tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32327742011-11-27T18:53:19.340-05:00trying to navigate a cluttered mind / lifeckmnoreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-7253114206235431412007-07-25T05:37:00.000-04:002007-07-25T05:52:17.609-04:00

I'm old enough to remember seeing Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker during the PTL heyday and subsequent downfall, and I remember watching them on occasion and thinking what an overdramatic phony that crazy lady with the clown makeup must be. The husband seemed like a used car salesman (like many televangelists of the day), but the wife was just too over-the-top to be real.Turns out I couldn't have been

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1155725986911986802006-08-16T02:57:00.000-04:002006-08-16T07:11:50.813-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted, and with good reason.As you may have noticed from previous posts, I'm a big-time Mac fan (and well, a fan of Apple Computer in general). I've worked with them for many years, and like many Mac users, I'm a loyal customer and very enthusiastic about Apple's products. So like many Mac fans, I've been posting about Apple stuff here in my blog.Well, I can't do

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1148525525045726322006-05-24T11:17:00.000-04:002006-05-24T22:52:05.113-04:00

I'm starting to feel like a marketing service for MacZOT!But they're just doing some really cool things for the Mac shareware scene, it's hard not to want to chip in and play when they ask.This time, it's CollaboZOT....or is it BlogZOT? I dunno -- it's confusing. All I know is that if I mention the latest MacZOT promo on this blog, I have a good shot at getting the Pzizz Sleep Module as part of

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1146547973322165982006-05-02T01:16:00.000-04:002006-05-02T01:32:53.406-04:00

Apple has come out with a new Mac ad campaign, and they've come out swinging this time.The "Get a Mac" campaign features six television spots that are playful, but notable. But the real blows are being delivered on the "Get a Mac" website. Here are a few excerpts:SOURCE: http://www.apple.com/getamac/All those reasons you never bought a Mac? Not true anymore.How much time have you spent

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1146542556847340222006-05-01T23:45:00.000-04:002006-05-02T07:00:11.250-04:00

On Monday night, May 1, two new Apple commercials debuted on prime time network television. The big surprise? They weren't iPod or iTunes ads, they were Mac ads. And they were actually pretty good.Both ads feature two actors: one is the "stuffy" type -- clean-shaven, bespectacled, in a business suit -- playing the part of a PC, and one is more casual -- unshaven in t-shirt and jeans -- playing

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1146000434240358282006-04-25T17:17:00.000-04:002006-04-25T17:29:26.313-04:00

Okay, okay...I haven't posted here in a while. I'll get around to it, I promise!However, today I must pay homage to two truly cool things:1. SubEthaEdit from CodingMonkeys, and2. BLOGZOT 2.0 on MacZOT.com.Yes, this is a shameless plug on my part to get really cool software really cheap. But the cool thing is: you can, too!What is SubEthaEdit?It's a really cool collaborative text editor. I'm no

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1141828986555520062006-03-08T09:32:00.000-05:002006-03-08T13:41:01.413-05:00

This is a momentous year for anniversaries for geeks like me. In less than a month, on April 1, Apple Computer will turn 30. Like many thousands of other Mac geeks worldwide, I'm expecting something big to be announced by Apple...maybe something having to do with the mysterious touch screen iPod-like device that was conspicuously missing from the "Fun New Products" event last week (if it does

ckmnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1141321128451908342006-03-08T05:18:00.000-05:002006-03-08T11:21:48.770-05:00

[note: I originally wrote most of this on March 2 (last Thursday), but I thought I had lost it...it was, in fact, in the Drafts folder, so I finished it up and posted it today. Sorry for any confusion.]OK, so maybe my knee-jerk reaction to Apple's "Fun New Products" event was a bit negative.Apple is going exactly the route I was expecting. Not that I'm any sort of prophet; everyone seemed to be

ckmnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1141154433902783122006-02-28T14:09:00.000-05:002006-02-28T14:20:33.926-05:00

Mac minis with Intel processors and a slightly revamped version of Front Row. For $100 and $300 more than the previous base model.A $350 boom box that you can plug an iPod into.This is "fun"?Maybe I'm missing something, but these seem quite overpriced. I thought the whole idea of a Mac mini was that it was supposed to be the cheapest Mac ever. It's starting to resemble the Power Mac Cube more and

ckmnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1136809076145881122006-01-09T07:14:00.000-05:002006-01-09T07:17:56.156-05:00

I've learned over the years that it's pointless to try to guess what Steve Jobs is going to announce at any given Macworld keynote address. I don't know how ThinkSecret manages to get 90% of its predictions correct, but my track record is somewhere hovering around 5% (and that's being a bit generous). The only think I do know is that whatever is announced will be impressive, even if it initially

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1136291038115489862006-01-03T07:22:00.001-05:002006-01-03T07:28:31.910-05:00

I've never really understood the appeal of downloading movies. I have several friends who do so using their PCs, and 95% of the downloads they attempt end up being intentionally mislabeled porn titles, attempts at distributing malware, or foreign language (or badly recorded) versions of the movies they're trying to get.To me, it just seems like less hassle to buy or rent DVDs. After all, most

ckmnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1136000535077142672005-12-30T22:41:00.000-05:002005-12-30T22:42:15.086-05:00

Well, chaos got the better part of me for the last part of 2005. I'm hoping that 2006 will be the year I start moving forward with some of my ideas.Happy New Year! Please be safe when you're out and about.

