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Blog migration time, crossing my fingers

I signed up for a blog in micro.blog years ago but let it lapse and started doing things via a hosted WordPress install on blog.hayman.net - but I always found that to be more confusing than I wanted. Have now signed up for a paid micro.blog account and am attempting to move over here. I think that’ll help me blog more.

I have a feeling it’ll take me a while to get the dns stuff sorted out so “blog.hayman.net” works as the canonical name though.

going to try importing the old WordPress stuff, let’s see what happens.

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er, what? is this thing on?

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Huzzah, I can blog again

Thanks to Red Sweater Software for whatever they fixed in MarsEdit 5.2.6, it appears I can blog again. (Assuming this post works, of course.)

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I'd write more here but something is broken.

I usually use MarsEdit to post from my Mac to this blog, which is a hosted WordPress server from EasyDNS and it used to work great, but something broke a few months ago and I can't upload new posts any more and I really don't want to dive in to WordPress to figure out why.

(This post is coming from wordpress's html editor thing)

It was so nice when this just worked without me having to think much about it.

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Remembering former Argos owner Sherwood Schwarz

I was curious whatever happened to Sherwood Schwarz, the New York businessman who owned the Argos during the tumultuous 1999-2003 era, and who we should all thank for promoting Pinball to head coach.

(No, not the "Gilligan's Island" guy, that was Sherwood SchwarTz.)

Sadly, it seems he passed away in February 2023, at age 92. (Did the team ever acknowledge this?)

He was, IMHO, a kind guy who probably didn't quite know what he was in for when he bought the team at a time when nobody else would, although he'll be remembered more for the strangeness of that era - hiring his cousin J.I. Albrecht as GM, John Huard as coach, getting Garth Drabinsky to produce the halftime shows, a Lucky Loonie contest that awarded one fan $1-per-person at every game, and a misguided and ultimately cancelled plan to stage pre-game wet t-shirt contests.

Eventually he couldn't manage to pay the bills, and the league had to take over the team.

One time we got a call from the Argo office. Sherwood wanted the band on the field at halftime. I couldn't imagine why. But we went down, and discovered that they'd planned a field goal kicking contest. Supermodels. Kicking field goals in their elegant gowns and high heels, and Sherwood wanted the band to play "Tada!" after each attempt.

I actually gave him a ride once. I was at the Argo office for some reason or other and he was there and I heard him ask the receptionist if she could call him a cab - coincidentally, I was headed to the airport myself and I gave him a lift, in a car full of Argonotes percussion equipment. We had an interesting yet somewhat awkward conversation - what restaurants did we each like in Toronto? and then he asked me some sort of investment question about Rogers and whether I would buy their denatured certificates of accrual, or something, and I mumbled some answer as if I knew anything about money.

Rest in peace, Sherwood. I hope someone writes a book about that Argo era, it was quite a story, and the team might have folded if you hadn't stepped up.

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My simple six step process for fixing a water heater.

  1. Say “Oh no, not this again, didn’t I just fix the other water heater at the cottage?";
  2. Turn everything off and on again;
  3. Wait 24 hours in hope heater will spontaneously fix itself;
  4. Note that water is still cold;
  5. Cold shower actually kind of refreshing, now that I think about it;
  6. Investigate model of heater; search model number on Internet;
  7. Study Youtube videos on typical water heater problems;
  8. Purchase electrical multimeter with non-contact voltage tester 8 ) Explore wiring in farmhouse cellar; follow various wild goose chases of cables not actually connected to anything, let alone the water heater;
  9. We are now past six steps but we’re too far in to quit now;
  10. Test all fuses with multimeter; test wiring with non contact voltage tester;
  11. Decide that power is getting to water heater, but it’s not heating; it’s probably the heater element - I think I know how to replace one of those on account of having done it already at cottage but wow, what a pain this is going to be;
  12. Remove access panel on heater; stare at end of heater element, wonder if I can find one of these in the next town over. possibly tomorrow if I’m lucky;
  13. Notice sticker on water heater that says “Property of NB Power”;
  14. Get Cathy to call NB Power;
  15. 30 minutes later, two guys are here, they replace the thing with a different thing, heater instantly fixed.

#CantSpellHandymanWithoutHayman

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Travel Poetry, or My Trip to Boulder

Sunrise over Toronto

My Trip to Boulder

in which I travel to Boulder and write a poem along the way. The sunrise view from YYZ was pretty nice this morning. That must have inspired me.


Pre-flight breakfast in the lounge
Now, up some coffee, I must scrounge.
Soon, we'll be on board for Denver,
Women, men, or other gender.
I hope it won't be too much coulder
when I finally get to Boulder.

You might call me a desperado,
Jetting off to Colorado. 
Days of indecision! so
I want to get a Vision Pro.

"Steve, why don’t you drive to Buffalo
If you want a Vision Pro.”
I hear you but I’m already going
On this Airbus. (Not a Boeing)
Chatting with some CU students,
(Talking Code, without impudence)
Must check out the Apple Store 
near my hotel. Almost next door. 
My credit card’s already humming
Anticipating what is coming. 

When I get back, you know I’ll mock, say,
Pearson’s “high speed” “moving” walkway.

(awkward change of meter for one stanza)

You know it's a good flight, 
when, up in the skies,
You connect to the Wifi 
in less than three tries.

As we near this poem’s conclusion
We  must report on some confusion
The store did not process my order
Because I came across the border.
You'd ask yourself, don't we have NAFTA?
Its rules apply? Well, they don't hafta.
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Travel Poetry

I haven’t blogged in a while but since my New Year’s Resolution is blog once in a while, here is a Travel Poem for posterity. I can’t let an epic item like this disappear into the realm of ancient status updates.

A Travel Poem
January 2024

It’s been a while since I could say
I’m visiting the USA
So this is my one chance to warn ya
I’m heading off to California
I hope to grab a cappucino
On my way to Cupertino
This poem, it has but one line more
Zip code 95014