Archives for April 2010

If I were Steve Jobs

April 28, 2010 by 4 Comments
Apple logo

As I cling tightly to my early 2008-era 15″ MacBook Pro with 2.6 GHz Core 2 Duo chip and 4 GB of RAM, I look on with desire at the new line of Core i5 and Core i7 MacBook Pro’s [13″, 15″, 17″]. Even the slowest Core i5 machine outperforms the fastest Core 2 Duo machine according to Primate Labs.

Fortunately for me, Apple makes it really hard to impulse buy new releases as they inevitably make decisions that just don’t work for me. Lets go down the list:

  • They removed the ExpressCard/34 slot from the 15″ model. It’s available on the 17″, but I’m not interested in the 17″. My laptop bag fits a 15″, but not a 17″.
  • Still no eSATA on the MacBook Pro? This might have been acceptable if they’d waited and included USB 3.0 ports, but they didn’t do this, either.
  • They removed the standard DVI connector and replaced it with Mini-DisplayPort. Ugh, why? If you’re going to switch, at least switch to a widely used connector: HDMI.

So, it looks like I’ll be waiting out this round of new hardware, too. My AppleCare runs out in 2011, so I’m hoping there’ll be another refresh of MacBook Pro hardware by then that incorporates USB 3.0, perhaps eSATA, and HDMI on the 15″ model.

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I’ve also been thinking of replacing or at least supplementing our aging Series 2 TiVo with a Mac Mini, but again, I’m sorely disappointed with Apple’s decisions around the current version. The list:

  • Mini-DVI and Mini-DisplayPort? Again: Where’s the HDMI?
  • Only an analog audio out? S/PDIF, please! Not instead of, either, but in addition to.
  • No out-of-the-box SSD configuration option? Sure, this is an easily remediable after-market upgrade, but still …

For the most part, these issues aren’t really a show-stopper for me for what I intend to do with the Mini, so I’ll probably be budgeting for it for 2010.

My one last gripe: why won’t Apple make a wireless keyboard that has a trackpad built in? Sure, their Magic Mouse is neat but for the home theater use of the Mini, having a keyboard with a trackpad built in is a lot more useful for couch surfing. This seems like such a no-brainer to me, so I’m really hoping that a future Apple wireless keyboard with built-in trackpad becomes available soon.

Filed Under: Apple 4 Comments

One damn thing over and over …

April 23, 2010 by 2 Comments

“It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over.”

— Edna St. Vincent Millay [source]

Every now and then I get the urge to write an entry here about what’s going on in my life, but the biggest challenge is picking a relevant title. It’s probably one of the biggest hurdles I have to sitting down and writing the entry – how stupid is that? Ugh.

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Back in February 2010, the company I had been working for since February 2007 was acquired by another company. Previously, my benefits were through Aetna, but the new company’s benefits are through Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Turns out BC/BS’s mental health coverage is really lame, and my current witch doctors aren’t in-network. No big deal, just find new doctors, right? Riiiiight …

BC/BS’s online provider directory website is total crap because the data it uses is absolutely broken. In my searches, I found four or five physicians listed at the same address and phone number, but not in a group practice: when I called, it turned out the number was for a hospital. I’m guessing it was a hospital where these doctors had billed through previously. Either way, these search results are basically useless in trying to find a new physician whose practice is located near me, if the location the directory has isn’t where their practice is located!

Of course, leaving this to the last minute, I’ve run out of refills on my meds and I’m down to my last few doses. So, now I’m trying to find a new doctor with a totally useless provider directory, who is nearby and is taking new patients and can get me an appointment right away and not weeks from today, and will write me a new prescription that I can get filled, with no knowledge of my prior history which means I have to start explaining things all over again … argh!

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I really want to get into a huge rant about work but I know I shouldn’t. I’ll just say that I’m not impressed at how things have unfolded. I don’t know how much opportunity there is for me to change things if I stay, especially since I’m only one person and everyone else just seems thankful to have a job regardless of how bad it gets. I don’t know if I can work in this new environment, or for how long.

Once I’ve decided for certain what I’m going to do and how I’m going to proceed, I might get into more detail … we’ll see.

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I still have a gaping hole in the middle of the living room ceiling. I really don’t want to take the siding off the front of the house in order to try and fix this leak properly. I wish I had more friends who were handy and could help me out with this sort of thing. If I had to pay someone to do this, it wouldn’t be worth their while because the job is so small … so I’d end up getting overcharged, and I know it.

