In other news, my beloved powerbook is for sale. I've been talking with a few peeps offa craigslist... its fate is soon to be determined...

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(Jasmeet on Jul 18, 2003 6:58 PM) Why are you selling it?

(courtney on Jul 18, 2003 7:22 PM) out of selfish reasons... my powerbook is 2.5 years old, a first generation Ti at 400 mhz. I have been wanting a 12" Ti since the day I saw it. *swoon*

(mike on Jul 18, 2003 11:37 PM) OMG I thought it was just me, also have you noticed that CSS rendering SUCKS too. I have reset Safari and it still doesn't render alot of stuff correctly anymore. I wanna go back to a beta. The only thing I like about this version is the little blue box where a image should be, it makes viewing sites alot easier, I dont have to aruge with people anymore saying there isn't a image there =P

(Mike on Jul 19, 2003 6:41 AM) Yeah, I'm havin' cookie-issues, too. I always leave it on 'only sites I navigate to'... which could be problematic or not compatible with many sites (which contain redirects, etc.) Maybe 'always accept' would be the better option 'til there's a fix. Who knows.

And how glad were we to be back at Coffee Society? The masses rejoiced.

May I recommend the double cosmopolitan on a warm summer evening? It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. David had a few drinks that looked mighty tasty too... which reminds me, I must try one (or two) of his local caffeine stops soon.

It was Kev's first meetup... it was actually an evening that he could attend, imagine that! Jon showed up for his second meetup in the South Bay... glad to see the circle growing a little!

Jim brought his color Hiptop for Mark and I to ooh and ahh at; and in turn, we moblogged a photo or two. He and Faisal showed up a wee bit fashionably late, but always welcome! We even had a passerby sit down with us and ask what all the ruckus was about! "What's a blog?" You asked the wrong crowd! Ask Rich, he has a strong opinion on what a blog is!

Antwon brought a handful of his bumper stickers for us. I have yet to see any of the attendees from last night posting any photos of these strategically placed stickers! What's taking you guys so long?

Elke had to depart a bit early (last bus, I assume?), but it is always a pleasure to see her. The evening ended with Jonas and Ealasaid practicing aikido in the parking lot. Street Fighter references ensued. Good times.

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(Ealasaid on Jul 17, 2003 3:37 PM) hey, did I see you taking digipix of Jonas and me messing around? (dunno if it counts as 'practicing' - we were just goofing around.)

(Elke on Jul 17, 2003 4:02 PM) Yup, last bus. But the upside of that was that I got to start reading "Shutter Island", which Mark let me borrow - the plan here is to discuss the ending. Apparently, people have strong opinions on it.

(Elke on Jul 17, 2003 4:04 PM) Funny that your moblog service is called textamerica, when it's pictures. Humh.

(:: jozjozjoz :: on Jul 17, 2003 9:52 PM) One of these I will get to go and give you a big hug in person!

(Jonas M Luster on Jul 18, 2003 9:32 AM) Hmm, calling it "messing around" might get misconstrued, too :). Anyhow, yeah, are there pictures of Ealasaid kicking my sorry and chubby butt all over the parking lot?

(Ed on Jul 19, 2003 8:20 PM) boasting ... AOLŪ Mail functionality That's a *boast*?! LOL LMFAO!!!11!

We have no A/C, and one fan in the room. Bleh.

Any tips and tricks on keeping a room cool for the summer?

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(gwen on Jul 14, 2003 3:19 PM) My daughter's room has the same problem, except it has four large windows, which we can't open because invariably a bug gets in and she is freaked by bugs, so you can imagine... *very* dark curtains & putting the fan in the doorway pulling in from the cooler air from the rest of the house...

(eric on Jul 14, 2003 5:05 PM) Liquid nitrogen. Oh, you meant *useful* tips. Hmm.

(jack on Jul 14, 2003 5:18 PM) i live in a room like that! pain in da arse!

(Jasmeet on Jul 14, 2003 5:29 PM) What you could do is, at night, leave the window open, and let all the cool air at night in. If you want to make sure it gets cool, get one of those window fans that you could pick up at wal-mart or target. Once daylight breaks, and it starts getting hot, turn off the fan, shut the window, keep the room as dark as possible. And, if you're room gets too hot again, use that window fan to pull the air out of the room. I do this at my apartment, and have only seen one or two days when it still got too hot. =)

(Elke on Jul 14, 2003 5:54 PM) I used to spray my muslin curtains with water from a spraybottle, opened the window, and put a shoe in the door as stopper. Got a great cool breeze going, and the moisture in the air is .... aaaaaahhhhh ... wonderful!

