Open Thread – Brain Transplant!
It’s an exciting day at Mudflats Central! The plan is (emphasize the word “plan”) to have myself hooked up to a brand new computer. The transition makes me a little nervous, but I figure I’m going to save a half hour of my life every day from sitting here waiting for things to … do their thing. Or whatever it is that they do.
Basically, the poor wizened old hamster that’s been “running” on the wheel in my tower for the past 6 or 7 years is pretty much down to a leisurely stroll, and deserves to retire. He’s off to some planned rodent retirement community where he can put his feet up, or trim the lawn or take a woodworking class or something. Bon voyage my friend! It’s been a good run.
So tomorrow afternoon, I’ll need a collective moment of good vibes directionally beamed to my shiny new black HP. And you may wave a little hanky at the elderly hamster as he shuffles away, finally freed from his servitude.
The open thread awaits your insight, humor and links!
A fond farewell to the old guy and sending good vibes to the new guy.
ahh sweet retirement…. lucky hamster.
yay on a new intertubes box! You are gonna be so thrilled! Good luck with the setup and first drive.
I sure wish you had let me know sooner. I would have liked to convince you to leave the dark side and dangerous, virus-laden streets of MicroSoft machines and come to the broad, sunny uplands of the Mac, where nobody even runs antiviral software, and the concept of some Russian teen hacking into your bank account is laughably remote, instead of a constant danger.
Oh well, maybe next time. ….
Jim
I agree, Jim. My brand new MacBookPro laptop arrived yesterday. Thanks, Mom!! I was so sick of my PC crashing not to mention how the virus software slows everything down. But, any new computer is fun as long as it isn’t a Comcrap (Compaq).
Macs are pretty awesome! I left the PC world about a year and a half ago and never looked back. The only thing is that some of the Microsoft Office programs don’t work quite as well on the mac… Some things with excel for instance.
With a hardware firewall/router box, you can be a lot more secure from intruders. Even with that, you’ve got to be careful about what you click/open, because a lot of malware gets in that way. With my mac (ancient 6 yr old laptop), I’ve got the Apple’s software firewall running and connect thru a firewall/router when at home.
I’m for Mac also. Started with Mac some twenty-three years ago and WILL NOT CHANGE. My artist son and significant other are MACsters also. Makes their life easier and the NYC struggling actor loves his because he can do videos or movies.
Easy, fast, and when I can’t figure it out . . . our Mac doctor comes and fixes it. He also has emus. Pretty cool.
Congratulations AKM on your new computer. You are going to be so happy with it. I just got a shiny new HP about two weeks ago and it is fabulous! Everything is blazing fast now. My poor old hamster will welcome your poor old hamster as they run on the big wheel in the recycling center.
As an FYI, Best Buy will take computer hard drives, printers, etc. for recycling. They do ask you to pay $10 for a monitor to be taken, but everything else is a donation. It’s really good to know that there is one less thing that is going to clutter up a landfill somewhere.
I’m suffering computer envy as I wait impatiently for my computer to do what it’s meant to do. Heavy sigh and hearty congratulations on your new best friend.
On another note…Dick Cheney catches the blame for the most recent terror attack in this well documented piece:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amb-marc-ginsberg/dick-cheneys-role-in-al-q_b_410614.html
I posted this at the Alaska Wildlife Thread and copied it over here as well. Someone should read CR46′s comment at the meeting tonight. Everything I’ve read suggests that killing predators is NOT the way to promote healthy herds of deer, moose, etc. The mention of llamas to protect flocks and livestock is true. They are fierce protectors. Dogs are a time-honored method of predator control. We may not approve of the way predators kill their prey (I’ve heard that mentioned before as a reason we should kill them), but that is not for us to judge considering our propensity for killing. Nature thrives on balance. Upset that balance and Nature suffers. We are seeing that very thing happen right before our eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is an important comment from Gryphen’s site about the sensible management of predators and prey. My son has a friend who lives in Arizona and raises sheep as a hobby. He keeps a llama to protect he flock. The llama has killed coyotes. This protective response by llamas has been well documented. Theses are good management practices suggested by CR46. The answer to all of life’s problems is not to kill something!
