Friday 5 for August 28: Consumption

From the Weekly Friday 5.



1. What would you consider your most recent major purchase?

Haven't done any major purchases in a few years now. To me, major means anything over $100 for a tangible item. Financially times are way too tough and I really have to be tight on spending.

2. On what are you hoping to spend a good chunk of change in the near future?

Whenever that happens, in order.... a new Chromebook, a Mac Mini with monitor and keyboard, and possibly another car, most likely "pre-owned"... I have no idea when any of this will happen, but they are certainly not going to happen all at once.

3. When did you most recently resist the urge to splurge?

All the time. I am not a "splurge" consumer. I think about everything before I buy. That is why my wishlist on Amazon is dozens of products long. I only browse, but rarely buy.

4. When did you most recently experience buyer’s remorse?

Air bed. Twice now. Don't ask. I won't tell.

5. What’s something interesting you consumed this past week?

More streaming audio and video. I finally transitioned my large Google Music library over to the Google owned YouTube Music service. What a mess that created. Not all of my audio files moved and several of the playlists are a mess.

The YouTube app for mobile as well as the website is also a mess. There is no easy way to organize artists, playlists, albums, etc. On playback I cannot find the buttons to "clear queue"... No good way to drop songs one by one into a queue without having to include all the songs on a particular album or playlist. What a fucking mess.

On the other hand I am enjoying watching the new Star Trek Lower Decks animated TV series on CBS All Access. This may be the best of the recent spin-offs from the Star Trek universe. This one is a comedy of some sort and focuses on the Starfleet personnel that have to do a lot of the grunt work to keep a starship going. The starship is the U.S.S. Cerritos and its mission is "second contact".... mainly to take care of administrative stuff once the Federation establishes a new relationship with an alien world and culture.

What I like the best of the new series is that it occurs at roughly the same time as Star Trek The Next Generation.  I like the familiarity of the series as it relates to TNG and its two follow-ups, Deep Space 9 and Voyager... all of which occur in approximately the same time frame.

____________

For onebadscrivener:

Lovers and Poets, yes I started to follow Shannon Hurley and I think she posted that stuff to her website many years ago. She has been steady with Lovers and Poets though the duo is her and her husband. It was originally with another guy. My favorite Shannon Hurley song is "California" from 2008.

The funny video and song "We No Speak Americano" by Yolanda B Cool and DCup was a worldwide #1 dance and pop hit in 2010. "The name is a reference to the scene in the film Pulp Fiction, where the character Jules (played by Samuel L. Jackson) tells a female armed robber named Yolanda (played by Amanda Plummer) "Be cool!".... re: Yolanda be cool! I saw the video on YouTube and fell in love with the song... hehe.. yes, useless pop fodder right up there with "Fridays" and "Call Me Maybe". Useless but catchy music.

Friday 5 for September 27 - For Ric and Ben

The following questions are from Scrivener's weekly Friday 5 blog. I started working on this last week, but only now got around to finishing it. Happy and safe driving folks.

1. Where did you go the first time you drove by yourself?

I  became a legal driver several decades ago when I was 15. Where did I go the first time I soloed? I probably went about 2 miles to downtown Honokaa, went to the store and then another 2 miles to home. I think. It was so long ago how can I totally remember that? But a short drive would be the thing I would have done.

2. Who was the first non-family non-instructor you drove anywhere, and where did you go?

Again this was so long ago, I don't exactly remember. More than likely it was one of my school classmates. Can't even remember where I went.

3. What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done behind the wheel?

Again many, many years ago on a two lane highway I was trying to pass two large, slow moving trucks at the same time.... um.... the tiny little Toyota I was driving did not have enough power to accelerate on the slight incline going up the highway. I had barely passed the first truck when a large car was coming straight for me.... um.... the two trucks were fairly close together.... luckily the driver of the truck I passed slowed down and I think the one in front sped up a bit and left me an opening so that I could get back into my lane.

