🗿 XI of VI the ' boro

 🗿... sunny but windows are drip covered. I'm in the basement, looking out of the patio sliders

this Chromebook, Acer CB 311, was the second Chromebook to the Duet. Under $ 300 not powerful or smancy but a workhorse. M .. s favourite machine but due to come to end of Automatic Updates in Jul.
Yes, still useable and secured but cannot run Apps e.g. gmail and YouTube.

On the Chromebook plus front,latest news has the box in S Ontario, in the shippers hands and fairly close. Supposedly, I'll be notified via text re : progress

Already checked about ' what to do ' when your Chromebook arrives. Pretty sure that I knew the drill but good to verify

I want to say that the Duet is my favourite b / c the Duet was $ 500 AND the best example of what a 2 in 1 machine can be [ laptop and tablet ] EXCEPT that neither of us finds tablet mode easy to use. We are mouse people [ not track pad users ]. 
Fair.The Duet was powered by a MediaTek, ARM enabled processor. Supposedly, the device was as close to a android phone as possible.
Truth, we did not quite get there. OK but not fantastic.
The big factor is how easily the Duet accepts peripherals e.g. printers, monitors keyboards and mouse AND it better b /c the keyboard never was suitable and the trackpad,a dark mystery

Everything typed above was on the CB 311

Back to the Duet and the master keyboard

Definitely, I have ' Amazon induced ' anxiety. The order for the laptop was registered 3 P on Jun 9.
I have been on the Best Buy - find your order page. Now, I am using UPS s page. Delivery is ' end of day ' today.
Of course, I am antsy like all get out. See - Amazon fever 

However, exercise is finished. My weight was 175, up a tad from Apr 29 [ ready for travel weigh in ] then I can blame the gain on ' celebrating ' not going to UK or sadness dieting or feasting

🛣 X of the VI 'boro

 🛣 .... and dream about the pictures that I play ... changes -  ala Gordon Lightfoot

' boro outside, dreary, rained overnight, wind is stirring and potential thunderstorms for 36 h

changes. a new laptop.
 However, online yesterday was frustration mega. The Site was Best Buy, electronics etc. Sure, I hemmed and hawed but finally pulled the trigger or so I intended.
The rigamarole began. Add to cart, check. Review choice check. Payment, a blank screen.
OK. options, blank screen.
Finally, in desperation ' use PayPal ' was offered. I needed a new password, knew that going in. No problem but verification etc.
Finally, pay now. Window appears, successful purchase, you will be notified when BestBuy ships your order.
Ah, but nothing from Best buy. I go to the help section at Best Buy. Lady operator says ' I can help '. Except when I go to copy the model # etc, the help window blocks the details. So, she hangs up b / c I took so long.
Next go, copy the information first. Now, type to the next agent. Bankit by name.
Can I have your full details. Wait 3 minutes. ' I found your order #  xxxxxxxx, all is in order '

At first, Best Buy had no information on their site. However, an hour later, the full order appears. No shipping date but full description of item and details of purchase.

In like Flint.

Changes. The screen is 14 inches. Thus, the current setup, dongle and 19 inch TV connected, and external keyboard may be redundant.
Bonus, the Chrmbk 14 has 4 ports USB C and USB A plus a headphone jack. The Duet has one USB C

Of course, I have recently acquired 2 more dongles on sale. 

Waiting like at Christmas or Amazon [ relly, like Xmas ]

and  ... Lyrics

By Stevie Nicks Now here you go again You say you want your freedom Well, who am I to keep you down? It's only right that you should Play the way you feel it But listen carefully To the sound of your loneliness Like a heartbeat drives you mad In the stillness of remembering what you had And what you lost And what you had And what you lost Oh, thunder only happens when it's rainin' Players only love you when they're playin' Say women, they will come and they will go When the rain washes you clean, you'll know You'll know Now here I go again I see the crystal visions I keep my visions to myself It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams And have you any dreams you'd like to sell? Dreams of loneliness Like a heartbeat drives you mad In the stillness of remembering what you had And what you lost And what you had Ooh, what you lost Thunder only happens when it's rainin' Players only love you when they're playin' Women, they will come and they will go When the rain washes you clean, you'll know Oh, thunder only happens when it's rainin' Players only love you when they're playin' Say women, they will come and they will go When the rain washes you clean, you'll know You'll know You will know Oh, you'll know

🚏 IX of VI

🚏 ... bus stop, bus stop .......

' boro, now. Sun and cool w / the breeze significant. Portending rain as the air is heavy

watering this morning, the grass seed patches and the wildflower s. I purposefully placed the wildflowers under the bay window as a ' window box ' treatment.
Little realizing how ' rain sheltered ' the area was. Thus, I need to water the guys. And since this campaign began [ a week hence ] the ' wildies ' are blooming in fine fettle

anticipating rain, I over seeded the lawn where patchy. Should get growing off to a start

on the electronics front. Ordered a Chromebook. One year out on the market. Garnering rave reviews from Chrome Unboxed last year. The device is a Lenovo Chromebook + 14 in. 
Whats up ?
The ' plus ' notation is to represent a powerful processor. The beast is a MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910. Along w / that comes 12 G Ram and 128 G storage [ c.f. this current machine at 4 G / 64 G. And fanless and silent
Alright. The skinny. No, we do not need 12 / 128. The thought process is, AI improvements will drive home computing [ no matter how simple ]. The end date for service is 2035. 
The gamble really is, in light of the arrival of Google Book laptops which will begin at 8 / 64 bare minimum, how long will the machine stay relevant

Now, waiting a year, allows glitches and failings to show and then price. The list for Chromebook 14 + is $ 1100. The purchase price is $ 550. Recognizing that, there is not a touch screen [ the machine is touted ' tablet ' like performance ] 
"" the display is a 1920 x 1200 OLED screen.
the weight is 1.17 Kg  [ 2.5 # ] 
To be sure, I raved about the Lenovo Duet [ MediaTek powered too ]. The Duet was a great tablet that we never [ rarely ] used. AND the Chromebook 14 + w / touch screen is said to be a good tablet as well.
And M  .. is not enchanted w/ the Duet. I use the external full size keyboard. She makes do w / the compressed Duet keyboard. 
I often go downstairs to sue the ' other ' laptop connecting to the TV screen via HDMI
So, 2 machines is a luxury and we deserve it

We shall see said the Zen Master.

