Mackenzie's Weblog

Fun Show

Spamalot was awesome.  A lot of it was lifted right from the movie, but they added enough new jokesto make it interesting, and there was pretty much a new plot to the entire thing.  They worked in "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from the Life of Brian, which was fun.

All in all, not a bad deal for $20.

Spamalot!

Last night I sort of stumbled into a $20 Spamalot ticket, so I'm going to see it this afternoon in Denver.

Life is good.

Comments not Working

Unfortunately, it appears that the comments aren't working.  I'm trying to track down the problem, but it appears that it may be a limitation in the server.  I may need to switch hosts to fix everything, which will take some time.  I'll post again when I get it fixed.

Upgradefest 2007 Continues!

Oh, sweet, sweet computer upgrades.

Today I received my new computer motherboard, processor, and memory (I also got a stopgap video card until my new one arrives early next week).  I rushed home from work to install the new parts, along with the power supply I had obtained but not yet put in.  After spending some time doing the installation and everything, I must say that the system totally rocks. 

I opted for an Intel quad-core CPU (Q6600) and 2GB of RAM.  While not quite top of the line parts, they're pretty close.  More importantly, they're right at the sweet spot for price vs. performance.  In other words, they may not be quite the fastest hardware out there, but they're pretty close, at a fraction of the cost.

I'm loving the ability to actually do many things on my PC again, all at once.  It's bliss.  Finally, it doesn't take five minutes just to make sure I have no email.  Web pages open instantly, and I can easily open several applications at once with no performance hit.

I'm loving this.  I'll never go this long without an upgrade again.  Once I have the new video card, the machine will be blazing.

2-Day-Old Baby!

Can there be anything so cute?

A good friend of mine in Laramie had her baby on Monday night, so I went over the hill yesterday to visit her.

Man, the baby's cute.  He looks a lot like his father.  He didn't wake up much when I was there.  Like his mom, he was totally tuckered from the whole "Escape from the Womb" thing.  As I was leaving, though, he woke up a bit and gave everybody this awesome crusty-eyed suspicious look.  It was like he suspected we were all out to get him and he was just figuring out which direction he was going to have to unleash his ultra-ninja smack-down.  It was awesome.

Passing of an Age

I have a cold reality I must come to terms with.  I've lost my knitting bag.

I haven't seen it since the move.  I distinctly remember putting it into a box, but after all my unpacking, it's nowhere to be found.  This is truly a bummer since it had all my supplies in it, and a pair of socks I had finished but never worn.  It also had a set of Lantern Moon single-pointed ebony needles that I got for graduation and had never used.  They were in a silk sleeve.  What really bums me out, though, is the bag.  I got it at a Death Cab for Cutie concert, which pretty much makes it irreplaceable.

I've torn my house apart several times.  I can't find it anywhere.

But I can't hold off forever.  It's time I moved on and began the tiresome process of rebuilding my supplies.  I'll need to get a new bag, first.

Legal Mathing

Legal writing professor Wayne Schiess has been putting up a series of what's-wrong-with-legal-writing posts recently.  I noticed No. 7, and just have one question.

If, as he says, when a room full of lawyers asked what percentage of legal writing is above average, "most will say about 25%," what does that say about lawyers' math skills?

What the Cat Dragged In

I mentioned last week that I was preparing to make some chicken stock.  I did, and it was ready last night.  So, I made one of my favorites, spicy chicken noodle soup.  I just take some stock, add some chopped up jalapenos, chicken meat, mushrooms, and noodles.  You can add anything, really, but this is one of my favorite simple soups.  Some may think that the stock is just too strong to use as a broth, but I really love it.  It has a silky mouthfeel--it's almost creamy.

Anyway, toward the end of the meal, I hear a scratching noise.  I look down, and Sebastian is trying to, ah, bury a noodle that I had apparently dropped.  For those who've never had cats before, think litterbox.

I guess my feline masters don't enjoy it as much as I do.

Weird Checker

Yesterday, I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from work, which I am wont to do from time to time.  Among other things, I picked up some cheesecloth (I have chicken stock simmering as we speak).

Oddly, before ringing it up, the checker just picked up the cheesecloth and stared it for about 30 seconds.  She was fascinated by it.  She even said, "That's really neat!"  I could see being a little curious about something you've never seen before, but that was just way more enthusiastic about the wondrous filtering properties of cheesecloth than I was prepared for.

It was just kind of odd.

Upgrade (Kind Of)

Well, I've now performed the MT4 upgrade.

So far it seems to be functioning pretty well.  Hopefully you won't see any difference in the main page.  I will say that I did find a number of comments that were swallowed, and I've responded.  Hopefully, they're all now working, so if you've commented in the last few months, feel free to look at that entry.  I may have replied.  So far, unfortunately, I've been unable to compose entries from the web interface.  I'll work on that.

In other news, I've been looking at computer parts.  I'm about, I think, to rebuild the interior of my PC.  I'm very excited because it hasn't happened in quite a few years because of law school and everything that goes with it, e.g., not making enough money.  I'm looking at a new motherboard, processor, memory, and video card (in addition to the new monitor, case, and power supply that I've already bought), but it will take my buyers making their second and third payments before I actually indulge.

Believe it or not, I'm actually worried a bit about the pace of technology.  I'm pretty sure that the next generation of parts will be coming out soon, which is a consideration.  Still, anything is better than what I have now, especially given the obscene age of my current components.  I'm trying to find things that will age gracefully, but I don't know that I'll put off the upgrades for much longer, even if I expect bigger and better tech in the next six months.

I admit that I'm an addict--when I've got the cash.

Not One Of My Favorite Things

We all know the "Sound of Music" song, but how about a list of things that are not my favorite?

