We went out for a drive yesterday.
Well, out for a drive to get lunch with friends. We ate about an hour away from home, and it was a great afternoon - so great, we are doing it again in a few days with more friends.
Where we ate, was not as amazing as the drive was for me. As the driver, I probably saw less than the other people in the car, but it was still an amazing drive for me.
We stayed off any main highways and traveled exclusively on secondary roads. It's weird to think that not all that long ago, what we now call a secondary road were in fact the main roads of their day.
When you travel on the highway, you buzz along at highway speed, seeing the names of towns flash by as you drive past them. Sometimes the towns are not even visible from the highway, adding the a sense of mystery about them.
But when you take the roads less traveled, you often end up driving right down the main streets of towns along your way. There is a feeling of having gone somewhere and of distance traveled as you drive through a town, back into a less developed/farmland landscape, and then back into another town.
It is a sense of history, the towns, villages and settlements that people came together to build. Schools and community centers and churches marking the gathering points. Farmland and barns where people made, or still make, their living. And, inevitably, empty or abandoned buildings - homes, farms, barns and factories. Each with their own stories to tell.
But who will tell their stories?
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Monday, 25 July 2016
July 25, 2016 - Radar Detectors
As I was driving to work the other day, I was thinking about radar detectors.
They are illegal where I live, but I disagree with that.
First, I don't think that technology can be effectively legislated. Once the genie is out of the bottle, that's it - no going back. Human nature being what it is, people will always try to find a work around. I think it is foolish to deny the human factor when passing legislation. And, as engineers will willingly tell us, the more complex something becomes, the easier it is to break. The same goes for legislation. The more amendments, exceptions and special allowances there are, the easier it becomes to find a way around it.
Second, I think most people who purchase radar detectors aren't doing so to speed recklessly on public roads, but to avoid tickets if they are over the speed limit. If legislators are trying to keep speeds down, then I would think a technological approach, or an approach that takes into account the human factor, would be more effective.
In the old days, you used to occasionally see a fully marked patrol car, parked very conspicuously at the side of the road. Traffic would slow down, and only when you went by, did you realize the car was empty. But, it did it's job slowing down traffic. Why not use a device that can trigger radar detectors, causing those who use them to slow down. The net effect is the same, traffic slows down to the posted limits. The only downside is the loss of ticket revenue - assuming that the whole exercise is to slow traffic down, and not generate revenue.
Yes, it is a game of cat and mouse - but isn't that exactly what is happening now as drivers speed up after seeing a patrol car figuring the road ahead is clear of enforcement?
The goal should be safety, not revenue.
They are illegal where I live, but I disagree with that.
First, I don't think that technology can be effectively legislated. Once the genie is out of the bottle, that's it - no going back. Human nature being what it is, people will always try to find a work around. I think it is foolish to deny the human factor when passing legislation. And, as engineers will willingly tell us, the more complex something becomes, the easier it is to break. The same goes for legislation. The more amendments, exceptions and special allowances there are, the easier it becomes to find a way around it.
Second, I think most people who purchase radar detectors aren't doing so to speed recklessly on public roads, but to avoid tickets if they are over the speed limit. If legislators are trying to keep speeds down, then I would think a technological approach, or an approach that takes into account the human factor, would be more effective.
In the old days, you used to occasionally see a fully marked patrol car, parked very conspicuously at the side of the road. Traffic would slow down, and only when you went by, did you realize the car was empty. But, it did it's job slowing down traffic. Why not use a device that can trigger radar detectors, causing those who use them to slow down. The net effect is the same, traffic slows down to the posted limits. The only downside is the loss of ticket revenue - assuming that the whole exercise is to slow traffic down, and not generate revenue.
Yes, it is a game of cat and mouse - but isn't that exactly what is happening now as drivers speed up after seeing a patrol car figuring the road ahead is clear of enforcement?
The goal should be safety, not revenue.
Thursday, 21 July 2016
July 21, 2016 - Organization
I am not organized.
I would like to be, and I like to think of myself as being organized, but I am not. however, I do have a fairly good memory, so I can create the illusion of being organized by simply remembering where things are.
I have been trying to sort through and organize family papers and pictures for the last nine years. Not steadily, but on the basis of having free time, the desire and an ever-evolving plan.
