Libertine: On the Prowl
Vidi, vici, veni -- I saw, I conquered, I came. _______________________________________________________________
Bad Week
I'd written the other day that my AC had conked out though it was only four years old.Well, the week hasn't gotten any better. The next day, my computer was acting slower than normal, so I rebooted it as that usually helps to speed it up a bit. When I came back online and opened the Firefox browser, I discovered that all my bookmarks had vanished. Poof! So, I've been laboriously going around to various sites trying to re-create what I had. But I had a complicated set of bookmarks and I know I'll never remember what all I had, so I won't get everything back.
The next thing I did was schedule a backup for the computer. It stopped midway through, informing me I didn't have enough space to perform a full backup. I was pissed off to find that it had retained what it had been able to back up until that point, however, and had eaten up what space I'd had available. And I have no fucking clue how to get rid of the partial backup I did so I can get back what space I'd had available before starting the backup.
I had the day off yesterday and though it was raining, I went out to pay some bills. It was clammy and humid in addition to being wet. Nevertheless, I was glad to be under my car's cool air conditioning considering I now have none in the house. As I paid the last bill at a drive up window, a man in the next lane pointed out to me that I had a flat tire. Fucking great. It was pouring down rain at this time and I certainly didn't want to be out trying to change a tire in that weather.
However, there was a tire store a block from where I was, so I crept down there carefully. It was OK, as it wasn't quite to the point of being a flopping flat tire just yet. I even clung to the vain hope that it was just a leak that could be repaired. But that was silly of me. It, of course, needed to be replaced, even though the tire in question was less than a year old. Money has been tight lately and I really didn't need to be buying another one now. But as I can't put it off and drive with only three tires, I did what I had to do.
As I sat in the waiting room, the TV was talking about tornado warnings all over my area. I commented on this to the clerk and he said the tornado sirens in town had gone off two times already that afternoon.
WTF? That's the first I'd heard of it. Though I lived a couple of miles from where the tire store was, I'd not heard any sirens at all. The closest siren to me is about a mile off and with two fans running in my house, there's no way I'd have heard it unless I stepped outside and even then, I'd have to listen carefully to pick it up.
We had several more warnings throughout the evening, though none in my direct area and the rain continued as the remnants of Hurricane Fay slowly made its way through the area. I'm under a tornado watch even as I type, but I'm guessing it's only a precaution, as I think the bulk of what's left of the storm has moved northward.
I can only hope the rest of my week get better.
Hot, Hot, Hot!
On Sunday night, my air conditioner quit on me. It made this squealing sound, then quit. The compressor works, but the fan won't blow any air.This air conditioner is only four years old. I had my previous air conditioner for twenty years without any problems, so this really tees me off.
And I can't afford to call in a repairman, nor get a new one.
I suppose I'm lucky it didn't happen in May, but we've still got some hot weather ahead of us. I went out and bought a couple more fans, but it's not really cutting it.
I'm lucky that my house is well-shaded, as it would be no doubt worse if I had a atark, bare, treeless yard.
If it's not one thing, it's another. Sigh.
Odds and Ends
It seems as if both radio and TV have come up with a new crop of obnoxious commercials for the summer season. Some of the latest offenders are:* A series if Aflac commercials where the Aflac duck makes screechy "ack, ack, ack, ack" sounds. I think the worst of that bunch is the one where an auto mechanic is talking about his repair shop providing Aflac for their employees, where the duck imitates a car that is hard to start: "Af LACK, ACK, ACK, ACK, ACK, AAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!" I want to wring the "acking" duck's neck every time I hear an Aflac commercial
* The Honda "I'm back and I'm knocking" commercial complete with the sound of someone knocking on a TV screen. I want to knock that guy's head off every time I hear it.
* Bullfrog Sun Block. The kid yelling BULL frog! several times during the commerical makes me want to yell BULL shit! back at him.
