Living on the information superhighway, things have a way of finding themselves in your inbox. I recently received a message from someone I went to high school with. I didn't respond; it wasn't someone I am interested in having contact with. But it got me thinking about 2 guys who were in my art classes senior year. They tried to keep in touch with me for a while after graduation, but I was busy with school and work and we lost contact. They were intellectual geek types. They were also extremely loyal, kind and compassionate. I regret loosing contact. I also drifted away from a girl who was pretty much my best friend during my senior year and my first few years of college. I really don't know how we drifted apart. It's weird; I can't comprehend it. I loved her dearly and I have no idea where on earth she is.
I tried googling all their names. I found 2 of them on Linked In, but you must have a paid account to send a message on their site. Grrrrr! None seem to be on Myspace or Facebook. Why is it that the people who you want to get in touch with are the most difficult to track down?
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Leopard or Vista...that is the question
This week my husband I have started to realize that our XP machine is reaching it's end. I've been exceptionally happy with our home computer. But we upgraded the RAM about a year and a half ago and it's still slow. We got 5 years out of it, so I have no complaints. But the thing is starting to do really wonky stuff. Like this past week when it didn't want to send and receive messages when I opened Outlook. I'm sure there are things we can do to tune it up, but the reality is that it's approaching time for a new computer.
Which brings me to our conundrum. I've always used Windows based machines. I've always liked Windows. But I've heard some unhappy tales about Vista. Like the fact that it's a major memory hog. I've read that the 1st service pack alone takes up at least a gig. It's also notorious for running e......x.......t.......r.......e.......m........e.........l......y slow. I've heard that it tries to be Mac OS, but fails miserably.
My husband has been using Mac's at work. While he likes Windows XP, he enjoys the simplicity and ease of use with Mac. Interestingly, when he first got this job almost 4 years ago, he was given an ancient Mac Book. It had a pitifully small hard drive and wasn't anything spectacular. My guy was less than impressed and couldn't figure out why so many people raved about Macs. Then they upgraded him to a brand new MacBook which gave him a whole new perspective.
He works for the local public school district. When he visits a school and works with the staff, if he has to print using a network printer from a PC he claims it's a laborious process that is a pain in the tuchus. The same printing job from a Mac takes seconds. It's a touch of button on the keyboard. Overall he enjoys Mac OS, which he feels is more intuitive and runs smoother.
So we're seriously considering a Mac. Mac's are more expensive, but my guy thinks it's worth the additional few hundred dollars. He hasn't used Leopard though; Mac's new operating system. But everyone he knows who has used it, loves it. When I buy cars and electronics I always buy for reliability and practicality first. However, I must admit, I like Mac aesthetics. Macs are beautiful machines; minimalist anodized aluminum and glass in a sleek, all-in-one package. They look smart and elegant on a desk.
This is something we will likely be mulling over for a few months. (If my guy, by some miracle, gets a much wanted promotion to assistant principal, I'll push the issue a bit more, later this summer.) I think at some point we will need to make a trip to the Apple store and ask some questions...and play with some computers.
Which brings me to our conundrum. I've always used Windows based machines. I've always liked Windows. But I've heard some unhappy tales about Vista. Like the fact that it's a major memory hog. I've read that the 1st service pack alone takes up at least a gig. It's also notorious for running e......x.......t.......r.......e.......m........e.........l......y slow. I've heard that it tries to be Mac OS, but fails miserably.
My husband has been using Mac's at work. While he likes Windows XP, he enjoys the simplicity and ease of use with Mac. Interestingly, when he first got this job almost 4 years ago, he was given an ancient Mac Book. It had a pitifully small hard drive and wasn't anything spectacular. My guy was less than impressed and couldn't figure out why so many people raved about Macs. Then they upgraded him to a brand new MacBook which gave him a whole new perspective.
He works for the local public school district. When he visits a school and works with the staff, if he has to print using a network printer from a PC he claims it's a laborious process that is a pain in the tuchus. The same printing job from a Mac takes seconds. It's a touch of button on the keyboard. Overall he enjoys Mac OS, which he feels is more intuitive and runs smoother.
So we're seriously considering a Mac. Mac's are more expensive, but my guy thinks it's worth the additional few hundred dollars. He hasn't used Leopard though; Mac's new operating system. But everyone he knows who has used it, loves it. When I buy cars and electronics I always buy for reliability and practicality first. However, I must admit, I like Mac aesthetics. Macs are beautiful machines; minimalist anodized aluminum and glass in a sleek, all-in-one package. They look smart and elegant on a desk.
