I’ve found a really nice freeware journal application for OS X called Journler. I’ve been using Stickies for all my notes for about a year, but really needed something that could provide better organization of my thoughts. This is it!
Some features:
- Smart Folders
- Document linking and importing
- iLife Support
- Inline media support for pdfs, images, audio, video
I use Journler to write my to-do lists, store code snippets that I use frequently and take notes about the projects I’m working on. I can even use it to post to my blog over XML RPC (XML Remote Procedure Call) — in fact, I made this post from Journler.
Check it out!
Q: How much does it cost to replace a bad Apple MacBook Pro battery under warranty?
A: $108 + tax.
This weekend, my laptop started flaking out if you disconnected the AC power. It would have a full charge, but as soon as you unplugged, the battery would rapidly discharge before shutting down about 15 minutes later. It wouldn’t start again until I reconnected AC power. I’m not the ony one who has experienced this problem.
Yesterday, I called Apple’s tech support. I’m still under the 1-year warranty for hardware support, but phone support for diagnosing problems expired a couple weeks ago. Grrrr! I had the option to pay a $49 diagnoses fee to proceed with phone support, but I opted to take it down the road to CompUSA instead. Figured I could get them to diagnose the problem and have Apple send me a new battery. No such luck. CompUSA said they’d have to send it off to Apple for diagnoses/repair (something about too many fraudulent warranty claims).
I wasn’t prepared to send it off to Apple for two reasons:
- I don’t have a backup computer.
- To avoid the possibility of personal information (passwords, ssh keys, etc.) falling into the wrong hands, I would have to wipe the hard drive before sending it off. I know two people who have very recently had their computers lost (stolen?) from the shipping facility after being sent off for repairs - so it’s certainly possible. To be completely accurate, I know one person, and know of another person who this has happened to — but you get the idea.
So, I go back to the office and call Apple back and agree to pay $49 for the support call. 30 minutes later, after making me jump thru various hoops, Apple decides it is indeed a hardware problem. They said they’d overnight a new battery to me (I got it this morning), and mark the support call as non-billable. So I don’t have to pay anything.
The astute reader would ask at this point: So what’s with the $108 + tax?
Well…. I got a flat tire while taking my computer to CompUSA yesterday. By the time I realized there was a flat, the tire had already been damaged beyond repair. My car is at the tire shop right now getting have a new tire mounted — for a cost of $108 + tax.
While I’m not blaming Apple for my flat tire, per se, I wouldn’t have gotten the flat had the battery not been bad in my laptop. On second thought, I guess I am blaming Apple for the flat tire.
I painted the nursery today. It was a bright lavendar color from when we painted it before Rachel was born. We went with a very light blue called “Ice Cap” this time. It looks great, and I’m sure baby boy will like it. It doesn’t even look like the same room. It’s hard to believe a gallon of paint and some new bedding can totally transform a room like this.
I left a small square of lavendar on one of the walls. We’ll put a picture over it, but I thought it would be neat to save some of the old color to show Rachel someday, when she’s forgotten that it was ever her room.
UPDATE: Posted pictures of the nursery.
[thumb:149:l]
Our friends Jennifer and Erica gave us a baby shower today. We got a lot of nice things for the baby. One of the things I liked about having a girl was getting to dress her up like a baby doll — and I didn’t really think you could do that with a boy, but after seeing all of these clothes, I’ve changed my mind. He’ll be a little doll, just like Rachel (except I’m sure he’ll be a manly doll)!
Thank you to everyone who came or sent gifts!
