February 24, 2020

Yesteryear
One year ago today: February 24, 2019, my first lily.
Five years ago today: February 24, 2015, a standard steppingstone
Nine years ago today: February 24, 2011, preparing for court.
Random years ago today: February 24, 2013, dry ice & lasers.

           It’s 3:30AM in the rain and somebody should tell Tennessee to paint some lines on their roads. Inky black freeways in the rain aren’t my prime driving conditions. This morning, we go dog food shopping instead of the Grand Ole Opry. I know where the fun is. My blog randomizer says time to mention food. That was last day, but travel tap-dances on my schedule. There was more to the menu than black rice, if you include my breakfast of frozen shrimp, coffee, almond butter, and hot chocolate. “Breakfast food” is a Kellogg’s confidence trick. Look around, there may be a picture. This is doggie food, which qualifies. It is some special concoction, yet another perfect diet for the critters.

           This is supposed to get your dog to socialize better. The label says it contains no poultry byproduct.. Whatever that is, the full annual allotment is split between Monsanto and some unspecified location in north-eastern Delaware. The pellets have trout as the protien base and the doggies took to it right away. I’m giving them a mix with their old food to ease them into it. It sure is convenient compoared to preparing their food, but I don’t mind cooking.

           This place has news feeds I rarely watch on my own. What is it this John Oliver hates so much about Trump? My guess is envy, but I admit it is pretty damn funny. Often missing the point, John, who was noticeably ugly even as a baby, does possess a world-class motor-mouth.
           Um, get this. Google knows that I’ve changed my recovery account to my first ever e-mail set up at MicroSoft. They also know I use the same prefix for my Swiss account. They know which one I want for recovery, but are pretending I want the Swiss version. A clever but no-go aarping attmept. No way, because to confirm the change, Google thinks I’m going to enter my Swiss password via their log-on window. They really are that stupid over there. Also, I think there is another mistake—Google would never allow recovery to a non-Google account. Unless they got sued again or something. Them bastards are up to something. But, you know, I've got an idea . . .

           Mark my words, if I live to be 71, I still intend to become leader of the revolution. What’s there to lose at that age? My first target will be the media giants. I will begin with a computer revolution. I’ll be the John Conner of MicroSoft’s worst nightmares. II advise everyone to keep a digital camera in their car, even if it doesn’t work. In the event of a collision, you can at least pretend you are taking pictures. But due to the poor quality of small cameras, I keep raiding the one from the car. So I’m glad to get even non-working units. This one’s a Minolta. The ex-owner thought setting were wrong. Nope, I reset it to factory and it still sat there. The electronics are hooped, suggesting it has been dropped. Yep, millennials, a $250 solid state camera that can’t survive a drop.

           But I learned a lot about Minolta. I downloaded the manual, 116 pages. What’s the critical information you need for a camera? Why, the format it uses for pictues and video. Minolta likes to keep it a secret. There is no listing in the table of contents, and no indication on the box it comes in. It was buried deep in the spec section, the photos are jpegs and the video are movs. But I doubt the average purchaser would go through such length to find that data. Phooey on you, Minolta. It should be stamped on the box next to the price tag.
           This other picture of me making up a batch of turkey for the pets was not taken with the Minolta. Tell you what was sad to see. There is a bitter cold spell and I was in the dollar store around noon. They usually sell two types of work gloves, one of which has a thin lining. Both are inadequate for this weather. But the lined ones were sold out. There were these homeless looking types looking at the unlined pairs left on the rack, knowing that two pair might suffice for a little warmth, but unable to afford the extra dollar. Before we became diversified and multi-cultural, tock-outs were vanishingly rare in this country. Yes, the two are directly related, read on.

Picture of the day.
Portable holding cell.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           I was careful to get the right files, cables, and PA gear this trip. Somehow, I got here with the wrong song list, missing a power cable, and I had to go find an adapter for the PA. Here’s a picture of my Fishman as set up in Nashville. I mis-remembered it having RCA jacks. I got faked out by Best Buy. Allow me to explain. Back when America was America, we are looking at around 1965 through 1972, everything worked—so to speak. I predict that if the cancer of liberalism had not taken root in that era, every American alive today would be a millionaire.

           The “American Way” was a bit inefficient, but that is what set it apart from the failing economies elsewhere, the ones that have gone nowhere in 2,000 years. Things cost a bit more here, but you got service. It was one of the qualities that made it distinctively American and nobody was surprised the rest of the world never achieved the same. Sadly, that has been taken away.
           Without getting into it, that is the era when they began to let in non-American people. That means people who came here with no intention of becoming “American”. They brought their third world business practices and created the mess things are today. Think about it, a major problem before the Internet was stock-outs. You’d see it in the catalog, but usually called the store first to see if they had it in stock—and even the filing clerk could tell your or go check the shelf. The Internet was supposed to solve that by listing up-to-date what was on the shelves. Instead, it got millenialized.

