Hey! Back in the day, I'd have a new room and called it Urban Fantasy and then moved these last few messages to it.

The whole vampires and werewolves thing seems like something that came after the high fantasy wave of the late 70s to the mid 80s. The late 80s, early 90s, Vampires and werewolves were coming back into vogue - and I never really cared for it. There is this whole goth element to that genre that I never cared for. The Matrix had a heavy dose of this - and it is a "raver/club scene" related thing, too. 

I'm a wizards and dragons kind of guy too... but I'm really more of the mercenary adventurer sort. I don't want to be a paladin, or even a knight. I'm a sellsword... a fighter... As a wizard I'm just sort of... I don't role play my wizards - They're generally an extension of me. I usually play a wizard and a magic-user/fighter so that I can use the MU/Fighter as a shield for my wizard. Lots of DMs figure this out and screw with that plan. But a wizard is vulnerable if he doesn't have a loyal warrior covering his 6. 

Animated series are good for their niche audiences - but even with the current anime fandom that is huge - there isn't the momentum to be really large with this medium - especially a Western anime. Most of the current fandoms of anime art are really kids who are just fascinated with Japan and Japanese culture. Most of them don't really have an appreciation for anime as a historical cartoon art forum - like, they have zero interest in anything predating Akira. It is weird. It would be interesting to see how Holly Justman feels about this - if she shares this observation - but things like Sailor Moon, Star Rangers, G-Force and Speed Racer - the current crop of anime fans have zero interest in these shows - even their original Japanese dubbed versions. 

Nintendo has been a terrible influence on generations after mine - in my opinion. The things they are interested in almost all entirely have some sort of link to Nintendo and maybe to a lesser extent Sony. 

Their vision of Japanese culture and Japanese animation comes to them solely from their experiences with video game consoles that are heavy on Japanese titles. That is where their love for the genre was spawned - mostly. 

Sun May 02 2021 20:12:54 MST from Jerry Moore

Jim Butcher has said that there is another TV series in the works, and if it comes to be, he will have more control over the production than the last time, when he was a constant but they didn't listen to him in the end he walked from it. A lot of the fans, myself included, would like to see it done as an animated series with an anime style. That way you don't have to worry about the cost special effects or balky actors. He would still need iron-fisted control, and it might fail in the end. Too many egos in Hollyweird.

My take on the first TV show is that it was a good thing because it brought a lot of us into the fan group, where we discovered the novels. The series only vaguely resembles the first few novels, and would have been better off if they had changed the name entirely, although then I might never have read the novels, since I don't care for Urban Fantasy in general, and my other favorites aren't liked by many other fans. I like Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, but the flowery British tone of the text puts some people off. Another of my favorites is the Kitty Norville, the vampire DJ series by Carrie Vaughn. That has more fans among the DF folks, but they are into a lot of other series that don't impress me. I'm more into Wizards and Dragons than vampires and the like. I only picked up the Kitty Norville books on a whim and because of a cover, and found them to be interesting, and sort of Dresden lite. I loved the idea of a Christian dude getting turned into a vampire and refusing to give up his faith. Kitty is a Werewolf who was turned against her will.

There have been a couple of anime-like productions that have been popular with some Dresden fans. I don't remember what they were, but they came from one of the big producers of shows. I'll drop in on the fan groups on FarceBook and get the references there. I think that most of the DF fans will get onboard, if they stick to doing the actual novels, and they'll be accessible through the fan groups.

I can see how the Dresden fanbase would be good with an anime adaptation. But, I think it would be unlikely to reach a mainstream audience. Even studio Ghibly struggles outside of the core anime audience. Most of the world, especially the US, doesn't understand anime as an art form for telling complex stories, unfortunately. 

Sun May 02 2021 21:18:52 MST from Jerry Moore

There have been a couple of anime-like productions that have been popular with some Dresden fans. I don't remember what they were, but they came from one of the big producers of shows. I'll drop in on the fan groups on FarceBook and get the references there. I think that most of the DF fans will get onboard, if they stick to doing the actual novels, and they'll be accessible through the fan groups.

Messages cropped from a discussion on Facebook 40 weeks ago:

Chris Petit

I know Jim would love to see an anime version. As he puts it, it costs no more to blow up a city in anime than to blow up a building.  I'd be on board if they used the Castlevania style from Netflix --- brooding and dark.

