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Thursday, March 30, 2017

The Writer's Life 3/30 - ABC's & More

This summer Domino's will use a fleet of six-wheel robots to make deliveries in parts of Germany and the Netherlands. They will be confined to within a one-mile radius of the particular shop. Cars, scooters and e-bikes will be used for longer distances. I don't know how the devices will fare in Europe, but I suspect they would be brutalized by miscreants in the USA. In New Zealand, the company has been using drones, average delivery time five minutes.



13% of USA households have broadband but no cable TV package. Dave, a midtown Manhattan chef, told me yesterday he was cutting the cord. I would have done it long ago if I'd had the sense to purchase a digital TV. I won't do it until my current old-fashion set dies. Given my past experience, that may be another decade.

The late Dennis Farina had the thankless task of replacing the beloved Jerry Orbach on the the original Law & Order. Watching reruns, I'm so impressed by his excellence as Detective Fontana.

From an article in the NY Post, in my own words: John Higgins was one of the referees of the Kentucky-North Carolina NCAA tournament game, won by the Tarheels. Since then he has been the target of the Wildcats' fans venom. I did not see the game nor have I read anything that Higgins might have done to cause Kentucky to lose. Even if he made bad calls, does it justify death threats to what was supposed to be an unlisted number, and attacks on social media? The Facebook page of his roofing company has been bombarded with negative comments about the business. March Madness indeed.

Even many people who have no interest in hockey know what a Hat Trick is - a player scoring three goals in a game. I spotted a headline at Yahoo Sports about a player having had a Gordie Howe Hat Trick and, despite having followed the NHL since I was a kid, had no idea what it meant. It's a goal, an assist and a fight.

Also from Yahoo: Behold the Golden Urinal trophy, which is awarded to the best hydrated player on the San Francisco Giants.



My thanks to the gentleman who bought a kids' book on the ABC's, and to Tanya and Caroline, who donated a stack of books each. Also included among Caroline's gift - a CD compilation of Johnny Ray's hits. Ray made it big in 1951 with Cry, his only #1 in the USA. He had five other Top Ten hits, the last being Just Walkin' in the Rain, which rose to #2 in '56. Overall, nearly 40 of his songs cracked the Top 100. His popularity in the USA waned in 1959 but continued overseas, especially in the UK. He was considered a bridge to rock n roll and was known by several nicknames: Mr. Emotion, The Nabob of Sob and The Prince of Wails. He passed away in 1990 at 63. (Facts from Wiki, in my own words.)
Vic's Sixth novel: http://tinyurl.com/zpuhucj 
Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc
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