Archive for July, 2003
So Belated
Thursday, July 31st, 2003A dozen roses + Isabella’s Italian Trattoria + two cute guys = hopefully a wonderful belated birthday luncheon for Rianna.
Mark recommended this restaurant and the food rivaled the hype. The skinny bread sticks amused Ryan. The extra virgin olive oil and vinegar for the house bread went down fighting the taste buds. My order of Chicken Panini emanated rich flavor.
As expected, great convo on pissy subjects (politics, life, religion) in celebration of Rianna made for a most memorable moment.
Survey
Thursday, July 31st, 2003Courtesy of Riawwwnna
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What’s on your bedside table?
Books (NLT Bible, In Search of Authentic Faith, Everyday Apocalypse, Jesus Freaks Vol. II, !Hero promotional issue), an alarm clock, a dry-erase board and assorted dry-erase pens, tissues, and a lamp. -
What’s the geekiest part of your music collection?
Anything ska that somehow escaped my command+delete. -
What do you eat when you raid the fridge at night?
Since I buy all of my food now, I refrain from raiding the fridge because, most likely, there is not anything to pillage. Eating three hours before you sleep is bad, regardless. -
What is your secret guaranteed weeping film?
The opening scene of Saving Private Ryan was the only movie where I remember crying. Eight Legged Freaks was so bad that I wanted to cry over the money ($1.50) I spent to see it. -
If you could have plastic surgery, what would you have done?
I am not sure if it is considered plastic surgery because they function fine, but I would have my knees fixed of their crazy dislocation thing. -
Do you have a completely irrational fear?
I once purchased a biological/chemical warfare mask from Fry’s Electronics. But I helped fight terrorism because I spent money like a good materialistic American, as my President asked. -
What is the little physical habit that gives away your insecure moments?
Ignoring eye contact is the easiest way to identify that I am nervous. -
Do you ever have to beg?
Only to family members. -
Do you have too many love interests?
Not going there… -
Do you know anyone famous?
Aaron Adams and Alex Schoknecht (Apple Switch), Bill Scott (ZJAM). So, no, I really do not know anyone famous, but I have met several of my favorite music artists. -
Describe your bed.
Couch with full size Serta fold out. -
Spontaneous or plan?
I like routine with time allotted for spontaneous adventures. -
Who should play you in a movie about your life?
With a television commercial done and an official invite from the Screen Actors Guild, I would play me in a movie about my life. -
Do you know how to play poker?
No, but I like Uno, Phase-10, Skip-bo, and Cribbage. -
What do you carry with you at all times?
My cell phone and wallet are always with me. If I have my mini-backpack, my Palm, iPod, sketchbook, Brita water bottle, hand sanitizer, Listerine strips, Burt’s Bees lip stuff also come along. -
How do you drive?
I almost always go the speed limit and sometimes five MPH over. Ryan will probably tell you that I (and everyone else) am a horrible driver, but he hates riding in the passenger side seat. Josh has called me out on changing lanes while going through an intersection far too often. -
What do you miss most about being little?
My mom. -
Are you happy with your given name?
I *love* my name, except when people pronounce my last name incorrectly. -
What color is your bedroom?
The walls are white, the floor is beige, and blue, red, and white courtesy of a huge honkin’ American flag. -
What was the last song you were listening to?
Music by T. A. Project according to iTunes -
Have you ever been in a school play?
I was involved in community and school productions until I moved to Virginia in 6th grade. The only drama in Bedford County takes place in the School Board Meetings over the budget. -
Have you ever been in love?
I am not sure. -
Do you like yourself and believe in yourself?
I wish that I could be you so that I could be friends with me. There have been times when friends/family have loved me more than I loved myself. I believe that everyone can do something amazing if they choose, but I often doubt that about myself. -
Do you think you’re cute?
I am content with the way that I look, but do not consider myself Ryan, as I do not have to keep the women away with force. And by force, I mean an attitude that I have a stick up my @$$. (J/K Ryan, I love ya bro!) -
Do you consider yourself to be a nice person?
I love meeting new people and often talk to complete strangers, to my sister’s anguish. My best friends are practically extended family, whom I would do anything for. I am only not nice to people who force themselves into my life.
Three Holes
Wednesday, July 30th, 2003I visited Forest Family Physicians to get my college-bound immunizations and physical. This step towards Emerson College involved three shots (with two more in my near future), a drive in the rain with windshield wipers that refused to wipe, and $20 so that FedEx can deliver paper.
