I received an Olympus OM-4 Ti today. I loved my OM-4 when I got it sometime in the '80s, but it had a serious flaw. The batteries would drain in a matter of days, even when it’s not in use. It seems Olympus neglected to engineer an Off switch for it. The battery-drain problem was corrected with the OM-4 Ti… supposedly. I’ve put fresh batteries in the body I received today. The Battery Check said I put in fresh batteries. I need to give the new body a test-o test-o, but in the meantime I’ve set the switch to Manual and the shutter speed to B, and put the lens cap on. I’ll shoot a roll of film through the OM-4 for a last hurrah prior to selling it. I have ‘brand’ lenses for my cameras, except for one I got for the OM-4; a Kelimar 35mm to 135mm (I think) zoom. I put that on the OM-4, and a Zuiko 35mm to 70mm on the OM-4 Ti. Now I have two things to resolve: Finding time to take some photographs, and finding interesting things to shoot.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. It’s my Firday. It’s currently 53 degrees Ferret Height(11.667 Centipedes).
It is better to have eaten a thing, then thrown it up, then eaten it again then to have never eaten it at all - a dog sage
I do 5:1 with Tanqueray No. 10, 3 olives, and a twist.
That all sounds very yummy!
Holy socks, Batman! That looks ezzactly like mine - did you get the “Flame” color, too?
Monkey would like me to inquire about these …
See, this is how societies should function. You did a good thing, and everyone goes home happy.
Thank you. 
It did!
… culminating in a late-nite “Airing Of The Grievances: the Lil Miss” edition.
Apparently everyone feels some type of ways about her - I can’t tell y’all what a relief it is to know I’m not the only one - but it’s not like having an attitude is a fireable offense.
In lighter work news, Alt. Mngr. unexpectedly gifted me a black cat pin! I immediately put it on my shirt - got lotsa “Aw, cyooote!” comments.
Now it’s time to decide between easy frozen/oven food, or making a One Eyed Jack. A bit of effort, for yummy eggy yolks … vs laziness and still tasty.
Oh, and I have Sunday AND next Tuesday off, which gives me a 3-day “weekend.” WhatEVER shall I do with myself?
Narrator: "She does have a To-Do list … "
Me: “Shaddup.”
Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 6c/42f with a predicted high of 8c/47f and a chance of fog. Weather app says “Are you tired of talking about the fucking weather? I’d be more than happy to tell you about my extreme fucking anxiety.”
Nut hope you made your connection in Big City Station!
Moooom you seem to have really bad luck with credit cards, I’ve never known anyone have cards compromised as often as you do. Good job you’ve kept all the important info on a spreadsheet so it’s less hassle to set things up with the new card.
swampy glad you have enjoyed your time away, have a safe trip home. With luck, OYKW will have had cleaners in to deal with the aftermath of the catered orgies!
Yesterday was a good irk day, non-troublesome minion spent a bit of time working on a fix for a big problem we’d found earlier in the week and he managed to get a good solution for it so he gets a big gold star! I got some other things fixed and have got some info on other things that were lurking in the inbox. Came home and tended to the needs of cats, then made dinner. We flopped on the sofa with a film for the evening and I went to bed reasonably early.
Consequently, I was up early too. The cats are fed and have gone back to snoozing. I’ve had some breakfast (banana, Greek yogurt and honey) and two cups of tea so I’m ready to head to the gym next. I’ll come home afterwards to get showered and tidied up, then I’ll go and do my errands. I need to get some cat litter so I’ll park at the little retail park where the pet shop is, and it’s only a short walk into town from there. I need a few bits but not much, and I was thinking to look for a nightlight for Muffin’s room. Since Cherry’s been bothering her lately, we leave the door shut to give her some peace and quiet but that means she’s in the room on her own all night because she doesn’t come out into the rest of the house. I am just a bit concerned about her being alone in the dark all the time, so I thought a nightlight might make it a bit more comfortable for her.
