Can't write; I'm hidin' under the bed!

    I'm not really too alarmed about New Year's Eve drivers. It is true that I got off the road around half past noon. And maybe this is erring too far on the side of caution. But hey-- maybe not. Later when I was out taking my walk (staying off highly trafficked Olympia Avenue) I saw a deputy sheriff's car patrolling Olympia Cemetery. I was well-pleased that it's being patrolled but wondered if it was a zombie check.
    Mr. Harry, the conditionally courageous cat, has mostly been hiding behind the washer-dryer from the fireworks. He's come out now, but not far. Amelia is remarkably blase about the noise. Perhaps at 12 her hearing is not so sensitive. Or maybe she's been living with noisy me too long.
    There's a free show for New Year's Eve in front of the State House. In the past, they had George Clinton four years ago and Kool and the Gang with ZZ Ward opening two years ago. I don't remember other years. This year, it's Lauren Hill. I'm sure it would be a great show, but I don't know anything about Lauren Hill. It's neat that it's free, but I'm not that curious, nor that confident in the weather. So I think I'll remain hiding under the bed. Maybe Harry can make room for me behind the dryer!

Magic

    In some ways, it's been a magical year. This is so in spite of the mountains of tragedy contained within. Oddly, although I met wonderful people this year, what seems most magical is, well, magic. I took all these photos that didn't seem to involve me much at all. The luck of being in the right place at the right time to point and shoot, the luck of having siblings sending me camera quadcopters-- not a lot of talent is involved. IF IT EVER STOPS RAINING, the new quad should offer new horizons in cool pictures, since I'll be able to see what I'm doing while I'm doing it. I can hardly wait!
    In other news, I may have mentioned that in moments of stress, Amelia the cat goes up the chimney, worrying to me because the chimney is filthy beyond belief. Forever I've been looking for a fireplace screen. I could never find one the right size in thrifts and since she doesn't go up at all often, I couldn't raise the enthusiasm to go to a hardware store and buy a new one. Today I found one for $4. And it turned out to be exactly the right size. Victory is mine! Until she figures out she can move it easily. Remember, though, that this is the cat who can't figure out how to open a door that's already ajar. Victory is mine!

Don't you hate it when the thrift store guys have Internet?

    So the reason I look at Goodwill for audio equipment even though what I'm looking for is seldom present is because the locally owned thrift stores are not that free with the bargains. I went to one today and found a Denon tuner very, very, very well hidden. Online reviews were extremely enthusiastic, but predicated on "I bought it for $10 at a thrift store, and..." Dude wanted $100. He would go $75. And it's a good price. But it would be a better price if I needed a home theater system with 10 speakers, which is apparently what this one is for. It's pretty thermonuclear for what I need.
    I can afford it and all. It's just ever so much more fun finding the ultra cool component for ten or twenty dollars than for $75. And I'm a lot less likely to get furious if it turns out to have lightning damage or something at the lower price. All that said, I'm so eager to use my cool speakers that if I haven't found a cheap tuner at Goodwill within a week or so, I'll probably go back for the Denon. I don't think a lot of people are going to find it. But I wish it had been at Goodwill!

DJI Phantom: shortcomings

    To be fair, I should also share the less good things about the DJI Phantom I reviewed so enthusiastically the other day. (It's a camera quadcopter, in case I didn't make that clear.) There still isn't much wrong with the toy itself, or anyway not as far as I can tell. But a shortcoming is that you can't fly it in the rain, which is why I don't know any more about its flying characteristics. Also, without upgrading the firmware, I can't fly it under 60 degrees. This hasn't been a problem so far, but it really IS winter; someday soon it will be below 60. (Hopefully, the firmware update will tell me what the new cutoff is.)
    The main problem with Toy is that you have to use the DJI Go app to do anything with it, and the DJI Go app is really disinclined to be turned off. It eats battery and heats up the phone something pretty dramatic. I went into Battery under settings on the phone and forced it closed and it's behaved ever since. But I'd rather not do that every time. And battery still is draining pretty fast compared to before I installed it. I was also not best pleased that I had to register to use the app at all. So now all I need is a toy EXACTLY like DJI Phantom 3 Standard only one that will operate without an app. I'm sure there are DOZENS out there. (Yes, I know; sarcasm doesn't work in print. Ah well.)

Cat people

    I don't want to get in trouble with Malcolm McDowell and Nastassja Kinski (checked spelling, only missed by one letter), but actual cat people wouldn't be much like in the movie. They'd just be all about, "Is it dinner yet? Is it dinner YET? IS IT DINNER YET?!!!" Just like dog people, in fact. I never would have known this but for switching them to wet food. And to be fair it's just Harry who's so demanding. Not for nothing was he once called Starvin' Marvin.
    I finally hooked up my Goodwill receiver and speakers and... both left channels (i.e. A and B buttons) on the receiver are blown. Not totally, but unacceptably quiet and crackly. The speakers are superb, however. I set out to hit 5 or 6 Goodwills today to find another receiver. You can find untold numbers of VCRs and fax machines, large numbers of printers, and a good supply of DVD players, but receivers are rare. Of course there was a receiver at the first Goodwill I hit today. Thing is, it had an LED display that some of the lights were out on. Couldn't judge audio quality without speakers, but the burnt out lights put doubts in my mind, so I left it to fate and somebody else grabbed it before I went and got it. Ah fate. No receivers in the other two stores I visited, and time got away from me. Maybe I'll buy the Kenwood the lady on Facebook offered me. She might want more than $10, though.

Dreaming about dreaming about dreaming about...

    It finally happened. I had a dream in which I remarked to someone that I have dreams like this all the time. It was the usual thing. I was trying to get through an antique store where the proprietors had made practically no passageways and were actively moving things in the way of what few there were, especially a long narrow ramp that was the only way to get from one part of the store to another. Then a high white ridge rose up. Another fellow and I, the only ones who seem to have noticed, were trying to get over it, and that's when I made the remark. Why we couldn't just turn around and leave is a question I can't fathom, but perhaps it was an obstacle course antique store and you got points for making it all the way through.
    There was also some business outside involving perilous cliffs and panoramic views. When at the new Star Wars, I thought (not a spoiler), "Oh great, now my dreams are taken care of for the next ten years." Well one night anyway. (Cliffs, I hope, are not a spoiler. Just scenery, really!)

DJI Phantom = pretty highly recommended

    Or, in a word, TOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYY! My friend Tamara and I went for Indian buffet this afternoon and a Christmas 3D screening of the new Star Wars (also highly recommended). In between, we gave the new DJI Phantom a short test flight. Man, what a great toy! It actually hovers; the other ones were supposed to, but never remotely succeeded. This one goes straight up, comes straight down like an elevator. Looks like new horizons in total insane fun. Unfortunately, the park we were playing in was just starting to dry out after the latest round of insane rains. And the Phantom featured dire warnings about bad things that happen if the battery gets wet. So we didn't play with it long.
    Drawbacks are few. The company forces you to register to use the app. You have to have the app to control the camera. On the bright side, you control the camera via your phone, clamped to the remote control. I didn't know how yet so I have no pictures or video, but it looks straightforward, even if the controls are small. I had been thinking it just filmed everything all the time, because the phone display shows little still pictures of whatever the camera is looking at. I guess you could say it transmits video but doesn't record it unless you tell it to. I'll see.
    Regardless, crazy stupid fun toy!