Day: January 31, 2003

Phew for a minute there I lost myself (again)

Okay, I think I was in PowerBook withdrawal today. Fortunately the Computer Store had an adapter. Afterwards I fought through the traffic (who knew that the University District has the worst traffic in Seattle?) to meet Lisa, and we wandered down the hill to the wine tasting at the Pike and Western Wine Shop. Afterwards we had appetizers and more wine at an undisclosed location overlooking the Bay.

You know, there’s something to be said for just enjoying the time together.

O Superman


cover

Laurie Anderson
Big Science
Warner Bros., 1980

O Superman, O Judge, O Mom and Dad, Mom and Dad.
O Superman, O Judge, O Mom and Dad, Mom and Dad.
Hi. I’m not home right now. But if you want to leave a
message, just start talking at the sound of the tone.
Hello? This is your Mother. Are you there? Are you coming home?
Hello? Is anybody home?

Well, you don’t know me, but I know you.
And I’ve got a message to give to you.
Here come the planes.
So you better get ready. Ready to go.
You can come as you are, but pay as you go. Pay as you go.

And I said: OK. Who is this really?
And the voice said:
This is the hand, the hand that takes.
This is the hand, the hand that takes.
This is the hand, the hand that takes.
Here come the planes.
They’re American planes. Made in America..
Smoking or non-smoking?
And the voice said:
Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night
shall stay these couriers from the swift completion
of their appointed rounds.

’Cause when love is gone, there’s always justice.
And when justice is gone, there’s always force.
And when force is gone, there’s always Mom. Hi Mom!

So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
In your automatic arms. Your electronic arms. In your arms.
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
Your petrochemical arms. Your military arms.
In your electronic arms.

PowerBook battery blues, day 2

Well, I’ve narrowed down the likely causes of my PowerBook battery charging problems:

  • It could, as it has been a few times in the past, be a power adapter problem. (This would make the third power adapter replacement I’ve had to do on this machine, which tends to lend credence to the claims on this website.)
  • Rob McNair-Huff, of MacNetJournal and The Equinox Project fame, emailed me to say his similar problem turned out to be a dead battery.
  • The local Apple reseller, The Computer Store, suggested that there might actually be damage to the sound board, which is where the power plug on the Pismo is mounted. There is at least a non-finite chance that the problem is inside the PowerBook.

So I’ll be trekking up to the University District this afternoon. Hopefully it will be a quick fix.