Anyone have any experience with this?
I wanted to get an older laptop, to experiment with migrating myself to Macs, and ended up, luckily, with an Indigo clamshell. I've got the wifi, the Firewire, and apparently, the ability to run up to Tiger(OS X 10.4) in my nice little machine. I thought I'd just piddle around with the classic OS 9.1 that came installed on the laptop, however, if I ever get to purchase a newer Mac, which I hope to do within the next year, then I should probably go ahead and start learning OS X, as it's what's coming on new macs.
As I mentioned, I've been able to discover that Tiger(10.4) will run on the Indigo, but am getting the feeling that ti may be a bit too much OS for that 366 processor. I've seen a recommendation that the highest I should go on the Indigo would be OS X 10.3.9. I'm seriously considering it, and am wondering if anyone else had had any experience with using it on a clamshell, before I plunk down the money to purchase a copy.
So, anyone with any advice or information, feel free to point me in your favorite direction.
Casey
A post on another blog I read was entitled "Not Folksy", and makes some interesting points. Check out the post over at Standing on My Head
He makes some interesting points and comparisons about the last few winners of presidential races. It makes an insightful read, and who knows, may give us a preview of who our next president may be, based solely on their image.
Casey
Well, it's been a busy week since last I was here posting. I haven't had time to play with my little Indigo any more yet, but that will come soon.
I did get a much anticipated Kilt in the mail. I can't access Photobucket from work, so will have to wait until I get home this evening to edit in a picture of the new kilt. It's very nice, fine workmanship by Rocky of USA Kilts, and I'm looking forward to wearing it out to the pub in the next week or two, depending on whether I can get away to the pub any time soon :)
The little one has come down with a bit of daycare nose, which is really cramping the whole 'sleep' thing. Hard to sleep when she's waking herself up every hour or two trying to breath through her nose, and then gets flat out squalling angry about being awake at such an ungodly hour.
To be honest though, the majority of my free time this last week or so was taken up watching the Olympics. There was some really good stuff, and some really not so good stuff. I've gotta say, regardless of how many medals Phelps won, or how our gymnasts did, or how poor our relay teams did, the stand out for America for these games was, at least in my mind, Dara Torres.
Not because she's older than most other swimming competitors, not because she was competing in her first Olympics before most of her teammates were even born, and not because despite all odds, she came away with an individual Silver medal, and only missed out on the Gold by one one-hundredth of a second. Even though all those things are worthy of notice for her, the biggest thing that happened was when she approached other competitors, and the judges, asking them to delay the start of her race(a heat I believe) because one of the other competitors had a problem with her suit, and was trying to get it fixed.
In this day and age, when we focus so much on ourselves, and whats good for us, I don't believe anyone would have faulted her for standing at her starting block, and working her mental focus for the upcoming race. If someone didn't make it to the start in time, oh well, that's just one less person to challenge her. However, she didn't do that, she saw a fellow athlete having problems, and made the effort to make sure she would still be able to compete. I remember listening to the announcers going crazy as she walked over to speak to the judges. They couldn't figure out what she was doing, why she wasn't focusing on the race, getting mentally psyched up and let the chips fall where they may.
She was doing something much more important I think. Something that you maybe didn't see in other events, and attitude not present in a lot of events I daresay. She was making sure that the field was even, for everyone. She wasn't trying to get herself that last little bit of advantage she might need, wasn't trying to pump her own ego up, or make someone else doubt themselves, she was fostering the true spirit of the Olympics. She was trying to help out someone who might very well end up beating her. Luckily for her, that wasn't the end of her career, however I think if it had been, she would have been proud to lose in that manner. Not sacrificing someone else for her own advantage.
Here's to the true Olympian, and outstanding role model, not just to swimmers, not just to Americans, but to the whole world.
Here's to you Dara Torres!!
