2004-05-13-2126Z


Just bought a Targus DVD case at Wal-Mart that just barely holds my laptop and power supply, my CDs and DVD's, and maybe some other small stuff. Now I can finally leave that flightbag and bike at my lot, and travel a lot lighter. The shoulder strap is well padded and comfortable. I'd been looking for something like this for a good while. $35, so I'm digging into my reserve; I can't keep saving up my $20 daily allowance for these capital expenditures if I want to make some progress. I'll possibly regret this decision later if I'm not ready to make some money when my cash runs out.

Yesterday evening I went to that bar across the tracks that two people told me was "dangerous", the "Spanish Disco Dance Club" or something like that. Didn't look too dangerous to me, just a bunch of (mostly) Mexican-Americans playing pool and cursing. "Chinga a tu madre" (fuck your mother) seemed to be the favorite expression. No fights, not even any raised voices except to cheer a good shot. Not much of a beer selection though. I started with a Corona, then a Coors Light (I asked for a Coors but wtf), then Carta Blanca, a local Mexican favorite. Still farting from that episode. Or maybe from La Fonda, a restaurant in downtown Deming where I stopped this afternoon and had a Negra Modelo (dark Mexican ale) with a bowl of their chili. Don't order the chili there, go down the street to Wendy's and get meatier chili for less than half the price. Of course Wendy's doesn't serve chips and salsa, but with the money you save you can go to any supermarket and get plenty of chips.

Also bought an overpriced handsaw for $8 today. Spending like there's no tomorrow. Eating lots of forbidden carbs, and have some energy back, but it remains to be seen if that will hold up after another bike trip back to the ranch. I'll probably leave tonight, after karaoke at Joe Perk's. Hopefully I'll be able to upload this last few days' worth of blogs from there.

I can't seem to find, anywhere, the mirror window tint that I want for my next-generation solar oven. Auto shops say they don't carry it because it's illegal for use on cars, and hardware stores/lumberyards don't seem to have it either. Maybe when I get to a bigger town.

Thinking about building a wheel with embedded rare earth magnets, then driving it with coils spaced so that it pulls the magnets 1/4 diameter at a step (stepper motor idea). Fill a piece of appropriately-sized EMT with NiMH D-Cells, attach that wheel to one end, fasten on your roller blades, and away you go? Maybe.

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