Older Than The Grammys

Tonight is the 52nd annual Grammys awards. Meaning -- and this is a weird feeling -- I'm older than the Grammys!

Which must be why I don't remember the Grammys from the time I was a little kid. Now I know why.

Updating The Virus Scanner

The virus scanner I had on my old computer, I didn't keep it updated. I would update it occasionally. It had a "automatic" updating checkbox in it, but somehow it quit working and I would have to update it manually.

I might not get around to it for a couple of months. Then if I rebooted the computer for some reason, it would tell me the definitions were over a month old, etc. But it didn't do too much nagging.

Now I have a new computer and a new virus scanning program (Norton 2010), and it's apparently updating all the time. Frankly, I don't know what there would be to update every few minutes. But if I look, it always says something like "Definition Updates: 5 minutes ago." Are there new virus updates literally every few minutes? That makes it sound like quite a struggle to keep up, if there's a new virus every few minutes. So I don't know what's going on precisely.

At times, it seems like it's slowing down the whole computer with all its activity. But I guess they're playing on the "What you don't know" factor. If it's that deadly out there, that we need constant updates, 12 or so per hour, then we definitely need them.

Girls, Girls, Girls

The Elvis movie I'm watching after "Harum Scarum" is "Girls, Girls, Girls."

This is one I got a few years ago on VHS at a garage sale. Since then I got the DVD.

This movie involves Elvis being a fisherman somewhere. He lives on a boat and occasionally sings in a nightclub. He has a (sort of) girlfriend at the club, then after he sings one night, he meets another girl, who becomes his love interest in the movie.

There's some definite unpleasantness in his movie I don't care for, involving Elvis having trouble with an employer, who's also screwing him over on the ownership of a particular boat. They get into a fight, it's just nasty.

But there's some good stuff coming up. I've seen it a couple of times. Including Elvis and his lady and some children and their parents on an island somewhere. The kids are very cute.

Somewhere in the movie, Elvis is hauling in big fish left and right, bringing up the song, "We're Coming In Loaded."

I pretty much like this movie. It's sad that Mama and Papa have to move to Arizona. But it's not too much for my delicate psyche to take. I can stand it, knowing Elvis gave them a good sendoff.

Catch Bluegills Like Crazy

One of my Google ads on one of my other blogs said "Catch Bluegills Like Crazy."

That takes me back, since that's one of the fish we used to catch when I was a kid. Just about everywhere we went it seemed like it was one bluegill after another.

It's tough for me to think what these folks could be advertising. And since I'm not allowed to click my own ads, I guess I won't find out. I know, I could note what their address is and go to it in a browser window. But I think I'll just let it stay in my imagination.

It's tough to think what it could be, because catching bluegills in my experience was the easiest thing in the world. You put a little piece of bait on the hook and throw it in and they bite. If you have a bobber on your line, say so it allows your bait to go down three feet (approximately), you're not going to have any problem, assuming bluegills are there.

The secret to catching bluegills is this: There is no secret. It's as easy as falling in.

Sit Down, Stand Up

The State of the Union speech is upon us. Time for the pomp and pageantry of a President facing an audience, half of which is friendly, the other half which is cantankerous and hostile.

At least with Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden being members of the President's own party we won't have that scene like we've seen in the past where one person is standing and the other is sitting there like a wet blanket.

I generally like the pageantry of the whole thing. The calling out "The President of the United States," all the thunderous applause, the shaking hands of the men, the kissing of the women. But it does seem to go on for a very long time.

I'm watching some of the pre-speech stuff, with Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann. They're putting it in a historical context.

I would feel a lot more optimistic about the speech if I felt like someone was on our side and not working against us.

A Jimmy Olsen Caper

These guys who ALLEGEDLY tried to bug Senator Mary Landrieu's phone, some conservative activists, ALLEGEDLY posed as telephone repairmen to gain access.

I wonder if they had fake mustaches and the whole bit. It sounds like something from an episode of The Adventures of Superman, my old favorite show as a kid. In the episode "Superman Week" Jimmy Olsen poses as a telephone repairman to infiltrate some crooks' apartment and get a story of some sort. They figure out it's a scheme when his big phony looking mustache keeps falling off. They give him truth serum and he spills the goods about Superman being something more than allergic to Kryptonite.

