Linguistic diversity is a good thing. Already a language dies every other week, and with it a whole culture. And as anthropologist and explorer Wade Davis so well describes it, "a language is not just a body of vocabulary or a set of grammatical rules, ... but an old growth forest of the mind."
P,
We won the Div 1 consolation which seems to be our watermark at the moment.
Remind me to tell you about our chance exchange with Osborne in the showers
at VLT and what he said about his next tournament with Bart McGuire in NY.
Just priceless -- Hungie-Osie bombast....
I am quite offended that you are having this gathering on the 11th and you
won't change the date to accommodate my busy personal schedule. What is with
that? I would have to say this is truly insensitive. My lawyer, Hungerford,
Hungerford and Osborne will be calling you with some suggestions for an out
of court settlement.
Lemme know if you are getting on the seat post in the next few days. Friday
looks like the only glimmer of sunshine and I will be Whistlering Dixie that
day. W
Dear Sir!
I spit on your HH&O legal martinets and have, as a result, locked myself inside my malt cabinet, (not your intentioned maximum security, solitary confinement cell, although somewhat similar, I must admit!), where I will drown my sorrows knowing you have been seduced by the VLT Power Elite. When do you take possession of your new Lexus? I suggest you have "Faust" on your vanity plate. I suppose your next book selection will be Trump: How to Get Rich. I was always curious about why you seemed to be drawn to No Trump contracts in bridge and now I know you were secretly invoking the name of your hero!
There is only one way that I can think of to have you de-programmed, snatched from the Lawn Cult, so to speak. Have Kerry bind you to a chair in front of your computer, with toothpicks under your lids to keep your eyes open and watch the following:
http://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html
Your non-attendance at the NRBC is also having deleterious effects on the less committed, to whit:
BTW, alas, something has come up for the 27th Nov, so I can't make it for
our book club meeting. The reason is because I have some out of town guests
who I have to entertain. (I'll send a note to everyone later.) Cheers, Milton.
I plan to suggest he bring his visitors as nobody will have read the book anyway!
Congrats on your win. I suggest that you send out an email to all future tournament organizers and have them engrave your names on the Div I trophies, ahead of time, since it is a given you will triumph in this event! In fact, you probably don't even need to enter the tournaments. Just have your names, as winners, pre-published, fait accompli, on the entry forms. Spend the entry fees on malt, half to me for suggestion!
If your ears start to burn while you are Whistlering Dixie, it won't be as a result of frostbite but more to do with the debate about whether to impeach you or not. Since I'm currently reading Origins of Political Power, I have the necessary Machiavellian tools to make sure you are posted to Stink Island for the foreseeable future, picking up dog excrement at the Macdonald Beach unleash park! The peleton will ride by, from time to time, to jeer. Warn your running dog, Lackey Lawn buddies that "The Times they are a changin!"
Cheers, Il Conduttore!
Il Conductore,
Thanks for your invitation. I'd love to come by and share a few drinks with
you and your guests.
What shall I bring?
BTW, alas, something has come up for the 27th Nov, so I can't make it for
our book club meeting. The reason is because I have some out of town guests
who I have to entertain. (I'll send a note to everyone later.) But I look
forward to seeing you and Corinne on 11th and talking about "the good ole
days". Cheers, Milton
Hi Milton!
Great that you can come on December 11th. Don't worry about bringing anything, other than some suggestions for what to do in Hong Kong. We have already booked ourselves into the YMCA on Salisbury Road for five nights. We can chat about that and other things over the course of the evening. Sorry you will miss yet another NRBC. You and Whirlygig have a very poor attendance record and I believe the bourbon and malt you both left will suffer as a result!
Unfortunately, Cora Lee just came down with a nasty head cold today so she is feeling pretty miserable. Didn't stop her from making some wonderful turkey meatballs and polenta for dinner. I contributed a salad and did the washing up. After meal we watched an episode of New Tricks. Quite enjoyable as many of the sub-plots are quite funny.
Since it was such a miserable, wet, cold day, I took advantage of rain to do some "home improvements"! Nothing formidable but tasks I should have done days ago but dry weather had me put them on the back-burner in favour of cycling! Had Dusty's help so I was in good hands. We adjusted the flush mechanism on the guest bathroom toilette. It would not shut off so one had to lift cover and tap float mechanism. Was driving everyone nuts. I'd made a few adjustments yesterday, hoping it would work properly but didn't. Pray this latest tinkering will last as I dread plumbing problems of any kind!
