I was up early this am and it was COLD! I’ve tried to avoid thinking about it but winter is coming. I’d say fall was trying to make an entrance but we don’t seem to have fall or spring in PA anymore, we have pre summer and post summer instead. The sun is breaking the horizon later and later these days which is the sign that post summer is almost upon us. I have nothing against post summer, the turning leaves are gorgeous and once they fall from the trees I very much like the aroma they leave behind, the smells of fall you could say. This season is home to Halloween and Thanksgiving and while I do like both of those holidays there is no hiding the fact that post summer is the season before winter and winter, to me at least, is the death season. Everything is brown and grey, the once magnificent green then briefly colorful tree is nothing more than a series of skeleton like branches. Every season has a welcoming smell except for winter which smells like nothing. The first snow fall is wonderful but you just know that you’re going to face several months of muddy or frozen brown grass and grey trees or an endless sea of white snow. Sorry to sound so down, I just don’t like winter.
I did manage to run but not until a very late for me 8am. I’m normally out running between 6 and 7 but with the sun coming up later it wasn’t noticeable. The cool air got my juices flowing and I ran a wonderful 1:11 (hr:min) for 10 miles beating my previous best of 1:13. From what I’ve read 54F is prime running weather and I believe it. I started running at 50F and it was about 57F when I finished. I was chilly when I started but I warm up pretty quick. I run across this problem in the winter as well. I warm up and want to take off layers but know I shouldn’t. As warm as I am I’m still wet and it doesn’t go well with cold. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow but I don’t have to worry about cold and wet as the low is only supposed to be 60F.
My shoes are starting to feel hard, not sure what that’s all about as they are still cushioning like they should. I know exactly when it’s time to replace my shoes because my lower back starts to become sore but nothing is sore. I just noticed this today so maybe it was just a today thing, who knows. Speaking of shoes, Engadget is reporting on a possible next gen Nike+ shoe. I’ve not been able to run in Nike shoes because of how they fit me. The current Nike+ system is great for me but not so great for Nike since I’m not buying their shoes. I thought a less complicated GPS system like Garmin uses would have been a great idea since not everyone can run in Nike shoes… unfortunately last time I checked nobody at Nike has left me in charge so my opinion isn’t worth much on the subject ;).
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/11/apple-has-so-much-more-where-nike-came-from/
I was in the coffee shop earlier talking to a friend who just pre-ordered the Acer Aspire One 6 cell, XP edition a few days ago. This is someone who loves running and runs with Nike+ and, also like me, uses a 2nd gen Nano. We were talking about the Apple announcement today and I asked if he was bummed about the now cheaper Touch. It wasn’t long ago that he wanted one but ended up spending on the Acer instead. He said he wasn’t bummed and still believes that he made the right decision. He knew he was giving up portability and battery life the Touch offered over the netbook, but his argument for the netbook made a great deal of sense and only enhanced it’s stance as the better choice for him.
His arguments centered on the added features the netbook offered over the touch. System storage and expandability, processing power, screen size and resolution, XP’s vast wealth of application support, usable keyboard, backup solutions like True Image and OS choice. He didn’t spend too much time talking about applications but he did point out obvious points like keyboard intensive apps present a much better experience, Firefox Browser plugins could go with you and he has the option of mobile broadband such as EVDO. The main point of his explanation focused on media. Why carry a device that syncs with iTunes when you can carry iTunes, or Amazon, or YouTube, or Hulu or any of the many media sites and applications we use. Codec support is almost unlimited including Flash support. Rip your DVD to an SSD or USB thumb drive without having to re-encode it. Upload your Nike+ workout and view your workout page or buy a song off Amazon’s MP3 store, add it to your iTunes library and sync it to your iPod. It isn’t as light or portable but as a media experience it really does have the iPods beat. Considering he already has an iPod that can go with him as a music player, he really doesn’t need another for video and light application support. The Acer is $399, same as the 32GB Touch. For him it’s money better spent.
