Sun - February 20, 2005
cheap dvds from Staples
I picked up a 40 pack of teon dvd+Rs from Staples
today. After rebate they were less than $5.00. Well you get what you pay for.
They claim to be 8X. They will burn at that speed. So far I have had about at
50% success rate with them. They fail data verification. Avoid these discs.
Just in case you think it might be a dirty drive, I have burned other media
during this period without problems.
Posted at 10:28 PM
A few new items of interest-initial impressions
Zire 72 Apple 20" cinema display ATI HDTV
Wonder
Over the last couple of weeks, I have picked up a
few new items.
The Apple 20" Cinema Display is a wonder. I had a few issues with installation, but they were due to using an older ATI driver set. Once I switched from the Omega drivers to the official ATI catalyst drivers, I was able to use the native resolution of 1680X1050. The only issue I currently have is the fact that the ATI 9800 does not handle the low resolutions of a bios post screen well enough work with this monitor so I don't get video until it switches to windows graphical mode. I did have an issue with its software control of the buttons. At one point, I had moved the system and for some reason, likely because I did not plug it into the system as I should have, it was confused and set to control power on and off of a mac system. To fix it, I hooked it up to my trusty powerbook and set the buttons to power on and off the monitor. Since then, I have had no issues. I love having the two firewire and two usb 2.0 ports on the back of the monitor to hook devices into. It is nice not having to reach behind my computer to attach these devices. Also the wide-screen aspect ratio is nice when watching a dvd or something recorded in high definition.
As for the ATI HDTV wonder, it is not quite ready for prime time. The original driver set had stuttering and dropouts. Upgrading to the latest drivers improved things. However, I still can not watch regular analogue tv. It does not function due to driver issues. When I start that up, it claims that I don't have the capture drivers installed or directx. The device manager shows everything as installed and dxdiag shows directx 9.0c installed. I have no clue how to fix this. I have uninstalled and reinstalled everything to no avail. Another issue it the fact that it does not understand how to handle/detect serial dma. My system has serial ata devices and every time I start up the dtv client, it gripes about dma not being enabled on my hard drives. To make it worse, the check box to ignore this error in the future does not keep the setting, so it gripes on every start of the software, rendering it unable to record unless I leave the client always running.
I finally got around to replacing my iPaq 5555. I went back to a palm product. In the past I have had palms and they were so so for my purposes. The iPaq was buggy and I was never completely happy with it. Also it did not work well with my macs. Over the years I have discovered what I use and don't use on a handheld. The Zire had what I do use, voice recording, bluetooth and the usual pda tools. I wasn't sure about the camera, but having it with me has turned out to be handy. The latest version of palm os 5 (5.2.8 on the zire) addresses my gripes with the m505 and tungsten t I had in the past. I did consider one of the new Treo's but could not justify the cost and did not want to deal with the oils that you would get on it when you used it as a phone.
Over spring break I will try to do a fuller write-up of these devices and post them in this blog.
The Apple 20" Cinema Display is a wonder. I had a few issues with installation, but they were due to using an older ATI driver set. Once I switched from the Omega drivers to the official ATI catalyst drivers, I was able to use the native resolution of 1680X1050. The only issue I currently have is the fact that the ATI 9800 does not handle the low resolutions of a bios post screen well enough work with this monitor so I don't get video until it switches to windows graphical mode. I did have an issue with its software control of the buttons. At one point, I had moved the system and for some reason, likely because I did not plug it into the system as I should have, it was confused and set to control power on and off of a mac system. To fix it, I hooked it up to my trusty powerbook and set the buttons to power on and off the monitor. Since then, I have had no issues. I love having the two firewire and two usb 2.0 ports on the back of the monitor to hook devices into. It is nice not having to reach behind my computer to attach these devices. Also the wide-screen aspect ratio is nice when watching a dvd or something recorded in high definition.
As for the ATI HDTV wonder, it is not quite ready for prime time. The original driver set had stuttering and dropouts. Upgrading to the latest drivers improved things. However, I still can not watch regular analogue tv. It does not function due to driver issues. When I start that up, it claims that I don't have the capture drivers installed or directx. The device manager shows everything as installed and dxdiag shows directx 9.0c installed. I have no clue how to fix this. I have uninstalled and reinstalled everything to no avail. Another issue it the fact that it does not understand how to handle/detect serial dma. My system has serial ata devices and every time I start up the dtv client, it gripes about dma not being enabled on my hard drives. To make it worse, the check box to ignore this error in the future does not keep the setting, so it gripes on every start of the software, rendering it unable to record unless I leave the client always running.
I finally got around to replacing my iPaq 5555. I went back to a palm product. In the past I have had palms and they were so so for my purposes. The iPaq was buggy and I was never completely happy with it. Also it did not work well with my macs. Over the years I have discovered what I use and don't use on a handheld. The Zire had what I do use, voice recording, bluetooth and the usual pda tools. I wasn't sure about the camera, but having it with me has turned out to be handy. The latest version of palm os 5 (5.2.8 on the zire) addresses my gripes with the m505 and tungsten t I had in the past. I did consider one of the new Treo's but could not justify the cost and did not want to deal with the oils that you would get on it when you used it as a phone.
