VIDEO HAS NO SOUND.
===============================================
THIS BLOG IS NOT FORMATTED FOR ANDROID.
DOES NOT represent any average American life-style.
Tales From The Trailer Court™
Sunday, October 5, 2025
THIS IS A HEADER - scroll down one page to begin blog--->
VIDEO HAS NO SOUND.
===============================================
DOES NOT represent any average American life-style.
Saturday, October 4, 2025
October 4, 2025
One year ago today: October 4, 2024, $65 = $71 (inflation)
Five years ago today: October 4, 2020, in the trash.
Nine years ago today: October 4, 2016, out of Miami!
Random years ago today: October 4, 2018, blog standardization day.
Up at 6:00, we are off to the pet blessing in an hour. I have included pets from out west, this should be a fun day. A coffee, a refull, and off to Punta Gorda, lunch is planned. I have the pet photos and Alaine’s mini-tool box in the van, hoping for some great photos. The trip is up to two hours, so we’ll find out who the shooter is. And give me time to assess the effect of Bidenflation on my situation. I know already that my core costs (see addendum) have ballooned from 33% of my pension to 55%.
The one time adequate margins were set, the traffic was so lite I arrived 45 minutes early. A chance to chat, but Alaine is the chairperson of the pet committee so no visiting until later at the fancy restaurant. Say, in that picture just now. That tray full of doggie toys and treats there. Doesn’t that look so familiar? I forget how many years this is now, but the ceremony is now streamlined and first dibs went to a blessing the pets not present. And a reading of the Rainbow Bridge.
A new touch this year was the presence of small pet urns. Ours are in Tennessee, but pictures take their place. I could not locate a picture of Seven, but Sheba was with Sparkie, Sam, JeePee, Chooks, Lilly, and Chloe. Here’s the family portrait.
The order of pets is also better, they know to do the small and excitable first. Only one cat this year, which is unusual. But doggies galore. I finally met Boomer, who I’ve nicknamed Fluffy. This is the newest, still a puppy. If I didn’t mention, Snookie passed away several months ago. He’s the familiar tyke you see in the “PHOTO DELAYED” placeholder. Did you know he has a bass solo named after him? Called “Alaine & Snookie”, there is no practical way to upload MP3s to this blog. That’s okay, it was just a backing track and you can hear all the mistakes. But how many have even that named after them?
On the radio driving home, I heard the stat that only 28% of Americans trust the mainstream media any more. That’s an all-time low. And that’s a peanut butter average, among Republicans only 8% believe the usual sources.
Miami Beach 1990.
(The pavilion is Penrod’s)
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Tradition means the staff (and me, too) meet across the say for a brunch. Once again, I was the only male present but I’m used to it. By chance one lady mentioned her granddaughter had gone into biomedical engineering. It’s a career I might have chosen, had I know as teen such careers existed. She gets to actually build circuits. Design, test, and construct. At the phone place, once we isolated a problem, we just replace circuit cards in the racks until it started working again. The kitchen only serves fish & chips on Fridays.
That’s good eatin’, but it’s a 150-mile round trip and, with a coffee, $20. The King’s Den, but you have to argue with the robot to open the gate unless you let them photocopy your ID, which I won’t do. Start to back out, and they will open the gate. Another good thing about that restaurant is something unusual in Florida—they know real Americans like their coffee before, during, and after the meal. None of this aperitif nonsense. Yep, that sandwich, I was truly impressed.
I have a few pet photos, check tomorrow. These are difficult subjects and many of the pets at the event are not used to thirty other dogs around at once. Also, as the pics are for Alaine, they are taken at the highest resolution on my equipment, something like 56k for stills on this unit. They cannot be edited on the camera memory, unless you want to wait five minutes per photo. The plan is to download them and work with copies, but the download took so long, I grabbed the bass and played until 10:25PM. Now I’m too whooped to start a big project like video editing.
He wasn’t kidding this time. And there I was, egging him about travel and visiting. What a tough customer, all he said was he had a couple medical appointments. But, he was okay when I saw him on September 9, and did not land in the hospital until the 19th. However, he all manner of symptoms and I did say to him it sounded like a potential stroke. Okay, see this mini-clip? It was a joke, this was made from the tail end of this little ride as the camera battery went kaput. Hmmm, 500+ hits later, I guess it is kind of famous at that.
Here’s a mine-treat for you. The golf cart trails are beautifully landscaped with little bridges. I wanted to photo one but my Panasonic battery died—after capturing just a few seconds of vide. I promptly tagged it “The Famous Gold Cart Visit”, certainly a first for us. Here’s this otherwise pretty useless video, which generated 528 hits, meaning somebody likes it, so it stays here.
ADDENDUM
This curious calculation is something you’ve heard me call by many terms, such as “the cost of standing still”. It’s the opposite of disposable income, that is, income minus expenses. But most people only have rough ideas of those expenses beyond the fact they have a total. And that total for their month ahead is largely guesswork. Mine is not, I have a defined allocations for what accountants call fixed expenses and variable expenses. My fixed has plunged since I bout this place. It’s the variable expenses that are causing concern.
