2011 — 22 October: Saturday
As midnight looms up and then promptly gently recedes1 I'm starting to wonder just how severe my withdrawal symptoms are going to be when my supply of "Castle" DVDs runs out. In about two more hours of viewing time. But not before rather later today.
After all, I have to finish the next Kermode and Mayo film review podcast first.
G'night.
In general...
... I can deduce — or should that be "deduct? :-) — what someone is looking for when a search string turns up in my server log as they stumble upon my otiose little web of words. However, as I sup my second morning cuppa, I confess I am completely baffled by the four occurrences of "brontosaurus hydrographics".
Though I'm willing to bet the searcher was disappointed by the results:
- "Bully for Brontosaurus" — a 1991 book of essays2 by Stephen J Gould
- "Peacetime Chilean hydrographics" — my summary of Patrick O'Brian's 20th Aubrey and Maturin novel ("Blue at the Mizzen"). And I can't believe that that came out 12 years ago, either
It's turning into a sunny morning and, dagnabbit, there's a hole in my sock other than the one designed for me to put my foot through.
I confess...
... I retain a sneaking admiration for the ex-mayor of London, so I suspect I will be investigating his memoir.
He got into trouble again this summer for describing next year's mayoral election as a "simple choice between good and evil. I don't think it has been so clear since the great struggle between Churchill and Hitler. Those who don't vote for me will be weighed in the balance come Judgment Day. The Archangel Gabriel will say, You didn't vote for Ken Livingstone in 2012. Oh dear, burn for ever. Your skin flayed for all eternity."
I had forgotten, until listening to this, that I, too, used to receive "Rupert" annuals for Xmas in the 1950s. But I soon moved on (a little) to "Dan Dare". Progress of a sort, I suppose.
It intrigues me to think that typically introverted computing types may be changing the brains of more outgoing social networking system users. Though there are (inevitably) issues of causation, pre-disposition, and correlation to be clarified. (Link.)
Earwiggo again
My US National Public Radio listening began on the analogue satellite receiver that I'd bought for Christa to use for her German TV channels in the mid-1980s. NPR was at that time using an analogue transponder on the same (ASTRA 1) cluster of satellites. When NPR eventually changed satellite and went digital, so did I, with an Echostar box — until that blew up.
I then used the early Humax HDCI2000 hi-def satellite receiver3 just for NPR, feeding it from a re-oriented Sky Digital minidish and leaving it tuned permanently to transponder 111 on Hotbird 7A (13°E). Alas that, too, has just died on me. And although there are dire warnings printed on the Korean power supply circuit board about only replacing the fuse with one of equal voltage and current characteristics, the sad fact is there's nothing anywhere on that board that actually looks anything remotely like a replaceable fuse. I'm not about to tinker.
"Bother", said Pooh. Yet again. I shall just have to comfort myself with an evening meal and (possibly) the last blast of Castle Season #3, which has gone from strength to strength. I'm no great fan of police procedurals, but the blend of comedy, drama, and relationships examined with fantastic insight has proved totally irresistible.
I didn't realise...
... quite how many fireworks-loving morons who can't read a calendar live within earshot.