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As anyone who lives or has ever been to the United States knows, toilet paper is marketed as "bathroom tissue" here, though toilet paper is never referred to as such in conversations. "Toilet paper" is the most common polite reference to this most useful product, though I've heard "toilet tissue" infrequently from those of a more genteel nature, and sometimes by the acronym, "TP". More commonly, I hear it referred to my cruder terms: shit paper, hockey paper, crap paper, and so on.
But never, ever, as "bathroom tissue"
I'm wondering if it's always been marked on packages as "bathroom tissue" and, if so, why? If not, what was it originally called and who decided to start marketing it under this euphemism.
And I'd ask readers who live in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or any other English-speaking country, how are packages of toilet paper marked in your country?
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While listening to a local talk show, one of the hosts mentions to the other host that he was offended by a political bumper sticker he'd seen recently that included the "f bomb", to use his own words. He asked the other host, who is a lawyer, whether or not there were "decency" laws that be leveled against the owner of the car with the offending sticker.
I rolled my eyes at this, knowing that he was going to trot out the old, tired "But what about the children!" rationale for wanting to limit the free speech of another person.
And he did not disappoint me. No sooner had I thought this than he said, "Well, I don't want my kids to have to read that! And you have to see it if you're pulled up right behind him!"
For one thing, no, you don't "have to" read it. You don't have to look at the bumper -- you can look at the trunk, the back window, and so on, instead. And you should have your kids in the back seat, anyway, where they couldn't read it to begin with.
People are so predictable.
Claustrophobia.
Just a little claustrophobic, hmm?
Apparently the owner of this tiny house on wheels doesn't mind. Dee Williams wanted to live a more environment-friendly life, and this 84 square foot doll house was one of the ways she chose.
The small house, which fits into a standard parking space was built from salvaged materials.
Her heating bill is only six dollars a month and solar panels allow her to have free electricity.
It might be fun when going camping or otherwise traveling, but I don't think I could take it full time. For one thing, I'd not be able to fit my entire book collection in there, though the loft bedroom looks sufficient for bedroom activities.
Higher Gas Prices and Riding Bicycles
Now that gas prices are skyrocketing, I'm seeing more and more adults riding bicycles around town.Nearly all these bike riders use the road, rather than biking on sidewalks, as many places around town don't even have sidewalks.
In accordance with what is the law in most states, such bicyclists ride with car traffic, instead of against it.
I've never understood that law. As a kid, I always rode against traffic. When one rides against traffic, they can see what's coming at them and can adjust their path accordingly. When my son was a kid, I'd told him to ride against traffic as well.
I'd feel uncomfortable riding with traffic, having to blindly trust motorists to watch out for me. And as a motorist, I'm frequently confronted with bicycle riders who misjudge the proper place to aim their bicycles on the road and end up too close to the lane of car traffic.
As gas prices remain high, we can expect to see even more bicyclists on the roads, which has the potential to create even more traffic problems. Some places have roads sufficiently wide enough to create special bike lanes, but most do not.
What are your thoughts on this issue?
Earworms in Commercials
There are a few current commercials whose jingles have turned into earworms for me. That is, the tunes tend to replay endlessly in my head.The first is a commercial for Sears' appliances. There's not much to the jingle, except them singing, "Well, all right!" and "Ooh Hoo" in an endless loop. Nevertheless, it's catchy and it's stuck in my head.
Another commercial is for K9 Advantix insect treatment for dogs. It has a dog singing a silly tune:
There ain't no bugs on me
There ain't no bugs on me
There may be bugs on some of you mugs
But there ain't no bugs on me
Yeah, there may be bugs on some of you mugs
But there ain't no bugs on me
It's silly, but I find myself singing the damn song sometimes when I'm driving down the road.
The last commercial is for The Money Store. I get a kick out of this commercial mainly for the visuals that go with the lyrics. One verse goes:
On title loans
The first month's free
And the repo man
Ain't gettin' your keys
During this part of the jingle, it shows a guy with messy hair wearing dirty clothes, shifting his bulging eyes back and forth, while he's sniffing and holding out his hand. I'd never do business with one of these places and the music is cheesy, so I guess it's the ridiculous looking repo man that makes the tune stick in my head.
