March 18, 2010

           Do not do the following unless you know what you are doing. Of course, all you computer geniuses out there, why you just go right ahead. There is a nasty virus called autorun.inf that is spread by flash drives. It resides on the flash drive and replicates itself on most Windows disk commands. That means when you insert a USB flash drive and double-click to open it.
           Remaining dormant for quite a while, it strikes first by creating a fake directory on the flash drive. You will notice a whole list of shortcuts that you did not create. Eventually, the virus renames all your other removable devices as “PENDRIVE” and causes a slowdown to disk access and eventually no access.
           I spent five hours trying to cure this virus, for it sails right past all known anti-virus programs. (Yes, viruses can be cured without an anti-virus program. Tell you what, why don’t you ask that whiz-kid you always brag about how this is done. Then you'll find out what a blank stare looks like.) The above photo is part of the process. The nasty file, “autorun.inf” is hidden in DOS and superhidden in Explorer, thanks MicroSoft. You can’t see it.
           Here you see me peeling back the layers, note the command “attrib –r –a –s –h *.*” which disables the hidden archive bit. You must be in command mode to use these DOS-like commands. Now, for some reason, flash drive manufacturers also won’t let you see all the files on the flash drive, but you can see how I was able to display the autorun.inf at 06:35 PM y’day, and I know the virus well, it is 348 bytes long. It is a script that calls embedded commands in your registry based on the file “hel.exe”.
           I wonder how many perfectly good flash drives have been thrown out because of this virus. I found it on every computer in the public library. The staff there were unaware that such a virus existed. They kept re-installing the opsys (operating system) only to have the computer re-infected when the next pen drive was plugged in. Anyway, now you know how to kill the virus without buying a program to do it for you. Eighty dollars, please.
           That is where I spent the remaining four hours and fifty minutes. You cannot delete, move, rename, over-format, edit or by any method known to me and mankind get rid of that file. Notice nothing else is even on my F: drive, I made backups and completely formatted this drive in DOS. I even tried a few commercial data shredders. Yet the virus reappears whenever the drive is reconnected. Thus it is hidden in some directory accessed only by the flash drive manufacturer and the virus (because it remembered I had renamed the volume “BLACKFLASH”.)
           And that is where I will focus my next level of investigation. How was your day?
           Next, my pension is underway. It involved signing a one-page form and a five minute phone call to confirm everything. That is efficiency. Those who follow this blog know that I have often said how I trusted my old union above all government and private sources. The union is strange and antiquated, but real people answer the phone on the second ring and the union is totally, totally on my side. They said my payouts could begin as soon as April 1, two weeks from now. There is one potential snag in that Washington, my home state, may require a 90-day waiting period to assure I have nothing like late child support payments and such. I do not.
           Either way, it is time to move on and let whoever will be clever. Others can then be free to mastermind their own fates. I've honored every commitment I've made and then some.

           Author's note: this use of computers to check into people's backgrounds does, I think, explain most of the resistance you get from "old people" who do not like computers. They are old enough to understand the information being gathered about them can only be used for purposes such as using a pension application for check for child support. I am on their side.
           While I do agree that people should pay their child support, I do not agree that whether they do or not is any business of their pension plan. Particularly if the pension plan was in place before they were married. And unlike those who counter-argue, I have no vested interest because I neither pay nor receive child support. It is the principle of abusing computers that I am against.
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March 17, 2010

           This was the scene in front of the office today. You can see four squad cars, there were five more. All this happened without a sound, just lots of flashing lights, so it was a takedown. If you look closely over the bicycle guy’s shoulder, you will see the perp wearing a green hospital work outfit. I have no details, but dollars to donuts, it is that “Pain Clinic” up the road again, the place they hauled the two doctors away in cuffs last year.
           The neighborhood has gone downhill since that clinic arrived. They prescribe “painkillers” to street junkies in the theory it weans them off the nasty stuff. What a joke. Note than when the cars began arriving, Mike, Fred and I were the only ones who didn’t run for cover.
           It is Pudding-Tat and I against the world. There are two ways to bitch and moan:
           1. Before you pay your bills.
           2. Afterward.
           You get two guesses what I’m stuck with, but not for much longer. It appears everyone around here thinks unless everything is totally to their liking, they do not have to pay their share. No problem, the office staff knows who has really been taking care of this place all these years. The office doesn’t care who owns what.
           I will never forgive those who directly caused me to take an early (and somewhat reduced) settlement. These people promised me they would work together for a better situation and then instantly let me down at their first opportuity. Nobody asked them to do anything special, just pay their share of the tiny bills around here for a few years at most, like they said they would. If they had done so, they would be welcomed along for a free ride in paradise. Now they will get exactly what they bargained for.
           As a recap, Plan A was to put off my retirement until late 2012 so that I would get the full amount. I already had my own place, but was struggling at times. The only, repeat only, reason I partnered up with anyone was to share expenses for the next 48 months. Nothing was clearer to Wallace and Theresa, or could have been clearer. I never agreed to be a tenant, or invited anyone to live here for free. Where I was hoping to reduce expenses, I am $2,800 worse off than if I had stayed on my own.
           Now for some good news. For although my pension has not yet kicked in, I have been very conservative in my planning over the years. That means if there are any surprises, they will tend to be in my favor. And we have a few surprises. I am not the sort to pity people who don’t do things the way I do. If I lived like they live, I would have what they have but more importantly, vice versa.
           It looks like I qualify for several pension “boosts”. I did not bother to check into these before, since they were meaningless without the “big one”. Well, it turns out my old union is now the 16th largest holder of hard currency in the entire country, with some $320 million in the war chest. Plus five credit unions backed by more cash. And in a sense, 1/20,000th of that is mine all mine. Talk about successful planning ahead! Read and weep.
           One completely unexpected surprise is that because of my old union paycheck, I qualify for 29/40ths of something called Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). Keep in mind none of this happens instantaneously , and in fact, once my pension kicks in, I will still require six to eight months to stabilize things and build up reserves. But make no mistake, I will be sitting pretty. As for the others, I will care about them to the same extent they cared about me. When you run out of money, you go earn more, you don't start trying to screw the other guy.

