Saturday, December 31, 2016

Post 3356 - New Year's Eve

Nearly 11:30 New Year's Eve.

I am back from my Valley trip. I went down there last night to retrieve a desktop computer. This morning I dropped off the computer from Halifax at a recycling depot. which was fun.

I ran some errands afterward, including breakfast at the Front Street Cafe in Wolfville. It is under new management. The food is just as good, if not better, than it was before. The new owner is Chinese and now they have a pretty extensive Chinese food selection. Apparently, it is authentic Chinese food, so I can get behind that.  The eggs benedict this morning was terrific.

I went to the Foxhill Cheese House again and got one more thing of eggnog. Went back to the house to get the computer and some other things, and went back to Wuffle to pick up some tomatoes and a few other things. Drove to the city.

We had fish for dinner. I hooked up the computer and have Plex installed on it. I am slowly adding back the content. For those of you who mooched off my Plex, you will have to send me another request to share, because this is a new Plex server for a "new" computer. Sorry, but there is no way around it.

We are 31 minutes away from 2017. 2016 sucked for an awful lot of people, mostly because so many of their favourite celebrities died, I guess. It wasn't a bad year. Not a great year, but not a bad one. I got a chance to write about unsolved murders and missing persons cases at  Frank, a part-time job I find very fulfilling. I got a new car. Saw some good movies and tv shows. Read a few good books. Slept. Got fatter. Could have been a better year, but it could have been worse, too.

For the new year, I want to try to have more fun. Patricia thinks I am dour, morose, maybe even sullen. I will try to rectify that next year. Fun. Yeah, let's try that.

You guys have a good evening. See you in 2017.

Bevboy






Friday, December 30, 2016

Post 3355 - Friday

Yay. The last work day of 2016 is over. Three day weekend awaits.

I am on a secret mission tonight and in to tomorrow. I will tell you about it probably on Saturday night.

The desk top computer will be going to a recycling depot, maybe as soon as Saturday. It is in the back seat of the car now. I was so disgusted at how it kept eating hard drives and not booting no matter what I did, that Thursday night I took as many pieces from it as I could, including the ram and hard drives and data cables and the cd/dvd player/burner. I cannot wait to be rid of the thing.

I spent like 500 dollars on that computer back in the Winter. It was refurbished. I  upgraded the ram and dropped a new power supply into it. And nearly as soon as I got it, it started behaving strangely. The solid state drive that contains the OS would no longer boot, so I transferred it to a 2.5" laptop drive and did some jiggery pokery to get it to start up. I had to reboot the computer more often than I should have. And it just got worse until Thursday morning when it would not, no matter what I did, come up for me.

Sigh.

Calm, blue ocean.

Computers are fun! They make our lives easier! I love them.

Just not at this moment.

I am going to fire of Netflix and call it a night.

See you tomorrow, my lovelies.

Bevboy

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Post 3354 - Thursday

Sorry I didn't write last night. I wasn't feeling well.

I think today is Thursday. Maybe I just want it to be Thursday. I am not sure.

I got up this morning  and padded downstairs to the laundry room to find something to wear. Decided to dip into the old home office and check out the media server. I couldn't "wake" it up. It did not come out of sleep mode no matter what I did. I manually shut down the computer by pressing the power button for 5 seconds, and rebooted a few times, but it didn't come up. I figured out that the bios was not even allowing me to boot the OS that I hope is still on one of the hard drives.

That computer/server, which I bought used this past February,  has been giving me problems for months, and today's was the final straw. At least two internal hard drives are about to expire, according to the disk utility that Linux Mint provided. Imminent danger of failing. The solid state drive that was new this past Winter stopped being useful as a boot device in the Spring. Some sectors got fried on it or something. I had to put the OS on a laptop hard drive and go from there. Every week or so, I would have to reboot the computer and refire all my processes so I could run Sonaar, Sabnzbd and Plex again. Hard drives have to be re-mounted from time to time. Just one thing after another. Aaargh!!

I removed most of the hard drives from the computer before I went to work. When I get home, I will remove the rest of them, including the ones that were about to crap out. I will harvest the ram. I will remove the USB card that never worked after I installed it. Wrestle some cables from it, too. Then, at the first opportunity, I will take that effing piece of excrement to a recycling depot and wish it a loud goodbye.

I have another desktop computer in the Valley. I will get that as soon as I can and press that into active service. Maybe the RAM will fit in that machine, for all I know. I will bring that back with me and get Plex and the other stuff working again, on that.

My goodness, what an ordeal, but I will not miss that computer, one little bit. Deeply disappointed in the business that sold the frigging thing to me 10 months ago. Hesitant to do business with them, ever again.

I do not need this stuff at the end of my 2016. I just don't.

Grr!

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy


Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Post 3353 - Catch Up

Just past 9:30.

Hello. Remember me?

I haven't written much the last few days because I haven't done much of anything the last few days.

Friday night, after we returned from Otis & Clementine's in Tantallon, and after we had washed some towels and whatnot, I decided to drive down to the Valley, and stay over night. I bought a few things at the Sobeys in New Minas, got some cash for the nice man who plows the drive way down there, and dried said towels. A new dryer for Casa Bevboy is at the top of our wish list in 2017!

I had two lots of these towels to dry. I went to bed while the first set was drying. When I woke up around 12:30am, I pulled the now-dry ones out of the dryer, put them aside, and placed the remaining wet ones in the dryer, set the timer, and returned to bed. By the time I got up on Saturday morning, those were nice and dry, too.

I had some errands to run. I went out to visit my parents' graves. I noted that they had finally put a year of death next to her name. About time. And someone, likely one of my adoring sisters, had put a wreath around their headstone. I wish I had done the same.

