January 21, 2024

Yesteryear
One year ago today: January 21, 2023, a great day.
Five years ago today: January 21, 2019, a not-much day.
Nine years ago today: January 21, 2015, buried on page 3a.
Random years ago today: January 21, 2009, some nosy fat lady.

           That was fun, I was awakened by a suspicious call on my unpublished, private, unlisted, nothing phone that has had maybe three calls in the past year. I recognized right away it was JZ in some kind of situation. Turns out he cracked the lens on his own phone, and before the company would reactivate it, they wanted to “confirm” which basically means they wanted to know who I was. Too bad, JZ and everybody I know has a rehearsed string bullshit we ladle out and that is what they got. But I was not happy and JZ, well, he admits I warned him decades ago this is where it’s heading. Now he knows.

           It was not enough to know the number and password, now these places demand somebody else get involved in the loop. It’s the way the authorities infiltrate communist “cells” which make sure no member knows more than two or three others on a code-name basis. I greeted the call as an opporunity to call down the stupid lady and her company, but JZ started laughing in the background and almost gave it away. I was going to crawl back in the sack, but I’m wide awake now.

           So, you get a small lecture on this switch. I’ve got a small box of them. (But meanwhile, here is a picture of the box work-in-process, the fastest box I ever built.) The switch. The technical name shown is single throw double pole. Since the two halves of the switch are not connected, what purpose does this switch serve? Seems a lot of people can’t figure it out, since both sides of the circuit are not connected and are either on or off. The answer is related to the PNP circuit I was testing y’day. There is a new family of components that work on 3.3V rather than the traditional 5V. While I still use separate switches in the circuit, this is a master power switch which supplies both voltages to the project. One side is 5.0V the other is 3.3V. Normally the 5V side gets most of the use.
           It seems America’s pal, Trump, is causing the Democrat regime unbelievable headaches. They continue to employ the same old tactics that people have learned to watch for. Fake accusations and headlines no longer work. Media that try to pretend certain issues are a given lose business. Every charge they file against Trump just tips investigators what to look for in the accuser. Worst for the regime, when honest voting and counting is employed, Trump comes out so far ahead there are no serious contenders. Iowa, the Democrat fortress, the place CNN declared Trump would not even show, fell 100% to Trump.

           That’s right, every county. Worse, it is generally recognized the past elections of Democrats were heavily corrupt. All Trump has to do is make sure the counting if fair and that is one hell of a threat to the regime. The left can’t do much, as there is hardly an American anywhere, including their own cohorts, who would not support open and honest ballot counts. Worse, as the media was unable to suppress the fraud, it has reared up again and the Democrats are losing long-time supporters in droves.
           Now Trump’s in New Hampshire, another libtard bastion and he’s packing them to the rafters. I mean, he is really clobbering the Democrats, and they are one dangerous crowd when they get desperate. I’ve heard a new shout for the first time, something to the effect, “Trump dies, you die.” A clear warning that DC had best not pull another Kennedy. If they harm Trump, let’s just say every person I know that right now is complacent or just wanting to be left alone would instantly join sides.

           The biggest joke is the Democrats paid millions for a new media blitz saying Trump would be a dictator, and cut social spending and let down our military allies and reverse government policies. It backfired because that is exactly what people want. Talk about total screwups, these Democrats can’t win for losing. I think they are still living back in the pre-2016 “politically correct” era and still think people buy into that crap. Like it bothers anybody to be called names much these days.
           Hour later, JZ has still not called back, but his phone goes to recording. He’s out celebrating or something. Nope, turns out he’s over at his brothers, and the phone place wants a second secret code. Fortunately, I’m good at that. Will he get his phone back? Only Elmer the Millennial Moron knows for sure. Here’s two Miami yahoos who can’t get a phone hooked up without drawing others into the loop. I warned both of them they would run into that wall and one day the solutions are not going to work. That’s because they are supporting a system that puts everybody on file.

           Oh sure, they object to it now, but it’s too late. I told you, the best time to keep your data secret is 30 years ago, or similar. You can’t decide now you want privacy when the enemy has 30 years experience tripping you up. You need a separate infrastructure in place, like the way the lady on the other end tried to say they had my name and address on file. They are, she said, the phone company, but that's bullshit. How many people could be 100% certain she was lying? Me, because that info cannot be gotten, even secondarily. It’s actually quite easy and involves knowing when to keep your mouth shut.
           Bottom line, these are not the times to be telling strangers personal information over the phone, and you name, phone, address, birthdate etc are personal info. Oh, the other person told they weren’t did they. Some folks don’t know a setup when they see it. These companies want to ensure if anything goes wrong in the future, they know all about you and you know nothing about them. Here’s something interesting. JZ’s other brother was on the conference call. He did not know if you stay on the call after the other person hangs up, they can continue to listen in. I blocked him a couple of times because I did not want the listener to know that I knew. JZ’s brother spoke some information and was stunned that I knew exactly where he got it from.
           But it was a good lesson, he learned something right there. He started talking about what they knew, information that I coded when my phone was connected. You should do that with all information you are required to give. The instructions are deep in this blog somewhere. But the ONLY person who would give JZ’s apartment number as 509B would be his former phone provider. There is no B. Therefore, I knew where they got the information and roughly when. And you should take the lesson to heart. Times have changed, and they’ve changed precisley like you were warned so long ago.

