Dad Day

  Today is Father's Day and I even received a card from my dog.  Very smart dog, indeed.  I hope I don't have to pay for her college education.

  I think I cannot add anymore then I did a year ago, so I will simply provide you with this link for an encore.

Nothing I've ever done has given me more joys and rewards than being a father to my children. - Bill Cosby

A Declaration!

  When the Personal Computer came upon the scene, there were many remarkable things about it.  Probably the most obvious attribute is the amount of information that is available.  That was and is my downfall, because every time a question (often trivial, but sometimes legitimate) pops into my head, I want to run to a PC and look up the answer.  In fact, I have started a draft blog entry talking about my affinity (a nice way of saying obsession) to collect information.  That entry will be showing up soon.  Anyway, to me, the biggest attribute of PC's is how they can consume an incredible amount of TIME.  I sit down and start puttering away, and before I know it, three hours have passed and it seemed like fifteen minutes.  That is quite a phenomenon.  Maybe it has something to do with black holes or string theory.  Now, normally, as you may have noticed in other blog entries, I would attach links to these two phenomena so you could read further on it.  This time I managed to suppress the urge! (A recovering information addict, not!)

  All this was on my mind when I woke up yesterday morning.  Normally I walk from the bedroom to the office and the first thing I do is turn on the PC before I hit the fridge or let the dog out.  Instead, I went from the bedroom to the living room because of something on my mind.  I didn't let the dog out because it is often the last one to get up (and always the first one to go to bed).  So I am sitting on the couch, looking out the window and thinking about my routine for the day and had a revelation.  I quietly made this DECREE to myself and my sleeping quarter acre kingdom that, starting TODAY and at least one Sunday a month, would HEREBY BE DECLARED PCoff DAY!

  When I retired that evening, I was happy to think to myself that PCoff Day was a success.  The PC was never turned on and I survived by finding other things to do which resulted in a productive day.  I managed to do some things that I have been putting off for a long time; quality time with Lesley; Truffles, the dog, found more time on my lap; and my fingers didn't dry up and fall off from lack of activity on a keyboard.

  I thought Sunday would be the best day since the rest of the week, the PC is necessary for my job.  Ideally, I might make every Sunday PCoff Day, but I shall take baby steps first!

Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done. - Andy Rooney

Another Entry From The NRTF Dept. (Not Really That Funny)

This just proves that an idle mind can be a dangerous thing!

I planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to feed it. 
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I had  amnesia once---or twice. 
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Protons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic. 
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All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy 
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If the world were  a logical place, men would be the ones who ride horses sidesaddle.  ********************  
What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free? 
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They told me I was gullible and I believed them. 
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Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to merge his car onto the freeway. 
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Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone. 
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One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people. 
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I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure. 
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How can there be self-help "groups"? 
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Is it me-or do buffalo wings taste like chicken?
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Again, my apologies...

Something About Vinyl......

  Until the '80's, all of my music listening was via vinyl records.  Even the music from the radio was broadcast from records.  Then the Compact Disc came along and everything became digital.  That was a good thing because the reproduction of sound became perfect and flawless, something that would make any purist happy, right?  The thing is, if sound reproduction had always been digital, that would be all we know and knew.  However, if you are first introduced to a song that is an analog recording on a 45 rpm or 33 1/3 rpm record, and you hear it over and over again on that media, that is the one you are most accustomed to.  So jump ahead a bunch of years and you are in the record shop and find a CD of the same song by the same artist, you have a tendency to buy it and rush home to savour the memories of listening to it.  You will probably be disappointed because, more often then not, it is a remastered recording.  One of a couple things might have happened.  The original analog master tape was processed through noise reduction treatments as well as altering the equalization of the recording, with the final product being a digital recording resulting in a different overall sound then what you were familiar with.  Or, worse, due to the unavailability of the master tape because of damage or rights or whatever, the original artist might record a new version directly to digital.  Now, you know, that won't be the same song you have become so accustomed to!

  When purchasing 'oldies' on CD's, a handy thing to watch out for (if you want a faithful playback) is the SPARS code on the CD.  Particularly watch for AAD, that is the one you want!

