Geek: Houston we have touchdown!
Mmm Mars...
Sweet! Congrats to Nasa for keeping the dreams of space alive. Slowing a craft searing across the martian heavens at 12,000 mph ...down to 5mph only armed with an airhook, some tinfoil from a used jiffy pop, and some compressed farts..ignited.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080526/ap_on_sc/phoenix_mars
If you really want to get some depth, try staring at the stereo cam pics on this page crosseyed...but not to too long, else I will make fun of you.
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images.php?gID=437&cID=8
The Microsoft Tax
I just got through reinstalling Windows XP on my laptop... a task somewhat of equal herculean proportions when I am screaming through work at. I typically dread as it always costs several days, when I'd rather be developing. But like traffic tickets, I consider this one of those mostly unavoidable semi-yearly technology tax, where a properly aged system, has acquired so many neuroticisms caught between the past system checkpoints and neverending updates, even a patient computer therapist like myself can't make it past all the convolutions.
Despite the CD saying it takes only an hour to install, it's taken 1 day to backup things safely, 1 day to reinstall windows, service packs, and get (latest) drivers working, and probably another week to get all the applications setup and configured (provided that another reinstall isn't necessary) A perfect way to spend a Memorial Day weekend, given there aren't an pressing deliverables due tomorrow, and another multi-month haul is coming up as the company finally polishes up the rough spots and releases the product.
I keep forgetting the crispy freshness of a clean install, it's like it's been blessed and all it's sins absolved, and I no longer feel like BDSM Gumby trying to bend to conform to it's quirky demands. Heh, gives a whole new spin to lap-top.
Since I'm 'upgrading', I've ordered 4GB of RAM (only $89 delivered!) so this pristine OS state can be run as a Virtual Machine via VMWare's nifty converter, which will make migrating off the windows platform easier.. or at least give me disposable OS images to use and abuse. Makes me wonder though, how deep the virtualization/emulation rabbit hole will go. Running MAME on windows, in an VMWare on yet another OS that in 15 years won't likely exist.
Sweet! Congrats to Nasa for keeping the dreams of space alive. Slowing a craft searing across the martian heavens at 12,000 mph ...down to 5mph only armed with an airhook, some tinfoil from a used jiffy pop, and some compressed farts..ignited.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080526/ap_on_sc/phoenix_mars
If you really want to get some depth, try staring at the stereo cam pics on this page crosseyed...but not to too long, else I will make fun of you.
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images.php?gID=437&cID=8
The Microsoft Tax
I just got through reinstalling Windows XP on my laptop... a task somewhat of equal herculean proportions when I am screaming through work at. I typically dread as it always costs several days, when I'd rather be developing. But like traffic tickets, I consider this one of those mostly unavoidable semi-yearly technology tax, where a properly aged system, has acquired so many neuroticisms caught between the past system checkpoints and neverending updates, even a patient computer therapist like myself can't make it past all the convolutions.
Despite the CD saying it takes only an hour to install, it's taken 1 day to backup things safely, 1 day to reinstall windows, service packs, and get (latest) drivers working, and probably another week to get all the applications setup and configured (provided that another reinstall isn't necessary) A perfect way to spend a Memorial Day weekend, given there aren't an pressing deliverables due tomorrow, and another multi-month haul is coming up as the company finally polishes up the rough spots and releases the product.
I keep forgetting the crispy freshness of a clean install, it's like it's been blessed and all it's sins absolved, and I no longer feel like BDSM Gumby trying to bend to conform to it's quirky demands. Heh, gives a whole new spin to lap-top.
Since I'm 'upgrading', I've ordered 4GB of RAM (only $89 delivered!) so this pristine OS state can be run as a Virtual Machine via VMWare's nifty converter, which will make migrating off the windows platform easier.. or at least give me disposable OS images to use and abuse. Makes me wonder though, how deep the virtualization/emulation rabbit hole will go. Running MAME on windows, in an VMWare on yet another OS that in 15 years won't likely exist.