————————————————————-
CR46 said…
Gryphen,
while I am NOT an Alaskan, I would still like to comment. As a native Minnesotan ( no longer live there) I would like to let ALL Alaskans know that the Minn DNR has successfully brought back the wolf pop in Northern Minnesota ( as a land owner{still own the land} I would like to comment).
The higher wolf population has strengthened and made a healthier deer population. I have shared my land with a wolf pack for 15 yrs( 10 of which I lived on it sharing) I had livestock, horses and cattle–never lost even one to wolves–there are “natural deterents” to protect your herds–I used llamas in with my cattle and a mule and an adopted mustang in with my horses. FYI, llamas, mules, and mustangs will stand their ground and protect the herd.
But we never had an incident, because wolves prefer deer, rabbits and rodents( yes wolves are great hunters of mice) and as long as they have their “choice” of game will not choose to “hunt” livestock.
As a hunter, landowner, conservationist, native american…the re-interduction of the wolf in Norhern Minnesota has had a positive impact. Healthier, larger deer herds, very few incidences of livestock kills ( and those were due to incompetent owners that chose not to protect their stock with simple means).
The best thing for ANY region is to have a balanced healthy environment for ALL native species…please protect and cherish ALL of your members of your environment in Alaska, its best for your state and your future generations of Alaskans to have a healthy well-balanced environment like nature intended
Over on Celtic Diva’s site – http://divasblueoasis.com/ – She talks about a push being organized to harass the judges that made the decision to keep the Levi/Bristol custody case open. Two folks involved in the effort are Eddie Burke and “Jessica Beehive” , Sarah’s hairdresser. Facebook and Twitter are being used to circulate info about this harassment that is supposed to begin Jan. 7th.
There is no bottom to the Palinbots / Teabagger “well of crazy” If only we could find a way to harness the energy generated by their shrieking madness and use it for good.
Shrill Baby, Shrill !
You know, some senior centers or retirement communities may like your old computer. I gave my old one away to somebody who just wanted to be able to email and play some games.
Just remember to get all your information off of it before you give it away!!!
I asked for a Sony Reader for Christmas and sadly didn’t get it…
…I was very sad until I heard that Apple is coming out with a new tablet in March. I can’t wait! I’m gonna get me one of those!!! And I don’t usually get caught up in any new technology hype.
I’m a MAC also, too. In fact I’m moving on from my old but reliable G4 this month and replacing it with a Mac Pro. I was (and probably still am) a techno-novice but my spouse is a graphic designer who has always required a Mac. I jumped on board and will never go back. The simplicity alone is worth the price.
Kewl, AKM, enjoy your new toy!
HP???
eewwwwww. …
Just wanted to address something BG wrote, above @ 11… maybe laws are different in AK but it is positively un-American to interfere with judges. May even be illegal. Someone needs to keep a close eye on brainless and buttcheeks.
#11&17 @Buffaloga/sauerkraut
But…but…but, I thought this custody matter wasn’t about Sarah Palin?
#17 @ sauerkraut
It is illegal to interfere with judges – at least here in Georgia.
A judge’s ability to ‘hold in contempt’ covers a whole lotta bases, including disrespect for judges.
“Contempt of court is behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the court. Contempt charges may be brought against parties to proceedings; lawyers or other court officers or personnel; jurors; witnesses; or people who insert themselves in a case, such as protesters outside a courtroom. Courts have great leeway in making contempt charges, and thus confusion sometimes exists about the distinctions between types of contempt. Generally, however, contempt proceedings are categorized as civil or criminal, and direct or indirect.”
@17 sauerkraut
LOL. Now now, no sneering at HP. It came well recommended and is very nice and very fast. Also, too, the HP is not cheap. I’m getting more accustomed to Windows7 which has a few differences from Windows XP. My old computer was Dell which I had for almost five years before it fried. No complaints about that one particularly.
