Wednesday, September 07, 2011
The weather for the past month really hasn't been good. Most years, the week after Labor Day is terrific, a great Jersey shore week if you want to avoid crowds & get off-season discounts.
I ordered a new printer & an answering machine. With the printer, I tried to balance ink costs with a few functions I absolutely wanted, without spending much, & I chose a model with far more positive than negative geek & amateur reviews. You just have to hope the machine isn't too cranky & that the self-cleaning doesn't eat up the colored inks. They're gonna get you on ink no matter what the projected cost-per-copy is. That's the game. I haven't had a printer for a long time. My old answering machine lasted over 20 years & suddenly began acting crazy. Hardly anyone uses answering machines anymore, there's only a couple on the market. I wouldn't need one, except that my phone is also connected to the downstairs intercom & door buzzer, I have no way of telling intercom from phone call without picking up or screening the call. Of course, there are a number of idiots in this (or any) building who'll buzz in anyone. When the Watchtower people knock, my first reaction is to want to ask, "Who the hell let you in? Because I know I didn't."
Also ordered Adele Kenny's new book of poems. When one's poet friends have "real" books published nowadays (rather than self-printed chapbooks - see above printer), you should buy it if you want to support their art & can afford it. Poets can't afford to give away dozens of copies just because you happen to know them. Poets are lucky if they find publishers that cover printing costs & do some promotion. I used to receive lots of "review" copies when even small publishers allocated a substantial number for that purpose. No more. A small volume of poems in a hard copy is a work of art, far nicer than downloading an e book. Only over the past few years have I come to appreciate Adele's classiness, her fine taste, & her Franciscan spirituality.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
I ordered a new printer & an answering machine. With the printer, I tried to balance ink costs with a few functions I absolutely wanted, without spending much, & I chose a model with far more positive than negative geek & amateur reviews. You just have to hope the machine isn't too cranky & that the self-cleaning doesn't eat up the colored inks. They're gonna get you on ink no matter what the projected cost-per-copy is. That's the game. I haven't had a printer for a long time. My old answering machine lasted over 20 years & suddenly began acting crazy. Hardly anyone uses answering machines anymore, there's only a couple on the market. I wouldn't need one, except that my phone is also connected to the downstairs intercom & door buzzer, I have no way of telling intercom from phone call without picking up or screening the call. Of course, there are a number of idiots in this (or any) building who'll buzz in anyone. When the Watchtower people knock, my first reaction is to want to ask, "Who the hell let you in? Because I know I didn't."
Also ordered Adele Kenny's new book of poems. When one's poet friends have "real" books published nowadays (rather than self-printed chapbooks - see above printer), you should buy it if you want to support their art & can afford it. Poets can't afford to give away dozens of copies just because you happen to know them. Poets are lucky if they find publishers that cover printing costs & do some promotion. I used to receive lots of "review" copies when even small publishers allocated a substantial number for that purpose. No more. A small volume of poems in a hard copy is a work of art, far nicer than downloading an e book. Only over the past few years have I come to appreciate Adele's classiness, her fine taste, & her Franciscan spirituality.
