new laptop

Finally got around to getting a new laptop, its a Dell Inspiron 640m. 1gb memory, 120Gb hard drive, decent 14" screen, and lighter than my old laptop. The OS is Win XP Home. The benefit of waiting a little too long to get a new laptop is that it seems so very much better than the old one when you do.

My timing was influenced somewhat by the upcoming general Vista release. I wanted to get a new laptop before Vista is packaged with new systems. I want to take my time before tackling Vista, and I didn't want my desire for more powerful hardware to drag me into Vista before I was ready.

I'm experimenting here at the beginning by using as much open source or free software as I can. These include:
Firefox
Thunderbird
Open Office
Textpad
Irfanview
Inkscape

I've also installed ITunes (but haven't transported my library over yet).

I've installed Python for whatever little programming projects I come up with. I may install Haskell in order to learn what its about.

another week in paradise

some photos from our stay late in November in BVI:

lull in use

open office

I've been trying out Open Office, and have been pleasantly surprised by its utility. I've focused on Microsoft Word compatibility with Open Office.org Writer, and I can do most everything I need to. There is even a facility for change tracking that seems acceptably interoperable.

There is a very good chance that with my next laptop purchase I'll be able to avoid installing Microsoft Office, although I do hear good things about Office 2007.

And its tough to beat the price differential, since Open Office is a free download.

heirloom cattle in concord

these guys were close to the fence the other day, so i stopped and snapped a couple of photos.

a lull

be wary of the lull charge!

IPod shuffle and podcasts

I learned something about my IPod Shuffle. I have been downloading podcasts, mostly music, from Idolator and enjoying them in ITunes. I've been copying them to my IPod Shuffle so I could add the podcasts to the mix while I run.

But, the shuffle never selected them for playing. I suspected something about the random play selection algorithm, but was only half-right. Turns out that podcasts on the shuffle are only played when the mode is "play in order". Won't play them when mode is "random". Since these podcasts are mostly short songs, that wasn't the behavior I wanted.

Solution: In the ITunes Library, I edited each podcast's metadata - changing the genre from podcast to something else appropriate for the song. After a little testing, it looks like random shuffle behavior picks them up.

Interestingly, I did not find this workaround via a google search.

what house?

election 2006

1. I'm a believer in split government. So, I'm pleased with the outcome of the recent election on the national level. When the two parties need to compromise to enact legislation, that legislation is more likely to appeal to the moderates of both parties than to the zealots of either party. This is a good thing, in my opinion.

Another way of looking at it is that each party will check the excesses of the other.

Seems like the fellows that wrote the constitution did almost everything they could to make sure that divided government was likely more often than not. I'm sure they saw some advantages in split government.

2. I'm hopeful that enough good will and focus will be available to the government in this next two years to address issues I feel are important, including health care, environment, science and research, and foreign policy. The risk is that the parties will spend these last two years of the Bush administration jockeying for 2008 election position, and we'll only get legislation focused on providing campaign fodder.

election 2006 - some winners

election 2006 - some losers

more equipment we don't get to keep...

The Fan House

This weekend we had the great pleasure of visiting The Fan House, Sara Widness's excellent Bed and Breakfast in Barnard Vermont. The house was comfortable and beautiful, the food was very satisfying, and our stay, although brief, exceeded our expectations.

If you have the chance, contact Sara and arrange a stay.

We snapped a few photos in the early morning, here are two:

whats on TV?

early fall day at "home"

popurls

popurls is a good way to surf the daily zeitgeist....

cranberry bog

mushroom? I don't know....

mushroom

another Great Meadows visit

Williams S. Burroughs, interviewed by Conrad Knickerbocker

in The Paris Review, The Art of Fiction No. 36. Issue 35, Fall 1965
Available for download here.

I always found the Beat Generation both of their time, and ahead of their time. Reading this interview now I enjoy the originality and prescience of Burroughs and wonder what he would do today with a blog...

Thanks are due to The Paris Review for making these interviews available for PDF download.

scary mushroom, updated

mushrooms

more mushrooms in the yard

mushrooms

Until the lions....

“Until the lions produce their own historian, the story of the hunt will glorify only the hunter.”

- see: The Empire Writes Back

quote

Hey, I learned about Writely today!

This is a test post written using the Writely beta. I like it so far...

scary mushroom

mushrooms

more cat photos. because i have to.

cats

Seth Godin has this blog pegged....

Seth Godin, sethgodin.typepad.com, has an excellent ebook on blogging, available for free. You can download it here: whos there.

Yes, this is a cat blog, it isn't a boss blog, and it isn't an idea blog. I recommend you read the ebook.

clearly, the patron saint of talk radio

If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him. - Armand Jean du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu (1585–1642)

see: bartleby.com
quote

gotta love those eyes!

cats

MBTA Charlie Ticket

This is my very first Charlie Ticket - I used it a few days ago at Kendall Square. Turned in a token for it. Here is the MBTA's Charlie Card faq. For more background, here is the Charlie Card article in Wikipedia.

too sweet

cats

some photos from a family get-together

ducks, heron, path...

did i mention tree limbs falling? (from late April)

this is cool news, from Autoblog

Thanks to Autoblog, see:
smart coming to the US