This years MacWorld had a very different feel. Come to think of it, most of them do. While Apple maintained its center position in the middle of the auditorium, there were many smaller vendors at the show.
Registration was on the West side. This was unusual. The usual spot is in the North Hall. This year, MacWorld shared its space with the Motorcoach associaion. The West side used to house the Art College. There were also many very small vendors and developers in this new place.
I picked up John at 7:30 and we found our way out to Ron's place at 8. Ron left a note on his gate that he had a fever and could not attend.
It was a bright fogless day. we zoomed right along and arrived at The Dublin BART station at 20 minutes before 10. We found a parking place and paid the 1 dollar to use it.
We took the BART the Powell station and had an easy walk to the Moscone West. Lynda,com had a prominent position among the vendors. They had 6 banks of computers hooked up to their site (training). John is very interested in the Cannon cameras. He got to handle the 3500 body. I gave the cannon guy hell for not having CMOS in their consumer point and shoot. Also asked him what the mapping dpi was for his cameras. He couldn't find the answer.. said I could find it on the web.. good deflection. They had some beautiful photos on display. We also looked at the new Epson printers. They have a new one to replace the 2200 and a larger one. Both were cranking out color corrected perfection. The one that will replace the 2200 was churning out a long, long canvas full of prints.
The new "air" computers were on display. They are lighter than air.. well almost. The solid state one is much more expensive than the one with the hard drive. It would truly have to be your second computer.
We had lunch/dinner at Tad's. The steak gill is still in operations although the personnel has changed and the so has the wall covering. There is no more flocked wallpaper, but there is a framed piece of it for nostalgia. Steak meal is 13.95 and is of unknown origin.. still good.
We were out of city by 2:45 and the in Dublin before we knew it. The traffic was a little weird in Livermore and Tracy.. but nothing unusual about that.
Have a great day
Love Pat
Friday, January 18, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Reflections of Mac World's Past
The first Mac World in SF caused a 2 hour traffic log jam around the new Moscone Building. Such a phonemon. It was the one I didn't go to.
The second one had a several sites in the city. Shuttle buses took people to the Civic Center, Brooks Hall, Moscone and the Westin. It was still pretty educational and not as commercial. It was Apple's showcase with special appearances from Adobe.. a new company that apple owned a 17 percent share.
Then Macs became commercial. Mac World was consuming both sides of the Moscone center. Vendors came out of the woodwork.
Since that time, Apple has backed out of its own show in many ways. The computer industry was in a tailspin. Apple reinvented itself as a portable audio.. and then an audio vision company and now a cell phone maker.
PC's have their place in the low cost arena and many of my die hard friends have axillary PCs to do the low end stuff.
Life has changed for the apple enthusiast. Apple continues to resell to its fan base and the fan base continues to buy..
Life goes on.. and on to the MacWorld today!
Pat
The second one had a several sites in the city. Shuttle buses took people to the Civic Center, Brooks Hall, Moscone and the Westin. It was still pretty educational and not as commercial. It was Apple's showcase with special appearances from Adobe.. a new company that apple owned a 17 percent share.
Then Macs became commercial. Mac World was consuming both sides of the Moscone center. Vendors came out of the woodwork.
Since that time, Apple has backed out of its own show in many ways. The computer industry was in a tailspin. Apple reinvented itself as a portable audio.. and then an audio vision company and now a cell phone maker.
PC's have their place in the low cost arena and many of my die hard friends have axillary PCs to do the low end stuff.
Life has changed for the apple enthusiast. Apple continues to resell to its fan base and the fan base continues to buy..
Life goes on.. and on to the MacWorld today!
Pat
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Blue Collar Comedy Tour
I got a hold of the movie "Blue Collar Comedy Tour."
This one is pretty good. Not worth buying but a real hoot to watch or hear. It could be worth a Nexflick selection if you can get another one too. The four comedians are really good. The most notable are Bill Engalls of heres your sign fame and Jeff Foxworthy of you know you are a red neck if...
The others.. one with always a drink and a cigarette in his hand is the champion of droll. Ron made the comment that they were not much different than we are. I said yes, but they have that Southern twang.
I was into the District Office yesterday and gave a few people a fright. I as in to negotiate the Ap Science Teacher's MOU on their Saturday work. Apparently I was sitting in the seat that many teachers have been sitting in to confirm their retirement. The secretary of my Special Ed boss quickly zipped back to the office and told my boss that I was sitting there.
