August 21-22, 2014
Thursday August 21, 2014. Some businesses are more bureaucratic than any government I've encountered. Walgreens drug chain is among them.
Missed two calls saying my prescription was ready to be picked up. I don't have a prescription at Walgreens. Tried to call back, so they could correct their mistake and call the right number.
After enduring a commercial, I was allowed to go through a maze to the pharmacy department and wait.
Waited, waited, waited. Gave up. Tried again several more times.
Sent email to Walgreens headquarters, filling out their complaint form.
***Attended Adult Children Anonymous meeting.
***Friday August 22, 2014. A soon-to-open store in my neighborhood has a window sign saying "sneakers/apparel/lifestyle." They probably won't literally sell lifestyles. Found myself thinking about a store which would.
I probably wouldn't buy a lifestyle from a store whose window display includes issues of Life Sucks Die magazine.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Thursday, August 21, 2014
August 14-20, 2014
Thursday August 14, 2014. Adult Children Anonymous -- got my eight-year medallion.
***On the bus home, a large group which included some with cat whiskers painted on their faces boarded. Turned out they were returning from the International Cat Video Festival.
***The August issue of Chess Life has an article on Fritz Leiber's chess-related sf and fantasy stories.
***Friday August 15, 2014. I usually wish the classical music announcers on KSJN talked much, much less. However, this was Leon Theremin's birthday. Turns out he was a Soviet spy, along with his other work.
***Saturday August 16, 2014. Mnstf (Twin Cities sf club) meeting at Scott and Irene Rauns. Good meeting.
***Sunday August 17, 2014. Reread Melissa Scott's Conceiving the Heavens -- a book on writing science fiction, published in 1999. Included was a bit of speculation about electronic currency. I suspect Ms. Scott didn't expect it to arrive just ten years later.
***MinnSpec (Minnesota Speculative Fiction Writers) meeting at the Uptown Lunds supermarket. Topic: Emotional Manipulation of the Reader. I suspect the topics brought up could be used for at least six panel discussions.
I brought the (not(yet?)) official MinnSpec Library for its first outing. The library was, so far, six books on writing which I hadn't read in a while. One got taken out.
***Wednesday August 20, 2014. Birthday of H. P. Lovecraft and Jacqueline Susann.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Wednesday August 13, 2014 Berlin Wall anniversary
Night the Wall went up, I was listening to Radio Moscow news. But it was next day before I found out what had happened.
The newscaster kept explaining Why This Step Was Necessary. And I kept waiting to find out what that step was.
***"Turn of the century charm," real estate ad in a neighborhood paper. Someone hadn't noticed the 20th century is over.
***To Waite House for monthly NAPS (Nutritional Assistance Package for Seniors), and for twice-monthly produce giveaway.
The produce giveaway is preceded by a presentation. This time, on sugar in bottled drinks. You might be surprised to learn that sodas and energy drinks have unhealthy amounts of sugar.
We were urged to sign up for a "sodacation." Refrain from drinking sodas with sugar between August 17th and September 2nd. Participants to get a choice of free items at the end; with drawing for a grand prize the following week.
I signed up.
***Seen from bus on the way home: a stilt-walker with butterfly-like wings. Part of a local health expo.
Night the Wall went up, I was listening to Radio Moscow news. But it was next day before I found out what had happened.
The newscaster kept explaining Why This Step Was Necessary. And I kept waiting to find out what that step was.
***"Turn of the century charm," real estate ad in a neighborhood paper. Someone hadn't noticed the 20th century is over.
***To Waite House for monthly NAPS (Nutritional Assistance Package for Seniors), and for twice-monthly produce giveaway.
The produce giveaway is preceded by a presentation. This time, on sugar in bottled drinks. You might be surprised to learn that sodas and energy drinks have unhealthy amounts of sugar.
We were urged to sign up for a "sodacation." Refrain from drinking sodas with sugar between August 17th and September 2nd. Participants to get a choice of free items at the end; with drawing for a grand prize the following week.
I signed up.
***Seen from bus on the way home: a stilt-walker with butterfly-like wings. Part of a local health expo.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
8/2/14-8/6/14
Saturday August 2, 2014 To DreamHaven Books for Michael Merriam's reading.
DreamHaven had a rack of free books. One I took was The Year 2000, published 1970 (ed. Harry Harrison.) Among glimpses of that future year:
The US and the Soviet Union will have solved their pollution problem, and will be the world's most prosperous countries.
New York City will have a dominant Black majority, and a white minority. And apparently no Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans....
Smoking tobacco will be as respectable as it was in the 1950s.
Some female Australian government employees will go topless at work.
The reading was good. Merriam read from published work, and a bit from his Fringe Festival show.
Tuesday August 5, 2015 The Indonesian Hobbits didn't exist, it seems. New expert analysis of the original skeleton shows Down Syndrome rather than membership in another human species.
***Attended the National Night Out event at Van Cleve Park.
Wednesday August 6, 2014 Minnesota Daily (U of MN student paper; weekly during summer) story on research study at the U which shows female hormones make addiction more likely.
Saturday August 2, 2014 To DreamHaven Books for Michael Merriam's reading.
DreamHaven had a rack of free books. One I took was The Year 2000, published 1970 (ed. Harry Harrison.) Among glimpses of that future year:
The US and the Soviet Union will have solved their pollution problem, and will be the world's most prosperous countries.
New York City will have a dominant Black majority, and a white minority. And apparently no Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans....
Smoking tobacco will be as respectable as it was in the 1950s.
Some female Australian government employees will go topless at work.
The reading was good. Merriam read from published work, and a bit from his Fringe Festival show.
Tuesday August 5, 2015 The Indonesian Hobbits didn't exist, it seems. New expert analysis of the original skeleton shows Down Syndrome rather than membership in another human species.
***Attended the National Night Out event at Van Cleve Park.
Wednesday August 6, 2014 Minnesota Daily (U of MN student paper; weekly during summer) story on research study at the U which shows female hormones make addiction more likely.
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