This week's song is another one-week Number One hit on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, the last one-week Number One of 1985. On November 30, 1985, "Separate Lives" (video up top), performed by British singer Phil Collins and American singer Marilyn Martin reached Number One. The song, written by American singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop, was featured on the soundtrack for the 1985 movie White Nights. Yes, yet another song from a movie soundtrack.
I don’t think I ever saw the film, though maybe I saw it on cable some time after it was released? If so, I don't remember it. Still, I’ve always thought that songs used for movie soundtracks should be able to stand on their own as pop songs, and I think this song does that. Being able to appreciate it as a pop song is one thing (and a rather low bar, to be honest…), but that doesn’t mean I liked this song, because I didn’t much like it. It was okay, I supose, but was too slow and ponderous for my taste, though the vocals were solid. I think that if the tempo had even been slightly, faster I’d have liked it better. On the other hand, there’s never been a year in which I liked every Number One, so, yeah.
The music video for the song was blended with scenes from the movie, but that didn’t click with me, mainly because, as I said, I don’t think I saw the movie. Still, it was well done for what it was.
“Separate Lives” reached Number 14 in Australia, Number One in Canada, Number 29 in New Zealand, Number 4 in the UK (Silver), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and their “Adult Contemporary” Charts.
The White Nights soundtrack album reached Number 17 in Australia, Number 14 in Canada, and Number 17 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart. The album didn’t chart in New Zealand or the UK, and its sales apparently didn’t receive any certifications.
This series will return in one week (December 7) with the next Number One in this series.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1985” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 1 – February 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 2 – February 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 3 – March 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 4 – March 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 5 – April 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 6 – May 11, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 7 – May 18, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 8 – June 1, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 9 – June 8, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 10 – June 22, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 11 – July 6, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 12 – July 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 13 – July 27, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 14 – August 3, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 15 – August 24, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 16 – September 7, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 17 – September 21, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 18 – October 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 19 – October 19, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 20 – October 26, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 21 – November 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 22 – November 9, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 23 – November 16, 2025
Sunday, November 30, 2025
The (not yet) great outdoors
I’ve been having a lot of things done to the inside of the house, and will soon begin some decorating, all of which is part of my “Operation Re-invent My House”. Now that the work done by others is almost over, I’m giving the outside some attention.
The outside of my house has long been an ongoing source of annoyance, embarrassment, and frustration, three things in particular: The Damn Raingarden™, the lawns, and, especially, the bank along the side of the rear part of the property. I hate the Damn Raingarden™ mainly because it’s so damn difficult to maintain, but also because it’s so damn ugly. I hate the lawns because they were never done properly in the first place. I hate the bank because it, too, is damn hard to maintain. All of these are things would be expensive to change into better and more appropriate solutions, but the larger problem is that I’ve had no vision for what I wanted it all to look like—but now I at least have concepts of a plan.
I realised the other day that once the patio cover is installed, it’ll change the look of the entire back part of the property, so I think it may give me a better idea of what I want it to look like, and that’s when I’ll bring in contractors to do the work. However, there are things that need to be done more immediately, and those are things I’ll (probably?) take on myself.
First, I need to weed the bank (yet again, again…), especially around the patio which I haven’t given any attention to in a couple years. Since I never used the patio space, it felt pointless to spend my time and limited energy keeping the patio area tidy. Now that I’ll soon be using that space, I want it tidy—and yes, I’m well aware that this is a big job precisely because I didn’t keep up with the weeding. Moving on…
Related to that, I need to clear out all the weeds on the bank, a big project I first worked on back in 2022, though I never mentioned it here at the time (partial before and after photos form 2022 are up top). Since then, my “maintenance” has mainly been whacking the weeds back down with the line trimmer, and in between, I tried to figure out better solutions for the entire bank. I still don’t have a plan for that, but in the meantime I’m going to clear out the weeds, then remove the old bark and weed mat (which has deteriorated). I’ll lay new weed mat and spread bark over that—essentially restoring it to what it was like when I moved in, and for the first year or two afterward. The bark started sliding down the bank not long after I moved in, especially after heavy rain, and that kept exposing the weed mat, and then the sun sped up its deterioration—over and over.
Back in 2022, the weeding was entirely manual work because the weed mat wasn’t yet totally perished, but now that it’s finished its run, I can use more tools na dbe a bit more aggressive using them. This should mean it’ll be much easier than it was three years ago—I hope, perhaps foolishly
I also need to move the Vegepod to its new/old position, something I’m pretty sure I’m going to do myself simply because I want to: I’ve never laid any pavers, and this is my chance—quite possibly my last chance—to give it a go. Those are the things on my plan right now.
Longer term, I may have the lawns removed and re-seeded with actual topsoil underneath. I may also have some sort of terracing done along the bank, mostly to stop that sliding action. I’ll also seek advice on what to do out front—especially the best way make the Damn Raingarden™ look not so damn ugly.
Finally, I have a much bigger issue to deal with: I need to explore solutions for the exterior of the house itself. When the house was painted, the workers didn’t seal or prime the bricks, they just painted them (which suggests to me that the painting was done by labourers, not painting contractors). The colour of the bricks started staining the white paint with blotches sometime in the second year after I moved in, slowly at first, but now it’s pretty much all over the house (the builder’s warranty was one year).
To fix that, I could have the house re-painted, or I could explore plastering over the brick. However, either option would be before any work on the lawns or gardens, and that means that all of that is unlikely to be done for at least a year. This underscores why I’m going to restore the bank to what it was at the beginning: I want it to look nice until I have a permanent and cohesive solution.
The stuff I’m going to do myself will be a lot of work, absolutely, but it’s work I’ve done before (except for the pavers under the Vegepod, of course). The weather will probably interfere with all these plans, but there will be lots of inside work for me to do on the rainy days.
And, maybe I’ll finally get the house and gardens closer to being what I’ve wanted all along. Yep, it’s definitely a process.
Friday, November 28, 2025
So, what happens now?
The various changes to my house continue, though at the moment they’re mostly what I’m having others do. The next phase will be the decorating that I’ll do, but I’m probably at least a week away from the first phase of that. The important thing is that things are still moving forward.
Last week, when I talked about the new air conditioning, I said:
Last week I also accepted the quote for fly screens (aka window screens), though they need to come back and re-measure my bedroom windows, something they’re going to do Thursday morning. I don’t yet know when the actual screens will be installed, but the process, at least, is underway.
The only one of the projects that isn’t yet in process is the patio cover —ironically, perhaps, because that was the first quote I accepted. Still, I knew it probably wouldn’t be installed until January, so if it happens in December, that’ll be a bonus, but if it doesn’t, it wouldn’t be unexpected.
My part of Operation Re-Invent My House is, of course, redecoration. The first step is essentially a massive cleaning job as I rearrange the living space. At the same time, however, I have to keep my eye on finishing the rest of the house, too. Achieving all that by my birthday is a challenging goal, and I’m relaxed about whether everything else is achieved: I can only do what I can do. After all, some of my ideas are still “in formation”.
The reality is that this is a process, not a “perfect” plan. But in that reality lays all the excitement. Follow along to see where this all leads. I don’t actually know everything about what happens now, either.
Last week, when I talked about the new air conditioning, I said:
…the company that installed the new [air conditioning] system will return to remove the broken living area air conditioner (which isn’t needed anymore, anyway) and they’ll convert the power shut-off switch for the outdoor unit (which is currently sitting on the patio) into an exterior power point…That work will be done a week from today, which is awesome. I’ll eventually have the unit in my bedroom removed, too, but I’m leaving it there for now until I’m 100% certain that the new system is working perfectly (which so far it is).
Last week I also accepted the quote for fly screens (aka window screens), though they need to come back and re-measure my bedroom windows, something they’re going to do Thursday morning. I don’t yet know when the actual screens will be installed, but the process, at least, is underway.
The only one of the projects that isn’t yet in process is the patio cover —ironically, perhaps, because that was the first quote I accepted. Still, I knew it probably wouldn’t be installed until January, so if it happens in December, that’ll be a bonus, but if it doesn’t, it wouldn’t be unexpected.
My part of Operation Re-Invent My House is, of course, redecoration. The first step is essentially a massive cleaning job as I rearrange the living space. At the same time, however, I have to keep my eye on finishing the rest of the house, too. Achieving all that by my birthday is a challenging goal, and I’m relaxed about whether everything else is achieved: I can only do what I can do. After all, some of my ideas are still “in formation”.
The reality is that this is a process, not a “perfect” plan. But in that reality lays all the excitement. Follow along to see where this all leads. I don’t actually know everything about what happens now, either.
A cool thing?
This week a cool thing may have happened. Or not. But, at the very least, it was good at the time.
I mowed all the lawns this past Wednesday, which itself is indicative of an important change this year: I’m mowing the lawns every week, though the specific day depends on the weather. My hope has been that by mowing every week I can make each one easier on me. So far, I’ve been able to do the whole thing on on a single battery charge, which is something I couldn’t do when mowing every other week. Live and learn, I suppose, though when the dryness of mid-summer arrives I (probably) won’t need to mow every week.