Christ Schlacta

Would love it to get the HBO treatment.  And I don't mean copious nudity, though there are a few scenes a season that that might work, mostly with the white court and the fae.  No, I mean the whole one-to-two books a season thing.  There are definitely some books that don't make a whole season, and some that definitely do.

James A Miller

I would like to see it done as an anime or in that style or possibly in the style of Batman the Animated series.

Jerry Moore

Rob Cromack : I loved Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, although I had friends who considered themselves to be trufans of Tolkien, and hated it for leaving out the older, first age people, although I figured that would add at least another whole movie. I missed them, myself, but thought it was well done anyway. Then again, I loved the TV Dresden Files show, and just accepted it as an alternate universe. For series that barely lasted one season, I also recommend Special Unit Two as vaguely similar to the Dresdenverse. Magic is real! 😂💖

Joseph Harris

I want a cartoon, like Gargoyles.

Amber Richter Ferguson

Joseph Harris I actually agree. A well done cartoon series won’t have us all having to pick apart graphics or suspend disbelief. And we don’t have to think so hard about is this actor right or wrong for the characters that are being portayed.

I'm trying to think of a single adult cartoon done in a dramatic style with a Western plot device - on a major cable or streaming network that has had any audience - and I can't think of one. We've accepted comedies like Bojack Horseman. But the realm of cartoon adventure/escapist fiction - is still dominated by products and franchises aimed at children and adolescents. Which is too bad. I think a lot of properties would benefit from cartoon treatment - although even then - the tendency to want to cater to SJW sensibilities just seems *huge* within the genre as a whole. They've got to fit a Latino, a black, a transgender, a strong lead woman with body positive attitude, and a white straight male archtype who is a bumbling buffoon who would not survive except for the diversity of the people who look out for him despite his attempts to destroy himself. 


Then the call it "subversive" when it is the plot of every other title like this out there at the moment. I just sort of dread whenever I hear one of my favorite properties is getting translated to cinema, lately. 


You mean, "butchered for the cause of tolerance and diversity into a story not remotely like the source material..." is usually what it means. 

It is really a shame. I wouldn't mind series that had these topics that were designed of whole cloth to appeal to those groups. Their constant appropriation and re-imagining of properties that are not like this is annoying. Especially as they complain about being gate-kept from these genres. 

If you're being gate-kept - how do we keep letting you *steal* and ruin the properties that WE care about, which you then abandon, too?!? 

I never saw Castlvania on Netflix, but a lot of Dresden fans seem to like it. I have nothing much more to say in that regard, but I do agree with you about the SJW movement destroying everything it touches. Influential people behind it are mostly Marxists, and it's their goal to erase and destroy our entire society. I'm amazed they got this far, but I figure that if they succeed, humanity will rise to another rich Capitalist nation again. I'm just not sure how long it will take 

I just want to survive it long enough to see the people who got what they wanted get what they deserve. ;) 

Tue May 04 2021 22:56:38 MST from Jerry Moore

I never saw Castlvania on Netflix, but a lot of Dresden fans seem to like it. I have nothing much more to say in that regard, but I do agree with you about the SJW movement destroying everything it touches. Influential people behind it are mostly Marxists, and it's their goal to erase and destroy our entire society. I'm amazed they got this far, but I figure that if they succeed, humanity will rise to another rich Capitalist nation again. I'm just not sure how long it will take 

Actually, I'm pretty sure that the series of novels will outlive me! I know that Jim had the whole series planned out by the time he was writing the second book. Even had names for the novels in advance. You'll notice that they are all two words of the same length. I'll try to leave a list of all the ones out so far. His story is that he wrote the first one for a writing class, and when she read it, she told him that it would sell, and asked for a plot summary. She meant for the second book, but he thought she meant the whole series, and presented her with the outline for a twenty-three book series at the next class meeting. There have been a couple of glitches along the way, and it has grown to a twenty-two book series with an apocalyptic trilogy at the end, for a total of twenty-five books! I think there are seventeen out now, so it may be another eight years, if he manages a book a year. He's currently writing the second book in another series, so it could be longer.

I can't understand how people are able to put that much work out, and keep it cohesive. Writing a single book is an insane challenge. 

