Terabyte Hard Drive
It's time, I need to clean up my PC, tamper with the registry, the CD/DVD burner doesn't work, as of yet, and so I pry open my wallet and splurge for a Terabyte Hard drive (external).
This should allow me to do a backup of files.
And it does, in a way, only a 45 GB backup takes 48 hours. 48 freaking hours!!!
The USB 3, whatever that is, doesn't appear to be supported by my PC. Funny, while I looked over all the features of the new drive (CNET pick of the year, small, needs no external power...), I failed to note that it was SLOW AS MOLASSES IN JANUARY. SLOW AS CANADA POST!!!
Mind you, that wasn't a feature bragged about on the box.
But now, finally, it's reasonably current and as soon as I have even just a little bit of spare time I can begin cleaning and fixing it up.
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Garage Sales - Week 1 - 2011
Now there have been a few, very few, you'd see them driving around the city, signs posted 4 or 5 miles apart, but really, garage sale season began this weekend.
Friday there was a teaser - a senior's sale at the 50+ center in Killarney. Nothing really, a few passes around the work before I settled on a couple of blood pressure test kits for one of the customers at work who seems a little preoccupied with his health lately. When I get to work they prove to be the highlight, as all the staff line up to check their blood pressure.
Saturday, though, Saturday is where it's at.
It's the Good Samaritan Rummage Sale at the Hillhurst community center.
And I'm there, faithful as an old dog, about 7:30. There are the usual suspects, perhaps 30 people in line ahead of me, dealers, the usual suspects, I know them all. I've picked myself up a coffee and a spare, just in case, and I offer up a random act of kindness and give it to the book fairy. I could use the connection and stand beside him, pretend I was joining him in line, but that's just tacky.
I feel I should have dressed up for this, and the line slowly builds up behind me. I've brought a book and a plastic chair to sit in and while away the time, chat to my neighbors, the atmosphere is convivial, jovial, but I don't kid myself, it will be competitive as hell once I get through the doors.
I do my stretches.
The lady in front of me, she comments on how the line fills, when we arrived there were perhaps 30 people ahead of us, now there are almost a hundred, and she's spoken too soon. She's joined by her grand daughter, her husband, her friends, ..... I'd be annoyed, but I'm focused on the sale.
At 9:00 we finally enter. And it's a mad dash to the collectables cabinet, nothing of interest today, then the jewelry in the main gym, again nothing of interest. I expand my search, in the end pick up some neckties, baubles for people at work, nothing, really, of merit. Nothing to justify the wait.
From here I'm off to the Knights of Columbus, which started at 8:00 but I couldn't, still can't be in 2 places at the same time. And this looks OK, a Crucifix that opens to reveal candles & holy water, for giving the last rites (perfect, again, for one of the older Italian ladies at work), a vintage alarm clock that some moron over wound and then decided he didn't want (and so they marked it down for me...), other trifles that I have to talk myself out of buying.
I look for the St. Lukes garage sale on Northmount drive, miss my turn, turn back but can't seem to find it, a couple of passes and that's it, time is passing and I'll have to search further.
I go to St. Michael's - a school in the South West, meet a dealer I know carting out an antique pine chest, otherwise there's nothing.
We chat. I've played it wrong, this Saturday, there were 22 church sales on this morning but I put all my eggs in the Samaritan basket, and while it's been good in the past, was good this year, there was nothing exceptional. I should have traded my first on the scene there for first on the scene at any number of other sales, the finds would have, could only have been better.
***
When I get home there's a call from someone replying to a Kijiji ad I had posted, originally contacted me in October, now in town to pick up his piece, while here he picks up a few other bits and bobs and overall, by the end I've covered the morning's excesses.
Out with the old, in with the new.
***
Sunday, coffee with a friend, on the way home a garage sale sign, pop in, some used electronics, a better mini stereo for a song, some questionable electronics and computer stuff that needs to be tested, all in all not a bad weekend, not exceptional, but it's only week one...
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2012 - The End of Days
We catch up. Coffee's taken a bit of a back seat to work as of late, and we're lucky if we meet every month.
He's the same. 2012 is coming and he's sure, well, maybe not sure but hopeful that things will change. And did I know that they might have the date wrong? It's supposed to be a year early...
We talk about other things, his shares in a gold mine that is rumored to be sold to the Chinese for six or seven billion dollars. There's the problems with the one world government, the Vatican, the global eugenics program that's already under way as evidenced by the contrails and the GM foods, ...
And I understand his hopefulness that the world will end, that the righteous will be called to heaven or perhaps by taken by ET's, and he's a bit sad that the world has come to this but he's hopeful, too, that he will be one of the chosen...
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Chinky Chink
He's brought his new wife into the restaurant, and the owner has come out to meet them. She's beautiful, he's showing her off, she's perhaps my age, but there would appear to be some slight cosmetic enhancements, no one really looks that good at 45. He doesn't look so good, he's brought along his mother and she's brought along her daughter, at first I thought his mother was the new wife, but I'm introduced before I have a chance to make a rather unfortunate mistake.
And the owner goes through his schtick of telling the women how beautiful they are and going for the double kiss and quick grope, the women are hesitant, more hesitant than most, and when they've been sat and he's been introduced to the new wife, new daughter, old mother he finds out their celebrating the daughter's return, she's back indefinitely, she's been away teaching English in China.
The owner acknowledges her beauty, tries to set her up on a date with G, she's embarrassed and not terribly interested she tells him.
And from here it gets worse. She speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, and the owner begins asking how she likes teaching the "Chinky chinks", and he adopts a special funny voice, but it's not funny and nobody's laughing. The new husband stares into space, the wife and the daughter simply carry on politely as if they've heard nothing. The owner repeats himself, maybe she has a chink boyfriend? and they fluff about some more, the politeness is getting strained, but he doesn't catch it, drops the chink bomb perhaps 5 or 6 more times in conversation, I'm standing by to get a drink order and they're looking increasingly uncomfortable, regretting their choice of restaurants, I want to apologize for everyone, but where to begin....
It's a scene right out of BBC's The Office, but there are lines even The Office wouldn't cross....
When finally he's left the conversation resumes on a less strained level. I talk to the daughter, she tells me she loves it, she makes the equivalent of ten thousand dollars a month on a two hour work day, I'm jealous. And she repeats it just to rub it in, but I've heard enough, I know there are much better jobs out there....
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