Pissed

I am so unbelievably pissed, it's unreal.

The stupid thing, I'm pissed that Apple has made me out to be a fool.

Bratworse bought a MacBook Pro when they first came out. Sure enough, she was happy as a lark until, our wireless started dropping it... but not only was it dropping it, the wireless was dropping the PC (Gateway) too. Just my trusty little iBook G4 kept trudging.

And then one morning, she woke up to the apple symbol with a big red circle and slash through it. We brought it in the Mac Store. Ah, but the hard drive is still there, just reload the system says the tech. So we did that; as a result, it started running slowly. And a few weeks later, there was a clicking sound from the left side of the laptop. And a blank screen.

Bratworse is LIVID! She's thinking (rightly so, given this experience) what, I gave up PCs for this?

And me? I'm the one who recommended this piece of shite. How the hell do you think I feel?

I have been a loyal Mac customer since Mac Plus days. I've owned a Mac Plus, an SE (had an external hard drive), an LC, a Power Computing PowerPC, an iMac (Lime Green) and now am so happy with my little iBook G4.

This is the thanks I get for convincing a PC user to a Mac?

We take the computer into the Apple store, and they tell us 10-12 days because the hard drive died. Today is the 14th day. And is it close to being done? No. Applecare tells her it'll be another week. She and I fight (because I'M STUPIDLY DEFENDING APPLE and I'm taking it personally that this beautiful piece of equipment that I would give an eye and my left breast for, Bratworse is calling a piece of shite).

So I get in the car, and drive over to Apple, and give them a piece of my mind. Colin, the tech guy, is trying to be reasonable with me, but I'm seeing red. How dare Apple make me look like a fool! After DECADES of loyal service as well as ACTIVELY pushing the Mac platform on PC users, they are doing this?

We don't have a promise of tomorrow. We only have a promise that her machine will be the next one worked on. Hopefully we will get it back tomorrow.

When we get that MacBook Pro back, I've got to give up this little baby here to Bratworse. Hope she will enjoy it as much as I loved using it. And hopefully the MacBook Pro will hold up. Because I am NOT a gentle user. This poor little iBook has keys askew, the lid askew and various other little things cause I've kicked it, dropped it and other stuff.

We shall see. In the meantime, I will be putting up this post every day (duplicates) until Apple calls up Bratworse, apologizes to Bratworse for her experience, and gives her something to make all of this awful experience better.

Oh, the OTHER thing she's pissed of at Apple about? We paid $2500 for the MacBook Pro, and it didn't come with a word processing program. Never mind that it came with Garage Band and all this other multi-media programs that she'd have to pay HUNDREDS of dollars for on the PC platform. She's pissed cause she had to dish out $125 for a word processing program. Of all things to leave out, to leave out a WORD-PROCESSING program was a really dumb move, Apple.

Sounds of Silence

Yeah I know neither of us has posted in a while. Work got hectic for me, school got hectic for Bratworse, and also two words: new games.

Besides, the only thing I'm really observing and paying attention to, are posts about Plamegate. So I'm reading Firedoglake and Americablog religiously several times a day. But to feed this new addiction I've had to cut back on others like Talking Points Memo, The News Blog, and T-Bogg. I still check in on them daily. Just not several times a day like I used to. The readings from Firedoglake usually are long and in-depth which is what I like since Flamegate has so many players and twists and turns.

If Plamegate really does bring Fitzmas around early, there will be such a celebration aboard the Monarch of the Seas this weekend. Bratworse and I are going on a gay cruise (our first real vacation!) and we're going with my best friend and his lover. Can you imagine the festivities aboard this ship as the men who stoked up anti-gay sentiments get indicted? Whoooo-yah!

And then, to top off the trip, DISNEYLAND! Those of you who've known me for years, knows there's a very real disconnect in my head about Disney and Disneyland. Disney at times represents the evil empire to me, yet Disneyland will always be the happiest place on earth for me. Something magical happens to me there. I manage to live in the present and actually be happy. Bratworse can tell you, me and happy doesn't quite go together. Don't get me wrong. I laugh a lot. But if my brain starts to analyze, the happiness dissipates to be replaced by intellectual curiosity.

