These Crazy New Global Village Rules Suck!

So I bought a MacBook Pro the other day with my mother’s credit card so she could rack up a huge, sweet chunk of AirMiles.

At first it was a real inconvenience because Apple only ships orders to the country of the credit card’s origin, in this case Canada. Ok, so my mother will have to re-ship it once it gets to her. Sure that’s a bit of extra running around on her part, but she knows it’s worth the cost she’s saving with the AirMiles she’ll be cashing in for a *free ticket* to India next Spring.

But then I draw up the FedEx tracking below and see the package is practically at my doorstep after traveling so far from Shanghai!
What’s up with that, Apple?!

Wow – These new global village rules are really unbelievable sometimes! Have you had any similar experiences?

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

 

 
 
 

 

   
   
   
   

   

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

   

   
 

   
   

   

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

   

   
 

   
   
   
   

   

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

   

   
 

   
   

   

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

   

   
 

   
   

   

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

   

   
 

   
   

   

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

Date/Time

Activity

Location

Details

Oct 31, 2006

3:16 AM

Arrived at FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

2:30 AM

Departed FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

Oct 30, 2006

4:50 PM

Departed FedEx location

ANCHORAGE, AK

12:49 PM

Arrived at FedEx location

ANCHORAGE, AK

1:39 AM

Left origin

SHANGHAI CN

1:38 AM

Picked up

SHANGHAI CN

 

In the ‘Spirit” of Halloween

A little funny, a little sad. But all very Scary. How can I resist posting these?!

Competence, Commitment, Character

Three qualities that Sumner Redstone looks for in his co-workers.

I came across those three words that I had written down during a documentary of his. They were the only notes I took.

His words were very comforting at a time when I thought all things had to be perfect. So when a successful businessman says that things aren’t always are, I take comfort in that knowledge.

Also, he spoke of a time when an executive of his was close to tears because she believed that she had failed him on a business call while making the movie Congo. He said: "You put together a good team, with a good script, and a good cast. That’s all you can do. From here on, it’s out of your hands."

I think of this often as I watch the Yankees play baseball. These are the very best players baseball has to offer: they’ve played their whole lives, they practice themselves to death, and play games almost every day, year in and year out. They eat, sleep and dream baseball, yet every player’s averages fluctuate around the .300 mark in every corner of the sport. Let’s do the simple math together: They are successful only one third of the time in a career they are obsessed with – and they’re paid handsomely for it!

So let’s all take a moment to remember: Focus on the top three and the rest is out of our hands.

Tangerine Has Arrived!

Have other Mac users like me been looking for a way to categorize your songs by their speed? One playlist dedicated for your workout, wake-up, get-me-out-of-the-house-on-the-right-foot routine? And another for the slower times?

Well, the good folks at the Potion Factory have churned out another quality product from their secret underground laboratories to do just that.

Tangerine is a sweet, full-service program that allows you to group your songs by beats per minute (How great is that?!).

By analyzing your song’s BPM and beat intensity, Tangerine herds songs from your iTunes Library into specified playlists.

Why wait? Go get a copy now!

These Apps Make the Switch to Mac Easy

I made the switch to Mac from Windows last May. Since then, I’ve been turned on to many programs that have made the switch painless and more enjoyable. Here’s a list of the most popular programs:

Firefox

The best switch so far. I use it on my PC and my Mac, and since I’m always between multiple computers I have Google Sync, which syncs all your saved bookmarks and most recent history from your most recent session. A no-brainer!

(To have it match the rest of your Mac programs, check out
the iFox theme.)

Smultron

Notepad is good for editing HTML and CSS, but TextEdit is just wrong. Smultron is a
great alternative; it’s free, lightweight, and shows simple
syntax highlighting. It features line numbers that
appear on the left side on the app and makes it very easy to find your own
mistakes.

Handbrake

Easily rip your favorite DVDs to your hard drive instead of carrying them with you. The software is a cinch to use and is highly regarded.

PodTube

This simple app rips YouTube videos to iTunes and your video iPod.

Adium

This fantastic, simple chat program brings all your IM accounts together. It keeps your
buddy list organized the same way it always was, and it’s wonderfully
customizable. For video chats, you can use iChat, but for everything
else there’s Adium. And how cool is their logo?!

Transmit

Here’s a pretty simple FTP client for
the Mac. Transmit makes it easy to edit the files
right from the server. It has a simple interface, and the favorites make it
really easy to work on multiple client sites without remembering
passwords. ‘Nuff said.

VLC

Quicktime is great, but even with plug-ins it can’t handle everything.
You can watch Xvid and Divx shows and movies. VLC has proven
to handle everything, and it full-screens for free!

