Clean bill of health!

Hey, I know that this site is What's Dad Doing Now?, but I am going to mention it anyway.

Dad brought me to the vet on Saturday. I sat in the waiting room for a while, got to sniff four dogs and one cat from a distance, and then was brought in for my check up. I've put on four pounds since last year, so I have to get Dad to walk me more. I was poked--YIKES!--and prodded. I was declared in good shape and got my shots. Ow. Then when we were leaving, I got four--count 'em, four--liver treats.

The road not taken...

Dad's watching 30 Rock: Season 1 right now. (As an aside, streaming on Netflix is pretty cool.) Back in 2006, Mom and Dad were watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, mostly because it came after Heroes when that show was still fun and understandable. Anyhoo, Dad's wondering if back then he was watching the wrong show about behind the scenes at a live sketch comedy program.

Tech support? Customer service? Don't make Mom laugh!

Wow.

I don't think I've ever heard Mom talk so poorly about a company. MOTU just has horrible tech support. Don't buy their products!

P.S. Yeah, yeah, I know the blog is What's Dad Doing Now, but we're allowed to make exceptions.

Dad is no longer losing the cell phone arms race

Okay, so my Uncle Omar got himself an HTC Droid Incredible several months ago, and he really enjoys it.

My Granma decided to get the same exact phone when she decided to upgrade her phone.

Dad had been holding out until January to get a new phone, waiting to see what was going on with Verizon Wireless and the iPhone. When the screen died on the phone, Dad decided to take the plunge now. He considered the Droid Incredible, but wanted to differentiate himself from Granma and Uncle Omar. He thought about the Samsung Galaxy, but some of the things he heard about that phone bothered him. He thought maybe he would need a physical keyboard and considered the Motorola Droid, but the specs were a little light compared to the phone he picked. He also considered the Droid R2D2 for the geek chic, but now that he thinks about it, no one would see the R2D2 shell when Dad put it in a case.

So, Dad decided to get a Motorola Droid X. It has the fast processor, it has a lot of memory, it has a big screen--Dad really likes it. It certainly sounds better than his last phone when the signal strength is not great. It as the many apps. Dad likes talking on the phone--it does not feel like talking on a waffle due to its size.

Dad got a case and belt holster for it, which is comfortable instead of carrying it his pocket. He also put a face shield on it which works well, but the application process did not go as smoothly as it could have, so there's some dust under the shield.

Big thumbs up from Dad for the Motorola Droid X!

We hardly knew ye....

Dad's computer is dying. It's been going downhill for almost a year now, but that rather nasty virus it picked up that ate the OS was the death knell, though it turns out it's a rather lingering death. This machine has always been a disappointment, starting with not getting through the POST with the four sticks of memory and problems with installing the OS through the most recent exploits with heatsinks that don't stay still until finally the aforementioned nasty virus. Nothing at all like the previous machine Dad built which was stolen before it could die.

So, now Dad has to hit all the computer enthusiast magazines and sites looking at the ads and all the current rig set ups to find out what he wants. According to Sige, it can very entertaining watching Dad when he gets in this mode.

Any suggestions on manufacturers or favorite components will be much appreciated and gratefully considered.

For some reason Dad likes books with dog narrators

Dad recently finished Walking in Circles Before Lying Down: A Novel. It's about a woman who starts being able to hear dogs talking to her when her life starts to get really difficult. Dad found it hilarious. Though Dad is not given to cussing, he can understand why dogs would talk like that, unlike some reviewers who disliked the foul language.

Other dog-narrated books that Dad has read in the past year that he liked include The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel which made him feel sad and happy at the same time when he finished it; and Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery (Chet and Bernie Mysteries) which was fun, but Dad could not visualize Chet as being over 100 pounds.

How many devices are connected now?

Dad picked up a Cisco-Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming and Video Adapter, which is a bridge to connect devices to the wireless network. Now, the Blu-Ray player is connected to the Internet. The laptop, the Wii, the XBox360, and now the Blu-Ray player makes four wireless devices. Dad's looking forward to trying the BD-Live. Comments coming later.

"I don't remember THAT happening"

So, Dad just re-read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. At least, he thought he was re-reading it. Throughout the book, he kept saying out loud, "Funny, I don't remember that happening in this book." He's starting to doubt that he actually read it in high school. He never used Cliff notes for the book, but he passed all the quizzes. I guess he managed to fake it all those many years ago.

Still, though he thought Holden Caulfield was not a very likeable character, Dad can see how young men could identify with the alienation Holden felt throughout the book.

W00F, the computer will not be destroyed today!

Yay!

Dad managed to reseat the heatsink in his computer so that it works again.

The computer will still be eventually replaced this year, but it's not as dire a situation as he had believed last night.

Dad's a lot happier today

Dad doesn't automatically root for the underdog

Good afternoon, everyone. Dad has never understood the assumption that rooting for an underdog is automatically nobler than rooting for a favorite. He then found an interesting article at Slate.com that tries to find a reason--psychological? historical? financial--why most people do so:

The Underdog Effect

Dad found it enlightening and amusing. Especially amusing was the Vandello study.

What's a cult?

Last night, Mom and Dad went to a new restaurant to try. Dad sees it occasionally when he drives down Colonial. It's called the Loving Hut. Vegan with the slogan "Be veg. Go green. Save the planet."

Here's what Mom and Dad were talking about when they came back last night:

1. It was really bright and clean. Bright yellow walls and bright white chairs and tables.


2. The service was not great. The staff was very friendly, but.... Mom and Dad ordered the same thing. A barbecue combo with spring and summer rolls and fried rice. The food did not come out for a very long time. The staff let Mom and Dad sit, wondering where their food was, until a half hour after the order went in, one of the ladies said there was a problem with the rice paper maker in the back. Would have been much better if the staff had informed them much faster.


3. The food was really tasty. The summer rolls, the spring rolls, the fried rice were all excellent. The barbecue seemed a little burnt, but that might have been the result of cooking the entire time of the delay.


4. Mom and Dad will definitely try the place again because the food was really good. Here's hoping the service is better.

Today while Dad was googling the Loving Hut, he found some stuff about a cult. It seems the Loving Hut may be a way for followers of the Supreme Master Ching Hai to fund the cult. I don't know what a cult is, but they are spreading the message that being vegetarian is good for the planet. That makes me feel better, though I eat meat. Dad also found a bit where Supreme Master Ching Hai talks about how good life is on Mars. Is that part of the cult thing?

I think I like the other keyboard more

It's been a while since I mentioned anything here, not even Dad appearing on Jeopardy which was so exciting. Even got me interested.

Anyway, Dad's not happy right now. The main computer where most of the stuff is done is acting up. Dad's tried a couple of things, and the machine is still misbehaving. He's going to have to have someone look at it for him.

Might he build a new Windows 7 machine? Maybe if Mom lets him.

If you wondering, I'm typing this on the backup computer which is a laptop. I must say that the keyboard doesn't feel as good as the Logitech Dad has for the the tower he built.