Mac Mini to Take Over Livingrooms

So, Think Secret published their speculations on rumors about the future of the Mac Mini, Apple's miniscule desktop computer.

While I agree that the "next generation" Mac Mini will be based on the new Intel chip, I disagree that it will use a 3.5 inch hard drive. Using the desktop hard drive will significantly increase the size of the Mini and increase the amount of heat it produces. Increased heat means a need for more cooling. More cooling means more effective fans. And that usually means louder fans.
Making a bigger, louder Mini is counter-productive. It flies directly in the face of what Apple achieved with the Mini in the first place.

When I throw my Mini out into the living room, it happily, and silently sits directly under my plasma TV. Not coincidentally, the Mini also fits directly under Apple's 20 and 23 inch Cinema displays. Using a 3.5 inch hard disk drive takes that happiness away. It also removes that silence.

Apple has a good thing going with the Mini. Think Secret's speculations would call for modifications to the Mini that would make it more like the ill-fated G4 Cube... a mistake Apple is trying to forget, not emulate.

Not that the Cube was a bad machine. On the contrary, it was beautiful and revolutionary. Its downfall was its price, not its allure. By using cheaper components and not making the Mini a small supercomputer, Apple avoided that landmine this time out. So why would they travel down that path now?

They wouldn't.

My predictions on the "next generation" Mac Mini:
- Increased FSB speed
- Use of the new Intel processor
- Built-in S-video/Composite out
- 64mb Nvidia 5200 video "card"
- Front Row with Apple Remote (on higher-end models)

I'd like to wish and hope that they build in a digital audio out port (SDPIF or TOSlink)... however, that my just be a dream.

But I wholeheartedly agree that the Mini will be positioned not only as a capable desktop computer, but as the "consumer's small, silent, stylish entertainment solution."

Best Flash Game. EVER!

I found this game back in 2004 and adored it! It's quite possibly the best game ever made using Flash.

Samorost

Go. Play. Be impressed!

They're making Samorost2. Hopefully it will be out in time for Christmas!

Pi.

My new favorite song.

It's right up there with Schwa and the Jungle Remix of M.U.L.E. (see sidebar for those two).

Of backs and floors

I hope your Thanksgiving went well (if you celebrate it), I know mine did. I made mashed potatoes, roast turkey, stuffing (although, since it was never in the dead bird, it's just "dressing"), glazed carrots, green beans, and sweet potato pie. It was my first ever s.p.p., and I made "savory" rather than sweet so it could be served with the main meal, not as a dessert. MAN was it good. It didn't last long, I'm sorry to say. Actually, the only plentiful leftover is the turkey. But I'm ok with that. Mmm... dead bird carcass. (Yes, we had cranberry sauce, but I didn't make it. I actually prefer the canned gelatin stuff.)

And then, on Friday, I was enjoying a bit of downtime before we ran some errands and *BAMF!* I threw my back out. The main cause for my back outages is, in my opinion, the fact that no matter how much weight I lose, I manage to KEEP the bulky beer belly. That much belly pulling forward on the spine is enough to cause some difficulties. I tell ya, I do enjoy lying around the house doing nothing, but when that's ALL that I can do... it SUCKS. My lovely wifey, we'll just call her "Saffron" up here (as I often do), called the chiropractor (or, as we say in spanish "ruido de pato") and got me in bright and early Saturday morning.

As often as I bash chiropractors, this woman knows her stuff. I was x-rayed, scanned, examined, and quizzed before she had me lie down on the table. Then, *CREEAAACK!* Oh, but that wasn't it. Sure, she popped L5 right back into its correct position, (enabling me to walk like a normal person again) but then she proceeded to realign my middle back and my neck. Ever have something hurt and feel soooo damn good at the same time? I was smiling with tears in my eyes.

Today, I'm sore, but good. I've been alternating the ice and walking around and lying down since I got home yesterday. Sitting is bad (so I'm done writing now) but standing and walking are good.

So hey, if you think chiropractors are quacks... I believe you are mistaken. I was.

'Tis the Season

I don't know who made this. I don't know if it's real or it's been faked.

But honestly, I don't give a crap.

It's awesome! It totally gives a new meaning to "light show". And man, talk about upstaging the neighbors! And if it's been faked, props to the crew who chopped up, edited, and sync'd those images.

Happy Holidays!

Civ IV

Just a quick note on Sid Meier's Civilization IV:

There is no fucking way that a guy with a spear can take out an Apache gunship.

...fucking unrealistic game.

"The Agents" - Coming Soon?

I haven't chattered about "The Agents" up here because, well... I have a tendency to glom onto to something and run, full tilt until I'm completely exhausted and lose the will to live erm, write. While I have gone crazy with this project, I haven't lost steam yet.

And today, you get an update.

