TubaOrNotTuba

When you have a limited budget you have to learn to think outside the box. And that includes using the box I assume. I remember the first time I checked the assignment given to a friend who was in basic engineering. The title was 100 uses for the common nail and that has never left my memory. I have not yet discovered all of the uses that you can have for certain things. I’ve been watching videos where people show off nifty gadgets they have found to be used while camping. There are generalized themes but the number of individual items seems to be without limit. Thank you Amazon. If you can think of it then someone else has probably done it before you and marketed a cheap tool to get the job done. Seriously. Go onto any of the channels and those who live in an RV for example can you meet immediately struck by the number of ways that people get around common difficulties. Without spending much money. Who knew that having a hook in your pocket to hang over the shower door at the campground could be so utilitarian. And what about ways to deploy your anti bug stuff. Sure beats holding everything in your hand. To be fair mankind is often relied on the hand as a way to get things done but you only have a maximum of two of them. Having some ways to accessorize can make your day go by with much less stress and pain. And minor burns I suppose. I mean we can’t spend our lives training the dog to do jobs for us. Or cat if that’s possible. Or younger siblings because they tend to grow up I learned that their lives can be better spent serving themselves. Just take the time to look around your house and see how many ways you have avoided purchasing something unnecessary. Yes you have a brain. And yes you have ways of thinking the problem through from start to finish. Like that engineering assignment I mentioned. I mean, who knew that plastic bags had so many uses. Until the stores stopped providing them and then we hit a wall.

A short video that I watched today remind me of how my travels through literature were sometimes controlled by others. Yes there was a school library but I also had to read the things that had been chosen in the curriculum. For example, books by Mark Twain. I have to wonder why the school board was willing to take those on while ignoring the obvious choices of books about the Drew and Hardy for the children. Or the Bobbsey twins. I would like to think that school boards put a lot of time into making curriculum choices but this is probably not so. Rather book choices were made at a higher level in order to fulfill enormous book orders. Much better to buy several thousand copies of a paperback then to go through the hassles of single orders for thousands of children. I cannot remember the first time I visited a real bookstore. Probably much later in life. Instead we received small flyers that gave us access to a curated list of books for people of our own age. Often reduced in content to fit it into a chosen book size. As for the textbooks in my school they were designed to last forever. Or so it seemed. Rooms filled with stacks of books purchased at an earlier date. We paid no attention to the date of printing. We had no choice. When you learned which Shakespeare play would be on the curriculum for a given grade level everything else seemed to fall into place beside it. I realize that the plays by famous authors that were given as choices were anything but. There was a plan. Why else have us read some of those books. I think back to a book called «Cue for treason» which was hardly political. Instead it gave the school a chance to present us with an alternative view to history. Opening our minds to greater things. I tricked them because I then turned around and went to the library and read most of the other books by that author. Breaking out of the mold I guess. And have I ever offered any of those early pieces of fiction to my own children? I hardly think so. By the time my children could read they had also learned that there were places to get pretty much anything you wanted. Good libraries for example. It would be easier to have a book where all of the questions had been pre decided by a committee but that was not how things went.

Most of us can agree that the weather is changing. Where things come apart is when we try to define how much. This morning on the news I learned that there are more hurricanes and tornadoes than ever in our part of the world. Hurricanes are easy to spot. Tornadoes, not so much. I think you actually have to be there to see one go by. And there is the rub. We are now better at spotting such activity. As a result the quantity has gone up. Makes sense. But when we learn that the centre of activity has moved from one part of the country to another we must bring into the equation that we are now more alert. Not just in the sense of sirens howling. Or alarms on our telephone. We now watch for subjectivity and we try to predict subjectivity whereas a century ago not so much. For example I live in a part of the country that almost never experiences tornado action. I do remember a moment 50 years ago when the wind hit a level in summer that dropped people to the ground. I was there. But was it a tornado? I will probably never know. I did go back into the archives of the climate people and there the answer was mitigated. Once more equate question of if you don’t see it did it happen. I confirm that in my own backyard there have been no tornadoes since I arrived here. Will that change? I do not know. After all I was trained to observe weather not predict weather. I think you need a mainframe computer for such things and although I could buy something large enough to fill a house, I will be unable to program it effectively. So, I to turn to those who know about such things. But back to the idea that the number of tornadoes has gone up. I can remember some scary moments in Ontario. Those were when I was in the area when something came through. Seeing a small shed be lifted from my sisters backyard to the neighbour’s is one thing, seeing the roof of a building made out of brick cutaway is quite another and that shopping cart that we watch dancing. Those are all isolated incidents so I am not going to say Oh yes the number has risen. I will accept that if you don’t see it it might have happened.