Initially, I started scanning pictures, so my brother could have (digital) copies for himself and his son - this was going to be a gift to him. Unfortunately, he passed before I was able to complete scanning all the pictures. So now, the plan is to scan and annotate for my nephew. As the last member of my immediate family, I am probably the last person who will be able to do this for him.
Added to that, are some papers that relate to my dad, and his dad, and my brother, and so on. A lot of material to try to organize into some kind of coherent entity. And some of the papers are in French, which will require some translation. And some of the material has spelling errors, which will need fixing. And there are some gaps in the information that I would like to fill in.
Currently, I am starting over again - at a beginning of sorts, with obituaries. Perhaps a morbid place to start, but having the advantage of mostly being in my living memory - making it easier for me to correct and annotate.
I am grateful to the rise of office supply stores and their selection of organizational materials and storage solutions.
Now, if only I were as organized.
I would like to be, and I like to think of myself as being organized, but I am not. however, I do have a fairly good memory, so I can create the illusion of being organized by simply remembering where things are.
I have been trying to sort through and organize family papers and pictures for the last nine years. Not steadily, but on the basis of having free time, the desire and an ever-evolving plan.
Initially, I started scanning pictures, so my brother could have (digital) copies for himself and his son - this was going to be a gift to him. Unfortunately, he passed before I was able to complete scanning all the pictures. So now, the plan is to scan and annotate for my nephew. As the last member of my immediate family, I am probably the last person who will be able to do this for him.
Added to that, are some papers that relate to my dad, and his dad, and my brother, and so on. A lot of material to try to organize into some kind of coherent entity. And some of the papers are in French, which will require some translation. And some of the material has spelling errors, which will need fixing. And there are some gaps in the information that I would like to fill in.
Currently, I am starting over again - at a beginning of sorts, with obituaries. Perhaps a morbid place to start, but having the advantage of mostly being in my living memory - making it easier for me to correct and annotate.
I am grateful to the rise of office supply stores and their selection of organizational materials and storage solutions.
Now, if only I were as organized.
Monday, 18 July 2016
July 18, 2016 - On The Road
My work commute is about 75km each way. Not a problem since I enjoy the time in the car.
But sometimes you see things that make you wonder about the other drivers on the road.
I should mention that a 40km section of the road I drive is not twinned, and has been the scene of many accidents and fatalities over the years. There have also been renewed calls to have the highway twinned.
Now, I really don't believe that the road itself is to blame, but we all need to accept responsibility for the way we drive on public roads. Having seen some truly boneheaded drivers, I'm occasionally surprised there haven't been more accidents.
Yesterday I watched someone in an SUV, with family members in the car, pass on a double line (no passing allowed). Dangerous and illegal. But, they must have felt that they needed to go faster, and get where they were going quicker. I wonder what they were thinking that made them feel it was alright to do something dangerous on the road.
I have made many timed runs on the road going on regular routes, and I have proven to myself that the time difference between driving faster than the posted limit (or passing unsafely), and following the rules of the road, is usually less than the time I would waste in a drive through getting a coffee.
I would suggest that if you are trying to save/make time on a road trip, the biggest gains might come from either eliminating stops on your route, or by driving in a drive through as aggressively as on the highway. It would certainly be more entertaining.
Now that I think of it, I am surprised there aren't more accidents in the drive through lines.
But sometimes you see things that make you wonder about the other drivers on the road.
I should mention that a 40km section of the road I drive is not twinned, and has been the scene of many accidents and fatalities over the years. There have also been renewed calls to have the highway twinned.
Now, I really don't believe that the road itself is to blame, but we all need to accept responsibility for the way we drive on public roads. Having seen some truly boneheaded drivers, I'm occasionally surprised there haven't been more accidents.
Yesterday I watched someone in an SUV, with family members in the car, pass on a double line (no passing allowed). Dangerous and illegal. But, they must have felt that they needed to go faster, and get where they were going quicker. I wonder what they were thinking that made them feel it was alright to do something dangerous on the road.
I have made many timed runs on the road going on regular routes, and I have proven to myself that the time difference between driving faster than the posted limit (or passing unsafely), and following the rules of the road, is usually less than the time I would waste in a drive through getting a coffee.