Even so, every time I’ve mowed the lawns, I inevitably feel awful, especially when doing the front which I find challenging, I think, because the property slopes downhill from my house to the footpath, and because there’s a lot of kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus), the devil’s spawn if ever there was such a thing, because of how thick and difficult to mow that shit is.
This week, I used the line trimmer on all the edges (front and back), and while my arms started to get tired, I noticed that it didn’t make me feel wiped out. Then came the mowing, which I did immediately after doing the edges, and I felt pretty much as bad as ever. In fact, when I got back into the house I returned a missed call from my sister-in-law, and I joked about planning my funeral.
This is where something changed.
I still had the oscillating fan sitting on my dining table, so I fixed it (no oscillation) on the spot where my chair is, plugged it in and turned it on and then sat down. Because of the new air conditioning, it was cool in the living area, and that fan sent a lovely, constant cool breeze on me. In a relatively short time, I actually felt I’d recovered. This was significant enough that I couldn’t help noticing it, especially because it was maybe half an hour, not the considerably longer time it took when I had no air conditioning in the living area.
The thing is, I have no way of knowing whether this was a one-off—maybe I was just lucky that day?—or if the cooling really made a significant change, one that make my life dramatically easier. I may find out when I mow the lawns next week (right now, it’s looking like Monday my be my only option…), or, maybe not.
I’m hoping that this does represent a change—or, more accurately, a return to the way things were a couple years ago, with a reasonably/comparatively fast recovery time for me. However, I still intend to start handing off the mowing to contractors, beginning with the front, not the least because it’s the most physically challenging part of the mowing for me. This would also mean that the front of my house would always look tidy, and if the back sometimes gets a little too long, no one will see it except for me and Leo. I’ll eventually have mowers do the back, too, so I guess I’m planning for the time ahead when, perhaps, I can’t do as much physical stuff as I can right now.
Even though this may not be a permanent change, it was cool—literally and figuratively—when it happened. I’ll take it.
I mowed all the lawns this past Wednesday, which itself is indicative of an important change this year: I’m mowing the lawns every week, though the specific day depends on the weather. My hope has been that by mowing every week I can make each one easier on me. So far, I’ve been able to do the whole thing on on a single battery charge, which is something I couldn’t do when mowing every other week. Live and learn, I suppose, though when the dryness of mid-summer arrives I (probably) won’t need to mow every week.
Even so, every time I’ve mowed the lawns, I inevitably feel awful, especially when doing the front which I find challenging, I think, because the property slopes downhill from my house to the footpath, and because there’s a lot of kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus), the devil’s spawn if ever there was such a thing, because of how thick and difficult to mow that shit is.
This week, I used the line trimmer on all the edges (front and back), and while my arms started to get tired, I noticed that it didn’t make me feel wiped out. Then came the mowing, which I did immediately after doing the edges, and I felt pretty much as bad as ever. In fact, when I got back into the house I returned a missed call from my sister-in-law, and I joked about planning my funeral.
This is where something changed.
I still had the oscillating fan sitting on my dining table, so I fixed it (no oscillation) on the spot where my chair is, plugged it in and turned it on and then sat down. Because of the new air conditioning, it was cool in the living area, and that fan sent a lovely, constant cool breeze on me. In a relatively short time, I actually felt I’d recovered. This was significant enough that I couldn’t help noticing it, especially because it was maybe half an hour, not the considerably longer time it took when I had no air conditioning in the living area.
The thing is, I have no way of knowing whether this was a one-off—maybe I was just lucky that day?—or if the cooling really made a significant change, one that make my life dramatically easier. I may find out when I mow the lawns next week (right now, it’s looking like Monday my be my only option…), or, maybe not.
I’m hoping that this does represent a change—or, more accurately, a return to the way things were a couple years ago, with a reasonably/comparatively fast recovery time for me. However, I still intend to start handing off the mowing to contractors, beginning with the front, not the least because it’s the most physically challenging part of the mowing for me. This would also mean that the front of my house would always look tidy, and if the back sometimes gets a little too long, no one will see it except for me and Leo. I’ll eventually have mowers do the back, too, so I guess I’m planning for the time ahead when, perhaps, I can’t do as much physical stuff as I can right now.
Even though this may not be a permanent change, it was cool—literally and figuratively—when it happened. I’ll take it.
Monday, November 24, 2025
Time for my old man Life Hack
I have an old man Life Hack to share: This weekend, I figured out an easy way to re-set the clock on my oven without knowing how to reset the clock.
Whenever the power is off for any reason, as it was last week during the air conditioning installation, the oven clock starts flashing when power is restored, and it stops flashing when I turn the oven on. That much I knew all along, but I had no idea how to set the clock.
The builder left all the manuals in a kitchen drawer, but I moved it and the others “somewhere safe, so I can find it again”, and then promptly forgot where that was. I later made up a notebook in which I write down where I put a thing, and since I did that I haven’t lost anything.
The main problem is that the oven is actually a wall oven, not one designed to be mounted under the kitchen benchtop, as the builder did, directly under the hob (cooktop), as is common. The only way for me to see the temperature I’m setting, or to see several of the controls, is to sit on the floor—and that’s never a great idea the farther one gets from 50. Doing that just to set the clock I don’t even need was never going to happen.
So: I had an oven that hasn’t been displaying the correct time pretty much since I moved in. Until this weekend.
I knew that when power comes back on, it resets to Noon (it’s a 24-hour clock). Mid-afternoon on Friday, I suddenly realised (because I never cared about that clock…) that if I simply turned off the power to the oven at Noon, then turned the power back on, the clock would show the correct time.
Unfortunately, I didn’t remember that at Noon on Saturday, but did at 12:30, anyway, to make sure I was right, and, of course, I was. So at precisely noon on Sunday (relying on my watch, which gets its time from a time server), I switched off the power to the oven at noon, then a couple seconds later I turned it back on. Next, I turned the oven on, then back off, and the oven was FINALLY set to the correct time.
Yes, I could’ve launched yet another search party to find that “somewhere safe” where the manual is, as I’ve done a few times, or (more likely) I could’ve looked it up online, but that wouldn’t help me get back up off the floor after swearing at the difficulty in changing a damn clock I don’t actually use, anyway.
Maybe someday I’ll redo the kitchen, though I’m more likely to move somewhere with a wall oven that’s actually on the wall, and, until/unless that happens, I’m even more likely to continue silently cursing the stupidity of putting a wall oven under a kitchen bench (and also that so many functions are indicated by cryptic pictographs, but that’s a different gripe entirely).
Still, I finally figured out a workaround to reset the clock on my oven when I had no idea how to do it “properly”—and I have a hunch that my way is much easier and faster than the “proper” way. It only took me precisely five years and ten months to achieve this enlightenment, but an achievement is an achievement.
Whenever the power is off for any reason, as it was last week during the air conditioning installation, the oven clock starts flashing when power is restored, and it stops flashing when I turn the oven on. That much I knew all along, but I had no idea how to set the clock.
The builder left all the manuals in a kitchen drawer, but I moved it and the others “somewhere safe, so I can find it again”, and then promptly forgot where that was. I later made up a notebook in which I write down where I put a thing, and since I did that I haven’t lost anything.
The main problem is that the oven is actually a wall oven, not one designed to be mounted under the kitchen benchtop, as the builder did, directly under the hob (cooktop), as is common. The only way for me to see the temperature I’m setting, or to see several of the controls, is to sit on the floor—and that’s never a great idea the farther one gets from 50. Doing that just to set the clock I don’t even need was never going to happen.
So: I had an oven that hasn’t been displaying the correct time pretty much since I moved in. Until this weekend.
I knew that when power comes back on, it resets to Noon (it’s a 24-hour clock). Mid-afternoon on Friday, I suddenly realised (because I never cared about that clock…) that if I simply turned off the power to the oven at Noon, then turned the power back on, the clock would show the correct time.
Unfortunately, I didn’t remember that at Noon on Saturday, but did at 12:30, anyway, to make sure I was right, and, of course, I was. So at precisely noon on Sunday (relying on my watch, which gets its time from a time server), I switched off the power to the oven at noon, then a couple seconds later I turned it back on. Next, I turned the oven on, then back off, and the oven was FINALLY set to the correct time.
Yes, I could’ve launched yet another search party to find that “somewhere safe” where the manual is, as I’ve done a few times, or (more likely) I could’ve looked it up online, but that wouldn’t help me get back up off the floor after swearing at the difficulty in changing a damn clock I don’t actually use, anyway.
Maybe someday I’ll redo the kitchen, though I’m more likely to move somewhere with a wall oven that’s actually on the wall, and, until/unless that happens, I’m even more likely to continue silently cursing the stupidity of putting a wall oven under a kitchen bench (and also that so many functions are indicated by cryptic pictographs, but that’s a different gripe entirely).
Still, I finally figured out a workaround to reset the clock on my oven when I had no idea how to do it “properly”—and I have a hunch that my way is much easier and faster than the “proper” way. It only took me precisely five years and ten months to achieve this enlightenment, but an achievement is an achievement.
Saturday, November 22, 2025
AmeriNZ Podcast episode 422 is now available
The five most recent episodes of the podcast are listed on the sidebar on the right side of this blog.