My memory is going a little hazy on the episode. But there's a sculptor in it and Herb Vigrin, one of the series' constant bad guys, has taken his place. The Kryptonite (apparent Kryptonite) is in a hollowed out place in the back of the Superman bust's head. Anyway, not to give away the whole ending, Superman survives.

So, ahh yes, the old Telephone Repairman Scheme. Takes me back!

Kramer Hair

I'm thinking these days I seem to be getting Kramer hair.

I wake up in the morning and I come to the computer. Before the computer pops on I can see my reflection in the black screen and it's sticking way up like that.

The problem is I'm always getting thinner on top, so the hair doesn't have as any companions to weigh it down. Meaning it goes up, in clear defiance of gravity.

I'm usually careful to take a comb to it before I go in public. But there is one thing I do in the morning and I'm not always so careful, and that's to take the dog out. I just make sure my sweatshirt hat is pulled up.

I always thought Kramer looked pretty cool (in a doofus way) with his hair sticking up. But in real life, I don't know. It has its downside in appearance.

Doctors Amputate Wrong Foot

Oh, how dreadful. Doctors in Peru amputated a guy's foot, then checked it out and noticed they'd amputated the wrong one. So they still needed to amputate the one they meant to take in the first place.

This is a hideous accident. How terrible. I thought they went through various precautions to make sure that didn't happen. I know I would be checking and triple checking the whole thing before anything so final was done.

The family, according to the article, will sue. To which I would say, "Ya think???"

In this case they definitely have a leg to stand on.

Which Way You Goin' Billy?

I was listening to the record "Which Way You Goin' Billy?" by The Poppy Family, featuring Susan Jacks.

I heard it a couple times tonight. It's a melancholy favorite.

It always reminds me of something (someone) I wrote about before ("Wonderful Summer" link). That would be the time I, as a teenager, walked with a cute teen girl up the path in the rain. But alas, we were separated by distance and time. I'm not pining after all these years, but the thought is still there.

Anyway, at the time she said her favorite song (or one of her favorite songs) was "Which Way You Goin' Billy." So it's impossible for me to hear that song without thinking of her and that rainy day. If you remember the "Wonderful Summer" article, and of course you don't, LOL, that was the time I collected the Gerber jar full of rain water and took it home.

I'm still curious -- very curious -- if that crazy thing might not still be in my parents' basement. Someday, and this is my vow, I'm going to go down to the basement of my old family home and look for it. What if I find it? That'll be crazy. I might also find a turtle corpse, because I know we brought one back from Missouri and it was crawling around in the basement for quite a while.

Everyone's A Star

I was looking at some more YouTube videos. I've been checking the "Recent Videos" list, in order to get in on the brand new ones and to notice the ones that will probably remain more obscure.

Like kids singing to records, staring in the camera and giving it their best shot.

I heard a Lady Gaga cover today, "Let's Dance," by a young lady with a guitar that was terribly out of tune. But she gave it a good effort.

Then tonight I saw some others, including one where she started singing, then settled in for simply staring at the camera. I didn't see the whole thing. So if she got back to the song, I didn't see it.

Everyone's definitely a star (of sorts) on YouTube.

Watching "Spinout"

I finished off "Double Trouble" and proceeded to pop the DVD of "Spinout" into my player. Elvis movies, of course.

I like "Spinout." I've seen it a couple times, but still I forget some things about it until it comes along again. I think Deborah Walley was as cute as can be. She plays Elvis' drummer. The rest of his band is two guys who each play guitar and horns when needed. They're not really playing, of course, but they don't really look convincing on TV as a fake band.

I think the band is called "1+2+½." I don't know who's who there. Is Elvis the 1? And the two guys the 2? Leaving Deborah Walley to be ½? That doesn't sound right.

There's some good songs on "Spinout." And it is really really cute seeing Deborah working the drums. I like watching her about as much as watching Elvis.

I looked her up on Wikipedia one time and as I recall she died of something.

The Guy Who Doesn't Know Letters

A guy walks in to the driver's license station, and needs to take the vision test.

"Read line four, please."

Somehow he knows which one is line four. But he doesn't know letters, so he has to describe them to the satisfaction of the nice person listening.

