More this and that

The Lilac Bush

It blooms beautifully every spring. But in the eleven years we've lived here the flowers have never had that dearly familiar lilac scent. Now this year, perhaps our last in this house, that well-remembered scent has burst forth with the blossoms. The sweet fragrance wafts through the yard, the house, my office.

Why the flowers chose this year to give us this gift is a mystery. Is it their way of saying goodbye? Poetic fancies aside, it's probably due to the unseasonably warm weather earlier this year. Another oddity this spring--a couple of rhododendrons changed from pink to deep red.

The whims of nature? Climate change? Or a sweet sad farewell...

!!

What I Learned Watching the Nature Channel

1. When a victorious lion takes over a new pride, he kills all the cubs that are not his.
[Did the Disney people know this when they made the Lion King?]

2. Wildebeest moms make sure they give birth around ten in the morning because by nightfall the calf needs to be able to run from predators. [Like the lion who killed all the cubs.]

I admire the wildebeest moms, but have no kind words for the lion males. Yeah, I know it's nature, the circle of life and all that, but still...

!!

Nouns Becoming Verbs

On a recent TV show, an FBI agent said to a bad guy, "I'm going to end you." On the same show one character said to another about an upcoming meeting, "are we going to conversate..."

I checked the Internet for these usages, and yes, they've been noted as part of dialogue in some areas of the country.

That just goes to prove that language is not writ in stone.

!!

An interesting Video

The one-man orchestra is exactly that. Ben Morfitt, known as Squid Physics, the creator of this video, composed the music and recorded himself playing every instrument. I think he did a fantastic job!






–– Cat

Computer Gripes

~So, I installed an update this morning for one of my programs. Of course, it wanted to include several additional useless-to-me programs, which I refused.  "The update and nothing but the update."

Well, does vengeance know no bounds? After the installation, all the icons on my screen were rearranged. There was no method to the madness [rearrangement].  I spent half an hour putting them in order and discovered that one had vanished. Another half hour tracking down the missing icon.

Who said computers were helpful, benevolent machines that would make our lives easier? Did anyone say that?

Maybe the computers are  neutral; it's the programmers who enjoy messing around.


~When I got my last computer it came preloaded with the word processing program Microsoft Word. It was there for a limited trial, after which I'd have to buy it.  I was using Corel WordPerfect at the time, so ignored the Microsoft program and loaded my Corel program.

Then I noticed all my WordPerfect files had transformed into Microsoft Word files. Creepy. I discovered that particular computer [I'm betting it was the Windows XP operating system] did not support two different word processing programs. They were in conflict with each other, duking it out, and the global behemoth Microsoft Word won.

I simply uninstalled Microsoft Word, and solved the problem.

Then I got another computer, this time with the Windows 7 operating system. No problem supporting two or more word processing programs. However...
 
Although I was perfectly happy using WordPerfect--easy to use, efficient, did the trick beautifully--can things ever stay ideal in computer world?

Because WordPerfect files were not easily readable by those who didn't have the program, I knew someday I would have to transfer my files to the one everyone uses--Microsoft Word. I swallowed my distaste and bought Word 10.

First of all, this program seems to have a thousand bells and whistles that made my eyes glaze over. I sensed trouble ahead. The copy and paste functions worked fine for transferring files. Inserting a header was fairly easy. But try numbering the pages.  When I hit what everyone would–the insert page number function–I got my page numbers all right. But the rest of the header was wiped clean.

What had been a simple action in WordPerfect became a puzzle of grand proportions.  Help was, well, helpful. But, really, who would normally look for something called "quick parts" to insert numbers in your header? Even then, this supposedly simple action was hidden in something called "field" in which you scroll down a long list until you come to, not "numbers," but "page." 

I don't know how others feel about this, but I think whoever created the program  had their head screwed on backwards. I picture a hundred programmers in a room, divvying up sections of this, and maybe other, programs, and laying bets on who can make theirs the most obtuse and dumb and time-consuming to use.

I was further convinced that I was right when I looked for the setting for indents. line spacing, and paragraph breaks. I honestly thought these would all be under the tab "page layout."