Gasoline is a variable, the more you use, the more you pay. The price of gas to Nashville and back is the prime example. In 2017, it was $185.57. Today it averages $312.07. Numbers like this must be killing most people, but as usual they grin and bear it. Or put it on their credit cards. I put more faith in finding a job, but like what could they do? Wal*Mart greeter? For the record, there is little chance I would ever write for a living. Because most people do not realize that is a full-time job. And since it pays nothing until you win, it’s also a rich man’s job.
Friday, October 3, 2025
October 3, 2025
One year ago today: October 3, 2024, doggie food.
Five years ago today: October 3, 2020, that puppy’s now 100lb.
Nine years ago today: October 3, 2016, trapped in Burger King.
Random years ago today: October 3, 2003, I quit.
It was a shed day, and here are a couple photos of the progress on the small tool boxes. You are probably used to seeing the process by now. Quantity over quality becase that is what I’m equipped for, both in tools and skills. There are five in this batch, all from the same pallet, two are giveaway samples and the others I will test painting or something. They look like what they are, very unfinished.
Have you seen that lady who says the solution to White underpopulation is harems. It’s not, she points out, what people think. She parallels it to the reality of what’s going on. Thousands of single mothers and too many surplus males of poor quality, she just says it much nicer. Women how have more equal pay and each wife would be in her own house. It would improve the race, as only the best men for the task would breed children. She never mentions that creates masses of inferior males who would then have to resort to the leftover women who are not marriageable. But I say, come to think of it, that’s what’s going on out there anyway. See addendum.
Next, twenty minutes on the bass. I mapped out a generic line that will work for any chord pattern. Many, like the Beach Boys, leave out the four chord in the chorus, again a trick to make the harmonies easier. Now, let’s get in the yard and begin by relocated the satellite dish bird feeder. To make squirrel life that much more difficult. Then a final trace of every circuit in the old panel to eliminate any more surprises like that AC wire. It was hot, you know.
Here are four of the five boxes now ready for use, except finishing. I hesitate to paint or stain because the raw lumber really soaks up the liquid. However, I have two gallons of used paint that may be approaching its expiry date. That will have to wait since these few boxes have already gobbled up a lot of time, probably because I was having lots of fun.
Some things to notice would be the better match of lumber, where each box is made from a single plank as much as possible. The box bottoms may vary as they are not matched at all. The end-holes are drilled differently so that there is a more consistent amount of lumber around the diameters. The box in the lower left is for Alaine, you can see the row of “screwdriver” holes. These boxes are kind of the most rustic thing at her place, so it surprises me not if this winds up as a window planter or something.
Taking another look at the song “Cottonfields”, I’ve decided I don’t like any of the versions and the one I like the least is Creedence. The reason is when I was little I heard a version that had the lyrics most others leave out (I got a nail in my tire, had to walk a long, long way to town). There seemed a time when a dozen bands released the song but I cannot find the one I liked. My theory is that song lends itself to great harmonies. And if you want three or more people singing the same thing, it makes sense to drop the verses.
I was sleepless, so watched one of my favorite movies, “The Martian” because I find every scene believable. It’s not to bad a movie if you fast forward past all the sucky parts back on Earth. While the movie happens, I’m getting a head start on my year-end. Did you know my original “reverse retirement” idea came about this time of year when I was on my paper route? It was the day I could not see clearly to the end of the road three blocks away. Age was happening and I was still poor. No, that was not odd I thought this because I already knew I was losing a much bigger race. I knew I was trapped in an empty and hollow life. A few months earlier, I had received 2ȼ interest in my bank, which triggered my thinking.
I decided I wanted 10ȼ per day. Problem. This meant saving up the $1,000 which would require [I calculated] three lifetimes. Sorry, I can’t recall the exact specs, but a million was a much more magical number back then. I had no way of calculating all this, even calculators were ten years in the future, and more like fifteen where I lived. But a thousand, that could be done. For me, $1,000 was the goal because it was 10ȼ per day. There is a sad downsize to this, as you may have read, when I got to $54, my bank account disappeared. I realized a pile of money was too much of a target. Stay with me here.
If, instead of having the thousand dollars, if I put the 10ȼ a day in the bank, I would have the identical income as a $1,000 savings bond. Stay patient, I’m getting to it. For I also figured out something else. It was not the savings that got you ahead. It had to stay there because you could never spend it or you’d cut off your income. Yet every kid knew saving up got you ahead. If it was not the $1,000 that got you ahead, what was it? What was left? It was that lousy 10ȼ.
