A Mid Summer’s Life
Apologies to Internet Explorer users. The entry dates and titles are displaying funky, courtesy of lazy ass Microsoft. Maybe over the weekend I can find out how to fix it. As always, everything works fine for Firefox users.
While I’ve yet to receive any real threats of my eternal damnation into hell, the spam caught by the filters is doing the preaching. Passages from the bible, empty promises of life eternal, proclamations that god loves me - it’s like having a couple fundamentalist Christians around! Maybe the preaching today is automated. Basic technologies would suffice to achieve the effect, if you know what I mean.
I’ve started Breaking the Spell by Dennett. A bit slow going, but I think it’ll pick up once the spell (religion) is defined. Despite the mundane - but much needed - intro, I’ve already learned a few interesting questions and facts that I hadn’t considered before. To be honest, stuff like this alone would get me through the nearly 400 pages, but an entertainment value is definitely desired and sought.
I’ve placed an Amazon order for Fahrenheit 451 and a hardcover edition of 1984. The former is mainly a means of qualifying for free shipping, but does sound very interesting and I’m looking forward to reading it. The title is the temperature at which paper catches flame (233 °C), and like 1984 is a dystopian novella. The latter title is intended for an upcoming birthday gift to a friend. Unfortunately, it comes with a very generic cover, but I thought it better than a nice looking paperback. Reading hard cover books from the library is having a snobbish effect on me, but it’s a flaw I can live with.
The fourth attempt to get my bumper fixed at Toyota failed. This time they received the right molding, but the wrong colour! Before I could say anything, the head of insurance repairs said that I needn’t come down when the part arrives - they’ll come to me for the installation. All I need do is tell them where and when. Toyota is nice like that. Further in their defense, this is the first screwup I had with them, and they manged to save grace nicely (there is the story of a sleazy salesman, but he disappeared quickly).
The Fringe started yesterday, and I hope to catch a few performances before it ends less than two weeks from now. I’m specifically looking forward to anything like “Heretic” of several years ago, or the couple stand up comedians I enjoyed, but who’s names I not know or am familiar with spelling. I’ll be sure to detail my recommendations for the festival - please do the same.
After Note: Found a much better edition of 1984, one with a nicer hardcover, Animal Farm included, for half the price! Changed my order to get two of those with Fahrenheit 451, which means I’ll get to keep a copy of George Orwell’s classics for myself!
The book covers shown are from the new order.