Nader, I Choose You!

Had to do the Pokemon thing, sorry. Anyways, I've been perusing the web a bit and have made the decision to support Nader. I know, I'm always changing, but two issues put me over the edge: Obama (and Mccain) do not support gay marriage, and Nader is against genetic engineering. Both (especially the first) are hot topics this election, but I know where I stand on them. Nader is also an Independent, like me, so that's helpful. I realize that he doesn't have a fighting chance against Obama, but if it's such a sure thing that Obama will win, why should we worry about a few Nader votes? Who knows, maybe he will win if people keep my mindset. There is no candidate the I have agreed with as much as Ralph Nader. Gonzalez is pretty cool, too, but that is a topic for another post.

When Windows Meets Anything

Brace yourself for another Windows rant. Since we purchased a new, widescreen, 1680 by 1050, 19 inch monitor, everything in Windows has gone down. I'm not much of a gamer myself, although the 2 games I have, Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Sim City Societies, have both ceased to work. FSX died before this transition, but it's still worth mentioning. It worked fine, but now crashes whenever you start a mission. Naturally, I tried reinstalling it on the new monitor, but it just opens a black square. Then, it crashes. Sim City had some graphics related issue once we got this monitor, probably because it was configured for a fullscreen resolution. Reinstalled, and now I get the same "black square of death" from FSX.

I wish I could afford a Mac.

When Mac Meets Windows

Mac is a good operating system. Windows is a mediocre operating system. But if one tries to put a good operating system's programs (hint: iTunes, Quicktime, and Safari) on a mediocre operating system, stuff screws up. iTunes is alright, assuming your fine with RAM crowding, skippy cover flow, and slow syncing. Quicktime is great, provided you never try to play anything. Only Safari can keep its head above water, actually outstriping the speed of Firefox, IE (duh), Opera, and depending on the page contents, even Chrome. If you notice, the comparison tests on Chrome and Safari's sites both don't mention the other browser, because they run neck and neck. The pages I load have lots of images and minimal flash/java, and Safari seems the fastest. For some reason Chrome tends to crash with Youtube. But anyway, I'm straying off topic. These programs that Apple generously made for Windows are almost all pitiful as far as performance goes, except for Safari, a gem in a coal mine.

So, here's what I've decided: it's best to use the applications that are included with your operating system, as there are deigned by the programmers of that OS. The only exception is you web browser, because something went terribly wrong in the development of Internet Explorer, and your media player only, I repeat, only, if you must because you mistakenly bought an iPod, or you need a quick one that launches fast for just playing single audio and video clips (try VLC, it's pretty nice), and don't need to organize a library of music.

Political Obsession

Politics is addicting. It's one of those things where you think it'll ultra boring, and then you look at it a bit, and you're hooked. Even now, I've got a live stream from CNN on the computer with C-Span on the TV. Political obsession. I can only hope that I will never become my mother. You should see her bookmarks. I can't even count how many news sites she's got. Let's see...it looks like Palin's rallying in Indiana, and the supreme court candidates are squabbling over something. With the audio tracks mixed, it's not easy to tell. Hey look, I can watch this discussion in all of it's entirety on cspan.org. Technology is amazing, in an annoying and redundant way. Palin's thing is now playing some odd fight song-like thing. I'm turning off C-Span to hear this...that's quite entertaining. Some 70-something with a cowboy hat and sunglasses sing not off-key, but without key. It's like he's rapping in slow motion. Alright, I'm done with that. That song gets really old, really fast.

Ok, so Windows' problems are fixable with time and effort

I've found two ways of tackling my internet problems. One is to restart the computer and go through the whole ordeal described in my last post. The other is to get as far away from the router as possible, and that usually fixes it. That's what I'm doing now. I can't contemplate how hard it must be for the poor folks with Vista.

Windows Rant

I hate Windows. Not that I didn't always. But this computer has the worst everything in the world. It takes ten full minutes of the computer not appearing to do anything before it even starts to load Windows. That takes only two. It takes about thirty seconds to log on, but if I try to do anything in the two minutes following log-on the computer freezes. So, if the computer's off, it takes almost 15 minutes just to get ready to start doing things. And the internet is a whole other story. Plugged into the ethernet, with a cable, mind you, it says I have limited or no connectivity. It comes on and off totally spontaneously, so much that I have to have a ping utility running in the background. And if you're using a Dell (Microsoft's brand, the same company that makes Windows), then you can't update Windows XP to SP2 without crashing the thing.

I hate Windows.

What is Apple doing?

Apple, let me make this short and sweet [angry]:

YOUR PRODUCTS ARE TOO EXPENSIVE

Let me say that again. 

YOUR PRODUCTS ARE TOO EXPENSIVE

As much as I love them, I would really be interested in finding out how much it actually costs you to make a MacBook, or an iPod sock (click that first link). Emphasis on iPod sock.

Seriously, it's a sock. 

Let me say that again.

Seriously, it's a sock.

I made one of these in a few hours for a cost of 0 (I know, it's a Sansa, but humor me here). And even if I hadn't had a spare soccer sock lying around, it would still cost a hell of a lot less then $30. C'mon, people. We're in an economic crisis. this is not a neccessity. 

11 Days from the Election

Somehow this doesn't seem right. Having just watched two (not one, but two) shows on MSNBC ranting about incredibly similar issues with the McCain campaign, I can't see why anyone would vote for him. Not to be another one of those exubrant Obama supporters with no basis for reasoning, but seriously! It's almost as if McCain's campaign only behaves when Obama is around. Barack leaves to visit his dying granny, while Sarah Palin's stylist is getting paid $22,000 per two weeks. Meanwhile, Joe McCain (John's brother) calls 911 to complain about traffic twice. Granted, McCain himself didn't do much, but the fact that he can sit around normally through all of this astounds me. With my luck, some astounding new revelation is coming about as I write. The only living people on the planet who make sense anymore are Steven Colbert and John Stewart. And it is safe to expect that my blog will contain many of these political rants.