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| I know it's a silly thing to say. But after years of Windows blue screens, unexplained hardware failures, and the cost of replacing parts that I bought at a fair price that at some point became unfair, I'm happy to say that my computer has been running in top form for the past three years.
And that's even after my first Mac disaster.
Last week, I noticed that transferring files from my removable hard disk to my Mac were running super slowly. The speed issue was even more apparent when I tried to install Apple latest OS, Snow Leopard. The normally 45 minute installation took overnight. Transferring 46GB of files from my removable hard disk to my Mac took almost two days. It was pretty obvious I needed to bring my Mac in to the Apple store to get it checked out.
So I did. The truth about Apple geniuses, no matter how well trained they are on the ins and outs of a Mac, I've discovered one truth: there are two kinds of Apple geniuses. You have angels. And you have assholes. But I digress. After running a few diagnostics, this genius told me I probably have a hard disk failure and that to get my 160GB replaced, it would cost me close to 300 bucks, parts and labor. He also suggested that I could get it done with a certified Apple technician for less, or even do it myself.
I called a few places, and I was generally quoted 200 bucks for a 500GB upgrade. Not bad. But labor was still over a hundred bucks. That's when I decided to take matters into my own hands.
Onto Fry's. I had a friend that once described Fry's as "the nerd superstore," where you could buy CD's and beef jerky with your computer hardware. For 200 bucks, I bought a bluetooth mouse, a 2GB upgrade chip, a 500GB hard drive with 32MB of cache and a bag of chili flavored corn nuts.
Armed with my new hardware, a torx screwdriver, and a YouTube video of a British kid taking apart his iMac, I went to work. The entire process took less than an hour. While Apples use similar components to a PC, there are also a few oddities lurking under the acrylic. Like prying loose a sheath of black foil, glued together in strips. Or separating a temperature sensor and replacing the adhesive with rubber cement. Alien indeed.
It didn't take much time to have my iMac up, running, and installing Snow Leopard all over again. And instead of waiting days for the installation, it took about an hour.
Sure, I could use a larger LCD (it's currently a paltry 17" widescreen) or one of those snazzy aluminum bezels, with a bigger hard disk and my ram maxed out at 3GB, my Mac is running better than ever. And since there just aren't that many applications these days that require cutting edge horsepower, I don't see why I can't be using my mac for a few more years (yes, years) to come. | | |
| I've been unemployed since the beginning of February. And man, it's rough out there. There aren't a lot of job postings for copywriters out there. I've applied to a lot of big companies and some of the little ones, too. Most of the response I get is that they've decided I wasn't an ideal candidate for them. I get the feeling that there are so many talented creatives in the market, that it's the perfect time for companies to pick up great talent on the cheap. Everyone else has to get back in line.
When I got hired at Shutterfly, things were really different. The economy was doing so well I didn't even have to apply. They found me! They gave me an offer, and boom, I was working again. I was out of a job for only a couple weeks when I started working again. And while it was a great experience, the company has decided to move on without me. My position was eliminated.
So now, I've been applying to jobs. Collecting unemployment. I also took a few trips to Hawaii and New York to see what's out there. Something has to change. Maybe it's time to take a side job unrelated to my career, or to take some classes to brush up on my portfolio. Ideally, I'd love to work at a mass market advertising agency.
A couple of weeks ago I went to a portfolio night at Sugar Cafe in San Francisco. I didn't really know what to expect in terms of who would show up or even what the venue was like. And while at first it was a little intimidating, it didn't take too long before I was chatting up with students and young professionals alike, sharing each others' portfolios, and throwing back a beer or two to ease up a bit.
It was a lot like speed dating, 15 minute sessions with a pre-determined creative director. I had talks with about 4 of them. If I realized anything, no two creative directors are alike. Some you could tell would make excellent mentors, while others were just looking to be impressed. But all of them were smart, experienced, and had a lot of positive feedback.
For now, my portfolio consists of a lot of great clients, and a lot of great industries, and while those things may be ideal for an in-house creative services team, my book is really lacking on a lot of fundamental "big idea" campaigns, which is something that I need to whip up if I want to land a serious gig with a big time shop. It looks like I have my work cut out for me.
Being unemployed has been really rough. It's easy to lose track of days, and I do miss how good things were at my old work. But I've had my time to reflect. Things are getting a little restless around here and I'm itching to make things happen.
