Friday, July 22, 2022

Friday 5 for July 22: I ♡ the 80s

 The 1980s... college days and the start of real work. Questions taken from Scrivener's Friday 5 blog.

1. What was your greatest Triumph this week?

"Hold On" - Making it alive to today and hopefully again for many tomorrows.

2. When did you last interact with the Police?

"Murder by Numbers" - About two years ago when I had to report my stolen stuff. The items included an old G4 Power Mac, were never recovered.

3. What’s recently caused your Heart to leap?

"Who Will You Run To?" - Sometimes my friend Lisa, though it is mostly the other way around.

4. What are you in no Rush to deal with?

"New World Man" - Things I don't like doing I put off for as long as I can.

5. How liberally do you use Salt-n-Pepa?

"Push It" - Pepper is the new salt for me since consuming too much salt increases your blood pressure. A lot of packaged foods are high in salt content, which forces me to read the labels before purchasing. That said, never add salt to packaged foods. They are salty enough.

I push pepper as a good substitute. I use it on a lot of food that I used to salt.

Here is my video playlist "Top Hits of the 1980s". Enjoy!


Friday, July 15, 2022

Friday 5 for July 15: Scrivening

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

1. What are your strengths as a writer?

I can write best from stuff I remember in my life, but then most people can. I don't consider myself a great writer or scribe of any sort. But over the many years I have done enough writing to be employed in some capacity where writing and editing was part of my job. I do mostly news writing kinds of things, which is writing that t me is mostly disposable unless you are a collector of historic or hysterical details of the times. I mean news writing skills are as good as the last press release some other editor at another publication tossed after scanning for less than a minute or miraculously used a piece of it in an ongoing news item. But mostly it is throw away writing. Newspapers of yore became fish-wrap or basket liners the same day as they were bought, online news is only good for the moment until the next click or swipe. It's all forgotten and disposable in short time.

2. What are your challenges as a writer?

If I did not write so hastily, I probably could do better. Often times, especially in an online forum or blog, I just bang out what I want or need to say, and worry about he details later, often after I hit the POST button or whatever.

I think this is a consequence of, hey... it's online, nobody takes it that seriously, and if I have a mistake it can be easily fixed (in most cases where you control the site) and reposted again, with very little or no cost.

On the other hand, if you make a mistake in a print media format, that mistake is there forever, and may cost thousands of dollars to fix, and possibly jeopardize your employment as a writer or editor. It is a good thing that most people read stuff online.

Grammar and organization is sometimes a challenge too. There is a lot I could improve, but sadly I don't. Perhaps I should write a book.

Um... maybe not. 

3. When did you last write creatively?

Probably a few times on my blogs. Can't remember exactly when without looking up the dates and entries. Overall though, I would think very few exercises of "creative writing" on my part. I am more "matter of fact", bang it out, move along.

4. Which writers did you especially enjoy when you were a student?

Dr. Seuss was fun.... Green Eggs & Ham, The Cat In The Hat book series.

L. Frank Baum - The Wizard of OZ. I wish I had the really nicely illustrated book that my parents bought us way back in the 1960s.

Virginia Lee Burton - The Little House... the house was saved from the nightmare of urban sprawl and rail. This book foreshadowed the rail issue that I have serious grief about today.

Lennon and McCartney wrote great songs. Lyricist Bernie Taupin for Elton John. Carole King & Gerry Goffin wrote some classic rock n roll songs. George Harrison wrote "Here Comes the Sun," "Taxman" and "Something" among his small collection of songs for The Beatles.

As a teen and college kid I read most of the Dune series of books by Frank Herbert.

Isaac Asimov, science fiction writer. Mostly short stories that I have forgotten now, except for Nightfall which was creepy for the people who never saw night.

H.G. Wells - The Time Machine; the traveler went further into the future beyond the Eloi and Morlok thing... got to see the sun as a red giant which is 5 billion years into our future... Heh... And of course The War of The Worlds which occurs in the Victorian era, and adapted over time to radio, TV shows and movies.

5. What is your handwriting like?

It is legible... Let's do some samples here (Pixel 4a):






Saturday, July 9, 2022

Friday 5 for July 8: Willing and Able

Questions are from Scrivener's site. I hate planned obsolescence.

1. What did you once dislike but now find pleasurable?

If I disliked it before, it is highly unlikely that I will find it now to be pleasurable. I dislike waiting in long lines, mingling in social crowds, high prices, filling out tax forms and many other things. Once it is unpleasant, it always is and will be unpleasant. The only good thing I can get out that is to avoid unpleasant situations as much as possible.

