If you've been following along, you know I've been suffering with some serious computer problems.
I have three laptops, neither of which works properly. One has no sound, one has no picture and one is little more than a doorstop. Guess which is the PC!
So... after much consideration and time pressure, I've decided to purchase a MacBook from the folks at Apple.
While I would have preferred to have made my purchase at a local outlet (Discount Mac) or from Craigslist, Apple's online store was offering fully warrantied refurbished MacBooks for several hundred bucks off. Plus I saved $30 on my .mac renewal.
I may regret the decision a wee bit if, on Tuesday, Steve Jobs introduces something skookum at MacWorld. But, hopefully not.
As I write this I am waiting for FedEx to deliver the new toy/tool.
One of the things that I liked about living in Ghana was that my cursed electro-hex did not follow me overseas.
For those of you who don't know about my electro-hex, it is simple to explain: While I love technology, it doesn't necessarily love me. I am able to corrupt computers, shut down cash registers and generally wreak havoc on anything digital -- simply by my presence.
In Ghana, everything worked. Now that I'm back in Canada, not so much.
A small example: my laptops. I have three.
Laptop 1: A used 12" iBook I bought for $100. It is slow but perfect for dragging around to coffee shops. It worked like a charm until about two weeks ago: the screen is dead. Usually. Sometimes the screen works but the computer locks up during the boot process.
Laptop 2: My 2002 vintage Mac PowerBook. Expensive and still robust after all these years -- it is speechless. For whatever reason (perhaps one too many tumbles to the floor), the speakers don't work. Thankfully the headphone jack works and I can listen to melodious beeps and error pings.
I could live with this state of affairs except I can't run some PC-only software I use to do my CBC work. It allows me to work remotely saving me from commuting to, say, Saskatchewan!
For that I use:
Laptop 3: I bought a little Gateway PC especially for my CBC work. It was inexpensive and has served me well for several years.
It's now dead. It won't run off AC power. It won't run off the battery. The battery won't charge. It smells funny. I even tried a new charger - but that didn't work either.
So now I have three laptops: one without a display, one without sound, and one without anything. And it's the PC I really need the most (see reference to Saskatchewan commute, above).
There is a solution: a new MacBook. I can boot in Windows and run my CBC stuff. I can boot in OS X and run Final Cut Pro et al. Perfect!
Except the $1600 price tag. And the fact that Apple is announcing new goodies next week. Damn them! I don't want to wait!
Anyway... as I was lamenting the fact that I have three computers that don't suddenly don't work... I found a funny video to cheer me up.
Christmas dinner at Dave and Catherine Gage's was grand. The full meal with much wine.
Their house in West Van is a treat too. Right on the water, although you have to brave a driveway they aptly named "leap of faith."
As luck would have it, it snowed, rendering my vehicle useless in any attempts at climbing leap of faith.
We cracked another bottle of wine and I stayed the night.
Boxing Day started with a stunning view of Horseshoe Bay. Dave cooked up an unholy amount of bacon to go with a feed of eggs. A pot or two of coffee later, it was time to be on my way.
I'll be back though. To house sit! Bwah ha ha!
The rest of the day was filled with running around. I gave up on attempting to shop for new shoes. Instead I spent time with Sammy the Cat at Don and Linda's.
Then I headed home to do some preps for my online work. And then an aborted attempt to visit some friends in Burnaby. I found the general area of the get together but was unable to raise anyone on the phone.
I headed back to Deep Cove and planned to get to bed early. I'm writing Alberta news for the remainder of the week. I get to work from home but I have to start at 6. Meaning I have to get up at 5 so my brain is functioning by 6.
And it was. Actually I got up at 4 in order to be ready to go for 6. And I was able to watch the sun rise on a snow covered Deep Cove.
The work day went quickly and ended before I knew it. I decided to reward myself with a trip to a deep discount shoe seller on Granville St. I walked into the empty store and walked out with $250 worth of shoes (actually a pair of shoes and a pair of sandals) for about $70 including tax.