What I did not figure out was how cruel people were and that it would take me another twenty years before I could do anything toward investing. I tried and failed as many times as anybody else who has ever started a savings plan. You are lucky to last two months.. Everybody I knew who had that much got it for free, true, there are exceptions but I had never met any. There were still a few more elements to the equation, like realizing you must plan to die with that core money in the bank (so to speak).
And in the end, it was that 10ȼ that prospered because it grew into other ideas. By age 28, it was $19.34 every payday, and the rest is history.
Russian diamond mine.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Did I just catch hell from a proper lady. The feeder was empty as the latest squirrel had learned to swing on the dripper hose. So I had to relocate the dish and fill the tube. Since the dish has to be bolted in place, I chose that for the cooler early morning. While the feeder tube was still empty. Well! Mrs. Red immediately informed me the folly of my enterprise. The good news is my hearing is back to normal.
I finished up two more of the small tool boxes, putting extra screws and a screwdriver holder on the special model for Alaine. No news from Punta yet, but she could call any time. Some last minute shopping got my van sideswiped at Wal*Mart, a scratch down the passenger side. Which brings me to the mystery, “Holy Ghost”. Now five dead and the town can figure out who’s sleeping with who just by watching who the cops interview next. The audiobook is a disappointment for sure, as all the characters introduced so far are accounted for.
That means unless the Virgin Mary herself is the perp, the killer has to be somebody not even mentioned yet. That makes the whole story up to this point a waste of time. What fun is all the sleuthing ends with some random shooter? But, with one disk left, we can’t quit now. By the time nobody is caught by police snooping, it means there is somebody smart enough that money is involved. Alas, this story has not provided even one clue who that could be. There is something, the third person shot was a widow who was giving big money to the church.
The blog that dares show you failures has a classic for you this evening. Here is the Sudoku (little joke there) finish on two of the boxes. Because, it is the only finish I know how to apply o pallet lumber. What is the fail? Have you guessed? I was hoping the application would darken the laser embossed brand logo. Nope, it obliterates it. But there is some way to get around this if you give me enough time to think of it. Another consideration is that these boxes have a lot more angles and surfaces which significantly increases the time requirement with the blowtorch.
It’s nothing, but I can see how the lack of education or training for me parallels my music career. If I had gone to carpentry school, I suppose I would have learned all these things. I could say the same if I had gone to Juilliards. So I will say again, when I suggest I did something original, I’m not saying I invented it. I’m saying I learned it on my own, I did not copy anybody, so to me, it is original. Now be fair, I’m not the only one who thinkis this.
ADDENDUM
This situation exists already and more than many realize—which explains why all the good women are gone. They’ve got the good men, who are also gone. Elon Musk pays women to have his children and raise them, but the terms are confidential. Many women are better off than on welfare and as they have separate living arrangements, do not have to commingle or live with the other “wives”. If viewed differently and without stigma, the situation makes plenty of sense. If you are wondering about any historical lead-up, this is the way many Mormons lived before statehood banned it.
I heard the lady out and she addresses some real concerns. In a sense, these wives would know each other enough to form a supportive network when they get older and would normally have a harder time finding someone. You can watch the video here, just ignore the really aggravating broad on the left who is constantly trying to push her agenda.
Thursday, October 2, 2025
October 2, 2025
One year ago today: October 2, 2024, they're a majority.
Five years ago today: October 2, 2020, silver at $24.
Nine years ago today: October 2, 2016, a boxy look.
Random years ago today: October 2, 2006, These Boots.
It looks like another beaut of a day, so here’s breakfast in the making. That is my blog food mention, WIP, so use your imagination. It is real French toast, or is that Freedom toast? This is how a camp cook makes it, and note the coffee. It’s expensive but comes with a tale from the trailer court. I could be the reason McD’s has excellent coffee. The details are buried deep in this blog somewhere, but here’s the short version. A McD’s manager asked me why I ordered my McMuffin and then bought my coffee across the street. His coffee was half the price, but I told him I’d pay top price if their coffee was as good. He asked if I’d put that in writing, I did, and since 1984, McD’s has had great coffee.
That’s ten times the size of Fund 1, which I invested in, so they are now a big player in a big game. But they close it to non-accredited investors, the opposite premise of what Internet investing was supposed to offer. I have money in the Income fund, which closed end of last year, but it shows as still active and operating. However, that’s the fund that speculates in paintings, rare cars, and Swiss watches, so don’t expect dividends.
The fake news is crowing that employment fell by 32,000, claiming it signals a Trump failure. They forgot to mention most were caused by one or two companies—and America is hoping this shutdown results in 750,000 civil servants getting the boot. Good morning. It will be if silver tops $48.
No dice, the stamps are huge, as in 4” square, useless really. And pricey, $16 each. So next time you need to stamp a full sheet of paper, Office Depot has you covered. I had other plans for the blanks but now it my brain that is blank. I don’t remember. They talk a lot about the aroma of burning the rubber and specify the depth of cut, something I can’t do with my toy unit. But I have the option of making many passes. I remind all that this was the purpose of buying this small unit—to answer this type of question. Would I share this technology? Sure, but only with all the fantastic people who have helped me out so far.