I walked around the cemetery for 20 minutes or so, looking at the headstones for families I knew. One was for a woman who died some 3 years ago, but her grave is festooned with fake flowers and little toys and devices that made me think that she must have loved that stuff when she was alive.

I drove into Kentville. Went to RD Chisholm's Ltd. Bookstore, because that is what a person should do when he is in Kentville. I regarded the building across the street from where I parked. I saw a picture on Facebook the other week of that intersection. Webster Street once ended there; and this building has been built up and changed but remains recognizable from that period in the late 1800's. So is the place across the street, where Paddy's Pub is now. I recall in the late 1970's when that was a record store that also sold comic books. It has changed hands many, many times over the last 140 years or so. But I had no idea that other place, which I think is on the market now but which I mostly recall as the MacDonald Chisholm Insurance building, was so old.

Anyway, at the bookstore,  I got a book about a cat that ran away from home but was found just in time for Christmas, for Patricia. I walked to the dollar store and got a couple cards that hold gift cards. Only a dollar each. I refuse to pay more than a dollar or so for a bloody greeting card.

I returned to the card, and drove to the house of the man who plows out the driveway. I paid him and gave him his greeting card and bade him open it. He was delighted to see the NSLC gift card in it. I thanked him again for all his hard work and returned to the house to fetch a milk bottle. I retraced my steps to the Fox Hill Cheese House. Got some of the crazy expensive egg nog there for six dollars. It would have been nine dollars if not for the deposit on the milk bottle. I also got a gift pack of cheese.

Growing up, I had no idea there would be a cheese house, a winery, a commercial farm, a short distance from where I grew up. In a couple more years, there will be at least one more winery on that street, and maybe two.

I drove to Canning and got something for my lunch at the convenience store that people keep going on about. Sammich and a slice of pizza. Both were terrible, inedible things. I threw the remnants on the front lawn. I doubt if the crows have touched it by now.

I loaded up the car with the towels and my other things. Took pictures of the Ruth Rendell novels I own to compare with the ones Otis & Clementine's has so I can get the missing ones. Locked up the house and drove to Wolfville. I got Patricia a gift card for Just Us! Coffee in Wolfville and drove back to the city.

I am always bushed when I return from the Valley. This was no exception. I unloaded the car and plopped myself down on my recliner around 2:45. I slept a few hours.

We had a quiet Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day was quiet, too. We agreed not to buy each other very much, because our main gift was the 2016 Kia Soul in the driveway. But I gave her that book, plus a few others, along the gift card and a drying rack. One or two other things. She got me a gift card for Otis & Clementine's. Socks. Salsa. A few other things.

We watched some shows on Netflix and Plex. Rested. And, two days later, we return to work in the morning.

One other thing. Regardez this book:



I bought this book years ago, but misplaced it years ago. Last year a nice man in Dartmouth gave me a crap ton of mystery magazines and related books. Three of them were by Edward D. Hoch, in which the author collected tales of some of his many series characters Ben Snow, Rand the retired spy, and the gypsy Michael Vlado. I tried to find the above book, to no avail.

This afternoon, I decided to tidy up the books in one section of my home office. I began to move the books blocking the bottom shelves of a book case. The bottom shelf became available to me again after a long time. I looked through the books. The right most book on that shelf said "Hoch" on the spine. I pulled it out, and there it was! Now I can put that book with the other three.

Do you care? No. No, you don't. You don't care in the least.

But I do.

But, you know something? Those Hoch stories about Dr. Sam Hawthorne are all about so-called impossible crimes, locked room stories, people and things who seemingly vanish into thin air. It is ironic that this very book "vanished" from me for years, and that I should find it less than a metre from where the other three books are! Somewhere, Edward D. Hoch is chuckling. That, or he thinks I should organize my books better.

On that note, you have a good night, and I will bark at ya tomorrow.

Bevboy



Monday, December 26, 2016

Post 3352 - Monday

Yes, I am still alive. I will fill you in on the last few days, tomorrow.

Promise!

Bevboy

Friday, December 23, 2016

Post 3351 - Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza 2016 - Day Eleven (or Eleven)

The end of the trail draws night, ladies and gentlemen.









This afternoon, we drove to Tantallon, there to go to Otis & Clementine's used book store. It is probably our fave used bookstore anywhere in the province. Roomy. Eclectic. A little bit of everything. Plus they sell coffee and tea and sweets. They have a book club as well.

I have mentioned them a few times in my Frank Magazine media column, and they recognize me when I go in now. I think they appreciated the publicity. Being a small business, they likely can't afford to advertise in a traditional sense.

Anyway, today, between 4 and 8 pm was a customer appreciation event. Free wine  and sweets, plus 20% off everything in the store.

I got several books for me, plus a few for Patricia. As you can see, I got a used copy of Phonse Jessome's debut novel featuring a gritty, crime-ridden Halifax that the average person doesn't see, and which I am only seeing in the last few months as I have been writing the unsolved murders and missing persons series for Frank Magazine. I look forward to reading it over the holidays.

I also got a Mike Hammer novel by Mickey Spillane. And a couple Ruth Rendell novels. I have never read any of her novels. I read a bunch of her short stories in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine over the years. I got spoiled, reading short stories. They could, for the most part, be read in one sitting. Parking myself and reading a long novel makes me just realize how much padding there is in these books, and only makes me yearn more for the short story form. But I digress.

Rendell is an old favourite, and since she died in 2015, there won't be any new material from her, unless there is some posthumous stuff out there I haven't heard about it. I have a number of her novels. They have a number at Otis & Clementine's, but need to compare what I have to what they have, so I don't get a duplicate.

