Gone But Not Forgotten
During the Summer of 1970…
…while my mom, sister and I were visiting her parents in Massachusetts, my mom decided it was time we learned how to swim. (I was comfortable in and around water, but I didn't know how to swim, which was apparently not good enough for any of the adult parties involved in this decision.)
The dashing gentlemen standing between us was Chad, our instructor.
There is a reason I'm covering my crotch with my hands. I wanted Chad in the worst way, even if at that point in my life I didn't know how. I can't tell you the number many times I'd come home from one of our lessons to shower off the remnants of Laurel Lake adhering to my skin, soap up and shoot a huge load down the drain after thinking about the guy.
("Oh gurl…those socks with that shirt? Were you high?")
Are You Feeling a Bit…Blown?
Have You Got a Package for Me?
365 Days of UNF: Day 151
I Can Understand…
…how after seeing something like this people came up with the concept of Hell. It certainly does look like souls being dragged down into the fiery depths.
It's True!
365 Days of UNF: Day 150
It Shouldn't Be This Hard
Technology sucks sometimes. It really does.
We've had an Apple TV for a few years now. Since cutting the cord it's been reliable and we've had absolutely no problems with it.
Even before the fire, we'd always left music playing for the dogs when we left the house. It calmed them a bit and ended a lot of the barking that used to occur in our absence. Before we cut the cord, it was easy as it came through the cable box and there was direct RCA connection between the box and my receiver. When Apple TV arrived, it presented more of a challenge, as the Apple TV had no separate audio output jacks. We solved the problem by inserting a HDMI audio splitter between the Apple TV and the television. It worked well. We could still leave the house with the music playing while the television was turned off.
After the fire, we replaced our aging Vizio with a shiny new 65-inch 4K Samsung. We'd salvaged the Apple TV, and didn't feel any immediate need to replace it because the picture quality was still amazingly good.
When Apple announced a new Apple 4K TV a few months ago, we decided it was time to upgrade and get the full potential out of our new Samsung. The strange thing was, initially it refused to send a 4K signal to the television. I traced the problem to the audio splitter box. It wasn't 4K compatible. I ordered a new one that was and when it arrived I swapped it out with the old one. Viola! 4K image acquired. (And yes, we did see a notable improvement in picture quality.)
The trouble was—and I didn't notice it until many days later—music (via Spotify) would no longer play through to the receiver when the television was turned off. I played around with the three splitters I had in my possession (including one from the old house) and came to the unfortunate realization that we could now have music from Apple TV when the television was off or 4K resolution when it was on—but not both.
This was unacceptable. I know there are probably other [expensive] solutions out there, but what we decided upon today was picking up the cheapest iPod touch we could get, and use that as our Spotify source when we leave the house and/or don't want the television on.
It's not the most elegant solution, but after looking at separate streaming units to connect to the receiver, I think it's the best one right now. I have 14 days to return the iPod, so if any of you have suggestions for some other way to do this, leave a comment.
63.
Today marks 63 trips around the sun for me. Honestly, I never thought I'd make it this long.
With friends dropping around me in the 80s and 90s, I often questioned whether or not I'd make it. I mean, my sexual history was anything but pristine, so my continued survival was not a given all things considered.
"And yet, she persisted."
When I was in first grade, one night before I fell asleep I figured out how old I'd be in the year 2000. (My math skills were next to non existent at the time so I just counted off the years and my corresponding age.) When I arrived at the answer it seemed so old. As I grew, 2000—with visions of moon bases and manned missions to Jupiter always dancing in my head—always seemed so far off.
When 2000 dawned, I remember walking down Market Street on the way to work on New Year's Day (because computers were expected to crash across the planet with the coming of the new year) and I thought, "So…this is what 2000 looks like. Not much different from 1999—or any other year for that matter.
What came after that imagined future I couldn't even begin to comprehend if someone had told me. Cancer came out of left field three years later, but I had no doubt I would beat it into remission, and I did. My most recent PET scan a couple months ago remains all clear.
But now that we're 21 years beyond 2000 I know that after everything the world has been through, this is not anything I could've remotely imagined; much less that there still would be no moon bases or manned missions to Jupiter—and that we'd still be dealing with the same racial crap we were in the 1960s.
The funny thing is, I now have this feeling that something—something big—is about to happen. Maybe it's only because of all the shit Ben and I have gone through over the past six months and it's the post-traumatic "waiting for the other shoe to drop" sensation. But is it going to be something good or bad? That's unclear. All I know is as I enter my sixty-fourth year on this planet, we're all due for something amazingly good to happen, both personally and collectively.
365 Days of UNF: Day 149
"That's Not My Leg"
I'm Ready for My Closeup, Mr. DeMille…
Amid everything else that went on over the past two weeks, on the day we said goodbye to Bobo I received a (previously scheduled) early birthday gift from Ben: a full detailing on Rabbit.
Ben had this done on his car about a month and a half ago and after watching way too many professional detailing videos on YouTube I was so impressed with what they'd done with his Soul that I told him I was going get mine done too. "How about I make it an early birthday present?" I was reluctant to agree because it was kinda pricey, but he just said "Shut up," and made an appointment.
We were supposed to have this done the previous Saturday, but the shop was running behind and the owner offered to take a couple hundred off the cost and bump us up to the next level of service if we agreed to bring the car back later in the week. I mean, how could we say no?
I thought Rabbit was in pretty good condition when we took him in and wouldn't actually look that much different when we got him back, but damn if he doesn't just absolutely shimmer now. I know he got detailed before I bought him, but he didn't look this good.
They even managed to get the unknown stain out of the driver's seat that had been with the car since I first got it. And the interior smells so good now.
Gratuitous photo of a happy owner:
Hey Monica…
I laugh when I see stuff like this. I've seen too many "morally superior" people get caught doing the very thing they protest.
— Richardtheyounger (@ryoung524) May 24, 2021
…how about we have a little peek in your nightstand?
An Oldie But A Goodie
Fuck Republicans, Seriously.
We should all take the no votes from each Republikkkan as an admission to direct involvement in the insurrection.
Friday Before a Week Long Staycation
Nothing really planned for next week other than not logging into work! (To be followed by an expanded back-in-the-office schedule starting June 7th—but that's a depressing thought best pushed off until that preceding Sunday night.)
On Thursday we may take a day-long road trip to north to drop off my Technics components to a guy in Prescott who is going to refurbish the innards (something long overdue). We're going to take Sammy along because it's been ages since he's been in the car without the destination being something unpleasant for him. And let's face it, after the past two weeks, we all need a getaway.
365 Days of UNF: Day 148
Ha!
Smackdown
Absolutely.
Even Moreso Now
Oh Snap!
Karma. Has. Landed.
So satisfying to see this.
It Depends…
…on how the child is prepared, I suppose.
Yes, I know. I'm going to Hell.
Because It's True
Traveling Without Moving
One of the aspects of Frank Herbert's DUNE that I've always had a hard time visualizing is the concept of traveling without moving, i.e. how spacecraft get from Point A to Point B in that universe. I can't say this video totally clears it up, but it certainly provides a beautiful frame of reference.