The shutdown has zero effect at street level so far. Although I am not a strict Trump supporter, I am 100% behind his agenda of destroying the left. Good way to answer anybody who thinks I support Trump is that I consider him to be right 51% of the time. He is too friendly with certain groups Americans hate and he should at least never talk about his stance on vaccines. The more I read about the rules of a shutdown, the more it appears Trump has methodically backed the Democrats into a corner—and by using their own duplicity against them.
For instance, it was Democrats themselves who championed the bill that if a shutdown lasts 61 days, the whole bunch can be fired. That means Trump need only stall them until December 1 to do to them what they planned to do to his people. Worse, Democrats are stuck trying to sell voters who are being bled by Obamacare on providing free medical to illegals. They are so screwed they don’t know it, but they know who to thank, and worse, why. They should never have attacked his family, that was stupid beyond repair.
AC transformers, I have the very high-quality one salvaged from the old kitchen store. The theory I knew by the sixth grade, but I’m determined to find out the practical side. The first thing I learned, just today, is why so many transformers have so many pins. The one I want to test has twelve. It is because the transformer can be configured in many ways. Different input and out put voltages, but that explains only eight pins. Maybe these things are also “metric”. We shall find out, and, as ever, provide the simple explanation.
The first challenge is predictable—Internet experts. The ones who have only transformers with clear labels showing all ratings and pins. Must be nice. I had to scan mine at 600 dpi to get this information. No indication of voltages, which is primary, no amperage, nothing. Neither of the apparent part numbers (Invensys 010-00126-00, or Eaton 2510013A01) brings up a datasheet. The Eaton number appears on some order sheets, but it’s the old give us your life history and well contact you back after they calculate how much transformer you can afford. I did once see the video I wanted, but A.I. has made it impossible to locate it again.
Chinese rapeseed farm.
(a.k.a. Canola oil
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Out to the shed, a wonderfully cool afternoon. I’m putting bottoms on some unfinished boxes. Take it easy, and so should you, easy for me to say as tomorrow is my day off. I’m looking more closely at the variations in pallet lumber sizes. I built the bottom plates separate and individually, which takes time and labor. If you see pics, then I kept busy. It is just past noon and I’ve got five things on the go. Charging auto batteries, laundry, moving lumber, you know, busy stuff.
Music. No gig lined up tomorrow, so time off. But you know, I’d rather just spend time in the shed. Steve was in contact to mention his new place has a garage we can use. He’s till stuck with that terrible truck his brother gifted him, so unreliable I don’t dare rehearse over here. I discussed the logistics with him, correctly guessing he finds my material overwhelming. If you are thinking that’s funny because most of my tunes are uber-simple, well, not if you didn’t grow up with ir. I hit this same barrier with other guitarists—they don’t normally sit down and play my selection of music. As the Hippie pointed out repeatedly, my taste in music sucks.
The guy’s problem stemmed from never really listening to my bass, he heard only the same generic playing he expected from wannabes. Now, Steve, he’s worked with me on arranging and he’s one of the fastest to catch on I’ve seen. You’ll never him say things like “bass is easy” because he’s seen it done right. So, here is the situation from my side. If he plays his own material, get me a list of it. Maybe he has enough for a set by now. I see two outcomes, both with several facets.
More music follows, but first have a gander at this laser blueprint for a working rubber band piston. You may recall I made of these years ago cutting the layers with a scroll saw. If you missed that, you cut all these pieces out of thin plywood. Then you fasten the layers so the inside is the moveable trigger mechanism. I wonder what I did with it? Back to music.
And two, if I don’t have to sing, I can zoom in on arranging bass lines. I know that over the short run, my bass playing gets progressively closer to playing more of the fills the other guy can’t. As long as we are concentric about putting on the best possible show, the overall act improves into the impressive. Bradford hated to get on stage after us, but since he never played anything I knew and never did like practice, there he was. It would take some slick solo playing to match the sound of the Prez & I, who practiced every week.
The neighbor was over to chat, he’s got a system to record movies off his TV. I know the science but it is something I’ve never done. He mentioned a Bill Murray movie I could not place, name’s “Quick Change”. Some kind of bank heist. That’s an option, for how rare I never heard of a Bill Murray film—unless it is a total dog. I think I’m good motivation because I can see the neighbor’s door from my shed window, and he gets up and moving around when he sees my lights on. Hey, this is important therapy for some.
Soon, I’m fixing the fence on my grey table saw which will have one job: cutting box bottoms. It’s the slowest part of the assembly process, made slower by how often I have to walk out to the neighbor’s shed to make a cut one kerf width.
