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The Bezabor Log

"The Bezabor Log" is my online diary since retiring in September 2005. My blogging name,'Bezabor', is an archaic term used mostly by canallers in the 1800's and early 1900's. It refers to a rascally, stubborn old mule. In the Log, I refer to my wife as 'Labashi', a name she made up as a little girl. She had decided if ever she had a puppy, she'd call it 'McCulla' or 'Labashi'. I'm not sure how to spell the former so Labashi it is. Emails welcome at bezabor(at)gmail.com.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

‘Arctic Son’, ‘SlamNation’, ‘The Lives of Others’

(posted from home)
(This post covers 20-25 January, 2009)


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Sunday, 25 January –

This morning I found myself getting overwhelmed with the remnants of the paperwork from the estate. Just like the old days at work—I had a stack of filing that was getting WAY out of control. I spent the morning filing.
I also had a long conversation with Orat via Skype today. He didn’t turn on his video camera at first and I soon realized how much I really like having the video. Even though the video is just a talking head, it still makes for a more immersive conversation. We did learn, however, that the video has a heavy impact on file transfer throughput. I sent Orat a 8 Meg video clip and the transmission settled in at a very slow 8-9 kbps. On a whim we turned off our Skype video and the transfer rate started climbing. It was still climbing at 110 kbps when it finished. Lesson learned. If the link is slow or you need to send a file, turn off the video.
I walked the four-mile course today and was comfortable enough on this 30-degree day. I’d overheat going downwind and freeze my face and ears as I turned back into the wind coming back but I had a balaclava along and didn’t use it.
That evening I caught up the blog.

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Saturday, 24 January –

We went to the library in downtown York this morning. I had planned to simply renew my books but one of them is now on hold for another patron so I thought I’d better just go ahead and return them all now and avoid a repeat trip later.
Labashi went along today so we read in the library and then went on a lunch-date at the nearby Off Center Grill in the Yorktowne Hotel. I like this new ‘tradition’— a lunch-date.
On the way home we stopped at Home Depot and then picked up some grocery must-haves before returning home.
Late in the day I decided I’d better take a break from walking today to recover. I had a glass of wine and took it easy, then we watched ‘The Lives of Others’, an excellent movie about life in East Germany before the Wall came down in 1989. Very well done!

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Friday, 23 January-

Today was nice one—a rare 50-degree, balmy day. We’ve had some other 50-degree days but those were so windy or rainy they didn’t ‘count’ as nice days. We moved our old futon frame and mattress out of the guest room to make way for a pair of single beds. The beds will be more comfortable (and more conventional) for our guests.
This move also solves another problem. Our futon mattress in Mocha Joe needed replacement so this move allowed us to trade out its over-worn mattress for a near-new one.
We put the futon frame out on the driveway with a FREE sign and within a few hours a neighbor claimed it. Her son’s futon frame had recently broken so this will work out well for them.
I also spent an hour doing paperwork for medical appointments coming up next week.
I spent the afternoon installing the roof racks and Thule box on Mocha Joe in preparation for my Florida trip. I also checked out the kayak and guess what I found? The cell phone I lost last March. I had put it in a dry bag for a paddle at Marco Island. And it’s only now I remember how busy things were at the launch ramp when I returned. I had loaded quickly and had forgotten to check the bag. So when I was attempting to find my cell by calling it from a pay phone I had parked beside, the phone was actually only a few feet away—in the kayak on top of the van. And now I know why I didn’t a taker when I had Labashi text a reward offer to it. (Hmmm-- Maybe I can charge it up and claim the reward!)
Late in the day I walked my six mile loop.
That evening we watched ‘SlamNation’, a documentary about the national poetry slam contest. It was okay. Maybe we weren’t in the mood.

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Thursday, 22 January-

I worked in the office today, mostly on the web looking for some last-minute items for my upcoming trip (and not very successfully). I also have to get our security software updated, particularly mine since I’ll be using my laptop on public networks.
In the afternoon I walked the six-mile loop and then we watched a movie I took a chance on. The movie is called ‘Arctic Son’ and it’s about a First Nations father and son who live in Old Crow, Yukon Territory. The chance I took was on the fact that the movie was rated very low—only two stars--- on Netflix. But we had been in the Yukon this summer and not very far from Old Crow. Actually we weren’t close at all by road miles since there’s no road to Old Crow. We had been east of it as we traveled the Dempster Highway and downriver of it when we were at Eagle, Alaska.
In any case, we loved the movie. We loved seeing the terrain, now in winter, but very familiar. We loved seeing the shots of the Yukon, both frozen over and also during breakup. We also loved the intimate look at the lives of these Gwich’in men—everything from the clothes they wore to their homes, their cabin, their tool kits for the skidoos. Great movie for us, though perhaps not for everyone.

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Wednesday, 21 January-

Today I again spent some time on the estate but then Labashi roped me into ‘just a half-hour’ of clearing stuff out of the downstairs room (not exactly one of my favorite things to do). That turned into a couple of hours and it really wasn’t that bad. And the good news is we’re slowly ridding ourselves of lots of clutter we’ve accumulated over our 25 years in this house.
In the afternoon I walked-four.

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Tuesday, 20 January-

I spent the morning catching up the blog and working on estate tasks. That afternoon I walked my six-mile loop.
No movie today.


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