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1133195084741489912005-11-26T11:16:00.000-05:002005-11-28T11:24:44.763-05:00

So, it's been over a month since my last post.Sometimes, the chaos wins.Quite a bit has happened in the past month; I'll go into more detail about one thing in particular in the next post. But the rest of it, well...On November 1, I did something I haven't done in over 20 years: I bought a video game (for my PC) on the day it was released (the last time I did that was with Pac-Man for the Atari

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1130013261583012352005-10-22T16:28:00.000-04:002005-10-22T23:35:04.413-04:00

Here I go again.Getting distracted. Doing a whole buncha nothing, while there's plenty to do.I'm at the car dealership, waiting for my vehicle to be serviced. I decided to bring my PowerBook along so I could force myself to actually do something. I did something, alright: I spent the last 45 minutes playing Solitaire.To be fair, just prior to launching Solitaire, I thought I'd organize the fonts

ckmnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1129857570794068162005-10-20T21:08:00.000-04:002005-10-20T22:37:38.230-04:00

Well, John Dvorak is at it again. I really should just ignore him like I always do, but for some reason, I felt compelled to respond. Call it the straw that broke the camel's back, or whatever you like. I've posted his article in sections with my replies following in italics. (Considering I'm using this as an editorial piece, I would think this is fair use). Whatever you call it, here goes:See

ckmnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1129078261204871722005-10-11T20:34:00.000-04:002005-10-11T21:36:44.100-04:00

Even though I work Mac support and I'm generally an Apple fanboy, one of the reasons I think it's nice not actually working for Apple is that I get to criticize the company from a customer's standpoint. It's not often that I find myself doing so, but I'm starting to build up a small list of annoyances that have piqued my ire of late, so I thought it might be healthy, in the interest of balance,

ckmnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1128987053234124992005-10-10T19:25:00.000-04:002005-10-10T23:47:19.096-04:00

As a longtime follower of all things Apple (read: "fanboy"), I can tell you one thing that won't be happening to the iPod: it won't just get video playback ability. It just doesn't fit with Apple's design philosophy.The iPod was so revolutionary in that it provided a simple and elegant way for people to enjoy music in a whole new way (yes, other portable music players came first, but nobody else

ckmnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1128982701919894502005-10-10T18:16:00.000-04:002005-10-10T21:21:41.016-04:00

Well, I'm reviving this forgotten old blog. I've been trying to figure out exactly how I was going to proceed with my blogging endeavors, and I've decided to just get back to basics (especially now that blogger is offering a lot more features than last year, when I last posted here).I wrestled with whether or not to delete the previous posts (the ones from 2004, below), but I decided that they

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1100379384107034412004-11-13T16:49:00.000-05:002005-10-10T21:22:55.096-04:00

Well, I made a major decision this week, for better or worse.The major decision is that I will stop developing the interest-based Mac communities that I had started working on early this year. Here is a listing of each site, what I've decided to do with it, and why:MacJukeboxMacJukebox never achieved the level of functionality I had hoped it would. The reasonsfor this are varied, but for the most

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1088222182949058952004-06-25T23:28:00.000-04:002005-10-10T21:23:51.730-04:00

Well, my not having a job came back to bite us in the ass. We went to close on our mortgage on Monday, and they called to verify my employment (you remember...the job I quit? Yeah...that one.) So naturally, the deal was called off. My some miracle, the mortgage company was able to re-work another offer WITHOUT my income factored in (?!), so we're supposed to close on that one this coming Monday.

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1086373311843388812004-06-04T13:55:00.000-04:002005-10-10T21:25:04.426-04:00

(Yeep! I leave the blog alone for a month, and everything gets all wonky!)OK, so it's been over a month...let's see...what's happened since then:I'm still at the job I quit in mid-April. They hadn't found a replacement, and I hadn't found a job, so that kinda worked out. Kinda. I say kinda, because I've actually had a couple of nervous breakdowns (pretty much triggered by work) since then, which

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1083031737027167212004-04-26T21:37:00.000-04:002004-04-26T22:12:00.700-04:00

Curse my insecurities! So this morning, I'm up and about to get ready to go to work. The kids are screaming, the clothes aren't done, the room starts closing in on me, and I have a panic attack. I ended up calling in sick to work, because I couldn't function properly (I dunno...somehow, I figured not being able to do anything but stare blankly at the ground and driving to my job didn't seem like