/salute
Casey
First post from the new Indigo, iBook clamshell. There still appear to be a few kinks in the system. I downloaded iCab to use as a browser. It seem pretty okay, at least it's not trying to take over like the IE browser. The only thing is, when I go to create a new post, I don't have the options to change the font, size, style, color, etc. I don't know if this is a problem with how blogger displays on macs, or just my own ineptness at this point. Of course, it could just be the fact that I'm currently having to connect over dial-up, and the transfer of all the little bits takes too long, so it just doesn't do it. Who knows? Anyone? :) Anyway, while I'm not die-hard on the macs yet. I'm going to try taking this into work one day and seeing if I can scrounge a wireless connection. It should go a lot faster than this, and maybe I'll see a difference in what displays. On the upside, with the iCab browser, the pages are displaying a good deal better, with just a minor scroll to the right instead of hte half-page scroll. So I'm pleased with that. I may go back through the windows box, and edit this post later so that it conforms to the way the rest of my posts are displayed. I wonder if there's a default setting you can put on your Blogger Dashboard so that it will always post with your chosen font/color set? Anyone?Take care all,Casey
EDIT- it actually looked ok, as it showed int he dark green, but I like the font and italics better. Gotta figure out how to get that to display in my Indigo....
...the Cranberries?
I was digging around for a CD to throw in the player in the car when I noticed the plain CD with the couch on it. I tossed it in the player, and was overcome with a bit of nostalgia as I listened to Dolores O'Riordan croon out some tunes I haven't listened to since before I was married.
They had some really good stuff on that album, and I've enjoyed listening to it as I drive back and forth to work the last few days. Even my oldest daughter has tried to start singing along with Dolores on the way to and from daycare. My youngest of course, just sleeps through it all.
I remember really enjoying the CD back when it was originally purchased. I was in college at the time, so it may have been the over-dramatization associated with youth, but I remember really identifying with the tunes and the poignant lyrics. She had such a lovely voice, and I always loved when she went into a wail, it just sent shivers down my spine.
Anyway, hope she's doing well these days, and her career is still going strong. If you haven't listened to the Cranberries' debut album recently, you might want to pull it out, dust it off, and do a little reminiscing yourself.
Casey
OK, I have a question, one that I'm not seeing an answer to in the main stream media, or anywhere else for that matter.
What the devil got into Georgia?
South Ossetia has been a breakaway region for years. Heck, the Georgians signed an agreement with the South Ossetian Separatists back in 1992, 16 years ago. For sixteen years, South Ossetia has been separate from Georgia, with certain agreements in place, and for 16 years, the separatists have had the sympathy and backing of the Russian government. Granted, there was no official recognition of the separation by the UN, but who listens to them anyway :p
So for the last decade and a half, the separatists have been thumbing there nose at the Georgians, with Big Brother(i.e. Russia) lurking in the wings to make sure no one picks on them. What in the world made Georgia think, "Oh, now it's the perfect time to teach those separatists a lesson."?
I have to wonder if there's a bigger picture that we're missing out on. It occurs during the Olympics, I'm not sure what the benefit of that particular timing is, but it would seem to have some significance. It's basically calling the world's attention to the area. However I find it odd that no one is decrying the Georgian invasion of South Ossetia, just the Russian defense of the separatists. Granted, our Russian friends seem to have gotten a little over-exuberant in their implementation of defense of their little friends, but I digress.
Something had to trigger this, and push the Georgians into picking a fight that they absolutely know they had no chance of winning. Even if they marshaled all of their forces and swept in overnight, and took over everything in one fell swoop, there'd still be Russia to deal with, and you know they'd take umbrage at such a thing.
Something caused the Georgians to go temporarily insane. Something that I can't seem to figure out. There's a bigger picture here that I'm missing. If anyone knows what's going on that I'm missing, please enlighten me....
Casey
Ok, so maybe not real or total bliss or anything, but it was a pretty nice experience. Sunday afternoon, all of the girls, including my better half, were taking naps. I slip outside to the front porch with a glass of tea, sit in the rocking chair, and read a little Christopher Stasheff. I'm re-reading some of his 'Warlock' series, and it was just a perfect afternoon to do some of that outside. Mid- 70's in temperature, low humidity, all the girls asleep, the dogs and cats napping as well, the only sound other than the gentle breeze blowing through the trees was a pair of mourning doves serenading each other a few trees over from the porch. It was.....blissful.
Of course, my other experience of bliss happened on Friday. A co-worker and I slipped the chains of bureaucracy, and spent our lunch hour at the local indoor shooting range. We only brought our duty weapons along, as this was not a planned outing, but spur of the moment, but a nice hamburger plate at the local diner, and 50 rounds center mass with the lingering smell of gunpowder and Hoppes No. 9 to carry you through the rest of the day, also makes for a blissful feeling.
Hope you're having some enjoyable times yourself out there. I need to get back to earning a paycheck...