I didn’t need his argument to convince me, as you can tell by previous posts I’m already sold on the idea of the netbook. This argument only applies to certain people as well. To some the iPod is exactly what they need and would have no use for a netbook. This did start me thinking about the iPod however. Apple has this entire line of iPods from tiny music only players that clip on your clothes to entertainment hubs that can make phone calls too. Almost everyone has at least one iPod, and that’s the problem… saturation. Sooner or later the majority of people are going skip the purchase of a new unit they truly need one as newer iPods aren’t offering the wow factor, must buy now features of the older ones. Others, like my friend, will want more functionality and spend their cash on something else, be it a notebook or a Zune or even a full sized notebook or cellphone.
None of the runners I’ve spoken to really care for the Touch’s new Nike+ integration. The touch is too big to run with and do you really want to touch the screen of your $299-399 iPod with sweaty hands to change songs or complete your run? If Apple and Nike could come up with a GPS attachment for the Touch that plugs into the bottom offering better accuracy over the pedometer system they use now, well let’s just say I would have no problem handing over my Visa card. As it stands I’ll most likely buy a 3rd gen Nano from the Apple refurb store if I need a new iPod. From what I understand the new Nano and the old chubby Nano have the same screen size, the new one is just longer.
I absolutely had a wonderful run the last two days! Sunday was such a cold day that I never expected it to warm up as fast as it did today. I got up about 6 and slowly made my coffee. I wasn’t in a big hurry this morning as it was only 50F outside. I left the house at almost 7am and headed toward the bike trail at the state park. I slowly drove past the parking lot and drove to the parking lot where I would normally turn around. My decision to run the route in reverse was nothing more than a time waster. Sometimes running in one direction is easier or harder than the other, this trail is the same no matter which way you run it. I got myself ready and opened my car door expecting the cold air to rush into my warm car but to my surprise it was already about 60F out. The fog that was lying close to the ground had formed into wispy clouds above, obscuring the suns full strength so I expected it to be no warmer than when I left my house twenty minutes ago.
I love running at the park mainly because of the lake. It was calm today and provided great reflection of the trees hovering above. I came across many deer and wild turkey along the path. I’m pretty sure all of the animals in the park are used to seeing humans. They do run away when you approach them but you can get much closer than you could outside the park. The deer would bounce off into the woods but the turkey would only move a few feet off the path and watch me run past. They leisurely moved away like I was a bother, like I was inconveniencing them. I found it funny considering the normal turkey I come across absolutely have panic attacks if they see a human. They flap their wings, run in circles and make noise while the park turkeys give you a snotty look and move silently off to the side slightly.
Today’s run was in the rain and I love running in the rain. I ran 10 miles yesterday so today’s 6 felt short. These new Reebok definitely like dry pavement over wet crushed limestone as my feet would slip every so often during toe off. The bottoms of these shoes are smoother than any other shoe I’ve run in. I’m still very happy with them over all and they’re breaking in very nice. No wildlife to report other than a bunch of cows who were all enjoying the rain as I was. I don’t know if running in the rain is something primal or just a childish pleasure imprinted in the depths of my brain, but I’ve always loved running in the rain. I’ve taken precautions for my iPod and ear buds as I know they don’t like the rain. I ran with the new Sennheiser MX 75 Sport ear buds today. Well, I’ve been running with them but this is the first outing where they got rained on. They’re supposed to be water resistant and running in the rain is definitely something they can do without harm. I’ve killed several ear buds in the rain so it’s nice to have a set I don’t have to worry about.
My Amazon package arrived today which included my Stephen Fry book and Driving Miss Daisy. This movie is a classic and I felt it was time to replace my aging VHS copy with the DVD. I actually ordered it after trying to watch it on TV. I absolutely get absorbed in this movie and as such find the commercials annoying. I think Hulu has spoiled me as well. I’ve been watching more Hulu than TV lately and I’m getting used to the much shorter advertising times. I was going to order Spore from Amazon yesterday as well but ended up talking to a friend that had a copy installed on his XPS 1530 laptop. I don’t know if it was the amount of hype this game has been getting for literally years, but it didn’t impress me. It was fun but not so much fun that I had to have it. I liked the Sims and Sims 2, Black & White 2 is still one of my favorite games but this just didn’t live up to the hype. I have S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky preordered so it looks like my next game purchase will be a shooter. Come to think of it, I have Gears of War installed on my PC that I still haven’t played. Well, looks like I had better get started then.
