Thursday. Last night went well, felt good, drank the two glasses of sake over the course of the early evening and got to bed just after nine. Up this morning with the alarm, delaying it a bit, but up finally and off to breakfast under an overcast sky. They're saying rain later today as they said yesterday and, I suspect, one of these days they're going to be right. Still, back from breakfast before eight feeling pretty good. We're working on a good string of these feeling pretty goods. But then my short term memory seems to be shot, so maybe that string isn't so long and I'm guessing. Doesn't matter much.

I have a replacement hard drive due from Dell today that I'll use to fix Mr. D and Ms. Y's laptop. I was hoping to have the thing in hand on Tuesday, have the thing ready for them when they came back from vacation yesterday, but such is not to be the case. UPS. I hope they arrive at a convenient time (like soon) and I don't have to wait around all day, but nothing new in that. We'll see.

Tomorrow will mark two full weeks that my D3 camera body has been sitting at the Nikon Southern California repair facility on “parts hold”. This for a routine checkup and cleaning. I'm a little worried about sending in the D3s. How long is that one going to take?

I don't think anyone has any sympathy for you on that.

As in - boo! hoo! - one of my Cadillacs is in the shop? I'm left with but two or three others to run the occasional errand? Do you see my picture taking as comparable to running “an occasional errand”?

Yup.

Later. A phone call from my barber asking if I were still alive, as I'd missed my appointment on Tuesday morning, I not being someone who missed appointments. She'd had trouble finding my phone number as I'd gotten rid of my old mobile some time back and converted my land line to an iPhone. I'd completely forgotten or, more accurately, I hadn't read my calendar (affixed above the kitchen sink in great big bright colors) and was completely surprised. Another little memory “slip” to add to the list.

OK, I was planning on photographing a Moveon.org event in front of the local Democratic Party headquarters on Telegraph, so I made an appointment just before it to get the hair cut and then photograph the demonstration. On this rather brisk overcast morning in Oakland.

Not much to say. The hair trimmed, my barber really was worried something had happened to me and had spent no small amount of effort to track me down, on then to Telegraph to take pictures at the tail end of their event. They're not happy with Mr. Obama and his handling of the banks.

I'm not very happy with Mr. Obama and his handling of the banks and I'd vote for his opponent if they weren't all total crazies and flakes. We have a one party system with one side gone bad and the other side gone crazy and worse. I wasn't thinking the Twenty-first Century would be so depressing in precisely this way, but then neither was anyone else (except for those who were, for some odd reason, paying attention).

Later still. Well, obviously I spent the time necessary to go through the photographs and put a section up on artandlife. I really didn't have quite enough to make a full twenty-one photograph section, but I made do with a couple that should have been better. I'd say I'll remember to push harder the next time, except I always say I'll remember for the next time and then don't follow through. What the hell, I was tired, it was overcast and I was ready to go home. All that time sitting in the barber chair, it will wear you down.

Evening. Futzed with laptop after the hard drive finally arrived. I'll need to futz with it further tomorrow. I may have more of a problem on my hands than I was thinking. Still, all will somehow come together, it generally does. Other than that to bed early, I think. A little more guitar and then sleep. Soon.