Random thoughts and observations
Losing an electronic charger is a peculiarly modern problem. Our ancestors in the cave had only a handful of possessions to worry about and a missing club was not cause for alarm. The more we collect the more we stand to lose. That’s very true of electronic gadgets. In a household with four kids, there are numerous mobile phones, digital cameras and laptops. Discarded models get handed down to the youngest ones, who are less reliable than adults at keeping the associated paraphernalia.
A mouse just got caught in a trap in our bedroom at 1.37am, but didn’t die instantly; instead clattering about on timber floorboards and woke us up. What’s the correct response? Not sure of the ethics, but in a sleep haze I wanted to impale the mouse and hang a sign around it’s neck to [...]
I bought new glasses this week for the first time in about 10 years. My private health insurance paid about a third of the cost. My last eye check was about 18 months ago, and at the time I thought I might need bifocals in the future because of growing shortsightedness. However, I’ve decided to stick with the mono lens for now. I’ve retained the old frame and will consider getting special lenses for them in the future if my shortsightedness gets worse. At the moment I can read fine close up without any glasses at all.
This candid picture, taken today while waiting for Michael’s soccer match to begin, pretty well sums up how life has changed in the past 37 years. Twins James and Maggie, aged 7, took a netbook computer to the match. They played games on it and listened to music. When I was seven years old, the high-tech gadgets in our house were a television (black and white), a wireless (that’s what we called the radio), an LP player and (unusually) a tape recorder. The tape recorder was a bulky thing with two reels. Dad used it to record some of his music.
I haven’t had much luck with keys at our new home. After signing the lease I was given 14 keys, all of which were dutifully photocopied for me to sign that I had taken possession. I assumed they were window keys, because I knew the house only had three doors. As it turned out, I have no idea what most of those keys were for. Only two of them worked, one for the front screen door and one for the back door. I had no front door key that worked.
×0