Over spring break I will try to do a fuller write-up of these devices and post them in this blog.
Posted at 10:06 PM
Mon - February 7, 2005
playing with pages from iWork
I have been playing with Pages out of the new
iWork package
I have been playing with Pages out of the new iWork
package. It definitely plays better with OS X than AppleWorks does. Of course
AppleWorks is a bit old and was ported from OS 9. From what I have done, it
seems to have most of what I like in Word without the bloat. It definitely runs
smoother and faster on my Powerbook than Word ever
has.
It is neat watching the text flow around a picture you have placed in your document. I like the feature so much that just as a lark, I stuck a picture in my paper for Monday night. And no it was not there to make the paper long enough. The paper without the picture made about 7 out of 5 pages. I also like the integrated inspector. One easy to access floating toolbar with what you need and easy access to your iTools files. Once I install the new iWorks that it was truly designed for, I will have to play.
Pages seems like a combo word processor and publisher rolled into one. All that I need to do now is see if it can do the other stuff I like, and I need to find a couple of fonts that I like to use to install in it.
Well back to studying for my tests of the day.
It is neat watching the text flow around a picture you have placed in your document. I like the feature so much that just as a lark, I stuck a picture in my paper for Monday night. And no it was not there to make the paper long enough. The paper without the picture made about 7 out of 5 pages. I also like the integrated inspector. One easy to access floating toolbar with what you need and easy access to your iTools files. Once I install the new iWorks that it was truly designed for, I will have to play.
Pages seems like a combo word processor and publisher rolled into one. All that I need to do now is see if it can do the other stuff I like, and I need to find a couple of fonts that I like to use to install in it.
Well back to studying for my tests of the day.
Posted at 10:16 PM
Heather and glasses
I had to take Heather to get her glasses fixed last week. A basketball in the face does not help them stay straight.
I picked her up from school after class on Tuesday. Mother gave me a five to pick her (the princess) up some lunch while we were out.
There was no problem with getting the glasses, but I did goof on lunch. Last time we went to McDonalds she did not like the toy she got and did not want the drink, so I didn’t get a happy meal for her. A goof. She was not thrilled with me when discovered no toy in the bag. She did settle for taking my large fries instead of her small fries. After a bit, she decided I should take her by the Dollar store to pick her up a toy. Like it would do her any good since she couldn’t take it into school with her. So no toy.
Since I would not carry her into school, she took care of that problem on her own. After we walked into the building I felt a thump against my back, a choke hold on my neck and legs wrapped around my waist. No is not an answer for some things.
Later, the librarian who witnessed our little episode told my mother, “That Heather is really fond of her uncle. She was showing him off.” I didn’t know showing off was getting jumped. I will have to add that one to my lexicon.
During class on Friday, we were discussing Milton. I got a laugh out of him being called a penis and nobody being shocked…of course it was in Yiddish, but still!
Over the week I talked to a friend of mine in Atlanta. She informed me I was more of a woman than most people she knew. I think she was trying to compliment me, but I will reserve judgment. Was she calling me moody? (Time to duck and run)
I had another friend inform me that the proper age for dating and relationships is a difference in physical ages of ten years since it takes ten extra years for a man to reach the same level of maturity as a twenty something woman.
Also I was informed that some of my co-workers have been talking about my second job. Damn, I wish I had time to have a second job. If I do have it, I want to know where I am squeezing it in with school and my regular forty hour job.
What’s up with these odd comments.
Posted at 10:16 PM
Wed - January 26, 2005
english class
We read in class last night. Afterwards I was asked
if I was nervous and commented on the fact that it had been 15 years since I
last had to read something publicly and the fact that my non verbal reading was
just as fast. It wasn't till later that I thought about the fact that I really
was nervous. Being the about the only one not offically training for writing, I
guess I was actually nervous that I wouldn't measure up. In fact I was worried
that what I had was not up to what the others could produce. Since I went first,
I didn't have the worry that what I had heard was better than what I
had.
So yes, I was nervous and in denial of it
So yes, I was nervous and in denial of it
Posted at 10:17 PM
Mon - January 24, 2005
Random thoughts
Computers are a curse. This last week my luck with them has been piss poor. The hard drive in my laptop decided to fry itself followed shortly by my flash drive becoming unreadable. Of course dropping the drive on asphalt helped it go tits up, but I didn’t know it was dead till I tried to use it to continue some work for school. At that point, I discovered several hours of a math lab and part of a paper were gone. C’est la vie. Now I have come up with a different paper for tonight.
On the bright side, I retired my last CRT monitor and am working now on an Apple 20” Cinema Display. I must say, my eyes appreciate the change. The new display is much easier on the eyes as well as letting me have more up at one time. It definitely makes working on things easier when you don’t have to swap between windows. Plus, more importantly, Enterprise and Battlestar Galactica look much better on a crisp widescreen.
A few funny things from last week.