Wed May 05 2021 23:44:13 MST from Jerry Moore

Actually, I'm pretty sure that the series of novels will outlive me! I know that Jim had the whole series planned out by the time he was writing the second book. Even had names for the novels in advance. You'll notice that they are all two words of the same length. I'll try to leave a list of all the ones out so far. His story is that he wrote the first one for a writing class, and when she read it, she told him that it would sell, and asked for a plot summary. She meant for the second book, but he thought she meant the whole series, and presented her with the outline for a twenty-three book series at the next class meeting. There have been a couple of glitches along the way, and it has grown to a twenty-two book series with an apocalyptic trilogy at the end, for a total of twenty-five books! I think there are seventeen out now, so it may be another eight years, if he manages a book a year. He's currently writing the second book in another series, so it could be longer.

Just checking in. I'm well into my last three days here in the rehab hospital. Very busy morning (Breakfast, Shower, Shampoo, Lunch, Shit (no Shave, since I don't do that no more), and back to bed for a well needed nap, from which I just returned to consciousness. I was also on FarceBook, since I leave my FaceBook memories there every morning (or afternoon or even evening if I'm that late). When I get back home, I'll continue setting my new laptop, and start posting new (transferred) memories here again, and building up the quantity of dragon and Dragon-related pictures in the directory here. My goal is to get all three years of my Pictures of the Day here, and then start to post them, day by day. I'll post other stuff, too, but it will look a lot like what I've been doing over on FarceBook, as I stop doing it there. I won't close my account there. I am active in a lot of literary fan groups, and unless we can develop similar groups (rooms) here, I won't let them go. . .but my participation there will lessen.

Glad to see you surface, Jerry. I'm looking forward to more posts in the DDBBS room. It is always more interesting than the posts that come in on the .rss feeds from Reddit - which is just another monolithic social media corporate giant. 

And I'd be glad to give you a place and a reason to be less engaged on Facebook - and always feel free to invite anyone from Facebook on over here. 

Everything is being backed up frequently to a NAS now - including uploads - although I'm not doing daily backups diff or incremental backups. Just irregular full backups. I figure traffic is too low and changes to infrequent that if we lose a week or so of posts, it isn't the end of the world. If that changes - I may have to change my backup strategy to something more robust. But we got this far with NO backup strategy for the bulk of the time the BBS has been back - so... anything is more than what we were using, which was "wishes and prayers." :) 

I wish there was a way to bulk upload to the file rooms. That is something even Asgard-86 had - and oddly - I think if I had Asgard running as a door or a stand-alone server - you would probably be able to use a Telnet or Terminal session with Z or Xmodem to bulk upload to that system. Oh well... sometimes forward progress takes a step backwards. 

Mon May 10 2021 14:08:14 MST from Jerry Moore

Just checking in. I'm well into my last three days here in the rehab hospital. Very busy morning (Breakfast, Shower, Shampoo, Lunch, Shit (no Shave, since I don't do that no more), and back to bed for a well needed nap, from which I just returned to consciousness. I was also on FarceBook, since I leave my FaceBook memories there every morning (or afternoon or even evening if I'm that late). When I get back home, I'll continue setting my new laptop, and start posting new (transferred) memories here again, and building up the quantity of dragon and Dragon-related pictures in the directory here. My goal is to get all three years of my Pictures of the Day here, and then start to post them, day by day. I'll post other stuff, too, but it will look a lot like what I've been doing over on FarceBook, as I stop doing it there. I won't close my account there. I am active in a lot of literary fan groups, and unless we can develop similar groups (rooms) here, I won't let them go. . .but my participation there will lessen.

Sad to say, it's going to take some place becoming more popular than FarceBook before many of the people who visit there decide to relocate to some place else. That includes my relatives, the SpaceX fans and folks, the literary fan groups and writers like Jim Butcher, who needs a strongly moderated fan group because of his nature and sensitivity, and the few others that I frequent on FarceBook, like Robot fan groups and manufacturers. Zuckerbutt has the advantage that he's been there longer, building his platform, and although he isn't a good person, or even a good manager, he pays people with expertise to take care of some things.

I think it is more than that. It is the same phenomenon on how Metallica or Van Halen became huge the more banal and ordinary they became. The least offensive, most mundane, least exciting things in society are the things that EVERYONE can agree on. They're non-polarizing. Doing this, they become HUGE, and once huge, the forward momentum means that they can cruise forward putting out crap for decades and people will still hang around - because - that is where EVERYONE is. 

It is a terrible catch-22 about or society. It happens with corporations, with bands, with services - with anything that we can consume or experience. 
But, I don't want to become more popular than Facebook. I don't want the 80% showing up here... I'd be content with a small percentage of the 20%. 

