On My Impending Switch

Posted on 1/30/2008 by Trev at 10:11 pm

Right now it looks pretty likely that I’ll be switching from using a PC full time to using a Mac. it fascinated me why I am making he switch when I have always been a staunch supported of the PC platform. Hell, in high school I used to get into regular debates with my journalism teacher Mr. Sanders about the whole PC vs. Mac thing. To be honest, if it wasn’t for the Mac-inspired dreams that started a few weeks ago, I would still be pro-PC.

This got me to wondering what the real reason for the switch was. Was it my disappointment in Vista? Was it the fact that I was sick and tired of having to upgrade my system every few months to run the latest applications or games? Or was I just finally fed up with what a pain in the ass it is to maintain a PC? (updates, viruses, spyware, conflicting drivers, etc.)

Then I read an article by Chris Pirillo. Towards the end, I think he sums up his affection for Apple very nicely.

The power of the PC is that it can support a billion different configurations, but some of us are at the point in our lives where we only need one config to work. I’ve come to this realization, and I don’t find it sad at all – I find it uplifting.

That’s exactly where I am at right now. With the closing if i/o Computers, I don’t want to be bothered with all the carp that goes into a PC nowadays. Want a new video card for the latest game? STOP! Do you need PCI, AGP, or PCIE? Ok, you need PCIE. STOP! x8, x12, x16, etc…

See what I am getting at?

With a Mac you don’t run into that.

I remember back in the day when I was playing EverQuest and they came out the the ‘Shadows of Luclin’ expansion pack. To play this expansion, you literally needed to double the RAM in your machine. Rumor was for quite a while that review copies of the game actually came with RAM! And don’t even get me started on Crysis. Why they would make a game that literally only .01% of all PCs on this planet can play at full resolution is beyond me.

Games aside, I cannot tell you how many time I am in the middle of doing something, when all of the sudden my PC grinds to a halt. Why? My anti-virus program just decided it needed to can every single file on my system without even asking me if it was a good time. Now keep in mind, I have the program set to use the least amount of computer resources it can, and it still brings the system to it freakin’ knees. ARGH!

This is why I am seriously on the verge of walking away from the PC. I still keep mine around as a good gaming rig for all the games I have. But as for an everyday machine, I think Apple just got one more loyal customer.

Sick (In The head)

Posted on 1/30/2008 by Trev at 12:28 am

Well, the stomach bug that has been plaguing my store has finally set its sights on me.

I was supposed to start work this morning at 6am. I woke up with my alarm at 4:30am, and felt like shit. I had such bad nausea that I couldn’t move. On top of that, I had a soar throat and couldn’t get warm. I laid there in bed until about 6:30am, debating if I should call off or not. There were quite a few things I needed to get done today, and I wasn’t too sure if I had any sick time left. So, I finally pushed myself out, into the shower, and then out the door to work.

The drive to work wasn’t too bad, but as soon as I got out of the car and walked across the parking lot, I knew I had made a mistake. I was walking like an old man. Just the motion from walking normally was enough to make me want to hurl. I finally made it into the building, and got done what I needed to. I checked my supply of sick time and saw that I had 6 hours built up. I waited until I was there for 2 hours, and then left to go home and back to bed. I feel less guilty going home early when I know I’m not going to loose a single dime over it.

Now, when I left the store at 9am, things had changed. We had gone form a light drizzle in the morning, to a steady freezing rain. It actually wasn’t that bad of a ride until I hit Ashley Road. For those of you unfamiliar with my area, let’s just say it is a very steep hill. Coming home, I come up on the backside of it. So, I take the road as usual, and just as I make the crest and start my decent, my eyes widened with horror. There was 2 school buses and 4 cars that were strewn about the road, all about. Some were half on the road and half off, some were stopped sideways in the lane, other just sitting there. The entire hill was covered in black ice. So, I gently start pumping my brakes and that’s when all hell broke loose. The brakes had nothing to catch on, and to make matters worse, steering on ice is like walking drunk. You may want to go left, but you tend to veer to the right. So here I am, coming down this will littered with cars and school buses, with no brakes and useless steering.

Yeah.

Somehow, I managed to slow myself down to about 15mph and steer my way through the mess. It was light piloting a flight sim, where you had to anticipate you next turn and make it well in advance hoping the vehicle would respond. Let’s just say that was a nice adrenaline rush that my upset stomach did not appreciate. But, I made it home safe and sound and that’s all that matters.

