Like the old Mortan Salt slogan goes: “When It Rains, It Pours”.
I think I whined a bit WRT the steeper-than-anticipated learning curve for using my new Logitech Ergonomic Split Keyboard to help avoiding another carpal tunnel surgery.
(And if I didn’t whine, I MEANT to.)
Then yesterday I was reminded it was time to check for updates, and both MS & Dell had a passel of critical ones. So I downloaded and installed them.
But they both required a reboot to complete the installation. No big deal … or so I thought.
But three-and-half HOURS later the little “Restarting” with the swirling dots were STILL swirling around!
After several attempts at a hard reboot and disconnecting everything and waiting a minute and re-plugging everything back and rebooting again … all I get is the swirling “Restarting” dots.
Since yesterday was a total loss, today I had to drag out the laptop and am getting by.
Thank heavens for my OneDrive cloud!
I worked this morning on trying some fixes for the stuck “Restarting” – but to no avail. This afternoon I decided to switch to finishing my taxes before anything else goes wrong.
Like I said, fortunately I was able to continue w/ all my work since the OneDrive cloud had everything!
It may be a day late for posting, but I didn’t forget TC’s B-Day. So enjoy some birthday cake …
Police repurposed the white chairs used by the VIP crowd at the Union Station post-parade rally celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl victory to spell out “KC STRONG”.
There’s a vigil tonight at a park between Union Station and Children’s Mercy Hospital (which is only a couple of blocks away).
But today – NOT about sentences involving TFG and his gang.
And this will be a two-part post.
[Part 1]
For folks who enjoy the linguists out there who can craft a masterful sentence, NY Times writer Frank Bruni compiled a compendium of what he thinks were the best sentences of 2023.
To save room (and keep with the Fair Use guidelines) here are what I think are the best of the best – and just the punchlines.
“… the putz knew his push for a putsch was dishonest.”
On republicans trying to out-Trump Trump:
“… makes no real sense to try to run as a more competent Donald Trump, for the simple reason that the entire question of competence is orthogonal to Trump’s appeal.”
On Growing Old Honestly If NOT Gracefully:
“… [Walter Matthau] reflects a life well lived in the company of gravity and pastrami.”
On the SCOTUS Ethical (If Not Legal) Lapses of Thomas & Alito:
“A #protip that will no doubt make those justices who have been lured away to elaborate bear hunts and deer hunts and rabbit hunts and salmon hunts by wealthy oligarchs feel a bit sad: If your close personal friends who only just met you after you came onto the courts are memorializing your time together for posterity, there’s a decent chance you are, in fact, the thing being hunted.”
On Becoming a Curmudgeon (Boy, can I relate):
“… looks like an Easter Island statue nursing a grudge.”
On Sarah Palin:
“I’d argue that Sarah Palin mattered in 2008, although she was less of a running mate than a running gag.”
On Jimmy Carter Facing His Final Days:
“Hospice care is not a matter of giving up. It’s a decision to shift our efforts from shoring up a body on the verge of the end to providing solace to a soul that’s on the cusp of forever.”
On Grocery Store Plastic Bags:
“Because they’re so light, they defy proper waste management, floating off trash cans and sanitation trucks like they’re being raptured by a garbage god.”
On Our Worship of Size (… Does It Really Matter?):
“… people have always liked really big stuff, particularly of the unnecessary variety. Stonehenge, pyramids, colossi, Costco.”
[Editor’s Note: But I LOVE Costco!]
On DeSantis’ TOTAL LACK of Compassion, Caring & Charisma:
DeSantis gives off the vibe “that he might unplug your life support to recharge his cellphone.”
And Bruni’s Final Selection – An Existential Note:
“Too many voters today are easily conned, deeply biased, impervious to fact and bereft of survival instincts. Contrary to myth, frogs leap out of heating pots. Stampeding cattle stop at a cliff edge. Lemmings don’t really commit mass suicide.
“We’ll find out about Americans in 2024.”
Personally, I think the best sentence of 2024 would be a really long one … given to Trump … without the possibility of parole!
[Part 2]
I’m well past the age of staying up to ring in the New Year. But I do enjoy the efforts from those around the world to do it and do it right!
Sydney is aiming to be viewed as the “New Year’s Eve Capital of the World” – and they certainly have the credentials for it, the the Harbour Bridge and Opera House serving as the canvas.
But I was really impressed with London’s efforts this year with Big Ben and the London Eye Ferris wheel as backdrops.
I’m curious which one you would vote for to be the winner:
On a ranch in Bartonville, TX a 150-year-old pecan tree is the tableau for an annual spectacular light display every Christmas. The locals call it the “OMG Tree” – and with good reason!
It began as a suggestion back in 2005 from Bill Rathburn, owner of the Christmas Light Company in Dallas who the ranch owners, Barbara Nunneley and her partner, Jan Deatherage, had hired to outline the roof of their house with Christmas lights.
He noticed the huge, lone pecan tree out in their pasture and told them it’d make a spectacular light display. But at the time, Nunneley thought it was an extravagance that was a bit too expensive.
Her mind was changed two years later when her dad, who always said Christmas was his favorite time of year, was losing his battle to the terminal stage of prostate cancer. She decided the display would be an appropriate tribute to her father, so she called Rathburn and told him: “Let’s do it!”.
It takes a crew of up to eight workers from the Christmas Light Company about 20 hours to string the over 60,000 LED lights used to cover the tree. And because the pecan tree is so tall, they have to use a huge cherry picker in order to reach the top.
Nunnelly planned the inaugural lighting of the decked out old pecan tree as the featured event for the family’s annual Thanksgiving gathering at the ranch. But sadly, her father was not able to make the 70-mile drive from Nocona to Bartonville for the festivities. Sadly, he passed away the very next day.
Nunnelly said about the inaugural lighting: “It took my breath away.” And given the background for its inception she recalls: “It was a little spiritual, a little emotional.” But she philosophically adds: “My daddy did not ever see it from Earth, but I’m real sure he saw it,” casting her eyes skyward.
The tree brought them such joy they decided they would make it an annual tradition to honor her dad. And its notoriety has grown so that now folks from all over the South and Southwest travel to enjoy the light show.
So, let’s also join in for some of its mystical delight …
As its fame has grown, she notes that sunset is the most popular time for visitors to enjoy the light display.
And Nunnelly notes that over the years it’s become a favorite romantic setting for the younger folks in the area to stage their proposals – which is perfectly understandable …
Nunnelly admits she gets a kick out of the irony that over a dozen young men have asked her permission to “pop the question” under her pecan tree, in light of the fact that she’s a divorce lawyer. But adds she does have a personal rule that she’ll never take a case of someone who proposed under her tree.
If any of you folks in the area ever make it to the ranch, I’d enjoy hearing about your experience. Until then, I’ll just have to enjoy it vicariously …
I asked Trinette WRT any updates and she said JD moved to the Rehab unit today.
I asked her if she knew the name of the facility and an address – but haven’t heard anything back as of this posting.
