2009 — 20 February: Friday
I have a lunch date with Len today. My treat, too. I'm halfway through season #2 of Weeds and still very much enjoying it. And there's a new toy on order, too... But now it's time for tonight's (rather truncated!) picture of Christa and Peter, on that 1983 day trip to Netley Park:
Christa and Peter at Netley, 1983
It brings to mind that little verse: Always keep a-hold of nurse, for fear of finding something worse.
G'night at about 00:02 or so.
Half-listening...
... to an old Rod Stewart song this morning, I'm reminded that I read about Gerry Rafferty yesterday. He has gone missing, it seems. (A story that I'm happy to learn has been refuted here.) I was struck by the estimated £80,000 a year income stream generated by Baker Street for many years. Though that figure appears to have disappeared now. Now, where's my disappearing initial cuppa? It's 08:56 and (once again) I have missed the monthly glass bottle collection. (I think my little crate will be full in about six months at this rate.)
Attempts to pin down the nature of humour (starting, as far as I'm concerned, with Isaac Asimov's excellent story "Jokester") are rarely funny in themselves (or not intentionally) but can often be very well-written. Here's one such by Mary Beard as she reviews a hefty tome by Stephen Halliwell on "Greek laughter". (I was unaware of the existence, let alone the meaning, of the word "agelast".)
It's a lovely, sunny...
... morning. Here's hoping it stays similar for tomorrow as, after a (too-)long gap, we're planning a walk down in the New Forest. The cold has vanished. The finger is getting back to its previous bendability, though it's not yet there. And I could certainly do with the exercise.
The only other exercise on my immediate horizon will be the stripping down and re-plumbing of the ever more simplified A/V stack ahead of the delivery (early next week) of the newest toy — a new plasma screen. I'm hoping I will be able to remove both the RGB switchbox and the DVDO video scaler from the system but (obviously) that remains to be seen. I expect my most-viewed DVD for a while is going to be the good ol' "Video Essentials" (not joking... Joe Kane!)
Too much of a good thing... dept.
If you want proof that the UK's primary education system doesn't have a clue, consider the report that there is too much emphasis on literacy and numeracy.
In later news
It's 19:19 and time for a bite to eat. The A/V system is simplified down to three items temporarily to make it much easier to build it back up with the new screen. To my dismay, I cannot move the old plasma screen on my own, which limits my ability to "Dyson" the area ahead of time. But I had something of an epiphany earlier today while sitting staring at the system and waiting for Len to arrive: I can actually dispense with one of the two equipment stands. Or, at least, use it upstairs. And connecting some of the kit via hdmi leads is a major tidy-up, too. I think Christa's study is now going to become a mini-audio recording studio with the Linux Media PC in there, plus cassette and minidisc kit. Downstairs will be the "home cinema" and music. But where should I put the popcorn concession?
It's only 22:33 but I'm already feeling very tired. I think I'll call it a day after Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra" has finished. And I've done the dishes. And finished cleaning out the Dyson. And poured bleach down the kitchen sink. etc etc