January 8, 2024

Yesteryear
One year ago today: January 8, 2023, arresting grandmothers.
Five years ago today: January 8, 2019, my yard won’t grow fruit.
Nine years ago today: January 8, 2015, whatever happened to nano-biotics?
Random years ago today: January 8, x1980, Dawson Creek, Alberta.

           Fortunately those who listened to me back in 2004 were not influenced by the evil that AARP has become. For government money, they just advised their 38 million dupes to get an 8th booster shot. I did not realize there were that many stupid old people, so I stand corrected. I was on to AARP ten minutes after I walked into their office after hearing they had a job placement service. Wrong, the plan was to get your life history on file, it’s well documented long ago in this blog. Here’s a photo of the white cheddar for the hamburger pizza, but it just does not melt right. What am I doing wrong?

           Another mystery recipe gone. When it’s like icicles outside, I opt for biscuits and gravy. (This is a traditional breakfast in the deep south.) I have no problem with the Pilsbury frozen dough and any country gravy mix. A couple days ago I overboiled some spuds and kept a jar of the potato water. I dumped it in the pan and that, my friends, is gravy. But I already forget how I boiled the potatoes or how long, and I did add browning and smoke flavor, a dash or two. Tastes as good as it sounds, but no pictures, all you get is this description—and a note that Pilsbury is famous for printing their recipes on the package right where you tear it to open. See photo.
           It’s frozen out there, like Texas. So I made French toast, sat down, and reviewed the latest in the musical sequence. I remind you that stage mutinies are nothing unsusual, the best way to handle them is wait two days and pretend you forgot about it. But, I never quite forget as they are a measure of band loyalty, such a rare commodity. The Prez also said we are not good enough to play out, which stems from two situations. First, he quit learning out material as soon as we began the jam sessions, and second, he is unaware of what is out there. We are an excellent duo, but he may not think so because he knows the practiced simplicity of what is really going on. Few guitar players appreciate keeping it simple.

           So, what course to take, and head’s up, this is a management decision. Well, the Prez did put in the time and memorized at least the chord patterns to all my material. He does not yet factor in that I learned excellent bass lines to all his list, but at least he’s well past the “bass is easy” stage. Since I know the mutiny situation will defuse itself because the odds of him ever getting into a band so easily again are close to zero. But this also means he may think he’s good enough to strike out on his own, a bad move. What course should things take?
           To me, any band is better than no band. The jam changed things, and I’ve mentioned how in the past few months, we’ve aced all the junk tunes on that Keith guy’s ancient list. True, my duo also plays old stuff, but it is carefull chosen and arranged. How about we let things slide sideways for a while, see what happens. There is always a market for the type of band that would result from what he plays, just don’t expect wild crowds or an enthusiasm. He has a place in Lakeland to rehearse and has suggested meeting up there.
           Hence, I say leave things until this Wednesday jam, see that he has to offer. If it means rehearsing at his place, this puts me in a familiar situation. Let him make the mistakes and take the flak, find the gigs, and keep it together. All I do is stand there and play bass. I’ve done it enough times, and it gives me plenty of leeway to showcase my bass playing. That’s only part of the story, but what say we let the rest of the factors add themselves up. Keith is also aware I am can strum rhythm with near-perfect timing. Just keep in mind, he is no leader, no band manager, and only does a mediocre job of trying to please everyone. Darn rights, I;ll let you know how it goes.

           The Desperate Democrats have launched yet another ad campaign, again lauding Biden as the savior of the American economy. Because gas prices dipped slightly last week. It is time, they say, to give Biden the credit he deserves. Instead, it has created the “arson analogy”, expecting thanks for putting out the fire they started. There is another aspect to communism that is probably unique to America.
           Criticism. The way communist takeover works is based on having the dissenting individual think his thoughts are alone and instilling a fear of opposition so the bad guys can claim they were invited.
           For that reason, I’m posting a list of the top eight replies to the lady complaining she was nixxed for a nanny position because she was vaxxed. The vaxxed are viewed as the small-minded minority that destroyed lives and families. They will never be forgiven no matter how much they claim they just “went along”, they supported an evil regime and these posted comments are to illustrate the popular mood against them.

1. No vaccine-shedding hypochondriacs around my kids!
2. You can’t take of kids when you can’t take care of yourself.
3. No wants kids watched by someone who could drop dead instantly.
4. A vaxxed nanny would probably try to transition your kids on the sly.
5. Brainwashed idiots are not fit to clean my toilet.
6. The mentally unstable are not welcome in my home.
7. It’s only right they suffer the same fate they intended for others.
8. Just protecting their children from the sheepies.

Picture of the day.
Reinforced A.I. swimsuit design.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           Driving downtown for some 2x3s, I get a call from a long-lost (and long-suffering) friend. I vaguely remember meeting the guy 30+ years ago, black sheep of the family. He went off the wagon and tried to keep it a secret. Next thing you know, he’s got a restraining order and eviction notice. No place to stay, you know the story. The plot twist is that he has three large German Shepherds who were allowed to roam free in the Montana wilds, sometimes for a day or two at a time. If she takes the brother in, all she has is an unfenced back yard. Here's a better photo of "Son of Agave", the only thing that survives well in my yard.