March 16, 2010

           And a fateful day it is. Looking harshly at the situation, I can see that some people relied upon to at least carry their own weight have no intention of honoring their agreements. Thus, in this changed circumstance, I take a very close look at early retirement again. Normal date (not the date I turn 65, which is still a long ways off) is 31.5 months from now, but (read slowly) the difference in payout if I wait that long has diminished to merely $128.19 per month. Less than I make at Bingo. So the question to be asked is whether I’m going to put up with petty nonsense for the next few years or take the payout now.
           Well, it is not that easy a calculation, which explains why most people don’t do it. Such as the type of people who just do not learn as time goes by. In today’s photo, you see trees planted a few years ago at most. Directly beneath the electric and telephone lines. One learns to accept this creepy, unnatural stupidity as commonplace in Florida.
           As the situation stands, I will require a few years to get back on my feet. Never forget that having money is a way of life, not a job. I have two routes I could go here. One is to keep renting and have all the trappings, the other is to begin to save to buy a house in cash.
           My leaning is the house, but that ties up an awful lot on one's money for what is basically a place to die in. I would far more likely go for another mobile home, something really nice. But I'd have to bite the bullet for a while, since in Florida, you cannot get a mortgage on mobiles.
           If I decide to go for it, that means I have around two and a half years to replace $128.19 monthly income. Can I? Let’s see, a Eurobond at 8.5% would require an investment of only $19,228.50, call it 20 grand even. Put another way, less than the $22,000 I used to keep in my savings account before my first heart attack.
           Yeah, I think I could manage that investment. I would not have to work or count on anybody and I’ve been longing for the time to get some real things done, like my live Karaoke show, publishing and riding that big old train to Chicago. Can’t do that when everyone around me is quibbling over $100 electricity bills.
           The good news is that pension money is taxed differently, and in my case amounts to almost pure spending money. Should I opt for the pension or wait? I am of the opinion I am wasting my time waiting for others to do right, but early retirement means less. My original two-year plan to “practice” for my own retirement has stretched into its sixth year and I now have no fear of old-age destitution (something a few people I know should be terrified of). It is also plain that although I cannot work full time anymore, there is no legal cap on what I can make from investments. I should start being a lot nicer to myself so that I’ll take me along for the ride.
           One of my first investments will be a holding company for that word puzzle. After months of dedicated research I am more enthused with that puzzle than ever. Strange how it takes weeks of research to patent something that took 15 minutes to invent. Either way, there is nothing like the puzzle anywhere and the patent challenge is no longer the paperwork, but rather figuring out the confusing order in which payments and such have to be made. That is another needlessly obscure area. I mean, exactly what is a “cover page to the letter for the request to the review of the application”?
           The marketplace is full of shysters. One law firm advertises they will do the patent for $1,600. But the fine print says you must reserve another $1,500 for “other fees” and pay another $600 after the patent is granted. That’s $3,700. Shysters. Well, in a short time I may never have to worry about such trivial amounts again.
           Last, let me confirm something about a trademark. There are two different versions, one looks like ™ and the other looks like ®. The first version can be used by anyone as an indication they are claiming an exclusive right, there is no fee or legal requirements. The second symbol is the exact same thing, but has been registered at the government office after a search to prove it is truly unique. Hence, Tales From The Trailer Court™.

           Author's note: 2015-03-15: In the end I opted not to take my pension early. Don't confuse retirement and pensions, they are not the same thing for anything above the working class. That is an observation, not an insult. I decided to take the middle route, of getting a few things now to enjoy my time and slowly looking for a place with owner financing. And the puzzle proved too expensive to patent, shame on you, America.
           In the end, I got a smaller place and started watching for a deal. As with most compromises, there are fewer spectacular times, for example I got a motorcycle and not a car. And I did ride the City of New Orleans, but only halfway to Chicago. Compromises.

March 15, 2010

           Now for the latest update on my patent research. I must repeat that I am appalled by how difficult it is to get a straight answer from any source, human or printed, on this topic. It is not a life and death scenario and you’d think the information would be easy to find. As I always suspected, it is a document to be filed and a fee to be paid. You think somebody would just give you the instructions. Read on, as I am becoming convinced my puzzle could be an original idea.
           I confirm that a design patent is good for 14 years, and there are no maintenance fees (as are associated with utility patents). Unlike regular patents, a design patent is not published, but is kept a secret until after it is granted. This brand of patent is very strict, no person can copy or even import anything similar, a most likeable feature. Further, it protects against similar items even if they be independently derived. As with other patents, only the owner has any claim or the right to prosecute. Now, where do I get the $346.00?
           The trivia for today is the first design patent in America. Back in 1842, somebody patented a new font. How did he know 150 years later people would figure out what a font was? I was unable to find a sample, but I’m sure it wasn’t any webdings. [Author's note: I have thoroughly searched all US Patents concerning my puzzle, including various Boolean combinations without which I do not believe it possible to adequately describe (and therefore protect) the design. Today's photo reveals how accurate my searches have been, for you can see it produced just 13 results, remarkable in itself. Of those, only two were word games.]
           That tall, skinny actress that reminds me of Antonia was in today. She is convinced her ex-boyfriend is tapping her phone, computer and car. I told if that is true, he should take me on as an apprentice, since he also seems to read her email and stalks her no matter what computer she uses. If he can do that, I want to learn how.
           Fred went home on the weekend and set the clocks back, not realizing a few others had done the same and he showed up for work in the dark at 6:00 AM this morning. I am doing some job hunting on the half-hearted side (ha ha) because I can easily make more money than any job will pay these days.
           That comes with a codicil to others that Florida is can be very, very competitive. Don’t think experience and technical knowledge alone is a guarantee, for employers would rather hire three or four dropouts and muddle through than pay you a decent rate. Florida has an infinite supply of dropouts.
           Back in time, I made what I thought a minor prediction. I wondered when the world would figure out it is cheaper to change the way one does business to match what a computer can do. It would appear that has happened by attrition. Most of the jobs out there are done “on a computer” but very few of them require any real skill.
           Today is one of those sad days where I have to get serious. That fat woman, Maria, went ballistic at the computer shop. She was asked to log off the computer for a paying customer and refused. When asked a second time she also refused, at which point she got crazy. I reached over to turn off the computer (my property), at which time she pounded my upper left chest with her fist. I was completely unprepared. It was like getting kicked by a horse. It kind of looked like it, too.
           She threw a tantrum, throwing things about, including heavy objects like scotch tape dispensers and bells, things which could cause serious injury. She caught me in the hip with a stapler Fred came out of the back but was unable to halt her insanity. She continued for at least two minutes, to the horror of my new customers. I don’t know who that woman thinks she is.
           In a sense, I am glad for she won’t be back. That behavior is intolerable. She has been a pest like this before, refusing to obey house rules. Likely she was spoiled as a child and has never gotten over it. At least she won’t be hogging my computers any more. That is one dumb broad who is going to die a lonely old lady.

