Monday AM...UPDATED...AND UPDATED II

Welcome to my Monday!

Actually, the problem came to the fore yesterday when I had decided to go for golf in Muskie ,and for that trip I attempted to fire up the Buick (after not doing so for a month).  Zippo!  Not even a suggestion of juice.  I tried to jump it with Margret, but no luck.  So I now get the pleasure of helping the economy with participation in the Service Department  of my local Buick dealer.  Always a thrill.

This is the first posted pic off of the new camera.  I think that I am actually going to read some of the instructions for it.  The instrumentation is similar to my earlier Fuji mini-digi's, but different, and I have struggled at finding the right buttons to push for various functions to review, delete, control the flash and other features.

Just to confirm, I missed the MTV awards show last night.  I know that the channel is on my Direct TV service, but I have no clue as to where.  And less interest in finding it.  Shock.

One of the small realizations that has occurred to me post-Europe, is that I have less interest in television.  Over those two weeks when I was off the domestic TV grid, I seem to have lost any connectivity with any shows that I have followed (like the endless NCIS reruns).  I do use the radio stations that broadcast through Direct TV.  I'm thinking that less TV is good for the soul.

More later.

UPDATE...Just got off the phone with my pal @bcbison.  He had been noticeably below radar the last couple of days, and I had called him and emailed him this AM to get a report.  Well, it wasn't a good one.  He too ran into Rule #1 this weekend; off a curb in central Davenport, over the handle bars and into the ER for some surgery to attach a tendon to an elbow or something like that!  Ouch!  Double ouch!

Still adding more here later.

UPDATE II...Low key evening on Maplecrest.  The report on the Buick is run-down (read...shot!) battery.  There's a shock.  Replacement cost, installed?  $300+.  I mean, why wouldn't you place the battery under the fixed-in-place back seat?  You certainly wouldn't want the average consumer to be easily able to swap out the battery by himself/herself, would you?  Now the question is, will whatever caused the battery to bleed down resurface and force another tow?  At no point in my discussions with the repair shop did "cause" enter into the debate.  Hmmm.

The touchy-feely folks at 1600 Pennsylvania floated the terminology "federal family" to describe their coordinated efforts to make their Irene response the anti-Katrina.  As in the "ABC University Family", or the "XYZ Directional University Family".  I know that I sure have the warm and fuzzies.  Yep, they bought into that same PR firm hired by Drake and the Cy-Hawk trophy folks.

Candidate Rick Perry was quoted in the national news yesterday on a campaign stop in Ottumwa, Iowa.  Can't recall the quote.  But he's some right-wing radical and was probably talking about some fascist (or at least, surely racist) concept like capitalism or balancing the Federal budget.  I love ya, Anderson!

I put the Operator's Manual for the new Fuji on to my laptop hardrive.  125 pages.  Right.  I'm reading that manual tonight.  Worth noting:  there were pdf files on there in at least 30 languages.

Make Tuesday a good one.
BCOT