NSLog();

I've played a few games of Guess the Google, and it's a nice niche-time activity. You know, those two minute blocks you have between activities. I've seen some of the same arrays of pictures a few times and still can't guess the word. My high score is 289. With 10 questions and a maximum score of 40 per question (20 for getting it right, and a 20 second backwards counter as the time limit), the high scores are a seemingly impossible 395.

I don't remember reading that Apple had moved away from PDF as the default screen capture, but every time I capture a screen in Tiger I get a PNG. I'm not sure how I feel about this yet, but I do know I don't remember reading about it.

I'd like to do a nightly backup from one hard drive to another. For years, I've used psync to do this, but it tends to leave empty folders on the destination disk where applications used to be.

It was as simple as this:
/usr/local/bin/psync -d -q / /Volumes/DiskTwo

NSLog(@"Finish Reading %d Words", 215); »

Question: Do you like Dashboard?

My Answer: No. I want that stupid metal "dash" to be visible at all times. Until Dashboard offers that as a feature, well, I'm not sure it's very useful to me.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

The home inspector called back with the results of the 48-hour Radon reading. He said the basement had an average of 2.7 pCi/l. We had a low of 0.7 and a high of 5.8. Anything beneath 4.0 the EPA considers "OK."

I don't particularly like the thoughts of even 2.7, though I realize that's pretty low and that if you don't spend much time in the basement (our laundry room is upstairs, but we may some day finish the basement), you don't have much risk even above 4.0.

So, I've installed Tiger. I'll update this list as I find things out. Not much is surprising, as I've been playing with Tiger for awhile now.

• The Delicious Library widget doesn't seem to work.
• Why can't I make it so that the dashboard "dash" stays visible all the time?
• I "imported" my settings and things from the other (my backup) disk. Now I've gotta find a good nightly backup script. I dunno if psync will cut it. It tends to leave empty folders, particularly in the /Applications directory.
• Yes, moving your mouse around and looking up words is fun.
• All Freshly Squeezed Software goodies work except Recent Tunes.
• Had to reinstall USB Overdrive X, but that's it so far.
• For some reason, the sound effect you get when you copy files, empty the trash, etc. does not play through my SoundSticks. I've reset the Sound settings several times. Magically started working. Nice new emptry trash sound. Does anyone else get a nifty sound when they move a file?
• ASCIIMoviePlayer continues to work. 🙂
• Gee, I wonder what Spotlight blacklists will be used for…
• There's a lot more blue ("% Nice") showing up in my Activity Monitor.
• Holding option down when starting Entourage no longer launches the Database repair thingy?
• My v600 works with iSync now. Of course, after accidentally syncing 2000 contacts the first time around, I set up a "Phone Buddies" list and will synchronize only that set now.
• I'm getting sick of Safari asking me to "Continue" when I download an application on a .dmg.

As I said, more to come as I play around some more.

Amazon screwed the pooch a bit, so I'm downloading Tiger from my developer account. Despite the warning that "Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger Build 8A428 is a pre-release version of Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger," it is the same.

Absolutely no stores in the Erie area carry Tiger. None. The closest copy I can imagine is about two hours away (the Cleveland Apple store).

I'm still not 100% sure whether I'm going to completely erase the drive and reinstall everything. I believe I might, if I can stomach doing the work. I would just clone one hard drive to another, then erase and install and slowly move things back. I've got all weekend, after all. Right? 😛

Question: Are you running Tiger yet?

My Answer: No. Apparently my copy won't arrive until May 5. 😛

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

I bought QuickTime Pro 3. Then 4, then 5, then 6, if I remember correctly (one of them may have been a free upgrade). Now I have to buy QuickTime Pro 7, too, and there's no upgrade pricing available? What if I buy Tiger (which I will obviously be doing)?

WTF?

I'm redesigning the site today. NSLog(); will, if all goes as planned, be green and grey in a few hours. In the meantime, please don't mind the mess. Comments and things should continue to work, but I'm offering no guarantees.

I'll update this post when I'm through. First step is an hour or so in Potatoshop.

Update: I'm going golfing instead. I'll finish this later tonight.
Update #2: Back from golf, back to Potatoshop. Site will start being mucked with very soon.
Update #3: Pretty much done. Still need to get the search page, any remaining little issues, and Judi is helping me with IE's retarded box model.

Carey and I had the home on which we have a contract inspected yesterday by Pillar to Post inspector Dave Sperring. Let me first say that Dave, though a bit nervous at first, did a stellar job. I'd recommend him - as I'm doing right now - to anyone. Dave is new to the area (or at least to Pillar to Post and home inspections), but when Carey called, his wife Holly answered all of the questions well. Our inspection came with a CD we've not looked at, digital pictures of some problem areas, a complete walk-through, and easy-to-read printouts detailing every inch of the home.

NSLog(@"Finish Reading %d Words", 286); »

I'm considering purchasing a Dyson DC-14 Animal (the purple one, and not the DC-07). It retails for $550 but is on sale somewhere for $450. I have a 15% off coupon and I would save another 10% if I put the purchase on a new store credit card.

($550-$100) * 0.85 * 0.90 = $344.25 (or, if I can be smooth about it, $450 * 0.75 = $337.50).

I've heard both good and bad things about the Dyson. The good is what you've heard: it works really well. The bad: that it's just a marketing ploy, and that even Consumer Reports rated Hoover WindTunnels and some other vacuums higher than the renowned Dyson.

For $350, one of the negatives is removed - high cost. What do you think?

P.S. I have a Weimaraner, of course, and the new house is wall-to-wall carpet except the kitchen, bathrooms, and entryway.

Question: At how many miles per hour above the speed limit do you set the cruise control?

My Answer: Four.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Question: Are you happy with your current job?

My Answer: Yes. But it won't be current much longer. 😉

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Today I drove past "my" house and looked again for a "SOLD" or at least a "Sale Pending" sign. No sign to be seen.

I called the listing agent and pretended to be interested in the property. She told me the specs - the price, the # of bedrooms, the square footage, etc. I asked to see the house Thursday (the inspection is Thursday at 3:30) and she said "well, we have a deposit down, but nothing is final and "they" are having an inspection done on Thursday. I told her I'd call her back on Friday to see how it goes.

I suppose that all of this is normal, but it still feels somewhat odd having an agent tell you that your house - the one for which you've signed a contract and taken out a mortgage - is still not yours, and in fact is one she still thinks she may show to other people. How many deals fall through at this stage?

The first house Carey and I looked at, we were told "they've signed the contract, sorry" well before the inspection was done. Oh well. Maybe after Thursday the seller will put a darn "Sale Pending" sign up. 😛