For those who may not know, I wrote a movie screenplay simply entitled "The Agents." I won't go into the details of it, because I believe that you should discover the story for yourself. Now, because the chances of this thing actually becoming a real movie are about 1 in ten million billion, I'm trying to rework it as a novel AND get it into webcomic/graphic novel format.

The novel thing is slow going because I simply don't have the time. The webcomic thing... well... I've found a gal who's willing to do the artwork... 3d style. Yeah, her medium is Computer Graphics. Oh course, I totally geeked out at the thought of my characters being "persistent". Once they're created, she just dresses them up, poses them, and puts them in different scenes. It's not the simple, obviously, but the characters don't have to be drawn 3,000 times.

I dunno when the webcomic will be up, but I'm hoping for Spring of 2006.

Who thought of these?

So, my father-in-law sent me an e-mail the other day. It cracked me up. It was a list of New Rules for Life. I can't take credit for thinking these things up... but I wish I had! Daym, they're funny.

Here are a few:

Stop saying that teenage boys who have sex with their hot, blonde teachers are permanently damaged. I have a better description for these kids: lucky bastards.

There's no such thing as flavored water. There's a whole aisle of this crap at the supermarket now: water, but without that watery taste. Sorry, but flavored water is called a "soft drink". You want flavored water? Pour some scotch over ice and let it melt. That's your flavored water.

The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a "decaf grande half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n'-Low and one
NutraSweet," ooh, you're a huge asshole.

Comedy feckin' GOLD.

I'll take outdated pop culture references for 200, Alex.

Reading over my latest issue of Macworld magazine, I came across their review of a musical dongle. It was about a little gadget that allows you to connect your electric guitar directly to your Mac. Not groundbreaking, since these things have been around for a while. However, it was the TITLE of the review that made me chuckle:

"It goes to eleven."

Now, this quote always brings to my mind Christopher Guest as a clueless guitar player in a "This is Spinal Tap." ...Which always makes me smile.

But then I thought about it... That movie was out in 1984. Would anyone under age 25 even get the reference?

Which then brings to mind other older pop culture references and movie quotes that don't just convey a message, but an entire scene. Are they also falling on the ears of a generation that just doesn't get it?

"We go to the mattresses."
"We're gonna need a bigger boat."
"Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"
"No more yankie my wankie. The Donger need food."
"Pork rinds? HWWUUAAAA!!"
"I'm fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, "bad'?"
"Zip, Zip, Zip. No Tooth Fairy, no Easter Bunny, and NO Uncle Mikey!"
"It's Ka-Ka-Ka-Ken! Come to ka-ka-ka-kill me!"
"Inconceivable!"

It boggles my mind to think that there are people alive today of legal drinking age that have no idea where these quotes come from.
*sigh*

Ah well. To use yet another: "I weep for the future."

You heard me correctly...

"Heated Bra Supports Good Cause"

I mean...

I just...

That's like...

Wow.

The Other Results Are In!

Well, Californians may very well be a finicky, psuedo-intellective, whiney, mostly liberal lot, but you can't say we're not driven.

The Govenator got a resounding slap in the face from the voting masses as we decided to reject every single item on yesterday's special election. (Yes, you bet your bippy I voted.)

It's obvious that the special election was huge waste of state resources. Personally, I think all of the state-wide costs of the useless special election should come of the Governor's pocket. Why should the taxpayers have to foot the bill for it? We didn't ask for this election. Strongnbigger wanted it, he should pay for it. The bastich KNOWS the state is in deep fiscal trouble and yet he throws MORE of our money away in a vain attempt to give himself more power and shut up those who disagree with him.

Hell, I fully expect to receive a cease-and-desist order for making this post!

But hey, Arny: good fuckin' luck in 2006.

The Results Are In...

...and they're not good.

Didn't get job I was trying for. And their reason for not hiring me? Well, it boils down to: You don't have enough experience in this job field.

So, I can't have the job because I've never done the job.

One of those times where the logic in that makes me want to defenestrate myself.

Oh, and I was up for an overseas gig. They were jazzed and couldn't wait to get me, but... lost the funding. They can't afford to hire folks from the U.S. right now. So they're just borrowing some higher-ups to go train their locals (who they can pay much less than they'd need to pay me.)

Feh.

This is TOTALLY one of those times where I feel like The Universe (a.k.a. God) is sending me a not-so-subtle hint.

On a lighter note, Focus Vitamin Water is good. All my B vitamins plus ginko biloba... which I always forget to take.

Make it stop!

A long time ago, I was quoted as saying:

"Take refuge in the absurd."

One of my more pithy moments.

Anywho, what that means is that life is full of utterly silly moments. You can let them slip by, let them annoy you, or take joy from the stupidity.

These Three Songs (with accompanying crudely-drawn Flash videos) are prime examples of absurd. Take refuge in them.

The problem I have is with this one. I can't make it stop playing in my head. I actually WOKE UP this morning with it playing in my head. Sure the lyrics are inane, but that bass line... totally frickin' groovin'.

Totally.

