Closing credits

The blog looks different today. The old template was faltering: stray marks wouldn’t go away; strings of text couldn’t be highlighted or copied; links were frozen. I was displeased that readers couldn’t navigate to the YouTube video of “Banstyle/Sappys Curry” by simply clicking on the link that I had posted. So, I reformatted everything. The commenting function has been disabled – for now. I’d like to put in a virtual guestbook or bulletin board instead. Subject labels also have disappeared from individual posts (for now). You can access them via the sidebar, which you can unhide by clicking on the three small horizontal lines at the top of the blog.

The picture of poor little Juan Pueblo, the cartoon character, has been removed from the front page. It can still be accessed, via the sidebar. The blog’s colors are as garish as ever, but its fonts have been cleaned up. I am now using Heuristica, a clone of Utopia, which is the typeface of Philosophy & Public Affairs. And I’ve decided to begin punctuating as most other web writers do – outside of the hyperlinks.

Are these changes pleasing?

I’d welcome comments, but no one would be able to post them.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

As the year ends, I remain unemployed, and COVID continues to ravage. My own health improves, thanks to Air Supply (my CPAP machine). Samuel gains new abilities; Karin does mighty deeds. Jasper and Ziva are a bit neglected. I’ve been reading the Bible more and going to church less; since the weather turned, we’ve settled for choruses and sermons on YouTube. I am utterly weary of long, drawn-out video conferences. C.P. Snow’s books are a comfort; most nights, I read two, three, or four short chapters. (As it happens, the books suggest parallels between our own COVID-era lives and those of Londoners during the Blitz.) I’ve enjoyed the prose of two books about the Scottish Highlands: A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, by Samuel Johnson, and Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Moreover, I’m delighted that Ecuador’s national soccer team has been playing so well.

It’s a privilege to be isolated in a house owned by my parents, and not in an apartment. It’s even beneficial to mow the lawn, and – like yesterday – to shovel snow. These things allow me to burn calories and eat more Chinese takeout (and more sandwiches from Jimmy John’s, whose manager called one day to thank us for our loyalty).

Clearly, I have little cause for complaint.

Great is thy faithfulness, O God, my father. … Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed, thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.