Friday, November 21, 2025
Cool man
My house is so cool! Literally, not esthetically. I’m still working on the esthetic part, a project all its own that will start soon. But for now, the important thing is that the temperature in my house is pleasant.
Last week, the installer stopped by and dropped off the parts for the system, specifically the outside unit and the unit that would be installed in the attic. We also went over where the various vents should go. As they were about to leave, I asked what time they’d be starting the installation. “We’ll be here at 8am”, he said.
8am?! I don’t do anything at 8am, even though I’m often up by then—yeah, “up”, but still making my way through my coffee. I knew that would be rough.
I needed to move stuff out of their way, such as, whatever was under the spot the vents would go, but also including moving stuff from in front of the circuit breaker panel. The latter just made it hard to stand close to the panel, which would be necessary for him to install the circuit for the new air conditioner (I could easily reach it when I needed to reset one, but, then, I have long arms…).
I couldn’t move the stuff early because I’d be tripping over it. So, I did the moving this past Tuesday, mostly in the evening. I went to bed, a little later than I wanted, and slept terribly, something that happens to me every time I need to do something earlier than I’d like in the morning (like a doctor appointment, for example). I think it’s partly that I’m afraid I’ll oversleep, even though I set an alarm to wake me up, but then a legitimate reason to panic popped into my head: I’d completely forgotten to clear out the under-the-vent spaces in my office and the guest room. Oops.
So, I got up at 6:30, after maybe five hours of sleep, and moved all the stuff I needed to, becoming quite overheated (due to no air conditioning in either of those rooms—or the living area, after that heat pump blew up). Once they arrived, Leo and I retreated to our bedroom and its functioning air conditioner, and I eventually cooled off.
They completed the installation of the equipment and were ready to start installing the vents, starting in the main bedroom, so Leo and I moved to the (still uncooled) living area. And here the first problem popped up: The back of the house, which includes all the bedrooms, has a lower roof, and so, less attic space, than over the living area. So, they had to move the location of the vent.
They also installed the vent in my office, and opened up the ceiling in the living for one of the two return vents, exactly where we’d talked about going. Unfortunately, I hadn’t taken the size of their ladder into account, and hadn’t cleared enough space in the living area, so they moved some stuff around. I had a look around after they left and saw they’d put the vent in my office in a different place than we’d discussed, and at a point where the roof was higher, and so, easier to install im, which is probably why they did that. I really don’t care where they put it, however, I’d cleared space under the spot we’d originally discussed on the other side of the room—and the spot I moved all the stuff too was directly under where the vent was actually installed. I’d have moved it for them if they’d said something, but, in the end, I think they just worked around it.
That was it for Day 1, and they were back around 8am the following morning for Day 2 (have I mentioned what an ungodly hour that is? I needed my alarm to wake me, which seldom happens). They installed the guest room vent, and the ones in the living area, and finally, the second air return vent—and there was another problem due to the roof structure: It had to be much closer to the other vent than was planned, though it’s still in the hallway, and there’s a door between the living area and the door, so it’s not like they’re right next to each other. The guy also installed the wired controller, and the sensor in the return vent so the system knows what the temperature is.
When they were all done, he showed me how to work the system, and showed me the vents in the living area. Before they began, I told them I didn’t care where they put them—they were the experts in where the best spot is, after all—but the think only I asked was that they be centred in the space and in a direct line, because if they weren’t, I’d notice it every time I looked up from my chair while watching TV. He told me they’d used their laser level to make sure they were aligned (and they definitely are), which I thought was both funny and kind of sweet, for lack of a better word.
That afternoon, after they’d left, I walked through all the rooms, and I noticed that the guest room, my office, and even the hallway felt cool, something that’s never happened in warm weather before. Today was the first full day with the system running, and the entire house felt basically the same temperature, and that’s exactly what I was trying to achieve by installing a whole-house ducted system.
He suggested that I do something I’ve done for years, that is, close the curtains over the stacker doors once the sun hits them in the afternoon. I did that because it keeps the heat out, and that will now help the new system, especially since one of the temperature sensors is on the living area. However, I wanted to test it a bit and left the blinds open in the guest room, and even with the hot afternoon sun streaming through the window, the room still felt cool, though less so near the window, as could be expected.
I think this situation will be helped once the patio cover is installed because the roof will block 99% of UV, which makes the sun feel hot (this does nothing about air temperature, of course). So, it’s possible I won’t need to close the drapes every single sunny day in summer, but I won’t know for sure until the cover is installed.
Finally, the company that installed the new system will return to remove the broken living area air conditioner (which isn’t needed anymore, anyway) and they’ll convert the power shut-off switch for the outdoor unit (which is currently sitting on the patio) into an exterior power point, something that will be handy when I use the patio (there are no outdoor power points anywhere on the house right now), which will be on a RCD circuit, of course. They’ll also take the broken unit away to dispose of properly. I'll have the one in my bedroom removed later on (there's no rush to do that).
Speaking of changes, the window blinds I had installed recently are also working exactly as I wanted, which is good, too. So, so far, everything has gone well, and delivered exactly what I wanted.
This means that my next step will be working on the interior of the house, and that’s all on me. However, the house is now cool and that’ll make the work so much easier—or even possible, to be honest.
Onward.
Last week, the installer stopped by and dropped off the parts for the system, specifically the outside unit and the unit that would be installed in the attic. We also went over where the various vents should go. As they were about to leave, I asked what time they’d be starting the installation. “We’ll be here at 8am”, he said.
8am?! I don’t do anything at 8am, even though I’m often up by then—yeah, “up”, but still making my way through my coffee. I knew that would be rough.
I needed to move stuff out of their way, such as, whatever was under the spot the vents would go, but also including moving stuff from in front of the circuit breaker panel. The latter just made it hard to stand close to the panel, which would be necessary for him to install the circuit for the new air conditioner (I could easily reach it when I needed to reset one, but, then, I have long arms…).
I couldn’t move the stuff early because I’d be tripping over it. So, I did the moving this past Tuesday, mostly in the evening. I went to bed, a little later than I wanted, and slept terribly, something that happens to me every time I need to do something earlier than I’d like in the morning (like a doctor appointment, for example). I think it’s partly that I’m afraid I’ll oversleep, even though I set an alarm to wake me up, but then a legitimate reason to panic popped into my head: I’d completely forgotten to clear out the under-the-vent spaces in my office and the guest room. Oops.
So, I got up at 6:30, after maybe five hours of sleep, and moved all the stuff I needed to, becoming quite overheated (due to no air conditioning in either of those rooms—or the living area, after that heat pump blew up). Once they arrived, Leo and I retreated to our bedroom and its functioning air conditioner, and I eventually cooled off.
They completed the installation of the equipment and were ready to start installing the vents, starting in the main bedroom, so Leo and I moved to the (still uncooled) living area. And here the first problem popped up: The back of the house, which includes all the bedrooms, has a lower roof, and so, less attic space, than over the living area. So, they had to move the location of the vent.
They also installed the vent in my office, and opened up the ceiling in the living for one of the two return vents, exactly where we’d talked about going. Unfortunately, I hadn’t taken the size of their ladder into account, and hadn’t cleared enough space in the living area, so they moved some stuff around. I had a look around after they left and saw they’d put the vent in my office in a different place than we’d discussed, and at a point where the roof was higher, and so, easier to install im, which is probably why they did that. I really don’t care where they put it, however, I’d cleared space under the spot we’d originally discussed on the other side of the room—and the spot I moved all the stuff too was directly under where the vent was actually installed. I’d have moved it for them if they’d said something, but, in the end, I think they just worked around it.
That was it for Day 1, and they were back around 8am the following morning for Day 2 (have I mentioned what an ungodly hour that is? I needed my alarm to wake me, which seldom happens). They installed the guest room vent, and the ones in the living area, and finally, the second air return vent—and there was another problem due to the roof structure: It had to be much closer to the other vent than was planned, though it’s still in the hallway, and there’s a door between the living area and the door, so it’s not like they’re right next to each other. The guy also installed the wired controller, and the sensor in the return vent so the system knows what the temperature is.
When they were all done, he showed me how to work the system, and showed me the vents in the living area. Before they began, I told them I didn’t care where they put them—they were the experts in where the best spot is, after all—but the think only I asked was that they be centred in the space and in a direct line, because if they weren’t, I’d notice it every time I looked up from my chair while watching TV. He told me they’d used their laser level to make sure they were aligned (and they definitely are), which I thought was both funny and kind of sweet, for lack of a better word.
That afternoon, after they’d left, I walked through all the rooms, and I noticed that the guest room, my office, and even the hallway felt cool, something that’s never happened in warm weather before. Today was the first full day with the system running, and the entire house felt basically the same temperature, and that’s exactly what I was trying to achieve by installing a whole-house ducted system.
He suggested that I do something I’ve done for years, that is, close the curtains over the stacker doors once the sun hits them in the afternoon. I did that because it keeps the heat out, and that will now help the new system, especially since one of the temperature sensors is on the living area. However, I wanted to test it a bit and left the blinds open in the guest room, and even with the hot afternoon sun streaming through the window, the room still felt cool, though less so near the window, as could be expected.
