Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry for she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon and soon too all. I have to say that I was most amused yesterday to get an order from a Web TV address. I can’t believe that anyone still has Web TV – I thought they were done, but I guess they are not done. In a way, that makes me happy – Web TV was my introduction to the World Wide Web (I’d already been introduced to World Wide Wickets, but that’s another story). Someone gave it to me for Christmas back in, I believe, 1998, maybe 1997 – not sure. We hooked it up, I made everyone leave (one of my Christmas Eve Do things, of course) and I began playing with it – going to some websites, and discovering Usenet newsgroups and, most importantly, eBay in its infancy. I stayed up until five in the morning – I could not stop. And I could get and send e-mails and I could do all of it sitting on my couch like so much fish with a keyboard with the Internet on my television. I lived for Web TV. I was addicted to Web TV. I had a Web TV on my back. On Usenet groups I was known as fynsworth@webtv.com (yes, that’s where that name originated). I got into some pretty amusing and heated battles – very few people knew who I was, so that was sort of fun. And I took on all the bullies, although it took me quite a while to figure out that most of them were trolls and just did what they did to get a reaction. I realized that if you didn’t respond they would just wither away and die. Ultimately, I wrote a short story about an incident that really happened, although I fictionalized it heavily and made it turn out the way I wanted it to – that story was called Your Worst Nightmare, and it remains a personal favorite of mine. Even when I finally got my first laptop, I kept my Web TV active, because Usenet especially was great on Web TV – much better organized and easy to read. When I saw how it was on the laptop I just couldn’t even begin to deal with it. So, I had my Web TV pretty much active right into the new century. It was often times slow and frustrating, but I was on eBay every day and every night, bidding like crazy (in the days before there were automatic bid programs – you really had to sit there and try to snipe seconds before the close of the auction and pray that Web TV would get the bid through on time. I wrote every single The Real A column on Web TV. Somewhere in the garage, I still have my keyboard and all that equipment. I wonder if I could hook it up and if it would work – that might be fun to try, actually. When we were organizing the garage, my very first Toshiba laptop was out there and we fired it up and it worked – I was amazed at what I found on that computer. Anyway, part of me misses the Web TV days – it really was fun. Does anyone know anyone who still uses it?
Yesterday was a fun little day. I got up early, then CDs arrived along with the helper. We got everything packaged up, did the bigger orders, and then drove everything first to the postal office and then to the UPS Store. Then we came back home. I had an e-mail waiting for me that solved the mystery of the very errant and truant missing envelope and check – it was just returned to the sender who, wait for it, forgot to put a stamp on it. He apologized and put it back in the mail with a stamp. I wish he’d actually overnighted it to me, but I guess it will be here in a few days. In the meantime, this week’s envelope and check did arrive, so that can go in the bank today and Kritzerland can pay some bills. Hoo and ray. The helper then put labels on boxes, then she took half of the humungous pile of invoices, and a lot of boxes and will address those at her leisure at home. I’ll do my half at my leisure. She left, and then our very own Mr. Grant Geissman came by and he transformed my walls by changing things around – he has a great eye for that sort of thing, and suddenly wall space has opened up in every room, which is great. Where once each painting had its own wall, he’s now grouped paintings together – it looks so good that way. And he did some stuff in the den I would never have thought of. It was quite fun, I must say. I also answered lots of e-mails, printed more orders, and began a little negotiation for a trade I’m trying to do that would, if successful, net me something that would be so incredible and perfect I would dance a jig and a half. We’ll see what happens. After Grant left, I went over to Jerry’s Deli, as I was starving. I had my small turkey sandwich (with bacon added), and a small fries (which I didn’t finish, for once). After that, I came home, did some work on the computer, and then did a quick mile and a half jog. I then sat on my couch like so much fish, but without Web TV.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled The Picnic at Hanging Rock, an Australian film from Australia. This film was directed by Peter Weir, a terrific director. I’d never gotten more than ten minutes into the film – for whatever reasons (I had the laserdisc and the DVD) I just couldn’t get past those ten minutes. Well, it’s quite a good film – dreamy, strange, mysterious – and Weir, in those days, just had a unique visual style (which he’d use to great effect in The Last Wave and then Witness). Rachel Roberts is wonderful as the headmistress of a private school. All the young girls are lovely and the whole atmosphere of the film was quite marvelously marvelous. The transfer is excellent (the Blu-Ray is region B) and I’ll be watching the extras soon.
After that, I listened to some music, did some more work on the computer and that was that. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get to bed and try to get a decent night’s sleep before she of the Evil Eye arrives and wakes me from my Web TV reverie.
Today, I shall do the long jog, I shall deliver a big box o’ CDs, I must do errands and whatnot, I must hopefully pick up some packages and mail bits, and then I must have a little work session with Miss Alet Taylor, after which we shall find something amusing to eat.
Tomorrow, I go to some sort of housewarming and then I’ll be home in time for the new episode of Mad Men. The coming week is very, very busy, and we’ll be shipping out a humungous number of CDs by week’s end. I have meetings, meals, writing, planning, doing and going and also going and doing, not necessarily in that order.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, deliver CDs, do errands and whatnot, have a work session, and sup. Today’s topic of discussion: If you could get any collectible in the world, what would it be and why would you want it? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we fondly remember the glory days of Web TV.