Went out and got the updater for Mac OS X (10.1) this morning. It was a bit of an ordeal, but thankfully not excessively so.
I figured I'd head on over to MicroCenter since it is large and nearby my house and upon arrival (at about 10:20am) was told "Don't have any. FedEx didn't bring any. Should have some later today." I didn't even have to open my mouth. The staff there must recognize me (I don't even go there that often) and knew the reason I was in the store -- much like all the other Mac geeks who walked in moments behind me and were greeted with the same news. The predictable look of patience-worn-thin and hopes-dashed-upon-rocks masked by the struggle to maintain an outward appearance of the opposite of such feelings was sadly humorous. I lingered for a bit, mulling over how badly I wanted the upgrade -- was it worth driving to the Mall of America Apple Store and risk having them be out of stock or driving over to CompUSA (which I normally do not patronize) and chance a replay of recent events ("don't have any...").
I decided to drive over to CompUSA and see what was up...

Plus, it was quite a bit closer to my house than MOA. There were a few people in the department, one fellow and his son I recognized from MicroCenter, and an "Apple Rep" on hand. There were full versions of 10.1 on the shelf. People were looking confused and befuddled. Some were walking away in disappointment. CompUSA, in their decision-making process, somehow decided that this FREE upgrade directly from Apple would carry the stipulation that you had to have proof of purchase to receive the discs --- even though the Apple Store itself (and all other authorized resellers) were just handing them out to anybody who needed it ('cuz it don't work so good if you don't already have the full version installed!)
AUGH! I was stunned into surprise at this requirement as the news of the upgrade was all over the web and there was no mention of proof-of-purchase. I talked firmly to the Apple Rep and informed him of the lack of public information regarding any such policy and he went off into the back of the store to check things with his manager.
To his great credit (what a nice guy!) he came back and said, "You were right about there not being any stipulations published. I'd rather have my boss get mad at me than have all you Mac users mad at me. Here you go, have fun." I smiled broadly, thanked him heartily, and tried not to sprint out of the store and drive recklessly back to my house while trying to read the documentation enclosed in the upgrade packet.
The upgrade seems to have gone smoothly and it took about an hour of complete time to get the entire upgrade process done (this is on an older beige G3 with a G4 upgrade so it's not the fastest machine). Should've probably taken about 15-20 minutes on a new machine. The system does run quite a bit faster and better than before. IE5 used to take about 20 bounces before it would run, now it takes 6. Right on. That's about how much more responsive the system performs.
Thanks, Apple! Thanks CompUSA Apple Rep!

Finally, Mac OS X version 10.1 will be available (FREE, no less) on Saturday morning at local authorized resellers. Speed increases of 2 to 3x over the existing version -- wow. I sure hope so as this would make it a daily-use OS. Plus it can finally play DVDs and a bunch of other cool features have been fixed or worked in to the release. Yeeeha. Good news, eh?

ohmigosh. There is a new version of the trailer for the Lord of the Rings out and it is stunning! Simply amazing. Breathtaking. And I'm restraining my excitement in describing it, even. whoa. I'm not gonna get my expectations up too high, though, as I did with Star Wars Episode I. I just can't do that. No no no.
The main site is here but it is probably overloaded -- keep trying and try later. It is worth it.

I got up early this morning and went outside to the very brisk pre-Autumn air and did some work on the house.
First off, I used some of that spray insulation foam to seal up a few holes in the north side window frames. They'll probably have to be replaced sometime next year, but this will do for now (those darn woodpeckers!). I also attempted to seal up some holes in the garage (those darn chipmunks!)
Then I got really ambitious and got out my new extension ladder and some gloves and a big plastic scoop and I cleaned out my gutters. Yuck. Black, wet, smelly decaying leaves and dirt and those gross earwig beetle things -- ACK! But I wanted to get them all cleaned out before I put the new gutter covers on before the leaves start falling from the trees. And I got it done! Whoo-hoo.
Oh, and I drained out my hose and put that all away, too.
Upon checking my email when I got back inside, my friend Glenn had sent me a song from their wedding. Funny entertaining stuff. Thanks, Glenn.