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1082690300556233492004-04-22T23:10:00.000-04:002004-04-22T23:21:20.140-04:00

So I was on my way home from work this evening after a particularly sullen day. The realization that I had quit my job, and that I really need to figure out just what the hell I'm going to do to support my family kinda hit home today, so I began panicking under the surface. On my drive home, I began to lose it again (emotionally...I was scared out of my mind for my family), and I called Angela,

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1082646964828140252004-04-22T11:14:00.000-04:002004-04-22T11:19:03.936-04:00

Last Thursday, I put in my 2-week notice for my job, without having anything else lined up. I think I pretty much screwed myself big time. So, if there's anyone out there who could use the services of a digital print and graphics expert, please contact me...I need to keep my family fed and sheltered.

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1082607609258291852004-04-22T00:11:00.000-04:002004-04-22T00:23:07.840-04:00

It's quarter past midnight. I didn't work today, because I had a dentist appointment, and I had to get a bunch of homework done before Saturday's deadline. I went to the dentist. I didn't get my homework done. Not for lack of trying, mind you. I tried many times throughout the day to sit down and do this mountain of work I have neglected for the last 4.5 weeks. I just couldn't get anything

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1081743775118673182004-04-12T00:15:00.000-04:002004-04-12T00:25:43.623-04:00

My brain's getting crowded again. Dangit...I'm trying to improve my situation, trying to improve my life. I'm going to the gym twice a week (working toward 3 times/week). I'm taking things easy (not letting school or work freak me out like I used to). I'm spending more time with my kids and more time helping around the house. I'm making concerted efforts to make things better. But this morning

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1080509012840987082004-03-28T16:14:00.000-05:002004-03-28T16:26:06.983-05:00

Old Friends I was just going through some old pictures (I'm digitally archiving all our snapshots). I saw a picture from our wedding of Mike & Maxanne. Mike & Maxanne: I sure do miss you guys. It's been about 7 years since I've seen you, but I think about you guys all the time. We had a lot of fun together, and I miss hanging out with y'all. I keep wondering if you've had little Mikelings or

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1080447883946564222004-03-27T23:02:00.000-05:002004-03-27T23:30:00.200-05:00

GAH! The curse of being male! Long story short: we're in the middle of a minor family crisis (I may explain later) that involves my sisters and my mother showing up at our house for some urgent "spring cleaning" (translation: we have too much crap, we're getting help sorting through it and tossing most of it out). So, my youngest sister (I have two, one is 3.5 years younger than me, the other

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1079204727129577662004-03-13T14:03:00.000-05:002004-03-13T14:41:16.403-05:00

I might be rethinking my decision. I don't know if I'm rethinking my decision to quit school, or to give up the websites, though. I do know that one of them needs to go; I just need to decide which one. Watching Dr. Wayne Dyer on PBS isn't helping me much with this decision...all he's making me want to do is quit my job and do everything I feel compelled to do. My wife came home last night to

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1079144323752612182004-03-12T21:06:00.000-05:002004-03-12T21:21:02.280-05:00

I'm so freaking disappointed right now. I had to concede defeat on two fronts today. First, it became painfully obvious that I can no longer continue with school. I started the process of dropping out today. The thing that sucks about it (aside from the obvious repercussions of dropping out of school) is that, if they'd just let me take a session or two off, I wouldn't have had to quit. But the

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1078799594509492792004-03-08T21:30:00.000-05:002004-03-08T21:35:28.903-05:00

Ah, the ol' job hunt. I've been looking for a job going on 3 years now. Nada. Nothin'. I have a job, but I really don't like it. I really want to start doing more creative stuff, or if I'm going to stick with the scan & print monkey gig, at least try to do that on my own. So now it's just a matter of "how do I make the time to do all this stuff?" My brain hurts. Having it lock up a bunch will

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1078784780457750822004-03-08T17:24:00.000-05:002004-03-08T17:28:34.750-05:00

So, now I have to determine if it's going to be worthwhile for me to stay enrolled in school, or just cut my losses and drop out. I want to fight like hell to stay in, but I don't know at what cost (financially and emotionally); I sure don't want to destroy my family (or my sanity) doing so.

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3232774.post-1078767016805558972004-03-08T13:26:00.000-05:002004-03-08T13:28:55.186-05:00

I had forgotten I had this thing (the blog). I figured I may as well just unload here...hopefully, it's cheaper than therapy. Anyhow, what a bad weekend. Not bad in the sense that it was absolutely horrible...I mean, Saturday was my daughter's 4th birthday party (we had it a Chuck E. Cheese's), so that part was OK. It was before and after that kinda stunk. I've been on Prozac for a year or so

ckmnoreply@blogger.com0