Dealing with agricultural and technological opportunities

Life in Ludlow

Posted

The isolations and quarantines of this lockdown have brought on a quiet last experienced by survivors of the 1960s during their pharmaceutical adventures. Don’t worry; they don’t remember them either.

On the agricultural front, we have a few of the many subjects to discuss today. First of all, last weekend’s weather smashed the doorway to summer wide open. Not so great today, but those 80-degree days coupled with watering the vegetation, particularly my grass, generated some real green in my yard. Unfortunately those truly unwelcome infestations of tansy ragwort and Scotch broom are also flourishing as they dominate areas not tended by anybody!

The April 30 edition of “WestSound Home and Garden” featured an in-depth article about John and Susan Erickson’s “Garden of the Rising Sun.” The Erickson’s bought the vacant lot across the street from their home to maintain the view of Ludlow Bay they had home and ended up creating a beautiful garden that enhanced the view even more. I was initially confused because the article is in a newspaper described as living on the “Kitsap Peninsula.” However, I have enjoyed a glass of the Erickson’s fine wine in that very garden and I can tell you it is firmly located on the Olympic Peninsula. Just one more thing I really don’t get.

The Port Townsend Rotary Club’s annual auction went online this year since, well, you know. It ends this Friday, so get on the website, “PTRCdinnerAuction.com” and bid on some great deals like a clam BBQ or an airplane ride!

One thing many of us enjoy and miss is going to Port Townsend’s Rose Theater to catch a movie, eat some great popcorn, sit in the balcony of the Rose and get some dinner afterward. Of course the virus has interrupted most of that. I say “most” because it seems that Rocky, the theater’s proprietor, now has the ability to stream movies to your computer and then to your smart TV, which probably has a bigger screen than your computer. This makes it more convenient for you, your spouse, your kids, your dog or some combination thereof to watch than just using the computer screen. The Rose’s website even provides directions for how to hook your laptop up to your television to make this happen.

Unfortunately, the directions tell you to hook the TV and computer to each other using an HDMI cable. Well, I have one of those, and even though the TV is 12 years old it also has an HDMI input jack. However, the 12-year-old, computer does not have an HDMI output. This problem set me out on an exhaustive household search to find cables that might work. As a result, I was able to hook five cables together to get audio into one jack in the TV and video into another and got it to work.

I suppose Rocky doesn’t get the entire moderate fee charged for the service but it looks like a great idea to get through these trying times. The problem is his customers might grow accustomed to using this avenue for their new movies and not go to the theater. Not going to happen! The popcorn doesn’t get through the cables, HDMI or not. I tried.

Love a curmudgeon while staying at home, and have a great week!

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive who loves all things Ludlow.)