After getting home, I hoped on the computer for about an hour, and then it was to the couch for me. Jess was nice enough to go get me some fried rice for lunch (the only thing that really settles my stomach) and after that I fell asleep for a few hours while watching ‘Arrested Development’.

So, I’m of tomorrow, an still not feeling the best. I suppose that’s a good thing since it’s supposed to be a nasty day tomorrow. Tomorrow’s high is going to be 38 degrees with snow showers, rain showers, and steady 25-35mph winds. A most lovely day to stay inside and get better.

On the news of the Mac, I have to say that I am very happy with my purchase. I am starting to the understand the platform more and more, and in turn, I am liking it more and more. Although, finally owning a Mac has not helped curb my Mac dreams. I had one last night and one while I was sleeping this afternoon on the couch. I think it maybe some kind of mental sickness. This morning when the alarm went off, I looked at the time. The display on our alarm clock is round, and I swear to you as I am sitting here, al I saw was the round circle controls on the Apple Remote. Then for my dream on the couch, there was a box in my dream, and all of the sudden the corners on it rounded, it turned all white and gray, and was suddenly a big Mac mini.

I wonder what Freud would say about all of this?

The funny thing is that owning a Mac still seems very surreal to me. I feel like it’s jusy a loaner and that I have to give it back soon. But I don’t It’s mine forever!!

That just doesn’t seem possible to me.

Mac To The Future

Posted on 1/28/2008 by Trev at 10:22 pm

So, I wish came true on Sunday. But before we get to that, let’s back up to Friday.

I was on Digg doing my thing, when there was a LifeHacker article about how easy it’s gotten to install OSX on a PC. Everyone who knows me knows I dream of Macs, but cannot afford. A while ago, I started a small stash for a Mac, but it was nothing substantial. So, Friday night I found a nice torrent of the OSX ISO that can be installed on a PC. I went to bed, and work on Saturday morning. When I came home from work, I found that I had about another 3 hours left. So I did what any geek would do while waiting or a download to finish — I took a nap. Truth be told I was exhausted and the nap felt wonderful. When I woke up, Jess made me some dinner and I went o check my ISO. The download had finished! I quickly burned it to DVD and began to install it on the machine I had set aside for his task.

Each installation takes in the neighborhood o about 30 minutes total. After about 2 hours of futzing around with the machine I wanted to use, I gave up. Apparently the motherboard of that machine was not 100% compatible with OSX and therefore OSX could not see the hard drive. So, I did some research and found that the ABIT board in my main system was certified to work. I unhooked all my drives in my main box, and installed the 300gb SATA drive that was to be my OSX drive.

Victory was within my grasp!!

Not so fast…

After 4 failed attempts, I was starting to get frustrated. First my MBR was fucked up, and then my partitions weren’t being set to active, and then it finally happened. I got everything right and got the 0b error. After that, I got another error, and another, and another. After ready online, I was systematically experiencing every documented error in the whole process. I finally resolved all of my errors, only to be greeting by the vilest of all errors – the reboot-loop error. This is where OSX starts to load, and then you computer reboots, starts to load OSX, and then you computer reboots…

I think you get the picture.

I decided to call it a night at this point, only to find that it was morning. 4:30am to be exact. So, I tread off to bed and lay there for a good 30 minutes trying to figure out how to fix this in a few hours when I wake up.

Sure enough, 4 1/2 hours later, I’m wide awake and back at my laptop searching for answers. I went to be a good 6 hours after Jess and woke up a good hour before her. When Jess woke up, she say m hunched over my laptop with a computer that kept rebooting itself. She asked me how it was going and I told her I was bound and determined to get this working to stop the dreams.

For those of you who may not know (I don’t remember if I blogged or tweeted this) I have been having very vivid dreams for the past 3 weeks about buying and owning a Mac. I’m not sure why, but every night, I have a dream about a Mac. I was really hoping that getting OSX installed on my PC would stop the dreams.

So, it’s a little after 11am now, and I have made zero, yes zero progress. I decide to walk away for a few minutes and see how Jess was doing. All this time she was writing a paper for school in the living room on her laptop. I sat down on the edge of the couch and hung my head. She looked at me with loving eyes and asked me how it was going. I was honest and told her it wasn’t going anywhere. She then looked at me with those eyes I so fell in love with years ago and said, “I don’t think you’re going to get it to work sweetie. In fact, I’m surprised you haven’t blown up your computer already.”

This was exactly the vote of confidence I needed!

