Posts from October 2008

I was feeling adventurous last week so I managed to install Windows Vista Ultimate on my MacBook. It's certainly got its share of annoyances but I don't understand why everybody seems to hate it so much.

Installation was much less painful than xp. In particular, that first software update after a fresh install was a hundred times easier- only had to update & reboot once rather than a half dozen times.

Graphics performance: I've got a totally weak Intel 945 'integrated graphics chipset.' I'm running the full Aero interface and, weirdly enough, it hasn't exploded yet.

Memory consumption: I've got 1GB, the minimum recommended. Memory usage is pretty high but it seems roughly comparable to Mac OS X. If I were doing more than testing websites I'd probably be more concerned.

This is a weird one: it keeps 'asking for permission.' When you click 'more details' all it shows is a UUID. I know from context what it's doing, but seriously people. In general, though, I've noticed much fewer weird geeky error messages than xp.

Graphics design: one thumb up for improved controls and icons, one thumb down for the over-the-top window decorations. I like how the folder icons are stuffed with the actual icons of the folder's contents.

Graphics technology: much improved over xp. Text is super-crisp, and that frosted glass effect, while annoying, is pretty impressive.

Screen savers: What happened to the series of tubes?

- Z

but I really like this houndstooth pattern. Apparently 217 other people do, too. I guess it attracts the kind of person who would have the tenacity to look through sixty four pages of themes but then totally just give up.

Last night, it was potatoes. Tonight, my nonpartisan campaign coverage hits musical endorsements. At the event where John McCain brought out Daddy Yankee to announce his endorsement, somebody asked Mr Yankee what his song 'Gasolina' is about. His answer: 'energy independence.'

Meanwhile Barack Obama's got Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, and, depending on your interpretation of this runaway inflatable pig, Roger Waters.



But now that we've finally got a black guy from Chicago on the ticket, where's all the blues singers?



Wow, I wish I hadn't seen that. He's got Al Gore rhythm.

- Z

You read the news, you get what you deserve. These ads are on rotation at the Boston Globe




This ad campaign is so great, they've even got puns about Oven Mitt Romney. I wish I'd thought of it first.

- Z

Back up your hard drive. Like right now. Read the rest of the post once you're done.

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You didn't do it, did you? Today was the second time my MacBook's drive failed in the 2 1/2 years I've owned it. They said it was a known issue and the replacement was free, warranty or no, but my last backup was Friday so I'm out a week. Could have been worse.

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Now that you're back from actually backing up your drive, here's some other MacBook problems that are covered out-of-warranty:

1) when your power cord shorts, melts the insulator, and starts shooting sparks
2) when the outer edge of your top case cracks and falls off
3) the repair for 2) will also replace your touchpad and mouse button, which may have become unreliable in their age.

- Z

OK, so I really need to get out of the house, so we decided on barbeque. I'm a Kentucky Greg's man but the place is a bit small and I'm feeling a bit cooped-up already, so. There's always Fat Bob's and although their sides are excellent I'm not a fan of their ...um... ribs. We'd gone to BW's once but my memory of it faded behind my memory of driving the hell around Blasdell trying to find it. So BW's it is.

In an effort to avoid getting lost again I looked up the turnoff from Rt 5 on Street View. On one side: an unmarked garage; on the other: an unmarked factory. Great. I backed up the street a little: A sign that says mumblemumble ... POGS? Zoomed in. Sure enough, ALL ADULT POGS.

What is the deal with Blasdell.

- Z

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ps. Yeah I know, it says 'All About Dogs,' but you can't stop me from believing there's an entire store devoted to selling fifteen-year-old porn-pogs.
pps. BW's ribs are cooked perfectly but KY Greg still wins on sauce.
ppps. All About Doug definitely looks like the kind of place that sells porn-pogs.

B's younger sister is gradually moving in with us. She brought her cat Remington with her first stuff a little over a week ago. But you know how you never see Clark Kent and Superman in the same room together? We don't have two cats now, we have one quantum cat. She is always gray and adorable, but sometimes she's Remi and sometimes she's Chita Rivera. Late at night you can hear her quantum states growling at each other, but when you come into the room, they collapse into one or the other with a flurry of galloping feet.

- Z

As the 1972 election results came in, my uncle locked himself in his bedroom and drank one shot of whiskey for every state Richard Nixon won. He was very drunk indeed (WIKIPEDIA - United_States_presidential_election,_1972) I'm much more of a lightweight than he is, but in his honor I introduce the Sarah Palin Drinking Game. Since this will play out over the next week or two, the drinks will become payable at the Halloween party.

1. If John McCain doesn't fire Sarah Palin, take a drink.

2. If Sarah Palin is 'allowed to resign,' take a drink.

3. If the campaign cites sexism as a contributing factor to her departure, take a drink.

4. If the campaign cites liberal bias in the mainstream media as a contributing factor to her departure, take a drink.

5. If campaign spokesperson Tucker Bounds names the New York Times specifically as a contributing factor to her departure, take two drinks.

6a. If Thursday's debate is cancelled because the campaign has not yet appointed a new vice presidential nominee, take a drink.

6b. Alternatively, if Palin hasn't mercifully dropped out by the debate, drink heavily throughout.

7. If the campaign replaces Sarah Palin with Rudy Giuliani, take three drinks - you'll need them.


- Z

If you don't love politics read this instead.

I try to steer away from political stuff since there are already too many commentators on the Internet. But I can't resist now that McCain/Palin has jumped the shark and half a dozen schoolbuses on a motorcycle while wearing a wookiee suit and singing Blaze of Glory.

First we got John McCain over here calling his second time-out of the game. No man, you can't stop the roller coaster when you want to get off. If he's trying to grab headlines, the liberal press just keeps giving him the wrong ones. Yesterday a Google News junkie such as myself would have seen 'agreement in principle' in the afternooon, 'John McCain arrives' in the evening, and 'partisan chaos' by nightfall.

And then there's the debate tonight. Seeing as how you can't have a debate without two people and a moderator, I'm totally geared up tonight to see Barack Obama, Jim Lehrer, and King Friday XIII.

Then we got Sarah Palin over here. She's been a VP nominee for a month and they still won't let her talk to the press. Now we know why. She finally gives an interview and manages to make Joe Biden look like William Jennings Bryan. The VP debate is going to be a train wreck with tankers full of vinegar and boxcars full of baking soda.





- Z

Mr. Bernanke, how's the economy?



If Enron and WorldCom are proof that the system works, what are Bear Stearns, FNMA, FHLMC, and AIG?

Edited to add Ron Paul and the Chamber of Commerce

- Z

I'm going to take an unpopular position: I liked Microsoft's ads. I don't even like Jerry Seinfeld, but I liked the idea of Bill Gates as a warped Dave Thomas. I liked the idea of two out-of-touch dudes trying to reconnect with America in the most awkward way possible. They weren't funny. They weren't supposed to be funny. They were weird, but I guess weird doesn't sell.



Here's an even more unpopular position: I kind of like Bill Gates. He's really chilled out since Steve Ballmer took over. He no longer sounds like some college sophomore who's just discovered Ayn Rand. Now he's just some dude you might find hanging out at a bridge tournament in grungy jeans. [True story: my brother-in-law played him at bridge, and won.]



But of course people hated the campaign so they're scrapping it for something that's clever but predictable: a bunch of people who are not John Hodgman, with not-combovers and wearing not-business suits, being not-pathetic, and holding up signs that say "I'm a PC." Lame.

- Z

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ps. Yes, I'm famous for being lazy. I think that's worse than being famous for being fat.