Ha ha. Of course not. On the home page there is a small word "paragraph" in the toolbar with a teeny tiny arrow pointing sort of down. And when you click that arrow, voilà-- the necessary settings appear. 

Okay so I got that done, but I passionately dislike the program. There's a new WordPerfect program that is apparently compatible with Microsoft, and I may, if this frustration keeps up, upgrade to the new one. But I fear that it will have been so changed from the simple one I had that it may be as complicated to use as Microsoft Word.

And now I will also have to soon give up, for other reasons, my Quattro Pro spreadsheet, and use [gag] Excel. Another efficiency lost. 


~Each new computer I bought has the latest version of Windows operating system. I have 20+ years of using different versions, and though each upgrade provided more features, it took just as many away, or buried them somewhere.

For example, I don't often use the Run command. But I needed to use it the other day and it was nowhere in visible sight. [Seems it was always somewhere I could see it.] Now some programmer [see above comments about them] decided to make this a game of hide and seek.  You have to click "start" then "all program" then "accessories" then there it is!

I would have never thought to look under accessories for the Run command.

Well, those in the know would call me computer illiterate. In the greater scheme of things, I guess I am. I just don't think "more difficult" means "better."

Like all the smart cars, appliances, TVs and phones, I want a smart computer. Must be out there somewhere, or coming soon.


-- Cat

Brave Bear Cub

Perfect storytelling...





– Cat

The difference between men and women

Regarding that horrific explosion of the rocket that was to carry supplies to the International Space Station--

Me – What a tragedy.  Hard work and millions of dollars gone in one spectacular burst. 

Him –  Those poor astronauts, waiting for their food supplies. They're going to starve!

~

We discussed life in a space station.  Day-to-day stuff. Notably, how do they take care of basic necessities when everything is floating around.  For example, handling toilet business.

I could look this up on the Internet and learn exactly how it's handled. But it was more fun to speculate.

Our conversation was based on the theory that toilet waste is ejected from the space station. Turn a crank, push a button, press a lever somewhere and out it goes.

Me – As soon as it leaves the confined area it vaporizes. Proof!  Reduced to micro atoms that become one with the universe.

Him – No, no. Those pieces of poop are going to float around the galaxy forever. What people think are mini asteroids, are actually....

Men are so romantic.

Talk about leaving your poop print on the Milky Way.

And shouldn't that be – pieces of feces?

[groan]

~

How about some space music:

~

~
--Cat

Ponderings For a Hot August Night

A Casualty of Modern Times...

How many times do we hear the words stop and smell the roses?
Or, as a travel gnome advises, go and smell the roses.

The other day as we passed by a rose bush on our way to a restaurant, instead of getting a whiff  of a fondly remembered fragrance, we smelled NOTHING.
There wasn't even a "green plant" aroma.

Come to think of it, only one of our own rosebushes produces beautifully-scented roses.
The others, though thick with lovely flowers, are sterile in the odour department.

I don't believe unscented roses existed in nature until rose breeders started messing with plant genes. 

Apparently these new pest and disease resistant GMO roses don't require a gardener's careful and loving touch. They grow and produce flowers, but to become hassle-free they had to give up something vital. THEIR AROMA.

Well, I think that stinks. [pun intended] 
No wonder bees have become scarce.

--


 A Dog's Life

Roxy's [the dog] toys came back from the cleaners in a big-box.
She was moping around, so I told my husband give her some toys.
He dumped out the whole box.

We counted 50 items. Balls, squeakies, stuffed animals – raccoons, snakes, ducks, little dogs, monkeys, etc. etc.

She lifted her head, looked, and just as quickly dropped her head again and went back to moping.

I would've given her one or two to start with instead of overwhelming her with the whole army at once.

It's like kids who have too many toys. [An Xbox with 200 games. 25 Barbies, 80 changes of clothing...] They have to make a decision that might be too difficult to make. So they play with a cardboard box instead.

I also think it's like any one of us who has the Internet to play with.
Maybe because I remember what it was like at the beginning, when bulletin boards morphed into forums. Many of us joined closed forums, and we felt safe there with kindred souls from all over the world, there to discuss shared interests.

When my forum provided a doorway to the mysterious Internet, I ventured forth, quietly, on tiptoes, not knowing what to expect. I was ready to retreat if  necessary and slam the door.