I think this situation will be helped once the patio cover is installed because the roof will block 99% of UV, which makes the sun feel hot (this does nothing about air temperature, of course). So, it’s possible I won’t need to close the drapes every single sunny day in summer, but I won’t know for sure until the cover is installed.
Finally, the company that installed the new system will return to remove the broken living area air conditioner (which isn’t needed anymore, anyway) and they’ll convert the power shut-off switch for the outdoor unit (which is currently sitting on the patio) into an exterior power point, something that will be handy when I use the patio (there are no outdoor power points anywhere on the house right now), which will be on a RCD circuit, of course. They’ll also take the broken unit away to dispose of properly. I'll have the one in my bedroom removed later on (there's no rush to do that).
Speaking of changes, the window blinds I had installed recently are also working exactly as I wanted, which is good, too. So, so far, everything has gone well, and delivered exactly what I wanted.
This means that my next step will be working on the interior of the house, and that’s all on me. However, the house is now cool and that’ll make the work so much easier—or even possible, to be honest.
Onward.
Sunday, November 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 23
This week's song is something different: It was Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” for MORE than one week! On November 16 1985, "We Built This City" (video up top) by American rock band Starship began a two week run at the top of the charts. The group was technically a spin-off of sorts of the legendary American rock band Jefferson Starship, which, in turn, was founded as Jefferson Airplane. The main link to the former group was singer Grace Slick, who provides female vocals. The song was Starship’s debit single, and from their debut album Knee Deep in the Hoopla, which takes its name from a lyric in this week’s song.
The song was originally about the decline of live-performance venues in 1980s Los Angeles—which led critics to point out the irony of the song being done in a polished corporate-music style. The song went on to be a hit in many countries (see below), but maybe the critique could be part of the reason so many people seem to hate the song? Whatever, I wasn’t one of them.
Throughout my life, I’ve liked songs for many reasons (or none at all) and this song was one of them. I liked the song mainly because I liked Grace Slick: I bought (and loved) her 1980 solo album, Dreams, and for me she was the main attraction for Starship. In any event, I liked the song and its arrangement, even if I thought some of the lyrics were really stupid, like “Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, don't you remember?”, which I particularly loathed.
I think I’ve been pretty clear that for me pop music doesn’t have to be Great Art™, I just have to have some sort of connection to it—literally ANY connection. If it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it (or, like me, mercifully choose not to dance to it…), I’ll probabably give it a good record rating. Still, it WAS popular.
"We Built This City" reached Number One in Australia, Number One in Canada (Gold), Number 11 in New Zealand, Number 12 in the UK (Platinum), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and their “Mainstream Rock” Chart. The song also was Number One on the Cash Box “Top 100”. The song was certified Gold in the USA.
The Knee Deep in the Hoopla album reached Number 34 in Australia, Number 16 in Canada (Platinum), Number 43 in New Zealand, and Number 7 on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. The album was certified Platinum in the USA. (There’s no chart information for the UK, which usually means it didn’t reach the bottom rung).
This series will return in—gasp!—two weeks (November 30) with the next Number One in this series. Ironically, perhaps, that song was yet another one-week Number One.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1985” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 1 – February 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 2 – February 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 3 – March 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 4 – March 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 5 – April 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 6 – May 11, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 7 – May 18, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 8 – June 1, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 9 – June 8, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 10 – June 22, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 11 – July 6, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 12 – July 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 13 – July 27, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 14 – August 3, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 15 – August 24, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 16 – September 7, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 17 – September 21, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 18 – October 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 19 – October 19, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 20 – October 26, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 21 – November 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 22 – November 9, 2025
The song was originally about the decline of live-performance venues in 1980s Los Angeles—which led critics to point out the irony of the song being done in a polished corporate-music style. The song went on to be a hit in many countries (see below), but maybe the critique could be part of the reason so many people seem to hate the song? Whatever, I wasn’t one of them.
Throughout my life, I’ve liked songs for many reasons (or none at all) and this song was one of them. I liked the song mainly because I liked Grace Slick: I bought (and loved) her 1980 solo album, Dreams, and for me she was the main attraction for Starship. In any event, I liked the song and its arrangement, even if I thought some of the lyrics were really stupid, like “Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, don't you remember?”, which I particularly loathed.
I think I’ve been pretty clear that for me pop music doesn’t have to be Great Art™, I just have to have some sort of connection to it—literally ANY connection. If it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it (or, like me, mercifully choose not to dance to it…), I’ll probabably give it a good record rating. Still, it WAS popular.
"We Built This City" reached Number One in Australia, Number One in Canada (Gold), Number 11 in New Zealand, Number 12 in the UK (Platinum), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and their “Mainstream Rock” Chart. The song also was Number One on the Cash Box “Top 100”. The song was certified Gold in the USA.
The Knee Deep in the Hoopla album reached Number 34 in Australia, Number 16 in Canada (Platinum), Number 43 in New Zealand, and Number 7 on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. The album was certified Platinum in the USA. (There’s no chart information for the UK, which usually means it didn’t reach the bottom rung).
This series will return in—gasp!—two weeks (November 30) with the next Number One in this series. Ironically, perhaps, that song was yet another one-week Number One.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1985” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 1 – February 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 2 – February 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 3 – March 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 4 – March 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 5 – April 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 6 – May 11, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 7 – May 18, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 8 – June 1, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 9 – June 8, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 10 – June 22, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 11 – July 6, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 12 – July 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 13 – July 27, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 14 – August 3, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 15 – August 24, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 16 – September 7, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 17 – September 21, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 18 – October 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 19 – October 19, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 20 – October 26, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 21 – November 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 22 – November 9, 2025
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
I do also see good news…
There was good news this week, and, even better for me, it was something I correctly predicted. These days, it’s probablty a good idea for us all to take the wins when we get them.
This week, the US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal incuding a request to overturn the Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that legalised same-gender marriage throughout the USA. This is exactly what I expected to happen. In fact, a couple days or so before the decision to decline the petition was announced, I said this in a Facebook comment to a friend:
The professional anti-LGBTQ+ industry pushes supposed religious "liberty” in opposing anything pro-LGBTQ+ in part because those activists know that the far-right Republicans in various courts, including the Supreme Court, will usually back anything that claims to be upholding/promoting religious “liberty”.
Despite many of the Republican Supreme Court judges far-right views on religious “liberty”, they all nevertheless knew that because the case was originally about damages the plaintiff was charged by Kentucky courts, and was basically rebranded as being about religious “liberty”. So, its claim to actually be about religious “liberty” was dubious. This means that even if the far-right Republican majority really does want to overturn Obergefell, this case wasn’t the right case to do that because it would destroy way too much of what little legitimacy the court still has in the public’s eyes, and fall or dubious reasons. However, the professional anti-LGBTQ industry is nothing if not persistent, so if a case comes along that’s “cleaner”, one that doesn’t have a problematic plaintiff or origin, it could give the most hard-right justices an opportunity they may want—but not for at least a couple years.
It’s also worth noting that despite his many (many, many…) failings, the Felon in Chief has never expressed a desire to overturn marriage equality, but he did talk endlessly about overturning Roe v. Wade, appointed Supreme Court justices certain to do that, and then took personal credit for it when they did overturn Roe. The fact that he hasn’t said anything about ending marriage equality suggests he's not interested in it, and that would make it harder—though not impossible—for his vassals in the Republican Party to make that an actual priority, as opposed to just another attack line.
Some folks may point out that the Felon has repeatedly attacked trans people, his vassals have then followed suit, and all have taken concrete action to attack trans people. History shows us that it could merely be their opening act, and an attack on marriage equality is inevitable. Maybe so—but today is not that day, and right now the important thing is to focus on threats on freedom and liberty that are already underway.
Also, it's important to celebrate when there's good news, and the bottom line is that the Supreme Court declining to accept the case without dissent is definitely good news.
This week, the US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal incuding a request to overturn the Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that legalised same-gender marriage throughout the USA. This is exactly what I expected to happen. In fact, a couple days or so before the decision to decline the petition was announced, I said this in a Facebook comment to a friend:
As you can probably guess, I’m following this closely, but I doubt this case will succeed. The plaintiff and her case are both deeply flawed and problematic, and the Court has already lost most of its credibility in the eyes of the public because of their idiotic decisions, like the Dobbs case, inventing presidential “immunity” out of nothing, and constantly ruling to help the Republicans’ God-King and others in their party, especially through the slimy Shadow Docket. They won’t want to make yet another idiotic decision that would help Democrats in 2026, and they may be betting that if they lay low now, maybe real elections won’t happen after 2026, and they can then let their christfascism run free. At the very least, with so much disgust with the court right now, they’re most likely to wait for a better case, one with a plaintiff that can be more successfully marketed as a “victim”.I elaborated on this in a follow-up comment:
All up, it’s more likely they’ll decline to take the case, without comment, and bide their time.
