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August 29, 2006 You know it. I know it. Barney is evil. Hell, it might even qualify as old news. Except the pansy-assed owners of the purple evil (pevil?) one seem overly litigious. Come on, I understand the need to protect a trademark, even one as banal and vapid as the pevil one, but learn to take a joke. Hmm. Wonder if I'll get a cease and desist also?
09:58 AM
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August 28, 2006 Something went seriously fahcacca with the Cinema Display tonight. It went black for about an hour. Nothing I tried would yield an image. Even the white LED on the front seemed to give up the ghost. Oddly though it would light briefly when I touched the power button on the side. I restarted the PowerBook a couple of times to no avail. The pattern repeated itself. I was resigning myself to a call to Apple, even went so far as to gather up the receipt and AppleCare certificate when from some deep recess of my brain came the letter PRAM. Back in the OS 8 and 9 days, zapping the PRAM was standard issue troubleshooting. It never seemed to solve any problems but it was one of the basic steps that Apple phone techs would have you do. For some reason, I wanted to believe that display settings were one of the things stored in PRAM and if they got scrambled then fahcacca would ensue. I started up the PowerBook and as soon as I heard the chime, I instinctually mashed the Cmd+Opt+P+R key combo. It made some clicking and slurping sounds as the optical and hard drives reset then a second softer chime rang out. I kept my hands on the keys out of habit but oddly the startup process came to a halt. No display action, no drive activity. In the old days, troubleshooting voodoo called for zapping the PRAM five times but apparently the OS X era machines will only put up with it once. So I released the keys and startup continued normally. I waited until I logged in on the PowerBook's internal display. Then I reconnected AC to the display. The white LED on the bezel blinked on and stayed steady. Good first step. Next I took the monumental step of plugging in the DVI cable. The PowerBook's internal display blinked to black then grey. A second later the Cinema Display blinked blue then the dock appeared in the middle of the screen momentarily. One more blink and my normal desktop appeared. Joy. Needless to say, I am deeply relieved. It's always a little rush when you solve a tech problem yourself. Too bad it doesn't happen more often.
10:52 PM
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August 26, 2006
Netflix shipped the Portuguese-language O Fantasma weeks ago but I just let it sit. I knew the 2000 release had been unrated and the description sounded like it wouldn't be the kind of movie to watch on the laptop out in public. I finally ran it at home last night and my hunch proved correct. It's really little more than a string of not-so-soft porn scenes featuring the extraordinarily handsome Ricardo Meneses and a parade of different male partners. The plot, and I'm being charitable using that term, is largely implied and mostly incoherent. Basically Meneses plays an obsessive Lisbon sanitation worker who finds sexual encounters around every corner. One of the first scenes shows him coming across an old Volvo in a field. He opens the backdoor to find a handcuffed and gagged uniformed policeman. Rather than calling for help and even asking the officer if he's okay, Meneses character proceeds to open the cops fly and jerk him off. But then who wouldn't? Whoever packaged the English-language DVD must have had some insight into the disc's potential target because the special features includes a section titled Eye Candy. It provides short cuts to all the sex scenes so you can get your fill of the uncut Meneses without having to even pretend you care about the main feature's narrative.
05:33 PM
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August 25, 2006 Caught another show at the Mountain Winery last night. The venue is quickly becoming my favorite. Of course with talent onstage like k.d. lang how could anyone disagree? As expected, lang blew me away with the power of her voice but the evening did produce a couple of surprises. The intimacy of the outdoor space allowed genuine audience interaction not just the cliched "How ya' doing [city name]?" exclamation. A few songs into the set, a woman in the front offered the famously-barefoot lang her boots since it was getting nippy. lang attempted to put the shoe on then launched into a spontaneous version of "The Boots Were Made for Walking" and told a bawdy joke about entertaining Texas Republicans years ago, punctuated with a demonstration of inserting the boot into an orifice. Later, she jumped offstage and danced among the audience. Not much of a feat since the stage is barely 18 inches high but still disarming for a big star. The second surprise was the opening act. Instead of someone to be endured, Holly Brook charmed with flawlessly performed songs and an infectious personality. I couldn't resist actually buying her CD at intermission. You can play six songs at her site. Go have a listen now and then see her if she comes to your part of the world. That's an order.
