Warts and All

Nothing to do w/ nothing

World News in the Torstar: they were reaching on this one

the A10 called a ' Warthog ' - tactical fighter / bomber is about to be retired 
 OK  who cares

Weather : cold and breezy

Jobs : extend the ugly downspout b/c the water dropped on the walkway in front of the house ( near ugly arm )
the garage side extension apparently dropped water on the neighbour's window. so , bring it down and run a length of eaves trough down the side boulevard to past the neighbours foundation

Welld one , day

So , is that it
 Guess so I was rather proud of what was accomplished

Ah , little things for little minds

the teams in RED Arsenal won 

Whoosh or Not

OK , they can your ass b/c you're , probably , scooping bucks from the company and... you sue b/c you're contract calls for a performance bonus. A C. Mazza is suing the air ambulance service that he was in charge of for just that. And he got his girlfriend a plum job as well in the corp.

Soccer news: in Brazil , the rush to complete stadia for the World Cup next year is in full swing but going nowhere. The agreed completion date is Jan / 14 but the work is only at 80 %.
This event was to be a landmark for Brazil in world stature.
This week , a crane collapsed on the Corinthians Stadium in Sao Paolo killing two workers.

MERS is transferring from people to camels in Qatar. The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is a corona virus. The virus does pass from person to person through close contact but doesn't seem to pass easily in communities
Species jumping for viruses is usually dangerous and a route for faster spread.

Black Friday is spreading. Stores here in the Big Smoke opened at 6 AM to mimic the craziness down south. Oh , we copy everything the U.S. does - only we lag a bit. The attitude is ' thats crazy but we'll do it anyway ' Whats good for General Bullmoose is good for ...Canada ?

Cyber Monday , awaits.

In the ' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy ' by D Adams , a civilization collapses b/c Frogstar World B reached the ' shoe event horizon '. the whole planet was consumed w/ making and buying shoes , the economy goes into over-drive but cannot recover from the spiral.
Maybe we'll go that way w/ electronics. After all , the videos that they show of  BF shopping is people carrying boxes for TVs etc. 
You know -  get the newest model phone - your old one is 3 yrs old
3 yrs ????? How about 1 yr.
( Mine is an Apple 1 , except there was no number b/c it was the first - it was a donation - I kept whining about my Nokia and how hard it was to text - A got tired of listening and gave me the phone )

Weather : FRIGID and sunny Wind is down

Shop til you drop

HighBearNation

' I can feel it in the water , I can smell it in the air  - the world is changing ' not apocryphal just heard that last night re-watching " Lord of the Rings ".
Hibernation has started. We go out less in the winter , sort of den up like the bears.
I thought since I keep saying that I'm a LOTR fan , maybe , I should prove it by watching the trilogy again or should I say the first trilogy again b/c ' the Hobbit ' is supposedly another three parter. Part II of the H is due out soon.

How good is LOTR , well ,I claimed that future generations will show the DVD or whatever it will be called to their children. It is good.

Weather : much improved , at least nothing falling - yet. sunny but cold ( we're below average for Nov ) wind still kicking up a bit.
I skipped the card game up on the 'bee , figuring , I don't need driving on  icy roads and snow.

For the southern contingent : Happy Turkey Day and hope you survive Black Friday.

Saw a special on Michigan and it had a segment on Detroit. Best they could say is that the big D is improving. Having talked to some former big D-ers that wouldn't be hard.

BTW - Black Friday happens in the GWN almost for self defence.
Cross border shopping is significant and retailers here fight to keep the shoppers on this side of the border. Of course , a lot of on line offers hope to tempt the shoppers into staying home and saving.

A Buddhist Tradition

Not quite but it happens in this Buddhist house
Our living room window is decorated
A picture is worth a thousand words
" there is a Country Xmas scene - picket fences / pine trees
and cottages
The lights are Buddhist bears - in this house . you bet

Cold and Gray

Actually , not bad considering the last few days
The wind was really up , yesterday , the hat blew off in the parking lot

We anticipate snow flurries or more  ,later

Movie Review : Tom Cruise plays another Jack , this time Jack Harper Tech 49 and 52 and .......................... The movie is
 ' Oblivion ' , Sci Fi w/ a touch of classic romance. Futuristic , earth 1/2 destroyed .. Yeah , they're plundering Earth again. Basically , mining water for fusion energy. Heck , if we're ruining the planet why aren't we doing the fusion energy thingy.
Rating :  .6 out of a dollar ( paid $2 b/c its blu-ray )
Don't buy this one , a touch of classic romance but this is not a classic. well done but not worth the $18 that I saw the other day.