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I need to fix a hose on the pool equipment so we can open the pool next month. It’s the section that connects the pool skimmer and drain to the pump basket. Not a huge task, but it means I need to go down to the pool supply place to pick up a short length of hose, an elbow and a coupler, and do the PVC glueing. At least I have a week or two before I really need to get this done.

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2009 income taxes! I didn’t file yet, but luckily 12 counties in the state of NJ got automatic extensions until May 11 due to the storms. I’ve gone through most of the numbers so I’m almost ready to file, but I’d like to double-check everything one last time before I send it off … probably this weekend, sometime.

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It’s interesting to me that more conversation happens in response to my posts over on LJ than they do on my own blog. I wonder … is it because my blog makes it difficult to comment? Is it because my blog readers are more passive? Is it because no one’s actually reading my blog? Are LJ users just more inclined to participate in conversation than the typical blog reader?

Filed Under: Dossy, Dossy and more Dossy! 2 Comments

Rational religiousness, oxymorons all of you!

April 19, 2010 by 6 Comments

I still don’t understand why people feel they have to choose between Judaism, Christianity or Paganism, or any other supernaturally-based religion. If you believe in a God or Gods at all, why not believe in them all?

cookie-monster.jpg

I can understand atheists: if you don’t believe that any God or Gods exist, you just don’t believe. This is actually rational and sound, regardless whether you’re right or wrong in the end. You have a fair, 50/50 chance of being right. But non-Christian Paganists, or non-Pagan Christians, or any combination of the various God-worshipping religions … to believe in the possibility of even one God at all is a tremendous leap of faith, but to believe that you, personally, are able to accurately discern which of the many religions is correct and which God or Gods actually exist is either ignorant hubris or outright stupidity.

This all might sound like an argument in favor of atheism, but I feel that’s a cheap exit that shouldn’t be taken by anyone of intellectual integrity. What I actually wonder is why more people don’t argue in favor of omnitheism.

I have generally self-identified myself as an igtheist Lutheran. However, I’m not fully committed to that label, as igtheism is a very strong position that simply defers the conversation of God’s existance. More accurately, I’m an apatheist Lutheran: I enjoy being part of a community of Christians who value a personal understanding of faith and their relationship with God. It just so happens that my relationship with God is one of irrelevance. But, the people I commune with, many of the values we individuals share, our concern for the world and each other … these things I value.

However, pushing forward from apatheism to omnitheism is a huge leap. Am I “missing” something by not incorporating Gods into my life? How will I ever know if I don’t try? What do I have to lose by trying?

Apatheism is a very convenient position, but life without risk yields little reward. Clearly, I need to do more deep thinking about this and make some decisions.

Do you identify as an apatheist? Have you wrestled with the conundrum of whether to make the leap to omnitheism? Do you have a story to share? I’d love to hear from you.

Filed Under: Observations, Religion 6 Comments

How can I help friends find better jobs?

April 18, 2010 by 2 Comments

I happen to have a fairly extensive network of contacts online, but any time someone comes to me looking for work, it surprises me how I don’t have a “go to” list of people who are hiring. Of course, I don’t spend time cultivating such a list, so it’s really no surprise … but, I think it’s time I start.

Certainly, the employment situation is challenging, but there’s a lot of talented people out there who are either un- or under-employed at the moment. Conversely, there’s lots of businesses out there who still have a lot of work to get done and maybe not a lot of money, but at least enough, to hire the right person if they can do the job well.

I’m not a huge fan of recruiters and hate telling friends to contact one. If I were hiring, I’d rather get a recommendation for a candidate from a trusted contact who simultaneously vouches for the person they’re recommending. Similarly, if I knew someone who was looking for a job, I’d rather put them in contact with someone who can really help them get a job rather than someone who’s just going to submit them as a candidate, along with 20 others from a pool, for a single position.

So, now, I’m going to try and do something about this. Are you in a position to hire people? Are you looking for work? I’m going to play “employment matchmaker,” building these two lists of contacts. I certainly know enough people that I should be able to pair folks up, a win-win for everyone involved.

Either contact me privately by email and let me know what you’re looking for, whether it’s candidates or employment. I’ll handle deciding who to introduce to whom, as appropriate.

Lets see if this can bring about some great opportunities for my friends.

Filed Under: Employment 2 Comments