Most of my readers will have no idea what I am talking about, but many collectors fear getting more than one copy of anything. You just have to go along with me, okay?


This is the final entry in the Christmas tie series for 2016. Will I do it again in 2017? I don't know. People start asking me about it in August. I guess I will just say that I will do it if people want me to. If they don't, then I won't.

You guys have a good evening. I will talk at you tomorrow.

Bevboy



Thursday, December 22, 2016

Post 3350 - Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza 2016 - Day Ten

I took these this morning while getting ready for work. I thought I would share the beauty of these images with you.



An introspective look, from an introspective person.




This one, I did for the ladies. You are welcome, ladies!!





I am so handsome. I just can't help it. If I were a girl, I would date myself and have the most beautiful babies ever. Like, super babies.





See you tomorrow, for the final edition of this for 2016.

Bevboy









Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Post 3349 - Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza 2016 - Day Nine

Nearly 11:30.  Turning in momentarily.

We just spent a couple hours watching two episodes of "Goliath", the Amazon series starring Billy Bob Thornton. You should check it out.




As you can see, I was under a blanket, watching the show, wearing today's tie.





And I have been wearing this tie for some 17 hours. Heck's wrong with me?

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy






Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Post 3348 - Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza 2016 - Day Eight

11pm.

Spent 2.5 hours tonight talking on the phone with family members of a man who was murdered in the 1980's. Plenty of details,  and twists and turns.

My brain is fried after all that, so this will be quick.

Parked myself in front of my webcam just now. This is what came out. For some reason the webcam, works, but I do not see the image on the screen. Some kind of update in Linux removed that feature, which is  more than a little silly when you stop and think about it.








You guys have a good evening. Take care of yourselves. See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Monday, December 19, 2016

Post 3347 - Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza 2016 - Day Seven

Tell me, ladies. How many of you like it when a man cooks?



How about a man who's wearing a  Christmas tie while he cooks? Is that better?




Huh?

Is it?

By the way, I cooked fish for dinner tonight. Haddock, of course. It was frozen fish from Dartmouth's Gateway Meat Market that we picked up on Friday afternoon. Thawed it out in the fridge over the weekend. The pieces were really thick, and really, really good.

Loves me some haddock.

You guys have a good evening. See you tomorrow.

Bevboy



Saturday, December 17, 2016

Post 3436 - Saturday

Past 11:30.

We did not much today, but tonight we went to a Christmas party, courtesy of some folks Patricia used to work with. The only problem was, the roads were a mess. The lanes were impossible to make out. At one point, we nearly drove into a meridian. Not good.

The actual party was fine. Although I knew nobody else there, they made me feel welcome. The chilli was excellent. The meatballs? I could have eaten them all, but only had two. And then there were these mushroom things with cheese on them. Heaven.

We got back home around 8:30 or so. Newbie was there waiting for us. I think he smelled the cat at the house we were at, which looked a lot like Newbie anyway. Newbie has been standoffish most of the evening.

The young man who plows and shovels our driveway is making out like a bandit. I owe him another $17. I will go to the bank machine in the morning, get some cash, and pay him. Really should have more cash on my person, but I'd just fritter it away on hookers and blow. I need to get a financial planner or something.

Youse guys have a good evening. Talk at ya tomorrow.

Bevboy

Friday, December 16, 2016

Post 3435 - Friday



After midnight. Technically Saturday morning.

I was off today, which is just as well, because it has been cold AF today. I gather that "AF" means "as frig". Maybe something stronger. Let's go with "as frig".

The highlight of the day was... well, see if you can figure it out on your own.

Before:





After:




Now, what changed in about 30 minutes time? Well, I am smiling in the after picture, and a little owly before that. Maybe a clue?

I got my hair. It was just too long and unruly, and the style was not designed to grow as long as it had. I was using a ton of product to keep it in place. In the last 10 days or so, I had resorted to using product, combing it up and away from my forehead, which didn't work for me or anybody else.

I went back to Fine Lines in Lakeside. They were not even open when I got there. As I pulled up, a guy got out of his car and got in ahead of me, so he was served first. I had time to walk around the waiting area for a moment when my old friend Jaleel showed up. He had cut my hair six months ago, and knocked it out of the park. He did again, today. I like this young man very much.

Something happened, though, and they hadn't got their oil delivery yet, on what is easily the coldest day of 2016. They didn't need to put fake ice on the windows, because there was plenty of the real thing on the windows. No heat. They had a block heater thingy, but that kept nobody warm. When I shook Jaleel's hand after paying him, it was ice cold. I got to go home in a nice, warm car and back to a nice, warm house. He and his colleagues had to stay there all day.

In the afternoon, we went over to Dartmouth. Patricia had an appointment. I went into the Gateway Meat Market next door and picked out some steak for a nice breakfast later on this weekend. And, in the reduced section freezer, I saw some marked down haddock, which is our fave fish. It was frozen, but at a good price. Got just under 7 pounds for just a titch over 20 dollars. Two people saw the fish in the shopping cart and wanted to know where they could get some. I admitted I had it all, and they were disappointed. Everybody likes haddock. I felt so bad I offered to give a package of the fish to one gentleman, but he gently declined. We called each other a gentleman and went about our days. I am sure he will be back there soon and get his own packages of haddock.

We got some other stuff there before going to the Sobeys in Clayton Park. Got a Pictou County Pizza for dinner. They do what they can to replicate the experience of an actual Pictou County pizza, with the spicy brown sauce and actual pepperoni. Turned out to be pretty good, actually. Got a bunch of other stuff there, too. Then we went to Costco in Bayer's Lake. I kept the car running. Then we went to the Bulk Barn before returning home. I cooked the pizza.

