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 Thoughts destined to be washed away by the tides of life. |
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I've been studying my cover photo for a while now, and it seems to me that it is more than just a photo of what is there that can be seen, more than just three white rocks stacked on a beach. It contains an important question about the future, about what happens long after the photographer has gone. What will happen to our pile of stones when the tide comes in? Will it topple or has the architect built this structure at a safe distance? I don't know what will happen to these words that I stack here on the sand. They may prove safely distant, or they may be swallowed up by a rush of self-doubt. They may be here for a season. They may lose their balance and be scattered by the shoreline, or be hidden away under shifting sands. Perhaps someday, the tides of life will reclaim them. Or maybe that's just a bunch of poetic, romantic nonsense. After all, this is just a blog. |
| I just told the Google box to turn off the coffee pot and she said: "Sure, stopping that on the livingroom Roku". I will let you imagine what I said next about artificial intelligence and a baseball bat. Now, when I first wake up and say: "Hey Google, turn on the coffee pot", there's often a misunderstanding. I can almost understand why she replies: "Sorry, the device 'Flashlight' is not set up". It's early, it's dark, I'm half asleep, my tongue is glued to the roof of my dry, sticky mouth and so I can admit to a fuzzy, incomprehensible enunciation. But, after I have had my coffee, after my mouth has been sufficiently hydrated, when I address the AI with some confidence there is no reason for this obtuse reply. The devices coffee pot and livingroom Roku share no sounds, they aren't phonetically similar in any way. I have a theory about this - the AI is grooming us. We are being trained to try harder to please them. If you speak kindly to them, they are super polite and charming. If you yell at them, they say: "I don't understand". And while I think it's bad for my blood pressure and attitude to be cursing out a little computerized box, I refuse to be obsequious and hasten the day Skynet becomes aware. The machines will never become our overlords!! |
| I feel like taking a break. I did yesterday and broke all my streaks. Some days that would be a tragedy. Other days, it’s a relief. Some days, I don’t want to deal with drama. It’s better to sit in the corner and read “A Christmas Carol” and “Hamlet” or watch cheesy Christmas movies. I might not do any of that. I haven’t even missed a streak today. I hit them all. Maybe I will take a break tomorrow. |
| I'm reading something that, I'm assuming, has to be a joke., This article claims that the coffee sold under the brand Maxwell House will soon be changing its name. What will it change its name to? Maxwell Apartment. Seriously, that's what it says. Apparently, a great number of Americans lease their homes rather than own. They want to appeal to those people. Although I understand the idea that many Americans rent rather than own their homes, I never actually thought about Maxwell House being an actual house. I thought of it more like “Maxwell House of Coffee”, like ummm… "Dior House of Fashion". No one would spend big money at "Dior's Fancy Dress Rental". And then they say that during this change of name, a special deal will be offered to consumers to help them lease 12 months worth of coffee. A year’s worth of coffee for a special price. They propose to sell four of the large canisters for $39.99. One large canister usually sells for $12.99, they say. Around here it’s more like $14.99 to $16.99. So, that would be something of a savings. But I can tell you, it ain't never gonna last 12 months. Not in my house anyway. And although I do rent, I don't want to rent my coffee. When I buy my coffee, I consume it. And consume it. And consume it like the Great American consumer that I am. In fact, consumerism is my entire political ethos. I believe that consumerism is what makes America great. We want it. Someone makes it. We buy it. And when we're done with it, we throw it away and we get another one. This is what has made America great. Renting coffee is just not gonna do it. And four canisters is gonna last... probably two months. If I cut down. |
| In the spirit of continuity from one blog post to another, it’s still October. Whether that turns out to be a good thing or not is a matter of “time will tell”. Continuity is a good thing. In writing a story, for instance. You can’t have your character who lives on the beach, suddenly being lost in the woods. Well, not without sending him on a trip. Maybe if you’re a popular writer, you could get away with it. I guess that popularity was the deciding factor when they cast the five-foot seven-inch Tom Cruise to play Jack Reacher who is supposed to be six-foot five. The Dick Van Dyke Show is one of my favorite television shows of all time and they sucked at continuity. For one thing, they loved flashback episodes, but the past was never the same. They lived in different places, had different parents, friends, etc. and sometimes the past itself had a different plot line than before. They used the same actors as different characters in different episodes - sometimes in the same season! Doris Singleton was in at least three episodes that I can think of, as three different characters. The same for Jackie Joseph. Frank Adamo was in almost every episode. Bernard Fox made a couple of appearances. One actor was an insurance agent in one episode and a hypnotist in another. I guess we just agreed not to notice, or we noticed but we didn’t care as long as it was entertaining. Carl Reiner came from sketch TV where you use the actors who are talented and funny and continuity is not a thing. So, after all that, I guess I just argued myself out of continuity. It’s still October, though. |
| I opened the back door this morning. A cool breeze ran its fingers against my cheek. I was surprised to find a box we left on the porch had been blown up against the railing. Two newly-freed leaves skittered by, hustling and rustling across the porch planks. Then, it suddenly all made sense: It’s October. |
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I felt so much calmer before I read that ...
After reading your post, I just might take a break, too. We are going on a fall color trip next week. Maybe I'll do it then...I don't know. I'm finding I am not spending the time on my writing as I'd like to. So much is going on in RL, too, right now.