ADDENDUM
Civil servants are not the object of my pity. They produce nothing, and every one of them that exists takes away a part, however tiny, of your freedom. They number about the same as the homeless, who also lack my sympathy—but I have reasons for this. I knew very well what it is like to be young and in the situation where there are no prospects of ever getting ahead. You know the minute you quit school, voluntarily or otherwise, you are facing a lifetime of drudge labor and debt. The problem is that welfare has grown so luxurious that it has become a career choice.
When I look back on my early life, if welfare back then had included an apartment, food, phone, cable, microwave, and half the things you get today, I would have opted for it. Why punish yourself with the freedom of working in a lumber mill? Why work your life away when you have the option to merely waste it? And in comfort, too.
I’m saying I was there and know what it was like to be forced not to give up. And people today should be allowed the same choice in the matter. Everything I have around me today that I worked a lifetime for, you can now get for free by going on welfare. And I’d have a good back, good shoulders, good eyesight, and more spending money.
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
October 1, 2025
One year ago today: October 1, 2024, exceedingly well-researched.
Five years ago today: October 1, 2020, $66 tp $109.
Nine years ago today: October 1, 2016, expert side-car rider.
Random years ago today: October 1, 2006, 99% drive me crazy.
No word from JZ on riding the train and a new month means I have a decent travel budget again. As usual, I will probably make a decision before other people wake up in the morning. And I have an unusual event to report, see addendum. This blog’s original premise was to record anything out of the ordinary, that is, a pro-active stance against boredom and the boring. Here’s the progress on what became of y’day’s pallet. Five boxes, The cross pieces lying on the boxes are the ends that get drilled for the handles. I know that eventually I’m going to sell something. I hope you ended your September as enjoyably as this. I threw in some extra pictures today to keep things lively.
I’m heading downtown to stock up on coffee, just not that $52 organic stuff. Just some fresh roast if I can find it. We are not out of the weeds yet, but we have some spending money. That was JZ on the phone, of course he never read the letters in time to make any plans for the pet blessing, which could be any day now. That reminds me, that would be the one-year anniversary we were supposed to have seen the Epstein files. Not the lame lists the left has circulated, the laptop files.
Harumph, cancel that. A.I. has taken over the search engines. Instead of coffee roasters or coffee sellers, you get high-priced coffee shops. And you cannot block coffee shops. There was a place in Fountain Heights I can almost place, but A.I. let me past. The day is fast approaching when the Internet will take a vote on where you want to go today. I may just go to Wal*Mart and say to hell with this, but I do love the way th system has totally screwed the bunch who spend millions on SEO. I feel so sorry for them, I posted this picture of yard rakings too green to burn.
Because I view search engine optimization as the foremost signal that advertising would corrupt the Internet. I read two books (back in 2006) on the topic and every technique was based on tricking the algorithms. Thus, to me, those who used these means are guilty of supporting a system of unfair competition and I hope they all lost money. And I’m still surprised something that works has not come along and replaced Google yet. I once mapped out a set of rules for a site that, if I’d had the money and skills, would have been a contender. It’s where you rate the responses so they fell into categories that people could avoid. Like click bait, bogus offers, spam, and misdirection. Today, misdirection would have topped the list around here.
What’s this, ICE has bought software that tracks cell phones daily. They promised not to do that. The danger is not the illegals, but how that software will be used on regular folk. We tried to warn you. In an event reinforcing my contention that traffic tickets should only be issued against the vehicle owner, police report being unable to ticket a driverless Waymo. UK residents can no longer get Imgur. Amazon is facing a class action for violating a law that says they must inform customers if they are only buy a license, not ownership, and this applies to audiobooks. While you pay full price, access can be cut any time Amazon feels like it.
A.I. is directing too many searches to BitChute, which I quit watching for the simple reason, intrusive advertising. I checked a few posts and confirmed there is now an ad at the beginning of every article. Screw them. Amazing, but American, that you give some people a tool and the only way they can make money with it is by bothering people. And what disgusting ads. Breast pills, diet pills, penis pills, wrinkle pills, and memory pills.
A glance at the music ads for Lakeland-Auburndale shows the same troop of people still looking for bands as five years ago. Of the 19 seekers, 6 are bass players, a telling stat that most are failed guitarists who can join, but never create bands. Still no word from Steve, but then he got $200 for a private show and that can influence beginners to make some wrong decisions. Remember that band I auditioned for with the sour-ass old drummer who did not like me. Because I kept following the guitar player instead. I see a suspicious ad for a band seeking a guitarist, the “Bigtime Jukebox” band. Most established groups have their pick of wankers.
I took another and longer look at their song-list, not that many bands play “You Can Keep Your Hat On”. Why this stands out is that guitarist had a song list used during the audition and kept skipping over tunes because he “had no rhythm player”. I’m sure I told you about this, I began playing the bassline and told him just join in. A confused look came over his face when he realized we did not need a rhythm player, he could hang all his licks off my bass lines. But it would make his routine dependent on me being there and guitar players don’t like to share. Yep, confused.
Firefly shrimp (Japan).