  It has been several years since I have had a turntable connected to my sound system, however, I still have several old LP records.  My neighbour recently gave me his old turntable (thanks Bryan!) along with some of his LP's.  Today, I actually cleaned up a corner of my Man Cave and set up the turntable and was very happy to see it still works.  So for a couple of hours, I was grooving (am I still allowed to say that?)on some of my old records.  Even though there were some scratches, pops, and surface noise, it was like being reacquainted with an old friend.  You know, and I know, that there is the right record to play, depending on what mood you are in.  Today, I was mellow and my mood fit nicely in between the sounds of Judy Collins and The Byrds.

  And thanks for listening!

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. - Aldous Huxley

From The NRTF Department*......

  Be strong...I have come up with a new area in my blog called the NRTF (Not Really That Funny) Department.  And to kick it off, here is my first offering that I just made up moments ago....

  Two inventors were talking and one said to the other, "I have invented a big bed that will sleep ten people!"  The other inventor responded, "That is a lot of bunk!"
  My apologies........

My Life's Itinerary.....So Far - Part 8

  In August of 1970, I was assigned to Incirlik, Turkey.  I was only stationed there for seven months so I don't have a lot to say about it.  Being the non-adventurous type, I didn't mix into the culture much.  Most everything to be said is in my entry entitled Hup! Twoop! Three! Four - Part 4.  You can go there and read all about it and save me some typing!  If you click on the map to the left, to enlarge it, you can see a city near the southern coast called Adana.  Incirlik is about 6 miles to the east of Adana.  To the south of Adana, about 20 miles, is Karatas where there was remote site where I spent some Air Force time as mentioned in the above mentioned blog entry.  I had also mentioned some of the guys I hung out with.  I came across a photo (sans me 'cuz I was taking the pic) that I wanted to include:

Right to Left: 'Pop' Matthews, 'Rookie Ryan', 'Severe Scott, and the rest I have forgotten (it's been 41 years for pete's sake!).

In March of 1971 (exactly three years since enlisting), got orders to go back to the States.  However, I took some time off and had a little vacation in England on the way back.  As the Brits would say, I went on holiday.  My friend, Mike, whom I was stationed with when previously in England, and I took a road trip along the southern coast of England right out to the western tip known as Land's End.  It was fun although a bit cool that time of year.  As depicted in the photo on the left, we had some car trouble with Mike's MGB-GT and our smiling mechanic resolving the problem.

  So back to "The World" we go.  ("The World" was our expression for the U.S.).............

Musical Memory

  Again, while listening to the radio, I heard a blast from the past (is that phrase overworked?) that was good to hear again.  In 1955, The Platters came out with The Great Pretender, which sounds just as good now as it did then.  Give a listen by clicking on the title.

  The group had 40 singles on the charts between 1955 and 1967 including four #1 hits.

My Life's Itinerary.....So Far - Part 7

  In the summer of 1969 I was transferred to High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England.  For the military aspect of my stay there, as well as several little stories that I should have saved for this entry, see Hup! Twoop! Three! Four! - Part 3.  Unlike my previous assignment, High Wycombe was a city and the base was small,  Consequently, the locals thought of the 'Yanks' as more of a novelty then a swarm of locusts. 

  One story that should have been in the other blog entry was this:  AAFES was the organization that was the marketing arm of the US military bases and of course it had facilities at USAF High Wycombe. In High Wycombe was also RAF High Wycombe, where it also had a marketing arm for its military known as NAAFI.  Okay, bear with me; on the British base there was a sort of Pub for the military Brits to gather and it was called 'The NAAFI'.  One day I was in a group of Brits and I was the only Yank there.  I cannot remember why or how I was in this situation, anyway, one uniformed young woman in the group was going on and on about how Yanks were all mouth and all money.  I was in civilian clothes and she didn't know I was American.  One of her 'mates' gave her a nudge and whispered in her ear.  I assumed she was being enlightened about my nationality.  She was so embarrassed, she ran off and never came back to the group.

  The best part about being at High Wycombe was the fact that I became friends with a young lady at church.  Thirty-four years later we reconnected and were married.  That is when I learned that she had a 'crush' on me in High Wycombe.  Okay, I am a little slow to catch on, sometimes.

  Next stop, Turkey...