Do You Want to Connect

Daily writing prompt
Do you remember life before the internet?

Life before the net. Do I remember those dark, soulless days? Oh, yeah. I remember those days, just as I recall life without the world wide web, life without cable and DVDs, life without CDs, eight-track and cassette tapes, life without microwaves, and life without cell phones and more than three networks. I remember life without remote controls, which my wife calls, the clicker.

Yes, I remember buying my first personal computer. I remember using the first one at home. Then I recall signing us up for Compuserve and Mindnet. I remember getting my first email address and having no one to email. That soon changed. Viagra offers quickly found my inbox. With it came an understanding of something non-meaty called ‘Spam’ and wealthy Nigerians in need of money.

Yes, I remember pre-net life. Primarily because our TV schedule was fixed according to the cable schedule. Cheers on Thursday, for example. But when the net came into its full flowering, I was able to find a huge variety of things to stream from around the world, watching them when I wanted, instead of waiting for their schedule. Long as I was willing to pay for it.

With the net, the days of going to the front door and looking for the daily newspaper disappeared. There was no need for all that inked paper to stack up and get put out for the trash. Now the news was right there online. I didn’t need to wait until 6 PM to check to see what was happening. Of course, information about what was happening locally soon began fading. We could no longer just pick up the paper and turn to the police log to see what the hell the sirens were all about the other day. No, that faded. Now, there are sometimes stories on Facebook or Nextdoor. Some others are struggling to bring the local news back to us. It’s a challenge. Many efforts arise and fall.

Freedom came with online ordering, too. I no longer needed to prowl through brick and mortar stores, making comparisons, trying to figure out what to buy. Boom, the net was heavy with choices. It was still onerous in the early days to compare things but then came Amazon… Suddenly, whoa. It was a desperate consumer’s dream.

Do you know what it was like to travel in pre-net days? Calling the airlines to get price checks, listening to them look up schedules for you, explaining options? Same with hotels. Expedia and the like made it easier…for a while. But wherever money and humans are involved with money transactions and information, others are there to scam us for their share of the pie.

Yes, I remember life before the net. It was simpler and harder, easier, and more problematic. That’s how it always is with progress. Each step unfolds with new and surprising insights, and the things we used to do begin to fade.

Just think: one day, people will be asking, do you remember life before AI?

And someone will reply, I remember the days before cars. And then we’ll all wonder, what was that like, and turn to AI for the answer.

The Learning Dream

My wife and I were at a pool. I somehow got involved in a swimming class. Others were doing it. There was a white cloth or panel on the pool’s bottom. Our guidance was to take a deep breath, dive to the bottom, get the item, swim to the other side of the pool and surfaced.

My wife laughed. “He’s a really strong swimmer. He’ll do that without trying.”

I did. I’m not a strong swimmer but I’m good at holding my breath.

After doing that on the first attempt, they set me loose in free-practice to keep getting better.

Next, we moved inside. Now I was helping with some kind of television or streaming shopping channel. I was to write on a piece of cardboard and then slid the info forward so some announcer could see it. The info was being given to me by another person, and I was to keep writing the new price as it came in and show it.

Well, I screwed it up the first two times. I did well the third time, and then the people told me to keep practicing. I did for a while and then someone came by and told me I had a new assignment. This involved reading textbooks. The assignment confused me. “I’m just supposed to read them all? Will there be tests?” Yes, I’m to read them all, astounding me. A large range of topics were included. Stacks of books awaited my eyes. And yes, I would be tested.

I began that assignment and was startled about how fast I discovered I could read and learn. After four of five books, I was just fanning the pages. Witnessing this, my wife chastised me. “You’re supposed to be learning this.” I laughed back. “I am. Give me a book. I’ll read it and you can ask me questions, and I’ll answer them.”

She gave me a book. I read it. She asked me three questions, and I answered them all.

Another instructor arrived. I was being taken to a new class. The instructor said, “In this class, you’ll be taught how to use energy to change things.” I asked, “What kind of things will I be able to change?”

She answered, “Wait and see.”

The dream ended as a cat tapped my hand and meowed.

It was a very uplifting and energizing dream.

General Updates

Watching, walking, reading, writing, cats…that’s my world. Oh, and the wife. And eating and sleeping. And games. Cleaning house. Shopping. Can’t forget Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Sudoku. And two DIY projects. And keeping up with the news.

