NicholasYax.com

So, in the final Apple keynote of a MacWorld conference, Apple introduced iLife 09, iWork 09, and the 17″ Unibody MacBook Pro.  The only one I care about is iLife, particularly iPhoto (I don’t own a digital video camera, other than what phone or point-and-shoot can do, and have never really touched GarageBand).  So, part of iPhoto is now the ability to do facial detection, geo tag decoding, new slideshow themes, a new book, and the ability to sync with FaceBook and Flikr.

I use FaceBook, but seldom put pics on it, as when I started on FaceBook it required the person viewing to be a member as well, and made sharing a pain in the arse.  Instead, I put all my pics on Picasa, owned by Google, which I generally like except for very poor iPhoto syncing.

The idea of Flikr has crossed my mind several times in the past, and the new features of iPhoto make it even more appealing, except for one issue: Yahoo! owns Flikr.  Since about a 18 months ago, I have been rather anti Yahoo!, and am actually closing in very near deleting my Yahoo! account, as it currently is used only for a spam email box, which I can obviosly do without.

I understand why Apple made the choice of Flikr though, and it’s related to a release from the day earlier (Monday).  Picasa is a 2-part operation, the downloadable program as well as the web-albums.  On Monday, finally, Google released Picasa (the App) for Mac.  This program, for storing, sorting, categorizing, and sharing your pics to the web sounds incredibly similar to iPhoto, and is its newest competitor.

So, despite the fact that one of Google’s founders is on Apples board of directors, and that Apple uses Google maps and search as the default in over 20 apps on both Macs and the iPhone/iPod touch, there is no support in iPhoto for Picasa Web Albums, because it is a competing product.

So, I have 3 options:

1. Keep iPhoto and live with poor Picasa Web support.
2. Keep iPhoto and switch to Flikr
3. Switch to Picasa (the App) and keep Picasa Web Albums.

None of these are ideal, but I will most likely end up with #1.  I like iPhoto, and I generally like Picasa Web Albums.  Maybe I will give Flikr at least a try, before I end my Yahoo! account.

Anyway, moving along…

I went to Bay City today, was gone about 12 hours.  Nothing real big, visit  with Mom and Dad, fix Grandma’s computer, come home.  Roads weren’t bad, but other drivers seemed to think differently.  One guy was actually going 30 on the freeway at one point.

Watched several movies: “Zombie Strippers”, “HellBoy II”, “The Dark Knight”, as well as the entire series of “Clone High”.  All were pretty good.  I must recommend “The Dark Knight” to all, and “Clone High” as well.  ”Zombie Strippers” was pretty much just as fucked up of a movie as it sounds.

Bought my books for school yesterday, $208 and change for 3 books.  Good nes is, thats the last time I have to by text books (until grad school, 3 – 5 years maybe), yay!  School begins on Monday.

By my count, there were 45 posts in 2008, averaging to a post every 8 days or so, so not even once a week.  I think I can beat that this year, but who knows.  It is already the 8th, and I am only making my first post.

OK, thats enough for now.

nick

Just a reminder that if you haven’t yet updated your bookmarks, now is the time.  atomicow.org will expire in 6 days and I will NOT be renewing it.  Please update any bookmarks or links to nicholasyax.com immediately.

I am free!  Yesterday was my last day of work at PPG.  We tried to work out something for the fall but my school schedule just didn’t allow for much.  Despite feeling like the $10/hour peon sometimes, I did enjoy it.  It’s too bad it took so long for them to start giving me more engineering assignments though, as that was sort of what I was there for.  I did get a lot of quality management though.  I should be back for a visit with SME in October or so.

I just checked Nearly Free Speech and my bandwidth has finally exceeded 1GB, which now means I pay under $1 per GB of transfer ($0.991 currently).  It goes down in a log type formula as I use more bandwidth.  Sadly, this deal began February 1st, so it took me six months to get in that first GB.  It goes down constantly, so I keep paying slightly less to transfer every single page load though.  Once I reach 10GB of transfer, my cost will be down to $0.50 per GB, in about 5 more years.  Unfortunately, bandwidth (obviously) is not my primary cost but server space.  Still, I only use about $4 or $5 per year excluding domain name.