My SIL is a MAC devotee. He is a graphics artist and the MAC is head and shoulders above a PC for those purposes, plus it is very user friendly.
It’s really just a matter of preference and purpose.
I’m all for free speech but harassing judges to the point they cannot carry out their duties is approaches the act of yelling “fire” in a crowded theatre… report the activity to facebook as a violation of their TOS under parts 3 and 5.
I don’t know what the laws are specifically in Alaska, but in general:
http://research.lawyers.com/Contempt-of-Court.html
Criminal Contempt
Criminal contempt involves conduct that hinders or obstructs justice. Examples of criminal contempt include threatening or insulting a judge or witness and disobeying a subpoena to produce evidence. A trial attorney was held in criminal contempt for his disrespectful remarks to the judge in open court proceedings. With criminal contempt, the act of contempt has been completed and the contempt cannot be “purged.” The punishment is imposed to vindicate the court’s authority. Criminal contempt is punishable by a fine, jail, or both. The failure to comply with an injunction might constitute either criminal contempt or civil contempt, as noted above.
Out with the old, in with the new!
(as i gracefully wipe the tear off my cheek, a grin slowly appears across my lips…)
Ah yes, the smell of a new computor. The sound of a proper working “click” when one closes the laptop. The mere idea of a USB port IS refreshing and opens so many, many doors.
Thankfully, I’ve a sweetie who gets highly motivated with anything that resembles the words “computor configuration”. Although he marveled at my inability to live without a USB port on my sleek 20 lb, vintage 2001 laptop, he did say a prayer outside the second hand store over a 2′ long cord! Then he did some sort of wild celebration dance when the new laptop and the old faithful were connected via the 2′ cord.
The wild celebration dance occured throughout the night. You could hear high fives, cheers and actual fist pumps into the air, between my sweetie and our son! According to my sweetie, it was a great bonding experiement between father and son.
The next morning, along with a fresh cup of coffee, the sweetie handed me, what looked to be a magazine. But no, it was my new laptop. All I had to do is open it up and personalize my icons.
Life is good.
So we didn’t recycle my vintage laptop. Well we sorta did. My son made a frame for it. And there it resides, on the wall of my sons room, open for the world to see. It serves like one of those digtal photo frames, only it is my vintage laptop. It is rather artsy. And somehow, someway, it scrolls thru about 1500 photos. And my son didn’t even remove the duck tape holding the screen onto the keyboard!
Ah yes, life is good.
sarah already got her nosey ass slapped in Family Court once before.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/158140
Hurray AKM! A new PC! As
An interesting blog post at And so it goes… regarding Bristol Palin being paid by SarahPac for being a “political consultant.” Whoa.
http://archivist1000.blogspot.com/2010/01/sarahpac-and-keeping-it-all-in-family.html
oh, btw, isn’t the banner at And so it goes just about the niftiest ever? Sometimes I go there just to look at it.
http://archivist1000.blogspot.com/
…a tech, it took me an embarrassingly long time to take the same advice I give our clients. “Step away from the dinosaur – get something quick, under warranty, and easy to use!”
Nah, it took me trying to get out of town on a trip when my hard drive crashed. I transferred what backup I had and installed everything in a panic to another crappy, used PC laying around gathering dust (for a reason). Patting myself on the back for averting total disaster, since this is what I do for a living and have to have stuff set up for remote work while I’m gone, my hard drive crashed again the next day. With one day left to get myself together, I cried while I put a 3rd piece of crap together because there was no time to order a real PC.
Hours and hours later, viola! I had crappo PC #3! It was all so ludicrous and stupid that I grew a tail and tucked it between my legs.
It does not matter what you have, as long as it’s quick, under warranty and easy to use! I happen to know that you live at your PC just like I do. Hip hip hurray for your new computer! May it help you blaze through the Internet and record your words of humor and wisdom with grace and speed.