(netpanday on Jul 15, 2003 4:13 AM) The sun coming through the doors might be the culprit. Could you put up some shrubbery to block out some of the sunlight? We have a small room with only one window. When the humidity goes up it is awfully hot in there. The previous owners left us the ceiling fan in that room. Havent tried it though but I will as soon as another heat wave hits maybe next week?

(Mark on Jul 16, 2003 8:36 PM) I don't have any advice, but an interesting story. I've effectively made my company's satellite office unusable if the weather outside is about 25C or higher. (about what, 78, 80F?). Reason? I stuck a commercial espresso machine in the office, including wiring it up, and plumbing it in. Problem is, it's a massive heat generator. That space already gets hot enough (no A/C), and the machine puts it over the edge. Put another way, that machine gets so hot, that office space does not need any normal heating in the winters here in Vancouver. I have disgruntled employees.... but they love the coffee.

(John on Jul 17, 2003 6:34 AM) Good suggestions from Jasmeet. Your only hope for survival/comfort is to get some air moving through the room. Find the biggest fan you can cram into that small window and set it to exhaust the room air during the day. Augment that with a fan in the doorway to the rest of the house, pulling hopefully cooler air into the room. If there's an existing overhead light fixture, a small ceiling fan can also do wonders to make a room feel livable again. Totally off topic, I hope you'll share some of your cyanotypes and/or other alt-process works soon.

Walnut Creek is growing like a freakin' weed, and there are always new stores opening up. It's scary... I remember growing up in that town which didn't seem to have a building over 3 stories high. Now it's exploded into a bustling city of sorts.

But... argh. I had no idea that the Apple Store was opening up there until a few days ago. Argh. Argh. Arrrrrgh.

I will be in the WC area tomorrow, but not sure if I will make it out to the store... and I sure as hell am not going to make it to be one of the first thousand to get just a stinkin' T-shirt. Anyone else planning on being there?

Oh, and BTW, did you hear that Oprah loves iPods, so she GAVE away 15GB iPods to everyone in her studio audience today? Double triple mega ARGH.

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(mike on Jul 11, 2003 11:37 PM) ARGH! I need to get on that show and get something good. argh argh argh, it's time for bed now maybe tomorrow will be a better day

(jon on Jul 12, 2003 9:19 PM) just imagine how much those shirts would go for on ebay. :)

(netpanday on Jul 13, 2003 8:07 AM) same thing's happening in my neighborhood. Thank goodness they havent zoned my part of town to include commercial establishments but 4 blocks south of me its totally comercial zones. Theres like 20 cell phone, 10 restaurants, 4 asian supermarkets, and 15 coffee/tea/bubble drink shops in a 10 block radius. Thats pretty bustle to me...

(Thomas on Jul 13, 2003 11:26 PM) Well you can chalk me up as one of the nuts... I was camping at 9am the day before... Speaking of shirts... Burlingame just around the corner... ^_^

(eric on Jul 14, 2003 9:20 AM) ... *gave* *away* *iPods* ? to *everyone* ? this has changed my conception of reality. Rosie has apparently also done her bit to sell Macs. my stepmom says she used to make little movies with iMovie and show them on TV while expounding the virtues of iMovie and her iBook.

(don on Jul 14, 2003 1:17 PM) I hate it when the unworthy audience guests get gifts that we in the geek work drool over...

I think I may be in... Jing Jing has some of the best chinese food I've ever had! Oh yeah, and the conversation ain't bad either. ;)

Anyone else in?

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(Gretchen on Jul 12, 2003 11:28 PM) I'm going; hope you're there! BTW, all of the e-mails I've sent to you over the last few weeks have been bounced... :( I can take a hint... ;)

I went to visit him in the hospital today... although he was tuckered out and barely opened his eyes, I took comfort in hoping that it would be smooth sailing from this point on for him and his family. The next time I see him, he will be in the comfort of home... most excellent!

He will be getting an MRI in about 30 days, and I will be sure to let you all know what the results are.

Thanks for all your support and thoughts during this time!

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(Kevin on Jul 9, 2003 9:33 AM) Good to hear, thats great news.

(Mark on Jul 13, 2003 11:07 PM) "Been there, done that", as they say. It's tough, but here's hoping Joe comes through great! My Mom is currently in the middle stages of cancer, and we just went through all the chemo and radiation stuff. She's not doing it any longer, it was too harsh for her, and at one stage, she was down to 85lbs (from about 145lbs normal weight).

Another project is launched! I have been working on and off on this site for many many months now... it may look simple, but the site went through a few redesigns & restructuring, and is finally done (well... it's missing a small amount of content, but the bulk of my work is done)!