Jenn managed to plan about half of our wedding in the last week.  She gets a little obsessed sometimes.  Tentatively (very), it is scheduled for 10/10/09 at Garland Resort, but that could change overnight.

School is down to about 3 weeks away now.  August 2nd.  I am looking forward to it, nerd that I am.  It’s my last year of school, it is very sad.  :-(

Sunday morning I went to feed the fish, and we had lost another one.  Rosy, the remaining rosy barb had perished.  Not sure how, but somehow overnight.  She was oldest, now it is Kitty.  She was about 2 weeks over a year old.  Was much smaller than Jill or Sunny, and were kind of expecting her to go in the next couple months as Jill keeps growing.  We still haven’t replaced Bubba yet, but maybe in the next week or two I will go to the pet shop since I am off.

I watched MST3K: the Movie tonight.  I was never a fan of the show (not that I didn’t like, but just never watched) but that was funny as hell.  A lot of the comments are very so-so, but they just throw one after another after another, and suddenly you break out laughing at the stupidest one-liner.

Uhm…

Apple has refurbished iPod touch for $199.  I really want one, but my extravagant spending for the year was my kilt.  There are nanos for like $149 too.

On that note, my birthday is one month from yesterday.

That would be it I think.

nick

So, the prize I promised is… nicholasyax.com.  atomicow.org will continue to work until is expires on October 07, 2008.  I realized mostly that atomicow says nothing about me, and my actually name says alot about me, so why not.  At some point in the next 4 months you should change the link you have saved, though for right now going to nicholasyax.com actually redirects you atomicow.org.  I should have that changed in the next few days or so.  I will also start to push the point more in about August, possibly with JavaScript popups to those that go to the old address (if I can figure out how).

At work, I am starting to figure out what I am doing.  Working with Quality department for now, doing capability studies on gages and processes as needed, and starting on some process documentation.  Has been going smooth so far, though it’s hard not having a computer yet to do work yet.

On Saturday, Jenn and I went to Grand Rapids for some shopping.  I needed some shirts for work, and we felt like some non-Big Rapids dining.  We went to the chinese buffet that was so good last time, but this time was a little more disappointing.  I did get 5 new shirts though.

Jenn and I went fishing Sunday and I actually managed to hook something.  Unfortunatley, I did not hook it very well and it got off.  Fish nibbled a few more times, but I never managed to bring anything in.  Will try again next weekend likely.  There is actually talk of me meeting my Dad in Clare as Jenn will be working all weekend and he will be at my Grandma’s trailer in Gladwin.

Apple started their Back-To-School promotion today, and since they hate me, are giving away a free 8GB iPod touch to students with a computer purchase, or $299 off any iPod.  Oh well.

OK, that is pretty good for now.  Later…

nick

Well, I survived the first day of work.  Still not real sure what I do, but I am doing it.  Today was a lot of orientation, not much actual doing actually.  Will learn more over the week.

So, Five years.  That’s a lot.  I should be at 609 posts, based on every 3 days, but that went out a long time ago.  I am happy with this being 540.

Not a whole lot else.  Worked all day and kind of not feeling like a long pst, and not much to say anyway.  Will try for more later in the week.  And maybe a prize?!

nick

Hmm, 3 weeks, suck.

Something HUGE I forgot last time, was that Jenn bought a new car.  I came home from class that Monday I spent working on Amerikam and there was no Escape in the parking lot, but instead an 08 Jetta in is place.  She gets REALLY good milage and it is a very nice car.

Trip to Bay City was fun.  I was the drunkest I have ever been Saturday night.  There was a point I ate a french fry and though I could taste it, I couldn’t actually feel it.  I stopped drinking about at that point.  That Monday I went to go see Iron Man with Scott, which was really good.  Nice to see Scott too.