March 14, 2010

           This morning found me fighting off the flu, the good news is I seem to be handling it. Years ago when I traveled more, I noticed I was less put under by such viruses. I suspect it has to do with acquiring more resistances overseas. Because let me tell you when I caught a hot-weather flu near the equator, it took three months to get over it. I biked over to Borders, whose fake chandeliers you see in today’s photo. They are cardboard cutouts. I wish I’d thought of that.
           It was Borders for six hours and nothing else. Actually, blog rules say I must report anything truly unusual and I made Chicken a la King for the first time in twenty years. Not many people know that dish was once considered a specialty. My opinion is that during wartime, the army served it so often if fell out of favor. I like it, just be warned it is not diet food.
           Mainly I was researching the economy. Big Al has called again and he is totally at the mercy of supply and demand. He knows a little about computers, but his life experience is mostly mid-management, so he is caught right where you don’t want to be. He has been searching for a proper home business for years. So you’ll know, almost 13% of the American workforce was utilized as supervisors and managers for the past 40 years, or around three times the ratio in the rest of the world.
           One question I answered was the hourly wage needed by a worker to raise a family these days. No extravagance, just the basic food, clothing, shelter, education and a down payment on their own house eventually. My parents didn’t know about anything except the first one. Turns out to be $17.30 per hour if you have medical and some retirement arrangement. If not, you’ll need $22.13 per hour. I’d hate to try living on that myself, much less supporting a family. Worse, unemployment is 16% among the ages 20-24, meaning a lot of college grads aren’t finding work.
           The real estate market is claiming the road to recovery. Really? I found all manner of average prices, ranging from $117,000 to $172,000. Who to believe? You don’t even want to look at what even the higher price will buy you in West Palm Beach, unless you don’t mind living in the ‘hood. I stick by my predictions for 2011 as the start time for some real disasters. A reminder that I also predict most of the pension money that workers think they have is already gone.
           The problem with home ownership is taxes and upkeep. When you hit 70, you have to hire help for those eaves and shingles. Several sources are beginning to point out the same as I did back in the 80s—that all the so-called retirement planners tend to make one false generalization. Their planning is based on the brazen assumption that people’s money will earn between 8% and 9% forever. I wish I knew where to get that much any more.
           Looking overseas is not the answer for most people. Those places know they can just grab your money and there is not much you can do. I’ve also heard of cases where they blackmail the depositor if they suspect the money on deposit has not been reported to the tax man. Unless I come across information that totally upsets what I’ve learned over the past five years, I stick by my experience that no amount of retirement income will be enough any more. You have to find something you can do for cash money. Then we’ll find out what most people are truly worth. People who can’t play music, call bingo, or fix a shoe, the people who wasted their lives watching television.
           I also researched e-books, those utterly overpriced readers such as the Amazon Kindle ($300). They are a good concept, but I’m not buying one until they come out of the stratosphere. My target price is $49 (because that is all they are worth to me). I’ll look again when they cost that much. The booksellers are toying with some dangerous ideas, such as selling an e-book for three weeks and then deleting it on you. I would never buy such a product, even if the content was ridiculously cheap. Nobody should keep tabs on what people read or for how long.
           As usual, a bookstore means I got lots of excellent trivia for you today. I’m sure we’ve all heard about the brilliance of the man who invented 99 cent pricing. The supposition is that people will think $999.99 is “less than a thousand” and so on. I found out the real reason: the cash register. It further explains the persistence of small coins, such as pennies, which are more of a hassle than they are worth. The reason for the 99 cents is so that the customer expects change from a dollar, and the cashier must open the register to get it.
           See how that works? The cashier cannot just pocket the dollar. The significance of the penny is that it greatly increases the likelihood of the entire transaction being recorded. The tale that it was invented by some clever salesman is totally bogus. Besides, there is no such thing as a clever salesman.

March 13, 2010

           I had a unusual job for the day creating CDs of police chase cameras. Some lawyer sent two ladies in to get a series of copies. They had not a clue about the process, so I had to carefully show them nothing would get destroyed. I necessarily had to watch some of the footage and I believe some of the speeds exceeded 150 mph. It is sad that in the days of radio, police are still allowed to drive that fast on a public roadway.
           But one thing that will not be high-speed is the proposed American bullet trains. Notice from the map today that the one thing the separate lines have in common is that they don't go anywhere. Look closely at how the lines are not interconnected. Even the Florida line isn't connected to the northern tourist path.
           Beyond that, nothing exciting occurred in the world today. Even Bingo was average, mind you, there is still the odd new face in the crowd and that never happened before on Saturdays. I spent most of the day in the computer store taking it easy. The reason is everyone around me is catching that H1N1 virus while I seem to have only a mild cold. What if I’m a carrier? Worse, what if I start cooking up theories because I have too much time on my hands?
           If I do, it is because I am broke again. That, and the fact I’m not getting much enthusiastic help around this place. Moral support seems to be confined to Pudding-Tat, who responded instantly to the apple cider treatment and is nice and slim again. And these are the high points of my day. I stopped in to see the Karaoke show, even sang though not my best effort. There was a “spritely” lass on the premises, but she totally ignored me. Maybe the premises wasn’t the only thing she was on. Whoops, that’s another theory.
           Quick, talk about the weather. It is dang cold for the season. That follows two record cold months, and the electric bill is $45 higher per month than normal, of which I attribute only $27 to the extra population. Like Seattle, the higher humidity really chills your bones, sometimes to the point it seems impossible to truly warm up. I’ve had no heater in the car for years, it just isn’t needed much. But I also know that people who don’t make home and car as comfortable as possible never seem to get anything done either.
           Sparing the time to read the newspaper, I see the state spent $142 million to create 200 jobs “some of which” pay between $14 and $18 per hour. Hell, the state governor has that many grandchildren. The jobs are located up in Tallahassee (which is 1/3 of the distance to California from here. Look it up.) The same page reported that the cruise lines layed off 145 people.
           Not only that, I read the label on my Pringles can. If you thought those chips contained potatoes and salt, take a look yourself. Depending on how you interpret the list, there are something like 31 ingredients. Some I recognize but that does not mean I now think cottonseed oil is edible. And exactly what is rosemary extract? Nap time.
           Here are some items I found interesting for today’s trivia. Did you know people, both men and women, speak an average of 16,000 words per day? I’m probably no exception, but I am curious more about vocabulary than word count. I like to think that by this blog, the 1,000 words I write daily are deducted from the total.
           Recently, some people were able to factor a 232 digit number. This relates back to the code-breaking I wrote up a month or so back. It gets included here because I can appreciate the effort required where most people could care less. Hell, there’s that many digits on their phone bill. The point is the factoring, or finding least common denominators, in our wonderful computer age, can still be stumped by what is, in the realm of things, a relatively small number.
           I also read an article about America’s pending entry into the high-speed train business. Sure enough, my predictions of short-sighted political interference are being borne out. Instead of a nationwide network to replace the wasteful and cumbersome systems in place, those idiots are thinking of four or five separate and unconnected hubs in California, Texas, Florida and one centered on Chicago. Worse, none of the trains will surpass the magic 300 mph for any real distance.
           The equipment will be incompatible. You think these people would have learned a lesson about standardization from other countries, although I concede that those places only have one such rail line each. This is not the time to be setting up four different operations. The [same article noted that] last time a successful automobile company started up was Jeep, and that was back in 1941. Further, the projections show that the focus is to replace commuter lines rather than to set up a national transportation network that works better than airlines and interstates. Trust the politicians to screw the whole thing up.
           On the engineering side, did you ever wonder why the high-speed trains have such sharp, pointy front ends? I thought streamlining, being that they have to push air out of their way. The reality is that the air can compress into a shock wave that will actually create a sonic boom as the train enters a tunnel. I never knew that.