One of my co-workers came into work and told them she was in mourning, she had just watched the inauguration on television.
Becky from work commented that she didn’t see why somebody who did believe in redemption would bother with Milton since he had that as a theme in Paradise lost. As far as that goes, redemption is tempting, but I am not quite ready to give it full consideration yet. That is something I am working on.
Last night Jason and I so a man circling the graveyard next to work. He had his arms raised towards the cemetery and would stare through it for a bit. Moments later, he would move to a new location and hold his arms toward the graves. This lasted a while and Jason and I were curious if he was seeking answers, communing with the spirits, inviting them in to himself or just plain looney.
After Friday’s class, I have been thinking on context. One curious thing, several people stated that they really don’t believe in God per se. I wonder if they curse? After all, if you damn someone, doesn’t that imply at least an unconscious belief. How can that be an effective wish if you don’t believe in a form of hell and by extension a god?
Context. Thinking on that while going back over Slater’s Lying has me noticing things that require a context. She mentions Paul, Mohammad, Moses, Jesus. She mentions Shakespeare and Van Gogh. Freud and Erickson are there as well. Religion, art and science (though some may argue that psychology is not a true science). Without a grounding in our culture, those are just words or random names, the meaning and what she says are lost.
As for Lying, though not the purpose of the book, I have been contemplating the disease and which of the things that she says about it are true. Epilepsy and seizure disorders are not something I have done more than accept and deal with, I have done no real research and just have taken what the doctor says for what I needed to know. She has me curious about if what she says is true. From the what I have experienced and what I have started looking at, her facts are true. Of course the best lies are based on the truth. But don’t take what I say about this as what the book means. It is interesting and thought provoking for many other reasons and the title might be the biggest lie of the book since it is actually filled with a truth. Discussion of the book tonight will be most fun. I have even started a response to what I have read, but more of that later.
Posted at 10:19 PM
Wed - January 12, 2005
Taking Heather to UTC
Monday night I picked up Heather from school between my last two classes of the evening. She was busy watching a public education show while her granny was in a teacher's meeting. We waited on granny a bit and then gave up so we would have time to pick the little one up some dinner on the way to school. Before we left, Heather made sure I had paper for her to use with her new art kit.
We stopped at McDonalds to pick up a sandwich and she opted for chicken nuggets instead, since they were guaranteed to come without mustard, a sauce she despises. Well, the happy meal toy did not meet her standards. As she put it, "comb is stupid, this isn't a good deal." She even tested it on her hair and decided it wasn't even a good comb and tossed it to the floorboard.
On the way to class, she and I discussed what the class was for and her response was "Why do you have to take a writing class, even I already know how to write and I am just six." It took a bit of explaining to her that by writing I didn't mean the actual letters and words, I meant how you tell a story or describe something in an effective manner...and yes I used multi-syllable words. If she doesn't know the word, she just stops me, gets a definition and goes on...not that she needed any definitions in this case. She was working on the Harry Potter books last year, though she wanted to know why they made the pages so long.
At school she wanted to take the long way to class and also made me promise to bring her back so she could eat in the student center. I mentioned to her that I had (in a lj post) commented that I was bringing my blond assistant with me. Mortal insult. The princess corrected me with the information that she was not blond, she was dirt brown (mousy as Rebecca put it). She was very firm on that point.
She did well in class, though I had to write out a few words for her that she wanted to add to her drawings. Drawings that she had me pass to Rebecca who proceeded to show them to the class. Now, this little one may be a touch psychic. Every picture seemed to be finished at the time that delivery onto the desk would most break Mrs. Cook's train of thought.
After class, the second thing she wanted to know was when she could go back. The first was if we could take the elevator down. On the indirect ride to her basketball practice, she quizzed me on if there were other classes she could attend as well as if the writing class could be held on Tuesday.
Today (tuesday) she quizzed her granny about why we (the class) could call our teacher by first name and why she had to use last name. That took a bit of work on her granny's part. She ended up with the idea that we told her to use the last name and honorific and we (the class) had been told to use the first name. Also it was an age thing, we were older than she was. Of course she found a loop hole. Heather wants to know if she can start calling her teachers their names when she is in high school. Little devil.
Posted at 10:20 PM
Mon - January 10, 2005
Court vs School
Well, for my first Monday of the spring semester I
have managed to miss four classes. It paid off well
though.
Instead of a discussion on Descartes I got to hear a repetitive "Do you accept this plea?" I also got the amusement of two inmates representing themselves proving the adage that only a fool is their own client. I must say, their grasp of the law and the english language leaves much to be desired. I also got to hear one guy get off a dui with a lesser charge because the person that drew their blood was not qualified to do so and has since moved to Florida and the Collegedale officer who arrested him has since been fired from the police department. What a farce our justice system seems to be. Since they don't think, they aren't?
