Walden Cabin: Observations typed on an old Underwood

Wednesday, January 23, 2002

"Ooh, Elmo getting so tired of waiting!"

My private hell. A Sesame Street CD is trapped in Suzy's computer in her office, just outside my door. Elmo, the red furry monster with spindly legs and a "kick me, I'm stupid" lisp, is waiting for me to click on his belly to unleash untold magic spells (and other kiddie horrors). I can't get the CD out, and even the reboot doesn't work. I've decided to wait to see if the programmers slipped in a sequence that kicks in after a long period of inactivity. I figure they knew that if nobody has touched the mouse for half an hour it means there are no adults around. And if the CD is still playing it probably also means the kids are still in the room. So maybe Elmo's real personality and moral lessons begin at this point. Waiting to find out is eery. Elmo is getting desperate. I'm afraid to go back out there.

"Hello? You there? Please, play with Elmo!"

My brother is a big Grover fan. I'll have to check with his new wife Sharon, but I think he still sleeps with a ratty "life-sized" Grover he had as a child (life sized meaning the size of a four year old). Lowell swears that Elmo is the Anti-Christ, or at least the Anti-Grover -- a less sophisticated and dim-witted shadow of his blue-haired hero. It seems that Grover gets less air time now that Elmo's around. Maybe it's a union thing or his wage demands became unrealistic when they made him "Super Grover". So typical. When Jasper was born Lowell made me promise that our house would be an Elmo-free zone, so I'll have to have a talk with Suzy -- after we figure out how to get the CD out.

* * * *

>> Lowell and Sharon sent me new photos of their house in Calgary. They put in a new floor in the kitchen, and made some other changes. Click here to see the photos.
>> Review the before-reno photos here.

>> Click here to access the Walden Cabin article archive.

posted by Stuart Hickox | 8:18 PM



	Wednesday, January 23, 2002 "Ooh, Elmo getting so tired of waiting!" My private hell. A Sesame Street CD is trapped in Suzy's computer in her office, just outside my door. Elmo, the red furry monster with spindly legs and a "kick me, I'm stupid" lisp, is waiting for me to click on his belly to unleash untold magic spells (and other kiddie horrors). I can't get the CD out, and even the reboot doesn't work. I've decided to wait to see if the programmers slipped in a sequence that kicks in after a long period of inactivity. I figure they knew that if nobody has touched the mouse for half an hour it means there are no adults around. And if the CD is still playing it probably also means the kids are still in the room. So maybe Elmo's real personality and moral lessons begin at this point. Waiting to find out is eery. Elmo is getting desperate. I'm afraid to go back out there. "Hello? You there? Please, play with Elmo!" My brother is a big Grover fan. I'll have to check with his new wife Sharon, but I think he still sleeps with a ratty "life-sized" Grover he had as a child (life sized meaning the size of a four year old). Lowell swears that Elmo is the Anti-Christ, or at least the Anti-Grover -- a less sophisticated and dim-witted shadow of his blue-haired hero. It seems that Grover gets less air time now that Elmo's around. Maybe it's a union thing or his wage demands became unrealistic when they made him "Super Grover". So typical. When Jasper was born Lowell made me promise that our house would be an Elmo-free zone, so I'll have to have a talk with Suzy -- after we figure out how to get the CD out. * * * * >> Lowell and Sharon sent me new photos of their house in Calgary. They put in a new floor in the kitchen, and made some other changes. Click here to see the photos. >> Review the before-reno photos here. >> Click here to access the Walden Cabin article archive. posted by Stuart Hickox \| 8:18 PM				(01.23.2002) Me think you evil. >> See the cover photo archive. (01.15.2002) Digging in. Walden tree day 1995 Chestnuts and crazy volunteers at the top of the hill. See the Walden Tree Day Photo Album. (01.07.2002) Jasper: Don't label me. None required, son. Critical observations of early '02. (11.19.2001) Walden Cabin 1996 See the photos. Updated - September 12, 2001 Head for the Hills of Prince Edward Island Walden Cabin >> "I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, to front the essential facts of life and to see if I could learn what they had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) Walden; Or Life in the Woods (08.21) Walden Cabin is a publishing creation of Accolade Intermedia, an Ottawa-based communications company that specializes in content-rich Web products. www.accolade.ca >>
	about us \| current article \| archive \| home Copyright 2001. info@accolade.ca Accolade Intermedia Inc. .