Things are stabilizing a bit around here, so I’ll be writing again soon. Stay tuned!
the cheap scottish bastard
he writes about stuff.
Time Machine (The Mac OS X one)
Computers fail; often.
And if they don’t fail, they get stolen.
And if they don’t get stolen, they get lost.
And even if you backup, how often does that backup work.
I use a Mac, and every so often I’m reminded why I use a Mac. It gets out of my way and just works, so I don’t worry about what computer I use, but it does happen to be a Mac.
I was reminded by this last weekend. The MacBook my wife uses has an internal hard-drive that simply died. It simply died. Booting from the System disk yielded the error that the hard drive was unrepairable.
No sweat was expended. I could have bought a new internal hard drive and installed it, or do what I chose to do. Replace the entire machine. (It was nearly 4 years old and had put in a good innings.)
Friday night, I ventured down to Best Buy, walked in and out in a few minutes and 25 minutes later had the new MacBook Pro (13″, a VERY nice machine) restoring from the Time Machine
backup that was last updated about 30 minutes before the old computer died.
It restored in about 4 hours to exactly has she left it. The mess of icons scattered all over the desktop included.
While the machine was on my desk, I installed Snow Leopard. That was another 35 minutes. (Which itself is another functional upgrade.)
I took the machine upstairs and returned it, exactly as she had last left her old machine not a few elapsed hours earlier.
Time Machine truly does work.
Whether it is a single file, an entire hard drive or the way your system was two weeks ago, Time Machine simply works.
Knowing that you always get back to exactly where you were, be it because someone stole your laptop or you were just stupid is very powerful. You can get back to doing the work that you do and not worry about HOW you do it.
It Just Works!
Tags: apple, itjustworks, Mac OS X
On hiatus
The Bastard has been downsized, that means this little blog will take a back seat while I concentrate on other matters more pressing.
Thanks for understanding.
If you’re in Toronto and are looking for top notch IT management (15+ years of enterprise level IT) please use the contact form and let’s talk!
Thank you.
Pretty Hate Machine
20 years ago, October 20th. that’s 1989.
One Mr. Trent Reznor unleashed a groundbreaking album unto the world, and it was called Pretty Hate Machine. One of 5 albums that changed my life.
Bow down...
Whether you’re a NIN fan, or not, you have to admit it changed things. Grab a copy if you’ve never heard it and listen. Celebrate 20 years of music that sounds as fresh today as it did 20 years ago.
If you are/were a fan, where were you when you heard PHM? How did it make you feel?
Happy birthday PHM.
More on the other 4 albums soon.
Tags: 20, 20years, BlackAsYourSoul, HeadLikeAHole, nin, PHM, trentreznor
TidBITS turns 1000!
A brief shout-out to the team over at TidBITS (the Mac news site that seems to have been around since the dawning of time!). They have published a newsletter regularly since April 1990, and hit #1000 on October 19th 2009!
To Adam, Tonya and the rest of the TidBITS group;
Congratulations and here’s to another 1000!
(Here’s what Adam had to say about 1000 newsletters)
-The Scottish Bastard
Corded Phones
My 
Northern Telecom Vista 350
Growing up in Toronto in the 80s and 90s meant that my telecom provider at home was Bell.
While you used to be able to buy phones, you also could rent them. For numerous reasons (mostly because Bell was a corporate brother to Northern Telecom) Bell had “NT” phones.
And damn, those phones were good. I should say ARE good.
Upon return to Canada back in ‘97, I purchased from London Drugs a refurbished Northern Telecom (the older branding of ‘Nortel’) Vista 350 for what I recall as nearly $100. My lovely wife mocked me. She said it was a waste of money and had those horrible things called cords.
13 years later.
In those 13 years probably 3 or 4 sets of cordless phones have arrived and departed because they sucked or died, or both.
I just finished working from home for a week, using my Vista 350 phone making 20-30 calls a day.
Without fail, every phone call was perfect. The buttons are clearly labeled, and each operation worked as I expected them.
Conversely, my client’s office uses an Avaya PBX with expensive handsets. But no one really know’s to use them. I’m sure it has a ton of features, but it’s so damn non-intuitive, no one tries. It’s fairly common to see people on their cell phones, while sitting at their desks.
