Apples and Lemons

Three days after I dropped my computer at The Apple Store for repairs it was returned to me with another brand-spankin'-new Main Logic Board. The iBook G4 is officially a lemon.

My iBook has had five repairs - three of them logic boards - in roughly four years. I know computers aren't designed to last forever, but c'mon, I've got an old Powerbook holding on for dear life. There hasn't been so much as a hiccup with that thing. Even the original battery still holds power. I've bought two batteries for my iBook since buying this lemon of a computer.

Of course, I don't dare say it's a lemon out loud because then it might break again and next time the Apple Store may not be so gracious as to pick up the tab. Yep, I strong armed Apple into paying for this repair after the AppleCare guy admitted the iBook logic boards are duds and that Apple knows about the problem. Hello?! Stop installing faulty parts. 

It's a clever plan to force people to upgrade to the MacBook. Well, guess what Mr. Jobs, that's not happening right now because this girl is too damn cheap. If push comes to shove, that old Powerbook I've got in the basement can easily shoulder my school load for one more semester. 

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Less Constitutional, More Awesome

Supreme Court Rules Death Penalty Is 'Totally Badass'

Science Matters

We spent all day in a nearby town participating in the Junior Solar Sprint and Fuel Cell Competition where Lizzie's team did very well racing their Hydrogen car.  It was great fun spending time with other families from across our state who were just as stoked about giving up their Saturday for a nerdy, scientific event.  The kids had lots of fun and were all really good sports despite the long day spent inside a high school gym.  I also think it's pretty cool that Lizzie now has an itsy-bitsy resume bullet and she's only eleven years old!  Plus, she got a really cool t-shirt and a fun heat-activated pencil.  All fun and interesting stuff for her mom who is newly interested in Renewable Energy and such.  

I feel so lucky to be a part of our public school system!  I am constantly amazed by the excellent education my children receive and I am so thankful for our middle school staff because they are really committed to providing excellent educational opportunities to students and creating a genuinely inclusive school community.  Only one other middle school from our town participated in the competition, which means a lot of those other kids probably aren't even studying renewable energy in their schools.  It could be a funding issue, but our projects were grant funded so the money is out there for those other kids, too.  

Oh, and my evidence final went ok.  I have no idea how I did but the main thing is it's over and I am pretty sure I didn't fail.  On to Enviro Law and my relatively compact (eleven pages), but nearly complete, seminar paper.  Then, one week of break before summer term starts.  

Study Break

What's that, you say?  I should be studying for finals.  Pshaw.  It's not my fault a blog I read has a cool quiz that "scientifically" measures my caffeine level.  Really, how could I resist?  It's a quiz that combines both caffeine and science!  

Created by OnePlusYou

It's My Space

MySpace has taken over my life and it's like being in high school all over again. A friend introduced me to MySpace, then I found the Hippie DINKs on there, and then some other fun friends from high school added me as friends and it all just spiraled out of control. Madhubby is on there, too, and we enjoy lots of witty and immature banter peppered with lots of Chuck Norris comments. Yes, we're nerdy and, apparently, well-matched.

So, why would a thirty-one year old woman subject herself to the hell that was high school? Again?! I don't know maybe for the same reasons millions of other thirty-year-old-plus folks log on day after day. Well, not the creepy, pervy guy living in his mom's basement. That guy needs therapy. But, there it is. I'm on MySpace and getting downright loony when my friends don't leave me comments or when they ignore my messages for two days even though I know they're online because I SEE YOU!

Rotten Apple

The Apple Store at Flatiron Crossing Mall has the worst customer service. I sent Madhubby over to their store to get a simple part for my iBook (a little rubber foot) and they refused to give him one. They insisted he drive all the way back to our house, make an appointment, pry my laptop from my hands, drive back to their store and let them install the little rubber foot because obviously we're way too dumb to handle rubber. I sent Madhubby back into the store with strict instructions to kick their asses. He got the little rubber feet but what a fucking hassle. Next time I need little rubber feet, I'm heading to the Mac Shack on the Hill. The people are nicer and they have a big, furry cat the kids love.

Idiots at the Genius Bar: The iPod Idiot

Remember the Mactard from my last service visit to the Apple Store? Well, that guy was a genius compared to the the guy from my most recent visit. While my poor iBook was hooked intravenously to a disk drive here and firewire plug there, in walks this guy who thinks he is such hot shit. Both he and his girlfriend are total Trustafarians*

"Dude, my iPod doesn't work. I've reformatted it twice and still won't come on."
"Did you make sure it was on?"
"Yeah."

Two minutes go by during which the genius reformats the iPod yet again and leaves it on the firewire charger for a bit. This is what happened next: Genius unplugs the iPod, presses "play" and the iPod jumps up, and smacks its owner in the head for being such a tool and not realizing that iPods need something other than solar power to spin "Death Cab for Cutie" tunes.

Okay. Everything happened but that last bit about the iPod coming to life. It was actually me who smacked the guy in the head.

