Goodnight & Good Luck - On Hiatus

Well, not posting in a week hasn't happened in a while, but it doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon either. Another bad week and I've come to the realization that I'll have to temporarily go on hiatus here for a little while at the Roost. Between the night job beating the daylights out of me and turning into an uninspired insomniac the rest of the time, it's time to circle the wagons and sort some things out. There's a slight chance at a shift change at work which would help me out, but I'm not holding my breath. With a little luck though, I'll straighten the wheels out and maybe get back on the blogging highway in the fall, after taking a few weeks or a month away here to focus on life's realities that need attention. It's rather lousy timing with the new iMac and a bunch of ideas bouncing 'round my head (I might even post the odd thing up on a weekend if I feel inspired) but I just really don't have the wherewithal to write much at the moment. So a big THANK YOU to one and all who have taken the time to come here to read and comment on my ramblings. It was much appreciated. I hope to get back to it down the line, but if I don't, it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed meeting all you fellow writers and ramblers out there in the blog 'verse and I hope to continue to drop in and read up on your worlds. Take care out there. Vaya con Dios Eaglewing.

iLike iMac

Well, after a day of setup and tweaking, the new iMac is almost all setup.  There's still some software / data to switch over, but it's coming along.  The heavy lifting is done though. Here's some shots: The unboxing.  I was kind of surprised it wasn't packed in there better, but it survived the trip and got here fast.  And the shipping from Apple was free :) The Leopard install booting up on the kitchen table. The other monitor beside it is an old one I'll be using as a TV in the kitchen hooked to an old PC.  Leopard has some issues, but there's plenty of help on the web to sort them out and it does seem to run a bit faster too.  And once the tweaks are done, Quicklook is a really neat thing. The move to the desk.  Had to sort out the cables and move stuff around, but it's a nice setup for now.  The one keyboard, mouse, and Mac Mini are only temporary until I've set them up for a family member.  Then I'll have a bit more desk real estate. Up and running, both systems.  I'm ambidextrous, so using a mouse on the left side is no big deal, as long as I remember which mouse is for which system. Sometimes I even use both mice at the same time - get things done faster :-) Some different wallpapers.  The white 24" iMac is really something to see.  It's the best computer monitor I think I've ever seen, and certainly a step up from my old 17" Benq.  I thought that monitor was really good, until it was side by side with the Mac.  Not even close. And the weekend treat I bought myself - a big bag of Mike & Ike candy.  Not cheap either - even the clerk asked if I was sure I wanted them, but you got to treat yourself now and then. So there you have it.  That was my weekend of fun.  Phase one is now almost done - on to phase two and the Mac Mini overhaul.  Should be fun...

Desk Clearance

I'm realigning my computer desk to fit the new iMac on it.  I have to rip it all apart to build it back up, and there are computer cables everywhere.  My kingdom for some plastic ties! Not to mention I am counting electrical plugs and I'm running out of fingers and toes. Now I must unplug the Mac Mini.  See ya. News at eleven.

What For

Another week almost gone - works for me.  Nothing like waking up angry and tired.  Not pleasant, but when you focus it on giving your to do list what for instead, it can work in your favor.  Building management morons are at it again today, and I've fired off an appropriately nasty letter.  I hadn't sent the letter from the last fiasco as I was going to let it go, but no more Mr. Nice Guy.  I'm pretty easy going as a rule, but catch me in the right mix of tired and angry, and I can rattle the cage. Unfortunately, this week appears a write off for blogging anything worthwhile as I try to just finish out the work week now.  Oh well, I'll be back next week, hopefully with something interesting to say.  Until then, here's a couple vids... Tim McGraw and Faith Hill singing Angry All The Time at a concert: And a trailer for the movie version of the PS2 game Max Payne has hit the web.  I like it, which surprises me.  I'm not generally a huge fan of Mark Wahlberg, but he seems ok here and they seem to have the revenge motif and dark growly voice over from the game intact.  I'm hoping the winged creatures are just dream sequences like the game (he was under cover narcotics and had hallucinations) and not part of the main plot.  If they try to turn this into a Constantine, it's not going to work.  On the other hand, they certainly have the game's famous "bullet time" looking good...

Too Hot

Wanted to blog up yesterday, but came home Monday night with a splitting headache, went to bed, slept for 11 hours, got up, and went back to work.  Bravo, much accomplished there.  What's worse is that the 24" iMac is sitting on the table just begging to be powered up yet remains in it's de-eclectrified state.  I think the heat probably has something to do with headache and general malaise.  They say it's 30C, but it's more like 35-40C with the humidex.  Too hot for my blood - come on Christmas.  I'll try to get back to this blog thing after some sleep here...