2. When did you last prove to be adaptable?

When I reluctantly went to a lunch recently in a restaurant after not eating out in a crowded joint since the implementation of COVID restrictions. I'm not a big fan of work lunches. I was happy after that lunch was way over.

3. Who’s especially adorable?

At this point in time, probably my grand niece who I have not seen in real life. She lives too far away (requires paying expensive airfare and wearing a mask for more than 6 hours).

4. Among your possessions, what’s especially durable?

I love things that last a long time. The following things that I own, still work.

  1. 1993 Toyota Corolla - Had it since 2000. It is 29 years old.
  2. Sears Kenmore Refrigerator - Since 1985.
  3. Radio Shack 4-channel analog mixer - Since 1988.
  4. Panasonic Technics turntable - Since the 1980s.
  5. Many older film cameras - Minolta, Yashica, Canon, Olympus - various years.
  6. Digital cameras 2011 and older (surprise) - They have easy to replace, removable batteries.
  7. Old Records - Plenty of those... LPs, 45s. Better to be satisfied with the old stuff than buying new vinyl which have exploded with price increases in recent weeks. I haven't bought a brand new record in decades. Used records are a better bargain if you want to get vinyl. You just have to be selective and careful.
  8. Compact Discs - Plenty in my collection that I've had since the late 1980s onward. Just need to take care of them, and they'll last forever. 
  9. Cassette Tapes - I have plenty of mixed tapes that I made in the 1980s and 1990s.
  10. Old T-shirts - Even if they have "puka" I keep them.
  11. Old Photos, Printed and Digital - They are priceless memories.

I have plenty of other things that are old and still last a long time.

The problem with many 21st century tech items is that none are built to last like the classics. You can start with built in batteries that seal the planned obsolescence of many devices, such as smartphones and smart TVs. Computerization of everything does not help either as your device, even if it works, is rendered obsolete once the company that sold it to you stops supporting it with updates. Also many of today's devices are hostile to being repairable by owners or third parties. Ugh!

5. Among stuff you ate this week, what was the most delectable?

Take out pizza on July 3 is probably the most qualified for the week.


Friday, July 1, 2022

Friday 5 for July 1: Solstice

Questions from Scrivener's Friday 5 page.

1. How do you cool down on warm summer evenings?

Stay home, eat, sleep, watch streaming videos or listen to good music. AC or good ventilation helps.

2. What are some good songs for keeping the summer vibe flowing?

Just threw this list together:

  • Good Day Sunshine - The Beatles
  • Theme From "Endless Summer" - Sandals
  • Surfin' U.S.A. - The Beach Boys
  • California Girls - The Beach Boys
  • In the Summertime - Mungo Jerry
  • Pipeline Sequence - Honk
  • Feeling Just The Way I Do (Over You) - Cecilio & Kapono
  • Island Woman - Pablo Cruise
  • Summer - War
  • Black Sand - Kalapana
  • Under the Boardwalk - Tom Tom Club
  • Kokomo - The Beach Boys
  • Wind Surfer - Roy Orbison
  • Insy'a - Henry Kapono
  • Deeper in Love - Hawaiian Style Band
  • Pi'i Mai Ka Nalu - Sistah Robi Kahakalau
  • Summer Kisses, Winter Tears - Julee Cruise
  • I Can See Clearly Now - Jimmy Cliff
  • Life's a Beach - Heymous Molly
  • Don't Worry Baby (symphonic version) - The Beach Boys
  • Misirlou - Dick Dale & The Deltones
Listen to these songs and maybe more on my Summer Time! Spotify playlist.

3. What’s a good summer movie or a good summer book?

  • Movie: Jaws - If you haven't seen this classic Steven Spielberg movie see it! You'll think twice before going into the water at the beach. A swimming pool will be safer!
  • Book: I can't think of any books that are specifically summer related. Except if you like plenty of sand, gigantic worms, a very dystopian society full of conflict in a world where the spice and water are super precious commodities, then I can recommend Frank Herbert's Dune, which is the first of several sprawling books in the series.

4. How is this summer better than last summer?

I don't know about that. Stuff costs more this summer than they did last summer. Have you seen the price of gas? That surely limits summer travel. Air fares are up too. But then I haven't flown since the start of COVID.

5. What special something are you doing this summer?

I'm thinking whether or not I should drive to the other side of the island to go see the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight show in August. I've seen them two times before and the USAF's Thunderbirds three times before. It may be more of the same, but it is always exciting. I just don't relish the though on driving in traffic to and from the event.