Monthly Archives: February 2005

On a steel horse I ride…

I have the most diverse musical tastes of anyone I know. I really don’t care what the genre is, as long as it is good music, I will listen. Punk, Heavy Metal, Rap, New and Old School R&B, Jazz, Classical and even a fair bit of country (I am a sucker for fiddles and good harmony). Many people who know me know that, amongst the many deep dark musical love secrets I hold, I love 80’s “Arena Rock”. Journey, Van Halen and, my karaoke favorite, Bon Jovi…

See, most of the people who know me must think I am crazy when I tell them that, not only do I like Johnny Goldenlocks and the Jersey Shore Boys, I also can sing a pretty good Bon Jovi. I have a very similar tone to my voice as he does. Don’t believe me? Let’s go out for karaoke sometime and I will pick “Dead or Alive” or “Living on a Prayer” and I will make you a believer… At least until the key change after the bridge in “Living on a Prayer” at which point I will strain my vocal cords and start spitting up blood. Which would make a good segue into “Heaven’s On Fire” by Kiss. But, I digress…

Those were the days. I will never forget them. I remember going back to school the day after a big concert, wearing your baseball style tour shirt, seeing all of the other kids with theirs and knowing, at least for that day that you were all one tribe. You shared the experience of the artistry and beauty of a Neal Schon guitar solo, the spectacle of David Lee Roth and seeing the masses of hot chicks dressed in next to nothing (though, I will note, more than today’s teenage girls wear to school itself) hoping to get a backstage pass at Def Leopard. You were a part of something that was as close to history in your mind as anything done by some old dead guys who scored a paragraph in a textbook. They played instruments dammit! They weren’t some Clear Channel manufactured pop creations that could not hold a note outside of a studio. They were artists…

So what has spurred all of this waxing nostalgic? Well, a link sent to me by my friend Lew. This guy knows what I am talking about. This guy gets it!

Best places to buy Mac stuff online (IMHO)

I am always being asked where to find good deals on Macintosh stuff. There are many places I look and shop. Often times the reasons are not just in the prices but also in the company. Some of these sites I visit on a daily basis whether I am looking to by stuff or not; figuring that if I do see a really good deal I may be able to match it up with a friend’s need. So, with that in mind, here are some places I go to find good deals on Macintosh stuff on the internet.

Apple Store “Special Deals” Section – This is where Apple sells their refurbished products often times for hundreds of dollar less than brand new. Why buy refurbished instead of new? Well, Apple does very rigorous testing on the refurbished models to make sure that they don’t come back again. Furthermore, all Apple refurbs carry the same warranty that a brand new Apple product does. Therefore, if you do have a problem, it is covered.

Small Dog Electronics – I really like these guys and have bought two Macs from them. They are a small, family run business located in the heart of small town Vermont. They are big on charitable and social causes and, as the name might suggest, are HUGE dog lovers! They are also one of the oldest online Macintosh retailers around. Their front page features daily deals and ongoing specials.

DealMac – DealMac does the work of searching Mac deals for you. Every day they scour the web for deals and specials on Macs and Mac accessories. This is one of those sites I visit a couple of times a day. Why twice? Well, some deals are so good that if you do not catch them early in the morning (when the first deals start being posted) they will be sold out by afternoon. They also have a sister site called DealRAM which helps you find the best prices on RAM

PowerMax – PowerMax is a great place to look for refurbished and used Macs. If the Apple Store does not have the Mac you are looking for in their refurbished offerings, this is a good second place to check. They also buy used Macs as well and accept certain trade ins for credit towards new equipment.

More Moleskine

Yesterday, I waxed all poetic on the desire to dump my PDA for a number of tasks and “upgrade” to the Moleskine Pocket Journal I recently purchased while in San Francisco for Macworld. I have now become obsessed with that idea and just may try it for the whole of next week. I have already dug my Moleskine out of a paper bag it had gotten dumped into in one of the mad cleaning frenzies that I frequently perform around the house (or, as I like to think of them, a redistribution of clutter).

I also have been doing some googling (yes, Annie, it is a verb) on the “Cult of Moleskine”. I found a great blog called 43 Folders with a number of posts of ways to use it:

More Moleskine Hacks

H2G2 on the Moleskine

Jeremy Wagstaff’s Moleskine Remainders

And for the whole shebang of thier articles that talk about the Moleskine (yes, they are a little obsessed):

43 Folders: Moleskine Notebooks