Are there any commercials you like in spite of, or maybe because of, how stupid they are?
For Once, I Have No Complaints About the Weather
I had just finished an entry, when my computer crashed and it, naturally, vaporized the entire entry. I don't know why these things don't ever happen right after I make a post.Anyway, anyone who knows me knows that I hate spring and summer because I hate hot weather. But compared to last year, this year hasn't been so bad so far.
Last year, we had days in the 90s starting in mid-March. This year, the highest we've seen so far is the very low 80s, and those have yet to be consistent. Rather, the average daytime temps have been in the upper 60s to low 70s. I can handle that, especially if the humidity is low and the nights are cool.
The last two days have been great with highs in the mid sixties and lows in the upper 30s and lower 40s, which I consider to be optimal sleeping weather.
Even the pollen-and-bird-shit season has been shorter and less intense this year.
There are some things I like about this time of year. I like having more hours of daylight to work with, for one thing. And I like my trees fully covered in leaves for two main reasons: it helps to screen my house from the view of passersby and the shade from the trees helps to keep my power bills lower in the summer.
It would be nice if the weather would stay like this all summer, but I know that's about as likely as finding an honest politican, so be prepared for my usual rants about the weather this summer.
How's the weather in your area?
One Thing I'm Thankful For
Gas prices continue to rise in my area and there seemingly is no end in sight, as the US is expected to hit an unprecedented four dollars a gallon this summer.I know British and European readers will think Americans are whining (whinging?) over nothing, considering that they've always had high gas prices. However, one must remember that the US does not have a national health care system and 47 million of us have no health insurance, with millions more becoming underinsured, as more companies are either cutting out health insurance altogether or offering inferior plans where one pays more and gets less.
But I am grateful for one thing.
I'm glad I'm driving this:
Instead of this:
It probably costs more to fill the tank of one of these behemoths once than I spend in groceries in a month.
Bathroom Habits and Personality
|
What Your Bathroom Habits Say About You |
 You are very independent and self-centered. You don't solve other people's problems - and you don't expect them to solve yours. Your idea of fashion is jeans and a t-shirt. Clean, if you're lucky. You are a very outgoing person. You are true to yourself, and you never hold back. In relationships, you are practical and realistic. You have a romantic side, but you only let it out when it's appropriate. |
Miscellania
Two kids somewhere in my neighborhood got mopeds recently. How do I know? It's easy -- they're constantly riding the damned things up and down the street at all hours. I'm guessing they think they're cool; that they're "real bikers". On the contrary. The buzzing, mosquito-like whine of a moped is nothing like the deep-throated growl of a full-fledged motorcycle. Sorry, kids. Riding a moped up and down the same street for hours on end doesn't make you a "real biker" -- rather it makes you a "pesty nerd".________________________
It seems that the latest advertising buzz word in the fast food industry is "melty". I've been hearing it a lot in commercials in the last year, starting with a Taco Bell commercial, if I'm not mistaken. The latest use of this pseudo-word (the proper adjective is "melted") is on a commercial for the McDonald's double cheeseburger. The cheese is melted....errr "melty"...on a cheeseburger! Who knew?
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I've found a funny website, Today's Gripe which is a blog full of rants, both from the webmaster and those submitted by readers. I contributed one of my favorite rants, "A Typical Trip to McDonald's" which can be read by clicking on the link. I'm sure the blog owner will be happy to post some of your rants as well.
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Yesterday, I heard a news story about a golfer that killed a bird. What got my attention apart from the story was the golfer's first name, Trip. I hope this is only a nickname. Now I don't know about you, but I don't think I'd want to go through life being addressed by a word that is a synonym for "stumble". I mean, you might as well call the guy "Spaz".
