May 2003 Archives

Very Funny Website, in passing:

"I wonder if this place used to be called 'French Wireless.'"
--A guy standing outside Freedom Wireless on Shattuck.

"How do I get to handbags?"
"Oh, they're on the lower level, you can go downstairs right over there."
"I'm afraid of down escalators! You need to respect the fact that some people are afraid of down escalators!"
"I'm so sorry Ma'am... I didn't consider that because you took the up escalator to arrive here just now. Er... the elevators are around the corner if you'd prefer that."
"Don't you know that down escalators is how you get to *looks side to side, then whispers* Hell?"
--An elderly woman and a clerk at Macy's

"We're not 'just like' your teacher. Think of us as more like your friends."
"Yeah, you know we're students. We have homework too, in college."
"Yeah, right. It's not as hard as mine."
--Two college-age girls, and a 8 or 9 year old boy, on the bus.

"Oh hey, you'll never guess who I married the other day? Alan! C'mon, you totally know him, he's your roommate."
--A woman talking on a cell phone outside Coffee Source

(via Brad DeLong)

Noone liked Apple's round hockey mouse shipped with the original iMac. It was just awful. Too little. Too round. Bad designer, no cookie.

Some people don't like the newer (from 2000) "pill mouse" either.

I am not sure what's not to like about it. Most people rant about only having one button. Sure, when I used LinuxPPC I sorta missed a second button. In OS 9 I didn't at all and in OS X I honestly don't either. I think Viridiana has something against the size, which is my only possible complaint. It could be a bit taller for my hand. I have to ask her what it is she doesn't like.

So what do I like about it? Well, the things you become aware of when parts of your body becomes oversensitive (to put a semi-positive spin on it).

I love that there's no button. For my sore, tired arm and hand it's a total blessing to to put a bit more weight down instead of doing some awkward movement of one finger to a particular place to activate. Trust me, when your body throws in the white towel you'll know what I mean.

The adjustable click-tension will let you to make it work optimally for you. I usually have mine set to the ligh setting. If you have a heavier hand you just change it to require more pressure to click. Viola!

And then it looks neat, which is never bad.

All that being said it seems like Apple are coming out with a new keyboard and mouse. It's hard to judge the mouse without trying it (no major redesign except for apparent loss of the click tension thing (suck!)). But the keyboard, oh dear, the keyboard! From the pictures it looks like it's getting a heavy tilt built in.

That's #$%#$% backwards you idiots. The natural position for the hands is the other way if anything! No, years of keyboard design with optional tilt from the back has not changed it; quite the opposite.

Duncan is back. Interesting things about the new MS-IIS. He also tells that Wilfredo's ".Mac job" was really working on the Apple Music store. Cool.

Berry Diller is opposing FCC deregulating the media industry. Very cool. I know people who (know people who) talk to him. Am I cool too? No? Rats.

Chromatic had a journal entry quoting a news producer: "For people who grew up watching war, it's time to live out the fantasy." It's such a cool album. That reminds me of the intro to a song (the second) on Roger Water's Amused to Death album. An innocent childs voice says "I don't mind about the war. That's one of the things I like to watch, if it's a war going on. 'cause then I know if -- when our side's winning, if our side's losing." They have the album in the Apple Music store too, but I don't think I can link to that.

Alternet has a story about an INS raid on an asian restaurant. "You have no right to hold us," Asher insisted. "Yes, we have every right," responded one of the agents. "You are being held under the Patriot Act following suspicion under an internal Homeland Security investigation." . I want to believe the story isn't true.

They also have a story Life on Ashcroft's Enemies List: No wonder the staid New York Times likened these imprisonments to the "disappearances" of government critics in Peron's Argentina [....] a man from Thailand was presented on charges of violating his status. The judge asked how he'd been picked up. His answer: "I work with a guy named Muhammad."

We watched Smoke earlier tonight. I saw it twice when it came out in '95. It was brilliant to see it again. It's such a nice honest character based movie about a summer in the lives of five pleasant people. Great dialog, good acting, interesting stories. As James Berardinelli ends his review: Its warm, pleasant glow may remind you of just how relaxing some summer experiences can be.