We haven’t got much else planned for tonight, a rare gig-free weekend, so we may well take ourselves back into town later and plonk ourselves in a pub for some beerverages instead.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’ (thanks Starbuck’s!). ‘Tis 57Amurkkin out and clear with a predicted high of 77 and cloudy. It’s pretty much the same at home. Convention wraps up no later than noon and then I shall betake myself to da cave. OYKW assures me I will not see any traces of the orgy. My DAWGS play Ole Miss at seven-thirty p.m.I will be back in da cave in plenty of time to watch.
I promise to go back and read/respond when I am back on my laptop.
Happy Sattidy Y’all!
It has nothing to do with the credit union or the VISA and everything to do with thieves and, in this last case, our brain fart. Our credit union has been great about it, plus we’ve been with them since 1983 - no reason at all to switch.
That’s adorable!
Several were during travels - as in probably stolen by skimmers that we didn’t notice. At least 2 were because I lost cards. Well, one I dropped in the car and didn’t find for a week, the other I lost somewhere on vacation. And this last one was a total and complete brain fart when shopping on line - “If it seems to good to be true…” Anyway, this is why we don’t use debit cards - better to wait a few days for a new VISA than watch our bank account be drained.
One complaint I have about the card - the phone numbers on the back are teeeeensy so I had to go to the website for a readable number. Neither FCD nor I could make them out.
The day is greeted by all of 47 Ferrets and it looks like no rain for a couple of weeks. All the highs in the 10-day forecast are 50s to mid 60s - I guess summer really is over. But it’s been mild enough that the pellet stove cycles on and off, mostly off, to keep the inside chill to a minimum. Which is great, since we bought only 2 tons (100 bags) and when it’s really cold, we go thru a bag a day. Instead, a bag last 4-6 days right now.
Did I mention our mortgage has been sold again! This is the 3rd company since we refinanced 5 years ago. It’s not a problem for me since it’s paid automatically so I don’t have to keep changing address and account numbers like the old days when I wrote checks. What’s odd to me, tho, is that Daughter and I were with the same company (we refinanced right after she bought) and she’s still with the original one. I’m sure there’s some sort of logic there, but it’s not obvious to me.
Nothing on my agenda. It was supposed to be clean-the-icemaker-day but I got out of sync with that schedule and cleaned it last week. Yesterday I plugged in the basement fridge and started making extra ice. So we won’t have to buy a bag for when comany is here. I just edited my Outlook schedule and my day is clear. I should probably dust or something. Probably should. Probably.
I’m sure something will come up. At a minimum, FCD is out of 'nanners and we may be low on milk. No big shop, tho, till I get my new VISA. Plus it’s a little early for most items on my T-day list. I really should do a general tidying. Probably should. Probably.
Happy Saturday!!
Good morning.
It’s 46F, dark, damp, and cloudy outside. It’ll be cloudy all day, with evening and overnight rain, and a daytime high of 60F. It rained on and off all day yesterday, with windy gusts that sent colorful leaves swirling through the air. It was kind of pretty, actually.
FCM, how frustrating. I hope the replacement card arrives on time and that switching all the accounts to that one goes smoothly.
Shoe, what a cute little pin!
Bright Tree, little Ollie does keep things interesting, doesn’t he? Years ago I had a cat named Mr. Peepers, and a Lab named Cap’n. Cap’n thought the encrusted nuggets in Mr. Peepers’ box were quite the treat. I still miss that ol’ boy. He loved sticks, most of them huge, and loved his pack. He was a huge snuggler and liked to lie between one’s legs, with his torso and head resting on the person’s chest. He had a white blaze on his chest and frost-tipped paws (but otherwise was all black).
I did laundry yesterday, but I suppose I could wash dog blankets today. I also dusted and vacuumed, so that’s done for the next few days, too. I guess I really don’t have anything on the agenda. Maybe if it stays dry enough, I’ll wash the outside of the great room and kitchen windows. The great room windows are dirty, and I really noticed it a few days ago when the sun was shining.
I could also rake up more leaves because a great many fell in my yard yesterday.