This pretentious sounding (nick)name is one of several of this type: Skip, Buster, Buzzy, Binky, ad nauseum.
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I got an email from a friend in Mississippi accompanied by pictures of the snowstorm they got last night. At the same time, I see that the Lincoln family up in Ohio is similarly inundated.
Not us. Spring has been well under way for the last couple of weeks. It nearly hit 70 yesterday, the trees are budding, and I found bird shit on the car yesterday. The only thing yet to make its appearance is the yellow-green pollen on the cars.
Today we had a "cold snap" -- it's in the 40s today -- but nowhere near snowing weather. Sigh.
Disagreeing Isn't the Same Thing As Being Rude
I had a busy day off today and on the way home, I stopped at the dollar store to pick up a few items.They had only one register open, so I was stuck waiting in a rather long line. Fortunately, the clerk was efficient, so the line moved quickly.
Unfortunately, an obnoxious, irate customer reached the register when I'd reached the second person back in line from that. She of course, ground everything to a halt.
What was her major maladjustment you might ask?
She was angry that the price was 20 cents higher than the price printed on the bag. It did not occur to her that the store could have raised the price since the bag containing the product had been printed. I understand being unhappy with a higher price, but the clerk has no control over such things and must sell the item for the price the store sets.
The clerk was very polite, telling her that the true price was on a tag attached to the shelf below where the product was shelved; had she noticed that price? She then asked her if she still wanted the item, despite the price.
The customer copped an attitude and insisted, "Yes I want it, but at the price printed on the bag! I want to talk to someone in charge!"
That person was standing right there, and she reiterated what the clerk had said. The customer said, I want to talk to the manager, and when told the manager was off that day, she raised her voice and said, "I want your names!"
At this point, I said, "That's it, lady. Hold up the damned line for twenty freaking cents!" The line behind me was quite long at that point. "Just because they didn't tell you want you wanted to hear doesn't mean they were rude. They're just doing their jobs. Now, either buy the damned thing or don't buy it, you f-in dumbass!"
She bought it at the store's price, then left quickly after giving me a dirty look.
After she'd left, I turned to the clerk and said, "I said that because I knew you wanted to and couldn't." She laughed, as did all the customers in line behind us.
Now, if it had been me, I'd have just bought it, then looked for a cheaper alternative next time. There was no point in giving the clerk a hard time, as they have absolutely nothing to do with the cost of the item.
Thoughts?
Meme-ology
MOUTHOLOGY
Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. Ranch
Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. Hardee's
Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
A. None in particular
Q. On average how much of a tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. Between 15% and 20%, depending on the quality of service.
Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
A. Hamburgers
Q. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
A. Mushrooms, pepperoni, and pineapple.
Q. What do you like to put on your toast?
A. Butter, cinnamon-sugar or apple butter
TECHNOLOGY
Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A. Deep Space Nine station
Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A. One
Q. What kind of cell phone do you have?
A. Blue Motorola KRZR
BIOLOGY
Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
A. Right
Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. Facial hair, on a daily basis. Blood.
Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
A. A lover. ;-)
Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. No.
BULL[CRAP]OLOGY
Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. No.
Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
A. I'm happy with what I have
Q. What color looks good on you?
A. Black.
Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. Yep. I've had more than one fly and gnat fly down my throat.
Q. Have you ever saved someone's life?
A. A cat's life. Does that count?
Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. No.
DAREOLOGY
Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
A. That's not nearly enough money.
Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A. No.
Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. Probably not.
Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
A. Hell, yeah.
Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000?
A. No.
Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
A. Hmm, let me get back to you on that.
DUMBOLOGY
Q: What is in your left pocket?
A. Air.
Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A. Carpet.
Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A. Stand.
Q: Could you live with roommates?
A. I prefer mating with women rather than with rooms.
Q: How many pairs of flipflops do you own?
A: None
Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A. I WAS the cops...or at least one of them.
Q: Who is number 2 on your top 8
A. Top eight what? For top 8 lovers, that would be Anna.
Q: Last friend you talked to?