"A straight line with two boobs, the right side of a square, a line standing upright, a line with a flat roof, a lightning bolt on its side, a straight line with an arrow pointing at it, a straight line with a boob on top playing footsie, a second line standing upright, half a square with an upper and lower deck, and a curly letter with a shelf."

"That's very good, sir."

(If you can't decipher all that, it spells BLITZKRIEG.)

The Hallmark Store

I went to the Hallmark store yesterday to buy gifts for someone I know whose birthday was today.

I couldn't find anything that looked like a good gift. I did find a nice card. I don't mind buying cards like I used to. I've gotten to the point where I will accept their versification as an adequate substitute for my own feelings. By and large I think they do pretty good. I envision a panel of psychologists at the company with rooms full of focus groups, to make sure they're getting it right. But if that's what it takes, it seems to be working.

I found the card in pretty fast time, only having to look at about four different ones. But then, to walk around the store, and to see all the crap they sell, it was tough. And truthfully I'm a guy who has a sensitive side, so it's not like I haven't got the mental equipment to see something decent if it was there.

We were just in that store a week ago and she was telling me how many nice things she saw. But she didn't give me a clue which were the nice things. Then left to myself, none of it looked nice. I called her, but by now she was grumpy and said "Don't get my anything." I stayed and insisted on looking some more. I saw some nice wool mittens, so I messaged her about her size in mittens. She responded, "You're kidding, right?" I wasn't, but I took that as a clue that she wouldn't want mittens.

I paid for my card and left the place.

A Scene In Double Trouble

I just saw the perfect setting for an AFLAC commercial in a movie.

It's in the movie "Double Trouble," starring Elvis Presley and a red-headed young woman whose name escapes me. Suffice to say it's an Elvis movie.

Elvis and Jill (her name in the movie) are sitting on the back of a red pickup, with the driver driving them through the countryside toward a town. The driver is a farmer going to market and he has a bunch of cages with chickens and at least one goose in it.

Elvis is singing, etc. Then right at the end of the song Elvis and Jill kind of part and a goose sticks his head in the scene. And I'm thinking, right there! That's the AFLAC commercial. Since they could easily overdub the goose or duck's AFLAC word in that spot.

I don't remember exactly which kind of bird AFLAC's bird is ... but it looks sort of goose-ish.

Exercising Tonight

I went to the exercise club tonight. People must still be in the grip of their New Years' resolutions, because there was a ton of people there. Trying to slim down to a half ton.

All the ellipticals were taken, a rare occurrence for me. So I worked out on the treadmill. I probably shouldn't even say "worked out" because I was only up there 10 minutes. Then I wanted to get home. So I figured some was better than none. A good philosophy.

It was funny. I was listening to my iPod. Then I remembered something I saw on YouTube and wanted to watch it (mostly listen to it) while treadmilling. So I was trying to type it in with the little keyboard and couldn't get two letters in a row right. I was trying to type "Bing Day," but I got Bo ... Bu ... Then Bjng, so I had to back up, and finally I got Bi and accidentally hit the enter button and it started searching for whatever would've come up with Bi. I went back to the music!

It was a decent time. I worked up a sweat.

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

We all remember the song by Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams." It's a great one. I've got it on my iTunes and am listening to it right now.

I've also got classical CD called "Sweet Dreams," put out on the CBS label. It is a variety of gentle stuff, like lullabies and various nocturnes. I've heard part of it but not all. I guess I have it on iTunes also. But it doesn't come around very often in the shuffle.

It's almost my bedtime and I love my sweet dreams. When they are sweet. A couple nights ago I was dreaming about scanning a bunch of documents and was all confused about double-siding them. That's no fun for a dream, since it's just repetitious and frustrating.

The best time about bedtime, assuming you can get to sleep easily, as I usually do, is that part of thinking and meditation while you're about to doze off. I use it to burrow in, trying anyway, to burrow into good spiritual places with God. It's just too bad that I haven't been able to have dreams to match, but it definitely is a highlight of my sleep experience!

Then 5:30 a.m. will come and my cell phone alarm will go off. My alarm tone is called "Voice of the Nature." I'd be nice if it was called "Sweet Dreams," although that would be a contradiction to the idea of an alarm.