We spent the night watching stuff on the PVR. Saw the mid-season finale of Designated Survivor. I look forward to its return after the holidays.

Been a long day. Party at a work friend of Patricia's tomorrow. Think I will turn in.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy


 

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Post 3434 - Bevboy's Christmas Tie Exravaganza 2016 - Day Six

A snowy day outside. What says Christmas better than being inside, staying warm?




Today's pictures were taken courtesy of my friends John and Marcel. We had lunch together at the Metro Deli. They agreed to take the pictures, and I noticed the Christmas tree in the lobby at 6080 Young Street, so I handed them my phone and we had at 'er.



Five glorious pictures taken later, we were done. A small crowd was hanging around, seeking my autographs. After all these  years of doing the Christmas tie thing, I have become quite famous around here. I can't help it. Sorry.



Am I harshing someone's mellow?



By the way, the burrito platter at the Metro Deli, at 10 bucks, is excellent food and an excellent value. Comes with roasted potatoes and choice of salad. Go there, or I will have to hurt you.



See you guys tomorrow.

Bevboy









Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Post 3433 - Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza 2016 - Day Five

Nearly 11pm.






Man, someone's tired!

I just put my final Frank Magazine column to bed for 2016. It is a bit off the beaten path for me, so I hope you like it when it comes out.

I actually had to take a nap when I got home tonight. Patricia roused me at 9:15 so I could come down here and finish the draft of the afore-mentioned article. It is done, but now my sleep pattern is thrown off. I will likely be up until 1am.

One more work day this week. Off Friday. No tie then. But you will have a tie on Thursday.

See you then.

Bevboy


Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Post 3432 - Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza 2016 - Day Four

Past 10pm.

We had a nice dinner at The Young Street Steak and Stein. I was given a gift card from the father whose son went missing in 1998. Out of gratitude for reporting his story in Frank, he insisted on giving me the card. I didn't want to embarrass the man, so I accepted the card. And we used it this evening.

The food was fair. Patricia found the turkey dry. I thought it was okay for what it was. The mashed potatoes were delicious. The cranberry sauce was authentic. The mashed turnip and carrot combo was pablum, and I didn't like it. The mussels we had as an appie were pretty good. And so was the chocolate pudding cake we shared for dessert. Dinner came to $60.89. The gift card was for 60 dollars. So,  I just paid the 89 cents plus a ten dollar tip. Decent food and good value.

On the way out, we got these pictures in the restaurant.







And when I got home I took out the notes I have for my latest (and last for 2016) Frank Magazine column and began typing away. This was just before I got the news about Alan Thicke.






 Those are books in those boxes and behind me, by the way.

Anyway, I now have a rough draft of my column, and it is past 10:30. I think I will turn in.

Man, will 2016 just get over with, already!

Bevboy

Monday, December 12, 2016

Post 3431 - Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza 2016 - Day Three

Blizzard outside at work. Stuck here. Not sure if we will get home any time soon. But the worst part is that my hair is out of place. What do I do?

My goodness, what do I do?



See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Post 3430 - Sunday

Hello.

Past 10pm.

I'm sorry I haven't written for a few days, and further sorry that the posts in the days leading up to Thursday were so brief.

I was on that pre-retirement course on Monday and Tuesday. Both evenings, I transcribed audio files for a true crime article that goes live on the Frank Magazine website Monday morning. Tuesday night I also interviewed the widow of a man who was murdered in Halifax some time ago. That was for a second true crime article, which I hope will go up for the issue in two weeks time. I also spent time working on two other shorter true crime pieces for a future Frank. Of course, I have produced a radio/media column, which goes up tomorrow. Been busy.

The few days of vacation I took were restful but perhaps not in the way you might think. I did some things I don't normally get a chance to do, things which people might think are hard work, but were enough of a change from my job that I enjoyed doing them.

Friday, after work, Patricia and I went to dinner at the Five Fishermen restaurant in the downtown. Early anniversary dinner. We hadn't gone there in several years. It used to be our fave place to for a special dinner.  But, I don't think I am ready to go back there, ever again.

For a long time, they had a free salad bar and mussel bar. You could fill up on that and not notice how small the portions were on your main course. But they got rid of that stuff "a few years ago", unbeknownst to us.

We had had a very poor lobster dinner in Pictou this summer during vacation, so I opted for that. The knuckles and claws were already open for my eating pleasure. Asparagus for the veg. Fingerling potatoes. I told the server, Jack, that I did not like fingerling potatoes and asked for a substitution. "How about garlic mashed?", he asked. I said sure.

Patricia went for a combo plate called Five Fish. She also opted for a large glass of Tidal Bay wine. Turns out that "tidal bay" is a unique-to Nova Scotia variety of wine. There are a couple dozen wineries in Nova Scotia, most of them in the Valley; and these wineries all vie to be able to sell that kind of wine. Not all wineries get to do that. I wonder how bitter the wineries are that don't get that distinction in a given year?

There were dried up, wizened little scones and not enough butter to sustain them.

Our food came. The lobster was all right for what it was. The fingerling potatoes were there, and Jack immediately made that right. A couple of minutes later, a small portion of garlic mashed potatoes was delivered. They were edible, as was the lobster, as was the asparagus.

I asked for a small side of scallops. I got 3 or 4, overcooked in my estimation.

For dessert, we got a frangeline tart, which is a tart with pears and blueberries and shit. We shared that.

