Friday 5 for September 28: Over Under Sideways Down

The following questions come from Scrivener's weekly Friday 5 blog.



1. What are you so over?

Betamax. VHS tapes. Collecting movies in general. Got rid of plenty of them in the last 2 years. Had to de-clutter my home. Got rid of a lot of DVDs too... though I still maintain a smaller collection of movies I like... However, I am not buying anything new. There are some places that stream movies for free, so there are plenty of old ones I can watch.

I am also so over actually going to the movies in a theater as prices keep on climbing higher and higher. The price of movies are now more than DVDs that you can buy in the bargain bin at WalMart. But again, I am not buying movies. Or TV shows. No time to watch em all.

The only movie I plan to see in the next year or so is "Star Wars 9".... whatever the the title is.... that is next year... and after that, I will call it a day for Star Wars... I am getting way too old to be waiting another six to eight years for another story arc to roll out in the next trilogy.

I'll probably get that one just to finish off my collection of the current Star Wars trilogy. And then I'm done.

Another thing I am totally over is iOS devices. I have an iPod Touch that I bought in 2010. It is an abomination that I cannot easily change out the battery. What I hate is built in batteries! Arrrrgh!!!! So yes, no iPhones for me. You spend hundreds of dollars for the damn things and in 4 to 5 years the battery slowly loses its charge and then dies... and you can't easily replace it like you can with several Android phones and older thicker, dumb phones.... Plus what is this crap about getting thinner all the time!!!! I think I would prefer thick since it is not as fragile as thin. How many of you have dropped and broken your thin smartphone? Or bought a sleeve to make it.... well... thicker? Isn't that stupid?

2. What’s something you’ve got under wraps?

Nothing at this time, and nothing that I would want to publicly disclose.

3. What does it take to get you sideways, and what’s your preferred method?

After looking up the definition of this slang word, I can say that I don't do alcohol... none at all... BTW, I never heard of this as a slang word...

To me sideways meaning turning something vertical to horizontal... like if you are making a video with your smartphone, turn it to landscape mode and shoot it that way. I hate vertical videos.



4. What’s coming down the pike?

Damn fucking ugly rail that I can't escape from paying more taxes on. Arrrrrrgh!!!!!

5. What’s the last thing you read directions for?

Visual Composer which is an extensive module set used for creating pages and content on the WordPress platform. I recently completed transitioning an entire website off another server to a WordPress platform for one of the local, private non-profit organizations. I learned a lot of new stuff with this neat module for WordPress.

I'm sure this thing costs a lot of money, so I think for now I can't use it on my own WordPress sites. I should look into this.

Friday 5 for September 21: “Nine times?” “Nine times!”

The following questions are from Scrivener's Friday 5 blog.


1. If you were to play hooky on your next regular work day with no negative consequences, and if you could only spend the day by yourself, what out-of-the-house fun activities would you pursue?

a) Shoot the sunrise
b) Take an early morning walk near the beach
c) Go to either Hoomalahia Park or Lyon Arboretum, take photos because it's been decades since I been to the former and never to the latter. Probably try a hike also to Manoa Falls since I also never been there. Shoot more photos.
d) Back to the beach area to shoot sunset photos.

2. In the same situation, what stay-home fun activities would you pursue?

I'd probably end up on my computer doing stuff most of the day, as it is now... Otherwise I'd spend time listening to the many records I have in my collection or watching some movies on DVD or streaming videos.

3. If you played hooky specifically because someone else needed the time off, who in your life would be your accomplice and what would be first on the agenda?

Lisa and just getting out of the house with her would be the first on the agenda. Going anywhere she wants to and making it a day.

4. When did you last visit a museum, and what item on exhibit impressed you?

OK, my last museum visit was the Pearl Harbor Memorial area. There is a visitor's center / museum there that you can visit. Has ton of stuff about the infamous attack in 1941... and of course the whole thing is free. The highlight of course is the visit to the Arizona Memorial which you can only get there by boat. Sadly the memorial is currently close for long term dock repairs. Last went in 2016.

My favorite museum on the entire island is the Pacific Aviation Museum. Love that place. Try to go whenever there is a free admission day or event.



That said, Smithsonian Museum Day is tomorrow. You can get free admission to many museums for that day all across the U.S.A. This year I will probably be visiting Iolani Palace which I last went to about eight years ago. They lifted the no interior photos policy a few years back, so it is a good time to return. Shoot pictures. Yes!

5. What’s something you’ve recently gotten away with?

Not disclosing anything here. Heh!


One of many vintage, military aircraft at the Pacific Aviation Museum.

Friday 5 for September 7: The Whole Trial Is Out of Order!

The following questions are from Scrivener's weekly Friday 5 blog.

1. What’s something in which you took first place?

I was the first in line almost every day in third grade along with classmate Terry Brink in a boy - girl, alphabetical order by last name, daily line-up scheme we had going then. It was always nice to be first out of class and the first to lunch! Then one day the teacher decided to line us up from Z to A.... ugh!

Other than that I used to win music trivia contests on our old top 40 radio station in Hilo, HI. KPUA 970 AM. That was back in the early 1970s.

2. What’s something at which you’d like a second chance?

I already got a second chance on life... hmmmm... perhaps a second chance to visit an aircraft carrier out to sea again or fly in a Boeing 747 jetliner.

3. When did you last feel like a third wheel?

Sometimes at work.

4. What’s to look forward to in the fourth quarter of 2018?

2019!

5. Who had an especially good fifth film, fifth book, or fifth album?

MY TOP 5 5TH ALBUMS BY ARTIST

1. Band on the Run - Paul McCartney (and Wings)
2. Ring - The Connells
3. The Joshua Tree - U2
4. Our Time in Eden - 10,000 Maniacs
5. Help! - The Beatles

My favorite 5th movie in a series (though not in reality)

- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - 5th in the story arc but second in series production.

Can't think of a book that I read where there was a fifth story in the series. I generally avoid long serialized novels which seem to be more prevalent today than before. I like books with a beginning, middle and end, and after it ends... that's it. The End! No more sequels.




The album Ring by The Connells is probably one of my all time favorites from the 1990s. It  contains the hit "74 - 75" which was big in Europe but barely registered in the U.S. The group is from North Carolina.

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From last week's comment:

I was always aware of "Time for Me To Fly", but in the greater scheme of things I never truly got into REO Speedwagon except for the Hi Infidelity album. And yes, side 1 is stellar while side 2 is like... ok... there has to be something on the other side of the LP. Heh.