All family except my wife are several thousands of miles away. Literally on the other U.S. coast. We’re on the west and they’re on the east. Visiting under COVID conditions is problematic. The best way would be to drive across the country. I supposed we can pile the cats into the car and do that. I don’t think it would be a pleasant trip for cats or humans.

  1. We’re watching The Expanse. When Amazon began airing the final season, my wife proposed that we watch the series from the start and then indulge in the final season. It’s worked well. We find ourselves speaking in Belter slang after watching an episode. We limit ourselves to one per night.
  2. Also on the watch list is Anxious People, Cowboy Bebop, Bordertown, and Undercover on Netflix, Myth Quest on Apple +, and Third Watch and The Rook on The Roku Channel. Vera and Would I Lie to You are back in play on Britbox, and PBS offers us Around the World in Eighty Days (a rebooted series with David Tennant) and the new season of the rebooted All Things Great & Small on PBS.
  3. We just finished Upright, an Aussie series about a man with issues taking an upright piano to Perth, and Firebite, another Aussie original, with an interesting twist on vampires. These came to us via AMC+, along with Ragdoll, Kin, and Stella Blomkvist. I usually keep three to four channels on subscription per month. I rotate the subscriptions. I figure, why not? A monthly subscription usually costs between one and two coffee drinks or beers. Not bad, to me. Funny, but the most expensive subscriptions are from Showtime and HBO Max, and they usually have the least enticing fare. I watch for them on special. Amazon and Roku both chase new subscribers with deals. My AMC+ subscription this month and my Showtime subscription last month were both just $.99 for the month. Very good deal.
  4. Reading is a constant. I’m now reading Binti by Okarafor and Bewilderment by Powers. Both are beautifully written. Just finished were Harlem Shuffle, When We Cease to Understand the World, Fortune Favors the Dead, Find You First, When We Were Orphans, Hell of a Book, and Telephone. Ondeck is an old Jack Vance novel bought at the library for $1, Louise Penney, Caleb Carr, Amor Towles, and others.
  5. My average walking distance per day remains 11.2 miles. I range from 75 to 80 miles a week. This warm weather, my improved ability to walk and run in-place while reading or watching television, and the longer periods of daylight, all contribute to the sustained average. Also, there’s nowhere else to go with COVID still playing hot and fast.
  6. Despite all my walking, I have gained weight. Twelve pounds. Gads. The discovery shocked me. Beginning to work on the plan to whittle that off. Just don’t like carrying it.
  7. I did put together one jigsaw puzzle this year. I did start it last year, though. I enjoy them, but they absorb me and steal focus. So, no. I reluctantly set them aside.
  8. My poor fur friend, Boo, continues to cope with his cancer. He’s a mess. A mass on his jaw keeps him from eating properly. It’s a challenge for him and me. I’m his primary caregiver. He often drools after eating and can only eat small portions at a time. But he’s still trying, so my wife and I will keep trying. I crunch his grain-free kibble and make it into a sort of chunky soup as his favorite. His drooling means that we chase after him with tissues to catch the drool. It’s hit and miss, as we’re not up twenty-four hours a day. The hardwood floors take hits and require mopping a few times a day. I put several towels down for him to sleep and eat upon. Those are changed each day. We wash several loads of Boo material each week. We wonder, how long can he go on like this?
  9. The other two cats are doing well. They give Boo space, which he and I appreciate. Tucker and Papi are endearing characters.
  10. Still editing The Constant, my novel in progress. Halfway through the process. I’ve begun the next novel in that series. Working title is Fiveland. Couldn’t help myself. Was reading Bewilderment when the next novel’s plot and opening both slammed into me. Trotted on in and wrote the first chapter and began sketching the plot and story in my mind.

That’s all my happenings. Hope you’re all staying busy and healthy out there. Drop me a line. Let me know. Time to return to writing and editing like crazy, then go for a walk. Cheers

On the Stream

Haven’t done a ‘what I’m watching’ update in a few months. I know it’s critically important for others to know what I watch. Actually, I always hope that someone reads it and steers me to something new.

First, a word on Hulu. I don’t think they get the whole ‘cut the cable’ angle. They’re claTiming to be part of that movement but then turn around and do Hulu Live, which is essentially a repackaged cable offering, except it’s streaming. It doesn’t address the element that triggered the cable cutting wave, that you can have a zillion channels and have nothing because — 1, it’s old and you’ve seen it a gajillion times. 2, it’s shite, and does not draw you in. So, Hulu offers Hulu Live for just under $70 a month. Ooh, such a bargain! I don’t watch much Hulu. I have basic. They haven’t enticed me to try more. BTW, Paramount + is following the same pattern. Oh, boy, look at our old NBC stuff. Isn’t it great? No, it isn’t.