March 12, 2010

           Make that two Brother printers I’ve fixed in two days, I have nothing much positive to say about that company. Their model 465CN has two setup applications, it takes the better part of an hour for a tech (me) to figure out it is the one listed as the language called "USA". "Pardon me, sir, do you speak USA?" Inconsideration and stupidity are a deadly combination, the only good news is the national birthrate has been declining since 1965.
           By incredible good luck, I got a MagicJack tech on the line who knew what he was doing. I was on a callout, it was a rare situation where the self-installing MagicJack [phone plug] managed to create a phantom drive letter it could not access. One day soon I’ll be taking a close look at exactly how that device operates. It has been raining steadily since dawn, so I was in the Barn bookstore for half the day.
           Here's a little more info on MagicJack. This is the only product that PC Magazine ever took back their award. The reason was that MagicJack displayed ads and was impossible to uninstall without changing your system registry, and everybody knows that only printer companies and MicroSoft should get away with that shit. Also, MagicJack tried to sue other companies for giving it a bad review, but the courts said get lost. According to Wiki, the device is named after two dogs.
           If this was six months from now, I’d have a steady part-time job. Remember those rubber paving bricks? The owners have decided it is cheaper to relocate the extruding machine nearby than to begin shipping the product from Tampa. The bricks are not durable enough for runways, as I had once speculated. Also, they are not resistant to petroleum, which rules out driveways as well. The new brochures show patios and playgrounds. I just want one for a paperweight and don’t understand why they are in such short supply.
           The computer work took three hours, by which time I began to recognize all the old symptoms of my old job. The work is “light” by physical standards, but punishing in mental exertion. I don’t suspect everyone will understand that. I had typed close to 24 pages of dialog with the MagicJack chat room tech (I wish I’d saved it, since it revealed a lot about the state of things that it still takes two people who don’t make many mistakes over an hour to solve the problem. Modern age, my eye.)
           I am ten weeks behind on my music project. Six of it is from having to pay extra rent in February—I was supposed to have that Zoom drum box by now. No doubt some of the guitarists I was to audition have moved on. Well, I had to make a decision because there is no way I can afford this place by myself this year. I should mention the alternator on the Taurus is starting to flicker, the car is giving up the ghost. I cannot think of helping anybody out this month, everybody will have to pull their own weight.
           Bookstores mean trivia, and here’s a statistic. Did you know that more people in America are born on October 5 than any other day of the year? This typifies the type of critical information gathered by the expensive census process. Maybe they should team up with Brother printers and figure out how many of those people can speak "USA".
           It is now late afternoon and the rain continues. I watched Avatar again, it is geared a little low with that Apache-Navajo crap that was never quite true in the first place. Native American Indians were exceedingly cruel and superstitious by any standard, so the whole nature worship allusion is a little hard to swallow. If you are telling a story, tell it all.
           Now my Missed Connections Department. Blonde lady in the brown hippy dress, yes I saw you. Looking at me and twirling your hair. And swinging your leg across your knee. But seriously, if you want to meet up, lose the cell phone, the kid and the self-help books. They send the wrong message. Even if they are the facts of your life, you should have learned by now what they are telegraphing about your priorities. My oath, if I was addicted to daytime TV and escape literature, it would be my darkest secret.
           What? Oh, that's easy. If you do that kind of thing more than twice in your life, you are addicted.

March 11, 2010

           This is 10-in-One, a vitamin supplement from one of my clients, a callout. He says the formula originates with a religious group, retailing for some $38 a bottle. It is getting mention here because it works for me. I’ll explain. The label makes a few extravagant claims but it is an energizer. I’m not one to be fooled by a placebo and over the years I’ve tried other formulas.
           All I’m saying is this one has a definite day-long effect on my system and, most importantly, has no side effects. Thus, it is not some kind of stimulant that wears off and leaves you with the blahs. It is from a Nevada company called GBG. The lousy picture is from my scanner, but you can make out the list of selling points. Theresa is wary that it contains 150% of the RDA of niacin, but I believe niacin is water soluble, so you cannot take too much. Your system would just flush it out.

           And it is good I had the callout, as there was only a half-day of work at the shoe place. All is not lost, because as I predicted, the Russian guy cannot possibly make a go of it on what he can expect to be paid there. Plus, the owner is finding out that for all the things I can’t do, I am not that easy a worker to replace. Not only have I repaired strange shoe devices he thought would never work again, where else is he going to find a gringo who can answer the phone in Spanish? Still, it is a heads-up for me that Alfredo needs and wants someone full time to take over the business, and that someone is not me.
           An hour on the Internet tells me there is no job (in the classic mold) that is right for me in this state. I slid my chair back to reflect that, except for the Win98 guy who would really have been sunk if I didn’t respond, I have not taken on any real new clients for over a year. Today I fixed a printer in the field, something you simply cannot find anyone to do any more, not in this town. I also found a couple places looking for content writers that had the ring of authenticity. Check back for developments.

           In all my spare time, ha-ha, I’ve narrowed a list of 32 songs which I know I could sing if I have to. And unless business returns to average by this time next week, I have to. I’ve got the rent, but Theresa is not quite back on her feet yet. And the flyer adventure has not moved. Trust me, I know how difficult it is to get things done at the end of a work day. There is no time left for blogs and song lists. Well, you know what I mean.
           I’ve put together extra copies of the 5-oh-5 jam and Jimbos last November. It is a must-view for any guitarist I take on, I will no longer tolerate any domineering by prima donnas. Taking stock of the entire ten years I’ve been in Florida, I have learned some 78 guitar tunes (some of which got played exactly once) to guitarists learning zero of mine (if I don’t count those tunes they already knew and only played because it padded their own song list).
           Something is wrong with that balance even if one is a supreme fan of guitar music. The DVD shows the guitar class playing a dozen tunes we had never rehearsed, led mainly by my bass playing. The purpose is to impress upon any potential guitarist that I know exactly what is expected when they join my working band. A lot of newcomers don’t grasp once they show up to play my gigs, the hard work has already been done for them. You want to swap song lists, do so with your mother.

           What’s more, I got out the old Fender flat-top and played my own accompaniment to the music. Every last chop works fine; there is no need to record-copy the guitar parts. Again, I don’t have the time or patience for another guitarist who wants to play studio style note for note. I only want somebody who can, like I do on electric bass, capture the essence of a tune without a lot of complication. And I am a past master at this technique. It isn’t original bass, but it works right because the presentation is right.
           My performance stresses the dance-ability and sing-a-long participation, never playing “at” the audience. Yes, I choose tunes with distinctive bass lines and often intentionally outplay (but never overplay) most guitarists who try to lead solo/shred at the expense of the rhythm. Back when I had a four-piece group, I used to train the others to look at me instead of at the guitarist if he started picking instead of strumming. But that is a secret.

           [Author's note: GBG is a scam, I am merely saying ithey produce a product that works for me. However, GBG chose to market via a pyramid scheme, a sad mistake made by many religous groups. It is doubly disgusting how these same people will deny that MLM is a scheme to defraud the poorest in society--those without the capital to begin a real business. These schemes are like real estate, the top 5% always make good money. Included below are some graphics from their web page. It is bad enough listening to these people preach, but when they also want to sell you vitamins, argh!]




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March 10, 2010

           Today’s photo has nothing to do with the blog. I’m just wondering how this one slipped past the censors. Be gentle. It looks like Pudding-Tat and I against the world. There does not appear to be a single job in the south of Florida that needs my skill-set. I plugged in every criteria I could imaginably be paid for and came up with nuttin’. This means I was also at the library, not that I don’t trust the Internet all the way.
           I truly did a dredge of the job market. Only those in sheer desperation or unavoidable debt would consider said offerings. Insurance sales and work-at-home rip-offs. Even WorkForceOne allows the shysters to operate on their sites. I figure I’ve seen worse days than this, so the Tat and I are going to watch the rerun of “Avatar”. Isn’t that what unemployed people do? Watch television all day and claim there are no jobs to be had?
           The library was quiet for once, well, except for that big shot up at the information desk with the “booming voice”. He could go. It took enough books and research, but I am slowly peeling away the mystery around the design patent as intended for my puzzle invention. The fact is, I’ve found all “how-to” books about patents to be useless. They don’t get to the needed specifics and keep dwelling on the point of getting a lawyer, oblivious that you are out to avoid doing just that.
           A design patent lasts for 14 years. It only covers the cosmetic appearance of the work, not the functionality. Good. Thus a design drawing must be filed, a written description is not sufficient. One-tenth of all patents filed in this age are design patents. The current fee for self-registration is $340. In addition, the puzzle title [which I’ve changed] should be trademarked which gives protection “as long as the product is in use”. Copyright does not appear to be useful, as each individual puzzle would have to be registered.
           Proving one again that even on the information highway, there is still no place to get a straight answer out of anyone. It has been some four months, first mention of the puzzle was November 12, 2009. In the end, I have not gotten one shred of help on the matter (except for a single report from Wallace pointing out he had somewhere already seen the original title of “Yoiks”). That title was abandoned for several reasons.
           Trivia: While boning up on trademarks, I learned that Levi Strauss, the blue jeans people, were the first in history to sew their garment label on the outside of the article. Goes to show when you are on a roll, you can get right radical. Did you know that cotton is still the most common fabric in the world, and that cotton is 25% stronger wet than dry? Could that be why she looked so much better wading out of the creek in cut-offs than when you married her six months later? Or could it have been the triplets?

