Why No New Posts?
Neal Stephenson and Stieg Larsson.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
When It's Not A Mitzvah
I have often posted about those moments in everyday life that can be taken as bestowals of small blessings. To put a Tom Lehrer-ish gloss on it, I'll quote him: "Life is like a sewer. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it." As Onslow would say, "Oh, noice!" I try to find the nugget of grace in the passages of time but some times, there's really just not a nugget in there, which is not to say that there's evil "afoot." But little annoyances crop up and being able to just sigh and not get bent out of shape may be as much as we can ask of ourselves.
Of course I have a case in point that brings this moment of reverie on. To wit: a bathroom rug. I've had a nice, fluffy, long bathroom rug in front of the dual sink in the master bath for ... oh heck, a long time. But, in the way of the world, it did need to be washed. I tossed it in with a few items of clothing and ran the wash in my usual way. Bzzzt! Wrong. The agitator must have thought it was a Volsican because there was great hurt and mischief. Un hunh, all torn up. To quote another icon of literature: Oh bother!
First, one load of clothes was all fuzzed up with the pieces of rug that had been torn loose. But it wasn't too bad. I let the dryer take care of the majority of that and just hand plucked any remaining pieces when I brought the clothes up. And second, I did need another rug. I first looked at the web site of "Bed, Bath & Beyond" so I could just shop locally and I didn't see what I wanted, as best as I could tell. So I went to The 'Zon. Well, it was a bit of risk since I couldn't bring all the tactile senses to bear but I saw a rug that looked right, had good if not overwhelming reviews and was on the order of half the price of the one I was looking at on the BB&B page. Click.
So, I now have the rug down and it's good. Really quite good. My previous rug was "non-slip" in a very real sense - I practically had to roll it up and re-lay it to move it. And it had an overlap of its corner with the corner of the rug in front of the shower. I was never thrilled about that little foot-catching lump. The new rug is not as long, it will move a bit but it can be pushed into position yet has sufficient mass so that it doesn't (I'm quoting everyone today) slip slide away.
I kind of like the new rug better but I can't say there's any blessing when I have to drop a few sawbucks that I shouldn't have had to, had I known the way the old rug would 'respond' to the washer. Bastiat in action. And a lesson learned. I will wash the new rug one pf these days but it will be in a load by itself and done only on gentle cycle. And my fingers will be crossed.
In other news, I decided to try the electric shaving experience after looking at some of the new "nanotech" shavers and my first shave with my new Panasonic wet/dry shaver feels incredibly promising. To shave without using hot water and while attending to other (ahem!) "chores" simultaneously? Seems like a good thing. I will keep the five knife razor for occasional intense face ripping shaves but with the new electric, I just may have a lifetime supply of blades from my last foray at Costco.
UPDATE: On first impression, I'd have to say that the electric shaver is remarkably good. The old "tongue on the upper lip" test yields full marks for smoothness and hair removal. It'll take me some time to get used to the nuances (I'm still a little shaky with getting the sideburns right) but it looks like I'll be an electric boy from now on.
I have often posted about those moments in everyday life that can be taken as bestowals of small blessings. To put a Tom Lehrer-ish gloss on it, I'll quote him: "Life is like a sewer. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it." As Onslow would say, "Oh, noice!" I try to find the nugget of grace in the passages of time but some times, there's really just not a nugget in there, which is not to say that there's evil "afoot." But little annoyances crop up and being able to just sigh and not get bent out of shape may be as much as we can ask of ourselves.
Of course I have a case in point that brings this moment of reverie on. To wit: a bathroom rug. I've had a nice, fluffy, long bathroom rug in front of the dual sink in the master bath for ... oh heck, a long time. But, in the way of the world, it did need to be washed. I tossed it in with a few items of clothing and ran the wash in my usual way. Bzzzt! Wrong. The agitator must have thought it was a Volsican because there was great hurt and mischief. Un hunh, all torn up. To quote another icon of literature: Oh bother!
First, one load of clothes was all fuzzed up with the pieces of rug that had been torn loose. But it wasn't too bad. I let the dryer take care of the majority of that and just hand plucked any remaining pieces when I brought the clothes up. And second, I did need another rug. I first looked at the web site of "Bed, Bath & Beyond" so I could just shop locally and I didn't see what I wanted, as best as I could tell. So I went to The 'Zon. Well, it was a bit of risk since I couldn't bring all the tactile senses to bear but I saw a rug that looked right, had good if not overwhelming reviews and was on the order of half the price of the one I was looking at on the BB&B page. Click.
