Shamrocketship

Definitely not a friend of mine

This article in today's Asbury Park Press cracked me up. This guy needs Prozac or something. 

On XM Radio

I've had XM Radio in my car for about six months now and it's kind of like cable TV.  There are a gazillion channels and within a short period of time you realize you're only frequently tuning in to a half dozen or so.  I have 30 pre-set spots available, but only 8 actually designated.  They are for classical, Fine Tuning (so eclectic that it defies description), folk/acoustic, 70's, 90's (yes, I skipped the 80's), current alternative, comedy, and a token latino station.  If they had a Bollywood one, I'd preset that, but no such luck.

Anyway, I spend about a week listening to a station before I tire of it and change to another, and I recently spent a week at the classical spot on the dial.  I was listening to some symphony or other, and after it finished the announcer quoted an 18th-century admirer of the composer. The admirer had just heard the debut performance of the piece and was apparently so blown away by it, that when he went to put his hat back on upon leaving the concert hall, he found it hard to locate his head.

Which got me to thinking that I am very glad I live in the age of recorded media.  Because back in the days of the classical composers, you had to have a certain amount of money and societal standing to attend their performances.  And if I were so lucky to have attended one and then had I likewise been blown away by it and then had I faced the distinct possibility - probability - that I would never hear that piece of music quite so ever again? 

I would probably go crazy. 

RAM

So I'm finally done loading the digital picture frame, and the total time spent was about 9 hours.  I lost track of the total number of pictures but it's way more than the 150 they advertised.  When I remember to check (it's at work sprucing up my cube) I'll let you know.

In the process of going through all of my digital pictures (the ones I haven't lost, anyway), I found a few worth throwing up here.

First, my son getting a "This Side Up" haircut by Sparky last summer.  Only it's "This Side Down" in the picture . . .

Then there's T-Bone, from a previous lifetime, holding my teeny tiny Iris cat in his huge arms.  This would have been taken about eight months before she died, and she was probably drooling with happiness.  It's one of my favorites.

 

Another Great Time Sucker-Upper

I bought a digital photo frame Saturday.  Kohl's had a great sale (thanks, Drooly!) and I picked up a decent one.  It holds 150 pictures at 2MB each, but I'm shrinking mine a lot smaller since it makes no sense to view them on this device at that size.  So I can probably load over 500, I figure. 

So far, I have spent about six hours going through my digital picture library and loading a nice assortment into the frame.  So far. 

This is just as time-consuming as iPod management.

It's Information Day. Do you know where your children are?

• That, by the way, is a totally random title that has nothing to do with this post.  And the post itself doesn't have much to do with anything, either. 

Weekend Plans?

Tonight:

• Blog writing and reading (2% and 98%, respectively, of time spent on the PC tonight)
• Book reading:  India, by Stanley Wolpert*

• Eat these: 

• Drink this: 

• Early to Bed **

Tomorrow, aka  Saturday, aka Hey Nonny nonny and a hot-cha-cha:

• Early to Rise
• Work out with this:

• Clean the house
• Put winter clothes away/get out lightweight stuff
• Repost Honda eBay listing at a lower price
• Visit the mall for more lightweight stuff
• Play piano (including new Allman Bros collection with Little Martha - yeah!)
• Email, blog reading
• Book reading or watch a movie
• Blog writing  Probably not

Sunday - whereupon we shall don our finest PJs to attend St. Mattress of the Sheets, where Father Pillow and Sister Quilt shall surely be in attendance, after which -

• Work out with this:

• Day trip to NYC with Mom to go see dinosaurs and butterflies and sapphires and stars***
• Posting of pictures from the trip
• Email, blog reading
• Blog writing   Probably not

Have a great weekend - see you Monday.

* Which reminds me. I've been asking my Indian work buddies where their hometowns are since I've been reading so much about India.  Most are surprised I care.  Some assume I am clueless:  Today I asked Ramana "where are you and your family from, exactly?"  His reply?  "India."  Oh.  Like I had NO idea . . .