Well,  there wasn't much there. Initially, many businesses were wary about  putting up webpages,  believing it was a fad. The ones I was hoping to find, publishers, agents, writers, seemed most resistant. It took them forever to join the party.

 But the lightbulbs flashed and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.
 
Almost overnight the World Wide Web exploded. Information and entertainment of any type was at your fingertips. It's great. Until it's not. Until it's too overwhelming and you can't decide what you want to look at or study or learn.

So you just spend hours playing chess against the computer.

--


The Dream

I know it was exciting, filled with action and bright colors.

Then–poof– the screen went black. Whatever it was, it was over. I could not retrieve even a tiny thread of what it had been.

And yet the last words I heard, spoken clearly, will haunt me a long time.

Snow cone men are out of control

 Scary thought, right?

--


And a hot August night always takes me back to 1972 and one of my favorite albums – Neil Diamond's Hot August Night.

The whole album--much better than clips--

  



-- Cat

Happy Canada Day!

Sporting

I must quit staying up all night to watch the Olympic games!

Go Canada!

– Cat

Musical interlude

An awesome murmuration of starlings, set to the lovely music of Pachelbel's Canon



 




--Cat

This and that

1.  Spider season

Seems like an invasion, sometimes. They're everywhere, they're everywhere!

A couple of years ago I wrote a little poem about spiders:

They Must Hate Us

They must hate us, the spiders,
and see us as monsters.
each morning their intricate night spun webs
shimmer in sunlight
and shiver in the faintest breath of wind
until demolished --
we take a broom to their masterpieces
we cringe with disgust when we feel
that light filament on our arms,
our necks, our faces
and grasp at it in a mad frenzy
the spiders bide their time as the monsters
complete their madcap dance
and spin their webs again


And who can really look with disgust at those jewel-like creations? Especially when they do is such a service by catching pesky insects.

2.  You can usually count on YouTube to be there when you need them the most.

The other day I watched The Bourne Identity on TV. For some mysterious reason my PVR did not record the last five minutes of the movie.

Sure, everything had been solved and Jason Bourne was safe. But did he reunite with the woman who helped him?

First chance I had, I googled "last five minutes of The Bourne Identity."

And there it was, on YouTube. Perfect.
And a perfect ending, as shown below.

[Now I'll have to watch the other shows in the series.]


  



3.  Seen while driving--

How many times does waiting for the green light bring a smile to your face?

We were driving down a busy road when stopped by yet another red light. In the turning lane ahead of us, a very yellow pickup truck sported a sign on the tailgate in big dark letters -– Tonka.

My husband and I looked at each other. When did Tonka [so well known for their toys] start making big trucks?

And then we "got" it. The truck owner painted the truck the exact shade of yellow so well known as belonging to those toy trucks, and transferred a big Tonka decal onto the tailgate.

Cute. Had to smile.

 

And to top it all off, the owner had a yellow rubber duck at the top of the aerial.

It was one of these – I have a picture of four because they're so darn cute.

Double cute. Double smiles.

Thank you, driver. Made our day.





4.  We were sitting around talking, husband, son and I. Topic of conversation – Roxie, son's Shih Tzu.

When they take her for a walk, they complain that every time they pay attention to or pet another dog, Roxy growls, sometimes barks. It's like at times they can't take her out in public.

Well what do you think, I said. Take me out, go chat up and pet another woman, I would for sure growl, and bark. I'd probably even take a bite out of someone.

Guys can be so dense sometimes.

Right Roxie?
 

Cat

Hell and devils

So, the teens were talking about Hell Night, a night before school starts where I gather all sorts of, well, hellish activities take place.

Speaking of that fiery place, I say hell hath no fury like a woman whose computer has been compromised by devils.

It all started a few days ago when I updated one of my program. I often get the "you need to update X" message. And it usually works fine – the program is updated, life goes on...

The last program I updated came with the usual message – quick installation [recommended] or custom. I chose recommended. Hey I trust these people. But, as there often is, a certain program bundle comes along with it unless you tick the box that you don't want it. The little box appeared for about three seconds. The program began downloading. Whether I wanted them or not, I was getting those.

