a fresh new hell

I have now invested $184 in an obsolete iMac Clamshell because it looks cool. Is there a better reason for doing anything? Yes. However, I believe the money is recoverable.

It now has all working parts - battery, charger, wifi, all of it's keys, optical drive and operating system. Because it's equipped with firewire, there's no reason to upgrade the hard drive - all it needs is some external storage and there ya go.

Now, do I let it go and sell it to someone, OR do I send it to my Aunt Marilyn? I don't know if she knows how to use a Mac. In the meantime, I can take back the old system she has and do a complete referb on it and return it to her. THEN sell the Mac to a friend.

That may be a good solution. Lets go with that!

I received my Planex IEEE802.11n Draft2.0/g/b Compatible Wireless LAN micro USB Adapter in the mail today and with a bit of self-inflicted frustration, finally managed to have it appear on the iMac.

If you happen to have an older Mac -- like I just purchased -- without an airport card, this is a perfect solution. You don't have to open the case (lots of people would be freaked out by this), it eventually installs, and you've got a great wireless machine.

A friend of mine wants it as a starter machine, and was completely bummed out when I told him that it didn't have a wifi connection. This was a great solution as far as I was concerned.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to upgrade the hard drive. That's going to involve money again, isn't it? Crap. Oh well, you only live once.

I think I rode my sister-in-law's bike for about 3 miles and hauled the bike up into my condo. I'm huffing and puffing just like the big bad wolf and sweating like one of the little pigs. I knew that I was out of shape, but you've got to be kidding me! The bike seat is a problem. I have to be able to sit on the seat AND be able to touch the ground and extend my leg when I pedal. Is that too much to ask??

The biggest problem is hauling the bike up the stairs. I thought it would be easier than it was - or perhaps my sister-in-law's bike is incredibly heavy??

I'm STILL panting.

Holy Freakin' Hannah!

I've been trying to see exactly what the difference is between the two iBook computers and my Windows based systems. Here are a few things I have discovered so far:

1. The Close, Minimize and Expand buttons are on the top LEFT of the Apple computers and on the top RIGHT of the PC's

2. I'm not fond of the Finder. OK, I need to find something, I know, I'll look for it in Finder. Geesh.

3. Everyone says that the Mac is so intuitive, I'm expecting things to open and close - ok, mainly close when I close them. They don't close, they seem to think when you exit a program you're going to need them again right away. Crazy.

4. The Apple doesn't seem to be bogged down by anything. The - iBook 386 (I think?) G3 performs just as quickly as the iBook G4. My Windows systems seem to have all of these other programs running in the background you never know when one of them will act up - and it takes a lot of patience to figure out just what each of them is doing. Score one for Apple.

5. They both work with Microsoft Office (I have it installed on both systems) and files can be shared across platforms. Yay!

6. The lack of virus software on the Apples are a HUGE plus.

With me just scratching the tip of the iceberg, that's all I've come up with as of yet. I'm currently typing on the Acer Aspire One. It has a solid state hard-drive that seems to bog down a bit because of scratch-file issues. The memory doesn't release very well. It still my go-to computer in my bedroom because the clamshell doesn't have wifi...er...yet.

I purchased a Planex IEEE802.11n Draft2.0/g/b Compatible Wireless LAN micro USB Adapter - GW-USMICRON from eCost.com it's compatible with USB 1.1 and 2.0 - and works on either a Mac or PC. It's way cheaper than installing an Airport Card. So, wifi will no longer be an issue. I believe I'll either sell the one (it's in great condition!) or give it to my Aunt Marilyn and tell her that at least for now, it's a good solution for her. Heck it even has a handle!

I should go tucky-tuck.

I've had the most horrible connection problems for the last month - since I switched internet providers and gave up my Motorola Surfboard. The signal kept getting interference. I took it back and bought the wireless-n router.

They promised it wouldn't drop the signal anymore.

So far, they're right.

I'm listening to Rush L. rant and rave about Judge Sotomayor and the election process on another TV show. He's a complete nutter.

I'm not sure, but I think this the fifth day that I've woken up with a headache. I've taken the asprin - no go - I had a little breakfast and the thing is just not budging. The only thing left?

Cut my head off...or go back to bed with something a little stronger. I'm dyin' here.

There are lots of times when you go and meet someone (ok, for me more than most) and you KNOW they're not the type of person you would date. I tend to err more on the side of caution when meeting people, but even I can spot someone that doesn't - er - float my boat.

With that being said, I think I had a pretty good first meeting. I hesitate to call it a date because it was more of a meet and greet with food. I think that I made a good impression and he was nice.

Should eating in front of people be pretty? It never is. You can't eat a sandwich (grilled or otherwise) without mayo or the tomato or something slipping and getting your fingers all messy. I'm not a tiny, petite, tippy-tippy girl. I eat, I drink, I -- er -- eat. We had a lively conversation. I think that's the best turnout.

He asked what my plans were for my weekend at the end (and he knows when my weekend is) and if he could call me. I told him it would be great and that I had fun AND I got a text on the way home.

I'm cautiously optimistic.

At this time I am sitting here with a brand new (looking) Apple iBook G4 and and iBook Clamshell G3. I've been getting used to the settings, the widget keys, and all of the other little differences in the Mac systems. They're not that huge of a deal.

So far, the Apple system has the close, minimize, and maximize buttons on the top left, the right click information is used with the control button, and the start menu? Well, there isn't a start menu. The icons are all located at the bottom of the screen.