May all your dreams be centered right in the middle of you. And may my dreams be that tonight.

Ripping 45 RPM Records -- Part 2

My American Audio TT Record failed again today, although it could be there's just something wrong with the connection that the little memory card makes in its sheath. I can't diagnose the situation really without having another one to try.

It failed like this. I had it plugged in, I recorded a record, I checked it on the computer and there was nothing there, just a couple of approximately 42K files, not the much bigger files that should've resulted.

Anyway, enough of that. So I went to the extra effort to see if I could plug it into my computer directly. I wasn't overly familiar with the microphone jack controls, and actually hadn't seen them before, so I don't know where they came from all of a sudden. The long story short, I got it all plugged in and it worked. I was recording from the record player directly into the computer. Now I could monitor the recording process ... because I could see it.

I did a handful of records successfully, but haven't had much time to get them worked around. But I know it worked.

If I were going to buy something to do this with again, I would probably try one of the Sony turntables. I haven't checked them out but I usually have pretty good luck with Sony. I don't remember them being available when I bought this system. If they were, then I just missed them.

Facebook, Hurry Up And Do It!

I keep getting this notification:

ALERT: Facebook is eliminating app-to-user notifications. Click here to...

OK, you keep promising. Hurry up and do it. I'm sick of being "warned" about something I want!

It's Tough To "Rip" A 45 RPM Record

How easy it is to rip CDs and come up with hundreds of tracks for your iPod or to play on the computer. It's quick and relatively pain free.

But try doing a 45 rpm record. It's free music, since you've already had the record for years, but it takes real effort. Today I did maybe 13 or 14 records.

One thing that's a headache is the record player I use to record these. It's a cheap model that you used to be able to get at Amazon. It's called an American Audio TT Record. There's no way to monitor it that it's actually working. So things can go wrong. You can think you're recording something, then you get the SD card to the computer and there's nothing on it. That happened a couple times. I don't know if it's really sensitive or what the problem is.

I've definitely got in the habit of double checking, making sure the record button is on. So that's not the problem.

But let's assume it works, which it usually does. Just recording the record on the card is only the beginning. It has to be edited, popfixed, amplified, one thing or another, then all the MP3 tagging, a cover picture, etc. It's like an endless process, as opposed to CD ripping. To rip 27 or 28 songs off a CD is a matter of minutes. To record the same amount off records is hours.

Of course you have to listen to the records in real time. It'd be nice to be able to record them 48x, then slow the track down (or have the computer do it for you). What would that be like? It'd be wild.

Once you get them done, it's a good thing. But getting them done is painful!

Rush

Limbaugh hates President Obama so much that he's even against helping the people of Haiti in their hour of dire need.

Funny, but when Limbaugh had his own personal problems in Hawaii, he fully expected someone to help him.

The guy is screwy, a complete moron.

Fun In Acapulco

My current Elvis movie that I'm watching is "Fun In Acapulco."

I like the lightweight stuff that Elvis did. Not the dramas or anything where Elvis gets beat up. The other day it was "Clambake," now this one.

Of course "Acapulco" has a Mexican setting, and Elvis does several nice Mexican flavored songs. I love the theme song. I love most of the songs, I guess, including "There's No Room To Rhumba In A Sportscar," which I believe is thought to be one of the lowest of the low in Elvis' musical output. I still like it.

The one thing I don't like about the movie is the fact that Elvis wasn't ever actually in Acapulco. He shot all his parts in the United States. That doesn't seem right. So, the way I take that, any shot you see of "Elvis" in Acapulco, any medium or long shot, like with Elvis riding on the bike with the kid, that's not Elvis but some other guy.

Then we come in for a close-up of the actual Elvis, with a moving picture behind him, sitting on a stationery bike. I don't like that. It seems like a cheat. Like it's half Elvis, half some other guy. If you're going to do a movie about Acapulco, at least go there! Sheesh!

But, all that aside, it's a tuneful, pleasurable movie. We get to see plenty of Elvis -- and some other guy -- we get some cool songs, it's a lightweight, harmless time, and he comes out OK in the end. The one burr under the saddle in this movie is that Elvis is from a family of circus high fliers and they had a little problem with heights, someone got killed, so he's bad about jumping off mountains into the sea. But he works it all out and it has a happy ending.

