What's it all about, Alfie?

This morning it was time to see about installing the new TV I ordered and was delivered this week. It's a nice Sony, with good reviews, and it should last me another 10 yrs like the last one, but as with the last one, the installation of a 75" TV by myself is going to be a little bit of a challenge.

That's why I didn't try to install it when it arrived on Wednesday. Better to wait until I had loads of time, like today, to unbox it, get it all ready to go, and if I can't get it in myself, then my daughter is coming over later to help. We will see... keep a positive outlook, and don't push it... it's not small, that's for sure.

This morning I turned on the TV in the living room and there was a dark region about 40% of the screen right in the middle of the display. Now this has been a good TV for me for about 10 years, no problems at all, but this kind of thing usually means replacement, because at 70", the replacement cost is about the same as the repair cost.

I'll give it a few days, but if it doesn't clear up with some power-cycling and cable checks, then it's a goner, and I need to be looking for a replacement.

It's been another trip around the sun for me, and so I guess it's time to look back at the year, see what's gone well, see what I learned when things didn't go so well, and try to learn from everything that happened this year. I have to say, it's been a very good year in many respects, and I've learned a lot about dealing with situations that I find myself in, that I wish I weren't.

I will admit that I'm a touch surprised that there isn't more snow, or any to speak of, but that will come soon enough, and for now, it's just nice to enjoy the weather we're having.

I am very lucky... I have all that I need, and most of what I want. 🙂

It's been a nice, quiet Christmas here, and that's about all I could possibly ask for. I've treated it much like a normal Monday, with a morning run, and then crossword, and checking what's happening at work.

No major issues for work today, but a few little things that needed to be done. Not bad at all... 🙂

I thought about it for a bit, but the boost in performance, and the doubling of the memory were really the key points that made it a decision worth making. So I ordered it. A new M3 Max MacBook Pro - Black, 128GB RAM, and 2TB storage (seems silly to call it a disk, or drive anymore). And the target delivery date is around the end of the month. Not bad.

After watching the Scary Fast announcement, it was clear that skipping the M2 Max was going to make this jump a much more significant one, and I was right. Also, there's nothing really wrong with my existing M1 Max MacBook Pro, but the doubling of memory, and 50% increase in speed is going to be something I will use every single day.

The new Space Black color looks good, and I'm sure it'll be just fine with regards to the fingerprints mentioned in so many reviews, and it'll be nice to see it next to my iPad Pro that's similarly dark... it should be a nice addition. 🙂

This morning, a friend sent an email with a link mentioning the passing of Bram Moolenaar, the initial creator of Vim. There aren't many folks who have impacted my professional life as much as the creators of Vi, and then Bram and Vim.

I remember first using Vi at Purdue in my final year of Undergrad on the ADM terminals, and then making sure I could find termcap entries for all the terminals I could get my hands on in the days when you had terminals hooked by serial lines to the Dual VAX 11/780 system at the Electrical Engineering Department. After that, it was Auburn, and Vim on my Amiga, and then Mac System 6, and on virtually every system I had from 1985 on.

The only tool that even comples close to that longevity is GCC.

I know nothing lasts forever, and I know people pass on, but I honestly didn't expect to be so surprised by this news. I read it again, a couple of hours later on one of the RSS Feeds I read on my iPad, where, again, I have Vim. Still the same sense of sadness.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls...

This morning they dropped off the sample container for the Water Testing that Naperville is doing once a year. It's completely voluntary, and funded by the Town so that those of us that live in very old homes can be assured that the lead and other toxins in the water supply are will within the EPA limits.

I think it's been happening for about three years now, and I sign up for it each year because all I have to do is to take the sample, and then sit it on my doorstep, and I get a letter in a few weeks with the results of the tests. They have always been far below any threat levels of the EPA, so I'm not concerned, but I'll always accept a free environment test to make sure things are safe in my environment.

I do love this Town. 🙂

Today I traveled to Indy to have a nice get-together with my siblings and our cousin Murry, on our Dad's side of the family. He's my age, and has spent almost all his adult life in Finance - running a Hedge Fund for a while before he rolled it up in 2022. He's now in Miami and doing a lot of traveling, and this stop in Indy was part of his "Touch Base with Family 2023" Tour.

A few months ago, I reached out to Murry and added him to my Sunday Messages list, where I send a little message about the family and how we're doing, and it's nothing special, but it keeps us in touch. I've been doing this with family and friends for a few years, and it's something I really feel is important.

Well... Murry is doing fine, and everyone had a good time. I really think this is good - the reconnections. Someday soon, there will be fewer of us...

I just downloaded the Ivory for macOS app from the App Store, and upgraded my subscription to the Universal Subscription, so that it would cover all my devices. It's just an amazing app. This iOS/iPadOS version has been working really well for me since it was released, and now that I have the macOS version, I'll not have to worry about Ice Cubes and reading two streams.

I don't know that Mastodon will ever be popular enough to have some of the feeds from Twitter on it, but that's OK... I'm at about 95% complete, and I don't really need the last 5%. Plus, you just can't beat that it's not under the thumb of a capricious individual.

All in all... a nice bit of news for today. 🙂

Today is another trip to the dentist, and while I'm getting to the point that I can pretty much deal with these things, I won't be sorry when I don't have to. I know they mean well, and I know it's childhood trauma, but it's also the experience you have with the dentist, and therein lies a tale.

Today is two weeks after a procedure that was performed with such brutality, it set me back at least a decade in my comfort level with the dentist. It was a new guy, and he was brutal... just brutal. But it was done, and I counted my blessings that it was done. Now I have to go back for a post-op check, and get the stitches removed. I'm not looking forward to it.

I know it'll be over, and that's what I have to look forward towards, because thinking about what happened two weeks ago is mighty painful. But I'll survive.