I continue to be impressed with the chameleon/chimera boot-loader efforts – it’s made all of my updates since first installing my hackintosh trouble-free, including this last 10.7.1 update. Awesome.
Houston Astros: Everything Must Go (including the fans)
August 1st, 2011My beloved Astros have been busy. I get wanting to get better, but trading away two modestly-paid All Stars for prospects seems… well, crappy. They’re already flat-out terrible, but watching Pence chase a hitting streak this season or Bourn fly around in center was at least reason to watch when they were a (rare) option in my out-of-market lineup. At least they’ve saved me some money – I can’t imagine spending $180 or so on MLB Extra Innings for at least 3 years.
iMac (late-2006) hard drive replacement success
January 4th, 2011My late-2006 era Core 2 Duo iMac’s hard drive died recently. Though I don’t use that machine that often, fixing it was worth the effort given that I could probably sell the thing on craigslist for $500 if I really wanted to. (But, I actually do use it in our guest room when I’m working from home, because it’s quiet there). Anyway, disassembling an iMac of this era is *not* trivial. It’s not as bad as the newer (“Aluminum”) iMacs, which involve using a toilet plunger to suck the glass off the LCD. But, it’s still no treat.
Overall, I followed this guide over at ifixit.com, who also had the guide for replacing my Macbook Pro’s keyboard that I’d used before. As with the Macbook Pro teardown, you’ll want to read all the way through the instructions prior to starting and have some containers around for the screws at every step so that they’re clearly organized for reassembly.
However, the trickiest part by far was releasing the clips that hold the front bezel on to the main part of the chassis. Though the ifixit.com guide accurately describes what has to be done, it was really helpful for me to actually see a video of the process so I knew what the release was supposed to behave like and how the case came apart once released. This video from the Small Dog Electronics folks was really, really helpful – you probably want to check this out if you’re going to attempt this same repair (or upgrade, as the case may be):
Remember to fire up disk utility & partition your disk after completing the repair (during re-installation of Mac OS). The installer won’t recognized the uninitialized disk by itself – you have to partition it first, then resume the installation.
Google Voice Transcript Fail – Yay, tenacity!
July 29th, 2010I’m a big fan of Google Voice. Combined with Verizon Friends & Family, I get tons of free calling on my HTC Incredible. Also, the free SMS service (via my google voice number) using the google voice app is awesome.
That said, the voicemail-transcription service could use a little work… I found this one highly comical. My buddy Darren called me up to share what he’d heard on local sports-talk radio in Austin regarding UT moving to the Pac 10 (this was under consideration a few months ago – it wound up not happening). Apparently google voice seems to think people with a slightly Texan accent are talking about Japanese names. Similarly, google voice butchers the transcripts when my dad calls me, who also has a bit of a Texas accent. For whatever reason, though, my plumber with a Southie accent gets transcribed perfectly…
Anyone thinking Google is harvesting your voice calls for anything useful is insane. That, or Google is about to rat out Darren for having important information about Yukiko infecting Yuki.
Anyway, this is Darren’s voicemail:
This is what the transcript thought he said:
This is what Darren actually said:
Just heard on the radio, it’s mostly official. UT’s going to the Pac-10. UT, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech. A&M has 72 hours to decide, but apparently the SEC is also courting A&M, and why they would want to go to either one of those, I have no idea. So, what the fuck. Anyway, I’ll talk to you later. I’m on my way to soccer. I won’t be done until 8:30 local. Talk to you later, bye
More on vuvuzelas
June 19th, 2010MSNBC is running a story about the “inventor” of the vuvuzela. Two things are interesting here. One, it’s total bullshit that it was invented 15 years ago. Brought to South Africa and made in to a business there 15 years ago? Sure, I can buy that. Invented there? No way. Again, this has been a staple of Mexican soccer for at least 20 years or more. The other thing to note is that if this guy is the father of (South African) vuvuzelas, then the story establishes that this whole fad is precisely 15 years old. What. the. fuck. We’re tip-toeing around about not offending the sensibilities of the locals about a 15 year old fad? That’s ridiculous. (Also, all of the original reporting about how the vuvuzela “hearkens back” to some ancient African tradition are made even more stupid). I still think that you can’t ban them, because if it’s 15 years old, 500 years old, or 5 months old, it doesn’t matter if banning them would kill off 40% or more of your attendance at the games. You just can’t do it. It still doesn’t mean I like them. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!