The service was fine. The one whoops was fixed, and everybody is allowed a whoops from time to time. But the food was disappointing. I figure if I can cook better scallops than what was presented to me, if I can prepare better garlic mashed potatoes than the dollop that was put in front of me, then maybe I can make that stuff at home for far less money.

With taxes and tip, dinner came to about $165.

I can think of other ways to spend that money. You know, like flushing it down the toilet. I think from now on we will go to another seafood restaurant in Halifax. There is no shortage of them.

Saturday morning, we drove to the Valley to check out the Bevboy family estate. It was fine, of course. We ended up having dinner at Soonhan Sushi in New Minas. for less than 25% of what I paid for dinner Friday night, Patricia and I enjoyed as much fresh sushi as we could consume. Absolutely love that place. Our thanks to Mel Sampson for mentioning that place in a recent Facebook post. It is next door to a former used clothing place that I took my mother to for several years. It was never open when we were there, so I never sampled it. Alas and alack.

From there, we went to the IGA or whatever it's called, in Wolfville. Being Saturday night, they mark stuff down like crazy. We got some chicken for half price, 30% off back bacon, half price eggs. I got a sammich for my lunch tomorrow for half off. Because it was marked down 50%, it will taste twice as good. It just works out that way.

We returned to the city, during a snow fall. Got home about 8:30. Turned in early.

Today, we didn't do that much. I did the dishes and moved some stuff around the living room. Washing some clothes now.

Back to work tomorrow. Only been off for a week, but it seems longer somehow.

You guys take care of yourselves. See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Post 3429 - Thursday

A very long day. Busy. Heads down busy from early this morning until early tonight.

Remind me to tell you about it sometime.

Or not.

Let's go with not.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy


Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Post 3428 - Wednesday

Past 10:30.

I spent the bulk of the evening since 7pm transcribing yet more audio files for another true crime article I'm working on Frank. We are working on two issues at once, here. The final drop dead deadline is next Thursday. I have finished my media column, and most of one true crime article. The second true crime article is ready to be written because the transcriptions are ready. I am also working on two shorter true crime articles. I have nearly a full draft of each one ready to go as well. I've been busy.

I'm on vacation the rest of the week. Hope to do more of what I did today, tomorrow.

See you then, by the way.

Bevboy

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Post 3427 - Tuesday

Nearly 11:30.

I have spent the last few hours transcribing audio files from 2 different conversation with family members of a man who was murdered, some 25 years ago now. I have 9 pages of notes now to sift through to write a good draft of the story for the next Frank. Plus, I spoke with the widow of a man who was murdered many years before that.  That will be the basis for the story after that.

This was after sitting in a class room all day at a pre-retirement course.

Please forgive me for being done like dinner.

I will tell you all about the course and the other stuff tomorrow. Just can't do it tonight.

See you then.

Bevboy

Monday, December 5, 2016

Poar 3426 - Monday

Past 11pm.

Brain is fried after day one of my pre-retirement course, and then spending a couple of hours transcribing audio files for a true crime article I will produce this week.

Going to bed now.

Will tell you all about these things tomorrow.

Bevboy

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Post 3425 - Sunday

Hi. Pushing 9pm.

As I mentioned last night, we made a whirlwind trip to the cottage yesterday.

We hadn't been to the cottage since the day I covered the Amy Hood trial for Frank back in the middle of October. We didn't stay the weekend because a friend of Patricia's was retiring the following day. Due to one thing and another, we didn't make it back to the cottage to shut the place down for the Winter.

When October became November we realized we really had to get to the cottage. When December rolled around, it became imperative. Since one of our impediments was the fact that our cars were old and maybe not up to the trip (the October trip really kicked Grand Prix's arse), and that impediment no longer exists now that we have the Soul, and since the weather has been taking a turn, we knew we could not put it off any longer.

We got up Saturday morning, had breakfast and left the house around 11, which is later than we should have left. I cashed my latest cheque from Frank Magazine, and then we drove the 2+ hours to the cottage. We had to take a pit stop to take a pee at the Sobeys in Pictou because the water is shut off at the cottage, so we didn't arrive there until shortly before 2pm.

We proceeded to do the things we should have done before: remove the batteries from the remotes, bring in the plastic chairs from the deck, along with the patio tables. We decided to store the barbecue inside the cottage, too, rather than drag the thing out to the shed. But, first, we detached the tank from the bbq, and that is living in the shed for the winter. I put some fuel stabilizer in the lawn tractor and started it up for about 10 minutes, before trying to remove the battery. I had to go back inside the cottage and find a wrench to remove the bolts with. The wrench is hanging on a nail in the shed now for when we need it in the Spring.

Patricia did most of this task: cleaning out the fridge.

I loaded up the car with 4 plastic shopping bins, a Kitchen Aid, the lawn tractor battery, a gas-powered whipper snipper, and the other Sirius radio, because the remote goes works fine with the original radio here in the house. The car was full up.

We were done by around 4:30, as it was getting dark. We had toyed around with the idea of staying overnight at the cottage, but the only water we had was what we had left in the fridge, the toilet was unusable because the water was turned off and the pipes drained, and the only food we had was stuff that went we stuff that we didn't have. Besides, Newbie was back in the city, waiting for us.

So, we drove back into the town of Pictou to get dinner at Sharon's Place. We can always get a good meal at that long-time diner. I connected my phone to the wifi there and learned more about the situation with the teachers that starts Monday. It sucks for literally everybody in the province. People are taking sides. And it is the kind of situation where people in the same house can have diametrically-opposed opinions on it. But I digress.







