The Honourable Husband

Religious: Angels We Have Heard on High

Secular: Santa Baby

(To be fair, Santa Baby is more of a Black Friday carol, no?)

We observed Black Friday with the traditional solemnity and reverence that the holiday is due. A Quarter Pounder at the food court, a twofer on CKOne at Douglas, and a sweet deal on a 2TB X-Box S at the Media Markt.

Just checked on Wikipedia, which says the Munich literary history division of the Stadtbibliothek was established in 1922, and moved into Hildebrandhaus in 1977. It certainly has been there since I moved nearby in 2007.

Memo to @cliff1976.bsky.social and @regensbloggerin.bsky.social. You’ll really enjoy the link to Doug’s blog in his post. It’s actually more than a blog, it’s a serious catalogue of informed opinion.

Doug! After all this time, how could I have missed your blog? Apart from calling #Munich “provincial”, I heartily agree w/yr comment about the huge literary history of #München. Assume you know of Monacensia, the branch of the city library dedicated to it? It’s in my ‘hood. @monacensia.bsky.social

Agreed. But RN, new/used is on my mind. We’re thinking of a car. Done w/out for 8 years. Frankly, we don’t really need it. New enviro-cuddly car, or old C02 belcher? We’d use it so little, old wins. After 40+ yrs in car marketing, I know the most responsible car to buy is one that’s already built.

eBay private sellers are an exception, right? The most environmentally ethical purchase is to buy something someone else doesn’t want. I always check there first, especially for gadgets, electronics, books, and household stuff.

I’m not an AI Luddite. I use AI tools every day. But I also know their risks and limitations, which are considerable.

On a continent with plenty of statues of the grand, #Munich honours more modest folk. This statue of journalist Sigi Sommer stands in the Rosenstraße, near his office at the Abendzeitung, where he wrote about the city’s high-life and low-life from 1949-1987. #München #dailywalk

Happy Black Friday, to all who celebrate. #Munich #München #Denglisch #dailywalk

I’m a big fan of PMJ.

Saw him at the Adelaide Festival in the late 70s, and again as a conductor with flautist Emmanuel Pahud at the Salzburg Festival in 2008. “Hey, Franz, long time no see!”

Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve seen.

Bette Midler
Franz Brüggen
Eurythmics
Manhattan Transfer (in Manila, no less)
Dame Mitsuko Uchida, Fujiko Hemming, Nobuyuki Tsujii, and too many other classical concerts to mention.

He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness’ sake!
He’s making a list
Checking it twice
Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice
Apple Health is coming to town!

I suspect I'll go for the latter. Given the variety of strange systems into which I'll be plugging, it might be the safer choice.

The manufacturer says it’s specially formulated to meet men’s unique needs, and I can attest that it does so admirably. It’s also quite a serviceable moisturiser.

Hell to the yeah! I picked up a 3 mo old terabyted iPhone 14 Pro Max from refurbed.de, with nine months of the warranty remaining, for less than the price of a new basic version. As with cars, buy a demonstrator or Jahreswagen. Let someone else cop the depreciation!

Good to hear your experience, JW. Must confess that I've had mixed experience with a multi-dongle power/USB-A/HDMI thing on the USB-C MacBook. Worth exploring further.

Had to check About This Mac under the 🍏, but roger on the M2. I'll deffo go for an M4, though I see an M5 on the market. Since I won't use it often, I don't need a fancy laptop, but I want it to be moderately future-proof. If an M5 can see me to the grave, I'll die a happy man!

1000 🙏s, Suze! That's exactly what I needed to hear. I can't justify a GodzillaBook laden with terabytes of whatevs and more cores than a bushel of apples. But a bog-standard journeyman M4/512/16 sounds like just the ticket.

4. I want a MacBook Air for lightness and convenience, since I have the new-ish desktop at home. Do you find your Air works well with an HDMI adapter? And does it have enough grunt for video-heavy work? Will I need to cough up for a full-fat MacBook Pro?

3. I often had to revert to the 2015 MacBook Pro from my old corporate gig, which has an HDMI port, but is beginning to brick with the apps I use. And neither is powerful enough for a workable modern multimedia-capable office on the road, which I’ll need in 2026. So my question is this…/4

2. I have an 18 month old Mac Mini which I use as my principal work computer. For travelling, I carry a 2017 11 in MacBook, which was OK if not stellar, but light and easy. It has only a USB-C, and I use an adapter to plug into HDMI for business presentations. Not great…/3

1. Let’s talk nerd to nerd, Matt. The buzz? I notice it when recharging from empty, but not when plugged in topping itself up while in use. Go figure. I think aluminium cases simply buzz more. But that’s not what I’d like to ask you about. I’m facing the same upgrade as you. An new Apple laptop…/2

Our extensive train network here in Germany may be lacklustre at times, but it reaches most of the places regional flights would serve. Why is there a regional airport at all? Especially since so many lines converge on Frankfurt Airport itself.

There’s no arguing with a Berliner about these things, of course. But let me echo you about Hamburg. Quietly subversive, cosmopolitan, elegant, reserved, even a bit introverted. One of the few remaining items on my bucket list is a visit to Miniatur Wonderland.

You’re quite right, Andreas. But look how cleverly I distracted everyone with the Heidelberg issue and the definition of the Rhineland, so nobody had the energy to dispute the shade I threw on Berlin. Mission accomplished!

Close enough for a bozo like moi!

You know how they say you should invest in the worst house in the best street? Mine is the worst flat on the worst floor of the worst building in the worst street in the BEST neighborhood. I’m kinda cheating.