Meanwhile, back at the economy, the following was plucked from Matt Taibbi’s latest blog post:
“For what we’ve learned in the last few years as one scandal after another spilled onto the front pages is that the bubble economies of the last two decades were not merely monstrous Ponzi schemes that destroyed trillions in wealth while making a small handful of people rich. They were also a profound expression of the fundamentally criminal nature of our political system, in which state power/largess and the private pursuit of (mostly short-term) profit were brilliantly fused in a kind of ongoing theft scheme that sought to instant-cannibalize all the wealth America had stored up during its postwar glory, in the process keeping politicians in office and bankers in beach homes while continually moving the increasingly inevitable disaster to the future.”
It mates with an article by James Galbraith cited in a nifty little essay at Crooked Timber:
http://crookedtimber.org/2010/01/04/tweedledumb-and-tweedledangerous/
“the production of more or less mendacious intellectual smokescreens for policies which favour the interests of rich and powerful men isn’t a sort of industrial pollution from the modern economics profession – it’s the product.”
And be sure to pour yourself some tea/coffee and follow the link the James Galbraith’s piece – juicy!
Now, where are those tumbrels and why haven’t we dragged them out already?
I liked the idea of maybe a ‘retirement community ‘ getting it as a donation. If it was given to a child that did not have one I think that would be a good choice… also too.
Just knowing off all the great stories that came out of it through AKM’s hands makes me think this old PC must have some ‘ good Karma attached to it.
It has been down many roads… and fought many a battle.
Jim Says:
January 5th, 2010 at 3:55 AM
I sure wish you had let me know sooner. I would have liked to convince you to leave the dark side and dangerous, virus-laden streets of MicroSoft machines and come to the broad, sunny uplands of the Mac, where nobody even runs antiviral software, and the concept of some Russian teen hacking into your bank account is laughably remote, instead of a constant danger.
____________________________________________
Boy, I agree! We got a HP P(o)C laptop a few months ago as a gift. What a piece of junk. It crashed. It flung the pointer around the screen. It flung the cursor around and sometimes even erased my work. I was saving at the end of every line. The screen couldn’t be seen if there was any direct light around, and it was slow as molasses in January–a liquid I would have joyously poured into the keyboard. It also had trouble connecting to the wifi.
Enter Christmas and a generous auntie! I now am working on a MacBook. Not even a pro. It’s great. The trackpad works easily, the keyboard has a great touch, it gets the wifi without a hitch and runs everything so smoothly, I can’t believe it. It’s also cheaper in the long run because maintenance is lower and I use the apple office program–iworks–which runs better than Microstupid Office. I’m so glad to be back in Macland and away from PCs and windoze. But I’m keeping the “old” PC. For target practice. While friends are being frustrated at the hours and days that go by trying to get reliable warenty care from HP (thanks for ruining the company, Carly), I will be able to once again walk down to my Mac store a return an hour later with a working machine. Hallelujah!
I posted this on the Forum but posting it here for all that read the blog but do not participate in the forum
It has my blood boiling
This is an OUTRAGE
The Philadelphia Eagles nominated MICHAEL VICKS for the Ed Block Courage Award
http://www.edblock.org/content/ed-block-courage-award-0
Quote
Each year, the Ed Block Courage Awards honors those National Football League players who exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. Recipients are selected by their teammates for team effort, as well as individual performance.
The Ed Block Courage Award recipient symbolizes professionalism, great strength and dedication. He is also a community role model. With this honor, he enters into an association which contrasts his fierce profession by becoming a major component of the Courage House National Support Network for Kids. He becomes an Ambassador of Courage for victims of abuse, violence and neglect.
The Ed Block Courage Award recipient will be identified as a team player in helping abused children and families in crisis.
The Courage Award has become one of the most esteemed honors bestowed upon a player in the NFL, especially since the recipient is selected by his peers.
THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES VOTED FOR MICHAEL VICKS
http://www.edblock.org/content/ed-block-courage-award-recipients
All 31 Recipients will be honored
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=19823
Quote
Vick, along with one player from each of the other 31 NFL teams, will be honored at the Ed Block Courage Award Banquet March 9, 2010, in Baltimore, MD. For more information on this award and the banquet, please contact the Ed Block office at (410-821-6252) or log on to http://www.EdBlock.org.