Damn, double damn, triple damn and a pint of damnit for the weekend! John & Peter sketches remind me of the perfect chemistry that was A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Actually, I was looking something up on Youtube and a Fry and Laurie sketch was among the results. I’ve no clue how Google concluded it should be included in the search results as it had nothing to do with my intended search but it was there and prompted me to look at a few sketches up while I was there.
While I was on Youtube, I did a search for the new Dell netbook and I’m honestly starting to like it. The Acer and MSI have much better keyboards (although Dell was very clever with this one) but the Dell can be configured and has much easier access to the internals. Engadget posted a link to the littlest Dell’s service manual and it looks very interesting. http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/05/dells-mini-9-tear-down-reveals-a-modders-playground/
Acer, on the other hand, has released their 6 cell version of the Aspire One at the very easy price of $399 considering it has the larger HDD and XP Home. Newegg also carries the 6 cell One but none in stock. http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/05/acer-aspire-ones-6-cell-is-a-whole-lot-cheaper-bundled/
Ok, Microsoft’s first “Jerry n’ Bill” advertisement is out and while most people are ridiculing it, I actually like it… though I’m not sure yet what they are building up to.
It looks as if the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 isn’t the savior that it was being made out to be and the MSI Wind still holds the crown for best netbook. I’m happy to see someone offering Ubuntu as the default version of Linux as it has the most online documentation and application support. I would still opt for the Windows XP version, Ubuntu is free and can be had later but Windows XP would cost more than the $50 cost of the upgrade.
Upgrades are made simple by a door on the bottom. I don’t know for sure, but it should max out at 2GB of DDR2. Strangely, Dell only offers the option of 512MB or 1GB but not 2GB. DDR2 is dirt cheap today and I’m sure Dell has access to a few 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMMs. If you’re going to let the customer custom build why not just offer it as an option?
Well, this fits nicely between the Acer and the MSI. The MSI is still my favorite because of it’s keyboard. Well actually, the HP’s keyboard is my favorite but most likely due to their lenient drug testing policies, it costs $750 which is where the much more powerful Core 2 Duo 13” notebooks start…. Much too pricy for a netbook.
I’ll end this post with a bit of good news for computer users. Samsung is planning on making low cost SATA II SSD’s in 8, 16 and 32GB sizes. No clue on prices yet but I’ve been wanting a small SSD for my gaming PC to install games on. Since gaming is a read only activity an quick reading SSD would be great and may improve loading times on some games. This would be a good option for some of these netbooks too that have SATA support. I’m sure replacing the mechanical drive in the MSI Wind would improve battery life and system temperatures. More info in the link:
I’m afraid I’ve have a bit of a thorn in my ass lately. I’ve been noticing a greater number of people acting stupid on the trail. I don’t just mean stupid as moronic or unintelligent, although that’s part of it, I mean rude and greedy. I can’t honestly say I’ve just started to notice either as these people haven’t been inflicted with some zombie like aliment that changes their behavior over night. I’ve noticed but maybe my ability to ignore it is dulling.
My specific annoyance involves dirt bikes and quads on the trail. I have no problem seeing dirt bikes or quads on the trail so this isn’t an instant rejection to their presence. Motor vehicles are strictly prohibited on the trail but my views on the subject are quite grey. I don’t own a quad so my grey views on these rules aren’t selfish. I do understand Johnny wants to visit with this friend and rides his quad to their house or he works on one of the many farms in the area and rides his dirt bike there. My problem begins when Johnny, or worse yet Johnny and his friends, ride past you while your biking/running/walking on the trail at top speed. Not only are they as close as they can get to you but they kick up a cloud of dust that you’re forced to inhale while commenting on how you would have never done that when you were a kid (yes I’m turning into my father, but that’s fodder for another post). There are several sections of the trail that show physical damage but they are limited to distinct areas where people ride in nearby (private property) woods and fields. Unfortunately it isn’t just Johnny who acts like an ass, it’s his father too. Yes, being rude is a sport for the whole family to enjoy. It would seem obvious where the child’s lack of manners comes from and would explain more about this world than just what occurs on this trail.