Amazingly, after three and a half hours of waiting and talking with the DA, the judge ordered the lawyers for the two I was there to get restitution from to be found so I could get out of there. The DA managed to talk them into accepting my requested amount and voided the need for me to testify. He informed me that my presence and pound of paper was most helpful and convincing them I was actually prepared and ready to go at it. Of course he also told me it was nice having a victim that did not have a rap sheet longer than the defendants. What does this tell us about the opinion of your run of the mill victim? Also what does this tell us about the innocents who are victims? Don't they go in to fight back? In fact one case for restitution was determined to be valued at zero because the victim had moved and couldn't be found and had not appeared.
At least the system worked for me this time, even if it will take sixteen months for them to pay me off...I will be getting paid by their probation officer till it is paid off. In fact they cannot get off supervised probation (which costs them money-they have to pay for the probation officer) until I am repaid or they get tossed in the clink for three years. Well, there is a semester at UTC paid for, assuming that I don't manage to get one of the scholarships I have applied for.
Godlikepoet, I will see you tonight in a sunnier mood than usual with my little blonde helper.
Instead of a discussion on Descartes I got to hear a repetitive "Do you accept this plea?" I also got the amusement of two inmates representing themselves proving the adage that only a fool is their own client. I must say, their grasp of the law and the english language leaves much to be desired. I also got to hear one guy get off a dui with a lesser charge because the person that drew their blood was not qualified to do so and has since moved to Florida and the Collegedale officer who arrested him has since been fired from the police department. What a farce our justice system seems to be. Since they don't think, they aren't?
Amazingly, after three and a half hours of waiting and talking with the DA, the judge ordered the lawyers for the two I was there to get restitution from to be found so I could get out of there. The DA managed to talk them into accepting my requested amount and voided the need for me to testify. He informed me that my presence and pound of paper was most helpful and convincing them I was actually prepared and ready to go at it. Of course he also told me it was nice having a victim that did not have a rap sheet longer than the defendants. What does this tell us about the opinion of your run of the mill victim? Also what does this tell us about the innocents who are victims? Don't they go in to fight back? In fact one case for restitution was determined to be valued at zero because the victim had moved and couldn't be found and had not appeared.
At least the system worked for me this time, even if it will take sixteen months for them to pay me off...I will be getting paid by their probation officer till it is paid off. In fact they cannot get off supervised probation (which costs them money-they have to pay for the probation officer) until I am repaid or they get tossed in the clink for three years. Well, there is a semester at UTC paid for, assuming that I don't manage to get one of the scholarships I have applied for.
Godlikepoet, I will see you tonight in a sunnier mood than usual with my little blonde helper.
Posted at 10:21 PM
Wed - January 21, 2004
Time passes - and a memorial.
Is it better to love deeply and to lose love than
to never love at all?
Six years ago a woman died. She was not a major
figure in world politics. She did not invent anything. She did not shake the
world.
She loved. She was loved.
What did she do? She loved a man. She had a child with that man. She married that man. The daughter bore his middle name, his grandfather and great grandfather's name. I bear that name. They met by chance. It was a time when our president called for men to come forth and live and die for our country. He was seventeen, too young to join. That did not deter him. His sister helped him sign up for the navy. She swore he was older. I never knew how she felt about this, he paid all he had to our country. He went to sea and never came home to see and hold his daughter.
So why is this any different than any other story of that time? Many died and many never came home. The cruel irony was he was actually discharged from the navy to come home and care for his wife and daughter. The fact he was discharged came home to my grandmother on one day. The joy she must have felt. Then she was informed he died in the line of duty a day later.
She never remarried. She poured all her love into the child she had. She taught her daughter to love and to care. That child learned well.
A little over a six years ago her daughter lost the man she had loved. He was killed for no reason. At first my grandmother was able to survive the loss at first. A month later, they caught the killers and the news had more facts. That day she had a massive heart attack.
My mother went to her side. She called and told me. My mother, rather than have me rush to be there, asked me to find my brother and tell him and bring him to my grandmother. She died while I was finding my brother. I never was able to see or talk to her before she was gone.
As for my mother, she lost the man she loved and hasn't found anybody else.
I learned from them.
She loved. She was loved.
What did she do? She loved a man. She had a child with that man. She married that man. The daughter bore his middle name, his grandfather and great grandfather's name. I bear that name. They met by chance. It was a time when our president called for men to come forth and live and die for our country. He was seventeen, too young to join. That did not deter him. His sister helped him sign up for the navy. She swore he was older. I never knew how she felt about this, he paid all he had to our country. He went to sea and never came home to see and hold his daughter.
So why is this any different than any other story of that time? Many died and many never came home. The cruel irony was he was actually discharged from the navy to come home and care for his wife and daughter. The fact he was discharged came home to my grandmother on one day. The joy she must have felt. Then she was informed he died in the line of duty a day later.
She never remarried. She poured all her love into the child she had. She taught her daughter to love and to care. That child learned well.
A little over a six years ago her daughter lost the man she had loved. He was killed for no reason. At first my grandmother was able to survive the loss at first. A month later, they caught the killers and the news had more facts. That day she had a massive heart attack.
My mother went to her side. She called and told me. My mother, rather than have me rush to be there, asked me to find my brother and tell him and bring him to my grandmother. She died while I was finding my brother. I never was able to see or talk to her before she was gone.
