In the living years

Do you hear that song? It's about telling people what you feel, here and now. I have been practicing that a lot since my diagnosis, but had gotten into the habit many years before that. I make contact with people to tell them how much I appreciate them, or complete some dangling thread of conversation from twenty years ago. Or apologize.

So yesterday I did it again. In the computer store. I told the owner how excellent his staff are. These are people who have saved me much time and money by explaining things to me about my computers. Yesterday I learned that you can daisy-chain any firewire devices that have two ports, so a hub is not necessary. I also got a replacement for my keyboard, which I spilled water on that morning. In all my years of using computers, I have spilled water on keyboards many times, but this is the first time I killed the keyboard. Usually I turn the board upside down right away, and let the water drain down from the electronics. But yesterday I did not notice, until some time later, the small splash that had gotten in.

So when I was down there getting a new board and learning that I did not need to spend extra money on a device I thought I wanted (a common theme with them ... they're not just fatuous butt-faces trying to sell you things), I told the owner how excellent his staff are. He seemed proud, and thanked me. Yes, I think he's a Christian. So what, he has a right to take it any way he wants. The guy ringing me up also thanked me.

"Well you ..." I said, "...you're, uh, you're welcome."

pants in crisis!

So the Levi's 501s I have known and loved over the years have been modernized to the point that I can no longer wear them. This is a big deal, because since some time in the year 2000, they became the only pants I wore. Programmers are sometimes whipped like dogs and treated like dirt (though well paid!), and I decided at one point that since I felt like I was dying for my project, the least I could do was wear comfortable clothing.

But now the number on the label is a lie ... the pants are actually about four inches wider around the waist (yes, I am familiar with the difference between preshrunk and regular), and they have changed the fabric to this thinner version of denim which I despise. You might counsel me to just buy a smaller waist size. But then, what am I looking at, a 28w 36L? I doubt they even make that size. And I hate the new thin fabric.

So, now that corporate marketing pricks have destroyed one of the all-time classic American products, the question becomes: What pants should I wear? I am thinking about switching to Docker-style khakis. Please, people, if you have any suggestions, let me know. Because I plan to wear these pants seven days a weeks, 365 days a year.