A. A lover.
Q: Last person who called you?
A. See above.
Q: Person you hugged?
A. See above.
CURRENTOLOGY
Q: Missing someone?
A. No, my aim has improved.
Q: Mood?
A. Hungry. Is that a mood?
Q: Listening to?
A. The refrigerator humming
Q: Watching?
A. The computer monitor.
Q: Worrying about?
A. Money
RANDOMOLOGY
Q: First place you went this morning?
A. The bathroom.
Q: What do you want to do right now?
A: Eat.
Q. What's the last movie you saw?
A. Can't remember.
Q. Do you smile often?
A. No.
Q: Are you a friendly person?
A. Depends on who you ask.
Cat Puke and Keyboards: A Bad Match
02:25, 2008-Feb-2
.. Posted in daily life
.. Link
I came home last night from work and sat down at the computer to surf the net. As is my usual habit, I didn't turn on the light, but surfed in the dark. Everything was normal until I went to leave a comment on someone's blog.
I reached my left little finger to hit the "w" key and encountered something wet and nasty. I discovered that the cat had horked her dinner up all over the top left portion of the keyboard some time before I'd arrived home from work.
Ugh.
I cleaned it off as best as I could, plus the puke in the area behind the keyboard. But it was too late. The caps lock no longer worked, nor did the w,r, f,and b keys.
Fucking hell. Knowing that the keyboard was a goner, I went to bed, resigned to a trip for a new keyboard this morning.
Around noon, I dragged my ass out of bed and went down to the store and picked up a Microsoft keyboard. When I got home, I put the installation disk into my computer and was promptly informed that this keyboard has compatibility issues with some programs on my computer, including Windows.
Fucking great.
However, it gave a link to check for solutions and, fortunately, the Microsoft website had an upgrade that would make this keyboard compatible.
I downloaded the program and thought my problems were over. But that was a silly notion on my part. When I rebooted the computer to complete the installation, the keyboard wouldn't respond for me to type my password in. And to top that off, the cursor was frozen in place.
Picture me ready to throw the new keyboard out the window at this point.
But I rebooted a second time, re-adjusted where the mouse was plugged into the computer and tried again.
This time it worked.
Tonight, before I go out, I'm going to wrap the keyboard up in plastic, so if the cat takes a notion to blow chunks again, the new keyboard won't be a casualty.
Odds and Ends
I can't think of anything specific to write about today, so I leave you with an assortment of odds and ends:Officials in St. Louis recently presented a bill that would ban swearing in bars, along with table-dancing, drinking contests and profane music.
What's next on the nanny agenda? Will they try to ban drinking in bars next?
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Yet another celebrity has met an untimely, premature death. This time it was actor Heath Ledger, who was found dead in bed yesterday. Drugs were involved, but it remains unclear as of this writing whether his death was intentional or an accident. It seems the mere fact of celebrity puts one at a higher risk of premature death.
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What was the first record album/CD that you ever owned? Mine was "The Age of Steam" by Gerry Mulligan. That's jazz, for those who might not be familiar with him.
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The Democrats will have their primary in my state on Saturday. After much thought, I have decided to cast my vote for John Edwards. I think he acquitted himself well at the debate, when he called Clinton and Obama for bickering with each other, asking them whether this would help Americans to gain access to health care, to get an education, and so on.
He's got a fair chance of winning this particular primary, as he was born and raised here and speaks to the concerns of rank and file workers in the state.
I don't have as much confidence for him pulling off the nomination, but who knows?
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I call this one "The Clueless Husband".
Static
It's winter and at this time of the year, there is usually low humidity. And you all know what that means.That's right -- static electricity.
I can remember being a kid and walking around the house, rubbing my socked feet across the carpet, and touching metal items all over the house with the side of my hand. I did this just to see that blue spark of static leap out to meet my hand and to hear the satisfying crackle. The harder I'd rub my feet, the bigger the blue spark would be.