Big news recently is I got a job.  Had interview on the 14th with PPG in Evart, which was a good 3 hours, drug test right after, and following Monday they told me I had it and go get physical on Wednesday the 21st, start on the 27th.  Physical was actually my first, and I got abnormally excited at the hernia exam.  Not real sure what i will be doing, but will let you know when I find out.

This past Thursday Jenn and I tried fishing, though we didn’t have any luck.  We also did a bit of shopping downtown, and bought a crawfish for our aquarium.

Yesterday we went to the <a href=”http://www.almahighlandfestival.com/”>Alma Highland Festival</a>.  Was decently entertaining.  The games were pretty good, we missed the herding.  Not sure it was worth $15 each though.  From there we went to Mt Pleasant for food (the Green Spot I think) and then to Clare for Jay’s and home.

So, for anyone who doesn’t remember, Tuesday, May 27th, is he Blogversary.  Something I just found out a few minutes ago though, is not only is it the Blogs 5th Anniversary, but it is WordPress’s birthday as well.  Seems kind of fitting that I use it I suppose, even if the first 2.5 years I didn’t.

So, next post will absolutly be Tuesday, for the Blogversary, and to let you know more about the internship hopefully.

Unrelated, I am not 99% sure that my cousin Cindy has a Mac.  I kind of wondered if the stats program was just goofing up, but have had repeated confirmation from it now.  Strangely, it reports OS 10.4.11, and 10.5 has been out since October, but the Mac didn’t show up until January or February.  So, either I missed it for 2 months, which seems unlikely, or she bought used, which also seems possibly unlikely.  Maybe is something Sam or Rach used at school, and left home after Christmas?  I don’t know.

Uhm…

That may be it for now.

I played Halo Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.  Is done now.

Yeah, thats about it.

Tuesday…

Nick

So, whats new…

Here is a commercial for the Stanley Fubar, whick is great.  There was no candy in the pinata though.

Last week was class, thats about it.  Weekend was uneventful.  Jenn went to see her parents, I enjoyed a little alone time.

Really excited to see Iron Man when it comes out next month.  Watched Rambo, I Am Legend, and Juno over last week or so.

Really wish I had an internship.

Am watching Ax Men, pretty good show.

Thinking I am going to pull the Picassa alum from the sidebar.  If you want to see pics, can just click gallery.  Would speed up load times and such.  Possibly pull the poll down for a while too. Not permanent, just until I have at least a second reader/voter.  No decisions now, but under consideration.

Thats all.

nick

So, WordPress 2.5 is finally out. All seems to be well with the blog except that my Picasa sidebar widget won’t stay, so that is out for a little bit.

Much larger update either around 10 or sometime tomorrow, stretching back to about easter.

nick

I was kind of waiting to post this entry until after I got WordPress 2.5 installed, which is supposed to be released today. Sadly, nothing has been heard yet, so may as well go ahead. I have done a little more work on the blog today while waiting though. I made some little theme changes, and removed the Wayback section from the sidebar (you know, the 1, 2, 3 years ago). I figure with the random button up top and the monthly archives in the sidebar, it’s good enough. Besides, it drops two plugins by removing the one thing. I also went back to tagging posts. I have tagged through the end of August 2003, so just 43 more months. I’m not saying its a little daunting, but this is the 529th post.

Anyway, the five second rule, what the hell? Does it really matter if food lays on the floor for 3, 5, 30 seconds? Even several minutes? If a gummy work falls on your kitchen floor, and lays there for 30 minutes, is it really any dirtier than it was the instant it contacted? As I see it, there are only 3 circumstances where time actually matters, and in at least 1, it still doesn’t.

