There is a sub-class of computer enthusiasts who build extreme gaming rigs. They do crazy things like refrigeration for cooling, and spend thousands of dollars to squeeze an extra 5% of performance out of their computer.
There were two news stories on my desktop today that, individually, were sad tales of accidental death. But side by side as they were, they pointed out the difference between a life well spent and a sad waste.
I am feeling “fat”, and I know exactly what I need to do to fix it. Eat less junk (not necessarily less *food*, just less junk), and be more active. But knowing what needs to be done and doing it are two entirely different things. Fortunately (?), I’ve stabilized for the moment at around 190 pounds. But I fear waking up one day and realizing I need a crane to get out of bed.
My previous post was angry, and looked at the worst aspects of the human animal and how some can sink to levels that might drive me to violence against them. I find it really difficult to soften my feelings towards the two teenagers involved.
Two darling teenage girls out for a walk saw a stack of cages containing feral cats. As a light hearted lark, they poured lighter fluid on one and set it on fire, laughing at their uproarious hi-jinx.
It was 38 degrees Celsius here on Wednesday. It was about 32 today, and about the same on Monday and Tuesday. I like warm weather, but “warm” to me is 25 degrees.
We’d probably have central air conditioning in our house if this kind of weather was common. Instead, we make do. Our house has “top opening” windows, so in-window air conditioning isn’t an option for us either. I bought a portable AC unit a couple of years ago, the type with the big hoses you are supposed to route through the window…but guess what? There isn’t any real way to mount the hoses / vents in top opening windows either. I can jury rig something with tin foil and cardboard (I’m serious), but it is generally more hassle than it’s worth.
I spent an hour or so today looking at xkcd, which is a stick-person comic for geeks. Some of the humour is somewhat esoteric: math and statistics jokes, for example. But there were plenty of gems. This one is my favorite so far:
Apple learned a great deal from the battery complaints that users had about the early iPods. First, instead of just making it challenging to get at the battery in the iPhone, they have actually soldered it in. Second, they have announced the battery replacement cost and policy almost concurrent with the release of the phone itself (Apple: iPhone Battery Replacement Plan Details – Gizmodo ).
I read a blog entry today giving an opinion regarding a book on the topic of whether or not user-created content is killing our culture (Is the web killing our culture? – (37signals) ). My immediate reaction to the topic of the article was that the author of the book is probably a professional writer who resents the intrusion of all the bloody amateurs into his career plans.
As a Canadian, I suffer from every little twitch our American friends make. And as I see more and more evidence of the devolution of that once free (if somewhat arrogant) nation into fear-crippled police state, I feel I have cause to worry.