I volunteer work time on the trail and I’ve noted in a previous post that I grew up here so this place means something to me. It is such a beautiful place that I encourage people to spend time here. Anyone who has lived in the country will know what I’m talking about. You hear birds that don’t venture close to the city. The smell of woods in the morning mist or a field in the mid day sun are things you have to experience. Seeing people act in ways that discourage indulgence in what nature has to offer, even if it only means a thirty minute walk, disturbs and angers me.
I gave up looking and purchased the paperback version of Stephen Fry’s Moab Is My Washpot on Amazon today. I also found myself frustrated when trying to find a digital copy of Michelle Week’s song Rejoice proved impossible. This begs me to ask then, why is it so hard to find such works in this the digital age? The book and the song share the distinction of being not only popular but timeless as well. The creators of each are still creating new media for our consumption and are in no way “one hit wonders”. One would think there would be a place for these not so older works in the vast digital space we call the internet. It could boil down to nothing more than licensing rights, which would be my guess. No matter the reason it’s a shame.
It was a cool 54F the last two mornings which is perfect running weather. I started my run in Freeport Monday and ran almost 11 miles. As I drove down the steep road to where I would park, I looked out over the deep valley but could only see fog. There is a river where I run surrounded by high, deeply wooded mountains on either side. Driving up the hill on my way back home offered a new view as the sun had burned away the fog and you could see the blanket of steep green hills that engulfed the area. This view always reminds me of the Smokey Mountains, though not as tall.
The area where I run was once a railway that since has been converted into the Butler to Freeport Rails to Trails. I always feel my happiest when I’m running but the trail holds a special place in my heart as I grew up around here. We moved to the neighborhood when I was about four and the trail was an active rail way long after we had left when I was almost twenty. I ran six miles today close to my old home. Things look much different now from what I remember but I have no problem recalling every experience I had on those train tracks. We played war, rode our bikes, hunted for frogs and just spent lazy summer days walking on the tracks. Later, when we were older, it was more of a short cut from one friend’s house to another but I still walked along trying to balance on the rail. This is also the reason the movie Stand By Me has such great meaning for me as it offers a journey back in time for me to my “track days”.
I’ve seen deer the last four or five days that I’ve run so they’re pretty common as we head closer to fall. Wild turkeys however aren’t so common and, like the bob white in the area, usually stay in the woods and fields all year. I saw three turkey today standing on the trail on my return. Two ran off into the woods but one flew, as much as turkeys can fly, onto a low tree branch and just watched me run by. I tell my mom about these encounters and she gives me that worried mom sigh. I’m cautious with the deer as I startled a deer once when I was a teen and it stood it’s ground and snorted at me. Normally they run away from you though. No, the only animal I even remotely fear are the geese. I’ve had horses bite me, bulls charge at me, dogs snarl at me and that one deer snort but none have put the fear of God into me quite like the geese. I’m not exactly sure why but I think it has to do with their complete determination and lack of fear when they give chase. Sometimes there is no logic to why or what they chase but you can guarantee when they do give chase they won’t give up easy.
The flood has slowed to a trickle but there are still a few new netbooks showing up on the scene, sadly none of them are grabbing my attention. The Lenovo S10 comes in between the Acer and the MSI and is a solid offering. The Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo is said to have, umm, build issues. The one netbook I’m still waiting for is the Dell Inspiron 910. Dell have been doing many things right lately, let’s hope this is one of them.
Apple is being counter sued in their suit against Mac clone, Psystar. Psystar claims Apple’s habit of locking everything down is anticompetitive. You can read the whole thing here…
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10026033-37.html
I’m not sure where I stand in this to be honest. If Macs were still a proprietary system I would be completely on Apple’s side. As it stands today however, Mac is nothing more than a PC with it’s own OS. If the OS were to be let loose on the world Apple has no legal obligation to offer support beyond it’s own systems thus preserving the “Mac experience”. So, is letting it out of the “compound” such a bad thing?