The MiSTER FPGA community was awesome at first. A bunch of abrasive assholes with no patience or sense of social grace - but lots of intelligent people who were busy creating something with a very specific mission. 

Then, it went to far, and created a very cycle accurate 486sx FPGA core - and that made people wonder if even more advanced cores were possible - and they were. And suddenly the Nintendo scene became a HUGE part of the community. 

And the Nintendo scene skews younger - especially those who have a sweetspot AFTER the NES. The people who great up with later Nintendo consoles are Twitter/Reddit/Discord Millennials - the demographic that grew up with social media, with access to porn 24x7, but also with rampant identity politics, critical race theory, gender theory and other ideas shoved into their heads. They're an unpleasant generation, altogether. And they're HUGE. From Dreamcast and Nintendo Cube through PS1/Xbox - Nintendo has been the one real constant in their lives. They're as fanatical about Nintendo as they are about their Apple devices, maybe more - as they've been Nintendo fanboys for much longer, generally speaking. So once they break down the gates, they're an endless flood - kind of like when the first white guys showed up on the shores of America, it was already over for the Indians. The Native Americans didn't realize how many OTHER white people were coming behind those first arrivals. Even if they had killed the first hundred-thousand Europeans to arrive before they made it 10 miles inland - it was over the second Columbus returned back to Spain and told the Europeans what he had found. Really, it was over once he got the funding to depart - because even if he hadn't made it... eventually another expedition would be funded to figure out what happened and if he was right. So, like that inevitability, the discovery that MiSTer can do very complex, later consoles, PCs and arcade games meant the arrival of people who have lived through Legend Of Zelda since they were 6 or 7, across multiple different Nintendo consoles and portables. 

And they're *ruining* the community. They're making it as mediocre, typical, toxic and hostile as any other retro community that skews toward this demographic - like RetroPi. Hell. Everything they discover and adopt becomes this way. They've already destroyed the AD&D community (which brings this back around full circle and back on topic...) and other FRP franchise communities, comic books, Sci Fiction and Fantasy genres. They operate much like Agent Smith describes humanity as a virus in The Matrix. 

Facebook is actually a place they pretend to ignore - because it is seen as old and passe. In this regard, Facebook is actually on days as numbered as Guideposts Magazine or the AARP or Reader's Digest. 

Facebook is already a dead man walking - and something will replace it. 

But not a place like this. Whatever it is - will be WORSE than Facebook. 

Tue May 11 2021 19:47:42 MST from Jerry Moore

Sad to say, it's going to take some place becoming more popular than FarceBook before many of the people who visit there decide to relocate to some place else. That includes my relatives, the SpaceX fans and folks, the literary fan groups and writers like Jim Butcher, who needs a strongly moderated fan group because of his nature and sensitivity, and the few others that I frequent on FarceBook, like Robot fan groups and manufacturers. Zuckerbutt has the advantage that he's been there longer, building his platform, and although he isn't a good person, or even a good manager, he pays people with expertise to take care of some things.

Geeze! You don't leave me much hope at all! Obviously, I can't have my cake and eat it, too. I guess I'm doing the next best thing, then: focusing more on the niche rooms that really interest me, and spreading myself to smaller places like here, MeWe and Parler for things that won't survive on FarceBook.

In case you're wondering, I'm still a bit weak and slow, so I haven't got around to working on either the Surface Pro or the Dell desktop yet. To complicate things, Microsoft has done the same thing you did for me, and set all of my passwords there to the same thing, so I don't have to remember a different password every place I go. The momentary problem was that I had forgotten that password, and reset it from the hospital, then was presented with the request first thing when I started the Dell upon arrival home. At first, I thought that I had forgotten it again, but I apparently just typoed it the first time. With how difficult it is to get out of bed and into my wheelchair, and how long, even with the oxygen that I am now using, it was two days before I tried again, and it worked! I still need to get the two computers talking to one another, after which I will retire this old tablet and start using the Surface more. I should be able to upload pictures from right here in bed, although I don't intend to spend too much time there. I have a Physical Therapist coming in about a week to help me improve, and I plan to take full advantage of his capabilities. Meanwhile, I still will be making the effort to get out of bed for all three meals, and stay vertical for as long as I can manage. Being old isn't all it was cracked up to be, eh?

