An Age of Magic

Florida sounds good to me…

When you are living in the UK and seeing how dim the afternoons have become you know that winter has arrived and it is going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. If it wasn’t for Xmas coming halfway through and adding a bit of brightness and joy to the dreariness of winter I wonder if the UK would have anyone left here in December. This is the time of year when people go away and have xmas in a warmer location.

While we cannot do that it sounds like a great idea and  destin florida vacation rentals look like they are just the medicine for people suffering from that seasonal disorder syndrome. I have been told that going there at this time of year means you have to go elbow to elbow with other tourists all looking for some warmth and sun – I could handle it I think, anything to get away from this bitter cold weather!

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No more CD’s?

When the compact disc was introduced it was hailed as the future of music for decades to come. Experts thought the new technology would have a similar shelf-life to vinyl, which dominated the industry for more than 60 years. But in a move heralded as the beginning of the end for the format, audio manufacturer Linn is halting the manufacture of CD players in the New Year.

The firm is instead going to focus on making new Studio Master Quality technology, which sounds as good as the original recorded product, and can be downloaded from the internet. The first commercial compact disc was released in October 1982, and by the end of the decade looked to have seen off LPs. But in a final twist vinyl looks set to outlive the young pretender to its throne.

Top DJs prefer records, because of the flexibility of the format for mixing, while audiophiles enjoy its “warm” higher quality of sound compression. Demand is such that Scottish-based Linn, whose top systems cost more than £100,000 pounds, is continuing to make turntables. The CD is not the first technology to be made obsolete in the digital age. Its little brother, the DVD, pushed old VHS cassettes out of the living room and consigned bulky players to the dustbin.

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Going back in time in the future

We kind of miss our old life as hotel owners and the more we think about what the new owners are  now doing to what was our place, the more we miss it. But that’s life – we are well out of if and we made the right decision. Some friends have been to visit our old place in the meantime and have seen what the new owners are doing to it – it looks great and the much needed improvements have done a lot for the place. There is now a games rooms with consoles and ping pong tables as well as a place marked out for a swimming pool…how we could have done with a pool when we were there!

Also planned is a tennis court and BBQ area for the guests – it sounds so wonderful we are thinking of returning there ourselves for a stay but that will be in the future. I am wondering how I will feel seeing it again all done over – to me it will always be a part of our lives.

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