2011 — 21 January: Friday
It looks a lot warmer out there1 than it actually is — as I realised when trying to open the lids on my two thoroughly frozen waste bins. But a cuppa will help. (Me, not them.) It's 08:50 and the sky is an interestingly bright mixture of stuff.
It's déjà vu all...
... over again. Mind you, I'm reminded of the cute 1953 SF short story by Lion Miller ("The Available data on the Worp reaction") that you can find in a couple of old anthologies. I particularly liked the bit about "They published their paper in the Journal of Nuclear Physics, an online journal founded and run by themselves". (Link.)
It's clouded right over (at 10:35) and now dipped to -3C. Brrr. What looked like water on the car is actually ice, dagnabbit.
Hiya, Mr cold-looking Postie.
What'cha got there? A final electricity statement showing me £17 in credit ("Our unique Direct Debit Bonus Scheme means that if your account is in credit, we may give you a little back.") You'd better, sunshine! And a 1977 film I didn't even know existed, made from a book I'd enjoyed back in the 1960s, and starring the chap last seen as "Uncle Peter" in Inception:
No-one who knew me and Christa would (I think) be in any doubt that I was always in praise of older women :-)
Still looking at the medicine?
This NYT comparison of tablets includes one I'd ruled out on size grounds: the Dell Streak. And one I'd simply overlooked: the HP Slate. At that price, I shall probably continue to overlook it, too. But at least it offers an optional USB port via its dock. (Brian asked me to keep an eye out for one with that facility.)
There's a more local product, too, with a 10" screen to boot (as it were). From my good chums down in Portsmouth (suppliers of BlackBeast) — Novatech.
A light lunch has been lunched. And now (14:10) having spent quite some time informing myself in some depth about the pros and cons of the latest Kindle3 e-reader from Amazon while listening (I'm not quite sure why) to Blair's live testimony to the Iraq inquiry I'm patiently waiting for a live film review session from Kermode and Mayo. Then it will be time for me to nip out and blag a cuppa from Roger and Eileen. (Mention has been made of a chocolate biccy, too!)
Watching the live streamed webcam view from the broadcast studio is oddly fascinating. Particularly when they're actually playing a pre-recorded interview with "Ritchie Cunningham". Or questioning the spelling of "dilemma" which (for some reason) they both think should be "dilemna".
2space or not 2space
I'm tempted to show this to my friend Carol in New York. There's a wonderful correction at the end of it, too.
And people think I'm obsessed by fonts. Pah! How about Typographic maps?
Later
Leaving Roger this time, replete with biccy and having scraped the fresh frost off the car, at least I remembered to put it in gear before trying to drive away up his drive.
My post-evening-meal treat this evening has been the film that came today. Actually, it was pretty unremarkable (certainly not as good as the book) but the modern "Making of..." featurette also on this re-issued DVD consisted of interviews with the director and producers and was so fascinating that I twice neglected, and had to rezap, a cuppa in the microwave. But remind me never to get involved with screening anything even slightly risqué at the first-ever Toronto International Film Festival in the late 1970s :-)