One year ago today: July 15, 2021, they can’t afford me.
Five years ago today: July 15,2017, a generic day.
Nine years ago today: July 15, 2013, soaking my balls.
Random years ago today: July 15, 2009, 800 miles per pair.
My canceled tour of the northern prairies late this summer had a leg that, given the opportunity, would have took me through central Oregon. That was formerly one of my favorty motorcycle routes. It was just too far to drive after work when I lived in the area so I never saw the sights, and also (at least back then) the tourist traps were nicer than other places. Ha, I read some town council wanted to re-use “Hidden Forest Lane” for their main street, so they let the existing route revert to its old designation of “BLM Road” . They meant Bureau of Land Management, but all the businesses along the route went bankrupt anyway. Good morning.
At this point, I must have that chain saw to proceed. It was into the shed by 11:00AM to diagnose the problem. The engine is not firing even when primed, so we suspect the spark plug. Conventional wisdom says remove the plug and test it. Reality says the clearances are too small and there is a lack of bare metal to clamp the plug. However, now that I know what to look for, the robot club experience saves the day. Unless you have a spare plug (I don’t), the best test is a multimeter. Here is the plug removed and it passes the visual test. Now I’m flying solo, because none of this was covered in class.
I must go downtown to find this plug, which is right past the Karaoke place. This method of reading the resistance still does not confirm if the plug is actually firing, but if you can eliminate the plug as a problem, the rest of the troubleshooting is much easier. If I’m up to it, I will also test that weed whacker, but once again I was on my feet for over three hours and I should know better. My strategy is to nap through the afternoon rains.
The Butt of Lewis.
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Going on-line I find no really adequate spark plug testers exist. The in-line models, which I have, only test if there is continuity, which usually means the plug is firing. But unless you can see the spark, you cannot be sure. I’ve seen a couple European designs where you insert the plug and watch. That’s what I want but nothing local shows up.
While all this is going on, my music ad gets a reply from the guy in Winter Haven who seems not sure what he wants. Duo, trio, backing tracks. I don’t care, I just want to play. We did not pursue our initial contact but something has changed. I think he may have heard me play with the band in Ariana. I get that impression because his choice of words is sort of, oh, so you are that guy. He emphasizes he is not that god,. So what? This isn’t the Opry. I replied asking for his song list.
So I go over his profile and I know this guy from somewhere. He looks like Captain Highliner and he is pretty lousy, but he stays on key and on beat. The ad he responded to specifies acoustic. All his demos show electric. Well, there you have a situation. If he insists on playing electric instead of acoustic, he’s going to look and sound like a bozo on stage with me. To me, electric signals a prima donna. It’s his choice, on stage with me play acoustic and we mesh, play electric and you become second fiddle.
Ants. Not again! Yessir, it is that time of year. I have the baits but also a leak under the bathroom sink. Priorities. And it is time to change the tarp on the sidecar. Right now, it is Harbor Freight erstatz tarp which lasts a couple years before disintegration. You know what else is going to pieces, still? China, land of the deserted cities. It seems they have their own mortgage crisis, with millions simple refusing to pay their rents.
Now, I disagree with the abolishment of debt. That’s handing free money to the very people who caused the problem. I wrote extensively in the 80s and 90s how debt would eventually catch up to America. The final years at accounting school were half taken up with courses on how to manage debt, including formulas to determine if a company was in enough debt. It reminds of Sharon, who read articles on how to maintain the correct level of stress in her relationships.
My books must be a rarity. Over 40 years with no category for Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable. And 100% Equity. That was a distant thunderclap, let me go unwrap the new tarp. The sidecar, if it has not sunk too deeply into the Florida sand, is destined to move around the north side of the building. I made it downtown and the next few paragraphs fulfill the “journal” part of this blog.
On the return leg, I stopped in Bartow. The club had a DJ, something I will never understand because the juke box heroes over there have better taste. I ran into Bradford, now pushing 40 and still dragging along. We strummed a few tunes outside, this is very customary at that club, which has no smoking section. Funny thing, Bradford has never really grasped that I have really tried to learn guitar, that is, he thinks I know nothing about the instrument. He kind of got a demo otherwise tonight, but it will again be forgotten.
He’s also hung up on the money part, a weird paradox of guitarists. They will say they are not in it for the money, but will not play a $50 gig. I said to him, right now I would play a $50 gig and let him keep the money because anything is better than being audience. If you are wondering, Bradford thinks $300 is the going rate. If a club paid that much in this vicinity, there’d be a stampede.
ADDENDUM
This is the anniversary of the end of my cholesterol trial. I quite think toward the end they really didn’t need to keep confirming the treatment worked on me, but loved those pints of blood from me. I also don’t believe them when they say they found four other opioid-free subjects. When they said that, I sort of knew they were really looking to cancel out.
It’s not just the drug-free people, we know they exist, but that have my rather uncommon blood type and health conditions for this study. Even though they had said I would no longer be paid more, I was still getting the fat checks right up to the end. I’ve only been to Miami twice since. And now, with the price of gas, I dunno. What I don’t like is they also cancelled my “free” treatments for life, saying that was a different coompany. Liars. My contract was with the treatment, not the provider.
On the topic of health, am I being the idiot again? Here’s the score. I wake up feeling limber again, after two weeks light duty. It’s an illusion from a night’s rest. So I go to work, believing I’m taking it easy. Then by mid-afternoon or so, I get a twinge. Yes, a warning but one that has been diminishing. I take a rest but the crimp returns slightly. Was it the work? Am I straining without knowing it? Anyway, this cycle repeated again this morning.
Do you see the conflict? If I don’t work, I will never know when the recovery is done, if I do work, am I delaying the recovery? The temporary solution is, you guessed it, another cup of coffee. But I had better make a decision on this. As I said, 59 projects behind on this place. I’m going to add to that by possibly fixing the siding that faces the street. Tomorrow, I paint the canopies.