           I saw the adapter on the Best Buy site, but the contact phone was an 800 number. Like somebody in Chicago is going to know if they have it in Mt. Juliet. The website said they were on sale, so I drove there. They had none left and nobody on staff had any clue about that. What’s un-American about it is the use of the Internet to bait and switch. Somebody, somewhere knew they did not have any of this item. But that person would not click a button and flag that as sold out.
           Instead, they use the web as an excuse to get you into the store. We’ve gone over this before. They think once you get there, you’ll buy something so as not to have wasted the trip. And that, people, is not the way real Americans do business. Here’s a random picture out the car window. See that rocky outcrop? That’s for anyone who doubts this mountain was once underwater. Now back to bad business doings.

           Other shops, knowing once one place has a fake-out ad, it ripples through the area, I went directly to Wal*Mart and paid three times more because it was the sure thing I had to get my act together, and that’s how I spent the afternoon. Well, except for walking the dogs but it is too wet and too cold for much time outside. That’s another weird thing this generation has done. All the existing plugs were fine, iPhones and Androids did not need the introduction of new, incompatible types of plugs. The EU is going to put a stop to that nonsense, just you watch.
           I wanted an ordinary mini (also called a 3.5mm) plug that adapted to an ordinary phono (1/4”) jack so I can play by DVD through the PA system. It’s insufferable to have to explain to people supposedly selling these things what they are while they stand there like stunned apes without a clue.
           I rigged up the system and began finding out what works. This is a different setup than used just ten years ago. And that evolved over a period of years, a time frame I don’t have on this project. I have 30 of my 50 songs already picked out and the Fishman lives up to its reputation, at least at the volumes I intend to play at. Even with all the files MP3-Gained, there are volume issues, some songs play back too quiet, others too loud.

           What needs the most work is the harmony vocals. Things have come one hell of a long ways in the past year, but are not quite all there yet.. The show still works when I sing in unison with the original, but the harmony thirds add that missing dimension. Even Johnny Cash numbers come out sounding novel. This will never get me an Emmy but it will get me on stage without having to deal with any more guitar cowboys. I’m as much determined now as I am fed up. Rehearsing with these people over half my life was a waste of time. I know their mentality, everybody’s a team player as long as they get to be the captain.
           The sound, with the bass punched up to dance level, is all I hoped for. I may equalize down the lower bass notes to enhance the live effect. What stands out is my years of dealing with guitar players has taught me a dozen ways to be assertive on stage. Without any guitarist around, these techniques can really bring the focus to my bass playing. This showmanship, my piano-like bass lines, and now the harmony vocals are just as “live” as any guitar player who uses backing tracks. Break a leg.

ADDENDUM
           It finally happened, the recording industry is moving to copyright pitch sequences. While there can be billions of melodies, western music is based on eight notes, plus their accidentals (sharps & flats). It would be a dream for the RIAA society of lawyers if the courts are reduced to considering only the sequence. As such, there are a closed number of patterns. If somebody copyrights them all, my guess is it would be the big law firms. I found this out from a Jimmy Ruska post where the reaction by musicians was to put all melodies in the public domain. The two situations are polarized, but that’s what the DMCA has brought things—to opposites with no common ground. They are obviously banking that their tram of lawyers can buffalo this thing through. Any two consecutive notes could then be construed as plagiarism.
           And the English have for once not gone far enough. They are introducing a point-system for immigration. It ends free movement and is aimed at attracting only the elite, those who would enhance the economy. The liberal left will be screaming, but they are actually getting their diversificatioin. Just with engineers and doctors rather than rapists and welfare recipients. I read some of the merits that gain points. Where they did not go far enough is language and restrictions. Nobody should be allowed in unless they speak English, and there are too many exceptions. Still, let’s watch and learn, Mr. Trump.
           As far as I’m concerned it already works. Britain, formerly one of the smallest countries in the EU, is booming. Once Brexit happened, a third of all new technology investment in Europe switched to England. Germany will not be long in reacting. My contention is that democracy is best when earned, not acquired. These foreign countries have an advantage over Europe, actually. Because they can open their eyes and see working models all over the West. But why fight for their freedoms when they can fill out an an American immigration form or take a ferry to England?

Last Laugh