2012 — 15 August: Wednesday
Most people seem to get excited by donning tribal regalia, ascending spectator stands, and watching chaps in similar regalia running around kicking balls. For 90 boring minutes. Not me. I get excited by an entirely different type of stand. What's 30cm high, 45cm deep, 120cm wide? And can support a weight of up to 60kg?1
The intention is to lower2 my 60" Kuro plasma screen to a more sensible height and free up my wheeled glass shelf trolley for other load-bearing duties. Possibly, in fact, reverting to its original job of carrying the rest of the A/V kit. Of such little triumphs does my day sometimes consist. Took me two goes to get the damned credit card authorised, too, 'cos NoScript blocked a vital part of the transaction and, of course, the web app couldn't recover from such a shock.
I don't know if it rained overnight, but it's certainly doing so now, now being 09:49 or thereabouts. Yesterday's recipient of that six-channel audio lead has signed on the virtual dotted line for Kuro-lifting assistance when Mr Aquila eventually shows up. What larks, Pip ol' chum, what larks. Right. Time for some breakfast and the (second) cup that cheers.
If the BBC can be trusted I have, it seems...
... a little under three hours in which to find the battens for my hatches. [Pause] Well, a flash-bang prompted me to unplug the aerials and switch to alternative musical entertainment for a while. It also rained quite hard for a while. But now — at 14:45 — it's once again bright enough to switch off the lights.
Thanks, Mr Postie
I was chatting with Len before lunch. He'd dropped by to return a couple of items, and while he was here a cheerful Mr Postie proffered a few more lumps of anti-boredom meds:
Three of these titles are guaranteed enjoyable (the Tarantino alone has three hours of extras, bless it). The fourth strikes me as low-risk (given the presence of Helen Mirren and Tom Wilkinson). Here's the fifth title which (at £2-07 and with an incredibly young-looking Chiwetel Ejiofor) also seems low-risk:
I list it separately simply because it wouldn't tessellate nicely with the other four.
I occasionally amuse myself...
... by looking back through old letters and emails, both Corporate and personal. They quite often remind me of the good things3 about retirement. Here, for example, is a brief excerpt from a letter I wrote to dear Mama just over a decade ago:
Meanwhile, of course, I have been busier than the mythical one-armed paper-hanger described by Ring Lardner getting everything ready for a grand announcement last Friday only to have things put on hold just about at the last minute while a bun fight breaks out between two egomaniacal executives who see said announcement either as a territorial challenge or some sort of virility contest.
Since (both in my humble opinion, and from my personal experience) some of these executives are so dim they would have trouble emptying water out of their boots even if you printed instructions for them on the sole of the damned things, I derive such amusement as I can by silently counting the number of chances I could get further enemies by repeating my mantra "I told you so". I have long concluded that, when trying to second-guess a Corporate decision at almost any management level one merely has to ask oneself "What would be the silliest decision these idiots could make?" and make one's plans accordingly. That way, if I'm ever surprised, it is at least a pleasant surprise. Believe me, Mother, I could write more than one book about IBM.
Having scraped a small patch of mould off my last slice of defrosted bread, I shall have a little sandwich supper and head for the sleeping zone. It's already 23:45 somehow.