My Vista 350, with fewer buttons than the ugly Avaya (i.e. Lucent) permits a multitude of seemingly obvious tasks with ease:
- Call Display (Name AND number; that Avaya only does number)
- Scrollable Caller list (Avaya doesn’t have one)
- Maintain a directory of phone numbers and names (Avaya is a no go)
- Add a recent caller to a the directory (Avaya can’t do that)
- Redial last few dialled numbers (nope for Avaya)
- Put caller on hold, make new call, connect callers (I fail every time on the Avaya)
- Visual ringing (bright blinking red light which his handy when kids Nintendo Wii is blaring)
- Awesome speakerphone
And this phone is well over 15 years old and it works without power.
(Oddly, these are all things that an iPhone with similar grace.)
But try and buy a phone like my Vista 350 today.
No luck, FutureShop carries a single corded model. Telus makes no indication they sell corded telephones on their web-site.
Though I’m happy to see that Bell still sells a child of my phone the Aastra 390.
It Just Works — the phone on my desk.
Tags: apple, desk phones, mobile phones, toronto
Why is everyone sick?
Is this H1N1 2.0?
(apologies in advance for the randomness of this post)
I’m getting over a mild cold. The Irish Wife is blowing chunks of stuff I’d rather not attempt to describe. 1/2 of my office is sneezing, sniffling, coughing or otherwise miserable. What the hell is going on?
We’ve had a cold snap here in Toronto. The weather suddenly went well below seasonal norms. One day we were hovering around 20C, and within a week we’re hearing about frost warnings and flurries. The weather is supposed to return to normal temps later next week. We’ll see. I’m dying to get a few rides in before I have to put the bike on the trainer and bore myself to tears over what will no doubt be a very snowy winter. Gah!
Autumn, pretty but lame
The cold weather means everyone starts congregating indoors and breathing on each other. Or worse, touching stuff then poking their nose… Hygiene is seriously lacking in modern society. Sure, it was way worse long ago, but it could be so much better now. Seriously people, wash your hands and stop licking random handrails.
This post isn’t about anything in particular. I’ve not done one in a while and I probably should. The weather is quickly becoming unfriendly, to me, and I’m not happy about it. This time of year just depresses me all to hell.
I have several days worth of work left on the basement before we can conceive of moving furniture back down here. This project has seriously dragged on. Between work, trying to ride the bike when the weather actually allows, injury and illness progress has been delayed and it’s time to make a major push. I started this back in MAY for fuck sake. I want it done before the snow flies. You’re all invited over for drinks when I’m done.
I just got a quote on removing the vermiculite insulation from my attic. Should run about $5000… Excuse me? This abatement business is serious shit, and I’m on the wrong end of it. This vermiculite crap is the worst thing ever invented. Most of it was installed in the 50’s and 60’s and most of it is laced with asbestos. Lovely. Now it’s no big deal if it’s left undisturbed which it is, however I’ll soon be renovating the kitchen and bathroom. Both rooms need new electrical in the ceiling and vents for extractor fans, etc. That means getting up in the attic and rooting around. So, out the shit must go. It also means I have to replace it with something. There are no deals to be had in the Level 3 Asbestos Abatement business. If you find one stay clear, they don’t know what they’re doing.
I’m currently listening to Paul Weller’s brilliant self titled album from 1992.
Testicles.
That is all.
Tags: asbestos, autumnsucks, basement, cold, depression, gross, h1n1, miserable, random, renovation, sick, testicles, vermiculite, weather
Living Colour @ Lee’s Palace – Toronto 10/3/2009
Yes, THAT Living Colour!
Let’s get it out of the way up front — They’ve been back together since 2000, and have been busy ever since. Those of you that bought Vivid on cassette or CD then forgot about the band, you missed out. You need to know right now that they have a new studio album out. The Chair in the Doorway was released in September 2009 and is one of those play-from-start-to-finish joints that leaves you wanting more. Many reviews of this fantastic effort have been written, so Google it up and read on. Check out the lead off track, Burned Bridges. If that doesn’t grab you by the nuts and make you it’s bitch, you simply don’t have any.
This isn’t about the new album, or all the excellent music you missed after Vivid. It’s about the special treat that Corey, Doug, Vernon and Will laid on us in Toronto this past Saturday night. And what a treat it was.
