July 18, 2025

Yesteryear
One year ago today: July 18, 2024, a pneumatic nailer, maybe?
Five years ago today: July 18, 2020, kind of box-like.
Nine years ago today: July 18, 2016, war as a shortcut.
Random years ago today: July 18, 2001, no money for marketing.

           Are we witnessing the extinction of the Democrat party? Two more polls show approval at below 19%, which is below the critical mass to survive. It’s a good morning Friday and time for a reminder that Trump has failed on a number of issues by not acting fast enough. If he fails in 2028 over it, I’ve predicted the rise of a strongman who will carry out the people’s agenda.

           Up unusually early, I grabbed coffee and watched a surprisingly well-balanced video of the North African campaign. Not fair, but well-balanced compared to the normal hype and ganda. Lot’s of German footage for a change. My object remains the portrayal of the German Afrika Corps as massive and magnificently equipped with modern gear. In reality, a corps is around 30,000 men of which half are combatants. It is almost impossible to find a British history that admits how many men were in the Eighth Army. But we do know at Second Alamein, there were at least 220,000.
           Most accounts try to bolster the German numbers by including Italians. Fridays without a gig are a day off here, so let’s see how the rest of today compares with other blogs and such. First, I had some leftover dry shedded oats, so I mixed them in with the birdfood. Wow, the cardinals spent this morning actually sharing the feeder.

           The old kitchen floor is destined for the burn barrel. Weird, it won’t burn easily. It kind of sits there and smoulders for a half-hour, then burns really hot. Kept down the mosquitoes of the whole neighborhood. And it was oak, or used to be, so the aroma was great. I had to chop saw the pieces to fit which turned into the most exercise I want for today. Remember, I’m also back to household chores. Even laundry is still a challenge. This damn weariness is an unwelcome real thing.
           No way this Panasonic lens captures the real amount of smoke. This became known as the Zero Beer Fire because it was daytime, and I don’t drink in the day. So I had these two 0.0 beers in the fridge and soaked those back. It took three hours to burn just half the floor and it was a strenuous activity, I must say. The day is not over, there’s still time for adventure.

Picture of the day.
Olde Crow General Store (Arkansas).
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           Steve, the guitarist, and I got together for a 2-1/2 hour rehearsal. We instantly picked up where we left off two months ago, but ran into the predictable problems of inconsistent rehearsal. I don’t recall doing “Come Monday” in C or Who remembers Duff Park, where the Prez & I first met up. Well, it was a repeat, only this time we drew a small crowd. There is a shelter with large circulating fans, the place where they hold the wedding receptions. It is still too warm but a vast improvement and we got the schedule.

           You see, some of the staff were impressed by the music and we met the afternoon warden. He’s a grandfather and loves the older music. He gave us a complete rundown of the best hours to practice and how to call him in advance to see if the room is booked. Remember, bring your own cold drinks, there is nothing in the park any more and thanks to DEI, no safe public drinking fountains.
           Here’s a better view of one corner of the clubhouse. It is not bad, you can see one of the ten oscillating fans near the ceiling at upper left. They are a blessing, yes those are open screens, no need for heat in Florida. Since DEI, they have had to put bars on the doors and lock up at night, so now the area is always nice and clean. But it will never be a comfortable as a house. See tomorrow’s addendum for the usual analysis of this session. Every tune, every gig, every rehearsal is a precious event, I just don’t always state it that way.

           We ran through 24 tunes, almost enough for a set. Of course, we talk non-music and one surprise is he has a family like mine. We joked about this, but it’s no laughing matter to put up with it. His brother, who plays no instruments and knows nothing about bands has criticized us for playing “old music”, adding that “nobody wants to hear that any more”. I know the drill, once the band is playing out, that’s the brother who will take full credit for getting things started. That’s why we are practicing outside. Ha, how well I know the scenario.
           The sound is good enough and will only get better. We need a place to practice that is indoors and the possibility of a house gig for free is the best option. He’ll check later today, as the places I know are twenty miles away, and he admits his vehicle is not the best. As expected he is allowing his personal tastes to cloud his judgment and it is hard to counter because my list looks like my taste and it is not. So, he is suggesting old Eagles, which is over played and has weak bass lines.
           However, this is too golden an opportunity to pass. An almost instant band is a rare bird. The trade off is do we stick with the plan or make the mistake of playing tunes that bore the staff—the primary reason you don’t get a callback, but it is hard to prove.

           I stepped on the scales at the clinic and saw the full effect of my weight gain over this back problem. I am drastically overweight by my own standards. I’m also at a lose because I do not overeat, harking back to the unexplained weight gain of late 2003, when I almost did not make it. Only a certain amount can be blamed on age and lack of exercise. And I get many more times the activity than others around me. I need time to sift this through, but not being able to walk a lot has packed on 18 pounds around my waist in the past 14 months.
           Bidenflation. The facts are being peeled back concerning the damage he’s done, but he’s just the puppet. The autopen scandal has just begun, showing the country was being milked by a core group of greedy woke types. It’s bloggable, because once again in my life I’m back to making daily decisions to keep ahead of the wolf. And like everyone else who tries lately, you find the system has become much tougher to start any small business where there might be even a smidgen of cash flow.

ADDENDUM
           Taking a closer look. Those 5-pin relays, the ones in the big fuse box under your hood, have an on-line flaw. It is very difficult to find the minimum voltages to operate the coil. Sure, you could make the whole circuit 12V, but I’m curious if a 5-pin can be worked without a transistor, or with one using as little power as possible. Once again, we ask a simple question the mighty Internet cannot answer. I know the answer is “probably” but I was hoping for a little help on this one.
           I also took a closer look at synthetic aperture radar. I got lost almost immediately, but it has something to do with a phenomenon when radar is pulsed off a moving object. Transmitted data is dependent on the length of the antenna to achieve high rates, but the apparatus quickly becomes too long and heavy.. Apparently, the bounced radar signals can themselves be used as an antenna, which is the point I can’t connect past.
Last Laugh