Whiner Radio

I've been listening to a lot of music vocalized by women lately. Michelle Branch, Madonna, Sheryl Crow, and Gwen Stefani are all regulars on my iPod Mini. I rarely listen to the radio anymore and have started cycling in older tunes (some listed in my radio.blog over there) to round things out.

And then I had an epiphany.

I was in the car, cruising along, punching through the FM channels when I found that the words, "Shut up!" were coming out of my mouth as I kept pushing the SEEK button. And I was saying "shut up" to all the frickin' WHINERS I was being forced to endure.

Dear LAWD, those guys won't stop it! I hate to burst their bubble, but Robert Smith pioneered whining as a musical style. He's a pro at it. Everyone else should NOT whine while singing. Grow some balls, you self-loathing little bitch-men! Stop with all the angsty "my life is over without you" crap.

All the women are singing about partying since their mens left... or how much they dig being with their mens. They're not whining. Not a single whine amongst them. Hell, even Suzanne Vega isn't whining! (Ok, she rarely ever did in her songs, but one could imagine her doing it. She's really quite funny... singular wit on that lady.)

It's just the menfolk: Lifehouse, Rob Thomas, 3 Doors Down... gawdammed Green Day has gotten into the whiner act! They used to be PUNK!

Gone are the days of men-being-men tunes on the radio. No pop songs about boozin', drivin', or swoopin'... just songs about whinin'.

...makes me sick.

Interview powers... ACTIVATE!

Yeah. I had an interview for a new position here at The Company. I was, admittedly, pretty stiff for the first quarter of it, but I loosened up and was in a groove by the halfway mark.

You know how some folks walk away from interviews and can say, "Oh yeah. I NAILED it!"? Well, I can never say that. I never have any idea if folks are really cool with what I'm saying or if they're just going along with it to later giggle about my foolish remarks. I guess I'm just not gifted in that area.

It's a cool job with lots of possibilities and opportunity... and I'd love to get it... but I have no idea if I made a good impression or not.

Well, in a few days time I'm pretty sure I'll know how things went.

For better, or for worse.

[cue dramatic music]

Coming to a neighborhood near you: The Plague!

On my way into work today, I was listening to the news on the radio. I do that. Morning drive-time radio on my favorite music stations is beyond annoying. I get enough crazy antics, people swearing, and telling of bad jokes at work; I don't need it on my drive in.

Anywho, KCBS reported this little story about an air-monitoring station in San Jose detecting tularemia. "Tularemia"... it sounded familiar. And then I remembered:

Oh yeah! Tularemia is like The Plague!

After I closed my jaw, I thought, "If there's enough airborn bacteria to set off a detector, we're in for a spot of trouble." ...no matter how non-alarmed they say we should be.

Tularemia isn't passed from person to person. Each person has to catch it. But beasties carry it around with them. From rabbits, to rats, to mice, to ticks, to deerflies, on down to fleas... if one of these guys are infected and they bite you, you've got it. If it's in the air and you breathe it, you've got it. If it's on a piece of food you eat or in the water you drink... you get the idea.

Symptoms are very flu-like and it's tough for some doctors to tell the difference.

Now, I'm not saying to freak out and board up your house, but I am saying to keep your house and yard clean. Maybe get one of those air filter systems for your house. (Which are good idea anyway, especially with the cold weather season bearing down on us.)

In short: be careful out there.

Shoes?

So, what are they called these days? Tennis shoes, sneakers, walking shoes, cross trainers, trail runners, hikers, clogs... damn.

I don't know what you call them, but those things that you put on your feet when you want to take a walk, I got a pair of them. And it took about a month.

Once I decided that I was losing weight, I came up with a plan. One element of the plan was to walk. Since I spend upwards of 10 hours a day at work, and about 9.65 hours of that sitting, it only seems logical that moving about would be a good thing.

So, we (the wifey and I) started walking in the mornings. I went through my various pairs of shoes, one each time we walked, and came to the conclusion that my Doc Martens were the most comfy to walk in. Problem there being that they really weren't that well suited to walking, they tended to make my feet damn hot... and they do look silly with sweatpants.

From there, the hunt for walking shoes began. The local shops were useless. When I did manage to get a "Sales Assistant" to actually assist me, the shoes never fit right. So, off to the Internet. Luckily, all the joints I bought from had a very comprehensive return policy cuz none of those fit well either.

Finally, I landed upon New Balance. They had, what appeared to be, the perfect shoe. It was wide in front, narrow at the heel, tall bridge, moderate arch support... and the best part: retro styling. Yeah, these look like the sneakers I grew up in, but they're all modern. They arrived, I was jazzed... but couldn't get my foot into them. Heh... 1/2 size too small. I sent them back, New Balance sent me a bigger size, and now I'm styling. I'm going to go tromping around the campus here at work and see how they hold up. They're light and comfy, but I'll see if they can hold up to what my Hobbit feet have to dish out.