Do Criminals Do Crime On Their Birthdays?

I don't like to besmirch my time, my life, I really don't.

I keep a clean nose at all time. If there's any crime going down, I'm not involved. I rise above all that and try my best to live a clean cut existence. I hate all evil and that spirit of taking advantage of people, stealing, etc.

And one thing I really don't like is the idea of associating particular dates with tragedy, like if someone dies at Christmas. I would try to separate it, the death, from the holiday. So there's no association with it.

So let's say I was a criminal, yet still had a more or less sensitive nature about these associations. In that event I wouldn't want to do any particular crime on my birthday. Because then my birthday would always be associated with having done crime, then worrying about being caught.

Later, then, I'd be in prison. And looking at the calendar. And the guy there would say it's your birthday. And my first thought would be of my downfall, what put me there, on my birthday, no less. What a terrible thought!

So, criminals. Don't do crime on your birthday. Or on the day before or the day after. Or anytime that might be associated with an important date in your life. My advice really would be, Quit doing crime period. Because you might be messing up someone else's life too.

The Choices We Make

The choices we make in life have consequences. It's too bad when folks are young that they don't realize that.

Why wait until you're old to look back and have regrets? Work hard now, maximize your opportunities now. Be diligent in your studies, strive to learn and get ahead. Be flexible, with wide perspectives, and you'll do better than if your focus is narrow.

There are plenty of cases where people say, "If only..."

Don't be one of them. Take advantage of life today. Then you'll look back and see you did the right thing.

Reading Some Old "Journals"

I took a class one time where we had to write a weekly "journal" of our experiences in the class, our thoughts, etc.

I remember it was something that needed to be accomplished, and that I did accomplish it right along with the need. I never once showed up with a blank sheet of paper. Yet it was still moderately difficult, mixed in with everything else I was doing in my day to day life. It was a chore.

Today I was going through some papers, trying to get myself down to a virtually paper-free life, and came across the whole stash of journals. I already had the original files on various discs and hard drives, since they were all written on the computer I had at the time. But the papers I got out today were the ones that had the instructors' comments written in the margins.

As I recall -- and this would be very typical of me -- I avoided reading their comments at the time. And really the only ones I read today were the ones that leaped out at me and couldn't be avoided. Generally I didn't want to read what they had to say at the time ... and I don't want to read what they had to say now. I got the gist. All I wanted was to get the task accomplished and move on. Plus, it's embarrassing to read comments like that.

But I must have glanced at them -- not very much though -- because you have to be at least vaguely familiar with what the teachers want when you're taking a class.

Just looking at the stack -- and especially the comments -- made me feel a little ill. I reacted against them, even though I'm trying to scan stuff into my computer so I can get rid of the originals. But these, I didn't really want to see them, but also I didn't want to throw them away without making a digital copy. So I made it through. Ordered them by date and scanned them. Now the originals can go!

In glancing through my stuff, I recalled what a chore it was to write the journals. But at this point I'm thinking it shouldn't have been such a chore. Just sit there and clack it out. Actually that's what I did!

I Did A Bunch Of Scanning Today

I got a new scanner a week ago.

I'm still using it quite a bit, with a lot of experimentation on settings and saving files to try and get exactly what I want, both to preserve documents, records, and to do it reasonably efficiently.

The interfaces for it are many, since each application has it's own little ability to get a scan.

The one I was using today, with pretty good success, was OmniPage Professional 16. Once I got the settings right. For a while I was scanning handwritten stuff and it kept flipping the documents, upside down, sideways, etc. So after doing a whole notebook, I checked the settings and there's a way of turning that off. But you want it on for lots of things, so it will just automatically right things. Which it does effectively when it comes to printed words.

Then I was experimenting with the PDF settings. I'd never made a PDF before where you could highlight the words and copy them if you wanted. (I guess I made one nearly a week ago, but a bad one with the crummy scanner interface that came with the scanner -- Lexmark.) You'd almost think that a scanner company would want the greatest software to go out with their equipment instead of some dimwitted crap like you get. But that's beside the point.

The OmniPage will probably be my scanner interface of choice. I got VueScan, which is great in many ways, but somehow it doesn't detect the Automatic Document Feeder reliably. The OmniPage never failed once.

