Oceanside, Nevada

“You wanna end the war, don’t you? I’ve been singing this song for 25 minutes and I can go for another 25 minutes.

It’s that time of year again, when all the good little boys and children gather around to hear the story of the Alice’s Restaurant Massacree in full four part harmony. Complete with glossy pictures with circles and arrows and descriptions on the back of each one.

Kid, I said, kid, it’s just not Thanksgiving without it.

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I have a couple of observations I’ve made recently that I would like to share with you all. Sort of a project of collective wisdom, if you will.

First of all, the best time to find out your brand new brine tank has a hole in it is some time prior to putting 300 pounds of salt in it.

Check valves are a good thing, especially when they’re installed respective to the direction of flow in a pipe.

Ball valves, gate valve, globe valves (the key word here is valves) are digital devices. No, really. Valves are intended to be on or off and that’s it, there is no in between. If you have (or think you have) an application that requires throttling, get a throttling valve. They’re analog.

And finally, when you ask a chief engineer where his condensate receiver is so you can get sample for testing and he responds “I don’t know what that is,” you would do well to acquaint yourself with the emergency exits because that’s a building destined to blow up some day.

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Yeah, I know. I really have been busy, seriously. Like I’ve complained to TJ more than once, it’s odd how this job (this colossus!) that was supposed to give me time flexibility has led to more time spent working, not less. Which is not to say that my time isn’t flexible, no. My time is eminently flexible! It flexes it’s way into my life sometimes until 9 or 10 o’clock at night!

I imagine there are other salesmen, or “knowledge workers” out there saying “Pfft. Sack up, you fucking baby,” but this is the first time I’ve ever worked a job that didn’t revolve around a set start and end of the day. Sure, there were times when I’d have to come in on a weekend or on and odd shift to get a job done, but those were always the exception (plus I got this great thing: OT). Now though, there’s pretty much no difference between Monday and Saturday when you think about the work. Every day is as good as the next.

So if every day and every hour can logically be filled up with work, how does one avoid that tendency? I wouldn’t call myself a workaholic by any means (I’m actually a pretty lazy dude) but I am obsessive to the point that I hate to leave things unfinished once I’ve started them (The trick is to not start projects in the first place, see. Procrastination is your friend, people.) which can find me clearing up emails until 7:00 p.m., the whole time stressing about the pile of receipts growing on my desk right next to Vera (because then I won’t forget to do them, see.)

Still, it’s starting to get interesting. The guy who owns the company I work for lives in Vegas now, for reasons of his own that are none of my business. He’s “retired,” in that way that high energy, healthy late forty-ish overachievers do. Which is to say he’s got his eye on working deals all over the village. This guy is so full of energy and enthusiasm that he’s hard to keep up with. He’s very upbeat all the time and talks in this rapid-fire, almost manic, flight of ideas way that, if you didn’t happen to know that he was a very successful, multi-millionaire businessman, you might just think he was a tweaker. Or maybe bi-polar on a perpetual manic high.

Understand, these are not bad traits and he’s a super guy but, well, if personalities were trains, this guy (call him A) is high-speed, all the way. And not one of those sleek, super engineered bullet train jobs, no. This guy is pure high-balling heavy metal freight bombing down the rails just on sheer force of will.

I would that little golf cart train at Disneyland that takes you back and forth to your car. Low maintenance, quiet, unlikely to hurt anyone. What I’m saying here, is, well, the dude is a little overwhelming and hard to relate to, but I’m trying real hard. I’m trying real hard, Ringo.

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Quicksilver works again, mostly. I can’t get certain Finder-based tasks like “Reveal” and “Get Info…” to work, but it launches and reads my del.icio.us bookmarks, so it does 90% of that for which I use Quicksilver, so, okay. Blacktree is apparently down, a mirror for the latest version is here.

Parallels has been updated and, I’m relieved to say, the update looks good. The killer feature seems to be Spaces integration, allowing one to run Windows in a full-screen mode in it’s own space whilst blithely tripping back and forth twixt one’s other desktops. I’d tried other virtual desktop managers before and never really grokked the why. I think I’m starting to understand now.

As I said, I’m relieved that the Parallels update didn’t hose the shit out of my Windows install—seeing as Parallels is the only thing that saves me from having to buy a (shudder)PC for work—because one thing Leopard has most definitely left me without is a backup solution. I think I mentioned that SuperDuper! isn’t currently Leopard compatible (although I’m not certain this means that SuperDuper! won’t work or that the developer just won’t promise it works) which, at first glance didn’t seem to be much of a deal breaker until I found out that my current backup partition isn’t big enough. Turns out that Time Machine likes a bit more room in the seat and inseam than SuperDuper and the only way to make it work is to re-size my partition. Only my other partition has stuff on it that I have no place for at the moment.