🩰 VIII of VI

 🩰 in the 'boro, sunny this day. Mild temperatures and slight wind

dandelion patrol [ dig ' em up ] both morning and evening. I put in sticks to mark the refilled divots and grass seed.

basically, a job that will not end but finish cuz, I'll be finished

went for Chinese bring home [ spent $ 40 ]  at Skyland. However, there is leftovers for several meals. Add rice and eat [ for me, M .. not so ]. BTW, that $ 40 is standard for two eating out [ as a bare minimum ].
the spread was the combo 2 or rice / noodles and 2 choices e.g. veggy saute and S / S chicken. Added was inari sushi, chicken wings, torpedo shrimp and char sui [ alt. Chasu ] marinated BBQ pork

〽 7 th

 〽 and almost awake. roused at 6:30 A but tried to fall back again, nope
gave up and put on coffee

Tried to research 'trimming Dogwoods ' prior to doing, just that out front. basically, do not get carried away

coffee is burbling out there. the view .... is sunny, blue sky and green all over
I attacked the dandelions , last evening. 10 were hoisted out of the depths. a tithing is 1 out of ten - aha, not even close, maybe a tithe of tithe [ ????? ]

the campaign so far, has been to burn off the yellow flower and pods. hoping to deprive the plant of reproducing.  I reason that a lot of energy goes into making the seeds.
now, in moister soil, try to take out some root stock
ah, the struggle is the glory [ BS for sure ]

coffee is a big hit. or I take a big hit on tasting. ' aqua viva ' or Mother s milk or nectar of the Gods. Go Go juice. wake me up Scotty

[[ a report. A fellow teacher and I tried to build on the Leacock CI re union buzz surrounding May 20 something, last year. On Facebook, there was some regret at missing the re union. And some desire to see the event repeated. and some nostalgia that wished for fulfillment

now, in a moment of naivety [or ???? ]. 
I announced F ... and I were going for beers at a pub. ' want to come ' idea on FB
6 showed up, then I got phone calls and texts asking 'how long would you be there '
not long but we agreed to shift to Tim Horton s - where ten showed up.
hoping to build on this, we opted for a meet up at Scarborough Town Centre food Court.
Reasoning that we couldn't pop up at a restaurant and have 30 show.
no worries, our max has been eight. Thus, thru Sept to May [ canceled February due to T.O. standard winter horror ] we soldiered on. Lowest was 6.
But the thought was ' if you care, we will be there '.
finally, last month, I thought, OK, my place for a casual do, a little more relaxing and convivial

well, the last six at that May meet up were obvious [and most loyal ]. however, some others were a conundrum. In a fit of me. mainly, its your house, invite who you want. I added 3 more

at now, 5 have responded and 3 in the air. See, convivial.

overall, the attitude was, provide an opportunity, let s accept the outcome
many had ideas to grow the gathering but I resisted, deeming that if you need to drag them out - not worth the trouble ]]

this is now days later. I've re read the segment above. And edited the wording and not the content.
I was struck by the ' impreciseness ( ? ) ' of the text. The meaning was authentic but the expression was uniformly, dismal

I have since revised the statement. But it reminds me of the many instances while reading a text message or email, when you feel there is a misconstruction of the wording

🚍 VI Jun MMXXVI

 🚍  ... singing in the rain ..... or did overnight. still rain chance and humid out there [ guessing ]. plus the wind is up, so the storm conditions remain

coffee and typing. the day begins

my reading content has taken a blow. I'm reading [ re reading ] " Conan ", the Barbarian, the Conqueror, the Freebooter, the Victorius in the Hyborian Age, after the fall of Atlantis

hero, villain, pirate, Kozak and mercenary. yes, done 'em all. don't you know.
wenches galore. mages and beasties

Robert E Howard authored the original stories and then others finished and expanded the storyline

Well there's a pattern forming and it's good. I've been complaining that I need help around the house plus admitting to feeling disappointed, worried etc

and we're getting it. A next door, neighbor named K. ...  is very good at organizing the house, disciplined, all those sorts of words and we've had her now for three Saturdays.

  Example, today she cleaned our bedroom. Yes the regular cleaning crew was here on Monday but they leave dust bunnies under the bed. So we asked K. ... could you take a look at the bedroom and while you're doing the dust bunnies clean the bedroom and she did

She made the bed Scandinavian style. Yeah kind of ..... I've since re - juggled the arrangement 

Then she went down to the exercise room which gets very little attention. And yep, did a great job down there too. We're pleased

OR I am pleased or better be b / c this is what I said that I wanted 

⛴ ... Jun V

 ⛴.... ferry cross the Mersey ..... sing it Beatles

overcast in the ' boro, sun trying to show up. predictions have us at 90 F - peaking today and falling off w / the chance of rain

now,  the afternoon, warming quite nicely, patchy sky and increasing humidity
lunch out was the Magic Noodle and the Magic Noodle special. Noodles in soup [ beef or chicken ]. tow small sides
all delicious.

oh, coffee was tasty not bitter and hit the spot, I woke up