Lee’s Palace is a relatively small venue. A few hundred capacity at most (I’m told 550 by my friend Pete Nema, thanks!). The boys were a tight fit up on the stage, especially with Mr. Calhoun’s big yellow rig dead center. Didn’t seem to matter, the more intimate the better.
Vernon Reid & Corey Glover
The energy was high before the band took the stage, exemplified by the cheers and shouts when Doug and Will walked across the stage several minutes before the set began. The opening band, In Collision, was OK. Tonnes of potential but no hooks and very long winded. Their drummer is incredible, and seems very out of place with the band. Not to mention that the shitty audio at Lee’s didn’t help them either.
Then there was this guy. Obviously fucked up on something; he was jumping around from the time he got into the venue until he was removed by security 2-3 songs into Living Colour’s set. Sorry buddy, but slam dancing with the intent to injure died with the hardcore punk scene a long time ago. Mind you, The Bastard got a decent shot in and grabbed a fist full of his hair, but that didn’t slow him down! He needed to go. Thankfully he was forcibly removed and I could continue to enjoy the show.
Corey Glover
They sounded incredible. Corey’s voice seems to be in top form and the band is tight. TIGHT. Tighter than I remember from WAY back when they played The Concert Hall and a ceiling tile fell on Muzz Skilling’s equipment during Will’s drum solo. Tighter than I remember them from their 1991 Lollapalooza performance when Corey was still sporting Body Glove wet suits and dreads. Like a fine wine with some stank on it. Y’know, that good stank. Like the morning after a hot night with a partner of your preference, and you’ve not showered yet. Oh, how fucking politically correct of me…
The boys played a helluva show with a setlist that covered all of their releases. Lots of stuff from the early days and a healthy dose of The Chair.
Then Mr. Calhoun had something to tell us.
Will Calhoun
About 10 minutes later I was dumbfounded. You see, I have been drumming since I was 12. Neal Peart was my idol and major influence (wasn’t he every drummer’s?) until I heard Vivid. I was inspired. Who was this Will Calhoun character, and where did he come from? My style changed, and along with Peart my style was now heavily influenced by Calhoun. The off beat high-hat shots wile on the ride. The heavy snare. The straight up funk with the thrash. I learned Vivid and Time’s Up and can still play them all like the back of my hand. But in the work I’ve done with original acts the style is all mine, but with a heavy nod to Will. Thank you sir.
So, all I can say is, 20+ years later, HOLY SHIT. If you never seen or heard a Will Calhoun solo, you’ve missed out. Get yourself on YouTube and take your pick. OK, enough about Will.
Vernon’s solos were, as always, manic with a sense that you know where he’s going but the ride will be intense. Just hang on baby, we’ll get there but be prepared to have your mind and ears blown in the mean time.
And what can you say about Doug Wimbish. Just about the best bass out there. I’d love to see two things. A bass off between Doug Wimbish, Marcus Miller, Les Claypool and Mark King. Secondly, a super group that consists of the following: Wimbish, Tom Morello, Maynard James Keenan and JoJo Mayer. That is all.
The boys finished off the night at around 2am by sticking around and signing autographs and otherwise just being fucking cool. Thanks for a great evening. I’ve seen a lot of shows in my time, and this ranks up there in the top 5. Seriously, it was that good. Yes, they played Cult of Personality… and so much more!
Wimbish joins the fans
I’ve now met two of my musical idols, both this year. Trent Reznor and Will Calhoun. Hell, I met all of Living Colour! Thanks for signing my t-shirt guys. Their tour is now over, at least this leg, and we hope to see you again soon.
Special thanks to Bruce Lee for allowing me to use his images.
Tags: concert, imthecultofpersonality, leespalace, live, livingcolour, toronto
DeWalt DW718 12″ Sliding Miter Saw
DAAAAMN! This thing is a beast!
A few weeks ago Home Depot had a HUGE DeWalt sale. All DeWalt tools were 20% off. Nice, The Bastard likes. My feeble $199 Ryobi 10″ sliding miter saw had had its day. It performed well, but never up to The Scot’s normally high standards for such pieces. The saw would easily fall out of square and I’d have to adjust the fence once every 75-100 cuts. Not ideal. Plus, at 10″ it could handle most, but not all the cuts I wanted.