I still have to learn how to customize Safari for my liking, but, it's not any different than other web browsers.

I thought that the G3 would be a lot slower. It's not. It really is a pretty viable machine for surfing the internet with the small exception that it doesn't have any built in wifi. Bummer - but it can be upgraded. OH and the craziest thing is that it has a built in handle. It doesn't look as if it has one, but it does!

Crazy!

Then I unwrapped the G4 and it looks as if it had never been used. It's in it's original box, with all original disks and books. It looks completely brand spankin new. I'm going to have to email it's last owner and thank him for the great machine!

So now what? I guess I'm a Mac and a PC. While I get used to this one, I'll put my other laptop on the shelf.

I'm very pleased with BOTH purchases on ebay!

I've had a hard time admitting this, but the 91 bean computer I bought on ebay comes very very very squeeky close to supporting the OS that you have to use to program for iPhones. It is one of the very few that can't be upgraded to what they call Leopard or 10.5.

So, er, I got another one for 345 beans. It seems wrong and oh so right all at the same time. The first is an Indigo Clamshell iBook it runs at a paltry 366 mhz with OS 10.4.2 - however it does have Garage Band on it so I think that's really cool and I think I've always wanted one of them. The second is a 12" white iBook 1.33 mhz with 1.5 g RAM and an AirportExtreme card. It's about as fast as the machine I'm typing on right now with one owner, two batteries, bluetooth and firewire. It looked like a good deal, it has the most updated OS.

If I like the Apple machine - er the second one, I will give the clamshell to my aunt, and sell my HP because I don't believe any one person should own 5 computers...ever. 5 computers? WHAT am I thinking??

I just purchased a very used iMac on ebay for 91 beans and I'm feeling pretty fine about the whole thing. It's not fast. It's not new. However, it can be upgraded to the new OS and THAT's all I'm looking for to do right now. OH and it's Indigo!

Well, that and I've been jonesing to try my hand at the iPhone Apps. It has a 500 gig hard drive but no airport card and the battery is dead - heck, I can get a new battery. I wonder how hard it is to install an airport card?

I'm going to have to find out.

Whoo Hoo 91 beans!

Today was the first time I've hurled since I was in the hospital with the whole gallbladder thing - almost 6 years ago. I lost all of my coffee in a wastebasket by the time clock at work while nice people brought me water and napkins. Thank you very nice people!

My tummy did feel almost instantly better.

So, I made my way into the office, sat down, told Steve that I hurled - and mind you, I was pasty white and sweating - and got talked into staying.

We opened every table and then closed quite a few so I went home and put myself in bed about 3ish and woke up at 6ish and I still have a huge knot in my stomach that nothing seems to be taking away.

I also had some really nice questions at work, like...could it be food poisoning? And the ever popular...are ya pregnant??

Thanks guys again for the water, napkins, and to Steve for calling me a trooper.

My condo association has been trying for years to get an independent cable/internet company to offer discounted service to residents here and they've finally succeeded. I've had to pay installation fees and buy a new modem (again!) but as of this afternoon, it's all hooked up.

My last Comcast bill for basic cable and internet service was $108.30 - the new service will be $53.90. Almost exactly half price. Who wouldn't switch?

The biggest problem I have is they don't include MSNBC as part of their basic cable package. I'm fortunate that both TV shows that I watch on the channel are on Video Podcast and can be downloaded each night: Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and The Rachel Maddow Show.

I have been home sleeping and spending quality time in the powder room today. My back has been aching for 3 days and I'd had no idea why - then came the surprise when I was sleeping - and then not sleeping most of the night. Don't get the flu. It's a bad bad tummy thing.

I've also been backing up my movies for the iPod and iPhone. My Dad wants to download some movies for when he and mom are on the road (they can play them in the car from the iPod). So, I'm backing them up twice because quicktime movies cannot play in Windows Media Center -- which is very cool once it's set up.

The other thing I was goofing with last night was Twitter. It has most of the things I like in Facebook. I like the updates from people and the strange little bits of life people contribute. I don't like all of the crap people send me about drinks and stuff. I may be using the Twitter more often.

Oh well. I'm heading back to bed. Don't get the flu.

I've discovered some very good things over the past 5 weeks. Yes, I've faithfully stuck to the Weight Watchers plan and I've lost 5 lbs. I don't know how and I don't know why, but I've finally had the fortitude to stick with the thing.

This seems to be a very slow pace, but well, at least it's working.

I've discovered the delights of decaffeinated coffee. Really, it tastes the same when I make it at home - the stuff at work is disgustingly bitter. There is also the strange muffin top thing called VitaTop. The chocolate chip ones are quite good.

I have also managed to whip up a dish that I'd like to call Nada Enchilada. Browned meat (I like turkey), hot enchilada sauce, diced tomato, corn, black beans and brown rice. Then I top the whole thing with a dollop of light sour cream and there ya go. Other people would add peppers and onions -- but everyone knows I'm not one of those people.

The crazy thing is that I haven't been tempted by much of anything.

Perhaps I'll be back to my fighting weight by the time I get my hair cut...I only have 3 more inches before it gets cut off. That should take about 4 more months.

It seems as if every year or so - after I've been goofing with every strange thing that my computer came with - the scorched earth policy seems to apply.

Not that I mind. I kind of like starting over with a nice clean hard drive.

I'm almost done with the drivers and the windows updates...then I'll set up the TV and I'll have a clean computah for the weekend.