I would suggest that if you are trying to save/make time on a road trip, the biggest gains might come from either eliminating stops on your route, or by driving in a drive through as aggressively as on the highway. It would certainly be more entertaining.
Now that I think of it, I am surprised there aren't more accidents in the drive through lines.
Friday, 15 July 2016
July 15, 2016 - Sunday Drive
Whatever happened to the Sunday drive?
They used to be a regular thing when I was a child, and it seemed like most people did something similar. Age wasn't a factor either, I can recall my great-grandparents doing the same Sunday drives, sometimes by themselves, sometimes with my brother and I, but rarely the same route or places.
The drives were as much about getting out as they were about seeing someplace new. In their own way, they were drives of discovery. And at a pace that made discovery possible. There was very little getting on the highway to rush someplace, the drives were usually on a secondary road and at a speed that encouraged looking around.
I those days, we didn't have the four (or more) lane highways or divided roads designed to make travel faster. Our main roads were two lane, with occasional passing lanes. There were not as many trucks either, you mostly saw cars on the road on weekends. Once you were off the busy main roads, speeds slowed, and traffic seemed to all but vanish.
We never seemed to have a destination in mind, stopping when we felt like it. And in those days there were plenty of places to stop. Gas stations were everywhere, and there were corner stores and ice cream stands to give everyone a chance to stretch their legs, have a drink or a cooling ice cream in the days before air conditioning in cars was common. Driving with the windows open meant you heard the sounds of the countryside - machinery working in the fields, the sound of tires on asphalt and wind blowing in the car carrying the smell of hay fields if you were lucky, or the smell of manure if you weren't as lucky.
I think it's time to roll the windows down, turn onto a secondary road, and enjoy what the drive has to offer.
They used to be a regular thing when I was a child, and it seemed like most people did something similar. Age wasn't a factor either, I can recall my great-grandparents doing the same Sunday drives, sometimes by themselves, sometimes with my brother and I, but rarely the same route or places.
The drives were as much about getting out as they were about seeing someplace new. In their own way, they were drives of discovery. And at a pace that made discovery possible. There was very little getting on the highway to rush someplace, the drives were usually on a secondary road and at a speed that encouraged looking around.
I those days, we didn't have the four (or more) lane highways or divided roads designed to make travel faster. Our main roads were two lane, with occasional passing lanes. There were not as many trucks either, you mostly saw cars on the road on weekends. Once you were off the busy main roads, speeds slowed, and traffic seemed to all but vanish.
We never seemed to have a destination in mind, stopping when we felt like it. And in those days there were plenty of places to stop. Gas stations were everywhere, and there were corner stores and ice cream stands to give everyone a chance to stretch their legs, have a drink or a cooling ice cream in the days before air conditioning in cars was common. Driving with the windows open meant you heard the sounds of the countryside - machinery working in the fields, the sound of tires on asphalt and wind blowing in the car carrying the smell of hay fields if you were lucky, or the smell of manure if you weren't as lucky.
I think it's time to roll the windows down, turn onto a secondary road, and enjoy what the drive has to offer.
Thursday, 14 July 2016
July 14, 2016 - photographs
I have a lot of photographs.
Some of my earliest memories are of looking at photographs with my grandparents, listening to them tell me what I was looking at. The narrative can be as important as the pictures, giving them context, or as in my case, a simple explanation about what I was seeing.
As the last surviving member of my immediate family, I am in possession of all the photographs that survived the various moves, and editing by others. Which is probably a good thing, since at last count I have over a half dozen large plastic storage totes filled with pictures. That's not counting the ones filled with negatives or slides.
My project is to finally organize and catalog them for my nephew. If I do not do that, then all the knowledge of the who and when and where of the majority of the pictures will pass when I pass. There are some photos that are marked on the back with names, or locations, and sometimes the year. But mostly not.
Plus there is all the undocumented stuff - places I've lived, or buildings my dad worked on, schools attended. Things that, while I am in possession of that knowledge, no one else is. That is not an exaggeration.
Adding to that, is my collection of pictures and memories - some personal to me such as an engagement that went nowhere. Some very general in nature such as buildings that have since been torn down, but had been local landmarks, or stores that I remembered going into as a youth.
