I’m waiting for the Macworld Keynote this week to see if there are any new iPhones on the way. If not, I’m going to go ahead and buy one. And then I can promote my 3G iPod to backup/utility status by installing Leopard and a pile of diagnostic tools. (bonus tip: Startup key combinations for Intel Macs.) (via)
Is it just me, or does anyone else who has money deposited with Bank of America get nervous when reading this headline? It could be that they’re just shoring up a bad investment, or making a smart one for the future. personally, I can’t help thinking of A Night To Remember when I think of Countrywide.
A brown package showed up on the doorstep yesterday, containing the calendar I’ve been talking about lately. It’s really out of the ordinary—the whole thing is printed on 14 sheets of thick pressboard, notched in the top and on the bottom. Sliding any one of the cards into the top notch displays a month, and there’s a photo on front and back. My photo is technically the ‘back’ of January (turning the whole thing around reveals a shot of the Aquarium with the dates printed over top).
Two tentative forays into future technology have been accomplished here at Idiot Central, both involving radio. Regular readers will recall my annoyance and distaste with the stock Chrysler radio in my Jeep, which craps out after the temperature rises over 80° or when it passes a strong radio tower (I used to turn it off on my way to work every day, coming and going, at the Reisterstown exit for this very reason).
Well, Santa brought me a fancy new car stereo, one with a detachable face, a CD player, and most importantly, an auxilliary input on the front. And it’s not made out of candle wax and chewing gum, ensuring it will function at temperatures found most commonly in the dashboard of a black vehicle. I installed it this evening and it sounds fantastic.
Secondly, he brought a subscription card for the XM radio set we’ve had sitting in our closet since 2006. Hallelujah! Thank you, Santa.
In unrelated news, I was able to take advantage of 45 minutes outside in 69° weather yesterday to get the rest of the cabinet sanded down to bare wood, and one door heatgunned and sanded. There will be a lot more finish sanding to do with sheets of paper and elbow grease, but the big annoying work has been completed.
If I wasn’t inside earning good money today, I’d be outside doing something stupid.
McDonald’s is going to make Cappuccino. The employees at the McD’s down the street can’t make a smile successfully; I don’t think they’re going to compete with a real barista. Sorry, I’m a coffee snob: Anyone who chooses to drink the excrement made at a McDonald’s deserves to pay any markup they’ll charge. Me? I’ll pay for good beans and brew it myself.
We’re back in town from Christmas, Part Two. We left the Ville in single-digit weather, drove north to the snow and enjoyed two cozy Christmas celebrations: the first was a white elephant party with the extended family, where the rules of the game were more complicated than some drinking games I’ve played. After careful theft contemplation and manipulation, we walked with a bottle of Irish cream whiskey and a box of funnel cake mix.
Sunday we had a smaller celebration with the nuclear family, enjoying our customary champagne breakfast and a lazy morning of unwrapping, lasting well into the mid-afternoon. Thank you, everyone!
Coming home through our neighborhood this evening, many of the cheerful lights are now gone, and the weather is an unnaturally high 60°. Christmas always seems to come too quickly and end too soon.
DIY PVC laptop Stand. I like this better than a $30 off-the-shelf unit, but my experience with PVC tells me this thing is going to be a bit wobbly.
Here’s a fantastic series on using Open Directory for OS X: Part 1, Part 2, and managing preferences. Essentially, it’s a system to centrally set up and manage network accounts from the server instead of bouncing from workstation to workstation. Oh, if I’d only been able to set up a certain client’s internal network this way…
Hey, this is sweet. From Lifehacker, a handy site which has a searchable list of recycling options, from christmas trees to computer equipment. Be careful about the big-box stores taking computer equipment, though—we’ve had some disappointing experience.