Casey
OK, so I've had a little bit of time to piddle around with the new acquisition , and it is definitely an Indigo iBook, 366MHz processor, 320 Megs of RAM, and a 10 Gig hard drive. Single USB port, Firewire port, internal modem, and ethernet jacks. Also, it appears the battery and CMOS battery are doing fine. I left it plugged in overnight, and it reads 4 hours 40 minutes on the battery charge, though I don't know how accurate that time estimate might be yet, and the date and time held, so I'm guessing the CMOS battery is fine as well.
As there are no wireless networks nearby, nor do I have any sort of high-speed access, I plugged a phone line into the integral modem jack, and puzzled my way onto the internet. The default browser, to my astonishment, was Internet Explorer for Macintosh. I had no idea Microsoft marketed products designed for it's competitor. I ran into a couple of minor snags on my first foray out. It looks like the best resolution allowable on my screen is 800x600. I actually only have two options at this point, that, and 640xsomeodd. At the best resolution, my little explorer browser only displays about one half width of any web page. That'll get annoying, as I do enjoy reading online. I'm not sure if that's because of the browser, or some setting integral to the web pages themselves. I hope to puzzle that one out later on.
One thing I found very annoying, was the fact that the modem kept disconnecting when there was a lag. I dial-up over old copper-wire pairs to get on the net, and as pitiful as the connection might be, the modems I've used on my windows boxes have always hung on stubbornly, like a bulldog. Eventually, the flow of data would pick up again, and I'd be fine. The continuous redialing was very bothersome. I'll have to do some digging and see if that's a mac thing, and correctable, or maybe I have a modem problem.
I did a little bit of surfing, thanks for the point towards LowEndMac Tam, and learned that my particular iBook, runs well with OS 9.2.2. It came to me with 9.1, and no disks. I was thinking I might go ahead and upgrade it, but I find, much to my dismay, that the upgrades aren't on the apple site. I'd thought it would be fun to download and upgrade from the apple site on my new apple :) A little more searching, courtesy of LowEndMac once again, showed several places willing to sell discs for the upgrade, albeit at exorbitant prices. I'd thought that it would be a free downloadable upgrade, as it was still a version of OS 9, and not moving up to the newer OSX and it's variants. Apparently, I was mistaken.
I also thought it would be fun to make a blogger post from my new iBook, but there are apparently some kinks in the system. I'm not sure if it's the OS, the browser, or what, but the Blogger site is all barked up when I go to the 'create new post' section. I'll have to do some more research to see what's going on there.
All in all though, I'm quite pleased with my new purchase, and look forward to learning my way around the macintosh system. Perhaps I'll even be able to talk my better half into letting me purchase a new mac, when the time is right :)
Take care all,
Casey
So I'm taking a break to go grab a cold drink from the vending machines. As I'm standing there, I notice that the snack machine has raised Braille on the number pad. My first thought was, "Hmm, interesting." Then it was "Wait a sec....WTH?"
For mental picturing purposes, the vending machine is a big box with a plexi-glass front. You look into the machine, decide what you want, look at the little number under the item you want, put in the appropriate amount of change, and key that number into the keypad, your item is dispensed.
Notice how many times I said 'look' there? It's kind of an integral part of the process. So why are there Braille numbers on the keypad? If it was a different kind of machine, with a Braille read-out for what product is in each slot, and whether or not there was actually anything in that slot, then I could understand having Braille numbers on the keypad. However, it's not that kind of machine. It's designed for people who can see what they want. heck, that's the idea behind the whole sales pitch, if they see it, they will want it. So why have adaptations on the payment end for someone who can't see to choose what they want, how much it costs, or how to get it? There's nothing else on the machine in Braille to even explain what kind of machine it is or what it's for?
Is it just me, or is that down right odd?
Don't get me wrong, I have the highest respect for anyone that can actually read Braille, I can only imagine the amount of dexterity and fingertip sensitivity required for such an endeavor. But the placement of Braille numbers on the keypad of a machine that's pretty much useless to anyone who's blind, well, it brings to mind that old saw about teats on a bull.
Casey
My Mac iBook clamshell arrived yesterday via UPS. The girls were a bit of a handful, so I've not had a chance to really play with it yet, but it's here!!
I'll have to do some digging to figure out exactly what I have here. I had thought I was getting one of the first generation 'BlueBerries' but think I might actually have gotten an 'Indigo'. If my terminology and thinking is correct anyway. It's a darker blue than I would think for the former, has what appears to be a 366Mhz processor, and a Firewire port. I may be mistaken, but I thought the Firewire ports were on the second generation iBooks.