We finished our turkey dinners. We were in Pictou County, dammit, and we wanted to have a Pictou County pizza, with the unique brown sauce that is spicy and delish. Apparently, Sobeys stores in the province sell that pizza sauce, but we have never seen it. At any rate, we walked across the street to Crown Pizza, ordered a za with pepperoni, cheese, mushrooms and pineapple. Patricia is sniffing it here:




The pizza sat on her knee the whole way back to the city. It was piping hot most of the way. She didn't need to activate the heated seat feature!

One thing we have noticed about the car is that the gas tank must be significantly smaller than the one in the Grand Prix. We left Halifax with a full tank yesterday morning. By the time we got to the cottage, it was down nearly a half tank. Just to be on the safe side, I put 20 bucks in last night. When we got back in the drive way around 8:45 Saturday night, it was between half and three quarters of a tank. I don't think the car is especially hard on gas, so I am chalking it up to the size of the tank.

Anyway, when we got back last night, we were so tired we didn't unload the car until this afternoon. I wrote that short blog post before turning in and sleeping like a log for a large number of hours.

Today, I made breakfast and washed dishes and lugged that stuff from the car inside. I put most of it away. I didn't fritter away my day, but I didn't work on any of my Frank articles, either. I will be busy this week.

It is around 9:15. I am told that the pre-retirement course is grueling, so I think I will turn in early.

You have a good one. Talk at ya tomorrow.

Bevboy
PS.  The pizza was terrific. Why can't more Halifax pizza places sell Pictou County-style pizzas?


Saturday, December 3, 2016

Post 3424 - Saturday

Past 10.

Whirlwind trip to Pictou County today. Exhausted.

I will tell you about it tomorrow.

Bevboy

Friday, December 2, 2016

Post 3423 - Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza 2016 - Day Two

Hi. Day two already. Where has the time gone?

Today's pictures were taken in the parking lot of my work. The man who took the pics, Mark, apparently mugged Elton John several years ago and kept a pair of the man's sunglasses as a memento. He let me wear the glasses for a few moments this afternoon, Thank you, Mark.

21 pictures were taken. You are getting some of the best shots. I mean, they're all good shots, if only because I am in them.

Here. Eat your heart out.






Yeah, our new car. Loving it so far.

And, that's the NSLC behind me, across the street. Have I been there? Do you have to ask? Really?

Mark took 21 pictures. If you want to see more, which are similar to the above, let me know.

Tomorrow promises to be busy. A quick trip somewhere for the day. Likely will be tired tomorrow night.

You have a good one, folks. See you tomorrow.

Bevboy



Thursday, December 1, 2016

Post 3422 - Bevboy's Christmas Tie Extravaganza 2016 - Day One

What? We're there already?! Can it really be... the first day of December? And a work day, at that?

Yes. Yes, it can.

I got up this morning around 5:30, dug out the Christmas ties, and had a quandary. For one thing, I was not wearing any pants, or shirt, or much of anything else for that matter, so having ties with no clothes to go with them didn't make much sense. I found something to put, and snapped a couple selfies in my kitchen.







You know, it doesn't help much when I make the funny faces, eh wot?

Hmm. Do the above pictures make me look a little bit like this guy?



I don't know. Maybe a little.

Anyway, I selected a tie. This afternoon, I grabbed my phone and got these selfies:





My goodness, I am a handsome man. I don't know how I get better looking with age, but I do. I just do.

This is but day one. I will have a picture for you tomorrow. I don't know about next week. I will be on a pre-retirement course on Monday and Tuesday, and then on 3 days of vacation after that. I may or may not give you tie pictures those days. But I guarantee you I will be back at it on December 12th.

I am still accepting suggestions for where to get my picture taken for 2016. Please stop suggesting I get my picture taken on the ice where the Halifax Mooseheads play. I did that already, back in 2012. Go look it up by using the label "Christmas_2012" and see for yourself, if you don't believe me.

I am in such a good mood this evening. I blocked Rob Wolfe on my Facebook today!


You all have a wonderful evening. I will touch base with you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Post 3421 - Grouses About Louses - 1980's Edition To Today

9:30.

I need to confess something. But, first, I have to back up.

It was the summer of 1985. I was 21 years old. I had a summer job at the Acadia University campus as a library worker, doing the grunt work that the actual staff at the library didn't want to do. I had some friends working at the computing centre, and I was jealous, because I wanted one of those jobs. But because I was already working, the person in charge of doling out those jobs didn't want to hire me. I see where she was coming from.

In 1989, she left that job, I applied for it, and came in second in the competition!

But I digress.

I knew that there was another person who was unemployed. I called a friend who worked at the employment centre. I forget just why, but she went out on a limb for me, did something for me, and I think I ticked her off a titch. I made it up to her in 1986 when I managed to help her and her boyfriend (now husband) get a job at the place I was working at then.

But I digress.

Maybe it was that I had to get his phone number. Whatever. I contacted this guy, told him about the job, and he jumped at it. He got the job. He was grateful to me, for maybe 5 minutes.

For the balance of the summer, whenever we met for lunch in the student union building, maybe 8 or so of us, he would monopolize the conversations, expressing opinions about things that one normally doesn't express opinions about, arguing belligerently with anyone who disagreed with him over even the mildest aspect of whatever the topic was. More than once, when I meekly said something that challenged his fervently-held belief, he would look at me, roll his eyes, and say, "Oh, spare me!"

Day after day, week after week, for a few months there, and again in 1986, he would ride roughshod over all of us during a time when maybe we wanted to take a break from our labours, eat something, and relax for a few minutes before returning to said labours.