All was fine, and I almost forgot about the extras, until I clicked my browser and found that an unknown search engine, which I will call Devil Search, was now in charge.

Not only that, but the other two browsers I commonly use were also hijacked by Devil Search.

Now it may be a perfectly innocent search engine, it may work well, it may work better than my other one. But the very fact that I didn't invite Devil Search onto my computer made me slightly angry.

I hope Roxie the dog was closing her ears when I let loose with some unwholesome vocabulary. It wasn't pretty, and I'm glad no one else was around to hear.

Now the wonderful thing about the Internet is that you can go to Google search and ask anything and the answer is there. So I typed in, "waaah-- how do I get rid of Devil Search?"

And the answers were there, dozens of them.

Naturally it wasn't as easy as uninstalling Devil Search, because along with the Devil came about five of his imps. They had interesting names, but I found the easiest way to find them all was to look for anything downloaded on that day and uninstalling it.

Then I had to go to each browser, disable the add-ons that were added, find my preferred page and make it my homepage again.

This took to nearly two evenings, because once devils and imps try to play with my computer, I do not allow any lingering cookie crumbs to litter the chambers. I deleted every last one and then had to put back the ones I needed.

I am grateful for all the people who advise know-nothings like me how to fix what's wrong and get rid of the evil devils. And I learned to always use the custom installation. That way you see a list of devils and imps you can unselect.



With everything fixed, I sat at my computer the next evening prepared to actually do something.

And then Hell Night began. Lightning, thunder, gale force winds, buckets of rain, and THE POWER WENT OUT. I have often heard the words plunged into darkness, and now I know exactly what they mean.

My office was black. And I mean black. Words Roxie had heard the night before, and some she hadn't, fell around her ears.

I waited for the power to come back on – sometimes the outage lasts only a moment. No such luck. How long, I wondered does it take for someone's eyes to get used to the dark. Surely at some point I would see shapes of things so I knew where they were. I moved away from my desk but didn't want to go too far because I COULDN'T SEE WHERE I WAS OR WHERE I WAS GOING.

I started a countdown. 99-98-97-etc. sure that when I reached 0 the lights would magically turn on. It didn't happen. My eyes were not getting used to the dark. I have a flashlight on the desk, but couldn't locate it. I found my dumb phone, but couldn't tell if it was backwards,  forwards, up or down, and I couldn't find the on button. I thought about doing another countdown, then realized that's what you do when you're getting anesthetized. Yeah, sure. I'd go to sleep.

I  might as well AS THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE TO DO.

[It sucks that we're so dependent on power. I want a generator.]

My daughter-in-law came home about fifteen minutes [it seems like hours] later, and we found the flashlight, candles, lanterns.

The Hydro company promised us the power would be restored at 1 AM.

Well, they lied. The power came on at 4 AM, all lights blazing. You'd think we would've had the foresight to turn off the lights before we went to sleep. My husband had to go through the house and turn them all off. He also had to go outside and make sure the septic tank pump was working again.

Sitting in the dark is better than coping with devils of any type.

~

I now have no doubts about the saying "bad things come in threes."

Two days after the power failure I turned on my computer and my monitor grunted, groaned and the screen remained black. I heard the little song that Windows plays when it comes on, but the screen stayed black.

We followed the usual troubleshooting format as outlined in the instruction manual. Nothing happened.

Was this some kind of devil's revenge for having purged my computer of his handiwork? Was this maybe revenge of the divine sort for having used some foul and, let's face it, abusive language?

Well, I believe it was neither. There had been hints and warnings that the monitor was about to take its swan song. The power failure probably clinched it.

So I was without a computer for another day. Another LONG day.

This morning I got another monitor. Bigger than my last, maybe not better, as the price came down hugely, but as the salesman admitted, no electronics are made to last long.

I guess that's why they're all so cheap right now.

Yeah, I know they're obsolete the moment you buy them.

So, I'll have a few more good years with this new one, and find a gentle resting place for the old one that expired.

Thus I end this very long message on a somber note. And live with the hope that they [whoever they are, the bums] who said bad things come in threes were correct.

I can't handle, and neither can Roxie's ears, any more computer-related trauma.

