Tea! A great big two-pint pot of Russian Caravan brewed for a few minutes and drunk black without sugar - the thought of which is what kept me going in the travail of today, especially what with the travel, too.
Russian Caravan is lightly smoked, not as intense as Lapsang Souchong, quite the pick-you-up after a day of hammering the keyboard and answering the phone.
Er - Old Dog Hangs Head In Shame
As you surely know by now, gentle reader, Conrad thinks the greatest invention of the 21st Century is the i-pod. Let's hear it for the i-pod! Louder! LOUDER!! Okay, that's loud enough; don't scare the neighbours. What makes it better are the accessories to go with it, like the Acoustic Solution's docking unit that plays the music through speakers*.
Except that, for the past few days, the unit has been showing a red light; it will still charge the i-pod but won't play.
Worriedly, Conrad has been looking at Gear Street Party docking units, which is bad since he needs to fork out £12,583 to have the Mansion's lawns mown this month**, so funds are limited.
Then he examined the remote control a little more closely.
"I wonder what this little button entitled "i-pod" does?"
Of course it enabled the dock:
Conrad shame-facedly confesses that he had intermittent problems with his original Street Player, because he insisted on pointing the wrong end of the remote at the dock, then wondering why it wouldn't work.
That's Tea, And Technology, So This Must Be -
Travel! Yes, trouble with buses. Conrad got to the bus-stop minutes ahead of the bus. 35 minutes ahead, as it turned out, because the 24 didn't turn up and he had to catch the next 24.
This was not dead time, as I entertained myself by watching the antics of a magpie across the road, strutting jauntily into the road after edible grot ground beneath the wheels of passing traffic, then flapping madly to safety to avoid getting crushed by that very same traffic.
Then, too, I noticed that Barbados is promoting itself heavily on bus posters passing by - on both sides of the road - and could barely control my giddy delight in such a profound diversion.
Did that come across as ironic? Because it was.
Anyway, Conrad was casting his eyes to the heavens and wondering if Hermes was responsible for this delay when the next 24 turned up. I feared it would be rammed to the rafters*** with passengers who missed the earlier bus but in fact it had fewer than usual. Nor were there many people waiting to board along the route, so in fact it arrived in Manchester only about 10 minutes later than the other one would have.
Excuse me, I've just run out of tea. Off to the kitchen for a bit more splosh -
- back again. Wow. Listening to "Von" by Siggur Ros, not what I expected, closer to "Valtari" than anything. Just FYI.
Felucca
Proof that giving Conrad time to ponder is potentially dangerous, this word came into existence in his head during the generous pondering time granted to him by TFGM.
"Is it a species of boat?" I wondered.
Why yes it is. Principally used in sheltered or shallow waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, it's a small wooden sailing boat with one or two lateen sails.
Pictures or you don't believe me? Very well!
Although rendered obsolete by powered vessels, they are popular with tourists and you can imagine why: swirling along soundlessly propelled by nothing by a big draught in a boat indistinguishable from those of two millennia ago; as opposed to a noisy, smokey quivering hull being brutally impelled by a great big metal mill with twelve cylinders.
Now, I was going to post about Lorica Segmentata, as this popped into my head last night whilst sorting socks, but I think "Felucca" is enough foreign instruction for today.
Those Wacky Folks At Facebook!
Conrad remains unsure how the sidebar adverts on Facebook get generated or targetted. The ones promoting medical prostheses or young ladies desperate^ to meet old men seem to have gone. Now we have ones like this below:
You what? Conrad barely knows which end of a guitar the noise comes out of, cannot play a note of music and looks on musical notation as a black art practiced by those who consort with demons, and also John Barry^^.
Hmm. "Von", definitely odd, but worthwhile.
And FInally
Reversion to type as BOOJUM! seeks to exploit small cute animals:
* LOUDLY! or at least until we get neighbours
** Expensive, yes, but the mowers have to lift the minefields and barbed wire and the electric sensor network and then re-lay all that after the mowing.
*** Metaphorical rafters, okay? I know they're really sheet metal and rivets
^ Conrad believes the vulgar way to put it involves the words "gagging for it".
^^ I once saw him composing musical notation the way you or I would write a letter with a fountain pen.
 |
| A pot of this and Conrad's ready to go |
As you surely know by now, gentle reader, Conrad thinks the greatest invention of the 21st Century is the i-pod. Let's hear it for the i-pod! Louder! LOUDER!! Okay, that's loud enough; don't scare the neighbours. What makes it better are the accessories to go with it, like the Acoustic Solution's docking unit that plays the music through speakers*.
Except that, for the past few days, the unit has been showing a red light; it will still charge the i-pod but won't play.
 |
| Red light barely visible as a one-pixel dot in the middle of the dock |
Then he examined the remote control a little more closely.
"I wonder what this little button entitled "i-pod" does?"
 |
| middle right button |
 |
| Again a barely visible green pixel. Oh, there's the Russian Caravan tea again! |
That's Tea, And Technology, So This Must Be -
Travel! Yes, trouble with buses. Conrad got to the bus-stop minutes ahead of the bus. 35 minutes ahead, as it turned out, because the 24 didn't turn up and he had to catch the next 24.
| It doesn't run on Sundays, public holidays or if the bus driver feels a bit poorly. |
Then, too, I noticed that Barbados is promoting itself heavily on bus posters passing by - on both sides of the road - and could barely control my giddy delight in such a profound diversion.
Did that come across as ironic? Because it was.
Anyway, Conrad was casting his eyes to the heavens and wondering if Hermes was responsible for this delay when the next 24 turned up. I feared it would be rammed to the rafters*** with passengers who missed the earlier bus but in fact it had fewer than usual. Nor were there many people waiting to board along the route, so in fact it arrived in Manchester only about 10 minutes later than the other one would have.
 |
| A bustard. Close enough. |
- back again. Wow. Listening to "Von" by Siggur Ros, not what I expected, closer to "Valtari" than anything. Just FYI.
Felucca
Proof that giving Conrad time to ponder is potentially dangerous, this word came into existence in his head during the generous pondering time granted to him by TFGM.
"Is it a species of boat?" I wondered.
Why yes it is. Principally used in sheltered or shallow waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, it's a small wooden sailing boat with one or two lateen sails.
Pictures or you don't believe me? Very well!
 |
| Lateen sails. From Eetaly? |
Now, I was going to post about Lorica Segmentata, as this popped into my head last night whilst sorting socks, but I think "Felucca" is enough foreign instruction for today.
Those Wacky Folks At Facebook!
Conrad remains unsure how the sidebar adverts on Facebook get generated or targetted. The ones promoting medical prostheses or young ladies desperate^ to meet old men seem to have gone. Now we have ones like this below:
 |
| Music Notation Software |
Hmm. "Von", definitely odd, but worthwhile.
And FInally
Reversion to type as BOOJUM! seeks to exploit small cute animals:
 |
| I'm not sure what she's thinking, but - she is thinking! |
* LOUDLY! or at least until we get neighbours
** Expensive, yes, but the mowers have to lift the minefields and barbed wire and the electric sensor network and then re-lay all that after the mowing.
*** Metaphorical rafters, okay? I know they're really sheet metal and rivets
^ Conrad believes the vulgar way to put it involves the words "gagging for it".
^^ I once saw him composing musical notation the way you or I would write a letter with a fountain pen.
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