More figs!

Posted on 2006-08-06 by frank

Today we, well, actually, Andrea, since all I did was carry the ladder, picked 5.5 more pounds of figs. From one tree. And it’s still going!

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Monolingual broke our Tiger

Posted on 2006-08-06 by frank

Monolingual version 1.3.2 broke Tiger, Mac OS X 10.3.6, on a macbook, to the point where Rosetta applications wouldn’t run, and software updates couldn’t complete.

Andrea got a new Macbook so she could work on writing her book. As the resident geek, I get to maintain it. Hopefully someday Elizabeth will be able to take over; it should be a nice way to cool off after she’s done mowing the grass.

I noticed there was a lot of unnecessary space taken up on the system when we received it, demo applications and localizations we’d never use, totaling several gigabytes. I checked around online and found Monolingual, and I figured I was all set.

I downloaded and ran it, everything looked good, we removed some apps and some localizations and saved several gigs.

I noticed a probably a few days later when I tried to apply some software updates. Any update that touched system files, not just frameworks and applications, for example a security update or the 10.4.7 update, refused to install because it couldn’t find some needed files.

Thank you, Monolingual!

What’s the solution? Fortunately we have another mac in the house, so all we had to do was copy Andrea’s files off the macbook, do a clean reinstall, selecting only the applications and localizations we wanted, then restore her files.

Next time I get a new Mac, I’ll just skip all this nonsense and do a clean install right after I crack open the box.

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Figs, canning, heat, nesting insincts, etc

Posted on 2006-08-05 by frank

I know it’s hard to believe all these things are related but trust me, at least they aren’t completely unrelated.

We’ve got a fig tree in the back yard. This is its third summer bearing fruit, and what a haul we’ve got! We’ve picked at least eight pounds of figs so far, and it looks to be only about half done. Andrea’s already made a few batches of fig chutney, which proved very popular last year — hopefully she’ll post the recipe.

She’s pregnant again and the baby is due January 29th. When I got home from work one day this week, there were three jars of pickled eggs on the counter, still hot from the canning pot. I made a passing joke that she’s already exhibiting strong nesting tendencies, and she doesn’t see it. Let’s go over this again: Canning; five pounds of fig chutney; a dozen pickled eggs; and today she cracked open a jar of pickled asparagus. What do you think?

Now, how this relates to the heat — yesterday the external temperature sensor in my car ranged between 102 and 105 degrees when I drove home at 5:00 PM. I got in the house and noticed later the air was running constantly. The temperature was set to 78, but it was actually 80. It didn’t manage to cool down to 78 inside until after 10:00 PM! It was probably due to both the outside heat and the heat and humidity from canning. If we have to do any more canning this summer I may set up the turkey frier outside so we don’t heat up the house with it.

This morning, I went on a ride. It was 78 when we rode out at 7 AM, and when we got back at 10, it was a balmy 85 and actually felt pretty good compared to the upper 90’s we’ve had lately.

I’m not a climate scientist and can’t tell you for sure about global warming, but I CAN tell you it’s too hot and humid here!

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Doping in professional cycling

Posted on 2006-08-04 by frank

When I read this article about a ‘German anti-doping expert’ being shocked at the dossier he saw on Jan Ullrich’s alleged doping transgressions, I would have liked to have responded sarcastically, ‘What, someone is surprised that former Soviet-bloc athletes have used doping as part of their preparations?’

But of course, now it’s all pots and kettles.

I also want to ask Floyd, Tyler, and other others, why, why, why? But yesterday I heard an interesting opinion on NPR: performance enhancing drugs, or ‘doping products’, are no different than any other drug. There are safe dosages and methods of using them, and there are unsafe dosages and methods of using them. Professional cycling is an extreme indurance sport, so why not let the athletes use any means to best prepare themselves for the events?

I’m not certain I entirely agree with the idea, but it’s food for thought.

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More tools

Posted on 2006-07-29 by frank

I went to ACE Hardware again — I realized the old rotor was rusted to the hub so I wanted brake component grease and anti-sieze to put on the surfaces after cleaning to prevent this problem if there is a next time I have to work on the brakes, and I needed a c-clamp to compress the inboard caliper back far enough to get the new pads on.

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