 As it turns out, yes the front part of the week is a clusterfarg now, but it means I get to save fun tidbits for interminable Bleats on Thursday and Friday. With dog pictures to come! A nevere-ending cornucopia, this site.
Did I post the redirect page yesterday? It's all a blur. There was a Bleat on Tuesday. Remember, if there doesn't seem to be an update, change the date in the URL, or consult the calendar at the bottom of the page. Forgive my lapses, if you will. Podcast IS en route, and there's a Screed today, so I'm not completely falling behind my promises.
Oh what fun. Soon the fiber internet will be here, and I must make arrangements. The other day a rep from Century Link knocked at my door and said they'd finished stringing fiber in my neighborhood, would I like to sign up? Er. No. I explained what I went through earlier in the year, how they'd fibbed about getting fiber, and hadn't said a word about imminent fiber, and I suspected they were leasing the same line I would be using soon, so no. But I said it kindly and told the rep that none of this was her fault and I hoped she sold lots of fiber.
To rearrange things means that the wifi beaming unit will be downstairs, at the exact opposite point from where my computer is. This means I can rely on wifi through some extenders, or use a powerline ethernet adapter to get it upstairs. But! This requires a unit attached directly to the outlet, and they are at a premium in my office.
The office requirements:
1 computer
1 extra monitor
1 set of powered speakers
3 external hard drives
2 network-attached storage
1 scanner / printer
1 wifi router
1 modem
1 battery backup
1 powered USB strip
1 extra power strip for incidentals
1 spare set of power cords for a hard-drive shoe
1 powered micro-USB cord for charging
That's a lot of plugs for one outlet.
So I have to string thick extension cords behind the shelves to get the precious juice from other outlets. I also freed up some space when I realized, to my surprise, that the old tower computer in the desk had not been used for years and would never be used again, and could be sent on its way. Didn't there used to be a door on this bay?
There was. And it was just where I had put it, ten years ago: behind one of the shelving units. I'd unscrewed the hinges, though, and didn't have any proper screws. Hmm: distant memory. I'd put the screws in a bag, thinking ahead, and taped it to the door. Where was it?
I pulled the shelf away from the wall, and there it was.
Zoo Pals.
A series of paper plates in the shape of animal faces. Daughter had wanted them once. I think we still have some. Still around? Googled; Facebook page for the manufacturer, customer complaint that they don't exist any more. Hefty replied:
Thank you for your inquiry regarding the availability of Hefty® Zoo Pals products. We are always happy to hear from our consumers.
Unfortunately, due to low consumer demand, the company has decided to discontinue these products and all inventory has been depleted.
I never did like them.
Walked to daughter's room, held up the bag:
ZOOO PALS, she said. Recognized them from a distance. They'd been hiding for ten years and only been revealed because I decided to get fiber. Time stands still in the dark.
 Here's something obscure yet relevant to our times. I bought a DVD pack of old public-domain crappy movies; there was one about putting together a country-western show. It featured a guy whose professional name was Doodles. Worked with Spike Jones. Big in the 40s. Broad humor that really didn't work any more. Mugging, mugging, mugging:
Now connect this to the recent all-female remake of a popular movie. Answer at the bottom.
Back we go to . . .
Holy crow: undiminished by time, the colors of the late 60s. I think.
The more you look at them, the more uncomfortable you may feel.
We have more colors today, because of course we do.
Back to the Crimson Ghost, the ugliest, most ghastly-looking evildoer in all of cliffhangerdom.
Let's get up to speed with our friend, Murder Bones:
This is a given, really.
One of these days I want to see the car hit the rocks and the hero thrown out in a posture of a high-diver, doing a tuck-and-roll when he hits the ground.
There's a meeting of Scientists, who chose Duncan to find the missing professor. This is Duncan:
He could be the Scarlet Wraith, you know. I mean the Crimson Ghost. Anyone could be the bad guy. Well, ol' Red Head can't force the professor to build the Cyclotrode out of nothing, so he sends his henches to get the parts from his lab. Since there are only seven to 11 people in any given serial, they run into the Comely Science Gal and show their brutish nature:
THE CADS. But our hero arrives in time for some good, fast-holding-hat fistfights.
These are quite fun, but it's too bad he doesn't fly or slide across tables this time.
Oh!
Well, the Crimson Ghost's henchmen get the mcguffin, but our Hero and the Comely Science Gal realize they can track the radium with this device:
The Radium Tracker. Back at the lab, the kidnapped scientist is ready to show how his Cyclotrode works. He asks for a hench's assistance.
I now officially love this serial. They find the secret lair, which of course is in a cave; all serials must have a cave portion, just as all shooter games have to have a winter level. Our hero tries the door, unaware that the scientist -rightly suspecting that the Crimson Ghost will be along any moment - had done something naughty. And so:
That odd guy up above? His full name was Doodles Weaver.
You're looking at Sigourney Weaver's uncle.
That will do - some glorious 30s ads below, and of course the Screed. See you around!
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