Photo Quest #3: Late Again

This is my June entry in Flip's Photo Quest (number 18). I don't have much of an excuse for being late, but I do have an excuse for being this late: my main computer, with all of my graphics software, is in the shop. I was going to wait to import the photos until I got it back, but I decided to try out Google's Picassa 2 on my Windows XP box and see how it worked. As it turned out, it worked quite nicely.

1. My best collections are Christmas related, but I decided I'd save that for some other photo, when I can show something that is actually well dusted and on display. I collect a lot of books, but who wants to see a messy, disorganized bookcase? With that in mind, the collection I present is my newly finish collection of Sixpence None the Richer albums.

Clockwise from top, left corner: Kiss Me (Original Single with “Sad But True”) [1997], Breathe Your Name (Single with “Northern Lights”) [2002], Don't Dream It's Over (Single with “Don't Pass Me By”) [2003], the Best of Sixpence None the Richer [2004], Divine Discontent [2002], this Beautiful Mess [1995], Sixpence None the Richer (newer version with “There She Goes”) [1997 [There She Goes - 1999]], Tickets for a Prayer Wheel (EP) [1996], the Fatherless and the Widow [1993] (in the center). That is everything that was released with the artists' apparent blessing; their former label has released several “best of” releases that simply take some tracks from Tickets to a Prayer Wheel, This Beautiful Mess and the Fatherless and the Widow, whereas the only “best of” mentioned above had unreleased tracks on it and came from the label the band ended its career with.

2. A flag, well, two, actually. I thought about hunting down a Missouri State Flag to go along with this, but you can just see that here.

3. This Norfolk pine (araucaria excelsa) is something I've grown; I have a larger one as well.

4. My shoe shelf, is really just my shoes stuck under my dresser. Does that count, Flip?

5. Here's what was once a tree stump. I actually saw this guy carved by someone who was very, very good with a chainsaw. There was a whole group of chainsaw artists that setup shop in Branson years ago, and this one came home. I cannot remember the price, but for all of the work, it was really reasonable. He hasn't been refinished for six years, so this year he is waiting for a new coat of spar varnish.

It's a Beautiful Day

A Good One. You ever have one of those days that starts out sort of okay, starts to go down hill and then all of a sudden does a 180 and becomes a great day? That's the kind of day I had today.

PhotoQuest? Yes, I am incorrigible, as Kevin told me. Flip doesn't have hers up either, so maybe I have somewhat of an excuse though! I do have the pictures taken, I just need to hook up my memory card reader to my PowerBook to download and resize 'em (right now, I'm at my desk using — gasp! — Windows XP instead… more on that in another post).

I've Got Mail. Being ever the glutton for signing up for free e-mail accounts, I signed up for one of the new AIM Mail accounts to give it a spin a few weeks ago. As part of the launch, you get a message, after signing in for the first time, offering a daily contest you can enter in (enter once and you get the chance to win every day without any more intervention); apparently you can win a Mini Cooper S, a PlayStation Portable, iTunes Music Store music and various other things. I forgot all about it until the other day, when I decided to log-in and take a look see. As it turned out, I haven't won a Mini Cooper yet, but I did get a coupon for a free song on iTMS. Not too bad…

Oh, and for those who are counting, this takes me up to 5 free e-mail accounts (Yahoo! Mail, Netscape Mail, Gmail, AIM Mail and iBiblio are the ones I remember and are still active, at one time, I had a bunch of other ones). I don't have a Hotmail account, interestingly enough; I signed up for a Microsoft Passport when they still offered Hotmail-less Passport.com passports.

Of those, if I was going to use one, I'd use the Gmail account. Google has really done a nice job with the interface — it is lightweight and functional. I also managed to nab the coveted “my first intial plus last name” address, since I was invited to try Gmail fairly early in the beta. I have a .Mac account, however, whose e-mail is the one I generally use if I need an address other than the ones on my server.

London Bombings

I just do not know what to say, other than that this was sickening. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who perished in the attacks in London today. May whoever perpetrated these crimes be brought to justice swiftly. Somehow, we must bring terrorism under control, but I'm not sure how that might be accomplished.

I wonder… if it was al-Qaeda, why didn't we pickup any chatter prior to the attack? Of course, even the best of intelligence can only catch so much, but it has seemed quiet to me in the news lately. I just hope any additional attacks will be stopped before they occur.

The Migration

Well, last night I was still busy copying stuff, so I didn't report exactly what I was up to. I copied any files of any importance onto the new hard disk I bought for my G5, then removed that drive so that Apple would be working with the warranted drive, and I would also have a backup of everything.

I also copied all files I expected I might want access to in the next week or two (most of my home directory) to my iPod. I then copied the 16.5 GB I placed on it onto my PowerBook, which is now serving as my primary system. (Thanks to .Mac sync, my PowerBook is usually already well sync'ed with the PowerMac, but I don't keep everything on it.) The only things I needed to copy onto it were my documents, photos and music. E-mail, being IMAP-based, was already there, and .Mac takes care of bookmarks, contacts and calendar.

