months ago such publicity never crossed my mind. Like most people, I’d do anything to get famous except work hard. Fame is best handed over fully-baked. Like sex, it’s not the same when it has to be painstakingly earned.
I went over the song list to find a set I could do and discovered another pattern. Each set has at least one “guitar special” near the center. This means nobody can play more than a half set each gig without learning some out-dated piece of guitar-centric 1960s crap. Since I don’t credit guitarists with having enough intelligence to plan that or the decency to admit it afterward, I chalk that one up to pure musical reverse evolution. Their nemesis is that I’ve learned exactly how to deal with that situation. I call it “Route 66”, after that bass line that taught me the trick of pre-empting the lead breaks. Not the guitarist, the lead breaks. That’s where it sounds like he is following the bass, the exact opposite of his intentions. And trying to outplay me makes things worse.
Come to think of it, there is another song I’ve reapplied the bass line. The original is indistinct, so I’ve taken the single best measure and adapted it for the whole tune. “One More Last Chance”, what a sound, but careful, this has to be done with great discretion so as not to alter the character of the song. Got that, Glen? The song has to sound like the original, only played better.
Isn’t it a trip, how I’ve been through 52 guitar players in Dade, Broward, & Polk? And when Nashville asks me if I know any one who can match my capabilities on bass, I have to answer that I could not find one who would even listen, much less try. I said capabilities, not abilities. Mind your tongue, Billy-Bill. And every one of those would write any success on my part off to, “Bass is easy”.
Obviously not, it would seem, as easy as being closed-minded and plain ole pig-headed.
Here is the cabinet being prepped for removal to get at the back panel, the insulation, and then dismantlement of the plumbing. Fun. What is that racket? Oh, got it. I told you how it some birds cannot be tamed, although I would like to put that to the test. Tame or not, they sure know when I miss feeding time. Worse than chickens, who only squawk in the morning. And, has anyone besides me noticed these “new & improved” led light bulbs need to be regularly retightened in their sockets? It would be so typical of the so-called engineers of America today to make a gross error like that.
ADDENDUM
My music completion index today is 33.438%. That’s after a 90-minute morning practice where I finally drilled that bass line “I Love Rock and Roll” into my brain. I like the song but the way they truncate some measures makes playing it a different ball game. Isn’t in interesting that if the song had been about a male hustling a 17-year-old female, it would be, thanks to government over-reach, illegal today? The best thing Trump could do is hand the power back to the people and let the people who don’t like that have to start all over again. They will, but it would take forever.
I finally tried a superior brand of ground coffee in my K-cup maker. They have the cartridges but not always the selection. And I’m not gastro-zombic enough to touch Starbucks’ sludge, at home I mean. You must adjust to taste. Yes, the machine works excellent for that as well. Makes the day just a little easier when it is cabinet-shoving time. I may take the opportunity to further reinforce the carcass. It was originally pinned with brads and staples. I prefer washers and screws.
