One year ago today: October 19. 2020, tire problem discovery.
Five years ago today: October 19, 2016, Combat, my eye.
Nine years ago today: October 19, 2012, President Capone?
Random years ago today: October 19, 2011, PO-TA-TOES.
Too bad the hillbilly is moving away. Turns out he is an excellent helper and learns fast. We had the walls of the north shed up in three hours flat, including driving over to buy the lumber. Plus tarpapered the wall visible from the adjacent lot. Thanks to Tennessee, those two dogs of his never ate so well. This morning they got four pounds of drumsticks each and since I was once on the streets myself, he got coffee, four eggs, sausage, and a big helping of fried potato, the kind with onions and mushrooms.
Here is the shed view, can you see it? The worse you can, the better for me. You may notice the “pistachio” trees springing up over the yard. They stay because I need the shade. Okay, if you need a hint, examine the picture y’day for the version with the tarpaper and now look almost dead center at the very back of the picture.
We went through a gallon of peach tea but that was some real progress. We again had to quit due to the sun, but more me than him. People raised in Florida seem to not notice until things get over 95°F. I’m suffering at 80°F. The deck has an unfinished section and there are no doors or windows, just an entry hatch. Electricity is by extension cord. My mechanic called and they had a cancelation for tomorrow morning. If I’m on time, my van gets in there first. There is something got missed somehow, that problem isn’t the same as the axle diagnosis from last time. I can literally hear a bit of metal getting “unstrained” when I turn certain corners. I’m still not quite used to such a powerful motor, something that I’d adapt to in an instant if it was a car.
More good news as that piping I reamed and fixed seems to have restored the water pressure all through the building. I guess it was so gradual I did not notice. I have no idea what caused the problem and you know how I don’t like to leave that situation alone. The lumber for the rest of the shed frame, including the roof, is all back there and ready. But I’m not starting anything until it can be finished in one session, meaning probably Thursday.
Lee Ann Womack.
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The scooter is back from the shop. Yes, it was the carburetor. It’s back on the road $127 later. Did I say, yes, I just remembered I did mention the mechanic had the identical model in blue when he was much younger. He loves this machine, when he drove it out of the shop he wanted to keep on going. I know the feeling so well. My sidecar has been parked now for over four years.
Band practice. I usually over-document band practice, should it become a future window on bands, which if Guitar Center has its way, will soon have little to do with talent and musicianship. Rehearsal went okay, but these guys will never be ready in the traditional sense. They like to practice the wrong way of doing things. I can always tell when they’ve been talking between themselves too much. I’ve said how I don’t think these guys do any practicing at home, except for the lead player who is using valuable time learning licks when he should be learning to strum. Here’s the update in this rapidly unfolding drama. Yeah-yeah, if I say anything bad I’m griping and anything good makes me a braggart. Can’t win, so here’s how today’s rehearsal unfolded.
Foremost, I practice at home so they have now seen how each week I show up with more material and better prepared. So much so that I’ve easily outdistanced the drummer and lead player in terms of presentation, technique, and plain playing the song so it sounds right. The keyboard guy is good, but he’s stuck in a groove. He plays the IV on every turnaround and goes back to the 7th even when it isn’t there. He does not seem to notice when it clashes.
Parson took a few pictures last week. Sure enough, he chose the one that I think is the worst of me taken this year and puts it on the blurb. It shows my worst side, worst shape, and I was half-blinking. Bad as my singing is, I’m gaining there as well because I’m practicing. I do it by memorizing the start notes. This isn’t lost to Parson, who doesn’t mind that this means an increasing reliance on my input. My management experience is also now a factor, and I’ll shoot you one example. I have several rules that need to be addressed, but this shows how intermingled things become because music is a field where it is easy to confuse issues.
The major rule is, I insist we play the original version of the song that became a hit. Following on, the person who sings the song is the only band member who can overrule that. Why is this cropping up? Well, because it means I don’t do the Zydeco version. I don’t do the Kentucky Headhunters version. You get the drift. This meshes with my insistence that if we do change a version, I want to hear the person pushing for the change play the original. This is to make sure he isn’t just pulling a fast one to cover up something he can’t manage.
Yes, there are emerging issues that I cannot veto, but can oppose. One is the lead player of course wants to add another rhythm guitarist. Obviously he knows zilch about the futility of a five piece band. Every lead player wants his own backup group. Since I’ve offered to work with him on strumming and he’s declined, which to me that spells lack of motivation and a disregard for band economics. Why stop at a five-piece? Why not hire a symphony orchestra?
This is not that much different that any band I was with as a teenager, so I’m used to the process and the outcome. By and large, these guys seem to have missed that segment of the learning curve. I make mistakes, but I don’t make dumb mistakes on stage. Since this band is getting out there, I have nothing to lose by going along mostly with the flow. It’s past the point already where the audience is going to spot what’s going on. And I’m gaining experience singing with a full band, probably the best thing that will come out of this situation in the long run.
ADDENDUM
One good thing about the pre-Internet era was people who knew nothing about computers didn’t so much think they did. Today, every moron out there thinks he’s got it aced. Well, those two XP computers I bought as a matching set, guess what. The guy didn’t lie but in many cases, it’s the equivalent of lying when you talk without knowing what you are talking about. Yes, the computers had XP installed. But it was some copy he got of a network modified version. Most of the drivers I use are gone, the mouse keeps reverting to single click, and the "select all" file option has strangely been disabled.
These units were networked and somebody systematically went through and deleted all the support files that are needed to install new programs or modify parameters needed to make certain copies or move files around. Also disabled are certain mouse features that even installing the original drivers will not fix. My point is, the seller probably had no friggen clue about any of this. Back in the day, almost any real computer user would necessarily have the smarts and experience to know these things. Today, an expert is anybody with $100.
I could reformat the disks and reinstall XP, but that means a complete startover. Also, the Win 10 computer is also a dog. MicroSoft totally screwed the pooch with the search feature. I made a complete backup of the computer I replaced, now the files are gone somewhere. And clicking on the computer settings sends you to another MicroSoft brain fart called “libraries”. I’ll get it, eventually, but the whole lot of people who sit around coming up with these screwed up ideas are making money, not friends.