I don’t know if [marriage equality opponents] can get four votes to proceed—not impossible, but unlikely. Barrett has said people’s lives depend on the ruling standing, which, historically, has been a big reason for the Court to avoid overturning a ruling, and even Alito—a stinging critic of Obergefell—has said that, too. Roberts is the one MOST worried about how awfully most Americans see the Court. That leaves only Thomas, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch to possibly vote to hear the case. But, whatever happens, we’ll probably never know who wanted to hear the case and who didn’t, though we can be sure that at least Thomas will vote to proceed. The other two could well see what a sham this particular case is and wait for a stronger one to use to destroy the human rights of married same-gender couples and LGBTQ+ people in general.That second comment has the one thing I may have been wrong about: “We can be sure that at least Thomas will vote to proceed”. He may well have wanted to do so, for all we know, but the petition was rejected without dissent, so if Thomas did argue in favour of it, he didn’t officially register that opposition. That aside, it’s probably a good idea to elaborate on what I said. First, the issue wasn’t that Davis personally refused to allow a same-gender couple to legally marry after the Obergefell ruling, it’s that she forbade anyone in the office with complying with the law, and that’s where she crossed the line. She was found personally responsible for denying a gay couple’s right to marry, and that was later increased to $360,000. The original appeal was trying to get her out of having to pay the judgement, but her appeal said the issue was her supposed “religious liberty [sic]” to discriminate against gay couples, and that’s the main angle her petition to the Supreme Court took, and their justification for why the Court should reverse itself.
The professional anti-LGBTQ+ industry pushes supposed religious "liberty” in opposing anything pro-LGBTQ+ in part because those activists know that the far-right Republicans in various courts, including the Supreme Court, will usually back anything that claims to be upholding/promoting religious “liberty”.
Despite many of the Republican Supreme Court judges far-right views on religious “liberty”, they all nevertheless knew that because the case was originally about damages the plaintiff was charged by Kentucky courts, and was basically rebranded as being about religious “liberty”. So, its claim to actually be about religious “liberty” was dubious. This means that even if the far-right Republican majority really does want to overturn Obergefell, this case wasn’t the right case to do that because it would destroy way too much of what little legitimacy the court still has in the public’s eyes, and fall or dubious reasons. However, the professional anti-LGBTQ industry is nothing if not persistent, so if a case comes along that’s “cleaner”, one that doesn’t have a problematic plaintiff or origin, it could give the most hard-right justices an opportunity they may want—but not for at least a couple years.
It’s also worth noting that despite his many (many, many…) failings, the Felon in Chief has never expressed a desire to overturn marriage equality, but he did talk endlessly about overturning Roe v. Wade, appointed Supreme Court justices certain to do that, and then took personal credit for it when they did overturn Roe. The fact that he hasn’t said anything about ending marriage equality suggests he's not interested in it, and that would make it harder—though not impossible—for his vassals in the Republican Party to make that an actual priority, as opposed to just another attack line.
Some folks may point out that the Felon has repeatedly attacked trans people, his vassals have then followed suit, and all have taken concrete action to attack trans people. History shows us that it could merely be their opening act, and an attack on marriage equality is inevitable. Maybe so—but today is not that day, and right now the important thing is to focus on threats on freedom and liberty that are already underway.
Also, it's important to celebrate when there's good news, and the bottom line is that the Supreme Court declining to accept the case without dissent is definitely good news.
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
The betrayal
Eight Democratic US Senators—well, seven Democrats and one “Independent”—just underscored why Americans have so little trust in the Democratic Party, and they also managed to undo all of the progress the party has made in recent months. Worse, they did it and got absolutely nothing in return. Calling this treachery is far too kind.
Here’s the list of the Gang of Eight Senators:
Dick Durbin (age 80), Illinois, who is not seeking reelection next year. John Fetterman (age 56), Pennsylvania, term expires 2028. Maggie Hassan (age 67), New Hampshire, term expires 2028. Tim Kaine (age 67), Virginia, term expires 2030. Angus King (age 81), “Independent” from Maine, term expires 2030. Catherine Cortez Masto (age 61), Nevada, term expires 2028. Jacky Rosen (age 68), Nevada, term expires 2030. Jeanne Shaheen (age 78), New Hampshire, not seeking reelection next year.
Here’s the thing: NONE of those folks will face the voters next year, and cynics are already suggesting that’s why they were the “negotiators”: They could provide cover for vulnerable Democrats in the 2028 elections, while also allowing the much-disliked leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, to vote “no” on the deal while still getting what he wanted, namely, an end to the shutdown.
A different view I saw was that this was a bigger game. First, the House will have to come back into session, that means that Arizona’s US Representative-elect, Adelita Grijalva, will have to be sworn-in—finally—and she will be the 218th signature on the Discharge Petition to release the Epstein Files so everyone will know exactly what the convicted felon did to be named so much in the files, which certainly appears to be the reason Republicans are trying so hard to prevent the files ever being released. Also, the story goes, there will be a special election in a Republican district in Tennessee that may narrow the odds of succeeding in forcing the release of the Epstein Files. By re-opening now, they can act on the files.
The people pushing that theory also point out that Republicans will now be forced to go on the record in support of raising ACA healthcare premiums, and they’ll have to go through this again in January. Yeah, well, no, not really.
The Gang of Eight got a promise that the Senate will vote in December on extending ACA subsidies, but Republican promises are worthless. Even so, let’s humour them and pretend they really will hold the vote in the Senate—so what? Maga Mike Johnson, the antichristian Speaker of the House, has already made clear the subsidies will never be taken up by the House, so no House Republicans will be on the record. And there’s still no guarantee there will be a vote in the Senate, either. The Gang’s otherexcuses reasons were about things that the courts are already resolving—and there’s no guarantee that the regime will obey any court orders, nor that they’ll actually honour any deals on those issues.
Thanks to the Gang of Eight, early next year ACA healthcare premiums will go up two, three, four—even seven or eight—times. Yes, Americans will be furious about that, but will they really blame only Republicans, or the 8 Senators who caved to Republicans? Or, will they blame all Democrats? It could well become a “both parties are useless liars” thing, driving down voter turnout next year, also helping Republicans.
Even if there’s some sort of hidden strategy here, how on earth could they convince voters of that, when it would look like they were just making excuses for caving? And, also, what about all the Democrats who did the right thing and held the line and voted no? They will be tarred with the same brush as the Gang of Eight. This is especially bad because voters responded strongly to Democrats actually fighting the regime—finally!—and it’s one of the main reasons why last week Democrats had the best election night in YEARS, only to have the Gang of Eight throw it all away.
There’s nothing that can be done about this now that the eight caved, but pressure must begin to convince the six who aren’t already retiring next year to retire at the next election. If they don’t retire, they must be primaried and fired by the voters. They betrayed all the hard work and sacrifices of their colleagues and in both Congress and the states, and also ordinary people who felt energised and engaged, and there have to be consequences for their betrayal of the American people.
The one thing we know for certain is that things will get much, much worse for the USA and its people. Republicans are now smugly certain that they can do whatever they want, and Democrats won’t do anything but, taking a cue from Chuck Schumer, send a strongly worded letter.
The USA deserves much better from Democrats, and for a time, they got that. The Gang of Eight wrecked it all.
Here’s the list of the Gang of Eight Senators:
Dick Durbin (age 80), Illinois, who is not seeking reelection next year. John Fetterman (age 56), Pennsylvania, term expires 2028. Maggie Hassan (age 67), New Hampshire, term expires 2028. Tim Kaine (age 67), Virginia, term expires 2030. Angus King (age 81), “Independent” from Maine, term expires 2030. Catherine Cortez Masto (age 61), Nevada, term expires 2028. Jacky Rosen (age 68), Nevada, term expires 2030. Jeanne Shaheen (age 78), New Hampshire, not seeking reelection next year.
Here’s the thing: NONE of those folks will face the voters next year, and cynics are already suggesting that’s why they were the “negotiators”: They could provide cover for vulnerable Democrats in the 2028 elections, while also allowing the much-disliked leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, to vote “no” on the deal while still getting what he wanted, namely, an end to the shutdown.
A different view I saw was that this was a bigger game. First, the House will have to come back into session, that means that Arizona’s US Representative-elect, Adelita Grijalva, will have to be sworn-in—finally—and she will be the 218th signature on the Discharge Petition to release the Epstein Files so everyone will know exactly what the convicted felon did to be named so much in the files, which certainly appears to be the reason Republicans are trying so hard to prevent the files ever being released. Also, the story goes, there will be a special election in a Republican district in Tennessee that may narrow the odds of succeeding in forcing the release of the Epstein Files. By re-opening now, they can act on the files.
The people pushing that theory also point out that Republicans will now be forced to go on the record in support of raising ACA healthcare premiums, and they’ll have to go through this again in January. Yeah, well, no, not really.
The Gang of Eight got a promise that the Senate will vote in December on extending ACA subsidies, but Republican promises are worthless. Even so, let’s humour them and pretend they really will hold the vote in the Senate—so what? Maga Mike Johnson, the antichristian Speaker of the House, has already made clear the subsidies will never be taken up by the House, so no House Republicans will be on the record. And there’s still no guarantee there will be a vote in the Senate, either. The Gang’s other
Thanks to the Gang of Eight, early next year ACA healthcare premiums will go up two, three, four—even seven or eight—times. Yes, Americans will be furious about that, but will they really blame only Republicans, or the 8 Senators who caved to Republicans? Or, will they blame all Democrats? It could well become a “both parties are useless liars” thing, driving down voter turnout next year, also helping Republicans.
