It’s the slack time between Christmas and New Year’s, and to all appearances, not much is going on. Jon Stewart’s on vacation, so nothing’s happening in Washington DC or the outside world. Current events are in short supply.
Current events at Chez Paul? Also in short supply. We’re enjoying quiet nights at home. There’s only one social event on the immediate horizon, a hash this coming Sunday. I may stay up late on New Year’s Eve, but only to stick my head out the front door at midnight to listen for gunfire — around these parts that’s common, and hell, I might loose off a round or two myself — but I won’t be drinking or partying, and Donna will have gone to bed hours before.
I have gift cards to redeem but no desire to go shopping. I’ve been reading, doing some light maintenance on the motorcycle, rehanging our growing collection of bicycles from the garage rafters, working up the energy to take down the outdoor lights sometime this weekend.
I’m off to see the dermatologist this morning. In 1997, just before I retired from the USAF, the flight surgeon found a basal cell cancer on the side of my nose. Since then I’ve had a few more — all on my face — and I’ll probably have to see the dermatologist two to three times a year for the rest of my life. It’s the price we pay for overexposure to the sun. Hashing, bicycling, and riding my motorcycle are clearly not indicated, but how could I give any of those activities up? Bring on the liquid nitrogen, it’s time for a new set of facial blisters!
My Canon digital camera — my sidekick, my constant companion, an electronic device I literally use more often than my cell phone — died the other day. I checked the user forums and found that other owners have experienced the same thing. The likely culprit, based on what others have experienced, is a tiny screw that works loose inside the case and lands on the motherboard, shorting it out. Not anything I’d want to tackle myself. My first thought was to buy a replacement camera, but this particular camera, a Canon G9, was not cheap new and hasn’t gotten any cheaper in the meantime. So I’ve taken it to a repair shop, and will get an estimate tomorrow. If the estimate is over half the value of the camera, I’ll buy a new one. If less, I’ll get it fixed. For now, I can use Donna’s little Nikon Coolpix, but it’s not half the camera the Canon is.
And that’s the news from Slackville.