As for my mother, she lost the man she loved and hasn't found anybody else.
I learned from them.
Posted at 08:52 AM
Fri - January 16, 2004
A major or not
Declaring a major.
This week has a busy one for getting more into
the swing of school again.
Since I decided to go back and have as many hours as I do, I had to declare a major right off the bat. I decided to go for a BS in Chemistry. Well on Friday I spent some time with the head of the Chemistry department since the man who should be my advisor was not in. Dr. Kutz was helpful and he and I discussed where I should start since it has been so long since I took any Chemistry. Our decision was to start with the first couple of course. I have credit for them but no actual grade because I tested out of them. This won't hurt me any and even will be a bit of help since it will give me more hours with a grade than I currently have but won't change my actual total hours at UTC.
When we were working on setting things up, we discovered that some of my information was wrong, so he was unable to register my on-line and he filled out the old handwritten forms. At registration they got me registered and I asked about my birth-date and it turned out I was in the system with the wrong birth year.
Since I decided to go back and have as many hours as I do, I had to declare a major right off the bat. I decided to go for a BS in Chemistry. Well on Friday I spent some time with the head of the Chemistry department since the man who should be my advisor was not in. Dr. Kutz was helpful and he and I discussed where I should start since it has been so long since I took any Chemistry. Our decision was to start with the first couple of course. I have credit for them but no actual grade because I tested out of them. This won't hurt me any and even will be a bit of help since it will give me more hours with a grade than I currently have but won't change my actual total hours at UTC.
When we were working on setting things up, we discovered that some of my information was wrong, so he was unable to register my on-line and he filled out the old handwritten forms. At registration they got me registered and I asked about my birth-date and it turned out I was in the system with the wrong birth year.
Posted at 08:19 AM
Sat - October 18, 2003
Well more has happened
One credit card got used
Today while I was on the phone with a good
friend, I walked out to my mailbox to check my mail. Well I got the usual junk
which happened to include my Conoco bill. I was a bit surprised to get a bill,
I had not used the card this month, so I opened it first to see what was in it.
Guess what, the morning I was robbed, the thieves went out and ran five charges
on the card. They even managed to do it in two different states. Of course
that is not really hard since the state line is just blocks away. Once I
noticed this I asked my friend to bear with me and I would call her back. At
this time I called Conoco, who has Citibank in charge of their cards. Citibank
is big and you would expect their customer service to be there all the time.
This isn't the case for Conoco at least. They are only there Monday thru Friday
7 to 7 Central. My next step was to call the detective in charge of the case
and leave a message for him. I then called the regular police number to
actually do a report. After the initial communications person referred it to a
Teleserve Officer for callback, their decision was to let the detective know and
that would be it.
My problem with all this is that I never get called back for days unless I raise a stink. By them never calling back, evidence disappears. Video tapes are only kept so long and then are reused. Needless to say, even though they are likely overworked, I always get frustrated dealing with the police because they are so slow and as time passes I know things are just getting less and less likely to be solvable.
My problem with all this is that I never get called back for days unless I raise a stink. By them never calling back, evidence disappears. Video tapes are only kept so long and then are reused. Needless to say, even though they are likely overworked, I always get frustrated dealing with the police because they are so slow and as time passes I know things are just getting less and less likely to be solvable.
Posted at 05:03 AM
Fri - October 17, 2003
Back home again
Back home again
I was strongly urged last night to sleep in this
morning. What is amazing was that I actually did. It was about 10:15 when I
got up this morning.
Once I was up it didn't take long to leave Atlanta and head home. The only stop I made was to get gas and a Mt Dew and then I started my two hour drive.
When I got home my nose immediately told me something was wrong. The litter box in the bathroom was full and the cats were so fed up with their state that they chose to use my floor and countertops instead. I guess next time I will hope my beagle lady is in town to go check. The next thing I noticed was the alarm was not beeping at me. Thankfully nothing happened this time.
I had planned to work on my weblog and some other business but cleaning ended up being the name of the game until time for work.
As for work, well I was in a fairly good mood going in, but by later in the evening, as I saw the pile of paperwork waiting for me and as we ended up with too much work and not enough people, my head slowly started pounding. It was great to get that one day over with and head home, though I went first to pick up a couple of episodes of Enterprise to watch on my way.
Once I was up it didn't take long to leave Atlanta and head home. The only stop I made was to get gas and a Mt Dew and then I started my two hour drive.
When I got home my nose immediately told me something was wrong. The litter box in the bathroom was full and the cats were so fed up with their state that they chose to use my floor and countertops instead. I guess next time I will hope my beagle lady is in town to go check. The next thing I noticed was the alarm was not beeping at me. Thankfully nothing happened this time.
I had planned to work on my weblog and some other business but cleaning ended up being the name of the game until time for work.
As for work, well I was in a fairly good mood going in, but by later in the evening, as I saw the pile of paperwork waiting for me and as we ended up with too much work and not enough people, my head slowly started pounding. It was great to get that one day over with and head home, though I went first to pick up a couple of episodes of Enterprise to watch on my way.