This morning through the headphones , the story was Malmo , Sweden , population 350 000 w/ loads of bike. Their fundamental problem , not enough bike racks. Ten years ago , faced w/ gridlock , Malmo went bike crazy. Bike lanes are 2 - way , the bike lanes protected by a barrier rise in the curb.
The result has been a switch , now 60 % of all trips are by bike. You see back when , the research showed 60 % of all car trips were under 5 km.
Malmo hosts delegations all year that come to study the bike program.
The city fathers said ' this is nuts ( traffic problem ) and said ' we'll build bike lanes ' , bingo bango and Bob's your uncle , people switched to bikes. No long term planning or studies ' do it '
The change-over is powered by the cost of gas and frustration of people trying to commute or shop.

' Nothing at All ...."

' Making love out of nothing at all '     Air Supply

The Grey Cup happened and Saskatchewan won.

Reality bites.  To-morrow , I will attend a memorial for a football pal who passed at 64. A diabetic . I believe he succumbed to conditions associated w/ the diabetes. this death is the second of former football friends , all from our high school days. Its tough when life hits you in the face w/ a cold fish. thats not my line , its from the book that I'm re-reading , ' Surrender to the Will of the Night ' by Glen Cook. However , it seems appropriate , kind of , considering my biggest hobby ( only hobby ?? ).

Winter is settling in , white on the ground , icicles on the downspout extensions. I really should take a photo so that you can see. How about that ... visual evidence.

segue....  I mentioned the switch-over to a laptop from a dedicated PCU tower and monitor. The advantages really aren't many except saving money considering this laptop was sitting in a case and taken out every three days to charge and / or update the security and Windows.
However , in reading the Owners Guide to the laptop ( for the first time, I'm thinking ) I discovered a direct input slot for memory cards from cameras etc. I uploaded some 83 photos from our spare camera. I thought there were a few left in the camera - duh , yeah.

BTW to all followers. Back up your data especially pictures. In the Torstar , a ipad user reported that her hard drive crashed. At the Apple store they offered to replace the ipad , when asked they said for the data retrieval go to a specialist. The cost  ( not covered by Apple ) was $600 to 700. So copying and storing your data makes sense. although , your PCU and / or laptop is less likely to fail - anything is possible.
Apparently , the ipad uses a memory stick inside that can hold more bytes ( hence the small size and thinness ) but when it fails there is no real hard drive to access. A little more costly to access.

FYI - I bought a auxiliary hard drive for $ 80 and its rated at 1 Terabyte. and they come even cheaper , just don't look as nice.
I saved almost all the data on the PCU hard drive.
This procedure was before I switched over to the laptop.

BTW - haven't used anything from  that transfer.
I mean bookmarks etc. , everyone said it was important. I guess those bookmarks weren't that crucial.

Toronto was voted  ' Most Youthful city ' by some youth forum. 16 categories and Berlin was 2 nd. Mention was made that updates to transit are needed ( do tell - lets fight some more over transit ).

Emblematic

This Sunday is the Grey Cup in Canada.
Emblematic of : Canadian football championship and continuing stupidity or cupidity.
The game will be played in Saskatchewan.. think North Dakota but a little colder... and windier.
We're real men and women here... game time temp 10 - 14 F and the game starts at 3 PM. Sunset is 4:45 PM. 
The ball is changed frequently b/c the ice build up makes it hard to throw or fly what w/ the penguins hanging on for dear life.
Could we play inside Yepper but in Toronto / Vancouver or Montreal ...not where real football is played.
Nuts !!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The sports headline was " The Weather It Will Be Frightful " ...  no kidding

The weather: snow fell last night and the walk needed shovelling and salting. Bright sun and cold ... it hit 16 F last night.

Black Friday is coming ...... shop early..... til you drop

Protests will occur as Walmart employees lobby for a higher wage
Minimum wage legislation will raise , base pay but while some protest this Fri ... many more will be looking for those same jobs.
A Walmart soon to be opened had 23 ,000 applications for 623 jobs - statistically then harder to get into Walmart than Harvard.
Oh. that bad
I guess

Giving Money

A good thing. The Torstar ran articles to-day , lauding the value both personal and corporate in promoting charitable work. Employees perform better and enhance the value of the company.
However , the world by the numbers isn't as nice.
Bribery. In Africa , people expect a) to pay an official for services that they need  b ) the police are corrupt and bought off
In some countries polled , 36 % of the respondents either paid or were asked to pay a fee for service ( outside of the actual price )

In Japan , my father's old time friend was ill. His wife went searching for a hospital or doctors who would take a fee or gratuity pre- service. Her thinking was anyone who took her money would do a good job.