Even more determined now, I got up and was about to head back into the digital trenches when eight words stopped me dead in my tracks.

“Do you want to go buy a Mac?”

I spun around so fast I was sure I burned the carpet.

“Are you serious?” I asked already knowing she was just fucking with me.

“I am. I know you’ve been wanting one for a long time, and I just did our taxes. I’m getting back more then I expected, and you’re helping me out with my bills. Plus, you bought me Loki last year. I think it’s time I get you what you really want.”

Guys, listen to me on this one. If you ever have a girl that says something even remotely close to that, CHAIN HER TO THE WATER HEATER!!! DO NOT LET HER GO!!!! SHE’S A KEEPER FOR LIFE!!!

I once again asked her if she was serious and she said she was. All she had to do about finish her paper which would be about another hour or so, and we could head down to the Apple Store in Whitehall.

That’s the good part of the story. The rest in short is that we went to Whitehall, and Jess bought me a Mac mini!

Mac mini in the Apple Store bag

Mac mini, keyboard, and Mighty Mouse.

Mac mini setup and booting for the first time

My Mac desktop

As you can tell, I am now in heaven. In fact, I am writing this post on my Mac right now. I can honestly say I now know what all the fuss is about. Being on my Mac is like being on my first 486 when I just got it. I went from an IBM PC JR, to a 33mHz, 4mb RAM, 120MB HD, CDROM, VGA display computer with a sound card. I know that those specs are pathetic by today’s standards, but back then for me, it was like I was on a computer form the future! That’s how I feel when I’m on my Mac. It’s really tough to describe if you haven’t had a similar experience yourself.

What I can tell you is that I am giving the Mac a solid 2 weeks. If I still feel this way after 2 weeks, I can call myself an official Apple convert.

Awesome Super Mario Drums!

Posted on 1/23/2008 by Trev at 5:24 pm

Cold and Tired

Posted on 1/22/2008 by Trev at 10:01 pm

I just woke up from a 2 hour nap, and I’m getting ready to go to bed now. I’m not sure why, but I have been really tired the past few days. I thought that sleeping 10+ hours a night over the weekend would cure my posy-insomnia need, but obviously it didn’t. Plus, the fact that I have been fighting off some infectious bug could be part of the reason as well.

The news of the day is rather morbid news. It started circulating late this afternoon that Heath Ledger died today. Normally I wouldn’t care too much about an actor dying, but not only did I like his work, he’s playing the Joker in the new Batman movie. I was really bummed when I first heard he got the part since I couldn’t for the life of me see him in the role. Then I saw the first trailer. All I can say is that his portrayal was brilliant! Like Brandon Lee, I can see his last performance being his most powerful.

We got news back today about Jess’s foot. It’s definitely a stress fracture, and a rather bad one at that. It’s so bad that the reason she has been in so much pain is that her bone is actually leaking bone marrow. Apparently bone marrow is toxic to the body, and her body has been fighting it like an infection. So, under Doctor’s orders, she has to take the next 6-8 weeks off from work and stay off her feet at least 90% of the time. So, she had to fill out all kinds of paperwork to file for short-term disability. The only problem is that we don’t know when it will kick and and they’re not sure how much of her pay she will receive. Either way, the next 2 months here are going to be very tight financially. Couple that with the pending bill for her MRI (under my ‘new’ medical plan we have the pay 100% of the first $500), and the fact that my car goes into the shop on Friday since my muffler fell off, and things look pretty ducky. The ironic part is that things were just started to look up for us. Hell, I even turned our thermostat up to 65 degrees over the weekend in celebration of such fact. Now, it’s back down to 62 and once again you need gloves just to sit on the couch. I hate Corporate America. You work 40hrs a week, try to live an honest life by paying for everything you need like food, medical coverage, insurance, etc., and at the end of the day, you can’t even afford to heat your home because the utilities and gas companies keep raising their prices. Damn greedy bastards.

Ok, that’s enough of a rant for me. Any more and this will be a 4 page post.

I have 4 more days of work this week. Jess is down in Jersey until Thursday observing Katie for her graduate classes, so it’s just me and the animals until then. And on that note, Loki and I are going to bed. Later…

Tinkering Away

Posted on 1/20/2008 by Trev at 12:22 pm

So I’m a little behind in my cleaning schedule. Due to the fact that I ended up bringing over some antique tables last night into the living room, Jess wanted to go shopping for some table lamps for them. So, we headed out into the cold night and did just that. We ended up coming home with 2 very nice table lamps, and a kitchen cart/mobile island. It’s something we have been talking buying for quite a long time, and we found a pretty good deal on one last night, so Jess talked me into picking it up. I’ve got to give her credit though, she wanted to assemble it herself and she did one hell of a job doing so.

