Category: Life with Pratts

Wake up call

When did William Dean Singleton become Chairman of the Associated Press?

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/04/06/daily16.html

In a past life I worked for Singleton, when he was working for a guy named Joe Albritton. Singleton had a house in town and whenever he was there he required a 6 am wake-up call from the newspaper. It was an afternoon paper, and for a bunch of us the workday started at 5 am. One of the girls always took care of calling Singleton, and I got stuck with the chore maybe once or twice. I think one time it was on a dare.

I got into computers from that job. We had a Harris system that never worked right, and when the production guy in charge of it wasn’t around I’d step in. My moment of truth came when I read a sticker on the computer that said, “Use double density diskettes only” and when I took one of the 8-inch floppies out it said single density.

One thing led to another, and working with Harris technicians by phone, I got the thing working well enough to hang in until the system could be replaced. My involvement with that process resulted in one of Singleton’s guys offering me a job in New Jersey, leading a team of installers and troubleshooters.

At the same time, one of my college roommates was trying to talk me into doing the same sort of work, except at hospitals. I decided that hospitals were a better long term bet than newspapers, and as a fringe benefit I’d get to work with my college buddies.

From the item at the link above, it sure seems that Singleton is the same guy he was, both good and bad. I love newspapers, but I despair for the industry’s survival and I’m very glad that I got out of that business.

I love you, man!

Greetings from Albania — I mean Albany! The WiFi service here at the Holiday Inn is pretty good, and I’m glad I brought the new Acer netbook.

Dennis and I are in New York’s capitol for a comic book show. It’s a nerd male bonding weekend! I wouldn’t be here except I had to stop training for the Boston Marathon because of my Achilles tendon problem.

On the way here Dennis had a neat surprise. A recording of us on the college radio station way back in 1976. You can count on me blogging that in the future.

My achilles is my Achilles

The header at the moment shows the Boston Marathon course elevation. If your computer’s monitor maxes out at 1024 pixels across you aren’t seeing all of it. To do that you can click this graphic.

Boston Marathon course elevation

I want to use this header as an annual tradition, but I’m not getting off to a good start, because I won’t be running the Boston Marathon this year. I was on track to do it, but then my Achilles began to act up and it kept getting worse, even with ice and ibuprofen. The podiatrist said the sheath-like tissue around the tendon is badly inflamed and there’s nothing to be done but what I’ve been doing, and wait until it heals.

So, having taken myself out of the running, this morning I helped staff one of the running club’s water stations for the obligatory 21-mile practice run from the starting line to the top of the notorious Heartbreak Hill. Bill Rodgers, the legendary Boston-based marathoner, was supposed to be running with the club today, but to everyone’s disappointment he ran the course yesterday, to avoid today’s heavy rain.

Stuck between a Roku and a soft place

My buddy Dennis and I agree that “Leave it to be Beaver” is one of the best, if not the best, TV show ever made. Years ago, I told Dennis, in a hopeful tone, that someday the entire library of “Beaver” episodes, all six seasons, would be available online for viewing anytime. Well, that day is here — well, almost. A few episodes, for reasons unknown, are available only on disc. But the funny thing about that is, only the first two seasons have been released on DVD. Anyway, thanks to the amazing Roku Netflix player, I can watch Beav’ and lots of other neat stuff while sitting on the porch couch, looking at the 32-inch Sony, instead of sitting in front of the computer.

The Roku Netflix player is, for $100 (plus shipping), the single best deal in existence — assuming you already have a Netflix subscription. It installed easily, the WiFi reception is excellent, and I could say a lot more, but I’ve got to get back to watching more of the Cleavers. Gosh… there’s Cheryl Holdridge as Wally’s sometimes girlfriend, Julie…

Cheryl Holdridge as Julie, in \

Dumber Runner

Why am I doing this?

Congratulations! We’re honored that you will be one of the competitors in the 113th running of the Boston Marathon. Registration for this year’s Boston Marathon sold out in record time, and we look forward to delivering you a memorable experience.

Oh, it’ll be a memorable experience, all right. When I’ve collapsed on Heartbreak Hill and they’re putting me in an ambulance. Every year I say I’m not in shape to run it, but this year I really mean it!