Weather : snow flurries and cold 32 F , wind is substantial.

Error , error Will Robinson. Actually me. I suggested that you YouTube ' Once Upon a Time in the West ' and add Dulce Pontes.
Nope. Found Andre Vasary. This video is the must listen one.
Most singers don't sing the words / they ... I don't know sort of hum ... no not hum ... croon ?

' Better ' Skyping ... NOT

The story is ' no Skype ' ; it loads and won't connect or if I re-install it balks. Apparently , running Google Chrome confuses Skype or GoogleChrome doesn't like Skype.
The by-product of all the failed loads is that I picked an embedded ad service called ' Better Surf ' , which isn't. BS is really what BetterSurf is.
After two attempts using YouTube self help tutorials , I may have gotten rid of Better Surf.
Unfortunately , on the first go round , I might have deleted other programs which were hard to separate from the  ' ad exe. ' files.

So , no Skype and ( XXX fingers ) no Better Surf
This episode can be entitled the ' Agony and the Ecstasy '  not to be confused w/ the Michelangelo story.
I am not alone in this problem.... the topic is famous or expected and solutions abound on the net.
Weather turned warm and brought rain
" when the rain washes you clean , you'll know " FleetwoodMac and Stevie Nicks

BTW : YouTube : a) your love   b) Once Upon a Time in the West
select Dulce Pontes or Andrea Bocelli
And enjoy

The Return of JFK

We've seen 2 specials already , from Dealey plaza ,site of JFK ' s assassination. Irrelevant , they still haven't charged LBJ w/ conspiracy.

Weather : Nov style cool to cold , rain ' off and on ' , beaucoup de wind

World news ,130 + dead form the bird flu in Indonesia. When I commented on 13 deaths from bird flu , that must have been a specific country. What is the world wide total this year ????

I'm watching the 'Assassination of Jesse James ' w/ Brad Pitt.
The shooter is Bob Ford. In the movie , Bob Ford , a Jesse James wanna be and follower , compares his life facts w/ JJ s. Both the youngest in the family , number of letters in the in between brother's names etc.
Well we have Rob Ford ( no relation ) who has the same name and is assassinating Toronto. The city didn't run for two weeks and our credit rating has fallen. If the movie can do stupid comparisons so can I. 
Bob Ford had a brother Charlie and Rob Ford has a brother Doug
both are stuck w/ the notorious / infamous brother.
Bob Ford got shot by a publicity hungry loner .......................
letting this one go.

The Whopper

is a Burger King product but this name describes the wind and rain that came through last night.
I went out to check the architectural addition ( read ugly downspout add - on ). The run off was flying off the pipe. My own little Niagara.
Winds did reach 50 MPH in some places but was confined to an area N of the city proper.
Meanwhile our mayor got coverage on Fox news and will be seen on his own TV segment and CNN. Anderson Cooper needed filler so he interviewed Rob Ford. A real slow news cycle there AC.

Around the House

or keeping up w/ the Joneses ...... not their name.

Next door fixed his roof and re-guttered. He ran the last of his downspouts away from the house in the backyard.
I still had one at the front corner of the garage that went into the ground. The basement can get damp , so I figured   ' do something '.
Several years ago , I braced the near side corner downspout and extended  out 3 ft so the water pours out onto the garden. Well ,did the same on the other side.
No its not more ugly , about the same except , now , its symmetrical.
Thus , our house has the 2 arms that carry a downspout away from the garage on either side. You'll drive by and say " What is that ?? ".

Our house is soooo quiet. There's no one flying up and down the stairs , just the slow methodical tramp of older people. I can walk around naked - joking , it is more private now. I'll keep the drapes drawn.

The Toronto Argonauts ( CFL ) are playing our erstwhile neighbours from around the horseshoe ( Hamilton ) for the right to be in the championship. I figure the NFL pays the winning team  several $ 100 , 000 / player. I'm sure the winning players get about 20 thou here.