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
The new chair is too comfy. I got back in time to fall asleep at noon until past four. Just sit, turn a fan on low, and off you go. Another disappointment, as I drove the extra five miles to find that coffee shop. It’s still there, but sells only flavored coffee. I’m not into coffee-strawberry-caramel, but I did meet a spry gal whose boyfriend plays classical guitar. I know from experience when teamed with my bass playing, the effect is intense, some say compelling. But it is recording material, not really for bands and fun. Still, never walk past a music opportunity in Florida.
This desoldering clip is all I have for you, but it was taken today. Blame the office chair.
Trump, finally taking my advice, has declared the role of the US military is to protect the USA, not police the world. That does not redress the decades of Democrat interference in foreign countries, but it would force a little of the responsibility onto other places. Apparently the government has been shut down since midnight, I’ll let you know when I first notice anything. I’m on disk 7 of 8 with “Holy Ghost” and it’s good in a bad way. I’m still guessing who the shooter could possibly be—but that is because unlike a good mystery, the material does not provide enough info to even speculate. Hey, that’s a big part of the appeal.
So what I figure is there must be some new or unknown character that the author has not introduced yet. And that is not how murder mystery is supposed to happen. By the final chapters, a good plot would have enough clues for the astute reader. We know the killer is a local, so my guess is somebody is being blackmailed or set up. Follow the money. But at this point it might as well be some random crazy and that is plain poor authorship.
ADDENDUM
A dream, which are now rare for me. I’ve long forgotten the name, but in it was a lady I hated so much when I was ten that I hated her in the dream. It was a youthful hate, I sure she went on to ruin many lives besides here own. The true circumstance was that she hated me first. Here’s my version, should by some chance there be anyone reading who likes ancient gossip. You see, I not only played in a band at the age of 12, it was also very well known that I only liked the prettiest of girls. I did not dislike the rest, it’s that they were not on my playlist.
And that is hard wiring, so don’t mess with Nature. The thing is, this stocky plain-looking broad had big floppy tits by the age of 14. She also by then had discovered that many blurry-eyed drunks worshipped big boobs. And I was none of those things. Worse, I committed the unforgivable sin of never hitting on her.
Why I hated her was her behavior. She would spread rumors and tell tough guys I had grabbed her. I had to watch my music gear if she was in the room. She befriended my kid sister to steal things from my room. If she walked past your bar table, pick up your beer because she would knock it over. And of course, you could do nothing or she’d scream. Her attitude was that I thought I was too good for her where I was only indifferent.
I abhor all females like that, she was just the first. But for the record, yes, I was too good for her, by quite a margin. Ha, I last saw her at 22, fat and just as ugly. Punishment enough.
For the record, when I was looking for a coffee outlet, I stopped at Fountainhead. As I parked and walked to the door, I got the look from two ladies at one of the patio tables. From the prettier one, a damn good look. I had to glance to see if my fly was open. She was okay, around 45-ish, aging well, but you know women. No invitation to join them, but if you speak first they’ll react like they own you. Sorry, lady, you are 25 years too late on several counts. The old routines don’t work.
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
September 30, 2025
One year ago today: September 30, 2024, ‘baristas’ is a euphemism . . .
Five years ago today: September 30, 2020, two apt nicknames.
Nine years ago today: September 30, 2016, Mitch the Great.
Random years ago today: September 30, 2006, twice as much.
Muscle memory works two ways, I think. I sank into sleep last evening with the lights on, it was like getting off shift at a lumber mill back in Montana fifty years ago. Without the heavy lifting, I mean, most of the time I’m standing on the ground beneath the joists hunched over, and almost my entire muscle network does not like it. Good morning. Let’s grab one of our precious four coffees left until tomorrow. Tea just does not cut it. Tea doesn’t stick to your ribs. The good news is we [finally] know where all the cabin wiring goes.
I used the pre-dawn to map out a bass accompaniment to Maroon’s “Memories” that captures the rhythm using the simplest of all guitar strums, boom-chick. The tune is in 4/4 time but has a triplet feel, meaning the phrases have to be two measures long, which sometimes does not match the pattern of the lyrics. I cheated by piecing together my should-be famous bass thirds with the pattern shown in this sheet music.
It’s piano music with no thirds. Took a while to wrap my head around it because my mind kept hearing the lyrics. Every twelve measures, you have to insert a 2/4 half-measure to get back on time. Think of it as 6/8 timing in the bass clef and you got it.
I scored a pallet with eleven possible good boards, so maybe today will be a good day to take a break from that flooring. The high y’day was 86°F again, a harbinger of a great autumn. Might as well build boxes, my guitar player has not been in contact. For the first time in around 88 days, the air conditioner was turned off. Silence, most unaccustomed. A distant train whistle, it turns out there are mining ore trains five miles south of town. And five o’clock in the morning, as well. Pt. Roberts was the only time in my life I was free of train whistles. I heard fog-horns instead.
