You are looking at posts that were written in the month of February in the year 2005.
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JimmyC
Recently my iPod has been acting up. I have one of the original 40GB models bought last year (3/6/04) before they made all models have the click wheel. The battery never made it to 12 hours but I think I’m below the infamous 6 hour limit so Apple should take it back. You can TEST IT to be sure.
The thing that has gotten me miffed is that it has begun to act strangely. Recently when I was recharging it via my Mac it locked up and I has the worst time resetting it. Then when I was in the car with the kids and they asked for their favorite songs I couldn’t go to a specific song form the main menu - only via an album or play list. I’m not sure why. I reset the bugger and then recharged it and it seems to work okay but it did it again yesterday. Maybe its only when it gets low on power?
I found through apple discussions a great website on the apple iPod battery issues and other stuff. The iPod Battery Unplugged
I will say that Apple’s service didn’t dissapoint me. I put in a request at the service website on 2/16 at 10:31 AM and the box for return arrived this morning. I don’t know if they will find anything wrong. I’m testing the battery life one more time now - (working and listenting to music isn’t so bad). If its below 6 hours, I think I’m going to send it in to Apple anyway. I lose a week or two with my little friend but I’ll live. I do love this device, I love my PowerBook and I love my Apple stock! So no hard feelings, just frustration.
Jim
Here is a rant I posted on another website Blog It talks about my experience with my Dish Network DVR 921. Today I realized I was paying $4.98/month just for the privledeg of using it - a "Dish Network DVR Service Fee" - rip off. they charge because they can. If they hadn’t just upgraded the software so that I could get OTA catalog I would take off. Here was the post at PVR Blog:
I bought one late last year - when the price dropped. I got it from an online retailer not knowing DISH was going to start offering it at the same price. So I ended up having to pay to have it installed. Two things to keep in mind: You will want to have DishPro equipment for the Dish and you will want to have two lines into this box. So if you don’t have Dish Pro equip you will be running two lines per dish down to the box and you will be limited for upgrades. If you bougth from DISH direct you can complain and they shoudl cover the cost to upgrade. What I did was upgrade the lmb’s to dishpro (one screw and an easy swap) and ran one line from the 61.5 dish and two lines from the other dish serving 119 and 110. Then I ran all three lines into the basement (you could put it in the attic) into a Dishpro 34 switch. The cool thing about that is you can run 4 tuners off each dp34 switch and then daisy chain another to add more. So I have my old 508, the new 921 all using three lines. One other Gotya! They charge a monthly DVR access fee for the 921 of $4.98; they can because of TIVO. It is a rip and they didn’t warn me when I signed up. They didn’t charge for the 508. There are glitches now and then with the 921 - the guy who wrote the software shoudln’t have picked Microsoft to build it on, should have used Linux, but the latest upgrade fixed most problems. I’ll put some more details on my website either in the forums or my blog later this week. JimmyC
I had problems with the website this weekend so I couldn’t post. I find this space to be a good place to vent and share. Hope to have all working soon. Saving posts on text files.
Fancy myself a Bohemian sitting here in the Starbucks writing on my blog in my peter gabriel concert t-shirt (long sleeve) and cargo pants. My hair is a little too long and my shoes are made for climbing. Maybe its the new bohemian - my Mac Titanium PowerBook G4 (well worn - its a 2002 model). I’m no Bohemian really. Just a pretender like most. I know a few people who really are and a few who were. And a few who are the new kind. I lean towards the Right and though I consider myself more of a non-party Pragmatist - I’ve voted Republican in four of the last five presidential elections.
I went to this Mythology conference last year - mostly because of a few people in my life. A professorial psychologist who opened my mind to many books, stories and social/cultural patterns. A software executive I had met several years ago who had made it his passion and my blood, which is half Greek. It was very Bohemian. The Mythic Imagination Institute had a conference called Mythic Journeys. Its a pretty interesting out of the box experience. Personally, I’m thinking Michael had a different idea initially then the crowd who came but I could be wrong. Most of the power was in the Jungian crowd along with the scholars and radical liberals. Not that there is anything wrong with that 
but you know my POV on many of these liberals. Well maybe you don’t:
I’m of the opinion that many are leftover from the 60’s/70’s and mostly interested in capturing youth but worse, many see the plight of the poor and disenfranchised as that of helpless children. The talk is often of the past and how they have been put down but the remedy is to take care of them rather then to help them take care of themselves. And then there is War - I had hope for many sessions that drew comparisons to mythology and today’s challenges with war and conflict. Instead these angry children of the 70’s dropped right back to VietNam and compared it to that. They think GW is Satan and spit vinegar and hate at anyone who disagreed with them. The discussions of American Indian culture and mythology were again hijacked to the plight of today’s Indian. How evil the White man is and what he has done.
