It's 96 degrees out there

 Yowch! That's 35.5C. 

I've long noted that we've been responding quite actively to global warming, but make sure each year to emit more greenhouse gases than the year before. That's dedication! 

But a few years ago I could not have forecast that we'd not only keep up that excellent record, but come up with a whole new way to gobble up power, emit greenhouse gases, and also, as a bonus, greatly accelerate our progress toward the water wars. Data centers are a whole new thing. 

Apparently if you use AI for one thing,  like coming up with a summary of a book or movie, or coming up with a picture of bears playing soccer, it's the equivalent of driving a car several miles. I *may* be using AI when I do a google search, even though I've been continually turning down their offers to use the AI version. But those are just simple text searches so my use has to be minimal. 

I'd been up all night packing things to get caught up, and had a big load ready to go. I packed the last big box, all pre-staged and ready to pack, and one small thing (someone had paid us $100 for some silly little O-rings so yeah, I wanted to get that right out) and went out into the heat to send the things off. 

Behind H-Mart I found a bunch of ramen packets and about 4 of those ones that come in a big bowl that you just add hot water to, not even needing your own bowl to put the stuff in. In front of 99 Ranch was a guy(?) begging so I gave him (?) the bowl ramen and then when coming out after buying my things, remembered I had two Starbucks cards, worth $5 each, and gave him(?)  those too. 

At H Mart I got some smoked salmon and some kind of sugar-free drink that was pretty good, and came back here to put things away and headed right back out. I went to Lowe's and got the two new screwdrivers I'd promised myself (I take apart a lot of things and screwdrivers get worn) and went to Ross where I found a shirt. 

I got back here and went through my ramen finds, packaging up the seasoning packets and taping up the noodles so someone, wherever I drop the stuff off, is going to get tons of noodles. 

I cooked up dinner with the one set of seasonings I got one of, and it was pretty good. Then worked on the 22 high voltage capacitors I'd cleaned, testing and labeling them all, and installing shorting wires. They're reliable sellers and will bring us a few grand. 

My finger had been strangely painless overnight and only bled a little. I was a bit worried because often if a cut is infected, it's painless. But I finally took a look at at least it's not infected. I painted it with povidone-iodine and let that dry and then bandaged it back up. 

 

 

Viva Espana!

 Spain is the World Cup champion. Sports are often treated as being on some kind of higher moral plane and it's not all that realistic because they're just sports. But in this World Cup there have sure been some good examples of Good winning over Evil. 

First there was the case of we, the US, having a dirty player who got red-carded for, I believe, slashing another player on the leg with his cleats. Diaper Don then "talked with" (bribed) the head of FIFA and Lo and Behold, it was OK for the guy to play in the US's next game. Which the US lost with comically dull and inexpert play. 

The 2nd is this final, where it was Argentina with the star player Lionel Messi, a Zionist vs. Spain, a decidedly non-Zionist country. Well, the Zionists played dirty, then when they lost started a brawl on the field. People all over the world cheered for Spain. Pedo Don got up on the podium for some damn reason and made an ass of himself, which the world saw also. Just a huge, huge morality play. 

I was up all night cleaning up some high voltage capacitors which is the hardest step in getting them ready to sell. 

I was packing this one big thing, and sliced my right-hand pinky pretty badly. Imagine coming in from the side, slicing up through the nail halfway. Yep, cut through the side of the finger and base of the nail. Which is why it's fairly painful. But the main thing was it kept bleeding like crazy and I kind of gave up on shipping anything, sent the buyer a note, then since I'd sat down for a while, the bleeding stopped, I bandaged it up, and took it up to FedEx. 

I got a 4-pack of probiotic yogurt stuff and an iced coffee at H Mart and that was a nice break, but at 20 grams of carbs per bottle of yogurt stuff, I'd better not do that any more. I'm over the runs, after all. 

Now to pack a lot of things and watch out for errant blood drips, to get caught up here.  

 

A Lazy Sunday

 Lazy, haha. Last night I got out all these high voltage capacitors I'm going to go through to list, which means clean, test, and label. That meant making 20+ labels, making 20+ shorting wires, and getting together 20+ sets of terminal screws that have to not only be a certain size but not too long. 

I also got rid of 60+ lbs of these parts that no one, but no one, is buying. I'd even lowered the price to just over a dollar and still not bites for the last few years. So out they went because I can use the drawers they're in for other things. Someone picked up the HEAVY box of them I'd put out too, and hopefully they get decent money for them from a recycling place. 

I also walked out, around midnight, and rolled a trash can that had been "living" behind Galli Produce and that I'd pushed around to an area near the front of Galli Produce, hoping someone would just abscond with it, over across the street where for sure someone will abscond with the thing. I may put things out in front of Galli's for scavengers to pick up, but if it doesn't go I do tend to find somewhere else to put it. 

