Greater Satellites

After browsing some more news over the course of today, I stumbled across more manliness. The top 64 Manliest Movies to date. I’d like the officially state that I am behind most of the movies on this list. Here’s list and the ones I’ve watched: (more…)

I recently came across an article on The Art of Manliness website that lists 100 books every guy should read. Needless to say I think it’s time I buckled down and read some of the classics. This post will be my running list of what I have read, re-read, and still need to read on that list of 100. (more…)

Here are just a few other names of people you might know who share the same birthday as me…

• Christian Bale (actor, kind of like me sometimes)
• Phil Collins (drummer, kind of like me sometimes)
• Gene Hackman (awesome, kind of like me sometimes)

And then there are some not-so-notable people who also share the same day of birth:

• Andy Milonakis (possible rapist)
• Wilmer Valderrama (possible terrorist)
• Dick Cheney (possible destroyer of the world)

In this instance, the good definitely outweighs the bad. Yessss

Well, it came and went just like it always does. I’m talking, of course, about Steve Jobs’ presentation at this year’s Macworld Expo. As it seems year after year, people have incredible expectations from the company that, to many, can do no wrong. I’ll admit that in recent years I’ve toned down my own excitement so I’m not let down by certain products not receiving updates or overhauls, but I’m always pleasantly surprised by at least one of the products released each year.

Although I’m sure it was never asked for in the first place, here’s my take on this year’s announcements:

1. Time Capsule
   First of all… How cool is that name? I’m highly considering scooping up one of these bad boys if for nothing other than streamlining my setup. I beat myself up being an early adopter of the Airport Extreme Base Station and paid the price when they released the Gigabit Ethernet version shortly thereafter (my main machine is wired to the station for maximum speeds).
2. iPhone Update
   I’ve since updated and I’m impressed with the wiggling icons. It makes me feel like I’m playing some sort of old-school, battery-operated game like Perfection. The GPS-like feature on maps is much appreciated and, while note exact when it comes to location, will be pretty damn helpful for navigating around certain Third World States. The addition of multiple pages to put my icons on also makes the fact that Apple will be releasing an SDK more of a reality. I can’t wait to have a slew of apps running natively on my iPhone that do all sorts of interesting and awesome things (here’s hoping for a mobile iChat or Adium).
3. AppleTV Take 2 / iTunes Movie Rentals
   The name, to me, seems like a subtle way of hinting that they may have dropped the ball with the first AppleTV. The new system, with the iTunes Store built-in and improved interface (not to mention lower price point and HD movie rentals) should do much better in all arenas. I’m still content streaming movies and music I, ahem, procure from the internet to my PS3 using MediaLink.
4. MacBook Air
   I will not deny this is probably one of the sexiest laptops I’ve ever seen in a long time, but I don’t think I’d purchase it for a few reasons. If I were to buy a laptop, I wouldn’t want to carry around an adapter for every single peripheral I might need. No FireWire ports means no video editing getting done on this little guy. The hard drive and processor speeds are slower than both other MacBooks in the family (unless you go SSD… for $999 more). There are two very cool things that I like about the machine, though: One is the LED backlit screen. I imagine it’s probably the brightest screen of all the MacBooks… currently. The second, of course, is the Multi-touch trackpad. I don’t know how useful it would be until more programs add support for it, but it seems very neat to me.
   
   In all honesty, I’m looking forward to a revision of the regular ol’ MacBook and MacBook Pro with the LED backlit screens and an option for the SSD drive. I think the MBP, with its plethora of ports and widespread use in the field of mobile video editing would benefit most from an SSD option. Here’s hoping…
   
   All in all, the MacBook Air seems to me to be a supplemental machine. Too much function seemed to be sacrificed for the sake of form. I envision it as a machine you just have around throughout the house: you pick it up to surf the web, check email, or maybe do some chatting, then go about your day. When I look at it that way, it’s a pretty pricey supplemental machine.

So, after all was said and done, this year’s Keynote was…. Fine. I don’t mean that in womenspeak, where I say it’s fine and something is really wrong, either. There was nothing really good or really bad about it for me, and chances are I’ll be picking up one of the products mentioned, so I’m pleased with it. If there’s one thing I’d like to ask Apple, it’s for them to please refresh their damn Cinema Displays already!

Since October 11th? That’s a long time. Let me try to abridge what’s happened over the past two months in a concise, honest blog entry.

Long story short, Jackie and I had a rough go of things since middle September. It was pretty tumultuous, but I’m glad it happened and we’re now back together and closer than ever before. I don’t want to talk about it more than I just have, so if you didn’t get the specifics from me during it all, then please don’t inquire. Kthx.

11 months: A ring that was 5 months late.

Halloween was pretty exciting. Denise turned 21 and we went to Cheeseburger in Paradise up in the Oxford Valley Mall. It was a pretty chill time with some good friends. I went out as Superman, which seemed to be a hit among all, and Jackie went out as a Pirate Wench and she was looking especially hot.

12 months: A rose and a dinner. Winds of change and fortune started blowing.

Thanksgiving gave me a lot to be thankful for. In particular the love of my family, friends, and my lady. It was satisfying both physically and spiritually.

December 7th: She makes me the happiest guy in the world… again. I take mom, Denise, and Jackie to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at Boardwalk Hall down AC and we all enjoy the hell out of it.

13 months: Just a day, just an ordinary day.

And that about brings us to current in a very skeletal kind of way.

I’m sorry, January. You know I didn’t mean that. I was just playing, that’s all.

I wanted to update because I haven’t written anything in quite a bit. So far this month has gone by very quickly and it shows no signs of slowing, either. I’ve worked a lot and played a little… which is something I would ultimately like to change, if possible. I’m just so tired after work that I feel like doing little-to-nothing. Couple that with the fact that this weather is getting more bitter by the day and you have the perfect formula for creating a shut-in.

Either way, I’m now taking steps to rectify that and hopefully see friends more often than I currently do (rarely). Goal number one is to get the car running by the end of the month. Just get some decent insurance going and have it inspected pre-emptively so there are no unexpected issues that crop up when driving to and from somewhere important. Goal number two is to buy some decent winter clothes to combat this stupid weather. It sounds silly, but I don’t own a really good winter coat that I like wearing. So this weekend I’m gonna buy a heavy duty Carhartt/Dickies work jacket or hood, so I don’t have to keep layering the shit out of myself everywhere I go. Goal number three also happens this weekend: get another god damn cell phone. I’ve lived in the dark ages long enough. I’m going to sign up for Cingular (soon to become AT&T) and get me a Blackberry Pearl so I can be one of the cool kids again. The job now affords me all kinds of interesting stuff, so I’m definitely sticking around there because they appreciate the work I do, and they compensate me fairly for the work performed. Gotta love respect in the workplace.

That’s all for now, kids. By the end of the month I also intend to have my new website provisioned at the very least. Maybe a February opening. So stay tuned for all that good stuff.