Let's put it this way. My friend RangerRobb would hit a jackpot on the slots and be giddy for hours, maybe days. Me? I'd hit a jackpot and instantly try to remember all the combinations prior, so I could recognize when the next jackpot might hit. Yah yah, I was never known for my brains.

Anyway, there might be more Sounds of Silence coming up from Cholotto. Again, Nanowrimo is kicking off November 1st. 50,000 words in a novel before November 30th. That just might hamper my writing efforts here, or it might stimulate it. Time will tell.

Filed under Reveries & Paranoias.

sports

Sports talk... well, okay... mostly football talk... well alright! I'll admit it! It's 90% Raider talk! Sheesh. Like there's any other football team worth writing about:

• Acquisition of Moss dated March 11 by r.i.
  
• Obligation to be Greedy dated 2005/March 5 by r.i.
  

Reviews

Reviews! Getcha red-hot reviews here!

Game reviews:



Movie reviews:

• RedBeard dated 2005/August 17 by r.i. 7 out of 10 rating
  

Book reviews:



TV reviews:

Politics

Here are all of our posts on politics and all that b.s.: (Greyed out ones are time-relevant so unless you want to see what the heat of the moment arguments, don't bother)

Abandon Ship!	2004/09/01	r.i.
And Those Twins!	2004/09/17	r.i.
Answers, Please	2004/09/23	r.i.
Are You Calling Me a Liar?	2005/01/18	r.i.
As Pols Spin	2004/09/07	r.i.
Being Right Brings No Joy	2005/05/11	r.i.
Bush's Stinginess	2004/12/30	r.i.
Celebration of Mediocrity	2005/01/20	r.i.
Charlatans and How to Catch 'Em	2005/05/10	r.i.
A Cheap and Tawdry Trick	2004/10/14	r.i.
CNN's Offbeat Pictures	2005/05/27	r.i.
Confusion in Perspectives	2005/04/20	r.i.
Debt Society	2005/03/08	r.i.
The Death of My Father	2005//03/30	r.i.
Defining Blogging - Journalism?	2005/03/04	r.i.
Division, Subtraction Just Doesn't Add Up	2004/08/10	r.i.
Enough! I Want My Money Back!	2005/03/23	r.i.
Enough With the Snark!	2005/02/09	r.i.
Equal Opportunity	2005/02/23	r.i.
Fairness	2005/08/16	r.i.
First Impressions of the Presidential Debate	2004/09/30	r.i.
Flip-Flopping Away	2004/09/01	r.i.
A Football Metaphor	2004/09/22	r.i.
For Those of You Still Thinking about Privatizing Social Security...	2005/05/19	r.i.
[Forgot to title this]	2005/02/18	r.i.
The G.I. Jane of Journalists	2005/04/13	r.i.
Govenator or Governator	2004/09/15	r.i.
Happy 1st Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/02	r.i.
Happy 2nd Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/03	r.i.
Happy 3rd Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/04	r.i.
Happy 4th Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/05	r.i.
Happy 7th Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/08	r.i.
Happy 8th Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/09	r.i.
Happy 9th Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/10	r.i.
Happy 10th Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/11	r.i.
Happy 11th Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/12	r.i.
Happy 14th Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/15	r.i.
Happy 15th Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/16	r.i.
Happy 16th Day of Vacation, George aka Precedent Setting President	2005/08/17	r.i.