Even if there’s some sort of hidden strategy here, how on earth could they convince voters of that, when it would look like they were just making excuses for caving? And, also, what about all the Democrats who did the right thing and held the line and voted no? They will be tarred with the same brush as the Gang of Eight. This is especially bad because voters responded strongly to Democrats actually fighting the regime—finally!—and it’s one of the main reasons why last week Democrats had the best election night in YEARS, only to have the Gang of Eight throw it all away.
There’s nothing that can be done about this now that the eight caved, but pressure must begin to convince the six who aren’t already retiring next year to retire at the next election. If they don’t retire, they must be primaried and fired by the voters. They betrayed all the hard work and sacrifices of their colleagues and in both Congress and the states, and also ordinary people who felt energised and engaged, and there have to be consequences for their betrayal of the American people.
The one thing we know for certain is that things will get much, much worse for the USA and its people. Republicans are now smugly certain that they can do whatever they want, and Democrats won’t do anything but, taking a cue from Chuck Schumer, send a strongly worded letter.
The USA deserves much better from Democrats, and for a time, they got that. The Gang of Eight wrecked it all.
Monday, November 10, 2025
Unexpected updates
The big cover-up
Of my many (many, many…) conundrums (mostly about food), there’s one that has kept popping up: The best way to cover may patio table. Part of the reason I wanted a roof over my patio was so that I wouldn’t have to keep my table and chairs permanently under a cover, but even after it's installed I’ll probably still use a cover in the winter, when it rains a lot and I’m less likely to use the table. However, until then a cover is required at all times.
On May 23 of last year, I talked about needing a new cover for my patio table and chairs, and how I wasn’t sure what I’d do. In the end, put the old patio cover on top of the one that was wearing out, and just taped over the holes. It functioned well for quite awhile, but a few months ago I noticed it was starting to fall apart, and several storms with winds started to shred it. I needed a new cover.
I went to the big box hardware and home centre store where I bought the two old covers, and then I noticed that a higher quality one was on special, and it touted its resistance to UV light, which was the main culprit in the old covers’ deaths. So, I bought the more expensive option (pictured in the photo above, but it’s actually a very dark gray, not the silver gray the photo suggests).
The new cover is the best yet: A kind of heavy vinyl, it doesn’t get whipped around by the wind like the old ones did, and, being a dark colour, it dries quickly when it gets wet in the rain. Had I known, I’d have bought this cover in the first place. When I put it on the table, I put it on top of all the old covers, mainly because storms were on the way. Then I looked around and found chunks of the old cover that the wind had ripped off and thrown into the weeds at the edge of the patio. When the new patio cover is installed, I’ll permanently get rid of what’s left of the old covers.
I changed my mind about food. Again.
Back in June, I published a post called “Cereal selection” about high fibre breakfast cereals I tried. I was pretty dismissive of the Woolworths own-brand, “High Fibre Bran”. However, one thing in that post stuck in my mind. I wrote: “The bottom line for me is that [High Fibre Bran] was better than All-Bran in all the things I monitor, however…” and yet I chose to not switch. I later decided I may have been too dismissive, and I recently tried the High Fibre Bran again precisely because it is healthier for all the things I track, things related to my particular health needs/problems.
So, I decided to continue to buy it—for now: If history is any indicator, it probably isn’t forever, because Woolworths has a habit of dropping it’s own home-brand products, though for all I know, they may just stop exporting them from Australia to New Zealand. In any event, it may not be around forever, but, for now, it’s my choice.
I probably don’t update posts as much as I “should”, but sometimes updates to old posts surprise me so much that I need to do updates. Both of these two topics are definitely in that category.
Sunday, November 09, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 22
This week's song is another one from something outside pop music as such, and another theme song, but from a TV show. On November 9 1985, the theme to Miami Vice by Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer Jan Hammer reached Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” for one week only. The video up top is the offcial video for the piece, but some people are probably more familhttps://youtu.be/dEjXPY9jOx8?si=_s3mEABu4kZeVBOx" target="_blank">WATCH]. The song was the first single from the Miami Vice soundtrack album
Nearly all of the songs in these annual “Weekend Diversion” posts have some sort of personal connection, some stronger than others. But this One? Hooboy, do I have connections to this one!
Back in 1985, my partner and I loved Miami Vice, and part of the reason was what we’d now call, the vibe. He was so much into the show’s esthetic that he had me paint the small second bedroom in our apartment that we used as a TV room in relevant colours: A kind of teal/mint/pale green for the walls, and a kind of pale sherbet orange for the trim work. While I wouldn’t use that colour scheme now, at the time it seemed pretty awesome.I also painted the rest of the apartment months earlier, but in a mostly Art Deco colour scheme that my partner really liked. For some reason, I’ve always been in charge of painting places I lived; good thing I actually like painting.
The show itself was far from perfect, of course, but it was definitely entertaining, and part of its appeal was the background music it used, including its theme music, which was very different from other TV show theme music at the time. We bought the soundtrack album on vinyl back in the day, though it’s now long gone, and some of the songs popped up on other compilations over the years. Still, in those long-ago days, it was fun while it lasted.
The theme to Miami Vice reached Number 14 in Australia, Number 3 in Canada, Number 22 in New Zealand, Number 5 in the UK, as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, and also Number One on the Cash Box “Top 100”. The linked article doesn’t list any information on Certifications.
The Miami Vice soundtrack album reached Number 17 in Australia, Number One in Canada (3x Platinum), Number 5 in New Zealand (Platinum), Number 11 in the UK (Gold), and Number One on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. The album was certified 4x Platinum in the USA.
This series will return next week (November 16) with the next Number One in this series, the first in five weeks that wasn’t a one-week Number One hit! Although, there’s one more to come later…
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1985” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 1 – February 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 2 – February 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 3 – March 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 4 – March 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 5 – April 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 6 – May 11, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 7 – May 18, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 8 – June 1, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 9 – June 8, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 10 – June 22, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 11 – July 6, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 12 – July 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 13 – July 27, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 14 – August 3, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 15 – August 24, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 16 – September 7, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 17 – September 21, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 18 – October 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 19 – October 19, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 20 – October 26, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 21 – November 2, 2025
Nearly all of the songs in these annual “Weekend Diversion” posts have some sort of personal connection, some stronger than others. But this One? Hooboy, do I have connections to this one!
Back in 1985, my partner and I loved Miami Vice, and part of the reason was what we’d now call, the vibe. He was so much into the show’s esthetic that he had me paint the small second bedroom in our apartment that we used as a TV room in relevant colours: A kind of teal/mint/pale green for the walls, and a kind of pale sherbet orange for the trim work. While I wouldn’t use that colour scheme now, at the time it seemed pretty awesome.I also painted the rest of the apartment months earlier, but in a mostly Art Deco colour scheme that my partner really liked. For some reason, I’ve always been in charge of painting places I lived; good thing I actually like painting.
The show itself was far from perfect, of course, but it was definitely entertaining, and part of its appeal was the background music it used, including its theme music, which was very different from other TV show theme music at the time. We bought the soundtrack album on vinyl back in the day, though it’s now long gone, and some of the songs popped up on other compilations over the years. Still, in those long-ago days, it was fun while it lasted.
The theme to Miami Vice reached Number 14 in Australia, Number 3 in Canada, Number 22 in New Zealand, Number 5 in the UK, as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, and also Number One on the Cash Box “Top 100”. The linked article doesn’t list any information on Certifications.
The Miami Vice soundtrack album reached Number 17 in Australia, Number One in Canada (3x Platinum), Number 5 in New Zealand (Platinum), Number 11 in the UK (Gold), and Number One on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. The album was certified 4x Platinum in the USA.
This series will return next week (November 16) with the next Number One in this series, the first in five weeks that wasn’t a one-week Number One hit! Although, there’s one more to come later…
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1985” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 1 – February 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 2 – February 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 3 – March 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 4 – March 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 5 – April 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 6 – May 11, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 7 – May 18, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 8 – June 1, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 9 – June 8, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 10 – June 22, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 11 – July 6, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 12 – July 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 13 – July 27, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 14 – August 3, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 15 – August 24, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 16 – September 7, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 17 – September 21, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 18 – October 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 19 – October 19, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 20 – October 26, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 21 – November 2, 2025
Hot as heck
We’ve had a bit of heat here in Kirikiriroa-Hamilton lately. The days have been beautiful, with blue skies, sometimes with puffy clouds, sometimes with none, and often with a gentle breeze. However, the daytime temperatures have been 5 to 7 degrees higher than is normal for this time of year, which, to use a typical understated Kiwi phrase, is not ideal.
I’m not going to sugar coat this: It was pretty miserable at the end of this week, from Wednesday onward. This is because I have no air conditioning in the living area, and it gets hot in there from early afternoon, and doesn’t get better until early evening.
Here’s what I mean: On Friday, it hit 25 degrees (77F) in my neighbourhood, which is already reasonably hot by our standards, but, worse, it hit 29 (84.2F) in the living area of my house, and that was awful. The next day, it hit 26 (78.8F), but it was “cooler” inside: 27 (80.6F) . Today it was back to 25 outside, and still 27 inside. I learned my lesson, and by Saturday started closing the curtains when the sun hit the stacker doors in the living area.