Back to normalcy, or lack thereof…. I made the hour voyage to Ikea today. The Speed limit on the highway starts at 65 for the first 25% and lowers to 55 for the last bit. Normally doing under 75 on any of it would mean certain death, but today staying at 60 was impossible. I’ve heard from a few people that this is directly related to the price of fuel and those people tend to clog the tubes. I’m not sure what the problem was but it was a bit confusing. I built myself up and got into Michael Schumacher mode only to abruptly de-escalate into “Sister Mary of the Divine Miracle” mode.
I cracked 2000 miles in Nike+ today. That would be miles run with the Nike+ only. There was a point where I didn’t use the Nike+ system and only ran with the Nano or Shuffle. There was the death of my original Nano too. Long story short, went for a run last year and it was nice out. I was about four miles from the car when it just started pouring. Well, needless to say the Nano got soaked. I let it dry for a few weeks but it never lived again (the Nike+ sensor and receiver were fine). I held off for a few months before replacing it hoping that Apple would introduce the 3rd gen Nano but gave in (aka I was weak) while walking thought the Apple store in Shady Side. Just as an estimate, I would say I’ve run about 16 months without the Nike+. I’m still waiting for Nike and Apple to release something for iPhone 2.0 that uses GPS. That would be just awesome enough for me to ignore my overwhelming hate toward AT&T and buy one.
Well now, it has been quite awhile since I’ve posted. Much has changed, much has stayed the same. I had a small shoe ordeal that turned out to be a very valuable learning experience. I’ve been frustrated trying to find an audio book and the netbook caught my eye before losing it again.
I’ve been a runner for a few years now not becoming overly serious about it until recently. I quit smoking and wanted to do something healthy to replace that habit. Being pudgy already from my sedentary lifestyle I didn’t want to fall into the trap of replacing the cigarette with food. I started running in a pair of Nike which was rubbish really. A combination of my heaviness, my height (6’ 3”) and the shoes horrid cushioning meant my ankles were taking a beating. I replaced those shoes with a pair of Asics Gel Enhance which I fell in love with. The Gel Enhance is a low end shoe. The difference between high and low end shoes is in the materials and technology. Compared to the higher end Asics shoes, the Enhance had a very miniscule Gel pack under the heel, It was using cheaper foam, the outsole wasn’t as durable and the bridge that links the heel and forefoot preventing flex was a minimal, lighter weight plastic. As a basic shoe for beginners it fits the bill perfectly, not so as I started running longer and faster.
After a about two years of running in low end shoes I decided it was time to step up to a higher end shoe and purchased a pair of Asics Gel 1120’s. My first run ended in sore legs but by the third run I was having problems finishing my normal 6 mile run. I was running 10 miles twice a week and 6 miles three times a week without problem before the shoes, now I was exhausted by mile 4 and my times were falling. Just to make sure I wasn’t going insane I threw on an old pair of shoes and went for a run the next day. Sure enough I had no problem finishing a 6 mile run which indicated that the 1120’s was the culprit. Honestly, I was shocked and a bit confused. The 1120 had won awards and as far as sales figures are concerned, they only took number two behind its bigger brother the 2120’s. How could a pair of shoes, which had a huge following no less, cause me so many problems? This was my introduction to bio mechanics. I’m not going into great detail, you can find everything you need at Runners World, but after a fair amount of reading I discovered that I am a bio mechanically efficient neutral runner. The 1120 is a stability shoe most enjoyed by people who overpronate. While some in the neutral pronation camp can wear stability shoes, I am an efficient neutral thus can only wear neutral shoes, confused yet? People have different arch heights and different mechanics of completing a gait cycle. Even height and weight affect the type of shoe you should be running in. I had always considered the advice of being fitted for shoes complete nonsense until now and shortly after I confirmed my findings by visiting a local running shop to be fitted for shoes. I ended up getting Mizuno Wave Rider 11 which is on the high end of the scale. My times fell a great deal and longer runs were significantly more comfortable. Surprisingly they’ve lasted a bit over five months now but are in need of replacement. I’m currently running in a pair of Reebok Premier Cushioning V which I’m just now breaking in. They are an ounce heavier than the Wave Rider which I did notice on my first ten mile run. So far I’m very pleased with the shoe but I still have plans on trying other shoes. I’ve become friends with a few runners who have recommended the Mizuno Wave Creation 9 and Adidas Supernova Cushion 7 due to my height and the shoe’s cushioning ability. There a few shoes from Saucony I plan to try as well including the Grid Sinister. Anywho, I’ve was in love with running before the premium shoes, and even so more after. Having the proper tool for the job does make a difference.