After we had solved that problem we repaired to the storage locker. When we moved in, in 1998, Dusty had built a series of storage shelves, together with a cart that one can wheel in and out of locker, for ease of access to aforementioned shelves. The cart itself has two large shelves for storage
so it is a very efficient use of space. Along the wall, opposite the shelving, he built a small rack that we use to store two folding bridge tables. The top support had started to come away from the wall so we needed to use some heavier screws to refasten/re-anchor shelf to wall studs. Storing tables in this manner makes a tremendous difference with such a limited amount of space available.
Last task was to have him look at my bike light. I'd used a small, handy dandy NexxTech tester and determined that the 3V batteries were still working, after my ride yesterday. Couldn't figure out what else could be wrong other than perhaps the on/off switch. Light is not hugely expensive so the mechanism probably won't last forever. At any rate, Dusty is so good with such electrical devices and appliances of any kind that I thought I'd just let him have another go before I bought new batteries. We took it apart and re-assembled light and, lo and behold, it worked! Dusty theorized that sometimes there can be a bit of condensation which might cause a temporary failure. Whether this was the reason or not, I guess we may never know but at least I can try to wipe off batteries next time, should such a failure occur and batteries appear to have some life left.
Chloë recorded Part 2 of the Woody Allen documentary I watched last night. I chose not to watch it as I wanted to finish working on my Canal Barge Blog, (http://canalbargediaries.blogspot.com/), in case you are interested. I had all of the entries in an email folder but wanted to include some snaps so that took a bit of time. Cousin of Mom's is interested in doing a similar trip so her questions prompted me to finally organize material. Think that this is probably the best way to let friends and relatives know about one's travels, should they wish to keep in touch while we are away. Once one starts to use the technology, I find it really is quite easy to put an on-going trip diary together. Free to boot so who could ask for more!
Cheers, Patrizio!
PS: If you do look at CBB you will see the two couples, (Elly/Tony, Claire/Greg), we will stay with in Brisbane, mid-April, 2012.
Hi Vincenzo!
Thanks for opinion on Great Blue. How did you fare at the dentist? Trust all goes well in Bear country! Fondestos and Happy Thanksgiving to you and Donna Florida and the Los Osos folk. Cheers, Patrizio!
Hi Roma and Leonard!
Glad to hear that you had an enjoyable time in the Netherlands. Funnily enough, we had a letter from your Mom about the same time your email arrived! Sorry to hear about her accident but hope her recovery is proceeding. Watched a terrific documentary, Part 1, on Woody Allen, on American Masters, last night. Purple Rose of Cairo is one of my favourites. Chloë recorded Part 2 tonight. I chose not to watch it as I wanted to finish working on my Canal Barge Blog, (http://canalbargediaries.blogspot.com/), in case you are interested, relative to your inquiry, to get some sense of our trip. I had all of the entries in an email folder but wanted to include some snaps so that took a bit of time. Your questions prompted me for another reason as well. Think that this is probably the best way to let friends and relatives know about one's travels, should they wish to keep in touch while we are away. Once one starts to use the technology, I find it really is quite easy to put an on-going trip diary together. Free to boot so who could ask for more!
I don't have all the facts and figures at my finger tips but I'll pull a few things together and send them along. We used Locaboat:
http://www.locaboat.com/10/lang.html?lang=2&logolang=en
but I would suggest that you do some comparison shopping with other outfitters. As well, tailor your dates, if you can do so, to take advantage of lower rates at different times of the year. I suggest two couples, both to share cost, companionship and sailing chores. While these are not onerous, at times it is simply easier to have a few deck hands. Sarge was captain for virtually all of the trip. One doesn't need to have any prior experience with craft of this size but one would probably feel more comfortable having had some boating experience. We certainly hope to do another trip but will probably opt for the Canal du Midi as it is further south and warmer later in the Fall, a time we think would be perfect. Anyway, take a look at some of this and let me know if you have further questions.
With respect to actual cruises around the Mediterrranean, I'm not really a fan of such packages. However, quite a few friends and relatives have done such holidays and have enjoyed them immensely. It really depends on how one likes to travel. We, together with Flamin' and Sarge, prefer to be more independent. In fact, we will be doing just that in Australia, mid-March to end of April, 2012, when we will travel together, by rental car, between Sydney/Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. If you look at CBB you will see the two couples, (Elly/Tony, Claire/Greg), we will stay with in Brisbane.
