On an international radio station

I wish it were possible to get radio on as many channels as cable. I do know there is satellite radio, and maybe that's what I want, and just don't know it. See, I'd like to listen to music from around the world. I enjoy classical music from Europe, the Beethoven and Bach that we naturally think of as classical music, but also that from Asia -- China, Japan, Vietnam, and so on. I can check out some CDs from the library's Asia Center, but it'd be nice to have a variety available all the time. Plus I have to return those CDs when they're due. I could buy some, but I can't afford to buy anything like the number I want to listen to, and you can't really know the quality or how much you really like something until you actually listen to them.

In a hotel in Las Vegas

I heard a brief mention this week on the hard times a hotel in las vegas was having. I'm not surprised, given the overall economy. I have mixed feelings. I know there are a few ways to win through gambling in Las Vegas, but of course few people know about them or really know how to implement them, and just like to go and hope they'll be lucky, and a few are lucky for a time, but eventually lose if they keep returning to casinos. Yet I can understand the ambience of show business and having a good time, and it's certainly a popular city for people holding business conferences, seminars and conventions. And I could even enjoy living there for the party aspect. Even for learning how to play good poker, which is an interesting skill, and not an easy one.

On modern furniture

I've never been a big fan of modern furniture. Most of the really expensive, fashionable stuff looks really stark and uncomfortable. At my sister's house 3 weeks ago I sat in the ergonomic chair they have in front of their computer, and it really hurt my back a lot, though that's not true of the ergonomic chairs on my job or even the one I'm sitting in now at the library. Maybe it was just that type. And old furniture can be uncomfortable too, since people years ago thought it virtuous to be uncomfortable. My niece was married in a very old New England church, and the pews were very stiff and hard and uncomfortable, so I think they originally belonged to puritans who wanted to make sure nobody fell asleep or even relaxed during a long sermon.