March 9, 2010

           Describe that sinking feeling when you show up for work and there is a 5-foot-11 Russian doing your job. More, he has a Smolensk degree in shoemaking and 23 years experience, plus all his own hand tools. Not to mention he is a registered orthopedic craftsman in Pennsylvania (whose standards supersede anything in Florida).
           It is a good thing I don’t spook easy. When it comes to shoemaking, I cannot begin to compete with Boris. Let’s take a closer peek at the situation. Boris does not speak a word of Spanish. He knows only shoes, not the well-paying leatherwork that Alfredo does while I am keeping up (or trying to keep up) with heels and soles. Boris is also used to higher wages and benefits than he will ever receive in Florida, meaning a flight risk.

           Nonetheless, this denotes the shop is receptive to applications, that Alfredo wants more than I can provide. Not that I did not already know. Mind you, in my favor is a ton of management experience. Boris must have been a line worker (careful here, he could easily switch over). His lack of Spanish is serious, for even answering the phone is an integral requirement, along with the reasoning abilities or the vocabulary needed to fix custom leather. Boris balked at this several times, can’t blame him.
           These are uncertain times. My guess is that I am still reasonably secure if only because I am not that easily replaced. Recall that the average employee (so I’ve been told) lasts only a few weeks. I’ll still be looking for a new job, starting tomorrow. What I really need is another thrift store within biking distance. Meanwhile, it was a good thing I invested in my music gear, isn’t it? That will be the only certain money I make this week. Now I regret I didn’t spend my $100 profit last month on that drum box.

           [Author's note 2016-03-09: in the end, experience took over and Boris stayed on many years. I still drop in to visit years later.]

           On the other side, the Russian speaks excellent English. He is married and his wife talked him into quitting their jobs in Pennsylvania because of the cold weather, and move to Florida. That, people, is always a mistake. Read my lips, there are no well-paying jobs in this state and for all the others, you must speak Spanish. Boris informs me that while there are several orthopedic shoe outfits in south Florida, none of them do the work in-house. The shoes, averaging $800 a job, are shipped up north, where he was a technician. Kind of makes you wonder why he wants to work for somebody else.
           He personally knows the Russian guy who started Google. He talks about how he was investigated by the KGB when he applied to leave Russia in 1986. He speaks four languages. He quickly found out I was not unknowledgeable about Russia, and said more than once it was “scary” how much I knew. If he sticks around, I will soon know the correct way to pronounce Tupolev, Antonov, Mikoyan-Guroyev, Yakovlev, and Sukhoi.
           We delved into economics and he confirms my thoughts. The American system is not perfect, but it is by far the best in the world. It is too bad 90% of our inhabitants are uneducated louts doing their best to dismantle it. Unless we become the first nation in the world to outlaw politics, we are doomed. To anyone who says politics is leadership, you don’t know what you are talking about. To those who say we need leadership, just two hundred years ago it was believed that nations could not even exist without a King, so again, you don’t know what you are talking about.

           The only comic relief for today was things I had to explain to Boris. He is plainly used to a much larger and better organized establishment. I’ve already chortled at how we have 400 pound machines to punch in a ¼” nail and I have nothing to compare since these are the first shoemaking machines I’ve ever used. Boris, on the other hand, was staggered by the age of the equipment. He says he used to complain about anything more than 20 years old. Ha, Boris, welcome to Broward.
           I’ve been at the shoe shop for some ten months now, all the money has gone into this place without a word of thanks. At this point, I should remind us of some early observations. First, the shop is really too small for three people, and the owner knows that. Second, there are two of everything except the large grinding machine, that is, enough equipment to easily set up a second location. Nothing would surprise me.
           Aside from all that, Boris and I had a discussion about the end of the empire. While I’m shy on politics and harsh on politicians, I see that the French and English press are just as sick in the head as the Americans. When the Gorbachev’s visited, what did the reporters focus on? Disarmament? Nuclear test bans? Nope, all they had on their disgusting minds was what Raisa [Mrs. Gorbachev] was wearing. Did she convey the right “tone” when she went shopping? And you wonder why the world thinks we are a gang of useless bastards. For the most part, we are.

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March 8, 2010

           This is a bicycle camper, an Australian patent from a year ago. Notice the 4-wheel bogie that reputedly smoothes out the ride. The tent on top is a standard “tent cot” made by the same company, it can be purchased separately. I’ve always rather liked the idea of a tent-cot combination and this one rests well above the cold, cold ground. Total weight is some 55 pounds unless you are the type to whom camping means lots of ice and beer. The wagon is yours for retail $899.00.
           Music. I was right about Starr’s “Photograph”, a tune he released in 1973. It fits all the parameters for a solo bass line. (I’m a month late getting the drum box because I spent the $100 on something else that was unexpected.) Maybe I’ll give that dog groomer guy a call soon. He sort of looks like Roy Orbison. The question is can he learn my material? I tend to explain to all new people that until we are up and making money, we do things my way or the highway. New groups are such a heavy investment in time that any distraction becomes the enemy.
           However, the fact that he can barely play guitar is a plus. I’ve already had the chat with him about the bleak prospects of trying to custom learn each tune, Hippie-style. Instead, that all-important drum box lays down the track, the bass plays “in the cracks” and the guitar becomes mainly a stage prop. He is okay with that, recognizing it as a shortcut to stage work.
           He may not understand the strains are enormous. We will wind up hating each other a hundred times over before we get anywhere—that is the part about success that nobody can truly comprehend in advance. The only way around the clashes is to hope everybody sticks around long enough to develop a rapport. Hell, the Hippie let me down a hundred times and I’ll still join in, noticing Cowboy Mike is also there.
As Winston Churchill might have said, “The only thing worse than playing in a band is not playing in a band.”
           Next, I address the problem of myself not making enough money these days. I mean, I make just enough for me, what working three jobs and all. Apparently I waste my “disposable income” on business expenses, instead of on necessaries like cat food and tobacco. I hear a few voices saying that I should start sticking my nose into the other person’s affairs, but decent folk don’t do such things.
           Which reminds me to present a “Hero Criminal” award to a newcomer. That’s Criminal, not “Crimnal”. Two-bit losers like the kind who work for ComCast are crimnals. But Scott Levine is a true criminal fully deserving of the title. Scotty got eight years for swiping over a billion and a half (that is correct, 1,500,000,000+) database files. He is a hero for alerting at least a few concerned citizens that sinister companies like Acxiom are keeping so damn many records—and you can bet they ain’t your credit reports.
           Acxiom is the database company that has slowly been amalgamating all the tiny scraps of information about your whole life into one massive file. They already know you spent $4,364.77 more last year that reported on your tax return, more than enough for a 25 year prison term. Acxiom loves club memberships and grocery cards. These are the wonderful people who made all your high-school marks available on the Internet and who are pushing for the National ID Card, supported of course by their system.
           Now don’t go considering Scotty a brainiac who hacked into the software. He used an ordinary maintenance contract to run off a few extra copies, type of thing. So he isn’t in the class of Jason Derek Browne, plus, Scotty got caught; Browne is still thumbing his nose at Big Brother.
           Scotty, by the way, hails from Miami, Florida, home of the security fraud industry.

