Drink the slag
Mr Cook was kind enough to point out that the iPod getting .wma has been debunked by, well, HP themselves. Would have been really surprised if anything different had come of the situation, due to the format wars. But I could see how you might not want to use iTunes/AAC, but do want an iPod.
From Apples current fiscal filings, they're almost selling as many iPods as they are Macs for the quarter. Something like 700k+. Scary. Of course their sales have dropped to 20% share, I believe. I like the new mini, but damn, if they could have gone 1gig instead of 2gig, and gotten it down to $199 or $189 I'd be a much happier camper for the long term.
At any rate, it turns out I'm going to see the Canucks again next week for a quick 2 day trip to Toronto. Leaving friday morning, getting back saturday night. Knowing my lucky with flights, and the fact that you're flying into Chicago in the winter... I'm expecting to get home Sunday. Know what I mean, aye?
One of the things I always laugh about there is the coffee I end up drinking, made by some specific developers of indian descent. It's crazy... you're pretty much one step away from sucking straight grounds. I drink a lot of coffee in a day, and like a nice, strong brew. You know, throw an extra scoop in, and I'm not counting out the beans when I'm throwing in the grinder.
I'm not one of those "use the same amount of grounds, but half the water" type of people, at least not yet. I have some friends like that, there's on in particular in Texas who does that, who takes it a step above everyone else I know... he'll let it sit in the damn pot for a few hours, getting nice and toasty. Lord, but I digress.
So I'm not super particular about my coffee. I'll take extra strong over weak any day, but its not a big deal. But these indian developers just kind of freak me out with what they make. I haven't actually taken the time to ask them, but I believe it involves a french press of some sort and an insane amount of grounds, as its viscosity almost allows a spoon to stand straight up in it.
I also know there are two different types of coffee that get made in that office: the ones the developers drink, and the pot the secretary makes that everyone else seems to drink. I've only had one cup of the normal office brew, which tasted normal, as there always seems to be some occasion for one of the developers to be dropping off a cup of whatever the hell it is they're making.
What gets even weirder is that it doesn't seem to be some ethnic indian blend- the first time I had it my eyebrows shot up (I was trying to resist turning the cup outside down to see if it would stay) and the developer said "Yes, like Turkish" with a smile and then went to his cubicle. So apparently Turkish coffee is basically chewed grounds of some sort.
On another note, this is kinda disturbing: (Carnival Booth Algorithm) It makes some good points on how to beat a system like this, but still, creepy. Snippet:
In an article in Slate magazine, Microsoft Chief Architect Charles Simonyi related his experience of being flagged by CAPS.[16]During a routine business trip, security personnel insisted on completely unpacking and repacking all of his carryon bags. This happened time after time. ”Then it hit me,” Simonyi writes. “It was not that security was especially tight: It was only me they wanted. The label my friendly hometown airline had affixed to my bags had unexpectedly made me a marked man, someone selected for some unknown special treatment.” The bottom line is that if CAPS flag you, you’ll be treated differently, and you’ll know it.
Posted by drunkenbatmanJanuary 14, 2004, at 09:02 PM