I may have a little work to do to get it truly mobile as well. The battery appears dead and unchargeable, however I did see mention somewhere of a utility I can download that will reset the battery, and while not making it a brand new battery or anything, would let me get a little unplugged time from it. Of greater concern is that it appears that the CMOS battery is dead as well. When I plugged it in and booted it up for the first time, OS 9.1 came up, and the time and date were set to Midnight, January 1, 1904. That could be a bit of a problem, as I don't know how easy it is to get to the CMOS battery, and the nearest Apple store is hours and hours away. But both of those are things I can work around.
I'm also going to have to go and do some reading on how to use the Mac OS. The last apple computer I used was an Apple IIe way back in 1983, and that was in school, so I'm sure they didn't have the latest greatest machines. As I don't have any wireless networks near the house, I need to figure out how to set up the modem to dial out, and how to get a decent web browser, or at least one that's a little more familiar. There's something called 'Sherlock' on there now, which appears to be a browser, but the interface when I started it up was baffling.
Of course, I do so enjoy learning new things, and can't wait to figure this one out. Hopefully, soon, my blog posts will be done from my new(to me) mac while relaxing at the coffee shop on my lunch break :)
Take care all,
Casey
Okay, this is going to be my first foray into 'gun talk', but I have an opinion, and since it's my blog(neener, neener) I'm going to share my opinion :)
I often hear people say that you should carry what ever gun your comfortable with. I often also hear people comment that you should carry the largest caliber gun that you can comfortably conceal/carry. There are also those who will tell you that anything less that a .40 caliber, hi-capacity magazine, semi-automatic pistol is just asking for trouble.
Well, in my not so humble opinion, that's just a bunch of hooey. In my capacity as a certified law enforcement officer, I carry a .40 caliber Glock, and at least one back-up magazine. Agency policy prohibits me from carrying anything else while on duty, to include back-up guns, etc.(I know, idiotic ain't it?) when I'm on duty. That's not to say I don't carry a BUG, just that as far as my superiors are concerned, what you see is what you get.
On my own time, however, is a different story. If I'm out, meaning from going to the store for a loaf of bread, to trips out hunting, whether venison or antiques, I'm always armed. The only exception being if I'm having a drink while I'm out, whether a glass of wine with dinner, a beer with the guys after work, or a scotch on the rocks with a good cigar, guns and alcohol do not mix...ever. Once more for effect:
Guns and Alcohol do not mix.....EVER!!
That being said, and that exception aside, I'm always armed, and have been since before I got into a career in law enforcement. Usually, when I carry concealed, I'm carrying a personally owned gun, of varying calibers. I have my grandfather's old Colt Cobra in .38 special(6 shots). I enjoy carrying my Kel-Tec P3AT in .380 caliber(6+1 shots), and I also like my little .25 caliber Beretta(also 6.1 shots) for it's James Bond nostalgia. When I carry these pistols, I never carry a spare magazine, or speed loader for the revolver.
I also, never feel uncomfortable carrying any of them. I don't feel under gunned at all, even carrying what some would call a 'mouse gun'. The main reason is in addition to being comfortable with each gun, I'm also confident in my ability with each of them. I am a better shot with my .25 caliber Beretta, just point-shooting, than I am with my Glock aiming with the proper site picture. Starting at 10 feet away, I can chase a soda can around the yard with that little Beretta. I'm even better with my Heritage Rough Rider single action .22 LR(my uncle got my grandfather's Single-Six), but it does have a 7-ish inch barrel, which makes it inconvenient for concealed carry, but I often wear it when out in the woods hunting, and don't feel under gunned there either.
The main reason is because I know that I'll hit whatever I'm aiming at with any of those guns. Now I don't claim to be a great shot, or that I can use my .22 to shoot birds on the wing getting only headshots, etc. But I'm a decent shot, and I can put everything into a paper plate a 10 yards or less fairly consistently with any of the mentioned guns. That translates into confidence with each of them. The fact that I live out in the sticks, and can step out into the back yard and pop off a mag or cylinder whenever I get the urge helps too.