March 7, 2010

           This is a luxury rail car. A few dozen of these refurbished units are perpetually on sale. Some are private sleepers, jam-packed full of features considered swank long ago, and most rental units include basic kitchen staff. There are models for business, sleepers, tours, parties and showing off. Fees for storing and picking these up are phenomenal, but the actual towing by a train is a reasonable $2.10 per mile. Alas, Amtrak makes up for it by insisting the private cars be parked at “approved” sidings and by insisting all cars be up to standards that add potential millions to the price tag.
           A perfect day, I successfully avoided all negativity and got everything back on schedule. As a reward, I was at the bookstore on 203rd, Borders. They have live bands there again, this time featuring a jazz group. I’ve been invited by the coffee shop, but I feel that jazz is associated with the cerebral and country music is the opposite. A coffee shop isn’t my venue, or more accurately, country music isn’t theirs.
           If I can pick out 30 tunes that are crossovers, I’ll reconsider. I have a hypothesis of why some people favor jazz, and it isn’t because they are smart. I have no doubt that a large reason for the dominance of guitar in American popular music is due to its portability, not its superiority. Now, the guitar as we know it came along around the time the big band era was winding up.
           This is one of those rare occasions it is okay to think in a circle. Jazz, with its interminable solos, kept big band members waiting their turn, which pushes them to always play at the margins of melody and beat, hence Jazz. Nobody disputes that jazz can be complicated music, and that is where my idea explains things. Once you finish learning to play guitar, 90% of all instructors will push the student to “continue on to jazz”, as if it was the desirable pinnacle. The real tune being played is on the student’s pocketbook.
           Now, the conclusion. What sort of person has money to waste on complicated music? Right, the rich brats, whose parents are far more likely to also waste money on putting them through college. Hence, over time, jazz acquires a veneer of being popular among the “intelligentsia”. Billionaires like Gucci, Revlon and Foster-Grant have read this effect to the maximum.
           I was at Borders to read myself to distraction, and electronic circuits are holding my attention longer than usual. Most such topics, I’ll dive a little below the surface, but not plumb the depths. Years earlier, I toyed with those electronic learning kits, getting nowhere because face it, anybody can hook up a doorbell. My present interest is something different: not everyone could program a computer to control that bell.
           As soon as the computer is introduced, the bell can be manipulated. Everything from how long it rings and the tone can be not only controlled, but varied. That is what captivates me. The limitation is solely one’s imagination rather than the confines of the physical components. Some of the “science” projects that amazed me a month ago are already beginning to seem embarrassingly rudimentary.
           This change in my point of view is a result of looking past the toy robots in action, that is, examining the computer code. The next time I see a robot battle, I’ll assume they are not autonomous, but that there is some dude just outside the ring with an ordinary Radio Shack joystick control. Those are no-brainers, no wonder kids can do it. But a self-controlled robot beating a dumb human; now that would be something to see.
           And that is the exact robot code I’ve been reading. A disparity arises I should point out to the reader: I have zero experience building the type of electronic circuits I’m studying. I can’t even solder well. But I am magnitudes ahead of the code which I’m reading that interfaces with those circuits. The existing code is darn simple. This gives me a logical place to start, and that means back to the Arduino. Maybe I’ll never build even a toy, but I intend to grasp the principles.
           One angle I can already ponder is the robots that self-navigate. The design indicates the use an off-the-shelf sensor and furthermore (this is my observation) the code means only one sensor. No wonder the performance is sluggish. In such a situation, you mount a bettor sensor, but failing that, more of the same sensor. The code must be altered to take average readings, and that is where the existing programmers seem to high-tail it. All code I’ve seen reflects the teenage mind.
           Today’s trivia is Gillette, the razor blade guy. He almost gave up because all the skeptics told him nobody would buy something they’d use once and throw away. By 1917 he’d made millions selling to the US Army. By 1931 he was broke, you see, he held on to all his company stock which became worthless when the Depression came along. He had to sell it at pennies to pay for property bought for dollars. Can we say he shaved it a little too close?

March 6, 2010

           Let’s see if everybody still likes interesting statistics after this. First think through the problem. You parents were two unrelated who met, married, and you were born. All four of your grandparents were also unrelated, as were all eight of your great-grandparents. But if you take this process back just 64 generations (around the time of the Roman Empire) you would need a thousand times more people than existed in the entire world for everybody to be unrelated. Conclusion: most people are a product of incest at some point in history. And a fairly recent point, at that.
           Trivia. Most of us have heard of the Nobel Prize, but what caused old Alfred to set up the foundation? It was not the goodness of his heart; remember he lived in an age when rich people considered the poor as sub-humans. (Much along the way I consider stupid people, you know, God gave humans a brain, but if you don’t use it . . . .) The real tale is that Nobel had mistakenly been reported dead and he read his own obituaries which branded him “The Merchant of Death”. He did it all to improve his reputation.

           It wasn’t until later that his money holdings became so enormous the prize was split into categories other than world peace. (In fact, most nations have laws against perpetuities to prevent one man from eventually owning all the money). Another facet of Nobel’s age was that invention was one of the few ways that “failed” people could hope to make any money. One of those failures was Tesla, who refused to share a Nobel Prize with his former employer, Thomas Edison. (Nobel withdrew Tesla’s candidacy.)
           If Nobel’s intention was to promote peace, his aim was off. The only peace this world will ever see is when all politicians of any stripe are lined up against the wall. Along with their diplomatic corps. What would Nobel think if he was alive to learn that in 2008, one of his prizes went to a Japanese who invented a gadget that analyzed a dog’s bark and reported the dog’s mood back to the owner. It’s call a “Bow-lingual”. Makes you want to reach for a stick of dynamite.

           It is hard to believe, but today I was criticized for the first time in my life for purchasing a necessary tool for my business. Worse, the person who berated me knows that I’ve worked extra and saved up the money. I have no idea what this was all about, unless they think I should give them the $40 or something equally crazy. Mind you, I’ve seen this attitude before, the small-minded concept that music and entertainment are useless hobbies, or worse, a waste of time that should be spent doing nothing instead.
           So now I have a sofa you can’t sit on, a kitchen you can’t cook in, a fridge you cannot keep vegetables in, and business you cannot buy supplies for. Am I the only one thinking of Elizabeth Jean Brooks? There’s a woman who spent her entire life criticizing everything. I doubt there was ever a thing she couldn’t find wrong. She used to go shopping to scout what other people were buying. She would go to the Laundromat to spy on what other people were washing, even grumbling over their brand of detergent and knocking how they parked and what time they showed up.

           Well, I hope everyone concerned knows that I have one single tactic to prevent undue criticism from getting out of hand. Cut off the supply source. I will no longer tell anyone when I do something as innocent as buy a volume foot pedal. If they will harp on something so personal to me that is truly none of their business, it means they are purposely fault-finding and picking a needless fight. All information drops to a need-to-know basis. Nobody wants to live like that, but I am quite used to it and have all the mechanisms in place, ready to turn off the tap.
           The strangest part, is that I recovered the cost of the pedal the first time I used it. The net effect is zero, except for the hard feelings now generated. Strange, some people’s idea of how things are supposed to operate. Well, I know how things work, and I’m not about to go bankrupt pleasing other people. The show tonight went fantastic thanks to that pedal, and I have not yet begun to get fancy with it. I am already two months behind schedule from helping others who have no intention of appreciating it.

