Meta Thoughts
Mon, 2005.02.07 | 12:48 am
Mood | tired
Music | Art Of Noise - Moments In Love (Extended Mix)
I've always been interested in Buddhism. Not necessarily as a religion, but from a philosophical perspective.Late last year, I started reading Buddhism, Plain and Simple, which focuses on Zen Buddhism. While the author did an excellent job of presenting Zen in a down-to-earth way, it was focused more on concepts and less on practice.
I'm currently reading Turning the Mind into an Ally by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. As an entry level book, it provides more of a practical guide to introducing meditation into your daily life.
I think one of the reasons I've had difficulty in the past is that I didn't set aside a unique place to meditate. And, at first, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the volume of thoughts you really have, but are usually unaware of. But, with my chaotic schedule, the most difficult part will be finding the time to meditate at least once a day.
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New Powerbooks
Mon, 2005.01.31 | 10:44 am
Music | Solaris - Cliff Martinez - Is That What Everybody Wants
Several rumor sites have been forecasting recent updates to the Powerbook line-up. The question was, would it be a major G5 upgrade or a small G4 speed bump? Today, Apple released new G4 Powerbooks.12" 1.5GHz G4, 512MB RAM, 60GB HD, $1,499
15", 1.5GHz G4, 512MB RAM, 80GB HD, $1999
15", 1.67GHz G4, 512MB RAM, 80GB HD, Superdrive, $2299
17", 1.67GHz G4, 512MB RAM, 100GB HD, Superdrive, $2699
All models now come with 512MB RAM standard, 5400-rpm drives, Bluetooth 2.0, new scrolling trackpad system and Sudden Motion Sensor, which automatically parks your Powerbook's drive when excessive motion is detected.
The 15 and 17" models can be upgraded to an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics processors with 64MB or 128MB and dual-link DVI connectors to drive Apple's 30" Cinema Display. The optional Superdrive can now burn DVDs at 8X.
Personally, I'm holding out for a G5 Powerbook. Two of the new standard features released today (faster HD, 128MB VRAM) were available as build to order options when I purchased my current 15" 1.5GHz Aluminum Powerbook, so a 170mhz speed bump and faster DVD burning isn't enough of an incentive to upgrade.
Minor Updates
Sun, 2005.01.30 | 9:56 pm
Mood | nerdy
Music | NewOrder - Touched by the Hand of God (B & M remix)
For those of you who stopped by, but were greeted with a grey background, I've fixed a few open tags which were not automatically closed by Safari 1.2.4. It seems that the next version of Safari (as found on the current developer seed of 10.4 - Tiger) is much more forgiving than the current release.In addition, I've added a few visual updates and improved the display of subject headers in IE6 on Windows.
Look Ma, No Tables!
Sun, 2005.01.30 | 5:51 pm
Mood | creative
I've made a first pass at a new design for my journal. DIVs and CSS declarations are used, instead of tables, to layout the content. The core structure is based on techniques from A List Apart, but with a significantly different layout.It's a work in progress, which I'll be updating often.
That's why they call it Work?
Fri, 2005.01.28 | 2:53 am
Mood | reflective
Music | Cocteau Twins - Half-Gifts
I've made a conscious effort NOT to write about my job here. While I'm not sure if the people I work with (or any of our clients) know about this journal, it probably wouldn't be to difficult for someone to find it using Google or some other online search.I'm quite unhappy with my current work situation. It's reached the point where my professional and personal life is being significantly effected. In particular, one of our group's clients are constantly outrunning their headlights and calling us to bail them out. Then they wonder why their other projects aren't completed on schedule. Last week, they decided to put out a press release on a last minute project before we confirmed it was possible to complete in the time-frame they requested. And, as the only software developer in the group, no one seems to understand how interruptions and constant switching between projects has serious effects on my productivity. Perhaps the issues I'm dealing with are just part of the job, but can't say I haven't thought about going out completely on my own or even packing up and moving somewhere else.
What's holding me back? While I've improved significantly in the last few years, "selling my skills" has never been one of my strong points. And, since I'm self taught, I have to rely on my experience and existing work to make up for the lack formal training and a degree.
But I just can't shake feeling that there's something better out there... and that I would regret not taking the financial and personal risk to find it.
Pulling Teeth
Wed, 2005.01.26 | 11:44 am
Music | Joshua Redman - Stoic Revolutions
Writing is difficult for me. Most of the time it's like pulling teeth. But just when I'm ready to give up, I find an old email or hidden journal entry and wonder, "did I write that?"It's not that what I've written is some kind of masterpiece, but that I've somehow managed to put what I was thinking into words. Which, now that I think about it, is really my goal here.
So, I'm going to try to write something here once a day. And If I happen to become a better writer in the process, that's icing on the cake.
Powerbook Supreme with extra RAM
Mon, 2005.01.24 | 5:53 pm
Music | Depeche Mode - Behind The Wheel
Worried about laptop theft? You could always disguise it as a one of my favorite Italian foods.macminicolo.net
Sat, 2005.01.22 | 3:50 pm
Music | Tears For Fears - Famous last words
Sure, the new Mac Mini doesn't have redundant power supplies, gigabit ethernet or a RAID controller, but if you can't afford an XServe G5, there's always macminicolo.net.Minor Meltdown
Sat, 2005.01.22 | 3:36 pm
Mood | hungry
Music | The Cinematic Orchestra + Fontella Bass - All That You Give
As much as I rave about the design of Apple products, sometimes they put too much emphasis on form and not enough on function. For example, their "white brick" PowerBook power adaptors are quite under-engineered and NOT user serviceable.Last night, my adaptor finally died a smoldering death after moving it into the bedroom to watch City of God. After plugging everything in and grabbing a glass of OJ from the kitchen, I returned to the smell of melting plastic along with several black bubbles in the cable. I had noticed that the final stretch between the brick and computer had started showing signs of wear, but it really didn't look that dangerous. Luckily, I had enough battery left to watch the movie, which I highly recommend.
Being somewhat electrically inclined, I thought I'd just cut the cable and splice it back together. Wrong. It's way too thin to repair and the break was right next to the brick. Not to mention that the brick is assembled using epoxy and impossible to open without destroying it.
So, this morning, I reluctantly drove to the Apple store to buy a new one. And somehow managed to escape without buying anything else.