As soon as I made it into my lane, the oncoming car passed swiftly by. It was only a few seconds to spare.... if the opening was not there, I probably would have gotten into a bad accident and perhaps died.

4. What’s the nicest drive you’ve ever taken?

I haven't been to or drove to many places outside of Hawaii. Therefore most of my driving have been done in Hawaii. For each island that I drove on, here are the nicest places:

Kauai island - Back in 2005 I drove all the way to the end of the road up to Kauai's north shore. Going through Hanalei and passing over that iconic steel bridge that gets flooded out during heavy rains was nice. The road up there ends up at a nice beach. Everything in Hanalei and the North shore of Kauai is green, wet and beautiful.

Island of Oahu - Driving in Honolulu sucks because of traffic... and it is not very scenic except maybe passing near Waikiki Beach. Driving out to Waimanalo and Kailua is pretty scenic along Kalanianaole Highway... Otherwise the most scenic drive is on the long and winding road up and down Tantalus drive.

Island of Maui - The drive up to Haleakala crater is always nice. The last time I did that one was back in 1983. Long before that my Dad drove us along the Hana Highway to Hana and back to Lahaina... decades ago.

Island of Hawaii (Big Island) - There are plenty of roads that I consider scenic on the my favorite island. Here is a list of them:

• Kohala mauka highway, from Waimea town to Hawi along the slopes of Kohala Mountain. Beautiful drive especially in the late afternoon during "golden hour" to get a view of Mauna Kea and other areas from the height advantage of Kohala... the colors of the setting sun are nice from here.
• Anywhere along the Hamakua Coast, Highway 19 from Hilo to Honokaa. There are several older side roads which offer drivers beautiful green scenery. The scenic highway between Pepeekeo and Papaikou is especially green and beautiful. If you have $$, a stop at Hawaii Botanical Gardens is well worth the price of the high admission... at least once to take pictures.
• Puna / Volcano area - Many scenic spots in this hostile area, recently overrun by lava last year. Volcanoes National Park and the Chain of Craters road within are must do drives and stops.
• Ahualoa Road / Old Mamalahoa Highway to Waimea - A nice scenic drive through a forested but homesteaded area, and then through several miles of green pastureland to the main highway near Waimea.
• Mana Road - If you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, this is a nice road to take if you have access through the higher back country of rain forest and pasture grasslands.
• Unfortunately I have never driven up the roads to Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa, nor all the way through the Saddle Road. When I am on Hawaii Island, those roads don't go where I need or want to go, and I don't have access to a 4 wheel drive vehicle without paying money to use one.

5. Who’s the worst driver you know?

The ones who cut in front of you all of a sudden, and those drivers who lane dive while you patiently await your turn in the designated lane.

R.I.P. Ric Ocasek. Benjamin Orr. #TBT

Friday 5 for February 9: Rock It

From Scrivener's Friday 5 blog...

1. What’s your favorite instrumental hit song?

1. Hawaii Five-0 by The Ventures. Written by Mort Stevens, this is probably the ultimate instrumental hit song and TV theme ever. The single went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969. Since that time it seems like every high school and college band has played the song. It is well known, so well liked that it just had to be used again when the TV series was rebooted in 2010. I remember playing this when I was in our school band.
2. Main Title Theme From Star Wars (John Williams composer/ London Symphony Orchestra recording) - This was released as a single in 1977 and peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year while a disco mashup by Meco went all the way to #1. This is probably the most well known movie theme of all time.
3. Peter Gunn Theme by Henry Mancini - This record went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. We played this in band when I was in high school more than 10 years after it was a hit. More people know Henry Mancini as the writer of the “Pink Panther” theme. I just like this song better.
4. Theme From “The Endless Summer” -  The  Sandals - This came out in 1966 and was the music used in the legendary surf movie documentary of the same title. Two surfers travel the world looking for “the perfect wave”.
5. Theme From “Miami Vice” - Jan Hammer - This was the last instrumental song to peak at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The year was 1985. The  TV show was one of the most successful of the 1980s. The music  just screams 1980s pop music excess…. Keyboards, synths, a strong danceable backbeat. What’s not to like?

