While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door
posted in pets, technology | Comments Off on Distracting a distracted dog | 269 words
During the last few months I’ve been expanding my horizons, so to speak. The stores locally don’t carry the things I want, so I’ve gone online for pretty much everything that I want, and recognize that it’s simply a return to the model of my childhood. After all, Eaton’s not only had a store; they had a mail order catalogue which was a lifeline for anyone with an urge to buy something more than what the local general store had on the top shelf.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Different styles of delivery | 471 words
While we hum the refrain from “The Passenger”, the group of people that are on the bus don’t have many choices. We are all backseat drivers, with no control over how or when we actually arrive at our destination. Take today, where both my morning and evening drivers managed to hit the curb while navigating a curve.
posted in travel | Comments Off on Watch the curb | 295 words
The simple act of constructing an electronic project is, simply enough, satisfying. Forget the next step, wherein a project is tested for smoke content and flashes of light (especially in devices that have no reason to shine). That will come, perhaps in a few days. For the moment at hand, I’m going to provide tender loving care to the new burns on my fingertips, let the fumes of solder flux evaporate from my lungs and look back on this evening as “fun for just a few dollars less than factory built”.
posted in ham radio | Comments Off on Building a mystery (to others) | 309 words
While my sympathies go out to the family of an eight year old boy in Massachusetts, some stories could only come out of a CNN generation. Over the weekend, the young man was fulfilling the sort of dream that I never had as boy; he was shooting an Uzi at “vehicles and pumpkins” during a regional fair. However, real guns don’t handle like the ones in the standard video game. There are less buttons on the controller and there’s something called recoil.
posted in education, media | Comments Off on When the aim goes wrong | 260 words
The best reason for keeping Facebook around is for the pictures. After all, where else could I actually have photos of the family and friends without a) charging up the camera, b) sitting in the car for the best part of a day and c) catching those far and dear to me in the moments that are meant to be shared… or not…
posted in media | Comments Off on More than faces on exhibit | 294 words
One thing about watching nature TV is that it really makes life in the ‘burbs seem safe and comfortable. I might cross the path of the neighbour’s cat from time to time, and the dogs across the street that squeak might be irksome, but the “stuff of nightmares” that we’re watching on the Discovery channel will remain just a vision.
posted in science | Comments Off on Big claws and suckers a nightmare do spawn | 267 words
A brave new world is upon us. As of yesterday, I climbed on board the latest, greatest innovation in the local world of mass transit, and from now on I am a cipher. Not to worry; numbers are the bane of our existence, but the ability of the local authorities to better control their meagre budget has to be in our favour.
posted in technology, travel | Comments Off on A brave new world | 462 words
Time to apply a little imagery to the current economic conditions. First of all, for those of us who have had our incomes fixed by decree, the average day is grey, with hints of rain. There’s little change in view, so we take our delight in the details. Consider the trend in the price of gas.
posted in computing, economy | Comments Off on When one trend masks another | 270 words
Once in a while, my involvement with the anonymous world of eBay goes awry. Not too often, two or three times in a hundred. Just enough to remind me that this is still the “real world” and there are those who would take advantage of perfect strangers.
posted in computing | Comments Off on The planes are back in the virtual air | 305 words
