2010 — 5 June: Saturday
Oh dear, suddenly it's 01:25 and definitely time for sleep. G'night.
Quick news from NZ
My formerly domestic-technologically-challenged Big Bro, bless 'im, has finally given in and permitted a broadband connection down on the farm. Actually, given that it's probably fibre optic to his front door, it may even be faster1 than my present connection but, since he'll probably simply clog it up immediately with his 70,000 or so photos of aircraft, my fraternal equanimity is unperturbed. He's also (I suspect fairly recently) added the stinking pile of ordure that is satellite Sky TV from that simply delightful ex-Australian chap and his miniscule media empire.2
It's sunny, and warming up fast. That's rather a pity as my target for today is to stuff my next crockpot and another dozen cartons. I note that my subconscious (if that's what it is) has been pondering domestic re-arrangements down in the living room and up here in what was Christa's study. There are many possibilities yet to explore after living half my lifetime in this house. A change is as good as a rest, is it not?
Speaking of half lifetimes... while waiting for my second cuppa to brew a couple of minutes ago I idly turned over my kitchen "birthday" calendar from May to June (one doesn't want to rush these things) only to be smacked in the face by the unbelievable fact that the little girl I used to play swingball with (and for whose pleasure I destroyed an expensive pair of studio monitor loudspeakers in 1996) is now a mother of two and reaches half her allotted biblical span on Monday, just as the plumbing work starts.
If that isn't a thought to stop me in my tracks, briefly, I don't know what is.
Broadsword calling Danny boy
The eagle has dared to land. Not sure how its jolly mayhem can be characterised as "moderate violence" — wholesale slaughter of the German army would be nearer the mark, surely?
I'm also dismayed to discover that "Good Friday" is described on the sleeve as being presented in its original aspect ratio, 1.66:1. Shome mishtake, shurely? Still, a Blu-ray for £4-99, and with a 170-minute documentary feature thrown in... The sleeve also gives the copyright date as 1986 which, given I first saw it before moving to this part of the world, doesn't add up. The third item here showed up yesterday. I think I now rate "Curb" every bit as highly as its predecessor "Seinfeld".
The crockpot is stuffed and simmering gently. Two more cartons are also stuffed, so I'm taking a short break. It's 12:57 and rather warm.
Later
Well, if ever I needed a series of reminders of just exactly what it is I lost when I lost Christa I can thoroughly recommend clearing out all the accumulated domestic fossils that have somehow become deposited, much like geological strata, hereabouts over the last three decades or so!3
It's 15:07 and time to transfer the next batch of cartons over to my little store room.
Cue Churchill
This is not the end, as was famously remarked, nor yet the beginning of the end, but possibly the end of the beginning of the end. I'm now going to move the A/V stack from its present wheeled trolley back on to the pair of stands it was on before. That will free up the trolley to put the plasma screen on. Not that there's the faintest possibility of my being able to move the screen without help from the plumber — but he knows that, and needs it moved to be able to replace the radiator at the front of the living room. You can see both the trolley and one of the two spiked stands here, part way through the last organisational earthquake.
Such good fun! It's 17:21 and rather sticky. I just uncovered — stashed in Peter's room — a brand-new, still wrapped, replacement laser printer that I vaguely recall Christa treating herself to just before her health went pear-shaped. "Feather, knock, a, me, with, down" you could! Hell's teeth, woman...
Goodness me! I'd forgotten (or repressed the memory of) how heavy my AudioLab power amplifier is, and also how confusing its back panel output labels are when (like me) you bridge two of the seven channels to produce a 5.1 feed instead of a 7.1 feed. But Joan Bakewell's examination of the life and times of Mary Whitehouse and her effect on UK society has been keeping me going (as it were). If only in the sense of ensuring I kept muttering a stream of uncharitable thoughts under my breath fairly steadily.
I learned today, by the way, that the latest level of firmware for my DVDO Edge video scaler now enables inputs to be supplied with co-ax or optical digital audio (no video, of course) without the unit lapsing into standby mode. I admit this might be useful, but I'm not quite sure how at the moment. But now I need a cuppa before I resume battle with the rest of the kit.