The interesting part was that most of the round-table participants and discussion leaders were not interested in going this rout. Its the angry mob that takes you there. Most of the “Native Americans” were more concerned with moving forward and remembering their culture. Finding hope in the long term and looking at magnificent metaphors like grass growing thorough cracked pavement. One VietNam war veteran was hijacked into speaking about his experiences but he didn’t really want to go against what we are doing in Iraq or Afghanistan. He did get caught up in it and did make his points. But people lost the point of the session - made it a GW bashing session. At one point a man in the back spoke up and said that he was disappointed about this and also that he supported our troops in Iraq - the woman behind me was filled with so much fear and hate I thought she would burst a blood vessel in her head. I think so many of these people were protesters in the 70’s that blamed the soldiers and hated them - now with guilt and remorse, now with fear and loathing. Its very odd to me and so counterproductive.
Except perhaps to cause discussion and move people to action. But even then it doesn’t happen. I will go back to Mythology. Joseph Campbell who was so exonerated in this conference, was one of George Lucas’ inspiration for Star Wars. Perhaps you may think I’m a bit shallow going to that movie as sort of gospel but then you can judge all you want - that’s not what this is about. You see, the reason Star Wars worked is that it was about man’s mythic journeys. Campbell consulted with Lucas and the story line is the same that we have heard for thousands of years - from ancient Greek myths to bible stories to those of England and Europe and even Indian, Asian and American Indian stories. One key point in the movie - one key point I teach my children. Fear…. Fear leads to Hate, Hate leads to Anger, Anger leads to Suffering. You heard Yoda say it again and again. And I sense much fear in these angry people.
So am I a Bohemian at heart, perhaps. I have often fancied myself a philosopher - but I don’t have the temperament for it. My POV on many of these people is that either they had money or they don’t need it. I’m not one of the latter and I’m certainly not the former. If I had a million dollars…. as the song goes, I often fancy myself on a beach with a Grecian style parthenon type building behind me gazing at the sea in linen cloths blowing in the breeze - my hair a little longer my face a little tanner. Eyes closed and facing the wind. As my ancestors did, riding a sailboat on the sea. As my heros did, fighting for my family, my culture, my way of life. Beating monsters, forming opinions, capturing memories, living dreams. But so I toil now, working at this current path. I am that middle aged man of America - the one Bohemians may call a sell out - the one who makes more then most, embraces capitalism and promotes conservative, pragmatic values. I have my practical, pretty wife - my three lovely children, my house in the suburbs and my mini-van.
So I finally begin my journey - here in this public place that no-one really knows about except those that stumble upon it and find it. What is next…
So I found a website that describes Duckpins. My friends here in Atlanta are always taking thier kids bowling and the kids cannot even lift the balls. When we were kids we bowled Duckpins in Maryland. Robin’s Website has a description of Duckpins
Of note - Brigitte Jellinek has a great webpage of lyrics of peter gabriel. Her personal page is:
http://www.horus.com/~bjelli/home.html.en
the PG lyrics page is:
http://rec.horus.at/music/gabriel/
Her company is:
http://www.horus.com/
Today was a good day. I had to go to a customer and meet for a
steering committee. Good news was we are on track the better news was
that because we are delivering we have more opportunity.
DJ felt hot tonight - so I checked, not better. He played a little
monopoly with Mom and she wore out before him.
Things went smoothly after that - dinner, stories and bed. I thought
Mom was down for the count but She is here with me now watching a movie
called Home Fries. Oh well.
I decided to be a good husband today and took over. Managed to get my butt out of bed and make breakfast, get the kids medicine and get them going. That is, get Daniel and Sophie medicine and back in bed. Daniel is not happy in doors. Its Atlanta Febuary weather here today - Sunny, 62 and the kids are in the cul-de-sac. Can you imagine an 8 year old boy’s POV from inside?!
I spent some time with his big sister Maia who is very bored. She and I put up another bird feeder and adjusted one of the bird houses. Now she is out there playing kick ball. Next I’m going to work with Daniel on his Pine Wood Derby car. Sophie, she is pretty good about entertaining herself.
JimmyC
