One year ago today: December 3, 2022, on device drivers.
Five years ago today: December 3, 2018, outside the cheese room.
Nine years ago today: December 3, 2014, he gets 11 gigs!
Random years ago today: December 3, 2007, 25% aren’t working already.
I’d like to see a showdown between Google and some hot-shot privacy lawyer. Chrome has just announced when they detect an ad-blocker, they will cause your computer mouse to slow down. This is where I have always drawn the line—do other people have any right to interfere with my computer? To me, the technology does not blur any lines, this computer and everything on it belongs to me and nobody should have any right to it with or without my permission. Good morning.
These are papaya seedlings. Lots of sources on how this is done are on-line, but this is the way they “disperse” if the pod simply drops to the ground. This is the result after a few weeks in Tennessee. Last time I spread the seeds and none kept growing. How about we let nature take its course on this one? Several videos report the seeds, after a good oven-drying, can be ground up and used sparingly as a pepper-like seasoning. I dunno, and they have a warning pregnant women should avoid them and when it comes to seeds, vegans are wont to overstatement. I’ll remove the wire cover tomorrow.
More sad news, but folks, the bottom line is I’ve lived twenty years past my wake-up call. Twenty years exactly in 19 more days. As I grew up mostly around people up to four years older than myself, I’m hearing sad news uncomfortably more often. Today, I learned the gal from Kooters, the one that stood a chance, has been diagnosed with cancer. And she just married a year ago, to that rich guy. I see it as part of a larger picture we all must eventually face, unwelcome as it is.
Meanwhile in Brazil.
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I set off for practice in a glum mood, but music brought me back. Before I tell that tale from the trailer court, there is a mystery come up with Caltier. The latest dividend has not been posted, but I extrapolated it days ago. Because I abhor sloppy books, I kept checking for the post and this morning found my account is “committed” with $500 extra dollars. Immediately I checked all bank accounts in case of a clerical error—remember you must give Caltier contact access to at least one of your bank accounts. Everything checks out, so what’s with the extra $500?
Duly noted was a Caltier offer of bonus shares for enabling an automatic monthly withdrawal, which I declined because it “locks up” any other transactions for up to ten days. What I’m thinking is since we know that web page was designed by coders, they used a kindergarten-grade algorithm. They checked if there was a pattern of regular monthly deposits—a pattern I deliberated incorporated since day one. Either that, or it’s some kind of year-end bonus. I would not like that, as it drains capital. However if it is a bonus, it means the company is doing very well indeed, as it is too large and even an amount for a freebie to my account, which has only $16,000 in equity. Let’s ignore it and see if an explanation arrives and hopefully, it will “stick”.
Add “Driving My Life Away” by Eddie Rabbit, and “I’m On Fire” by Springstein, which is an odd duck for us. A country band. Tell you what, give a listen to it and notice the guitar riff is very banjo-like. We’ve taken that and added a bluegrass flavor. I dislike it when larger bands make these sort of changes, but for duos this gives it a real sparkle. At the Prez’s suggestion, I’ve added two bass walk-downs not in the original.
This week’s plan is to hit the jam session again. The Prez has heard the show twice as often as me. He has to drop his wife off at the airport in Orlando that day, so I hope he makes it. Why? Because we are the team and I’d rather follow him than the other guitar players on tunes he learned while I wasn’t there. I’m also hoping the two new people show up, that would be a guitar player who can’t sing and the lady, who is a complete blank to me unless I know her from some other situation. Both Wilford and the Prez say mid-30s, but remember most men undershoot that estimation by some ten years.
The latest list is drawn up, we have more than enough material—but this year’s Xmas stretch is not looking great for any gigs. Even if I’m not in Tennessee over Xmas, it is past the time when most arrangements are already made. That does not shake my faith in last minute cancellations—who would have guessed those would play such a roll in my musical career? I just have this feeling about New Year’s Eve this time around. If we get a gig AND Caltier shoots me $500, it would make my day.
ADDENDUM
I misspoke last day when I said that you never make enough money in Canada to get out of Canada. Well, that’s how it came out, when I really meant otherwise. Of course, you can tank up and head south, 90% of Canadians live within a hour’s driving of the US border. What I actually mean is the zero-sum nature of living in that country, how you will work your entire life for nothing. And in the end, the system is geared to grab back what little wealth you have by throwing you in a nursing home. Specifically, I meant most Canadians never accumulate enough money to move to the USA and get set up. I know that I would need $8000 in cash and another $5000 available just to move back to Texas to be certain I would not meet with woe before my first ten paychecks rolled in.
True, I could do it for less, but I already lived in a trailer court. I was just lucky to find such a good one. In a sense, Canada is like Texas. A great place to visit if you got money and you know people, otherwise, mercilessly inhospitable and ready to gouge you blind. That’s just for me, I can’t imagine the cost if I had a wife and kids to drag along. I expect there will be many who disagree on this point, but that tells me they’ve never tried it.
Now, you want to watch something just incredible? Watch this guy build a model.
