August 2, 2019

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 2, 2018, a generic day.
Five years ago today: August 2, 2014, powdered food memories.
Nine years ago today: August 2, 2010, movie ethnic quota = 20%
Random years ago today: August 2, 2004, chickens, rabbits, goats, & geese.

           There you have it, some progress that shows. Again, the bowls are not fixed. I need a small plastic pipe to proceed, but it was past closing time, so I went downtown to fool around. One of the biggest clubs in town and I was the only person there. They had a full Karaoke show set up, I was, er, first on the list. So I used the slot to practice new material. There’s a reason for that. Most Karaoke people can’t change the key, or they have that ridiculous system that doesn’t tell you the key and just has plus or minus keys. Finding your key becomes the vocal equivalent of listening to some dim-wit guitarist tuning up on stage.

           I wasn’t wasting time. I found my Bluetooth™ keyboard, but it was one of the 2.0 models that requires a PIN to pair it up. These damn millennials, it took over a half hour to make the connection because one of them changed the function of the on-screen enter key somehow. I downloaded drivers and updates, until I figured out something was wrong with the pop-up qwerty display. I don’t use Bluetooth™ a lot but I knew I was following procedure. The PIN is 000, but when keyed in, hit the keyboard enter key. Fast. (What was fooling me is when I pushed the zeros, the screen was registering the blips so I figured to push the on-screen enter key, an icon.)

           Gastrozombies. That’s my term for the crowd that eats synthetically flavored food. Oh, I know somebody out there will say that’s a wild assumption. (Because they’ve been eating frankenfood all their live and it din bodder dem nun.) But my theory is much deeper than that. I repeat, both “natural” and artificial flavorings work on the central nervous system. That’s more than warning enough to anybody with half a brain. After a few early years of toxifying their bodies, these people could be eating shit and not know it. The flavorings are chemicals that upset natural balances, the gastrozombies crave more and more man-made edible product, finding real food bland and unappealing.
           My proof is in the results. A generation ago, laboratory grown “meat” was unthinkable. Now it is slated to replace beef. If you study civilization back to its roots, the cow was essential. It was even worshipped, but only by sincerely backward and primitive cultures. Nonetheless, if beef is removed and replaced by factory fuud, corporate control of the masses will become normal. As explained, that’s why today gastrozombies don’t drink regular coffee, they need it raspberry-vanilla-pineapple with sprinkles. How bad is it getting? Shortly, on the market you will find a new flavor of ice cream. Mustard.            No, I’m not kidding. Artificial mustard, of course.

Picture of the day.
Chinese facial recognition software.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Here’s a view of cutting the holes for by sink basins. Pricing out a marble countertop came it a close to a thousand dollars. So any mistakes I make here are trivial. I was very careful and the cuts still required constant trimming around the edges. There’s no time to waste, I have only a few days to finish up and the delays have been maddening. There’s more to all this, for instance, as long as the bathroom floor is loose, which it will be until I install that new joist, I can’t get up in the attic, so the last of the insulation is taking up space where the sofa is supposed to be and you get the idea.

           I got another offer on this place, the answer is no. The housing market is flat anyway, same as 2008 when prices were going up while nobody was buying. I’m not worried about a price collapse, that only bothers people who have mortgages. I found a place in Tennessee that I would consider if it was 50 miles closer to Hermitage. A church with a 5,000 square foot hall on three acres of land. It’s in a place called Cookeville or Cookesville way east near the foothills. I downloaded pictures, one of which you see here, but like any photos here that show real people, they are such low-res you can’t enlarge. I’ll get you the best of the lot.
           There, can you see it? This is part of the huge meeting hall used for the kid’s bedroom. The blurry objects around the edges are the beds. It has not been used as a church for many years and the appraisal shows it is for sale for the same price as it sold for ten years ago. It’s $140,000, cash only. It’s been on the market a while, I may go take a look. This could be a situation where they’re finding out what I said twenty years ago is true. Nobody has that kind of cash money. Like I said, if it was closer to Nashville, but then that would ten-tuple the price.

