The Plan: Execution

Remember last October, when I gave a fairly detailed write-up of my plan to upgrade my computer? A great deal of it turned out to be an accurate assessment, so I am really glad I waited for this latest iteration of MacBook Pros.

Back in the heyday of PowerPC Mac notebooks, there were two distinct model lines: PowerBooks and iBooks. The PowerBooks, predecessor to the MacBook Pro, were metal and awesome and came in three sizes: 12", 15" and 17". The iBooks, granddaddy of the white MacBooks, were plastic-chic, oddly adorable and came in 14" and 12" versions.

As of this Monday, the MacBook lineup returned to its roots and separated the Pro/non-Pro lineup with the same visual distinction: plastic vs. metal. The MacBook now only refers to the white plastic notebook. The Pros come in three sizes: 13", 15" and 17". The MacBook Air still exists, making all other notebook computers feel fat and unpretty. On top of that, Apple did what I never thought it would do -- cut prices.

Back in October, my decision between MacBook Pro 15" and MacBook 13" hinged on a few things: screen quality, affordability, backlit keyboard and battery life. Today's MacBook Pro 13" answers all those requirements while costing less than the base model MacBook of late 2008. It comes with an improved (Pro-level) screen, standard backlit keyboard, improved battery and SD CARD READER (finally). On top of that, it still qualifies for the Back to School steal deal.

It's going to happen. I'm just waiting for reviews to confirm screen quality improvements and then I'm off.

I'd hit that

So the softball bat that I was looking into getting, the Mizuno 2008 Frenzy 98, has been gotten. Not by me, though, but by the team! And on a pretty decent sale to boot.

Technically, I was looking for its sibling, the 2008 Mizuno Rusty Bumgardner Frenzy 98, but that one is not available in Canada at this time.

Now I get swing it =D Sweet.

Porcelain Philosophy 16: Irrational [in progress]

Who has ever been in a fight (especially with a significant other)?

By the power of sexist generalization, we can assume that such a fight will end something like this:

Male: "You're being irrational!"
Female: X[ *explodes

because males are primarily logical and females are primarily emotional, right? Thanks, antiquated beliefs.

Calling someone irrational is probably the worst way to argue a point, even if that person's reasons, or position, makes absolutely no sense to you. Calling a woman irrational because you believe she is only thinking emotionally is belittling her worth and dismissing her perspective.

In mathematics, there is a category of numbers considered Real. They can be quantified, they exist and their square roots are positive, rather than depressingly negative, like those Imaginary numbers.





Image courtesy of these guys.

I did it last night

I did it. The way kids in the schoolyard mean it.
I didn't really know what to expect.

I wasn't scared. Honestly, I was a little bit excited. Okay, fine, a lot excited.

I should've taken pictures.

Good thing other people did. I had a McGangbang.

For the uninitiated, this is a combination burger consisting of a McChicken sandwiched between the patties of a double cheeseburger. In certain McDonald's locations, the fame of the McGangbang as reached even the ears of the employees, to the point where you can order it by name.

There are variations of the McGangbang based on the variety in the McDonald's menu. Any chicken burger can be used: Jr. Chicken, McChicken, Crispy Chicken, Spicy Chicken, Chicken McGrill, etc. Any beef patty burger with two (or more) patties can be used for the sandwichers: Double Cheeseburger, Double Quarter Pounder (w/ cheese), Big Mac, etc.

In my haste to taste a McGangbang, I ordered whatever I could see: A McChicken meal (fries and Coke) plus a Double Quarter Pounder (w/ cheese) a la carte. It came out to a little over $12 CAN. Ridiculous. So worth it.

McDonald's Calorie Chart

Item	Calories	Fat (g)
Medium Fries	350	11
Medium Coke	210	0
Medium Coke (refill)	210	0
McChicken Burger	420	23
Double Quarter Pounder (w/ cheese)	730	25
TOTAL	1920	59

For your reference: the recommended daily intake of calories and fat for a male my size is 2400 to 2700 calories and less than 75 g of fat. In one sitting, I consumed 80% of my recommended daily caloric and fat intake.

The Writing of "Porcelain Philosophy 16: Irrational"

[28/05/09 13:45]
Got back on the writing horse. Now fleshing out the ideas. What tone should I use?

[16/05/09 10:52]
I should probably get back to finishing this piece. I was sidetracked by starting up Pokemon Platinum.

[05/05/09 15:30]
I have decided to make this a companion piece to the actual Porcelain Philosophy post, whereby I log changes I make to the actual post here. As it stands, that post currently does not exist. I should also reverse the order of these updates to make it easier for me.

[05/05/09 15:21]
I'm adding timestamps for those that are less steadfast in their clicking of refresh (use F5). As you can see, I am hard at work. Wait, that came out wrong.

[05/05/09 15:18]
[Links to be referenced:]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_number
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrational_number
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Are_From_Mars,_Women_Are_From_Venus

[05/05/09 15:09]
For nothing more than fun, I thought I'd publish this post instead of saving drafts so anyone logging lots of time on this blog can sort of see my writing in action. Also because I accidentally posted this placemarker post empty. This might also break the RSS feed readers.

Let's get crazy. [Cheesy intro]


[05/05/09 15:09]
armpit!