Mr. Holmes.

I watched it tonight, and I'd recommend it if you're looking for a break from typical loud Hollywood action-adventure or comedy.  It was nice to see Hiroyuki Sanada, even if his presence was fairly brief.  And someone should teach Milo Parker how to do a northern British accent, because in 10 years or so he'll be perfect for playing a young Mark E. Smith if someone wants to do a Smith/The Fall biopic.

I wonder what Arthur Conan Doyle would think of there being multiple versions of his creation extant in the 21st Century.  He often thought of the character as a burden, even trying to kill him off, but I suspect part of him would find the continued fondness for the character quite flattering.

The Last Sip.

I just finished my last Coke Zero of the year.  This made me wonder how many gallons of the stuff I've consumed in 2015.  The answer is of course "Too many."  I'm hoping to cut back some in 2016.  It will save me a bit of money, and I think less caffeine can't be a bad thing either.

Breakfast With Fedor, Who's Watching?

Sitting here watching this I can't help but wonder what the ratings will actually be.  How many Spike viewers aren't working today?  I suspect this is going to be heavily DVRed.

Nitz Would Approve.

The Nova Scotia government has released a list of the top 20 names given to male and female babies in 2015.  Not all of them are to my taste, but no real horrors made it.  One report I heard recently claimed some Canadians are giving their kids names like Ace and Striker(I suspect the latter gets spelled Stryker).  One that caught my eye is that this year Parker is in 17th place for boys, allowing me to make an Undergrads reference in the title.  It's been a while since I had the chance.

Tick, Tick, Tick.

The end approaches!

Windows 10, Hmmm.

My dad's computer arrived today.  It's equipped with Windows 10.  Having only gone as far as Windows 7 using 10 is a bit weird.  It will take some getting used to.  As for my computer I think I'll continue with Windows 7 for a while yet.  It's been stable on this machine, which in general has been probably the best computer I've used in my life.  It's just a cheap HP desktop, but for some reason it's just been better than the rest I've used as my personal machine over the years. 

Today's Cassettes, December 29. 2015.

Boy, it's been a long time since I've done one of these.  But tonight I broke out the cassette boxes and pulled out a couple.

First off was Future Memories(Live on TV) by Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz.  Moraz is best known for his brief stint as keyboardist for Yes, appearing on their Relayer album, and for his much longer stint with the Moody Blues.  Here Moraz plays various keyboards solo.  However I'm a bit skeptical of the claim this is totally live.  It was recorded in 1978, and there sounds like there's too much going on at times for one keyboardist with two hands to be doing it all given the technology of the time.

Cassette number two was Nada & Dakwah.  Although it's credited to Indonesian dangdut singer Rhoma Irama only side one features his vocals.  The tracks on side two are sung by female singer Noer Halimah.  Irama is one of the big names in the dangdut style.

Lemmy, 1945-2015.

I wasn't a Motorhead fan, but I couldn't let his death pass without acknowledging it.  It wasn't a huge surprise, since reports of his poor health had been circulating for a good while, and as the man himself sang he didn't want to live forever.  Unfortunately we're going to be seeing more and more of that generation of rock musicians passing away in the next few years.

My Dad Ordered A Computer.

One of the things online commerce has changed is the ability to shop at times that you couldn't in the past.  Today my dad put in an order with a major retailer for a new computer, to replace his ancient(by  computer standards) desktop.  How ancient, you ask?  It has a single core Sempron CPU.   The new machine was on special just for today, something that's presumably easy to pre-program into an online shopping website, so some poor IT guy doesn't have to sit there changing things on Christmas Day.  You might ask why he didn't wait for tomorrow's Boxing Day sales, and buy something else in person that would be suitable..  Well, he's not the kind of person dumb enough to go out in minus 30 weather to sit in line at the front door of a shop so he can maybe get some door crasher special.

Trying to decide what to buy has been a bit annoying.  Given how many options there are how do you know what to buy?  Research does winnow down choices, like some machines that seem to be built with laptop parts,.  But even then at some point you need to make a decision, or you never will.

I Agree With Local Baptists.

This morning I saw a sign in front of a local Baptist church that said "One thing that cannot be recycled is wasted time."  I agree, which is why I don't spend regular time in churches.  I already have plenty of ways to waste time.

Gas In Saskatoon, December 18, 2015.

Gas prices continue their meandering.  Gas in Saskatoon has dropped to 87.4 cents a litre at most locations.  I won't be surprised if it goes up or down in the next few days.

Get Inventing!

There are many things our world needs.  I just realised one of them.  Socks that last much longer.  I just threw out a pair I liked because they've developed holes sooner than I expected, making them unwearable.  Surely in  a world where LED light bulbs are expected to have years of life someone can develop socks that last longer than six months.

Will I Or Won't I.

You can't avoid the Star Wars:  The Force Awakens hype right now.  But I have no idea whether I'll actually see it in a theatre or not.  I can't remember the last film I saw in one.  It's just not something I do these days.  I occasionally think I should go see a cheap movie a month but it hasn't happened yet.  I certainly won't be in line for the first showing in Saskatoon.

A Lot.

Last night I got a hit from Quispamsis, New Brunswick.  I'm sure people who live there have to explain the pronunciation of Quispamsis a lot when they encounter people unfamiliar with the name.

Believe me,  I know what that's like.

Gas In Saskatoon, December 11, 2015.

Despite the price of oil continuing to drop it looks like the price of gas is going up in Saskatoon.  It had risen to 92.9 cents a litre at the quartet of stations around 8th Street and Acadia as I passed through the area at noon, so I assume the stations elsewhere will follow suit, if they haven't raised their prices already.

It Seemed Right.

This morning I went into Macs on 25th Street to grab a Coke Zero and some of their house brand chips.(Try some if you have the chance, they're good.)  As I stood in line I noticed a five dollar bill laying on the floor.  I bent down and gave it to the clerk, who said she'd hold onto it for a bit and see if anyone came for it.  I could have just taken it, but giving it to her seemed like the right idea.

In Memoriam.

On this date in 1989 Marc Lepine killed the following 14 women, simply for being women.  They were all students of Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal.  He killed them simply for being women.

Geneviève Bergeron (b. 1968), civil engineering student.
Hélène Colgan (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Nathalie Croteau (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Barbara Daigneault (b. 1967), mechanical engineering student.
Anne-Marie Edward (b. 1968), chemical engineering student.
Maud Haviernick (b. 1960), materials engineering student.
Maryse Laganière (b. 1964), budget clerk in the École Polytechnique's finance department.
Maryse Leclair (b. 1966), materials engineering student.
Anne-Marie Lemay (b. 1967), mechanical engineering student.
Sonia Pelletier (b. 1961), mechanical engineering student.
Michèle Richard (b. 1968), materials engineering student.
Annie St-Arneault (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
Annie Turcotte (b. 1969), materials engineering student.
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (b. 1958), nursing student.

Go Do David Willis A Favour.

Go visit Dumbing of Age.  That way his page visit count will go up, and he'll make more money from his ads, which will help pay for his new twins.  Seriously, if every one of my oodles of readers did that, he might actually make an extra cent or two.