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Moving some minor matters off to the side, marked DONE.
What kind of minor matters? Well, after spending nearly 5 hours in the store (I opened, letting Galina sleep in), I went downtown and deposited some needed funds into a couple of hungry accounts.
I then stopped by the Forest Service office and bought a firewood permit for $10, which entitles me to collect up to a cord of dead wood from Forest Service land. Although there seems to be no time limit, practically speaking, Drew and I need to do this by the time the snow flies, which could be any day now.
I stopped by the Humane Society Thrift Shop and almost bought an ancient, compact Royal manual typewriter. I would have bought it, too, except for a handful of defects that I have to research before maybe going back and maybe getting it just to have one. (I assume, for example, that a key that sticks is easily fixed)
I did pick up one of those racks that goes under one's printer to hold a variety of paper types. I seem to recall these are on sale at Sam's for about $25. The HS had it on sale for $3. I also found a nice case for the eSlate (or maybe for my IBM Thinkpad).
[BTW, I found a CD for the Thinkpad on eBay the other day, and it should be speeding its way toward me as I write this, courtesy of UPS.]
The "Dollar Store" down a few doors from us folded up its canvas a few weeks ago, and the other day Galina and I went over to see what we might want to acquire of the fixtures. I bought 13 sheets of pegboard, which in retrospect may have been a mistake.
In any event, we cajoled Jeshua - the center's maintenance supervisor - to help us move the pegboard (and a couple of boxes of pegs) to the house today. While we were at it, Jeshua offered to have a friend of his look at our chain saw, which is an appliance we will need to go fetch some firewood (see reference above).
Anyway, in preparation for this weekend's Leonid meteor shower (which may attain "storm" proportions, according to some sources), I unearthed my old Yashica 35-mm SLR. This camera "died" back in 1989 during a trip to Europe when the set screws on the sprocket drive came loose and would not allow the film to advance. I recall trying to get the camera fixed a couple of times, but each time the repair place recommended I buy a new camera, as the cost to repair would be higher.
I never could bear to part with the camera, though, and thought about various easy ways to fix it. The easiest, which I implemented today, involved buying some superglue and then feeding it through a narrow funnel into a gap between the drive "shaft" and the mechanism that is supposed to turn it. Without attempting any sort of destructive test, I believe the sprocket will now advance the film. I need only buy some film (and probably a battery for the exposure meter) to find out.
I tried taking pictures with my Kodak digital camera the other night. Its primary limitation is not being able to hold an exposure for more than 15 seconds, after which it takes almost that long to save the picture to memory. Such exposures also eat the battery, and if I were to try to use the camera at night in the cold, I'm sure the battery would "die" that much quicker, owing to the low temperature.
As the shop is a former video tape rental store, we still get the occasional sample tape in the mail for our evaluation. The most recent was Moulin Rouge, starring Nicole Kidman. I watched the first 30 minutes or so of the film with Galina, after which I wandered off to do Other Things. Galina stayed the course to the bitter end, but didn't think too much of the film overall. In some respects, it is a very imaginative film; in others, it most certainly is trite and dull.
Huntür is apparently beginning to cut some teeth, and is being a fussbudget about it. I was PICOH (Person In Charge Of Huntür) earlier in the evening, while Shannon washed dishes and Drew barbecued some chicken patties, and none of the tried and true tricks for amusing a young 'un worked.
Oh, well... :^)
* * * The apparent rout of the Taliban from Kabul appears, on the surface, to be encouraging news. However, the fight against terrorism is far from over, both from what might be called an "practical" point of view (bin Laden's head on a pike will be uncomfortable for bin Laden, most assuredly, but will likely not in itself end the terrorist threat), and from a "theoretical" point of view (threats help in the aggrandizement of power, something at which both Left and Right excel).
There is also the issue of what is to happen to Afghanistan. There is noise from some quarters that the U.N. should step in with some kind of "transition" plan to assure power-sharing among the various factions that inhabit that particular piece of real estate. It sounds like a good idea in theory, but given the U.N.'s track record, I wonder about the practice end of the deal.
* * * Enough blabbering. I thing I will go upstairs and give Galina a foot rub. Then I will do some light reading and hit the sack.
Cheers...