– Cat

Musical interlude -- Allan Taylor

Folksinger Allan Taylor was born in Brighton, England, in 1945. His career has spanned 47 years, and has taken him from playing clubs in London, the United States, and Europe, to recording in New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville.



 


Love his music!






--Cat

HAPPY CANADA DAY

Happy Canada Day!

Molson beer -- truly Canadian

 

 



--Cat --  proud and happy to be Canadian.

My brief flirtation with a smart ...

....phone

For years I've been carrying around and using what has now become a 'dumb' phone. All I've ever done with it is make calls/receive calls. It's small, it fits nicely into the palm of my hand, and has a voice activation feature so I don't have to dial numbers on the tiny keyboard. I can take pictures with it and email them. I can text and receive texts [mostly from my provider urging me to upgrade], but don't enjoy the procedure.

My husband and I were on a reasonable phone plan, and after we finished with the contract we  continued on a month-to-month basis.

My kids, my kids' friends, my grandchildren, my friends' grandchildren, my relatives, my neighbors, everyone in town, everyone in the world it seems now uses a 'smart' phone.

A smart phone does everything a dumb phone can do, plus a million things more. These 'things', called apps [applications] congregate all over the screen and I'm sure when you're not looking they multiply, procreate, regurgitate [well not quite, but somehow the word fits].

I'm not knocking the handiness and multiuse functions of this device. I mean, you can tell exactly how many feet you are above sea level. What the weather is like anywhere in the world at any given moment. Who starred in what movie and sang what song in what year. Important stuff like that. Well, I'm sure it's settled just as many arguments as it's begun.

And of course the popularity of these devices is staggering. People of all ages walk through a mall texting their friends, family, husbands/wives, bosses/employees. When a disaster or a fight or an argument occurs one thousand videos will capture the moment for posterity to be shown on YouTube, Facebook, twitter, wherever.

So, we were passing a phone store. Maybe, I thought, it was time to finally upgrade. I admit I was dazzled when shown all the different things I'd be able to do with a smart phone. I picked one out, got our plan changed, signed a new contract for three years, and went home to set everything up.

I should've known when I saw the instruction booklet. It was 1 inch tall by 4 inches wide and had the tiniest print I had ever seen. [Yes, an instruction manual is available over the Internet. A good size, too. I could print out all sixty or so pages if I felt like, or sit at my computer and work on it there.]

I should've known when some of the apps began to replicate themselves and I could find no instructions for stopping this. I should have known when I typed a contact in wrong and could find no instructions for deleting it. I should've known I would never use a thousand apps, because all I really wanted to do was make calls and receive them.

So we returned to the store, returned the smart phone and all the paraphernalia it came with, including the inch-high instruction manual. Everything was refunded, the contract was nullified, it was as if I had never even gone there. My weekend nightmare was over.

I was overjoyed to have my precious dumb phone reinstated in all its glory.

-- Cat [forever dumb, but happy]

Happy birthday Willie Nelson!

Happy 80th birthday!

Thanks for all the great music throughout the years.

1962 - a medley of songs, at the Grand Ole Opry 





2012 - Just Breathe with his son Lukas Nelson



--Cat

The Word

The acronym YOLO, You Only Live Once, has become an annoying catchphrase for young people indulging in reckless, tasteless, or immoral behavior.

Well, yes, the meaning is literally true. [Unless you're James Bond, in which case the word would be YOLT.]

I recently heard a new acronym – YOYO, You're Only Young Once, which is basically  another way of saying YOLO.

I think it's even better when spoken to those young persons whose incessant YOLOs have become excuses for everything they do.

As the young ones, who may be anywhere from 18 to 48, pack their things and head out into the real world, the parent cheerfully calls YOYO – You're on Your Own!


– Cat

I thought I was past . . .

watching movies about aliens invading earth.

I believed it was a phase I had gone through, similar to watching movies about vampires, zombies, werebeings, evil puppets, evil dolls, monkeys who talked, fellows named Michael, Jason, and Freddie, men dressed in black, and my favorite–the original Star Trek.

Over the years I enjoyed watching all these types of shows–including cataclysmic end-of-the-world stories.

Then I simply lost interest in them. Maybe, I thought, you need a younger imagination to get caught up in something that was so out there. Maybe I had lost the capacity to believe in the unbelievable.