Posted at 09:07 AM
Thu - October 16, 2003
Most of the way home
Early and long day of travel.
We got up early today in preparation to heading
home. Packing did not take long and we were ready well in advance of the time
that Doc needed to get to the airport. Since we had so much time and the Best
Western was not yet serving breakfast, we went back over to Denny's for the
first hot breakfast of this trip.
After breakfast we loaded the car and headed to the airport. The rainy drive was no big deal and we got to the airport at six. I dropped Doc off and the terminal and headed to Hertz to return my car after this little 2100 mile round trip. This time my car return was very quick and easy and within ten minutes I was done and headed into the terminal to check in with Delta. I managed to get checked in and have my baggage checked and get to the security line at the same time and Doc got done with his checkin with Northwest...and he started 20 minutes before I did.
The security line was ridiculous. He and I both had gotten through larger airports with many times the number of passengers than the Spokane airport had waiting in a fraction of the time. He barely made it to his flight. For that matter, while I was in my terminal for my three hour wait on my flight I saw many people running to get to planes before the doors were shut. I also got to listen to the airline employees talking about how the TSA people was just unable to get their acts together to get people through security in a timely fashion.
By the time I flew however, the people must have been getting through fairly well because my flight actually left the airport ten minutes early which got me to Salt Lake City almost twenty minutes early. Thank goodness. That meant I could get off the plane before I snapped at the Air Force guy behind me who could not shut up. He kept bragging and pushing his beliefs on the gullible lady behind me. I wouldn't have cared but he did it loudly.
At Salt Lake City I called and checked in with the friend who was going to pick me up when I got back home. While I was talking to her I watched a couple of TSA agents come over and glove up in preparation of checking passengers and their luggage. They were good at looking official. They walked around for a good 45 or 50 minutes and managed to search nothing. But at least they got paid by our tax dollars....a very effective use of that money. My feeling of safety did not improve.
As all of us got onto the plane, we grabbed snack bags from the airline and showed our boarding passes, and only our boarding passes.
The flight itself was not that great. I spent about half to two thirds of the flight buckled in and dealing with "rough air". At least this time the person in the seats around me were not loud and I was able to catch a bit of sleep.
Once we hit the runway I turned my cell phone on and actually had a message. For the whole time the plane taxied to the gate I talked to a friend. Only when we could get our carry ons did I sign off.
As I left the plane, I was greeted by a wonderful sight. My best friend was standing there at the gate waiting for me. She grabbed my bag when I walked out and told me I had carried it all day so she would now. From there we went and got my baggage and headed for a bit to eat and several needed beers for me.
At dinner we were met by her roommate. Dinner was long, not because of the company, but because of the long time it took to actually get our food.
Then it was off to her apartment. Thankfully she drove, not just because I had three pints, but because I was sick of driving. One thing I will say, she had no complaints about my Xterra. She seemed to have enjoyed having it for the weeks I was gone.
On the way we picked up some Sam Adams Winter Lager and Octoberfest. I must say I am not that fond of the Winter Lager.
The evening was much better than the day. It is always great to spend time with a good friend.
After breakfast we loaded the car and headed to the airport. The rainy drive was no big deal and we got to the airport at six. I dropped Doc off and the terminal and headed to Hertz to return my car after this little 2100 mile round trip. This time my car return was very quick and easy and within ten minutes I was done and headed into the terminal to check in with Delta. I managed to get checked in and have my baggage checked and get to the security line at the same time and Doc got done with his checkin with Northwest...and he started 20 minutes before I did.
The security line was ridiculous. He and I both had gotten through larger airports with many times the number of passengers than the Spokane airport had waiting in a fraction of the time. He barely made it to his flight. For that matter, while I was in my terminal for my three hour wait on my flight I saw many people running to get to planes before the doors were shut. I also got to listen to the airline employees talking about how the TSA people was just unable to get their acts together to get people through security in a timely fashion.
By the time I flew however, the people must have been getting through fairly well because my flight actually left the airport ten minutes early which got me to Salt Lake City almost twenty minutes early. Thank goodness. That meant I could get off the plane before I snapped at the Air Force guy behind me who could not shut up. He kept bragging and pushing his beliefs on the gullible lady behind me. I wouldn't have cared but he did it loudly.
At Salt Lake City I called and checked in with the friend who was going to pick me up when I got back home. While I was talking to her I watched a couple of TSA agents come over and glove up in preparation of checking passengers and their luggage. They were good at looking official. They walked around for a good 45 or 50 minutes and managed to search nothing. But at least they got paid by our tax dollars....a very effective use of that money. My feeling of safety did not improve.
As all of us got onto the plane, we grabbed snack bags from the airline and showed our boarding passes, and only our boarding passes.
The flight itself was not that great. I spent about half to two thirds of the flight buckled in and dealing with "rough air". At least this time the person in the seats around me were not loud and I was able to catch a bit of sleep.