*Trust fund income + Boho lifestyle + big-ass gas-guzzling luxury SUV = Trustafarian

Midweek Meme - Three Things

Pet Peeves:

1. Laziness
   


2. Stupidity
   


3. Ignorance

Favorite Sounds:

1. Rain
   


2. House noises (creak of the floor, hum of the fridge - it's all comforting)
   


3. Train Whistle
   

Favorite Candy:

1. Starburst Fruit Chews (any variety)
   


2. Lemon Heads (I'm a child of the late 70s/early 80s. What can I say?)
   


3. Hot Tamales
   

Biggest Fears:

1. Flying
   


2. Heights


3. Personal humiliation
   

Biggest Challenges:

1. Parenting
   


2. Marriage
   


3. Law school
   

Favorite Stores:

1. Nordstrom


2. Pottery Barn


3. The Apple Store

Most Used Words:

1. You know
   


2. Totally
   


3. Whatever
   

Favorite Pizza Toppings:

1. Chicken
   


2. Pesto
   


3. Roma Tomatoes
   

Favorite Cartoon Characters:

1. Nemo
   


2. Shrek
   


3. Mr. Incredible
   

Movies Recently Watched:

1. Tombstone
   


2. The Simpson's
   


3. Finding Nemo
   

Favorite Fruits:

1. Grapefruit
   


2. Grapes
   


3. Nectarines
   

Favorite Vegetables:

1. Tomatoes
   


2. Cucumbers
   


3. Carrots
   

Computer Savvy

She's only five years old and her eyes already have that glazed over look that Mac Heads know so well. I rocked the Apple long before it was mainstream and I still remember my first Mac with unabashed fondness. Floppy drive, external modem and heavy enough to brain an unsuspecting cat.

My genius at the bar had never even heard of the Mac Plus. How can you work at the Apple store and not know what came before you? That's like discussing judicial review without discussing Marbury v. Madison (I did well enough in my high school government class without knowing who the heck either of those people were). So, then, who is the real genius? Is it the Apple store guy because he has a knack for peddling crap or...could it be...me - and my fellow Mac Heads - for loving Apple before iPod?

Of course, back when I had my Mac Plus I was dating a programmer-cum-hacker who taught me lots of nifty - and mostly legal - things to do with computers.

Now, I've passed the torch to my children. They will grow up to revere the Mac and despise the PC. They have a great fondness for Didi & Ditto, I SPY, and the sleek lines of the Mac, the accessory no household should be without.

*For all you fellow Mac Heads, Olie is using a Powerbook G3/333 (Lombard) that her G'Pa passed down to us when he upgraded to this. It's old, but it's running Panther and the Office Suite rather nicely, which makes it a great workstation for the kidlets.

Midweek Meme

My "Year in Review" meme is a little late but still quite timely. I balked at featuring the popular "Five Things" meme that is going around right now because a sistah has to have some secrets. So, read up and enjoy. You are IT!

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before? Sold a house I owned.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Yes. I resolved to laugh more and I think I was able to do that.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No.

4. Did anyone close to you die? No.

5. What countries did you visit? Sadly, I did not leave the country.

6. What would you like to have had in 2006 that you lacked in 2005? More law school credits

7. What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? January 26th because that is the date we closed on a house I LOVE.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Being a meaningful presence in my children's lives despite all the demands on my time.

9. What was your biggest failure? Not spending enough time with my husband.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No, thank goodness.

11. What were the best things you bought? A new house.

12. Where did most of your money go? See #7 and #11

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about? The Subaru B9 Tribeca.

15. What do you wish you'd done more of? Skiing

16. What do you wish you'd done less of? Worrying

17. How did you spend Christmas? With my family.

18. Did you fall in love in 2006? Nope. I've been in love a long time, now.

19. How many one-night stands? None

20. What was your favorite TV program? Lost

21. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Yes.

22. What was the best book you read? Real Boys...no, wait...Lolita....no...The United States of Walmart...oh, oh, oh, Uninsured in America. What can I say, I like books. A lot.

23. What did you want and get? See #7, #11, #12

24. What did you want and not get? A 26" iMac

25. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I spent my thirtieth birthday with my husband and children. We had a lovely time.

26. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Graduating from law school.

27. What kept you sane? Zoloft

28. What political issue stirred you the most? The Iraqi war

29. Who did you miss? Lara

30. Who was the best new person you met? J.B., she's wonderful and real

31. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006: Life is too short to spend one minute (or, in my case, three years) in someplace that you hate.

Is it in You?

I saw this quiz over at APL's place and I just couldn't resist. I love all things trivial, except for sports stats. Sorry, Madhubby. But, If you like your trivia with a big ol' helping of sports stats, then cruise on over and check out Madhubby's Year-End List. Only two house rules: check your attitude at the door and BYOB.

You are 84% of a Coloradan!

You live in Colorado and you are PROUD OF IT! You know where Colorado is, at least.. you probably grew up here, or your relatives are from here!

How Colorado are you?

