The word of the week is obstinate.
Oct 9 – Thanksgiving
Oct 9 – Thanksgiving
A lovely, low-key day for everyone
this year.
My lady and I joined my sister and
parents at their place in the early afternoon today, and we were glad to have a
Monday off to spend with family.
While my sister and mom got things
ready to eat, my lady and I helped with other needed tasks around the
apartment, as neither my dad or mom are very mobile at the moment: he injured
himself at work a few weeks ago and is off on WCB( thank-you Canada! )while my mom's muscles have become weaker with
age, causing her difficulties most days. It was a delicious meal thanks to my
sister, who prepared many of the veggies, and my mom who made the stuffing and
bought the deliciously moist turkey breast, most of which we didn't finish and
saved for Christmas - yum again in a few months!
Spending time with my family is
vitally important to me; they're the major reason why I decided to move to
Victoria nearly ten years ago. Neither my sister nor I have to travel to see
our parents, as many families do when it comes to holidays; we're all right
here within a short drive of each other.
Which means I'm quite thankful, in
many ways, to live where and when I do.
Oct 10 – Climate and Fossil Fuels
Let's hope this is the start of a
trend.
Victoria has joined a growing list ofcities suing the fossil fuel industry to recover costs associated with manmade
climate change. Much like the health industry sued Big Tobacco for related
costs, this looks positive for helping combat the problems that fossil fuel
interests helped to create, and knew about for years yet kept quiet while
simultaneously funding climate change denial groups to the tune of $5 million
USD / year for the last two decades.
One of the difficulties is the
fossilized mindset of so many people when it comes to acknowledging that
climate change is happening, and humanity is the cause. Whether it's a lack of
scientific understanding, trust in scientists, or other factors, there are psychological
factors at play that make it extremely hard for some people to accept the
evidence being presented, and indeed fight against it vehemently instead,
flying in the face of logic, reason and the global scientific community.
Below is a great TED Talk about how
this mindset comes about, and what can be done about it when you're faced with
someone who's in denial about climate change:
Oct 11 – Amazing News!
One of my favourite shows is coming
back to the airwaves!
Well, it'll be available online, but
that's just semantics: Amazing Stories creator Steven Spielberg has struck a deal with Apple
to create the new series to be aired on Apple's fledgling online media
distribution network.
I loved Amazing Stories, the
show, as well as the original magazine, and it's encouraging to see that a
well-written ahead-of-its-time show like AS is going to get a new lease
on life in the modern age, rescued from the obscurity of VHS tapes.
Oct 12 – Dang it, Glowforge...
An email from GlowForge arrived
unexpectedly today!
In it was a thorough update on where
the production is at, as well as the expected shipping dates - AT LAST! Based
on when my order was placed, here's when it's most likely going to leave the
Seattle factory:
 |
| I've no idea why I have two listings, but hey: it's progress! |
So, the above is a bit of a bummer,
as from the info in the last update, I was expecting to see the GlowForge ship
by October 31st 2017. That meant the vacation I've booked for the third week of
November 2017 would have let my lady and I head over the border to pick up the
unit... but that's scotched now, sadly.
Meh. At least there's a
high-likelihood SHIPPING date now, and for that I'm grateful, as I can now
better plan getting my business started when my unit's here at last.
Uncertainty means unknown priority, and now I can adjust my weekly time budget
accordingly.
It means more work ahead, but that's to be
expected.
Oct 13 – Comics!
One of the things I miss most about
not reading the newspaper are the comics.
The daily comics were a brief
pleasure, but I really lived for the Sunday Comics, when everything came to
life in full colour, especially back when colour print was a luxury - hence
only seeing them once a week.
I've managed to somewhat scratch that
itch for the last few years, after finding a link to The Toronto Star, which is the paper I used to read for many years
in Ontario. Most online comics sites push ads heavily unless you go Premium,
which is why I've been reluctant to use them, but the Star is free - though its
selection is somewhat limited.
Here's one of my fave comics,
starring Lucky Eddy, rather appropriate given today's date:
Oct 14 – Star Wars Rebels
On to the next good show...
My downtime is limited these days,
but I've been focusing it when I do have an hour or two to devote to relaxation:
why not spend it wisely, instead of mindlessly?
As such, I've been watching shows and
movies I've been unable to see the last few years, either because they were on
TV( I don't have cable )or hard to
find online( I don't do much of that
anyway )and I certainly can't budget buying too much on DVD, let alone
Blu-Ray, even if I try to find them used.
All the same, I've managed to source
a few on my list lately, and one of them is Star Wars: Rebels, of which I
caught the first couple of episodes when it debuted almost exactly 3 years ago
in 2014. The story is solid, the animate excellent and I've really enjoyed
following the characters along in their adventures.
Oct 15 – Treehouse Office?
Oh, what a great place to work...
Microsoft recently unveiled the first
of three 'treehouse office spaces' that are designed to help their employees
stat creative and happy - not hard to do, when you've got a workspace like
this:
I've always loved treehouses, but
never had one as a kid as none of the trees on our properties would hold one -
dang. I played in a few here and there growing up, but they were always an
elusive beast, and remain so in my mind to this day.
One day, with a place of my own, a
treehouse-reading-writing space sounds perfect:
That's all I've got for this week;
I'm moving around of a day with only some discomfort and no pain in my core
muscles or legs, which is fantastic! More on that next week - busy schedule
ahead for the fall!
