--Exhausted and dragging fat-ass, I crawled into bed last night
before
9:30
and slept like Natalee Holloway.
Yesterday was hot and sticky again, but while I was “writing” at a
table in the young adult section of the library (the least-visited
part of the building, it seems) the temperature must’ve plunged a
full fifteen degrees.It was
grotesque outside when I entered the joint, and it felt shockingly
pleasant when I came out, two hours later.So we slept with the windows open last night, and that’s the
best sleeping of all.
Since I hit the sack so early, I didn’t have time to prepare the
site for today’s update.I
try (and sometimes succeed) to have the Further Evidence link, the
bunker pic, Charley West, and the permanent page ready to go the night
before.But I didn’t do any
of that yesterday.
So, this morning I came down here, turned on the latest Lindsey
Buckingham CD, and started tending to the tasks at hand.
Have you heard the latest Lindsey Buckingham?I like him, I really do.I
consider him to be the most interesting and talented member of
Fleetwood Mac, and he’s released several really
good solo albums.But I
just can’t get into the new one.It
irritates me all the way down to my skeleton.I try to allow it to grow on me, but it never does.Every song sounds the same, and it’s one annoying song.
I turned it off after about ten minutes, and decided to listen to Neal
Boortz instead.But he’s on
vacation, and had some dullard sitting in for him.So, I went searching for Christopher Rude, the morning guy I
used to listen to in Atlanta.(Quote from Toney, circa
mid-1990s:“You’re being ruined
by the Jerky Boys, Beavis and Butthead, and Christopher Rude!”)I figured he’s still in radio somewhere, probably doing a
morning show, and I was right.
He has something called the Rude Awakening on a sports channel in Atlanta, and I clicked the Listen Now button.Immediately I heard his voice, and was transported back to my
days in Georgia.I listened to that guy for
years, and thought he was flat-out hilarious.You know, in a seventh-grade boy kinda way.
So it was cool, for a while.Then
his many sidekicks started chiming in, and the whole thing was ruined.Why must all sports-related radio or TV shows feature some
asshole with a thick
New Jersey
accent, shouting and acting all exasperated?Why is that a prerequisite?It
makes me a do a full-body flex.
Is there anything worse than sports-talk radio?I submit that there is not.…OK,
maybe Al-Qaeda.
--Another thing that pisses me
off:a new McDonald’s
commercial that advertises cheap prices “so you’ll have money left
over to buy the things you want.”Or
something like that.
In the spot they show some hipster girl wearing headphones, gyrating
like Axl Rose’s retarded cousin, and holding a vinyl record in her
hand.And here’s the part
that really frosts my bear claw…She’s
holding the thing like it’s a Frisbee.
Oh, she’s rubbing her gloopy booger-hooks all
over that LP (something from Capitol Records), with no regard for
the grooves or skipping, or anything.Clearly,
the girl has no idea what she’s doing; she’s merely an actress
playing the part of a hip young album-lover.
The lack of authenticity irritates me, and I also cringe at the
blatant abuse of that poor vinyl LP.Something
on Capitol Records…
--About three years ago I
invested almost three hundred dollars in a Canon all-in-one machine.You know, it’s one of those deals that supposedly prints,
scans, copies, faxes, grates cheese, etc. etc.And the thing never really worked.
The printing part of it, which I use the most, has been nothing but a
pain in the ass, both east and
west of the great divide.
Almost from day one there was a big ol’ line running through
everything, it was prone to jamming, the software was buggy, and over
the past six months or so, it wouldn’t print anything that required
black ink.The hell, man?!If I wanted a hard copy of a Word document, or something, I’d
have to change the text to dark blue.
I switched-out the cartridges in that piece of crap multiple times,
did all the suggested cleanings and alignings, and all that stuff.And nothing worked.Or,
to be more precise, when I’d get one thing working, something else
would shit the bed.It was the
printer version of my old Chevy Blazer, it was just one thing after
another.
A few weeks ago I flew into a rage, and unplugged the entire
apparatus.I didn’t even want
it in here anymore, taunting me with its half-assery.I went on Amazon and ordered a cheap HP machine, I think it
cost $94.And it’s been solid
as a rock, so far.
I know it’s still the early days of its life, but I can’t tell you
how luxurious it feels to hit the PRINT button and not think,
“Wonder what’s going to happen this
time?I hope there’s not
a fire.”It’s nothing
fancy, but it does what I ask it to do.Something that expensive Canon can never claim…
Need me to print anything for you?‘Cause
I can do it, Jack.
--I think I mentioned how
Netflix made some sort of adjustment, and all of a sudden my discs are
getting back and forth in a single day?Well, it’s changed everything.I mailed three DVDs back to them yesterday, they received them
today, and I’ll have the replacements tomorrow.In the old days I would’ve had to wait until Friday.
If I really devoted my life to it (which I won’t), I could double the number of DVDs I rent.Removing
two full days from the process is a big deal.And, on top of that, they lowered their price by a buck a
month!Is Blockbuster really
making them sweat that much?Who
could’ve predicted such a thing?
Over the weekend I watched two movies, which is rare these days.I saw Blades of Glory,
and Hot Fuzz.The former is your standard Will Farrell ridiculousness,
occasionally amusing but completely forgettable.The latter was much better, and pretty damn hilarious.And I’m not just saying that because it’s British, either.
But, of course, we’re still hooked on TV shows for the most part.Tomorrow I’ll have two discs from the second season of Veronica
Mars, and one from the first season of The
Fugitive.That’ll keep us
dumb and happy for a while…
--I know this one’s rambling
all over the place, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.Use the comments link to tell us about something NEW that’s
pissing you off, or what DVDs you’re enjoying these days, or
anything else loosely related to this jumbled mess.
And I’ll see ya tomorrow.
Four dollars for a gallon of milk?!
I need to come up with some high-horse reason to be against it, and
quick.
--
Lindsey Buckingham?