"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success." - Alexander Graham Bell

Roger Federer has won 10% of the grand slams since tennis went pro in 1968.

I got Sally's new rear deck and speakers installed and everything put back together. I left the speaker wire coiled in the trunk because running it to the front was going to be more hassle than I had energy for this afternoon and I don't have the radio yet so there was nothing to hook those wires to.
All in due time.

Headline: "Police reopen rape case of ex-soccer team owner"
What sport do they play now?

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Yep, died again and didn't ever get the above Sunday post finished. It's now 6 a.m. Monday morning and I've been at it since 4 a.m. I've had b'fast, built a fire so MoHo is warm, and baked a batch of cardamom toast. The morning's news is also covered via my list of sites.
We are certainly a celebrity obsessed culture. We didn't watch the Grammy award ceremony but you'd think it was the most significant event of the month throughout the world for all the coverage it got on the major news sites. Great talent (I'm being generous here) does not translate into great impact. Mostly it seems to result in great egos.

Which got me to thinking while I was in the shower about when that changed.
Way back when musicians struggled to keep body and soul together. The guy with a song to sing and a lute to pluck hit the road and hoped to get enough coins thrown into his hat from each village to buy a pint of ale and make it to the next hamlet.
During the heyday of classical music even the great musicians often struggled to maintain a decent standard of living. The key to their survival—prosperity was rare—came with a wealthy patron who supported them in order to gain the notoriety that came with the music they produced. Mozart died with more debts than assets. Beethoven survived on the basis of commissions paid to him for producing works that were played at poorly attended concerts. Bach died without enough money to purchase a headstone for his grave.
Now an "artist" with a catchy tune and inane repetitive lyrics supported by a producer with the latest version of autotune can afford to live in a mansion in L.A., drive an exotic car, and vacation in the Bahamas.
Somebody should write a book about how and when all of that changed. How come great musicians of the past died penniless and kitsch peddlers today are millionaires? I'm thinking it's our fault.

I got an email from a colleague in Idaho who said he needs to buy an iTune gift card for his granddaughter's birthday but can't because he's traveling. Would I buy it at any store near me and send it to him? He'll pay me back when he gets home.
I replied that I was too busy corresponding with the Nigerian prince who wants to give me $10,000.

So far my book proof has been in S.C., KY., IN, and IL. It left Hodgkins IL this morning after spending the weekend there. Partying?
They're still predicting a Friday delivery.

When I got home from the coffee shop I spent some time cleaning Sally's interior. I vacuumed and wiped down most surfaces with a warm wet cloth. The work I did over the weekend got mud on the floors and seats.
When I make progress with a part of her restoration it makes me want to continue. She could be quite a looker - will be quite a looker - when I'm done. But that nasty detail called a budget gets in the way.
A dash pad to replace the warped and badly cracked original will make a big difference but they don't come cheap. I can get an American made repro for about $145 or one made from the original Ford tooling for $215.
And with the new speakers installed in the new rear deck I'm ready for a new radio and antenna for about $100. (That's a very basic cheap radio on Amazon.)

Pam went into town late this morning to do the laundry, her normal Monday routine. While I ate lunch I watched Jay Leno's very good TV show ("Jay Leno's Garage") that I'd recorded. Each show has a theme and this one was "More Power!," featuring vehicles that have a lot of it, including the new Dodge Demon, a Bugatti Cheryon, and the biggest dump truck on the planet.
Oh, to have his collection and his resources to do the work.