#166 - the rainy wait

Since the birth of my mac, I've been checking all my gmail accounts through the mac mail program; making it so I don't have to actually log-in to gmail.com. A few months ago, though, I discovered a feature on google that allows you to change the theme of your main page. I've changed the theme a few times so far, but have soundly rested on one I really like. It consists of a group of people (and animals) waiting at a bus stop. This adorable little gathering draws me to log-in to gmail regularly now. Every day it has been the same. Always the same. People still waiting. Sun still shinning. Animals still accompanying. Grass still green. Sky still blue. I've grown acustom to it.

Footnote: as I was driving back to work from my lunch break, a freak-slushy-hail-snow storm hit for about 2 minutes. It's been gloomy, rainy, windy, and overcast all day, and then finally the climax hit.

Later that day, I logged into gmail to access a document for work, previously saved there. I looked at my gmail and what did I see?? I big gloomy rain storm looking at me! I was blown away... I didn't know the picture could change?! We're all in this together... see you soon, little bus stop neighbor friends.

#154 - ogling google

So I have a crush on the super-cool, Google. They are always coming out with extremely user friendly, fancy features and products. I'm really into the Google Reader, iGoogle, Google Earth (woah!), blogger ('course), Google Desktop, Google Calendar, Picasa, YouTube, Docs, Gmail (beyond rad... I have a public account, a private account, a personal account, and a super-special-happy account. AND thank you very much I was one of the first test-gmail accounts), and the highlight today: Google Maps. Not only does it show you everywhere and routes (better than mapquest or other others), satellite imaging and the street views (like you're actually driving down the road), BUT I recently discovered the "more" selection. You can pick to have bike paths illuminated for easy routing, and even see pictures and movies posted from those areas.

#141 - water pump

When dear ones go into surgery: on Saturday, I brought my mac in for a few repairs. The mac men seemed very confident and said they would have it fixed in no time, but failed to mention up front that they would need to keep it for five days. It was sprung on me, and as I walked outside of the store, I felt a little mac shaped emptiness. I got home and helped my old Compaq emerge from the closet. It has jumped from closet to closet for the past two 1/2 years since I've upgraded. It works, but has been stripped of it's computerness. After re-installing the Internet, I was up and running. The only problem with this computer is that it randomly decides to shut down; oh, and it's not a mac, and of course, once you mac, you can never go back. I have recently become addicted to the pill popping "House" and like to watch an episode or two a day online. 20 minutes into an episode and 3 'shut-downs' later, I had reached the pivotal discovery scene. Dr. Foreman was looking into a telescope, having a conversation with Dr. Wilson, when he got that look and exclaimed, "the water pump!" shoooooommmm - a black screen. "WHAT ABOUT THE PUMP!? WHAT ABOUT THE PUMP" Instinctually I yelled at my computer, and was too upset to instantly reboot. I had to calm down a bit... clean my house. Then find out how this water pump managed to almost kill a family. Very frustrating. One of the key luxuries I have found with a mac, now that I can really compare, is speed. Speed at finding things, bouncing through screens and pulling up need-to-go-to's. Oh I miss you speedy on mac. Get better soon...

#134 - sneaking around cyberspace

When I first moved into my studio, I tried to get online, only to find that everyone in my building locked their wireless. For the first few days in Boise, I would ride my bike downtown and use the Internet in a wireless cafe. After the purchase of a smoothie and a banana, I would surf for about an hour, then start being physically productive. One morning though, I woke to find that one person in my building forgot to lock their wireless Internet. I mooched off that for about a week. It was glorious! I could wake up and check my mail, apply for jobs, and search for new music. I was hoping and hoping he wouldn't remember and block me out. Probably a new move in who just set it up...

Next thing I knew... the door was closed. I hit my old Internet cafe again, and actually found a couple other places where I wouldn't have to pay for food first. It wasn't so bad, I didn't miss the luxury too much. When ever I knew I would be driving around a lot, I would take my laptop and have it open in the passenger seat with the wireless scan open. If I glanced over and saw an unlocked network, I would pull over momentarily and check my mail, etc. I was diving around one particular time last Monday. I stopped in a neighborhood and saw an unlocked network titled "GET YOU'RE OWN!"... this guilted me into not using their wireless, but the feeling quickly dissipated when I found another unlocked network in the next neighborhood titled "Jon and Lisa's". They were nice and shared with me.

