New Toys!

I just got my new ASUS eee pc 1000h in the mail today. I really love it already. It's exactlyy what I was wanting. In fact, I'm writing this post on it right now. 

The Eee PC (pronounced simply "ePC") is what's known as a "netbook". It's a small formfactor laptop meant for surfing the web, managing email, using Office, google apps, video conferencing. Basically everything except heavy lifting (don't do games, development, photoshop/premiere).

So it's really about personal convenience. No need to drag a full size laptop around anymore when your needs are simple. I was joking with a friend the other night that I probably have a Pavlovian reaction to opening up my Dell laptop - it saps my enthusiasm because I so associate it with work.

I think this little guy weighs about three pounds, or a little over. It has built in wireless - I turned it on, downloaded Chrome and Firefox, Google Desktop, and iTunes and I'm off to the races. I took a photo with my camera of the laptop, took the SD card out and popped it right into the SD slot built into the computer, and uploaded the photo above. It's really just very handy. Great for casually taking notes and writing, too.

I was a little worried about the small size of this netbook at first. My hands are probably larger than most, but I find the keyboard very comfortable. I touch type, and am not slowed down by the size at all. The display is 1024 pixels wide, so you don't really sacrifice much when it comes to web browsing. It is only 600 pixels in height, which makes Chrome a great browser for this device, since it has minimal clutter in the way of toolbars, etc. The computer also has a webcam built in, which I haven't used yet. 

Well, I named my eee (which stands for Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play) pc Cerberus - the mythical three-headed dog. I think it fits well. This is a great device - no buyers remorse at all, especially because it's so cheap compared to most laptops. 

End of the Summer

Well, Summer's coming to an end, and I finally have time to post something new. I didn't get out kayaking much this year - one of my kayaking buddies had a baby girl in March, which of course has commanded his attention, and Doug & Lori started up a restaurant down in Hood River, Oregon, called the SawTooth Roadhouse. I'm really hoping to get down there and check it out sometime in October.

So, I've spent the summer working on my kayak, fixing the gelcoat, adding some new decklines, and doing some internal surgery on it. I'll be down in Homer kayaking this month at least.

Mark and I finally bottled the wine we started in April. Since then, we've made another couple batches. I think the first will be ready to drink in another three months. We just bottled the second batch last Friday.

In the meantime, I've been considering doing a batch of mead. Because of an unusually cold summer, I hear the Alaskan honey supply has been decimated this year, but I probably shouldn't be using premium ingredients for a first batch anyway. Mead takes a long time to age, so the sooner I start the better.

I also cut a ridge-vent into my roof this summer. Nothing says committed like taking a circular saw to your roof and cutting out a two inch gap along the length of it. This was one of two major goals I had for the house this summer, so am very happy to have it finished.

I ran my first 10-k race this summer as well. I didn't win, but I had a great time running it with a few other friends.

Well, that's it for now. More as life unfolds.