Whit's Blog / 1000 Recordings

Happy Holiday

Wishing for Huckleberry Finn

I keep thinking that when the reruns of Calvin and Hobbes run out, a sequel will magically hover into view. And, impossibly, it will be superior! How lucky we were to get Calvin and Hobbes when we did, the end of the run was particularly sharp.

RTFM

OK, so we had to reprogram the keycode on the garage door. And we looked up how to do it on the instruction sheet, wisely selecting English. (You laugh, but I once had to go to the Intermatic Web site to download a fresh manual for a timer because I saved the Spanish-language version and pitched my copy of the manual in the only language I speak.)

And we followed the instructions in Step One, like, 15 times. And it did not work. And so we disconnected and reconnected the battery and tried again. Nope, did not work. And we tried some steps with a fresh interpretation. (How would Jacques Derrida read this step? And Luce Irigaray? Now, once more, imagining myself to be that windbag Bloom? Still not working!)

And we called the company that makes the opener, and they weren't at work on the Sunday before Christmas, slackers that they are. And so we went in the house, defeated.

Then it came to me: Every thing in Step One was to be done outside the door! So, if it worked the way we were thinking it should work, it would be possible to reprogram the door without having acccess to the inside of the house! Which would mean that burglars would just go get a manual and troll houses for those using this opener! Which seemed quite unlikely.

This was when I looked at the instructions again. And this was when I realized: After Step One came Step Two. And then, I kid you not, Step Three! When we did all the steps, not just One but also Two and Three (and in that order, mind you), the reprogramming worked like a charm!

As I post this, I am advising Carol to take the phone off the hook so that when my alma mater calls to instruct me to send my diploma back to them, they will get a busy signal. Maybe they will forget to try again later.

Yes, Vishizzle

Let's hear it for Santa letter humor. Nice one from The Boondocks.

Bigfoot

His feet are so big, now. They are looking like real feet instead of toys. Like someday he will probably grow up. We were walking down by the pond.

Alcohol content

Been saving a little bit of really good mulling spice since we lived near the river in Omaha, so that's quite a while. Had a half-bottle of Chianti left over in the basement fridge. Let it just warm up in a steel saucepan over really low heat for about 90 minutes; started while Joe was watching his video and poured a mug when he was good and asleep. House smelled great.

You know what? Mulled wine is good. Mulled red wine vinegar? Not so festive.

Bittersweet

The library has books for sale in the vestibule, 25 cents each, mostly ex library. I stopped just for a moment to see what was new on the rack. Three were by Ezra Jack Keats. Wow! Three books by Ezra Jack Keats for just 75 cents! And then I thought about how that means, of course, that not enough people are checking those books out. And that kids won't see those books in the collection any more. On the other hand, new kids' books authors deserve room on the shelves, too. I mean, I love Peanuts VERY much, but do we really need repeats on precious newsprint? (Obviously, repeats on the Web are a pure good thing.)

I decided to quit overthinking the dang issue and found a fourth book, newer, to round out an even buck. And so Joe has three new Ezra Jack Keats books, which he might like or he might not, but they're good books, and life goes on.

Fit to Print

I worked with a man who, when a young reporter, brought back a story about a house burglary that was one line too short for the space it was allotted in the newspaper. The editor told him to add a line to fill the space. The reporter checked his notes, and told the editor that he had used everything he had. The editor frowned, rolled the story into the typewriter, and typed at the bottom of the story "The house was set back a normal distance from the road."

Perching on the shark fin

Most days, predictable and funny. Some days, unpredictable, funny. Today, still funny, and part of a mean little several-day vignette. Keep up the good work, Mr. McGruder! We're talking funny papers now.

Wet Autumn

More fungus photos here.