Thursday, December 28th

[Cornflake]

Good morning. I'll have my usual Zoom breakfast meeting and my usual trip to buy groceries. I don't see much novelty in the offing. Have a good day.

Wordle 922 2/6*

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[Cornflake]

This hummingbird has staked out part of our yard as his territory. We see each other every day.

[kenlarsson]

Good morning. Rain this morning followed by colder weather behind the front. Outside of that I've got shopping later today and Arsenal vs West Ham this afternoon. Have a great day everyone.

[majorminor]

Cloudy and warm. Hike scheduled for later this morning. Band practice was so so last night. Bass player was tired and lackluster.

Wordle 922 2/6

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[howard lee]

Good morning. Being off all this week has been pretty good. I have gotten to spend a lot of time with my daughter (who is slowly recovering from this massive bad cold) and have attended to a great deal of admin work for my own life. I think it's safe to say the ball is rolling.

This morning, just had an open face inter-faith sandwich: toasted challah (buttered) meets ham. That's breaking the rules of kashruth three ways. Soon I'll be off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a longtime family friend who lives just down the street. Today's focus will be a major exhibition of Byzantine art and artifacts. I'm not sure I even know what that means, but my friend is way more cultured in these matters—season tickets to the opera, ballet, etc. It's always a marathon—a few weeks ago, it took us four hours to get through the 12 galleries of the Manet/Degas retrospective. Then lunch at a nearby Alsatian café, where our favorite waitress is from Venezuela, not France. 

Damn, it's good not to be sitting in the office with my brain rotting away.

Still raining lightly, ambient temperature around 50°F. Wishing all a pleasant day.

[Hobson]

We were awake, but still lounging in bed, when a package got delivered before 7 AM. A replacement light fixture from Home Depot. When we bought the original fixtures, they delivered to the store for pickup. Apparently they no longer do that, at least for this item. A third party delivery service and they did say it would arrive between 6 AM and 8 PM. At least we don't have to stick around the house waiting for it. We have an alarm on our gate, so we managed to scoop the fixture into the house before somebody else got it. Once we make sure it's undamaged and functioning, we can call the electricians to install it. Retired electrical engineer Mr. H is perfectly capable, but it goes at the apex of a 16 foot vaulted ceiling. Even if we had a long enough ladder, he's too smart to try that.

Yesterday I tried to set up an Amazon account. Thought I had never had one, but it already existed, with a credit card that expired in 2010. On two tries when I tried to add my cell phone number (which I didn't have in 2010) I got a message that the code they emailed me to change my password was incorrect. So on the third try I didn't enter it and I was in. Then it was very easy to set up my new Kindle. Not at all easy to figure out how Kindle Plus works. Google to the rescue.

[Marty]

Good morning.

26F-37F cloudy.

Nice family gathering last night. I ordered too much pizza so the girls are coming over again tonight to play Mario Kart and finish up the leftovers.

Shop time today and some chores before I get to play with my new toys.

82 Days Until Spring.

[John B]

Here's a picture of a Christmas gift from my son, the two cacti and pot in the foreground. Totally unexpected, and I'm happy to have them. I potted them up yesterday, and they're sitting with my other "desk" plants. To the right is a drosera binata and a drosera capensis - the "forked sundew" and the "Cape sundew." They're just hanging out on the desk for the winter, because neither goes dormant. They'll be repotted this Spring. I didn't buy either of them - apparently the plant I actually did buy (a drosera intermedia which is a hibernaculum you can't really see) had those two as stowaway seeds in the pot. This happens a lot with carnivorous plants - lots of hitchhikers which means lots of unexpected plants.

Behind the cacti is a little pinguicula garden, and behind the sundews is a cephalotus, under the dome. It's my most finicky carnivore, and I haven't had it long. They're ridiculously expensive, so I hope I don't kill it.

[Cosmic Wonder]

Morning. Still dark out, but it sounds like the rain has stopped, for now. We have one last family holiday gathering, at our house, set for Saturday, so I’ll head off to the store in a bit to pick up a couple of items.

Mike
Wordle 922 3/6

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[brucemacneill]

So, I had an eye sight problem with the DMV but I had cataract surgery to correct that and I was tested 11/16/2023 and the doctor faxed the form to the DMV and I checked a few days later and the DMV said they had the form and I'd be notified of their decision on my license. I haven't been notified so I logged into the DMV site this morning only to find that my license is suspended. So, I called the DMV medical unit and they had refused the form because the Dr. didn't fill in the date of the examination on the form. I told the woman the date was on the bottom line 11/16/2023 but that wasn't where she wanted the date. After a discussion she said she'd call the Dr. office and have them fax a form after having the Dr. fill in the exam date where she wanted it and she'd call me back. She did call me back and supposedly it's all fixed now and I'm good for a year when they'll want another exam form. I'm supposed to get a letter saying I'm OK now. Nothing's ever easy but I hope this is a done deal now.

[paleo]

Good morning! The recliner in my living room has been making a strange squeaking sound for the last couple days. This morning when I sat down in it, it listed to starboard.

Fast foreword an hour. 6 wood screws and the chair is back, maybe not in new condition, but certainly usable. I need to replace it, this is it's second repair, but it's so comfortable.