I’m well aware that this is the sort of thing that some people derisively call “First World Problems”, and I’m also well aware that what I’m experiencing is nothing compared to heatwaves that people experience elsewhere, however, I’m not there, and I’m acclimatised to this area, not elsewhere, and by those perfectly reasonable standards, this has been rough.
There have been times in my life when I had no air conditioning, and I dealt with that using fans or whatever else I could think of. I spent one summer in Southern Illinois, and it was utterly brutal, far worse than anything I’ve experienced—before or since. I used to walk to the air conditioned Student Center to sit in the cool, possibly the only reason I got any studying done that summer.
This year, in this place, I have fewer options. I put an oscillating fan on high (no help) in the living area, plus a more powerful fan on the floor in the hallway, blowing air toward the living area. I’d noticed the hallway was cool, and figured putting a fan there would draw cooled air from my bedroom, and it did, but the cool didn’t actually make it into the living area. I suppose that at least I got a nice cooling breeze when I walked down the hallway to my bedroom.
Fortunately for me, my bedroom air conditioner is working well, and the past couple days I went back there to cool down (I knew Leo would follow me to cool down, too). But I also have things I want and need to do, and I didn’t want to stay in my bedroom all day. And so, I cooled down when I could, and endured the heat when I needed to.
All of this has reminded me of what I experienced much of my life, but an experience that time and technology eventually made uncommon. Now, after all these years with cooling, I find it very hard to do without it. At the same time, the weather is becoming more intense due to climate change, and that includes high summer heat and bitter winter cold. I’m aware that as I continue to age, temperature may well become a bigger problem for me. Still, where I live the winter cold is not as severe as the heat in summer sometimes is (so far…), and I’m thankful for that.
And yet, adaptations are necessary for us all. Many of the changes I’ve made to this house—the solar panels, window coverings, and even the patio cover and the ducted air conditioning—are to make the house comfortable even with harsher weather and temperatures, and to look after me as I get older.
I also recently did something unusual (for me) that helped. Last weekend, when the temperatures were still okay, I took a pair of jeans with holes in both knees and made them into cut-offs, the first time in around 50 years I did that (I think). I wanted them to wear around the house, not sure that I actually would, but having them as an option definitely helped.
Too much heat is exhausting, but I’d forgotten how true that is. With some luck, I’ll be able to forget again.
I’m not going to sugar coat this: It was pretty miserable at the end of this week, from Wednesday onward. This is because I have no air conditioning in the living area, and it gets hot in there from early afternoon, and doesn’t get better until early evening.
Here’s what I mean: On Friday, it hit 25 degrees (77F) in my neighbourhood, which is already reasonably hot by our standards, but, worse, it hit 29 (84.2F) in the living area of my house, and that was awful. The next day, it hit 26 (78.8F), but it was “cooler” inside: 27 (80.6F) . Today it was back to 25 outside, and still 27 inside. I learned my lesson, and by Saturday started closing the curtains when the sun hit the stacker doors in the living area.
I’m well aware that this is the sort of thing that some people derisively call “First World Problems”, and I’m also well aware that what I’m experiencing is nothing compared to heatwaves that people experience elsewhere, however, I’m not there, and I’m acclimatised to this area, not elsewhere, and by those perfectly reasonable standards, this has been rough.
There have been times in my life when I had no air conditioning, and I dealt with that using fans or whatever else I could think of. I spent one summer in Southern Illinois, and it was utterly brutal, far worse than anything I’ve experienced—before or since. I used to walk to the air conditioned Student Center to sit in the cool, possibly the only reason I got any studying done that summer.
This year, in this place, I have fewer options. I put an oscillating fan on high (no help) in the living area, plus a more powerful fan on the floor in the hallway, blowing air toward the living area. I’d noticed the hallway was cool, and figured putting a fan there would draw cooled air from my bedroom, and it did, but the cool didn’t actually make it into the living area. I suppose that at least I got a nice cooling breeze when I walked down the hallway to my bedroom.
Fortunately for me, my bedroom air conditioner is working well, and the past couple days I went back there to cool down (I knew Leo would follow me to cool down, too). But I also have things I want and need to do, and I didn’t want to stay in my bedroom all day. And so, I cooled down when I could, and endured the heat when I needed to.
All of this has reminded me of what I experienced much of my life, but an experience that time and technology eventually made uncommon. Now, after all these years with cooling, I find it very hard to do without it. At the same time, the weather is becoming more intense due to climate change, and that includes high summer heat and bitter winter cold. I’m aware that as I continue to age, temperature may well become a bigger problem for me. Still, where I live the winter cold is not as severe as the heat in summer sometimes is (so far…), and I’m thankful for that.
And yet, adaptations are necessary for us all. Many of the changes I’ve made to this house—the solar panels, window coverings, and even the patio cover and the ducted air conditioning—are to make the house comfortable even with harsher weather and temperatures, and to look after me as I get older.
I also recently did something unusual (for me) that helped. Last weekend, when the temperatures were still okay, I took a pair of jeans with holes in both knees and made them into cut-offs, the first time in around 50 years I did that (I think). I wanted them to wear around the house, not sure that I actually would, but having them as an option definitely helped.
Too much heat is exhausting, but I’d forgotten how true that is. With some luck, I’ll be able to forget again.
Wednesday, November 05, 2025
Still more project news
Last week, I gave an update on the various projects I’m having others do for me. There are now some updates to the updates
The only one related to a big project is about the ducted air conditioning—and I should reiterate that in New Zealand, “air conditioning” refers to heating and cooling, usually heat pump units of some kind. In my case, it’s more analogous to what Americans call an HVAC system, though it’s still a heat pump system.
The update is that the company is sending someone next week to check out the air conditioner in the living area to see if it can be repaired (and, if so, how much…). He’s also going to quote on removing the existing heat pumps (usually called “high wall” systems because the inside unit is mounted high on the wall). It seems silly to leave them in place when they’re no longer needed, but I’ve heard that it’s expensive to recharge a used system with refrigerant. So, they may be no more than formerly expensive scrap metal. Stay tuned.
The same guy will answer my questions about the installation of the ducted system, like where the vents will go, and also what I need to clear so that their job will be as easy as possible. The ducted system will be installed November 19 and 20—the week after next. The temperatures are already rising, and it gets quite uncomfortable in the living area in the afternoon (my bedroom’s heat pump unit works perfectly), so I'm very glad this is happening soon!
Yesterday, the blinds were installed in the toilet (room, not throne), bathroom, and en suite, and I really like them. They look a lot like the blinds in the bedrooms and living area, so much so that I think that the average would probably never notice they’re different. When I have the slats completely open, the light is a less bright, but I think it makes it subdued rather than dimmed. I like being able to close them, too, especially at night.
That still leaves the screens, but today I got a follow-up email from the company, and so, I asked if they could quote on the (much less expensive) magnetic screens for my bedroom. My reason for that isn’t cost—or, at least, not exclusively—but, instead, that I think it makes more sense for all the screens in the house (should I choose to install them…) to operate the same way throughout the house. However, the main reason for my hesitation is still what I said when I first talked about the possible project: “If I can’t have what I want, should I then pivot and want something just because it’s what I can have?” I still don’t know the answer to that question, but I re-read the original quote today and it doesn’t expire until December—I kinda think having more time makes the situation a bit worse.
So, the two biggest projects are underway, and the one remaining quote is a tiny bit closer to conclusion. That’s not the end of the story, though.
I’ve started removing the weeds around the patio, something I gave up on last year, mainly because it was a lot of work (in the heat…) for an area that I never used. However, in a month or two I’ll be using that space (and I’m so excited about that!), so it’s time to start getting the patio area ready—and I have a month or two to do it. This also means I have to move the Vegepod off the patio because it won’t do well under a roof, even one that lets light through.
So, I plan to move it back to where it was until I moved it onto the patio three years ago—something that I can go ahead with now that I know what’s happening with the air conditioning (at one point I considered adding heat pumps for the two other bedrooms, and their outdoor would’ve been in that spot).
However, I want to avoid the problem that caused me to move the Vegepod onto the patio in 2022: The fact it sank into the ground. So, I want to lay pavers on that spot, four to six of them, as needed, to cover a bit more than one square metre (the horizontal dimensions of the Vegepod and its stand). I feel that I could do that project, but I’m debating whether I should. I’d like to try it, since I’ve never done it, but it needs to be done, so, maybe hire someone? Yet more indecision—though I definitely have a preference.
None of this deals with the decorating changes that started this whole journey, but all of that is still on the agenda. so far, my progress has been about concentrating on the cleaning I need to do—the main thing I need to do, actually. It turns out that my couple years of being unsettled meant I didn’t clean very well. I’m now fixing that, too.
The only one related to a big project is about the ducted air conditioning—and I should reiterate that in New Zealand, “air conditioning” refers to heating and cooling, usually heat pump units of some kind. In my case, it’s more analogous to what Americans call an HVAC system, though it’s still a heat pump system.