2. What’s a good movie with rockets in in it?

I guess we have to define what a rocket is because I almost would like to pick Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back as my top 2 favorite movies (of all time) with rockets in them. But alas, there are no rockets in those movies even though they are space / sci fi oriented. All the space vehicles are spaceships and whether or not they use basic rocketry I don’t really know. I guess this would apply to all of the Star Trek movies and many others of similar types.

So going with the definition of a traditional rocket that uses a chemical substance self contained in a tube (whether it be liquid or solid fuel), then the following movies are my favorites:

1. Apollo 13 - Yes, the Tom Hanks movie that came out in 1995 is my favorite movie that has a rocket in it. Actually a big 3 stage Saturn V rocket booster, an exploded rocket command / service module and a stubby little rocket (Lunar Module Aquarius) that went beyond its design capacity and returned the crippled spaceship and its three astronauts back to Earth after the accident on the way to the moon. A true story of course, well acted and fairly close to the book Lost Moon written by Apollo 13 astronaut commander Jim Lovell. A must see for everyone. Failure is not an option and these people licked a major problem…. 
2. October Sky: Another true story set in the 1950s about some kids who built model rockets and in later life ended up working in the aerospace industry. It’s been a few years since I saw this movie, and forgot most of the plot. I have it on DVD,  and it is time for a re-watch. It is one of those types of movies that make you feel good at the final outcome of the story.
3. The Martian: Great movie about an astronaut stuck on Mars and the world’s attempt to save him more than 400+ days later. The movie haas a rocket that blows up, rockets that land and take off. SciFi set in this century, fairly close to what could become a reality. The book was great too. Read that before I saw the movie. Was kind of like reading a long, day by day blog.
4. The Right Stuff: From 1983 a sprawling yarn about the test pilots and early astronauts of the Project Mercury program who pioneered space travel for the United States. Lots of rockets in this movie. X1, X15 rocket plane; Redstone, Atlas rockets.
5. Marooned: From 1969 comes this science fiction story about an Apollo capsule stuck in earth orbit with its oxygen running out after undocking from a Skylab space station. The race is on to rescue the astronauts. The U.S. launches a spacecraft similar to the conceptual “Dyna Soar” space plane on top of a Titan III rocket to save the doomed crew.

And while we are on the subject of rockets, how many of you watched Space X’s launch of Falcon Heavy this past week and the Tesla that is now in a long solar orbit that will take it to the asteroid belt?

3. In 1977, Voyager I took off on its very long journey, loaded with two golden records containing sounds meant “to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form, or for future humans, who may find them,” according to Wikipedia.  The contents were chosen by a committee chaired by Carl Sagan, but if Dr. Sagan called you today (you know, from beyond) and said there was room for ten more minutes of music and he was letting you choose it, what would you fill the ten minutes with?

NASA was lucky that CDs were not invented at the time of the Voyager launches. If they were a CD or DVD would have been included. That said given the issues of CD Rot, it is a good thing this did not happen. I don’t know about later probes but perhaps if they continue the same practice they can just include music and data on an SSD card or chip.

So in an effort to fill the 10 more minutes with music, here are the songs I would choose (tested out with my iTunes for time allowance).

1. (I Can’t Get) No Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones (3:44) - This is a great song to accompany Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” already included. 
2. I Want to Hold Your Hand -  The Beatles (2:25) - why no Beatles is beyond me.
3. Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (3:34) - Voyager 1 has long left the world of rainbows and humans. Only fitting to have this song onboard. (Would probably have to use the Judy Garland version if this were in 1977 as the IZ version was not recorded until the 1990s.)

