Peg – Page 448 – life in the old lane

September 20, 2009

so far so good

Yesterday, I walked down to the apple store. Warmed up my plastic and walked back home with a few groceries from Whole Foods and a mac-in-the-box. Hey that is it – the MacBook Air is the Whole Foods of computers. Or maybe Whole Foods is the MacBook Air of grocery stores.

Less than 30 minutes after walking in the door the Mac was on the kitchen counter all ready to use. It would have been a quicker process – but I had to stop and make a pot of coffee.

Yesterday, I installed some open source programs that I can not live without. And today, I connected it up to my external Sony DVD drive and installed the “new improved” Snow Leopard OS. That took about 30 minutes and actually gave back some disk space.

I am going to try really hard to not install any Windows stuff on this machine. And, I need to develop a plan. Which operating system is going to do what?

September 19, 2009September 19, 2009

drank job’s jungle juice

figured out how to take a picture of myself with the new computer

The MacBook Air followed me home from the Apple Store today. So far, so good. This is not a sensible practical computer. My $199 Dell desktop is like an old pickup truck. Most “mainstream” laptops are like SUV’s. Netbooks are Toyota Corollas. This thing – this thing is like an old Alpha Romero Spyder. All style and flash and absolutely no practicality. Hopefully, it will be more reliable than my Alpha’s were.

I installed my three must have apps. Boys and Girls, in apple land one downloads the desired application and then you drag it to a Application Folder. That is all. Where is the excitement? Where is the drama?

Tomorrow, I’ll see if my external DVD works with this computer. And, I’ll try to figure out what version of the operating system I have and what I need to do to back it up, do a clean install, etc. All those techie things.

September 18, 2009September 18, 2009

almost …

After today’s volunteer stint. And after today’s mammogram. I went down to the Apple Store. The top of the line Macbook Air costs $250 more than a “refurbished” one from Apple’s online store. I am having a little cooling off period.

Why did I decide on the Apple. Well. The Apple Store. If I pay top dollar for a computer, when it fails to perform. When it melts the motherboard like the Vista Whore Machine did – I want to go down to the Apple Store with the offending hardware, slap the computer down and say WTF to a real human person.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy with my cheapass Ubuntu system. Made from a TV, mouse salvaged from the Vista Whore, wonderful old IBM keyboard from the trash room, and a $199 reconditioned Dell box.

But, we are planning on 4 months in Kona this year. And, I am planning on doing some serious wandering next year. I need a solid travel buddy. One that doesn’t require me to have a personal relationship with the command line. One that will not catch a virus in McDonald’s in a college town in the south of France. (Of course, I had my shields ups) One that will not kill off it’s operating system in Hawaii. (I never figured out if that was a virus or just bad computer karma.)

And, yes, I decided that I can live with 3 operating systems. I have enough brain cells left to welcome a new OS into the family.

The Macbook Air does not have a kensington lock slot. Might have to figure out how to make the thing look less desirable. Sort of like the urban trick of spray painting your bike black and duck taping it’s seat.

September 17, 2009September 17, 2009

i so need one of these

The dog couch. Extra large, which would fit me, costs 169 bucks. On sale. Monogrammed pillow an extra $20. Looks nicer than my furniture. Damn comfy looking too. I can see me curled up on the dog sofa.

Our best-in-class Comfy Pet Couch is crafted as well as sofas designed for people. Ultra-plush, this pet couch offers unsurpassed support that ordinary dog beds can’t match. We’ll also toss in a personalized bone pillow. Now that’s a treat any dog would love!

Inside, a 3″-thick orthopedic foam cushion and lofty spun-polyester fill relieve pressure points and provide support
Outside, breathable microvelvet, 8 times stronger than cotton, keeps pets comfortable in all seasons
Removable couch covers are machine washable

EARTH TO SHOPPERS – Dogs like PEOPLE sofas.

The real question is “What was I doing at Frontgate.com?” I saw a print ad for the dog sofa in today’s WSJ. I had to find out more.

September 16, 2009September 16, 2009

summers end

Well, I went to the dentist yesterday. My teeth were declared “stable”. “Stable”, I guess that is as good as it gets when you are closer to 70 than 60.

