One year ago today: December 21, 2021, not neutral enough.
Five years ago today: December 21, 2017, four square feet makes enemies.
Nine years ago today: December 21, 2013, lots of toys.
Random years ago today: December 21, 2006, mentions Trump.
Off to a great start by sleeping in until 8:00AM. First coffee and then we put the new pick punch through the paces. Here’s some real picks just made, 24 of them all told. Using the Guitar Center benchmark of ten picks for six dollars, I just created $14.40 worth of plectrums and solved any pick issues for the rest of my life anyways. As seen here, it’s a matter of a few seconds, a big longer if you are careful to max out the shapes that can be cut from the card. These are advertising cards that come in the US Mail, so repurposing their junk is an idea that immediately appeals to me.
I unloaded most of the van including that large plastic box scrounged in Tennessee for my vacuum system. It’s confirmed, there’s a nice winter storm headed this way so don’t dawdle. And how come this place is out of everything except rice and onions? Time for the big shop, like I didn’t spend $300 in two weeks, damn you Biden. California, using the guise of preventing home shops from springing up during the upcoming recession, has banned citizens from doing most repairs in their own garage. Whatever the argument, it can and will be used to control what people do at home. And facial recognition software has been used to bounce lawyers who work for firms that the law firm is litigating against—regardless of whether the lawyer was personally involved. I love it, but I hate it. The reason I love it is because it targets people with “nothing to hide” who supported the surveillance society.
And idea in England that I hope catches on are repair cafés. You go there and experts will teach you how to repair household articles. On a Tuesday, it might be toaster, and so on. I’d sign up for such a program immediately. The Zimbawe honcho (who’s first name is “Polite”) has announced a ban on lithium exports. Great, but corruption there is non-white and cannot be eradicated. But it should put a dent in Zimbabwe’s woeful economic conditions. Keep an eye on Mastodon, the decentralized media platform. Think of them as the Napster of posting, where your computer shares part of the load. But also exposes you to legal liabilities if you inadvertently link with the bad guys. Remember, Internet lawyers don’t have to prove intent.
Should the hard-copy of this blog ever get on-line, it would contain my 1981 description of how Ticketmaster would become the dominant criminal organization of the music industry. Back then, music was a huge cash-only industry ripe for exploitation, and fall it did. Gone were the small concerts and venues, along with their $10 cover charges. Along came the nothing bands of the 90’s who owed their allegiance and often their downfall to the music mafia. The suicides were blamed on drug use. Next year, Ticketmaster is slated to rake in more than the rest of the music industry combined. See addendum for more.
Peachland, NC. Pop. 451.
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Another uncharacteristically long phone call just finished when a knock came on the door. It was the tree-cutting guy. Yep, he got stood up again with his new $59,000 truck and two helpers. The original price was $3,000 which dropped over time to $1,400. Then last month down to $800. This is not haggling the price, I simply cannot spend $800 on that service. Well, this time it was cut the limbs for what I had on me or drive home minus the gas money. The trees are now trimmed back for what’s left of my life, unless I live another 30 years. Here’s the guy riding the bucket, what a way to make a living.
The latest guitar player, we’ll call him Mike, has forwarded a song list. I’ve never played any Five Finger Death Band before, this could be my big chance. I’ve not met the guyyet, but we sent videos of our stage work. It’s coincidence, but we both look like we belong in the same band. (He’s nine years younger.) Glancing over the mutual lists, I think we have enough material for a gig without learning anything new. Time to clear a space in the kitchen.
Examining a small induction coil decided to look closer and see if it really was a spotlessly clean as it appeared. Nope, there are bits of salt grit between the coils. The new inspection camera is great, but you can’t really tell by looking how much magnification is taking place. I still want a real microscope but have to admit this hand-held is quite the convenience.
The grit is very visible in this photo. I doubt it is service-affecting and don’t see how this contamination could be realistically avoided. The likely source of salt is from handling it with my fingertips.
ADDENDUM
The Ticketmaster monopoly was evident to me at the last concert I attended, the “Doobie Brothers”. Prices went from $12 to $160 and I knew right there the bands were no longer in control. Ticketmaster is the brainchild of Castle Bank, the tax shelter in the Bahamas which is connected with every underworld operation in America of any size. These seedy characters dominated the Seattle grunge era, promoting nothing bands from out of thin air. It started with snagging 25¢ per ticket and quickly moved to charging bands $50,000 to put on a “free” concert. I concluded it is not musicians who suffer if you pirate the music and the last time I bought an album was also in 1981.