I sent an email to the Ceo and the General Manger of the Ed Block foundation and I am going to send emails to the NY teams asking that they forgo the ceremony
My comment didn’t pass the spam filter for some reason and has to be okayed by a moderator
Please see my Forum Post
http://www.themudflats.net/forum/index.php/topic,9146.msg96601/topicseen.html#new
This has my blood boiling
THe Philadelphia Eagles Nominated Michael Vicks for a Courage award
Congratulations on the new computer, AKM – you’re gonna’ love it. There is no such thing as a CPU that’s too fast. QuickBooks says it’s just a hobby, but I’ve built and sold lots of computers much nicer than the one I kept to use. Finally, I’d had enough and built one for myself – 3GHz CPU, a shoe box full of RAM and a bee-boppin’ graphics card, plus a second wide-screen monitor. I’m actually going to say it – Zowie!. I can now read The Mudflats, monitor bids on Ebay, watch videos on Youtube, run a slide show, download from Usenet and listen to music all at the same time*. (*Requires RedBull). Already my old laptop is looking dusty and neglected.
If you’re going to run Windows, by all means use anti-virus and firewall software, but don’t ignore the free alternatives to the subscription products. Avast! anti-virus, free home edition has earned my trust, as has Zone Alarm firewall free edition. Both publishers make their money on their premium/business versions, and make the free home versions available as a PR and marketing tool to build brand recognition and trust. The money I was paying to Symantec for Norton AV/Firewall is much more satisfyingly spent on my annual renewal of 1921 Tequila Cream Liqueur
.
Whatever computer you buy, whatever operating system you use… in 2 years they will be junk. But a new, black and shiny box does brighten up the place for a day or too. Good luck, AKM.
To my friends with macs, Please don’t believe that mac is some how immune from virus attacks and other harmful network bots. It is just not true. Under the covers mac system software has always been complex and difficult to work with so a lot of hackers prefer the PC with its much more “open” system. Mac also still has less than 10% market share in the US so there are fewer targets.
I used to work for a large company that at the time was all mac. We did get virus attacks. Since there was no good anti-virus software they made the corporate decision to migrate 50,000 employees to PC.
Mac is great for graphics but so is a well configured PC. If you enjoy your Mac that is great but do protect yourself from Internet evil. A router with a good firewall is very important if you have a Mac. It’s a first line of defense. Also find a spyware program and run it frequently along with anti virus software. Also make sure you are warned if you go to a web page that might “steal” info such as stored logons and passwords. I personally do not store important passwords and logons on any computer for important stuff like banking, etc. It is just to risky.
Safe surfing everyone!
Ooooo! I’m envious, but only moderately so, as I’m hoping to upgrade my old laptop when my tax refund arrives (god willin’ and the creek don’t rise…).
One possibility for the old hamster, and something I’ve done myself: have someone turn the dinosaur into a linux machine, which can be done with zero bucks, and can revive an old machine for am average user who primarily wants to hop around the internet, write email or do word processing, spreadsheets, etc. All free through linux and firefox and open-office. Linux machines can also do many many more complex tasks, but with a slower, old computer, the goal is to get the machine into the hands of someone who isn’t a power user.
Just an idea. I’m not going with Linux for my anticipated new laptop because there are a couple of programs (Quickbooks, Illustrator) which are essential to my worklife, and not available on Linux platform, but I will be converting the old laptop, so that friends and families can hop on the internet at my house without messing with my new baby.
I’d love to unhook from Microsoft (which I’ve generally been very happy with, btw) due to cost of upgrades; Mac’s are no improvement there. Someday, someday….
Good luck with the new machine!
Have fun, AKM. I’m still on the ol’ G4 laptop, with its almost-new hard drive & all my old stuff (from the G3) on an external hard drive, in case I need to revisit old documents. Yes, I’m a Mac. To me, they’re worth the money, & always will be. I have the microsoft office suite, because I share Word documents & like powerpoint slideshows.