Happy 17th Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/18	r.i.
Happy 18th Day of Vacation, George!	2005/08/19	r.i.
Hawaii to the Forefront	2004/08/26	r.i.
How's the View from Up Here? Cynical, Thank You Very Much	2004/10/07	r.i.
How Texas Supports Troops	2005/08/18	r.i.
Hmm... Could it Be?	2005/03/31	r.i.
I am Gay But Not a Hooker	2005/02/25	r.i.
Idealism by Another Name	2004/08/05	r.i.
If You See CIA Heading Your Way	2004/09/10	r.i.
I Love It 3	2005/03/10	r.i.
I'm Still Trying to Wrap My Head Around What Happened...	2004/11/03	r.i.
Insomnia	2004/11/03	r.i.
Is It My Imagination or?	2005/02/02	r.i.
It's Sad	2004/11/12	r.i.
It's So Great to be an American	2005/02/16	r.i.
It's time to Play	2005/02/16	r.i.
Its What We're Doing, Not What We Are	2004/11/23	r.i.
It Wasn't About Values	2005/01/19	r.i.
Job Searching	2005/07/28	bw
Kicking a Gift Horse in the Mouth	2005/05/26	r.i.
Kindness - Bwahahahaha	2005/03/17	r.i.
Left Behind	2005/07/13	r.i.
Lesson to Andy Card	2005/07/26	r.i.
Liberal Pansies	2004/12/09	r.i.
Meetings with Secret Service	2005/03/30	r.i.
Mind Tricks of the Familial Kind	2005/06/21	r.i.
Month Long Vacation	2005/07/21	r.i.
Musings	2004/08/05	r.i.
Name Dropping Inanity	2004/08/31	r.i.
No Need to Shout	2004/09/16	r.i.
Not Pressure, Indignation!	2004/08/27	r.i.
One Thin Wafer	2005/05/17	r.i.
Phantom Accounts	2005/05/03	r.i.
Playing Right into Their Hands	2005/05/03	r.i.
Playing Telephone - A Demonstration by the Press	2004/08/26	r.i.
Polimagicians	2004/11/30	r.i.
Poll I'd Really Like to See	2004/08/18	r.i.
Poor, No Insurance, Out of Work, But Don't Let Those Gays Marry	2004/10/29	r.i.
Possibilities	2004/08/30	r.i.
Powell and Rove	2005/07/08	r.i.
Princeton Principles	2005/04/28	r.i.
Private Accounts in Easy Words	2005/03/08	r.i.
Prove It to Me	2005/08/02	r.i.
Punching Back	2004/09/16	r.i.
Quick Impressions	2004/08/24	r.i.
Reading Live Talk with Dan Froomkin	2005/03/09	r.i.
Reality Meet Distortion	2005/03/01	r.i.
Recycling Puzzlements	2005/01/14	r.i.
Repartee & Witticisms	2004/08/24	r.i.
Responsible but Not Culpable	2004/08/25	r.i.
Rumsfeld's Responses - Good Enough For Congress & Public...	2005/02/17	r.i.
Shooting Oneself in the Foot	2005/08/19	r.i.
Signs of the Times	2004/09/27	r.i.
Social Security Magic	2004/12/07	r.i.
Solution!	2005/04/20	r.i.
The Stupidity of Pundits	2004/10/08	r.i.
Suggestion for Garrett	2005/03/02	r.i.
Thank You Chris Bowers	2005/02/10	r.i.
There's a Reason...	2004/09/01	r.i.
Torture and the American People	2005/04/05	r.i.
Torture and Dick Durbin	2005/06/23	r.i.
Two Excellent Posts	2004/11/30	r.i.
Under Threat	2004/10/14	r.i.
Unintentional Funny	2005/08/12	r.i.
Urbanite v. Ruralist	2004/11/15	r.i.
War's Coming, Get Ready for Gay Bashing	2004/11/08	r.i.
What It Says About Us	2005/01/17	r.i.
What? No Royal We?	2004/09/21	r.i.
What Should be Taught in Journalism	2005/03/09	r.i.
When to Come in Out of the Rain	2005/07/06	r.i.
White House Press Corp = Pro Bowl?	2005/03/14	r.i.
Who Benefits	2004/12/22	r.i.
Why Watch it?	2004/09/27	r.i.

Gaming

Here are all of our posts on Gaming-Obsess Much?:

• Gaming In RL dated 2005/July 11 by bw
  
• I Want Skyscrapers, Damnit dated 2005/July 4 by r.i.
  