Once things are scanned (and in some cases a PDF file is made of a collection) the originals I shred or throw away. Eventually I'll be down to two pieces of paper in the house: my birth certificate and of course toilet paper. You wouldn't want to wipe with a PDF!

Hallmark Cards

I went to the card store to get a birthday card for my mom today.

I couldn't believe it, but I picked out the greatest greeting card, birthday card, I've ever seen for her. It was so good I might just go back tomorrow and buy another just to put on my bulletin board.

I looked at one card and it was so-so. So I reached down for another one and when I read it, I couldn't believe it. I felt suddenly emotional and had a tear in my eye (this is true, no joke). It described my dear mother in just a few words ... to a T.

I can't describe it entirely, and I don't remember what it said. But it was about the size of a card that you put money in, narrow like that. It had dark glitter all over the front, a strip of white horizontally in the middle, and a tiny card, with slits through which the strip went through. It said something like "Grace..." and a couple other words, virtues. And on the inside it said something about how her boldness and personality ... were something that were amazing (I can't remember what it said).

Whatever it was, it was everything I wanted her to see. So I'm thankful today for Hallmark cards.

They did an excellent job on that one.

The Baby Jesus Under A Ton Of Snow

We've had so much snow lately that no one can get the Christmas stuff out of their yards. It's not like we're actually seeing it though, because it is literally buried.

You see the creches' roofs sticking out, piled high on top with a snow mound. And an occasional Wise Man's head pops out of the snow.

But somewhere down there, always at the lowest point, has to be the manger and the baby Jesus. Buried, completely under, freezing cold, with three or four feet of snow on top of him.

It doesn't make any difference, of course. But it's an unwelcome sight. We want to get this stuff put away, but there's no way we're going out to move a ton of snow to get it done.

Very Radicalized

I heard of a very sad story, one that no one hopes ever happens to them.

It concerned a father and his son, going down a bad path, making bad choices.

The father was so distraught that he actually went to the American embassy and reported his concerns, fearing what might happen, because his son has recently become very radicalized. There was no telling what he would do. But would anyone heed his father's warnings?

And indeed it was a serious matter, as it turned out. He was so radicalized he'd actually become a Republican. We can only hope and pray that someone steps in and make things right!

Computer Woes

Oh, I'm really playing hell with my computer.

I thought these things were supposed to be semi-coordinated and able to fend for themselves.

When you get program conflicts with Windows, and it says it's checking for a solution, then it never actually does, that's aggravating. Give me at least a clue!

I tried to "system restore" the thing twice. Neither time worked. The first time it came back and said to turn off your virus scanner, which I did, then tried it again and got the same result.

I think I finally figured it out, after uninstalling the program in question and reinstalling it, with an enormous database to restore. It seems to have had something to do with Microsoft NET framework 3.5 being turned off, which happened the other day (I guess) when there were other problems.

Anyway, at this moment most things seem to be working.

I got cheated today out of quiet time, trying to get this blasted computer to work. Ridiculous.

It's The Third Already

When it's January 3, the whole thing has settled down and we're back to normal.

I like that moment of beginning. But once it's the third, the next thing you know we don't even know what date it is. We have to look.

After the sixth, calendars will be on drastic sale. I got mine at 75% off the other day and it was still December! 75% off. Wow. How do they ever make money on calendars? It's one of the most perishable items there is.

Everyone needs one, but it's worthless when it's over. Or almost worthless when you're a month in.

A Gatorade Bath

I wonder if the Gatorade company thinks it's great free publicity for the team to give the coach a Gatorade bath when they win the big game.

You might say, though, if Gatorade is so good, why do they always have so much of it left over? It seems like they ought to go to pour it on the coach and have about three drops left instead of 10 gallons.

I might be a spoilsport and say, Hey, that's wasting university money, to pour out all the Gatorade, which costs money. Unless they get it free from the company with the agreement that they pour out the remainder, to be free advertising.

How sticky would that be? I've never been soaked with Gatorade.

How cold would that be? How cold do they keep it? Fortunately most bowl games are held places where it's warm in the winter. Otherwise, the coach might get pneumonia and die. Then the next year they'd forbid all public displays with spilled Gatorade.