The update is that the company is sending someone next week to check out the air conditioner in the living area to see if it can be repaired (and, if so, how much…). He’s also going to quote on removing the existing heat pumps (usually called “high wall” systems because the inside unit is mounted high on the wall). It seems silly to leave them in place when they’re no longer needed, but I’ve heard that it’s expensive to recharge a used system with refrigerant. So, they may be no more than formerly expensive scrap metal. Stay tuned.
The same guy will answer my questions about the installation of the ducted system, like where the vents will go, and also what I need to clear so that their job will be as easy as possible. The ducted system will be installed November 19 and 20—the week after next. The temperatures are already rising, and it gets quite uncomfortable in the living area in the afternoon (my bedroom’s heat pump unit works perfectly), so I'm very glad this is happening soon!
Yesterday, the blinds were installed in the toilet (room, not throne), bathroom, and en suite, and I really like them. They look a lot like the blinds in the bedrooms and living area, so much so that I think that the average would probably never notice they’re different. When I have the slats completely open, the light is a less bright, but I think it makes it subdued rather than dimmed. I like being able to close them, too, especially at night.
That still leaves the screens, but today I got a follow-up email from the company, and so, I asked if they could quote on the (much less expensive) magnetic screens for my bedroom. My reason for that isn’t cost—or, at least, not exclusively—but, instead, that I think it makes more sense for all the screens in the house (should I choose to install them…) to operate the same way throughout the house. However, the main reason for my hesitation is still what I said when I first talked about the possible project: “If I can’t have what I want, should I then pivot and want something just because it’s what I can have?” I still don’t know the answer to that question, but I re-read the original quote today and it doesn’t expire until December—I kinda think having more time makes the situation a bit worse.
So, the two biggest projects are underway, and the one remaining quote is a tiny bit closer to conclusion. That’s not the end of the story, though.
I’ve started removing the weeds around the patio, something I gave up on last year, mainly because it was a lot of work (in the heat…) for an area that I never used. However, in a month or two I’ll be using that space (and I’m so excited about that!), so it’s time to start getting the patio area ready—and I have a month or two to do it. This also means I have to move the Vegepod off the patio because it won’t do well under a roof, even one that lets light through.
So, I plan to move it back to where it was until I moved it onto the patio three years ago—something that I can go ahead with now that I know what’s happening with the air conditioning (at one point I considered adding heat pumps for the two other bedrooms, and their outdoor would’ve been in that spot).
However, I want to avoid the problem that caused me to move the Vegepod onto the patio in 2022: The fact it sank into the ground. So, I want to lay pavers on that spot, four to six of them, as needed, to cover a bit more than one square metre (the horizontal dimensions of the Vegepod and its stand). I feel that I could do that project, but I’m debating whether I should. I’d like to try it, since I’ve never done it, but it needs to be done, so, maybe hire someone? Yet more indecision—though I definitely have a preference.
None of this deals with the decorating changes that started this whole journey, but all of that is still on the agenda. so far, my progress has been about concentrating on the cleaning I need to do—the main thing I need to do, actually. It turns out that my couple years of being unsettled meant I didn’t clean very well. I’m now fixing that, too.
Tuesday, November 04, 2025
AmeriNZ Podcast episode 421 is now available
The five most recent episodes of the podcast are listed on the sidebar on the right side of this blog.
Sunday, November 02, 2025
Thirty years later
In last year’s post I asked:
“Does the fact that perhaps [30] sounds more significant mean that one celebrates the 30th anniversary of being in a place? What about in 2031 when the number of years I’ve lived in New Zealand will equal the total number of years I lived in the USA? Or, does it become even more more significant the following year when the number of years I’ve lived in New Zealand will be greater than the number of my years living in the USA? For the record, I’ll be 72 and 73 in those two years—assuming, of course.
So, as I also said last year, “Even as I rebuild myself and my life, everything about this date is, and will remain, directly connected with Nigel. I’m so very glad it is, too.” Indeed. But I’m glad that a huge part of my life is also about loving in New Zealand. I have Nigel to thank for that, too.
Happy main anniversary, sweetheart.
Footnote: Something I’ve never mentioned before was that the Number One song in New Zealand the day I arrived was ”Gangsta's Paradise” by American rapper Coolio. Because this week also has an entry in my Weekend Diversion – 1985 series of blog posts, here’s the chart information, like what I add to those posts: “Gangsta's Paradise” reached Number One in Australia (3x Platinum), Number 29 in Canada, Number One in New Zealand (3x Platinum), Number One in the UK (5x Platinum), and Number One on the Billboard “Hot 100” chart (3x Platinum).
Previously:
Twenty-nine years later (2024)
Twenty-eight years later (2023)
Twenty-seven years later (2022)
Twenty-six years later (2021)
Twenty-five years later (2020)
Twenty four Years (2019)
Posts from happier years:
Twenty Three Years Together (2018)
Twenty Two Years Together (2017)
Twenty One Years Together (2016)
Twenty Years Together (2015)
Surreal 19th Expataversary (2014)
Eighteen (2013)
The day that really mattered (2012)
Sweet sixteen (2011)
Fifteen (2010)
Fourteen (2009)
Lucky 13: Expataversary and more (2008)
Twelfth Anniversary (2007)
Eleven Years an Expat (2006)
Related:
Ex, but not ex- – A 2006 post about being an expat
Changing policies and lives – A 2011 post about becoming a permanent resident
12 years a citizen – A 2014 post about becoming a NZ citizen
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 21
This week's song is another new one, and another oddity in this series: There's no official music video of the song. Nevertheless, on November 2 1985, “Part-Time Lover” ("video" up top) by American R&B singer and songwriter Stevie Wonder reached Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” for one week only. The song, which was his last solo Number One so far, was simultaneously at the top of four different Billboard charts (see chart information at the bottom of this post). The song was the lead single from his album, In Square Circle, and the was his twentieth studio album. Sheesh!
I remember hearing this song back in the day, but it must’ve been on radio, since there was no music video. I know I liked the uptempo nature of the song, and its sound reminded me of something, though I didn’t really think about it much. Apparently Wonder deliberately made it evocative of some of the 1960s songs by The Supremes. I also didn’t realise that Luther Vandross sang backing vocals on the song.
I never bought any of Stevie Wonder’s singles or albums, though I had some of his songs on compilation albums. I particularly remember liking his 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life, but didn’t buy that album either, so that’s nothing unusual for me. In fact, for much of my young adulthood, and especially in the 80s, I didn’t buy a lot of albums that contained songs I liked, mainly because I didn’t have a lot of disposable cash for records.
“Part-Time Lover” reached Number 3 in Australia, Number One in Canada, Number One in New Zealand (Gold), Number 3 in the UK (Silver), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, and also on its R&B, dance, and “Adult Contemporary” charts. The song wasn’t certified in the USA.
The album In Square Circle reached Number 8 in Australia, Number 7 in Canada (2x Platinum), Number 3 in New Zealand (Gold), Number 5 in the UK (Gold), and Number 5 on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. The album was certified 2x Platinum in the USA.
This series will return next week (November 9) with the next Number One in this series, the fifth of five one-week Number One hits in row during this period in 1985.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1985” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 1 – February 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 2 – February 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 3 – March 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 4 – March 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 5 – April 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 6 – May 11, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 7 – May 18, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 8 – June 1, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 9 – June 8, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 10 – June 22, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 11 – July 6, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 12 – July 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 13 – July 27, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 14 – August 3, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 15 – August 24, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 16 – September 7, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 17 – September 21, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 18 – October 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 19 – October 19, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 20 – October 26, 2025
I remember hearing this song back in the day, but it must’ve been on radio, since there was no music video. I know I liked the uptempo nature of the song, and its sound reminded me of something, though I didn’t really think about it much. Apparently Wonder deliberately made it evocative of some of the 1960s songs by The Supremes. I also didn’t realise that Luther Vandross sang backing vocals on the song.
I never bought any of Stevie Wonder’s singles or albums, though I had some of his songs on compilation albums. I particularly remember liking his 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life, but didn’t buy that album either, so that’s nothing unusual for me. In fact, for much of my young adulthood, and especially in the 80s, I didn’t buy a lot of albums that contained songs I liked, mainly because I didn’t have a lot of disposable cash for records.
“Part-Time Lover” reached Number 3 in Australia, Number One in Canada, Number One in New Zealand (Gold), Number 3 in the UK (Silver), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, and also on its R&B, dance, and “Adult Contemporary” charts. The song wasn’t certified in the USA.
The album In Square Circle reached Number 8 in Australia, Number 7 in Canada (2x Platinum), Number 3 in New Zealand (Gold), Number 5 in the UK (Gold), and Number 5 on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. The album was certified 2x Platinum in the USA.
This series will return next week (November 9) with the next Number One in this series, the fifth of five one-week Number One hits in row during this period in 1985.
Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1985” series:
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 1 – February 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 2 – February 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 3 – March 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 4 – March 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 5 – April 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 6 – May 11, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 7 – May 18, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 8 – June 1, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 9 – June 8, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 10 – June 22, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 11 – July 6, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 12 – July 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 13 – July 27, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 14 – August 3, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 15 – August 24, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 16 – September 7, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 17 – September 21, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 18 – October 12, 2025
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