empty heart on fire

Seriously, what?

Sadness and surprise as Daddy’s Junky Music closes its doors for good - The Boston Globe

DAMN, man, the thousands of dollars I spent there back in the home-synthesizer-studio days, and the millions of eyeball-dollars I spent on gear I couldn't afford... They had a fantastic synth room in the back, with all kinds of stuff set up and playable. I remember the total weirdness of the Arp Chroma's tactile feedback control panel, all the drum machines, any number of Oberheims and Yamahas and Ensoniqs and the occasional Casio (I love me some CZ-series synthesizers) and just on and on and on. And for a couple of delightful years they had an as-is department in the basement, full of all the stuff they didn't want to bother to repair, or that was too weird or too hacked-up or too broken to sell to anyone but what I will euphemistically refer to as "enthusiasts." You know, like me. Happy hours digging through busted-up gear and hoping for the magical appearance of something cool and functional enough to be worth hauling home...

Man. That's the end of an era.

It is pretty much inarguable that without the Apple II+s in my middle school, I would not be where I am today, and since I'm pretty happy with where I am today, that's a pretty major debt to Steve Jobs.

I've been a staunch Mac fan since I first used them, and back when I was more vehement about stuff, I enjoyed many an Apple-related flame war. (These days I still can't resist dropping in and telling people to shut the hell up if they don't know what they're talking about.)

The Mac inventory of primary-use Macintoshes:

* Mac Plus, bought with the money I earned scamming poker games at my high school's graduation party.
* Performa 6214, the worst computer Apple ever made.
* PowerMac 8600/300, which by the time I sold it was massively upgraded, running a G4 processor card, with almost 50 gig of FWSCSI3 disk, a CD-ROM drive AND a CD burner, 2 video cards (one a VooDoo 3 with the "beta" ROMs from 3dfx), 2 21" monitors, various MIDI and audio interfaces, a wireless network card, and so on and so forth. It was BADASS.
* PowerBook G4 (800 MHz TiBook)-- my first Apple laptop, and I used it until it disintegrated
* PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz AlBook)-- also used basically until it fell apart
* MacBook Pro 13" (unibody) -- my current lappy, of which I am quite fond. Currently has 8 gig of RAM and a 500 gig hard drive

Secondary systems and derelicts:

* Mac 512k (mostly used for parts)
* another Mac Plus
* Mac IIsi
* Performa 6400
* a couple of dumpster-dived iMacs
* PowerBook 3400-- Berklee work machine
* PowerMac 7200 -- another Berklee work machine
* Duo 270c -- Berklee dumpster-dived/gift system, complete with Dock II
* Quadra 700 -- Nubus audio card host
* PowerMac 7200 -- WPI office webcam machine
* Mac Pro (4-CPU, 12 gig o' RAM) -- UCSC work machine
* a bunch of random servers -- all over the place!
* a bunch of dumpster-dived bits -- mostly sold at MIT!

Not to mention a Newton I used at Berklee and my current iPhone, and an Apple IIc I have in its special carrying case in the closet and a Macintosh Portable I was messing with for a while... I always wanted a PowerBook 1400, too-- they're so nice and light! The 13" MBP does a pretty good job of being that, though.

Man, I've spent a lot of time on Apples...

I'll miss the mystique and glamour and all that stuff he had, and I think the tech world will be the worse for losing his vision, even if he did borrow a lot of it from other people. Nobody combined ideas quite as well as Jobsie.

The one Jobs quote that has come to mind the most often, though, is what he told the Macintosh team as they were ironing out the last few bugs and going over what was wrong with the first Macintosh system. It's important to keep in mind for basically any project you care about, because there's a point where you just need to get it out the door, and perfection be damned:

Real artists ship.

It is pretty much inarguable that without the Apple II+s in my middle school, I would not be where I am today, and since I'm pretty happy with where I am today, that's a pretty major debt to Steve Jobs.

