softservegirl’s Neighborhood

I am preparing for 2009 - and 2009 for me is the year of mobility.  I will soon complete my 2008 goals of cellphone heaven (swtiching to AT&T and buying the best mobile phone ever - nokia n82). 

So in preparing for my mobile year, I have finally bought a foldable bike (will blog about that in my next post) and a mini-laptop that I could carry around with no more backpain.  I bought a netbook because I need something so light that I could throw in my purse while I am in a car or on my foldable bike or on public trans.  In NYC, I walk a lot and take public trans, while in CA I drive a lot and bike to destinations within a 5-10 miles radius.  I just couldn't walk around with my macbook anymore - I would go home with welts on my shoulder and extreme back-pain. 

While I love apple and love my macbook, I don't love how immobile their laptops are.  And although the macbook air is light, it still takes up too much space in my bag (plus i never buy 1st generation apple products after my macbook nigthmare).  I work in urban to rural areas and thus I value mobility and space a LOT when I am on the road.  So  the macbook air has never been an option for me.  But I have been left in a situation where I am laptop-less and therefore reliant on internet cafes - which sucks as a workplace because I'm not exactly in posh, air-conditioned environments - or I am stuck bringing my 100lbs macbook everywhere!  So now that netbooks are affordable with the option of working in a stable platform - osx - I thought it was time to invest in one!    So that's right - I am not turning into a pc chic - hell no - unless I lean how to program (which I will one day), there is no reason to ever work in windows - it's dumb, clunky and unsafe platform.  so osx + lenovo here I come! 

I settled on the Lenovo s10 for several reasons - it was fashion friendly in white, it's Lenovo - a very reliable brand, has great tactile feel to the keyboard, has the multi-touch trackpad and seems to be friendly to OSx install. 

I was thinking of buying the msi wind because it has been known as the most OSx friendly netbook, but it's around $50-$100 more than the Lenovo s10 and it has probs with the wifi with the osx install (though this seems to be easily fixable).  So I was very tempted to buy the msi Wind but as of last week, every place was out of stock on the white msi wind!  Then I read that the new msi Wind with the 6-cell was going to be release, but bloggers have complained about the new trackpad - so that worried me. Oh and I've typed on the msi wind before and I was not a fan of the keypad - too slippery.   The newest Acer Aspire 1 160G 6-cell  will be out later this month at $400 (and you can get it in white, pink and blue!), but I don't like the keypad and is not as osx friendly as the other netbooks.  And I wanted something NOW and when I pre-ordered the Acer on Amazon, I received a notice that it wouldn't be shipped until Oct. 21-25 - I could not wait that long!  The Dell Inspiron was also an option - but it was priced around $500 and was also not as osX friendly. So the decision seemed very obvious for me to just go with the Lenovo. 
 
Some features with my thoughts after 1 day of use:

• 1.6GHz N270 Intel Atom Processor - AWESOME

• 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz - OKK

• Windows XP Home Edition (SP3) - ICKKK HATE WINDOWS - SUPER PIG FAIL

• 10.2" WSVGA AntiGlare TFT with integrated camera 1024x600 - LOVE THE CAMERA!
  

• 80GB 5400rpm hard drive - THIS MAY BE A PROBLEM FOR SOME PEOPLE, BUT THIS IS MY MOBILE LAPTOP AND I WILL BE WORKING MOSTLY OUT OF GOOGLE DOCS AND TRANSFERRING TO USB DRIVE IF NEEDED - MY MACBOOK IS STILL MY MAIN LAPTOP WITH MY PHOTOS AND ETC
  

• Intel GMA 950 Integrated Graphics - LOOKS GREAT TO ME

•  Broadcom 11b/g Wi-Fi wireless and Bluetooth

• 4-in-1 Media card reader and ExpressCard slot

• 3-Cell Li-ion battery - 3-CELL DEF NOT ENOUGH - I NEED TO BUY ANOTHER 6-CELL SOON!

• Size: 9.8" x 7.2" x 1.2" (including feet) - LOVELY - JUST LOVELY
  

• Weight: 2.64 lbs (with 3-cell battery) - SO LIGHT I LOVE YOU BUT YOUR BATTERY LIFE SUCKS!!!!  
  

• Starting price: $439 (with 512MB RAM and 80GB hard drive)  - MUST BUY MORE RAM NOW - AT 512RAMS I CAN't EVEN PROPERTY RUN SKYPE!
  

For some tech-intense reviews, check out the following blogs that have reviewed the Lenovo s10, LapTop Mag, Gizmodo, Geek, Notebook Review, DigitGeek, cNEt, and the mobile Experience.   and wired says it's the best netbook to date!   

I finally played wii sports this weekend when we went to see Ellen and the kids.
I found out that I have a perfect center - do you know HOW IMPOSSIBLE this is?  Well I didn't know it was that hard until they told me that it's very hard to get exactly 50% on each side.
Oh and my wii fit age is 26 years old - yeahhh younger than real life age!

Now I thought my favorite game would be hula hooping, but it turns out that I suck at it.
Look at the difference when kenyatta hulas - he's so compact!  he can do 308 spins while I can only do max 89 in the same amount of time. guhhh I suck at this!  I look like a drunk cow on it while kenyatta looks like a cute twisting bunny.

