…so posting will be light today. But damn, do I look good:
Month: October 2008
Update: The machine has been claimed!
My sudden surplus of free time has given me some time to do some thing I’d been meaning to do but never got around to doing. One of those things is doing a little decluttering, and as a result, I have a number of computers that I don’t need anymore.
Rather than put them up for sale, I’ve decided to give the computers away to people who need them. I could put them up for sale on eBay or Craigslist, but I’ve decided to use this opportunity to do a good deed and put some goodwill out there. Some of these machines might be a bit old for everyday use and are probably of interest to collectors, but giving you an old computer makes your day better and frees up my space, that’s a good thing.
The First Free Machine
This is an oldie, but if you pine for the days of pre-Return-of-Jobs Apple, you’ll love this machine. It’s a Umax C600/240 PowerMac clone from about a dozen years ago. Some of its specs:
- 240Mhz PowerPC 603e processor
- 96 MB Ram
- 2GB hard drive
- Two video cards — the standard Mac one from that era, plus an ATI card. You can dual-monitor this baby!
- Ethernet card
It comes with an AppleVision 17″ CRT monitor, SuperMac ADB keyboard and Apple ADB mouse. It’s got a whole bunch of old Mac software too.
How Do You Get This Machine? [Update]
You can’t anymore — it’s been claimed!
How About the Other Machines?
I’ve got an appointment right now, so I’ll have to write about them later. Watch this space!
[This article also appears in Global Nerdy.]
Because I was laid off and not fired from my former place of employment, they’re taking me out for a farewell dinner on Tuesday night. It’s a nice gesture on their part, and I appreciate it greatly.
I’m allowed to choose the restaurant, and I must let them know my choice by Monday, October 6th. The problem is that I’ve just got too much on the brain and need help picking a place. If you’ve got suggestions, I’d like to hear them!
Some parameters:
- It should be within easy walking/transit travel of Queen and Spadina (that’s where the office is)
- My guess is that there will be about 10 people total.
- There will be drinking. A lot of it. At least 2 two rounds of “Irish Car Bombs”, too.
- It can’t be terribly expensive (which means that Nota Bene is off the list).
- The usual office after-work hangouts are Wayne Gretzky’s and Jack Astor’s. While perfectly serviceable, I’m looking for alternatives.
- The Pickle Barrel is not eligible.
Categories
Unfortunate Headline Placement
Photo courtesy of Failblog.
Click the photo to see the original.
Here’s the cover of the current issue of the New Yorker:
In case you’re too young to get the self-reference to their classic cover, here it is — “The View from 9th Avenue”:
If I were to ask you which newspapers and magazines you read — and yes, their online versions count — would you be able to name at least one? Katie Couric asked Sarah Palin that question and hilarity ensued — she hemmed and hawed like the kid presenting a book report on the book she hadn’t yet read: “Treasure Island is a book about an island. With treasure on it.”
Here’s the transcript:
Katie Couric: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read, before you were tapped for this, to stay informed and to understand the world?
Sarah Palin: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press for the media, I mean…
Couric: Like what ones specifically? I’m curious that you…
Palin: Um, all of ’em, any of ’em that um have been in front of me over all these years, um…
Couric: Can you name any of them?
Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news too. Alaska isn’t a foreign country where it’s kind of suggested it seems like, wow how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, DC may be thinking and doing, when you live up there in Alaska. Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.
She didn’t even have the presence of mind to throw out the name of any newspaper or magazine she’s heard of: the New York Times or Washington Post? Nope. Time or Newsweek? Uh-uh. Not even Alaskan newspapers such as the Anchorage Daily News, the Juneau Empire. She didn’t even come up with the name of her hometown paper, Wasilla’s Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, where she once worked!
If that weren’t bad enough, you have to remember that in university, she majored in journalism.
In case you were wondering, here are the newspapers and magazines I regularly read, either in dead-tree or online form. For the sake of sticking to the spirit of Katie Couric’s question, I’m not including online-only magazines.
Daily:
At least once a week:
- The Atlantic
- BusinessWeek
- The Economist
- Mother Jones
- National Review
- Reason
- San Jose Mercury News
- Toronto Life
- Wired
What are your favourites?