So, I now have the rug down and it's good. Really quite good. My previous rug was "non-slip" in a very real sense - I practically had to roll it up and re-lay it to move it. And it had an overlap of its corner with the corner of the rug in front of the shower. I was never thrilled about that little foot-catching lump. The new rug is not as long, it will move a bit but it can be pushed into position yet has sufficient mass so that it doesn't (I'm quoting everyone today) slip slide away.
I kind of like the new rug better but I can't say there's any blessing when I have to drop a few sawbucks that I shouldn't have had to, had I known the way the old rug would 'respond' to the washer. Bastiat in action. And a lesson learned. I will wash the new rug one pf these days but it will be in a load by itself and done only on gentle cycle. And my fingers will be crossed.
In other news, I decided to try the electric shaving experience after looking at some of the new "nanotech" shavers and my first shave with my new Panasonic wet/dry shaver feels incredibly promising. To shave without using hot water and while attending to other (ahem!) "chores" simultaneously? Seems like a good thing. I will keep the five knife razor for occasional intense face ripping shaves but with the new electric, I just may have a lifetime supply of blades from my last foray at Costco.
UPDATE: On first impression, I'd have to say that the electric shaver is remarkably good. The old "tongue on the upper lip" test yields full marks for smoothness and hair removal. It'll take me some time to get used to the nuances (I'm still a little shaky with getting the sideburns right) but it looks like I'll be an electric boy from now on.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Unembeddable
This link is to a sample of the Metropolitan Opera's HD player. It's not, unfortunately, embeddable or I'd do so but please follow the link. It is Elīna Garanča singing the "Habanera" from "Carmen" and it is magnificent. Expand it to full screen to watch. The video is absolutely crisp and stunningly clear and you get to hear the superb Ms. Garanča singing one of the most famous, justly so, songs in opera.
Once again I call your attention to her acting. The stage business with the washed garment, the "washing" of the legs. And look at her eyes when she bites through the stem of the flower - there is a flash of fire that shows the bewitching gypsy for all she is.
The Met offers a free trial week of its HD player and when I have the chance to watch a lot, I'm going to take them up on it. They want a little too much cash for access to the player generally but look at that lush HD video and tell me that it's not at least worth considering. But watch the free clip please.
This link is to a sample of the Metropolitan Opera's HD player. It's not, unfortunately, embeddable or I'd do so but please follow the link. It is Elīna Garanča singing the "Habanera" from "Carmen" and it is magnificent. Expand it to full screen to watch. The video is absolutely crisp and stunningly clear and you get to hear the superb Ms. Garanča singing one of the most famous, justly so, songs in opera.
Once again I call your attention to her acting. The stage business with the washed garment, the "washing" of the legs. And look at her eyes when she bites through the stem of the flower - there is a flash of fire that shows the bewitching gypsy for all she is.
The Met offers a free trial week of its HD player and when I have the chance to watch a lot, I'm going to take them up on it. They want a little too much cash for access to the player generally but look at that lush HD video and tell me that it's not at least worth considering. But watch the free clip please.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Way To Tie It Down 'Zon Boys
I recently made an order from my favorite place online, Amazon.com. But there was some difficulty in the supply chain which meant I got the following e-mail (snipped, emphasis added and redacted for publication):
I recently made an order from my favorite place online, Amazon.com. But there was some difficulty in the supply chain which meant I got the following e-mail (snipped, emphasis added and redacted for publication):
We're writing about the order you placed on August 27 2010 (Order# redacted). Unfortunately, we are unable to ship the item(s) as soon as we expected and need to provide you with a new estimate of when the item(s) may be delivered:Now I hasten back into the story to say that the delivery is on the truck to be deposited on my doorstep today so I'm getting "That thing you wanted to buy from us" in, actually, very good time. But that estimated arrival date made me laugh out loud. "Dear customer, your order is expected to be delivered to you sometime during your remaining lifespan. We appreciate you business." Talk about lowering expectations and then exceeding them! It's a strange combination of very smart and just weird. Which is not a bad description for the range of experience in shopping the 'Zon. Smoked octopus anyone?
"That thing you wanted to buy from us"
Estimated arrival date: October 20 2010 - May 04 2011
If you still want us to ship the delayed items when they do become available (though they may arrive later than expected) please visit this address to approve the delay...
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
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