The great re-ripping starts

Apart from a few deaf to world types at one site who don't recognize Child Protection concerns when it hits between the eyes prioritizing their own idenity issues this week has been taken up with the upshot of the newer digital audio player.

This wasn't the question of making up the new card for that player but updating two cards specifically  that date to around 2009/10 and the earliest players that couldn't handle lossless cd quality files.

The cards had a mixture of some downloaded material, a few items currently not available, and a good number of cds I'd copied over some with a real attempt to add full album art including gatefolds often missing from commercial downloads.

Thus we've spent a fair bit of time recopying a batch of those I had made myself from around 2013/4 and sourcing higher quality downloads for those earliest albums I bought on download and on the odd occassion finding cheap used cds where for inexplicable reasons the only downloads are Mp3.

We have however managed to get an Advent Calendar up so christmas can be counted down.

nn

Getting back and staying around

 

This last week was challenging for the sub zero temperatures overnight to the temperatures at zero during the day as we went about in my three inch inside leg grey short trousers, thick socks and textbook duffle coat looking and one might add feeling more like that boy who walked to the garage for his sweets and the mile to school down dark countrylanes.

I'm at one with this life.

This said sometimes I do feel some struggle with it as blogs get started, all guns blazing and then it either runs out of steam or gets taken down.

I did notice this morning (tuesday) a tumblr I had been following that looked back to boyhood past times had been deactivated as although I tend to post far less uniform related stuff on mine - it seems to cause issues - I did enjoy his posts and few others that were not unform related go marked as "potentially mature" which as a category I find confusing.

To me it is as the direction of the text, images or both ARE and obviously Tumblr has always been a sensitive soul when it comes to that or it isn't (although you may not like it in your stream.

Wither he was pushed or gave up I don't know but it is sad when sites go especially when their Ai tasteful images are clever free from some of the more troubling takes on this whole thing that some put out.

Just enjoy the new-old boyhood in the spirit you lived it.

Restored headphones

There are somethings you buy, use, and bin as they've become too worn or damaged to be of use and there others where they can be given a new lease of life.

Take my BayerDynamic DT770Pro headphones bought in 2020 at the peak of the Covid era, not cheap but very high quality headphones designed for monitoring in a variety of differing impedances that while still working well, the padded head rest had started to get a bit frayed with bits breaking off.

Fortunately not only are replacements available but it has a bend over with press stubbs fit so you literally unclip and remove taking care to keep the cable tidy and fit over and seal the new one with the stubbs.

They heaphones now look as good as new.

Attitudes to appearences

The week it must be said hasn't got off to a great start with severe cramp in my leg so I'm limping around, unable to get in the bath, getting a few things done that normally I wouldn't.

Our childhood attitudes to things like school uniform do vary, many of us can recall peers that never seemed to get the full hang of it, always at least one item short or not wearing it tidily and others who seemed happy in it even if it wasn't seen to be cool to really like wearing it.

Some schools just have a dress code - if it's on it then where it comes from isn't an issue - where others had formal uniform with ties that had to got from certain specific companies and vendors.

I wouldn't of had to be told off for not liking my uniform - frankly that lads would do fine for me at the time - but tended to moan because one school I went to actually didn't being run by "progressive" types which made no sense as I felt embarrassed when on school trips where other boys looked much smarter than we did!

Perhaps its hardly surprising that as a legal adult I always pay attention to how I look at important events and situations?

Party time return

Catch up will be achieved sooner ot later after the weekends activities but one thing remains as I type this late Tuesday, which is I and my muse remain very much as one from how I used to wait by the family car to today how I am when people kindly offer me lifts.

Lifts come into play with the Halloween Party where we had a treasure hunt, a quiz and people had halloween connected outfits on and some fireworks.

One is about to take off!

That's more what this whole thing is really more about, the magic of the parties we loved as kids being returned as eternal boys with all that wonder and spontinuity rather than owt else whatever some elsewhere might think.

I'm still him.

Glad it's all over

 

It has been a trying number of weeks that has encrouched a little on blog posts with both personal health issues and Dad's too with ups and downs more suited to mountain ranges  than everyday life.

Then there has been complications and much anxiety with dealings with the Department for Work & Pensions with changes in arrangements, fresh claims, procedures and issues with a digital by default "gateway" with sticking plasters added as it became obvious that really would not work for all apart from massive issues with the I.T. system designed specifically for it too.

With me everything has been handled over the phone as I don't do online well - with my paws they soon start loosing grip and shaking - and seemingly in this district they'd closed off  the personal visits too but it's all been resolved with just periodic reminders of existance to by phoned in around every two weeks.

There won't be a "Monday Blog" tm as I'm away this weekend it there simply will not be time for that.

Sense of place

Bit of a cool start to the week here, working through some troubling family issues I'd sooner keep off the internet in any form and in some respects we return to the notion of "Sense of place" which to be fair has been a pretty big feeling over the decades.

Structurally the usual thing was great grand parents, grandparents, older siblings and then you before getting to more recent additions that might of included a child of your own or that of cousins say 

We generally pay more respects to thoughts, feelings and advice of older people not least for having been around they've learned from mistakes and tend to have a good handle on how things work.

You might well of learned things even as a child drom them by they skills like fixing your bike to how to conduct your life and generally keep out of trouble.

Within my family however whatever the chronological age might be  I am  a "boy" within it which isn't that I may be asked and do contribute to family discussions such as that I referred to earlier on nontheless ultimately I yield to them.

They are the grown ups.

It comes into play where for instance I may make drinks for members who turn up  while they may be engaged in conversation and I may sit on the floor, offering up any seat I might ordinarily had been in.

The fact I am dressed as a  smart casual boy in their presents just adds to whole dynamics, a mature boy who can be trusted rather than sat by the table as an adult.

That is my sense of place within the family and wider community and I have to say it works better for me than pretending to be fully grown up.