The new camera has a 52 minute run time (claimed to be 70 minutes in the ad, the old millennial “up to” scam). This is barely time at all to get 15 – 20 minutes of good footage even using the remote. The remote does not turn the camera back on if you let it time out, an easy mistake. The camera does not come with a charger. It says use any, so I found by connecting it up to the 2A cell phone wart, the charge time is reduced from 4 hours to 1 hour. Neat. What really sucks is the file download speed. It takes a half-hour to unload the 32G SD card, even with a cable connection. At the lowest resolution, a card that size fills pretty quick, also not good.
I’ve decided on “Bartow Boxworks” or “Bartow Boxworx” because it is easier to say that Mulberry, Lakeland, or Winter Haven, not to mention the alliteration and an onomatopoeic hint at the noise of the brad nailer in the shop. Here is a snap of the completed laser-branding. Even with this toy version I’m using, this goes pretty fast. I had intended to finish five boxes, which should require two hours labor. Instead I took four. The scooter shed isn’t set up yet, so I had more walking around, as that is where the nail punch is set up.
It this time none of the boxes have bottoms, as I custom fit those. Calculations show that I should not be using storebought dowels for the handles. There are numerous (a plethora) of on-line methods showing how to make your own. Remind myself the smaller boxes are okay with a 7/8” rod, but anything larger needs 1” and that’s where you run into money. These boxes are experimental, I’m as much testing materials and methods as how to set up the assembly.
One reason the nail punch is relocated to the shed is the danger. If I get around to making a video, you’ll see how the nails are ejected into bucket of water. This isn’t for fun. Without water, the nails can ricochet and they are hot. They can also blast right through the plastic and ruin your pail.
Northeastern California, I think.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
I geared down and took my time. This afternoon, I’m quitting at 3:00PM, as in siesta time, so I can be rested up for Festus hour. Here’s the five boxes with glue drying. The box on the top is the one that is different, it’s 1-1/4” narrower. The pieces on top form the handles once the bottoms are affixed. Tell you what, I’m going to read a semaphore message and tell you what it says, then set my timer for a 1.5 hour nap. Here goes. I HEAR A BIG DIFFERENCE NOW. Explanation: these are practice phrases arranged by order of difficulty. The creators did not imagine many would get to the advanced stages and left this sort of incomplete message.
Later, I stopped for two with the results to get opinions at the club. This has never produced any useful results, but we heavy-duty woodworkers like our cold brew after a long day a the shop. Actually, if you trim away the extras it was more like a couple hours, but still. Return tomorrow for a photo of one of the finished boxes. It’s surprisingly similar in size and shape to my unsuccessful beer buddy design from Tennessee.
Additionally, I went over the laser etching/cutting barrier I’m up against. I showed samples of the designs I’ve already cut in the faint hope there is another idea. Tell you what, I decided to get you a picture from tomorrow morning. Hang on while I turn off the time machine. Here it is, the prototype small toolbox. You like? Careful, this is just a prototype held together with pins.
ADDENDUM
Here is a “valid” New York commercial driver’s license issued to an illegal immigrant listed as “NO NAME GIVEN”. This driver was arrested in Oklahoma, but this Biden-related problem is very widespread.
For questions about last day’s motorcycle, here are the answers:
2006 Softail Deluxe frame and engine. 88 cubic inch. Unknown Road King front forks. Unknown Fatboy wheels. Pirelli tyres, Woods cams. Vance & Hines 2 into 1 'zorst multiple modifications, Memphis Shades windshield, short arse seat. 40mpg, 70K+ miles.
The gun goes on the left.)
Monday, September 29, 2025
September 29, 2025
One year ago today: September 29, 2024, tube economics.
Five years ago today: September 29, 2020, my long-awaited workshed.
Nine years ago today: September 29, 2016, medullary rays.
Random years ago today: September 29, 2015, silver fraud investigation.
Does anyone know about this site called “Buy Nothing”? It appears to be a swap community but there is no real info, just A.I. Two no-nos for me a membership required and it is backed by Facebook. But they have 11 million members and I have things I would trade. Check later for any follow-up. It’s computer people not having a party, they are struggling for jobs. I told you so, they are coders, not programmers, and Business Insider reports what I think is a clever point. That A.I. won’t put lawyers out of business, but lawyers who use A.I. will put those who don’t out of business.
I did have a sort of blogworthy event after all. I scored this faux leather office chair brand new for $5. I’d been meaning to get a replacement nearly a year and this unit is superb. Shown here, it’s outside because my kitchen floor at the moment does not exist.
Since this place won’t be ready by Thursday, I mailed JZ a final plan on how he can get here in time to visit for this weekend or next. As stated, this outcome is unlikely as JZ is not one for tight schedules and coordinated timing. Still, it would be nice to visit Alaine again. The point in most people’s life when visiting become important is just when the visiting slows down. I have some friends saying it stops all together. It doesn’t affect me much, as I’m usually the visitor—and I can tell you how even that becomes expensive over time.
