Day: 17 September 2003

The Best Laptop(s) I Ever Had

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Technology is supposed to get better over time. You are supposed to have a “better” computer, PDA, Phone, etc. as time goes by. But is that always the case? Think about cars. My dad talks about some old car he had in the 70’s that was probably the best car he ever had. Tons of people like classic cars, and would go back to them in a flash. Does anyone really want to go back to a 286 computer and use DOS again? That old 10lbs laptop from 12 years ago cannot be dreamed about. I mean you can think back to the good old days with nostalgia, but do you really want that old equipment over what you have now?

I just thought of that when I declared (with Gus) that the IBM Thinkpad T40 I have is probably the best laptop I have ever had. But if it wasn’t wouldn’t we have a problem? It is of course the newest laptop I have. It should be the best. Shouldn’t it? Now my last laptop an IBM Thinkpad T31 or the Dell Latitude C400 I had before that were good solid machines, but the T40 is just rock solid awesome computer. The little things push it over the edge from company computer, to the best machine I ever had.

On that same note, I have to say things about my Powerbook 12″ that I have. You can and cannot compare it to a Thinkpad, or a Windows computer. They are the same, and different at the same time. I think that the powerbook is also one of the best computers I have ever had. I have had machines the size and capabilities of the Powerbook before. It is actually a bit bigger than my Latitude C400. It is just better. The keyboard is the best or one of the best I have ever used on a laptop or off of one. The DVD Burner is amazing. The port layout and other features make it fantastic.

The question is when these machines get a bit older and I upgrade, will I look back and wish I still used them? After all their is always something better just down the production line.

What Do You Do For A Living?

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So what do you do for a living? That is a question I get allot. Most people probably do when meeting new people. For some it is easy, and not so much for others. My brother in law, has it simple. He is a doctor (MD). My mom’s a teacher. Their are more complex answers to those questions, but you get the idea of what they do by that simple statement. Now I have a more difficult answer. I tell people I am a Network Engineer. Sounds good, sort of descriptive. Not really what I do anymore. I have found it is close enough for most purposes. If pressed for more information you have to figure out how much someone knows about computers and technology. For Mike, he is a doctor in emergency medicine. Still very descriptive. Technology jobs still have this stigma of oh, you do that. You must be a computer geek. Now I don’t deny the fact that I am into technology, but it is sort of a bad way to think.

These thoughts come to my mind now, since I am dating, or attempting to do so. That is one of the first topics of conversation. Now you don’t want to talk to a date about computers. Trust me you really don’t. But work is such a big part of someone’s life, especially mine. It is an interesting dilemma.

The next big question is “what does your company do”? Yet again, for me right now it is a difficult question to answer. I have not been able to give a one sentence answer to that question yet, that accurately explains what my company does. We just had a meeting last friday at our presidents house. We discussed that same problem. We got a laugh about it. It is just one of those things that can be difficult to answer, but be a really simple question.

Poker Tomorrow

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Well, we are planning another poker night tomorrow night. Gus, Dan, Molly, myself and 2 unsuspecting people will sit down for poker. What this really means is that I can talk trash about being the big winner for another 24 hours. After that I will have lost tomorrow and will be unable to do so. I truly don’t think lightning strikes twice, so I don’t think I will win. Their is also the aspect of me not thinking I will win gives me what I call the “I don’t give a fuck” attitude. With that attitude I tend to to OK! Yes I have a twisted mind…

Dinner With The Family

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My family is meeting at my sisters tonight for dinner. As much as I want to go, I am not sure if I will get to them by the meeting time. I am also tired from working today. I do want to play with morgan. Thinking of her just now I can’t help but smiling:)

Update. So I wrote this when I was on the train. Turns out I didn’t go to dinner, since I was tired and it was late. I will catch them next time, when I am not traveling.

The Different Ways To Communicate

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Going up to Kingston gets me thinking about how I use the communication tools at my disposal. If you ask anyone, I have too many gadgets. The problem is sometimes none of them work the way I need them to. Right now my blackberry’s screen is all screwed up so I have a hard time reading it. I need to replace that. On a good day the screen sucks, so I would like to get my mail another way. The Treo Mail program requires you to pay $50 a year. I don’t know if the mail function on the new Treo will be the same as the old one, so I don’t want to buy the Treo Mail if I plan on upgrading to the new Treo 600 in 2-3 months when it comes out. Eudora Mail for the Palm sucks, so I can’t check mail that way. The problem is I want to send and receive email on the road, but I don’t want to pay the crazy hotel charges for a phone call. I am thinking of getting software that will allow me to use my Treo’s GPRS data service on my laptop. the problem is the same as with the Treo Mail. Can I still use it when I get the new Treo 600? If so I am sold. If not, I don’t want to fork over 50 bucks.

Another problem with the blackberry is I use it for alerts all the time. If I start forwarding all my mail to it, I will get duplicate emails when I get an alert. (Alerts goto my mailbox and the blackberry, so sending my mailbox to the blackberry will duplicate some mail.) the other problem is if I turn on forwarding, I have to turn it off. It becomes a pain. I never know when I will need it or not. With the Treo, I can turn it on or off from the handheld.

It is crazy that I now have all these options, but still can’t make a decision on what to use. I want to get rid of one or two devices. Who needs a PDA/Phone, a pager, and a cell phone. It is too much to carry. In addition I have to carry around my thinkpad.

On The Way Home!

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I am done with my 2 days in our Kingston office. Things are very busy up there, but everything is shaping up. I got a lot of issues cleaned up yesterday and today. We still have some things to finish, but we are moving along at what I think is a satisfactory pace.

Justin takes my place up in Kingston tomorrow for the remainder of the week. We are starting to ramp up that office and need people up there to make sure things are done at a quick pace. Justin will also accompany me up in Kingston next week, when we move a large amount of traffic to the new facility.

Joe is doing a good job of keeping things updated. Their is just allot of stuff to do, so I am happy we got a second person for the next two weeks. I hope to have some one up there permanently soon. I am working on that also.

I went back to the hotel last night and went to check my mail on the Treo. I ended up falling asleep till almost 9PM. I woke up and decided to just “officially” goto bed. I did nothing but sleep at that hotel yesterday. I felt a bit better today because of it. Travel takes allot out of you. Even if it is short distance travel. If I am in a hotel it is considered travel for me!