Podcasts, “The Last Kiss”, “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” (posted from home)
(this post covers 8-12 January)
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Friday, 12 January -
This morning I worked on some problems with iTunes downloads of podcasts. I’ve hit some errors which don’t make a lot of sense (like “Error 50 – unknown error”) and did some research on Apple’s web site. I did get one working for most of the episodes but still have a few showing up as “can’t find on server” so I jotted off a couple of notes to AppleSupport about them. In the afternoon I accompanied Labashi to town to pick up some more lighting parts, paint sample boards and some crown molding samples. Labashi is planning changes for the living/dining room area and these are all part of the planning process.
That evening we watched the rest of “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu”. My favorite RottenTomatoes review says of it: “This Romanian movie defies categorization- it’s halfway between a black comedy and a Fred Wiseman documentary. And it haunts you like the ghost of any dead person you’ve ever ignored.” The film is remarkably straightforward. The camera follows Mr. Lazarescu from his first realizing he should go to the hospital for his recurring headaches through ‘his descent into medical Hell’ as another reviewer says. It’s slow going but worthwhile.
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Thursday, 11 January -
I spent the morning on the web finding and listening to sample podcasts for our upcoming trip. I found some interesting podcasts at the International Spy Museum, at the University of Florida and at TED.com. That afternoon I jogged my end-to-end course at Rocky Ridge. Thank goodness I forgot my watch on this one; it was a struggle.
That evening we watched the first half of “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu”. It’s a slow-mover and we abandoned ship around 2200.
I’m now reading “Grandmother’s Grandchild, My Crow Indian Life” (http://www.amazon.com/Grandmothers-Grandchild-Indian-American-Lives/dp/0803242778). Labashi picked this one up last September in Saskatoon when we visited Wanuskewin Heritage Park and met a young Crow woman there.
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Wednesday, 10 January -
It’s a colder day today (a high of 35) but I quickly tired of the web today and had to get out. I decided I’d ride the Concours down to the cycle shop and pick up oil filters for the bikes. I changed the oil on the Concours just a few weeks ago but like to have the filters and o-rings available for next time. The KLR is due for a change but is in storage for the winter with Sta-bil in the tank and the float-charger connected. I started it up last week (on one of the warmer days) to get the oil circulated through the engine and the Sta-bil into the carb. After the cycle shop I stopped at Starbucks for an Americano and then searched in vain for a drill bit sharpener at the nearby Lowe’s. The sharpeners were apparently a big hit for Christmas and won’t be back in stock for several weeks. I also tried the nearby Home Depot but they too are out and I
That evening we were going to watch a Frontline special on China (one of Labashi’s favorite subjects) but President Bush’s address about ‘surging’ up troops in Iraq delayed it and then we were too sleepy to stay up.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 9 January -
This morning Labashi and I drove into York to Flying Feet for some new jogging sneaks (me) and socks (Labashi). I like this little local running, swimming, and soccer store; they’re always so helpful and knowledgeable. I got lucky with the sneaks—they were on sale (25% off!). At lunchtime we dropped in to the local Lone Star.
I spent quite a while researching options to connect Labashi’s iPod to her car audio system. While the dealer wanted $330 to provide and install the official product for her car, I found a $7 cable at Installer.com to connect the iPod’s earphone plug to the Aux input on the radio. This would not charge the iPod but I have a separate way to do that. However, it would require removal of the radio to connect the cable to the Aux jacks. I found a site offering to sell the radio-removal directions for $5 (carstereohelp.com) but then found a usenet post pointing me to the manufacturer’s online instructions for adding a CD or cassette player; they also include instructions to remove and re-install the radio. But I’m going to hold off until we get a chance to try our even-cheaper solution of simply plugging two sets of earbuds into the iPod via a y-cable. I think we’re going to need to do that in Mocha Joe anyway since there’s quite a lot of noise while traveling, particularly with the windows open.
I also spent a few hours researching the camping in Florida. This year we’re going to hit the Keys and Everglades and I hear camping is quite expensive in the Keys. A friend had to spend $67 for a bare, no-hookups site one night and I’ve read of some RV’ers paying $150 a night. I’ll go without sleep before spending that kind of money. In fact I wouldn’t be able to sleep on a night I had to spend $150 for camping so that’s an easy decision. Things don’t look good. The state parks in the keys already have every site booked for every night from the end of January through the first week of April. It might be a short stay in the Keys. But somehow these things always seem to work out so I’m not going to worry about it.
Late in the afternoon I took a five-mile walk along the creek near our home. That evening we watched “The Last Kiss”, a story about a guy who has a great (and pregnant) girlfriend he’s going to marry but finds he can’t handle the idea of his life becoming so predictable. The fool has an affair (who could have predicted?) and pain and anguish ensue. I have to agree with one reviewer on RottenTomatoes.com who said: “Entertaining and insightful but the shift from comedy to melodrama is a bit drastic.” I wouldn’t go quite so far as another reviewer’s entreaty: “Bring a barf bag and a razor blade, because you’ll need one or both by the time you’re done with this”. That’s a little harsh. But if I could use those on the male lead, I’m there.
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Monday, 8 January –
I spent the morning blogging and handling email. That afternoon I became familiar with, set up and secured my new pistol strongbox. Then I set up a means to securely transport pistols and ammo in compliance with ‘peaceable journey’ laws requiring pistols and ammo to be separated and stored in locked containers inaccessible to driver or passengers. I’ve found interstate transport of firearms to be a fascinating study. For a taste of it, check out this link: http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws/FederalGunLaws.aspx?ID=59 .
That evening we watched the extras on “Grey’s Anatomy” and were disappointed in the quality. A couple of the minor characters gave a lame tour of the set and answered fan questions like “what was your favorite scene of Season Two?”. I’m glad it’s over.