I walked back to say hello and to confirm that I was not there for that purpose. All ready the panic has started to spread..
No one is indispensable, that is how it is and it will always be.. so you better have some fun on your job.
: ) Pat
This one is pretty good. Not worth buying but a real hoot to watch or hear. It could be worth a Nexflick selection if you can get another one too. The four comedians are really good. The most notable are Bill Engalls of heres your sign fame and Jeff Foxworthy of you know you are a red neck if...
The others.. one with always a drink and a cigarette in his hand is the champion of droll. Ron made the comment that they were not much different than we are. I said yes, but they have that Southern twang.
I was into the District Office yesterday and gave a few people a fright. I as in to negotiate the Ap Science Teacher's MOU on their Saturday work. Apparently I was sitting in the seat that many teachers have been sitting in to confirm their retirement. The secretary of my Special Ed boss quickly zipped back to the office and told my boss that I was sitting there.
I walked back to say hello and to confirm that I was not there for that purpose. All ready the panic has started to spread..
No one is indispensable, that is how it is and it will always be.. so you better have some fun on your job.
: ) Pat
Rooting Against Innnovation
A gamble at best and we won!
Rumors had spread that a new iphone was in the offing. Due to be unveiled at the MacWorld in San Francisco this week, the new iphone would bring many new features to the cell phone world.
In Steve Job's annual report of innovation held yesterday at the keynote of MacWorld, there was no new Iphone. 4 million of these devices have been purchased. At least 3 have found homes in the extended Brown family. All of us were concerned about these purchases as we hate to buy an "old" version unless there is serious discount or another viable reason. Our gamble paid off and the Iphone users who treasure their little babies can rejoice.
Some cool things that were presented .. an notebook computer as thin as air.. well almost, a tiny file back up system for a great price, ITunes will now "rent" movies that are downloaded, and Iphones users will be able to customize their desktops.
Cool stuff.
Home you win your gambles today..
Love Pat
Rumors had spread that a new iphone was in the offing. Due to be unveiled at the MacWorld in San Francisco this week, the new iphone would bring many new features to the cell phone world.
In Steve Job's annual report of innovation held yesterday at the keynote of MacWorld, there was no new Iphone. 4 million of these devices have been purchased. At least 3 have found homes in the extended Brown family. All of us were concerned about these purchases as we hate to buy an "old" version unless there is serious discount or another viable reason. Our gamble paid off and the Iphone users who treasure their little babies can rejoice.
Some cool things that were presented .. an notebook computer as thin as air.. well almost, a tiny file back up system for a great price, ITunes will now "rent" movies that are downloaded, and Iphones users will be able to customize their desktops.
Cool stuff.
Home you win your gambles today..
Love Pat
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Foggy January
Its hard to believe that the cold fog of January is really an insulator for colder temperatures that could be here without.
Today it is really foggy. I just got back from my starbucks walk and the ground level fog allows about 200 feet of visability. The temperatures are high enough that it is not icy. Checking in with my Gunnison Colorado dashboard temperature.. its minus 24 in Gunnison this morning.
In Gunnison, they used to switch from natural gas to heating oil when it gets this cold. Dad was saying that fuel oil has more energy than natural gas. So for prolonged super cold it is more economical to switch over to oil.
Tony put in the gas stove yesterday. It is a gem. We are supposed to get some cabinets today.. at least the doors to them. I hope they are close to the style that Sue picked out at Lowes more than a year ago. Our kitchen is almost complete. Yesterday he also swapped out the shower nozzle to a water pick hand held kind that I bought at Costco. Sue is still unsure of the furniture placement.. so we may be running the dollies around to accommodate her interest. It is so much more space.
Have a great day.. MacWorld opens today.. I hope they don't do too much with the hardware on the IPONe since we bought one for Heather last weekend.
Love
pat
Today it is really foggy. I just got back from my starbucks walk and the ground level fog allows about 200 feet of visability. The temperatures are high enough that it is not icy. Checking in with my Gunnison Colorado dashboard temperature.. its minus 24 in Gunnison this morning.
In Gunnison, they used to switch from natural gas to heating oil when it gets this cold. Dad was saying that fuel oil has more energy than natural gas. So for prolonged super cold it is more economical to switch over to oil.