I went to a funeral today for a woman I'd say I hardly knew. Yet I felt as though I had known her well and cared about her. Last week, Alice McNear Carlson passed on from cancer. By all reports she was full of life and love right until the very end. It was a deeply moving funeral ceremony this afternoon but it was joyous and touching and I could barely keep from crying. Relatives and friends rose and spoke of the greatness of this remarkable woman and you could tell that there was no bit of exaggeration and plenty of overwhelming love and respect and gratefulness towards Alice.
Alice was the godmother of my friend Laura and the two of them had a special bond. But Alice also somehow made special bonds with everybody else she met as well. And I don't think she really set out to do so, it was just her nature.
I probably spent less than a few dozen times in her company but she had a profound impact on me. She shared her love of art which her brother (Everett McNear) was most passionate about creating; she shared her love of nature and animals; love of the big bright moon hanging overhead on a starry night (she claimed the moon was hers, '); love of her relatives and friends and their lives; love of travelling around the world. She was dignified, polite, cheerful, spunky, generous to a fault, involved, hip, cool and beautiful. She always served tea and cookies.
I will miss her, in the way that you regretfully miss someone you hardly knew but wished you knew better. The way you miss someone that you know darn well made the world a better place.
Here is a poem that Alice wrote and it was on the cover of the service program:

The sun throws its iridescent light upon the restless turbulent sea. Waves tumble and break upon the rocks, tossing the spray, leaving a waterfall as they depart to rush a sandy shore. A light rain falling, a faint rainbow in the sky, I sit transfixed; the waves assault my rock. My tears have joined the vastness: and I am free!
-Alice McNear Carlson

this might just be crazy enough to work -- hit 'em with music instead of firepower! Henry Rollins was speaking on tour back in 1999 in relation to other conflicts in the MidEast, but still mightly applicable in my opinion. Why not listen to what he says and see if you don't agree? You'll have to right-click (cmd-click) on this link and save the file to your drive.
Universal Vibe.mp3 (about 3 megs).

Waaayyy too much talk of war going around the media. But why does it only seem to be coming from the talking heads and politicians? Most people I interact with are in no way supportive of war or retaliation bombings or killing more people. Thankfully, most of my friends realize the folly that path -- shifting the pain and suffering and death to another country solves nothing. In fact, it would only create more people who have intense dislike for the USA and that is something we certainly don't need to encourage.
Stop and THINK. Think hard. Feel those feelings, deep in your heart, about the tragedy in NY? Do you really recognize them? You do, on some level, you do. Those feelings are why we cannot reciprocate. Get past the anger. Engage your heart and your brain. Make sure the heart part is really functioning, ok? Please?

Just heard a plane fly over towards the MSP airport -- and it made me pause in my tracks and just stand and listen. Odd, how one event can change your reaction to something so mundane as air traffic.

September 11, 01 - 10:00am CST
I don't watch TV or read newspapers or listen to much talk radio, so it was with great amazement that I slowly realized what had actually happened to the USA this morning.
I was just checking a few of my regular websites prior to heading to the doctor's office and thought I'd check out scripting.com, a favorite of mine. Dave Winer, who runs the site, had a link titled "Is the US at war?" and then a picture of the WTC in flames and smoke. Underneath these were numerous other links to the unfolding story.
It just didn't register. No, this wasn't real, it was an elaborate hoax by the media and the movie industry, something bigger and more realistic than "War of the Worlds" and we were all being duped. This was unbelievable that they could pull off this sort of stunt with such realism. Which movie or event was this all for?! How did they pull it off without the event leaking out?
Then it started sinking in -- this was no pretend world. This was our world, right now, in shocking horrific technicolor reality. It was unthinkable. Two commercial airliners, apparently hijacked, sent crashing into each of the two World Trade Towers. No, wait -- another aircraft sent crashing into the Pentagon. Another crash in Pennsylvania. Perhaps two other planes unaccounted for (one of which has apparently crashed at Camp David). It just can't be fathomed.
The nation has grounded all flights and here in Minneapolis, it is an eerie (and yet horribly wonderful) thing -- the skies are completely clear of planes and it is noticably quiet. Very quiet. Even traffic on the highways and freeways seems slower and more polite.
I had to leave for my appoinment, located down across from the Mall of America. I circled around the Mall and it was just being finished evacuated. How odd, to see the place devoid of people and cars. The alarming thing was the presence of heavily armed guards (National Guard? Riot Police?) at each entrance. Guys with really big guns.
Things like this really get me worked up -- I get very nervous and fidgety and panicky and have cold sweats and such (I suffer from panic attacks from time to time) and right now I am fighting back the urge to just burst into uncontrollable sobbing at the tragedy.
For the future I worry as well. Reactions will likely be: let's get revenge and let's tighten down this place so nobody can pull such actions again. Neither of these responses is wholly correct. Vengeful retaliations will only fan the flames and show that, yes, they got to us. Locking down the nation will only create fear and loathing in the populace due to restricted personal freedoms. The better response is to learn from the event, band together in mass strength and heal and lead by example and support one another in growth and love. If we are vengeful or apathetic, we are weak.

see the following links
http://www.scripting.com
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~yodio/WTC.html
http://archive.nandotimes.com/photopage/
http://www.scripting.com/images/esbCamWtcAftermath.gif