Thoughts from the cheap seats of life

          A few thoughts from notes collected while moving through life at a moderately modern pace…

          While trying to get acclimated to a new computer, equipped with the new Windows 8 program, I tried to get Skype working on the new machine. Skype worked great on the old computer.

          It turns out the only contact you can’t make on Skype is with Skype itself. Skype does not allow customer support via telephone and does not answer the questions I asked via the questions forum.

          A communications network which does not communicate.

          I recall thinking how cold a 45-degree night was when I lived in Southern California.

          Three months in Ohio, the months of October, November and December, have changed that opinion.
          Live and learn.

          The new underwater images of the wreck of a Civil War-era Navy ship near Galveston, Texas might give naval historians terrific new information regarding the advance of ocean-bound technology.

          The ship, the Hatteras, was downed by a Confederate raider after the battle of Galveston. Some of the images reportedly show one of the holes inflicted by the guns of the Confederate ship during their battle.
          The Hatteras was a steam-powered paddlewheeler and much of the engine room is visible in the new 3-D images. The video crew used high-definition sonar to record the images. The story I’ve seen in the media said most of the crew was taken off the Hatteras but two sailors died aboard the Hatteras.
          The ship has been under water for 150 years and was more revealed by recently shifting sands moved by recent storms. Every once in a while, the shifting sands of time give us a glimpse of history.

          One of the best books about the Civil War is the autobiographical Company Aytch, or a SIDE SHOW of the BIG SHOW. Sam R. Watkins was a Confederate soldier. His book describes his view of the war, including the battle of Chickamauga.

          Watkins was a member of Company H of the First Tennessee Infantry Regiment during the war.
          Watkins does not spend time with discussions of sweeping army movements. He describes a foot-soldier’s view some generals. Generals Braxton Bragg and Joe Johnston, among others, get ink in the Watkins book. Those thoughts make the book especially important to anyone interested in the war and the era.
          One idea Watkins makes very clear his opinion of the Confederate government’s decision to change one-year Confederate States Army volunteer soldiers into three-year conscripts. Watkins had a very negative attitude about that decision.

          The woman who does the voiceover for the recent Nationwide Insurance television commercials sounds a great deal like actress Julia Roberts to me.

          Sportscaster Brent Musberger has gotten a lot of attention recently, but not for his announcing. Musberger has been among the most prominent network sports play-by-play announcers for many years but Vern Lundquist is a much better announcer, in my opinion. So is Jim Nantz.

       
          Thanks for reading.