Mistress of Procrastination

Perused Bloglines
Bathed Bubba
Went running
Found (almost) perfect entryway bench at antique store
Picked up nachos from Qdoba salads from The Cheesecake Factory
Watched College Football while knitting Christmas gifts
Strung garland and lights on back porch
Totally Ignored casebooks and practice exams

The XX Factor

This morning my favorite morning show cited a very interesting study about natural selection and childbirth. The study, conducted by an independent research firm, found that when beautiful people have children they are more likely to have girls than boys. Furthermore, single mothers who have children are more likely to also have girls rather than boys. I didn't hear the rest of the discussion about this interesting phenomenon, but I have some theories of my own about this study: it's a bunch of elitist bullshit.

The first theory that two (objectively) beautiful people produce girls isn't based on any sort of longitudinal evidence, but rather on self-assessments. But, just because Madhubby thinks I'm beautiful doesn't necessarily mean Joe Smith thinks I am. Get it? So, really it's a subjective standard.

Furthermore, the study doesn't allow for any variations. So, then two, subjectively beautiful people, with two girls and a boy, would be considered an anomaly. The study doesn't specify whether boys are ok (I think they are MORE than ok) or whether the "beautiful people" offspring must be all girls.

As for personal experience, I know a few people who have all girls. While I think they are beautiful people, my standard is a subjective one because I know them. I don't think I could assemble a panel of people who would unanimously consider my friends to be beautiful.

The second theory: single mothers have more girls than boys. Again, not a longitudinal study but rather one based on self-assessments. The radio hosts hypothesized that it would be easier for a single mom to raise a girl rather than a boy, so the study "makes sense." Um. No. I have two girls and one boy, so I am speaking from personal experience here: girls are drama queens whereas boys are a lot more laidback. So, it's definitely not easier.

Also, I would be interested to know whether adoption data, where the mom is single, supports this theory. A counterargument might be that it is not the mother's but the father's status that matters. We all know that the male's sperm determines the sex of children. Well, maybe natural selection is at work, and nature has deemed those men who mate and move on as "unfit to reproduce." Thus naturally selecting certain lineages to continue (male babies) and others to be stunted (female babies). So, babies born to single mothers are not meant to continue an inherently flawed lineage.

Something else to think about are single mothers who chose to be single mothers. I still think my counterargument could apply because men in committed, long-term relationships don't fit the sperm donor profile or stereotype.

I don't fancy myself a scientist but I do believe in Natural Selection. However, further information is needed for these theories to command any authority. But, it does make for good reading and mental exercise!

Somehow We All Get Rum

This is some funny stuff. I had to share:

I. Want. This.

It's red. It's by Apple. It's for a charitable cause. All good things in my book.

Kicking It Up a Notch

I've taken the plunge and claimed my blog on Technorati. I have no idea what this will do for my traffic - if anything - but Madmom is out there in the blogosphere. Spiders released.

Technorati Profile

Humble Pie Tastes Like Chicken

I apologize to anyone who has left me comments but did not receive a response from me. My comment moderation was turned to "on" but I haven't been moderating comments on a regular basis. Actually, I haven't been moderating comments at all. It's all fixed, now. So, your comments will be posted* and acknowledged. Thanks for reading!

*As always, overtly offensive comments or spam will not be published.

A Bite Out of the Apple

I just discovered that blogging with this browser is a lot easier than blogging with this browser, because the latter one does most of the html work for you! Wow! Am I the only one who didn't know this?

C'mon Jobs, what the hell is going on over there at Apple? Stop churning out new and improved iPods every six months and upgrade our damn browser!* ::End rant::

*I'm running Panther so this issue could have been solved in Tiger or Leopard. If so, then I apologize to Steve and will go back to whoring for Apple.

Idiots at the Genius Bar

Yesteday, I sat down with my computer and cup o' tea prepared to pen another witty and insightful post when holy shit, my tea spilled all over my ibook. Thank goodness for the Geniuses at the Apple Store. Otherwise, I would been Best Buy bound and I hate that store: the noise, the invisible sales associates, the high concentration of teenagers. It's just plain bad.

I had a sinking feeling about the ibook's prognosis (was that a sizzle?), which was confirmed by my assigned genius. The bad news: I needed a new logic board. The good news: my genius gave me a break on the replacement cost. He must have recognized my big Mac brain or maybe it was the look of desperation in my eyes. Lesson learned: Tea + iBook = Disaster x $100.

Another lesson I learned is idiots should not use computers. The guy before me had an old iMac that required something. I really don't think anything was wrong with his computer, but rather he had somehow lost all his brain cells and ability to operate in a computer literate world. Seriously, the guy did not know the difference between 256 RAM and 512 RAM. Okay, kids. All together, now: 512 RAM is twice as much as the other one, you f****** idiot. Even my five year old knows that this number is bigger than that one. Ay-yi-yi. It's people like that guy who prevent me from ever sharing my Mac genius with the rest of the world. If you can't navigate MAC OS, then you are a special kind of stupid and there is no hope for you.