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livingdebI have now ordered a new Mac notebook. It will be black--that's cool. It will be faster and more spacious inside than my last computer--also cool. It will have Intel inside. Not thrilled about that. And it costs about the same as the last one I got. I think I may have to designate a separate fund for saving for computers, which is my way of admitting that I'm going to be wanting computers indefinitely. I've used funds from my long-term fun fund, which normally goes toward vacations but also has gotten me furniture and other electronics.
**
I was about to say I have been making very little progress on my goals and that I spend all my time away from work recovering from work and rejoicing that I am not at work instead of actually doing stuff.
However, my last check cleared on my old checking account and I have closed the account, thus completing my goal of getting rid of the account that had my social security number for an account number. Not only that, I was able to memorize my new account number right away, and although I've forgotten it several times since, I think I now have it memorized for good. I really like having my account number memorized which is why I went so long using my old account.
Also, although I have not made any progress on losing body fat or building muscle or aerobic capacity lately, I have kept off all the weight I lost when I had the flu, so I think it might really be gone for good, and that's a nice victory.
**
I recently saw a movie I quite enjoyed: "The Girl in the Cafe." What kind of movie is it?
It opens with an older gentleman reading and taking notes at the breakfast table and basically all throughout his morning routine. He continues reading as he walks down the hall and heads outside. He continues this at his office and before a work meeting. Why is he working so hard? Apparently he has no life. Why doesn't he have a life? What is he working on? So although nothing is really happening on screen, plenty of things are happening in your head.
It's just full of a deadpan British humor that I loved. Normally I'm not a fan of movies showing people trying to get to know each other or explain themselves with all these embarrassing scenes like teenagers are always having to live through. But I just liked the characters so much that rooting for them seemed to make it okay.
Warning: there's a hit-you-over-the-head message like in the movie "Blood Diamond." And I'm not particularly wild about this message because I don't actually think we do know how to reduce poverty in the countries that have abusive governments, so the message is too simplistic for my tastes.
But I have a new favorite actor: Bill Nighy (not to be confused with the science guy, Bill Nye). It turns out he's in lots of movies I've seen, and I've never really noticed him before. For example, he played the Met Chief Inspector in "Hot Fuzz." He seems to mostly play minor roles, but not in "The Girl in the Cafe" (although he is not "The Girl"). He can make the most amazing faces, by which I mean he comes up with expressions I would never have been able to think of and which are very interesting.
Next time you're in the mood for a slow-moving character-driven movie, as opposed to, say, a thriller or special effects movie, Deb-Bob says check it out.
**
I also bought the latest Douglas Adams book, The Salmon of Doubt, published posthumously based on things people scraped out of his hard drive. As usual, he's not the greatest with plot or character, but he sure can turn a phrase or, as he puts it, arrange "words in a cunning order."
Love that understatement. And "if you were using a reliable guide," which makes me imagine various ways guides could be unreliable.
Plus he has interesting ideas.
In this book you also get the kinds of very interesting and complimentary stories about the author that you get at good funerals. It's a fun read, and I may just keep the book with all my favorite passages bookmarked.
**
I was about to say I have been making very little progress on my goals and that I spend all my time away from work recovering from work and rejoicing that I am not at work instead of actually doing stuff.
However, my last check cleared on my old checking account and I have closed the account, thus completing my goal of getting rid of the account that had my social security number for an account number. Not only that, I was able to memorize my new account number right away, and although I've forgotten it several times since, I think I now have it memorized for good. I really like having my account number memorized which is why I went so long using my old account.
Also, although I have not made any progress on losing body fat or building muscle or aerobic capacity lately, I have kept off all the weight I lost when I had the flu, so I think it might really be gone for good, and that's a nice victory.
**
I recently saw a movie I quite enjoyed: "The Girl in the Cafe." What kind of movie is it?
It opens with an older gentleman reading and taking notes at the breakfast table and basically all throughout his morning routine. He continues reading as he walks down the hall and heads outside. He continues this at his office and before a work meeting. Why is he working so hard? Apparently he has no life. Why doesn't he have a life? What is he working on? So although nothing is really happening on screen, plenty of things are happening in your head.
It's just full of a deadpan British humor that I loved. Normally I'm not a fan of movies showing people trying to get to know each other or explain themselves with all these embarrassing scenes like teenagers are always having to live through. But I just liked the characters so much that rooting for them seemed to make it okay.
Warning: there's a hit-you-over-the-head message like in the movie "Blood Diamond." And I'm not particularly wild about this message because I don't actually think we do know how to reduce poverty in the countries that have abusive governments, so the message is too simplistic for my tastes.
But I have a new favorite actor: Bill Nighy (not to be confused with the science guy, Bill Nye). It turns out he's in lots of movies I've seen, and I've never really noticed him before. For example, he played the Met Chief Inspector in "Hot Fuzz." He seems to mostly play minor roles, but not in "The Girl in the Cafe" (although he is not "The Girl"). He can make the most amazing faces, by which I mean he comes up with expressions I would never have been able to think of and which are very interesting.
Next time you're in the mood for a slow-moving character-driven movie, as opposed to, say, a thriller or special effects movie, Deb-Bob says check it out.
**
I also bought the latest Douglas Adams book, The Salmon of Doubt, published posthumously based on things people scraped out of his hard drive. As usual, he's not the greatest with plot or character, but he sure can turn a phrase or, as he puts it, arrange "words in a cunning order."
Over the border lies Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in the world....
What's all this, I expect you're thinking, about "the tallest mountain in the world"? Everest, surely, deserves at least an honourable mention in this category? Well, it all depends on your point of view. Certainly, Everest stands a sturdy 29,028 feet above sea level, which is, in its way, impressive. But if you were going to climb Everest, you would probably start, if you were using a reliable guide, somewhere in the Himalayas. Anywhere in the Himalayas is pretty damn high to start with, and so, to hear some people tell it, it's just a smartish jog to do the last little bit to the actual top of Everest....
Love that understatement. And "if you were using a reliable guide," which makes me imagine various ways guides could be unreliable.
Plus he has interesting ideas.
Some of the most revolutionary new ideas come from spotting something old to leave out rather than thinking of something new to put in. The Sony Walkman, for instance, added nothing significantly new to the cassette player, it just left out the amplifier and speakers, thus creating a whole new way of listening to music and a whole new industry.
In this book you also get the kinds of very interesting and complimentary stories about the author that you get at good funerals. It's a fun read, and I may just keep the book with all my favorite passages bookmarked.