Give me wifi, good wifi

I have had a laptop now for about four days and I have already developed a pet peeve. If I am going to pay for wireless access, it should at least be decent wireless. I am not saying it has to be super fast, but it should at least stay connected for more than five minutes.

A coworker and I both have been extremely frustrated trying to use the internet in the hotel and we’ve both been tempted to ask for a refund. It’s a small amount, but I don’t think I’ve received $5 worth of internet.

Got It

The MacBook Pro has arrived.

On Friday I went to the Galleria and shopped for a MacBook Pro. My goal was to decide between the MacBook and the Pro, immediately seeing the glossy screen as a problem. To me, for reading text, the glossy screen just had too much glare and I can’t imagine trying to use it outdoors. The keyboard on the MacBook was interesting and seemed easy enough to use. The keys themselves are smaller than the Pro and are recessed down into the chassis of the laptop. I did not mind that, but the Pro’s keyboard just seemed easier to use.

The last thing that sold me was the RAM in the MacBook. By default it ships with 512MB but the catch is the fact that it’s spread over two 256MB chips. If you want to upgrade, you have to buy at least two 512 chips to get the full GB of RAM.

Needless to say, I decided on the Pro and I am getting all of my software setup to work the way I want it to. I accidentally set iPhoto to auto-associate itself with my camera and now I cannot figure out how to get it to stop. It’s not that I mind iPhoto, I just don’t want to experience any of the horror stories I’ve read about the library becoming corrupted.

A little side story about my purchase experience. I arrived at the Apple store at 8:30pm, they close at 9pm. I shopped and compared until 8:45pm and decided on the Pro and asked if they could install the RAM that evening. The salesperson was nice and told me they could. He ran to the back to the MacBook Pro and I waited in line to pay. As I came to the register, the time was right at 9pm. The sales person told the manager that he was going to have some RAM installed to which the manager replied, “No, clock-out and leave, they can bring it tomorrow”. I was taken off guard by this because of Apple’s usually great customer service, especially in store. Well, I just decided I would install the RAM myself and headed home. Getting home and opening up the box and popping open the screen for the first time I realized they sent me home with a glossy screen MacBook Pro, something that was not even supposed to be in stores yet. Needless to say, I went back to the store where a group of employees gathered around to see the first glossy MBP in the store. They were really nice and quickly got me a matte screen MBP and installed the RAM, a much better experience the second time around.

Being in Houston wears thin

I have been in Houston since June 4th working on training and meeting with the office management down here to discuss things like Sharepoint and some project management issues.

Quite frankly I’m ready to get back to Dallas. It is not that I hate Houston, I am just ready to get in a groove of work that does not involve an extended stay hotel. I figure that if I am paying for an apartment I should at least use it.

I won’t be back in Dallas until the evening of the 23rd. Up to that point I am trying to find interesting (cheap) things to do in the Houston area. Since I grew up here I’ve seen most of the tourist attractions that the people I am here with want to see.

Run! It’s a hurricane, I mean tropical storm, I mean…

Last night I turned on the television in the hotel hoping to see some interesting news around the country and the world. Instead I was hit in the face with hours upon hours of nothing but Tropical Storm Alberto coverage.

I understand why they are doing this, to make sure that people are aware of what is going on and keep them up to date, but do we really need to have reporters standing on the edge of the ocean telling us that it

Not having a laptop and traveling

So far this has been the toughest thing to deal with while traveling. Not having a quick and easy way to check my e-mail, read the news, or blog while in the hotel makes me feel disconnected. Even though that sounds awful it is completely true, and it’s amazing how much I take for granted on a day-to-day basis without a laptop.

This is why a MacBook Pro is so appealing right now. I will be buying one as soon as I can.

The Evidence Bible

I thought that this was interesting. It is 15 scientific facts from the Bible.

One of the facts, is that there is proof of a revolving Earth in the Bible. Luke 17:34-36 describes the Second Coming of Christ happening while some people are in bed and others are working in the fields.

Don’t really know why I made this post. I just thought it was interesting that long before Philolaus was even a thought in his parent’s eyes.