Jack’s Old & Busted Blog

Being up on the hill gives us a great seat for weather and sunsets. Right now, there is a “stationary front” over NWA, which makes for some interesting cloud formations .

Learned to make Video CDs over the weekend. I made a few slide shows from some digital stills and added music. We’ll probably get a DV cam and a new Mac this Christmas. Video CDs are a lot cheaper than buying DVD-Rs, and I don’t have a DVD-R burner now, anyway.

A beutiful yellow and black bird is outside the window now, pecking at some flowers. I’ve never seen one like it — as small as a finch, with black wings and a black patch around its beak.

The giant crows are going mad this morning. I count six in the trees out back (enough for a murder?) making a ruckuss over something, probably a cat. These crows move up and down the street in packs. It’s kind of weird sometimes, like its some kind of religious sign or something, but then they go away and it’s somebody else’s turn to be bothered by them.

I have a great idea for an alarm clock. The worst feeling in the morning (for me) is to be ripped out of a deeeeep REM cycle by the maniacal beeping of my 17-year-old Sony Dream Machine. Now most mornings I don’t need an alarm clock, but on the few that I do, I feel totally disoriented when I am awakened in the middle of a dream.

What about an alarm clock that senses your REM stage, and would allow a preset “window” of time for it to pass to a more easily rousable state before blasting off in your ear? Surely this could be done without bulky headgear. . . . I think I’ll see if Walter Drake is interested in my idea.

Went to our new Target today. I like Target a lot (better then W*l-M*rt anyway), but every time I browse there I feel like I’m shopping for a Sim. In fact, everything in target is very Sim-like. Mmm. Hunger level getting low. Must eat.

Listening to Hawaiian music makes summer more bearable.

Before dozing off the other night, I heard someone on the Art Bell radio show lead into a commercial with, “And coming up, did something hit the moon? We have some reports. . . . ” I just recalled that yesterday after lunch, so I guess the moon is OK?

I am learning to do drum rolls.

Well, now I feel bad for making fun of him:
“Walter Drake, 80, who turned a tiny family business into the
nationwide mail-order company bearing his name, died March 30, 2002.
He founded Walter Drake & Sons, specializing in items for the home, in
1947 with four or five employees. It grew to up to 850 workers during
the holiday rush. Drake & Sons was among the first companies to sell
preprinted address labels, which became one of its best sellers. It
also offered a popular service to replace lost or damaged silverware
in customers’ patterns. Mr. Drake sold the business for $15 million in
1997.”

I’ll leave the search form up as a tribute. I might even order some mailing labels.