Yesterday I deposited a freelance check that was pretty small by normal standards, but large in rewards. Around the Lockardugan studios, we have an assortment of old and new equipment, bought as time, money, and projects allow, and our PC is one of the oldest relics in the shop. (Number one would be our circa 1994 LaserWriter 630.) It’s a no-name clone box with a Celeron 433—I think—built for me by my former business partner Dan when this blazing speed might have impressed somebody. It’s beige, and it contains remnants of my first-ever PC (the floppy drive) as well as cast-off components donated to me by friends who took pity on my spendthrift ways. It’s been a reliable, dependable workhorse of a computer, and it’s allowed me to make money and stay viable for longer than I would have imagined.
However, its time is due. Switching between Photoshop, web browsers, and HomeSite (the main reason I own a PC) is painfully slow. The hard drive, which dates back to the Clinton Administration, has begun to sound wonky. I’m sure it draws gigawatts of electrical power, between the ancient power supply and the hand-me-down Voodoo 5 video card, which features two cooling fans and sounds like a hovering Russian helicopter. And frankly, it’s very big and bulky. Recent events and upcoming plans have illustrated the need for something faster, smaller, and more portable to work on.
I found an outfit in a hole-in-the-wall shopping center in Glen Burnie that sells off-lease computer equipment for relatively cheap prices [Name withheld.] I dragged Jen there yesterday after a lunchtime client meeting to look over the selection, and found a basic IBM R30 Thinkpad for what I thought was a reasonable price. After standing around and waiting for one employee to get off the phone with what I assumed was his lawyer (a discussion about divorce papers and who would retain possession of the house had my mind spinning all sorts of stories about this kid) I was waited on by another, younger, walleyed kid who turned out to be the store manager. He broke out a power supply and I waited patiently for him to test out the unit while concentrating on not passing out from A. the heat and B. the overwhelming stench of mothballs, geeksweat, tapioca, and baby powder. After enduring the checkout and an anti-AOL diatribe by a distraught, shrieking female customer, I was given a matching IBM notebook bag and a swappable floppy drive, paid my money, and escaped back into the fresh air.
Because the company is not Microsoft certified, they are not allowed to install anything but the original system, so I am stuck with Windows 98, which is a little like riding a tricycle again. After installing a firewall, I spent a good part of last night looking up basic functions like file sharing, installing fonts, and DHCP setup, but it’s gone smoothly and easily. It feels lighter, faster, and more responsive already, and I’m almost finished getting it set up for heavy usage. At some point I’ll have to upgrade it (or, alternatively, buy a MacBook and set up a dual-boot environment, but I don’t see that kind of scratch headed my way for some time now) and actually learn how to maintain a PC without hosing everything.
So, does anybody have a copy of Windows 2000 laying around? Heh heh, just kidding, Mr. Gates.
Back from Atlanta, at 11:30PM. Atlanta drivers are not concerned with southern manners, nor do they obey most commonly used road signage. Lessons learned: AirTran blows. Bodies: The Exhibition is worth the $20 admission, and will make anyone quit smoking, but they don’t allow photography. The city of Atlanta itself seems to be comprised of many scattered groups of high-rise buildings linked together with miles of overpasses and tunnels. The Botanical Gardens are closed on Mondays, but Piedmont Park is not.
Replacement iBook Batteries.
Good to know.
Reporting from Atlanta, we have witnessed the successful graduation of the fourth Lockard child, from Georgia Tech. Among the way, we have encountered fickle Georgia weather, unreliable public transportation (Note: the Georgia Dome has an abnormally small parking lot—be warned) a restaurant called Maggiano’s, where food is delivered not on plates but in shipping-container sized portions, and a little too much red wine. Now the process of shuttling people back to the airport begins.
After a week’s hiatus, the entry for the letter T is live on the Alphabet Project. This one is simple black and white, partially because I don’t have time to color it, but also because I did it a little differently than the others, and I’m really happy with some fo the detail. I’m flexing the caricature muscles a bit more now, and it feels good. This is progress, people.
Balls Of Steel.
Having finally seen the video, I’d have to say DAMN. Somebody buy this guy a wheelbarrow for his nuts.
Layout Gala.
Why reinvent the wheel? Look here for 40 CSS layout templates that appear to be cross-browser compatible and pretty flexible.
Freelance Rate Formula.
Having just sweated through a large proposal, I was having a hard time justifying my pricing. Until I read this article, when I got a reality check. Excellent reading.
FUCK. I didn’t expect that. We liked the commercial, though. For some hints, go here. Interesting that it was the the two DWI’s, isn’t it?
I bought this Philco in the John’s Antiques Firesale (it was one of several sets in a pile) in my first year off collecting. Originally it had a dark burled wood finish, making it look striking and unique, and it came with no back, cord or dialcover. I took the finish off, not realizing (this was years before you could look up anything on the internets) the “finish” was actually offfset-printed paper made to look like burled wood and applied to the case with some kind of clear varnish. I set it aside after buying and installing some new grille cloth, fully intending to return to it at some point, but it’s sat idle and naked since about 1995. I’d guess it’s prewar based on the label design—it’s only partially intact—but it doesn’t look like any of the other Philco labels I have. More research needs to be done, as well as a reconditioning of tubes and electronics.