  1. One that my wife enjoyed twenty years ago is a show called Third Watch. She was lamenting at the month’s beginning that she wouldn’t mind seeing that show again. She’s a big Bobby Canavale fan. Well, ‘lo, the streaming Gods heard her because the next night, I checked out The Roku Channel, and they had just added a ‘new’ show, Third Watch. So we inhale one of those episodes each night.
  2. Likewise, a current favorite has returned for another season. This is a show called The Expanse. We watched the first five seasons. When the new season showed up on Amazon Prime, we started watching the series over again. Featuring a lot of strong female and minority characters, along with a solid hard science fiction plotting, thrilling action, multiple story lines, and politics, it’s an engrossing experience. I finished Ray Donovan, and will watch the movie when it arrives in Feb. I’m also looking forward to the Jack Reacher series. I never bought into Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. Sorry, but Reacher was supposed to be a lean 250 pounds muscular presence. Cruise was significantly shorter and less muscular. I’d watch Goliath in its initial seasons but it took a strange turn to us in its latest offering, turning us off rather than pulling us in. I’m watching Dexter New Blood, but my wife wants nothing to do with it. Dexter seems off to her, and the villain isn’t villainy enough.
  3. Just finished Amsterdam Undercover on Walter Presents via PBS via Amazon Prime. Just four episodes to it, but I enjoyed the chemistry between the actors and the fast-paced stories.
  4. Over on Apple Plus, we’re treating ourselves to Ted Lasso and Mythic Quest. We finished Invasion, which had potential but dawdled too much for my taste. We tried Foundation, but after watching the first one, I thought, that’s not how I remember it. So I pulled out my copy of the novel and confirmed that they’d made significant ‘updates’. I understand and accept some, but it mostly put me off the series.
  5. On Netflix, we’re watching Bordertown. I’d started it before; when I resumed, my wife expressed interest, so we started it over. We also watched The Unforgiveable because I’d watched the original Sally Wainwright series. Put Sally Wainwright’s name on something, and I’m there.
  6. We tried Disney Plus (Apple Plus, Hulu Plus, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus — I see a ‘me, too’ pattern) to check out some Marvel offerings. Most Marvel offerings don’t move us. Sadly, that’s the case with Hawkeye. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was okay. We did watch and enjoy Jungle Cruise, because it was campy and silly and didn’t take itself seriously. Hard to go wrong with Dwayne Johnson, though. We watched Red Notice because he was in the cast, but it was with a shrug, some interesting moments strewn along long chase and fight scenes.

That’s all that comes to mind. There are probably other shows and movies, but my coffee cup is empty. Cheers

What I’m Watching

Yes, it’s time to tell the world again what I’m watching. Mostly so someone will provide tips on other things to watch but also to spead the word on the good stuff.

