December 31, 2007 — 11:26 AM
Something I Want From 2008.
So, my MacBook Pro died yesterday. It's not exactly clear what happened, but I would put the fault in one of two places: Logic board or Power-in Board. The machine literally won't turn on. I'm at the point in my career, where nine times out of ten, I can diagnose and repair any Mac problem if the machine will turn on. I can certainly diagnose a machine that needs to go to repair depot for service every time.
But, if you're a Mac user, you know there are two ways to get something to repair depot with Apple: Call them up, sit on hold and deal with tech support asking you the obvious questions who will ship you a box that may or may not arrive tomorrow, or go to an Apple Store and pray to God they'll see you that day, or some day soon. Neither option is attractive when you've got a truly broken primary machine.
Today, I have an appointment at the Tysons Genius Bar to diagnose my laptop, it's at 3:30, but I figured, hey, I can go by Clarendon or Pentagon City and try to drop it off. But, since it's after the holidays, the place is a zoo. I didn't make it past the registers at Clarendon, where I was interrogated, L'idiot-style, by one of their mallrats. They sent me packing as they were "double-booked" and had two people on the wait-list already. Pentagon City was just as bad.
So, I'll wait for Tysons. But here's what I want: I want a way to prove my bona fides to the Apple staff. I want a way to say, "Look, I know you're trying to be efficient, I know you're trying to protect the geniuses, but I am their peer. I know that the machine I bear in my hands is in critical need of a repair depot, and all that they should do is give me a ticket number and a box." I think the ACSA exams should come with more reward than mere letters in an email signature. It should also come with a card that you can use at an Apple Retail outlet to say, "I'm not the guy who dropped his iPod in the john. I'm not the guy who hacked his iPhone into unusability. I'm not the guy who poured a triple latte into my Macbook. I'm the guy who un-clutters your store from those people and brings you ONLY what you need to attend to at your repair depot."
I'd work hard to get that certification at that point, because it would come with a perq that had real value to me, instead of bullshit perceived value to others. I'd spend the money on the courses and the exams at that point, instead of just putting it off. Give me a way to prove to your people that I'm worthy of some respect, and I'll pay money to demonstrate it.
December 29, 2007 — 3:19 PM
links for 2007-12-29
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Gotta love those one-off films that make you wonder who they owed money to.
December 23, 2007 — 12:20 AM
The Addicting Power of Guitar Hero
I was not in the audience for Guitar Hero, I told myself. I was not. I was a real musician, one that could read notes scriven onto the staves by men with quill pens who studied for years in conservatories. I was above this mere frivolity and its simplification of music down to some mere buttons on a guitar-shaped controller.
And then, this weekend, I played it for the first time.
Goddammit, I hate being WRONG like that.
Now I need to get to GHIII for my PS2.
December 22, 2007 — 1:48 AM
Tree & Hearth
Tree & Hearth
Originally uploaded by tbridge.
Our tree was picked up this morning in Alta, CA from Little Bear Creek Tree Farm and is lovely.
Happy Solstice everyone.
December 21, 2007 — 3:24 PM
links for 2007-12-21
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Composed by Eric Whitacre, this was the highlight of the Sacramento Master Singers' "Behold the Star" at St. Francis. Its lush harmonies and haunting sonority makes it bar none the best new piece of music I have ever, ever heard.
December 20, 2007 — 3:20 PM
links for 2007-12-20
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$200 is steep. Fuck. But since the email said the 21st, I didn't get any the first time.
December 15, 2007 — 12:44 AM
Yep. I'm a nerd.
I had a really long day today. At the end of it, I helped a client transition away from one internet connection and to another. This is a pretty delicate process. Things have to be done in a certain order, according to a plan, and depend upon factors that are outside of your control, like DNS Propagation. It's a big freaking deal. It's why they pay me the big bucks to do it. So, at the end of the night, we were inches from success, and things weren't working the way they ought to.
Something that should've gotten caught, wasn't caught. So we tinkered, and found the solution. But, what's really fun, was the conversation that followed with my friend Jeff. We got to talking in a lot of depth about Battlestar Galactica, and let's just say, we went a little far. We did mathematics people. And not just that silly addition/subtraction, we did freakin' algebra. Calculus was discussed, but neither of us felt the need to be at home on our couches on a Friday night with engineering pads out and scratching out derivatives and integrals. That's for weeknights.
Anyhow, Jeff and I had a long conversation [PDF] in which we tinkered with mathematics, and all manner of things BSG. But what's really fun about all of this is that we figure we're not the first people to have this conversation. We figure it happened in the writers' room at BSG.
But yeah, Jeff's description is far more eloquent than mine, and goes into far more detail than we do.
But I figured it was worth sharing that I'm a great, big, giant nerd. And I do geeky sci-fi math on Friday nights during the holidays.
Right then.
December 7, 2007 — 6:12 PM
Just Say No To Barry Bonds
I've made a pledge this week. If the A's sign Barry Bonds, I'll mail back to the A's all of my fan gear.
You heard me. All of it. My glove with all those autographs? Gone. My Tejada and Zito jerseys? Gone. My baseball cards, my Upper Deck McGwire Rookie card? Gone. My Bash Brothers protester in my room back in California? Gone. All of it. Media guides, scorecards, the whole nine freaking yards.
I just can't take the thought of Barry Bonds in the green and gold that was worn by Walt Weiss & Mike Gallego, by Bobby Crosby & Carney Lansford. Hell, even Canseco & McGwire had more honor than that sad sack of shit, Barry Bonds.
I can't take the thought of Bonds with an A on his cap.
December 3, 2007 — 10:57 PM
Because my life is Absurd...
...Why should my wagers not also be so?