The other night we inadvertently started watching Cowboys & Aliens. Instead of watching just two minutes, then laughing and switching channels, we watched, and watched. Okay, so I was caught up in the story. A good classic Western with a twist. With producers that included the names Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg, and stars Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford putting on serious faces [not playing for camp as I originally thought], how could you go wrong?

After watching alien fighting ships blast a typical Western town and snatch up some of the townspeople, I had to see what these scumbag creatures looked like and how these people from 1873 were going to save the world [and themselves].

So, there for a little while I was able to believe in the story. It was well made and had a good ending.

Here's a trailer for Cowboys & Aliens
-


I'm sure I heard the title of this movie mentioned a year ago when it first came out. And I must've laughed at the absurdity of it.

I need to wake up that sleeping imagination.

– Cat

Playing with Words

As some might say:

This post is apropos of nothing

Meaning:
Without reference to anything.
Without any apparent reason or purpose.

But it highlights one of the oddities of the English language.

Something like those nonsensical rules of some plurals, like if the plural for goose is geese, why isn't the plural of moose meese?


Or if one is mouse and more is mice

And one is louse and more is lice

Why isn't douse the singular of dice?


When we speak of one human, we say, well, human

when we speak of more than one human, we say humans

yet, one man is man, more than one man is men

It follows that more than one human should be humen

Why is this not so?

And just to split hairs further, we could say a human is a man.

A woman could be a huwoman

Well, that's not easy to say, so human woman would have to do.

But there we go again using the word man twice to describe the other gender.

I could have the same argument with female. Shouldn't there be a word that does not rely on a masculine root word? [Even the word she is dependent on the word he]

Yes of course, there is the word lady. But I have heard many that could be called that word insist it has bad connotations and they do not like to be called lady.

[Girl and boy don't count as they are words for children.]

We have to celebrate that there is a completely different word for a possessive pronoun – his and her[s].

So, wowee!

And you have to admit the words masculine and feminine are different, except for the final ine.

-- Cat [who, guess what, could be called feminist--]

Most Magic Moment

At last! It's 12:12 on 12/12/12

I've been waiting for this exact moment since 11:11 on 11/11/11

What the significance of this moment is, I cannot say.

But there will not be another such until 1:1 on 1/1/1 [that's 2101--89 years from now]

I wonder if anyone will be around to mark that moment.

The doomsday predictor in me says no.

At least not on this planet.

Cat

Remembrance Day

I have two different music videos posted today to commemorate the brave soldiers who have died for their country and for peace.

Since I first heard it in 1985, I've loved the song Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits. The lyrics are moving and so appropriate for the message they send.

This is a powerful video of the song and shows the horror, the senselessness, and stupidity of war. Who gains? A wealthy few. Who loses? Everyone.







I heard The White Cliffs of Dover by Vera Lynn on Remembrance Day several years ago on CBC public radio. 

The song was written in 1941 and recorded in 1942, when Europe was in the grip of the second world war. An immensely popular song, it's filled with hope that there will be an end, there will be an 'after.'

Can we now, seventy years later, still have that hope?






I cry when I hear both of these.

-- Cat

Time passes

I saw a TV commercial, for toothpaste I think, that said the average person smiles fifty times a day. That's probably forty-seven times more than I smile per day.

No explanation, no excuse.

~

So, I was playing a game of Hearts on my computer. 

Playing against West, North, and East, I wasn't doing too badly. I was up to 53% games won! I did not feel guilty when I called my opponents bad names when I thought they were particularly mean to me, and I gloated shamelessly when I won a game. "Take that, North." "Serves you right, West" "East, you are a ----- [insert suitable insult].

Then I made a huge mistake. I gave my computer opponents real names

And wouldn't you know it, my winning percentage began to drop. 48, 42, 37....

Eek!

Because my opponents had come to life, in a manner of speaking, I was more careful about using, ahem, colorful language when things didn't go my way. And I didn't often have reason to gloat.

When my percentage stats hit 31, I went on hiatus.

Once my holiday is over, I will reset the counter and go back to playing West, North, and East.

My computer is used to being bludgeoned with words.

And I would like to win again.

--Cat