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Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Starting to Fall

This weekend wasn't as blistering as the ones before it. The grass is merely dead and not kindling waiting for a match. Last night it got down to the mid sixties. It seems we turned a corner here in mid-Texas. We equally enjoy and complain about the heat. I know, that seems like a contradiction. Now is the time to plant a fall garden here in what is generally considered the Hill Country. It took me a while to figure that out. July and August is the don't you dare plant anything months. This is just a reminder for me to purchase some dirt. I think I figured out how to get the lawn to come back. Now I need the materials to do it. Throwing money at a problem to make it go away. Seems like the thing to do.
I'm thinking of putting my herb garden back in order. About the only thing that survived was the rosemary bush. We had some truly massive rainstorms over the course of the summer and my oregano took a beating. I want to say it's 85-90% dead, but trying to make a comeback. I like to remain hopeful.
We kissed our cable goodbye. AT&T raised their prices again after promising us they wouldn't. This is called voting with your wallet and you'd be surprised at how effective it is. This is exactly why I love it when there are cable and phone companies trying to compete for my hard earned dollars. If a company can't give me what I want or doesn't do as they promised, I take my business elsewhere. We've entered a new phase here in my household. No Time Warner. No land lines, We're streaming our favorite programming over the internet and video on demand services such as Netflix and Hulu. There are drawbacks to be sure. Not all of my favorite things are available, for example, the TV series Firefly.
I enjoyed watching all the episodes on Netflix. (Another black mark against Fox for cancelling a great show.) But where was that movie, Serenity? That was supposed to tie up some loose ends from the show before it was cut by the evil bean counters at Fox. Who did Joss Whedon piss off over there in Rupert Murdoch land? The movie isn't on Netflix or Hulu and it was released ten years ago! I smell contract dispute, that or someone is being pissy.
So I was having a conversation with my daughters and we were talking about the Beatles. I wanted to bring up Yellow Submarine on Netflix, but to no avail. Has Paul McCartney not given permission for it to be shown? I've noticed B movies and a lot of straight to video stuff is on Netflix. Stuff that was released a year ago, not so much.
This gives me the opportunity to refocus my time and energy, at least that's the way I'm looking at it.
In a few days I'll be taking the wife to the mead fest and play in that sandbox for a bit. When company comes in October, I want to have the chance to show the stuff I made.


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