Picture of the day.
Downtown New Boston, TX, 1986.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           This afternoon revolved around the rehearsal in Eagle Lake, Florida. It meant I had no time to get anything done, but spent it all with people who thought this was all just fine. I’ve described how Polk is a strange musical venue. Famous recording stars in skid bars next door to write-offs with top billing. I recognized everyone though not by name. Keith, the jam host, has a rather large shop over in Eagle Lake, mind you it is unheated and this is January. It is exactly as you would have predicted from reading this blog. A session of locals more interested in hunting and painting cars who know one Martin guitar from another, and have all heard the rumor that Neil Young “owns ten thousand guitars”. Ho-fkg-hum.

           But you want to know how the music went, and I have to be careful here. Because the world if full of more Elliotts than of me. Don’t dare take one shred of credit for anything, or they label you the next braggadocious Trump—usually for accomplishing simple things they can only dream of. It’s those simple things that gnaw at them, should you make it big, they will just claim to have spurred you on. The music was such, a very successful waste of time. Huh? Yes, it was like a social tea minus the women and the gossip. All the other small talk and small ideas were there, in abundance.

           The rehearsal was musicially fine. At any given tune, there were four people playing, of which the only constant was the Prez & I. This emphasizes a number of factors. One is that the Prez, who like most may not have initially believed my predictions, is now seeing them first hand. It turns out every musician in the room (I’m avoiding details here) has either auditioned or jammed with me at some point during the last six hears since I got here. For example, this photo shows that guitar player who drove truck to Michigan. We auditioned, then he took off for two months, not even answering the phone. But the Prez witnessed how he knew exactly what to do when I telegraphed my intentions on the bass. That, for one thing, never happens by accident.
           There is a novelty to these new meet-ups, but also a curious side-effect. I had warned the Prez about several situations that would waste his time and now he is seeing them. Every guitar player in that room had some hurdle to playing in a band, and more often than not, it was social. We aced many tunes, though in each case, it was something the guitarist already knew. The only organization was the Prez & I, and he got a first-hand revelation of my warnings. So while six months ago he would likely have thrown in his lot with them, now he’s less likely to bolt, a more wait-and-see stance.

           Two situations were evident, a) it’s not easy to find a guitarist in Polk I don’t know, and b) these type of practices go nowhere. That’s easy to define. When jamming with us, the guitar player has to know his stuff, or each sour note or botched turnaround gets emphasized by two other musicians whom the audience, by now, has favorited us. This puts the guitar player in one of two situations. One, he can get better, b
ut this takes time, effort, and talent. Two, he can take the easy way out and try to bring in more players. First a drummer, then a keyboardist, and you know that garden path. Not one of them has a lick of management experience and I’m counting a lot on the Prez conceding that is what is going on here.
           The other development is the Prez now sees if he lets anyone else call the shots, I drop into bass player mode. I do my job, I leave again. I don’t “share” management, which might sound harsh unless you realize that is because I don’t care to share in screw-ups, bad decisions, arguments, and guitar-player rigamarole. Nor do I go out looking for gigs, let’s see how good other band leaders are at that. (We already know.)

           My decision is to run with these Sunday sessions, see where it leads. One, it is only 1/4 the distance from my place, and the Prez has had his eyes opened. Thusforth, he cannot unsee the dozens of ills he used to think were part of the deal, but could not define himself. He is now participating in coaching the band to do things the “right” way, mind you for the wrong reasons. He hasn’t learned that part yet. He will quickly tire of the band using the meetings as bullshit sessions. And for the record, I don't believe the Michigan story. The guy was in jail.
Last item, the Gigrac does need repair. And the Prez knows unless we have paying gigs, I’m unlikely to come up with the money. This limits us to four good inputs, and therefore two singing musicians. Of course, he is welcome to go buy a new system, but this puts him in a quandry. It would mean he has to buy things that are beyond his own personal usage (gotcha!) and that also means rethinking his sentiments on “not in it for the money.”

Last Laugh