Weather : mild for Nov and damp turning to rain later but big winds up to 50 MPH in some places ( forecasted )

P.S. tree and lights are up

A Blast of ( well ) Summer

OK I exaggerated 
It was warm and sunny
We lost our house guest to-day , he's bussing to NY and flying home from Newark. Figure - oh , a 36 hr day. Ten hours bus + 4 hr layover and a 9 hr flight - he's young 

World news by the #s

Geography
Africa is big - = to 3 Canadas in size And Canada is humongoes
They listed 15 countries that totalled equal Africa in size

All in all , a pleasant by the #s

In Concert

.... Bruce Hornsby. Piano player and music innovator. Venue was a presentation hall at the Royal Conservatory of music. Beutii. Acoustics were aided by wooden baffles on the ceiling and corrugated decorative walls.
A scenario like having the man in your living room. Randy Bachman was correct , go see this guy.
He dropped names : Spike Lee , Chris Thile , Grateful Dead and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band , Pat Metheny. 25 years as an artist. W/ solid Canadian connections , he is a Glen Gould fan , Canadian legend in classical piano work and creation. I.e. , the Goldberg Variations.

Weather : a slight kick at Indian summer. Temps going for 50 + and sun. WOW 

We lose our visitor to-morrow , he's off to London , as in Jollie Ol'
and reality.

World news : The agency ( England ) , that deals w/ preventable diseases ( ???? ) announced that the war on diabetes is failing.
The number , 380 million is up from 2 years ago by 17 %. and if usual statistics apply , it means a further 1/3 of that number are undiagnosed.
The bulk of the diabetics are Type 2 or the diabetes connected to weight and diet abuse.
Contagion , of another kind , fast and processed food conquers humanity.

Re-enforcing Paranoia

Movie : ' Contagion ' starring everyone - Lawrence Fishburn , Matt Damon , Kate Winslet , Gwyneth Paltrow. Index patient gets infected travels home 5000 mi , touching people and passing the virus on.

No , I shouldn't have watched. I worry about washing my hands ( not enough ) and touching my face ( too much ). The movie cites a study that indicates people can touch their face , thousands of times a day.
I once , kept track of touching my face from 9 AM to noon. I caught myself reaching and stopped the motion but got a count of 50 , anyway.
In the plot , the index infects people in a bar and on a plane.
Like I needed some director to scare me mega - more. Booga - booga , indeed

On the flip side - ' Thor - the DarkWorld ' in 3D : went w/ M's second cousin. Fun movie , not cute but it works. Thor kisses Natalie Portman again , geesh , again. The movie cost $ 14 and the large coke w/ Thor decal and figurine was $ 9. The server said only the big kids - when I asked who buys the Thor cup - she meant adults.

Weather is sunny w/ cloudy periods and cool plus brisk winds.

Booga - Booga

What does this mean , Dunno.  Its a line from ' Lord of the Silent Kingdom ' by author Glen Cook.
A lay brother scares off some would be attackers by using the tactic and gets laughed at - but the attackers run
Booga - booga , I should have run from the craps table - it was scary

Weather Off and on sun and clouds - 34 F or less all say w/ brisk winds.
The Falls were misty but looked good.
2 great moves to-day 1. Took the finicular down the hills at the Falls - a short cut b/c it was freezing cold and windy.
2. Bought lunch in the Table Rock restaurant which overlooks the Falls at the brink. Expensive but worth the money for a spectacular view   Good on you.

Nov 11

There is no motto other than  ' Lest We Forget ' , it is important though.

Weather is S. On fall - rainy and cool to cold ( 44 F ? )
The leaves are almost done - I'd say about 20 % leaf cover in the trees. Its blowing steady and this will just about finish the last hanger - ons.

Xmas shopping is under way w/ some successes.
Actually , we start to Xmas up the house in 10 days , give or take

We're slowly drifting into winter

While cleaning the eavestroughs and bringing in the hoses - hard little pellet things beaned me on the head. Snow has come within 40 miles of here but stayed north.
We are cold though and windy as all get out

News : By the numbers , Torstar was depressing.
BTW 13 th victim dies of the bird flu in the far east

I find it very hard to wax poetic at this time of year. The odd flash of gold lights the day - for instance, to-day the leaves were going sideways.
From a optimistic viewpoint we could talk of plants bedding down for a sleep - the natural cycle of the world rolls on. We accept all the changes as the way of life.
sure is hard sometimes when that wind swirls down your back

WEAR a SCARF , folks 
Keep the cold from going down your back
Thats the sum total of the advice here

" we are not resigned to the shutting away of things in the ground "
paraphrsed from Edna St Vincent Millay

England came to Visit

We are hosting an English visitor for a few days. Its only fair b/c he's probably going to be discomfited when we stay in jolly Ol' in a few weeks.

