Rising Above Mediocrity
by Benjamin Geiger

I originally thought it was an urban legend along the lines of I-69, but it turns out to be true: there is a proposal for an “Interstate 3″, in Georgia, of all places. The number 3 is supposed to honor the Third Infantry Division, apparently.

I’m not as vehemently opposed to the new highway as are many I’ve spoken to, but I personally believe that it’s a waste of money. (Besides, the number severely needs to change. Make it I-395, or I-381, or I-93; I-3 belongs in California.) The proposed highway faces much opposition from environmental advocacy groups; a columnist for the Gilmer County (Georgia) Times-Courier writes, “A highway, which would inevitably cross streams and rivers, would almost certainly cause pollution through silt runoff or chemicals from vehicles on the road.” I doubt that the pollution impact caused by I-3 will be nearly as dramatic as they make it sound; besides, if it shortens trips, that means fewer miles driven, and therefore fewer pollutants.

I’m thoroughly confused by a series of exchanges Bonnie and I have had since last weekend.

Saturday night, the two of us went to a beach in St. Pete to relax; Bonnie completed a very stressful term in school recently, and I thought it’d help her unwind a bit. As we were lying there on the blanket, the conversation turned to the oeuvre of Don McLean, going something like this (working from memory, so it may be a little off):

Her: Clear night tonight.
Me: Mmmhmm.
Her: ♫ Starry, starry night… ♫
Me: Heh… know the real title of that song?
Her: “Starry, starry night”?
Me: Nope… Vincent.
Her: Well, I knew it was about van Gogh. You know he wrote a song about John Lennon, right?
Me: Which one?
Her: American Pie… “the day the music died” was when Lennon was assassinated.
Me: No, it was when Buddy Holly’s plane crashed, in February of 1959… “♫ but February made me shiver, with every paper I’d deliver… ♫”
[et cetera]

Anyway, a couple days ago, I was bored and decided to check my facts. It turns out that American Pie couldn’t have been about Lennon’s assassination, because it was released in 1971, and Lennon was assassinated in 1980. So, I sent her a brief email pointing this out.

I was expecting mild interest, or at the worst, indifference. Instead, I got a response saying it “makes [her] feel bad” that I brought the subject up, and asking why it was “sooo important”.

The worst part is I really have no idea why she reacted that way.

I still want a MacBook Pro. I want it so bad.

Despite this, I’ve decided to wait until August, at least; WWDC runs from 7-11 August. There are persistent rumors of an upgrade to the MacBook Pro, including a switch to a 64 bit processor (the “Merom”). At least the Merom might match up to the G5 (which, of course, IBM could never generate in a laptop-friendly form).

(Oh, and I’m writing this in the Apple Store inside Florida Mall, typing on a 17″ MacBook Pro. I’m doing my best to keep drool off of it, but… but… I wantses one! I wantses it, my precioussss….)

Okay, I’m home and can elaborate.

Apparently, Apple tends to announce its new stuff during the WWDC. Intel has also announced that it will be releasing its new CPUs sooner than expected. This leads me to expect that they’ll announce an upgrade to the MacBook Pro line (and maybe even the MacBook) in August.

I spent some time playing with various machines at the Apple Store, and I found things I like about both lines. First and foremost, I like the case of the MacBook. It seems a lot sturdier and less likely to show wear. Also, the magnetic latch seems fairly nice; the lid closes solidly (not leaving the gap present on the Powerbook, and still present on the MacBook Pro). The biggest problems I have with the MacBook are the shared video RAM and the smaller screen resolution, though the screen resolution is not much smaller than that of my current 15″ Powerbook.

My dream machine is the 17″ MacBook Pro, but I may have to settle for a less glamorous machine for various reasons. If I could get a very large hard drive (120+ GB) in a MacBook, I’d almost be willing to live with reduced screen space, as the price differential is very significant.

In any case, I still intend to wait until August, or later if the financial end doesn’t work out. By then, I should know what options are available.

Today, millions of Americans are grilling steaks and watching firework displays in celebration of a principle that hasn’t existed in America for about five years now: freedom. In the name of tracking down ‘terrorists’, the US government has done precisely what the terrorists wanted them to do; by creating an invisible threat to chase, they have caused the government to clamp down on its citizens’ liberty and squander money and lives invading countries that have nothing to do with them. In contrast to the Republican message of low government interference in private life, the Bush administration has fostered a national atmosphere of dependence upon the government.

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