MAGGI PICAYUNE

How fitting! During a weekend of celebrating all the good news Somara and I received from work…and may not stop for a while…it’s the birthday of a little guy who probably doesn’t remember us eight years ago in Phoenix. We do though. He was only two so it’s alright, most people’s memories don’t kick in until later in their development.

I think he’s getting to the age when iTunes certificates are fine. The last thing I ever recall giving him was this killer Ben 10 gizmo for kids; a decent replica of the omnimatrix the main character wears.

I know there was talk about his dad (Steve) coming down in the near future for a comic-book function. I need to see if this is still happening and if he’ll be bringing the not-so-little dude in two. Chance won’t be bored at our place. We have a Wii and PS3 with Rock Band gear, including the Beatles and Lego!

Hopefully we’ll catch some photos.

Yesterday was the birthday of a really great person and incredibly talented artist, my friend Rob who goes by the nickname Lazz (it’s derived from his Italian surname, the best kind to have!).

If you’re into D&D, you often see his work, namely maps.

Currently, Lazz’s work is seen in the Pathfinder line of products which are superior than WOTC’s these days.

Drop him a line should you know him or better yet, buy something he made the map for!

Hopefully, this post will get Lazz’s attention and he’ll contact me as well! I miss him and his sharp wit.

The last several weeks have been hectic yet one good outcome from the stress was all the recent windfalls of savings/refunds we’ve received. We managed to almost cut our home-insurance premium in half (the sleazebags at Travelers jacked it 19 percent!) and Somara got a substantial refund for the X-rays she underwent in the Spring.

As tempting as it seemed, we could’ve bought at least one iPad (or two unitasker Kindles my friend prefers). Instead we dropped it on our Vegas pad. We’ve been making a stronger effort to pay it off sooner now that it’s our lowest debt plus it will be even more enjoyable when it’s no longer a monthly obligation.

According to Jose’s last FaceBook posting and some quick text-based messages, he and Nancy are currently driving in I-10 which would be the westward highway out of Florida via the panhandle. Optimistic about a quick visit, I asked if they were head for Houston. From there they could go North via I-45 to Big D, Northwest via 71 to Austin (the best choice!) or seriously detour with more of I-10 to San Antonio, then go North on I-35 through Austin and eventually hit Dallas.

It was “no” on any hopes of I-10 any further than Louisiana. The goal was to make it further North and take I-20 to Dallas; the route I know Somara and I have taken from our 1999 road trip.

Bummer.

At least I remembered that on this day five years ago, we met up in Las Vegas to party down with his friends Glenn and another gentleman I can’t remember. I do recall this guy was a PR friend of Jose’s from high school, he caused friction with Glenn and he brought along his dad. I arrived first so I spent a couple hours trying to stay awake in McCarron’s baggage claim using the airport’s free wireless to write on my blog-based site while it was in its infancy. Once the Hoser showed up, the party got rolling! A fantastic time was had by all and damn it was hot out there.

This morning, all the rain from Saturday finally brought its “reward.” The outside temperature was in the upper Fifties/Teens and I had a sore throat…nice. Our house will need a couple days of us opening the windows to air out the insulation and adjust, otherwise, the AC will keep kicking in when we don’t need it.

Fall in Central Texas is a favorite time here. The climate is great. It’s not too hot, nowhere close to being cold and the moisture doesn’t contribute to the discomfort. Best of all, the central-air isn’t kicking in all the time, raising the noise level in my house.

Hopefully Jose and Nancy will give further updates on their progress through the Southern Land That Time Forgot or The Party of No’s Stronghold #1.

At my primary job, I wear my badge on a lanyard. That way I can find it easily and not worry about losing the darn thing. It’s long enough to reach over for a reader to let me into the vital areas I need to enter Apple. After work, I continue wearing it until I get home. Then I hang it on a hook we have with the keys. Easy to locate. Recently I decorated the lanyard element will these cool pins from Waterloo Records and Freebirds. Most are favorite bands: Roxy Music, David Bowie, Dead Weather, Deathcab For Cutie and T Rex.

I often still have it around my neck when I go shopping before home. This only becomes awkward when I’m at Waterloo Records. Occasionally other shoppers ask me questions, thinking I’m an employee. Flattered, I show them the Apple element and tell them, thanks but I can just offer an opinion.

Today I didn’t count on being approached for technical support by complete strangers yet I think this shirt is to blame. Firstly, it’s red which probably wasn’t a smart move at Target. The other was it saying “Nerd.” Thus, the one older lady asks me, “are you a nerd?” Puzzled, I said, “No. I just like the cartoon character.” Unfazed, she continues to ask me about getting a backup solution for her new computer. Somara is busy shopping and I’m not having any luck finding what I was interested in so I figure, sure, I can try. “What do you have?” It goes downhill from there. “A Dell portable with Windows 7.” I explain that I’m probably not a good source being an Apple employee; the best solution is get a refund, buy a MacBook and an external hard drive, problem solved. However, I quiz her further. It seems in order to save dough, Dell blasts the drive and tells their customers they need to immediately image the contents, OS and all. There’s no restoration media, OEM version of Windows, zilch. I lead her and her friend to the hard drive aisle. I find a decently priced Maxtor hard drive which is 1 TB in size. The box states it includes software to do what she wants (I have no idea if it works though). This results in a comment of, “I work at UT so I can get that cheaper down there.” Fist of Death is rising now. I closed with a suggestion, “Why don’t you ask ACITS (what UT’s IT department used to be called when I had friends working there) and see what they use?” I follow it up with a quick lecture on the importance of rescuing what’s vital since I listed the most common files my friends’ recovery business gets. I close with the caveat about backing up what she doesn’t want to lose or it’s $400.

Was I wasting my time? Probably. It reminded me of the futility on helping my mother with her Mac regarding anything. At least my father had a clue being a real IT/programming person.

Next time I wear my cool Dexter’s Laboratory shirt, it needs a corollary like this one.