DeWalt DW718
When the DeWalt sale came up, I jumped in the car and hit the Depot. Managed to walk away with a brand-spanking-new DW718 for $519.
The saw was ready to rock right out of the box, although one thing puzzled me. Why, on their top-of-the-line saw would DeWalt leave the power cord dangling in a spot that could easily become pinched over time in the sliding arm mechanism? They knew this was a problem because they wrap some protective plastic sleeve over the cord on the interference points. C’mon guys, a saw that normally retails for $800 and you can’t figure out how to keep the cord from getting in the way? A 30 second hack with a zip-tie fixed that problem.
Performance
It’s great! Smooth, accurate cuts and a quiet motor make this saw a joy to use. There are pre-defined angle detents on both the miter and bevel for just about any cut, but you can also move each to any angle you like. Please keep in mind that I’m not a professional and I’m sure the pros out there will find much to bitch about this saw, however I find the performance to be more than I expected and way more than adequate for the jobs that I frequently do; framing, trim, shelving, etc.
The DeWalt warranty is worth considering as well; 90 day money back, 1 year free service, 3 year limited. It’s better than most, but Ridgid’s lifetime service agreement could factor into your decision as well.
If you can find this saw on sale I’d recommend you pick one up, however be aware that it doesn’t come with a laser guide as most other saws in this price range do. Yeah, what’s with that? Again, something that DeWalt could easily include for the price instead of requiring you to install a separate kit that runs upwards of $80! My $199 Ryobi saw had one…
on back pain
Many years ago I used to vacation at a resort in northern Ontario, Canada. I basically grew up at this particular resort, had my first cigarette there, drank my first beer, kissed a girl for the first time, broke my tailbone there, wiped out waterskiing and felt my heel hit the back of my head… You get the picture. The tailbone was the first of many lower back injuries I have sustained over the years. I’ve been fortunate to have never broken an arm, leg, or collarbone. I’ve chipped the odd tooth and broke an ankle once, but it seems as though my lower back is a magnet for injury.
About 5 years ago I started to feel some discomfort back there and went to the chiropractor. After the visit I spent 5 weeks in debilitating pain, I had developed a bulging disc. I never went back to that chiropractor. This isn’t a rant against chiropractors. It seems that there are as many good ones as there are bone crunchers. You know, the ones that are adjusting you as you’re shaking their hands. Not my bag.
Fast forward to last Saturday. Pain again. First lower back pain to speak of since the disc issue. The pain quickly manifested into sciatic nerve pain. It was so bad earlier this week that simply standing was limited to 2-3 minutes at most, then I had to sit and wait for it to subside. The big toe on my left foot had no feeling, it’s coming back now. On a scale of 10, 10 being excruciating pain, I was hovering around a 7 at times. It was even getting difficult to wipe my butt!
No Chiro this time, per se. I went to see a noted sports medicine guy. You see, 5-6 years ago I was fast becoming overweight, and my core had suffered many a year behind the console of many a computer. Slouching and eating, and not much in the way of serious exercise. Since then I got serious about what I eat, and I ride my bike (a lot). So I’m fitter, but I’ve been putting off doing targeted core exercises… So, Mr. Sports Medicine has done a few rounds of Active Release and acupuncture. I’m a believer. The nerve is chilling out now, and the pain has started to move away from the nerve to the true source. That friggin disc.
the pain, boss, the pain!
It’s interesting that the brain thinks the pain is about 10 inches away from where it actually is. That’s just the way nerves work.
It’s a good news/bad news situation. The subsiding nerve pain means the inflammation around it is diminishing, but it means I’ll have to deal with some real pain as the disc starts to heal. Unfortunately it’s not something my friends Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen can help with either.
ARGH! All this just as the weather in Toronto has become VERY bike friendly, and I start to see the light at the end of the basement renovation tunnel. Sorry for the rant, but I figured I’d warm up to blogging again by bitching a bit. Hope you don’t mind.
Oh, right, core exercises… Wake up call! Once this issue goes away I’m going to start working on the core in a serious way. So the Scottish Six Pack will make an appearance next summer. Hold me to it!