The sentiment behind this sign looks quite familiar. The Main Street through my hometown is also US 11 (though not called Main St) just off I-81. We say “Pula-sky” instead of “Pula-skee”.
J.P.
Autumn.
It is officially my favorite time of the year. The temperatures are in a manageable range, sunshine is abundant and there’s a crispness in the air that feels just wonderful. Mother Nature is showing off her colors in all her glory today and I couldn’t help but capture a few photos from the back lawn. I used my Canon Rebel XS camera in hopes of capturing the depth of the color I see in the leaves.
It’s such a beautiful sight to keep one focused.
Service.
I stumbled across this video while randomly navigating around YouTube. I have always been fascinated with the checkout process at a grocery or department store, though since Y2K I have found today’s experience to be boring and populated with semi surly people.
I can’t help notice in this video that despite the fact the cashier and packer are doing all the work, they are still smiling and they seem to be enjoying their job. I know it’s a sign of getting old, but i can’t imagine anyone working in a grocery store today being as pleasant as they folks in this video are; we are lucky to get through an order today without an eye roll if the computer can’t identify the UPC code.
http://youtu.be/Fsh-2WQbnPc
TV, Part 1.
Earl and I spent the evening catching up on the new television season courtesy of our DVR last night. We watched five shows and enjoyed four of them, so we are off to a decent start.
I’m purposely leaving out spoilers because I’m nice.
“How To Get Away With Murder” kicked off season two right where season one left off. Shonda Rhimes packed in a whole boatload of twists and turns in the season premiere and it was in the final moments of the episode that the season storyline arc was firmly established. We are eagerly looking forward to the next episode; what they built the series on in season one solidly continues in season two because it works.
“The Mysteries of Laura” basically became a different television program with a slightly more serious tone. I was on the fence about this one last season because it didn’t really grab me; it took us several weeks to finally catch up on episodes. The introduction of a new character, the new captain of the precinct, killed the vibe of the light vibe that permeated the show last season. They also wrote off the quirky detective with barely an explanation, which I found surprising because she was a fan favorite and contributed heavily to the lightheartedness of the show. It was the light vibe that made this show stand out to begin with. I barely made it through the episode hoping that the captain was a guest appearance but it looks like she’s staying around. We scratched it off the DVR To Do list. If I read somewhere that she’s gone, we’ll reconsider it.
“Life In Pieces” is a new CBS comedy set up as four short stories about a family. The show is very odd. It’s kind of like “Love, American Style” with the little vignettes, but they’re all interconnected and related to each other. OK, maybe more like “Love, American Style” meets “Modern Family”. I found it difficult to digest but it piqued my interest.
“Limitless” is a new CBS action show based on the movie of the same name. Bradley Cooper even makes an appearance in the pilot to connect the two. The special effects are cool, the way they portray thought processes, etc. is interesting and it’s a decent continuation of the “Limitless” universe established in the movie. There are some hefty “leaps of faith” in the storyline but I can deal. I liked the movie, I liked the pilot and I’m looking forward to the next episode.
“Shark Tank” is more of the same deal in previous seasons with folks pitching their ideas to millionaires to get funding for their entrepreneurial endeavor. It’s a little jump the sharky with the addition of guest millionaires, the season premiere featured Ashton Kutcher, but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. I don’t particularly enjoy the shows that are missing Barbara Corcoran, because I really like her spirit and approach to the whole thing, so I wasn’t super invested in this season premiere but I’m looking forward to the next episode.
4 1/2 hours of television was all I could digest in one day. I don’t know if I’m going to keep score or blog about this again this year, but here’s what we got so far:
* “How To Get Away With Murder”: A-
* “The Mysteries of Laura”: D — first casualty of the season
* “Life in Pieces”: B
* “Limitless”: B+
* “Shark Tank”: B+
Unexpected.
When I first took the job in my latest step in my career, I never expected to enjoy Greenville, S.C. Now that I’m in the middle of my third trip down here in four months, I can safely say that this is a pretty nifty city, especially the downtown area. Earl and I will be coming down here together in October. I’m very much looking forward to showing him what I have discovered and discovering many more things together.
If you’re every driving Interstate 85, Greenville, S.C. is definitely a worthwhile stop. The downtown area has a lot of culture, scenery and fantastic places to eat. A foodies’ dream!
A quick snap from my hotel room …
Regurgitation.
I’ve been deleting many blogs from my blog roll over the past week. It is becoming very common for “bloggers” to simply link to another person’s blog entry or to simply cut and paste the article with maybe some effort to identify the originating source. The copied blog entry is then framed in ads, click through requirements and other money grabbing experiences, all so that the “blogger” can make ad revenue with little effort.
This irks me.
What happened to the time not so long ago when people generated original content and shared it through a blog or other sort of medium? Do people no longer have the will to think? Do they rather to be fed the same drivel repeatedly until it becomes the truth?
I’ve mentioned many times before that I am not a fan of advertisements. I don’t mind a static ad in a magazine or a newspaper. I’ll even tolerate ads in the margin of a web page, but when the entire page is blocked by an ad or I’m forced to answer a survey or I have to search for a “close” button to get an auto playing video to stop blaring at me, I lose* all interest in consuming whatever I was intending to consume by falling for the click bait.
I think one of the reasons that we have such stupidity front and center in media these days is because people keep regurgitating the stupidity in an effort to grab more ad dollars. Every time I read a headline that says, “you won’t believe it when…” or “your jaw will hit the floor when you see this…” or “what happens next will astound you…” I want to slap the three closest people to me across the face and/or throw a lamp across the room and scream “please stop the insanity!”
The fact that my Facebook stream has become a constant source of this idiocy, despite my best efforts to hide, delete, muffle, silence or stomp out this sort of thing adds fuel to the fire that makes me want to throw a lamp. One of my recent revelations about my childhood is that there were a fair number of idiots that were part of my past. The regurgitation of the idiotic has amplified this. I miss my ignorance.
There is no solution to all of this because it’s just going to continue and no one has the gumption to stand up to this sort of content presentation on the Internet.
Get rich quick by doing nothing. Welcome to the 21st Century.
*please note the way I spelled that word.
Stillness.
The leaves are just starting to show their colors in the woods along our back lawn. In about three weeks it’ll be peak leaf peeping season. There will be many oohs and aahs, I’m sure.
The air is very still and quiet here today, even though it’s midday and usually there’s a wind blowing during my lunch hour. The leaves are barely moving. The wind chimes ding only once in a very great while. I like the stillness; I’m hoping that Mother Nature maintains this attitude so that I can enjoy a flight after work tonight.
I ran into a friend last night who asked if I was going to become a flight instructor, as I’m am embarking on the next step of my pilot training at the end of the week. Becoming a flight instructor is my retirement plan. I don’t see me ever fully retiring (and basically doing nothing) as I’m not sure my brain could handle that sort of stillness. I might feel differently in 20 years but right now I like to keep busy doing things that I enjoy doing. I find rest and relaxation in keeping my mind occupied.
Oh how I enjoy the sound of a calm late-summer afternoon. I think I’m going to work outside for the rest of the day. It’s too nice to sit in the basement when I don’t have to.