Total playing time for  the three songs: 9:03

4. What’s something you know about constellations?

1. They are far away
2. The planets move in and out of them with regularity
3. Mostly composed of stars, some of which may have their own solar systems
4. The nearest star to earth (besides the sun at 93 million miles) is Alpha Centauri which is like 4.3 light years away.
5. I have a hard time making them out unless I have a chart.

5. When did you last spend time in a rocking chair?

On the second floor of the new International Marketplace in Waikiki (Honolulu) there are rocking chairs where you can sit, relax and use up all that free wifi they have over there. I’ve gone there a few times in the past year. Nice.

Friday 5 for July 15 - Tubular

"Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5!  Please copy these questions to your webspace.  Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses.

Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

In honor of this week’s Emmy nominations."

Love TV even though I cut my cord in 2011.

1. What TV series have you watched every episode of?

I have watched every episode of the following:

- Babylon 5 (1994 - 1998 / Again on DVD 3x)
- Battlestar Galactica [re-imagined] (2000 - 2004 / DVD)
- Breaking Bad (DVD / online)
- Crime Story (1986 - 1988 / Again on DVD)
- Doc Martin (2000s - 7 seasons / all online)
- The Prisoner (1967? - all episodes online)
- Star Trek Classic (1966 - 1969)
- Star Trek The Next Generation (1987 - 1994)

2. What are your favorite instrumental and vocal TV theme songs?

Top 5 Instrumentals:

1. Hawaii Five-0
2. Star Trek The Next Generation
3. The Avengers
4. The X Files
5. Miami Vice

Top 5 Vocal Themes

1. Gilligan's Island - the best sing-a-long TV theme ever!
2. Cheers
3. The Beverly Hillbillies
4. Runaway - Del Shannon (Adapted for Crime Story)
5. Searchin' My Soul - Vonda Shepard (Aly McBeal)

3. What’s a TV series you stuck with even when it got bad?

- The X Files: First 6 seasons were great then it slowly deteriorated.
- LOST - I was lost at times trying to follow this; the ending was lame.
- L.A. Law - Slowly went downhill as original cast members left the show.

4. What supporting TV character would you like to have seen featured in his or her own spinoff?  If you’re feeling creative, what would be the premise of that series?

- "The Adventures of Lyta and Gkar" - characters from Babylon 5 who left the station and became travel companions.
- "Rebuilding a Fallen Empire" - Emperor Vir Cotto's story after the death of Londo Mollari (in Babylon 5)

5. What is the single funniest moment on TV you have ever seen?

Can't single one out, but several are memorable. Don't know if they are the funniest.

- George Castanza - "It's shrinkage" (Seinfeld)
- George Castanza - "You can't drive it in head first!" (The Parking Space - Seinfeld) - my favorite episode
- The Soup Nazi - "No soup for you" with Elaine (Seinfeld)
- Bapu - "Very bad man, I open Pakistani restaurant... where are the customers?" (Seinfeld)

 OK. yes, I watched a lot of Seinfeld but I cannot say I saw them all.

Funniest tragic moment on TV: Rosalyn Shays on L.A. Law - Going down......

Friday 5 for April 8: How Do You Do That?

Hello, and welcome to this weeks Friday 5!  Please copy these questions to your webspace.  Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so well all know where to check out your responses.

Please dont forget to link us from your website!

1. When you draw a five-pointed star, which point do you begin with, and where do you go from there?

Like this:



2. On a typical day, in what order do you put your clothes on?

Underwear, pants, shirt.

3. When packing for an overnighter, what are you likely to pack too much of?

Tshirts

4. How particular are you with laundry chores?

Generally do clothes weekly, bedding and other items monthly. Since I have to pay per load (in our condo) I try to put as much items together at the same time as possible. Use old school Tide powder detergent.

5. How are your bookshelves organized?

At this time I need to get new bookshelves. Books are currently in plastic containers. Maybe I should switch over to only eBooks to save space.