Fondestos and Cheers to you both, Patrizio!
Hi Christine and James!
Really enjoyed the snaps of family and friends, as well as the landscapes. While not fully recovered, Chloë is getting there. Sad to report that none of my regular riding friends were available for a jaunt today so I headed off, by myself, just after noon. Fortunately, it wasn't all that dark by time I reached Kits Point, (Not even a need for dipsy-doodling at this point!), and a few kilometres later I was safe and sound at Harbour Terrace, close to 4:50pm, with 81.33 kilometres=50.53 miles=400F=16,171 rods=16.85 leagues! Are you happy now? Please convert all these figures to light years, chains, nautical miles, microns, (µ), and parsecs fro your next assignment, Boy!
Just finished working on my Canal Barge Blog, (http://canalbargediaries.blogspot.com/), in case you are interested in more homework, in response to a recent request from a cousin who is interested in doing a similar trip next year. I had all of the entries but wanted to include some snaps so that took a bit of time. Wanted to do it for another reason as well. Think that this is probably the best way to let friends and relatives know about one's travels, should they wish to keep in touch while we are away. Once one starts to use the technology, I find it really is quite easy to put an on-going trip diary together. Free to boot so who could ask for more! If you have time/inclination, let me know what you think. Assignment #2 for beach. No escapist fiction or trashy novels allowed!!!
Enjoy Tenerife and think about us shivering our sodden way up Seymour while you bask in the glow of the setting sun, scantily clad nymphs bringing you cold drinks and rubbing soothing unguents on your deeply tanned bodies! Fondestos and Cheers to you both, Patrizio!
Hi Patrice,
Thanks for the well wishes.
Things have settled down and are better now , Mom is scheduled for ankle
surgery sometime today where they will insert a couple of srews to hold
things together. Perhaps you won't wonder where I get the accident prone
streak anymore! haha.
Hope you had a good ride yesterday, Mom has the most amazing view out the
14th floor of False creek,downtown and the mountains beyond and I was
looking at it longingly. I'm sure we'll get a few nice days here and there
and will get out again.
I sent in my application for that show I was telling you about with some
videos and pictures attached and they seemed to like it but want me to send
in something where I'm specifically demonstrating something like machine
tools or somekind of mechanical thing to see how comfortable I am in front
of the camera. I'll be working on that and visiting Mom for today I guess.
Cheers, Al
Hi Big Al!
Truly glad to learn that things have settled down with your Mom and her nasty accident! Hope ankle surgery went well. Buona Fortuna with your next submission. You have my vote already!!! Cheers, Patrizio!
Pat,
Glad you kept the flag flying with an individual ride in the cold. The clip-on pedals shouldn't be a problem for you as your feet rarely touch the ground. Can I suggest a ride when you have frequent stops once you purchase same, so that you have the reaction in case you do have an occasion where you have to put your foot down.
Sorry to hear of Al's mother's problem. Hope she is on the road to recovery.
The heron is such a majestic creature - one of the highlights for me when we run into one in the Richmond/Steveston routes.
Sylvia is watching the Woody Allen documentary at the moment. I have watched a little also - quite fascinating but it's back to my book in a moment.
Weather looks bad. Think I'll ask about cycling sessions in the gym in case it continues to be wet or very cold.
Ray
Hi Ray!
Al's last email reported his Mother is doing not too, too badly. She was to have undergone ankle surgery on Monday sometime.
I plan to ride with Ragin' Bull and Jim Brownlee when i graduate to clip-ons so that I can stop every five minutes for java and pastry! Otherwise, I'll need to use stationary bike at FCCC!
Chloë recorded Part 2 of the Woody Allen documentary you mentioned Sylvia was watching. I chose not to watch it as I wanted to finish working on my Canal Barge Blog:
http://canalbargediaries.blogspot.com/
in case you are interested, having been to France more recently. Cheers, Patrizio!
Al's last email reported his Mother is doing not too, too badly. She was to have undergone ankle surgery on Monday sometime.
I plan to ride with Ragin' Bull and Jim Brownlee when i graduate to clip-ons so that I can stop every five minutes for java and pastry! Otherwise, I'll need to use stationary bike at FCCC!
Chloë recorded Part 2 of the Woody Allen documentary you mentioned Sylvia was watching. I chose not to watch it as I wanted to finish working on my Canal Barge Blog:
http://canalbargediaries.blogspot.com/
in case you are interested, having been to France more recently. Cheers, Patrizio!
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