In other words, I don’t have any firm plans. I could just be a RDOS, too.
Please take care of yourselves.
The house smells like Fabuloso, my general cleaner of choice. Both bathrooms have been thoroughly cleaned, right down to me getting on my knees and scrubbing behind the terlits. Fun 
I also vacuumed living room, dining room, den, hallway, office, part of our bedroom (it got rollsucked 2 days ago) and the kitchen. Then I used the OCedar spray mop (with a Fabuloso solution) to damp mop the traffic areas. Then I took the latest batch of lap robes for a quick wash and dry before packing them up for Hospice.
FCD went to the boat to get some more measurements and Otis went with him. That dog LURVES to go in the car. I got most of my cleaning done while they were gone, which is probably why I got so much done.
So, time for a little break.
I ordered a couple of booklets from a seller in the UK. They were expected to arrive on November 30. I received an email from Royal Mail this morning that said they had been delivered… in the wee hours of a Saturday morning. In northwestern Washington State. Nope. Nope at the door, in the mailbox, and not at the side door that has a sign in front of it that says to use the front door. I gave Royal Mail feedback and explained the situation. Then I went to their website to enter the tracking number. The booklets were in England last night. I entered a post code to see proof of delivery, but 98230 is apparently not a valid post code. I sent the seller a message on eBay.
Happy Saturday!
Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do KP. I need to do a load of towels today, but otherwise, RDOS.
Y’all have a great day!
Ms Peach is getting teased by the neighbor white fluffy cat. It is lounging right outside the window. So I’ve got a squeaking dog.
The seller got back to me. He said that the booklets ‘delivered today’ were delivered to a hub in Peterborough. So they’re still on the way.
T-cat wants to be Squeaker of the House.
Today I have an online writing retreat for a few hours, then some quilting, then cleaning downstairs and setting up a cold salmon dinner for my lovely wife’s mah jongg group. Tomorrow I have an online writing workshop, then a reading.
Good morning, folks. I overslept. This post is late.
Well, I learned a word from Andrew Weissman in one of the post-election discussions. The word is tmesis, and it means inserting a word in the middle of another word. The inserted word is often a cussword, as in unf’ingbeleivable, or inf’ingcredible.
It’s a good day. Be happy. Be safe.
Bananas and milk have been acquired. And just for the heck of it, I decided to break out the breadmaker and build a loaf of white. Lap robes are fluffy dry and folded in a bag to be distributed. I’m about out of motivation.
There were 200+ unread posts when I got here, so I only scrolled back ~24 hours…except for the below reply to post #69[1], because it greeted me upon opening the thread.
I had a lot of personal administrivia to catch up on today, but I got to spend part of the morning trying to figure out why my personal computer suddenly had no Bluetooth capability. 
I’d been using a keyboard and mouse that connect via USB, but I brought home the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse I’d been using at work – and which I’d used with this computer previously – and when I went to pair them I discovered that Bluetooth was no more (it wasn’t even “hidden” in my device manager). I ran a Windows troubleshooter that seemed to detect/fix a couple of things, and when it got to the end it recommended a “cold boot” (which involved removing the power cord for 30 seconds). Luckily, that worked…but not before I saw a troubling BIOS message that seemed to indicate a serious problem, but that went away upon clicking “continue.” Phew! My all-in-one PC is 8 years old and this is the first glitch I’ve seen (its overall performance is still good), but maybe it’s time to start considering a replacement.
Election day went well, but was long (as expected): I woke up at 3:30am, left the house at 4:45am, got home at 8:45pm, and was asleep by 9:30pm. There was a steady flow of voters all day without ever having a massive rush, which was lucky because when I helped set up on Monday night I learned that our usual voting room in the community center (a large multipurpose space) has been permanently taken over by staff cubicles and we were in a small library room. The final ballot scanner count was ~1200, and the steady stream definitely helped the time go by. I was one of two provisional specialists (the other one was awesome!), and together we processed an additional 42 provisional ballots: 30 same-day registrations, and 12 for people who’d been issued absentee ballots but wanted to vote in person and didn’t have the ballots with them. Some of the same-day registrations were for first-time voters, who I always love. 