Please do not laugh. It has taken me until now to figure out how to lock the RV. With the remote. It all seems rather simple in retrospect and I had learned how to unlock it by pushing buttons. Randomly. But when I tried to re-lock it I seemed to be stymied. So of course I tried the other remote and the results were identical. Makes sense because the remote’s are identical other than the usual battery problems but I wanted to know where I was falling short. So I got myself into better light and I noticed one of those symbols they had until then eluded me a very prominent lock symbol beside one of the buttons I had not yet pressed. All is now good and I can move on to other nonexistent problems. And yes I tried using the key and no that did not do it I will learn more about that at another time. As I notice I have been watching others who actually live in their RV. There are so many of them. And the reason for all the videos is that each group has a different set of difficulties. What I hope from watching all these videos is to cover my basis. Avoid the simple things. No this is not an announcement that I plan to move in the RV full time. I am quite comfortable in my own home but I want to know what my possibilities would be if we decided to go on a trip that lasted for more than a few weeks. We have so many places we have not yet gone to. I’m thinking South a little, the temperatures there are off the charts right now. Even at home we’re using the air conditioner slash chiller more and more often. In the beginning it was a novelty. Then a luxury. And now quite frankly a necessity. And we’re still not out of the month of June. I suspect that this summer is going to be a real test of my ability to enjoy too much heat. The other day when I went outside it reminded me of standing in front of an open oven. Not something I do often but that i have done in past. Things are warmer than they used to be.

My level of research is cursory at best. But if you want to be remembered in a small place I suggest that you die, not in your own bed. Go for something that is violent and fast. Things like lost at sea or killed by a falling tree. Again I need to do more research but I was struck today listening to a neighbour talk about an incident where a fishing boat had been lost coming back into the harbor. The point that struck me was not the boat had been lost but that had happened fully 40 years ago and that the details were still remembered. Now why would anyone want to be remembered? No idea. I doubt that I will be other than as a name that someone heard in passing but there are still a lot of people who goes through our lives and who all tend to disappear eventually. Go ahead. Recall your classmates from a lifetime ago. You probably can do a fairly good list and it strikes me that most of them if you reach a certain age are gone. Forever. Still remembered though. No need to wander through the graveyard and fight off the mosquitoes. Just talked to someone else who has reached a certain age they all remember. I think we are hardwired that way. Difficult to write a ballad if you have no names. The characters can’t all be named John and Mary over many have tried. I am in a small community and there has been a sudden loss and even though the newspapers have not yet given us the details you only have to ask around most people already have the story. Fits in well in a world where newspapers are almost a passing trend. To be fair I have not purchased a newspaper in a long time. Maybe things have changed greatly over half a century. But I doubt it. Too many people and not enough time to tell all the stories. So we cherry pick.

The advertisement was brought to my attention period. My favourite company for photographic gear has just released a new camera body. The difference from what’s been going on over the last few years is that this is a return to origins. A film camera body . I had almost forgotten about that sort of thing. I bought my first camera body that used film more than 1/2 century ago and I made very good use of it. But I had access to a whole set of accessories. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the darkroom it is more than a room with the lights turned off. Anyone buying this new camera either must have very deep pockets to keep paying for someone else to process their film or they are if you’ll excuse the term cruel to themselves. I cannot tell you how many gallons of chemistry I have mixed over the years. I can also tell you that I have not mixed that same chemistry during the lifetime of my children who are now adults. It really is something from the past. I would say dark past that’s overkill. In the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing a film camera can turn out outstanding results. But, I would not mortgage my home to get back into the trade. I do not want to return to a life this saw me in the dark most of the time. If I were to buy back into the idea of a film camera I could continue to use my lenses that have been acquired over that time. The darkroom on the other hand is all gone either sold it off or gave it away to other people who did not realize what a lifetime of pain they were buying into. You cannot drink developer and you cannot drink fixer but you may consume a lot of beer in getting through the hoops. Why this ad came to my attention is from someone else who keeps thinking that the next best camera is just around the corner. I had to point out that we both had already been down that road and that when you retrace your pass you do not become better at it you just accept the familiar. I wish the company good fortune may this cell as many of this new body as they can get into the hands of their dealers period. I though will not be joining their ranks again I have gone decidedly digital. And if you wonder why just tell yourself that that quarter of a second to take a picture has nothing to do with the hours of getting a print into your hands. Technology has moved on and so have I. Yes I still remember all the rudiments and yes I could probably put a roll of film into a camera and give you back something of value but life is too short for such things.