I was up and ready to go and in plenty of time to go to Sunnyvale, but when I got to the Whole Foods on the Alameda where I usually park my bike, it was kind of overcast, making it nice, the wind wasn't too bad at all, and there were no other buskers, beggars, petition-getters, etc. there. So  I figured, Why do that long bus ride again? 

So I set up and busked there. I actually made it a full two hours, 5:30 to 7:30, had some nice interactions with people, and worked on newer stuff. My "Summertime" is pretty good now, and I'm pretty far towards having a good "O Bla Di O Bla Da" which is a fun one, being happy and fast. By the time it was close to 7:30 I was pretty worn out, and with 10 minutes to go I decided to play the "One more tip" game where I try to play my best, with the rule that as soon as I get one more tip, I'm done. And a guy dropped in a $10 so I finished my song and that was it. 

I was tired enough to not feel like buying anything, and just packed up, not even counting up the money, and rode back here. I didn't even bother with it until I'd eaten and rested a while back here, then counted up. I'd made $66.70.  Almost $5 of it was in change due to two "pocket dumps" for which my change jar is grateful, and I also got a $5 Starbucks gift card plus I still don't know how much is on the mystery Starbucks card I was given yesterday. 

 

 

$66 Saturday

 I got out of here at almost 5 instead of 4, but somehow got to the Sunnyvale Whole Foods at a quarter after 6, so only slightly later than yesterday. 

The motorcycle was not there again, so I think the guy's found another place to park it or something. I played from 6:15 to 7:45 and made $66. It went pretty well, with no interesting "characters" to deal with.

I'd sure seen them on the ride over. There was a guy sitting on the steps of the bail bond place on Hedding and 1st, just crying his eyes out with loud sobs. Who knows what the story was. Did his dealer sell him powdered sugar instead of the stuff he'd paid for? Had he violated his parole and knew he was going back to prison? Had he lost a friend/partner in crime? 

Then, up the street where Hedding crosses Coleman, there was a crazy zombie hustling for handouts, going up to a work truck and yelling, "Hey, that loaf of bread looks good! You should cut that open and put some meat inside! That would taste really fucking good!!" etc. 

Give me nice boring Sunnyvale, every time. 

The first tip of the day was a $20 which was a nice start, and I got a mix of $1's and $5's, and a Starbucks gift card that I won't be able to check until Monday when I'll be by the local Starbucks. 

It went pretty well, except that I think I need to practice more. But then I always think I need to practice more. 

When I was done I packed up and walked up to Baraka Market and got a yogurt drink, which I drank at the bus stop. It was a different brand than the brand with the cow on it, but really good. There's always the regular flavor and mint flavor. Mint in a salty drink, for it is indeed salty, seems kind of strange but maybe I should try it. 

The bus ride back was kind of hilarious because the announcement voice was kind of screwed up somehow so it sounded like a crack ho'. All raspy and speaking more slowly somehow. It would be right at home at St. James Park. 

I got back to my "home" Whole Foods at 9, and spent my $1's on some nuts and stuff. Although it was still almost an hour to closing, it felt like it was really close to closing. Not many shoppers and things were already being put away. I had a nice quiet ride home. 

 

A last-minute morale boost

 I managed to get up early enough to have my coffee and nuts, clean up a little, and get out of here at 4. I dropped off donations at the little free library in Japantown, and went into Nijiya to get a package of Yakult and a can of coffee. 

The key, it seems, to using a probiotic like Yakult to get over the shitz is, to drink the whole package a day, none of this onesy-twosy nonsense. 

I dropped off a package at the post office, rode over to Whole Foods where I locked up the bike, and went out and got on a #522 bus to Sunnyvale. I drank the Yakult on the bus and some of the coffee. 

It's a pleasant little walk from El Camino Real and Sunnyvale Road over to the Sunnyvale Whole Foods. I had to use the loo, and saw that the motorcycle was there, where I've been playing. Well, I'll just have to not play too close to it, I told myself. When I came back out, it was gone. So that's nice timing. It turns out the bike rack area is on the other side of the elevator, so it's not like there aren't places to park a motorcycle. 

I started in playing at just a few minutes after 6. Since I'd left here at 4, it was honestly two hours to get there and it would be another two hours getting back. This is like living in Kahuku and only being able to go busking at Koko Marina in Hawaii Kai, or living in Hawaii Kai and only being able to busk at the Kahuku Sugar Mill. For those not familiar with Oahu geography, those are as far apart as two points on the island can be, and still have roads. 