Had a great time yesterday afternoon visiting and playing music with Todd.

[drlj]

Rain is coming down. It isn’t raining as hard as it was at 4 AM, but it is still wet.
I am glad it isn’t snow.
A big hawk is trying to eat some birds that are hiding in the bush by the patio. So far, it isn’t working out. The hawk is too big to get into the middle of the bush where about 15 birds are huddling.
Wild Kingdom outside my window.

[John B]

Dec 28, 2023 8:45:27 GMT -5 howard lee said:

Soon I'll be off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a longtime family friend who lives just down the street. Today's focus will be a major exhibition of Byzantine art and artifacts.

Careful, Howard.

[david]

I'm looking forward to a music evening with a couple of buddies and hoping my cough will stay silent long enough so that I can sing a bit.

[epaul]

Dec 28, 2023 9:20:01 GMT -5 Hobson said:

.

Yesterday I tried to set up an Amazon account. Thought I had never had one, but it already existed, with a credit card that expired in 2010. On two tries when I tried to add my cell phone number (which I didn't have in 2010) I got a message that the code they emailed me to change my password was incorrect. So on the third try I didn't enter it and I was in. Then it was very easy to set up my new Kindle. Not at all easy to figure out how Kindle Plus works. Google to the rescue.

You will grow to LOVE that Kindle! I have gotten so I won't read any book unless it is on my Kindle. (too heavy, print too small, print too large, poor light)

[epaul]

A sunny day. Much appreciated. The icy sidewalks are melting. Which is good. I would hate to break my hip on the way to knee therapy.

[Dub]

Dec 28, 2023 12:50:56 GMT -5 epaul said:

Dec 28, 2023 9:20:01 GMT -5 Hobson said:

.

Yesterday I tried to set up an Amazon account. Thought I had never had one, but it already existed, with a credit card that expired in 2010. On two tries when I tried to add my cell phone number (which I didn't have in 2010) I got a message that the code they emailed me to change my password was incorrect. So on the third try I didn't enter it and I was in. Then it was very easy to set up my new Kindle. Not at all easy to figure out how Kindle Plus works. Google to the rescue.

You will grow to LOVE that Kindle! I have gotten so I won't read any book unless it is on my Kindle. (too heavy, print too small, print too large, poor light)

Fiddlerina got me started on e-readers. When she really likes something, she’ll soon buy one for me too. I think Barnes & Noble’s Nook was the first one followed eventually by Amazon’s Kindle. These were OK but never became my primary way to read. Then, for some reason, she got a Kobo Clara. The Kobo was so much nicer to read that I actually bought my own. I also bought a very nice leather cover from a company in France. Now the Kobo is pretty much the only way I read books.

Kobo is a Canadian company and the way they present their book store is a lot less intrusive than Amazon. The Kobo uses the e-ink platform at a very high resolution so the page actually looks like traditional printing. Several serif fonts are available at any size you like but the thing I like best is the way it is lighted. I can turn the brightness down so the page appears slightly yellow-brown like an old paperback novel. This makes it really easy on the eyes. No eye strain caused by the blue-white tinge of other readers even when dimmed.

With the ease of reading, the much better store, and the French cover, the Kobo is just ideal. I even bought some software to convert my e-books from other vendors into Kobo-friendly format so I don’t have to bother with the others anymore.

[millring]

On Christmas Eve forty-nine years ago, four of pop music’s biggest names went Christmas caroling in the Hollywood Hills, and ended up the evening with an impromptu show in L.A. James Taylor and Carly Simon — then husband and wife — had invited a small group of friends over to their home, including Linda Ronstadt and Joni Mitchell, along with both of their dates.

Christmas Eve on December 24, 1974, began at the Taylor’s home with everyone gathered ‘round the living room singing Christmas songs. But soon James, Carly, Linda, Joni and their guests decided they would all go caroling door-to-door in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood. The spirited group then headed to the Troubadour rock club in Los Angeles, which was known for showcasing rising musical acts such as these four performers.

At that time, Linda Ronstadt was riding high on top of the charts with her breakthrough album Heart Like A Wheel, and had just earned two No. 1 hits in a row with “You’re No Good” and “When Will I Be Loved.” The other three young music artists — James Taylor, Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell — were already established as successful singer-songwriters.

On Christmas Eve night, the four carolers performed an impromptu set of holiday songs at the club before a surprised crowd who had come to see headliners Flo and Eddie perform the hit songs from their days in the pop band The Turtles.

No audio, video, or playlist is known to exist from this festive night. - Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film blogger

[t-bob]

Some beautiful almost night where I live in California

I saw some old Soundhole Cafe threads - approx 17 years - 2006
I loved the group - a lot of people that have left
The Forum had two dozen people that were good friends - moved or died or "his/her cup of tea"
I actually enjoyed some of the countries - Andrew, Timmy, Irishmen,
A lot of the women left - changed a little cup of tea w/ lemon and honey

A few of those people have told me "you should leave the Forum...."
(anonymous - Millennium Younger 30s)

I have a small groups - Marin Roasters (coffee music joint) and Brain Center staff

I have a few friends in SH.........