  1. Loki. Finished it. Wasn’t hugely impressed. Wasn’t that impressed with WandaVision either. Neat concepts but both struck me as comic books. I wasn’t wowed as so many critics and audiences were. Not sorry that Loki is over. Not looking forward to the next season.
  2. Just started the seventh and final season of Grace & Frankie. We enjoyed the first episode. We love their beach house. Gives us house envy.
  3. Hit and Run. Into the fourth episode of this Israeli – American show. It’s holding our attention and we do root for Segev, but sometimes question some of his decisions and behavior.
  4. Seaside Hotel. Now watching season 5 of this Danish melodrama. Love the character and relationship arcs, and the world’s changes around them, imparted in small ways. A sweet and gentle show, for now at least.
  5. The Last Wave. This French production caught my attention as I was drifting through choices the other day. I’ve enjoyed a number of Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Aussie supernatural themed shows, so I was willing to try this one. It’s holding onto us with its tale of a cloud and the impact on the town and some individuals. Looking forward to seeing this through. Hope it doesn’t disappoint.
  6. C.B. Strike. I started watching this British offering on my own in the evening. Then my wife was going by, stopped to watch, and was drawn in. We completed the series as released to date. Based on the Robert Galbraith novel series (and you know who he really is), they were entertaining fare, although some aspects became tedious and overdone (IMO, of course) by the end.
  7. We’d already finished Shrill, for which we experienced mixed feelings — she didn’t seem to learn lessons, and, as always on television, life as a writer seemed amazingly easy. Also finished was The Underground Railroad. I finished it; my wife did not. Too brutal for her. I agreed, it was terribly brutal. How we marginalize and treat people as a society based on skin color. Origins. Religion. Whatever little thing is deemed different is unacceptable and used to brutalize others.
  8. Walked away from Halifax. Strong cast, etc., but I didn’t buy into her role as a psychologist on the task force. Seemed forced and unrealistic.
  9. While I wasn’t particularly entertained by The Bay‘s first year, the second year was stronger and kept my attention. It came to an intelligent and satisfying conclusion. The last season of Jack Irish was good, bringing us up a lot of ancient history, expanding on everyone’s story, and spilling greater light on the circumstances that led to Jack Irish as we knew him. Helps that I’m a Guy Pearce fan, though, I think.
  10. Also just about finished is Unforgotten. Satisfying cold-case investigations. I could watch Nicola Walker in anything. She does a great job. I think she’s one of those actors who lifts up the production. One point that always has my wife and I laughing is how they ask people what they were doing on a particular night or weekend thirty years ago. This people always remember! Even thought they’re sixty, seventy, eighty. We’re of the opinion that we need to get on whatever memory diet they’re following.
  11. Just picking back up on The Sommerdahl Murders. I find this Danish show an intelligent take on relationships and personal histories and personalities as well as a decent murder mystery.
  12. Still on Thou Shalt Not Kill, from Italy. Hard to believe this thirty-year-old woman is a police inspector — that seems like an amazingly young age and she hasn’t done anything that makes me think it’s because she’s brilliant — but it is well-acted and with sufficient twists that I keep on going back. Not the highest one on my list but still worthwhile.
  13. Tested Kevin Can F**k Himself. Weren’t blown away. Didn’t go back for more.

There are a number of shows watched and off the list — Sweet Tooth, Chewing Gum, Please Like Me, Work in Progress, The Expanse, Killing Eve, What We Do in the Shadows, The Kominsky Method, The Queen’s Gambit, and Counterpoint all come to mind. And there are comedies where I watched the latest season and I’m waiting for the next: Would I Lie to You and QI. Of course, I’ve gone through all the Bosch, Vera, Hamilton, Varg Veum, and Line of Duty to date, along with Case Histories. Wouldn’t mind seeing more new ones of all these. I also watched, again, the one and only season of Firefly.

I’m sure I’ve overlooked a few. In the meantime, I’ll keep hunting up new things to watch. So what’s on your telly/laptop/streaming device? Any must see?

Cheers

Popcorn Night

Digital lapse was endured.

Familiar with it? That’s when you click or press and nada takes place. But, being experienced, you know that something has taken place. It’s just not revealed. Novices will think nothing has happened and press buttons or click more. The clicks and taps accumulate, causing a crash or a sudden surge of activities that take you to somewhere that you don’t want to be, digitally speaking, like the wrong screen.

I’m not a novice. I’ve been clicking remotes on digital devices for a decade. Digital lapse is an old adversary. I experience it most with our streaming devices for viewing television shows and movies. Disney Plus is the worst offender in my current stable of providers. But finally I was on the screen where “The Mandalorian” was being offered. One blessing from the Disney Plus site is that it doesn’t immediately start playing trailers. It’s just quiet. Waiting.

I jumped up and set down the remote. Head down, a cat eyed me, ears moving toward my racket. “Popcorn?” I moved around my desk.

We were in the office. We are spoiled people. Although we have a sixty-five inch curved-screen 4K ultra-high definition smart TV in the living room, with surround sound, we do ninety percent of our television viewing in the home office. My wife calls it the snug. A twenty-seven inch flat screen television is mounted on one wall. My desk faces it. So does a recliner in the corner. My wife reclined there. Busy with a game on her AirMac or whatever her Apple machine is called, she nodded.

Making popcorn has become simple. Back when I was a child, popping corn required oil, popcorn, and a big black cast iron Dutch oven. Oil was spread across the bottom. The Dutch oven’s bottom, not mine. You know, inside it. Heat applied. Three kernels were dropped in. A lid applied. The kernels were monitored. Once they popped, kernels were poured in and spread across the hot oil, covering the bottom. Lid applied, a pot holder was acquired. I’d stand there, shaking the Dutch over as the kernels popped.

