One year ago today: September 24, 2019, two helpings.
Five years ago today: September 24, 2015, hippie vans have van-ished.
Nine years ago today: September 24, 2011, at the Pines Mall.
Random years ago today: September 24, 2012, NASA junkmobiles.
Will we see progress in music by today’s end? I have only the one set for Bradford, which I’ve reviewed several times. It’s a lot of the same old, if I pick a song he doesn’t like it but if I say okay you pick one, he’s not sure. I’m adaptable, for example he does not know that there are around six groups that are competition and I have a method for that. Learn the other band’s top couple of tunes each. When they walk in, get them on stage. If I get the right guitarist, these people have rarely been backed up so well and before you know it, those top paying gigs appear. Sadly, these days $150 is around top dollar for a duo.
After this two and a half day delay over the water pump, I reclaim my kitchen. No expense spared, I may have to put up shelves, but everything comes off the kitchen floor today. It’s not that much, like a rarely used box of cutlery under the counter, but that’s been taking up that space for up to three years. Today is the day. That west wall of the kitchen has been neglected for years because it was left until now. Gee, isn’t the kitchen important?
Yes, and it has to be done right the first time, so I left it until last. In the process anything in the way since 2016 got stacked against the unused wall. I found fire extinguishers, sanding belts, dictionaries, and small motor parts. The relatively new microwave got moved to a new counter and it quit working. What’s with that Magnavox? It’s not the door interlock or the thermal fuse. But I’ll tell you who is blowing a fuse. Twice-failed Hillary is back as the libtards recoil from the Trump blast furnace of supporters. The Democrats through they could isolate and break Trump. Instead they increasingly reveal their own desperation.
And that alleged Speaker of the House, Pelosi is borderline mental. Now she’s claiming if you don’t vote for Biden, the Republicans will come after your children. Pathetic. I not only dislike liberals, let me tell you something. I don’t know a thing about Pelosi’s background. But I have never liked women with a whiskey voice. That piercing, dragging near-slur of a recovered alcoholic. It makes me think she’s an AA reject, but as I said, I don’t know and don’t want to know. Because worse, for some hidden reason, she might be faking it. And I don’t like fat women like that side of beef Mary Trump, waiting until he becomes President before running off at the mouth. How often have we seen this scenario played out by the woman that got picked over? Says nothing for years but when the guy gets famous, they crawl out of the woodwork. And the media mob is lapping it up.
Last couple of weeks w’ve seen a re-emergence of that America parasite, the telemarketer. The two scams are now your expired car warranty and our old friend Paki-Waki with the credit card scheme. This is in addition to the super-parasites, the political telemarketers who think they can get you to change parties. What century are these dork-breaths living in?
And a sobering thought for the police. The police arrested five people for gathering in a parking lot in Idaho. They were social distancing and singing hymns. I said it on day one of the lockdown, the mayors and governors have no authority to tell you to wear a mask or shut your business, but nobody listened. This is the facet of police behavior that I would like to see defunded. On one hand they want respect, on the other hand they obey the orders of their Democrat paymasters. To the Police Chiefs of America: you cannot have it both ways.
Fiberglass stage prop.
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It’s past noon and I’m about half done. I’m doing minor repairs along the way, but it won’t be long before I sit down at my own kitchen table and have a proper bachelor’s dinner. It could be argued I’m not a bachelor, but I’m talking about the dinner, ladies. It was a one quart of tea day, the slightly cooler days are holding out. I shudder to think if I’d had to work on that water pump last week. Most of the afternoon later, I’ve made enough headway to know I’ll have no space to set up my keyboard. Trip after trip to the shed, it’s a 60-foot hike each way, and the mileage adds up. Allow a quarter of the time for distractions like finally hanging that clock in the bathroom and the ring for the shower curtain. And moving the small computer desk, which will save me from working so much in here, where I cannot hear anyone at the door. Fine, but only if you are sleeping. For siesta I watched this weird army show called “Hurt Locker”. I feel sorry for the soldiers, but overall we have no business over there. What those people call culture is incompatible with western thought.
This table is from Tennessee. Originally I was going to use it for a saw stand, but the reality is I’ve never had more than one person here for company in the four years since I bought the place. A set of comfy chairs that double for reading afterward and I’ll be happy. Plus, this finally gives me some convenient prep space. The microwave is dead, so I plugged in my spare that blipped as well. I hope it isn’t the socket, but that’s unlikely because anything else works fine. The kitchen will have to double as the practice space and with a computer table for now. That remains until I swap the desks in the two bedrooms, which will take hours. They have to be partially dismantled and both have extensive computers wire up.
As I get through the storage boxes, I’m finding all manner of neat things I’ve long forgotten. Like that Realistic 60W PA system and my missing heavy duty caulking gun. I did not get my shelving up, so the front bedroom still has a few things I could not leave outdoors. Like an open bag of insulation. Expect action on that, the front bedroom is easily the nicest room in the house. And the coolest, being partially shaded by late afternoon. The challenge is to see how long I can keep this kitchen tabletop free from everything except dishes when I’m eating and a scribbler or computer when I’m working. For me, this is a true test of willpower.
Bradford did not call, but I’m not disappointed as much as most since I know this business. I’m still leery of how he changed around so much, but I’ve seen that before. In this situation, if you want the band to fly, get something going as quickly as possible. Contrary to popular thinking, bands don’t improve that much at first and the idea is to play what the other guy already knows. If you try to get better, things will bog down to endless practice. You know what I think? That time Bradford saw me play had the following effect. He knows that I can and will fake anything on stage to keep things going.
Are you with me so far? He may have concluded that getting on stage with me is not a music contest. He can make errors and keep going. And there is always the option to blame any real foul ups on the other guy. This could represent a departure from the concept bands he has been pursuing that get nowhere. Next in importance is to make some money at it. For all the altruistic airs put on by guitarists, they will never turn down easy money. And stage money seems the easiest of all, at least as long as you don’t total up the entire effort. Do you have any idea how long you have to play to make a thousand bucks? I’ll guess neither does Bradford. My average is atrocious and I always make excellent tips.
ADDENDUM
Bryne, for all his extensive guitar repair experience, has never removed the bridge on an acoustic. I’m on my own, but I did just swap out a Ford water pump, didn’t I? You heat up a sharpened putty knife with an iron and melt away the old glue. I don’t have any clamps with enough throw to reach the repair. I’m going to run through Set A in case Bradford is down at the club and that’s where I’m going for a cold one. Not keeping appointments is a rampant problem, but I accommodate by always having a productive alternative. For me it is a trade-off. If I set limits, the other guy thinks I’m giving him lessons, if I wait for results, I’m still waiting months later.
Bryne is a marine mechanic and he regards water pumps as evil and gaskets an invention of the Devil. Then again, he may be joking.
Man, the Internet service is dragging these days. Has Wales begun exporting old TVs? I’ve gone through several on-line COBOL lessons and there is a “visual” version that is polluting the searches. People who put out these variants disgust me, if only because they have never learned the lesson of proper documentation. Their on-line tutorials show no documentation at all. I ascribe that to their innate inability to learn how to type. Search results show that COBOL must be a big deal in India, at least when they are not busy running telemarket scams.
I tend to read the comments and I’m far from alone in what I’ve just written. Many cannot find a COBOL compiler that works on their system. I’m setting up an independent computer to keep installing until I find one. This is tricky nowadays, you have to make constant restore points for in millennial-ville, you can never be certain what you are uploading. A few of the postings are in the right direction, others are a laugh for showing code with obvious errors that, in the next scene, compiles correctly.