In the process, a good conversation with my doctor was had. I guess he is officially my doctor now. I have never had regular visits with any doctor, so I claim him. Anyhoo, he asked me about my plans at Emerson College and my Spirit FM keychain. This spawned a condensed soapbox spiel of how I think Christian media is futile and that I would rather be a Christian in mainstream media as a positive force than live life thinking I made a difference in three soccer mom’s lives working in Christian media. He grinned at the end of our visit and affirmed my college plans. Then, the nurse entered the room.
Are you really sure that you want all three of these today?
Yes,
I replied.
She proceeded to inject me and commented when finished, Aw, look at your little muscles twitching.
I am not sure whether to be more upset that she referred to my muscles as little
or that she thought it was cute that my muscles were twitching after she injected me with half-dead diseases.
Has Switch Failed?
Thursday, July 24th, 2003Has Switch, Apple Computer’s advertising campaign directly targeted at Microsoft Windows users, failed? The answer is the topic of much discussion after three different market research firms reported that Apple’s marketshare fell in the past year, while competitor Dell saw double-digit growth.
Preface: Jobs Knows Best
I wager that Apple Co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs is tired of the commentary that abounds on how he should do his job better. My thoughts are only in defense to the Switch soothsayers, many within the Macintosh community.
Flip the Switch: Get Out of your Windows World…
Apple may have a brand image of cool and trendy with the younger market, but the brand also carries an isolationist stigma with the market that actually has money to spend. Switch set the stage for another message that would show, as opposed to tell, that buying an Apple computer does not prevent you from using familiar applications, exchanging files, or joining Windows-based networks. Switch is the bait and the Apple retail stores are the hook. Based upon the traffic reports to the Apple retail stores and the sales reports for first-time Macintosh purchase volume, this strategy works.
…It’s Not Worth It
Most computer users are not educated computer users. They think linearly and do not fully understand the document, application, desktop, OS user interface metaphor. Crashes, freezes, and random problems are a normal part of their computer experience and they accept this because everyone else they know (all Windows users, of course) has the same experience. Buying a Macintosh seems like a step backwards to these users because all of the Apple customers they have encountered are graphic artists, teachers, and/or lunatics who come off as eccentric and not technically savvy enough to make an informed computing decision. Switch’s friendly faces, proclaiming that Apple has the answer to everyday computer annoyances, garnered significant news media attention, imitations, spoofs, and conversations among average computer users. This infection of the dialogue is vital when a potential buyer ponders if purchasing a Mac is worth leaving the comfort of familiarity, even when familiarity is far from perfect. Downloading Windows drivers for a digital camera on Christmas may not seem worse than buying and reading a book on how to switch to Mac OS X.
Anti-Mac Sentiments are Primarily Ignorance
Apple’s former hardware tradition of being overpriced and underpowered was broken last year. The current product matrix is competitively priced when compared to Dell and Hewlett-Packard systems. Educational pricing, available to practically everyone (students, parents of students, teachers of students), makes Apple even more competitive with Wintel vendors. Admittedly, I can build a high-performance x86-based desktop for much cheaper myself, but I would still be stuck with the problems of Microsoft Windows XP or the awkward Linux options that are not viable in the mass market. Mac OS X and the supporting digital hub applications sell Apple hardware, even when that latter is perceived as aesthetically gorgeous but inferior in performance.
Onward: In Conclusion
Switch has not failed. Switch is part of an overall growth plan. Apple is still profitable and still producing the best computing experience through trend-setting hardware and software at reasonable price points. Outpacing the growth of other computer companies will be the biggest challenge to Apple as competitors secure exclusive purchasing deals with businesses, schools, and other organizations.
Sidebar: The Dell (Non)Comparison
Dell has a great product at a great price point with great technical support and a loyal customer base. But Dell is Microsoft’s lapdog and has the advantage of leveraging the demand for Windows-based computers dictated by Microsoft-trained I. T. zombies who understand that Windows’ problems are their job security. I am not purposefully jeopardizing my argument with a rather Apple-fanatic point because Dell’s success should be analyzed, understood, and learned from within the context of Microsoft’s market monopoly.
Hurting Your Cause
Sure, I would love to see Apple produce product intensive advertising, offer more expansion in the iMac, or lower prices overall, but these personal wishes are not keeping the mass market from switching. The incompetent editorial writers on the Macintosh web scene need to read Macintosh: The Naked Truth.