There is a writer named Harlan Ellison. Some of you will have heard of him. He is an opinionated person to the Nth degree. This guy I'm referring to would give Mr. Ellison a run for his money. Ellison might even throw up his hands and walk away, muttering to himself that this fellow was an a-hole.

I don't know what it was like to work with this man, but co-existing with him for even that one hour every work day was a pleasure to nobody. Some people found other things to do, just to get away from this pontificating little ponce.

We eventually graduated, and I lost touch with him, grateful to any deity that would listen to me that I no longer had to see him.

Fast forward to more recent years.

I find this guy on Facebook. He lives far away, and I can ignore him, so I friend him. I figure at the very least I know what part of the world he lives in, and as long as my part and his part do not intersect like some horrific Venn diagram, Facebook can act as a distant early warning system should be move over to my time zone again.

Fast forward to last week.

I wrote about my travails regarding that meme that featured Kanye West and Gord Downie. Hundreds of people shared that meme with little or no kickback. I share it, and he and a few others accuse me of being down on people with a mental illness. I will go to my grave wondering how a person could interpret the meme in that way.

This guy, Rob Wolfe, was the most vociferous one. His attacks on me were hateful, personal, and even venomous. On his own Facebook timeline, without mentioning me, because that would have been like tagging me, he continued his spiteful cant.

Since last week, I have been hiding his posts. I should unfriend him. I haven't because I want to know that he is not where I am, because if he were I would likely go off the deep end.

I keep flipping back to 1985, when I went out of my damned way to help him get a summer job, and how the hand of friendship and collegiality was slapped away, how his daily rants drove people away from our lunches together, and how he is such an a-hole by default.

I hereby apologize to those who endured those couple of summers. If I had done nothing, not told him about the gig at the computer centre, Rob would never have been able to infest our quiet time together with his mouth and vituperation. Maybe he would have gone on a path of finding a job somewhere else, outside of the province, finishing his degree or not finishing it as the case may be. All the people he has likely pissed off along the way because of his distemper and argumentative nature might never have met him.

I am sorry, everyone, for the damage I inadvertently wrought.

What do they say? No good deed goes unpunished? It is a saying that one has to live a certain number of years before one has an appreciation for it. I now do. I now understand fully that any good thing you do has to be measured against the bad it might cause down the line, for yourself or for someone else.

Have a nice day, Rob Wolfe. Have a real nice day. And leave me alone.

I will try to be in a better mood tomorrow for the launch of the 2017 Bevboy Christmas Tie Extravaganza. I need some cheering up.

See you then.

Bevboy

Monday, November 28, 2016

Post 3420 - Monday (I'm Sure Of It!)

Sigh. I must have been zoning out when I produced last night's blog post, because I wrote the wrong day of the week on the title. Two people reminded me of that. Thanks, you two. Now, why didn't the rest of my 4.7 notice?

Been a long day. Worked all day (to get you money, to buy you things). I made dinner for a change, just to prove to Patricia that I knew where the kitchen was. I made my world-famous pasta with meat sauce. Valley beef. Yummy. Patricia had a second helping while cursing me for all the carbs I was supplying her with. After dinner, she promptly fell asleep on the couch while I washed the dishes and tidied up in the kitchen a titch. She just went to bed, actually.

I wasn't idle this evening, but I didn't work on any of the several Frank columns I have to finish in the next couple of weeks, either. Let's see if I can get something done Tuesday night. Want to finish at least one of them by Friday at the latest.

I had a pretty good topic in mind for a blog post this evening, but it has slipped my mind. If I think of it, I will discuss it here. I promise.

I think I will turn in now.

See you tomorrow. Keep smiling. Or start smiling. It can't hurt.

Bevboy


Sunday, November 27, 2016

Post 3419 - Sunday

Nearly 10:20pm.

One of those days where you don't do anything other than watch stuff on the pvr and delete stuff from the pvr you will never bother watching. I like those days. Too much.

Heading into a couple of busy weeks. In a week's time I take a pre-retirement course offered at work. It is two days long. I have to pay for my own lunch, both days. Patricia has been after me for years to take this course, so I look forward to its being behind me. The rest of that week, the 7-9th, I will be on a short vacation. I plan to be busy those three days!

I have received a number of exclusive photographs of a man who was murdered quite a few years ago. I have spoken to 3 of his relatives in the last week. Taken a ton of notes. Time to start writing the article. I hope to produce 3 more true crime articles in 2016, even though there are only 2 more issues of Frank to put them in. The one out tomorrow doesn't have one by me in it, just my media column and a letter of comment.

Anyway, I should probably turn in. Been a long day doing nothing at all.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Post 3418 - Saturday

Patricia had all kinds of fun today at a Gaelic immersion class, milling frollic, and turkey dinner. I stayed home cleaning off the deck, doing laundry, washing dishes and wearing my pyjama bottoms all day. That was the highlight.

(She has been throwing around Gaelic phrases lately, knowing that I won't understand her. So, I have been amping up the computer phrases, knowing that she won't understand me. Tit for tat. Try it sometime.)

She got home around 8:15. We watched that Alan Cumming special on PBS that we had recorded earlier this week, but then she fell asleep during last week's MacGyver. I can't blame her. It gets more dull every week.

I have a crick in my neck. Can anyone recommend a physiotherapist in the North end of the city? Close to my work? It is really starting to bother me. Thanks.

I think I will turn in.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Friday, November 25, 2016

Post 3417 - Friday

Past 10:30

Went to bed comparatively early Thursday night. I wanted to get up early this morning to take advantage of Black Friday sales.

