it's been awhile, hasn't it?

I have been meaning to update my blog more often this past winter, but could not make myself break away from other activities — like Minecraft!

Well, Easter has come, and after I have just told someone that they are calling the wrong telephone number (and have been for days!), I decided to get to work on the blog. My sister the ex-teacher's birthday dinner (with candles whose flames are colored by various metals) was a nice break.

blizzard day

When I woke up last Monday morning after a restless night, there was a foot (30 cm) of snow on the ground. It was heavy going to remove the snow from the deck. I then learned that Ball State would not open until 10 a.m. Since my own county was restricted to emergency vehicles only, I decided to take a vacation day. I spent most of the day on Minecraft (of course).

bronchitis

That night was restless because I had developed a cold that spread into my lungs, making me cough incessantly. Finally I had to go to the clinic on campus. The nurse practitioner found bronchitis and prescribed me something called a Z-Pak, which is a regimen of six antibiotic pills: Two the first day, one every day after that, taken with lunch.

stolen tire

Two weeks ago some worthless fellow stole his mother's van. The van turned out to have a flat tire. No problem! A van of a similar make and model was parked there, so he took one of its tires, leaving the empty well supported by a cinderblock. The punch line is that the stolen tire is Madre's! While the authorities hunted for the bastisch, Madre and my sister the editor went to some town near the Ohio border to get a tire to match the stolen one. (A dealer-new tire would be expensive.)

brown service

One day early this year I was driving down Interstate 69 near Muncie's McGalliard Street exit when my instrument panel went whacko, displaying a yellow wrench symbol and the declaration that my oil life was 15%. I did not know at the time that 15% oil life does not mean 15% oil level. This was the first time I saw the wrench symbol, and I freaked out. As Victory Honda, the place I bought the car, was on the way, I pulled in there. It turns out that the wrench symbol meant Get your car serviced, which could have waited for the weekend. But I did not wait, but got my car serviced.

At 60,000 miles, my car was eligible for the brown service. I may assume the brown service is named after the color of the car owner's pants when they see the bill, for this is the most expensive service. Everything internal that can be replaced on the car — fluids, filters, wipers, sensors — is replaced. Thankfully, I have enough money to cover the service, and I get a seventy-two dollar discount.

When I was told that my car was ready, I went to the same place that I was dropped off. That place was a stopover on McKinley Avenue near the bell tower. I forgot to tell Victory that, assuming the same driver will pick me up. Nope: Different driver. As a result I waited on a bench for twenty minutes before calling Victory to learn its driver was on east side of the library waiting for me.

adiaŭ mia kara outpost daria

It was a shock when I visited the Outpost Daria site last night to find the home page replaced by an announcement, posted last Friday, that the Web site will close at the end of May. Apart from a year-long hiatus in 2007 that contributed to a fan-site meltdown, the site was has been maintained by the same gentleman since its inception in 1999. But since Labor Day 2011 the site had been inactive, and the gentleman evidently has decided it was time to move on.

The site's contents is now available in one compressed archive at Mediafire.