Once we hit the runway I turned my cell phone on and actually had a message. For the whole time the plane taxied to the gate I talked to a friend. Only when we could get our carry ons did I sign off.
As I left the plane, I was greeted by a wonderful sight. My best friend was standing there at the gate waiting for me. She grabbed my bag when I walked out and told me I had carried it all day so she would now. From there we went and got my baggage and headed for a bit to eat and several needed beers for me.
At dinner we were met by her roommate. Dinner was long, not because of the company, but because of the long time it took to actually get our food.
Then it was off to her apartment. Thankfully she drove, not just because I had three pints, but because I was sick of driving. One thing I will say, she had no complaints about my Xterra. She seemed to have enjoyed having it for the weeks I was gone.
On the way we picked up some Sam Adams Winter Lager and Octoberfest. I must say I am not that fond of the Winter Lager.
The evening was much better than the day. It is always great to spend time with a good friend.
Posted at 05:39 AM
Wed - October 15, 2003
Final Day before flying back home
A short travel day and rest
Today was nothing special. I slept in and got up
about 8:30 Pacific. I got online and checked my email and did a little bit of
organization of my luggage. Then off it was with only a stop to make the
requested picture of a Stinky...err Stinker
station.
See they really exist...and they even have a skunk as a emblem.
After leaving Moscow, we had a leisurely drive up US 95 to Coeur d'Alene. As with the rest of ID the scenery changed every ten or twenty miles with rolling fields of winter wheat, meadows with grazing cattle, horses or rarely sheep then could change to a deep river gorge or a steep mountain side. BTW, I only saw sheep twice while out here. It seems that they aren't a popular animal to raise. I am told this is due to the fact that when they finish grazing a field they leave nothing for the cattle to work with.
Beyond two Indian Casinos we finally came to the glacial lake that has made Coeur d'Alene a great vacation spot. Out of curiosity we drove through the town to see if it measured up to Jackson WY as a tourist trap. From what we saw driving through, it was less gaudy or elegant or whatever you would call it than Jackson was.
Since we still had a couple of hours to burn before we could get to Spokane and find a place to stay, and since I was sick of driving, I stopped at the side of the lake in a nice little rest and picnic area. It seems Idaho has made a Centennial Trail along the side of the lake and further out. As we walked along the paved trail along the lake I noticed several single piers just off the side of the trail and road that were labeled private property and had boats ranging from small outboards to small cabin cruisers. At these docks were only one or two boats. I guess there must not be a huge theft problem since I saw items on the boat that anybody could just jump aboard and grab. Much nicer than back home where even if you have it locked up it might walk off with some rat of a thief.
When this needed break from the drive was over, we headed to Spokane where we looked for the airport, something I did not want to do at six tomorrow morning. Once the airport was located we started looking for a place to stay and a place with gas that was nearby. One exit had about six motels listed as well as gas stations so we tried it. Well none of those motels ever saw us. On the way to them we spotted a sign for a Best Western. Since we have had good luck with that chain we decided to give it a look. The place looked nice and even had a Denny's and a Flying J next door so once we stopped, we could gas up and then park. The only problem was it was too early to check in so it was time for a bit more driving. We got back on the freeway and pointed the car towards Seattle. After about thirty minutes we pointed it back to Spokane and returned, gassed up, booked the hotel room and parked.
Time for rest from the vacation and to catch up on some things. While I played on the broad band (PNA) connection in the room, Doc went back to the front desk and asked about the senior citizen discount he forgot about up front. I guess he is getting tired as well.
See they really exist...and they even have a skunk as a emblem.
After leaving Moscow, we had a leisurely drive up US 95 to Coeur d'Alene. As with the rest of ID the scenery changed every ten or twenty miles with rolling fields of winter wheat, meadows with grazing cattle, horses or rarely sheep then could change to a deep river gorge or a steep mountain side. BTW, I only saw sheep twice while out here. It seems that they aren't a popular animal to raise. I am told this is due to the fact that when they finish grazing a field they leave nothing for the cattle to work with.
Beyond two Indian Casinos we finally came to the glacial lake that has made Coeur d'Alene a great vacation spot. Out of curiosity we drove through the town to see if it measured up to Jackson WY as a tourist trap. From what we saw driving through, it was less gaudy or elegant or whatever you would call it than Jackson was.
Since we still had a couple of hours to burn before we could get to Spokane and find a place to stay, and since I was sick of driving, I stopped at the side of the lake in a nice little rest and picnic area. It seems Idaho has made a Centennial Trail along the side of the lake and further out. As we walked along the paved trail along the lake I noticed several single piers just off the side of the trail and road that were labeled private property and had boats ranging from small outboards to small cabin cruisers. At these docks were only one or two boats. I guess there must not be a huge theft problem since I saw items on the boat that anybody could just jump aboard and grab. Much nicer than back home where even if you have it locked up it might walk off with some rat of a thief.