Two parts of the economy are getting Trump’s attention. The furniture trade in North Carolina and Hollywood movies. Both have been practically wiped out by foreign competition. Too bad for the copycats, their sales were largely dependent on the US market. Trump has placed huge tariffs on these industries.
Moving plywood around is not that bad, what’s getting to me is being stooped over for so many hours a day. It’s unnatural for me, I’ve never worked in a rice paddy. My vision is marginally worse, a little more trouble seeing long narrow articles in around the 3 – 5 foot distance from my right eye. Be careful the lay the hammer down crossways. What an odd condition. Also, I may finally be experiencing minor hearing loss on the left, but not all the time. What’s with that?
Locker room in Finland.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
8:30PM and I’m exhausted, which leads to extra coffee consumption to I’m down to my last six cups. Will I make it? I have now reached what I used to call “Situation B”, and for me that can be a big nothing. It’s the condition where everything works, so I am comfortable, but none of the work is complete. The most recent task was the electrical wiring. As of ten minutes ago, all service is restored, and I’m now relaxing in a very comfy high-back chair. Later, I found a small tin of tea bags, so I’ll husband the coffee.
I downed a gallon of limeade, that freshly squeezed so there’s no scurvy on my watch. I’d hoped to get the new fridge into position but one of the floor panels lifted dangerously if you stepped on the corner, so I had to make the right, taking half an hour. Plenty of time to think, as the work goes 10% as fast as my brain molecules process the data. I’m disappointed that I found no truly useful articles produced by a hobby laser etcher/cutter. The world has enough keychains, trinkets, and wall plaques.
What I came back to was the idea of original design. Back in July, I toyed with the idea of a birdhouse with a pattern burned into the wood. This link shows I did a door and window. I could to logs and I successfully printed brick patterns. I did not know this was incredibly original compared to the junk I now know is out there. While that is so far the only idea I got for this device, it is at least a 3D product, one more dimension that the rest.
Watching some news on-line from Portland, I can tell you right now most of those rioters are not locals. It used to be a peaceful place when I spend any time there, mostly ’85 to ’95 when the losers from Frisco started creeping north. They found unconquered territory full of easy welfare and entire complacent cities. This time they are protesting the use of the national guard to deport illegals, conveniently forgetting they pioneered that move at Martha’s Vineyard. I know a few people who say it is regular army troops, but those people are known TV-watchers.
More to my frequency is the rising of metal prices. It could get brutal as one site shows how, if allowed to self-adust, gold would be trading today at $15,000 per ounce. More moderate sources say $7,000 as the decade closes. Nobody is allowing for panic buying, which is what I’m watching for. If I had an extra $30,000 right now, I’d put new shingles and siding on this place and do nothing for six months. (I’ve made myself such promises before.)
True, the military was snooping, and MicroSoft reacted, but that’s not the point. The community had MicroSoft’s sold word their data was safe, encrypted, and secure. This is how promises are made in the computer age. Your data can be all those things, while your account is being blocked. Ha-ha, you fell for it, zoomers.
I called it right about posture. I sat down in my new chair and fell asleep, waking after 10:00PM and the last two days of bending and kneeling got to me. No pain, but predictable fatigue. I felt like sitting there all night. Nice chair.
Drone radar, an upcoming field. The electronics are beyond my build level, but I know the theory. They use phased array radar. It works on the same principle as ripples on water. Some waves cancel, others complement. As the combined beams get further from the emitter, the more they become flat and like a straight line. By carefully timing multiple emitters, you can steer the spot where the phases are strongest. Called beam-forming, a strong beam means better, but narrower detection. So you build a whole array of small antennas to cover a wider field, firing the beams off in carefully planned patterns. Make the spectrum wide enough and powerful enough, and you have invented Starlink.
ADDENDUM
Thanks, readers, for three record-breaking blog hit days in a row. No rhyme nor reason, I call these a “bloom” and I know the averages. The past three days are twice the average. Since I’m certain I have not developed a winning streak or won any popularity contests, I will check a few of those dunce sites that rate other blogs. According to them the closest competition or similar blog to this one Pakistani eye clinic in DC and a video posting site called ehootz with 38 members. For all the big talk out there, it is rare for any non-promoted or personal blog to get 30 hits per day. I’m unaware of the current stats [of today] but when this blog began, only one in 10,000 was still posting a year later.
The draw, I theorize, is content. The others run out of steam in a week or ten days. There is also a discipline to posting daily. You probably know one of my premises is to record the extreme event of the day, good or bad. That’s a constraint, since I never have any way of knowing what others would consider appealing. I looked at the blogs ahead of mine in readership and it’s mostly sports, politics, porn, and gossip. While I will quote politics, it is because of the barrage since 2015, but as for the other blog categories, they are below my dignity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)