The Weddings Planners is a business run by a former co-worker of mine in Hawaii. Keri still maintains her day job at the magazine, runs The Wedding Planners, and is a full-time mother of two to boot! If you or anyone you know is looking for assistance in planning an island wedding, look them up!

Also be sure to check out her book, Hawai'i Weddings Made Simple.

Comments on the site are welcome. :)

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(guy on Jul 8, 2003 12:19 PM) Spiffy site!

(netpanday on Jul 8, 2003 1:32 PM) Simple and yet it appeals to the masses! Great design. My gf's anunt owns a wedding store in New Jersey. Its called marrymewedding. They have asked me to fix it up a bit but have not got around to it. They are even thinking of paying me to toy around with it. Any suggestions? heres the url: http://www.marrymewedding.com

(Izzy on Jul 8, 2003 5:18 PM) Very swish...I like it. Maybe instead of launching right into the flash intro you could provide a low-bandwidth link? Other than that I think it's great.

(jack on Jul 8, 2003 6:33 PM) in here: http://www.wedding-planners.net/book.html there is a little code on the upper left. (mac, ie os9 )

(Mike on Jul 8, 2003 9:53 PM) Slick, simple, elegant. A+ Although, to be completely honest, I am anti-splash screens. My motto is: the fewer clicks it takes to get to what you want, the better... even if it's just one more. Personal preference, I s'pose.

(courtney on Jul 8, 2003 10:19 PM) Yeah, I've been veering away from splash screens, but this client was really keen on having a Flash *something*, heh. Argh, I need to get the five year old David Siegel teachings outta my archaic brain... ;)

(grant on Jul 15, 2003 4:08 PM) i see the comment code as well (win2k IE6). I also get a javascript error. i think from the navigation script. Line: 63 Char: 1 Error: Object expected Code: 0

Gotta find that balance. Maybe after a cup of coffee...

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(jack on Jul 8, 2003 4:02 AM) i usually stop the bean habit after 4. recently i have stopped drinking it after 2!!!! i love jumping out of bed on a summer day with a full nighrs rest!

(mike on Jul 8, 2003 6:06 AM) coffee coffee anytime!!! I get the urge to make coffee sometimes late at night, I found that it doesn't keep me awake anymore, it's just a like water to me =) I really could go for a cup right now, I think I will have to get Starbucks before I go into work, I'm so draggin my butt right.

(Kevin on Jul 8, 2003 7:30 AM) I try to stay away from any caffeine after 2ish. After that it's mainly just water.

(netpanday on Jul 8, 2003 7:34 AM) I tried to remove coffee from my habit for about 2 days and I could not function correctly...

(naladahc on Jul 9, 2003 6:10 AM) Only decaf after 3pm for Nala for that very reason.

Continued reading Oh, the Places You'll Go!...

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(Kevin on Jul 7, 2003 7:41 AM) Sounds like your going to need a vacation from all these little trips you've been going on. :P

Ah, Disneyland. The stuff that dreams are made of. Or, at least, that's what the numerous flyers, commercials, and billboards tell us. What joys await us within?

Kevin and I awoke at about a quarter to seven in the morning, since my family wanted to make the eight AM opening at the park. Exhausted and sore, I endured my pains for the good of the rest of the group. But frustratingly, no one else was even awake by the time we were enjoying our semi-continental breakfast from the hotel. Why do they call it "continental", anways?

I think we made it to the park Resort at 0930 or 1000. Keep in mind that I have not seen this place for many years, even before California Adventure was merely a dirt lot. It's completely different, and more reminiscent of Disney World... there is no longer the endless parking lot, there is now a larger-than-Paul-Bunyan parking lot to handle the masses. Patrons ride in a stinky gas-powered tram through the Resort area, past hotels and shopping areas... all reeking of sickly Disney commercialism.

It's so freakin' American.

Continued reading california crusin': Day 2...

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(Handsome on Jul 4, 2003 7:15 PM) I like anyone willing to admit they're a geek. Geeks are cool. We have imagination even as adults. We don't start fights. Generally, we're not cruel. We read cool shit and have many many many different kinds of dice. Okay, that last is a really geeky thing to add, but hey. Anyway, I like your blog and if you'd blogroll me, I would blogroll you. I think they call it a 'continental' breakfast because it's basically the kind of breakfast you eat a lot in France. I think the term 'continental' originates in Britain. But I'm not entirely sure and could have simply made that up on the spot. I know everything, but I can't remember it all at once.

