2009 — 13 July: Monday
Another weekend gone. Amazing. Tonight's picture? Yet another of her glorious smiles for me:
Christa in Old Windsor, summer 1976
But, despite the attractions of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour, it's time for some sleep. I need more, at least, than yesterday. G'night at 00:40 or so.
A new Oppo player?
I've been seduced by the Dark Side. Or, to put it another way, I've just ordered my third Oppo DVD player within a year or so. (I know, I know, pure folly.) The USP of this latest one, however, is that not only does it do all the smart video upscaling and frame rate conversion with the very latest level of the Anchor Bay VRS technology (like my "old" DVDO external scaler but tons better) but that it also handles Blu-ray. And the gravy on the cake (as it were) is that it's multi-region for both DVDs and Blu-rays. I've made the minor adjustment to my system diagram, and predict my new bread and water diet will be over by, well, now... actually. I shall just have to delay buying new clothes! Or save on electricity bills by not ironing1 them.
It's 09:13 and I've a packed lunch to prepare if we're to get this walking show on the road. Mind you, it does look as if I may need my waterproof jacket.
Jabbed to death?
I used to think I was paranoid. But when I read some of the comments made to this Observer article by its readers, I now realise I'm a rank amateur. So I shall go and have that forecast shower.
Hey, where did...
... that day go? It's 16:31 and some glorious Beethoven on BBC Radio 3 is working its usual magic. We managed to totter gently round a 6.1 mile walk and dodge any rain, though some horse-flies2 were nibbling. Even stopped for a pint on the way back, and dropped an ice cube down a 300 foot well while standing by a treadmill (there's a reasonable clue to our whereabouts, methinks, not a million miles from a Meon or two).
Right. On with the washing machine. On with the shower. On with the show. Where's that next cuppa?
Neural avalanches
Recall Arthur Dent's conviction that there's a fundamental flaw in reality if the ultimate answer to "Life, the Universe, and Everything" is, indeed, "42"? Well, I get a similar feeling when I read stuff like this:
Disorder is essential to the brain's ability to transmit information and solve problems.
Disorder inside my head? They don't know the half of it.
Later
It's 21:06 and looking a bit cloudy out there. Still, I'll need to do some supplies shopping tomorrow, regardless of the weather. And the bit of finger that one of those horse-flies took a fancy to has started to itch. Horrible creatures. What are the chances I'm out when Mr Oppo van shows up, heh? Last time I ordered from these guys, the box showed up 18 hours after placing my order. Not bad, considering it comes from Norwich.
Well, it's raining men. Shortly. It seems both Big Bro and Junior plan to visit me at the end of the week. I foresee a busy time ahead. But I'm not sleeping on the sofa!