I'm glad to hear you're out of the hospital and back at home. That is good news and good progress. Take your time with the Surface and the Dell. I hope the Surface makes it more convenient for you to get connected online, with all of the groups and places you frequent, not just here. 

Growing old absolutely sucks. Like most things - being right in the middle is the best. 

You should take Microsoft's advice and set up a PIN number for your Windows login. It'll save you a ton of time. 

Keep us posted on how your physical therapy goes - but I am still looking forward to having more images uploaded here. I really enjoy the content you post. 

Fri May 14 2021 12:05:58 MST from Jerry Moore

Geeze! You don't leave me much hope at all! Obviously, I can't have my cake and eat it, too. I guess I'm doing the next best thing, then: focusing more on the niche rooms that really interest me, and spreading myself to smaller places like here, MeWe and Parler for things that won't survive on FarceBook.

 

In case you're wondering, I'm still a bit weak and slow, so I haven't got around to working on either the Surface Pro or the Dell desktop yet. To complicate things, Microsoft has done the same thing you did for me, and set all of my passwords there to the same thing, so I don't have to remember a different password every place I go. The momentary problem was that I had forgotten that password, and reset it from the hospital, then was presented with the request first thing when I started the Dell upon arrival home. At first, I thought that I had forgotten it again, but I apparently just typoed it the first time. With how difficult it is to get out of bed and into my wheelchair, and how long, even with the oxygen that I am now using, it was two days before I tried again, and it worked! I still need to get the two computers talking to one another, after which I will retire this old tablet and start using the Surface more. I should be able to upload pictures from right here in bed, although I don't intend to spend too much time there. I have a Physical Therapist coming in about a week to help me improve, and I plan to take full advantage of his capabilities. Meanwhile, I still will be making the effort to get out of bed for all three meals, and stay vertical for as long as I can manage. Being old isn't all it was cracked up to be, eh?

Tried to get on earlier, but failed. After similar failures with MeWe and Webtoon, I realized that the problem was on this end. Rebooted the OS and everything worked fine. Operating Systems are like that. While I don't remember any with the Radio Shack Model II, I've had to periodically reboot the OS regularly for every version of MS-DOS and Windows since DOS 2.1!

I'm beginning to find that I need the Oxygen even during the day, or at least any time I do something that takes effort, like wheelchair transfers. I feel starved for air quickly, and have to take deep breaths of the air from the machine they brought me, which concentrates air by removing all of the nitrogen, leaving the rest, which is close enough to pure Oxygen to help me stop panting, and way less explosive than Oxygen, itself.

Played with the Desktop and the Surface Pro a bit today, noting at first that, although they both say that they have the latest version, the desktop still supports Windows for Workgroups, while the Pro does not. I did everything suggested to make the Download directory and its subdirectories shared, which used to work for me, but, although my background Dragon suddenly appeared on the Pro at bootup, there is no indication of sharing otherwise on the Pro, except for a single cryptically named directory which is empty.

I'm hoping that the Pro will replace the Fire nearly totally, although I'm hoping that the Jigsaw Puzzle app I'm using is available on Windows, since it is better than the Microsoft one, which doesn't allow you to rotate pieces. Haven't tried yet, but I hope that both Parler and MeWe have apps that run on Windows. Neither one will work on the Fire, which uses a different version of Android than smartphones. Same is true for me Webtoon app, so I use the web browser, just like I do here.

Just noticed the time, and I want to catch a couple of hours of sleep before I'm up again at midnight to shoot myself with insulin and take my nighttime meds. I'll be back.

Once again, we should talk about your oxygen supplier in California, Jerry - but in private. HIPAA and all that. 

Anyhow - I think you'll find Microsoft Apps are generally inferior to Android Apps - but because you have access to a full Windows desktop - often just using the desktop browser is superior to apps on any App based platform for any serious content creation. 

Anything an App can do, a full Desktop program can do better, almost invariably. 

But... yes, the mobile apps on the Surface should be able to provide a lot of the things you want from an Android device like a Fire. In a lot of cases, the apps will be cross platform supported, if the app is popular enough. 

I do think they got rid of WfW with recent versions of Windows 10. Now it is Network Discovery and you do have to opt-in. 

Try this: 

https://www.dummies.com/computers/operating-systems/windows-10/how-to-enable-network-discovery-and-configure-sharing-options-in-windows-10/

Sun May 16 2021 22:07:04 MST from Jerry Moore

Tried to get on earlier, but failed. After similar failures with MeWe and Webtoon, I realized that the problem was on this end. Rebooted the OS and everything worked fine. Operating Systems are like that. While I don't remember any with the Radio Shack Model II, I've had to periodically reboot the OS regularly for every version of MS-DOS and Windows since DOS 2.1!

