• Books - Movies

    Reading and Writing and Eating and Sleeping

    Not too long ago, I got an email from Amazon: We’re pleased to announce that the Amazon Associates program is again open to residents of the State of Illinois. We’re now able to re-open the program because the Illinois State Supreme Court recently struck down legislation that had forced Amazon to close the program to residents of Illinois. Amazon strongly supports federal legislation like the Marketplace Fairness Act that’s now pending before Congress, which is the only constitutional way to resolve interstate sales tax collection issues. Well, now. It seems like I have to re-apply if this email is to…

  • Mini-Posts - Politics, Schmolitics - Religion

    Talking Heads Praise Pope’s Concern for Poor, Ignore Own Part in Austerity Politics

    Crooks and Liars, on the new Pope: They probably weren’t hired for their introspection, but it’s still a little startling when you see how little responsibility Beltway media types take for pushing austerity politics. It’s interesting, I think, that the Beltway newsreaders (and certain ultra-conservative cardinals) are so enthusiastic about Pope Francis and his concern for the poor — without a moment’s introspection about their own part in enabling the politicians and policies that somehow always benefit the members of their own class and kick poor people in the teeth. Via Crooks and Liars

  • All Things Interesting - Music

    Whatever happened to good old Blogging, hey?

    Why don’t I blog anymore? Sometimes I go back looking for recipes or something and stumble across an older post and think “Damn, I can write pretty well. Why don’t I do that more?” I guess the answer is “No time, no inclination.” But we’re nearing the end of the calendar year, and I’m kind of… getting in the mood and the mindframe to write moar stuffs, and to catch up on things, and reflect. There’s a lot that I never blogged about at the time, that now I wish I’d noted down, if only to fix in my mind…

  • Mini-Posts

    I Have Vanquished iTunes Again

    Finally got iTunes to mostly copy my music over from the laptop via an external hard drive, mostly following this method (but also having to go in and choose a folder). And scrobbling is working, too. Now to see if the new iPhone recognizes this library…

  • Mini-Posts

    We also were underwhelmed by the Hobbit movie: David had to put up with my grumbling…

    We also were underwhelmed by the Hobbit movie: David had to put up with my grumbling every time something non-canonical was on screen. Smaug, though, was awesome. And terrifying. So, “Hobbit 2″ was… disappoi… | ***Dave Does the Blog So, “Hobbit 2″ was… disappointing. Not bad, but not nearly as good as I wanted it to be. Pondering how. Share!MoreGoogle+ Dave Hill View this post on Google+

  • Home Improvement - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Retail Induced Shutdown Syndrome, I’m Having It

    Errands have been run, money has been spent, stuff has been bought. Never having been a person energized by shopping, I’m taking a break at Panera. But I’ve got the solution to the Christmas tree problem in the car – this year, it’ll be out of Riley’s nomming range, on a riser that doubles as an ornament storage box. I’ve made a start on the stocking stuffers everyone gets on Christmas morning, and I’ve got David sorted. He’ll get stonkin stuffers, too, so that’s on track. I’ve got a solution for the kitty box problem; the problem is that the…

  • Clan: McTiVo

    Finally, A Good Hawaii Five-O Episode Actually About Hawaii

    My husband David and I have been watching the “new” Hawaii Five-O since it began 4 seasons ago, from episode 1. It had seemed that for several seasons now they’d been mostly doing storylines based on international terrorism and the spy-intrigue storyline in McGarrett’s mother’s past. Which frankly, bored me to sobs. I preferred the storylines where it was a Hawaiian setting, with the kind of local color and flavor that is unique to Hawaii. It seemed like they were doing the islands a disservice by only finding the big drama in the “international” arena, saving the local stories for…

  • Geek Out! - Music - Radio

    The End And The Beginning of My Virtual Life

    My iPhone died today. I’m not sure why, but it couldn’t have been good when the speaker dock I’d been using started making more squawky noises than usual – sometimes with shocklingly loud humming and buzzing that came through the speakers. It somehow managed to charge the phone where my older docks did not, but it was never a happy marriage, and David had remarked that it was unshielded, so there’d always be interference. So he’d already found a little wireless speaker called “Mini Jambox” that would be my Hannumas present, and he’s getting a GoPro. But the iPhone? It’s…

  • Mini-Posts

    My favorite saint.

    My favorite saint. In a Godward direction: Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra is the patron of children, sailors, and pawnbrokers — as well as many another town or nation. No wonder he is considered a jolly saint, to be patron to such a jolly bunch. Many legends surround him, including calming storms, reviving pickled boys, and saving girls from … View this post on Google+