Another day with my best friend of 40 years.
Watched half of the 1958 Playhouse 90 color videotape (with B&W film inserts and commercials) of The Nutcracker. Saw a Kimberly-Clark commercial with Richard (Dick) Cutting as "Manners", the butler. Had to shut it off to go for dinner.
Sometime in the DVD days, I bought a box set of Ed Sullivan shows with the Beatles. In February 2014, at 8:00 p.m. on the exact day plus 50 years, I watched the first of the shows, and predictably thought, "Fifty..." Now I'm watching television shows that aren't kinescopes, and that first went on the air 66 years ago.
Petted a soft young cat. Went outside for fresh cold air and spotted a rabbit dashing for cover in underbrush.
Back home after sunset: put away the leftovers -- now what? Practice? I get to practice, and that's good, but remembered something I like more. Looked in the January 2025 folder and went over all the kitten photos; selected 4 for the body of the supporter letter and one more for the elongated header picture. Practice is interesting, but the kitten supporter letter means something in the real world.
Researched converting 8MM videotape to digital, and realized that not only would it be easier to spend the cash and have someone else do it, but also that it might be the only practical way anymore. Sure, I have a camcorder, one that I bought in 1995 and haven't used for a long time. If it still works, then what do I use to connect it to the PC? Sure, I have a Dazzle converter, which I acquired in 2010 and whose label proclaims compatibility with Windows Vista. Sounds like less than a sure thing.
I didn't have the PC hardware back in 2010, and in 2025 I don't have the video hardware. Anyway, the video transfer that cost $32 a few years ago has dropped to $20 per tape. Even with 23 2-hour tapes, it's still not a super expensive decision.
Tomorrow looks like this: (1) clean the humidifier and refill it with distilled water, (2) spot-treat cat urine stains on the upstairs carpet and the steps, while starting to research the cost of ripping up the carpet and replacing it with the vinyl floor tile left over from the downstairs project this past year. (3) with a flashlight, take a closer look at the ceiling of the shed out back to confirm whether there's as much water damage as there appeared to be in dim light a few days ago.
Along with that research, there are a couple of months to go before the power company contract runs out, and so am doing some research into home electricity rates.
Like I said, the mundane events of everyday life.
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A few days ago, I was looking for this clipping from a 1914 Life magazine. Took me a while, but I found it. The military-industrial complex was around back then, too.