I then stopped by the Forest Service office and bought a firewood permit for $10, which entitles me to collect up to a cord of dead wood from Forest Service land. Although there seems to be no time limit, practically speaking, Drew and I need to do this by the time the snow flies, which could be any day now.
I stopped by the Humane Society Thrift Shop and almost bought an ancient, compact Royal manual typewriter. I would have bought it, too, except for a handful of defects that I have to research before maybe going back and maybe getting it just to have one. (I assume, for example, that a key that sticks is easily fixed)
I did pick up one of those racks that goes under one's printer to hold a variety of paper types. I seem to recall these are on sale at Sam's for about $25. The HS had it on sale for $3. I also found a nice case for the eSlate (or maybe for my IBM Thinkpad).
[BTW, I found a CD for the Thinkpad on eBay the other day, and it should be speeding its way toward me as I write this, courtesy of UPS.]
The "Dollar Store" down a few doors from us folded up its canvas a few weeks ago, and the other day Galina and I went over to see what we might want to acquire of the fixtures. I bought 13 sheets of pegboard, which in retrospect may have been a mistake.
In any event, we cajoled Jeshua - the center's maintenance supervisor - to help us move the pegboard (and a couple of boxes of pegs) to the house today. While we were at it, Jeshua offered to have a friend of his look at our chain saw, which is an appliance we will need to go fetch some firewood (see reference above).
Anyway, in preparation for this weekend's Leonid meteor shower (which may attain "storm" proportions, according to some sources), I unearthed my old Yashica 35-mm SLR. This camera "died" back in 1989 during a trip to Europe when the set screws on the sprocket drive came loose and would not allow the film to advance. I recall trying to get the camera fixed a couple of times, but each time the repair place recommended I buy a new camera, as the cost to repair would be higher.
I never could bear to part with the camera, though, and thought about various easy ways to fix it. The easiest, which I implemented today, involved buying some superglue and then feeding it through a narrow funnel into a gap between the drive "shaft" and the mechanism that is supposed to turn it. Without attempting any sort of destructive test, I believe the sprocket will now advance the film. I need only buy some film (and probably a battery for the exposure meter) to find out.
I tried taking pictures with my Kodak digital camera the other night. Its primary limitation is not being able to hold an exposure for more than 15 seconds, after which it takes almost that long to save the picture to memory. Such exposures also eat the battery, and if I were to try to use the camera at night in the cold, I'm sure the battery would "die" that much quicker, owing to the low temperature.
As the shop is a former video tape rental store, we still get the occasional sample tape in the mail for our evaluation. The most recent was Moulin Rouge, starring Nicole Kidman. I watched the first 30 minutes or so of the film with Galina, after which I wandered off to do Other Things. Galina stayed the course to the bitter end, but didn't think too much of the film overall. In some respects, it is a very imaginative film; in others, it most certainly is trite and dull.
Huntür is apparently beginning to cut some teeth, and is being a fussbudget about it. I was PICOH (Person In Charge Of Huntür) earlier in the evening, while Shannon washed dishes and Drew barbecued some chicken patties, and none of the tried and true tricks for amusing a young 'un worked.
Oh, well... :^)
There is also the issue of what is to happen to Afghanistan. There is noise from some quarters that the U.N. should step in with some kind of "transition" plan to assure power-sharing among the various factions that inhabit that particular piece of real estate. It sounds like a good idea in theory, but given the U.N.'s track record, I wonder about the practice end of the deal.
Cheers...
Leonid
Re: Leonid
However, according to a report I read there, "Europe and most of South America will be bathed in sunlight during the peak. Only the 'normal background rate' of 10-15 meteors per hour will be visible in the early morning hours of Nov. 18."
Then again, any prediction about meteor showers has a plus-or-minus a bunch of hours error built into it. One thing is for certain, though: if you want to see meteors, find yourself a place away from the city lights.
Cheers...
Re: Leonid
I am actually looking at being in the Jura this weekend, and I've been knocked on my ass by the combo of the blanket of stars overhead and the clouds one has to drive through to get to the deli. Not bad by most assesments, without Leonid.
Re: Leonid
Heck, even this little burg of Pagosa Springs has become way too bright at night, requiring me to have to look for dark corners on my property.
The deli sounds interesting.
Cheers...