iMac Memory Upgrade!

I have a 17 inch, late 2006 iMac that's been running too slow since I updated to Snow Leopard and iLife '09.  Of course, having 10k photos and over 9k songs doesn't help, either!  And the hard drive is nearly full.  I had been shopping around for more memory and was looking at spending $50-$100 to upgrade to 3-4 gigs of memory. 

My son mentioned that he had two 1 GB sticks laying around from when he upgraded his MacBook Pro.  He offered to mail them to me, so I said sure!  Today I replaced the 512 MB sticks with the 1 GB sticks.  It was easy and didn't take long!

The patient!

"New to me" 1 GB sticks

Old memory sticks (had to use tweezers to grab an edge to pull out)

New sticks going in; old ones off to the side

They make a slight click when seated

RAM access door re-installed

Before and after upgrade











Yay!  It's not a huge jump in performance going from 1 to 2 GB memory, but it's definitely faster, and best of all, the memory was free and it got recycled!  :)

iPad Love

I &hearts the new iPad!  I watched the live feed today as this device was being announced.  Here's where you can read all about iPad.

Go to pcworld and ars technica to read some reviews.  Google has a live stream of links, too.

If I had the money, I would get the entry-level one for $499.   I think it's well-positioned in the market at that price, and it definitely fills the gap between smart phone and laptop computer.  I don't aim to replace my desktop computer, but I would choose iPad over a laptop in the same price range, just for the overall build quality and versatility.  It's built for couch-potato comfort and easy portability.  Nearly all the iPhone apps will work on it, and so will a new version of iWorks, if you feel the need to do some actual work with documents or spreadsheets or presentations!!!

Another way to waste my life on the internet!  :)

Epiphany in a Glance

Your disapproving eyes don't pierce me now.
My haste was no insult;
I was dying under another gun.
Oh, I would have crumbled once.
I floated you in an ocean of love,
but you saw it differently and sailed on.
I gave everything I owned and wanted to be
but it wasn't enough to earn your loyalty
or stem your careless self-destruction.

You said I would never find love,
that I would die alone and miserable.
Mister, you don't get to write my life.
My life is a gift I gave to myself,
an open-book test where I see the choices,
and they lead to peace in every step.
My leaving was the thing that saved me.

So let me be and don't judge me.
Don't follow me now with your hooks and barbs.
I loved you once and that should be enough.

In the Mood

Last night I went to a Champagne Guest Party and Dance at In the Mood Ballroom.  It's located in a beautiful restored building.  The owners, Rudy and Karen Gonzales, did much of the work themselves, and the result is quite elegant!

The hardwood floor is original, and it was found under another wood floor which was under shag carpeting!

This mural of the owners was painted by a friend.  I love how some of the original brick wall was left uncovered.  The ceiling is tin.

Rudy is telling the story of how he and Karen met, and how they began their business.  Of all the newcomers last night, he singled out me to illustrate the correct dance position.  I proved my status as a rank amateur!!!  :)

We learned the foxtrot, two step, merengue, and East Coast swing.  The evening was so much fun that I decided to sign up for lessons!  I'm actually sore from dancing.  I can already tell that this will be good for me!

The Knave Abideth

What if ... William Shakespeare wrote The Big Lebowski?

A friend posted this link two weeks ago, and I was intrigued.  You might be, too, if you're a fan of the Coen Brothers (and of Shakespeare).  I thoroughly enjoyed Two Gentlemen of Lebowski by Adam Bertocci!  Apparently he wrote this five act play as a publicity stunt to showcase his talent as a filmmaker and screenwriter.  He had no idea that it would go viral!  He makes it clear that his creation is fan fiction and is in no way affiliated with the creators of The Big Lebowski.

A performance has already been planned in NYC!  And of course there's a Facebook page!

Here's a little excerpt from the play, wherein Maude tempts the Knave, and the Knave makes a story of his "rise" to His Knaveness.

MAUDE
Come, thou spirit that tends on mortal thoughts,
Come lie with me under the greenwood tree
And know the heat of a luxurious bed
And in our faults by lies we’ll flattered be.

THE KNAVE
My Maude is now the queen of special ladies,
Attired in a robe that is mine own.

