Personal

I’ve finally written something officially for Macworld. It’s a fairly proud moment in my life. It’s almost like seeing my name in lights.

I have to extend the obligatory St. Patrick’s Day greeting. So, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’d try a Guinness tonight, but considering my recent surgery, I may hold off until this weekend. At any rate, tip one back for me!

Well, it was confirmed. I had appendicitis and they removed my appendix. I’m appendix-less. Is that a turn-on or -off for women? ...

I might now be able to write for the next few days. After dinner last night, I started having some abdominal pains. It all shifted to my right side shortly before bed and it’s still there. I’m feeling pretty woozy right now, so I’m going to have to deal with it. Yikes.

Yesterday evening started out wonderfully. The video card had arrived and dinner was pastrami sandwiches. Delicious. I probably wolfed it down too quickly to actually enjoy it, but that’s what happens when I get a new toy. Ask Dana how much attention I paid her after I used her student status to get my Powerbook. So I ran upstairs to my room and carefully installed the new card. I plugged everything back into my computer, removed the ADC to DVI adapter on my Formac display and plugged that in, and let her rip. The computer seemed to start up as normal. Good. ...

My video card was delayed yesterday, as the UPS site described. It was nowhere to be found. I cried and cried. Very sad. I’ve been watching the tracking status intently today (with an updated delivery estimate of today). Just a few short minutes ago, I noticed that the status had been changed to delivered. I finally get to play with my new toy. Seriously, I’m like a kid at Christmas with this stuff. To quote myself: “Weeee!”

I live in Massachusetts. Snow is not a weather phenomenon here; it’s a way of life. Due to that fact, I’ve learned to accept snow and snowstorms. They can’t be avoided, only dealt with. Every time the white stuff hits the ground, I know I’m going to have to shovel it off the driveway and the deck. I know I’ll have to clean off my car. I know there’s going to be so much salt on the road that I’m going to go through a gallon of windshield wiper fluid (because, unlike peanuts, windshields are best when unsalted). I know traffic is going to be terrible going in to work. ...

After spending a lot time surfing the net looking for the best upgrade for my Powermac, I decided on an ATi Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Edition video card. It’s the best video that will ever work in my Dual 1 GHz G4 Powermac. I know you’re all very excited for me. What’s even better about it, is that it will likely correct the KotOR problems I was having. There was an update that was supposed to correct it, but I was too disheartened to try it again. Besides, I barely have time for anything lately. I haven’t even been playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. ...

Yes, it’s geeky and there isn’t really much defending it, but my new favorite show is anime. It airs Thursday and Saturday nights on Adult Swim. Check their website for current showtimes. The show of course is Fullmetal Alchemist. It’s about a pair of brothers extremely interested in alchemy, the science of making anything as long as you have the correct ingredients. They try revive their mother using this science/art, which is forbidden. They find out why. The older brother loses two limbs while the younger loses his entire body, being bonded to some empty armor. ...

For my first step in learning Ruby, I'm ordering Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmers' Guide, Second Edition from Amazon.com. With free shipping, that'll only be $31.40. Not bad for a 862 page book. <p>If I can find the time to read all those pages, I should do well.</p></div><div class="goalprogresslink">See more progress on: <a href="http://43things.com/people/progress/d00d?on=94649">Learn Ruby</a></div>