Round 2 !!
You'll be relieved to know that the "let's not drink coffee anymore" idea didn't really pan out. I lasted for 1/2 a morning, then went straight back to the wonderment of a good cup of freshly percolated, piping hot country mountain morning roast -- something like that. Anyway, the point is, I have come back to my senses! Clearly I was out of my mind (or deep into my cups -- or BOTH!!) when I came up with that harebrained scheme. The joy is back, the bliss is back, the rapid heartbeat is back. In short: I am myself again and that is a cause for celebration.
All righty!
Well, I was sad to note this morning that Eugene Polley has died. He was 96.
Who is Eugene Polley, you might ask? Why, he was the inventor of the TV remote control! A man who saw fit to make our complicated lives so much simpler!! Yay!! Don't move if you don't have to -- change the channel from right where you are!! Even if it means you have to get up and find the remote control first. Go get it, then go sit back down, then change the channel 'til your heart's content!!
You know, it used to be really hard to change the channel on a TV set. It wasn't just some little button you pushed; it was a dial that had to be turned. So not only did you have to stand up and walk across the floor, you then had to get your fingers and wrist involved. You also had to know how to count -- you had be able to recognize western numerals. And you had to make sure that the numeral you wanted was going straight up on the dial. Vision was often imperative when changing the channel on a TV set. You are now probably beginning to grasp what a great man Eugene Polley truly was...
In the 1960s, my grandfather was the only man on planet Earth who owned a remote control (or so I thought). And he used it to change the channel on his COLOR (!!) TV. His house was also the only house on planet Earth, in the 1960s, that had Central Air Conditioning!! And they kept the house frosty cold all summer long. Go to the pool, get burned to a crisp, play all day out in the hot summer sun with my very-much-younger-then stalwart cousin, then walk in through the kitchen door to my grandparents' house and --ZAPPO! -- Mr. Freeze!!
Plus, they had those plastic air-vent director-thingies that seemed to make each room even frostier-frosty cold. (I used to know what those plastic things were really called. And by "used to", I mean that only a handful of days ago, I was in a Home Depot with my dad and we were buying several of them and not only did I know full well what they were called, I led him directly to the aisle within the Home Depot where they were stocked. Clearly, I must need more coffee or something this morning...Ach!)
Anyway, my point is, that I have always equated remote controls, color TVs, and central AC with rich people's homes. Truth be told, I'm still kind of equating that idea of central AC with rich people's homes because I can never get the freon to stay inside my central AC, and I pay through the nose, month after month, year after year, for my home warranty policy because, if it is the very last thing I get to experience on planet Earth, that damn company is going to replace my ancient central AC unit with a brand new energy efficient one that won't leak freon and won't cost me a fucking fortune to run and won't kill the entire environment...
Yes, I digress. But that's what makes life interesting, isn't it, gang??
Well, okay!! Today is Wednesday. Often referred to by some as "hump day." I still call it "Wednesday," or sometimes "Weds." -- if I'm in a hurry and know for certain I will misspell it anyway so why not abbreviate it from the start? For some reason, I have always liked Wednesdays. Wednesday is the "day of Mercury," who was the god of trade, thieves, and travel. Not sure how all those things are related, but they look ominous indeed, don't they, gang? I mean, when grouped together like that?
Before I close and begin my day devoted to trade, thieves, and travel, I want to mention that I saw the trailer for the new movie version of The Great Gatsby that is coming soon and which stars Leonardo DiCaprio. Up until the moment I saw the trailer, I was really looking forward to seeing this movie. I really like Leonardo DiCaprio, and The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite novels of all time. Well, I will still go see the film, but I have very unsettled feelings about it now. It will certainly be a spectacle, much like how the Jazz Age itself was, but, wow, does it look a little too over the top in every imaginable way. I guess we'll find out.
Okay, that said, go out there and have a bang-up Wednesday, gang, wherever you are and whatever you trade or steal, and wherever you travel to!! Thanks for visiting, gang. See ya!!
All righty!
Well, I was sad to note this morning that Eugene Polley has died. He was 96.
Who is Eugene Polley, you might ask? Why, he was the inventor of the TV remote control! A man who saw fit to make our complicated lives so much simpler!! Yay!! Don't move if you don't have to -- change the channel from right where you are!! Even if it means you have to get up and find the remote control first. Go get it, then go sit back down, then change the channel 'til your heart's content!!
You know, it used to be really hard to change the channel on a TV set. It wasn't just some little button you pushed; it was a dial that had to be turned. So not only did you have to stand up and walk across the floor, you then had to get your fingers and wrist involved. You also had to know how to count -- you had be able to recognize western numerals. And you had to make sure that the numeral you wanted was going straight up on the dial. Vision was often imperative when changing the channel on a TV set. You are now probably beginning to grasp what a great man Eugene Polley truly was...
In the 1960s, my grandfather was the only man on planet Earth who owned a remote control (or so I thought). And he used it to change the channel on his COLOR (!!) TV. His house was also the only house on planet Earth, in the 1960s, that had Central Air Conditioning!! And they kept the house frosty cold all summer long. Go to the pool, get burned to a crisp, play all day out in the hot summer sun with my very-much-younger-then stalwart cousin, then walk in through the kitchen door to my grandparents' house and --ZAPPO! -- Mr. Freeze!!
Plus, they had those plastic air-vent director-thingies that seemed to make each room even frostier-frosty cold. (I used to know what those plastic things were really called. And by "used to", I mean that only a handful of days ago, I was in a Home Depot with my dad and we were buying several of them and not only did I know full well what they were called, I led him directly to the aisle within the Home Depot where they were stocked. Clearly, I must need more coffee or something this morning...Ach!)
Anyway, my point is, that I have always equated remote controls, color TVs, and central AC with rich people's homes. Truth be told, I'm still kind of equating that idea of central AC with rich people's homes because I can never get the freon to stay inside my central AC, and I pay through the nose, month after month, year after year, for my home warranty policy because, if it is the very last thing I get to experience on planet Earth, that damn company is going to replace my ancient central AC unit with a brand new energy efficient one that won't leak freon and won't cost me a fucking fortune to run and won't kill the entire environment...
Yes, I digress. But that's what makes life interesting, isn't it, gang??
Well, okay!! Today is Wednesday. Often referred to by some as "hump day." I still call it "Wednesday," or sometimes "Weds." -- if I'm in a hurry and know for certain I will misspell it anyway so why not abbreviate it from the start? For some reason, I have always liked Wednesdays. Wednesday is the "day of Mercury," who was the god of trade, thieves, and travel. Not sure how all those things are related, but they look ominous indeed, don't they, gang? I mean, when grouped together like that?
Before I close and begin my day devoted to trade, thieves, and travel, I want to mention that I saw the trailer for the new movie version of The Great Gatsby that is coming soon and which stars Leonardo DiCaprio. Up until the moment I saw the trailer, I was really looking forward to seeing this movie. I really like Leonardo DiCaprio, and The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite novels of all time. Well, I will still go see the film, but I have very unsettled feelings about it now. It will certainly be a spectacle, much like how the Jazz Age itself was, but, wow, does it look a little too over the top in every imaginable way. I guess we'll find out.
Okay, that said, go out there and have a bang-up Wednesday, gang, wherever you are and whatever you trade or steal, and wherever you travel to!! Thanks for visiting, gang. See ya!!
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