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| Homemade hawaiian coffee ice cream with toasted almonds covered in organic semi-sweet chocolate. Yup, I made it.  | | |
| Ever since I returned to the West Coast, one of the nagging thorns in my side was dealing with the price of gasoline. For the first time in my life, not only was a faced with a 2-hour round trip commute, premium gas was edging dangerously close to five bucks a gallon.
Flash forward a year and a half. I'm not commuting anymore and gas is hovering around $2.25, so it's not as painful filling up. I have, however, taken up the habit of reading a few auto-enthusiast blogs including Autoblog, Autoblog Green, and Inside Line. I may not be in the market to buy a new car just yet, but what guys don't like reading up on cars anyway?
Hybrids. The Prius. So many of those bubbly boxes drifting along 101 every morning. Churning up in the carpool lane. Lining parking lots like rows of solar panels on an environmentalist's roof. My mom has one. Sure they're not sports cars, but they're quiet, roomy, and feel high-tech with their digital readouts, joystick shift knobs, and push button starter. They also save a ton of gas, but they aren't cheap. You can easily drop a good 24k on a Prius. The new Honda Insight is a couple grand cheaper, which is nice for a hybrid, but when you factor in the cost of gas over the lifetime of the vehicle, the non-hybrid Honda Fit on which the Insight is based, doesn't look so bad either.
What's more, it's difficult to see how the value of hybrids like the Prius are going to hold up over the long run. Battery packs are expensive, a good 5-6k. Sure they're under warranty for up to 100k miles, but how long will they last after that? There have been some success stories from taxi services that use hybrids far beyond the 100k warranty. But another point to consider is that hybrid's main successes have been solely as dedicated hybrid-only commuter cars like the Prius. Cars like the Honda Civic or Nissan Altima, which are available with either hybrid or non-hybrid drivetrains, haven't sold as well. And hybrid SUV's with the added cost and weight of their hybrid drivetrains, aren't as economical over the long term, either.
So why not diesel? Right now, diesel fuel is cheap, almost as cheap as regular unleaded. But it gets you 40% more fuel efficiency. What's more, diesel drivetrains have been used for years, and because of the high ignition point of diesel fuel, diesel engines are built super strong. They last longer, and give you a higher resale value.
Virtually every week there's a new car being unveiled in Europe with a diesel drivetrain. Mini Coopers. BMW's. Volvos. All cars that I'd like to drive wether I'd like to be frugal, sporty, or family-oriented. And all of them get you a good 15-30 more miles per gallon. Sure, they have more diesel gas stations in Europe, but 40% of gas stations in the US have diesel pumps as well, so it's not like you'll have a hard time filling up.
But alas, some awesome diesel powered cars just aren't gonna be showing up in US showrooms anytime soon. The Acura TSX. The Volvo XC60. The Audi TT. Why can't we have any of those options over here?
From what I understand, diesels have had a bad rap in the US. When diesels were first introduced to the US, they were loud and produced a thick, sooty exhaust. But today's diesel engines are far cleaner and more efficient. What's more likely the bigger obstacle is how to market diesels in the US. Ironically, this shouldn't be a problem at all. I think diesels would do really well in the American market. There's a need for more fuel efficient cars. They're tried and tested and give customers an excellent value. Unfortunately, you get nervous execs that just don't like taking risks. They're probably same suits that said American Idol would flop. Or that Americans wouldn't like boxy imports like the Scion. Or that if you make phone like the LG Chocolate look like an iPod, even if it doesn't have the same functionality as an iPod, it's going to sell like an iPod.
One mainstream auto manufacturer that's taken the plunge and shipped a diesel model to the US is Volkswagen. The Volkswagen Jetta TDI has gotten rave reviews, nets as many miles per gallon as a Prius, and they're selling well to boot. I took a Jetta TDI for a test drive. While it doesn't have all the blinking lights that show you how hard your regenerative brakes are working, it has more than enough torque to throw you back in your seat and drives more like a normal car and less like a gadget.
Later this fall, VW is will also be bringing the Golf TDI stateside. That's a car I'd seriously consider buying. It's small, efficient, fun to drive, and full of utility. Besides, I've always had a thing for bolty little hatchbacks. VW also just announced a Golf GTD. Like the GTI, it's super-fast and sport-tuned, but it gets you way better milage than it's gasoline sipping cousin. So when's that bad boy coming stateside? It's most likely staying in Europe. Bastards.
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