I used to shock my siblings and, I must admit, the dog. I'd touch him on the end of his nose and he'd grimace as the shock got him. It got to the point where he'd run and hide every time he saw me begin to rub my feet along the carpet. He wasn't stupid.
And I can remember doing the laundry and never using a static sheet in the dryer. I liked pulling the clothes out of the dryer, all stuck together, and hearing the satisfying kkkkkrrrrrrttt as I pulled clothes apart. Sometimes I'd even turn the light out, so I could see the blue sparks as well. But now that I do my laundry at the laundromat, there is never any static, though I still don't use dryer sheets.
I once worked in a plant where magnesium powder was used, and sometimes it was my job to vacuum out the excess powder from the inside of the machine. And this is where I've gotten the strongest static shocks of my life. It was hard to keep hold of the vacuum hose, as strong currents of static would reverberate up the hose. I remember one time, standing about a foot away from another person who held the hose and a huge blue spark of static leaped from his elbow to mine. At that level, it wasn't really fun anymore.
Sometimes, now, I get shocked by my car when I touch metal parts on the frame when getting in and out of it. Not always, though; it depends on the humidity level.
How about you? Are you fascinated by static electricity like I am or do you think I'm nuts?
Some Friday Thoughts
I'm a bit pressed for time, so today's entry will be what would have been two too-short entries cobbled together.Yesterday, while reading my local newspaper online, I saw a story about how a homeless man who pushes an overloaded grocery cart all around town had been hit by a car, late the night before. Though he has broken bones and severe internal injuries, he is expected to survive.
When I read the story, I knew who the man was immediately. While out driving, I've encountered him pushing his cart numerous times, usually smack in the middle of the road. I'm surprised that he'd not been hit by a car before now.
One night, while driving in heavy rain, I nearly ran him over myself. I'd just driven over a hill and was headed back down into a flat part of the road in a part of the street where the darkness was not touched by streetlights. Though it was well past midnight, he was out in the middle of the road, pushing that overloaded cart uphill in the pouring rain. It was the last place you'd expect to encounter a pedestrian. Fortunately, I was able to swerve and avoid him.
After I passed him, I stopped to call the police. During my time on the force, we often arrested people like this for "disorderly conduct", simply as a means to give such people a warm and dry shelter out of the rain, and to save them from their own recklessness. When I got the dispatcher on the line, I suggested that she send a car down for this very purpose and she promised to do so.
I don't know what this man's particular history is, but he's a living symbol of the failure of our mental health system.
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The other night my son came to me, wanting my advice. Now that he has a steady girlfriend, he wanted to pick my brains about what I thought the best birth control would be for them. He doesn't want to become a father before he's ready, but he finds regular condom use to be disagreeable, like most men do. He came to me, figuring if anyone would know about such matters, it would be me.
As his girlfriend is rather young, I suggested the pill, as they don't care for the idea of an implant, either.
Whatever they choose, I'm glad they're being responsible and not leaving it up to chance.
Memories of Childhood Board Games
12:16, 2007-Dec-16
.. Posted in daily life
.. Link
Every Christmas when I was a kid, I'd get board games as presents. Following is a trip through memory lane of some of the games I had.
1. Candy Land
This is one of the first games I ever got as a small child. I remember bugging my older siblings to play this with me, but it was usually my mother who would end up doing so.
2. Chutes and Ladders
Another early childhood game that my siblings hated to play with me.
3. Sorry!
This was one of my favorite games. Needless to say, I was NOT sorry when I'd knock someone's piece off the board -- I always took great glee in sending someone's piece back to "start". I always chose the green pieces to play with.
4. Parcheesi
Another favorite that was quite similar to Sorry.
5. Operation
I got a kick out of this game and would make the thing buzz on purpose sometimes.
6. Mouse Trap
One of the coolest games ever. With its rickety contraption that set a ball in a sequence of motions through an absurd maze that resulted in one's "mouse" being trapped, there was a lot to like about this game.
