Saturday, June 16, 2007

A little off the top

These are my people.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Be heard

Polling has begun for Madison's Favorites, Isthmus newspaper's annual reader survey. So do your part and go here to vote. Note that one of the categories is Local Newspaper Writer. I'm not sayin'; I'm just sayin'; is all. Deadline is June 21.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Distant early warning

Mark your calendar for July 27, when my country group the World's Greatest Lovers will play its first Madison-area club date this year (and so far the only one scheduled): a happy hour gig at Tyranena Brewing Company in Lake Mills. The brewery, a lovely spot, is at 1025 Owen St. in that fair burg about half an hour east of Madison.

Showtime is 6 p.m. There is no cover charge.
Good word

"She's pure as New York snow."

-- Jackie DeShannon, Donna T. Weiss, "Bette Davis Eyes"

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

11001001

Recently my computer at home stopped working, and I spent the better part of a Saturday learning that the culprit was a one-gigabyte memory module I bought from Kingston some years back. How did I know? Because after I had littered the apartment with the pieces of several computers, I determined that when the memory was in the computer, the computer did not start, and when another memory module was in the computer, the computer started. Q.E.D.

It was a relief to solve the problem, and to know that I wouldn't need to replace the computer, and to recall that the memory has a lifetime warranty. But more than that: I enjoyed myself. For some reason it pleases me enormously to tinker with computers, to troubleshoot, to get things working. For many years I did that for a living: assembled and disassembled PCs, installed PC networks, showed people how it all worked.

There was much about the job I didn't like -- for one, computers and their immediate surroundings can be surprisingly filthy, at least in the workplaces of my clients. But often there came magic "aha" moments like the one I had last weekend, when I figured out what the problem was, and how to fix it. These are supremely gratifying.

A therapist might tell you that I find these moments so satisfying because I have control issues. Now hand me that screwdriver.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Short, shameful confession

I keep confusing Hollywood celeb Zach Braff and Madison District 7 alder Zach Brandon.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Good word

"Zach [Braff] snuck his way into famousosity through Garden State, a tour de force which singlehandledly called a cultural truce between the I Heart Huckabees/Wolf Parade/Unbearable Lightness of Being crowd and those who list The DaVinci Code among their favorite books on Friendster."

-- Gawker/The Stalkettes