Too bad I don’t have an x-sided die from a game box, where I could arbitrarily assign digits to concepts and thus decide how to handle this end of year posting. Should I be reflective, or episodic, or jocular, or “what”?
posted in history | Comments Off on Choosing the tone for the end of the year | 306 words
Whatever the universals of comedy might be, some of them translate poorly across time. At least, across recent time; I had the chance to do some retrospective TV watching this afternoon. Stuff that I KNOW to be funny just didn’t catch the interest of my progeny. Go figure.
posted in media | Comments Off on Great shows with less interest | 267 words
I recently bought a box of D cells and “resurrected” an old shortwave receiver that I’ve had for years. It might seem like yesterday that I received it as a gift, but my children don’t remember, and when the wife spotted it she asked why I’d kept that old thing around, since she’d given me a newer, smaller model some years ago. Maybe it’s the “some years ago” that brings to mind how much faster my life is going by these days.
posted in technology | Comments Off on Nobody to listen to | 331 words
The inevitable has happened (that’s what they mean by inevitable, so I’ve used an oxymoron; sorry). Our trusty hot water tank, finally old enough to go out in bars in any of the states or provinces, has decided that the solution to that overly full sensation is to let the excess run out the bottom and onto the basement floor. Thankfully the builders had the foresight to place a drain just beside, so there’s no sense crying over spilt water. Not even worth trying to mop things up. When warm waters flow, you take your wallet in hand and head out to the shops to find a replacement.
posted in technology | Comments Off on When warm waters flow | 388 words
I’ve been a “collector of names” for decades now. I was reared to believe that it was important to know who was related to who; just in case, you know. My father wasn’t much help in all of this, but my mother remains a goldmine of tidbits, covering half of the country and more. Ergo, it’s a genetic trait.
posted in genealogy | Comments Off on Aimlessly rooting around | 361 words
I know why I don’t like shopping on “big days”; the crowds, the problems with parking, the errors at the cash register. It turns out that the negative aspects continue even when I don’t go along for the experience. All the details here are hearsay, but the parties involved are fine upstanding citizens of my household so I have no doubt concerning the veracity.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Trials and tribulations of certain shopping exploits | 389 words
The bird has been served and its remains packed into cold storage. The piles of giftwrap have been sent out to the big green bin (oddly enough, most special papers don’t recycle, yet). The dog has a new enemy, in the form of a weight bag with a chain that she imagines as a dangerous adversary. We’ve been on the phone, and the web and in videoconference.
posted in environment | Comments Off on A moment to reflect | 229 words
When I climbed out of bed to find a coffee cup this morning, the thought that I’d watch two different rounds of swordfighting wasn’t on the horizon. We had rented videos last evening, but in the excitement of a pre pre-Christmas the viewing session had been put aside until the tree in the middle of the living room was fully decorated. Today, the early afternoon took us to the end of the world, with Jack Sparrow as the travel guide.
posted in media, technology | Comments Off on Good movies and lacklustre online shopping possibilities | 465 words
Yogi (Berra, not Bear) said it best: It ain’t over ’til it’s over. The man did love apostrophes. But the truth is, this Christmas shopping depends on the calendar; until the 26th, we won’t be done. We returned to the mall, and it was still full, and I did purchase some IR LEDs and some LED lights and my “make a whiteboard for the fun of it” is one step closer. Now to find a soldering iron and some burnproofing for the fingertips.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Shopping and coffee too | 342 words
The weather forecast calls for rain, and I’m left with the feeling that I should worry. You see, we’ve been “blessed” with a lot of snow this last while, enough that the view out on the patio is blocked by accumulation. Now, I’m warned of heavy rainfall on the horizon, and it just might be that snow is a natural sponge. The rain falls, sinks in a few centimeters, then freezes. Instant ice pack. Will my world collapse around me sometime tomorrow?
posted in media, Wx | Comments Off on Baby, some rain may fall | 359 words