Next week is the cystoscopy. The reward for that is going to be a new laptop. Either Lenovo X301 or a MacBook Air. Or the cheapest netbook I can find. There is no middle ground with me. It is either the very best or very cheapest that will do the job. Hence – the killer new lens for the L1 and the cheap-ass used Dell computer.

September 15, 2009

sign of the times

Now this is something new but not necessarily a good sign. Mouse trap grocery coupons. Does this mean that people are cutting back on the exterminator service? Or are rats on the increase?

September 14, 2009September 14, 2009

another fine day

building next door reflection across the street - L1/new lens

Another image from yesterday’s photo-stroll. The flag hanging from the blue building is a part of our local 9/11 flag tradition.

The hospital has some of the world’s lamest software. It is supposed to record what our office does to the employees. For example, if we give an employee a flu shot – I record that in the system. And, I can get the system to print out a list of “everyone who got a flu shot”. It will not give up the names of employees who did NOT get a flu shot. I think I have finally accepted that I am a volunteer and I do not have to solve this problem. If the giant brains at the hospital can not figure out how to do it – well, then they’ll just have to hire a herd of temps to keep track of flu shots for 2000 + employees. I am worth about what I am paid.

The MacBook Air vs Lenovo x301 race. Mac is winning right now. Ubuntu is a fine OS – but it takes a non-trivial amount of tweaking to make all the usual laptop goodies work. For example on my little U810 – I have never been able to make the keyboard lights work. So, my feeling is – if I am going to have a top end laptop – I’ll want all the do-dads to work. Also. Linux isn’t too good with battery life/temperature control.

Why do I want a new laptop – especially since I am happy with the really cheap very used Dell box? Well, the aforementioned U810 really is too tiny for these old eyes. And, I NEED a travel computer. A non-Windows travel computer. So, it is a Mac or Lenovo w/Ubuntu.

September 13, 2009September 13, 2009

sunny lazy day

Nice sunny lazy day. Wandered around taking pictures. Lounged around the pool. Played MacBook Air or Lenovo x301 head games. Life is good. Too good. The forces of evil must be lurking nearby.

September 12, 2009

nothing

nothing much happening today. most exciting thing was I got a nose bleed.

Went to the apple store and looked at the new iPods and old MacBooks. I am getting closer to the MacBook Air. Or the Lenovo X301. My old hang up with the Air is getting yet another OS in the house. This time last year I was just playing with Linux from LiveCD. Now, I use it for almost everything. I have stopped using Roboform and am now happy with Keypass(x) – which runs on Mac’s too. More stuff has moved to “the cloud”. But their is still my tax software, photo catalog, and movie copy software. These still need Windows.

But, I really don’t want to worry about all the Windows hassles anymore. I am getting closer to drinking Job’s Jungle Juice.

Anna Karenina – all 35 hours worth – is still available on iTunes for 95cents. Must be the correct price.

September 11, 2009September 11, 2009

safe@home

The rent thing is taken care of. I didn’t realize how much I didn’t want to move until I was asking myself is it worth $450 a month more to stay here. But, the landlord accepted that the world changed since we signed our lease 5 years ago.

So here we stay “home is where your stuff is”.

9/11 – An old set of photos taken from a powerpoint presentation sent to me in Alaksa by an old Navy buddy. Check it out.

September 10, 2009

another september task

Carlton and I have differing views about how much rent we should pay. And, I am sure the landlord has a view too. This has to be resolved. Or it is moving time. I don’t think I’ll deserve a “treat” for doing this task. My treat is being a renter not an owner.

I do get a reward for spending 72 hours in the country. I am thinking about a sweet Levi jeans jacket. New. Not thriftshopped. The thrift shop ones are nicely worn and weathered – but too big.

September 9, 2009September 9, 2009

iPods

The good news from Apple is that I do not have to have a new iPod. The new Touch isn’t all that much better than the one I got last fall.

Clipboard01 A happy mistake? I snagged 35 hours of Anna Karenina for 95 cents. We’ll see if Apple comes looking for more money. Or if they try to ZAP my book like Amazon did to some Kindles.