Did you get loaded yet?
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2003Be sure that you do not miss the newly launched BuyMusic.com. I must admit, this company sure knows how to follow in the steps of success. BuyMusic.com did not only replicate the iTunes Music Store’s business model and web site layout. Oh no, BuyMusic.com went ALL… THE… WAY! Scoring a touchdown for Microsoft’s Windows Media format, you can also watch the BuyMusic.com launch commercials that are not anything like the iTunes Music Store launch commercials… if you are blind and deaf.
Windows-users are better off using Kazaa and risking a personal tango with the incompetent RIAA while waiting for the iTunes Music Store’s arrival in Q3 of 2003.
More Trendwhore Awards
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2003The latest companies to demonstrate lack of originality in the category of 30-second commercial advertisements in a national broadcast market are (drum roll) 10-10-987 and Ameritrade! The latter even has a web site to complement the commercial series.
AdBusters
Saturday, July 19th, 2003A new love/hate relationship formed today when I stumbled upon an organization known as AdBusters. I love this organization’s campaigns regarding alternative transportation, corporate accountability, greedy consumerism, the redefinition of a good economy, strict regulation of media companies, and television turnoff week (i.e. all the big business issues that Republicans will never address). Only when irrational political bias enters, do I take issue.
Many Americans ignorantly demand their "right" to their gas guzzling Suburban Utility Vehicles in the rationality of safety. Teenagers expect to have their own cars when they turn 16. Few consider carpooling or rescheduling their day plans to save gasoline. And the news media proclaims the end of the world when gasoline prices "soar" to over $2 per gallon. The premise for AdBuster’s "Got Oil?" campaign is only scarred by suggesting that President George W. Bush and his administration put America’s uncompromising oil demand over its foreign policy and national security. Prioritizing this left-wing banter muffles the message that Americans should make the personal "sacrifice" of conserving precious non-renewable resources that also harm our environment, and subsequently, all life forms.
I also disagree with the “Commercial Free Schools” campaign. Channel One News is a 12-minute, daily newscast broadcast to 8-million students in 12,000 middle and high schools. Using the televisions that Channel One provides for free in every classroom, participating schools also have access to Channel One Network, which airs more in-depth and targeted educational programming. Students are required to watch the fair and balanced news broadcast that often includes opinion commentary from other schools. If it were not for Channel One News, most of my classmates would never have been exposed to any details about the happenings in the world outside them. The broadcast was often used as a springboard for teachers to start class debates that evoked emotions from students who then at least pretended to care about an issue. The two commercial breaks in each broadcast that AdBusters disagrees with are usually quick social moments between students before they are hushed and refocused on the news broadcast by the teachers. My argument is that the commercials do not negate the quality content of Channel One News. If a for-profit corporation can provide valuable content that would otherwise not be available to overworked and underpaid teachers, I can put aside my personal opinions of marketing to young and impressionable minds. (Objectivity note: In 2001, I was chosen for Primedia’s Channel One News Student Produced Week and was given access to the innards of this incredible news organization.)
My final point of contention with AdBusters regards branding. I do not believe that companies are wrong to have a strong brand identity. Apple Computer’s identity rivals Coca-Cola in consumer awareness, but that does not mean the company is evil or that it deserves a place on AdBusters’ "Brands-and-Bands Corporate U.S. Flag". (Objectivity note: In 2002, I participated in an advertising campaign for Apple Computer, Inc.)
Quote
Friday, July 18th, 2003I thought about you today when I was watching Oprah.
Rianna, saying the scariest thing ever spoken to me
My Life in the Hands of Microsoft
Friday, July 18th, 2003Yesterday, Microsoft admitted that its first OS built under its "Trustworthy" computing initiative has an enormous security flaw, as does most every other Windows OS according to this Associated Press story. The federal Department of Homeland Security announced a day before that it will be purchasing $90 million worth of Microsoft software over five years for its 140,000 top security desktops and servers. I do not find comfort in my national security with irony such as this.
While I am thinking about the issue, anyone who uses a computer should be aware that the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance and Palladium are evil. This issue alone is worth buying Apple hardware to run Mac OS X.
Link
Wednesday, July 9th, 2003EEF: Defending Freedom in the Digital World
The Antigravity Underground
The Matrix in ASCII
Unstoppable Progress in Mac OS X
