Another gorgeous day. Shall we walk in the woods? En route we encountered this big idiot bobbing across the lawn:
This is the last bit, where Birch has to get his final drink. Someone was playing a violin somewhere.
Yes, yes, Minneapolis, hellscape, etc
I am at present waiting for the handy persons, who were to be here by 8:30. I got a heads-up - they’d be a bit late. It is now one. Ah well. Things happen. Gaming out the rest of the afternoon, though, I worry: might interfere with the Precious Nap, if the dog is alarmed. I do need my habitual kip -
Ah, there’s the sound, let me make a note. . . ah. Cicada, strong. 1:06 PM. (Note: I heard one later at 4:42.) (Addendum: 7:13 PM, faint.)
Anyway. There have been more hectic days, as you can imagine. I did do some paperwork for "retirement," and what fun! It's about the staggered payout. I was advised to create an account at a certain url. Rather than type it out, I just took a picture and OCRd it, copy paste. NO SUCH PAGE. Well we are off to a grand start. Turns out the URL in the document was all caps, and the actual URL is case-sensitive. Step one in account creation: enter SSN. Step two: enter account number.
What?
It's the number on your paycheck, the directions say. Friend, I haven't had a "paycheck" for two decades. I opened the bank website, used the code attached to the direct deposit; that's not it. Sent a letter to HR, and decided that's enough paperwork for the day. By now the workpersons were here, and Birch was barking insanely at everyone. I put on noise-cancelling headphones and played white noise and became unconscious for 27 minutes.
I'd say more, but I think heartrates in the audience are practically at tachydardia levels now.
More mysteries from the Half Price Cart at Lundsenbyerly's.
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Huh? What happened? Is it rancid? That's a good brand, although perhaps better known for pasta. The expiration date was far in the future. I bought one. Upon researching the matter, I learn that DeCecco was still operating in the Russian market after the Ukraine invation. But I doubt that's why they're in the cut-out bin. |
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Oggi French Press coffee makers. I saw this before the Keurig Trials began; otherwise I'd have picked one up. They were also getting rid of some Orville Reddenbacher. I learned today that he died in his jacuzzi, and that's a suite of images I will not soon scour from memory. |
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Another surprise. I don't think they've stopped carrying Gevalia. It's a premium brand, founded in Sweden in 1853. I've always liked it, but the price point is too high. Owned by Kraft now, which somehow diminishes the Swedishness of it all. |
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Okay, did the store just appoint a new guy in charge of Coffee and he's making his mark with daring broad strokes?
I don't know why, but I associate this design with late 70s stoner art. Something you'd find in a bong ad. There was a time when Hawaiian coffee had a certain cachet - ooh, kona beans! But no more, really.
Perhaps this one was undone by honesty: "10% Hawaiian Coffee." So it's named for the thing it is the least of, which is not a native crop.
Finally, it's been a hard month for Meringues:
Didn't move. Gotta go. Quick! Get your almost-expired hard sugar cow-patties!
The newspaper had put out a collection called The Art of James Lileks, coffee table book, but it wasn’t about my stuff at all really, it was a part about the art that had accompanied it over the years with a few quotes. I was appalled and offended, and was supposed to give a presentation at 4 o’clock about it at the State Fair, but I got busy doing something else and missed it and didn’t care.
I ran a batch of AI slopographs with a simple prompt, and the results were interesting.
It almost looks like a cartoonist you'd recognize, no? Standard generic 90s style fossilized on the comics page. Same with this one:
Below, the New Yorker style, I guess. Is it trying to do me on the right?
Ah, my rustic Kinkade period:
Interesting poster in the background. A new series of mysteries about a fiesty group of sleuths in the English village of Shils
Muppet-Simpson-Find-Waldo Moi:
Okay, that's enough.
Make with the excuses, ya big lug:
I think it might be wiser to nod and turn off the hidden Dictabelt and just go with the lies when you get to trial. Don't let him know your strategy . Solution here.
That'll do! What country's money will be featured today? You'll have to click to know. New Substack column for the paying dcustomers. Thanks for your patronage, and I'll see you on Monday for the waning days of September.