I then brought the PB onto my desk and plugged it into my Cinema Display. The system happily woke up from sleep and automatically switched to the maximum 1920×1200 resolution of the display. I could almost forget I wasn't on my G5, if it was not for the fact that things are quieter, and my dock looks itty bitty on this screen (since its size is adjusted for the normal 1024×768 resolution of the 12” PowerBook).

The Apple Store said they weren't sure what was causing the problem: the SATA controller, one of the processors, the logic board as a whole, etc., but they were going to look at it today. Depending on what is needed, they may already have the needed parts in stock. That would be nice!

All Hands Abandon Ship

Well, my G5 is going in to the shop (finally) to get the problems I've been experiencing fixed. I may be quiet for a bit while I get everything situated on my PowerBook…

A New Site Idea

I need to start another site like I need a whole in my head, but I think I have a good idea. I've compiled a list, based on “audience reaction of a typical group of fireworks watchers” (my extended family), of the best affordable fireworks. Maybe I'll start posting my picks somewhere… Hmm.

Happy Fourth, everyone!

Last Minute Shopping...

Nothing says fun quite like lighting large amounts of paiper-mache and explosives on fire. If you are looking for an impressive firework for your display, and you've waited this long, here are a few of my recommendations, based on the ones I shot off tonight at a family get-together. All but the “Bug Zapper” are returning favorites, so I can vouch for their consistency.

• J.A.S.F.: Just Another Stinkin' Fountain — This is one that I've purchased for the last few years. And it is just as good as I remembered it. For around $7-$10, it is one of the best, longest lasting fountains you will ever encounter. It may very well be the best fountain, actually.
• Pop Goes the Fountain (Black Cat) — Another very long lasting fountain with very nice, white and gold sparks. This one only costs around $7, which makes it an excellent value.
• Bug Zapper — The only 500 gram fountain I've seen. Given that 500 grams is the maximum legal amount of explosives, it is unusual for it to be put into a fountain. While it did not last much longer than Just Another Stinkin' Fountain, it did put on a very large and brilliant fire show. It costs around $16.
• Nuclear Meltdown (Black Cat) — This is another colorful, very long lasting fountain that has been around for a few years. At $11, it was the best value until I found J.A.S.F. a few years back. It is still worth adding to your display.

• Golden Silver Flowers/Flowering Peach — Both of these classic, smaller fountains last a nice amount of time and cost around $1.50.
• Green Bamboo/Big Snow — These small aerial balls put on a vivid, if short show for about $4.00.
• Happy — For a small aerial firework, you still cannot beat the old standby, which comes in a variety of prices and sizes.

Smoke: The best smoke bomb you can get is Don't Smoke in a Can. At $3.00, it is pricey, but there is simply none I've found better. It lasts a very, very long time and emits three different colors of smoke.

Combine these with others such as Cuckoo, 2 Cool, Wow!, strobes, artillery shells and so on for a great show everyone is sure to love.

Have a happy Fourth!

Virtual FireworX

If you have a Mac, and you're looking for a way to make your system seem a little more festive for Independence Day, checkout Virtual FireworX, which I just reviewed in my gadget column at OfB. It is really impressive, and a basic version of it is even free.

FridayQ: Never Say Never

FQ1: Somewhere you'll probably never go, but would like to.
The moon. OK, for an answer that is not out of this world — ahem — I'll say Australia. There are some places in Europe I'd like to go to, but I'm counting on making it over the pond one of these days. Down under seems less likely.

FQ2: Something you'll probably never do, but would like to.
Run for Congress or the Senate.

FQ3: Someone you'll probably never meet, but would like to.
Steve Jobs — I'd love to sit down with him to do an interview; he is undoubtedly one of the most visionary people of our times (as a side note, I wrote a post over at TSN last week on some points Jobs made at Stanford that make nice theological points). I would also like to meet Philip Yancy, something that is probably a bit more likely (perhaps at a book signing or something).

FQ REALITY CHECK: What would have to happen in order for you to actually accomplish those three things?
For the first one, someone could hand me a check for a few thousand bucks and I could set off right now to the “bottom of the globe.” In the more extreme choice of the moon, it would require NASA to build its new lunar lander and let civilians ride along and demonstrate it was safe enough for me to feel comfortable getting on it. The second one would require a few tens of thousands of bucks and the opportunity to meet a good political strategist. The third? I'm not sure. Jobs doesn't talk to just anyone, and money certainly wouldn't buy the chance, so I'm not sure… perhaps getting press credentials from the New York Times would do the trick.

Sunset

Tonight was a beautiful night. I've been trying to take more time to enjoy the simple pleasures that can be so easily overlooked with everything that needs to get done. This evening, it was the absolutely stunning sunset that seemed to almost set the trees of the area on fire. Having an ice cream soda to drink while enjoying the view was an added bonus.

Below the trees, not too far away, there were several groups playing baseball. It all seemed almost surreal, as a light breeze blew by, wiping away the memories of the last few scorching days of near 100 degree temperatures Fahrenheit (37 Celsius).

In other news: It looks like my PhotoQuest isn't getting done tonight, so I guess I'm going to have to post it on “June 31st.”