TubaOrNotTuba

Does anybody really know what time it is? Based on my last few minutes with a digital watch, I’m not sure. Back in the good old days, when analog was important and the hour was circular, things were easy (to set). Pull out the stem, twist until reasonably close, continue life. Now, with the variations available on the digital front, setting a watch requires a manual of instructions. Or, in the case of the watch in hand, strong fingernails and a sense of timing (sic).

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Ever wish you could participate in a “get rich quick” scheme? Missed out on the Klondike? Never bought a piece of Apple? Have you been following that whole Bitcoin thing? Imagine… worth $0 only four years ago (I had that much to spend); up to $150 six week ago (if we skipped meals for a week, I could have purchased a pair); trading at $773 earlier this evening in Montreal. Better investment opportunity than Cabbage Patch dolls in their time.

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Without rules, society stumbles. With rules, unenforced, society still stumbles. In the ongoing saga at the T.O. City Hall, His Honour The Mayor believes he is being “punished for admitting drug use”. Right. We wish.

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As someone who gets paid to support users in the computer world, I have a decent familiarity with the things you can or can’t ask the average user to do. Some things are better done for John or Jane, because they aren’t going to “make it on their own”. Right now, I’m creating a bootable installer of Mavericks on a USB key. In simplest terms, the task is way too difficult to ever catch on. Say what you will about the ease of use of the Mac, it doesn’t cover everything. Rant mode off.

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Photography used to be a negative business. Or, rather, a business of negatives. Every picture involved one, which the skilled photographer turned into a positive, in a dark room. Or a darkroom. Anyhow, cataloging negatives involved production of contact sheets. Many of my memories are physically reduced in size, and I keep them stored in a box.

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They stay in! Success. For those who wonder what set that off, it’s easy. I just purchased a set of ear buds (to listen to my MP3 player). After refusing to accept that the last pair would remain in place in direct proportion to my index of immobility, it was time for change. Here’s the catch. Stores package ear buds as eye catchers; you can’t try them before laying down the “cash or Chargex”. Not much of an incentive for companies to improve things.

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The hour-long block of time, just after supper is where the networks place “syndicated” programs. In the vernacular: reruns. I’m OK with that. Helps to reinforce those neural pathways that were weakly laid down, years earlier, when a given show was still prime time and I was too distracted to pay attention. This evening, starting at the top of the channel list, I spotted David Steinberg, dressed as I remembered him from back in the early 70’s. Even the colours give away the era.

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Coming up on eight years of daily effort (to post something here) and there’s a question which I rarely examine. Who do I write for? I’m basically anonymous, and you (whoever you are) fit the same profile. There’s not much dialogue to offset the monologue. All a mystery, in the end. Which is why I was intrigued to hear an interview with a local journalist.

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One nation’s marvel is another nation’s trivia. In the US of A (because there are other “United States” in the world), the new World Trade Tower has been declared the tallest building in the nation. The antenna has been declared a spire, as in on the church. Fitting. Although it won’t be the tallest in the world, the sense of pride will still radiate, worldwide. Oh, and the trivial part; the antenna on top is not an antenna, if they say so. Hope that’s clear to the rest of us.

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I’ve found a variation on the “I would like to buy” meme. Try picking TWO things, related, and then spend endless hours “comparing and contrasting” both contenders. Spend time perusing catalogs, and user forums, and review sites. Get scientific, with detailed data sets. By the time you’ve played the situation out you’ll either reach the assumption that you didn’t need either object (or you’ll precipitate the situation with an impulsive purchase). Either way…

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