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Chris

lacking something

Posted on February 10, 2006

there will be a lack of posts here for the next few weeks as i get deeper into a new super secret project. this project should prove interesting but will take a lot of my time and energy. some of which i spend writing here. so, i hope people are not too disappointed by this turn of events but i can’t do much about it if you are as i won’t be here.

i will release details of this project when i can and perhaps provide a few choice bits and pieces for your amusement. in the meantime, i am confidant that you will be able to find other ways to amuse yourself. i hear there are a few other blogs out there in the internet somewhere. one or two might even be worth reading. probably more.

if you get time, check out some of the links on the left. these people are good writers and provide me hours of entertainment and intelligent insight. be sure to check them out.

see you soon.

The Future is Now (so is the past)

Posted on January 29, 2006

i like these photos:

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can you spot the apple products and the sony psp?

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this would make getting around easier.

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even great grandma liked her starbucks.

see more here.

Good Day for Dissent, Bad Day for Alberto Gonzales

Posted on January 25, 2006

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look at the picture and then check out the story here. isn’t it hard to sell something when nobody is buying? you bet your ass it is.

Happy Birthday Macintosh

Posted on January 24, 2006

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1984 won’t be like 1984. on this date in 1984 apple introduced the macintosh and things were never the same. oddly enough, steve jobs hate the macintosh and tried to kill it. of course, he later changed his mind, took over the project and the rest is, as it is often said, history.

now with steve jobs poised to take a seat on the disney board and apple scoring record profits from sales of ipods and even a few macs, the little company has come a long way. pretty soon, steve may be able to realize his dream of making apple a bigger and better version of sony.

its been 22 years now and the mac and apple show no signs of slowing down. all of the doom and gloom predictions of the past have given way to glowing reviews and almost universal praise. apple has become a media darling. i guess when it works it really works. of course, it could have just as easily gone the other way. as smart as steve jobs is, luck has played a factor. luck always plays a factor. so, here’s to luck.

who knows what the next 22 years will bring. hope i’m still around to find out.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Posted on January 22, 2006

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yes, the title says it all. its sunday here and i have spent many hours this weekend watching tv. not just tv really, i watched a couple of movies too. i’m not sure why but it seemed like the thing to do. i watched battlestar galactica, the jacket (with adrien brody and the very cute keira knightley) , both NFL conference championship games (go seahawks) and new episodes of the west wing and grey’s anatomy (yes, i watch grey’s anatomy, so what?).

i also managed to squeeze in a birthday party for a one year old (my friends gil and holly’s son, julian) and also a trip to the santa monica civic to see the photo la exhibit. plus lunch and dinner and some time at whole foods market for a crap load of soy milk and other stuff. a full weekend indeed.

after taking a look around the photo la event, i am even more convinced that i am a mildly skilled photographer at best (one of my photos is in this post). those photos at photo la are really, really good. not just good, really interesting and inspiring. just what great art is supposed to do. inspire. it did for me.

i am more determined than ever to try to improve my photography skills. i have a long way to go. i am prepared to suffer for my art though so i got that going for me, which is nice.

my friend j-rod could tell you many more fascinating details about the various photographers whose work were on exhibit at photo la. i, however, can’t do much of that. i will say that i particularly liked the photos of Eikoh Hosoe and David Hilliard. check them out if you get a chance. unfortunately, photo la ends today i think so maybe you can make it next year. try, its worth it.

perhaps i will have improved by then. fingers crossed.

17″ iMac Review and a quick bit of other stuff

Posted on January 17, 2006

i know, i know. again with the light blogging. “what the hell is wrong with you?” you may ask. well, nothing really. just, you guessed it, busy again.

for some reason as yet unknown to me, except perhaps a dose of stupidity and a little boredom, i have decided to do some work back in the world of showbiz. well, not showbiz exactly, more the corporate world. on the plus side this corporate stuff is all very dramatic and will be fun to do so i am looking forward to it. we get to burn stuff and maybe even blow some shit up. good times.

anyway, back to the task at hand. over at ars technica they have a review of the new intel based imac. pretty good article. i enjoyed it. i might have to pick up one of those imacs soon (to install windows on it, of course, just to “see if i can”).

Capt.Ny12601172350.People Shatner Ny126 and, in other more serious news, william shatner of well, if you don’t know who he is i don’t know what to say about that, recently sold a kidney stone of his and gave the money to charity. really, it actually happened. i don’t know what more disturbing. the fact he sold a kidney stone or that someone actually bought it. really people, i like star trek but it was just a tv show. jeeez.

and, is the new video ipod responsible for the boots in ratings for NBC’s version of “the office”. if you read this, they seem to think so. could be, i guess, but the show being really funny might have something to do with it also. now if they would just start selling videos of “arrested development” on the itunes store. it might help that show too.

while we’re on the subject, isn’t it about time to change the name of the iTunes Music store to something more in line with what they are selling? how about calling it the Apple Media Store? that’s got a nice ring to it.

or maybe the Apple iStore? anyway, its time to consider a change. i’m sure they will come up with something and i hope its better than “mac book”. that doesn’t really work for me as well as “powerbook”. now that’s a cool name.

