One of the high points of our trip to Africa earlier this year was the time we spent at [Makanyi Private Game Lodge] near Kruger National Park. The animals were amazing, the guides were excellent and informative, the food was tasty, the accommodations were comfortable, and the sundowners were a wonderful way to wind down from a day of game drives.

I liked the place so much that I bought a scarf and a knit cap with their logo as souvenirs. I put them away when we got home, planning to wear them when the weather got cold; I didn’t want them to get lost in the closet, so I put them in a Good Safe Place.

Months passed, and winter arrived. I knew where the scarf was, but I couldn’t find the cap. I pulled out all the luggage we’d taken to Africa – no cap. I cleaned out the closet where I stash my headgear – no cap. I was beginning to think that I’d only thought about buying the cap and hadn’t. I was even considering calling or emailing them to see how much it would cost to get a cap shipped to the US.

Tonight, while I was in a Toastmasters meeting, Diane found the missing cap. It was in the same chest of drawers as the scarf, just two drawers lower. I had not one, but two Good Safe Places; it’s a shame I didn’t remember to look in both of them!

Thanks, Diane!

I spent a while this morning trying to connect my old TV to my receiver via ARC (Audio Return Channel), just for fun. I had to move some of the connections to other ports (always a joy) and reconfigure the amplifier to use HDMI control – that took a while, but wasn’t difficult.

But when I tried to get audio from a device connected directly to the TV to go to the receiver and thence to the speakers, there was nothing but silence. I double-checked the setup on the receiver, and it was right; then I checked the TV and it was indeed set up to play audio through the sound system.

Finally, I opened the manual for the TV and discovered that it didn’t even mention ARC (probably because ARC wasn’t introduced until 2009 and the TV dates from 2008). Oh. So I guess “playing audio through the sound system” means that the TV would send the audio to the receiver over an optical cable, of which I have none. Good thing I’m getting a new TV. :-)

While I was at it, I also found and removed a couple of extraneous cables that were just lying there, disconnected at both ends. I also discovered that most of my HDMI cables are too old to support 4K video, so I ordered replacement cables.

Beyond that, we took our usual walks and made our usual visit to the Farmers’ Market. We also watched the second half of Benjamin Franklin and really liked it (especially the music).

Hope you had a good Sunday, too!