While wars rage and a brewery finally buys the Habs, I’ve got more important things to do. Like making chicken stew.
posted in food | Comments Off on Slow and inexpensive can equal tasty | 267 words
My sense of personal history got gobsmacked this last week. We are, in one sense, where we’ve been. Our experiences with places and things are part of an equation, and right now I feel a little bit older, because my schools have been marked for closure.
posted in education | Comments Off on Another brick removed from my wall of memories | 290 words
I added a new gadget to the pile today. One that shows the depth of my archives, because my children have no need for such a device. After much thought, my gift from the social club went from simply much more music to something much bigger. I’ve purchased a phono preamp, RIAA rolloff specs, in order to review and explore the stacks of vinyl in the basement.
posted in food, technology | Comments Off on One less excuse to avoid the purge | 299 words
In the safety of my living room, I’m watching some really bad driving right now. Virtually. One wall of the room is serving as a screen this evening, and the projected game involves cars that can hit multiple light poles without ever scratching the paint. Try that with your father’s Olds. There’s lots of motor noise, a mix of sirens and gunfire. Entertainment for someone else. I just find the whole thing to be distracting.
posted in computing | Comments Off on Bad driving, videos that can’t be converted and a broken hose | 285 words
One of the first things wise parents (are supposed to) learn in navigating that swamp called discipline is not to threaten with something you can’t follow through about. Things like “no more TV for the rest of your life” or “you’ll never get another toy” just don’t scare kids the way they do in the comic books. Kids know better.
posted in economy, politics | Comments Off on Poor method for behavior modification | 276 words
How about those politicians? All of a sudden, there’s a new dance card in Ottawa, where the Reds and the Blues are trying a new version of the tango, called “avoid a summer election”. Personally, I’ve never understood their reticence over a poll when schools are closed.
posted in politics | Comments Off on Yet another voter avoidance dance | 265 words
Some days are more exciting than others. Thankfully. Routine is what makes life in prison what it is. Routine is what keeps kids wishing for summer (each one to their own prison). Routine makes retirement seem like a great idea, unless your retired life is filled with (wait for it) routine. Today was very ordinary, if a little warmer than usual.
posted in travel | Comments Off on Racks and fixed price points | 262 words
Why is it that our current government tends to raise the “I don’t trust their motives” hairs on the back of my neck? Oh, right; because I don’t trust their motives. The CBC points out that there is an intention to renegotiate the treaty that set rules for water use from the Great Lakes. Big lakes, shared resource. The treaty has been in place for about a century. What suddenly stung some high-level bureaucrat into action?
posted in economy, politics | Comments Off on Water flows downhill from here | 262 words
The question is simple. Should I play “cheap and dangerous” or “expensive and cautious”? I’m talking about computers, of course. Far too many of them in my day-to-day to not know the risks and costs of keeping our favourite machines in functional disorder. Just this week, three laptops have ended up on my desk because of various failed components. Some of them under warranty, others not. You do the math.
posted in computing, economy | Comments Off on Estimating the cost of risk | 304 words
For the generation that preceded me, a game involved a pack of cards, a paper to keep score and a skill in counting up to 45. In my time, we stood at the end of a winding road, with intent to break and enter. This afternoon, my children tried to decode the latest console game. I’m not ready to play against them, but the ability to jump repeatedly is much more important than I would have thought.
posted in humour | Comments Off on Save the Princess and avoid the large missiles | 290 words
