Archive for July 2012
Spent a Saturday morning pretending to write in the French Quarter. It was a place that seemed cooler than Cincinnati the first couple of weeks in July this year.
Via my wife
I updated my “About” page this month.
Waiting for the bus to rack’n’ride.
Remember: Spay or Neuter your cables.
To clarify a daily arsenal post from a few weeks ago: the Tide-to-Go was due to a bicycle, not a fountain pen.
At my office, one person is responsible for taking a daily seat count–a way to determine how much of our office space is utilized. She said that she doesn’t going back to my cube (which is a bit off the beaten path), as I’m there so consistently. This means I really need a vacation!
I participated in a photo walk in Over the Rhine (OTR) this morning. There were about twenty people participating. OTR is one of the older neighborhoods in Cincinnati (though not the oldest), and is undergoing revitalization. One of the major aspects has been a total renovation of Washington Park.
This bandstand was built in 1911, replacing one that was erected during the Civil War.
Across the street was an abandoned old church.
At the top, a plant was growing.
Next door was Music Hall, home of the Cincinnati Symphony.
We left Washington Park and walked through OTR.
This bike rack was in two parts, which made the shape of the state of Ohio.
I was drawn to the colors, rod iron and stained glass on the buildings.
It was a very interesting walk in an area of town I don’t often go. The times I have been in OTR, I’ve been more concerned with where I was going to look at the details.
The Cobbler’s Apprentice, 1877, Frank Duveneck
At the Piano, circa 1858, James Abbott McNeill Whistler
My main system is a “Late 2008” MacBook. It is the one model that was called just a “MacBook” and made of aluminum (later 13″ models made of this material were called “MacBook Pro”). It is the last model that is officially capable of running the latest version of the Macintosh OS, 10.8, otherwise known as Mountain Lion. It was released Wednesday.
While it technically could run it, my machine did so “not well.” It was very slow. I saw the beach ball more all too often. While I might have been able to browse the web, I would have been frustrated to do much more. I decided to fall back to 10.6, Snow Leopard.
This pleases me, as I like snow leopards more than mountain lions. Still, I like mountain lions better than lions. Proposal for 10.9: fishing cat.
When it comes to something like loading an operating system, I have no fear. Windows, UNIX (which OS X is a official version of), LINUX–I’ve done them all and more. It’s simply a matter of getting your disks, and going to it. I started backing up what I needed to back up.
Then something occurred to me–one of the key applications I use might be an issue. The programming I use for storing, organizing, and editing photographs, Aperture, was purchased through the Mac App store. This meant I had no disks. The App Store will allow you to re-download a purchase, except it only the most recent version. The problem for me is that the current version, 3.3 is not compatible with OS X 10.6–I needed version 3.2.
Before buying software through app stores, this wasn’t a huge deal. You would likely have the disks sitting on a shelf. For example, I have a CD with a 32-bit version of Word 6–I could see the Parker Duofold on the splash screen. Or perhaps the original install file stored on a backup. However, my only choice to reinstall was download from the App Store. But, if they don’t have the version I want?
Ultimately, I figured out how to get the data I needed, using some of the backups I took. In parallel, I had a support request in to Apple.
However, this is a major risk. As much as vendors would like us to be on the latest operating system, there are reasons people won’t. In my case, I’m not ready to upgrade my laptop. In other cases, it is an application that limits this ability. In the world of App Stores and cloud-based software distribution, how does one get an older copy of software to keep a machine working?
Pilot Pens have started a Power to the Pen program. Basically, it is their social media initiative. It’s taking many forms–a Pinterest board, a twitter hashtag (#powerto thepen), and a hashtag on Instagram (though I can’t quite figure out how to link to it).
One of their ideas is to have a blogger do a “pen and ink” blog post. I believe their intent is to discuss their newer pens (the G2, B2P, etc.). However, I have a stronger tie to one of their other pens, the “Better Ballpoint.” I pulled out my Webbie, and wrote about how I used this pen through high school.
I also typed it, as my handwriting might not be the most legible the scan may be iffy.
Does this explain my fascination with pens? Not entirely. However, it is a bit of nostalgia from when I was younger. I won’t say it was a universal experience–just a thing we did.
As I mentioned previously, I was taking training to update my ITIL Foundations Certification to the 2011 Edition. At the end of the course, there was the official certification exam–I needed 65% (26 out of 40 questions) correct.
I passed! 88%, which is not too shabby, if I do say so myself!
…now, off to update my resume!
Sailboats on a River with Fishermen Setting Out a Net, circa 1657, Jeronimus van Diest
via Flickr
We had to go to the zoo today. On June 22, a baby cheetah was born. Often, female cheetahs who give birth to single cubs are unable to take care of the cub (can’t produce enough milk). So, they took this little girl, Savanna to the nursery to be hand raised. She was asleep, in a spot in the back of the room, behind a baby gate. Getting a photo was very tricky–this is the best I could do.
Two Malayan tigers were hanging out. One was alert; the other, goofy.
I think “goofy” was having dreams about chicken…
…and in severe need of a belly rub.
Elsewhere in Cat Canyon, Renji the snow leopard was getting up from a nap.
You may remember that we saw Renji as a cub in Chattanooga. Somehow, I always seem to catch her mid-yawn.
Nubo, her new pal, was waking up, too. Isn’t he handsome?
Streeeetch!
Renji really is a pretty cat!
Tweet from the Field Museum‘s @SUEtheTrex: “I’m (ugh) squeezing into this leotard (grunt) and (ugh) tutu for Edgar Degas’ birthday. OK, let’s do this, Edgar. PAINT ME AS A BALLERINA!” (July 19)
I drew this in reply, which was retweeted:
Sue is the most complete tyrannosaurus rex skeleton on display, and the mascot of the Field Museum. Her twitter feed is full of interesting facts, and rather amusing. I’m honored to have been retweeted.
Mr. Guilt's Blog 