It felt a bit slow, but hey, I've got songs to work on. So I did that, trying to sound good and play things people know well, and working on some new stuff. After an hour had gone by, I figured I might have something close to $30 in the box, in other words, nothing to get excited about. The economy *is* slow, I told myself, and I'm going to see if I can hold out until 8. 

So I played more, trying to avoid things with high notes and giving myself little rests to try to keep my tone from getting too rough, and it looked like I could soldier on OK. At 8:40 or so, a bit past 8:30 anyway and I'd just told myself I only had another half-hour to go, a sort of nerdy looking lady put something in the tip box, crouching down and looking kind of embarrassed like it was the least she could do. 

When she was gone and the tune I was playing was done, I had a look. It looked like a $20 but not quite. Nope, it was a $100. Well! Time to give my tone a rest! I packed up and counted up what I'd made besides the $100. I'd made $32 so my feeling was correct, it *was* slow. 

But there are people for whom a $100 is like a $5 for me. I can't even conceive of making more than, say, $30k a year but there are people making 10X that or more. Other than Ken, who doesn't quite qualify as he doesn't make 10X $30k, but only 10X the $20k I make, I don't know anyone who makes more than a poverty or below-poverty income. But I know on an intellectual level that they exist. 

I took the bus back and stopped at Han Kook Market to buy some packing tape, because the tape they sell is something like 4X as much on a roll as the stuff Ken buys.  I still need Ken to buy tan tape from Uline, but these days that's the only packing material he has to buy. 

 

She really doesn't give a shit

 I got 20 things photo-ready last night, and took apart some big things that are a disaster to try to mail, but at least no one wants to buy. I put the parts out for the scroungers and they were still here today. 

So I went and did my post office and FedEx run, easy because it was only a few things and I didn't even need the trailer, got some things at 99 Ranch and H Mart as usual, la de da. I drank an entire package of probiotic stuff again, this time some Korean "Will" brand that tastes pretty good and was on sale. I've still got the craps but am maybe getting over it. 

I got back here and hitched up the bike trailer and took the parts out by Old Bayshore, and when I came back out to put something else out there, a guy had pulled up in a pickup truck and had loaded the things up. Great! 

On the radio, on NPR, they were interviewing a lady who was going on and on about how she really doesn't care about anything Diaper Don is doing, it's all about the economy for her. She really doesn't care, she reiterated, not anything at all, just the economy. These are the people who effectively run this country; the ignoramuses who only look at "line go up".  

I've got my "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday..." check from Ken and he says this latest reverse-mortgage thing is going OK, he just has to send them "a couple more things". 

The thing is, we're set up for an even bigger real estate crash than the one of '08. How is a bank going to loan Ken money on his house, which is by no means paid off because he's kept refinancing it over the years, assuming it may halve in value? They have to cover their asses. So from their end, I can see their assessing things at 1/2 or even 1/4 the present value. Count in how much "equity" Ken may have on his house, and if this latest lender only looks at that, well, he might get far, far less than he's been counting on. 

But at least Ebay sales are down lately.  

 

Watch out for the paint balls I guess

 Apparently there's someone in a black/dark SUV shooting paintballs at people right where I have to go, to go to the post office. Lovely. I mean, I'm on a bike, dressed in hi-viz, if I were a jerk I'd shoot at me. So I got some safety glasses out and will wear those. 

I listed 20 things last night so I'm back on track.  

Also, I wonder if I've got that cyclospora thing or I'm just "lucky". The long and short of it is, it's been a daily ass explosion around here and has been for close to a week now. This was another damper on the busking, in that if the public can perceive your mood, well, that may have affected my mood and helped make things slow. Still, just under $100 for the weekend is pretty good. 

 

91 Degrees (F) Tuesday

 It was a warm one today. I'm glad I had things all packed overnight when it was cooler and thus easier to work. 

I got out of here a bit before 4, with the small things to go to the post office. I dropped off donations here and there, and the small packages at the post office downtown, then went to the bank to deposit my pay check and everything agreed down to the penny, yay! 

I went over to the Amazon place and found a few bubble mailers, then rode down to Walmart and spent about $50 on my card on various things. But first I had a "meat" stick and a bottle of Coke Zero and just sat in front relaxing and enjoying those. Breakfast had been a very large black iced coffee and yet I didn't have to use the bathroom at all. 

I swung back by the Amazon place and got a few more mailers, then went to Nijiya to get more of my coffee pour-overs and a little cash back, so that's about $100 out of this pay check and I should be fine until it's busking time over the weekend. 

I got back here and put things away, and loaded up the large things to go to FedEx and took them up there. There was some zombie yelling and screaming in the parking lot, but it's funny I could sure hear the zombie but never saw the thing. I believe it was by McDonald's; the corpse-y smell of their food seems to attract them. 

