2010 — 9 December: Thursday
There's an incredibly bright star1 about 20 degrees above the horizon in a very pretty-in-pink morning sky above my back garden (which is to say, looking South East, last time I checked).
In more recent news...
... it's not really a surprise to learn that banks increased their charges to the Treasury while Joe Taxpayer was busily supporting them. Opportunistic, money-grubbing whatsits... It's 07:11 and already I want to throw a brick at the radio.
Having so much enjoyed "The lives of others" I shall be interested to see how "The Tourist" turns out. But today (not least because it's -5C out there) is a day for one of my very occasional paperwork catchup sessions. It's been far too long since my last one. (Evidence of same.) And, of course, dear Mama's affairs are now added to the tedious mixture.
First, some breakfast and another cuppa to stiffen my resolve. It's 08:05 and I'm basically awake now.
Guernsey
One of our first holiday destinations (in 1977) though we did note over the course of several visits over the years how much the character of the island changed as the Financial Services "sector" grew and spread like a nasty tumour. Looking down from that first flight, all we saw were greenhouses for the flowers and tomatoes. Not any more, it seems.
Little did I think, when I bought my one "Sensational Alex Harvey Band" CD2 that in a tiny way it marked the future direction of UK retailing. I remember noting the odd price (the effect of no VAT) and wondering vaguely at the time how Boots could "get away with it" as I'd just paid with a piece of plastic that talked direct to my bank in the UK. Well, there's a fascinating article here about just that.
The barometer having shot up to 79.2 and the porch thermometer having shot up to a mere -0.5C what better way to re-oxygenate the red blood cells than spend 15 minutes clearing the ice off the see-through bits of the car? That's got to be worth a "lemonses" cuppa, surely? It's 10:55 and starting to cloud over. The new non-varifocal "distance" glasses work well, though (of course) I now have to get used to the way objects don't swirl around with head and eye motion. Wonder how long it will take.
Rotten to the core
Having twice frozen iTunes I have invoked Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, declared it persona non grata on BlackBeast, and arranged its immediate extradition to the Recycle bin. Not that I'm terribly impressed by Windows Media Player, of course. I may yet have to revert to good ol' WinAmp.
Done! Just call me a Luddite:
For some moods, there really is nothing better than mellow Miles Davis — here playing with Marcus Miller from the soundtrack to a bit of a potboiler called "Siesta". Even though the film stars Ellen Barkin it gathered enough poor reviews to put me off. The soundtrack, though, is glorious.
How did it become...
... nearly 17:00 already? Amazing. As I draw blinds and curtains I note that bright "star" is in the same place again (though higher than my original estimate, I'd say). It's already dipped below freezing though it was nearly +2C in the early afternoon. (I tried, unsuccessfully, to tempt my tea-drinking co-pilot to play hookey with me. These "I've got to wait in for a delivery" obligations are a damned nuisance sometimes.)
Right. WinAmp Lite tried, and found wanting. (A little too minimal.) VLC is still in the to-try queue. Media Monkey tried and found wanting. I'm currently trying WinAmp Standard. I'm also getting a little peckish. It's already 18:28, suddenly.
Bashing my head against a safe door
Having made myself known to, and fought my way through the user-hostile thickets of, dear Mama's online banking system to the point where I was actually on the point of paying back to myself some of the expenses I've been fielding so far on her behalf... I stubbed my toes on their recently upgraded3 security system. They are now on the hook to send me a little gadget called a PINSentry before I can get any further. (They are "sorry for any inconvenience". And, to rub salt in the wound, their system went offline before I'd logged off. Isn't technology wonderful?)
It's nearly midnight and I've had quite enough sh1t of this sort for one day. G'night.