I hope my fellow election workers (BBBoo, SCAdian…did I miss anyone?) also had good days!
The rest of the week was filled with the now-usual amount of work insanity. Scrambling to identify a short-term backfill for one of my direct reports who has a unique role and whose last day will be Tuesday (which I managed to do…phew!); working to help the customer identify what briefings from others were missing after Monday’s COB deadline, in prep for a dry run happening next week; configuring a new desktop workstation that appeared in my office Thursday morning[2]; attending 4 hours of online training both Wednesday and Thursday, and completing “homework” yesterday because I had to leave Thursday’s session early to facilitate a meeting; interviewing a possible backfill for my project manager who quit in August; etc. All while recovering from Tuesday’s 16-hour day. And I didn’t leave the office until nearly 6pm yesterday but still never quite got caught up: I’ll be starting Monday morning behind already, and am planning to get to the office as close to 7am as possible (that’s when the room I need to work in will be opened).
BUT, for the first time in a while I won’t need to turn my laptop on at all this weekend: timesheets had to be approved early this week and I got that done yesterday (vs the usual Sunday morning), plus while I was at it I drafted the Monday morning emails that I usually write on Sundays while I’m logged in. I’m busy and stressed and will be until this time next month, but I have no plans this weekend (no BFFs are in the hospital, etc.) and I’m looking forward to two full days of no work and not leaving the house.
I’ve started bringing my holiday Lego sets up from the storage room, and might set up the two biggest ones tomorrow (they’re just in sections vs being completely dissassembled). Today, though, I plan to mostly read: I have a new issue of the New Yorker, and I’m a little more than halfway through the last book in David Baldacci’s “King & Maxwell” series. The next book in his “6:20 Man” series comes out on Tuesday and I’d like to be able to start reading it on Wednesday (the Veterans Day holiday), so I want to finish King & Maxwell this weekend.
I also plan to start catching up on some TV watching: I’ve fallen behind on several shows[3], including two that premiered recently but I haven’t seen yet[4].
After this post it will be time for lunch and reading. I had a craving for pizza last night, but wasn’t up for the nearly 1-hour delivery wait…guess what’s on the way right now via DoorDash? 
I have a signed copy of that one.
Definitely a departure, and not one I usually would have bought, but while promoting it he was doing an appearance at a nearby Barnes & Noble so I figured what the heck.
Both 
and 
!
Oooooo, pretty!
OMG! 
As well it should! What a cool little surprise gift!
Maybe they just haven’t gotten to her yet…?
I thought the cat had a cute lil’ flower on its head. It took me a looong time to realize …
… the cat is buffering.
(What does that say about me?)
Y’all did see the real-life model in the background, yes?
Better appreciate. Took several snaps to get him at a good angle.
I’m watching that now. I also took note of the new word.
Chefguy that is a beauty.
It briefly seemed like it was going to be a good day. Then the misssorts began. And the unscanned stuff, till I was buried in it. I did get some help at the end, but there was still left in building stuff, even though we got things clean ahead of time. And of course yesterday’s irregs retapes didn’t get scanned, because as Screaming O puts it “MSG does her thing” and leaves. So she wants me to take care of that, while pretty much doing 3 other people’s jobs at once. 
Anyways I was there till 1. But laundry is done, spot has had his attention, and I’ve had a can of chicken noodle soup and a gin&tonic, so naptime.
I love it.
At least she’s not dealing with the cat next door to Snoopy
Well, I was going to inaugurate my new Dutch oven today, but ran out of ambition. Tomorrow, for sure, though.
It was 35F when I got up this morning. Made a run to the grocery for various things and picked up my Chewy package from downstairs so Sadie won’t eat our eyeballs while we sleep. Did a bunch of puzzles, then watched a movie on Apple. And that’s Saturday, folks!