When this needed break from the drive was over, we headed to Spokane where we looked for the airport, something I did not want to do at six tomorrow morning. Once the airport was located we started looking for a place to stay and a place with gas that was nearby. One exit had about six motels listed as well as gas stations so we tried it. Well none of those motels ever saw us. On the way to them we spotted a sign for a Best Western. Since we have had good luck with that chain we decided to give it a look. The place looked nice and even had a Denny's and a Flying J next door so once we stopped, we could gas up and then park. The only problem was it was too early to check in so it was time for a bit more driving. We got back on the freeway and pointed the car towards Seattle. After about thirty minutes we pointed it back to Spokane and returned, gassed up, booked the hotel room and parked.
Time for rest from the vacation and to catch up on some things. While I played on the broad band (PNA) connection in the room, Doc went back to the front desk and asked about the senior citizen discount he forgot about up front. I guess he is getting tired as well.
Posted at 08:21 PM
15 inch Powerbook a week later
My impressions of the Al Powerbook
I have been using my Powerbook for a week now and
am now over the daily impression of "that is a huge laptop". After all, I had
been used to 2 different iBooks, a 466 SE clamshell, a 12 inch 600 MHz model as
well as my stolen 12 inch (867 MHz) Al powerbook, so this is the largest
Powerbook I have ever owned. I can only image what I would have thought of the
17 inch model.
Just for information, this is the 1.25 GHz model with the superdrive, 80 GB 5400 rpm hard-drive and 512 MB of memory.
At this point I am very pleased. The extra screen real estate is a boon. On my PC I am used to running in 1280 x 1024 resolution, so this is more of the type size I am used to seeing. The screen is nice and crisp and the text is easier on my eyes the the 12 inch models were. Also speed wise, everything runs faster and smoother. When I am using iPhoto any photo enhancement or changes occur with little on no delay. This definitely has made working with the 311 pictures I have taken on this trip. Also Virtual PC runs great (I am using it mostly on the trip for managing my Money files and for accessing Streets and Trips). At some point I need to find software for the mac that will let me do the same things natively.
Battery life I still have no comparison or idea of yet. I have mostly used the laptop while around a power source. I will get an idea of its battery life on the flight home on Thursday.
The modem hasn't had the disconnect problems that I had with my 600 MHz iBook, though I must say I had forgotten just how much I hated dial up. The airport extreme works fine with the four wireless networks I have been upon. Range is fine. It is almost as good as the iBook.
As for the sound, well the speakers are nothing special. They do seem louder than the other Apple laptops I have owned. I have compared it to the iBooks and the sound is better. The Al book I can't compare it to unless the police in Chattanooga or Apple finds it. (I reported the serial number as stolen to Apple)
The keyboard is as good as the 12 Al Book and definitely better than the pull off keyboards on the iBooks.
I also like being able to plug a USB on either side of the keyboard, unlike any of the other laptops. It always seeming awkward plugging in a mouse to the side opposite of the one I wanted it on. Also having USB 2.0 has been a boon. Every day I seem to be copying 200+ MB of data off of the compact flash card that I use with my Nikon 4500.
All in all I think this will make me a fine traveling companion and possible cause me to retire my desktop mac. Now if I can just keep if from getting stolen.
Just for information, this is the 1.25 GHz model with the superdrive, 80 GB 5400 rpm hard-drive and 512 MB of memory.
At this point I am very pleased. The extra screen real estate is a boon. On my PC I am used to running in 1280 x 1024 resolution, so this is more of the type size I am used to seeing. The screen is nice and crisp and the text is easier on my eyes the the 12 inch models were. Also speed wise, everything runs faster and smoother. When I am using iPhoto any photo enhancement or changes occur with little on no delay. This definitely has made working with the 311 pictures I have taken on this trip. Also Virtual PC runs great (I am using it mostly on the trip for managing my Money files and for accessing Streets and Trips). At some point I need to find software for the mac that will let me do the same things natively.
Battery life I still have no comparison or idea of yet. I have mostly used the laptop while around a power source. I will get an idea of its battery life on the flight home on Thursday.
The modem hasn't had the disconnect problems that I had with my 600 MHz iBook, though I must say I had forgotten just how much I hated dial up. The airport extreme works fine with the four wireless networks I have been upon. Range is fine. It is almost as good as the iBook.
As for the sound, well the speakers are nothing special. They do seem louder than the other Apple laptops I have owned. I have compared it to the iBooks and the sound is better. The Al book I can't compare it to unless the police in Chattanooga or Apple finds it. (I reported the serial number as stolen to Apple)
The keyboard is as good as the 12 Al Book and definitely better than the pull off keyboards on the iBooks.
I also like being able to plug a USB on either side of the keyboard, unlike any of the other laptops. It always seeming awkward plugging in a mouse to the side opposite of the one I wanted it on. Also having USB 2.0 has been a boon. Every day I seem to be copying 200+ MB of data off of the compact flash card that I use with my Nikon 4500.
All in all I think this will make me a fine traveling companion and possible cause me to retire my desktop mac. Now if I can just keep if from getting stolen.
Posted at 12:50 AM
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Published On: Mar 21, 2005 12:13 AM
Published On: Mar 21, 2005 12:13 AM