I spent a whopping $1.50 in H Mart, haha. And got back here, only finding a couple of nice packing boxes, and got back in here. It's in the mid-70s outside now. 

 

1-1/2 lbs down

 It's Monday and time for the Monday weigh-in. And I'm 1-1/2 lbs down. I've switched back over to avoiding sugar and carbs, and the idea is to lose maybe 1/2 lb a week, to lose the amount of weight I want to lose in a year. This is assuming things are nice and linear, which of course they'll not be. Plus I'll want to work exercise back in; I mean more exercise than I get from just doing my job and daily activities. 

I'd packed things last night so only packed a few more today, and went to the post office and FedEx as usual. There were only a few drops of rain. I didn't pick up anything for shipping, and had checked the recycle bin at Sprouts for bubble mailers while going in there for a bottle of olive oil, but nothing. 

But my reward was to come. I had a bunch of boxes of chemicals and stuff that Ken had sitting around here for years, and the stuff was less than useless. So I'd put them out by Galli Produce along with other stuff I'd found, for the scroungers to have at. 

They'd long taken what they wanted by now, and since I'd put the stuff there it was my responsibility. So I went over to the dumpster by the imported foods place to check for room. Lo and behold it was full of candy bars; Cadburys and Toblerones and such things. So I loaded up the tub on my trailer and when I was close to done, a homeless guy on a bike with a trailer pulled up and wanted to see what's up. 

Now that I think about it, I'm convinced the guy was "Cowboy", who used to have an SUV but that was years ago and now he's skinnier and on a bike. I told him Candy bars and bottles of no, not wine, but oil. I finished up a good load and took it back here. It's got to be a good 30 lbs. I went back and got a few more candy bars, and Cowboy had gotten what he wanted, too. 

I then took, in two loads, the chemicals and stuff and put them into the dumpster and shut the lid. 30 lbs of imported candy bars isn't a bad reward for my work, even though of course I won't eat any of them, but will sort them out and let's just say the Little Free Libraries are going to have some sweet treats for a while. And I also got some bottles of oil, walnut and "truffle" so that's kind of nice considering my bottle of olive oil, same size, had just cost me $12. 

 

Slow, muggy, Sunday

 I took another large thing apart last night, and left the parts out front. Since busking counts for practice, I didn't have practice to worry about, and went to bed. 

When  I woke up, the parts I'd left were all gone, and the ones from the thing before that. So the crackhead(s) is back on the prowl for scrap metal, which saves me some work. 

The plan was to play in Sunnyvale today, and I left here around 5. By the time I got to Sunnyvale and I'd started, it was 7. And I'd taken the train, too. So no matter how I do it, it's 2 hours between Sunnyvale and here. (It's 3 hours each way between here and Santa Cruz.) 

The first hour went OK, and I made $35. The plan was to play from 7:00 to 8:30 but at 8 things just ... died. The weather was warm and muggy and felt like there was a big lid over everything. My final tip came from an old couple; He said he used to play cornet, and has a bunch of mouthpieces still, and She put $2 in the box and we talked a bunch about how "underground" jazz has become these days. They'd have happily talked all night too. I ended up blowing some low notes than a pedal tone or two and it was, She: We'd better get going!

I called it quits at a few minutes after 8 and got onto the 8:30 train back to San Jose and once back at the Whole Foods there I set up to busk some more. The late-night people are generous, I reasoned to myself. 

I got to do more work on new songs but in the 45 minutes or so, I only made another $2, it was that dead. At least I worked more on "Summertime" and "My Favorite Things" and since I read the Wikipedia on the movie "Blue Velvet" I'm starting to work on that one too. 

The ride home was very peaceful, and I noted that in the houses, almost all had no lights on because in San Jose, 10 at night is the equivalent of 1 in the morning anywhere else. Most people will have gone to bed at 9. 

All in all, my busking income amounted to $96 for the weekend, and that was only playing two days. And even after putting $20 on my clipper card and buying a bag of macadamia nuts at Whole Foods, I've got $66 in my pocket. 

A busy Friday

 But aren't they always? 

I slept in too late to go to Sunnyvale to busk, and didn't really feel up to it anyway. 

Last night I took a big oscilloscope apart and put the parts out front, and then did a practice session, and eventually went to bed. 

I woke up, had nothing small to add to the small things I'd already packed, so I took off a half-hour early and dropped the things off at the post office, then went up to Dai Thanh market for some things, H Mart, and picked up packing stuff on the rest of the way home. 

No one had picked up the oscilloscope parts, not any of them, which was surprising. So once I got back and gave out feedback and relaxed a bit, I loaded up the parts and took them over to the area by the bridge, to have 'em far away from here. I was going to put some other stuff there too, but a zombess started squawking in my direction about something. 

