Category: Life of Dave

The end of an era... MacWorld 2009

January 5, 2009 by dave

As a faithful member of the Apple cult, I can't help but be saddened by the lack of a Steve Jobs keynote for this year's MacWorld. Usually, I look forward to the Tuesday keynote and frantically jump between the various live blogs of the keynote in progress. Afterward, I vicariously experience the keynote by watching it over the net.

Now, all I have to look forward to is Phil Schiller, who while he's a great guy, is no Steve Jobs. There's only one Steve. It is enough to lead me to a slight depression.

And "one last thing", Apple has already said that it won't be participating in any future MacWorld conferences. So, not only do we not get a Steve-note, but any future keynotes by Steve will be at Apple hosted events rather than on the floor of MacWorld.

It saddens me to think back on the MacWorlds that I've attended. I have fond memories of standing in long lines to get to touch the demo MacBook Air or to stand next to the iPhone in the glass case and drool. If my math is right, this year would be my 10th MacWorld.

As it stands now, unless something revolutionary comes out tomorrow, I'll probably end up skipping it this year. It is sort of like watching your favorite sports hero who continues to play when he is obviously beyond his prime. I think it might be just too depressing to be at the last MacWorld conference. It might be better to just reflect on the fond memories of MacWorld's past and let it pass into the night without watching it go.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 27, 2008 by dave

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Just a reminder. The food you eat on Thanksgiving has no calories, so enjoy!

New Theme for the Site

November 4, 2008 by dave

Last night as I pondered the election and I felt really helpless in having any impact on the outcome, I decided to do something where I actually had some control. I went to the main Drupal site and looked at some contributed themes and updated the theme of this site.

I'm not sure this is any better than the old theme, but at least it is different. I feel good about having some control over my environment at least.

Let me know what you think by commenting on this post. I suppose if there was a massive outcry from people saying that this new theme causes them to have seizures I might change it back.

Actually, if you have an account and you go to "My Account" on the left hand side of the screen, you can control which theme you see. If you prefer, you can go back to the old Blue Marine theme.

Alex and Amanda Get Married

August 25, 2008 by dave

Last Saturday, my son Alex and his fiance' Amanda got married at Seaside Beach, north of Fort Bragg. We're glad to add Amanda and her children to our family. You can see pictures of the wedding here.

Skip the X-Files movie

August 5, 2008 by dave

My wife Grace and I were pretty big fans of the X-Files TV series. We certainly enjoyed the "conspiracy" episodes best, but we watched pretty much every week. So, last night, we went with some friends to see the second X-Files movie.

I have to admit it was a huge disappointment. While it seemed that a major focus of the movie was the relationship between Mulder and Scully, their on-screen interaction was completely devoid of any sizzle. They were just going through the motions. I couldn't make myself care what happened to the main characters.

While the basic story line was suspenseful, the visuals were needlessly grotesque to the point of distracting from the story. Showing the severed arm in detail or the decapitated head being carried across the room wasn't necessary.

I'm sad that Chris Carter felt compelled to make this movie. It will forever taint my memory of the X-Files. I left the movie theater regretting the two hours of my life that I would never get back. My advice, if you must watch it, wait for the DVD to go on clearance or better yet, borrow a copy from a friend so you don't have to spend any of your hard-earned money.

Garage Update

June 5, 2008 by dave

We're still working on our inventory list. Wow, that's time consuming.

The good news is that the fence on the south side of our yard has been replaced, making that neighbor a little happier with us. The neighbor on the east side had their gutter damage repaired and yesterday they replaced that fence.

So, other than the siding on the south side neighbor's house, they should all be just about done.

We got our Toyota Highlander back yesterday, which is very nice. We've been driving a Kia Sportage as a replacement and although it isn't really a bad vehicle, it is a long way from our Highlander. It only seats 5 instead of 7 and has what I think is the worst AM radio engine noise that I've ever heard. It adds really odd tones rendering AM radio almost unusable unless you're stopped. The static pop every time you step on the brake is probably the most interesting.

Anyway, things are still moving along.

My Garage

May 15, 2008 by dave

A couple people had asked for new pictures of the garage, so here is one that I took today.

As you can see, thanks to our friends, the missionaries and the young men from our Church, we have a nice, clean, empty concrete slab now. All we need now is a new garage.

An Image from the Future

May 14, 2008 by dave

I saw this yesterday in Clearlake Oaks, California while I was driving to Sacramento. I couldn't believe my eyes. Most of the other stations were at $3.89 or $3.93/gal. This gas must be really good.

Any bets on how soon this is the average price?

Pictures of our Garage

May 4, 2008 by dave

Here are some pictures I took of the aftermath of our garage fire.

Garage Update

May 3, 2008 by dave

In our efforts to look on the bright side, Grace and I both came to the same conclusion. After we get the garage rebuilt, we probably won't need the storage shed any more since we don't have anything to put in it anyway.

One thing I didn't mention last night is how thankful I am for our friends. I've already mentioned all the things that the neighbors did for us, but while the firemen were still putting out the fire, we had a bunch of our friends come by to make sure we were OK and offer their assistance. Our friend Craig Carter dog sat by allowing Storm to spend the night in his backyard. We had Kathy Norris, the Glavichs, multiple Richardsons, the Steinmans and our Bishop all stopping by before the flames were even out to check on us and our needs. There were probably more that I can't even remember. We've had a bunch of phone calls today from other friends checking on us.

We're so blessed to have such good friends.

Storm is back at the house now. We set up an area at the other end of our house for him to live until the garage is rebuilt. He doesn't look any worse for wear and he definitely seemed happy to be home.

On Monday, we'll order a construction dumpster so that we can begin the process of getting rid of the ash and burnt wood.

My mom and grandfather came by today to check out our handiwork. They seemed impressed.

We've been amazed at the number of people driving slowly by our house, or who put on the brakes once they see our garage is gone. If we could only figure out a way to charge for that, we'd be able to rebuild the garage.