• Level 48 Paladin dated 2005/August 15 by r.i.
  
• Sim City 4 dated 2005/June 28 by r.i.
  
• Women Gamers dated 2005/June 28 by r.i.
  

Relatives

Here are all of our posts about our relatives:

• Confusion in Perspectives dated 2005/April 20 by r.i.
  
• The Death of My Father dated 2005/March 30 by r.i.
  
• Feathers Flying Out of My Head! dated 2005/July 6 by r.i.
  
• It's a Wonder I Don't Get Shot dated 2005/June 1 by r.i.
  
• July 11, 2005 - Gotti dated 2005/July 11 by bw
  
• July 28, 2005 - Mnemosyne dated 2005/July 28 by bw
  
• June 27, 2005 - Guitarist dated 2005/June 27 by bw
  
• Okay, Who Did a Time Warp on Us? dated 2005/August 11 by r.i.
  
• Relationships dated 2005/March 24 by r.i.
  
• Vacation all I ever wanted dated 2005/July 8 by bw
  

Gay

Here are all of our posts about Scary Gay Stuff (and yes, that includes Lesbian stuff):

• Amazing... dated 2005/June 26 by r.i.
  
• Kicking a Gift Horse in the Mouth dated 2005/May 26 by r.i.
  
• Okay, Who Did a Time Warp on Us? dated 2005/August 11 by r.i.
  

Art

Discussions about the many facets of art:

• A Gordon Gecko Story dated 2005/April 6 by r.i.
  
• Stuck Rubber Baby dated 2005/April 15 by r.i.
  
• West Wing dated 2005/April 27 by r.i.
  

Cool

Here are all of our posts about Cool Shit:

• Amazing... dated 2005/June 26 by r.i.
  
• Baby Birdies! dated 2005/May 5 by r.i.
  
• Blogher, I Don't Even Know Her! dated 2005/August 10 by r.i.
  
• Doodad to Me One More Time dated 2005/August 8 by r.i.
  

Thoughts

Here are our Reveries & Paranoias:

• Alluring Images dated 2005/April 13 by r.i.
  
• American Humor dated 2005/April 26 by r.i.
  
• Communistic or Capitalistic dated 2005/June 30 by r.i.
  
• Confusion in Perspectives dated 2005/April 20 by r.i.
  
• The Death of My Father dated 2005/March 30 by r.i.
  
• Fear of Death dated 2005/March 21 by r.i.
  
• The First Drag dated 2005/July 13 by r.i.
  
• Get out the Grease dated 2005/March 31 by r.i.
  
• Getting Rid of the Drag-on dated 2005/April 11 by r.i.
  
• Good Vibrations dated 2005/August 3 by r.i.
  
• A Gordon Gecko Story dated 2005/April 6 by r.i.
  
• How do We Begin? dated 2005/June 21 by r.i.
  
• Invention Needed dated 2005/July 19 by r.i.
  
• Left Behind dated 2005/July 13 by r.i.
  
• The Mathematics of It All dated 2005/July 7 by r.i.
  
• Moving and Cross-Referencing dated 2005/June 29 by r.i.
  
• Perceptions of Size dated 2005/July 6 by r.i.
  
• PMS & Paranoia dated 2005/May 13 by r.i.
  
• Powell and Rove dated 2005/July 8 by r.i.
  
• The Price of Love dated 2005/August 3 by r.i.
  
• Relationships dated 2005/March 24 by r.i.
• Science & God dated 2005/August 8 by r.i.
  
• Standards & Measures dated 2005/June 24 by r.i.
  
• The Thing I miss Most dated 2005/June 29 by r.i.
  
• Thinking OuTlOuD dated 2005/August 12 by bw
  
• *Warning* Gross but Necessary Post dated 2005/August 12 by r.i.
  
• Weird Night dated 2005/June 23 by r.i.
  
• WriterBoy to the Rescue! dated 2005/April 28 by r.i.
  

Bwahahahaha

I decided to post all of Cholotto's filing system here.

bwahahahahaha's posted here, because sometimes, a braying guffaw says it all.