With zombies it's hard to tell if they're squawking because they're happy or angry or just hungry for brainnnnnnns. After dropping off the parts I rode up the street to where I could cross and headed back, and when I passed the bridge the zombess was still squawking. So I wasn't going to go back and the other things will just have to wait. 

I went through the boxes of circuit boards and a couple of other places and found a dozen old things that will never sell or have actually dropped off of Ebay's system, and along with other bits and pieces from getting 20 things ready to list, I had another junk box full. I've put that out and it will be interesting to see if anyone takes it. 

And ... no one took it other than 3 old Samsung tablets haha. I'll have to get rid of the stuff later. 

I left here too late to consider going to Sunnyvale, so I went to the Whole Foods on The Alameda. It was actually nice weather, not too hot. 

There was a Gypsy woman with a drugged-up kid or two, on the other side of the entrance and a big cardboard sign, SINGLE MOTHER yadda yadda. And No Feet was there in his wheelchair, hustling hard for his vodka. 

I set up much closer to the actual entrance to Whole Foods and started at 7:30, with the result that I made a whole dollar while No Feet hustled the hell out of people and seemed to get both a lot of "drops" and some pretty big ones. I moved a bit closer to where he was to be more visible, in an attempt to make more than a dollar, without any result. After almost an hour, the "lovely" Stella came to collect No Feet and wheeled him off. 

Now I was able to move over by the bike racks, and it was still a bit slow, but other than the Gypsy woman who was quiet and only periodically left her spot and came back, probably for bathroom breaks and to top up the drugs the kid was doped up with, I had the place to my own. 

I noticed a guy's bike basket was decorated with a couple of really neat hawk or owl feathers, and when the guy came back out we talked about the feathers and where they were found, etc. He was down from Menlo Park and I gave him some good tips regarding transit, and just before leaving he said "Here's something for you" and I got a $20. Cool. 

Now I felt a bit better and decided I'd just chug along until 9:30 and see how it goes. I was able to work on a couple of good busking standbys, "Summertime" and "My Favorite Things" and while it felt slow, I eventually made $59 for this session. That actually works out to just under $30 an hour and with zero transit costs since I'd just come on my bike. 

When I was done I went into Whole Foods and put $20 on my clipper card so tomorrow I can take the train to Sunnyvale if I feel like it. 

The guy at the Whole Foods help desk where I was putting the money on my card and I talked for a bit. He asked how it was, and I said it was slow, mainly because for the first hour I'd had to compete with No Feet.  He really hustles hard, we agreed. And yes, he said, he comes in and the only thing he ever buys is a bottle of vodka. And the Gypsy woman is there quite a bit too. 

Honestly, this Whole Foods is in an interesting part of town in that it's a nice looking area, but there are bum camps all along the river, which is not far away. And there are really sketchy areas just a street or two away. In fact, that I decided to, and accomplished, holding out until 9:30, I noticed some guy with a one of those sit-down scooter things - usually pretty bulky - and had this festooned with flags and junk and was probably going to do some begging, but decided against it since I was there. He'll make more up the street at the late-night liquor store or outside San Pedro Square which is walled off and restricted entry, but has tons of people milling around outside... 

It's funny, I've been able to do my thing without spending much in Whole Foods these days. That's the funny thing about the "keto" diet, in that it sounds more expensive but it's generally cheaper. If I weren't going back on the "keto" plan I could at least get no-alcohol beer, which has some taste varieties these days. 

The only "keto" alcoholic drinks are things like vodka, whisky, etc. Gin is iffy. The thing to avoid is mid-priced gin because that will be full of sugar. Cheap gin won't have much sugar if any because sugar's a cost, and expensive gin like Tanqueray or Bombay won't have much sugar because sugar in gin is gross. Years ago my go-to was this really cheap gin called Essex and diet tonic water. Probably the ultimate "keto" alcohol is vodka because no one ever puts any sugar in any vodka, and you don't have the strong, often smoky, flavor/aroma of drinks like whisky and it doesn't need a mixer like gin does. I've both lost weight on vodka, and maintained weight loss on vodka. It all comes down to how much sugar/carbs your letting into your diet. 

 

Might as well call him "Wimpy"

 Ken came by last night and I got my check, but of course to only deposit on TOOOOOOOOsday. For a hamburger, today. (Actually he did bring me a hamburger, as he's always afraid as any American would care about another, that I haven't eaten beef at least once that day.) 

At least his latest hinky reverse-mortgage scheme seems to be proceeding. The appraiser came out and too photos, and now it's just a matter of their lowballing Ken on his house and cutting him a check or however it works out, and then his financial problems should be held at bay for another year or so, and since my plan is to be out of here in 14 months, it will work out fine for me. 

