Yearly hello

[Aaron Gonzalez]

Hey strangers! 

Just checking in again. What's everyone up to? Anything fun? Writing anything? 

I'm researching Windows laptops for the first time in over a decade of Linux and Mac use, and I'm not too happy about it. 

Really wish Apple didn't hate users who need current good 3D gpus. Sigh. 

In other news, let's see... It's cold and just showed this week here in NY. I'm not a happy camper. 

Please someone in a warmer area regale me with tales of sun and warmth. 

[Bob Kawaratani]

Hi Aaron,

Although I was primarily a lurker, I miss the interesting exchanges on this group. While I don't need the high end power that you need in my Macs, I feel for you guys. The good news is that apparently Windows 10 is a perfectly fine OS and there's some lovely hardware (on the inside and not bad on the outside either) from HP and others. 

Well,  it's a bit warmer (high fifties) here in Tokyo than New York and we have signs of spring like the bulbs folks had planted starting to bloom and the plum trees blossoming (next up the sakura and hanami (flower viewing parties aka drinking a lot of sake while the pink petals float down from above).

Cheers,

Bob

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Robert K. Kawaratani
瓦谷ロバート孝一

Tel/Fax      03-3488-4386
Mobile       070-5599-2334

[Aaron Gonzalez]

That sounds nice. We have what I'll assume is tamer Cherry Blossom
festivals here in NY at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and also not too far
away in DC. Although I hear with the cold weather this year something like
90% of the blossoms will not reach full bloom. Stinks.

I have yet to get to Tokyo but it's definitely on my list. Although
honestly I'm more interested in the non-city Japan than Tokyo. Living in
NYC I have enough city to see. A friend of mine lives in Hiroshima and just
got married last year, so, I'm hoping I can save up the money to go visit
him soon.

I'll stick to warmer months visiting. I hate the cold!

On Mar 17, 2017 2:32 AM, "Bob Kawaratani" <bo...@wm.pdx.ne.jp> wrote:

That sounds nice. We have what I'll assume is tamer Cherry Blossom festivals here in NY at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and also not too far away in DC. Although I hear with the cold weather this year something like 90% of the blossoms will not reach full bloom. Stinks. 

I have yet to get to Tokyo but it's definitely on my list. Although honestly I'm more interested in the non-city Japan than Tokyo. Living in NYC I have enough city to see. A friend of mine lives in Hiroshima and just got married last year, so, I'm hoping I can save up the money to go visit him soon. 

I'll stick to warmer months visiting. I hate the cold! 

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[BigNosed UglyGuy]

Kia ora to all from warm autumnal New Zealand.

It is still shirt-sleeves weather here in the Land of the Long White Cloud but have had the first autumn storm so summer is slipping away.

My personal laptop is a 2015 13" MacBook Pro but this is currently back in the shop for a frustrating intermittent keyboard failure. As a standby temporary replacement for this and our family business PC, I have purchased a NZ$350 Lenovo ThinkPad 13 Chromebook, which appears to be a good basic machine, easy to use and a fun way to learn about ChromeOS.

As the resident IT guy for the family, this means I am now supporting machines running Windows 7, OS X, Ubuntu, JoliCloud, ChromeOS, iOS and Android across three locations and two continents!

I continue to write in between the day job in local government (though soon to be made redundant), various volunteer roles and working around our smallholding. In the last year, I have been slowly editing down a rough ~150k word draft of our emigration story (inner city London to rural NZ), noodling around with a few dystopian short stories and, more recently, trying my hand at writing poetry. 

Funnily enough, the last was prompted by my father's death in January when I was struck by just how many euphemisms we have for someone dying. If you fancy a chuckle, you can find it below

All the best

Buzz

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On My Dad’s Death 

 

How strange the things we tend to say 

When our loved ones pass away. 

 

I’ve lost my Dad; he’s fast asleep, 

He’s now residing six feet deep. 

Gone away to a better place, 

To look upon the good Lord’s face. 

Can he not see Him from way down here? 

Do we say this stuff to hide our fear? 

 

He’s climbed the stairs to Heaven’s gate, 

Is departed, deceased, defunct and late. 

He’s paid the debt that we all must, 

And well and truly bit the dust. 

Are we quite mad to say these things, 

When our nearest dearest sprout their wings? 

 

He went the way of all earthly flesh, 

Turned to dust, is far from fresh, 

Croaked, crossed over, ceased to be, 

And now he sleeps eternally. 

The English say it’s just not cricket 

To say out loud ‘they’ve punched their ticket’ 

 

Pegged out, snuffed out, is no more, 

He’s loudly knocked on heaven's door. 

His number’s numbers up, he’s D.O.A., 

(Just tell the child he’s gone away). 

Bite the big one, buy the farm 

Are these not words that cause alarm? 

 

One can slip or pass or fade away, 

No longer see the light of day, 

Hear the call of the Heav’nly host, 

Or simply, quietly, give up the ghost. 

Pushing up daisies or just passed on, 

Are these good ways to say he’s gone? 

 

There’s no guarantee that it’s the case 

That he has gone to a better place, 

Unless through faith one’s much assured 

He’s happy above now with the Lord. 

How strange the things we tend to say 

When our loved ones pass away. 

 

☺

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bignose...@gmail.com