I needed to go to the grocery store this afternoon, and after I went next door to Five Below to have a look around. Today being Halloween, they had their Christmas sections set up, and as I was on my way out the door, something caught my attention. The Peanuts Snow Water Speaker. Snoopy inContinue reading “Five Below’s Peanuts Snow Water Speaker”
Monthly Archives: October 2025
A Hard-Fought Victory
It seems unlikely, but I won this game of backgammon. Look at that. I have four pieces pinned in white’s home quadrant. I would have to roll a seven — an impossibility on a D6 — to even get one piece out, let alone four. But things developed quickly. White began consolidating his pieces intoContinue reading “A Hard-Fought Victory”
A Sign on the Mountain
When I was a wee lad, from the carport of our house I could see the Endless Caverns sign on the side of Massanutten Mountain. Driving home today, I stopped at the rest area near New Market, crossed the truck parking, and from the hillside took some photos. Things don’t change much in forty years.
Fun with Virtual Machines
Normal people do not run Emacs or build XMMS, a multimedia player, from source in a Linux Mint 5 virtual machine, but, my friends, I am not normal people. FWIW, I’m listening to WFMT’s “Vince Guaraldi’s Christmas Gift to Jazz,” an hour-long program with some Guaraldi music and covers of his music for A CharlieContinue reading “Fun with Virtual Machines”
Autumn’s Arrival
Autumn has arrived. How do I know this? My knees decided to tell me. Monday morning I was fine, felt no effects of the walk around Prospect Hill Cemetery. Monday afternoon, however, I had a painful arthritis burning through my knees, an arthritis so bad that I could barely stand and sleeping was almost impossible.Continue reading “Autumn’s Arrival”
Getting Better all the Time
I’m getting the hang of this backgammon thing. I still will not say I’m great, I’m not even sure that I’m good, but I’m seeing regular success. This one was pretty straightforward. Nothing remarkable here. I’ve moved five pieces off the board, while white is still moving pieces toward its home. This one was definitelyContinue reading “Getting Better all the Time”
A Crimean War Veteran
How many American cemeteries can claim to have a Crimean War veteran? Well, York’s Prospect Hill Cemetery does. Doctor Henry L. Smyser, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, worked as a Surgeon Major in the Crimean War, and a decade later assigned to a military hospital in York. It being a warm-ish October Sunday,Continue reading “A Crimean War Veteran”
The Lottery Kiosk
As I was leaving the grocery store yesterday, an elderly man stopped me at the self-serve lottery kiosk. He was buying scratch-off tickets — he was organized, he had a plastic envelope — and there was one, something like Monster Mash, that he didn’t understand. There was something about the logo on the touchscreen thatContinue reading “The Lottery Kiosk”
The Miracles of St. Tibulus
I was today years old when I discovered there’s a Father Ted fan film! Today saw the nationwide “No Kings” protests against the Trump regime’s growing autocracy, and skimming through BlueSky I saw a number of photos of signs from the protests. What I did not see were “Careful Now” and “Down With This SortContinue reading “The Miracles of St. Tibulus”
12-Bar Job Search Blues
I saw a post on LinkedIn this morning that touched a nerve and sparked some thinking. “I have 35+ years experience and I can’t find a job that pays over $20 an hour.“ I don’t like LinkedIn. I’m not even sure it’s a necessary evil. The toxic positivity and “every moment is a life lesson”Continue reading “12-Bar Job Search Blues”