With only a few hours to run before I have to hang some new calendars, I guess some retrospective is necessary.
posted in education | Comments Off on Ending another calendar year | 320 words
With a Steve Earle song as earworm, I’m several hours into one of those documentary marathons that give reason to my paying a cable TV bill. This time around, Moonshiners; seven episodes back to back to back. With this particular crime in the eye of the beholder, the ongoing rivalry between ‘shiners and revenuers is an interesting tale.
posted in education, history | Comments Off on Chasing shine | 271 words
Just watched a movie that surprised me. An “oldie”, in my kids’ terms. A Stephen King tale, expanded and improved. Shawshank Redemption. And here’s why.
posted in pets | Comments Off on That “being at home” experience | 250 words
Talk about goal directed. We skipped the free breakfast in the hotel lobby and went straight for go. Down the highway, into the rising sun. Only at this time of the year can you drive straight south with the sun in your eyes…
posted in travel | Comments Off on Just another day of watching the scenery slide by | 275 words
Outside, before dawn, in a snowstorm. The dog requires that the human get involved. Still have to check out those tracks across the way. Still make a path to the tree, just in case. I’m OK with all that.
posted in travel | Comments Off on Do dogs do genealogy? | 258 words
What seemed like a good idea at “oh dark thirty” lost appeal through the night. We were awake, hours before the start of the annual Boxing Day sales. Why not just carry on until six in the morning, when the line would move. So close. Wiser heads prevailed, and there was a short period of shut eye before the box store safari.
posted in computing, travel | Comments Off on A hard drive shuffle | 259 words
Once the “guy in a swigh brought me stuff” meme passes, the whole Christmas holiday advances to a better level. For us, this is a family occasion. Forget that all the family can’t be here, and continue towards Go (you’ll need that $200 at the sales, tomorrow).
posted in food, travel | Comments Off on Old pizza is not the answer to every famine | 271 words
Travel day! Gotta love getting up early, eating all the food that otherwise would have lasted through the week. Follow that with filling the car to the limits with luggage, and then put four adults and a large dog inside. Stir gently for hours and hours. At the end of the afternoon, move the whole show into a small motel room and declare victory.
posted in travel | Comments Off on On the road, again | 284 words
As I sit in the comfort of a well lighted and heated home, the fact that thousands are still awaiting current from the last storm (was that Friday?) is hard to imagine. Both Ontario and Quebec. Here’s the dividing line, though. In Ontario, there’s a map available on the web, showing the outage areas. In Quebec, a politely worded press release, with no visual content (unless you count the corporate logo).
posted in technology | Comments Off on Negative indicators in my wardrobe choices | 260 words
Each time I read or hear that something is stronger than something else, I ask the obvious question. How do you know? Take, as an example, a documentary that tells us the explosion of an asteroid in the atmosphere is stronger than all the nuclear explosions ever detonated. How do you know? I didn’t see that on Mythbusters. Maybe the use of hyperbole makes sense when you are wooing a mate, or convincing the bank manager of your solvency. In the case of exploding asteroids, not so much.
posted in education | Comments Off on Inappropriate use of hyperbole | 254 words
