“The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck.”
Right now it is 33°, but it seemed warmer when I went to get the papers as there is no wind. The sky is covered in light grey clouds, but no rain is predicted until later tonight. l still have a few chores but easy chores, a little sweeping and a bit of dusting.
Last night, on my den table, were two iPads and my computer, all compensating for the dead TV which sits staring at me from across the room. If I were a character in a Stephen King book, the TV would be listening to me and watching me, turning itself on and off. It needs to go, but before that can happen, I’ll have to clear the top of my file cabinet so I can lean over and unplug the TV and the cable. Nothing is simple anymore. I have had two TV offers, kind, generous offers, so I am getting close to a TV, an actual TV. The primitive life is not at all appealing.
When I was a kid, the TV had tubes. If one died, the TV usually died. My father, the handyman (says I with tongue in cheek) would remove tubes and bring them to the TV repair shop to be checked. He’d buy new ones once the dead tubes were identified. He just didn’t remember where they went. Most times he’d have to call a repair man to put the TV back together.
This TV story reminds me of another Dad story. This time he was fixing the toilet (says I with tongue in cheek). He took the inside apart by pulling out the pieces. He bought a couple of parts but had no idea what was wrong. Cue the plumber who wanted to know who killed the toilet. That would be my father the TV repair man-plumber.
Nala is a whiz at taking down the gate protecting Jack’s room and his food. I only catch her once in a while. I always think the gate is secure. Most times I’m wrong. Her technique is to lean the gate against the side of the door so it doesn’t fall and make a noise. She jumps over it and then back. Sometimes she gives herself away by coming down the stairs with an empty can from the cat room trash in her mouth. I grab the can, run upstairs, clean up the trash and set the gate. This morning she did it again. I decided to move the gate so it is on the stairs about half-way up. I hadn’t done it before as Henry likes to nap in my room, but enough is enough, the perfect cliche for how I’m feeling. Well, just a short while ago, Nala tried to get pass the gate. She failed. It fell and slid down the stairs. I jumped at the unexpected crash. Nala ran. Solution? Maybe! But I never underestimate Nala.
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February 7, 2023 at 2:21 pm
Hi Kat,
Today is cloudy with a chance of rain. The high today is predicted to reach 56°.
When we first moved from NYC to Texas in 1953, my father was out of town on a trip when the TV wouldn’t turn on. My mother was besides herself with my sister and I clamoring for her to repair our TV before our shows started. In those days TVs could be repaired and she called a local repairman. He showed up with all his tools and a mirror to enable him to see the screen from the rear of the TV cabinet. He shortly solved the problem by plugging the TV set into the wall outlet. 🙂 He charged my mother a service call, but she learned to first check if it’s plugged into the power source.
Today, most young folks have no idea what you are talking about when you say, “Vacuum tube” or the British term for them, “Valves”. Believe it or not, you can still buy them over the internet. It turns out that they are still being produced in Russia where a lot of vacuum tube technology still exists. People who own or buy very expensive, high end stereo amplifiers, or very high end guitar amplifiers still prefer the ones made with vacuum tubes. They claim that the sound is warmer when reproduced from a vacuum tube amplifier than from a solid state amplifier.
Nala is a very intelligent dog. Maybe in her next life she will return as a, “Cat burglar”, the human kind. 🙂
February 7, 2023 at 4:03 pm
HI Bob,
We’ll have a couple of 50° days Thursday through the weekend. It will rain one or two of those days.
I mentioned the days of TV tubes and my father’s attempt to fix ours. He didn’t ever think of marking the spots from where the individual tubes came so we called the repairman.
That’s a funny story! It seems that a bit of your father and a bit of mine had something in common: little or no mechanical ability.
I think more than young folks have no idea about a vacuum tube. It has been a long time since they were used in our TV’s. Even my nephew in his 30’s would be hard-pressed to describe one. He grew up as part of the throw it away and get a new one generation.
Boxers are smart dogs!
February 7, 2023 at 4:37 pm
Actually, it was my mother who didn’t check if the TV was plugged into the wall. Truth is that with all solid state silicon computer boards there’s nothing that’s repairable other than the screen itself. Yes, boxers are smart dogs. I’m not sure I would want one as I age. The dog might become smarter than I am as dementia progresses. 🙂
February 7, 2023 at 6:48 pm
Bob,
People who haven’t ever had boxers are in for a bit of a shock. They stay puppies for what seems like forever. They love people. They also ignore people. I think once you fall in love with one you are in love with the breed forever.
February 7, 2023 at 6:00 pm
20°F tonight, that’s quite cold for a winter day here, I had to empty the rainwater barrel and the bird bowls. They’ll get fresh water tomorrow. I’m glad it’s sunny for a change.
The two valve radios from my grandmother and mother are just decoration by now. Last time I checked they both worked but modern-day bandwidth has changed so some stations are missing.
TV day today, one new episode of Doctor Who. Your president’s speech will be on our TV too but I don’t think I will watch. I’ll wait for a summary tomorrow.
February 7, 2023 at 6:51 pm
Hi Birgit,
I’m not watching the State of the Union either though I am interested in how scary people like Marjorie Taylor-Green react during the speech. Nancy Pelosi once tore up her copy of trump’s speech and did it on camera. He said it was an illegal to do that. What an idiot1
It is 32° right now, about the low.