Jiffy Pop changed it. No need to pour everything. Just peel off the cardboard lid, hold the tin pan over the flame, and shake as the kernels cooked and the foil cover rose.

Microwaves changed it up again. We experimented with several methods before Pop Secret came along. It was just a folded bag. Put it in the microwave, one side up, and press the button. Then monitor as the popping proceeded.

Monitoring has remained the constant. The popcorn was always being monitored. Was that the last pop? Time to stop.

Deciding that we didn’t like that kind of microwave popcorn, our household had regressed back to where I’d started, oil in pan, kernels, lid, popping, add corn, lid, shake. No longer, though. We’d acquired a silicon microwave popcorn maker last year. No oil. Pour the popcorn in to the line. Apply silicon lid. Turn microwave on for four minutes. Monitor. Is that the last pop? Count to five.

It’s amazingly simple, quiet, and easy. So is clean up. I fear that it won’t last. News will break. Scientists will announce that radicalized burrblelons released from the silicon attacks your nervous system when you ingest popcorn made in such a manner. That’s how everything seems to be: something good is found and announced. We like it. Then we discover it’s bad for you or the world.

I poured the popcorn into bowls, flavored it with nutritional yeast, cleaned out the silicon popper and put it away, and headed back to the snug.

The cat had taken my seat. Curled up tightly, he didn’t bother looking up. Ears and tail were still. His eyes were closed. Probably pretending to be asleep.

Dropping to my knees on the carpet beside him, I picked up the remote and pressed play. Digital lapse was endured. Then the show began.

Tuesday Tangents

  1. Happy first day of autumn in the northern hemisphere, and the first day of spring in the southern hemisphere. I’m making assumptions that the world agrees that the autumnal/vernal equinoxes are today. It’s a big assumption.
  2. After checking my facts, it seems the world is celebrating the first day of autumn but the equinox doesn’t happen until the 23rd, according to some sources. Also, not all countries, regions, and religions celebrate this day as the autumnal/vernal equinox.
  3. Hard to celebrate the change of seasons when so many are displaced by storms, wars, and wildfires, and we’re enduring global pandemic. The human side of the world seems like it’s in bad shape. Doesn’t look like it’ll be getting better soon.
  4. I’m a guy who rarely looks for home runs (but, as Steve Winwood sang, “While you see a chance, you take it”). I usually operate as a small steps person, constantly striving for improvements, and always looking for ways to measure them. Some measurements are more difficult to do than others because the increments are so damn small and backsliding is easy, especially if it involves comfort levels and habits.
  5. Fitbit makes measuring some things pretty easy. I hit 30,000 steps Sunday, which pleased me. My 28 day average is 11.18 miles, but much of this is in place, in which I run around the inside of the house. Couldn’t go out because of the smoke. I haven’t been below ten miles since August 24th, when I dipped to eight.
  6. Not much in streaming grabs me. Currently watching “No Activity”, which is a little uneven. Looking forward to Enola on Netflix, but it’s a movie, so it’ll just divert and entertain for one night. Had been watching “Beforeigners” in Dutch, which was very entertaining. It’s science fiction and police show in one. I recommend it. Love the premise and the characters. Before that, I watched “Mr Inbetween”, which featured another set of intriguing characters, and “Vera”, and re-watched old favorites, “QI”, “Would I Lie to You”, “Episodes” and “Travelers”. Tried “Perry Mason” but was not thrilled by this re-interpretation of that character and time.
  7. Just beginning to read “Red Rising”. My wife devoured it and recommended it to me. It’s a library borrow.
  8. Saw the doc yesterday for the arm, probably for the last time. I haven’t been going to therapy, as it was proposed. I referred to Doctor Internet and her assistant, Nurse Youtube. My arm is making progress. I exercise and massage my fingers, hand, wrist, and arm regularly. Improvement is measured by what I can pick up (like the water pitcher, and pouring water out of it), being able to type (better and better) again, doing buttons, and you know, regular stuff. I look forward to when I can clip my nails properly. That’s the true test of improvement. Right now, it’s still beyond my strength and coordination.
  9. The healing process fascinates me. I can feel changes take place. One of the more interesting ones was the nerves in my fingers. Everything felt rough to them for several days until they again acclimated (not sure that’s the right word) and the nerves were mended and sensitized to being used again.
  10. Our local fires are out, but several remain burning in the county, in other parts of the state, and California. I check them each day for containment, size, and developments. It’s depressing.
  11. We had a great weekend of air quality. That lifted our spirits. Yesterday morning started well, at forty eight. But, the sun began developing a reddish tint on the ground. The mountains faded from sight behind a curtain of smoke and haze. We progress to moderate by noon to unhealthy and one sixty in the afternoon. Today, we began at fifty-six, moderate.
  12. We’ve been searching online for new places to live. The eastern U.S. is calling. Yeah, the annual adventures in droughts, water restrictions, wildfires and smoke is wearing thin. We’re considering places in Ohio and western PA. A friend suggested Asheville, NC. We’d looked at it before and rejected it. Perhaps we’ll reconsider it, but on the whole, we’re dismayed by many of the political decisions made in the southern United States and their general philosophy.
  13. Writing is writing. I can defend that tautology by saying, it’s a challenge, slower than I like, but always engaging and ultimately rewarding. Now, got my coffee. Time to write like crazy, at least one more time.