Oooh, Oooh, and guess what? Time Machine backups aren’t bootable! So, for me at least, even when I get Time Machine working, I’ll still be using SuperDuper. It’s like this: nothing, and I mean nothing beats knowing that no matter what happens to your Mac, as long as you have your SuperDuper backup, you can simply boot from an external drive and be back working on your own familiar desktop. I’m not saying that SuperDuper is better than Time Machine because I don’t think that’s true. It’s more accurate to say that they do accomplish different, but related things and I imagine that when I figure out what I want to do, I’ll be using both.

Short story: yours truly needs another hard drive. I haven’t completely decided yet, but I’m leaning toward picking up something capacious to use with my Airport as NAS and then using the local drive for backup. I tried backup over wifi with my existing drive and even with SuperDuper’s smart backup it was glacial. Just need a way to keep the kid’s from looking at all my porn on the big drive…

And with that out of the way, I want to take a minute to talk about Stacks. Stacks is one of those things that is like 90% awesome and 10% what the fuck were you thinking? Lot’s of people have bitched and moaned about the translucent menubar (doesn’t bother me) or the new dock look (I’m a side dock guy. Looks fine to me) but I’m here to tell you: the real interface crime here, folks, is what Stacks does to your Application folder icon (A screen shot would be in order here, but I’m not in the mood right now kids. Content yourself with my scintillating prose).

In previous versions of OS X, one could place one’s Applications folder in the dock for quick and easy access to applications. Same for Documents and, say, your Drop Box. I like having a central Downloads folder that lives in the dock, myself. Which is all well and good until you find that Stacks changes your folder icon into a representation of whatever the uppermost item in the folder happens to be. This is ugly and highly non-intuitive. I mean, how are you supposed to tell the difference between your Applications folder and your Downloads folder when the last thing you downloaded is, say, an application? This is a seriously broken behavior. Not to mention the fact that, at least for me, folders I’ve dragged to the Dock don’t seem to survive a restart.

My other big disappointment is notes and tasks. I like the idea of putting them into Mail and turning Mail into something like a lightweight Yojimbo, but I’m not totally digging the implementation. For example, I can create a note on Vera in one of three IMAP accounts or On My Mac. I can then read those notes on Esme in one of those three IMAP accounts. That’s pretty simple. Kinda kludgy, but it works. Going back the other way, however is basically impossible. I can email myself a note but it doesn’t become a note on Vera because the special sauce needed for Mail to recognize it as a note just isn’t available.

Tasks, as far as I can tell, just doesn’t work at all.

My hope is that Apple will be pushing out another iPhone update soon to add some sort of syncing of notes and tasks. Even I’m getting tired of hearing myself say that. While they’re at it, I really hope that Back to My Mac gets extended to the iPhone. It would be seriously useful for me to be able to pull up that one bit of technical info or that contract that I don’t have with me while I’m in the field.

Well, that’s enough. I wanted to try and update some of the other non-Mac nerdery that ’s happened recently (learning to golf as part of my job, my dad’s recent visit where he and The Boy spent a whole week in a tent in the backyard, a review of the OtterBox case for iPhone and other stuff) but I did something this afternoon that caused fiery jets of pain to shoot through my neck and shoulder. Two T-3’s and a lot of heating pad later it’s still kinda sore but I think I’ll live.

I’ll get back with you tomorrow, kids.

Technorati Tags: Apple, computers, fanboy, geek, Mac, MacBook Pro, OS X

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Bought it yesterday, finally got it installed a couple of hours ago. I was one of the unfortunates who got the infamous blue screen. I don’t know exactly how I solved it, but I restored from my backup (thank you SuperDuper!), turned off pretty much all my startup items and deleted Unsanity’s Application Enhancers. Now I’m not saying that Unsanity was at fault but getting rid of APE did seem to make a difference.

Menu extras seem to be broken, so no Soundsource, which is a drag. Quicksilver seems to be broken in ways that make it unusable for me (specifically, you can only invoke Quicksilver when it’s the front application, which is pretty useless) The good news is that Parallels works as does ecto and pretty much everything else I’ve played with yet.

Looks like I’ll be buying some hard drives pretty damned quick. Word on the net is that SuperDuper! doesn’t work in Leopard and my existing drive is pretty filled up, probably too much so for Time Machine. I’m thinking that I’ll be using both as my understanding is that Time Machine, for all it’s coolness doesn’t make bootable backups like SuperDuper!

Notes synching to the iPhone is a bust, as is tasks. This was a pretty big disappointment to learn. I renewed my .Mac membership because of the IMAP goodness (Gmail does this now too) and can report that you can create notes on your Mac in one of your IMAP mail accounts and they will show up on the iPhone just fine. This doesn’t appear to be the case with tasks, however.

I’ll let you know the rest as I figure it out.

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Or, for you non-hip godbotherers “What Would Jeebus Buy?”

I recall, some years ago, coming across a catalog of christian merch that was laying about the office. I don’t recall how I happened to be looking through it but I distinctly remember seeing socks—as a matter of fact, I think they were golf socks—that were significant for bearing the little WWJD epigram.

