Friday. An odd end of day yesterday feeling so “up” as it were after a problematic start. Not sure what any of this is about, but this morning started awakening just before the alarm was set and then going to and back from breakfast by eight with the sun now up in a clear sky. They're saying sun today with high temperatures in the low seventies through the weekend and on into next week. So what the hell, why not just relax and enjoy it?

A moment of decision, of course, when I returned. Best to do the laundry today, otherwise (for a number of minor reasons) I'd have to put it off until Tuesday. I'm very good at putting the laundry off, but this would be the best time and indeed, it's now in the wash. Another one of these minor miracles. Well, signs of minimal enterprise, we'll not overwork miracles, not this early in the morning.

A good meet up at Roy's last night. Three Guinness, as I recall, picking up a pint of ice cream on the way home and heading into that “up” evening that included some decent time on the guitar. Guinness and ice cream may be good for your chord changes. My, my, I even managed to catch that soap chapter I was moaning about and it went as I suspected. A resolution that looked as if it would be in the offing in the first two minutes will be dragged out (I have no doubt) forever. I could have missed it three times over and still re-entered to find everything pretty much as I'd left it.

Later. I happened to turn on a TV program where an author was talking about his book Wired for War and I found the presentation interesting so I bought the book from Amazon by having it downloaded to my Kindle. The presentation was about technology, robots and the changes it's bringing to war and to life in general and I was thinking, as I was ordering the book, a task of less than a minute, that yes, things are indeed changing. This 21st century is going to make the 20th century look like the 18th and 19th centuries look to people my age: a stone age when life was hard and short. It would be nice to be able to see more of this new one I think. There are downsides, the atomic bomb being one we got in the 20th century, there will be more than a similar few in the 21st, but still, toys for the boys after all.

I guess the aspect I envy most is the ability, if you are playing at being an artist of any kind - writing, photography, acting, video, music and the rest - is the ability to practice the art easily and on the cheap. You can self publish just by putting up a page on the web, get your feet wet, get the experience you need to see if it's something you really need/want or if it was just a fanciful idea you found interesting but ultimately didn't do the trick, something you can only determine by trying.

You'd think as a potential journalist/columnist/editor or whatever, given the current changes in the publishing industry, it would be a bleak passion to follow, but my reaction would be (if I were young enough to be in school at the moment) the new areas opening are much richer and promising than they were in my days in the sixties.

You don't do this stuff to make money, there are many easier ways to make money. The question has always been is it a true calling and, if it is, the money factors will sort themselves out once you've gotten a foothold. Anyway, robotic bombs and such, probably not the best of children begat by this informational/robotics whatever revolution but, for the ability to make whatever art you may have thought you may have wanted to make, it's invaluable.

This thing I'm doing here. Given the time required, what in the hell am I up to? I'm not writing for readership as such, certainly not the way for example I wrote the old humor column when I was in college. I could do that, but I haven't. I'm not sure why. Some of it is a consideration on my part this will eventually lead to something else, lead me to something that in retrospect was obvious, but after thirteen years? And at my age? Going where?

I'm not really looking for anything commercial or otherwise to come out of this, whatever this is may be or become, that's perhaps appropriate for someone much younger. Again, I have no idea, but I suspect it would have led in some interesting directions had this been available in the sixties when I was in college.

Later again. Once the laundry had finished I took a bus and then walked to the hospital lab for the monthly blood thinner (Protime) test. Good for me. It was due today and I didn't put it off. They called a couple of hours later to say it was right on the mark, please get another one in four weeks. OK. I might manage that.

Later still. Some guitar, the chords seem to be finally tightening up, a walk to the usual place for coffee, some pictures of geese and gulls “bathing” in the lake. Groups of them going under and coming up flapping their wings. I've not seen anything like it before. I probably should have taken more time and taken more pictures, but I've said that before and done nothing about it. Time and patience make for good pictures. Another image or two of the usual sort, but a good walk for all that.

Evening. Sushi and sake down the way at five, back now at six to listen to the PBS news, finish this and get on with the guitar. Feel pretty good, it's been a nice day, they're saying sunny in the low seventies now throughout the coming week. I was going to attend a gallery opening today during the Oakland Art Murmur but decided against it. I'll watch that Korean soap (again) and get to bed early. Feel good. That sake, like the Guinness last night, was nice.