Delicious Library

This may not be mandatory, but it is SO cool! You can scan your CDs, DVDs, and Books with your iSight camera using the barcode
scanner to have a visual view of you collection. How cool is that?!

Cashbox

Great for keeping track of your spending. Cashbox is so simple, there aren’t a lot of features you don’t need,
and it’s free!

GimmeSomeTune

Although iTunes 7 can now download your album artwork, that just can’t get it as quite right as GimmeSomeTune. If your music collection is so eclectic that only on Amazon.com has, and having artwork is essential, check this app out. Having artwork for all your CDs
is so visually pleasing, and especially great when used in Coverflow.

Transmission

If you love BitTorrent, use Transmission; You won’t go back. It’s pretty, it’s simple, and it works. What else
could you ask for?

Control MacBook Temps

The free program smcFanControl 1.2 allows users to make their laptops run cooler by resetting the fan speed defaults.

After just a few moments of use, the change in temperature was *palpable*.

iPod Subway Maps

Subway maps hand-designed for the iPod — What will they think of next?!

William "Little BIll" Bright, iSubwayMaps.com, has handcrafted 24 city maps by using many sources for reference, including Google Maps, or the onNYTurf Google NYC Subway Map and the SPUI Free Subway Map for NYC, and the official city MTA map issued from Chicago Chicago Transit Authority Map.

Cities available: Berlin, Bilbao, Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Lyon, Melbourne, Milan, Montreal, Moscow, New York City, Paris, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington D.C.

Remember to donate to important projects like this to keep them alive!

On Meeting Orphan’s Needs

My cousin Allyson is volunteering in Swaziland at an orphanage project for street kids in the small , centrally located city of Manzini. Her recent blog post on the needs of an orphan rang very true to the nature of needs that are provided to the orphans profiled in the orphanage documentary I am editing now (See trailer).

"…nutrition, sanitation, psychological and social issues, behavioral
problems, proper adult role models, the quality of education that our
children are receiving, encouraging our children to maintain a positive
relationship with their family members, and general day to day care…"

Allyson is correct, this is a quite daunting list for an organization to provide to developing children, and especially difficult in a develop nation. Most importantly, these needs must be met on a regular and consistent basis through a child’s adolescence, at the very least. But it is possible, provided the right elements and people are brought together, and held together, by a powerful enough force.

For twenty years now, the SRA Orphanage has provided those exact needs to their 60+ orphans under their care. The yoga group I have been a part of my whole life has funded this orphanage outside of Haridwar, in Northern India, through private donations and their self-generated revenue through yoga related education and retreats, and similar services.

At the moment, we’re in post-production of a documentary that will profile the daily life, as well as services and impact, that the orphanage has made to their area and population in a very measurable way. (See the "Jewel in the Jungle" trailer here.)

It truly does take a village to raise a child. But in this day and age, others are very fortunate to have their villages complemented by such global citizens committed to change through support.

Abbott & Costello Buy A Computer

For all of us who have endured the pain of starting at square one on computers, in another time and place these Greats might have summed it up like this.

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Yes, I’m setting up an office in my den and I’m thinking
about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name’s Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: No. I don’t own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name’s Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don’t know. What will I see when I look at the windows?

ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOTT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write
proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let’s say I’m
sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in "office" is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in "office" for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".

COSTELLO: I’m going to click your "blue w" if you don’t start with some straight answers! Now what about financial bookkeeping? Do you have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOT T: Money.

COSTELLO: That’s right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need Money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What’s bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn’t it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

*** A few days later ***

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on "START".

Kim Jong-Il: Size Does Not Matter

U.S. Questions Size of North Korean Nuke Blast

‘The Earth Moved,’ Claims North Korean Dictator

Just days after U.S. officials expressed their doubts about the size of
North Korea’s recent nuclear test, North Korean president Kim Jong-Il
lashed out at his American doubters today, releasing a terse statement
from Pyongyang asserting that "size does not matter."

On Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured the North
Korean nuclear blast at a magnitude of 4.2 and released the following
statement: "Based on our measurements, what Kim Jong-Il actually has is
much smaller than what he claims he has."

This statement drew a fierce rebuttal from Mr. Kim, who said that
the size of the blast did not matter, adding that other factors such as
"strength and endurance" must be taken into account when evaluating a
nuclear test.

Those comments did not go unanswered for long, however, as the USGS
responded that the blast lasted only 2.3 seconds, adding, "That may
have been good for him, but it was not good for us."

Those remarks from the USGS only seemed to inflame the mercurial
Kim, who then issued the following statement: "The undeniable truth is
that the earth moved."

Moments after Mr. Kim made his remarks, however, they were refuted
by White House spokesman Tony Snow, who made the following dismissive
comment to reporters: "The earth may have moved for him, but we were
not feeling much on this end."