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March 5, 2010

           For those wondering about the foot-pedal slash drum box decision, I talked the pedal guy down to $40. In “salesmanthink” I saved $59, so that brings the drum box within striking distance if I make decent tips this weekend. I had to spend the day winding down from the previous weeks, so mostly I looked at what other computer-minded people were doing. I’ve got my own projects but I felt it worthwhile to see what’s out there. I need things on my mind besides other people’s hopeless exasperations that they never intend to do anything about.
           For those unfamiliar with the subject, there is a wide variation in quality for volume pedals. First of all, avoid any that are battery powered, they are a waste of time and money. It is plain silly to rely on a battery when an unpowered version does the job. After that, make sure of two qualities: that the pedal will not slide on most flooring material, and that the pedal offers gentle resistance to your foot motions. The latter is important on stage when you remove your foot or return it to the pedal. Without resistance, the natural uneveness of foot pressure will change the volume.
           The Ernie Ball is nearly ideal. It has vecro-like grips on the bottom. And you can easily see the string and spring assembly under the foot pad, ensuring the pedal only moves when you mean it. Notice the rugged all-metal construction. There is a tuner port, you know, for guitarists who can't manage to stay in tune for love nor money. I'd rather see that replaced with a "minimum volume" knob, but otherwise, I use Ernie Ball pedals exclusively for serious stage work.
           Let's talk trains. Yippee! The City of New Orleans costs $216 coach class. The ride is just short of twenty hours and the food service is, by reputation, horrendous. Nor is the train anything like the original as sung by Arlo Guthrie. It has changed hands and names several times, even the route has been altered somewhere in Tennessee. That fare is one-way and there is still the problem of getting to and from NOLA. Still, all this is within good reason and I am planning the trip for this summer.
           As with most Amtrak passenger links, there are berths and accommodations available at a price. We can all easily stay awake on a trip that long and the potential for a nap through the prairies has not changed that much in a few centuries. They will transport a bicycle for $15 extra. Unlike Greyhound, Amtrak shows full examples of their coach seats, and I would reserve a window seat, where reading lamps are guaranteed. (Got that, Greyhound. The lights stay on. Some ignorant employee cannot turn them off and threaten to have the riders who complain with police arrest at the next stop.)
           Wikipedia does a good job of describing the actual train, although like many contemporary encyclopedias, they delve a little too much into issues. To see the cars themselves, visit the Amtrak site for 3D cartoon views. My favorite cars are the tall ones that sit 14 feet off the ground, “streamliners” I think they are called. They cost around $2.5 million each back when that was lots of money. The City of New Orleans was one of the last to get them when it was finally realized the line had tourist potential.
           Also new to me was the fact that American railways are assigned “grades”, and passenger train lines are first grade. I still hope in my lifetime, a high speed rail link makes coast-to-coast travel available. Just think, twelve hours to California without the hell of airports. I was musing that instead of the train making stops, which will degenerate into a political mud pit, why not a system of uncoupling the last car of the train as a destination is approached?
           While the front of the train carries on at speed, the last car would gradually coast to a stop. You know, for the type of people who absolutely have to get off at Deming, NM. Later, a donkey engine could collect the cars for an off-peak run back to either terminus, or with sidings at intervals. Popular Mechanics, now there is an idea that beats that affair you have with blimps.
           For today’s trivia, I’ll poke fun at horoscopes. The ruling theory behind the astrologic principle is that there is a “force” from the planets that affects people, the highest conviction being that this influence does not diminish with distance. Thus, a huge planet like Jupiter has exactly the same influence as a tiny planet like Venus. Trouble is, around 70 new planets have been discovered orbiting other stars. It will be truly wondrous how the believers account for that. My fascination with horoscopes is that others actually follow them.

March 4, 2010

           What’s this? The Canadian Olympics are rated a failure? That just isn’t fair, evidenced by my buddy Mitch, seen here outfitted for the Alberta Summer Games. Minus his ptarmigan mitts, Mitch reports that downhill tobogganing can be every bit as challenging in August as in February, “or at least would be if the Athabasca had any banks”. Three cheers for Canada, the nation that brought curling to the Olympics so that even couch potatoes could have a shot at the gold. Or a shot of vodka, whichever comes first, eh?
           Decisions. I’ve done my best to save up for some basic music gear. The lengthy 2008 – 2009 gig at Jimbos wore out a lot of my accessories. Last weekend, Arnel let slip a comment that I had chosen “the wrong instrument” for solo work, but I’m not about to admit defeat. I know what he meant and I agree to an extent. Yet, I believe with the right bass playing, even an incompetent guitarist can put on a good show. In fact, I already know it works thanks to Robynette and my band “Three Good Reasons” back in 1990.
           Do I buy the drum box or the volume pedal? They cost $99 each, all the spare cash I’ve got. Here’s the criteria; I’ll do what the majority decide. The volume pedal would be used for bingo to coordinate the background sound effects. Right now, I have to time things very carefully, perpetually spinning around to reset the PA knobs. Yet the surest money I will make this week is bingo. On the other hand, the drum box would be the best thing for my new act, and the sooner I get a music set programmed, the sooner I’ll be playing on the beach for three times the income from bingo.
           Now, the extra volume pedal would also allow me to control something that I’ve heard so many Karaoke jockeys complain about. These are the people who intentionally speak quietly during the mic check, then belt it out. That is in the future, I don’t do Karaoke right now. The drum box is a trade-off, in that I want something completely computer controlled but don’t have the computer yet. Then again, a drum box is very portable and it is familiar technology. Vote now.
           Where did I get the extra $100? Mainly from increased business at the shoe place. Today, for example, I did 12 pairs of heels, bringing in more than computers earn me in a week. There is no shortage of work at the shoemaker. Alas, I can really feel the effects of standing [being on my feet] all day by Thursdays, the end of my week over there. The only thing still not modernized is the owner’s tradition of each worker finishing each task by himself, whereas I am a firm adherent to specialization. Find what each guy does best and let him go to it.
           Both methods are correct. I will never be able to match his finishing speed, but doing things the old-fashioned way often results in one of us waiting for the other to free up a machine or some materials. Busy all the time is better, I say.
           It has been three weeks since my recent medical procedure, time for a quick progress report. This time, there is no difference afterward. No increased energy, no lessening of signature symptoms, except they are somewhat more rare and that has happened in the past anyway. Stress or strain can still trigger the onset of the now familiar warnings, I know to instantly stop and get away from the source. Beyond that, no improvement at all. But my back is still sore from the recovery stage. This report is purposely buried at the end of this article.

