Just hanging out on top roof at sunset. Emphasis on the sunset.
Lunch.
I’m sitting in the gazebo today for lunch. It’s 93ºF at the moment and while it’s hot, it’s not entirely unpleasant. I’m happy to be out of the sun. My Irish skin is just not built for a lot of sun exposure.
I just finished watching the Apple Keynote event at WWDC21 (their annual Developer’s conference) and I have to admit that while it was interesting, my eyes glazed over a couple of times. I don’t know what any technology company could do for “revolutionary” impact in the space these days, but like previous years, today’s announcements seem more evolutionary than revolutionary. I really like Apple’s leaning on privacy and the importance of not sharing your data with every tech company that comes along. That is really important to me and the primary driver for my using Apple products. It used to be I enjoyed the “fit and finish” of Apple devices, and while I believe they’re still the best the space has to offer, I don’t believe they’re the premium experience they once were. The privacy angle is still quite premium though, and that’s good enough for me.
I was hoping for more in the way of the iPadOS 15 developments; Apple is now selling their iPad Pro with the same processor as their latest Macs, the Apple M1 chip. With the iPad Pro running with a lot of horsepower under the hood I was hoping we would see some of the Mac-only “Pro” apps like Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro (video editing, audio creation, respectively) come to the iPad Pro. But apparently not yet.
All in all I was interested in the offerings but not blown away. I don’t know what “the next big thing” could be, outside of an Apple Car or some Apple Glasses or something, but I feel like as a world in the midst of the 21st century we’re do for “the next big thing”.
We didn’t hear about that today.
I’ll just enjoy the dry heat and catch up on some reading.
Perky.
Lauren Tewes was very perky in her credits shot in the third “Love Boat” movie, the first to feature her character, as well as Gavin McLeod playing Captain Stubing.
Enjoy The Silence.
As I get older I’ve noticed that I’m more sensitive to background noise and music. I don’t know if it’s from a decade of working alone in a home office or because I’ve always had focusing issues and I don’t have the tolerance I used to have or what, but I find it increasingly difficult to get things done with music playing in the background. I can’t watch TV while writing a blog entry, I can’t listen to music with lyrics while writing code, and I’m thankful that I no longer have to listen to the Samsung top-loading HE washer back in Chicago that made cricket noises when it was going through a wash cycle.
I’ve noticed that others in the house revel in music. We have speakers everywhere; no only do we have various HomePods and Sonos speakers, the house has a speaker system wired into most rooms and outside. We’ve begun hooking up these hard-wired speakers with a magic little device from Ayrlic. The magic little devices allow us to stream music from our favorite music apps and the like through these little amps that power the speakers in the designated room.
I drive in relative silence. If I do listen to the radio in the car these days, it’s Yacht Rock radio, which is way outside of anything anyone else in the house wants to listen to. I work in relative silence. I moved the little file servers into a separate room so I don’t hear the whine of the fan. I specifically use Macs and iPads because they don’t make any noise. When I’m folding laundry or cleaning out the dishwasher or something, I do it in silence.
It’s just my jam.
With all of the tech and associated companies pushing consumers to buy headphones and speakers and earbuds and overpowered devices to drive these accessories, it seems like the new habit is to have music going all the time. Good for the people that enjoy the music. I hope it fills their soul.
I’m not one of those people. Enjoy the silence.
High Society.
After watching a couple episodes of the new series “Hacks” on HBO Max, I was reminded of a mid 1990s sitcom starring Mary McDonnell and Jean Smart. More of a response instead of a take-off of the U.K.’s “Absolutely Fabulous”, the two ladies starred in a short-lived CBS sitcom called “High Society”.
Mary McDonnell played Dott, a wealthy socialite that inherited her husband’s book publishing company. Jean Smart played Elle, her best friend and one of the leading authors in the company; her specialty is trashy romance novels. Hilarity ensues as the two trade quips about fashion, high brow living, and the like. It really pushed the envelope for the time; Jean Smart had works with CBS executives over how many times she would say “bitch” per episode. CBS eventually caved in confidence and despite decent ratings for the show, cancelled the series after 13 episodes.
