…let me sum up.
* So Himself apparently did get a liver transplant in Tennessee. My only regret out of all this is that it was in Memphis rather than at VUMC, but then, we can’t have everything. I think the results of the last six months speak for themselves, though – while having Himself at the controls is nice, it’s not necessary for AAPL to continue to operate successfully – and if they’re not bring back El Steve-o for the release of new MacBook Pros and iPhones, don’t expect to see him running keynotes routinely ever again.
* Seriously? 12% of the country thinks Obama is a secret Muslim? Can we have these people rounded up and shot? Do you know how much better off we’d be economically, intellectually and psychologically? (And yes, I am sure there are as many liberal whackadoos out there, and I would be as happy to bundle them off to the stockyard, except I would rather first take out the ones who are more likely to shoot me. What’s some hayseed hippie from Boulder or Austin or Eugene gonna do, pot-smoke me to death?)
* I must say that so far, I seem to be coping with work foolishness a lot better than I have at previous places. I think part of that comes from having 12 years of experience with the merry-go-round of “oh look, we’re out of money, fire all the contractors who were doing mission-critical work because we wouldn’t hire permanent staff in an attempt to save money.” I don’t care how badly screwed up these people think they are, I did seven years in Tech Support Vietnam with the greatest second-level support team that ever lived, and I fear no user…or VP.
* Much as I’d like the new iPhone 3Gs, I don’t think I could justify laying out that kind of loot. I haven’t had a chance to evaluate the real speed improvement or battery changes, so it comes down to “is it worth resetting the contract and laying out $200 or $300 for video capability and voice control?” And since I rarely drive, the latter is a scratch. At this point I’m better off waiting for the 2010 model. (To be honest, I would probably have still rocked my original, and be eligible for an upgrade by October, if I hadn’t screwed it up last year with lint packed in the dock connector. I still want to get that back from my brother-in-law at some point, just because, dammit, it was free from Apple and was the single greatest trophy of working there.)
* I am reluctantly realizing that there’s not one single computer in the house that we actually own. Everything has been through the good offices of current or former employers, and it’s all loaned with the understanding that it *could* get called back in. Consequently, I’m having some trouble sorting out the best methodology for backing up my personal info and keeping it separate – and secure – from the work content. (Not to mention finding some way to run Snow Leopard preview on my good work laptop.) At least my streak of not paying for a computer since 2000 is intact (come to think of it, I need to get that iBook back too – lot of history in that little gray toilet seat).
* Come to think of it, though, I could operate for an awful long time on just an iPhone, battery permitting. I’m still considering getting one of those Mophie JuicePaks or similar, or even just one of the things you can pop four AAs in and recharge, because I’m basically limited to about 5 hours’ usage irrespective of what I do – any combination of location services, Bluetooth, Wi-fi, push, 3G, screen brightness and podcast playback adds up to 300 minutes of live usage. The key thing for me is just keeping it charged up at work during the day (and staffing out podcast playback to a leftover iPod shuffle) – I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I’m out in the city all day with the other half of Team Black Swan next week. Not that I expect to be listening to stuff or talking much on it, but we’re going to need those location services pretty badly, not to mention the MUNI sched.
* I need somebody to build me a nice little steampunk Gentleman’s Compact Aetheric Discharge Concealable Sidearm. No, I’m not planning for Maker Faire, why do you ask?
* It seems the height of sense to be reading William Gibson on an iPhone.
* I’m getting interested in the Giants again. I guess interleague play is justified, because the series against the A’s has me paying attention again – as does the pitching of what seems to be a pretty good staff, evenly split between fireballing young talent and crafty more-guile-than-goods veterans. Lincecum needs to settle down if he’s going to get out of the 7th though.
* My various glees have subsided, it seems. I have no current case of Shoe Glee, Outerwear Glee, Netbook Glee, or even older now-obsolete forms like Car Glee or Phone Glee. Good thing, too, as I don’t need any slow leaks in my checking account. I will be glad when this week is over with, as I have been too far removed from the free coffee in the office that normally sustains me. (I think there’s a half-2-liter of blue Mountain Dew still on my desk from Friday’s cookout.)
* O me of little faith. Lincecum is the bomb, even if he did have to be saved at one point by a terrible call at second.
* I’ve about decided to adopt Fulham as my team in the Premier League. Yes, yes, I know, any team whose most prominent celebrity supporter is Hugh Grant must be the height of embarrassment. But they have been very friendly to Americans – not only is Clint Dempsey a bright star in their lineup, not only did they have Bocanegra and now have Eddie Johnson, but they actually named a bar in their stadium after Brian McBride, he of the crimson mask against Italy in ’06 who captained them to their Great Escape a couple years back. Plus they are the only team in the Premiership with a neutral section, where you can mix freely with supporters of both teams. Plus it’s in London, and a posh and scenic bit of London, so the odds of actually going to see them go up. Plus Craven Cottage is right on the river, just as Pac Bell is right on the bay…plus being owned by the bloke who owns Harrods, you have to think that a) there’s money on the table for transfers and player personnel and b) the catering must be all right.
* Seriously, how do you lose an entire state governor for damn near a week? Hopefully it’s not too serious (TPM is reporting that one witness has Sanford on a plane to Minneapolis, which suggests the possibility of the Mayo Clinic and thus serious health matters, in which case good luck to him) but if it’s not, expect a zillion euphemisms to crop up around “hiking the Appalachian Trail.”
* Spent two days in a Perl class this week, finally developing skills I should have been working on ten years ago. As with so much of my life, though, let’s overlook how long I was getting here and be happy I just showed up at all. =)
* God bless, Persians, keep it green.