I was off today anyway. I got up around 6:15 and arrived at the Superstore in Bayer's Lake at about 6:58. There was a line up ahead of me, but not a big line up. Maybe 20 people ahead of me. I got in and grabbed a shopping cart and made a bee line to the tv's, like everybody else was.

There was amazing deals on televisions. They were all RCA models. RCA is not exactly the greatest at much of anything any more, but the 32" led RCA I bought 2 years ago as a nice, clear picture and still works very well. The 32" RCA they were selling this year was 30 dollars cheaper than the one 2 years ago, at only $119 plus a $19 environmental fee. No sales tax today. So, $138 to walk out of the store with the item, which is an excellent deal. The largest tv they had was a 55" 4k, for $419 or something, plus whatever the environmental fee would be.

It would be nice to have a television that big, but it would dominate whatever room I put it in. My house is not that big. The largest room is the rec room, and even there, it would occupy such a large area that there wouldn't be room for much of anything else.

And, correct me if I am wrong, but what is the deal with 4K, anyway? There is virtually no content to view on it that takes advantage of what the technology allows for. Cable broadcasts around here at a compressed 720p. If you get your channels over the air, it's likely 1080p, non-compressed, still far short of what 4K can offer. I don't get it.

Anyway, even though I could barely justify it, I got one of those 32" tv's today. I think I will put it in the middle bedroom upstairs, but maybe I will use it for something else, like I don't know what, yet, so don't ask. Patricia wanted me to get some Dawn dish detergent, saving the tax. I got a couple of books. Several boxes of cereal. And two, three packs of Skull Candy headphones for $15 each, so 5 dollars for each set of headphones. I didn't bother with the VR goggles or the bluetooth headphones or anything else they were offering.

I was a little miffed that the cat food I wanted to get for Newbie wasn't there. It was literally the only brand, and variety, of cat food that wasn't in the store. I ended up going next door to Wal*Mart to buy it there, so I got two bags of the stuff.

After getting breakfast to go, I returned home and showed Patricia what I got. She was awake by that time, about 9am, and wagged her finger at me about purchasing the television. But, she had to concede that it was a heck of a deal.

I spent the rest of the day taking it easy, to be honest. Took a nap in the afternoon, the lazy bum, me. But tonight I spent a couple of hours speaking to relatives of a man who was murdered 25 years ago. The article for Frank is starting to take shape in my head. After I finish writing another true crime column, maybe this weekend, I will commence writing this one. Hope to finish both next week in time to work on a third article. That third article is about a man who was murdered 35 years ago. My article will be the first one about this case in many, many years.

Patricia will be gone most of the day tomorrow at a Gaelic thing. She won't be home until like 9pm or something. You know what that means. I can pee standing up again!! Woo hoo.

You guys have a good evening. I will write at you tomorrow.

Bevboy

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Post 3416 - Wednesday

Nearly 10:30.

I just sent off my most recent media column in to my editor at Frank. For reasons I may not discuss, I was in a crabby mood tonight, and that mood likely informed my writing. I had begun writing it Tuesday night. I added some stuff tonight, and revised the entire thing just now. All while crabby. I hope my editor keeps some of the crabbiness in my column. Crabbiness can be a good thing.

The mood I was in, it took me nearly a full 3 hours to write what I did tonight, which is longer than normal. I will try to calm down and take it easy. Calm. Blue. Ocean.

Newbie has been running around the home office tonight, looking up at me with those come hither eyes of his. How can I resist his feline charms? Soon, my pet. Soon.

I was crabby when I wrote that column, but I managed to combat it in the last few minutes. I hid the posts of one of those who caused me such aggravation today. That felt really good. I think the next step will be to stop following the little worm. And, just for good measure, maybe I will unfriend him entirely.

I can take a lot of feces from a lot of of people over a lot of things. I have no problem with people disagreeing with me. I often share memes and jokes on my Facebook, some of which I do not agree with, often to provoke discussion. But the meme I shared today, shared by many other people, caused such grief and vituperation that I wonder where it came from. Here it is:




That is Kanye West on the left, and Gord Downie of Tragically Hip on the right. West was complainng about being tired and was dropping out of his tour. Gord Downie has brain cancer and managed to marshal his energies this summer for one last Hip tour. This month, and maybe next, he is touring small venues in support of a solo album. You may recall that tix to the Halifax concert sold out in minutes. Because that concert is for a charity, scalpers trying to resell those tickets on Kijiji and other places have been banned.

More than a few people on my Facebook thought I was making fun of those who have mental illnesses, as Kanye may have. He has been a so-and-so for many years. Now, apparently, he is a mentally ill so-and-so, and we should feel sorry for him, even though he is a so-and-so. Don't criticize him. It's not his fault. Other people have shared this meme, and I am the one who catches flak for it.

All afternoon, and into the evening, I have been the subject of much vituperation. One dude carried the conversation over to his own Facebook timeline, not mentioning me by name, which would be like tagging me, but going on and on about how this is the close to the most offensive meme in the history of memes, how it (and I) mocked those with mental illnesses, blah blah blah et cetera.

It didn't matter that at least two people on the long thread have mental illnesses, and supported me.

Another person wrote that we should all be nicer to each other. I guess that means that one should never criticize anybody for any reason whatsoever, because that person may have a mental illness and it's not his fault. Does that even make any sense?

I give up.

Anybody who comes after me like that again is dropped from my Facebook friend list. I don't need this feces.

It's fine to disagree with me. Fine to challenge me. But the level of hatred I saw today leveled at me was beyond the pale. I don't need this. And I don't need those who did this to me.

You are warned.

Newbie, I'm on my way, honey.

See you tomorrow.

Bevboy