           To get more details, I called my executor, who is doing well. She has power of attorney and informs me starting this month my quarterly dividends will be delayed. It seems there is a new law that above a certain amount, the money has to first go to a sort of government clearing house. I warned about this, but few people pay attention until it happens to them. I’ve known a few people long enough who finally got rich enough to have investments on this scale, and to hear them bitch and moan can only be termed ironic. This law is a portent of what the establishment is planning if they succeed in stopping Trump. I will simply disperse them to semi-quarterly, though this is not ideal, it keeps the enemy outside the palace walls.

           As SpaceX’s Falcon rocket nears the 100th successful launch. It’s closest rival is the company that built the Atlas and Delta (Boeing and Lockheed) has yet to even really enter the race. Venezuela announces a complicated system of cell phones, sensors, tracking, maps, and sounds to track poachers. Handing a poacher a $10,000 fine is same as with hookers—where they gonna get the money? Jail time & banishment. By late afternoon, I had moved eight pieces of lumber in the cold, that was enough. I got back inside and did some reading on old Japanese war tactics, surprised by how often the Japanese got away with the “scorpion” attack. You split into two forces. When one encounters the enemy, pin him down while the other force works around to him from the flank or behind. It is amazing this still works.
           How about the Japanese island airfields? They attempted to build them on many strategic spots, but what took them so long? I’m saying airfields of the day were basically coral sand packed with some goop to keep it solid and put down the dust. Months go by and the aerial photos show no progress. But when the Americans invade, they bring a couple bulldozers and are flying combat patrols in 48 hours.

           Later today news arrived that the rocket, known as Vulcan Centaur, made a successful liftoff. Within the hour, the privately-built lunar lander developed a propulsion glitch that stops the craft from aiming the panels at the Sun, which means the batteries could go dead. The lander, dubbed “Peregrine” is part of a NASA program to bolster private industry. And NASA got a taste of its own medicine as the lander shot up in cost from $75 million to $108 million. Meanwhile in Titusville, NASA has contracted out the development of a vital airlock in the Artemis mission to an unknown company, Rishad, in the United Arab Emirates. The price? One seat on the mission. NASA continues its libtard downhill slide.
           Speaking of liberal failures, Poon (Haley) had to cancel and Iowa rally today because nobody showed up. The evil press is trying to blame the weather, fooling nobody. The Defense Secretary is doing such a bad job, he didn’t show up for a week after New Year’s and nobody noticed. There are increased reports of vaxxed people having trouble finding jobs. It’s called getting a taste fo their own medicine and I love hearing it. As I sign off, news arrives another B-1 bomber has crashed. B-1 is because each one cost a billion and we warned to quit using Chinese microchips.

           Ending for now, there is some news out of Tennessee, the Civic may be economical to repair. We are getting a couple of estimates, do not hope for much at this point. But, if it is repairable, that means I will look into a Money Market Account. (Not a Money Market Fund.) And we will continue to bolster Caltier as it remains the best producer in these troubled times. My last CD matures later this month, and frankly, unless I can better 4% for a CD with a term less than 6 months, I don’t think I’m interested. Or maybe just put $1,000 in there to prompt me to keep an eye on it.
           Not being sleepy, I made what-if copies of the relevant accounts to segregate that Money Market from others if I go that route. I’ve read up on these only, never actually going there. This time I feel differently. That does not mean I trust in the system, I will want to keep an eye for at least six months just to see. My decision, if it’s a go-ahead, will attach itself to the funeral account. That account gets capped at $5,000 in equity, what I figure it will cost to dispose of my carcass with a modicum of dignity. It will continue to get the bulk of any Found Money. I’ll let you read up on that one.

ADDENDUM
           Sugar is again named a culprit, this time for diabetes. I agree sugar is not good for you in any but the smallest portions. Yet so many studies show this isn’t such a on-on-one connection. Stats show that cutting sugar calories does not correspond to a drop in weight. Drop sugar 100% and weight loss may be as little at 8% of what is projected if there were a direct link.

           Next hour, I wanted a closer look at transistor biasing. As usual, the field is full of bullshit artists, proving once again engineering does not require a well-rounded basic education. When you draw a chart, there are rules, same with a diagram. Engineers love to pull a MicroSoft on you, referring to parts of the diagram that are not there or not labeled. I finally turned them off, since I know there must be some seat-of-the-pants way to bias a transistor. This is a recent quest for me, to understand biasing. It means to regulate the incoming singal to the base of the transistor in a way that maximizes performance without clipping or distortion.

           There is rarely a match, so you should make some adjustments to keep the input signal within the boundaries of the linear part of the transistor's “graph”. Those not interested, you can stop reading here. The transistor is usually on or off, but the change is not instant. The low end is called cutoff, the transistor is completely off, the high end is called saturation where it is completly on. I modified the nearby graph to show what I think is correct at this point of my understanding. This graph is highly simplified. The bottom axis is volts, the left axis is percent on and off. Both start at zero, the chart shows the voltage must go from 0 to 1.0 units for the transistor to switch from 0% on to 100% on. In between those two voltage is a sloped line and that is almost straight.
           This is the region where a small increase in voltage causes a large increase in signal. If you fix your input signal to vary only within these parameters, you have correctly biased your circuit to amplify. There is some trick to understanding this, as none of the explanations explain VBE, a voltage that appears between the base and the emitter. You need this figure to work the formulas they throw at you, but that means the variable you need appears on both sides of the given equation. What is the trick? We may never know.

Last Laugh