In case you missed it, Mad magazine becomes a quarterly instead of a monthly starting with the April 2009 issue.
This does not bode well for the future of the magazine. National Lampoon was a monthly for years, but then its publication schedule became sparser and sparser until it ceased publication all together.
About 8 AM yesterday, I walked The Pies on the one-mile loop that we’ve walked every weekend morning (weather permitting) ever since The Pies were old enough to walk.
As we cleared the top of the hill at the half-way point, I saw a blue Subaru wagon parked at the end of the road. It belongs to a retired gent, who hikes with his dog through the woods every morning. Next, I saw the gent and his dog exit the woods. The gent opened the back hatch of his wagon to let the dog in the car and as the gent got in the car, he waved to us, then got in the car and drove away just as The Pies and I reached the location where he was parked. Just as he pulled away, a low-flying, single-engine prop airplane flew overhead in a southerly direction.
This morning, I walked The Pies again at about the same time and the exact same things happened, i.e., saw Subaru parked at the end of the road, saw gent and dog exit woods, gent lifted hatch for dog to get in car, get waved, then got in car and drove away as a low-flying, single-engine prop airplane flew overhead in a southerly direction.
Weird!
“Even though the company (Heathkit) stopped making and selling kits back in 1992, it apparently just sold the copyrights on its old manuals to another company, which is going around forcing any old manuals offline and demanding people buy them instead…”
Read all about it here.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a scathing report released Tuesday, congressional investigators outlined a pattern of mismanagement, dysfunction and abuse of power at the Federal Communications Commission under the agency’s Republican chairman, Kevin Martin.
Read all about it here.
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Today, I purchased gas here in Wolcott for $1.89.9 per gallon. Amazing!
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Today, I saw a gas station in Wallingford, CT selling gas for $1.99 per gallon.* First time I have seen gas under $2 in a long time. Six months ago, the same gas station was selling gas for nearly twice today’s price.
* Tonight, the local news showed gas for sale at another Connecticut location for $1.73 per gallon!
I paid $4.16 per gallon for gasoline this morning. There was no attendant to pump the gas, clean the windows, check the oil, check the tire air pressure, or take my money to the register.
Isn’t it wonderful living in the the 8th Year of the Bush Trickle-Down Prosperity!
Over a year ago, I wrote about the defective LCD on my 17-inch Powerbook G4 1.67 GHz Mac.
Last count, there were over 100 vertical lines on the LCD. They did not pose a problem using text-based applications, but they did make graphic-based applications very hard on my eyes, so much so that I stopped using my Mac for those applications.
Meanwhile, I had been following the situation closely. I had become resigned to the fact that Apple seemed to be ignoring everyone with the defective LCD and that I was stuck with a bad apple.
My daughter felt my pain and decided to call Apple in late February to fight for my cause. After 90 minutes on the phone, Apple agreed to fix my Mac for the cost of labor, $325, which was a bargain since the replacement part alone cost about $1000. Next day, Apple sent me a box to ship my Mac to their Texas repair center and I sent it on its way.
Day after day, I checked the status of my computer online and day after day, the status was that the part was on order.
Tuesday, Apple called to tell me that the part was expected on Friday and if it arrived on schedule, I would have my Mac back on Monday.
I was pleased with the news.
The man from Apple then said that if Monday was not soon enough, they would ship me a brand new Mac that was equivalent to my defective one. The equivalent is the brand new 17-inch 2.5 GHz MacBook Pro with 2 GB of RAM and a 250 GB hard drive. I jumped at the proposal; it is not often that someone offers me a $2800 computer for $325.
The new Mac arrived yesterday. Last night, I decompressed the backup files from my old Mac and began installing software.
I am still in shock over my good fortune!
When I don’t have my iPod for musical entertainment, I have taken to listening to WLNG, 92.1 MHz, out of Sag Harbor, NY. They not only play oldies that I like, but they have jingles, local news, sports, etc. just like the AM radio stations I grew up with in the 1960s and 70s.
It is very nostalgic!
Last night was the first time I listened to LNG during the drive home from work. I was very surprised when I heard the voice of the DJ spinning the platters during the drive time. It sounded just like Rusty Potz, who used to be a DJ on local Connecticut radio stations 30 years ago. When the DJ announced his name, it turned out that it was Rusty Potz. I was shocked.
It is very very nostalgic!
At night, from my 925-foot perch on the west rim of the Connecticut River Valley, I can see the headlights of planes lined up as they approach BDL from Long Island Sound to the south. Typically, I can simultaneously see the headlights of two planes, sometimes three planes, each separated by the requisite airspace that such maneuvers require.
Some nights they pass to the east of my location on a straight up the river valley approach to BDL. Other nights they veer to the west off that straight up the river valley approach and end up passing directly overhead on a roundabout approach to BDL. (When they fly overhead, they are so low that I can hear them lower their landing gear in preparation for landing.)
Last night, I took the Pies out for last call at 10:05 PM and I saw three planes lined up on their approach to BDL. As I waited for the dogs, the first two passed to my east on the straight up the river valley approach to BDL.
The third plane was different; its headlights were not what I typically see. Usually, I see only one large point of light per plane until the plane passes more closely. The third plane had two large points of light side-by-side connected by a lighted horizontal bar (see my accompanying drawing).
When I originally saw it, I assumed it was traveling toward me, like a pair of connected headlights, but then I realized it was traveling along the horizon and I was viewing it from its side with one globe of light at its front end and the other globe of light at its rear end.
It flew along my horizon starting at approximately my south-southeast, moved west and then north, the whole time remaining about 40 degrees above my horizon. I lost it in the trees to my north-northwest.
The craft was too far away to see anything but its lights. Its speed was typical for the airliners I usually see.
There were one or two other distant planes in the area at the time and they were so distant that I could not tell which direction the faint jet engine sound I heard was coming from, i.e., from the mystery craft or the other distant planes.
Early on, I thought it might be a helicopter because it looked so unusual, but even at a distance, helicopters have an unmistakable sound and I did not hear that when I saw the mystery craft.
I am stumped as to what I saw last night. Any solutions to the mystery would be appreciated.