Leading into the next topic, I split my runs in half. For the first half I listen to podcasts and the second half I switch to music. Normally I’ll listen to TWiT, Macbreak Weekly, Windows Weekly and Buzz Out Loud but not too long ago I switched and tried audio books. One book in particular I’ve been trying to get in digital format is Stephen Fry’s autobiography, Moab Is My Washpot. The audio version is more appealing to me due to the fact that it is read by Mr. Fry himself. Anyone who has ever heard him read an audio book before will know what I’m on about but it goes beyond that since in this instance it’s more a telling of his own story versus a simple narration. As I already have an Audible account I checked there first, then iTunes and Amazon and even Google but I simply cannot find a digital version of the book. The only audio version available for sale in the US (that I can find) is the audio cassette which is a bit antiquated by modern standards. I’m simply befuddled that there isn’t a CD version of the book available but a cassette version can be purchased not only on Amazon but on Target’s site as well. I’ll most likely just be purchasing the paper version of the book if I can’t find anything digital soon. Word has it Mr. Fry is working on the second part of the autobiography covering from the end of this book to the present. I do hope that makes its way to iTunes or Audible.
Lastly, the netbook has become a sore subject for me. When Asus released the Eee PC I was ecstatic and filled with a geeky joy. “Finally”, I thought to myself, “A company that actually gets it”! The original 701 4G had a low power CPU and a small form factor that made it perfect for surfing and doing basic tasks. Sure it had flaws but they were few and it flew off shelves faster than Asus even thought they would. The market was buzzing and even Apple’s Macbook Air had a hard time one-upping the little Asus. Solid state drive technology has matured by leaps and bounds, Intel’s little Atom CPU amazed us and keyboard designs were improving. So why then, if all of the ingredients of the netbook have improved, am I not as excited anymore? It all comes down to price and complexity I’m afraid. The original 4G was very simple. You had memory, CPU and flash memory. Today you have a swarm of companies all offering their own version of what they think a netbook should be or what they think you want and none have pulled it off perfectly. The Asus “cover every base” 900/901/1000 series boasts cool extras like wireless N and sports wonderful battery times but falls on its face when it comes to pricing although not as much as the HP 2133 which redefines the term too expensive. The HP, to me at least, has the best design. It has an aluminum shell that reminds you of a 12” Powerbook. The problem is I can get a 12” Powerbook much cheaper (the HP is $749 with the 6 cell battery) that will actually be a bit more powerful. That is where the netbook falls in my opinion. It has been a year since the Eee PC 701 hit the scene and much has changed in the 13-15” laptop market. The A64 is much cheaper, Intel offers the neutered cache Core 2 Duo, the horribly named Pentium Dual CoreTwo, for next to nothing. Mobile HDD prices have fallen, LCD technology has become cheaper while offering much better quality. A year ago a dual core $499 14.1” or 15.4” was most likely a bait and switch sale item but you can find many of them now from Acer, Dell HP and Compaq that are of excellent quality. Stepping up to $599 you can find Toshiba, Lenovo and the Sony Vaio NR. The Eee PC was praised for it’s low price, but we can get excellent quality and more power (albeit a bit bigger and heavier) for the same money now. Instead of becoming more complicated and more expensive, the netbook should have stayed simple and dropped in price.
Two models stand out in the crowd when looking at the netbook, the Acer Aspire One and the MSI Wind. The Acer didn’t do much to the original Eee PC philosophy besides improving the keyboard and giving it a higher quality look. No, they kept the design simple, Atom processor, 512MB memory and 8GB Flash memory. Keeping it simple allowed them to deliver a great little netbook for $329, the cheapest of the bunch. They’ve even thought about expansion by giving you two memory card readers, one of which is a dedicated SD reader exclusive to system storage. Slip an 8GB SD card into that slot and the Aspire One automatically adds it to the system leaving you the other memory card slot for multimedia use. The down side to the One would be memory and battery. The memory can be upgraded, I’m sure the battery will be upgradable but both are going to add to the cost.