Right now, the living room is complete. All I have to do is move the Christmas boxes back up to the attic. Now we get to start the kitchen. *sigh*

Jess has been trying to convince me to drive up to The Waffle House for brunch. I love Waffle House, don’t get me wrong. I just wish it wasn’t a 20 minute drive to get there. I can’t wait for them to finish building the new one on 315. That will not only eliminate a good 1/3 of the drive but it’s closer to work which means more Waffle House!

I finally picked up the first season of ‘Arrested Development’ on DVD last night. Target had each season on sale for $19.99, so I thought I would start with the first season and go from there. I haven’t opened it up yet, but once I do, I’ll let you know what I think.

Well, in the course of writing this post, I have decided to take my wife to Waffle House. I am rather hungry, and one we ‘fuel up’, we’ll be good to go to assault the kitchen and get the house whipped into shape. I have work at 6am tomorrow, and would like to relax a little tonight and either watch some TiVo or a nice movie. Yeah, we’re outa here. Later…

Semi-Busy Weekend

Posted on 1/19/2008 by Trev at 2:03 pm

So Jess and I finally got around to peeping out ‘I Am Legend’ last night. It was amazing! It wasn’t quite what I thought it would be, but that’s a very good thing. People who know me know I love anything that is post-apocalyptic, and ‘I Am Legend’ was a most wonderful treat. In fact, the experience was made even better since we went to Damon’s before the movie and I had their most delicious ribs for the first time in years. This was Jess’s first time there and she loved her steak, so that hopefully means we can go back more and more.

Today is going to be a cleaning day. I need to clean pretty much every room except, well, no, every room needs to be cleaned. I say ‘I need to clean’ because we just found out yesterday via an MRI as to why Jess’s foot has been bothering her since December. It’s broken. She has a sever stress fracture in her foot. She has to go to the Doctor’s first thing on Monday morning to get her air cast and to find out what the next step in her recovery process is. But, in the meantime, the Doctor told her to stay off her feet all weekend. So, that’s make job to make sure that happens. So, my plan of attack is as follows — let her do her homework in the computer room while I clean up the living room. Once the living room is clean, she can move into there and I can move into the kitchen. For dinner, just to make things easy for today, I’ll order a pizza. After the kitchen is done, it’s computer room, then bedroom and finally, bathroom. I figure that I should be done with all of this probably by tomorrow afternoon.

We have talked about going to see ‘Cloverfield’ this weekend, but I’m not sure of that’s going to happen. I really want to see the movie, but I want to see the Star Trek trailer even more. Thankfully, though the use of the internets, it’s already up on YouTube and I have already creamed my pants in anticipation. This is going to be one rocking movie! To any Star Trek geeks it looks amazing. The fact that they have used the original music, original Enterprise arrowhead (wasn’t always Starfleet’s, but you knew that, right?), Spock’s voiceover, and last but definitely not least, the original transporter sound effect. Oh yeah…

In other geek news, I had another dream about getting a Mac last night. This one was a little over the top where Jess had a silver Macbook, and I had a Mac mini and a black Macbook Pro. What does all this mean? Well, it could just mean that I still really want a Mac and given that there were Macs everywhere in ‘I Am Legend’ – you do the math. But, I’m thinking that maybe it’s time I sit down and really look at what it would take me to save up and get either a Macbook or a Mac mini. Maybe…

Tired

Posted on 1/18/2008 by Trev at 1:35 am

This has been a long week and I am so happy it is almost over. Jess and I both have this weekend off together and we have some pretty good plans.

First off, we need to seriously clean the house. Trust me, it needs it!

Secondly, we’ve talked about going to see either ‘Cloverfield’ or ‘I Am Legend’ — or maybe both. Either way we plan on making it to the movies this weekend.

On a slightly more somber not, I have to work on my car for a bit on Saturday. Something happened to either the exhaust or muffler today. Whatever the hell happened, it now sounds like I’m driving The Tumbler around. While pretty good by geek standards, it sounds ridiculous coming from a Buick.

For me right, it’s bedtime. I think I have finally beaten my insomnia that has plagued me all week. Time to go get about 7 hours of sleep before I have to wake up for work.

Later…