Duck Soup

As I was roaring to work on Friday, I was driving down the highway, rounded a corner and there was a family of ducks or geese walking across the expressway.  There they were - momma duck, and the kiddie ducklings in a row.  I couldn't hit the brakes, and changing lanes was out, so I did a quick adjustment and put them between the wheel wells and went over top.  Good thing I was driving a pickup truck - plenty of clearance and I didn't hit any of them.  No idea if they survived the rest of the cars that were right behind me.  What in the world they were doing out there in the middle of the highway with no ponds or water or grass around is beyond me. It's getting a little woodsy around here as of late.  Coyotes spotted near my work, I saw two deer when I took an off ramp a little while ago, and now ducks wandering around on a highway.  I guess this really is turning into a concrete jungle.

iMac Is Up

Got the iMac unboxed and on the kitchen table.  Forgot just how big that screen is when you're sitting in front of it.  Beaut of a screen though, and no dead pixels! Yay!  Seems a little darker around the corners though.  Still a great screen - looks great watching high def trailers on it. A little disappointed that when I fired it up there was Tiger installed, not Leopard.  It came with a Leopard disk in the box though, but no backups for the iLife '06 that was included.  Oh well, I have other Tiger/iLife '08 disks from my Mac Mini.  As it is, I'm currently wiping the hard drive and installing Leopard, which should have been done before they shipped it.  At least if I do it here, I'll know it was done right.  haha.  More to come later as the Mac adventure continues.

Couldn't Put It Down

I should know better by now not to pick up and start reading a Garth Ennis book when I should be doing something else.  Great read though, and totally worth it... Gotta sleep now, I tell myself. Thank goodness it's a Friday.

Roll With It

Yet another week rolling by me, which is good in a way.  Knew this was going to be a tough year, but it's halfway done now.  I keep singing that classic Merle Haggard song to myself: "If we make it through December, everything's gonna be alright I know..."  Sure, it's a Christmas song, but it fits and I love Christmas and it's hot in the summer and I can't wait for winter.  I'm not built for summer - give me a cold wind and snow any day, as long as I don't have to shovel it ;-) Am getting a few things done this week, but my blog is suffering for the effort.  Have to change some things, and its a work vs sleep thing at the moment.  Oh well, I'll roll with it. I do have a new computer project lined up, which gives something to think about at work other than the dreariness of where I am.  I'm going to sell my Mac Mini to a family member and set it up for them to be an ultimate Mac Leopard / WinXP / Linux machine that will run all three At The Same Time!  And XP natively via bootcamp, for when you need Windows power.  Will have to upgrade the hard drive and memory myself to do it, but that will be fun.  Any time you need to take a putty knife to a computer is a good day.  And then I'll add an Elegato device to record TV to it and convert it to iTunes so it can be synced to an AppleTV.  Oh it will be cool if I pull it off. In order for this project to start though, I'll need a new Mac.  And I took the plunge and ordered a 24" iMac from Apple.  I don't like the new glass and aluminum ones (bad glare and so-so LCD's), so I found a refurbished previous generation white iMac on the Canada Apple website and ordered it. I always liked those white slab computers (cheaper now too).  I ordered Monday night when I came home from work, and got an email on Tuesday that it had shipped.  I figured a week, but I was surprised to get an email from my mailbox store that I had a parcel waiting for me Thursday aft.  So I ran over and picked it up.  Bigger than I thought it would be.  I haven't even unboxed it yet - no time - but I'm psyched.  I hope it's all in one piece and works.  Should be a fun weekend ahead of new computer joy. I'll try to keep you posted as the project progresses.  Maybe post some pictures...

Happy Birthday Canada!

Um yeah, I'm just under the wire with this one. Was planning a post with a quiz and stuff, but the day passed me by. On the upside, it was a nice day and I didn't have to go to work.  Statutory Holidays are great.  There should be one every month :) Of course, July 1 also marks the beginning of free agency in the NHL.  Lots of money and players changing hands.  Looks like Curtis Joseph is coming back to Toronto as the backup goalie.  Maybe that hockey card I have of him in his Leafs gear will go back in value now.  Time to sell it so I can put some more gas in the truck...

Sunny Side Up

Nice Sunrise this morning...