The jokes push the limits of 1995-1996 television. This was a couple of years before TV episode ratings were introduced to the masses. There ranks everywhere from “Michael Jackson and George Hamilton passing each other on the color wheel” to “She died when a masseuse dislodged a blood clot in that poor old woman’s stovepipe legs and killed her” to Jean Smart’s Elle coming onto Dott’s 17-year old Young Republicans (and very hot) son.
There are VHS copies of copies quality episodes (usually hacked into three pieces) on YouTube, but the Internet Archive has all 13 episodes in decent quality. It’s high camp and the series becomes a little uneven as the episodes go on as CBS tweaked and tried to “soften” the series a little bit. Things to look for: Mary McDonnell occasionally turning away from the camera laughing, Doris Roberts playing a mom in a later episode, and Jean Smart camping it up to 500%.
A fun little escape, sweetie.
Hacks.
I’m not going to get into a solid review because I really don’t know what I would write about the experience thus far. Well, I’m actually enjoying the experience and I look forward to the next episode, but this show is different than what we’ve watched in the past. I now get what folks mean when they say it’s a “dark comedy”.
I’m talking about the show “Hacks” on HBO Max. We just finished episode three. I haven’t invested enough time to find out how many episodes there are in the series, but it feels like it’s like an eight episode run or something.
Jean Smart stars as a Las Vegas stand up comedian who’s act needs a little punching up. She’s been doing this bit for decades and her agent gets her a young writer to help bring her act into the 21st century. Except neither character is having it.
The pacing is slow but not tedious. The dialog is witty, but the moments between the dialog are just as fun. The humor is not your typical tried-and-true guffaw. For lack of a better word it is a little dark, but I still find it very enjoyable. We get HBO Max for as long as we have our AT&T account, but I would subscribe to HBO Max for this series.
I’m at a lost for words to describe it further, but I recommend you take a gander.
Gardening.
I do not have a green thumb. I’ve never really had a green thumb, though I am quite appreciative when people make things grow. Grandma City had us plant some radishes and cucumbers in her little garden when I was in elementary school. I don’t know whatever became of the vegetables. We probably ate them. Grandma City was good at growing things.
Chris has planted a fresh herbs garden on our back patio. He bought the setup pictured above; it keeps things up and out of reach from the wildlife that makes its way to the area on a daily basis. Things are sprouting up quickly. Apparently we’ll have some fresh herbs on salads soon.
I’m appreciative of anyone that grow things, especially when it’s part of my meal plan.
Encyclopedia.
Youtube has been throwing old episodes of “To Tell The Truth” my way lately. I vividly remember the show from my early childhood. Kitty Carlisle always seemed so regal and Peggy Cass seemed like such fun. The theme song was boppy. I don’t really care for the latest incarnation of the show; it’s just too vulgar. (God I’m sounding old).
I don’t remember Peggy Cass sounding like such an encyclopedia, but apparently she was well read.
Cozy.
Every week we do a little more to make the new home feel like our home. We’ve settled in quite well, but the little touches help move things along.
I’m actually surprised at how much this new location has felt like home; it feels like we’ve been here much longer than two months. Ironically, there’s still a part of me that can’t believe we live in the desert. Now that we’re all fully vaccinated and getting out to explore more, it’s feeling even more like home.
Our master suite has a front room identified as the “Activity Room” on the original blueprints for the house. We have about 20 different sets of blueprints that neatly orchestrate the evolution of the house, including when they decided to flip the floor plan and build a mirror image of the original version. Our Activity Room is enjoyable for when we want to get away from the noise of the family room or cooking frivolity in the kitchen. Truman likes to park himself on his favorite blanket on the couch we moved from Chicago. He is seemingly so much happier here with all this space to run around in.
Overall I am quite pleased and happy.
Live: Chicago with Anne Murray
I’m not sure of the year, probably first half of the 70s, but this live version of “You Won’t See Me” is quite fun.
