i may take the sticker off my car in protest...
For almost 2 years now, PC users have been able to use a free program to download content from their TiVo to their computer. The software was Windows-only, of course. They have been promising a Mac version of TiVoToGo for so long now, that Mac users have managed to crack the TiVO DRM and homebrew their own file-transfer-and-decoding software, which I've been using for a few weeks now, and which works quite well.
Well, today, on the eve of Macworld Expo, TiVo has announced an OFFICIAL Mac version of the TiVoToGo software. The problem? They are bundling the Mac version of TiVoToGo with Roxio Toast, so that we have to spend $100 to do what PC users can do for free!!! Preposterous. I swear, if I wasn't an early adopter with a lifetime membership, I'd chuck my TiVo box out the window this morning.
Yes, the Roxio product allows easy burning to DVD, but I don't WANT to burn my TiVo shows to DVD... I want to transfer them to my PowerBook and put them unto an external HD. And I'm supposed to spend $100 just for the ability to transfer files from one grey box in my house to another grey box? Jeez... I can go to BestCompCircuitBuyCityUSA and buy a fucking eMachines PC for $299 to stick in the corner and use the FREE Windows software to transfer my files to my portable HD. And I can play GAMES on that!
Fuck you, TiVo. I hope that in tomorrow's keynote, The Steve unveils new features of the iTV that include DVR capability and half your Mac subscribers defect. I know I will. If my wife lets me.
Sunday, January 7
first day "off"...
As in, no grading, no holidays, no parties to think about. The boy had his postponed b'day party today (only 2 kids plus us and the neighbor kid... perfect number actually) and I'm still recovering from that. But starting NOW... I have no deadlines, no commitments, nothing SCHEDULED between now and the 22nd. It feels pretty good.
Anyway... the wife is sick and went to bed at 9:00, so the unwinding will begin with Jim Beam and Pepsi and Clint Eastwood in "The Enforcer" and end with a good book on the sofa at midnight.
Aaaaaaaah...
As in, no grading, no holidays, no parties to think about. The boy had his postponed b'day party today (only 2 kids plus us and the neighbor kid... perfect number actually) and I'm still recovering from that. But starting NOW... I have no deadlines, no commitments, nothing SCHEDULED between now and the 22nd. It feels pretty good.
Anyway... the wife is sick and went to bed at 9:00, so the unwinding will begin with Jim Beam and Pepsi and Clint Eastwood in "The Enforcer" and end with a good book on the sofa at midnight.
Aaaaaaaah...
Friday, January 5
latest (and final) grading update...
Done. Fuck-Ing-Done.
Much smaller class... the final averages and breakdowns...
--------------- (A)
94
--------------- (A-)
89 89
--------------- (B+)
86 86 86
--------------- (B)
84 83 82 82
--------------- (B-)
77 77 76
--------------- (Inc)
X X X X
And yes, out of 16 students, FOUR requested (and were allowed) an "incomplete" for the course. This is an unusually large number, and has prompted me to add a page about Incompletes on my syllabus next semester, lest I get a reputation as an "Incomplete Pushover". It also means I'll have another batch of grading to do come Jan 15th!
Done. Fuck-Ing-Done.
Much smaller class... the final averages and breakdowns...
--------------- (A)
94
--------------- (A-)
89 89
--------------- (B+)
86 86 86
--------------- (B)
84 83 82 82
--------------- (B-)
77 77 76
--------------- (Inc)
X X X X
And yes, out of 16 students, FOUR requested (and were allowed) an "incomplete" for the course. This is an unusually large number, and has prompted me to add a page about Incompletes on my syllabus next semester, lest I get a reputation as an "Incomplete Pushover". It also means I'll have another batch of grading to do come Jan 15th!
yet another grading update...
As of last night, two of three classes are finished. Spent much of today grading term papers. First time ever - I assigned a final paper topic that is actually INTERESTING. Makes the grading much better.
Hope to be finished tonight. I'm sure you'll all be glad to hear it.
As of last night, two of three classes are finished. Spent much of today grading term papers. First time ever - I assigned a final paper topic that is actually INTERESTING. Makes the grading much better.
Hope to be finished tonight. I'm sure you'll all be glad to hear it.
Thursday, January 4
dave's macworld expo watch...
There is the usual speculation flying about regarding the upcoming Macworld Expo, and what sorts of goodies The Steve will be rolling out for our buying pleasure in 2007. For those of you who don't read the MacRumor sites with the rabid fanaticism of many, here is what I'm personally looking forward to and/or dreading...
1) iWork '07 - We know it's coming because there is already an Amazon page for it. The question is - what's new? If it is only the addition of a new spreadsheet program, then I say - "yawn" - because I don't use spreadsheets, ever. But it would take only a few gee-whiz Keynote features or fancy new Pages templates to convince me to drop $49 (academic pricing!) on the upgrade.
2) iLife '07 - I use these programs so little, that I can't imagine there will be anything here that convinces me I need to upgrade.