 

I'm beginning to find that I need the Oxygen even during the day, or at least any time I do something that takes effort, like wheelchair transfers. I feel starved for air quickly, and have to take deep breaths of the air from the machine they brought me, which concentrates air by removing all of the nitrogen, leaving the rest, which is close enough to pure Oxygen to help me stop panting, and way less explosive than Oxygen, itself.

 

Played with the Desktop and the Surface Pro a bit today, noting at first that, although they both say that they have the latest version, the desktop still supports Windows for Workgroups, while the Pro does not. I did everything suggested to make the Download directory and its subdirectories shared, which used to work for me, but, although my background Dragon suddenly appeared on the Pro at bootup, there is no indication of sharing otherwise on the Pro, except for a single cryptically named directory which is empty.

 

I'm hoping that the Pro will replace the Fire nearly totally, although I'm hoping that the Jigsaw Puzzle app I'm using is available on Windows, since it is better than the Microsoft one, which doesn't allow you to rotate pieces. Haven't tried yet, but I hope that both Parler and MeWe have apps that run on Windows. Neither one will work on the Fire, which uses a different version of Android than smartphones. Same is true for me Webtoon app, so I use the web browser, just like I do here.

 

Just noticed the time, and I want to catch a couple of hours of sleep before I'm up again at midnight to shoot myself with insulin and take my nighttime meds. I'll be back.

I actually left a follow up to my last post, but I fell asleep in the middle of it, and when I woke up and tried to save it the text was thrown away and replaced with the words: security check failed. 

Since it wasn't important, and my fuzzy brain couldn't remember what I'd typed, I gave up and went back to sleep.

Lazy Tiw's Day today. I played with the desktop for awhile, trying to get it to show up on the tablet, then discovered that I had about a month's unplayed solitiare games of all five Microsoft varieties, and made some small effort to catch up. As far as connecting the computers goes, I'm going to try to manually get Windows on the desktop to update, after going in and wiping out the workgroup name, which I can still see. Meanwhile, I'm listening to Paul Simon's powerful protest and commentary via Alexa on the Fire tablet with my new Cowin wireless noise cancelling headphones (which my loud family occasionally manages to break through - they can get REALLY loud!) and playing selected games from April on the desktop.

Speaking of Simon's protests, listen to Boy in the Bubble: These are the days of miracle and wonder, and don't cry, baby, don't cry. . .

Paul Simon is one of those John Lennon Liberals. He believes in the values of the progressive Left because *he* is guilty of all the terrible things that the Left wants to correct. It is more an expression of self-loathing - like the pedophile who becomes a Priest and finds that instead of finding absolution, he has been given the keys to the candy-store. 

His music is pretty cool, though. 

The next time you get "Security Check Failed. I think you either hit F-5 - and if it fails again, hit the BACK key on your browser, it'll take you back into your text browser, and just resubmit (hit post message again) and it will save. 

It is some bug in the chickenscratch with Linux and HTTPS. It happens to me here, on Ig's BBS - and probably in Disboardia and citadel.smashbot eventually too... if I keep posting at those sites. 

Tue May 18 2021 21:41:43 MST from Jerry Moore

I actually left a follow up to my last post, but I fell asleep in the middle of it, and when I woke up and tried to save it the text was thrown away and replaced with the words: security check failed. 

Since it wasn't important, and my fuzzy brain couldn't remember what I'd typed, I gave up and went back to sleep.

Lazy Tiw's Day today. I played with the desktop for awhile, trying to get it to show up on the tablet, then discovered that I had about a month's unplayed solitiare games of all five Microsoft varieties, and made some small effort to catch up. As far as connecting the computers goes, I'm going to try to manually get Windows on the desktop to update, after going in and wiping out the workgroup name, which I can still see. Meanwhile, I'm listening to Paul Simon's powerful protest and commentary via Alexa on the Fire tablet with my new Cowin wireless noise cancelling headphones (which my loud family occasionally manages to break through - they can get REALLY loud!) and playing selected games from April on the desktop.

Speaking of Simon's protests, listen to Boy in the Bubble: These are the days of miracle and wonder, and don't cry, baby, don't cry. . .