1. The food/surface is wet or moist.
   In this scenario, wet ground will cause a soggyness in the food, or a wet food will increase dirt adhesion to the food. In theory, a wet surface, with time, could cause the food to become inedible due to becoming too soggy. To be honest though, if you drop your food in a puddle, does in matter how long it was in the puddle? No, not really.
2. The food becomes stale.
   If you drop a chip lets say, and don’t find it for at least an hour, and it has become stale, then the time did matter. To e honest though, who eats day old food off the floor?
3. Insects
   If you are out camping, and ants invade your food that was nicely nested on some grass, then time mattered. You have to beat those bugs to your food, or just forget about it.

As I see it, those are it. Granted, anything over about a minute is still a little weird. Although, there was this one time at Meijer in Saginaw, I ate a skittle off a cash register. It a have only been there 5 minutes, or a month, I don’t know. Jenn giggled ad her parents looked at us wondering why, but obviously we didn’t say.

Anyway, the past week…

Last Saturday my grandma was taken to Bay Med because she started coughing up blood. Apparently she has a lung and liver tumor. They are both inoperable so she is coming home today or tomorrow. They are starting her on chemo and hoping that will do the trick. She is my last grandparent, so losing her would be a major suck. Don’t think it has hit me yet though.

Thursday I spent 13+ hours at school. Left home 9 am, got home at 12 am. Class, McDonald’s (walked), class, Project X. Thank god we finished it. I actually spent until about 2 am doing finishing touches.

I am beginning to wonder if I should accept a weekly update schedule, but don’t really want to. It’s not like I am that busy, just forget mostly I think. Would help if someone other than Jenn read. May have a kind of fix for that soon though, more later.

Jenn worked last week, knee seems to be 99%. She spent the weekend in Traverse City with her mom, sister, and niece and nephew. Did some shopping and such. I had almost as much fun being alone. Not that I don’t like spending tie with her, but after 2 weeks of her always home kind of needed it.

Tomorrow Jenn and I go to Bay City for the day/evening. See family and friends and such. Will probably spend day tomorrow with family, then Hooligans at 8.

Hmm, what else…

This is why I can’t accept once a week, because I know I am forgetting stuff that I wanted to post. Need to just post it when I think of it.

Next blog, I will begin a new feature: Must see movies. I started thinking about for Jenn, but mind as well post them. I want to post 100, though it may be spread over 5 or more posts. Will shoot for at least 20 on the first 2 installments, then a little less as I run low.

I think, maybe, thats it.

Yeah, thank so.

Ooh, Qdoba brownies are AWESOME!

Blog was down for a few hours yesterday due to issues with the severs apparently. Not a problem of my hosts, but the building owners they lease from apparently. They went down just as I went to updater the time offsets for DST too, luckily I remembered to try again this morning so I don’t need to edit the time of several posts and comments like I did 2 years ago.

Uhm…

Yeah, later.

nick

I finally remembered the secret to updating the look of a site: Don’t try and change your old theme, just throw it out and start over. Well, I made some progress on that last night and the results are obvious. There is more to do, and I will try and keep on it.

Yesterday Dane, Conrad, and I went to Schuberg’s for lunch. It was a nice change form mexican, not that anything is wrong with El Burrito. I learned that sambuca is pretty good.

We rented Rayman Raving Rabbids and Trauma Center: New Blood for the Wii, and both are pretty cool. We rented a few movies too, including Bourne Ultimatum and 300, but haven’t watched them yet.

At our last SME meeting we discussed fundraising, and are looking at doing a pancake breakfast. We also decided to have an elementary school do our sales, since nobody can say no to a kid, and give them a share of the profits.

Jenn got the results of her MRI, and the professional opinion was that her knee is “messed up”. She was referred to an orthopedic surgeon and has an appointment Tuesday.

I applied at Trek Bikes, Cannondale, and IBM for internship positions this week. Cannondale sent me an email thanking me for my interest and noting my qualifications are impressive, but they are not currently seeking interns. I don’t know if that means they already hired them, haven’t hired them yet, or just don’t have interns, but at least I am putting myself out there.

That seems like about it. Not sure what else there could be.

OK, till next time then.

nick