When Ken was gone I photo'd 20 things and listed 10 of them. It seems I can't list more than 10 at a time, it's just too much work along with all the other things I have to do. 

I woke up around 3:30 maybe closer to 4, had my breakfast etc., and packed this one big thing that I'd collected a special box, from some kind of baby buggy or something, for it yesterday. The thing is not only large but made of glass and the last one like I shipped, broke. So I'm being extra careful this time. 

 

Monday was Monday

 And not much to write about. I shipped some things off, bought things to stock up like beef and pork which I portioned out and put in the freezer, and other such boring things. I also packed some big things to ship today. 

Today I woke up at almost 3, which was OK because I got out of here at almost 4. I dropped off trash at this one trash can  I use, dropped off donations at the little free library in Japantown, dropped off packages at the post office, and went to the bank and deposited my latest pay check - the one I'd been given last week. And the math all comes out perfect so nothing's bounced. 

Then I went down to Walmart for a bunch of things, and rode back here. I put the things away, put some much-needed air in the bike trailer tires, and loaded up the big things. Those went to FedEx, and I got eggs and Kewpie mayo at H Mart, and came back here. 

 

Well, maybe a bit of busking

 Yesterday I not only listed the 20 things I had photographed, having fixed the picture posting problem, but I also gave myself a haircut, started a load of laundry, and took a big high voltage power supply apart and got 20 more things ready to list. As in, all cleaned, labeled, etc., so I only have to photo them and list them. 

I even got some practice in. 

I woke up too late to go to Sunnyvale though. To be there at a realistic time, I need to leave here at 4 and I woke up at something like 3:30 so that was out. 

So while I didn't feel like going out busking at all, I told myself I should do it one day a week anyway, and "plan your work and work your plan" and got out of here a bit after 7 I guess. 

I played at the Whole Foods on The Alameda and it was an interesting session, in that the tips started with a $20 and then another $20, and then finally a single. I put the $20s in my wallet for safety and busked on, telling myself I've done OK already and I can always count it as practice. 

It got chilly with the wind and general lowering of temperature, and since I'd started at 8:00 I made up my mind to stick things out until 9:30 and I actually managed to. When I did the count-up I found, among the singles and a $5, a $100. I have no idea who put that in there. 

One thing I've realized is that I think a lot of people who tip hang back and listen and sort of "evaluate" and I'm not even conscious that they're there. Of course I'd barely set up and played a single "Amazing Grace" to get warmed up and a lady put that first $20 in there so this is not always the case, but I think a lot of people *do* hang back out of sight before they decide to tip. One lady said, "Thank you for doing this" so I'd say she's one person who's noticed that buskers are just about extinct here. 

Each busking session *is* a practice session in that I always have things to work on like a steady tone, trying to get more crisp note beginnings, etc. But I will say this one practice session went really well. 

Of course when I was done I had to "check in" with Kenny and he wasn't inside so I thought he was gone for the night, but he was outside, talking to an old lady who's probably homeless. She could play an old witch in a movie, haha, even down to one, prominent, singular tooth in front. I told Kenny to guess what I'd made and he said $45, and I said actually $58, but really, ONE-58 and I had no idea who put the hundred in. Somewhere in there the old witch bitched out some homeless guy who was coming over to hang out, I guess, and apparently was going to light up a cigarette. 

"DON'T SMOKE THAT AROUND ME!" she yelled, "IT'S RUDE!!" etc. The guy scuttled off and I told her how I'd grown up in the 70s and we used to buy cigarettes for our moms, and of course for ourselves too, 50c a pack. And the Army! - Don't get me started! She wasn't hearing any of it, "Those people are on ventilators now!" she asserted. "Maybe some of them.... " I said. The thing is that smoking is a nasty habit and I'm glad I never picked it up, but a tiny whiff of smoke isn't a big deal and she was making it into one. Probably has little other purpose in life. 

Another interesting thing while I was busking happened, in that a large (both tall and fat) gal strode by saying something along the lines of, "I tried to play trumpet...." and I said it just takes sticking with it and she said something about not realizing how hard it is. So I guess it's logical that if something's hard you just quit doing it.  

 

 

The arc of history does *not* bend toward justice

 After changing out the memory card and re-shooting the photos, I still just got a black box when I tried to post one on Ebay, so I decided to try doing software updates on my computer. With my last computer, I had to do this periodically but on this one it seemed to do it on its own. 

The answer to that is yes and no. So I had all these software updates to do, and I found a nice long lecture on YouTube about a guy named Walter Benjamin to listen to while I took circuit boards apart and monitored the downloads/updates and the restart. 