This is something we will likely be mulling over for a few months. (If my guy, by some miracle, gets a much wanted promotion to assistant principal, I'll push the issue a bit more, later this summer.) I think at some point we will need to make a trip to the Apple store and ask some questions...and play with some computers.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The incredibly offensive lactating breast
It seems that if given a choice between owning as many guns as is humanly possible, or (shudder) seeing a mother breastfeed a baby, many neocons would choose the guns. Apparently a lactating breast is too much for them to even contemplate. (I will remind you, we are talking about the "Right to Life" crowd.)
My husband's buddy, I like to call him "Smith" (as in, Smith and Wesson), is a bit of a neocon. He claims he favors individual rights and is against big government. He's made plenty of statements that contradict that supposed stance. I keep thinking my husband just can't surprise me anymore with any of Smith's baloney, but he always proves me wrong.
The latest? Smith thinks people should be able to smoke in restaurants and in public places. But a mother should not be allowed to breastfeed her baby in those same public places. He likens breastfeeding to defecating. It really irks me when uptight numskulls make that analogy. They claim that yes, breastfeeding is natural, but so is pooping. To my way of thinking, eating...in a restaurant, is normal and natural. Why shouldn't a baby eat with the rest of the family? And for the life of me I cannot figure out what is supposed to be so disgusting about breastfeeding or breasts in general anyway. Smith told my husband that breastfeeding women allow themselves to just "hang out". My husband said, "Really? Where have you seen that?" He didn't get a response from Smith.
It was rather stupid of Smith to say that to my husband, of all men. After all, I breastfed Little Man until he was 2 1/2. (Yeah, apparently I'm quite the wild woman.) My husband is rather in tune with breastfeeding mamas and he's quite the nursing proponent. We attended a picnic for the local midwifery association when Little Man was 4 months old and there were quite a few nursing women there. That was the only place we ever saw any nursing mamas "hanging out" in public (yours truly was among the hanging-out crowd).
Smith however, doesn't see anything wrong with a baby breathing someone's nasty secondhand smoke. Smith also happens to be a gun-nut. He thinks people should be allowed to own as many guns as they want and they should be able to "protect themselves". So let me get this straight, guns and shooting people are ok, but breastfeeding is bad. Well heck, my 5 year old son knows that just doesn't make sense. Even he knows that a baby "drinks milk from it's mommy's boobies". If a 5 year old can get it right, why can't the neocons?
My husband's buddy, I like to call him "Smith" (as in, Smith and Wesson), is a bit of a neocon. He claims he favors individual rights and is against big government. He's made plenty of statements that contradict that supposed stance. I keep thinking my husband just can't surprise me anymore with any of Smith's baloney, but he always proves me wrong.
The latest? Smith thinks people should be able to smoke in restaurants and in public places. But a mother should not be allowed to breastfeed her baby in those same public places. He likens breastfeeding to defecating. It really irks me when uptight numskulls make that analogy. They claim that yes, breastfeeding is natural, but so is pooping. To my way of thinking, eating...in a restaurant, is normal and natural. Why shouldn't a baby eat with the rest of the family? And for the life of me I cannot figure out what is supposed to be so disgusting about breastfeeding or breasts in general anyway. Smith told my husband that breastfeeding women allow themselves to just "hang out". My husband said, "Really? Where have you seen that?" He didn't get a response from Smith.
It was rather stupid of Smith to say that to my husband, of all men. After all, I breastfed Little Man until he was 2 1/2. (Yeah, apparently I'm quite the wild woman.) My husband is rather in tune with breastfeeding mamas and he's quite the nursing proponent. We attended a picnic for the local midwifery association when Little Man was 4 months old and there were quite a few nursing women there. That was the only place we ever saw any nursing mamas "hanging out" in public (yours truly was among the hanging-out crowd).
Smith however, doesn't see anything wrong with a baby breathing someone's nasty secondhand smoke. Smith also happens to be a gun-nut. He thinks people should be allowed to own as many guns as they want and they should be able to "protect themselves". So let me get this straight, guns and shooting people are ok, but breastfeeding is bad. Well heck, my 5 year old son knows that just doesn't make sense. Even he knows that a baby "drinks milk from it's mommy's boobies". If a 5 year old can get it right, why can't the neocons?
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