Printers

Why is setting up printers, and fixing printers when things go wrong, so difficult?  I think they purposely design them to be totally non-user-friendly.  I made the fatal decision to try to connect my printer to my work laptop.  Something I should really have done a long time ago.  Especially working from home.  But it's an old printer, so this did not prove straight forward (when the instruction manual refers to Windows 7, that is not a good sign that the printer will work with newer technology).  It is a wireless printer, and I couldn't get it to connect to my work laptop.  No matter what I tried.  And because I reset the wireless settings on the printer, now my home laptop doesn't recognize it either.  Having wasted most of the day trying to fix this, I finally gave up and instead ordered myself a new printer from Amazon.  A bit disappointed with myself - I should have been able to at least restore it so that I could print stuff again from my home laptop.  But I couldn't even do that.  A lack of tech savviness is a classic sign of getting old... 

Reading

I haven't read a book in ages.  Not even when I came back to the UK - even though I had packed 2 books.  I feel I need to rectify this.  I need to immerse myself in some good literature.  My attention span and mental health is being ruined by my phone.  At one point I was working through a list of the books that everyone should read in their lifetime.  I need to revisit that.  There are still so many classics I have never read.  But it's not just the classics, there are so many powerful modern stories.  I could easily work through a list of the best books of the 21st century, or a list of Pulitzer Prize (or, the UK equivalent, Booker Prize) winners.  This feels like something that is relatively achievable with just a small change in habits.     

A Slow Week

Most unusually, it has been an incredibly slow week at work.  I don't have anything to work on.  Or at least nothing urgent.  And so how have I been spending my time?  Well, for starters, I've been binge-watching The Diplomat on Netflix.  A great political thriller - that I can only recommend.  The creator of this show has previously worked on stuff like The West Wing (a show that I have never watched, but I think I should) and Homeland - so if you like fast-paced, high-pressure political stakes then you will really like this show.  With opportune timing, I've also got a few new LEGO sets this week to work on.  Maintaining my British-themed collection, I've got a new London bus model (the 3rd different one Lego has produced!) plus the Jaguar E-Type model to work on.  And naturally I will soon be getting the Downton Abbey set that came out today.

Man City

Guilty of 115 charges.  They should be docked 115 points.  Let's see them cheat their way out of relegation.  Case closed. 

Chicken and Waffles

Because I watch too much telly and I've seen plenty of adverts for Chick-fil-A's chicken and waffles sandwich, I had to check it out.  So I ordered it a few days ago.  Let's just say it tasted weird.  An unusual mixture of sweet and savory.  I didn't dislike it, but I can't say I'll go out of my way to order it again.  It is a quintessentially American dish - who else would combine a breakfast waffle with fried chicken and bacon (you even had the option to pour syrup on it, but I didn't because that would be too sweet even for me).  But I feel like to properly judge it as a meal, I need to try it at a true southern food restaurant rather than a politically-dubious fast food joint.

Department of War

I saw this on TV recently.  I'll let you judge for yourself what you think of the messaging.  Personally, I find it obscene.

 

End of Summer

I know summer officially ended earlier last week.  But today it really felt like it, because it was the first time I had to turn my heating on this "fall".  And this was accompanied a few days ago by our first post-summer windstorm.  Not enough to knock out power for me, but enough to coat my driveway and deck with all manner of tree debris.  And with the sun setting now before 7 pm, summer is starting to feel like a distant memory.  This is the time of year when seasonal affective disorder starts to be a real threat.  Mind you that might not be an issue this year, because I can't say I particularly cared for the extreme hot and dry weather this summer....