My Thermos

I got a very nice holiday gift from my friends and former colleagues over at Batchbook. They are rebranding so this is the first time I've had the chance to see the new logo in place - way to go!

So the gift seems to be some sort of high end e-ink output device. It is book shaped and I'll be darned if the 'pages' don't feel just like real paper. It's uncanny really. However, I can't seem to find any sort of USB connection or even a way to configure it for Bluetooth or WiFi. I thought that the long cylindrical thing they sent with it might be some sort of adapter but I'm not having any luck.

Any ideas?

You know when you go see live music and the people in the band start talking to the audience, it's always a bit odd when the performer yells out something like 'We Love You."  I can see a "Thanks a lot" or something but the expression of love just seems disingenuous to me. I mean, even a small theatre has a couple thousand people so it seems nearly impossible that they would even know everyone much less love them. Plus, the singer seems to usually be speaking for the whole band, hence the "we" rather than "I." Sure, I guess one guy in a band could be a bit of a free spirit and feel love for everyone but for a whole band to feel that way, about everyone in attendance, it just seems like a stretch. Have it come from a large band in front of a stadium and it just gets to be a bit outrageous.

What do you think?

Apparently last night was the first night of ChakaKhanakah, the annual celebration by jews of the wonderfully talented Chaka Khan. Oddly, even though many folks posted holiday wishes, I found there to be very little recognition or mention of Chaka Khan by anyone. It is as if the holiday is losing it's original purpose and becoming more about potato latkes and candles and such. Many folks are even changing the spelling of ChakaKhanakah to further distance themselves.

I know that you may not think much of her 90's music but her work with Rufus and her contributions to Chicago XI alone are deserving of some recognition. So as we enter this holiday season I implore you to embrace your heritage and traditions and to celebrate ChakKhanakah - teach it to your children and remember what is really important.

Happy ChakaKhanakah Everyone!

About 2 years ago I wrote about how I thought this blog was broken. I was frustrated with spammers and junk traffic and really thought it best that I just cease posting here. I created Sensory Dispensary as a place to continue to share things that I found interesting and unusual but it became exclusively a curated site, there was very little actual created content, very little of my own thought.

So 2 years later as I look here at My Thermos, I realize that it wasn't broken, I was. I had ceased to really enjoy the process of writing. My contributions to Web Worker Daily stalled and it was difficult to feel good about things being written here. Writing, something which I love to do, had become tedious and laborious and just not fun. Admittedly, there was a lot happening then, the economy was hitting us really hard and I was looking to transition from my own business back in to regular employment. Creativity can be elusive, some thrive in challenging times, some seek chaos for inspiration, at the time all I could do was shut down. So I did.

Fast forward 2 years. Picture me doing some straightening up. I'm down in the basement and I glance over and see this old Thermos on the shelf. I smile. I pick it up and take another look at it. I give it a thorough inspection, it's a bit dusty and can certainly use a good cleaning up, but it's really not in as bad condition as I thought. In fact, I think with a little bit of attention I could make it really nice again.

I've been reading back through the archives here and I'm really proud of a lot of what I have written here. My mom calls every blog I write a music blog and I guess there is a lot of music content here, but there is a lot more. Some of it is old and out of date. Some of it I am more proud of than others. But it's all been me, and will continue to be me moving forward.

So here it is, a salvaged Thermos, and really a salvaged me. I feel the need to write again, to create something, to have and share an opinion, and since me and My Thermos go way back, this seems like the best place for it.

Sensory Dispensary will continue to be curated content, videos, photos, etc. My Thermos will hopefully be more thoughtful, more considered postings.

Welcome back!

sb

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This is what the majority of people who visit this blog come here looking for. Obviously they aren't finding it.

It seems that My Thermos is broken. The glass insulation is cracked. I guess it still kind of works but everything is only luke-warm, not the piping hot it should be.

So I've decided to put it down on a shelf in the basement (because that is what one does with a broken thermos.) Here it will sit and gather dust.

I thought about just throwing it away but am not really ready to do that. This old thermos and I have been through a lot together, some 400 entries over 3 years.

But I'm not giving up entirely, I've decided to start anew - not with another thermos, but with a Sensory Dispensary. It's mostly going to be the same thing, a place for me to share the cool stuff that I find in my daily adventures. It will be about music, and art, and video, and food, and a lot of other interesting things. I hope to share more often, quick pics and videos and such as I find them.

I'll also likely cherry pick some of the better content from here and transfer it over - probably in little bursts so that new folks will have a chance to see it and discover it.

If you've been a reader of My Thermos, I thank you and encourage you to head over to the new site and subscribe to me over there. If you've linked to this site on your blog, I encourage you to update those to point over to the Sensory Dispensary .

I'm still tidying things up over there so please pardon the dust - it's mostly complete but expect some minor tweaks over the next couple of weeks.

And with that, I'm putting the lid on this thing.

Cheers!

SB

Eventually / Paul Westerberg

dismissed by many
with legacy hard to match
a darn good album

Out of the Cradle - Lindsey Buckingham

stellar production
catchy tunes stunning guitar
quite enjoyable