March 3, 2010

           This is Chicago Central, a train station. Rail travel has never caught on with me, as trains are like the bus. They don't go where you want to go when you want to go there. The only person I know whose been in this station is Wallace. And I finally found out what the symbol "IC" meant on train engines: Illinois Central. No, I didn't know that.
           Of all the things, I got a tip at the shoe shop. Two bucks. I guess I just never thought that would happen. Does this mean I am the only one we know who has ever gotten a tip at the shoemakers? So I’ll go on about the shop for a little while. First, it was a good move seeking out and taking that position. It is brutal out on the streets. We have people regularly in the door offering to do any work we have available.
           Today, two guys were in asking for $5 of work because their car had run out of gas on 20th (around the corner). Recent statistics show that there are still close to seven unemployed adults for every job opening in town. At least I am keeping the status quo and the shoe shop has proven far steadier work than the alternatives, or so I keep hearing.
           This brings up an interesting statistic of my own. In this life, the total amount I have made as a bass player is $165,635.05. (Not a revealing figure, as I play many instruments besides the bass.) All of it was not profit like you get with drywall contractors, but it is still an impressive chunk of cash for somebody who has never wasted a minute in a recording studio. Or had a bass lesson. My original motivation to be a performer was a bow-legged guitarist with the unlikely name of Jesse Demko.
           In those days I hung out with Zim (Michael Zimmerman) and Smitty (Graham Smith). They heard Jesse play and thought “neat music”. I heard him play and thought “I can do that.” I believe Zim bought himself a hardware store in the foothills and Smitty went on to manage a furniture chain. They are the only two of my childhood buddies who ever got married. And divorced. (So did many other people I know, but they were not part of my gang. Rusty, who is married, did not arrive on the scene until some ten years later.)
           Since I am not able to afford the Arduino chip this week, I began looking at a brief holiday if my finances improve as expected. A nice choice seems to be the “City of New Orleans”, the passenger train that runs up to Chicago out of New Orleans. I’ve talked about it; now I’ll look into some prices and schedules. That would be the longest train ride of my life. All I know is that I’ll be gone 500 miles when the day is done. My intention is to travel first class although that has to be within reason. As with untalented women and toilet paper, above a certain dollar amount, the differences in quality become imperceptible.
           I see there is now a regular ferry boat service on the Orinoco. It goes to Puerto Ayacucho and bills itself as a “riverboat”. I cannot find the city, if it even is a city, on maps of my scale. That sounds like a real adventure, I’ve crossed the Orinoco probably forty times, but never sailed it. As usual, I would be traveling alone since I’ve never been able to find anyone to accompany me. It was a little scary at first, but you get used to making do on your own—and paying double occupancy rates. I’ve met people with the time and money, but they snobbishly don’t like to “go bush”. I once walked 850 miles through the jungle just because I felt like it.
           [Author’s note: don’t make assumptions. I walked along roadways and paths through the jungle, sometimes catching a lift with a chicken farmer or bus when it rained too hard. I stayed in little hotels or with women I met along the way. I camped out once, and it was in a government park along a river in northeastern Mexico. You cannot travel like this anymore. You will get robbed. The one thing television has taught criminals the world over is that the police are just another gang most of the time.]

March 2, 2010

           Take a look at these shoes. Originally they were the same color. This was, to me, a good adventure for the day. It may not compare with Fox news, but you know, I think it is dandy on average. What did you do that was new and interesting today? I’ve always been a good judge of novelty, and I know of some 75 women who will attest to that.
           This is a truly sad day for me. I had to move against a good friend, a dynamic and interesting personality who, alas, fell under the spell of his own relations. The strange part of it all is that some people should know better. I am not a lawyer, but I know how the process works in the USA. I also know how the process works in Canada, and thus I know the potential for error when the two systems are not clear in the mind. In the USA, you can’t say one thing just to get people into court and then say another thing to the judge, while in Canada they actually allow prosecution to introduce evidence during cross-examination.
           I also have the advantage of having kept perfect records, meaning I only have to be right 51% of the time. The old Canuck “you didn’t get it in writing” only worked on me the first time, I once took six years to go after a crooked mechanic in British Columbia. It is plain dumb to think I’ll make any mistakes. Again, I will withdraw any statement that can be proven false. The one thing you do not try in an American court is the old Canadian, “If you don’t think I’m right, you are being unreasonable.” They will skin you alive.
           Back to Avatar, one of the few movies I’ve watched twice. It is mostly fiber optics and the flying scenes are a little too Star Wars for me. To me, the political message is not the confrontations, but the supreme danger of tribal behavior. All the sitting around a campfire in the world is not going to get anyone beyond the bow-and-arrow stage. I recall the scene of hundreds of uneducated natives all in a circle, sharing a common trust in one supreme and supposedly incorruptible leader. No, wait, wait. Start over. I was thinking of General Motors.
           The problem with tribes is they it stifle individuality. Avatar portrays how on an entire planet, they had not one person like me. Nobody to come along saying, “Listen, you people. If you don’t get with the program and ditch all this mystical mumbo-jumbo, some scientific-based culture is gonna come along and kick your butt.”
           Stranger yet is how so many people don’t realize they are nothing but tribal savages themselves. They think they are above it all, but if you look close, their lives are dictated by society instead of by supply and demand. They obey the tribal rules right down to what they wear on their wedding day. Is a rented tux really any different than a bone in the nose? And that is why the Avatars and most of the small-minded people in the universe make such excellent Enron employees.
           Theresa asks how men, who are such insensitive beasts, can write such beautiful love songs. I suspect the answer relates back to her statement that the reason older men don’t like older women is because older women “have learned a thing or two”. Could it be that possibly the older men have also learned a thing or two?

March 1, 2010

           More callouts, but none as interesting as this photo. Who remembers “Peachtree” from 1991, when I set up that software in Los Angeles? I was, that year, within an ace of teaming up with this lady running Peachtree out of her living room. She was ahead of the pack with computers, but she was in 1925 as far as sticking her nose into employee affairs. She felt she had a right to everyone’s most private information. Wrong. My rule is to tell an employer just barely enough information to get the job, and I was never out of work.


           [Author's note: Peachtree, a 1978 product, is listed by Wikipedia to be the the oldest software in the world still in continuous use and is the largest competitor to Quickbooks. I don't like either product, as they do not make accounting any easier at the user level. Basic Peachtree sells for around $200 and is the better value, although Peachtree markets software packages in the $1,200 range. Would it not be cheaper to streamline your business practices?]

           I was over at Professor Howard’s place, one of my original students. He hauled out an old Rogers 1630 [brand of reel-to-reel tape recorder]. It was missing the capstan, so I did what any true-blue American would do—I fashioned one out of duct tape. Well, that and some unexplained surgical tubing found in the garden shed, of all things. The experiment was unsuccessful but without the exact factory capstan, the playback speed is wrong. There are perfectly good new models on eBay for less than $50.
           Howard had looked around for somebody to digitalize his reel-to-reels of a radio show he did while younger. That was up near New York (apparently) and they did critiques on movies, such as the films shown to GIs about venereal diseases. The best price he got from a recording studio was $59 per hour! That is clearly one industry that has not kept up with the times. I showed Howard that by purchasing a few adapters, he had all the recording equipment he needed right in his home office. Hell, for $59 an hour I’ll do all the work myself. How do those studios even survive?

           Then, it goes to show you how any big business spawns specialization. After a generation or two it usually peters out, but for some reason, not with music. What I mean is if you listen to the hit music of just 50 years ago, a lot of it was done by just placing a few microphones near the band. Johnny Cash cut hit records in twenty minutes in a living room. While it is nice to hear a good 64-channel mix, at what point is the music no longer “live”. I would welcome a return to basics.
           The day was started over at the shop, later I was over at that place with the Win98 setup, the Peachtree place. There is a point with Win98 when you have to give up and walk away, but what a priceless setup over there. That location is proof that a given computer installation will work for ten years if you leave it alone. Unfortunately, they no longer had the original installation disks and the installed copy got corrupted.

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