February 18, 2021

Yesteryear
One year ago today: February 18, 2020, dictating reactions.
Five years ago today: February 18, 2016, advertising as a disease.
Nine years ago today: February 18, 2012, the end of bingo?
Random years ago today: February 18, 2007, you need 3 hands.

           Bright and early, we got the planters loaded up. The challenge was they were full of dirt with big plants. Makes them kind of heavy. We got nine of them inside the van, the last one had a tree in it that would not fit. That is going to be fun at the other end unless Alaine has some extra help. We used a dolly to get these around. See this picture? Potted plants ride around in better style than I ever did. And ants, don’t for get ants. I spray-bombed overnight. Leave the plants in the van and pretend you’re on safari.

           I got out of my appointment at 2:00PM, hours behind schedule. The word was all around that I had paid cash, they kind of hinted that I might want to mention this is a customer survey. Done. I did not get out on the road until 3:30PM, taking the scenic route and arriving in Punta Gorda just before dark. Thank goodness a few of the neighbors lent a hand. One had a wheelbarrow, so we put the plants roughly into fnal position.

           This day trip wound up three days and I forgot the latest band list on the hard drive. That means I got some ten hours of Mellencamp in my brain. Up till recently I’ve listened to but never played any of this music. Central Florida north of Lake Okeechobee is farmland, about as vacant a stretch you’ll ever see. All the families live in town, so the whereabouts seems deserted. No radio stations.
           The planter sure made Alaine happy but I don’t like it when family insists on paying. It’s practically on the way and I like the town. I’d planned to return the long way after that but the late start meant the last 100 miles was in the dark. They don’t much like to keep the lines on the pavements well-painted in this state, so late night shortcuts involve a little guesswork.

Picture of the day.
Soviet AK47 sight.
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           This is a great shot of the Viking case full of goodies. These are like armored boxes. Tough stuff. I’m going to line it with styrofoam and put in a false bottom for cables and cords, my backup supply. I found a brand new plywood blade inside, but it’s the super thin model that warps if you cut too fast. In the end, I also changed pharmacies. It means, however, that I always have to return to Miami for refills.

           Next week the Chinese rover attempts a Mars landing, that’s the clone copy of the last USA rover. Next Tuesday I think, or maybe it enters orbit. There is just no way the Chinese developed independent interplanetary travel on their own in ten years. In a sense, I’m surprised they got that far since copycatting usually introduces fatal errors beneath the surface. Two probes in one week, one American, one Chinese. What's next? Hunter gets a 100 billion renmibi salary for being the governor of Mars?

           Here’s something, there’s a report that cops who know they are being recorded on-line are taking advantage of a glitch on Instagram. You see, Instagram will shut down a video if the background music is copyrighted. The police simply play copyrighted material when doing anything they should not be doing. Tune of choice? “Santeria” by Sublime. Sublime is still around? I like the song, though the lyrics are so last century.
           My prediction for the next “high-tech” boondoggle? These emerging Apple and WhatsApp “privacy policies”. I say they will be as useless as the existing crap. The idea seems to be making people think their privacy is being respected while actually re-directing their privacy to a different crime syndicate.

Last Laugh