Tony put in the gas stove yesterday. It is a gem. We are supposed to get some cabinets today.. at least the doors to them. I hope they are close to the style that Sue picked out at Lowes more than a year ago. Our kitchen is almost complete. Yesterday he also swapped out the shower nozzle to a water pick hand held kind that I bought at Costco. Sue is still unsure of the furniture placement.. so we may be running the dollies around to accommodate her interest. It is so much more space.
Have a great day.. MacWorld opens today.. I hope they don't do too much with the hardware on the IPONe since we bought one for Heather last weekend.
Love
pat
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Running the 99 to Dublin
This evening I took Heather and her big boy cat back to the Dublin station to catch the BART train back home. Everything went off without a hitch. She was home before I reached Tracy. This means that she made great BART and muni connections. I had no traffic on the way home and everything went as planed.
She was a great help in getting us organized in our new old house. Monday should see the the stove installed and something done with the cabinets.. Saturday Tony was back to work on giving us a back splash with our porcelein tiles. They are looking good. We had the phone line hooked up to the wrong set so he corrected those lines too. Heather got to use the new tub 3 times. She learned that you have to make sure that the water level is up to a certain spot before you turn on the blowers. She also made 12 trips to the house with stuff that was in the Expedition. It was really getting out of hand.
I through out all of the old food in the big freezer. It spoiled after the air con people left the freezer without power for a week as they were putting in the new box and the new registers. The new heater works wonderfully. The house is much better insulated than the apartment.
I met with the CTA president to go over the written message that will be used to inform our members of the contract changes.
We bought Heather a new IPhone this weekend. She was frustrated because it had to be set up with her computer.. and she was in Merced. Her poor Treo had seen better days. She had scotch taped her antenna and did not have access to her "A" key or a space bar. I hope this will be a great addition for her.
We are having a great chance to "go through" our collections before they get replanted back into our living space. Right now the dust factor is a major issue in this house. We all have developed a healthy hack from working in this space. Its got to get better.
MacWorld is happening this week in SF. My entourage is planning on Thursday. Give me an email if you can join us..
Love Pat
She was a great help in getting us organized in our new old house. Monday should see the the stove installed and something done with the cabinets.. Saturday Tony was back to work on giving us a back splash with our porcelein tiles. They are looking good. We had the phone line hooked up to the wrong set so he corrected those lines too. Heather got to use the new tub 3 times. She learned that you have to make sure that the water level is up to a certain spot before you turn on the blowers. She also made 12 trips to the house with stuff that was in the Expedition. It was really getting out of hand.
I through out all of the old food in the big freezer. It spoiled after the air con people left the freezer without power for a week as they were putting in the new box and the new registers. The new heater works wonderfully. The house is much better insulated than the apartment.
I met with the CTA president to go over the written message that will be used to inform our members of the contract changes.
We bought Heather a new IPhone this weekend. She was frustrated because it had to be set up with her computer.. and she was in Merced. Her poor Treo had seen better days. She had scotch taped her antenna and did not have access to her "A" key or a space bar. I hope this will be a great addition for her.
We are having a great chance to "go through" our collections before they get replanted back into our living space. Right now the dust factor is a major issue in this house. We all have developed a healthy hack from working in this space. Its got to get better.
MacWorld is happening this week in SF. My entourage is planning on Thursday. Give me an email if you can join us..
Love Pat
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Heather is Here!
Last night the negotaition team and the e board of the union met to hear the latest. A few on the E board were disappointed that the pay for AP science teachers for weekend workshops for their students did not get included. I think that we will accmplish this through an MOU. An MOU is a memo of understanding. This is a short cut method where items that should have been done at the table can be accomplished without the entire team. This is as scary are as it sounds. It is often done for minor modifications on the contract that don't involve money and are permissive bargining areas to begin with. It can also be used as a temporary method to provide for a small subsection of the contract for a small subgroup of teachers. The MOU is usually only good for one year.
In the middle of my presentation of the provisions of the contract, the phone rang, and Heather said that she was on her way. Anthony brought her down to Modesto, and I picked her up with Tyrone, her 14 pound cat. She is here to help us with some of the piles we have at the house.. also she needs a new phone.
Glad to see that Acacia is medically ok. She is back at UCD.
Hope you have a great Saturday.. Pat
In the middle of my presentation of the provisions of the contract, the phone rang, and Heather said that she was on her way. Anthony brought her down to Modesto, and I picked her up with Tyrone, her 14 pound cat. She is here to help us with some of the piles we have at the house.. also she needs a new phone.
Glad to see that Acacia is medically ok. She is back at UCD.
Hope you have a great Saturday.. Pat
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