TubaOrNotTuba

The whole idea of reading stuff on the screen is obvious to me, although I don’t (yet) own one of the fancier gadgets that the marketplace keeps pushing out, one innovative idea after another. I tried to get into the habit with a used Palm Pilot which was acquired on eBay, but there are more important things to do with that tiny screen, ( like controlling shortwave radios). I read online newspapers, every day, and the odd book has been perused, thanks to the unsung heros of the Usenet. I even own a scanner, although the lack of Twain drivers for Vista, or any support under Linux leave me perplexed. What if I could leave the biomass of dreams between covers stored in my basement, and convert the important titles to something easily stored on the Net?

Read the rest of this entry »

We were late getting settled in for the evening, so I missed the early performances this week. Not to worry, because one can always play catch-up in a few hours, but still, Simon’s retort to one enthusiastic contestant bears repeating: “It’s fine being artistic; just not on this show.” Oh my! The real American Idol competition starts now, and the irony is that we have some true artists in the game. How much restraint should someone practice?

Read the rest of this entry »

There are many things I would purchase, if only I could. Some are less significant than others, but just the same, I’d buy them if only I could. Right now, I want some clips for my microphones, and some windscreens would be nice. However, I refuse, as a reasonable consumer, to pay three times the sales price of an object just to have it delivered to a post office near here. There are limits.

Read the rest of this entry »

Part of my charm is that I am a child of my country. Laugh if you will, those that know me (and love me), but I am one of those quintessential Canadians, raised with the concept of Canada, bilingual and bicultural. Not many countries have an equivalent structure; you can count them if you wish. And even as the cries of rebuttal rise from elsewhere, I think the model has served me well.

Read the rest of this entry »

Not everyone can welcome a pet into their home. Allergies, space, incompatible behaviour patterns; you name it, there’s a valid excuse for any situation. But let’s assume that you have decided to make the lifestyle change. You’ve weighed the pros and cons and you’re actually gone so far as to decide what species you want as a housemate. Bravo! Just don’t let the advice columns of this world bring too much into the decisional process.

Read the rest of this entry »

A quiet evening at home with the dog and some music. I opted to not go and watch the Watchmen (someone has to stay home and answer the steady stream of telephone calls for other members of the house, and the dog has resisted all attempts to train her to the task). And music has its own virtues.

Read the rest of this entry »

Another one of those days where there are minor peaks on a graph of not much else going on. Let’s label the points, in no particular order, as the silly, the serious and the sweet. A week from now, only one will matter, but that’s the way things go.

Read the rest of this entry »

There is nothing like a good book, unless it is a set of good books. I lucked into a set that had been making the rounds at work, and will recommend them highly. Soon. You see, the fourth volume is still in my reading bag, and if the bus is slow tomorrow morning I’ll have the story “done”, ready to contribute my little bit to a reading circle. After all, good books deserve to be shared.

Read the rest of this entry »

I had a silly thought, earlier, seeded by something that came on the news. What if I got hit by a flying rock, on the way home from work? Some time on Monday morning (just after my first coffee from the dispenser out back at work), an asteroid missed us by “that much”. How much? Well, according to estimates, something in the range of 72,000 kilometers. Now that’s a distance I can imagine. Forget the lightyear or the parsec or whatever the synonym for “really really far away” on astronomy sites is this week.

Read the rest of this entry »

About four years ago, when I took my first tentative steps in the blogswamp, we were in the process of changing vehicles. Nothing impressive; one van looks pretty much like another, and that goes for the interior as well as the exterior. Changing your “rig” in the middle of the winter keeps the unnecessary chatter around the driver’s window down to a minimum. In fact, I didn’t even go out for the changing ceremonies.

Read the rest of this entry »