Thursday, May 20, 2004

Bye-bye Briscoe
I've said a lot about the racism and leftism (but I repeat myself) that characterizes the "Law and Order" TV show. But still I must admit to a little rueful pang when Jerry Orbach retired his Lenny Briscoe character last night. I managed to catch the last few minutes of the show in a timeout of the Kings-Timberwolves fiasco. I always liked Briscoe's attitude toward the bad guys and his skepticism about the weenie DA's and their technicalities. His battle with alcoholism gave him a dimension not shown by anyone else on the show. His daughter was a drug addict killed by a dealer. This character had depth, pathos. His every action and word was colored by the pain he'd been through. His anger at a kid who was throwing away his life, or had taken someone else's, appeared more understandable and real than that of some of the other characters. Good on yer, Lenny.

Good Cocktail
God Bless Google! I found a Dubonnet Cocktail on some site:

Equal parts (red)Dubonnet and gin (I used Beefeaters - mmm!)
over ice in a rocks glass
with twist - I used lemon wedge.

Delicious and powerful and smooth. And the formula is simple to remember after you've had a few. After all, Dubonnet, as I understand, is a vermouth or vermouth-related. So it should go well with gin. And it does. I may try it with some soda or seltzer as a long drink.

I have no idea if it goes well with my Cortislim non-diet. But I don't care. I'm still taking four a day and eating and drinking pretty much what I want. And have yet to see the looser-clothes phenomenon.

Monday, May 17, 2004

Nailed
Lileks nails Hunter Thompson, after scaring all of us former fathers of formerly small children by losing Gnat momentarily. The only mystery is why someone else has not nailed Thompson so definitively before this. I can only feel glad I am not Thompson.

Sunday, May 16, 2004

The plan
OK, four weeks have gone by since I started using Cortislim and I have hardly lost any weight or inches, but I do feel better. Big deal. I'm spending a hundred dollars just to feel better?! No!! I want weight loss and svelteness. So I'm switching from two capsules a day to four, starting today, two at breakfast, one at lunch, one at supper. And I'm continuing my regular diet, but no eating between meals or after about eight at night. We'll see what the next four weeks brings. On the bright side, my Peugeot cinq-cent-cinq should be back a la route by Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest. A small oil leak apparently caused all the trouble.

My digital camera is working great - I bought a Nikon Coolpix 3200. With my older son's help it's hooked up to my Linux computer, without using any of that software that comes with the camera. Linux rules again! Now I can bring photos into the Gimp and warp them beyond recognition. Went to a little air display out at the Tallahassee Airport today. Saw two F-16s and the inside of a Fedex 727. Oh, yes, and two old AT-6s took off in front of us. Actually they were in Marine garb, so I guess they were really SNJ's or some such designation. I felt the History Channel was coming to life. I'm inspired. Maybe one of these years I'll make it to Oshkosh. I've always wanted a Bensen Gyrocopter. But I want someone else to build it for me. Now to find another place to live. True independence beckons.