TubaOrNotTuba

Oh the torture! Slow internet service; it feels like I’m back in the days of dialup, without that reassuring snarl of the modem connecting. Thanks to “the only game in town”, I’ve been living at the end of a DSL connection for better than four years. Or worse. Everything is relative, but there are speed tests out there, and I do run them and record the results, periodically. Right now, we’re going through some mud on the information highway, and my average speed may be within the terms of service, but the data flow is not satisfactory.

What if you only needed to buy two cars in your lifetime? Would you be willing to pay a premium price? After reading a web article about how certain Tesla vehicles are still in service after a half million miles. Translate that into average domestic driver stats, and you are up into the 4x range. Remember, this is new technology, and it will only get better. Instead of owning a car for six years, you could aim at twenty-five. Doable. A reasonable hope. Assuming that you keep the salt out of everything, the actual frame might also last. And with that, we’re in to true long-term vehicle ownership.

What if I shopped as an idle, rich person? The former qualifier, I can claim. The latter, not so much. Anyhow, while in the city to do some other things, I ended up in my preferred store for consumer electronics (there’s only one, in my part of the world, so the choice came naturally). And, after navigating a maze formed from newly delivered large screen TV sets in shipping cartons, I ended up in the headphone section.

Last evening, we had a very well-mannered visitor to the door. Seemed to understand simple comments, and even took the time to check out that rope we have attached to the front step. Couldn’t invite him (her?) in, though, as foxes and dogs don’t always mix well.

Everything is relative, but this is the longest day of the year. Unfortunately, after waking up in the dark (to obey the dog), I stayed on my feet for a bit. Tried to adjust the only mechanical clock in the house, by halting the pendulum for a bit less than an hour. Got stuff synced. Went back to bed, and stayed there for longer than usual, forfeiting any “advantage” from the time shift. Noticed nothing else that would qualify this as a reason for clock gymnastics. If the civil authorities are listening, we can stop the Standard/Daylight Saving silliness going forward. Please.

With the temperature up to 20C, this afternoon, it’s time to note that the seasons are not like they used to be. Many of us are old enough to realize that, but for the younger members of the community, take note: November at 20C used to be reserved to the living space in front of the fireplace.

As someone that tries to keep a weather station “on the air”, I am aware of data flow. Every two or three minutes, every day, my various sensors send out data bursts that happily are captured locally. If things “go down” (which they do), I get caught up eventually. Kind of fun to watch how the system keeps track of things that no longer matter.

As I lay on my back in the crushed stone of the driveway, an adjustable wrench in hand, I remembered. The reason why our bicycle rack tended to remain in the back of the garage was that it was such a beast to install. Or use. We had to bring the electric bike into the city for service, and my offer to put it in the rear of the Rogue had been politely refused. It would ride in style, or not at all. And so I persevered, and the delivery went without a hitch (due to the hitch). There’s a lesson in there, I think.

Today is Monday, or as we call it in Canada, Election Day. Mind you, that title applies specifically to this date; next week we revert to normal usage. And yes, the polls opened on schedule. It took me some digging into the twisted terminology of the Canada Election Act. Did you know that if this was Tuesday, and we were holding elections, we would have to pretend that it was Monday?

The pushed ads on social media are really something. I understand when I search for something, and my timeline gets taken over for the next few days. But what about when I get the “hint” that I need a product, one which I hadn’t mentioned. Is it chance that today I received a recommendation for a super shower control (beyond my needs or means)? And since I clicked on the link, am I fated to face the spray until next week? I guess so.