[They kiss, and lay down]

MAUDE
Speak of thyself, O Geoffrey, while we sleep.

THE KNAVE
Let me present my life-time as a Knave,
Though little stands to tell; but tarry soft.
I’d tell thee how, in youth, I did author
A statement in Port Huron, ere the turn
When it emerg’d in compromised draft.
Or how, in fair Seattle, I and six
Were charg’d conspirators against the King;
Yea, that was me; and sixfold other men.
I turn’d attention briefly to the lute
And fife, and tour’d with men of speed and sound,
Who asses were; now I do nothing much,
Mayhap a bit of this, a bit of that.
I play at ninepins on the village green
And tour the town, and think on wilder days.
My house is sacked by Jaques Treehorn’s men
Who thought to seek thy father’s money here;
A case of great complexity we glimpse,
With many ins and outs, as I have said.

Shakespeare likely could not have imagined the women's lib movement, though!

THE KNAVE
Wherefore thy strange position on the floor?

MAUDE
I crave a young conception in my womb,
And seat me thus to better take thy seed.

THE KNAVE
Increase thy chance of bearing me a child?
But I a father poorly made would be!

MAUDE
Nay, I seek no partner in this babe;
I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.
Our comedy ends not with marriage-bed,
I’ll live unpartner’d, and unbotherèd.

Heh.  Maybe they were meant for each other!

Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.

Antidote to a Culture of Activity

My daughter gave me this book for Christmas.  In reading the first chapter, I found this passage.  I knew right away that I would enjoy this book.  More than this, I knew that I needed this book!

We have learned to work, think for, and abide by the rules of the society in which we live, but we have not learned to think or dream for ourselves. We no longer know what it means to take our time, let our spirits unfold, let our imaginations run wild.

It has become vital, not just for ourselves but for everyone's sake, to oppose this blind mechanical pressure with an intimate force, a subjective power, a ray of warmth.

It has become imperative that we resist. Draw from yourself all the hidden energy and strength you possess, and release all that is original, unique, weird, fantastic; you must throw all this in the world's face, you must rise up against and oppose the blind and inescapable pressure of society with a living force, a deep and beautiful laugh.

Why?

So that the expansion of thought, imagination, and subjectivity may triumph. So that all our voices, however anonymous and distant, can be heard. So that all the nuances and differences of an individual will stand out in a world that threatens to become intrusive. All the great movements and social revolutions and metamorphoses begin with intimate revolutions. You can start right here, on your lounge chair.

Stretch yourself out again.  Cover yourself with the blanket that slipped to the floor.

– Catherine Laroze in The Art of Being

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

This picture was taken about 4:00 yesterday afternoon.  Not a good sign of things to come.  :(

I thought this ice with bubbles was so pretty!  It is about an inch thick and solidly frozen.  I usually leave water out in a plant saucer for the wildlife.

We had been below freezing for about 40 hours, and I always get ravenously hungry for down-home cooking when it's this cold.  I decided to make chicken and dumplings.  :)

My 19-year-old twins and I nearly finished off the entire pot!  I didn't get fancy with vegetables, just used salt, pepper, and seasoned salt in the broth.  We had rolls and butter, too.  It seemed like a feast on a cold night!

Well, it's a good thing I fixed a hearty meal.  Last night we shattered a 97-year-old temperature record of 15 degrees. Not sure what the actual low was, but at 7:00 this morning, it was 10 degrees!  And my hose bib now looked like this, with icicles hanging down.  And so did two others.  Keeping fingers crossed that I won't have to call a plumber when the arctic front finally departs this area sometime tomorrow afternoon.

I decided to go check on the frostweed in my wild garden.  Frostweed is a homely plant most of the year, tall and gangly with coarse leaves.  But during a sudden cold snap, it does a fascinating thing.  It extrudes ribbons of ice from the ribbed stem.  This patch of frostweed has ice formations only at the base, most likely because it had already repeatedly frozen.

The ice ribbons are exquisite!  I was trying to capture them backlit by early morning sun.

Chiquita is curious about everything!

Not one to give up easily, she's determined to get a drink from this solidly frozen disc of water!  She's quite happy when it's this cold, and her fur explodes in thickness!

Tonight it's predicted to be 10 degrees again!  Oh joy.