3) iPhone - God I hope they announce this just so people will SHUT UP ABOUT IT. (Although we know now that it can't be called that because some other company yanked the name out from under them.) I will never own an Apple cellphone, though, because I just take whatever is free with my service change every 2 or 3 years. I do not want my cellphone and my iPod to be trapped in the same device. It makes no sense to me. But lots of people seem to disagree.
4) OS X 10.5 (Leopard) - Look for a firm release date on Leopard. This one worries me. It looks like it is going to be a way cool upgrade, but I worry that my poor G4 PowerBook will not be up to the task of running it once it comes out. I probably won't jump on Leopard when it's released... I'll wait a few months for some reports first. I'm conservative about my OS upgrades. It's my personal belief that all computers work perfectly well until you upgrade the OS beyond what it came installed with. That's when the trouble starts. It WOULD be a good excuse to buy another gig of RAM, though...
5) iTV - I really want me one of these when they come out, even though it's not 100% clear what they DO. But it may be the cheapest way for me to get HDTV content into my 3 year old television, which has yet to have it's HDMI-port-cherry popped. I expect to hear something about it, but not a firm release date.
(I apologize for that crude analogy just then.)
6) Surprises - Who the hell knows with Steve and his "One more thing...". I think we'll see some minor revisions in the hardware lines, maybe a new laptop form-factor. (12"or 13" PowerBook Mini, please!) but I don't expect anything groundbreaking. They are overdue for a new iPod, but I don't think they have a widescreen or a touch-screen model ready to go yet.
So. Those are my thoughts. Look for a recap post-Expo next week.
There is the usual speculation flying about regarding the upcoming Macworld Expo, and what sorts of goodies The Steve will be rolling out for our buying pleasure in 2007. For those of you who don't read the MacRumor sites with the rabid fanaticism of many, here is what I'm personally looking forward to and/or dreading...
1) iWork '07 - We know it's coming because there is already an Amazon page for it. The question is - what's new? If it is only the addition of a new spreadsheet program, then I say - "yawn" - because I don't use spreadsheets, ever. But it would take only a few gee-whiz Keynote features or fancy new Pages templates to convince me to drop $49 (academic pricing!) on the upgrade.
2) iLife '07 - I use these programs so little, that I can't imagine there will be anything here that convinces me I need to upgrade.
3) iPhone - God I hope they announce this just so people will SHUT UP ABOUT IT. (Although we know now that it can't be called that because some other company yanked the name out from under them.) I will never own an Apple cellphone, though, because I just take whatever is free with my service change every 2 or 3 years. I do not want my cellphone and my iPod to be trapped in the same device. It makes no sense to me. But lots of people seem to disagree.
4) OS X 10.5 (Leopard) - Look for a firm release date on Leopard. This one worries me. It looks like it is going to be a way cool upgrade, but I worry that my poor G4 PowerBook will not be up to the task of running it once it comes out. I probably won't jump on Leopard when it's released... I'll wait a few months for some reports first. I'm conservative about my OS upgrades. It's my personal belief that all computers work perfectly well until you upgrade the OS beyond what it came installed with. That's when the trouble starts. It WOULD be a good excuse to buy another gig of RAM, though...
5) iTV - I really want me one of these when they come out, even though it's not 100% clear what they DO. But it may be the cheapest way for me to get HDTV content into my 3 year old television, which has yet to have it's HDMI-port-cherry popped. I expect to hear something about it, but not a firm release date.
(I apologize for that crude analogy just then.)
6) Surprises - Who the hell knows with Steve and his "One more thing...". I think we'll see some minor revisions in the hardware lines, maybe a new laptop form-factor. (12"or 13" PowerBook Mini, please!) but I don't expect anything groundbreaking. They are overdue for a new iPod, but I don't think they have a widescreen or a touch-screen model ready to go yet.
So. Those are my thoughts. Look for a recap post-Expo next week.
the weight thing... resolutions...
Just a few days ago I was expressing great satisfaction to myself over the fact that - despite mostly sliding back into my bad eating habits - I had managed to maintain my weight at just-shy-of-200 since the summer.
Well, that all went to hell. I blame the combo of Xmas junkfoodery with the lack of NYC walkage for the past 2 weeks. Sucks.
I don't bother with "New Year's Resolutions" for weight loss, cuz I know they won't work for me... but I do need to get all this fucking chocolate and stuff OUT of the house. And maybe buy some fruit.
In the meantime, I have a month to get myself yoga-ready in terms of both weight (<200 is fine) and flexibility. I don't expect to be doing any kind of formal "practice" on my own, but I will make a point to do something bendy every day just so I don't get completely fucking wiped out the first time I go to a class. This semester, though... Tuesdays! Yoga! EVERY TUESDAY!
In other "resolution" type news, we have to get a handle on our spending. My wife always wants to come up with a "budget", but that never works, becuase we aren't disciplined enough. My idea is to schedule monthly "fasts" to cut down on random frivolous spending. For example - January? Book fast. No B&N, no Borders, no Amazon. February? Target fast. March? Restaurant fast.
The wife is skeptical, and thinks we'll react by binge-shopping on the first of every month on whatever we were just denied, but I think even if we DO, we will still wind up spending a couple hundred bucks less every month.