Mac World Stuff

Posted on January 10, 2006

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well, the stevenote at mac world expo is over. sadly, no “media center” mac mini or anything like that. however, we now have some pretty cool new things to play around with. and here they are:

the new MacBook Pro (say so long to the Powerbook name) which runs on Intel Dual Core processors and looks basically the same as the 15″ Powerbook. i’m sure a redesign of the casing is in the works. just not for today.

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also, a new Intel based iMac with the same look as its G5 based brothers. also with Intel Dual Core processors. that’s cool. unless you just got an iMac last week.

and, osx 10.4.4 is out today. its for “old” macs as well as new Intel macs. runs on both. i’ve been using it for a few weeks now and it seems to work just fine. still, i might wait a few days for the initial early adopters to install it and have problems before i would rush out and get it. also, updated the iLife suite to iLife ’06 (catchy name, eh?) including the new iWeb app which lets you create web pages and share your photos, podcasts or blogs with the world at the touch of a button (or a mouse, as the case may be).

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there is also an update to the rest of the iLife apps which take advantage of the new .mac features announced today. all in all a pretty cool package to get your stuff up and seen.

the mac book is a step in the right direction but still not enough to make me really want one. yet. i’m waiting for a 12″ version with all flash based hard drive that weighs 2.5 pounds. that would really be something.

as for the iMac i might pick one of those up to check out. but maybe after the first revision. i’m a little tired of being an apple beta tester after my experiences with my first dual 2ghz g5 tower. these macs are just the first step this year anyway so its not over by any means. by the end of the year, it will be all Intel all the time. i can wait. plus, my G5 tower is working just fine at the moment so what’s the rush?

it would have been nice to get a mac-mini based hd dvr that runs mac osx and allows you to stream audio and video and record it to dvd like tivo-to-go does for windows (maybe even for the mac soon). not yet though. i would bet money that its just around the corner. i guess i can put my amex away. for now.

for the rest of what’s hot (or not) from the stevenote, go to apple.

Tivo Tuesday

Posted on January 9, 2006

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i have been thinking and writing about Tivo a lot lately so i though i would continue the trend, at least for today. so, in the spirit of total disclosure, i wanted to list my Tivo season passes for your enjoyment and to compare them to your own. plus, some friends like LAist editor-at-large jason toney already listed his so it seems like the right thing to do. although, he only listed his top ten but i have graciously listed every one of the shows that i season pass.

if for some reason you don’t actually have Tivo, please go out and get one as soon as you can. seriously, it it a great thing and will change your life for the better. i can’t believe i ever lived without one (or two). although, if you are one of those people who don’t watch TV at all then a Tivo isn’t for you. plus, if you don’t watch TV, you clearly have other problems.

oh, one or two notes about these lists. as i am lucky enough (or, unlucky as some of you may feel) to live in Los Angeles, Directv treats me pretty well. i am able to get all of the local network channels in high def like ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox etc. so i record most of the shows that i watch on the HD Tivo. makes sense, right?

the downside to that process is that the HD Tivo has only so much space, especially for HD content. so, to alleviate that problem, i also have my old Series 2 Tivo hooked up to a second standard def DirecTV receiver box. that way, i can record shows in SD and fill that one up as much as necessary. plus, as the Directv Tivo box doesn’t have networking capabilities, i need to record any programming on the Series 2 Tivo that i want to use with Tivo to go and burn to a DVD or whatever.

sounds simple right? it took a little time to work out the details but now it works perfectly. i don’t have as many season passes on the Series 2 Tivo but its really become more of a recording device for shows i might want to take off of the Tivo via Tivo to go.

anyway, without further to do, here are my much considered season passes from both of my Tivo boxes:

DirecTv HD Tivo:

1. Battlestar Galactica
2. Lost
3. Veronica Mars
4. Rescue Me
5. Scrubs
6. House
7. Arrested Development
8. Bones
9. The Sopranos
10. NCIS
11. Rome
12. The O.C.
13. The West Wing
14. My name is Earl
15. The Shield
16. Grey’s Anatomy
17. Surface
18 E-Ring
19. The Office
20. Out of Practice
21. Deadwood

Series 2 Tivo:
1. The Daily Show
2. The Colbert Report
3. Aqua Teen Hunger Force
4. Southpark
5. The Simpsons
6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
7. Angel

ok, maybe i do watch too much tv. no wonder it seems like i never have time for anything. some of these shows are not on right now but i don’t remove them from the season pass just in case i forget to add them back on. i am also going to add 24 to the list after i see the big season premiere this coming sunday. unless, of course, its total crap.

hasta la vista baby.