More blogging by phone today. I managed to get my computer working yesterday
enough to do a backup, so I haven’t lost any data, which is a blessing. (I
back things up every few months anyway, but my last one was in October, so I
was overdue and fortunate I made it work.)
Today, I’m off to get a new computer, I suppose.
The photo above shows my bedside table, which will give you an indication of
how desperate I was for a photo to blog. Here’s another tale of woe: The
painters broke my green glass bedside lamp, which I’d had ever since we moved
to London. (I picked it up free from a room full of cast-off household goods
being left behind by other teachers!) So for now I’m using that red desk
lamp, which was in the closet of our flat when we moved in. I’ve turned it
toward the wall for less direct light.
I’ve already ordered a replacement for my green lamp, which was an IKEA
product (“Lykta”). They’re no longer being sold but I found one on eBay for
not much money. It should be here soon.
What did we ever do without the internet?
Well, we were nicer to each other, for one thing.
Speaking of which, as I walked to work yesterday morning I passed this scene
on the next street over. The cops had not only the roadway closed but the
sidewalks too. This is a street where I walked Olga almost every morning when
she was younger and I think of it very much as our neighborhood, so I was
curious what happened. (Once a reporter, always a reporter.)
I asked one of the officers on the scene. He would say only that there had
been “an incident.”
It wasn’t until I got to work that I read someone had been stabbed! Yikes! The
story, as is often true here, is maddeningly short on details. But it happened
at 4:30 pm the previous day, and I do remember seeing a helicopter fly
overhead just as I was coming up my front steps after work. That was the air
ambulance, arriving to take the victim to the hospital. Apparently his
injuries are life-threatening.
I don’t ever remember anything this dramatic happening in our little ‘hood so
I’m eager to hear the rest of the story. Hopefully we will.
Remember how I just posted about “decline porn” and the safety of London?
Hmmmm.
I thought this was amusing. I happened to enter my first name into a Google search the other day (can’t remember why) and these are all the prompts that came up. It sucks that Stephen Miller is now one of the top standard bearers among the Stephens of the world! I had not heard of Stephen Hough or Stephen Bernard Libby, and “Stephen traitors” perplexed me until I learned he’s a participant on a TV show (called “Traitors,” obviously, which I have never watched).
Anyway, this might be fun to try with your own name. I have a feeling the lineup would be different if I were Googling from the USA. That list seems heavy on the Brits.
Are the painters going to pay for the replacement of the lamp they broke?
ReplyDeleteIn the statistics published here by the police every year, knife crime has been on the rise, but almost always it happens between rivaling groups/gangs of young men and very rarely a random victim is involved. Still, it IS worrying, even when we do not subscribe to decline porn.
When I type "Meike" in the search box, four Meikes with German-sounding surnames appear, none of which I have ever heard of.
PS: Wishing you success in finding a new computer that matches your requirements! Do you have any specific make in mind?
DeleteI do not see Stephen Reed on that list. Nor do I see The Feast of Stephen when presumably our ancestors captured a Stephen and roasted him before eating the meat and gnawing on his bones... I thought you would appreciate that allusion. Good luck with the new computer purchase and make sure that the keyboard is easily legible. Two or three years ago, I bought a Lenovo laptop on which the keys were kind of hard to see - with pale, thin symbols on silver grey keys.
ReplyDeleteAnnoying about the lamp. Hope your replacement is OK.
ReplyDeleteApparently knife crime is down over the last year after rising over 10 years - bit of better news
There is a Steve Reed who is a labour MP ! ( Streatham and Croydon North apparently!). Often mentioned in the media.
ReplyDeleteI've found a couple of people with my name, also artists, in California. Which explains why people have asked me if I've changed coasts! The real me doesn't seem to appear, probably a good thing these days
ReplyDeleteI have quite a common first name and a search brought up a whole list of actresses with the same name, so I am in famous company.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the new laptop.
As police state, 'persons known to each other' is perhaps the stabbing. It makes us feel safer if we know that. Stabbings in England seem to be of a quite high number, but so much less damage than guns in the US.
ReplyDeleteHow awful about the stabbing. It won’t make it better for the victim but hoping it wasn’t random. We would sometimes hear the sound of gunshots in San Diego. I’m looked myself up: David, Victoria Coren, Donovan, ____ & Ness, Joni, Maria... MovingwithMitchell, too!!!
ReplyDelete