The lecture was about 2 hours but wow did it ever clear some major things up for me. Walter Benjamin was a Jew born into a wealthy Jewish family so yeah, 10,000 goyim had to live in poverty and squalor so he and his family could wallow in gluttony and opulence. And much of the account of his life was of the women he f*cked and left behind, the neglected child or children, standard Jewish playbook. 

But when a parasite finds itself in danger, it might come up with some valuable insights, and Benjamin did. He shows how liberalism leads to Fascism. 

It's a core tenet, perhaps THE core tenet of liberalism that "the arc of history bends toward justice/progress". Benjamin, or perhaps the highly intelligent goy he cribbed the idea from a' la' Einstein and Mileva Maric, concluded that the "arc of history" doesn't "bend" anywhere. In a sort of Newtonian mechanics of politics, nothing "goes" unless it's pushed. Progress, regression, don't happen on their own. People make them happen. 

Yet, this "The arc of history bends toward.... " BS means that liberals are content to sit back and do nothing personally, believing that the system is self-correcting and somehow, automatically, bad actors will be punished and good people rewarded and so on. You can hear Chris Hedges intone this maxim in pretty much every speech he gives. It's a core, core belief. 

And it's why liberals are happy to sit back and let bad people take over. "Just wait until Mom gets home" is pretty much what's going through their heads. 

Also, Benjamin noted, Marx said that "Revolution is the locomotive of progress" and in return he quips that perhaps revolution is the unwilling passengers of the train, pulling the emergency brake. 

The Religion Of Progress is one thing, but I guess I never realized how liberals use it as an opiate and this is why they sit around stoned on goody-two-shoes-ism while right are taken away, ICE agents haul off American Indians to deport them to "where they came from", it's illegal to call attention to ZOG, etc. At this time of writing there's to be an "integration" of US and "israeli" militaries, showing the truth in my own maxim that "We are all Palestinians". 

And liberals just sit back while concentration camps are built, and many, many children are missing (this is particularly noted during the Jewish "High Holidays" as that blood matzo ain't gonna bake itself) and the net tightens around we .... Palestinians. Palestinians in spirit, Palestinians in identical situations, we're just, over here in the US, not affected as strongly - yet. 

After the lecture was done, and the circuit boards done, I got some sleep. I woke up at 5 in the afternoon and after some breakfast I tried posting a photo on Ebay and and it's working again. For now. I'd submitted a big report to Ebay so maybe that was it. 

I was able to post the 20 things on Ebay and all's well for now. The neighbors around here are popping off tons of fireworks which is awesome. One year back in Hawaii the Chinese New Year's festivities were described by one newspaper reporter as being "Like the Tet Offensive" haha. 

 

Friday before the 4th and it might as well be the 13th

 I was up around the usual time, 3:30 in the afternoon. I got things packed, and took off the usual time, but FedEx had closed early so I had to take that box back home. I didn't find much for packing materials, and just got back quick because I'd bought a lobster at 99 Ranch and was looking forward to making a lobster soup. 

I set about getting the meat out of the lobster and it was weird, the whole tail was just mush! The claws were the only part that had some actual meat. I looked online for why a lobster might be like this, and the answer is that it would have been left dead before cooking for an extended length of time, or frozen and thawed repeated times. And the sell-by date seemed to indicate that this was a fresh one, as it said it could be sold until the 8th. Yikes! 

I re-configured the bike to go back out for two reasons. First, the Quiksilver shorts I got at Ross are a pure win, and while I can find them online I can't be sure they're the exact ones, plus they're about double the price even on sale. The rule as Ross is, if you see something and want more of that thing, better get right on top of it. So I went back over to Ross and did indeed find another pair of the shorts, but in a 40 waist! I'll have to look in Ross in Sunnyvale... 

I settled for getting some socks pretty much like the ones I didn't buy last night. 

I went back over to H Mart and looked around and finally decided to just get some chicken that's 2 for 1 after 7PM. And some celery. I was going to use up some change doing this, but the guy said, "No cash, we're closing" so I used my card. 

I came home and ate the chicken and celery, and put the bones along with the lobster meat which I didn't feel like taking a chance on my health with, out for the birds. 

I did my usual thing, got 20 things ready to list, took the photos, and was going to list 10 of them anyway, tonight, and my photos started showing up just as black boxes. I got out a brand new memory card for my camera, took all the photos again, and still - just black boxes. 

So I guess I can continue listing and hope the customers understand that they're not allowed to actually see what the things look like, maybe link them to a blog page and they can go look *there* like it's 1996, or I can get Ken to set me up with a computer that works, or I can get out my newer laptop that uses the (blecch!!!) Microsoft browser and try to get Firefox installed on it or just get used to the Microsoft browser which will make me hate computers even more, if that's possible. 