On the top of my list is "my debit card gets stolen and someone drains my bank account with purchases to QVC.com, Zappos.com, and more."

Yep, that's right, I'm officially a member of the 21st Century now that I've been a victim of identity theft.

Thankfully, the damage appears to be minimal. It is apparently restricted to credit card (bank?) fraud, and my bank is refunding all the illegitimate charges. The down side is that this happened on the day I had scheduled my mortgage payment to come out of my account, but that shouldn't be a problem. My payment isn't actually due until October, they don't get the check for a while, plus the check is essentially certified, so the result is that, at the moment, my account is simply negative the amount of my payment.

It is inconvenient that I had to spend the time clearing this up, though. I will obviously be very enthusiastic about helping with the investigation.

On another note, I've been informed that comments are not working on the site at the moment. I'm just about to install the new Movable Type 4.0, probably tomorrow, and I hope that will clear up the problem. I'll get back to you on that.

In other news, I've finally gotten to the latest Harry Potter Book. That might have something to do with why MT4 is not being installed tonight.

Friday Catblogging!

Wow, it's been a while since I've had cat photos.  Here's the first of them from the cats' new home, in which they have graciously allowed me to live.  And pay the mortgage.  As you can see, they dig the sunbeam.

In other news, it's super quiet at work since almost everybody's gone to the bar convention. I could have asked to go, I suppose, but I didn't know I was going to pass the bar (thus be a member) until recently, plus I have a ton of work to do.  Next year, though, I plan on convention-ing like crazy.

Speaking of work, got to go.

Have a great weekend!  I'm going to the Greek festival, myself, and maybe the book fair.  It'll be fun.

PC Madness

I have a hobby that can get pretty expensive if one indulges regularly.  I'm a PC gamer.  It's not just the games that are expensive--that would be manageable.  No, the trouble is that to really indulge in this hobby, it requires a considerable, and regular, outlay for upgrade PC parts.  Maybe you need more memory, or a new processor/motherboard combo, etc.

Many people drop four or five hundred dollars every six to eight months or so, on average.  It might be for a new processor or video card, or something.  Occasionally the outlay is more.

That's what I'm facing.  Due to my "going back to school" thing, I haven't had any significant upgrades in about four years.  That's an eternity in PC gaming, and I can feel it in my machine.  Now that I actually have work, one of my plans (taking into account all my debt) is to replace my computer.  Luckily, I'm an enthusiast who builds his own computers, so I can replace parts.

So that's what I've done.  I've replaced my old (blurry) 19-inch CRT with a new Dell 27-inch widescreen, my old case with one that was only released at the beginning of the month, a new sound card, and my new power supply is on a UPS truck somewhere.  Unfortunately, the motherboard/processor/video card/memory must all be purchased together (or at least installed together) because my current parts are too old for any one of them to be replaced with modern ones.

That will take a little more time (I figure on November), but in the meantime, I can revel in what I've already got.  For reference, here's the old case (no shots of the monitor):

When I got this case, it was pretty sweet.  Over the years, well, it's been used.  Aside from the obvious cosmetic issue of having no front panel, you can see the reset button dangling and the HD and power LEDs are taped to the front.  Pretty ugly.  And it wasn't just on the outside.  As big as it was, it was actually rather cramped to work in because it wasn't very deep at all:

Cable management?  What's that?

Now, here are the new shots.  All you'll really be able to tell is that it looks good (and the photos pale next to the real thing), but perhaps more importantly, it was an exquisite pleasure to work in that case.  I'm really looking forward to changing out more parts in the future.  Quite simply, I've never had a case this nice before, and it was truly worth every penny.  Oh, and the monitor is clear, sharp, bright, and I love it.  One of the first movies I watched on it (I sort of use it as a media machine in my new house) was Sin City--and it was spectacular.

For better case photos, check out this review.

Still Back

Well, my back still hurts this morning, but it's better. It'll probably be a couple days before it's back to normal. Considering the sweet ride I've had this week, I'm not complaining. It's a small thing, really.

In other news, as I'm sure you've already heard by now, Luciano Pavarotti has died. I'm not primarily an opera fan, but I enjoy it. His biggest accomplishment, to me, is raising opera's popularity, and as a non-specific music fan, I can get behind that.

Freezering

I got my new freezer today. I'm happy to have it, but I'm afraid I temporarily blew my back out a little when I helped the guy from Home Depot get it down into my basement. He was supposed to have a helper, but there had apparently been a couple of walkouts on the job. He was actually from Miami, but had come up to help haul things. As it turns out, we both lived in the same general area in Chicago. Small world.

Unfortunately, we couldn't get the freezer to its permanent home while he was here. When I got home from work, I had to actually remove a sink from the laundry room and move it to fit my new big appliance through there. It would have been fine, except that I had already shoved the freezer and lodged it in the door. As a consequence, I had to climb on top and over it, then make my way down a wall so that I could remove that sink. All that with my aching back. I don't know the meaning of the word "easy."

Anyway, it's there now, in my basement, ready to freeze up a storm. The plan Saturday is to get six bushels of roasted chilis. I'm hoping that will last me the year, or close to it. Last fall, I only got four bushels, and I was out by April.

Call Me Counselor

Well, it's been a pretty quiet time for me lately. I haven't been blogging much, obviously.

But I think today I got the signal that it is time to get back into it. I discovered a while ago that I passed the bar exam

In Wyoming, the Clerk of the Supreme Court calls everyone who passes personally, and I believe she is calling as we speak (I took off from work early today). The results were in a bit late today, so it might be a while before everyone is informed.

One unfortunate aspect of Wyoming's system, though, is that the people who also took the Colorado bar, as so many do, don't hear today. They have to wait until Colorado releases its scores.

I'm going to chill tonight with a book and a glass of wine. It's bliss.