The video I just watched, is careful to remind me that our bear spray would be out of date by now. That led to so many other threads. You see we have no bears here. We have not had any apparently for better than a century. And if you have a dog you might need to defend your dog but we don’t have a dog either so some things are really not needed in our inventory. Also when you cross the border they ask you if you are carrying any bear spray and we have always been able to say no because we do not travel with it. But what if we did? What if we had a sudden impulse in a sporting goods store to restock the bear spray we no longer have you see how this is heading I realized that I am probably safe from bear attack. If I know I’m heading into territory where the rules are different I will then re-educate myself. For now it’s just one of those details in the life of those who are prepared for every occasion. I figured out many years ago that by staying inside, being attack by a bear is not high on my list of dangers. And as for the dog he should know better than to provoke the bear. That would be my job preferably with a big stick. If I get into a camping goods store I will take the time to inform myself about the validity of my ideas. I will check to see if the people working in the store carry bear spray on their hip. A good sign because they would show whether or not the danger was high. Meanwhile I’ll just go happily on my way sure that in my backyard the largest danger comes from happy foxes. I did hear a coyote the other night but that might have been my imagination.

Living on this planet some tasks are very difficult. For example try to imagine not being familiar with automobile brands. We are surrounded by badges and we see them over a period that is staggering. A lifetime if you will. Now a small confession. I have never actually owned a car. I tended more to bicycles and passenger seats. However it is very difficult not to get hit by the waves of advertising and brand recognition. And brands evoke history. So, this afternoon I watched a number of videos about the history of various automobile brands. Starting obviously with the Ford. And if you look at forward you must also look at who were the leaders. So much I did not know. Actually no need to know because as I say I have never owned a car. But it is fun to do the dovetail part. Tying history to what goes on in the world. I wonder what it was like to live in a time when a car was not a major investment. Or when it was. A dichotomy. If I look in my own driveway I will find cars from different periods of time with different badges. All with the common four wheels and a body. I will watch some more of these videos because now I’m curious. The main question is how did I avoid getting sucked into the tunnel of ownership. Oh wait, I know, I had no money. It does not stop others who have financed their souls to have a car at a young age but I managed to resist. It’s funny the roads we take as the saying goes.

Today’s weather was and is wonderful. Sunny with gentle breezes and temperatures that made the air inside and outside of the house roughly equal. Paradise if you will. In sharp contrast I took the time to listen to that station down South that details how the weather has gone off the rails. A whole nation hit with the kind of weather you only write about normally. They’re breaking records almost everywhere. And my only worry is are we next. Will tomorrow’s forecast mean that I will have to start huddling in the basement. Who knows. Obviously things are a little out of control and there are those who want to make sure it stays that way. At least that’s my take on it. Every time someone talks about trying to mitigate global warming those with an iron in the fire rebel. They want their oil money. They want our oil money. Spend, baby, spend. Some people are not rich enough yet. That leaves me with another fear. What if they discovered that the weather up here is nice. Will they invade to take over our pristine beaches. It could happen. Outside the birds are singing and the lawn is growing and I realize that I have lucked out. I could easily have packed my bags and headed south convinced that I too could be rich. But I did not. Most of my family can still visit me because we are all eligible for passports that are respected. Think how much worse that could be. And so I should probably go back outside lay back and listen to the birds while the gentle breezes blow by. Will I? Who knows. I have become lazy. Exactly the kind of lazy that is fostered by ideal temperatures. Not much I can add to that. I live where I want to be and life is good.

We all have things that cause stress. For each one they differ. Right now my own burr under the saddle is that I am missing two log posts. Posts that I know I wrote but I seem to have disappeared after a bit of bad Wi-Fi. An analogy for bad water I guess. Why does this matter? Well in part because I take pride in continuity. I tried to create a new blog post every single day. It is a part of my personality. The difference is that I have been doing this for very close to two decades. No missed days. I have had to do certain work arounds but I’ve got past them. Until now. I think that the two posts exist among all my other noise. The catch is that I do not actually see what I’m writing anymore nor can I easily go back and decide that that page needs to be re-inserted into the continuum. I will require some assistance at the local level. Someone else is going to have to go and read my idle thoughts. I know, this will change nothing for anyone else. But I have this desire to do something that is if you will solid. If I say to you that I have been doing this for two decades I do not want an if in the middle that says except for those two days. I want to fix this and in a world where what I see on screen is simply grey it becomes difficult. I have already decided that if the posts are no longer available I can create new content. I know the dates and I know where I was. Quite easy to tell you a story that is a few minutes long. One of the skills I have fostered in blogging. So what does this mean? Well it probably means that I am compulsive as opposed to creative. You can decide. I know that a lifetime ago creating a single page of text was a big job. Not anymore. I have the skills and the verbosity to make new articles out of almost nothing at all. You can probably see that if you read along. But I want my badge of honour back. I want to look at the title page and say that this represents continuity. Continually. Maybe this weekend or maybe next week. The original articles are still on my tablet albeit hidden from me.