Well...thanks to a local establishment's awesome Valentines/Presidents Day sale, I bit the bullet and got a new laptop. Now I will have to spend the next several days living at our public library as I install and download updates on all the stuff I want to load back on this new one. As you can see Bruiser (our 15 lb FIV+ rescue kittie) thinks he is going to do this for me!
Not exactly how I'd planned to spend Valentine's day, but I figured at least I could sit and watch the Olympics and the Uof Md (sibs + inlaws are grads) vs Clemson (daughter's alma mater) ladies basketball game while I made backup discs, and did basic installs. These I can even do while listening to an audio book. However...........NOT to happen on the TV end....
Suddenly our TV satellite has decided to dump all the network TV stations leaving us a screen that says:
No need to call us- we are aware that this TV station is temporarily unavailable. We'll have this channel back as quickly as possible. Sorry for the interruption.How quickly we become dependent on technology. I don't watch much TV, but really do enjoy the Winter Olympics and women's basketball.
Anyway, I did manage to get some reading done. Right now, I'm reading two different books and listening to a third. They all seem to have a rather depressing premise: corruption is part of everyday life in each of these. I'll have post reviews when I finish each of them, but this premise of humans having to be immoral to get something done is handled differently in each. I'm currently reading
- The Singer's Gun by Emily St. Martin . Here the protagonist (and perhaps murder victim?) is dealing in stolen goods, black market documents, etc. The setting is NewYork and the island of Ischia off the coast of Italy (although we haven't spent much time on the island yet) With over 1/2 the book finished, I'm still not sure if I'm supposed to like or feel sorry for this gentlemen, and I'm certainly not likely many of the other characters or their morals. This is a book that had better show me more in the second half if it's ever going to get me to recommend it to anyone. It's an ARC from Unbridled books, and it's readable enough that I'll finish it and give it an honest review.
- Buried Strangers by Leighton Gage. This one is set in Brazil, and I checked it out of the library having seen it recommended someplace, but can't remember where! Chief Inspector Mario Silva seems to be the only honest person in the entire country's crime fighting bureaucracy and while it's interesting, this is not yet a Brazilian Commissario Brunetti (by Donna Leon). The plot is riveting enough, and the settings well drawn, so I'll probably get this one finished tonite (particularly if there's no TV!)
- The Case of the Missing Servant: A Vish Puri Mystery by Tarquin Hall I just finished this one on audio, and it was delightful. Private detective Vish Puri leads a motley crew of cunningly named operatives (Tubelight, Flush, FaceCream) as they try to find a missing servant named Mary who has disappeared from the household of a wealthy attorney who has been accused of her murder. Quite different than his normal business of screening prospective spouses for India's numerous arranged marriages, Puri must wend his way through layers of bribes, payoffs, and corrupt doctors, lawyers, cops, judges, etc. Tarquin Hall gives us a picture of present day India by juxtaposing the haves with the have-nots. At one point, I wondered if anyone was above palm-greasing, but in the end, the reader should be satisfied with the outcome.
Wish me luck...........
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Having read about Boston Bibliophile's trip to the emergency room after trying to give her cat some medicine, I suggest protective garb. Long leather gloves...a hockey mask...several long overcoats...
ReplyDeleteWe used to wrap a pillow case around our cats neck so no paws could be used as weapons. It took 2 of us to get those pills down his throat. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI hate to say this, but the Bruise...as we call him...is the world's biggest lover, and although he makes faces, and shudders, he takes his pills with not fussing,clawing or running away. He just likes to be held, and therefore will do anything to get a cuddle.
ReplyDeleteIf he were female, I'd say "slut"
I have the same satellite TV you have. My husband wanted to watch the Daytona 500 and I wanted to record the Olympics, so he worked while I finished my current read. Very frustrating. I was overjoyed it came back on so we could see the Chinese pair's short program in figure skating last night.
ReplyDeletePeople think cats are standoffish, and some are, but they have very individualized personalities. Yours sounds delightful.