05:31 PM
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August 22, 2006 The AMA has concluded that Renu with MoistureLoc caused the spate of potentially-blinding fungal eye infections earlier this year. While the report doesn't implicate other types of lens solution, including other Renu-branded varieties, it still calls into question the use of multipurpose solutions. The whole affair makes me queasy though. In the first place, I'm kind of amazed that some people would top off their solution. Leaving the old solution in the lens case and just adding a bit more rather than tossing the used stuff each day. And not that I wear contacts that often as it is but I might stick with glasses even more. Or go back to the single-use disposable lenses.
03:25 PM
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August 20, 2006 I just realized the iTunes Party Shuffle has played Elton John, Pet Shop Boys, Diana Ross and ABC—all in a row. Am I a homosexual or what?
10:16 PM
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August 18, 2006 We caught Toad the Wet Sprocket last night at the Mountain Winery. Nice to see one of our favorite bands back together. it also happened to be our first experience with the venue. Definitely won't be the last. I dare say it was the most pleasant concert experience I've every had. You should go, too.
10:29 PM
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August 16, 2006 Like Anyone Cares Dept. Segway came out with two revised models of its Scooter for Lazy But Rich Dorks™ recently and got another puff piece in Time. While I give you that the technology is interesting, I'm more convinced than ever that Segway will fail as a commercial venture. At $5,000, the devices are too expensive and far less capable than your average bicycle. I've seen exactly three of the things in the nearly five years since they were announced. In each case, the rider looked like a jackass. And their Segways hadn't failed even.
11:38 PM
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August 10, 2006 Excuse me while I do a few steps of the superior dance.
10:11 PM
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August 08, 2006 Once again, I'm feeling the need to change up my mobile phone service. Mainly because the Treo has resumed its flaky habits. The April LCD transplant has proven a temporary fix. Over the past 10 days or so, the dreaded No Service message has been appearing with more and more frequency. I'm starting to blame the stubby antenna. It has worked loose ever so slightly over the years, making me wonder if even slight pressure on the case causes the signal loss. Since the new 700p has the same physical design, I'm now questioning the wisdom of dropping another $400. Instead I'm toying with the notion of switching carriers, consolidating all our services at AT&T/Cingular and going back to a more basic phone. I hate the idea on principle. The self-styled new AT&T ranks as truly evil, offensive (look no farther than the horrible logo) and incompetent. They offer existing customers the ability to bundle services and theoretically save money. But when I tried to shop on their site just now it told me high-speed internet access isn't available for my phone number Hello? I've had active DSL for over three years and this same website allowed me to upgrade to the higher speed variety in May. The only reason I haven't given AT&T the boot is that Comcast is even more evil, offensive and incompetent. So I'm feeling very conflicted. I could drop $400 on a new Treo and navigate my way through the numbingly confusing options that Sprint offers. But even Sprint's own employees haven't been able to tell me which plans and extra packages I'd really need or what my monthly bill would wind up being. The guy at the Sprint store finally suggested in exasperation that I should put off buying until the price goes down and the customers have found all the bugs. Or I could kiss all my morals goodbye and climb into bed with AT&T completely. Either way makes me feel as if I need to take a very long, very antiseptic shower. What would you do?
09:37 AM
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August 06, 2006 I watched a bit of MTV Day 1 on VH1 tonight. Just like 25 years ago, I found myself vegging on the couch waiting through crap like Rod Stewart or J. Geils Band for a good video like The Cars, Split Enz, the Specials or Nick Lowe. Even now there's something oddly magnetic about the possibility that a really good video might come up next. But like then, the spell broke the moment that bug-eyed weenie from REO Speedwagon came on screen. That horrendous band has always been a surefire way to get me to change the channel or turn off the set. Nice to know something don't change.
12:26 AM
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August 03, 2006 We're currently socked in by fog, the wind is pounding on the windows and my fancy bedside clock says it's 55° outside. No wonder I'm cold even though I'm wearing a long-sleeve undershirt, regular t-shirt, warmup pants and sneakers. Hot herbal tea and putting on the heat are next.
10:01 PM
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August 01, 2006 Flightstats.com takes the "is my flight on time" question and goes several degrees geekier. |
