Moving the GB Around

There's a lot of data transfer happening on my desk at the moment. The iBook G4 is getting its hard drive content copied to an external drive via Firewire. My new iPod touch is getting all of my iTunes content loaded onto it from the Toshiba laptop via USB.

For the Apple laptop content, I'm just making a backup of EVERYTHING after already moving all the important stuff onto the Toshiba. B will then get the Apple (Power PC architecture, grr) to do whatever he wants with it. I've been told it might be partitioned and Ubuntu added once he clears the hard drive (all 60 GB of it) of un-needed files. The painful part of copying the files is that Finder doesn't just keep going if it finds a file with a really long name or other problems. So, I try copying large chunks and when it stops I pick smaller chunks and eventually get all the data moved over. So this project is in baby-sit mode.

For the iPod, I started the sync 20 minutes ago and it is only about 1/4 done. The story behind this purchase is that my 4th gen iPod (with clickwheel!) decided it didn't want to sync anymore. The hard drive on that thing was churning and not getting anywhere when connected to iTunes. (Unlike the two times the drive head got stuck and I saw the sad iPod graphic - fix by whacking on the upper right corner and restoring by the way - this time it just continued to say "do not disconnect".) It would also crash sometimes when just starting to play a song. Not a robust behavior for a piece of electronics, but it is five years old.

I am excited about using the iPod touch, especially as a Kindle and a portable web appliance in addition to a music player. If you have a favorite app for the iPhone or iPod touch I should check out, please leave a comment with your suggestion.

My other large purchase this weekend is less exciting. I noticed a bulge in the sidewall of my tire a few days ago, and remembered to look up if that meant something bad on Thursday. Friday morning, I was at the dealership getting a new tire. The tread on the others (replaced 10/07) was in good enough shape that they said I only needed to replace the damaged tire this time. Good thing, too, because the darn things cost $196 each. Stupid potholes.

Milestones

My 30th birthday was a few weeks ago. It was so nice to have school friends, work friends, and my parents all together in our house for the party.

The Mazda3 reached 50,000 miles on Thursday. It is still in great shape and I feel very connected to it while driving. Like, it is a mobile feeling of "home" rather than just a way to get around.

In about a week, B and I have our 7th wedding anniversary. This is a good thing - another marker as we move forwards in our lives. Love you, hon!

Yellow Light Commute

My morning drive into work can take anywhere from 20 to 30+ minutes on a normal day. I stay on local roads, so the time variation has to do with the traffic lights and any slow people I get stuck behind. Recently I've noticed a phenomenon and accompanying attitude that I'm calling the Yellow Light Commute. Green lights all the way = smooth trip = 20ish minutes from door to door. Red lights at particular intersections = stop and go = eh whatever.

But when I get yellow lights as I approach intersections, it forces me to decide. Assuming some jackhat isn't riding my tail and making it dangerous to stop I could go through or wait for next time. (Yellow lights here are nice and long.) On those days when it's yellow after yellow after yellow I find myself getting annoyed no matter what I choose. Hold speed and go through and I ask myself why I'm rushing to get to work. Stop at every light and I ask myself why I'm wasting time and gas. A green or a red light is easy, simple, and not my fault. A Yellow Light Commute is more stress and philosophy than I need at 8am.