This is why I hate Ebay and computers with every fiber of my being. 

I think my plan's a solid one; to hang in here until mid-September of 2027 because then I'll turn 65 and all kinds of magical things will happen. Like half-price bus fare, I can "audit" college classes for nearly free, and most importantly I'll start getting Medicare. 

The question is whether this business of Ken's, or Ken himself, will fall apart first. When Ken was over on Wednesday night his car sounded even more like an old jalopy and made a weird sound when he pulled up like something was dragging when he turned. And Ken was wearing some kind of belt plus back brace setup, so that when it came time for him to inject his two full syringes of insulin, he injected in his leg instead of his stomach as usual because "it's so much hassle to take all this stuff off". 

The thing is, I may have to "skedaddle" really quickly. This area being heinously expensive compared to Hawaii, and my having one "nest egg", one shot, to move on, I need to make that move count. 

Living here, working non-stop, never having any friends, never seeing the ocean again, just does not appeal to me. Paying at least a third more than I'd pay to live back home in Hawaii makes the prospect even worse.  

If I have to move out of here fast and I take the cop-out of finding a place here, I'll end up stuck here. 

I'd really like to put more busking in this blog. There are maybe 3 busking blogs on the entire planet and this awful thing is 1/3 of them. There's "Street Musician Daniel" which you can find by doing *just* the right Google search, then knowing to click on the title of the page because Google will feed you a post that's over 2 years old. Clicking on the title will get you the latest post. 

There's Marvin Naylor's blog, which takes being even more obsessive. First you have to search Google for "Marvin Naylor Busking Blog" then click on "Start Here" which will get you to his first post, well over a decade ago and maybe closer to two. From there you have to really snoop around, the Archives are most useful because you can at least read things from this year. 

Marvin's blog is the best, though, because not having a job or a crack pipe to distract him, he's out busking really often and even gets gigs occasionally, playing at weddings and things. He talks about the characters he runs into, or who run into him, in his busking sessions and there's where he's a real stand-out, I think because of being in the UK. The UK has this "walking culture" that the US doesn't have, and he actually has "regulars" who know him by name. I've never experienced this in the US, not even before the pandemic and at times I was out busking 3-4 days a week. 

I mean, I guess I can think of two "regulars" one, who I think of as "The Paperclip Bandit" is an old, I think Irani or Indian guy, who's never said a word, and drops off a couple of dollars held together by a paper clip. I think he gives his little gift to whoever is around, so it's not that I'm playing music but rather that I'm merely there. And one of the checkers in Whole Foods, Kenny, is always curious how I've done when I come inside Whole Foods after a busking session.  

I could busk for 200 years and I'd never have "regulars" like Marvin Naylor does, because that's not how US culture works. You're not here to make friends. 

 

Planning for the weekend coming up

 I think tomorrow might be a day off for the post office? And banks? I'll have to ask at the post office today. 

In any case, I've got about $14 in change (and I don't save pennies any more) so zero money worries. 

I packed things and took off the usual time, took things to the post office and FedEx, found a bunch of other the counter medications and stuff at the EMT training place to donate and things like off-brand Bactine that keeps me from having to buy the real stuff at Walmart. 

I got back here, offloaded, and took my receipt and the socks I'd bought last night, which were too large, and returned them. I found some other socks I liked but they're marked "one size" and I decided I'll hold off until next week and maybe the next re-stock will have the ones I really want. 

What I *did* find was a couple of pairs of shorts and I know those are good because I got to try them on. That was simple; the dressing rooms in back have a sign saying they're closed, and that there are dressing rooms up front. The ones up front have a sign saying they're closed, and to try the ones in the back. Everyone just ignores the signs and uses the ones in front. 

I put the shorts on my card because good ones are worth it I think, and came back and cooked up a "low carb" dinner. It was tasty, too. Just greens and some roast pork on top. 

 

 

He'll gladly pay me Tuesday...

 Wednesday night, and Ken came by, an hour later than the "usual" time. His car's been sounding bad and now it sounds awful. He said his main job seems to not be able to pay for their air conditioning which sounds strange but then that's high tech for you. 

I served him  up his diet Sprite and he'd brought me a double burger so I ate the burger patties and that was nice. I got my check but he doesn't want me to deposit it until next Tuesday so he dated it for then. 

He's got an appraiser coming out to look at his house next Tuesday, so he can get the reverse mortgage going.  Then, at least in theory, his finances will improve and thus, his ability to pay me. 

He also brought a bill for me from the IRS, that his wife had opened by mistake. I need to send them $137 because I didn't do monthly payments last year or something. That's really weird for a small fish like me, when Ken's paying once a year and he makes 10X what I do.