7. Crazy Clock
When I first got the idea for this game list, I remembered I had another contraption game similar to Mouse Trap, but couldn't remember the name. After a short bit of research, I found it. Instead of trapping a mouse, the sequence of events for this contraption had the result of catapulting a sleeper out of bed.
8. Clue
The classic murder mystery game
9. Life
I always liked this game pretty well and, as a kid, I liked that the board had 3D features (the bridges) and was not perfectly flat.
10. Monopoly
A game for all ages that I enjoyed playing. Of course, when I was a kid, all they had was the original game, based on the streets of Atlantic City, NJ, as none of the differently themed versions had yet come out.
Feel free to tell some of your favorite childhood games in the comment box.
Wacky Weather.
Yesterday, the high temperature record was broken for my area with a daytime high of 79F. Today has been much the same and it's supposed to continue for the next couple of days.I've had to use my air-conditioner both in the car and in the house. In December. I do live in the south, but I don't live in the tropics, so these temperatures have been at least 20 degrees higher than what is considered seasonal.
People have been commenting on the "beautiful" weather, but I've been grumbling. I don't like summer in July -- I sure as hell don't like it in December. It's taken the Christmas spirit away and looking at Christmas lights while I'm sweating is oddly incongruous, let alone the vision of Santa in swim trunks.
But the wacky weather did have one advantage, as I was able to have an outdoor hookup earlier this afternoon and, with it being December, sans the insects.
But I'm hoping that it will be at least be cold for Christmas even if we can't have snow.
Resemblance to a TV Character
12:45, 2007-Dec-4
.. Posted in daily life
.. Link
While visiting a lover recently, she told me she'd seen a TV show where the main character reminded her of me. It was the character of Charlie on Two and a Half Men.
I watched an episode with her and I could see the resemblance. Charlie is a single, middle aged libertine who had taken in his divorced, more straightlaced brother and his nephew. Much of the show deals with him and his brother in conflict over his penchant for casual sex, with quite a bit of the issues being all too familiar to my own life.
Of course, it's not an exact resemblance. Though I'm of a similar age and am also dark haired, I don't have Charlie's money, I don't have that Miami Vice look going on, I'm more intellectual than he is, I don't drink, nor do I have a taste for airheaded women. Nor did my mother make the wicked witch of the west look like Mother Teresa as his mother does -- which is given as the reason Charlie is the way he is, as if he couldn't be that way naturally.
The resemblance is more one of kind than quality. Charlie's a caricature; a stereotype, and I'm the real thing.
Nevertheless, I got a kick out of the show and will probably watch it again.
Have any of you reminded others of any TV characters and, if so, which ones?
Future Predictions
When I was a kid in the sixties and a teen in the seventies, I thought of how I'd be living in the 21st century one day, which then seemed so far in the future to me. Like many people, I wondered what kinds of new technology would be part of our everyday lives.I envisioned flying or hovering cars and personal jetpacks that would allow a person to fly. I thought we'd have a base on the moon by now and would have also been to Mars. I thought people would be working six hour days and four day weeks, instead of people working more and more hours.
I didn't anticipate personal computers, nor the internet. I visited my father's office in the early 70s and he showed me their computer room, which contained several large, refrigerator-sized, reel-to-reel cabinets that was part of the computer system. Data was entered into them using "keypunch" cards -- there were no visual monitors. At that time, I would have never imagined people using a typewriter keyboard and a TV-like monitor, powered by a computer that could sit on a table, let alone using a notebook computer smaller than a briefcase that you could carry around with you. Scanners, printers, and affordable copiers were likewise something I never thought of.
Nor did I imagine cell phones. Being able to use the phone anywhere, let alone use a phone to play music, take pictures, and so on never entered my imagination. I can actually remember when we got our first push-button phone in 1967 and call-waiting a few years after that and thinking how great that was.
What are some things you predicted about the future that have yet to come to pass and what are some things that you never imagine we'd have now?
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