So far, I have scanned and key-worded close to three thousand pictures, not slides or negatives, but photographic prints. I still have some I need to find the originals of, to make sure I have recorded the information on the back. Then it is time to scan slides and negatives, and key-word those.
I'm glad I feel healthy.
Some of my earliest memories are of looking at photographs with my grandparents, listening to them tell me what I was looking at. The narrative can be as important as the pictures, giving them context, or as in my case, a simple explanation about what I was seeing.
As the last surviving member of my immediate family, I am in possession of all the photographs that survived the various moves, and editing by others. Which is probably a good thing, since at last count I have over a half dozen large plastic storage totes filled with pictures. That's not counting the ones filled with negatives or slides.
My project is to finally organize and catalog them for my nephew. If I do not do that, then all the knowledge of the who and when and where of the majority of the pictures will pass when I pass. There are some photos that are marked on the back with names, or locations, and sometimes the year. But mostly not.
Plus there is all the undocumented stuff - places I've lived, or buildings my dad worked on, schools attended. Things that, while I am in possession of that knowledge, no one else is. That is not an exaggeration.
Adding to that, is my collection of pictures and memories - some personal to me such as an engagement that went nowhere. Some very general in nature such as buildings that have since been torn down, but had been local landmarks, or stores that I remembered going into as a youth.
So far, I have scanned and key-worded close to three thousand pictures, not slides or negatives, but photographic prints. I still have some I need to find the originals of, to make sure I have recorded the information on the back. Then it is time to scan slides and negatives, and key-word those.
I'm glad I feel healthy.
Monday, 11 July 2016
July 11, 2016 - Maps
There's nothing like the promise of a map.
They imply that a trip, an exploration or the beginning of a dream is about to start.
After all, we don't buy maps for places we know well, or travel often. We buy maps to see what routes are available to get to our destination. Or, how to get someplace we've never been. Sometimes, we buy maps to dream about travel. Or to familiarize ourselves with a place we may soon be going to, or hope to go to.
Internet searches aren't the same, they don't really tell us what lies nearby, or that the longer route may be the best travel option. Internet searches keep us firmly in the fast lane of life, promising to get us to our destination quickly, efficiently, with minimal fuss.
But what if you don't want to travel the direct route? Or, if the whole point of traveling is to take the road least taken?
Planning by internet would have you believe that it's the destination, not the journey, that is important. And the directions are like trying to listen to a roomful of friends, all trying to be helpful, but not necessarily coherent. I think we have all tried to follow those instructions and found ourselves apparently lost, according to the directions, then magically back on track without having done anything different.
A map however, holds the promise of a cartographer's vision. One person, who has checked the data, who has traveled the road themselves, and spent time drawing it to scale, making certain that roads and junctions are where they are supposed to be.
There is something deeply satisfying about spreading open a map, and following the road with your finger. Seeing place names appear and disappear as you trace your way along the map from where you are to where you want to be.
You can't get that from internet directions.
They imply that a trip, an exploration or the beginning of a dream is about to start.
After all, we don't buy maps for places we know well, or travel often. We buy maps to see what routes are available to get to our destination. Or, how to get someplace we've never been. Sometimes, we buy maps to dream about travel. Or to familiarize ourselves with a place we may soon be going to, or hope to go to.
Internet searches aren't the same, they don't really tell us what lies nearby, or that the longer route may be the best travel option. Internet searches keep us firmly in the fast lane of life, promising to get us to our destination quickly, efficiently, with minimal fuss.
But what if you don't want to travel the direct route? Or, if the whole point of traveling is to take the road least taken?
Planning by internet would have you believe that it's the destination, not the journey, that is important. And the directions are like trying to listen to a roomful of friends, all trying to be helpful, but not necessarily coherent. I think we have all tried to follow those instructions and found ourselves apparently lost, according to the directions, then magically back on track without having done anything different.
A map however, holds the promise of a cartographer's vision. One person, who has checked the data, who has traveled the road themselves, and spent time drawing it to scale, making certain that roads and junctions are where they are supposed to be.
There is something deeply satisfying about spreading open a map, and following the road with your finger. Seeing place names appear and disappear as you trace your way along the map from where you are to where you want to be.
You can't get that from internet directions.