I recently went home to visit for the weekend and after I came home, what do we find? Hello friends. I'm in my pajamas. It's 10:00 at night. I'm listening to music. I'm tired. I'm home. And I'm ONLINE! Thank you new forgetter... thank you.

#120 - 40 gigs of disappointment

I made my very first Craigslist purchase today. I've been in the market for a new ipod since White One couldn't handle my capacity for music. I found one one being sold for 50% off - new and in great condition. We met on campus and made the exchange. It was an amazing deal; the kind that is impossible to pass up. I'm selling White One to Sami and now am very happy and content with New Black One. As a bonus, he left all his music and videos on the ipod (50 gigs worth). I only have 40 gigs, so this was a substantial increase. I was expecting most of it to be garbage, but surprisingly, a lot of our bands and music interests were the same. I was so excited and told him so in a purchase-follow-up-text. Having most people respond to his music choices with weird, confused faces, he was pleased that he had sold his ipod and music to a well deserving candidate. I combined his music with mine which took quite some time - followed by the slow and laborious job of going through and deleting duplicate songs. This turned out to be about every 5th song and took about an hour to get through "A" "B" and half of "C" titled songs. I was working my way though, steady and focused, when all of a sudden I tipped my computer weird and the ipod disconnected. When I plugged it back in, an error appeared on my screen that read, "Error in reading summary. Please restore ipod to factory settings. This will erase all.... bla bla bla..." Moral of the story - gone. All gone.

Sad and back to my normal music load, I am sitting in my car so that I can get Internet to "restore to factory settings". The part that makes me feel worse is that the whole time I was deleting duplicates, I was complaining at how long it was taking, and how my body was getting hot from having a laptop sit on it for so long. I was complaining how this guy had 6 copies of the exact same song... why? I was ungrateful for my bounty (which included a purchased copy of the new Star Trek movie... gone.) and because of my ingratitude... it was taken from me; suddenly and devastatingly. My music list, which I was just earlier today so satisfied with, now feels vacant. Where did all my new "the Who" albums go? Gone with the error...

So be grateful, All! For goodness sake, be grateful...

You know, maybe it's better this way. I didn't fight for that music, I didn't search for that music, I didn't anxiously await that music, I hadn't even listened to that music yet. It was not mine to lose... So goodbye Not-Mines. It was nice to have you, if only for a little while.

#116 - mac "the indispensable"

It's a camera:

For a while, before I upgraded to a camera that you can hold, I used my mac as my camera. Making friends sit in front of my computer for photo shoots and occasionally, having to actually pick up my computer and point it at different things to take a crucial picture. It was like having a really really really large, awkward to carry around open - photo ready - camera. It did the job, though, and gave me the quality and the here-and-now that I needed.

It's an ipod:

Unfortunately, under the current storage limits of my actual ipod, I have to pick and choose what music makes it and which have to wait for the next cycle. It is more often than not an impossible decision. My indecision usually leaves me music-less and sad, but the ability to have a computer that can hold all my 40+ gigs of music keeps me satisfied. 90% of the time I am home, my laptop is cycling through my playlists - - providing me with the much needed soundtrack to my life. Speakers do the job, plus some at filling my life with happy. If only there was a way to carry it around in my backpack and have my music still play. Like a really really really large awkward to carry around ipod.

It's a computer:

Self explanatory. Although I am surprisingly lacking on storage.

I am giving gratitude for the the joy I experience because I had two friends tell me devastating stories yesterday about their stolen macs. One friend was studying in the library for about an hour. He got up to go to the bathroom and when he came back, his mac was gone -- chord still in the wall. Horrible! My other friend left his in the library for a little longer than that, but same result. Stolen. So thank you for being with me still, Mac. And thank you evil ones, for not stealing mine. And to all those who do not share my same fortune... I am desperately, wholly, and fully sorry.