iPod update

I’m doomed. The cost to repair my iPod is MORE than the cost of a next-generation unit with 20gb storage. What a racket. When I told the tech on the phone that I was simply following their directions on the reinstall she said “maybe it was a bad download.” Buyer beware! As usual, Apple tech support is pretty awful (though not as bad as Dell, where the tech I called about a problem with an LCD monitor clearly had no idea of what it even looked like). I still have a grudge from 2003 when they told me that I could install OSX on an old beige G3 computer and there would be “no problem.” I said I was double checking because I didn’t want to put money into a new hard drive, spend the time fixing up the thing, etc., if I would wind up having to get a new computer anyway. I was assured that OSX was fully compatible with beige G3 computers. Except that once I set everything up, I discovered that OSX didn’t recognize the old serial printer port. When I called back, the tech (a different one) acted surprised that I actually wanted to use the computer to print.

Despite all my complaining, I am going to happily shell out for another unit unless I can find someone to repair the unit for cheaper (I already tried the local suspects). I just like the thing too much. Hell, I’ll probably upgrade now that I use it so much.

In Other News

–This week’s movie nite was Sideways which was surprisingly good. At least I was surprised. Without giving away anything, I’d simply say that the wallet chase scene was priceless, and very well filmed.

–I sent two piece of writing out today. Hooray.

–I’m off to Pittsburgh in the middle of next week for a dissertation defense.

Cold Update

So today the streak of cold looks like it’s breaking. That’s a good thing. Locals have grumbled at and/or made fun of my perverse enjoyment of extremely cold temperatures, but I don’t want to romanticize it too much. The cold is hard on machinery as well as people:

–after leaving it for a week, the car needed a jump in order to start. the good news is that we found what appears to be a decent garage right around the corner. Handy.

–for a few days, the treadmill (near a drafty window, not next to a heater) was acting funny. Though now it’s mysteriously fixed itself.

–and worst of all, I think carrying my iPod around in the outside pocket of my backpack killed it. Well, it didn’t exactly die, but it wasn’t working right. After a series of versions of iPod CPR didn’t work (all following Apple’s directions, naturally), I went to reformat it using Apple’s own utility. The program crashed so badly that I had to manually restart the computer (and now the iPod won’t even turn on). I suspect repairs will be expensive for my $400 paperweight. I but I am of course going to do it because I use the thing every other day when it’s not broken.

Bad Television

I’ve been saving up the TV comments, so they’re all coming out in this entry. You will learn that I generally a) watch crap and b) am happy watching crap. OK, let’s begin.

American Idol

is now completely boring and lame. It was always boring once they got rid of all the bad people. Competent covers of pop tunes sung over a lethargic backing band just don’t excite me. I used to love all the bad people. But this year, it seems like they have completely overplayed their hand on the bad singers. Perhaps it’s in the wake of the success of William Hung, but it’s clear that they are just plain old trying too hard. Anyway, we watched the opener. Carrie might go back in a few weeks, but I’m out for the duration.

The Apprentice

is looking up. Sure, Donald Trump is an idiot windbag string of bankruptcies masquerading as a moneymaking businessman and sure the show is a series of product placements and lame scenarios which lead ambitious corporate climbers to bicker constantly and grovel at Trump’s feet, but there is still some appeal to it that I can’t quite place. I will, however, proudly announce myself as a class traitor. I started rooting against the “book smarts” team just as soon as the poseur Danny whipped out his acoustic guitar and they started doing their own mini-corporate pep rally. I realize that the end result of a “street smarts” blowout will be a bunch of unpalatable anti-intellectual crap, but I simply hate the educated people more. And they should know better than to allow cameras to film their pep rallies. The street smarts do.

Lost

is cool too. I have less to say about this show than to relate a story about it. At a dinner party Thursday night (and someday, I’ll write up a theory of dinner parties in this space) one of our hosts disparaged Lost along with its reality-TV cousins (for those not in the know, Lost is kind of inspired by Survivor but is fiction) in that classic high culture dismissal of low culture that happens sometimes among academics. Carrie then begins simply explaining why she likes it. She relates all the plots and subplots, and I’m involved in a different conversation at the other end of the table so I don’t really follow. But at one point I look up, and other than myself and like one or two others, the entire table is sitting there, riveted by Carrie’s account of the show. She actually made it sound good to people who don’t like television. I don’t know what she said, but the accomplishment is certainly worth noting. Me, I just cede the ground of edification to others. I’m all about debased cultural forms. Speaking of which . . .