** Can anyone help me with the html to make this formatting work?  Then again, nevermind.  Typepad will probably read this and send me a comment . . .

*** Always a humbling experience for me to be reminded of the enormity of the universe and my total inconsequence in the grand scheme of things.   

 

Another Stupid Idea

I'm waiting for my usually very practical brain to return; it seems to be on hiatus.

Because I think I want to get a bike.  As in motorcycle. 

When I was a teenager, all my male friends had them.  And they were quite a collection of interesting machines, let me tell you.  No two alike and if I remember correctly, no two even the same make.  Ronnie's was a BSA.  Bernie had the Triumph.  Matt broke the unspoken rule and bought a Japanese something-or-other.  Eric had the only Harley in the bunch, and I think that was the only one that consistently ran.  The others were forever in some state of disassembly, with the carburetor or the head gasket or wiring needing repair.  In fact, I only ever saw Jackie's 1946 Indian run once.  Up the street about 300 yards before it died.  But the fact that it ran at all was in inself a miracle, because he'd brought that bike back from a trip "out West" in boxes, and it took it a bunch of years to get it put together.  He put a lot of money into it and we were not shocked that he paid some then-egregious sum of money to have his gas tank custom-painted with the double-pyramid crystal ball from this Captain Beyond album cover. 

Anyone else remember Captain Beyond? 

Anyway, I more or less grew up around these guys who were constantly talking about, frequently fixing, and occasionally riding their bikes.  Here's a sketch I made of Ronnie back then that gives some indication of his attachment to his BSA.  I guess It's no wonder some of that bike-love rubbed off on me but I didn't consciously think much of it until I saw one of these the other day and instantly fell head over heels in love.

I mean, I had no idea they'd brought the Triumph Bonneville back and I did a double-take when I spotted it, of course thinking at first that it was a meticulously-maintained thirty-something-year-old.  But I could tell looking closer that it was new! And the sound of it!  They still have that most lovely, distrinctive Triumph sound that I can't explain but seriously, I can recognize that metallic purr a half mile away, it is that unique.   

So I've done a little research and learned the remake has a more powerful engine than the 650cc on the ones I remember, but it's still small enough and low enough to the ground for someone my stature to handle nicely.  Used ones are nicely priced, too.  Very nicely. 

This could be a real possibility if my practical brain doesn't return soon.   

Green Day

Yeah, yeah.  Happy St. Patrick's Day and all that.  I woke up at 3:45 (AM, having a bit of too much energy since I stopped smoking), left the house at 6:40, dropped the girl child off at school at 7:20, got to work at 8:30, stayed there til 5:00, picked up girl at 6:10, got home at 6:45, worked out from 7:00 until 8:00, talked to my buddy Dom for 45 minutes and here I am.  What a day.  The damned shame part of it is that I haven't had so much as a sip of wine, but I won't be at work tomorrow and everyone will assume it's because I'm recuperating or something.  Bah. 

Instead, I'm taking girl child for her driver's license test.  WISH HER LUCK because if she fails after the amount of practice I've forced her into,  I will never let her hear the end of it.  And I just might force her to WALK to school for the rest of the year. 

Twenty-two miles.

Uphill. 

Both directions. 

Just a little wish . . .

Really.  A teeny one.

Would it be too much to ask that I could feel as tired at 2:00 AM as I do at 2:00 PM?

Thanks.

Oh, Pooh.

Just this little tidbit before heading into a weekend that will bring not only a great Super Bowl game (this is a Patriots/Giants household), but also a brand new, MATCHING sofa and chair for the living room (serious grown-up stuff, eh?):

"Owl," said Rabbit shortly, "You and I have brains.  The others have fluff."

A.A. Milne

Colorful Thanksgiving

It was very yellow in the back yard yesterday.

There were, however, bits of gray here and there as well . . .