Roger O Green

May miscellany: going postal

Those Amazon balloon packing pods do not weigh much.

Sometimes you just have to note some miscellaneous stuff. This is a picture that the Daughter took one school day on her phone in mid-May. She was waiting for the bus about 7:30 a.m. a block from our house. It was a particularly stormy morning, but it ended up being a rather nice day.
***
I was mailing a couple packages at the post office. One contained two large pictures in frames containing glass. So the box was very large, roughly 18″ (.46m) by 14″ (.36m) by 8″ (.2m). I ws told that I could spend $13 for six-day delivery or a couple dollars more for 2-day delivery.

But then the postal worker measured the package, then put it on the scales. Because it only weighed about 2 kg (4.5 lb), this meant its mass was less than a box of that size “should” go for. Those Amazon balloon packing pods – a level of them below the pictures and two levels above to keep the items safe – do not add much. So the priority shipping would have meant an $11 SURCHARGE (wha?), and I stayed with the ground option.
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Our library recently answered its 60,00th inquiry in May, news of which was posted on the internal NY SBDC listserv. We got a lot of kudos, which is nice, because we’re a couple steps away from the client most of the time. The prospective entrepreneur comes into one of our two dozen centers across the state and speak to one of our business advisors. The advisor speaks to us, or otherwise contacts us.

My favorite advisor response, unsurprisingly, was a musical one, one of my very favorite Neil Young songs, Long May You Run, which among other things, namechecks the Beach Boys.
***
And speaking of music, someone took a photo of our church choir on May 21. It was the day one of our past (and hopefully future) choir members had her twin daughters baptized.

May rambling #3: A Steampunk Opera

“Nearly 400,000 views later, reflections on a viral post”

2011: the Daughter, niece Alex, niece Rebecca

Antarctica’s ice sheet may be approaching an unstoppable collapse

John Oliver Goes For Blood To Rip Dialysis Companies

An Open Letter to Rev. Franklin Graham from a “Small Church” Pastor

On Memorial Day we ought to remember the dead, not celebrate the Empire

New Orleans Mayor Landrieu’s address on Confederate monuments

The complicated origin of the Seth Rich conspiracy theory

Did the Turkish President’s Security Detail Attack Protesters in Washington? What the Video Shows

Frank Deford, who wrote about sports with panache and insight, dies at 78

The Most Important Scientist You’ve Never Heard Of

AMONGST THE STARS by Kelly Sedinger is now available for purchase

Mamet Threatens Fines Over Post-Show Discussion of His Play

Why I Stopped Going to Movie Theatres: The Death of Etiquette

Jaquandor: The Force will be with you always

Uncle Sam’s gonna want my apples

I divorced my husband but forged a lasting bond with his ex-wife

The Sad History of Hydrox Cookies

Elaborate senior photos allow students to live out their fantasies in yearbook

Now I Know: The Kitchen Utensil that Woofed and The Mexican Art Tax and Room for Two

From Dan – Hebdomadal: “Spell checker likes it. Means something that happens once a week every seven days, used especially for organizations. It’s not considered archaic, although usage was more common in the 1800s. Saw it in a (paper) book first published in 1986 that I am currently reading, used without a trace of irony.” Wouldn’t “weekly” do?

Everyone Gets a ‘Trophe

Nobody Did It Better: Thank You, Sir Roger Moore, and from Maverick: Season 4

Rowan Atkinson interviews Elton John

Weird Minor-League Strikeout by the Binghamton Rumble Ponies pitcher

Arthur’s household hints Continue reading “May rambling #3: A Steampunk Opera”

Knox Choir Concert, Thursday, June 8

A wide variety of music will be sung, including works by Fauré and Bach, as well as music from the gospel tradition, and songs from around the globe.

The Knox Choir is comprised of youth in grades 7 through 12 and is one of eight choirs of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Dayton, Ohio, where Pastors Glenn and Miriam served prior to coming to First Presbyterian in Albany.

This summer the group is embarking on a seven-day concert tour of the Northeast, including at First Presbyterian Church, 362 State Street, at the corner of Willett Street, across from Washington Park, in Albany, on Thursday June 8.

A wide variety of music will be sung, including works by Fauré and Bach, as well as music from the gospel tradition, and songs from around the globe. Since 2007, the Knox Choir has done eight tours, including three Presbyterian heritage tours of Scotland.

The evening will begin with a Potluck Supper at 6:00 in Assembly Hall at First Presbyterian. Bring some food to share and enjoy good conversation.

The Knox Choir Concert will begin at 7:30 pm in the church sanctuary. An event for all!

In addition to presenting concerts in churches, the group will be exploring local points of interest in Western and Central New York, Maine, Boston, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

U is for unsub (ABC Wednesday)

Unsub is an American television series that aired on NBC from February 3 to April 14, 1989.

My friend Dan wrote:

The word is “unsub.” Spellcheck doesn’t like it.

1) Google: Unsubscribe, as in cancel a subscription.

2) Everyone else: Unknown subject of an investigation. Used mainly by US TV crime shows.

Hmm, I don’t watch the crime shows, but let’s check it out.

Oxford Living Dictionary

1. Unsubscribe.
‘you won’t be spammed and you can unsub if you change your mind’

Origin
1990s: abbreviation.

2. US, informal
(in police use) a person of unknown identity who is the subject of a criminal investigation.
‘putting together these insights will help police come up with a composite picture of the unsub’

Origin
1970s: abbreviation of unknown subject or unidentified subject.

So the crime reference is EARLIER than the opt out reference

Urban Dictionary:
“Our unsub is most likely a white male in his mid 30s, with a penchant for Star Wars action figures, and chocolate milk-type beverages.”

Criminal Minds Glossary

(Unknown Subject) The term used by Profilers in lieu of a suspect’s name.

Quora:
Yes, the FBI uses this term in real life, every single day. In fact, it is one of the bureau’s official terms used in FBI reports of investigations (FD-302’s).

Wikipedia:
“Unsub is an American television series that aired on NBC from February 3 to April 14, 1989. The series revolves around an elite FBI forensic team that investigates serial murderers and other violent crimes. Unsub is an abbreviation for the unknown subject of an investigation.

No, I had never heard of this show, which starred David Soul from Starsky & Hutch. It was on Friday nights at 10 p.m.

Amazon:

UNSUB: A Novel Hardcover – June 27, 2017
by Meg Gardiner (Author)

Caitlin Hendrix has been a Narcotics detective for six months when the killer at the heart of all her childhood nightmares reemerges: the Prophet. An UNSUB—what the FBI calls an unknown subject—the Prophet terrorized the Bay Area in the 1990s and nearly destroyed her father, the lead investigator on the case.

So, Dan, you are correct, sir. I had no idea.

ABC Wednesday – Round 20

Concert – Albany Gay Men’s Chorus and Capital Pride Singers

ALBANY GAY MEN’S CHORUS

IT’S A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING
Selections from the Broadway Songbook

CAPITAL PRIDE SINGERS

REMEMBERING ORLANDO

Concert begins at 6:00 pm
Free and family friendly

First Presbyterian Church of Albany
362 State St, Albany, New York 12210
at the corner of State and Willett Streets
across from Washington Park

last of the First Friday concerts at FPC until October