2009 — 12 January: Monday
I've been backing up some MP3s across the network, but my eyelids are now threatening to slam together. It's 01:20 and here's tonight's picture of Christa, and a very young, slightly "red eye", Peter from 1980:
Christa and a very young Peter
Isn't Maureen Lipman wonderful? G'night. Wait! I was just trying to answer a query about indentation, and now I've been sent a link to a most delicious "2008 Counterknowledge Award" and an associated chart here. Isn't our future monarch wonderful? Good grief, it's 02:05 and I need to sleep.
Today's burning issue(s)... dept.
Not exactly life-or-death, perhaps, but do I start preparing the crockpot this morning (it's 08:40) or do I let it "run" overnight tonight? I need a cuppa while I ponder that one. And thus have time to ponder this amusing "reductio ad absurdum" piece on the pros and cons of getting hitched. Snippet and source:
Nothing beats living alone. Why shackle yourself to a fellow human being for the rest of your days? Because you're in love? Don't be a wuss. That'll fade after a few years and all you'll be left with is a walking catalogue of tiny, grating quirks gleefully pointing out your shortcomings. To avoid murdering each other, you'll have to keep yourselves anaesthetised with DVD boxsets and the occasional holiday. Life partner? Joy thief, more like.
Nice one, Charlie! You're wrong, of course, but you made me smile. Right; on with the crockpot slicing and dicing. Before I further increase my carbon footprint by talking to Mrs Google. Thanks, Mr Wissner-Gross.
Not much of the promised monsoon yet (10:43) but it's well above freezing. As is the newly-stuffed crockpot. The day looms ahead, deliciously unencumbered by much in the way of plans at this point. Doubtless all will clarify.
What would Ken say, I wonder?
I was browsing the Chilling Effects site, having learned of recent scientology1 ("You got an 'ology'? That means you're a scientist" — to recall Maureen Lipman's "BT" character) abuses, but landed somewhat askew:
The Dungeon Doll's dress, which Pitt described as "'Lederhosen-style' Bavarian bondage dress and a helmet in rubber with a PVC-mask and a waspie," convinced Swain that the product was
sufficiently different in design from a typical Barbie-related toy.
"Defendant's 'touch-ups' of the dolls plus the setting she creates for them transform, to put it mildly, the original doll to an extent beyond merely supplanting it," Swain wrote. "A
different analysis would apply if Defendant had, for example, dressed Barbie dolls in a different style of cheerleader outfit than those marketed by Mattel. To the Court's knowledge,
there is no Mattel line of 'S&M' Barbie."
Hmmm. Christa's childhood home borders Bavaria.
He's back...
... after a spot (19.6 miles) of Christa's anti-jangle therapy. But first things first: another cuppa! And a bite to eat, of course.
The monsoon is currently (15:05) taking shape as drizzle, though it was quite windy in town. I first drove over to Hedge End, to discover that separate FM tuners are essentially a thing of the past. Had a chance to weigh up the pros and cons of the Logitech kit Len showed me a week ago. Then it was over into Southampton, past what's left of the "Meridian" TV site (which was "TVS" very shortly after we moved down here, and [I assume] "Southern" even before that, back in 1981). On down past the station, up to London Road with "Sevenoaks", "Sony" and the "Oxfam" book shop, plus "Richer Sounds" a bit further along. All inspected at a total cost of £1-30 for a parking ticket near the site of an ICL sales office I'd visited 30 years ago in an antique Talbot. This is the first time I've got out of the car in this part of town since before Christa died. She was a regular caller at the Rymans place for her fax rolls in earlier years. Memories.
Meanwhile, earlier that same day...
Before I set off, Mr (incredibly wet and young-looking) Postie had come a-knockin'. (Sound F/X, ripping cardboard):
A while back, I mentioned author Gary Dexter's essay on the title of "Catch-22". He's now collected a set of such essays into this book. And I'd caught one episode of this TV series, (which was created by the chap [Bill Prady] who cooked up "Dharma and Greg" a few years back). Amusingly, one of the two physicists (or nerdy geeks — take your pick) is called "Sheldon", which can only ever bring to mind Harry and Sally...
I want to shout at the radio again — the BBC's bizarre "Beyond Belief" programme. In essence, a chap has just said that America is a very religious country and therefore has the right to bring religion into its political processes. So a chap has an imaginary friend who tells him what to do. Or what not to do. Sounds like a workable definition of insanity to me.
It brings to mind a photo I had Mike "snap" for me last year. I've hardly tinkered with it at all!
Speaking of consecrated ground, I've just refreshed the diagram showing the sound system up here in my study. It's a hobby! And, at 21:54 it's also time for another cuppa. I have it in mind to try the film with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock (last seen together in that gloriously tacky story of the speeding bus with a bomb on it). The Lake House is a remake of a Korean film I hadn't heard of. Hollywood is not always great at remakes...