Wednesday, 5 April 2006
It’s April, It’s Snowing, and I Haven’t Updated In A Dog’s Age
generalities, in.site, intro.spectacle, techno.babbleYes, yes. All of the above is true. So… here’s a quick update.
Just been plugging along, trying to keep out of trouble, with varying degrees of success. The love affair with my ThinkPad T40p continues. In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”
My brother’s new house in Houston is coming ever-closer to completion, judging from the pictures he sends every couple of weeks or so.
And… believe it or don’t, there’s a little something in the works for hereabouts; the site. Initial stages are well underway and everything seems to be shaping up nicely. The big unveiling… well, no firm ETA, but hopefully soon. Then… we’ll see just how long I stick with it.
More to come. Just… don’t get too antsy as to when.
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Wednesday, 22 February 2006
Egad, This ‘Pad is Freakin’ Sweet…
generalities, techno.babble...to paraphrase Family Guy patriarch Peter Griffin.
It’s been nearly a week since my ThinkPad T40p was delivered, and man, I’ve just got to say… this thing is a bloody dream compared to my old i Series ‘Pad (which, let’s give it its props, I thought was, for what I could afford at the time, the, quote, bomb diggety, endquote). Here’s a look at the two side by each, i1200 on the left, T40p on the right:
Read on for a head-to-head comparison of My Two ThinkPads…
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Thursday, 16 February 2006
It’s a ThinkPad!
generalities, intro.spectacle, techno.babbleI’d pass out cigars, but I don’t smoke, and I’m not all that keen on enabling that particular habit in others…
I took delivery at 12:50PM Eastern Standard Time, becoming the über-proud and utterly stoked new owner of a ThinkPad T40p. Have a look:
Geek and notebook are doing fine.
Incidentally, the “p” indicates that this is a WORKSTATION-class machine (hence its being fitted with the FireGL GPU, essentially a RADEON 9000 optimized for OpenGL).
I’ve further come to learn that my old i Series machine was actually manufactured by Acer under license from IBM… so apparently, I’ve now graduated to a “true” ThinkPad from what was essentially an Aspire with a great keyboard. Can’t wait to get better acquainted with the new baby. Heh.
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Tuesday, 14 February 2006
Ship, Ship, Hooray!
generalities, intro.spectacle, techno.babbleMy tax refund came in on Friday, as promised (but not guaranteed), and by 2:05AM Eastern, I’d placed my order. At 10:07PM Eastern on Monday, I received confirmation that my order has shipped, and is due to arrive on Thursday. So… with my new rig en route, I THINK it’s just about safe to go into a little detail.
By the end of the week, I should be in possession of a Certified Used IBM ThinkPad T40p (Type 2373, Model G1U), specs as follows:
- Pentium-M 735 (Banias) 1.6 GHz
- 512MB RAM, expandable to 2GB
- 14.1” SXGA+ (1400 x 1050)
- ATI Mobility FireGL 9000 64MB GPU
- 40GB HD (5400 RPM)
- CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo
- 56K V.90/92 modem
- Gigabit Ethernet
- 802.11a/b WiFi
- Bluetooth
- Magnesium composite upper/Titanium-reinforced carbon fiber-reinforced lower housing
- 4.9lbs (w/optical drive and battery)
..."slightly imperfect” (minor cosmetic blemishes) for $799 and change (plus tax), standard shipping (UPS Ground) included.
So, while my old i Series ThinkPad has served me well over the past 5-plus years, frankly, it can barely get out of its own way to boot into Windows… and that was before the “fall from grace.” On the way is a machine that, on paper, anyway, should allow me to pass the time with a little Sims 2 or The Movies, if the mood strikes.
Think I’m just a little excited about this development?
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Thursday, 9 February 2006
Rollin’ the Dice
generalitiesI know that nobody reads this*, and yet I feel the need to maintain a presence here. So, here’s a smattering of randomosity, to ensure that I’ve got at least one post for February.
I’m still waiting on my tax refund. I don’t know whether I should be amused or annoyed at the fact that TurboTax assures me, “Your refund will be deposited by February 10,” and in the very next breath, cautioning, “The IRS cannot guarantee deposit dates.” Well then, perhaps we shouldn’t be quite so… absolute… in our phrasing, eh, Intuit? Regardless of whether my refund makes its way into the bank by tomorrow, or I still have some thumb-twiddlin’ to do, one way or another, there will almost certainly be a development in my ThinkPad replacement quandary. It’s been near a month since “the drop,” and while the old i Series is still limping along, I don’t think it’s too travel-worthy, and a non-mobile notebook kind of defeats the whole purpose, doesn’t it? Anyway, while there is a development pending, I’m a bit loath to announce it at this point, lest some jinx or another raise its ugly head.
Meanwhile, this is the time of year when the GCIC** has got its hooks into me but good: the February birthday whirlwind. So far this week, my bud K celebrated another trip around the sun, and my dad turned 3-under-par. Tomorrow’s my brother’s “Big Four-Oh,” and on Monday, my best friend Joe (it’s never been clearly established which of us would be the Butch and who would be the Sundance) has a card due.
The prognosticators are calling for a potential foot of snow over the weekend. As if my back weren’t already giving me grief enough just for the fun of it. How can this get any more fun? How about the stock market speculating on how much snow I’m gonna get dumped on me? Seems that by the end of the month, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is going to start selling “snowfall futures” for Boston and New York. I have no idea what Machiavellian bastard came up with this little gem, but I know how I’d like to thank him: Jack Lemmon, Prisoner of Second Avenue-style.
“At the first snow, I’m gonna fill my shovel with hard, wet snow… and drop it all 14 floors, right on his head. Crease his frigging skull!”
And that’s pretty much all I’ve got for now. Hopefully, I’ll be back again soon, with some sort of positive update on the ThinkPad saga.
*This is hyperbole. I’m well aware there are a couple of folks who actually check the site on a semi-regular basis, and at least eight who subscribe to the RSS feed through LiveJournal
**The Greeting Card/Industrial Complex
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