The MSI Wind gets my nod because of upgradability. It has a wonderful design, very useable keyboard and large 10” screen. It comes with XP Home which, not to knock the Linux versions most netbooks ship with, is more familiar to most people and has the best choice of third party applications. Inside you can upgrade the Wind to 2GB of memory and while it ships with an 80 or 120GB 5400rpm HDD it’s an SATA drive which means you can replace it with a much more power friendly SSD drive when they drop in price a bit more. At $499 the price is a bit high but you’re getting a lot of netbook for the money. I still say look at the 14/15” options first since they offer much more for the money, but if you need small the One and the Wind are my favorites. Unfortunately the 15.4” Dell Vostro 1510 has stolen my gaze away from the netbooks. While a small netbook would make a nice toy, a sub $800 dedicated graphics, core 2 Duo notebook is much more appealing.
So we'll start with mine, which hasn't been sounding great lately. We've all been witness to the loud squealing car, and seen the embarrassed driver hunkered down in the seat. I'm proud to say I am now one of those people. I've only been a squealer for a couple weeks now but it has driven me nuts every single day.
As a quick background, I was raised by a gear head and knew how to rebuild a Chevy 350 before I was potty trained. Muscle cars ruled my world... well, until 1982 when Thomas Magnum rode into my home in Robin Master's Ferrari 308 GTS every week. From that point I was addicted to the automobile in all of it's nationalities.
Naturally, as a son of a gear head, I do what maintenance I can on my car. The squealing was definitely something I could fix and I ordered the new alternator that evening. Two days later my new shiny part arrived and I broke out the tools that would heal my car and bring back my dignity. I've replaced many of my car's stock parts with "hot" parts meant to raise the horsepower (ask my friend Jeff, those are his life or death finger holes in the dashboard lol). "The removal and installation of an alternator is nothing", I thought to myself. "I'll be done in under an hour". HA!!
I removed my accessory belt and, with only millimeters of extra space, managed to squeeze my hand in such a position as to remove the first bolt. I managed to loosen the second with no problem and the same would go for the third once I found it. I disconnected my battery, flipped my alternator on it's side and removed the main lead. I was ready to remove the the alternator and after awhile I had managed to cut my hand and utter most of the basic expletives in the English language.... they really don't give you much room to work.
With the help of gravity, I managed to get the new part in place in less time than it took to remove the old one. I put everything back together, set my clock again and started the car with a sort of cocky smirk on my face. SQUEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL. My smirk was gone. SON OF A...... I got out of the car and after a small reassessment, the problem was actually the A/C compressor. I took out the new, put in the old and reset my clock again.... and again after I took the alternator back out again to figure out why my battery light randomly lights up. I still have no clue why but it is charging so I'll figure it out after I replace the A/C compressor tomorrow.
While I'm on the subject of cars, I saw a 2008 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE today from the rear 3/4 view and instantly fell in love with the tail light styling. This got me thinking, Japanese car styling really has come a long way. At first they were, well, ugly. Then they started to copy everyone else. Seriously, look at the Toyota 2000GT and you see hints of the E-Type Jag. The Datsun 260Z has similar lines but more Corvette. The most blatant, IMO, is the second generation RX-7. The styling process was simple... a picture of a Porsche 944 Turbo and tracing paper. I think it started with the Nissan Skyline, but, the Japanese started doing things their own way and ya know what? I think the large majority of the cars coming from Japan now look great. In fact, I think they are getting better than the once dominant Germans.
So I started a new book as well, Just A Geek by Wil Wheaton. I've been a long time fan of Wil as Stand By Me is my all time favorite movie. Very simply, the movie brings back memories since I lived in the country, next to train tracks and a bunch of us used to fib to our parents about were we were staying and take long walks down the tracks and camp out. I still recommend the book Different Seasons by Stephen King, where the original story The Body can be found.