(Izzy on Jul 5, 2003 1:22 PM) Disney is the model for commercialism everywhere, it's not what it used to be if you ask me. When I went around 10 years ago with the family it was bad enough, I can't imagine now. The fastPass thing looks pretty cool, I wish they had that when I was there. The lines are KILLER...especially on a 90 degree day when the park is packed. We saw a couple people pass out from the heat and standing so long. Cute pics...especially the SpongeBob ones. I wonder who's in the suit? (they seem to be pretty short)

(netpanday on Jul 5, 2003 9:44 PM) I agree fast pass is the way to go in any amusement park these days. Better yet they should like schedule patrons a time when they will actually get on a ride. Waiting in like is just attrocious! Last week, my friends and I went to Six Flags Great Adventure and we waited an hour on both the Batman and Robin and the Superman.

(Handsome on Jul 6, 2003 12:00 PM) I gave this some thought a couple of years ago, after an excessive line wait experience at a waterpark I went to with my girlfriend, and realized that, unfortunately, there is really nothing to be done about this. The major problem is an essential conflict between the theme park patrons (us) and the theme park owners and managers (them). We hate long lines. They, on the other hand, love long lines... it shows that the park is operating to capacity and there is a demand for their product. We would love to be able to go to a park and just get on the rides whenever we felt like it without any waiting; if a theme park manager took a helicopter flight over his theme park and saw that situation (no lines at any of the rides) he'd probably know he had to declare bankruptcy. What we all really want is some kind of Royal status that allows us to simply walk to the head of the line... except most of us would actually be embarrassed to use it, if we had it. There's really no solution. I recently went to Islands of Adventure with some friends and we used Fast Passes there. Even the Fast Pass lines were extremely long; I pitied the people waiting in the REAL lines. And around noon they stopped giving out Fast Passes; the park had filled up to capacity and they can't give out Fast Passes when they have too many people there already waiting for certain attractions (like the Spiderman ride, which we stood on line for for 90 excruciating minutes). The only real solution is to move all real-world thrill experiences into virtual reality. When they have VR plug in interfaces, you can do anything you want, whenever you want, simply by sitting down in your chair and putting the helmet on. No lines (unless you want to activate the 'feature', but I don't know why you would) just roller coaster after roller coaster, all day long. Make sure your glucose drip is set up and full before you go under, though. However, when VR rolls around, I won't be doing the 'theme park' stuff. I'll be fighting Dr. Doom in the trademarked Marvel Universe VR half the time, and hanging out in the Adult World VR with a virtual reality Katherine Heigl the rest of the time. I suspect I'll be a big glucose drip customer when that happens. ;)

• The MoBlog is now working correctly. Huzzah! Now to tweak the template a bit more to my liking...
  
• Did you know that I have two RSS feeds? One with comments and one without. Choose your poison.
  
• I got the webcam running more often. Apparently, there is a correct driver for the PYRO Firewire Cam in Jaguar, and I didn't know it.
  
• Because of getting the camera to function, I also have video capability in iChat AV. I'm still trying to locate one of our many mics, so there's only video there for now. If you want to conduct a videoconference, you can message me @ CourToonie.
  

that is all.

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(mike on Jul 1, 2003 7:08 PM) oooh I tried out audio chat somewhat but I still haven't tried Video. I don't have a cam but I would love to see how iChat handles video. Maybe we can chat my s/n is weezerduude

(netpanday on Jul 2, 2003 7:19 AM) still need a mike? I got lots of it in my drawer since were not allowed to place it on the rental stations. i have ones from the g3 macs too if you want one. Just let me know.

(Marshall on Jul 3, 2003 1:24 PM) I'm considering the purchase of an iSight after I rack up enough for a new powerbook.

(Rich on Jul 3, 2003 3:21 PM) I was at the apple store last night looking at the iSight. I am not sure if it is worth it or not. I know I still have an old web cam around my apt somewhere. I am not sure I would have anyone to iChat with.

0000 Hours: Go to bed, setting alarm for 0330.
0315: Cell phone rings, with brother on other end of line, asking us to bring his forgotten gameboy along. Go back to bed.
0330: Alarm sounds. Smack it across the room, crawl groggily out of bed and collapse on floor.
0345: Arise from floor. Cell phone rings, answer to Dad stating that they are leaving within a few minutes.
0355: Splash cold water on face. Pull on grubby yet comfy clothes, throw toiletries into pre-packed suitcase, stumble out door.
0400: Realize I've forgotten something. Back into the house.
0405: Forgot to get something out of the car. Rustle through car in the dark.
0410: Inadvertently wake up baby next door. Hit head on car door frame.
0415: Finally pull away from the driveway, already in a foul mood for the day.

Things didn't get off to a smooth start, but what can you expect, it's four o'clock in the frickin' morning. Dad has this thing about leaving super early in the morning, to "drive in the dark". He's done this since we were little kids. It didn't really accomplish much for us this time but missed sleep and crankiness.