This fascinates me. I mean, come on, socks? I’m an atheist, I don’t have any sort of truck with supernatural nonsense, but I actually can understand someone wearing a symbol of their faith. I get that. But… socks? I mean, what the hell does that mean? I can’t help but think of the cardinal who blessed his driver in Dogma, thus granting Silent Bob the wherewithal to slay the demon. Although it might be wiser to invest in some good sturdy boots with WWJD soles because I can’t help but imagine how awkward it would be, having to take off your shoes every time you wanted to ninja kick some random demon with your holy WWJD socks.

I guess god doesn’t have to worry about brand devaluation in way that corporations do. If he truly is everywhere, I suppose it doesn’t matter how trivial the product to which he lends his good name.

Link to the product that got me thinking about this.

Technorati Tags: atheism, bullshit, funny, religion, skepticism

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Unbelievable.

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Recall yesterday when Apple announced a $200 price cut on the iPhone? Just to clarify, I wasn’t happy about it but in a resigned kind of way. When you’ve been buying computers and gadgets for as long as I have you learn that no matter what you buy this week, next week there will be a cheaper and better one available. If that’s a problem for you then perhaps you need to take up a less expensive hobby. Golf, for instance. So, again, not happy but not about to spend my time bitching and moaning about it.

Imagine my surprise when I fire up NetNewsWire and find out that Steve Jobs has posted an open letter that says:

…being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you’ll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon.

Which is kinda what I just said, only from the mouth of someone, uh, influential. Steve goes on to say:

Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple’s website next week. Stay tuned.

Now keep in mind that they totally didn’t have to do this. I mean, it’s not like iPhones were riddled with manufacturing defects and dying left and right. Apple could have done nothing and reaped a metric fuck ton of bad will, but let’s face it, Steve Jobs’ Apple could probably afford it. That Steve stepped up to the plate and made the gesture shows grace and real class.

Link to open letter.

Via just about the entire Mac related news universe.

Technorati Tags: Apple, cellphones, cool, gadgets, geek, iPhone, Mac

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Just a quickie to indulge my inner pundit. All in all, probably about the biggest iPod rollout since the original. Doesn’t mean it’s all tea and dumplings, mind you. To sum up:

—iPod nano: Wow. If I didn’t have an iPhone, I’d so buy one. I really liked my Product RED nano, so I’m down with 8 gigs. All that plus video? Sweet.

—iPod classic: Sweetest click wheel iPod yet. I miss the click wheel. Trying to rewind and fast forward with precision on the tiny slider on the iPhone is a guaranteed exercise in frustration and I hope that Apple fixes it. Up to a 160 gigs? That’s bigger than Vera’s hard drive.

—iPod touch: 16 gigs is cool but otherwise, meh.

—iTunes: Ringtones for $.99? Oh, wait, that’s $.99, even if I already bought it? Well, I guess it doesn’t sound so bad… Only 30 seconds long? Hm, don’t know about that. Limited to specific songs on the iTunes Store, as in I can’t use the songs already on my hard drive? And if the song I want for my ringtone isn’t on the iTunes Store and “a qualifying song” I’m S.O.L.? Weak.

Looks like iToner just got a whole lot more attractive. If I want to trim it there’s always Garageband or Fission.

—iPhone: $200 price cut?! Aw, man! I’ve been a Mac dude for many moons, so I’d be lying if I said I’d never bought an Apple product only to have Apple release a newer cheaper version on what feels like the next day. I’d also be lying if I said it didn’t sting. C’mon Steve, couldn’t you at least wait six months? Christ on a bike.

Technorati Tags: Apple, cellphones, gadgets, iPhone, Mac, iPod

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That running a giant media corporation doesn’t preclude the possibility that you might be a) to avaricious for your own damn good, b) a drooling idiot, or c) both.

NBC/Universal has decided that they’re not going to renew their contract with the iTunes Store because of “piracy and pricing concerns.” I have to admit, I’m scratching my head a bit over the piracy bit because, AFAIK, to date no one, and I mean NO ONE has cracked the DRM for iTunes video (I’m not suggesting that Apple’s DRM for video is unbreakable. My guess would be that there isn’t a lot of demand for it. Most people who feel really strongly about DRM free commercial video are either going to buy the DVD or download a torrent), which suggests to me that Apple’s DRM prevents privacy about as well as any other DRM out there (tongue planted firmly in cheek).

The pricing question, however, is as transparent as it gets. Simply put, NBC wants you to pay $5 for every episode of The Office. Or, put another way, NBC wants you to pay $5 per episode for a show that you can legally watch and record for free over the air, in HD. But wait! There’s more! Not only does NBC want you to pay more for something they otherwise give away, they want you do this for a show that you would never have grown to love in the first place if it hadn’t been available on the iTunes Store.

Simply amazing. Let me predict this one: NBC pulls it’s shows from the iTunes Store and starts offering them through some other venue, maybe their own proprietary store. They charge $4.99 per episode and wrap each episode in DRM that makes it virtually impossible to watch in any convenient form (on an iPod, for instance), and NBC sits back and rakes in literally tens of dollars.

iLounge has posted a brilliant open letter to NBC that you have to hope someone at NBC will actually read, for their own good.

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