I saw this on computer love - a newly discovered site thanks to kenyatta - it has a great collection of graphic design love.

If someone knows who the designer of this beautiful bunny art, please tell me!
Computer Love didn't link to the designer!

Yet another proof of the inevitable demarcation between journalism's concept of "objectivity" and an interview subject.  Especially while interviewing Lou Reed:

Pitchfork TV is screening a video on "The Gits", a music documentary film, for one week only.  "The Gits" is about a popular punk band in Seattle during the early '80s, whose lead singer, Mia Zapata, was brutally raped and murdered.   The music is amazing, and Zapata had incomparable promise.  Both sad and riveting.

Gitsogbig

A writer for the online version of the National Review, David Freddoso, has a new book out, "The Case Against Barack Obama", which stakes a conservative claim on Obamamania.  Partisan opposition nonwithstanding, it is noticeable that the Democratic presidential candidate has much splendid rhetoric, without quite the track record to back him up, as of yet.  Regardless of whether he wins the November election or not, this campaign has probably been an experience in itself for the Illinois Senator.  Although probably not quite as comparably so, as it has been for Sarah Palin. 

Obama

Apparently, the Dept. of Homeland Security has paired up with the long-adored children's show Sesame Street to bring reassurance to younger children as far as feeling safe in this world and help their parents prepare in case of emergencies. 

In a statement by Grover in this article from a pamphlet titled, "Let's Get Ready", Grover says, “I, your furry, blue friend Grover, have a story to share.  Are you wondering what it is about?  I will give you an itty-bitty hint: It is about getting ready for emergencies!  Oh boy, that was a big hint.  Do you want to get ready, too?  You do?  Oh, I am so pleased.  Then read this story with me, and let us get ready together!”

Well, at least Grover has it together. 

Homeland sec.

Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed on Sept 23, 2008 at 7pm.   Last year he was scheduled to die on July 17th, 2007 - but with enough protests, emails, and phone calls, the Georgia Board of Pardons held off on his execution date.  The Georgia Supreme Court refused his stay request, and now we have a few more hours to hear what the US Supreme Court has to say.

After his request was filled for a stay by the Georgia Board of Pardons last year,  Amnesty International has been working hard in this corrupt-against-blacks US system and most recently he was denied clemency again on Sept 12 - so he is still scheduled to die on Sept 23, 2008.   The worst part is that Georgia is 1 of 3 states where the governor can't grant clemency, so really all appeals must be made to the George Board of Pardons.

Just keep in mind that with enough protests from citizens and organizations, his execution was held off last year.  It can happen again this year.  Please find a way to do something about this - e-mail, blog, vlog, twitter, flickr, change your ghcat-im status - whatever you can do!

More than 20,000 people signs petitions. " Four thousand letters were received by the board written on his behalf, including letters written by Desmond Tutu, Harry Belafonte, and former FBI director William Sessions.[6] Sister Helen Prejean, Amnesty International US director Larry Cox, and the Council of Europe all spoke out against the planned execution.[7] The Vatican's nuncio to the U.S., Monsignor Martin Krebs, sent a letter on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI to Governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue urging him to spare Davis's life."  <h href="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Anthony_Davis"from wikipedia

This is what ex-FBI director, William S. Sessions, has to say about the case.

for more info, read this recent NY Times article.

Amnesty Intl provides clear instructions on how to protest this.
__________________________
written on July 16th, 2007

The execution of Troy Anthony Davis is set for tomorrow, July 17th.  Send an e-mail to protest it.

Amnesty International says that &quot;Troy Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of Police Officer Mark Allen McPhail in Georgia. The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the trial. Since then, all but two of the state's nine non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted their testimony. Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis.&quot;

I understand the reality of stopping this will probably not materialize (which brings me back to when I angrily wrote about Stanley "Tookie" William's execution a few years ago) - but silence is worse - and even if his execution isn't stopped tomorrow, at least the Georgia state will see the intense the opposition is and *may* prompt them or some individuals to re-think the death-row policy.

Davis's case is especially apalling in the high error of its evidence (purported witnesses), and even members of Congress have written to Georgia's Board of Pardons.  &quot;Nobel-prize winner Rev. Desmond Tutu, singer Harry Belafonte, actor Mike Farrell, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Sister Helen Prejean, Sam D. Millsap, Jr. (former D.A. of Bexar County, TX), record producer and activist Russell Simmons and Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation are among those who have voiced support for clemency.&quot; (From Amnesty Intl)

So send an e-mail or fax to Georgia's Board of Pardons.  Amnesty makes this very easy - you can do it all online here

the show is just a few days away.  but in front of me is "bug-out" - an affectionate term we use at the restaurant to describe the process of taking everything (and i mean, EVERYTHING) from the inside of the place into the office so that the exterminators can, well, exterminate.  two days that are a bit long to say the least. 

but i have a job.  and i like the job.  and the people.  so i am not really complaining.  perhaps just mentally preparing myself for the days ahead.  filled with lots of work and joy.  as i told one co-worker today...don't lose your joy.  so easy to say...