           That tire that got punctured in Nashville won’t take a plug. That means new tires before I leave. Should I go to the garage, or take my chances with the gaucho place, it’s over near Eagle Lake. It would be a hundred bucks less. But move fast before the deportations start around here. Naw, they’d target Plant City, where the corporations are the worst for hiring illegals. They have entire motel-like complexes for illegals, where they sleep in shifts. Trump would be wise to pass that law that taxes money sent back to Mexico. Twenty billion a year, I heard. That could build a lot of wall. Aw, I just grump because of that tire.
           Now we know what plumber’s putty is. The package says a caulking and sealing compound that will not crack, separate, crumble, harden, or shrink. So it is putty, says here must be used on rigid surfaces. So what makes it plumber’s? It contains an additive that makes it fungus-proof. Can I get some of that for my back shed? I have the correct sanding belts to continue with the countertop, but I’ve decided to reinforce it even further. This gives the basin something solid to rest on rather than just the ring from the cutout.

           Work breaks have me watching the video “First Knight”, some clever marketing phraseology. Richard Gere plays Richard Gere, since it’s the only character he can manage. And Sean Connery is slated for the May-September thing with Julia Ormond. Can’t says I know that name, but I’d hit on her at the club any time. Nice teeth and no superfluous body hair. That’s important, and no tattoos either. Nobody’s done the wild thing yet, they’re too busy ganging up on Malagant. Who, at the end of the day, is just a regular guy trying to put food on the table.
           Today a reminder came in the mail to renew my business registration. Nothing odd there, or wait a minute. Look at these payment options. It cannot be done without revealing more information than you want on file. I knew that was coming, and that’s what to expect with a “cashless” society. Every penny you spend will be subject to scrutiny by the all-powerful state. Fortunately, I have a trust. And it was for situations like this. Listen, just going shopping tuckered me out. It’s six in the afternoon and I’m hitting the sack.

ADDENDUM
           In communication with Nashville, there is only the one gig scheduled for all of August, and that is on the 30th. Labor Day Weekend. This takes the pressure off me but makes me wonder why nothing for so long? I know, like most bands these days, the guitarist and drummer have a small combo on the side. The lady singer, the one time we met, dropped intimations she would be amenable to doing the same. Is it just off season, or is the market that dry? I responded to an ad that suggested there was more work than could be handled.
           I’ve had a lot of fun with their song list, let me mention that my completion percentage can move backward. If it’s a record of what I’ve played, how can I unplay a song? It doesn’t. It means more songs have been added to the list. I like the format, the band owner tells you what to play, and you learn it or out the door, Charlie. The ad stipulated rehearsal once a week, be there or have Charlie hold the door for you. But the latest communiqué said no band practice for the entire month. I’ll play this one by ear. I gave the lady singer the mini-spiel of what I could do with an acoustic player. What’s changed is I’ve gone from 4% to 93% of knowing her song list—and the way I play bass it doesn’t matter how good she is, does it now?

           The downside of a non-musician manager is the chosen material. The newest list has some really nasty stuff, including a number by Michael Jackson. Here is the list with the keys. Neil Young, Seals & Croft, old Beatles, Beach Boys, Eagles. I haven’t heard (or listened to) it in years, but does Seven Bridges even have a bass line?

                      Hummingbird A
                      Heart of Gold Em
                      Revolution A
                      Seven Bridges Road D
                      Billie Jean Em
                      And I Love Her E
                      Help Me Ronda C
                      I’ve Just Seen Face G
                      Surfin’ USA E
                      I Know A Little A

           Um, asking if it has a bass line is rhetoric. You know what happens when they try that on my watch. Since it has all that harmony, who’s great with melody lines on the bass? Louder, I can’t hear you.

My music completion index today is 38.838 %

Last Laugh