(this post covers 8-12 January)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 12 January -
This morning I worked on some problems with iTunes downloads of podcasts. I’ve hit some errors which don’t make a lot of sense (like “Error 50 – unknown error”) and did some research on Apple’s web site. I did get one working for most of the episodes but still have a few showing up as “can’t find on server” so I jotted off a couple of notes to AppleSupport about them. In the afternoon I accompanied Labashi to town to pick up some more lighting parts, paint sample boards and some crown molding samples. Labashi is planning changes for the living/dining room area and these are all part of the planning process.
That evening we watched the rest of “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu”. My favorite RottenTomatoes review says of it: “This Romanian movie defies categorization- it’s halfway between a black comedy and a Fred Wiseman documentary. And it haunts you like the ghost of any dead person you’ve ever ignored.” The film is remarkably straightforward. The camera follows Mr. Lazarescu from his first realizing he should go to the hospital for his recurring headaches through ‘his descent into medical Hell’ as another reviewer says. It’s slow going but worthwhile.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 11 January -
I spent the morning on the web finding and listening to sample podcasts for our upcoming trip. I found some interesting podcasts at the International Spy Museum, at the University of Florida and at TED.com. That afternoon I jogged my end-to-end course at Rocky Ridge. Thank goodness I forgot my watch on this one; it was a struggle.
That evening we watched the first half of “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu”. It’s a slow-mover and we abandoned ship around 2200.
I’m now reading “Grandmother’s Grandchild, My Crow Indian Life” (http://www.amazon.com/Grandmothers-Grandchild-Indian-American-Lives/dp/0803242778). Labashi picked this one up last September in Saskatoon when we visited Wanuskewin Heritage Park and met a young Crow woman there.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 10 January -
It’s a colder day today (a high of 35) but I quickly tired of the web today and had to get out. I decided I’d ride the Concours down to the cycle shop and pick up oil filters for the bikes. I changed the oil on the Concours just a few weeks ago but like to have the filters and o-rings available for next time. The KLR is due for a change but is in storage for the winter with Sta-bil in the tank and the float-charger connected. I started it up last week (on one of the warmer days) to get the oil circulated through the engine and the Sta-bil into the carb. After the cycle shop I stopped at Starbucks for an Americano and then searched in vain for a drill bit sharpener at the nearby Lowe’s. The sharpeners were apparently a big hit for Christmas and won’t be back in stock for several weeks. I also tried the nearby Home Depot but they too are out and I
That evening we were going to watch a Frontline special on China (one of Labashi’s favorite subjects) but President Bush’s address about ‘surging’ up troops in Iraq delayed it and then we were too sleepy to stay up.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 9 January -
This morning Labashi and I drove into York to Flying Feet for some new jogging sneaks (me) and socks (Labashi). I like this little local running, swimming, and soccer store; they’re always so helpful and knowledgeable. I got lucky with the sneaks—they were on sale (25% off!). At lunchtime we dropped in to the local Lone Star.
I spent quite a while researching options to connect Labashi’s iPod to her car audio system. While the dealer wanted $330 to provide and install the official product for her car, I found a $7 cable at Installer.com to connect the iPod’s earphone plug to the Aux input on the radio. This would not charge the iPod but I have a separate way to do that. However, it would require removal of the radio to connect the cable to the Aux jacks. I found a site offering to sell the radio-removal directions for $5 (carstereohelp.com) but then found a usenet post pointing me to the manufacturer’s online instructions for adding a CD or cassette player; they also include instructions to remove and re-install the radio. But I’m going to hold off until we get a chance to try our even-cheaper solution of simply plugging two sets of earbuds into the iPod via a y-cable. I think we’re going to need to do that in Mocha Joe anyway since there’s quite a lot of noise while traveling, particularly with the windows open.
I also spent a few hours researching the camping in Florida. This year we’re going to hit the Keys and Everglades and I hear camping is quite expensive in the Keys. A friend had to spend $67 for a bare, no-hookups site one night and I’ve read of some RV’ers paying $150 a night. I’ll go without sleep before spending that kind of money. In fact I wouldn’t be able to sleep on a night I had to spend $150 for camping so that’s an easy decision. Things don’t look good. The state parks in the keys already have every site booked for every night from the end of January through the first week of April. It might be a short stay in the Keys. But somehow these things always seem to work out so I’m not going to worry about it.
Late in the afternoon I took a five-mile walk along the creek near our home. That evening we watched “The Last Kiss”, a story about a guy who has a great (and pregnant) girlfriend he’s going to marry but finds he can’t handle the idea of his life becoming so predictable. The fool has an affair (who could have predicted?) and pain and anguish ensue. I have to agree with one reviewer on RottenTomatoes.com who said: “Entertaining and insightful but the shift from comedy to melodrama is a bit drastic.” I wouldn’t go quite so far as another reviewer’s entreaty: “Bring a barf bag and a razor blade, because you’ll need one or both by the time you’re done with this”. That’s a little harsh. But if I could use those on the male lead, I’m there.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 8 January –
I spent the morning blogging and handling email. That afternoon I became familiar with, set up and secured my new pistol strongbox. Then I set up a means to securely transport pistols and ammo in compliance with ‘peaceable journey’ laws requiring pistols and ammo to be separated and stored in locked containers inaccessible to driver or passengers. I’ve found interstate transport of firearms to be a fascinating study. For a taste of it, check out this link: http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws/FederalGunLaws.aspx?ID=59 .
That evening we watched the extras on “Grey’s Anatomy” and were disappointed in the quality. A couple of the minor characters gave a lame tour of the set and answered fan questions like “what was your favorite scene of Season Two?”. I’m glad it’s over.
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 23:59
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