Catching up...

Man, blogging is hard work. A few friend requests on Facebook went un-returned... sorry about that. I might catch up, I might not. I tried to put Julie down for bed, but she cried. I can't stand that, so I let her sit on my lap as I used the computer. She wanted to bang on the keyboard... I also can't stand that, so I put her on the ground... she turned off the power strip...

My dad and his wife came into town this past week, and we had a cook out... Grandma Deb already sent out pictures... I'm so bad. I really really need to get on this picture stuff.

At least I forwarded the pictures to my Mom. I need to call her, I was supposed to give her a call on Thursday, but my dad came into town, and I've been busy. You know how it is with two kids under two...

Work might get even better. I might have an opportunity to transition into more of an Application Support role, from the Document Control role I'm playing now. We'll see how that goes.

I'm still pretty stagnant on the whole media center/DVR/Linux thing. New seasons start up soon... I did get around to reading a plot synopsis for the last episode of Smallville that I missed, so I'm totally up to date now.

I have my new character on World of Warcraft up to 26. I'm enjoying it, and enjoying crafting and selling stuff a little more than I did the first time around... maybe I'll be able to afford a mount, LOL. This LCD is nice, but 1024x768 really cramps my style. I think I may just save up money... pay off my other bills, then get a MacBook Pro and a large LCD monitor. LOL. I can dream, can't I? I did find a bluetooth mouse for my PowerBook, but it is made my Microsoft... probably a no-go. At Staples it was on sale for $80 from a usual $100. Bleh.

Hold up... phone call... argh... another 1-800 call with no response. We must have gotten on some automated sales line or something. Might be time to do some more screening, or at least get that thing that lets you look and see who's calling on your computer screen, so I don't have to get up to be disgusted.

A quick post before I start work.

I did resubscribe to World of Warcraft. I started a new Hunter and got him up to level 21. My brother-in-law is trying to get his wife hooked on WoW, but I think he'll have a tough fight. She used to play Mult-User Dungeon text-based games, and it was bit much for her. Besides, they are going to have a baby in a few months... he's done, LOL

I finally got this trade performed with a guy, so now I have a 15-inch LCD, some extra processors... some laptop RAM, a wired Linksys router, and a wireless G PCI card. Nice. I also picked up an ATX media-center-ish case... an old Silverstone LC03 <http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/legacy_product.php?pno=lc03&area=usa>. Of course, I already put the two tuners and the processor in a very small case that can sit next to the TV. Media Center works, but I still need to figure out whether I'm going to go "all-in" on MythTV. I guess I had bettter hurry... summer is ending, and the Networks will be pumping out more crap that we need to record soon. Anyone got an extra AM2 processor?

I cleaned the carpets downstairs... my wife took the kids out. Yay! I took the kids out shopping on Saturday morning, and fed them steam-grilled goodness known as White Castle... my son says, "Chicken". I think to my self... it's not chicken, but hey... I guess there's a reason there's no kids meals at White Castle.

Okay, that's enough random stuff from the weekend. Maybe I'll turn some of that into a real blog post later. Thanks for listening.

T-Mobile makes me want to Cry.

I see that my blog post was tracked back… nice. Anwyay, I called monday, and got hung up on.

I called yesterday, and almost let the Rep transfer me to “accessories” but mentioned that I didn’t want to buy one, and that she should look in “Streamline”, as indicated in the comments at AllShadow.com. She found it, but said that since I needed to be a customer for 30 days in order to get the battery.

WTF? I might not keep this phone for the 20 days — since they bothered to send me the phone with the old battery, and I *just* got it. Grr… I am seriously thinking about getting my friend's iPhone and giving it a go with Ma Bell again...

T-Mobile Shadow... Batteries... and back to imprisonment with a Windows Mobile smartphone and a contract...

My wife missed an important appointment the other day. Time for action. "You need a smartphone, I say" and suggest that I get her one. The Sidekick was too big and bulky, so I sold it on Craigslist.

I signed up for a 1-year contract with T-Mobile, since their rates are less killer, and used a special code I found on the Internet to get two T-Mobile Shadow phones on the cheap.

Of course, I just got through kicking the ball and chain of AT&T to the curb, but I really didn't want to pay $300 for another set of smartphones, so I signed up for a 1-year contract. I ported the numbers from our pre-paid phones to the new lines of service, and signed up for the slow EDGE-based Internet plan (to get the $50 rebate for each phone).

The phones have WiFi, so I might not need to keep the Internet service... however, the biggest reported problem with the phone seems to be battery life... but then there's this post on AllShadow.com: Get an Extended Battery from T-Mobile. I recieved the phones Friday, and didn't get the new batteries, so I guess I need to call customer service.

Then I have to figure out why I want to spend $30 each for a couple of car chargers at the corporate store. And get my wife a dedicated setup of Outlook to sync her phone with, and organize her address book, and all sorts of crap... Getting new phones is hard work!

World of Warcraft 2.4.3 (Mounts at Level 30?)

I might have to go back and start playing World of Warcraft. The recent update supposedly lets you get mounts at level 30. My Mac is pretty weak for playing it though, but my PC is plenty powerful enough. The real question is, am I willing to give up 50 cents a day? It has to come from somewhere... sigh.

I hate computer docks. Anyone recommend a bluetooth mouse?

This morning, the dock I was using with my laptop computer at work just "died". All of a sudden, I was disconnected from the network and my external keyboard and mouse stopped working. WTF?

I have work to do, so i just plugged everything straight into the laptop, and soldiered on. Maybe that's why should just get wireless "everything". The dock failing was just a symptom of the "real" problem. connecting stuff to a computer is prone to failure, stuff breaking is bound to happen. This laptop does have bluetooth, maybe I should just get a bluetooth mouse, and headphones, and a phone that can connect with bluetooth.

Oh well... back to work.

At the end of the day, I left 30 minutes early, stopped at Starbucks, to get the iTunes data for the CDs I ripped on my PowerBook, only to find that they don't have Internet... I drive down the road to another, and discover that they have that damned hook-up with AT&T wifi. Fortunately, I have AT&T DSL, but it is becoming apparent that I won't be able to leave so cheaply if I need wireless internet and Flickr Pro... Oh well, it is still cheaper than Comcast Cable, right?

Linux Haters Blog, Hackintosh

I read the linux haters blog. Seriously... I went and read every post. I've been a Linux fan for years, but not always a user. I had seriously hoped to move more toward being a user, but reading this made me rethink a lot.I had a recent frustration, which I have since resolved, but in the time that it took, I acquired an Apple PowerBook G4. I now remember every reason I used a Mac before. Stuff just works. Then I used it some more, and wanted to do some stuff, and remembered why I quit using Macs... Everything costs money.The question isn't really whether it is worth the money, but rather, whether I have it to spend. Linux has costs too, mostly time. I'm short on both money and time these days, so it can be hard to decide if I should let either dictate my OS of choice.I'm going to try building a hackintosh, Maybe then I can really evaluate whether I need that Mac Pro tower. Well, no... not really, I don't need it. But, I would like to experience some of the OS X goodness on some higher end hardware... and all my high-end hardware isn't Apple branded... so there. Worst case scenario, I lose some more time, and end up back on Linux, looking for marginal programs to do things that I could just pay money and get good applications for on Windows or OS X, right?