One year ago today: October 31, 2021, a dog’s breakfast.
Five years ago today: October 31, 2017, I picked out the M&Ms.
Nine years ago today: October 31, 2013, north of Amarillo.
Random years ago today: October 31, 2014, silver at $15.80.
Today, we get work done. I ran through three bass tunes, making videos which I’ll send north for comments. No way I can compete with the GC crowd on what they do, which is thousands of lessons and tutorials on-line. But as stated so long ago, not one site on how to show off, or even attempt to get your share of the stage attention. Look closely, almost every guitar session has an unspoken element that he is the star of the show. All I’ve done is make that a little more equitable—but only on stage. If you do it during rehearsal, the pricks will quit on you. On stage they are too self-absorbed to notice and since the bassist outshining them is unthinkable, they will assume it is themselves not up to par. Ha!.
The rest of the morning was unproductive. The lumber yard no longer carries the correct screws, the hillbilly was over to start moving his gear, the new gal at Dollar Tree has taken a shine to me, and it started getting hot by noon again. I made a cucumber sandwich with lettuce and onion, tired myself out and headed for a nap. The hillbilly went to his mother’s up the way so if he heads back and the noise wakes me up, there might be some work done today. Maybe get him to help me string out the saw and cut the pegboard into half-decent shapes. See if he wants to work tomorrow for a few hours. The work around here is always easy, it has to be.
A half hour on the phone and a reminder that it does no good to warn people who don’t perceive a given problem. Yet one of the severest mistakes anyone could make it to not have any skills or hobbies in preparation for later in life. And that is one mistake it is nearly impossible to blame on any other cause. Which reminds me, pick up some coffee packets in case I go visiting. JZ is recovering so I plan to check in on the guy. He’s got no hobbies, not a thing to keep busy at, and Miami is geared to take money from such situations.
Here is what 100% inflation looks like. From the Dollar Tree, the size has been halved for the same product. The “heavy duty” logo is meaningless, a non-controlled selling phrase in the USA. So, you get 24 rather than 48 for the same price. This is on top of the 25% increase across the board a few months ago. Per unit, the price was 0.0209 each, today it is 0.0520 each, an increase of 0.0319. The total price increase this year is up 149%. And the DC people try to tell you things have leveled off at 8%. Yes folks, they cannot possibly “win” the next election without doing something so drastic [that] it may not be tolerated. However, do not worry about civil war, in the sense that one side is heavily armed and the other side who apparently think they are stronger are cowards.
Russian movie theater.
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I checked outside at mid-afternoon and it is 88ºF and muggy. Yep, the Brazilian election was stolen in the same manner as 2020. Mainly rigged balloting. It is secession, not civil war, that is most likely in the USA. It would be split along lines of have and have not, or put better, those with things that can be stolen and those who want to steal them. Already the left is squawking about a return to “apartheid” as they fear their supply lines would be cut. Thieves need access to their victims and one of the best ways is to demand that access in the form of equality and diversification. It’s scary how many Americans can’t tell the difference.
Since I’ve forgotten what picture was supposed to go here, this is a nice view of my latest set of matching coat hooks.
As time goes on, it becomes more difficult to make comparisons with the past, but this is now the 73rd month I’ve owned this cabin. Making a conservative estimate that I’m saving $850 per month in rent, I’m up $61,200 right there. This, mind you, was one of the best planned of moves and a prelude to my total retirement—which I’m not yet sure I’ve reached. Funny thing, while I attribute all too excellent budgetary controls, there are gaps. For example, November 2021 is missing gas expenses and I know I went to Tennessee during that stretch.
For the record, how many trips have I made to Tennessee since 2018? The answer is 14, and those were some of the best of times. Those costs are recorded, but in a system that was not designed to separate personal amounts. The original plan was for only up to six trips of six weeks each. When that changed, it appears expenses went up on paper. That’s because bills that would have been paid here gradually moved to Tennessee. As well, I began to buy things there, make repairs, and take longer side trips. Thus, I can only tell you what I’ve spent in general terms and the total so far is somewhere between $17,500 and $20,000. That’s comparable to what it would cost here if I went to movies and dinner a lot.
I cleaned out the van and partially dismantled the old bed-sled. All easy screws, hardly a challenge. I don’t do nails unless I have to. Next, I dragged out the new saw and set it up in the yard. It made quick work of the pegboard panels. I sliced then into strips of around 16”, the cross cuts I’ll do with the battery saw. Earlier today I bought some 5” spikes to use as cord hangers and finally got an extension cord run out of the red shed, a more convenient arrangement. The pegboard material is like pressed fibers so it is sheathing that will still have to be covered. But it completes the shed where right now on the north side, some of the wall consists of tarpaper.
Then I raked the back to discover I have somebody’s nervy little chihuahua in the yard. He’s got tags and stands back twenty feet, barking a lot. He’ll find his way home when he gets hungry enough. This amounts to a measly three hour day, including moving debris from north of the silo and stacking the cut lumber for use. The saw needs a new fence or a fix to the old one. I knew there was a reason such a nice saw was so cheap. But the fence is an accessory and replacing it won’t break the bank.
Let’s hope they don’t have some ridiculous $5,000 minimum. Probably not, since that defeats the purpose of crowdfunding. From what I’ve seen, if it is less than or equal to $1,000 I may make a move. Meanwhile, Facebook’s woes are multiplying and like the phone company, has proven itself unable to diversify. Musk has kicked ass at Twitter and now is El Supremo, having canned the entire board of directors. Guess he saw them for what they were, same as I did so long ago.
Fifteen minutes of on-line news was enough. If there was a station that rotated the news twice a day and instead of four times an hour, I’d switch to it. Nor do I care for these women reporters who always pose so that you can see their breasts through a tight sweater or something. A certain amount is expected but these millennial broads go through such pains, sometime clipping off their foreheads and ears in selfie podcasts to get them tits in the shot.
ADDENDUM
The election is near and the panic on the left is that they may not be able to “cheat enough”. They spend millions on polls declaring the races are very close when in fact they are not. That is a ploy to pump in fake mail-in ballots at the last moment. It apparently just happened in Brazil. Now the Pelosi hammer thing. Remember all those little laws the put in place over the years about evidence ownership. Of course not, the only people who’d recall that were once known as conspiracy theorists. Well, by declaring this obvious queer spat a federal case, they can now refuse to release any evidence. They are working the angle that the perp was carrying zip ties and so were some people on Januar y6.
This is going to be the strangest election in US history. A majority against an elite who will never give up their power, for once they do they will face consequences. Have you seen that Atlantic report, the left begging for mercy and forgiveness under the guise of reconciliation? I’m reminded of the scene in Django where the prisoners start walking toward the slave trader, who says it is time to talk and be reasonable. Come on boys, we can work this out, he says.