Sunday, 10 July 2016
July 10, 2016 - Coffee
I love my morning coffee.
In some ways, I would like to be a coffee snob, obsessing over the correct coffee bean and kind of roast. Wondering if the water temperature is right, and if all the flavour is being extracted from the freshly ground coffee.
But, and there is always a but, I only drink coffee in the morning and I am usually the first one up to make it. Sadly, I am not a morning person who can fully function when first getting out of bed.
It usually takes me around an hour (or more!) to start to feel like I'm alert enough to face the day and it's challenges. So the challenge of coffee snobbery in the morning is probably beyond me.
I buy grocery store beans, already roasted, and grind them in the morning for the pot. I do use a burr grinder, so at least the beans are freshly ground. All of that is probably horrifying to the real coffee snobs - the ones who order special beans and home roast. Not the coffee snobs buying their coffee from an overpriced coffee shop with weird flavours and toppings. In fact, I'm not even sure that those kinds of drinks can even be called coffee anymore, coffee based or coffee flavoured, maybe. But no longer coffee.
In fact, I would guess that if you truly wanted to be a purist you should drink your coffee black, with no additives. That too may be beyond me.
I love my coffee hot, with cream (18%, to be picky), and that's it. I've given up on giant mugs, preferring a smallish sized mug to drink out of. It works for me - the coffee gets cold at about the same time as I am reaching the last mouthful. It's a wonderful synergy.
Time for a fresh cup.
In some ways, I would like to be a coffee snob, obsessing over the correct coffee bean and kind of roast. Wondering if the water temperature is right, and if all the flavour is being extracted from the freshly ground coffee.
But, and there is always a but, I only drink coffee in the morning and I am usually the first one up to make it. Sadly, I am not a morning person who can fully function when first getting out of bed.
It usually takes me around an hour (or more!) to start to feel like I'm alert enough to face the day and it's challenges. So the challenge of coffee snobbery in the morning is probably beyond me.
I buy grocery store beans, already roasted, and grind them in the morning for the pot. I do use a burr grinder, so at least the beans are freshly ground. All of that is probably horrifying to the real coffee snobs - the ones who order special beans and home roast. Not the coffee snobs buying their coffee from an overpriced coffee shop with weird flavours and toppings. In fact, I'm not even sure that those kinds of drinks can even be called coffee anymore, coffee based or coffee flavoured, maybe. But no longer coffee.
In fact, I would guess that if you truly wanted to be a purist you should drink your coffee black, with no additives. That too may be beyond me.
I love my coffee hot, with cream (18%, to be picky), and that's it. I've given up on giant mugs, preferring a smallish sized mug to drink out of. It works for me - the coffee gets cold at about the same time as I am reaching the last mouthful. It's a wonderful synergy.
Time for a fresh cup.
Friday, 8 July 2016
July 8, 2016 - Notebooks
I seem to be breaking out in notebooks.
I'm not sure if that is a function of age (forgetting things) or keeping busy (to-do lists), but the notebook section of the local stationary store has me hearing it's siren song.
I've always had a few dedicated notebooks, of course starting with school notebooks. But I seem to be more obsessed with them lately, as well as making greater use of them. And with that, comes the search for the perfect notebook.
I used to be able to function with just scraps of paper, discarded when the tasks were completed. Usually that day or the next. When that became unwieldy due to having to keep track of things on a longer timeline, I added a day planner that lived on my desk and I transferred information to it as needed. That worked well to organize deadlines and contacts.
And then came cell phones, and I needed that information to be more portable, so I added a smaller daily planner with just the essentials. Smartphones, for a while, made even those redundant. I was able to keep everything on my phone. Except those early phones weren't as good for transferring information onto a new phone, and how do you take notes, while actually on the phone? Answer: a notebook.
Now, with regular updates, phones are much better, but I have migrated back to paper in addition to the phone.
Notebooks, with lined pages, have been my go to for the past few years. But as my use of them changes and evolves, so must the notebook I use. Part of it is really conceptual, how do I organize thoughts and keep the separate from grocery lists, and to-do lists. I have fairly small handwriting, so I can actually cram a lot onto a page.
