JACKET GLEE: Subsiding slowly. As it turns out, my go-to ought to be the soft-shell known as Vandy III, as it is pretty warm, moderately water-resistant, mostly packable (well, stuffable), and can actually fit the iPad in the inside pocket (barely). It doesn’t conceal very well at all, but it should be sufficient if I really need to go walkabout with just the iPad until such time as I can rig something up in a shoulder-holster sort of way (YES THIS IS HAPPENING SHUT UP).
CAR GLEE: Not serious at all, but having looked at the spec, I would (if forced tomorrow) replace my car with a Prius C, level 3. City-car size, 50 MPG city mileage, and at trim level 3 has a sunroof and satellite radio access. Plus I could sit in line at In N Out with a clear conscience.
GADGET GLEE: So it’s being reported that Google plans to drop a 7″ tablet of its own by the end of the summer, presumably running Ice Cream Sandwich and presumably unbranded in Nexus fashion. Despite owning a Kindle 3 and an LTE iPad, I would seriously consider buying that tablet for a couple of reasons:
* It’s unbranded and not locked to a carrier, and thus is presumably going to be able to update to whatever Google rolls out instead of being at the mercy of a cellular company or a branded OEM for updates to whatever custom crap UI would normally be stapled over top of regular Android. So I could be reasonably assured that I would someday be able to run a newer OS than what came with it.
* It’s presumably going to be straight Android, and I would kind of like to know the ins and outs of the other dominant mobile operating system. Because if I’m honest, I don’t know that “workstation support” will still be a viable career choice in ten years and I need to be ahead of the curve in one direction or another in case one of those sysadmin positions fails to open up by then.
* It’s theoretically going to be an open-source OS on standard hardware. Which is sort of what I was gunning for with the Dell netbook two years ago running Linux. I suppose there’s some libertarian reptile-brain part of me that likes the idea of having a portable computing option that’s not dependent on the tender mercies of “Don’t Be Evil” or the corporate direction of an Auburn graduate – and if it’s really an open and unbranded tablet, the CyanogenMod options and the like should be plentiful. Of course, then you’re at the tender mercy of whatever random hacker is willing to write OS updates and extend the feature set, which gets back to the whole point of open source: it’s only worthwhile if you’re willing and able to write your own code. Otherwise you’re just in thrall to a different sort of entity.
* It’s a 7-inch tablet, a form factor I’ve never really had adequate opportunity to test out for viability, which if they bring the thing in under $200 is practical. Hell, if nothing else, maybe I can swindle work into paying for it. That might be the move, actually.
ETA: One added bit of gadget glee – AT&T will apparently unlock iPhones no longer under contract from Sunday on. Which means that on June 25, I will have an unlocked iPhone 4, suitable for going to Europe…
SHOE GLEE: Surprisingly nonexistent, as the Palladium boots seem to have taken over for regular wear – the waterproofs have worn well since Christmas and the ultralites will probably take over on May 1. I knew the shoe glee was subdued when a trip to Portland was mooted and I never even thought of the Dr Martens store. Now, that said, I’m always in the market for a nice pair of Converse Chuck Taylors lookalikes that actually have arch support or something…
TRAVEL GLEE: Going abroad may not happen this year, but we’ve covered DC and NYC is later this month and there will be definitely one and possibly two trips to Disneyland, and I’m thinking of making it to Vandy Homecoming this year (complete with football game) as a way of going home with something else to do. That might just be enough to cover it, although the spectacle of London 2012 will probably just make me want to go. Meanwhile, I’m treating the NYC trip as a dry run for going abroad: travel garments, light loadout, no data service on the iPad to test viability of Wi-Fi only operation, and ideally one pair of shoes (until the wedding anyway). Come to think of it, I really need to find my loafers – that probably goes under shoe glee…
SPEAKING OF LONDON GLEE: Seven years ago this week, we were on our honeymoon in London, dodging in and out of the easyInternet on the Strand to update our friends on how well married bliss was going. Seven years on, I have to say it’s still the best decision I ever made…the marriage, not the easyInternet, mind.