Mostly True Tales

OK, so “Little Brian” saw the site today, and didn’t like it. He liked the photo in the header better. I understand, I do too. I switched to this Wordpress theme because I needed an theme that worked with both WP 2.3+ and fAlbum, a WP plugin allows the flickr integration. Ultimately, I would like to create my own theme, but until then, I will hack away, starting with something and ending up with something else. I like the look of this theme, and mechanically, it fits my needs, but I too, would like an image in the header. We will see what happens!

Here I am again, after a long silence, it’s always tough to start writing again, kind of like exercising. So, I thought I’d just ramble off a few things on my mind.

I’ve been fooling around with the looks of the site and have finally integrated flickr fairly seamlessly, thanks to their API. I’m very happy about the way it looks and works.

How about that Nobel Peace Prize? What a joke. First Jimmy Carter, now Al Gore? Oh brother!

The presidential election is about a year away, and I’m flat out depressed about it. I guess a lot can change in a year, but none of the candidates look very good. It looks like once again, it will be a case of the lessor of two evils. Just remember, Hillary Clinton is willing to gamble with your safety.

A recent study suggests a lot of women that previously voted republican will vote for Hillary, just because she is a women. That makes sense. I still say Laura Ingraham should be America’s first female president.

The other night, about a dozen FBI agents raided David Copperfield’s warehouse in Las Vegas. Apparently they confiscated a computer, a digital camera, and 2 million dollars in cash. Now there is another story out regarding sexual misconduct and even rape. What next?

The holiday’s are coming and will be here before you know it. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then the year end. As usual, I’m not ready. I don’t want the year to end, I don’t want to turn 46.

Speaking of Birthday’s, today is my cousin Ron’s 48th Birthday. Happy Birthday old man, glad you made it.

I’ve had my new MacBook Pro about a week now and I thought it was time to make a few comments. Here are the reasons I love it.

Speed. I am absolutely blow away at the speed increase, I knew it would be faster than my old PowerBook, but what a difference. I process a lot of thumbnails and the MacBook Pro really shines at this task. When creating a batch of thumbnails the job is done in seconds verses minutes. Everything about the MacBook Pro seems fast, windows open and close faster, faster scrolling, faster application startup. I hardly ever see the beach ball. Even without 802.11N wireless in my home the new wireless seems faster as well.

Screen. I decided to get the new glossy screen. I was unsure about this initially, but am not now. I love it. It’s brighter, clearer, and easier to read than any laptop screen I have ever seen. The contrast and colors are fantastic and the surface seems quite durable.

Speakers. This is only the second Macintosh laptop I have owned, but on the PowerBook I would always have the volume at full blast. Since purchasing the MacBook Pro, I find myself turning the volume down. The sound is better with more amplification.

Trackpad. The surface of the trackpad is wider. But, what is quickly becoming a favorite feature of mine, is the double finger movement that allows you to quickly scroll windows without repositioning the cursor to the arrow controls on the right of a window. This can also be done horizontally. I find this to be incredibly handy, and addicting. Why move the pointer if you don’t have to?

iSight. Of course, all Mac’s with the exception of the MacMini, now come with an iSight built in. I don’t use it a lot, but it sure is handier than carrying around an external iSight, bracket, and cable. Photobooth is a lot of fun as well.

Apple Remote. Again, all Mac’s now come with these little remotes that almost look like a 1st generation iPod Shuffle. This is surprisingly fun, as well, as practical, due mostly to Apple’s Front Row interface. I often stream my music from my Mac to a stereo connected to an Airport express, and this little remote combined with Front Row leaves my guests in awe and speechless.

Battery. The battery is bigger and has been repositioned to the center of the notebook. I haven’t timed it’s staying power, but I would easily put it at twice the time a brand new battery would last in my old PowerBook.

802.11N. This new wireless networking protocol is fantastic. Keep in mind the only piece of 802.11N hardware I have, is this new laptop. But never the less, even when connecting to an 802.11G network, it seems faster. It’s probably just the faster processor and graphics, but the connection does seem faster. I have had the opportunity to connect to a couple of 802.11N networks with very impressive results. The data transfer rate is quite noticeably improved. I cannot wait to get a new AirPort Extreme.

MagSafe. A couple of years ago someone tripped over the power cable for my PowerBook. It almost dragged the laptop off the table and damaged the power cable connector in a way that it had to be twisted a little in order to work. The other day I tripped over my new MagSafe power cable and it broke free without even moving the MacBook Pro. Both the cable and the computer were unharmed. The magnets are so strong they almost guide the connector into place, yet will separate easily without harm in a jam. This is a great feature and I love it.

Size. My 15 inch MacBook Pro is the same size as my old PowerBook. This means I can use the same case!

That’s all for now, I’m sure I’ll think of more reasons to love my MacBook Pro as I continue to use it.

I feel like a TV evangelist. It’s a miracle, an absolute miracle. Using a super secret technique taught to me by the infamous Eskimo-Ninja, Nanuk of the North, I was able to recover the data from my old Powerbook.

I can hardly believe it myself. I was just getting used to the grim reality of entering a years worth of data into Quicken manually and getting along without all the other stuff I lost, but that reality is no more. Armed only with a 12 pack of Bud-Light, a soldering gun, and a tuna-fish sandwich, I was able to get the drive spinning long enough to completely image it to another drive, thereby preserving my flawless record of 100% data integrity.

I feel good.

Now, armed with my data and new laptop, I’ll head back to the lake today for the last big weekend of the year. Marcia and the girls will follow tomorrow.

This morning, just days after my PowerBook died, I received the following email from Apple.

Got an old computer, printer, or monitor lying around? Recycle your hardware free right now with the Apple Recycling Program.* Equipment received through this program is recycled domestically in an environmentally friendly manner. Plus it’s so easy, why wouldn’t you?

1. Print this email
2. Package your old hardware
3. Bring up to two boxes to a FedEx location
4. Give this email to FedEx
5. FedEx can scan the barcode or input the FedEx RMA number
6. Ship your hardware free
7. Think of your next Earth-friendly move

Kinda nice, but I’m not sending them my PowerBook. I’ll probably fix it and use it for some dedicated task, like running a camera.

Looks like all that Greenpeace pressure has paid off.