My current thinking is to get a notebook that is either gridded like graph paper or uses dots to imply both lines and grids. In theory, that should make it easier to indent to-do lists and allow the checking off of items on the grocery list.
Off to buy more notebooks.
I'm not sure if that is a function of age (forgetting things) or keeping busy (to-do lists), but the notebook section of the local stationary store has me hearing it's siren song.
I've always had a few dedicated notebooks, of course starting with school notebooks. But I seem to be more obsessed with them lately, as well as making greater use of them. And with that, comes the search for the perfect notebook.
I used to be able to function with just scraps of paper, discarded when the tasks were completed. Usually that day or the next. When that became unwieldy due to having to keep track of things on a longer timeline, I added a day planner that lived on my desk and I transferred information to it as needed. That worked well to organize deadlines and contacts.
And then came cell phones, and I needed that information to be more portable, so I added a smaller daily planner with just the essentials. Smartphones, for a while, made even those redundant. I was able to keep everything on my phone. Except those early phones weren't as good for transferring information onto a new phone, and how do you take notes, while actually on the phone? Answer: a notebook.
Now, with regular updates, phones are much better, but I have migrated back to paper in addition to the phone.
Notebooks, with lined pages, have been my go to for the past few years. But as my use of them changes and evolves, so must the notebook I use. Part of it is really conceptual, how do I organize thoughts and keep the separate from grocery lists, and to-do lists. I have fairly small handwriting, so I can actually cram a lot onto a page.
My current thinking is to get a notebook that is either gridded like graph paper or uses dots to imply both lines and grids. In theory, that should make it easier to indent to-do lists and allow the checking off of items on the grocery list.
Off to buy more notebooks.
Wednesday, 6 July 2016
July 6, 2106 - The Past
It's kind of an odd week for me.
It was five years ago this week that I lost both my dad and my brother, leaving me the last surviving member of my immediate family.
Dad was in his 80's, my brother in his 50's.
It's weird how you can accept that your parents will die before you, but that the death of a sibling can be a complete shock. I suppose that it may have something to do with the fact that as we grow up, we come to grips that we will outlive out parents. It is the natural order of things.
While I often miss my dad, thinking of things I want to ask him, or to ask his advice; but the death of my brother hit me the hardest. It may be that he was my big brother, and always there for me; it may be that he was a major influence on me (as big brothers are) and what I got interested in. And it may be that he is gone too soon - he should have had many years ahead of him.
I suppose it wouldn't have been such a blow if they hadn't died within a week of each other. Or if I wasn't as close to them as I was. Or if I didn't have a good relationship with them, not perfect, but a good one.
I still have lots of great memories of both of them, and that will have to do.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
It was five years ago this week that I lost both my dad and my brother, leaving me the last surviving member of my immediate family.
Dad was in his 80's, my brother in his 50's.
It's weird how you can accept that your parents will die before you, but that the death of a sibling can be a complete shock. I suppose that it may have something to do with the fact that as we grow up, we come to grips that we will outlive out parents. It is the natural order of things.
While I often miss my dad, thinking of things I want to ask him, or to ask his advice; but the death of my brother hit me the hardest. It may be that he was my big brother, and always there for me; it may be that he was a major influence on me (as big brothers are) and what I got interested in. And it may be that he is gone too soon - he should have had many years ahead of him.
I suppose it wouldn't have been such a blow if they hadn't died within a week of each other. Or if I wasn't as close to them as I was. Or if I didn't have a good relationship with them, not perfect, but a good one.
I still have lots of great memories of both of them, and that will have to do.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
July 5, 2016 - Keeping Time
We had a power outage the other day.
That may not sound like a big deal, but whenever there is a power bump it seems like it takes days to reset all the clocks in the house. Even the one with battery backups.
Making maters worse, I like to have all the clocks reading the same time. And changing over within seconds of each other! I always feel a little weird when I'm in someone's house and it seems as if every room is in a different time zone. If you are going to have a clock, it should have the correct time - that is after all it's function.
I think my appreciation for correct time comes from working in radio, where one of my jobs was to connect to a national network news feed, on time, every hour. Nothing like a hard deadline, every hour, to make you aware of how on schedule you are!
