New toys and other excuses
Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 10:31PM The Blue Skunk has been in the doldrums lately, I'll admit. And I see some excuses reasons...
1. New toys. I went ahead and purchased a new television for the family room last weekend. It's a nice one that has lots of bells and whistles to explore including direct Internet connectivity for streaming Netflix and other programs. It gives me access to digital cable channels which are nice. It reduces the number of needed remotes from four to two (and maybe only one). I still need a nice sound system to complement the whole experience and to set up the old system downstairs. Of course I had to watch a few movies and a little TV to make sure the set was working properly.
My new Kindle, a birthday present from the LWW, also came last week. Not a big learning curve here, but I would have been remiss in not exploring it a little bit. Compared to Kindle 1.0, Kindle 3.0 is lighter, faster and has greater battery power. The case I got with it has a built in LED light that is powered from the Kindle battery which is kind of cool. I can see two configurations of "traveling with devices." When I present or go on longer trips where I will be writing, I'll take the Macbook Air and Kindle. On shorter, daily trips, I'll just take the iPad. The ability to sync one's reading position in a Kindle book among multiple devices is very cool.
Not all that long ago I remember lugging a Mac Classic, high output overhead projector and LCD panel when I presented and ten pounds of handouts and a few books. The good old days?
2. Anticipation of the Kilimanjaro hike. A visit to the travel clinic last week resulted in six, yes six, vaccinations - Hep A&B, typhus, flu, yellow fever, updated tetanus, and another one I don't remember - and prescriptions for three kinds of pills - malaria, altitude sickness and another one I don't remember. This is more medical attention than I've needed in the past 20 years or so. (I also found out that a physical now costs $400 - yikes!)
I have a new sleeping bag and pad, a new wool undershirt and fleece hoodie. I've been a good boy walking everyday, doing weights twice a week and have dropped 12 pounds with 8 left to meet my hike-readiness goal. (I miss wine and ice cream!) I watched the iMax movie about Kilimanjaro, have been reading Kilimanjaro: a trekking-guide and have been emailing one of the other hikers, swapping ideas and concerns.
I am psyched!
3. A new take on weekends. The past few weekends have left me little time for writing - out of town trips, visits from relatives, etc. And I am finding I rather like getting out from behind the computer. Not much has come across my radar in either education or technology that requires a personal response. I get these little episodes of ennui. They pass...
To more exciting days ahead.
Reader Comments (2)
Sounds like exciting days to me!
Any hills out there to practice on? I have Stone Mt. around the corner, but then I'm not planning on a Kilimanjaro trek any time soon. My wife wants to though. Ever since she saw the old lady and young girl do it in that movie.
Good luck!
Hi Ninja,
We aren't know for our mountains here in MN. We do have the ski hill "Mount Kato" - a bit of an oxymoron.
Thanks for the good wishes,
Doug