Thursday’s Tiny Tidbits

Is it redundant to say tiny tidbits? Are not tidbits tiny by definition?

There’s a bit of whinging in this week’s short stuff, because I, an American white male, am a champion first-world complainer, often suffering first world blues much like “The Princess and the Pea”. I play the princess (call me Princess M, please) and the pea is anything from entertainment offerings, food prices, and net speeds to ‘things I can’t do well with my broken arm’.

I think I’ll start there.

  1. Typing. Buttons. Holding things with my left hand. Showering. Washing my hair. Putting on deodorant. Opening cat food tins. Opening ziplock type bags. Tearing toilet paper. These have all been challenges with my left arm in a splint and sling. Went back and read the ER report from that night. I’d overlooked the damages noted to my elbow, wrist, and fingers. I thought it was just the broken radius and broken and displaced ulna, but there was more. That more explains the struggles. All getting better, though. Give it time, right? It’ll be a month tomorrow.
  2. One-handed typing slows my novel writing. I depend on muscle memory and typing proficiency to expedite learning the tale and telling the story. Using one hand requires more thought, which disrupts the writing flow. Progress is tedious. I shoot for a thousand words a day (yeah word count as a metric, carrot, and stick) but I’m usually lucky to achieve five hundred.
  3. Other things: one, food prices. They’re rising fast now. Experts are making dire predictions about shortages, food insecurity, and distribution chain issues next year. Like, brace yourself.
  4. Example of food prices rising. Went on a groc shop today. Twelve items. One bag, mostly fresh produce: $42. Passed on a pint of mission figs for $12.99, and a half pint of blackberries for $4.99.
  5. The stock market isn’t moored in reality. It certainly isn’t ‘the economy’. One, most stocks are international businesses, reflecting global activity. Two, the wealthiest individuals own most of the stock. As an example, I own stocks, and also have some in IRAs and a 401k. Because of that, I’m worth a chunk more on paper.
  6. Running short of entertainment offerings. Basically have been rationing season two of “The Umbrella Academy” while working through “The Last Dance” and other documentaries and filling up on Brit faves “Would I Lie to You” and “QI” (with that rand Scandi Sandi and Alan Davis), and “The Kominsky Method“. Have just discovered the “Russo Bros. Pizza Film School“, which I’ll start watching tonight. Last week brought an unexpected “Red Dwarf” treat in a new episode.
  7. “Red Dwarf” remains unabashedly silly and illogical after all these years. Love it.
  8. Excitement on the streaming front. “Hitmen” with Sue and Mel on Peacock is coming. (If you asked, “Sue and Mel?”, it’s probably not your cuppa.) New Frost and Pegg series on Amazon Prime, “Truth Seekers”, is coming…someday. The second year of “The Boys” is finally arriving Sept. 4, so I’ll start watching season one again.
  9. Saying the long good-bye to a friend. Brain tumor. He’s trying to hang on to vote for Biden and have one final Thanksgiving with his family. Eighty-eight and an accomplished physicist, he’ll be the one to tell you he’s had a good life, but he had a lot more to do. He’s the third friend lost to brain cancer/tumor in the last few years.

Tell me about your world – books, streaming, writing in progress. What’re you watching? Eat anything interesting lately? “Red Dwarf”: for or against?

Got my coffee. Time to do me best to write like crazy, at least one more time.

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