To be fair, most clocks I have to reset keep good time, except when the power goes out. If it loses all time then, I'm ok with that. The ones that irk me are the ones with battery backup. Because it seems adding a battery is an afterthought, the clocks become wildly inaccurate when on battery power. I believe that they are regulated by the AC power for accuracy, but not regulated when on battery power. Those clocks seem to end up with roughly the right time, but nowhere near the correct time. And the longer they are off, the worse it becomes.
The trickiest part for me is trying to set them that the minute changes just as the second hand of my watch passes 12. So, setting each clock can take several minutes, mostly spent waiting for the second hand to reach 12.
There is something deeply satisfying in having the clocks change in unison.
That may not sound like a big deal, but whenever there is a power bump it seems like it takes days to reset all the clocks in the house. Even the one with battery backups.
Making maters worse, I like to have all the clocks reading the same time. And changing over within seconds of each other! I always feel a little weird when I'm in someone's house and it seems as if every room is in a different time zone. If you are going to have a clock, it should have the correct time - that is after all it's function.
I think my appreciation for correct time comes from working in radio, where one of my jobs was to connect to a national network news feed, on time, every hour. Nothing like a hard deadline, every hour, to make you aware of how on schedule you are!
To be fair, most clocks I have to reset keep good time, except when the power goes out. If it loses all time then, I'm ok with that. The ones that irk me are the ones with battery backup. Because it seems adding a battery is an afterthought, the clocks become wildly inaccurate when on battery power. I believe that they are regulated by the AC power for accuracy, but not regulated when on battery power. Those clocks seem to end up with roughly the right time, but nowhere near the correct time. And the longer they are off, the worse it becomes.
The trickiest part for me is trying to set them that the minute changes just as the second hand of my watch passes 12. So, setting each clock can take several minutes, mostly spent waiting for the second hand to reach 12.
There is something deeply satisfying in having the clocks change in unison.
Monday, 4 July 2016
July 4, 2016 - Tools
I love tools.
I should say, I love the thought of tools. The idea of owning quality tools, and having the right tool to do a job is very appealing to me. As is the thought of having those tools perfectly organized.
The reality is, and I suspect for most other people too, my tools are not complete sets, are not always of a higher than average quality, and certainly not organized. Although I am trying.
Over the years, I have collected a hodge podge of tools, from different manufacturers, used in different industries, and regular 'house-brand' tools. Most of which are more than adequate for my needs or skills. It took me a long time to stop using screwdrivers as prying tools, and some of my tools show signs of abuse and neglect. I try not to do that anymore.
Part of the problem is I don't have the money to spend willy-nilly on tools, buying only the best and buying proper toolboxes and storage solutions for them. I would love to do that, but finances don't allow that kind of extravagence.
Along with that, I don't really work with tools all day long; my lifestyle tends to lean more towards cerebral/couch potato than an active one. So, if I am being brutally realistic, I don't really need a lot of high quality tools.
However, dreams are seductive. I enjoy tools catalogs, dreaming about making things that I don't have the skills or desire to make. But, I could, if I just had that man cave/workshop that was perfectly organized and stuffed with quality tools.
Sometimes, the dream is enough.
I should say, I love the thought of tools. The idea of owning quality tools, and having the right tool to do a job is very appealing to me. As is the thought of having those tools perfectly organized.
The reality is, and I suspect for most other people too, my tools are not complete sets, are not always of a higher than average quality, and certainly not organized. Although I am trying.
Over the years, I have collected a hodge podge of tools, from different manufacturers, used in different industries, and regular 'house-brand' tools. Most of which are more than adequate for my needs or skills. It took me a long time to stop using screwdrivers as prying tools, and some of my tools show signs of abuse and neglect. I try not to do that anymore.
Part of the problem is I don't have the money to spend willy-nilly on tools, buying only the best and buying proper toolboxes and storage solutions for them. I would love to do that, but finances don't allow that kind of extravagence.
Along with that, I don't really work with tools all day long; my lifestyle tends to lean more towards cerebral/couch potato than an active one. So, if I am being brutally realistic, I don't really need a lot of high quality tools.
However, dreams are seductive. I enjoy tools catalogs, dreaming about making things that I don't have the skills or desire to make. But, I could, if I just had that man cave/workshop that was perfectly organized and stuffed with quality tools.
Sometimes, the dream is enough.
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