After missing a meal at Andersen's (they were still closed at 0530 when we arrived in Santa Nella), we stomached a breakfast at Lenny's Denny's and continued on our merry ways.

A few potty stops and millions of smashed bugs upon the windshield later, we were in Southern California. A few hours of weekday traffic were magically bestowed upon us, with much luck. It was getting hot, I could feel the backs of my knees getting sticky. Eww.

We arrive at our destination (Orange, CA) at around 1300. Lucky us, check-in time is not until 1500. Tell me why we left so early again? We had to sit tight for a few hours while our rooms were prepared... my sister and her family were able to secure a room earlier, so we just hung out in their room until the nazis front desk crew waved us into our humble suites.

Kevin and I participated enthusiastically in a much-needed nap for a couple o' hours, while my parents ventured out to a local military base to purchase theme park tickets. Then it was to Joe's Crab Shack in Garden Grove for some eatin' and burpin'. What a whacky place. The waitstaff line dances, and birthday guests prance around in cow costumes, complete with rubber neeples.

We go for a quick walk down at The Block, only to have my Mom and Seester sucked into Old Navy for some reason, whilst the rest of us enjoy a scoop or two from Ben and Jerry's. Kevin and I depart for the hotel a little bit earlier than the rest of the shoppin' crowd. Gotta get to bed. We have a long day ahead of us.

Tomorrow: The Mouse is in the House.

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(brian on Jul 1, 2003 6:13 AM) 1200 Hours: Go to bed, setting alarm for 0330 you slept for 15 1/2 hours!? ;)

(gnome-girl on Jul 1, 2003 8:45 AM) mad props girl for knowing how to tell time like that I never can do it the whole thing confuses me :)

(courtney on Jul 1, 2003 10:06 AM) yeah, brian, I was really tired. ;) I was dreamin' when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray.

(zorgon on Jul 1, 2003 10:42 AM) Wrong Andersen's. Well, I feel silly. :P

(:: jozjozjoz :: on Jul 1, 2003 11:13 AM) You're in my neck of the woods! [I can't believe I'm admitting to being an OC girl!]

(rich on Jul 7, 2003 6:41 PM) my father shares the same nocturnal tendencies when it comes to driving, except departure would normally be ~ 2 am. and all these years i thought it was a unique 'thing' with my dad. =/

I was moblogging every day while gone, but durnit, something is all wrong. Kinda stinks that it hasn't been working for these past few days, and yet I was chosen as the current Editor's Pick on Textamerica. Eek!

I'm suspecting something is not jiving between cingular and textamerica. Blah.

More on the vacation tomorow. As they say, I need a vacation from my vacation. G'nite!

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I switched my MoBlog from Phlog to TextAmerica. We'll see how it works out. You can view my new MoBlog here. Don't mind the bare bones template... I'll futz with it more after vacation. I just wanted to have it up and running for the trip! Whoo hoo!

Eek... gotta get to sleep for a supposed 4 AM departure. See all ya'll on the flip side!

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(jon on Jun 26, 2003 5:27 PM) kid video?

(:: jozjozjoz :: on Jun 26, 2003 5:57 PM) Cool! Have fun! (Check your snail mail box!)

(netpanday on Jun 27, 2003 9:50 AM) enjoy! disneyland is always a fun place to visit.

Amongst the madness of this week, there is something I am looking forward to... we're going to Dizz Knee Land!

No, seriously. We're heading on down to SoCal for a little sun, fun, and roller coasters. We (meaning Kev and I, my whole family, including my sister's family, too!) leave early Thursday morning. My dad says 4AM, but I have my doubts. ;) I think we're supposed to meet up with the rest of the family at Andersen's, and caravan down the rest of the way. Should be fun!

Our schedule for the vacation is pretty much packed, but if any of you SoCal bloggers out there are up for grabbing a drink on one of these days, gimme a holler. We should be in the area until Sunday mid-day.

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(Scott on Jun 25, 2003 6:21 AM) I was JUST listening to that on my iPod! Dada rocks!

(zorgon on Jun 25, 2003 4:13 PM) :D I'll wave atcha. Let's see... say you leave at 7 (realeeestically), Andersen's b4 noon, allow time for additional peasoup snorking... hmm, will you get vacuumed into Solvang (don't do that!)... I'll be wearing a black Iron Chef baseball hat, sitting on my bike, west side of the Fairview overpass, 1 PM. *lol*

(Rich on Jun 25, 2003 10:04 PM) I thought I was the only person who remembered Dada. Just remember Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.