February 16, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: Februay 16, 2024, no word processor.
Five years ago today: Februay 16, 2020, we got a compressor!
Nine years ago today: Februay 16, 2016, I now use mix.
Random years ago today: Februay 16, 2002, Ugly Tuna Saloona.

           For chaps like me who loathe real estate speculators, it’s a cheerful morn as nearly 15,000 houses now hit the market at once. And Trump is looking at auditing Fort Knox. He’s been a disappointment so far, with zero arrests. On the other hand, he has to hobble the Deep State before moving too fast. Not so with the deportations, which have overwhelming support. When 8:00AM rolls around, I’m making pancakes and you are invited. Unlimited free refills.

           The joys of home ownership. The front bedroom window is cracked. It is shuttered from inside, so it came from outside, which seems strange as it is sheltered on three sides by heavy trees and the damage is at the top. Also, something died in the southwest corner under the kitchen, the one spot inaccessible without pulling up the floor. And there is a hissing sound in the southwest corner. No pipes or wiring near there. A metal hissing, not an animal sound. Let’s see what I get done today.

           Let’s get today’s box picture out of the way. I didn’t out to the shed until 3:00PM. This surprises nobody who’s been following last week, though I would add that it is not as knock-down weary as before. Since I’m not any younger, odds are I’ve just learned to pace myself. Just three hours today, I got some yard raking done and moved the swing planter. Dang, it does not fit where I wanted it but too late for now. There’s a picture of it as it was getting dark.

           If today’s box looks old, it is. One of the earlier designs, sharing the old robot club characteristic of being vastly overbuilt but maybe not pretty. That’s what is happening here, I’m adding trim to make it look nice. Some of these older boxes have five years of sturdy service, this unit made sure all my salvaged small electric motors stayed in one place. Spare parts, I have enough, it is spare time that’s lacking.

           The Judge’s union is complaining that Trump has fired immigration judges while millions of deportation cases are backed up. Duh, that is why they are being fired. Plus, some have been caught releasing the illegals back into the public. But the prize goes to the MSM claim that the US is “struggling to rehire” laid off staff because of imaginary crises such as “nuclear weapons” that remain “uninspected”. So far, around 85,000 staffers are gone, but mostly new people.

           My thinking is that if Trump is smart, it will not be long before he lets the benefits trickle down to the voters. Once they get a whiff of how much money is being saved, look out Democrats. Most of the 800,000 jobs they claim to have created were, like Canada, useless government positions.
           And recall how I was wondering how that sad-looking old Soros could cause so much trouble while hundreds of other rich people seemed to have no influence? Turns out Soros was getting money from USAID. There’s your explanation. On his first day, RFK axed 1,300 “scientists” at the CDC. The entire “Epidemic Intelligence Service”, the whole damn bunch.

Picture of the day.
Hardware store in Singapore.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           We got raccoon tracks in the yard, but not video. The camera batteries gave out first. The LED has a small screen with a warning, the glitch is that if you open the camera in the daylight it seems okay, because it does not have to power on the bank of infrared LEDs. Fooled me, so wait for another day. I mean like tomorrow, it’s not like we waste a lot of time over here. I will soon contact the guy who has the correct database to find the hillbilly. The word is that he’s gone to trial and that is not known as a speedy process.

           What reminded me was today we also made a double batch of curry chicken fried rice. When the hillbilly was around, I knew he was not eating right or regular, so I often gave him a grand helping of leftovers. He had, I think, never have rice or fried rice prepared the tradition way and took to the recipe instantly. That’s the basic batch I made containing only rice, celery, onions and chicken. It was meant as a prep for other additions., favorites being bell peppers, peanuts, broccoli, and swirled egg in any combination. But he liked the basic so well, I often made extra.

           Close examination of the broken glass shows it seems to have been damaged from the inside. This is unlikley because of wooden shutters. What’s more probably is a gust of wind, or a low pressure spot cracked the glass and pressure pulled the shards toward the exterior. It’s taped up now as that room is not a priority. You watch, now that I said that somebody is going to desperately need it.
           One tube sale today. I still have to go through the files and sort out the best. For how, remember that 100% of the proceeds go into investments. In that sense, this represents the perfect “small business” that so many people seek. The snag for them is that they view the business as supplementing their income. You will never have enough money, so they fail. I spend a fortune when younger attaining that important infrastructure. So today’s $14.45 goes entirely into permanent investment, making that more than most people ever achieve, neener-neener.

           Note that only 10% of the tubes are photographed and offered on eBay, and eBay does not make that an easy job. It’s a beam amp tube, so somebody has a Marshall amp. The beam power is a technical detail of how the electrons flow, but I’ve met enough guitar players who can tell the difference that there must be something to it. I once read it has to do with how the beam is deflected back on itself, lowering the distortion caused by third harmonics. Musically, this is known as a “twelfth”. What? You want the explanation?
           If you take any note and double the frequency, you get an octave. Take A 110 (the low A on your guitar). Take that up to 220 Hz and you got a familiar sound. To reach the next octave, you have to leap to 440, but what about 330? It’s a harmonic, but it is not an A note, it is an E. That’s a twelfth above your original A and the note stands out. I use them on the bass all the time, again from my piano background. But on a stringed instrument, unless you are a die-hard Eagles fan, you do not want that note playing by itself from sympathetic vibration, whoops, now my physics background is showing.

           It’s past 8:00PM and I’m not exhausted. It’s got to be my increased coffee consumption. So, Ill get some small chores done, there, see that photo? I replaced the batteries on the deer camera. Sunday night life in over-55 contemporary America. If you think I’m dull as dishwater, you should see the rest of this countryside.

ADDENDUM            Just when you think I’ve forgotten my “acoustic bass”, I’ve decided on the amplifier I want. Since it proved impossible to get any help, the plan is to build any amp that works and figure out later how to fix any problems with bass sound. Tinkering with transistor amps gave me enough theory to trust an integrated circuit with a component I do not understand, namely the op-amp.

           The IC is the common LM386 which you have used for years. It’s in everything from boom boxes to DVD players. I was put off this chip by two additional factors. One was this chip requires a line level input. Two is that the chip is rated at 1 Watt of power. Line level is the signal you get from just about every source except microphones and guitar pickups. That is, except the two signals that I would need the most. And, I’ve got 50 years experience that says I need a 50W amp to play a decent show.

           So, what has changed? Research. I’ve learned from selling vacuum tubes that most amplifiers have a pre-amp. It is needed to boost the tiny signal from a mic or pickup to the much higher line level, where a regular amp circuit can take over. All of the single transistor amps I’ve tested are pre-amps and I am very near to building them on demand, but be patient. Progress depends on a working pre-amp or I cannot use the LM386. I am optimistic.
           The second change is the sound of 1 Watt. I watched the best five videos I could find on the LM386 and noticed something weird. In each case near the end, when the builder went to show off his work, this “1 Watt” speaker blotted out his voice, which he then adjusted. It turns out that 1 Watt is plenty of power for a small speaker. And I remind all that I am NOT seeking to build a self-powered stadium bass, rather one just loud enough to accompany an acoustic guitar.
           here is the basic schematic of my project, with a word of caution. Do not build the circuit shown here. It has no bass boost, can get hot, and it requires a 12 volt supply to work right. I’m planning on lithium power from external cell phone packs. Even so, this circuit will eat power. But, it’s further than I got trying to get any help.

Last Laugh