Braaaaaaains.

I require a supercomputer (or at least several non-supercomputers hooked up via Linux nodes and thus combining their power), several books on mathematical theory, time, and German.

There is not enough time for me to know what I want, nor do I have the ability, I am afraid.

Edit: My dear mother, please tell me at the beginning of a phone conversation if you are eating dinner or similar. I will be most happy to call you back.

Grrrrr for the following reasons:

1) Amber is in West Texas for a week.
2) The Spurs lost. To the Lakers.
3) My fingernails are self-destructing.
4) I am feeling utterly unmotivated to do anything.

Technogeekery

I want a MacBook Air. Sort of.

I still don't want a Mac. Yes, they are lovely, solid, beautiful machines. Absolutely. But just how damn hard is it to put a right mouse button on your computer? And no, control-click is not an acceptable alternative. Also, the minimize/restore/close buttons are backwards. And yes, interface is a big deal to me.

Granted, I could easily run Linux on an Air and I am willing to bet that the gesture pad supports something akin to a right click. In fact, I will go look now. ... ... ... ... Ah, yes, ok. Right-click equivalent for the win.

The thing is, Leopard really is pretty. I like the Dock. But with RocketDock (which really does need a Linux version), I can get the same effect, including stacking. I like the solid-state hard drive. I like that it is all-aluminum. And I like that it is three pounds.

I wish there was some way to find out where it is manufactured; I suspect they are made in China, which is not acceptable. I just found out from one of my friends who works for Dell that all of the computers bought by the federal government are manufactured HERE with components made HERE and not in China. For me, that is a lot of win, because I really am trying to put my money where my mouth is about buying as local as possible. There is a reason my flipflops have been mummified in electrical tape -- all of those sold at Target were made. in. China.

What was I saying? Oh, the Air also has a BackLit Keyboard. How freakin long did that idea take? I've been wanting a backlit keyboard on my laptop since the dawn of time. Or at least the dawn of me owning a laptop. And the solid state hard drive? Win.

I do not understand the lack of an SD card slot, which saddens me because I use those and external hard drives for all of my storage. That was the major selling point of my current laptop (well, that, the price, and the fact that it was 8:45 at night at a Best Buy which closed at Nine with a term paper due the next day and a dead laptop at home. A dead laptop which may yet be resurrected once I get it back from James). I suppose I could use a USB-to-SD adapter, but that seems sort of unnecessary.

At any rate, when I have the cash and the inclination, and this computer bites the dust, I will probably get a second-generation Air, knowing full well that I can run XP on it (as much as I hate Microsoft, I still find XP comforting in its familiarity, and will be sticking with it until such time as I a) learn enough about Linux to find it more useful, b) Ubuntu gets to the point where it will connect to WPA-encrypted networks, and c) RocketDock exists for it.) and assuming that the price for the solid-state drive comes down from the thousand bucks it is at currently.

Chewbecca and four things

Chewbecca says that I should blog more regularly.

The problem is that I don't always have a whole lot to say, but I shall try it anyway:

1) My grades were not as bad as I expected. In fact, they were pretty damn good, and my GPA went up for the first time in many semesters.

2) Amber and I did a night count last night, and Camp Swift is pretty creepy.

3) Knotacau was stuck outside in the insane storm that randomly showed up at four this morning. She is ok.

4) I may not, in fact, fail at life.

Another Reason Why I Love Sarah in Chicago

Posted at Shakesville.