I love my new Mac I got a couple months ago.
Taking advantage of the Open Thread, Mr. Terps and I were just interviewed for TV news while working out at the local YMCA by one of the evening news reporters of NCB6 (mostly Broward Country Fla.). Supposed to be on tonight sometime after 7pm est. I wish I’d worn my sexy workout outfit and had washed my hair …. now I know how poor Sarah feels, getting picked apart by the mean mean media.
I don’t think I was particularly brilliant, but the bit Mr. Terps did seemed to have some good moments in it.
We’ve been going since the end of May and lost about 20 pounds each. And to think, Mr. Terps didn’t really want to go today, but I encouraged him into it (’cause I needed to go). Sometimes he does the same for me. I’m sure that’s part of how we lost the weight we have! Happy New Year’s Resolutions everyone! Stick with it, and support other people in theirs!
Ok so – it’s only ” reportedly ” but – Has Fox News signed on Bristol as a Jr. “rogue” reporter ? ?
http://glossynews.com/other-world-games/news-in-brief/201001051025/fox-news-signs-bristol-palin-as-jr-political-correspondent/
IMO it makes a better article for the Onion . But, for now , th fact that this seems to have come from FoxNews , I’m willing to pay attention to the possibility :
*** we cannot confirm or deny that Bristol Palin will be joining our news team as a Jr. Political Correspondent for the sole purpose of reporting on her mother, Sarah Palin’s, unconfirmed run for President in 2012.”***
I crack up every time and I certainly won’t be surprised to find out it has satirical lineage. At the same time, it won’t surprise me at all to be true!
BG, that is satire. From their About tab:
Glossy News is an accredited online satirical publication and a contributing member of HumorFeed.
** we cannot confirm or deny that Bristol Palin will be joining our news team as a Jr. Political Correspondent for the sole purpose of reporting on her mother, Sarah Palin’s, unconfirmed run for President in 2012.”**
I am hoping for an indictment well before that happens. In fact, hoping it happens before her speaking gig in Houston, TX.
Spouse and I have always been Mac fiends!! Literally, we have owned Apple computers since the originals! Our workplaces are both PC and a HUGE “pain in the CPU” constantly. We just bought 2 new Mac laptops for each other for Christmas- they are fast, intuitive, and, I have to say very s*xy!
AKM, come over to the Mac-side next time the PC hamster runs out of juice.
Several months ago, AKM featured a photo of some yummy moose cookies prepared by mudpup Jamie, who has a blog entitled “Life’s a Feast”. Her blog is in the running for an award, but she needs more votes. Please check out:
http://homies.apartmenttherapy.com/2009/category/home-cooking Let’s put her over the top!
It’s a open thread. I see dumb*ss has finally posted on her facelift page gibberish about the president and something about mortgages, who the hell knows what she’s trying to say. Someone commented the other day that her resignation speech was like a narrative of an acid trip. I hope she or one of her cohorts is reading this blog. Here’s the bottomline winky “Face the Nation” or “Meet the Press” or STFU. Your little tweets and rambling nonsensical crap on a teenage social site is wearing thin. Do the world a favor and go read a book you imbecile.
Lani,
Done, and done.
Well worth it and I hope everyone at least takes a look at “Life’s a Feast” – very spiffy!
Nan
AKM- I found Zone Alarm is the best for security and ease of use, I’ve never has any problems with security since I installed it. My neighbor is a computer whiz and I tried the one he uses but it was so confusing I went back to Zone Alarm. They have a sale right now Extreme Security for $35.95 reg. $79.95 Check it out–(Zone Alarm Official Site) sorry I sound like a salesman, but it’s great.
Wow Lani and Nan thanks so much for your support for my blog! Just to let you know I made the finals and then came in third behind two huge blogs – one who has a cookbook out so yay for the little guy (me)!
And this just goes to prove how loving and supportive Mudpuppies are! AKM you have gathered an amazing group of people around you!