Weather : cold and raw Rain threatened all day then finally came through

Went to Wally mart w/ the English. Apples , steak and protein shakes. He eats way too healthy. embarassking , while I eat bread and butter

This too shall pass

Subtleties

In the movie ' Diner ' Paul Reiser in character complains about the word " nuance ". ' Its not a real word - what does it mean '

A 2nd cousin hates the word  ' moist '. The word creeps her out.

Subtle ,means slight or tactful. The problem that I have is that you'd need to hit me w/ a hammer to make me subtle.
good or bad ?

Dunno , could be yes  , could be no

In marriage , almost everything is subtle or could be subtle or is sometimes subtle.

A teacher used to say that his wife married him b/c he was  " suav-ve and de-boner ". A really good line.

Weather : getting cold. Humid and rainy off / on , all day

Before You Leave Me

Prior to 11 AM departure from Allegany  - well , had to give the table one last go.
Down to the casino and the craps table.
Alone. Me shooting , 4 crew

Issued $ 200 , and hoped. No magic. Hardways set , soft not too high - little action
Made ten passes - then 7 out for one go , the other two tries were mediocre at best
Looked down , said ' up a tad ' and coloured and walked. I was 47 dollars to the good.
Now if I had done this 2 other times I would have been up for the whole experience
So hard to walk away. Lesson learned ....... Again
You can't fix stupid or greedy

During the day , Tuesday .. there was a lot of commotion in the afternoon. One fellow to my right was applying his betting system
Players were muttering for ten minutes. This guy was taking 3 minutes to lay his bets and discuss what he could do or what he wanted.
He finally left , saying ' he needed a friendlier table ' 
Good luck guy , they don't get much friendlier then that place

So , you know its not only me , trying a system.
I practiced the hardways set at home and in the hotel room. I was getting very quick at setting for the roll. I noticed that some other shooters took comparably longer , so I guess thats why the crew didn't mind the set.

Back to our humdrum world , no whirling lights and binging machines NO FREE DRINKS either.
However , our drinks were probably costing us $ 80 a pop based on our betting losses.
I think Seneca Allegany wants us back.
Oh, the final bill minus credits was $ 5 for the room and two meals for the 2 days. Don't even think of the gambling losses or that was one expensive hotel room

Weather : bright , golden and cold. Rain on the way.

We are expecting a 23 yr old visitor - M's second cousin from London , England. One week ,  and I guess we'll get the living w/ an adult son experience. Is it good ???
He has been back packing through the U.S. for the past 2 months.
He catches the MegaBus in N.J. and arrives at 6 AM. We pick him up at the subway stop 3 miles from our home.

Shooter

Well back to the craps table. Very few players , slow night.
I issued $ 150 and was hanging in , barely. The dice passed to me and I thought  ' OK , go for the hardways set ' . soft and high , very little action.
Well , 5 points later , and 30 passes later... I coloured up and walked. Covered Big Red and Yo about  2 times each. Very little pressure.

That description is the language of the table. The translation - I shot lights out. some guys made $ 400 on my roll. Personally , I cashed $ 350.  So ,the element of chance went my way for once. The player to my right was tipping me for hitting numbers. This roll should have been on YouTube , b/c ..... no , don't even think it

Crossing the ......

bar. Finishes the poem by Tennyson. We crossed the border , into the U.S. The guard was quick and insightful ' how much currency are you carrying ? '. thank you

Escaped from the craps table stuck only 50 dineros. The guy to my right , plopped down $ 200 and ten minutes later threw down 300.
He left 6 minutes before me w/ no chips. I was betting $ 12 , he went 85 across the board.

Weather cold ( 40 something ) and windy. Skies were bright but clouded over , slightly.

" the Walking Zombies ? "

We were discussing the topic last night and it got mentioned again this morning on CBC.
B/c of the time change - 1 hr back - you are three times more likely to be struck as a pedestrian. Also , authorities cite seasonal factors e.g. slippery roads due to leaf and frost accumulation. Drivers have not adapted their driving to winter conditions
good morning to you too !

The World news by the numbers via the TorStar was lacklustre. Singapore and its inability to fill jobs was the highlight.  Pass.

Are there good gamblers ? If there are then I've concluded that I'm a bad gambler - I DON'T WIN. The credo ' cut your losses and run ' seems my only choice. Oh well ,the baby will still get fed and the dog will have a bone.