What do you think readers? What luxury could YOU fast on for a month to save a few bucks?
Just a few days ago I was expressing great satisfaction to myself over the fact that - despite mostly sliding back into my bad eating habits - I had managed to maintain my weight at just-shy-of-200 since the summer.
Well, that all went to hell. I blame the combo of Xmas junkfoodery with the lack of NYC walkage for the past 2 weeks. Sucks.
I don't bother with "New Year's Resolutions" for weight loss, cuz I know they won't work for me... but I do need to get all this fucking chocolate and stuff OUT of the house. And maybe buy some fruit.
In the meantime, I have a month to get myself yoga-ready in terms of both weight (<200 is fine) and flexibility. I don't expect to be doing any kind of formal "practice" on my own, but I will make a point to do something bendy every day just so I don't get completely fucking wiped out the first time I go to a class. This semester, though... Tuesdays! Yoga! EVERY TUESDAY!
In other "resolution" type news, we have to get a handle on our spending. My wife always wants to come up with a "budget", but that never works, becuase we aren't disciplined enough. My idea is to schedule monthly "fasts" to cut down on random frivolous spending. For example - January? Book fast. No B&N, no Borders, no Amazon. February? Target fast. March? Restaurant fast.
The wife is skeptical, and thinks we'll react by binge-shopping on the first of every month on whatever we were just denied, but I think even if we DO, we will still wind up spending a couple hundred bucks less every month.
What do you think readers? What luxury could YOU fast on for a month to save a few bucks?
a new year for the blog...
A glance at the monthly visit graph for 2006 reveals an alarming and depressing downward trend. The traffic here has dropped to almost 1/3 of what it was at its peak. I'd like to turn that trend around this year, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I guess I need to re-evaluate the content a bit. It's become pretty one-note. Blah, blah, blah... grouch, grouch, grouch...
I dunno. What do the faithful few want from Dr. Dave that they aren't getting?
A glance at the monthly visit graph for 2006 reveals an alarming and depressing downward trend. The traffic here has dropped to almost 1/3 of what it was at its peak. I'd like to turn that trend around this year, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I guess I need to re-evaluate the content a bit. It's become pretty one-note. Blah, blah, blah... grouch, grouch, grouch...
I dunno. What do the faithful few want from Dr. Dave that they aren't getting?
Wednesday, January 3
silent note to wife...
Well, sure, I have a dentist appoinment today and two more classes to finish grading, and the house is still littered with christmas junk, but that doesn't mean tomorrow wouldn't be a GREAT TIME to schedule a professional carpet cleaning!! I'd love to spend the next 24 hours tidying!
Well, sure, I have a dentist appoinment today and two more classes to finish grading, and the house is still littered with christmas junk, but that doesn't mean tomorrow wouldn't be a GREAT TIME to schedule a professional carpet cleaning!! I'd love to spend the next 24 hours tidying!
Tuesday, January 2
one down...
As of 10:30 tonight, the big astronomy class is DONE and grades are SUBMITTED. Just so you can see what a nice guy I am, here are the class averages and letter grade cutoffs...
It's not "grade inflation" if 11 students still get a C+ or below, right?
As of 10:30 tonight, the big astronomy class is DONE and grades are SUBMITTED. Just so you can see what a nice guy I am, here are the class averages and letter grade cutoffs...
------- (A) ----------
96
94 94 94
93
91 91
------- (A-) ----------
89 89
------- (B+) ----------
86 86 86
85
------- (B) ----------
83 83 83 83 83 83
------- (B-) ----------
78 78 78
------- (C+) ----------
77 77 77
75
------- (C) ----------
71 71
------- (C-) ----------
66
65 65
------- (D) ----------
60
58
It's not "grade inflation" if 11 students still get a C+ or below, right?
new year, new storage schemes...
I got the HD in the mail (**) today that I ordered to replace the "wrong" gift I got for Xmas. It's a LaCie portable 120 gig USB drive. It's TINY!! I partitioned 100 Mb for OSX and set up the rest as a MS-DOS partition to help transfer stuff to PC's every now and then. I'm going to use the bulk of it to store media that takes up too much room on the laptop - i.e. movies, TV shows, and porn. By my calculations, I should free up around 15 gig from the PowerBook when all is said and done. Then I'll do a full file backup and start the new year with a big HARD DRIVE REORGANIZATION!!
The house? A pigsty.... why do you ask?
dave
(** DHL actually... neither rain nor sleet nor dead presidents...)
I got the HD in the mail (**) today that I ordered to replace the "wrong" gift I got for Xmas. It's a LaCie portable 120 gig USB drive. It's TINY!! I partitioned 100 Mb for OSX and set up the rest as a MS-DOS partition to help transfer stuff to PC's every now and then. I'm going to use the bulk of it to store media that takes up too much room on the laptop - i.e. movies, TV shows, and porn. By my calculations, I should free up around 15 gig from the PowerBook when all is said and done. Then I'll do a full file backup and start the new year with a big HARD DRIVE REORGANIZATION!!
The house? A pigsty.... why do you ask?
dave
(** DHL actually... neither rain nor sleet nor dead presidents...)
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