Singapore Idol 2006

I say it's Hady Mirza, all the way. He can sing decently, and the rest, with the inconsistent exception of Jonathan Leong, could make soap curdle singing in the shower. Paul Twohill would stain the soap with mascara, too. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Sometimes people ask me what I do professionally, and they might ask the question, "What's a mainframe?" Maybe these videos help answer that question. Maybe.

I'm adjusting well to my new MacBook. The keyboard is a bit different, and I'm still trying to figure out the keyboard accelerators to stay productive. The standard memory (512 MB) is a bit on the light side, but it's not too horrible. I've had a couple applications crash, but the operating system itself seems rock solid. Everything I need to do at the office can be done. Keeping the machine clean will be a huge challenge. Anybody have any advice for cleaning a white MacBook?

UPDATE: Hady is in the final four three two.

MacBook Left Alaska

Fedex reports that my MacBook enjoyed a brief visit to Anchorage and is now winging its way toward Chicago. I hope it wasn't too disoriented crossing the date line.

The help desk people were unable to recover anything from my crashed hard disk, so I am thinking about sending it out to a data recovery specialist just in case there's something on there I might want. Fortunately the important information is replicated (Lotus Notes databases) or backed up, for the most part. Later today I'm going to see if I can recover iTunes from the iPod.

UPDATE: I recovered the vast majority of the iTunes. My MacBook, born in China just a few days ago, is now sitting at the Fedex depot just three blocks from my Chicago apartment. Nice job, Apple.

LATER UPDATE: Fedex knocked on my door in Chicago, and I wasn't home. I'm still in Tokyo. My MacBook beat me to Chicago. Also, the polls are open in Connecticut as I write this update, and here's hoping that Ned Lamont defeats the odious Senator Lieberman. To my friends and family in Connecticut, please remember to vote early and often for Mr. Lamont.

EVEN LATER UPDATE: My MacBook has arrived. Fedex was able to deliver to my building's office. Tonight I fly to Chicago to catch up with it.

EVEN LATER THAN LATER UPDATE: Ned Lamont is now Connecticut's Democratic nominee for the 2006 U.S. Senate election. Thank you, Connecticut.

Mandarin Smiles

The hard disk crashed, but at least I had luck shopping: four 425g cans of Mandarin oranges are only 210 yen (about 52 yen each) on sale at the local Hanamasa market, now through at least some of September. I bought 12 cans.

Limping Along

Lots of non-mainframe personal computer news to report. A couple days ago I managed to drop my ThinkPad about two feet onto a carpeted floor. The machine is over four years old now, and that drop was one too many for the hard disk.

I pulled the hard drive this morning so that I'm not tempted to work on it any more. I need a specialist to see what data he can pull off. Right now I'm using a bootable Linux CD to get online, yet another reason to like Linux. If there's nothing to save then I'll lose about 11 months of ancillary data. Most of what's important is protected in Lotus Notes replicated databases, though. Notable losses might include recent photos, many iTunes downloads (but they were all the free ones), and a couple spreadsheets I'll miss somewhat.

A more recent backup would have been nice, but I'll live.

I decided to purchase an Apple MacBook, and hopefully the new machine will arrive in about a week. Perhaps it's silly buying one's own machine mostly for office use, but I figure I'll splurge and meet new people who will want to know why there's a Macintosh in the office. Like the newer ThinkPads, the MacBook has a motion sensor which will park the hard disk heads before they crash. Unlike the newer ThinkPads the MacBook has a magnetic power cord attachment, so it is not possible to trip over the cord and send the machine tumbling.

If anyone has MacBook advice, feel free to share. I ordered the basic 1.8 GHz model with a 100 GB hard disk, VGA adapter (for presentations), and a free (after rebate) printer/scanner/copier. Is NeoOffice any good?

UPDATE: Apple shipped the printer but not the computer yet. So I called asking them to upgrade to two-day shipping to Chicago. "I'm sorry, we can't do that." The computer hasn't left, and it may not leave for days, but Apple can't seem to slap a two-day sticker on the box. All of which means I'll need a minor miracle to receive the computer before my flight back to Japan. There's still a chance, but I'm nervous.

LATER UPDATE: Like this consumer, I see that Apple is shipping my MacBook directly from China to Chicago. The good news is that Fedex thinks the MacBook will arrive on August 9, the day I arrive in Chicago. I hope Fedex is correct. Too bad Apple cannot parachute the MacBook into Tokyo before I leave.