One year ago today: June 23, 2020, flu anniversary coincidence.
Five years ago today: June 23, 2016, a day off.
Nine years ago today: June 23, 2012, Munich radio . . .
Random years ago today: June 23, 2004, the first serious landings.
I see it is time for a refresher on Robot Club procedures, design dictated by what works. Begin with A.I. for artificial intelligence. Without the periods, Al can be mistaken for Einstien’s first name. Use the periods. Equally important is the club convention of what to enter into text boxes. We invented and use the square brackets method. When you see [message] it means you enter EXACTLY what is between the brackets. That means [“message’] is different in that you would also include the ditto marks. This paragraph tips you off this is not likely to be a challenging day. At least you get a picture of an, mmmmm, Old Spice bar of soap.
There’s two other sides to that coin. For years now, the government had the option to flatten the curve more in favor of those who took low-paying jobs. Instead they fed us the line about work ethics, responsibility, freedom of choice, pride, and honesty. Generation after generation fell for it but they just knew something wasn’t right. The system degenerated decade by decade until the low-paying jobs became a trap. Nowadays, if you take such a job, you will never get out of it. These jobs used to be a springboard to better things. You only worked at McDonald’s until you graduated.
No more, these jobs no longer pay enough that you can take evening courses, or save to start your own shop. They leave you too exhausted to put in any extra, or ply a small trade on the side. When I grew up, most people with a dead-end job also had a small shop round back, or played guitar, or had something they could do for pin money. Or they, like myself, went to night school. That’s been taken away. Even the degrees you get from that or correspondence have been rendered useless. I used to take continuing ed courses every year until the changes of 2000/2001 when you began having show ID and fill out a credit card application to take a single Tuesday evening calligraphy course sponsored by your own tax dollars.
Yet, some good may derive of it in that employers who have consistently paid less than a living wage now find themselves in competition with the government. If welfare pays the equivalent of even half minimum wage but without working, the choice is clear. The government makes a big deal out of disposable income, where I used to do the calculation on one’s hourly wage, resulting in a figure much closer to home. When I left my job at the garage door factory when I was in my 20s, I was making $18.88 per hour. A third of that was deductions, for this was “high income” back then. It cost me another third to drive to and from work, rent within driving distance, keep lunch food stocked, and the general costs of staying alive to be able to get to work., etc, and that’s probably a low estimate.
This left me with a lousy $6.30 per hour to live on. This is where, if you read this blog back far enough, you’ll run into my formulas to compare costs by constant effort. Back then, I had to work 3 hours to buy a new shirt. That’s 32 hours to buy a bass amp, 1-1/2 hours to go to the movies, 1-3/4 hours for a tank of gas, you get the idea. In my world, none of what I just listed was a luxury, so my true “disposable income” was what was left over after all the things I had to buy. It was less than $1 for myself, though that varied depending on if I was in school at the time.
Fast forward to now, where my shirts are actually free from the Thrift. The ones that look best are in the closet, the rest become shortsleeve. These days, I have no hourly income, but without having to support a job, so what? Let’s suppose I got a job that paid $15 per hour. Knock of a third, then another third for operational costs, and that’s $5 per hour left for me. That means I now require 100 hours to buy a bass amp and 3 hours to go to the movies. That’s 4-1/2 hours for a tank of gas. Yep, I’d rather go on welfare, let them pick up the tab and I’d still have more than $5 per hour to goof off. And now that I know how fair the system is, I would do it. Thanks to Joe & Kamela, 11 million losers, er, I mean Democrat voters, just got a taste of what I’m talking about.
Mineral deposits on Mars.
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Striving to make today as interesting as possible for you, here is a view of at least two big laptops slated for the new workstation and one for out in the shed. I have the computers, but locating the power supplies after six years is not going to go smoothly, but it will happen in an air-conditioned room. These laptops, once considered prize possessions by some, are dead weight to me. They represent a relapse to baby-think in the computer field. Far too clunky and heavy to be really portable, they both have paralysis pads and are designed to appeal to the immature “bigger is better” crowd that grew into today’s gamers.
Another small project, reminding you this is because I’m waiting for drywall mud to dry, is a front mounted jack on my Ibanez. I’m leaving the original in place, it is that type that goes through the center of the strap hook. All it means is you cannot set the guitar down in that direction. The guitar shop wanted $135 for this job and I discovered my luther friend does not do electronics. Other than stuffing the wires back into the cavities where he found them, he doesn’t seem sure what each wire is for. This is not uncommon, you get the same with “expert” car mechanics.
I plan to use my gauge to determine the drill sizes, then use forceps to pull the existing jack through the guitar body. More forceps to feed stranded auto speaker wire through the new drill hole, then pull the pieces back flush. I hope to bypass the switch feature on the built-in, that’s where you must use a plug to active that tuner and equalizer. Never did like that, you either unplug on stage or fish around for a spare plug end, which when finished you will promptly misplace.
But first, I see it has dried out in the morning sun, so I’m getting the leaf blower up on the roofs and A/C units to blast out all the leaves, crap, ants, and cobwebs that Florida is also a home to. And check on that new gutter system I installed before these last two days of rainstorms. If it worked right, I have a second space that needs attention. I just paid my van insurance, and you know what I really don’t like? They call it auto insurance, but then, why does it need my name, address, and birhdate on the card? I have my own health insurance, so don’t hand me any pap answers to this. I know, they want to make sure I don’t let somebody else drive the vehicle, but in the Constitutional sense, that is none of their business.
For a break later, I’ve planned a DVD. I see there are two disks. That has always given me a laugh, people who can’t seem to just sit down and enjoy a movie. Or possibly they are suckers and the studios like selling them their garbage. I have no interest in deleted scenes, alternate endings, whether the makeup girl has piles, or how the director lost his glass eye.
ADDENDUM
The Europeans move a step closer to data intrusion. I find it contradictory that the EU can be so big on individual rights and privacy, but still create laws that allow warrantless snooping. The cover is so often that they are out to enforce copyright laws, but always in a manner that gives them technology they can turn on anyone who falls out of favor. There is a provision they could make that the USA used to have. This is where any such investigation must confine itself to pre-stated objectives, ignore other “plain-view” situations, and must press charges within 60 days of the investigation or the suspect is to be informed in full of the event, including all names, participants, findings, and the complete return of all material.
And to back it up, there were consequences for keeping a copy and trying to introduce any in court proceedings later in time. It was a sad day for America when they changed this law, even if it was not really enforced to any real effectiveness. This was long ago, but I think it was the 60s. Don’t quote me, I was just a kid at the time.
This just in, John McAfee committed suicide in Spanish jail cell. It says a ton about what has happened to the American justice system. He was to be extradicted for “tax crimes”. I say a countries tax jurisdiction should end at its borders, that is, it is not income until it comes in. It’s a sad commentary that people would rather kill themselves then go through an American trial. And tax crimes have become a disgusting lever for when they can’t get you any other way. Like many, I am not proud of what’s happened to America law enforcement. I never said defund the police, just defund their ability to do things like this.