Football

I am so looking forward to this evening’s matchups. To use a Jewish metaphor, the Super Bowl is like the high holidays of football, but the championship weekend is more fun, like Purim (1). I know I have swooned over the Vikings all fall in this blog, but five years in Pittsburgh — a true football town — led to us adopting the Steelers as our second-favorite team. I’m not just saying this, either. We have been quietly enjoying them all year and their victory over New England (whose coach I have complained about in previous blog entries) was extremely sweet. I am hopeful to see a repeat performance. It was absolutely delightful when they got to the championship game in 2002 (at the end of the 2001 season) — the whole city of Pittsburgh was electric. I’m returning there for a dissertation defense in a week and a half, and I would love nothing more than to see what it’s like when the Steelers are in another Super Bowl. I wouldn’t expect another blowout, but I’d love to see one.

As for the Falcons and Eagles, I like both teams, and I will truly pity the Eagles if they lose again. But the AFC championship will determine my loyalties for the Super Bowl.

And a Lowbrow Movie to Boot

I forgot to mention we saw Elektra on movie nite and it was a decent combination of a superhero movie and a ninja movie. The plot and character development did not interfere with my enjoyment of the action scenes or special effects.

That is all for now.

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1. Not like I’d know. I haven’t observed any of these holidays in years.

Cold

Yesterday, according to the weather channel’s website, it got down to -17F/-27C. According to my cabdriver, with windchill the “felt” temperature was -45C. If this was actually the case (cabbies have been known to exaggerate), that would be a new personal record for me. Last year, on this very weekend, I interviewed for the job I currently hold, and it got down to -40 degrees, where the two measurement scales meet.

The reason the Canadian government can’t populate “the north” is because “the south” of Canada is already far enough north.

For my non-local readers, I will state the obvious: cold of this magnitude is quite dangerous if you’re exposed to it for too long. There’s a certain sharpness on the first intake of breath upon leaving a building. Cold of this magnitude cuts and grabs at you. It has a bracing effect on me — quite the opposite of extreme heat and humidity, which I simply find heavy and pressing down upon my body. Last night, as we were leaving a bar, the lock on the inside of the door was actually frozen over. There was a group of us and we all marvelled at it in awe and slight horror. Earlier that evening, Carrie, Will and I had a 2-block or so walk up St. Laurent (the “main”) from dinner to the bar where we would hang out with a group of people celebrating our friend Jenny’s birthday, and that was two of the longest blocks of my life. Partly, it’s because I screwed up in the morning and did not put on thermal socks. I also should have grabbed my heavier duty gloves.

That said, I kind of liked it. I mean, like any rational person, I hated it and was desperate to get back inside (maybe that wasn’t rationality but the reptillian party of my brain kicking in). But somewhere in my mind — I don’t know if it’s some kind of sick tough guy thing or what — I liked the fact that it was so inhospitable out, and yet there I was with my friends having a good time at a bar. As was a great deal of Montreal, so far as I could tell. Plus, I got to wear my cashmere scarf all night, which is usually too warm to keep on once I’m inside. But it’s deliciously soft.

Deadly cold: a feast for my senses. Or something.

Languages are Cool

I was doing my usual search on MovieTickets.com in preparation for our Movie Nite. Just for kicks, I like to see what’s playing at the Star City Theater, which is closest to our apartment, though always in French. I love the translations of the titles. Spongebob Squarepants is, simply, “Bob the Sponge.”

In the “isn’t Canada weird?” department: today in my lecture I showed my students this picture, one of those “earth at night things.” A great deal of murmuring ensued, and so I asked what was up. One student says “there are no lights in most of Canada — they’re all concentrated down near the border” and then another says, “yeah, of course, that’s where everybody lives.” On the way back to the office after class, Julian (one of my TAs) informs me that there’s a scheme afoot in the federal government to try and better populate the north. Good luck!