I've been a staunch Mac fan since I first used them, and back when I was more vehement about stuff, I enjoyed many an Apple-related flame war. (These days I still can't resist dropping in and telling people to shut the hell up if they don't know what they're talking about.)

The Mac inventory of primary-use Macintoshes:

* Mac Plus, bought with the money I earned scamming poker games at my high school's graduation party.
* Performa 6214, the worst computer Apple ever made.
* PowerMac 8600/300, which by the time I sold it was massively upgraded, running a G4 processor card, with almost 50 gig of FWSCSI3 disk, a CD-ROM drive AND a CD burner, 2 video cards (one a VooDoo 3 with the "beta" ROMs from 3dfx), 2 21" monitors, various MIDI and audio interfaces, a wireless network card, and so on and so forth. It was BADASS.
* PowerBook G4 (800 MHz TiBook)-- my first Apple laptop, and I used it until it disintegrated
* PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz AlBook)-- also used basically until it fell apart
* MacBook Pro 13" (unibody) -- my current lappy, of which I am quite fond. Currently has 8 gig of RAM and a 500 gig hard drive

Secondary systems and derelicts:

* Mac 512k (mostly used for parts)
* another Mac Plus
* Mac IIsi
* Performa 6400
* a couple of dumpster-dived iMacs
* PowerBook 3400-- Berklee work machine
* PowerMac 7200 -- another Berklee work machine
* Duo 270c -- Berklee dumpster-dived/gift system, complete with Dock II
* Quadra 700 -- Nubus audio card host
* PowerMac 7200 -- WPI office webcam machine
* Mac Pro (4-CPU, 12 gig o' RAM) -- UCSC work machine
* a bunch of random servers -- all over the place!
* a bunch of dumpster-dived bits -- mostly sold at MIT!

Not to mention a Newton I used at Berklee and my current iPhone, and an Apple IIc I have in its special carrying case in the closet and a Macintosh Portable I was messing with for a while... I always wanted a PowerBook 1400, too-- they're so nice and light! The 13" MBP does a pretty good job of being that, though.

Man, I've spent a lot of time on Apples...

I'll miss the mystique and glamour and all that stuff he had, and I think the tech world will be the worse for losing his vision, even if he did borrow a lot of it from other people. Nobody combined ideas quite as well as Jobsie.

The one Jobs quote that has come to mind the most often, though, is what he told the Macintosh team as they were ironing out the last few bugs and going over what was wrong with the first Macintosh system. It's important to keep in mind for basically any project you care about, because there's a point where you just need to get it out the door, and perfection be damned:

Real artists ship.

Kicky shorts, a jaunty cap, and rolled-down socks keep the freedom-fighter of today mobile and flexible without sacrificing style. Top it with a patterned blouse and you're ready to go give the Boche what-for!

From The Atlantic's fantastic WW2 photo series.

The boy is a tricky fellow. He knows exactly how to get stuff out of his parents. Here's how it works.

First, he asks for something in a semi-inarticulate fashion. This is pretty easy since he's only barely understandable at the best of times (although his diction improves daily).

His parents, being all totally up on Modern Parenting Theory, are conditioned to repeat back everything he says, on the understanding that this will reinforce verbal development. So, when we hear him say something a little unclear, we repeat back what we think he said, usually in the form of a question.

The boy then acts all excited and happy that we asked him if he wanted whatever it was he was asking for in the first place. His bemused parents, not wanting to provide negative reinforcement to a child in his early developmental stages, then give him whatever he wants.

It goes like this:

Boy: (sort of mumbling) Mrrtrtyachps?

Me: More tortilla chips?

Boy: (Perfectly clearly) YEAH, SURE! [Runs off to stand expectantly beneath snack cupboard.]



He gets me every time. I am such a sucker.

Pre-baby vs. Post-baby, iTunes movie library alphabetical sorting edition:

The Thing, from the POV of the Thing:

"I shared my flesh with thinking cancer."

A song that reminds me of someone:



That one's obvious, I guess.