• Better Than a Stack of Bills dated 2005/August 16 by r.i.
  
• Clear the way for Economic Growth dated 2005/June 29 by r.i.
  
• Feathers Flying Out of My Head! dated 2005/July 6 by r.i.
  
• Happy 16th Day of Vacation, George aka Precedent Setting President dated 2005/August 17 by r.i.
  
• It's a Mystery Why I Don't Get Shot dated 2005/June 1 by r.i.
  
• Manners dated 2005/May 25 by r.i.
  
• Now I Know What it Feels Like to be WriterBoy dated 2005/April 12 by r.i.
  
• Perils of Being Half Asleep dated 2005/July 7 by r.i.
  
• Unintentional Funny dated 2005/August 12 by r.i.
  
• Wazzat? Did I Hear You Right? dated 2005/July 12 by r.i.
  

Ms. Cell Annie

I decided to post Cholotto's filing system here.

Here are all of our posts on Ms. Cell Annie:

Air Ports, Air Planes, and Air Delays	2005/07/06	bw
Blogher, I Don't Even Know Her!	2005/08/10	r.i.
Blow bubbles not smoke	2005/06/27	r.i.
Calling All Inventors	2005/05/12	r.i.
Distorted Dreams	2005/07/04	r.i.
Dreadlogging	2005/07/11	bw
Fog	2005/08/27	bw
Good Vibrations	2005/08/03	r.i.
Huh?	2005/04/12	r.i.
Liar Liar	2005/08/01	r.i.
The Lieing Cycle	2005/07/08	bw
More Requests and Refusals	2005/07/18	r.i.
New One	2005/07/26	r.i.
Pheonix Union	2005/07/11	bw
Postal Anyone?	2005/04/14	r.i.
Question for the Ages	2005/01/14	r.i.
Recycling Puzzlements	2005/07/18	r.i.
Requests and Refusals	2005/07/11	r.i.
Tables on Blogger	2005/08/19	bw
Voting	2004/11/02	r.i.
The Weather Report	2005/08/16	bw
What We Look Like Together	2005/07/06	r.i.

Moving and cross-referencing

Hi there

I know there's about 5 of you regularly checking in, tho you're awfully silent. I hope I've made you laugh or think or scream or something... :)

My lover and I decided to get a website together and thus we're blogging together. So, I'm now posting on Cholotto. We've also set up an indexing system there so I'll be slowly going through my old posts and filing them under the appropriate headings.

I might still post here. I love the title Distorted Dreams since it seems so apt for today's environment and, I've been a dreamer since I could name what dreaming was.

We worked on the site over the weekend and have set up a filing system on the new blog so if you want to find out about all my neuroses about my family per se, you'll be able to find all my posts in one place.

Oh, and we'll be throwing up some graphics up there as well. So instead of just words, you'll get words and pictures... what a concept. Hmm wonder if we can make books out of merging words and pictures... nah, no one wants to read. (sorry, old comics in-joke here)

Anyway, see you at the new spot!

Filed under thoughts.

Standards and Measures

One day, someone smart and forceful will say, whenever things are measured, the standardization will be global. I'm not just talking the metric system and the old English system either. (Which btw, should've given the world a clue about U.S. arrogance and stubborness).

Case in point: Co-worker turns to me and asks, what is a billion.

My response? "I can't answer that. I've been confused all my life about that question."

So then I look it up on Dictionary.com and therein lies the quandry I've found myself in these past 30 years. In America, a billion = a thousand million, that is, 1 with 9 zeros after it. I grew up in Singapore, a commonwealth country. There, we were taught that a billion = a million million, that is, 1 with 12 zeros after it.

So, my question to you all is: #1 - so does China have 4,000,000,000 or 4,000,000,000,000? 2) is Bill Gates worth $40,000,000,000 or $40,000,000,000,000? and the same goes for our federal deficit.

Cause you know, those 3 zeros? They mean quite a lot.

Filed under thoughts.