I feel as confident when I'm out wearing a pair of shorts with that .25 in my pocket, as I do when I have my duty rig on with the .40 and a spare mag. No matter what you carry, if you're both comfortable with it, and confident that you can hit whatever you're aiming at, or pointing at as the case may be, you're good to go. Seven or eight rounds of .45 ACP fired wildly over your shoulder as you duck for cover, aren't going to be anywhere near as effective as a single .25 auto shot to the face/throat/groin. Everything is about shot placement, and the more comfortable and confident you are with your chosen carry piece, the better your shot placement is going to be.
This has grown into a bit of a ramble, and if you made it to the end, I appreciate your attention. Keep in mind though, this is my own opinion, and as this is the internet, there are a plethora of other opinions out there, some agreeing, some disagreeing, and some so far in left field you wonder how they even got involved in the topic. There are others, much more knowledgeable than myself who offer opinions in much better words than I can(check the blogs I read regularly to the left) but though their offerings often wax poetic, remember, they're not sacrosanct. Coming to your own, reasoned conclusions and opinions is the only way to grow and make your own way in the world. Take the advice of people you respect under consideration, and even allow it to influence your own decisions, but don't blindly accept what anyone tells you without stopping to think about it on your own.
Hmm, I'm getting a little wordy, must be the beer. I'll call it a night, and see if I regret this post tomorrow :)
Take care all,
Casey
SO, I hooked up the Site Meter thingie, so I could check out who, if anyone, was visiting my little site. I was looking at the stats this morning, and had a visitor from Germany, who had been directed to my site by a Google search for waist chains.
I know I mentioned having someone in waist chains and shackles in a previous post, but what has me curious, is what do waist chains mean to people in Germany? Is it some sort of fashion trend belt, or do they just enjoy having their wrists cuffed to a chain around their waist? Perhaps I'm way off base here, but waist chains just have cuffs attached to them in my head.....
Oh well, an interesting start to the morning nonetheless.
Casey
Success at last!! I woke up this morning to a note in my e-mail from eBay, informing me that I'd won an auction for an Apple/Macintosh iBook G3 Clamshell Blueberry, with WiFi!! Hmm, lets see if this works... Linkyloo Lets see if that worked :)
I'm as giddy as a little school girl :) I put in a bid last night, not expecting to win, as the auction still had 5 hours to go, and I fully expected the bidding to go well over $150, and out of my price range. Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to find that the winning bid had been mine, and only went for $73!!!!
The auction stated that the battery does not appear to hold a charge, but it does come with a power adapter. So I'll have to be plugged in for a bit, until I figure out which battery I need to get for this particular model, but that's okay. It doesn't come with any CDs or paperwork, but does have Mac OS 9 installed. If I understand correctly, that's referred to as the 'Classic' OS?
I'll have to see what I can find for beginner's books for this critter, after it arrives, and get to doing some Mac computing!!
Once again, Woohoo for me!!
Hope your day is starting off as fun as mine!!
Casey
....that some, normally intelligent, ordinary people, get downright stupid when they get behind the wheel?
I was on an extradition yesterday, traveling into Georgia to pick one up to bring back to Carolina to explain to a judge, why exactly he was in Georgia in the first place. On the way there, we noticed marked patrol cars all over Interstate 85. There were State Troopers, County Sheriffs, and Local Police, at all the exits on a strip of interstate about 35 miles long, grabbing people left and right. So one would think, obviously incorrectly, that the proliferation of marked patrol units, and seeing them with people pulled over every mile or two, would have people driving on their best behavior.....
Not So Much.....
We were in an 'unmarked' CVPI, Blue lights hanging in the windshield, and followed people who just really should not have been out there driving. We followed one woman for several miles, who was weaving back and forth, crossing the center line on her right, and the yellow line on her left at about 80 mph. Bad enough so that the guy in waist chains and shackles in the back seat, was wondering if we ought to check on the driver. She finally drifts over into the right lane, and we ease up alongside her, looking over to see if she's obviously intoxicated or something where we should call for locals, and ya know what we see? She's happily driving along, trying to figure out her iPhone/Blackberry/whatever. That's what's got her so distracted she's driving all over the place.
I was almost tempted to go ahead and pull her over and have a chat with her, even though I'd be way out of jurisdiction, and violating a whole host of Agency policies, not the least of which is you don't stop anyone when you're transporting, especially out of state. She just waved and smiled at us, and then bent her head back down to look at her handheld device.
I swear people, be careful when you get out on the roads, as you never know what empty headed dingbat is sharing the road with you.....
Casey
