January 11, 2012

Maintain.

Back during tax return season in 2008 Earl and I treated ourselves to a couple of new computers. At the time I had an Apple PowerBook G4 and Earl had an iBook. Both were good machines that had served us well, but they were quickly falling behind on their abilities to keep up with the latest operating system, so we decided to use our tax returns to buy new MacBook Pros. My choice was the 2.5ghz model, Earl went with the slightly slower 2.4ghz model. Both used the same chassis as my old PowerBook G4. I liked the feeling of familiarity.

A couple of years later I lost my mind and decided to get rid of my MacBook Pro and go with a Linux laptop instead. I ended up using the iMac a lot and used the Linux laptop in my spare time. It wasn’t my happiest moments of technology. In the meantime, in late 2010 Earl dropped his MacBook Pro, bending the corner nearest the optical drive and giving the laptop a bit of a wobble whenever it sat on a flat surface. We decided that his computer wouldn’t be around for much longer and opted to replace it with a new 15-inch MacBook Pro. That was quickly replaced with a 13-inch version, as the bigger laptop proved to much for his travel. The 15-inch MacBook Pro went to Jamie.

I am proud to say that I decided to keep the bent, older style MacBook Pro in the family. I bent the corner back into place so that it firmly sits on the table or desk as I’m using it. The keyboard is just lovely; I prefer the older style keyboard much more than the newer style, and quite frankly, when I take the older style laptop to Panera or something, the young hipsters whisper about me because I’m all retro with my computing flair.

I didn’t know how long the MacBook Pro with a cracked up case would last, but I recently replaced the power adapter and gave it a fresh battery. It feels as good as new. The retro, rainbow “Apple Computer” sticker completes the look and vibe that I am striving for.

It is my intention to keep this computer around for as long as possible. I hope to make it to the end of the Mayan Calendar and beyond, in retro Mac bliss.

It’s the little things that make a geek like me happy.

Macbook pro

11 January 2012 by Fun and Games Dept 2

Fatigue.

Sleep is apparently not on the agenda for the week. Last night I stayed up for an hour beyond my bedtime. I wasn’t doing anything fun or anything, in fact, I just stared at the ceiling and wondered when I was going to fall asleep. I then woke up at 2 a.m. for a little while, just to keep things interesting. At 4 a.m. my body apparently thought it was well-rested and I ended up just laying in bed pondering the meaning of life until the alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. That’s when I officially started my day.

Last night was a repeat of the night before.

I don’t know why I’m not sleeping. I suspect it has something to do with the pressures of work and the chaos of my daily schedule. On the positive side of things, I can say that I am happier today than I was back when I would try to eek some sleep between pager beeps that plagued my old job. I don’t miss that on-call gig at all.

They’re trying out a new on-call schedule at my current job this year, where by seniority we get to pick which holidays we want to work. Theoretically, we have to work one holiday every two years. I think it’s a pretty sweet deal: being on-call only once every 13 weeks and having to work one holiday every two years. Others are not thinking as positively about the new way of doing things, though. I get tired of unrest.

Perhaps it’s the unrest in the world that is keeping me from sleep.

As I closely follow all the shenanigans leading up to the Presidential elections in November, I start to wonder what the world would be like if one of the social conservatives got to sit in the big chair. I’m all for a fiscal conservative sitting in the big chair; I think that we are throwing too much money at a wall and hoping it will stick and I think there are too many people that live off the system (without giving anything to the system in the first place), but the idea of a social conservative in the White House scares me a little bit. On one hand I think it’s arrogant for a man or woman to think they can sit down in the big chair and on day one nullify every marriage they didn’t agree with in one broad pen stroke. On the other hand, I think it shows that they’re quite stupid and out of touch with reality. Too much stupidity and arrogance plague the politics of our country.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be thinking about these things while I’m trying to sleep.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

11 January 2012 by Ponderings and Musings 0

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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