P.S. had a coffee / saw some things and I'm back. Brekkies was pancakes.
I kept seeing those adds for Eggo waffles and such. My contention is that my pancakes are better tasting than Eggo. Last time , we had pancakes for dinner ( we don't seem to do pancakes for breakfast ) , I made a double batch. Froze some pancakes.
This morning - tossed them in the toaster - added applesauce and corn syrup - yepper better than any Eggo thingy.

Signs of winter : first icicle sighting - right outside my door - Brrr !

In the TorStar : a Torontonian , 13 yr old Coco Ma will study w/ Lang Lang in Zurich. Couldn't help noticing the names.
This item brought back the time that I was listening to CBC , Clyde Gilmour Plays the classics. They announce Yoyo Ma plays Lalo. I thought it was a joke. i'd never heard of Yoyo Ma , pity that. 
I've corrected the oversight and fully appreciate the cello.

the segue : Clyde was my hero. If Clyde panned a movie - I went running to see it. We couldn't have been more opposite. But I passed on the ' Exorcist ' - criminy - its still too scary. And it was based on a real story - eek !

Beutii morning out there except for that icicle and 32 F. Golden view w/ the sun ( trying ) to burst through , lighting up the leaves. And those leaves are flying , the bulk of the leaves are going almost sideways heading west ( to my neighbour's yard - tee hee ).

Methinks the fishing season is really done. There was a chance the guys would try to get out this week end -  NO . And perhaps , one last kick at the can Thur or Fri - if I get home. We shall see.

If you get a chance go to YouTube and listen to the Vienna Horns play movie themes. I heard ' Independence Day ' and best of all ' Once Upon a Time in the West ' film by Sergio Leone. The music was composed by Enrico Morricone. The song ( s ) from the movie are ethereal and more so , done by French horns.

And finally , thanks to the great states of Ohio and Massachusetts who follow me on this blog , as official followers. Actually , one person in each state - still a northern contingent 

Fire Brewed Beer Comes to Tampa

Nope , not good. A  fire in their facility in Fla suffered heat and smoke damage , thus Yeungling reports many thousands of gallons of YL may be destroyed.
This is a personal tragedy , if it affects the availability of YL in the coming months.

Weather cool getting cold - dreary and gray. We won't get snow.
However , my go-to winter detector says ' its back '.
I use a thermostatically controlled blower / heater in my basement bathroom.
I watch the temperature , last night the reading was 66. This nadir represents the coldness outside especially the ground. I doubt if the temperature reading will rise any higher. So , there you go Groundhogs , as in Willie and Phil - my prediction is in.

I'm typing to you on the hard-wired laptop. Yepper , Mr. All Talk took the plunge.

Down-side : Wires are sticking out from both sides. Cable from the router , charger cable , USB hub , printer USB cable and sound cord to the speakers. And more to come maybe. Oh , the cooling pad is powered straight off the power bar. Apparently , keeping the heat build up under control is a problem.
Funny , I've always somehow known about the heat build up problem in the laptop. Wherever I used the 2 laptops , I insisted that the surface be hard and not cloth etc.. and I raised the laptops up a tiny bit w/ a ruler or wedge.

Up-side : The Windows program is legal. This 17 " was meant to be , the ' on the road ' computer. But Dell ( manufacturer ) lost out to the ' emachine ' , b/c it was 2 lbs v. 8 lb.
There was no difference in speed of the machines and the memory is double.
There is a minor clutter problem but will hopefully solve that w/ some creative re-routing of items.
The best part is , is that annoying ' do you want to verify your Windows program  ' notice doesn't appear. As well , I was using the Dell every three days mostly to keep the thing updated w/ security and Windows and charged.

Oops , forgot it is a little noisier - the fan runs all the time at desk level. Maybe , Mr Creative here will think of another method for cooling. A mesh tray ? to allow the heat to dissipate more easily and thus no fan ?

Have a good one , troops ( both of you )

Not May

These are not the gusty winds of  May .... but they are gusty
Just enough light so that the view is golden this morning. Green is in the minority.
Our mayor has gone viral ... actually our mayor is viral.Does it come w/ the job.
Our police chief stated that a video exists that is consistent w/ media stories from late spring. " Mayor caught on video smoking cocaine "
Oops !  or not ?

Temperature is 57 F but temperature may not be the defining feature of the day. A cooling trend is arriving.